August 2015

Wrapped up the end of a wonderful summer. Here's what we have been up to.

Hiking:

We finally made it out to a hike at Rattlesnake Ledge in Northbend. At the beginning of the summer we were like "We are going to go hiking at least once a week." Sike. Sadly our discover pass didn't get much use this summer but we were happy we at least got out once.

2 months August 4th:

We celebrated two months and ate dinner at Anthony's with Jaime's ma. Each day I am married to this man I wake up with a literal smile on my face and even the "bad" days are better than any I have known with his love in my life. 

 Schneider wedding:

We celebrated the love of Rico and Cory at Sodo Park. We had some fun in the photo booth with Dad and Rosy and I got to see some of my childhood friends like Saffron and Chloe.  

 Visiting Family in Eastern Washington:

We drove out to Eastern Washington to visit our family and celebrate Ruth Anne's wedding. I know I have said this before but it's so lovely on the other side of the mountains. The sunshine, cool breeze, quiet farmland and vibe is so laid back. I got to see Jaime's Aunt Isabel and Uncle Ray again and meet all of their children. They have NINE children, 7 of which are girls and I swear they all could pass as twins! They were all so sweet and it was really special to see Jaime reminisce with his cousins. While we were visiting we got to see Jaime's grandmother and we are happy to say she is in such better health. I met her for the first time in the hospital earlier this year and wasn't sure if she would remember me but she said she did and we shared the news that we were married and had a civil ceremony. It's really important to us that we are present in our family's lives to celebrate special events whether they are weddings, birthdays, milestones, achievements, etc. We can never get back the time we have lost and the time we have left with some of our grandparents is tapering.

 Sam Smith:

I was supposed to go to Sam Smith with Kelly from work at the Gorge in April but he had to postpone his concert. Originally we had a wedding with Jaime's cousin the same night so I didn't think were were going to be able to go but it turned out that our wedding was in Eastern Washington and the concert was at the Gorge! We raced from the wedding to the Gorge (it's funny Jaime always laughs and says "Ever since I met you I feel like I'm always running from one place to another...I used to cruise and now my life's like LETS GO). We got there in perfect timing and we walked down to the stage and I didn't realize how amazing our tickets were. We were in "the pit" and literally were 15 feet away from Sam Smith. I didn't bother nudging through people up to the front because I wanted to be able to dance around and avoid smelly people, haha. Of course that worked well for Jaime, the man who has to pee every 20 minutes. Anyway, I always appreciate a true musician that is able to sound just as good if not better live as their album and Sam was phenomenal. It was also so cool to hear him share the background behind his songs. He's truly into music because of his passion and love for singing and it's so awesome that his music and his work has brought him so far. Every time I see an artist at the Gorge they comment on it being one of the most amazing venues they have played at. You have the Columbia River floating right behind the stage, beautiful grassy hill where the fans sit and mountains carved all around you. It's funny because most of Sam Smith's songs are "sad" and about breakups or heartache. However, he has one song called "Make it to Me" which I have always adored. Here are some of the lyrics from the chorus: 

You're the one designed for me
A distant stranger that I will complete
I know you're out there we're meant to be
So keep your head down and make it to me
And make it to me

I told Jaime that there was a time in my life when I was heartbroken and "in transition." I knew that there was someone out there for me, someone that was perfectly designed for me (cheeseball). I never asked for that person to be put into my life at that moment because I know I needed time to heal, to re-establish who I was, the growth I needed to make and to really take time to think about that person I wanted to end up with. I started dating and quickly realized that I needed to take a break because I just wasn't finding the right person and didn't want to wind up investing in a relationship that wasn't going to help keep me on track of my goals.  Life is kinda funny because that's exactly when I met Jaime. I stopped looking and there he was right in front me the day I walked into Northwest Crossfit. It was mind boggling as we started dating how many qualities and characteristics he had that I always longed for in a partner. There were qualities I knew I wouldn't be able to live without. I might as well share my list:

1. Well educated

2. Confident

3. Well mannered

4. Shares the same faith

5. Handsome (don't judge)

6. Athletic

7. Loves kids

8. Financially stable

9. Love his family/my family

...and then there was the "if he also had these qualities that would be awesome" list 

1. Loves to cook (I suck)

2. Can always make me laugh (even when I'm mad)

3. Love being around people

4. Loves the outdoors

5. Values health and fitness (Wouldn't have hated him being a personal trainer)

6. Adores his mother/sisters

7. Wants to travel the world (Life goal: work and travel)

8. Can call me out on my **** without being scared of my response (it's a scary thing)

9. Wants to live in the Seattle area (love being around my family)

10. Likes fashion (I like buying clothes)

11. Can dance (like for really salsa, merengue, etc.)

12. He's Hispanic or loves the latin culture (such an influential part of my life)

13. Is good at budgeting and managing his money (aka won't let me shop at Nordstrom every day)

 It was INSANE to me how Jaime kept checking off on every trait. I just think back to the song lyrics "You're the one designed for me" and that says it all. I kinda teared up at the concert talking to Jaime about all this. I hope I never go a day without thanking him for being in my life because he is truly my soul mate and even though I do believe there is a hand of people out there we can find, marry and be happy with...somehow by luck of the draw I found my perfect match.

After the concert we went to Shari's...pretty much one of the only places close buy. This is how we felt after eating fast. food. 

 Working out:

We try to keep up with out workouts and cleaned out the garage a bit to do some crossfit workouts. The neighbors still think we are crazy. Every once and a while carter comes out to say hi. 

 

Jax Barbershop:

We visited Carol's new place downtown at the Denny Triangle and got some fresh cuts. Sadly we will miss her home visits sometimes accompanied with her adorable baby girl but we are so proud and excited for her! After we celebrated and went to "Biscuit Bitch" for the first time. It's bomb.com

First Crossfit Competition:

We competed in our first crossfit competition/fundraiser together. It's funny because when we met Jaime said "It won't be long before we start competing together." I guess he was right! Our team name was "Beans, Rice and Babes." Funny enough I was competing with my three original crossfit coaches from Northwest less than a year after (and I haven't really been at a gym since February). In the words of my father "Wow you are the weakest link." Yes, thanks Dad. The power died the night before so we had to wake up early to go to Jaime' parents to shower but luckily we had hot water! I am happy to say we placed top 10 though (and no there were not only 10 teams!). I was incredibly nervous and still working on my pull up and some other movements but I had such a fun time. Jaime was very supportive and kept reminding me to pace myself, I tend to go zero to 100 really quick and then I get out of breath too fast. Yes I was sore the entire week after. 

Sumi and Patrick's Wedding:

After our crossfit competition we raced home to shower and headed out to another wedding of my dear friend Sumi. When I was a freshman at UW my life was crazy. I was working full time while doing my nursing pre-requisites and trying to navigate how I would get into the nursing school. I was in the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity program where I got paired up with mentor which happened to be Sumi Kim. It's funny because I remember we tried to many times to meet but I was always busy and never had time. I would basically wake up and go to class, rush to work, come up late and try to study, then maybe sleep 4 hours and do it all again. It was a grind but I learned a lot from it. We didn't up being able to meet so instead Sumi typed up a "guide" with all of her recommendations and insight on getting into nursing school. She had just been accepted to the prestigious UW program. I remember thinking "Wow that must have taken a lot of work and that was really sweet of her." Her tips were very helpful. Little did I know we would reconnect and be going to Panama a few years later on a medical mission trip. Flash forward a year later we met again around the time I was applying for RN positions and Sumi once again offered her insight and support. We almost ended up working on the same floor! Long story short, she is such a special role model and mentor in my life and I'm so grateful for her friendship. I am so happy she found her soul mate and she is so happy. She looked beyond beautiful on her wedding day and I hope we continue to be in each other's life! I was so happy Jaime was able to meet here and even though it was raining in the morning, the sun came out so she could enjoy her special day!