Miami is a place like none other. Although I'm glad that I left to attend BYU, I miss it tons! Snow is only existent in movies and at Dolphin Mall during holiday hours. You tan by just being outside for 5 minutes. There are no seasons, other than wet and dry. Palm trees are real - not fake. I miss going to the little Cuban salon where (if you put up with some barely intelligible Spanish) you get a good hair cut, mani, pedi, and eyebrow wax for under $50.00. I miss the diversity of food. You can find a little-whole-in-the-wall restaurant for any cuisine you desire. I miss having the beautiful beach so close. There are barely any waves and the water is warm! I didn't know that beaches elsewhere considered August beach water at 68 degrees to be warm! (Reference to Rehoboth Beach, DE). I also miss hearing Spanish constantly. Although Blaine and I try practicing our Spanish together, it has really effected me not hearing native speakers frequently!
Fashion is also way different in South Florida. For example, lately we've been bumping into some high school students going to prom. The dresses that the girls wear are just a little too much for me. You don't have to be tacky to be modest! Girls wear puffy, neon, glittery dresses that belong on a Barbie - not humans. Back where I come from, evening gowns are much more like what you see on E! or in a magazine. I ran into a girl at Chili's (pre-prom dinner) that was pulling more towards the Miami-style and was absolutely modest. I wanted to go over and give her a high-five. Anyway, fashion is a lot more different than it is over here. Acrylic nails aren't in style, unless they look seriously natural or you're a chonga (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=chonga). Also, there are so many unique fashion styles. It's like art! The malls in Miami are just amazing. I have to go to Salt Lake or Vegas to get something comparable.
MUSIC. Well, I can write a whole book on that. When I lived in Miami, I was always listening to music. For some reason, I don't over here. I don't find out about the latest songs until way after it has reached the east coast. Papo and Damaris try to keep me updated, but it's definitely not the same!
Above all, I miss my wonderful family. Having them far away is extremely difficult and lame. They bring so much excitement, happiness, love, and crazy fun into my life. They still manage to do so although they're 2,500 miles away! I miss the hugs and kisses, the random moments of hysterical laughter, shopping trips with the sis, Tia and Mami, Sunday get-togethers, double dates with Damaris & Bruce, being there for Papo, Uli's and Yuyo's sports events, spontaneous trips to Orlando - the list can go on forever. More than anything, I miss having the help and support that can only come from family. You can't compare it to anything else in the world. On the bright side, I'm so grateful for the family that Blaine has out west. They are so much fun to be with. I feel like I've known them forever and was destined to be a part of their lives. I don't know what I'd do without family!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Traditions
"Family traditions are like the spiritual and emotional cement in the foundation of a happy home. They create fond memories, and these memories bond us together like nothing else can." ("Traditions Worth Keeping", Ensign, Mar. 1986, 37)
As a wedding gift from the Jamie and J.D. Grant, we got an awesome waffle maker! We are obsessed with waffles. To control our craving, we have waffles for breakfast, lunch, or even dinner on Wednesdays. I like my waffles simple and traditional - butter and syrup. Blaine likes to try different things. He puts berries and whipped cream along with other concoctions that he makes. Blaine is a lot more creative than I am. Another reason why I love him!
We also received a sweet fondue set from the Neiderman's - a family from Blaine's ward in Delaware. We are so excited to use it! Our goal is to use it at least once a month on a Friday! That way it's ::drumroll:: Fondue Friday!
So far, having these small things to look forward to during the week has been a lot of fun. Can't wait to create many more family traditions with Blaine!
Celebrating 1 week of marriage!
So last Saturday, we made a year and six months of being together and one week of being married! I can't believe that we're married! It feels great and perfectly right. I am so grateful for belonging to a church that endorses marriage and family relationships that last forever!
To celebrate our week of marriage, we ate a California Pizza Kitchen on Friday night. This restaurant has always been a favorite of ours. Whether you order pizza or pasta, the food is always so fresh and flavorful! Afterwards, Blaine treated me to dessert at Coldstone! We had the "That's How I Roll" creation.
Saturday, we spent our day working on our little apartment and looking through Ikea. We are Ikea's biggest fans! We found all of the bedroom furniture that we wanted, but didn't have enough space in the car to take it all home. We bought a couple of decorations for the kitchen and living room. Our most exciting purchase was our 6-drawer dresser. We have so much more space for our clothes now! We'll be going back soon...
About the wedding day (along with all the other festivities of that week), it was just perfect. Of course, things went wrong here and there. But it didn't matter. Even while having a cold and a fluctuating fever, I had the time of my life. I couldn't have asked for a better wedding day with my husband, family, and friends. I slept an hour the night before, waking up at 3:30 AM to shower and have my loyal friend and bridesmaid, Michele, do my hair. My favorite part of it all was the sealing and temple experience. It was so special - the most spiritual moment of my life. We also had a ton of fun taking pictures in the cold rain with our photographer, Jeremy Pexton. He was so much fun to work with. I cannot wait to see our picutres! Another surprisingly favorite part of the day was the food. I thought our entrées were delectable! I had the Chicken Foccacia and Blaine had the Pork Tenderloin with escalloped apples. I cleaned the plate! Our cake was also a lot better than I expected. Not only did it look fabulous but it tasted yummy! Dawna did a great job. All in all, the colors, the music, the decor, the flowers, the feelings were just perfect.
Our mini-honeymoon at The Castle Creek Inn was so much fun. It was such a cute, romantic bed and breakfast. The room was clean and very cute. It was called the "Edinburgh" and was themed after the famous castle in Scotland. The breakfast each morning was also delicious. Our first morning we had banana bread, kiwi, and grapes for our first plate. Our second plate was French toast (the best I've ever tasted), sausage, and cheesy-diced potatoes. The next morning we had banana bread again with strawberries. Our second plate was a citrus and chocolate crepe, with sausage, and hashbrowns. Another fun thing was that we had free drinks, snacks, and movies! That's heaven for poor college kids! We are definitely planning to revisit in the future! During our stay, we went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner one night. It was only 5 minutes away from our hotel!
Going back to "reality" has been an adjustment, especially since we had so much fun with family here. But being married is a great blessing. I'm so grateful that we finally went through with it. "Reality" has been a lot more fun than usual. Having someone to laugh off the trials and little idiosyncrasies of life with is great!
To celebrate our week of marriage, we ate a California Pizza Kitchen on Friday night. This restaurant has always been a favorite of ours. Whether you order pizza or pasta, the food is always so fresh and flavorful! Afterwards, Blaine treated me to dessert at Coldstone! We had the "That's How I Roll" creation.
Saturday, we spent our day working on our little apartment and looking through Ikea. We are Ikea's biggest fans! We found all of the bedroom furniture that we wanted, but didn't have enough space in the car to take it all home. We bought a couple of decorations for the kitchen and living room. Our most exciting purchase was our 6-drawer dresser. We have so much more space for our clothes now! We'll be going back soon...
About the wedding day (along with all the other festivities of that week), it was just perfect. Of course, things went wrong here and there. But it didn't matter. Even while having a cold and a fluctuating fever, I had the time of my life. I couldn't have asked for a better wedding day with my husband, family, and friends. I slept an hour the night before, waking up at 3:30 AM to shower and have my loyal friend and bridesmaid, Michele, do my hair. My favorite part of it all was the sealing and temple experience. It was so special - the most spiritual moment of my life. We also had a ton of fun taking pictures in the cold rain with our photographer, Jeremy Pexton. He was so much fun to work with. I cannot wait to see our picutres! Another surprisingly favorite part of the day was the food. I thought our entrées were delectable! I had the Chicken Foccacia and Blaine had the Pork Tenderloin with escalloped apples. I cleaned the plate! Our cake was also a lot better than I expected. Not only did it look fabulous but it tasted yummy! Dawna did a great job. All in all, the colors, the music, the decor, the flowers, the feelings were just perfect.
Our mini-honeymoon at The Castle Creek Inn was so much fun. It was such a cute, romantic bed and breakfast. The room was clean and very cute. It was called the "Edinburgh" and was themed after the famous castle in Scotland. The breakfast each morning was also delicious. Our first morning we had banana bread, kiwi, and grapes for our first plate. Our second plate was French toast (the best I've ever tasted), sausage, and cheesy-diced potatoes. The next morning we had banana bread again with strawberries. Our second plate was a citrus and chocolate crepe, with sausage, and hashbrowns. Another fun thing was that we had free drinks, snacks, and movies! That's heaven for poor college kids! We are definitely planning to revisit in the future! During our stay, we went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner one night. It was only 5 minutes away from our hotel!
Going back to "reality" has been an adjustment, especially since we had so much fun with family here. But being married is a great blessing. I'm so grateful that we finally went through with it. "Reality" has been a lot more fun than usual. Having someone to laugh off the trials and little idiosyncrasies of life with is great!
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