La Vida Lynda

Quiet Drama

2010-03-09T03:22:00.001-08:00

The last few weeks have been very up and down for me here at home. Dealing with unnecessary drama from my mom and older brothers. The drama has become quieter against me as I do everything I can to not give them an excuse to give me lip about anything. Its just the only solution for me. How can you reason with people that are anything but? So, Lily and I can have a little peace at least.

My Project 365 has been squashed. Last week was filled with so much drama that I was way too distracted to keep up with my daily photos. I really thought I would get far with it. I'm just going to have to start all over again. :( I've been having to hide my camera from my oldest brother too. Geeze.

I've been thinking about my direction with blogging. I think that since my life has been so unstable and unpredictable lately, its not realistic to expect my blogging to be anything as marvelous as it once was. My posts are pretty much a reflection of how my life is going at the time. So I will leave it at that. Whatever randomness I produce is what you get. He he.

I wish I had a photo to share, but I'm blogging from Word, which doesn't let me. Blogger is currently not letting me post due to the overloaded internet connection of mine. Ugh. More later! :D

Feeling Half Inspired

2010-02-28T17:14:00.000-08:00

So I have been feeling like I have so much to share, but no steady way of sharing it all. Photography, recipes, poetry, videos, news, etc. It used to be easier. Just post the day's photo, write about what happened and that was it. I guess I just can't keep up with that style anymore because each day is unpredictable for me. Thus the unpredictability of my posting here. I've had other blogs, but none as successful as this one. So I may just end up keeping it forever.

Zines, email newsletters, blogs and sites. Every which way I've tried just doesn't stick. Right now, my life is not filled with anything too interesting. Then again I can make anything uninteresting jump out at you. But lately I have not been so inspired to do so. I'm struggling with decisions to let certain things known about my life. As much as I want to pour it all out there.

Life is pretty erratic these days for Lily and I. That's all I can really say about it. Until I can figure a way to share my journey with you all in a stable way, I will continue to try and figure it out. :D

Meaning Well

2010-01-31T08:53:00.000-08:00

There are those who like to say things because they mean well, or to seem like they do. I just can't wrap my head around those that do so without following through with what they say. I particularly don't like it when people say things just to say them anyway. When it carries a little more weight is when it is taken more seriously.

I believe that if you don't mean what you say, are not going to do what you say you will, or are not going to try to do what you say you want to; you should not even bother mentioning it. Save yourself some embarrassment and distrust. Mean what you say, carry through on it, and people will count on you that much more.

Why be dishonest? Really? It doesn't do anything marvelous for you. Whether you are a friend, husband, wife, family member, colleague, etc., its not worth it to tickle someone's ears when it has the potential to hurt them. I feel bad for the people in my life I've seen become so disappointed in others for their lack of true consideration for them. Its a shame that the majority of people, at least that I have encountered, do this. I usually let people's statements of meaning well go through one ear and out the other. Not because I could care less, but because if I took them serious, my world would be filled with disappointment.

I've learned a lesson in honesty. When you live dishonestly, nothing goes right for you. No matter how small the dishonesty is. You may think you are enjoying the fruit of dishonesty now, but in the long run, it will not have been worth it. You simply can't go wrong in living honestly with yourself and others.

So don't go giving people empty promises, tickling their ears, and sugarcoating what you say. Follow through on what you mean.

The photo in this entry is Being Comforted.

Changing it Up

2010-01-29T17:26:00.000-08:00

Once again I return from a long break. I really don't think I will ever be more comfortable blogging elsewhere. This is the spot for me. :)

Since the last post I have worked on building my photography site, becoming more social on Facebook, and organizing my photos on Flickr. My entire photo collection has grown to over 24,000 photos. I have established my photography business and am reaching out more to potential clients. My income has decreased but I've still got my head above water.

Lily started walking at 13 months and hasn't looked back since. Miguel still has about 6 months left in his sentence. I was going to attend college this Spring, but can't due to lack of resources. Long story. Still living for God, but my attendance at church has dwindled as well. I so need a car. He he.

My brother Peter was released from jail, I turned 24, and have made a lot of new friends. Not much else is going on. I have taxes to look forward to, the spring weather, and potty training Lily. Oh such fun. He he. Stay tuned for new photography, I'm participating in Project 365 this year. :D

The photo in this entry is Reflective Beauty.

Writing for the Future

2009-11-18T18:54:00.000-08:00

I decided to put my possessions in storage. After that I decided to write my will. A lot of details need to be covered. And now I'm writing my memoirs. I don't think I'm too young to do so. Or that not enough has occurred in my life to make them interesting. My goal is to just share my story. So perhaps I should call what I'm writing, my life story so far. Either way, its just something to leave to my daughter so that she gets the story straight from me. I don't want her getting her head filled with half truths from everyone else when I'm gone. All the facts will be laid out in black and white.

While Lily and I live out the changes taking place here, I will be working on securing everything I can for my ultimate goal. Which will only be discovered when I am gone. Why am I doing all this? Because its getting increasingly harder to trust anyone. I can only thank God for giving me the means to accomplish my goal. I'll continue writing, when I'm done, you'll know.

Keeping It Real

2009-11-11T21:11:00.001-08:00

From now on I'm blogging from my desktop. Microsoft 2007 lets me do that. :D

Some clients finally paid me today for some events I photographed for them. I was surprised because I thought they would never pay for them. So I have a little extra cash now to save up for a few things. I have to say though that I'm convinced not to do business with anyone I know any more. Not family, friends, or even distant acquaintances. I can't believe how people have taken advantage of me just because they know me like that. Come ooooooonn. So you're all banned from my photography, not in a mean way. Just to protect my business. Strangers are willing to pay more, and up front for my work. So I'll have to find a way to make them my customers. Seriously, when I'm offering $100 for something as huge as a wedding day, and you still want to ask to make payments on it, you're not gonna pay. Sorry, but investing in everything else but the photography for a wedding like that is ridiculous. Like my last clients learned, they did not get a single picture until they paid for them. That's just how it has to be. I'm not bothering to photograph anything for anyone now unless its for the right price.

I got my 600 prints today. Covering several albums. I've got a huge stack in front of me ready to go into albums. I'm pretty happy with the prints. Totally worth the price. About $65 on a deal. Don't think I would pay any more than that. Though I'm about to take the opportunity to pay a little less for my next batch. Its about time I splurged a bit to produce photos for myself.

Publishing a Book

2009-11-11T01:12:00.000-08:00

I didn't write a book, but a blog. Then I made it into book form and its available to buy from Lulu.com. Its a very basic version of my first blog kept a number of years ago. This book being a realization of a goal I've had for half my life. I kept my promise of offering something in book form and here it is. Only one journal still exists out there, safe and sound. All others I've destroyed. Who knows if it will ever be published. I can't even get it.

Just so you guys know, the price for the book is the price of production. I won't be making any profit at all. I don't really care to. I just enjoy sharing pieces of myself through writing and photography. Of course, if you don't want to hold a blog in your hands you can always visit My Life, the Insanity Within Me and read it there.

The book is available here - My Life, the Blog

My New Photo Share Site

2009-11-04T14:22:00.000-08:00

I have had the goal to make all my photos available online for everyone I know since I began organizing them into my external hard drive. Working on all my albums full throttle now has inspired me to do more with all the photos I have. Shutterfly being the platform for it all.

I decided to go with Shutterfly because they give me total control of my content and options. No other site lets me upload and organize photos so quickly either. I already have over 2,000 photos posted.

Some have waited many years for these photos. I'm finally unveiling them after people bugging me over the years about getting them. I can't really get prints for everyone and pass them along, so its more convenient for everyone to get their own prints from the site. Only members can take advantage of being able to do anything with the photos. Otherwise anyone can view them.

I have 28 albums and counting. There are several more to post, which is keeping me very busy. This project will never be finished simply because I'm always taking photos. Something for everyone to continually look forward to. Go ahead and check out my site. Sign up to save photos to your account, download them, or get prints. You can even make beautiful photo books. Be sure to leave a comment, feedback is always welcome. Here is my latest allbum........

Click here to view these pictures larger

Free Photo Book

2009-10-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

I took advantage of a free photo book offer from Shutterfly through Cozi. I made one of her photos on her 1st birthday. It shipped pretty quickly and I like how it came out. Although compared to the ones offered at Snapfish, it wasn't all that. So I'm glad I only had to pay for the shipping.

Checking out the photo book options at Snapfish I was inspired to make more photo books. I just have to get all my photos organized for them. They have really great prices too. Worth the effort of putting one together. If you would like to take advantage of the free photo book offer, just sign up for Cozi and follow the links to your promotional code when you're all set. It takes like 5 minute to make a photo book. Shipping is less than $10.

Pecan Turtle Bars Recipe

2009-10-24T09:15:00.000-07:00

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup pecan halves, chopped
1 1/3 cup butter
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup water
pinch salt

1. Combine flour, 1 cup brown sugar and softened butter in large mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Pat mixture evenly onto bottom of ungreased 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Sprinkle pecans evenly over crumb mixture.

2. Combine 1 1/3 cup butter and 1 cup brown sugar in small saucepan. cook and stir over medium heat until entire surface is bubbly. cook and stir 1/2 to 1 minute more. Pour into pan, spreading evenly over crust.

3. Bake in 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven 18 to 20 minutes or until entire surface is bubbly.

4. Meanwhile, bring 1 cup brown sugar, water, salt, and 1 Tbsp butter to a boil in small saucepan, stirring constantly. Once the sugar is dissolved the syrup is ready.

5. Remove batter from oven; immediately sprinkle with chocolate and butterscotch pieces and drizzle with brown sugar syrup. Place back in oven to allow chips to melt. Once melted, take out and use knife to swirl chips slightly. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Use sharp knife to cut into 48 bars.

Servings: 48

Try them and let me know how you like them. :D

Cookbook Dream Come True

2009-10-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

I've been collecting recipes for a long time. All in hopes of someday putting them all together into a cookbook I could use every day. That dream has become a reality thanks to Living Cookbook. A program designed to keep recipes organized, save you money on groceries, keep track of meal plans, and so much more. My goal was to get my recipes into the program and produce recipe pages to go into my homemade cookbook. I'm well on my way to having a customized cookbook I can refer to for all my delicious meals and treats.

Before getting into this program I read many reviews and decided on it because the pros outweighed the cons by far. Living Cookbook also has all the capabilities I need to achieve what I want. My favorite feature is how it captures recipes. I can scan a typed recipe and quickly have it entered into my cookbook. I can also quickly capture recipes from the Internet without the hassle of typing out every part. Including photos is really easy too. Best of all, recipes are already formatted and you can customize them however you like. Making new recipes a breeze to import.

I love getting recipes from others that I know Miguel and I will love. Sometimes I like to tweak them to our taste. Living Cookbook is great at letting me edit recipes to make them my own. Haven't found anything better in my search for a program like this. Though I like to share recipes, there are some that I prefer to keep exclusive. So I have my collection in the program, they are all printed out in my cookbook, and I can easily email them to friends and family.

I could go on and on about this wonderful program. I wish it were free, but it has a $35 price tag. In my opinion, totally worth it. It pays for itself in the money it will save you in planning your meals. If you're interested, run the free trial and see for yourself how useful it is. You've got nothing to lose but stress over issues to do with food budgeting and cooking.

ALM Church Flyers

2009-10-13T02:11:00.000-07:00

I found a way to share the church flyers I created and pass out when I get a chance. If you want to pass these out too, you're welcome to download this PDF version to keep on your computer and print whenever you like. Or you can print right from here. Designed to print on letter paper. Just cut to size and you're set. Spread the love guys!

A True Miracle of God

2009-10-10T01:16:00.000-07:00

Isn't God awesome? This was a man who had lost faith in God. God grew his leg and the metal within. Taken place at my church, Abundant Life Ministries. Pastored by Aramndo DeLoa.

Planning a Wedding

2009-10-08T19:10:00.000-07:00

Yup, I'm already married, but never had a real wedding. Just got a civil marriage. So, after having postponed the wedding date once, we are back on the wedding train. No set date yet, but end of August or beginning of September seems like a good time for us. We'll confirm soon. I am using SpringPadIt.com to help me work out all the details. I'm doing most of the planning on a DIY level. With some help and lots of inspiration, I'm set. Still a bit disorganized, but committed to fabulousness. :D

I am checking out web sites, ideas, and grabbing inspiration from weddings I have photographed. They sure do come in handy. So far I have two dress ideas, a veil picked out, and a place to rent a tux from. The budget? Under $800. Those are the current figures though. Which are sure to change throughout the planning. Doesn't sound like a lot, but with what we have in mind, its enough for a grand event. :)

I'm open to suggestions. :D

A Little Questionnaire (From MySpace)

2009-10-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

Have your parents ever caught you drinking?
Yeah, one time my mom yanked a bottle out of my hand and yelled at me. I was so dumb. :/

Do you love the last boy/girl you were talking to?
Yeah, I love my brother Jr very much.

What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Putting Lily to sleep

Honestly, who was the last person to tell you that they love you?
My husband

Last restaurant you went to?
Norm's

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
My brother Jr.

Did you have an exciting last weekend?
Nope

Where were you at 1AM sunday morning?
On the computer

Ever kissed someone over 30?
My husband is over 30, so yeah

Are you wearing a necklace?
Nah

Who is someone you wish you could fix things with?
My family

Is there anything in your past that you'd like to try again?
I'd like to try getting married all over again. :D

Are you an emotional person?
Yeah, mostly with God

What's something that can always make you feel better?
Prayer, nothing beats getting a touch from God

Did your parents spoil you as a child?
No way, no wonder

Do you still have pictures of you & your ex?
Nope, thank goodness

How's your heart lately?
Skipping with joy, since realizing that I have never been happier in my life. Being loved by God, a man, and now a child. Just doesn't get any better than that for me. My heart feels spoiled. :)

Are you a cuddler?
Big time

Will this weekend be a good one?
I sure hope so. Lily's birthday is on Saturday

What do you want right now?
Some more Dr. Pepper, I'm out. AAAAAAHHH!

Who can always cheer you up?
My brother Jr. My shoulder to cry on.

Have you ever gone nude/streaked in public?
Eeeeeeeewww

Who hugged you last?
My Lily, she's so affectionate

Have you ever worn the opposite sex's clothing?
Yeah, I used to be such a tomboy

Are you a kissable person?
Only my husband can know that

Has someone ever spread a nasty rumor about you?
Yeah, but I look down on high school drama.

What is your relationship status?
Happily married

Who was the last person to come to your house?
My aunt, cousin Martha, cousin Alex and his two daughters

Look behind you, what do you see?
My mom's painting on the wall

How many rooms does your house have?
Technically 2, but we've added 3 more

Have you ever worked in a food place?
Two restaurants, and a military kitchen

What would you name your future daughter?
Not sure, but it will start with a J

Who and where was the last concert you went to?
Never been to a concert

Any summer plans for 2010?
Looking forward to my husband's release and getting the finishing touches done on our big wedding

What did you eat for lunch today?
Some steak meat made into taquitos

Whats on your schedule for tomorrow?
Getting my bike fixed, making a Dr's appointment for Lily, and getting a baby cake picked out for Lily

The last song you heard?
Right now I am listening to Life's A Stage Play by Elijah Bossenbroek

What do you think of love?
Its been my life's pursuit, and now that I have it all around, I'm set. Its truly a beautiful thing.

When is the last time you went to a party?
4th of July at my sister Jennifer's house.

When is the next time you'll hit up a club?
Never!

Do you still talk to any of your ex's?
They still try to talk to me, which is funny because I already changed my name. Geeze!

If you had to eat 1 thing for the rest of your life, what?
Fettuccine Alfredo

Name 1 thing good about Myspace?
They now have @myspace.com email!

Does anyone know your Myspace password?
Nope, and no one can guess it.

Have you dated anyone on your top 4?
Yeah, my husband

Has your number 2 on your friends ever made you cry?
Yeah, when we were little. Now when he makes me cry its always from so much love. :)

How do you feel about abortions?
Totally against them

Do you eat junk food everyday?
I must admit that I do

How often do you drive?
Don't know how

Where did you last drive to?
Nowhere

Describe your bestfriend?

He's loyal, understanding, patient, loving, reliable, trustworthy, hilarious, disciplined, and blessed. Yup, Jr is an awesome best friend.

How late did you stay up last night and why?
Until about 3 am because I was writing a letter to my husband

What's the connection between you and the last person you texted?
Don't have a cell phone

Do you like someone?
Yeah, I have the hugest crush on my husband.

Have you ever kissed someone whose name started with an S?
No

How's your life lately?

Not where I want to be right now, but God knows what He's doing

Have you ever dated someone longer than a year?
Yes

What do you think about the current gas prices?
Not much, I don't drive

Are you happier single or in a relationship?
In a relationship

Last time you ate a homegrown tomato?
Beginning of summer. My father-in-law grew some super tasty tomatoes in his garden.

Ever ordered from an infomercial?
Yeah, when they started coming out with Proactiv. I was in high school.

Do you believe in love at first sight?
No, its actually lust at first sight

Have you ever requested a song on the radio?
Yes

Who was the last person to text you?
Don't have a cell phone

To send you a myspace message?
My brother Jr.

To send a friend request?
Forgot already

Whose bed did you sleep in last night?
My dad's. Just until he comes home.

What are you listening to?
Some songs Teresa gave me to burn for my MP3 player.

Is there one place you'd like to visit?
I would looooooooooove to visit New York

Have you held hands with anyone today?
Yeah, my Lily. I love holding her little hands. They're so cute.

Plans for today?
Well, since I couldn't get a a ride for church I'm left to finish working on my wedding budget tonight and respond to a letter from Miguel.

Seven days from now will you be in a relationship?
Fo sho

Where is your number one person on your friends list?
In prison

Do you want to dance?
Nah

Last movie you watched?
Don't remember

When was the last time you talked to your most recent ex?
About 3 years ago

Do you like where you live?
If I didn't I wouldn't keep coming back

Last thing you purchased?
A Dr. Pepper soda can

Explain why you last threw up?
Because I am sick and was coughing really hard. Eew, I know.

Did you have a good birthday this year?
No, with the exception of going out to eat with my sister Jennifer.

Who was the last person you rode in the car with that was under 21?
My niece Viviana

Do you have any brothers?
Yeah, 4 of 'em

What should you be doing right now?
Be at church. But no ride. :(

Are you a heavy sleeper?
Yeah

Name everyone that made you smile today?
My Lily, my cousin Martha, my brother Jr., and Alex's daughters

Who was the last person to put their arm around you?
My sister Jennifer

Who were the last people you ate with?
My sister Brisa

Ever had a drunken night in Mexico?
No

What were you doing at 4am this morning?
Tucked away with my little Lily

Do you have college plans?
No

What were you doing at 7pm yesterday?
Working on photos on the computer

You're in the hospital, who on your TOP friends would come to visit you?
My husband

Are you named after a grandparent?
No

What's your favorite color?
Pink

Ever been kissed under fireworks?
No

Are you usually the heart breaker or the heart broken?
The heart broken :(

The Magic of Olay

2009-10-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

I began noticing my face breaking out a lot recently. I have used a lot of face cleansing products that never did the trick. I didn't want to waste my money, so I decided to try some Olay products based on rave reviews. My problem was that I had uneven skin tone, oily skin, a few pimples and large pores around my nose. I started out with Olay's bath bar which claims to give you smoother and softer skin in 7 days and is gentle enough for the face. I noticed a difference much sooner. I think it moisturizes better than Dove. I then tried Olay's regenerist detoxifying pore scrub. I began using it everyday until I learned you are only supposed to use it a few times a week. It was doing its job, but I needed something extra. So I tried Olay's regenerist microdermarasion and peel twice a week. It did wonder for my skin. I sealed the deal after adding Mary Kay's Time Wise day solution with sunscreen. I use the cream everyday after washing my face. I tried a cream by Clinique before that, but it was way too greasy. The Mary Kay cream is very light on my skin. On occasion I'll apply some Olay regenerist micro-sculpting cream which smooths pretty well.

My regime consists of washing my face twice a day and applying cream. On church days I use the microdermaabrasion and peel. Other days I alternate with the scrub. These products used together has dramatically improved my skin over the past two weeks. I haven't broken out. My skin is softer, firmer, and more evenly toned. My pores are even shrinking. I wasn't surprised at how the products performed, but how fast they work. My mom had recommended Olay products to me years ago as a teen. I never did, and now regret it. My skin would have been in much better shape had I faithfully used their cleansers and creams. Now I'm sticking to what I've discovered.

Next I'll try Olay's daily regenerist serum which claims to double the effect of their microdermabrasion and peel when combined. I'm also looking for a facial mask I can use for my type of skin. The avocado one I was using previously actually makes my skin produce more oil than normal. I highly recommend Olay products for the face. Totally worth the money if you know how to shop for your skin type. Here are some before and after pix two weeks apart. Can you see the difference?

Computer Upgrades

2009-09-29T18:19:00.000-07:00

I bought some new parts for my laptop online. Another battery and some potentially faster RAM. I say potentially because I don't really know if it will actually be faster or not. I lost a RAM stick during one of my moves so I'm replacing it with a DDR2. If it doesn't work, I give up. I got a new battery so I can take my laptop to the corner store and surf the net in peace. Too much of a hassle taking a super long AC adapter. I just got a 25ft ethernet cable to connect me while I'm at home. Just for convenience despite Juan's expertise in electrical wires. :)~

I'm still using a regular fan to cool my laptop, but with a little more research will be able to get just the right notebook fan. Looking forward to zooming online and through all my applications soon.

My Photo Collection

2009-09-27T03:55:00.000-07:00

I have often said that my photo collection exceeds 20,000 photos. Now I have the opportunity to prove it. I bought an external hard drive a few months ago for this very purpose. To hold every single photo in my possession. So far the count is over 13,000. I have at least 5,000 more to grab from Flickr. I have already grabbed less than 1,000 from Picasa Web Albums. I've already grabbed all my pix from both my mom's and my mother-in-law's computers. I still need pix from my cousin's computer and my brother's computer as well as a few more hundred from a photographer friend of mine. Then there are the unique hard copies that need to be scanned. I would be surprised if by the time I am done I don't go past the 25,000 mark. I've got more than 400 GB's to spare. More than enough room for many thousands more.

I'm currently working on downloading photos from my Flickr account that I don't already have on my hard drive. Its tricky though because there are a lot of duplicates on the account. With more than 11,000 photos online, at least half of them are duplicates or images that are edited for online use. The most frustrating to download being my brother Jr's wedding photos. Flickr says there are 1,936 photos of his wedding day. Yet only 1,835 want to be grouped together for download. I don't get it. I'm going to deal with those photos last.

Taking on this task, I realize I could use some help. I don't really have the time like I once did to sit in front of a computer all day messing with pictures. This is going to take a while.......

Miguel Now in Prison

2009-09-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

Miguel has been transferred to Wasco State Prison. He's only there for reception. Not sure how long he'll be there. Its more than 150 miles away. Near Bakersfield. Don't think I'll be heading out to see him. If anyone would like to write to him, let me know so I can pass along his address. He's got 6-10 months more to go.

Another Victory in God

2009-09-22T03:14:00.000-07:00

Not very long ago my oldest brother Juan was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ at our church. He was baptized by my youngest brother Efren. A few years back, my brother Carlos was baptized. With Juan's baptism, that makes 7 out of 10 baptized in my family. I was only able to take photos of the baptism, as I don't have a video camera of any kind. There are more photos, which you can look forward to on my photo site.

Knowing Jailbirds

2009-09-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

I'm continually having to move my stuff around in this house. Making sure that everything is just right for when my dad comes home from the hospital. He's been gone a long time. My mom thinks they will be letting him come home soon. Miguel is still in county jail, waiting to be moved to a state prison reception center. Since a law passed recently allowing inmates to serve only 35% of their sentence, he may have a good chance of being released in several months. Like 7 or 8 more. Since inmates are taking so long to be moved on to prison from the dormitory where he's located, he thinks he'll be serving most of his time there. Then he may get released from the reception center. That's just how things are looking for most inmates with a year or less to do.

My printer got broken a few days ago. Lily tore out a strip that the ink cartridges run on. Without it, the cartridges don't get recognized and just go back and forth violently. I've had this printer for about as long as I've had my laptop. Nearly six years. I would pay to get it fixed, but have not had any luck in finding a repair shop. I'm planning to buy a duplicate model online or through craigslist. Better than buying a brand new printer since I already have everything I need for this printer. I'm also shopping for some faster RAM for my laptop. What I already have gets the job done, but I really need more speed.

I got two offers for photography work, but both seemed to fall through. Neither potential client followed up with me as I thought. Just another confirmation that it was the right decision to quit photography. It was just not producing enough income to be worth the investment. I keep getting flaky clients. I'm probably going to end up selling my camera and equipment. I can get a car with that money instead. Something much more necessary in my situation.

Lily is going to turn 1 next month. All I have planned is a baby cake and lots of pictures. That's all Miguel requested. I don't have the means to go any bigger than that. Besides a couple of studio photos. She's not walking yet, but getting brave to try and stand by herself. While other people boast about their kids advancing in development, I'm just glad that I don't have the heart to force my child to learn anything too soon or against their will. God knows when she'll do what. Whenever Lily is ready to do something, it will be in God's timing. Sure, I encourage her to walk and stand on her own, but she always lets me know when enough is enough. I respect that. Lily sure is a very talkative girl for her age though. She's been a real chatterbox since she was 9 months old. Clever girl too, catches on quickly to things and remembers them well.

My brother Peter is in jail, my husband is in jail, my brother Carlos is in jail, and today Miguel's son Gabriel was released. One down, three to go. :D My husband has already been sentenced, please pray for my brothers who are fighting their cases.

A Brief Update

2009-09-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

Long time no write. Yup, I've been really busy being a mommy and wife. Life has slowed down recently due to a big change in my family's lives. My husband Miguel is serving time for a crime he committed last year. I won't elaborate on what he did, but he should be home again by the middle of next year. Which leaves me and Lily back at my mom's for the remainder of that time. I tried supporting us on our own without much luck. Still, we are just fine where we are now. Lily will be a year old in October and I'm still serving God.

I'm working on sharing photos one of these days when I get a chance to hook up my computer station somewhere permanent. I recently upgraded my computer with more RAM and an external hard drive. totally sweet. :D Haven't had any photography clients lately. Although payback from previous clients has been pretty slow. So I'm in no hurry to do any gigs right now. That's all for now, I'll continue to post whenever I can.

Gone for a While

2009-04-24T23:43:00.000-07:00

I have been going through a great turmoil of events in my life recently. I have come to the conclusion that with everything coming up in my life in the near future, I simply won't be able to keep up with everything I do online. I already have trouble tracking emails, messages, and accounts. Lily needs more of my attention, I have to either start working or going to school, and I must budget all of our income. Most of my time is focused on God, Lily, and Miguel. Getting my priorities straight means letting go of habits and activities that once were a big part of my life. Like photography. I'll miss blogging, writing, and taking photos; but I have greater joy in serving God to the fullest and making sure my Lily is well taken care of. Who knows when I'll be able to come back, but it will be exciting when I do. :D See you guys then.

Too Busy to Blog

2009-04-13T19:24:00.000-07:00

I have been way too busy to blog or do much else but go to church and take care of my baby lately. I have had some time at home to get more organized and get some good baking in, but I do miss blogging. Last week I celebrated Valerie's birthday. We went to a greek cafe, then to the beach. Took lots of photos and had soooo much fun. You can check out the photos here. I have so many photos of all the new food I have been trying my hand at these days. It just gets yummier and yummier. :D That's all I have the time for today guys and gals, toodles.

Getting More Involved in Cooking

2009-03-13T22:31:00.000-07:00

I finally made some caramel sauce not too long ago. It came out pretty good, although tasted a tiny bit burned. Just a hint. Unless that's just the natural flavor of homemade caramel sauce. I really liked it though and will definitely make it again. Although I will make more when I need it right away for a dessert dish. This stuff doesn't refrigerate well or sit out at room temp too well either. Unless I can figure out how to keep it gooey, I won't be making it regularly. I like that it only requires a few ingredients, but it has to be made so quickly that you must have everything prepared and ready to go right away. Its a pretty interesting process to make.

I also made some whole tilapia, white rice with mushroom sauce, and pasta salad a few weekends ago. Everything came out soooo good. I made the rice with the technique I learned from that page I reffered to earlier. Which reminds me, I bought some of my own pots and a very large pan from an asian cookware store. The pan and large pot have marble coating and the smaller pan is just plain nonstick. I'll have to take and post photos of them soon. Here's what the dish looked like though.

These days, I've been making so many different things that I usually don't make something more than once, unless I really like it. I've been working in making a weekly menu as well. So far I've been pretty successful with this last week's menu with rave reviews. Don't worry, I've got all the pix to prove it. :D I'm still working on my recipe book as well. Its coming together nicely. Although I originally wanted to do all of my cooking from scratch, I have realized that some things you just gotta make with some ready made stuff to save money and time. Which I'm all for. Which also reminds me, I am getting better at preparing ingredients the day before with the help of my new super large cutting boards and some handy press and seal plastic wrap. :D I also recently learned that you can freeze chopped veggies in tupperware. How cool is that? That will totally save me trips to the grocery store and time chopping before cooking dishes. Miguel is an impatient man when it comes to my cooking, so I've gotta improvise somehow.

With some of the things I'm trying my hand at I'm thinking of selling some of my creations. I like to take base recipes and tweak them to my taste or make them completely unique. I seem to prefer the pastry side of cooking more than anything. Which I think would be a much better seller. Lots of planning involved though, along with some help. Anyway, I'm learning a lot and cooking all day every day. Making sure everything I make comes together nicely. My mom already has her favorite, my special pan dulces. :D I'm so fortunate that she doesn't mind me cooking at her house everyday and testing things out all the time. She has absolutely everything I could ever need for anything I want to try. From pots and pans to ingredients, and plenty of space to store my dishes in. :D After all, she gets to try everything I make, while giving me pointers, and has the added help of a clean kitchen thorughout the day. (She hates washing dishes, shhhhhhhhh). :)~

I can't wait to post the rest of my photos and impress you all. :) Toodles.

More Home Cooking

2009-03-06T20:21:00.000-08:00

Here are some more treats and meals I've been trying out in the kitchen these days. I'll be making the recipes available in print soon as I get my recipe book together. My goal is to try something new every week. :D Miguel has decided not to eat after work and have less meat in his diet, so I'll be adapting some recipes for that. Should be interesting.The photo to the right is of some Strawberry Lemonade. Tastes just like the one you get at restaurants and is all natural. :D

Pot Roast

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Corn Bread

Tortilla and Egg Breakfast

Apple Sauce (for Lily)

Tomato Sauce

Rice Cereal (frozen for Lily)

Teriyaki Sauce

Chocolate Iced Coffee Recipe

2009-03-06T19:04:00.000-08:00

Here's a yummy iced coffee recipe I tried recently. Just as good as Starbuck's.

1 teaspoon instant coffee
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons chocolate syrup
6 ice cubes
Whipped cream (for topping)

Pulse and puree in a blender until smooth and frothy.

Taking Lily for a Stroll

2009-03-02T02:59:00.000-08:00

The other day when Miguel was leaving for work I went along with him to go to my mom's. He did not have the car with him so had to walk. He carried the baby while I carried the bags. We had barely crossed the first street when Miguel saw a shopping cart and got a great (and funny) idea. He put the bags in the cart and laid her blankets in the front to lay her on them. It was so cute! She seemed to be a little tight in there, but didn't fuss at all about it. In fact she fell right to sleep by the end of her ride. We couldn't take the car seat since it would have been way too heavy to carry all that way, and my stroller was left over at my mom's. If it wasn't for that shopping cart, Miguel would have been a bit tired for work and we would not have gotten there as fast. Here's the photos we took of our little one's first shopping cart ride through the town.

Oh, and I made a dish yesterday using the tips I learned about in that article about cooking good rice. It was awesome. Everything tasted so flavorful and was restaurant quality. I totally outdid myself on this one.I'll post the photo with details on how I prepared the meal sometime soon.

I also found a recipe for caramel sauce I want to try. The last time I tried to make caramel sauce, many years ago, I messed it all up. But now I know the right ingredients and how to make them pull off some good sweet sauce. I want to make this for some caramel frappucinos that I like to make. I'll post the recipe when I'm done. :D

Free Drinks

2009-03-01T09:01:00.001-08:00

I went out with some sisters to Starbuck's last night while the brothers were in prayer. When I went to order my drink, I had a problem. I wanted to use my Starbuck's card for the purchase but the barista said my balance was not enough. Then I recalled what happened the last time I visited a Starbuck's and used the card. I couldn't purchase the drink since I did not have any cash on me, but the lady was so nice that she let me have the drink on the house. Wow, how generous of her. I ordered a grande caramel frappucino with tons of caramel. And don't worry, I had nursed Lily right before we got there. So no caffeine passed into my milk.

After Miguel and I finally got home, he said he found a coke bottle on the ground by the car. Turns out it was brand new and unopened. He did not realize it though until he tried opening it at home. He initially got it because he always picks up recyclables wherever he finds them. What a treat. :D

Cooking, Cooking, and More Cooking

2009-02-27T23:17:00.000-08:00

I have been trying my hand at a few recipes that in the past seemed quite challenging. I first began with Mexican sweet bread, otherwise known as Pan Dulces. The authentic kind, not the ones you see in just about every Latin supermarket. Then I tried making onion rings, mashed potatoes, sugar cookies, and pasta salad. I made some pasta alfredo as well but had no chance of photographing it. That stuff goes so fast every time I make it. Here are the photos of everything with links to their recipes. You should know I made a few adaptations to some of the recipes. :D

Pan Dulces

Onion Rings

Mashed Potatoes

Sugar Cookies

I made the pasta salad today and made it with sweet peppers instead of bell pepper. I also added fresh sage, fresh parsley, dried basil, and dried dill to the sauce. Adding fresh parsely to the pasta salad last. I'm suprised it came out so tasty. So I'll definitely be making it again. Only next time I'll add some red onion. I added fresh chives and parsley to my mashed potatoes and added one tablespoon more of butter than called for. I also added one tablespoon more of vanilla extract than called for in the sugar cookies and used a cup less flour. Everything else I made just like the recipe. I think next time I'll add some herbs and more diverse spices to the onion rings. All this was made from scratch. Well worth all the effort. My husband cal tell you. :D He's so lucky. He he.

Cooking Rice

2009-02-26T15:03:00.000-08:00

I made some veggie fried rice today according to this recipe, but substituted brown for white rice. I've made this meal before a few times with great results and those who ate it saying they loved it. Although this time the rice didn't come out right and now I know why. I searched for a way to cook white rice really well and found this really helpful article. I will be trying it again and take a photo for you guys so you can see how much better this comes out. :D Sometimes you just gotta ask the internet. :)

Homemade Spaghetti

2009-02-24T15:12:00.000-08:00

I tried my hand at making some homemade spaghetti yesterday. It took quite a bit of work, but the results were well worth it. My husband liked the meal so much that he did not need any extra chili to eat it. He usually enjoys hot sauce or peppers of some kind with all his meals. I think this spaghetti was heavenly. Here's how I made it...

I needed tomato paste for my spaghetti sauce so I made it from scratch. The recipe:

2 cups chopped tomato
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped or grated
1 red pepper, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Saute the onions, garlic, peppers, carrots, and celery in the oil until onions are soft and clear. Add the tomatoes and simmer until thick. About 45-60 minutes. If you chopped the ingredients finely enough, you won't need to do anything else. Otherwise, blend everything in a blender to a smooth paste. You can freeze this to be available year round as well.

I included this tomato paste in my spaghetti sauce, here is the recipe. Although it calls for dry ingredients, I used fresh.

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup dried minced onion
3 tablespoons sweet pepper flakes
1/4 cup dried parsley flakes
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
4 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons dried minced garlic
Additional:
1 pound ground beef
2 cups water
3/4 cup tomato paste

In a skillet, brown beef; drain. Stir in 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce mix (first 8 ingredients combined), water and tomato paste. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

I cooked the pasta while I prepared the spaghetti sauce. Man, was this spaghetti good! Try it. I know its tedious to do it all, but you'll be so glad you did. :D

Living Greener

2009-02-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

Since I've made my efforts to use less electricity, water, and gas; I've noticed that what I've been doing is living greener. My goal was to save money by not wasting what we don't need. After looking into cooking from scratch and making homemade beauty stuff, I realized this is the green lifestyle. I have saved quite a lot already on what I've tried out. Oh, and this last month's electricity bill was WAY lower than usual. My plan worked!

Although there are some ways I can go green and save money that I still refuse to adopt, because I can't afford the inconvenience. Like using cloth diapers (way too messy), getting rid of some household cleaners (they clean and disinfect so much better than homemade), and using ve homemade pads of any kind (disposable is just more hygienic). We no longer use a nightlight for Lily, and we recycle some of the containers we empty. Recently we purchased a few things at Whole Foods and noticed throughout the store how much better quality stuff they have. Although pricier, its all so much healthier for you. Sometimes its just better to pay a little more for the better quality stuff.

I've made my own recipe book of meals to make from scratch. I've made a few sauces already with awesome results, I can't wait to try others. I learned that in the long run, it saves you a lot of money to cook this way. Gone are the days of fixing up a quick meal just for convenience. I like to take my time now in making sure we eat good food. And I mean really good. :D I've already started Lily on solids and she's eating organic banana and organic brown rice. I make her cereal myself by grinding it up in a blender, cooking it on the stove, and adding breast milk. Never too much of a hassle for my little girl.

I also have a recipe book for homemade beauty and hygiene products. Facial scrubs, cleansers, and masks, lotions, hand sanitizer, laundry detergent, baby wipes, baby wash, baby lotion, baby powder, shampoo, and dishwasing soap. Some of which I've tried out with great results. I still have to buy a bunch of containers for some of the other things I want to make. I will be posting recipes soon.

In general, living green saves a ton of money and gives you the benefits of being healthier. I can only go as far as I can afford though. You won't see me walking down the street wearing organic hemp clothing or sporting a recyclable diaper bag. He he. That's a little extreme for my taste right now. :)

Going Through the Fire

2009-02-12T16:10:00.000-08:00

Every worthwhile accomplishment has a price tag attached to it. The question is always whether you are willing to pay the price to attain it -- in hard work, sacrifice, patience, faith, and endurance.

John C. Maxwell

This is what helps me get through my trials, knowing what's necessary to succeed. I'm willing, more than I ever have been in my life, to get through any trial God gives me. The fire burns pretty hot sometimes, but the hotter the flames, the more pure I come out as gold. Cuz I'm just a little lump of clay. I'm continually being molded. I'm holding on to God's love, that is so valuable in my life. I'm captivated by Him. So because of his rewards, I'm fighting through it all, just for Him.

It's hard sometimes when things seem to be out of control. Yet its funny how God reminds you that He's still there, that He's still waiting, that's He'll never leave. Since my childhood, that's the one thing that has been a constant in my life, His presence. Who knows where I would be had I ignored Him forever.

My journey continues on toward the true peace that I so desire. And though I wish to be used by God in whatever ways He wishes, I know I have to be willing to go through hell to get to where I want to be. I surely don't even know the half of it. But I'm ready.

A Great Blessing from God

2009-02-06T23:24:00.001-08:00

Miguel recently did his taxes. We filed jointly, claimed only Lily as our child, and were pleasantly surprised by the outcome. When the preparer calculated the return and showed it to us, we were shocked. Miguel thought he would only get a little bit back since that's all they took out of his checks all of last year. Turns out we're getting 5 times more than what he expected. Money that's going to do us and our church much good. What a blessing. After going through a while of struggling with our money, giving in faith faithfully, and believing God would bless us; the time has come. We are very excited about what He's doing in our lives. This is what makes our trials worthwhile. We'll be finally paying off some debts, donating to the church, and rebuilding our savings. This blessing sure came at the right time.

The Frugal Whiteboard

2009-02-06T17:59:00.000-08:00

I got this idea after searching through photos of other people's whiteboards and getting inspiration from how they use theirs. Although a common and more pricey way of making your own whiteboard requires tools and makes big holes in your wall,this is an improvisation of sorts. :D

All I did was use the plexiglass that was sitting in the back of our dresser. It's the piece from when we removed our air conditioner last summer. Its a small piece but suitable for what I need it for. I stuck it to the wall and pinned it with push pins. It holds up nicely without the need for drilling or even another person to help. Its a ghetto way of doing it and even for having some writing space, but you can always spruce it up to look stylish. :D I forgot how much this plexiglass is worth, but they are available at any hardware store. All you need is one sheet and they come in various sizes. They have a great writing surface too. Although are prone to scratches, so be careful where you put yours. I installed mine above the head of our bed. The only place I could really. He he.Pretty cool huh?

Home Made Recipes

2009-02-03T23:40:00.001-08:00

Saline Drops
2 1/2 cups of water
1/4 teaspoon salt (Kosher highly recommended)

Fill small pot with water, mix in salt and boil for 10 minutes. Cool and store.

Onion Syrup
This syrup works really well to relieve symptoms of congestion and cough.Its a rough guideline to use as much sugar as big as the onion.

1 purple onion
Lots of brown sugar
Glass jar with a lid

Chop up the whole onion very finely. Place a layer of it in a tall container or some tupperware. Cover with another thick layer of brown sugar. Keep applying layers like this until you fill the top. Cover and place in your refrigerator for 4 hours. Take the container out and strain the syrup through a fine colander into a glass jar. Be careful not to let any undissolved sugar seep through. Cover the jar and keep refrigerated. This syrup is good for a week in the fridge. Adults should take 2 tablespoons every few hours and babies about 0.5 ml every 3-4 hours.

Cevo (Cooked Chicken Fat Ointment)
This stuff is for congestion. Safe for babies. Used a lot in Mexico. If you don't want to make this yourself, you can get the candle form from Mexico as I did. My grandmother sent me some for Lily. :D

Peel off fat from uncooked chicken legs and thighs or a whole chicken. Cook in water or fry in a pan. Strain fatty liquid into a container and freeze. Remove nonfat and keep in the fridge for later application. If you leave it at room temperature it will melt and potentially stink up your place. Keep it covered in your fridge to keep it from getting onto your food. When you are ready to apply it, put it on liberally like lotion on your chest, back and soles of your feet.

Bringing Back Photos

2009-02-03T23:30:00.000-08:00

I miss how I used to post a photo in each entry and the way it looked throughout my blog, so I'm bringing the trend back. I thought it would be worth it since I just paid for another year of Flickr. Although since I want to protect my photos from some people, I will be changing my blog address soon. So heads up guys, for those of you who visit the site. If you get this by email, don't worry about it. I'm not sure when jkeagan.com will expire, but when it does, that's it. I only paid for the first year, but don't think its worth it to pay for more time with the domain. Especially since it is pretty emuch old news for me. I only keep it activated for old friends who come by every once in a while and its the only address they know to get here.

The photo in this entry was taken very recently. My little girl is growing so fast, and she's really big. She looks like she's 6 months already. And she's about to turn 4 months on the 10th. Yay! I have plans for that. :D Well, I have been blogging all day pretty much. Time seemed to just fly by. I have much more to blog about though. So stay tuned and bear with me. :)

How I Save Money Part 4

2009-02-03T20:16:00.001-08:00

We have a light bulb fixture in our ceiling that can hold two light bulbs. We took out the second fluorescent light bulb and still have plenty of light to suit our needs. Since my alarm clock broke, I now tell time either by my computer or the phone. You can always buy a wall clock though. We now heat tortillas right on the stove flame instead of on a griddle. Wastes less gas and gets the tortillas done faster. Some food I prepare in the microwave as well. A great alternative to cooking it on the stove or in the oven. Like Tilapia, comes out flaky and juicy. I know the trend for washing dishes is to use warm water, but I've always used cold water. Sure it takes a little more effort to take off the stuck on stuff, but it saves a whole lot on your gas bill.

We use a basic water dispenser at room temperature for our drinking water, although it recently broke. Although the fancy ones that chill your water are nice, we just use ice cubes. :D We recently started covering our window with a double fleece blanket. It keeps the cool air out at night and the hot heat out in the day. Keeps the room pretty dark in the mornings as well, which sits well with Miguel. We no longer have to use our little heater or Lily's vaporizer at night to keep warm.

When its cold we keep the closet doors, the main door, and any other openings closed so that we can keep the room well insulated. It also helps to place a towel or sheet at the foot of the door to keep the draft from coming in through there. We also wear warm clothes like sweaters and high socks. When I need info from the internet I now write it down instead of printing it. Unless its a document or really long passage. I buy large cans of powdered beverages so I don't have to buy the bottled variety at local liquor stores. They are so much more expensive. I always make my own to my taste.

Some people have the habit of leaving their phone charging at all times. I only charge it when it needs to, like a cell phone. Usually at night when its not being used. I also use a whiteboard to cut down on paper use for notes and reminders. I manage my time with a planner and calendar. This saves me money because time is money. :D I use a digital frame for transferring photos onto my computer since it is more compatible with the other SD cards I have and uses less electricity to do so. Its also much quicker than my old method, using my Brother printer.

I have email pen pals now instead of snail mail pen pals. It saves paper, postage, envelopes, and ink. Not to mention its much faster as well. We buy toilet paper in bulk as well. We don't keep it in the bathroom either since it gets used by others and runs out faster that way. Instead we keep a roll right outside the door on our way to the bathroom. We've noticed a huge difference in doing this. Although we have not run out of baby wipes yet, when we do, I plan on making homemade ones. Way cheaper and will likely last longer as well. I'm also looking into getting some washable breast pads instead of continuing with the trend of disposable ones. They sure are pricey. For now I'm just keeping on top of nursing and pumping so as to not have any mishaps. They are unavoidable at night though, so I need them for then. I pump milk only when really necessary now as well. This saves electricity as well. And as I mentioned before, cooking from scratch saves us a bunch each week. :)

Being a Virtuous Woman

2009-02-03T16:55:00.000-08:00

I have been wondering about how a virtuous woman carries herself and what characteristics define a virtuous woman. The Bible clearly defines it, and my pastor happened to post it on his blog. Really great guidelines for me to go by, especially now that I am a wife and mother. Its certainly something for me to live up to. Which I'm working on daily. I pray that God conditions me to be the best wife and mother I can be. I know I have much to learn. You can check out the post on what a virtuous woman is here.

Some of the ways I'm improving in this area is by learning to cook food from scratch or in the most natural form. I've learned that it is cheaper and better for you, although at first it takes some getting used to. The investment is worth it though. I have also been looking into natural recipes for beauty products like lotions, soaps, shampoos, etc. Fun stuff. :D I'm gradually letting go of the junk food (its almost all gone!), and finding better ways to feed my family. I'm thinking a theme for each day would be easier for me to manage than randomly thinking up something to eat with what I've already got, like Mexican on certains days, Chinese on others, etc. Oh, and I just bought myself some body creams from Bath and Body Works. Wonderful scents perfect for after showers.

I looked up ways to style my hair since its so long and getting too heavy to wear in a bun. Although some styles I found seem pretty complicated, I'd like to work at them as soon as I get the supplies I need. I currently don't have much to work with. These are just a few of the ways I know I can be a more virtuous woman, pleasing to God.

On Lockdown

2009-02-03T01:41:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I took Lily to the hospital because I needed her to see a doctor and the pediatrician's office was not open. She was coughing and sneezing a lot. When I got there she had a fever. We were there for over 5 hours. The doctor determined that she has a virus, although not sure what kind. Perhaps RSV. She still has a fever and we give her medicine for it. She is coughing and sneezing less though. Since we decided to apply cevo on her, which is just cooked chicken fat ointment, we were told that as long as she is getting it we should not bathe her. It goes on her chest, back, and soles of her feet. Well, yesterday I noticed a rash on the back of her head and realized that's why she kept scratching back there. So now, I'm applying diaper rash cream which is helping. I lost the bulb syringe that we got from the hospital she was born at. So for a few days she was really congested. The $5 one Miguel bought at the CVS was no good. We're never buying bulb syringes again. Especially now that we know hospitals can't sell them to you. So I can just go and request one. The hospital I took Lily to gave me one, which is smaller than her last one, and we found another one that we sanitized to carry in the diaper bag. One for home and the other for on the go.

The doctor at the hospital prescribed Albuterol in the inhaler form since she advised that the oral kind is no good. She also gave us fever medicine and told us to get her saline drops, which we also don't buy anymore since I know how to make them now. I recently learned that saline drops are not supposed to be used for more than 4 days in a row. Gee, I sure wish someone had told me that when I first began using them. So I've stopped using them. In addition to the cevo, which is a home remedy, the fever medication, the albuterol, and saline drops, I'm also giving her onion syrup. The first batch my mom made and it went bad, so I made my own yesterday with white onion and white sugar. I'll be sharing the recipes I use for all my home made stuff soon. That stuff works so good. I regret not continuing it like I should have with the first batch. (I thought it was causing her constipation, which wasn't the case). I give her just a little bit after every feeding. She loves it. :D

On Sunday I decided to keep Lily indoors for about a week or two so that she could have her symptoms relieved. Which means no outting for me either. I don't like that I can't go to church or prayer meeting, but I'm the only one who can care for Lily. Everyone I know who is able is either already babysitting someone, working, wants too much money, or is sick. Besides, I don't think anyone else would have the vigilance I do to be on top of things to keep her getting better while I'm away. So Lily and I are stuck home for a while, but now we can bathe her since she doesn't have to go outside. And I can get some much needed rest since I got sick again. What's cool though is that I can still pray at home and while Miguel is still attending services, he can buy the recordings of the sermons I miss.

Please keep Lily in your prayers and if you can, come visit us sometime. We promise not to get you sick too. :D

God's Trials

2009-01-30T16:07:00.001-08:00

I'm going through a tough time right now, but I'm sticking it out and staying strong. I know there's a trophy to be won. The greater the trial, the greater the blessings. Cuz if I fall and don't get back up, I'll be lost forever. I have a journey to walk. And though the devil may attack, I have a mighty sword to fight back with. Surely, God is with me through it all. Words by which I gain strength by.......

Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Psalms 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

My Birthday and Busy Life

2009-01-28T23:16:00.001-08:00

I turned 23 yesterday. Not much of a big deal since all I did was eat out with my husband in the morning. Dropped off Lily at her grandmother's to eat out with my sister Lena, then went off to church in the evening. I had already had a big celebration at the birthday bash a couple of weeks back. My mom gave me a card and some money though, and my dad also gave me some money. The only photos I took were of everyone praying at service. Our church visited a nearby church. Thankfully Miguel was able to get the day off for this occasion. Which was certainly more important than my birthday. So he'll be working until Saturday.

I've been pretty busy lately, thus not being able to blog as often as I'd like to. I always have things to do, people to see, and places to go. I'm grateful for the wonderful weather we have been having too. Makes things so much easier. The last few years it rained on my birthday. I attended the wake for Nana this evening and will be attending her funeral tomorrow morning. I have prayer meeting the following night and I have yet to go to my brother's house to fix his computer. Saturday is Miguel's day off, which means grocery shopping, prayer meeting for him, and some more shopping. Then there are two church services to attend on Sunday. And each and every day I have my daily duties to take care of, which take up most of my time. When I'm not online I'm either cooking, with the baby, cleaning, praying, doing laundry, shopping, reading the Bible, or at church. Once I've got all my duties taken care of each day I usually have time to go online. That's why I get up so early in the morning to tidy up, take care of myself and the baby, cook, pray and then take a break and have some me time. I adopted the rule of not turning the computer on until I have everything done. Unless I want to listen to music while I pray. So don't be sad about me not posting for a while here. It just means that I've fallen behind on things I need to do. Or I'm just too wiped out to bother. :) As was the case yesterday since I've been sick. I went to sleep early, but I actually feel much better today.

Now I've gotta go cuz Miguel got home.

RIP Nana

2009-01-26T17:55:00.001-08:00

The grandmother of my sister Jenny's husband died a few days ago of Pneumonia. She was 95 years old. A long life well lived. I will be paying my respects to her Thursday morning at her funeral. She was such a wonderful woman with so much wisdom. We all miss her.

How I Save Money Part 3

2009-01-22T17:24:00.000-08:00

Well folks, since this is part 3 of this series, you know its gotta be good. :D A few things I want to talk about in this post actually have to do with ways that I have seen other people save money. Mainly my mom. She is pretty good at bargains. :) My mom used to have only cable service from Time Warner and phone and internet service from Verizon. Altogether costing her nearly $200 a month. Yesterday she canceled her Verizon home phone service and switched over to Time Warner's digital phone service, also adding cable internet at 5 times the speed of the last service she had. So since it was all bundled she now only has to pay half of what she was previously. And everything is from Time Warner on one bill. She has faster internet, more freedom on her phone and her cable remains the same. I'm actually blogging from her house right now, he he. It saves to bundle and to get digital services. I have Time Warner cable internet service at the same speed and I only pay $30 a month. That's because I told the company about my financial difficulty when I had to cancel my cable service. So they offered to let me keep the internet service at half price for a year. Quite a deal. I've had Vonage for many months now too. I didn't go with Time Warner's phone service because they charge extra for voicemail and they don't have as many features as Vonage. With Vonage I can take the modem to any high speed internet modem and I will have phone service. I already tried it at my mom's and tripped out. He he. Vonage also offers yearly service at a fraction of the price. And they give you many opportunities for free service that are easy to take advantage of. I make a lot of really long distance calls so I love that I pay the same price every month no matter how far I call or how long I'm on the phone.

Another thing is to reuse whatever you can. If you use plastic wrap to cover leftovers or dishes in the fridge, they can be reused. Just wash them, hang them to dry, and you'll use less plastic wrap. The length of use depends on how you use them. You can also reuse aluminum foil in the same way. There's also the method of refilling a small bottle of solution from a much bigger bottle, like for hand soap and dish soap. You'll save because you won't have to buy those little bottles all the time. Saves you trips to the store too.

Recently Miguel noticed he had to get something fixed in the car. Instead of taking it to the shop to get it done and having them spend all day on it, he is going to have a friend do it. At first he was going to have a neighbor do it since he knew that this neighbor was good at working on cars and would not charge a lot. Then he decided to have a coworker fix it because he knows he can do it for even less. It really pays to know someone who can help you out in that way. Like me, I need to have the hems of some of my skirts fixed. I have a few resources for that. My mom, some sisters at church, and the lady we rent from. I can get them done for free through them instead of going to a tailor. When it comes to some services, you can seek out who you know that can help you out with that service. I'm my family's computer repair person and photographer. :D My brother is a martial artist, my other brother knows a lot about construction, and another brother knows a lot about cooking. Having these kinds of close resources can go a really long way in saving money.

I like to shop at thrift stores. I used to think it was a good deal to shop at stores like Ross and Marshall's. It's basically the same thing with the exception of everything being brand new at those other stores. There are really great finds at thrift stores.

Another great way I have discovered to save money is to look for ways to make things either home made or naturally. Such as lotions, facial masks, baby wipes, remedies, hygiene products, and even restaurant meals. I just found a recipe for home made baby wipes and an article on how to get rid of roaches naturally. All using things you already have on hand. Why go out and spend your money??? I like saving money this way because I'm always curious as to whether these home made and natural methods work. :D

A really great way to save money when you need to buy something for yourself or home is to shop on Craigslist. You can get tons of secondhand stuff in great condition as awesome deals. They offer much more than goods though. Just check out their site and you'll see. You can sell just about anything through their site as well. Its an amazing money saver and maker. :D I've used it for years. Nearly all my furniture I got through Craigslist. Stay away from eBay though, unless you can get a specialty item or something you can't get anywhere else.

That's it for today. Stay tuned for the next installation. :D

How I Save Money Part 2

2009-01-19T11:12:00.000-08:00

So here are some more ways I save money. I have always had my photos printed at home. I reserve the really good photo paper for special stuff, like archiving or by request by clients. Otherwise I print photos with regular settings on card stock paper, which is just the same as matte photo paper. I can print two 4x6 pics or four 3 1/2x5 photos on a single sheet. Then I just use my guillotine paper cutter to cut them up. Or I'll use some fancy edge scissors to pretty them up. It saves me ink and paper and is so much cheaper than going to a photo center to get the same results.

At the grocery store most of what I buy is generic. It really is not that much of a difference from name brand stuff. If I note a big difference then I will buy the name brand, like Quaker Oats Oatmeal. Every other type of oatmeal pales in comparison I think. And we use coupons when we can if the deal is really worth it and we actually need it. Coupons are great, I used to not care much for them, but they really come in handy and go a long way when you want to save some extra cash.

I like to pen pal and currently have that hobby on hold, but when I'm actively writing to my friends I do it by email instead of snail mail. This saves me paper that I can use for printing other things on my computer as well as for writing. It saves me ink on my printer, and lots of time if I write the letters out by hand. I can write some pretty long letters :D. It also saves me envelopes and stamps which are better used for mailing payments we make. Responses are received faster and its convenient because you don't have to take the letter anywhere or have it picked up to have it sent. It only takes a quick second.

Whenever possible its good to do things manually instead of electronically just to save energy and be gentler to the environment. The same goes for writing letters to pen friends if you have the resources and time. You can also substitute this with opening cans, shaving, mixing food, and most other things in the kitchen. The thbasic idea being to go as old-fashioned as you can. Even putting in a little labor to get things done instead of going the easier (or lazier) route will save you more money. Which is only a good idea if you have all that time, like a stay at home mom or someone on disability.

That's all I've got for now, but there is much more to tell about how I save money. I'm thinking there will be a few parts to this series as I am compiling a list of ways we save as well as how others do. Then I will provide some resources I know of.

How I Save Money

2009-01-16T09:53:00.000-08:00

Miguel doesn't make a lot of money, but its always enough. Whenever he cashes his check, I figure out how much goes where. Depending on what we have to pay for that week, sometimes there's a lot leftover, sometimes there's nothing leftover. We don't do any extra spending like going out to eat, taking any trips, or even shopping for the heck of it. We buy what we need, and only however much is necessary at the moment. Sometimes it defeats the purpose of saving money when you get caught up with sales offering so much for so little. You end up buying up to the limit when all you really need is just a few. So we save even more.

All of our meals are prepared at home. Recently I decided to cook at my mom's house from now on, which she is cool with. It serves a few purposes. She can teach me to prepare authentic Mexican meals, I have everything I could possibly need to prepare just about any meal, she has a way better stove, and I won't have to deal with the tenants here butting in my business about how to prepare meals. Oh, and since I won't be using gas to cook, we won't have to pay so much of the bill. It makes it so much easier for me and saves us a bunch each month.

Miguel is still not accepting of putting gas in the car every few days instead of every week or two. I think it would save us money because he's not the only one who uses the car and although the car is not his, he ends up paying for gas that he doesn't get to use for work. If he only put in a few dollars every time he needed gas, it would make the others have to pay for their own gas. But he wants to be stubborn and waste his money.

After doing some research on electricity usage and gas I discovered even more ways to save. Since our hot water is heated by gas, we can take advantage of navy showers. You dampen yourself, turn off the water, lather up, then turn the water back on to rinse yourself off. The water stays hot, you take a quicker shower and save on gas. Since there's a window in the bathroom as well, I don't turn on the light in the daytime. Opening the shower curtains to let the light in is just as good as the light overhead. Which is an older bulb anyway, so it uses much more electricity. I also started the habit of using hand sanitizer instead of washing my hands with soap and water. The tenants here don't wash their hands, so now I open the door first, then pump some sanitizer into my hands and walk out rubbing them clean. Not washing my hands with soap and water saves on water, especially since the tenants here complain more about the water use than anything else. And they don't even pay the bill, the owner does. At night I turn on the light after I enter the bathroom and closed the door. Those few seconds of not turning on the light saves money too, considering so many trips to the bathroom. Sometimes I'll even take the candle we use as a nightlight with me so I don't have to turn on the light. Another we save electricity is to only shower in the day so we don't have to turn the light on.

Sometimes I'll have to prepare a meal here since I can't go to my mom's all the time. So I'll use the microwave instead. I use it to heat oatmeal, soups, and leftovers. Instead of heating the baby's milk in a pot or in the microwave, I just leave it out since I know its good for 4 hours out of the fridge. I used to wash and dry the baby's clothes here, but not anymore. I do it at my mom's now. Especially since she doesn't have Dreft and sometimes needs to wash baby items for my niece and nephew. Our clothes though gets done at the laundromat. I'm currently trying to figure out a way to dry our clothes outdoors instead of paying the extra money to get it dried. The clothes get less worn that way and end up smelling fresher for longer.

We have cut back the most on our electricity use. We cut our cable, got rid of the TV and all the boxes that were attached to it, and it actually made my internet faster. Coolies. :D Then I disconnected everything that was plugged in our outlets, except the fridge, and left only the things that are used all the time. That left half the outlets free. Quite a difference. We used to have so much plugged in all the time that was just using up electricity without it even being on. The video baby monitor, the vaporizer, the heater, the other vaporizer, the pump, the cell phone charger, the camera charger, the digital frame cord, the speakers, and the nightlight. We have 3 power strips. I plugged two by the computer space. One is for the internet modem, the Vonage modem, and the phone. Which at first I planned that way so that I could always leave it on for the phone. Then I decided to just turn off everything but the fridge at night to save even more and not be bothered in the mornings by unwanted phone calls. The other power strip connects the computer, the printer, and the digital frame; which I use to upload photos to my computer. I turn off the power strip in the day when I am not using the computer and leave the other one on for the phone. The last power strip is on the other side of the room which only connects the computer speakers. I have it there because of the arrangement of the speakers. It only gets turned on when I want to listen to music. I used to have to unplug my laptop AC cord every night so I would not leave it charging at night, but this is much easier and uses no electricity when we are sleeping.

When I get up in the middle of the night I have the candle to help me see when I have to feed the baby and change her. In the morning I just open the curtains instead of turning on the light. It bugs Miguel, but its better for us. Lily loves the morning light too. She can't help staring out the window. To use less electricity I also do most of what I have to in the day so that I don't have to use light to be able to do them by night. Like washing dishes, cleaning, and eating most of my meals. At night when I come home from my mom's I have a few hours of free time to pray, get on the net, and play with Lily. I used to leave my computer on all the time, ready for whenever I needed to get online. Now I don't get online until I have done everything I need to do for the day. I feel better about what I get done because its my reward, and it makes me get things done faster because it means more time on the net. :D I would get online in the day, but there are certain hours that electricity usage peaks, which you can get charged more for. So I wait until after that time to use the computer as well. I turn on the light only when Lily needs it to feel more secure and when I'm printing photos, or writing something down. Otherwise I'll leave it off to pray, type, eat, and listen to music. My computer screen is pretty bright.

Some other habits I have adopted is to turn the light off every time I leave the room, and start using the power options on my computer. So after one minute of my computer being idle, the monitor turns off. Its better than a screen saver, which doesn't save you energy at all. Its convenient for when I have to tend to Lily in the middle of a blog session but don't want to shut the computer all the way down or go to standby for that time. It would take me longer for me to get back to what I was doing and actually uses more energy to do so. It also helps that I can type so fast because its less time on the computer. :D

I use to buy treats from the grocery store or from the local liquor stores. Instead I take advantage of freebies when I can at my mom's house or gatherings and events. Its cool since I can't be eating so much sugar anyway. I'll have a soda here, some dessert there, and some candy when the cravings can't go away. Although we could use the cans we would buy for recycling, it would cost us too much just for that. We still recycle though. Now I put everything in a bin and keep it inside so that our cans don't get stolen outside. Easier to empty at the recycling center than taking them out from a shopping cart too. I also don't do so much shopping for groceries. We always have plenty of food on hand, even if it is not fresh and in the fridge. Most of our food supply is dry. Oh, and we also save by lowering the temperature on our fridge, keeping it as filled as possible, and only opening it one to two times to take everything I need out and put it back.

I used to use the computer for whatever research I needed to do on the baby or the Bible. I would use the internet to look for something on the baby, and my Bible software to look up something in the Bible. Although its easier, most of the time it is unnecessary. I have tons of books that can tell me just about anything that has to do with the baby and I have all the books I need for Bible study as well. If I can't find information I need in the baby books I have, then I look for it online. Usually its for stuff that other mom's can share from experience. I'll use my books for Bible study and reserve the software for copying and pasting verses or doing spontaneous searches while I'm on the computer.

These are just some of the ways I've found to save more money. It all adds up and is such a great blessing. Its easier too when you're not the kind of person that likes to live outside their means. Simple living is the way to go. I'll share more ways we save in an upcoming post. Toodles for now. :)

First Baptism of the Year

2009-01-13T22:42:00.000-08:00

We have a new sister in the Lord. Praise God! She was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Lily's Dedication

2009-01-13T21:55:00.000-08:00

Here are the pix from the day I dedicated Lily to God. It was very powerful. My pastor is the one holding Lily, and my brother Jr is the one to the right. He's the assistant pastor. Although Miguel could not attend the dedication ceremony because he had to work, He's just as much part of the blessing.

All photos taken courtesy of Helena Walldez.

Utility Issues

2009-01-12T22:58:00.000-08:00

I have been having issues with the lady we rent from because it appears that she is overcharging us for utilities. There are 3 other adults that live here in a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house. This last month the electric bill was nearly $40. We paid $20 of it. This month its $50, despite all our cutbacks on usage. Something is wrong there. Compared to other couples and their utility bills, we don't think we should have to pay half of the bill. At most $15 even with all the energy we have been conserving. We have been doing this because we have no money to pay $20 or $30 electric bills each month. We noticed that we are being taken advantage of, so I'm trying to figure out a way to resolve this issue. A rental agreement is a smart move, but this lady may not go for that and want to kick us out. We really cannot afford that right now. Which is likely why she is making excuses to why she keeps changing how she charges us. Its so frustrating to deal with someone who is just money hungry. So for this next bill we are only going to pay $15. Sine she's going to charge is for gas too, we're going to pay $5 for that. We don't use gas any more than that. I expect she will not like it, but its not like she can evict is for it. Its just being fair.

We have taken great measures towards minimizing our use of electricity, gas, and even water. Although they don't pay the water bill, its one of their biggest complaints. I can give so many examples, but I'll save that for another time when I can go in depth about our methods. I'll keep you guys posted. :D

Lily is 3 Months

2009-01-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

I have been really busy these days doing all kinds of things. I spent most of yesterday preparing two huge batches of fried rice for the Winter banquet I will be attending this evening. Between my brother Carlos and I we managed to get it done in a bit over 5 hours. I hope it is enough to feed 50 people. This past week I have been working on printing my brother Jr's wedding photos. I have been attending church service 3 times a week on Wednesdays and Sundays. Next week I hope to start attending prayer meeting on Fridays. Most of my time is taken up with caring for Lily, cleaning, and cooking. I have also been planning a birthday bash for my sisters and I. Our birthdays are very close together. That will be for next week though. Sometimes things get hectic and I get behind, but I make up for it as best I can.

Lily Jean turns 3 months today. I'll be taking her photos for the occasion at the Winter banquet. I've also got to do some shopping today. This last Wednesday Miguel and I went to a thrift store we shopped at once before and they are having a half off sale right now. So we are going back today so I can get more clothes. Last time all the clothes I got came out to $26. Heck of a deal when you really need to update your wardrobe. The priciest item being nearly $3. What a blessing. We hope they still have the sale today. That way I won't have to hold back. Last time I did not know about the sale until we purchased the clothes.

Lily is beginning to laugh a little more with a little help. She is fussier at times too. Mostly when I take her out. She's so used to being home. When we took her to the doctor on Tuesday the doctor prescribed Albuterol for 10 days. Her congestion has been clearing up really well, although if it is not gone by the 16th, she will have to be on a machine to clear her up. I dread the thought, but we have to do what we have to do.

Believe it or not I made pancakes for the first time on Thursday. I burned the first two, switched pans and adjusted a few things, then the rest came out perfect and yummy. Pancakes used to be a hard thing for me to conquer. It seems so easy for others, but I never liked how messy it used to always be for me. Now its quite simple, and I feel proud of myself. I love pancakes. Its a real treat after eating oatmeal and cereal most mornings. I got into it though because I don't like how my husband makes them. He knows it though.

Yesterday my brother Carlos and his family treated my sisters and I to a buffet in Montclair. Johnny's Pizza. It was some really good eating, but there was an aftershock felt from the earthquake in Rialto. The employees there tried to blame it on the nearby trains for insurance purposes which is so shady. We just felt a slight shake but I nearly freaked out. I was ready to grab Lily in a hurry and find any way I could protect her. Everything was fine though.

I almost forgot, Lily was dedicated before the end of the year. I still have to upload those photos for you guys. for now, you can enjoy these that I have edited so far. :D

More Wisdom from God's Word

2009-01-02T23:52:00.000-08:00

Some more interesting words from the Bible that have gotten me thinking and praying. They minister to my heart and help me a lot on my walk with God.

Rom 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Exo 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
Pro 31:10-30 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Mat 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Psa 1:1-6 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

The Bible Says.........

2009-01-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

Here are some verses that have been in my heart recently that I'd like to share. They have to do with what I am currently dealing with in my life and the beliefs I have.

Gal 4:8-12 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain. Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.
Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Joh 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Deu 6:4-25 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah. Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee. And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken. And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he swore unto our fathers. And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

What God has Ministered through His Word

2008-12-29T11:13:00.000-08:00

I have been coming across many verses and phrases in the Bible that God has put in my heart or ministered to me through prayer and that my pastor has preached in his sermons. Some have new meaning for me and I'd like to share them. :D

Mat 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Pro 31:30 Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
1Jn 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Rev 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
1Jn 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
1Co 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.
Gal 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Job 9:12 Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou?

Good stuff huh? :)

Sick Again

2008-12-23T19:43:00.000-08:00

Just when I thought I was over my last cold and all better, I get sick again and even worse than before. This is the third time already. The cough syrup doesn't seem to help and my milk supply has suffered greatly because of my being ill. I'm afraid of it drying up. We simply can't afford to feed Lily formula. I'm doing everything I can to keep my milk supply up, but it has already diminished by more than half. I know that this is not normal because you are supposed to be able to breastfeed at least 6 months exclusively. I'm currently barely able to satisfy Lily's hunger. I'm trying to build my milk supply again. I once was able to keep 11 full bottles of milk in the fridge and still fill Lily's tummy. We'll see how this goes. Please pray that I can boost up my supply for Lily.

My Silly Lily

2008-12-22T22:33:00.000-08:00

Here she is.....

Just Trust in Him

2008-12-19T23:50:00.000-08:00

I've begun a journey like no other I have been on. God has renewed my faith and I'm going all the way. I have nothing to hold me back any more. I have so much to be grateful for. Although I have been experiencing one of the hardest trials of my life, I'm pulling through only because of Him. All I ever had to do was trust and be patient. I'm finally ready and willing to do that. So many things have already changed, and I hope they continue to. Its a great sign when God turns your life upside down just to get your attention. I have not been forgotten. He has been waiting so patiently for me. Now I've arrived. I'm going to live my life for God as He wishes because I have a need to reach Heaven. Big things are coming, and I can't wait for what God has in store for me, whatever it may be. I understand what it is to trust Him now. No matter what happens, I know God is there. Those of you who pray, please do so for me. I need all the strength I can harness. Support me on my journey, you'll be sure to be blessed.

Lily remains quite active and alert. Photos to come soon. She continues to be more beautiful every day. :D

Lily's Beauty

2008-12-07T21:40:00.000-08:00

Many people have told us how beautiful Lily is. Some are fascinated with her hair while others love her eyes. Both make her quite distinctive, and all the more unique. Sometimes she looks just like her father, and other times like me. We now know she will have colored eyes for sure. They currently shift between blue and green regularly, depending on the colors she's wearing. They seem to be in an aquamarine stage. Her hair remains plentiful with hardly any sign of it falling out. Since it is longer I can style it a little better now. How cool is it that I don't have to wait so many months to be able to do this. :D

I recently took some really great shots of Lily as I was trying to capture the beauty in her eyes and the interesting expressions she makes. Here are a few of them.

If anyone wants prints, let me know. They print beautifully. :D

How Lily Keeps Me Going

2008-12-04T21:25:00.000-08:00

The past few weeks have been difficult emotionally, but Lily is my rock. My motivation to pull through and better myself. As I mentioned previously, I have been very busy caring for Lily, trying to start college again, and seeking employment. Hard times call for hard effort. Between cooking, cleaning, caring for Lily, and keeping up with correspondence and other stuff, I find a bit of time to just sit down and blog. Life was really social for me this past week, until I realized why I don't have friends of my own to hang out with. I guess I'm just not really a people person. It seems social settings make me nervous and being around others makes me feel awkward sometimes. I'm glad its all over now though and hope to not continue any visits to anyone's home outside my family.

I have also been busy working on photography, selling items online, making blankets, and figuring out how to publish another zine. I would post photos but there's an issue with the new SD cards I recently purchased. Awesome pix are on their way!

Our Turkey Day Celebration

2008-12-03T11:08:00.000-08:00

I know I'm late on posting this, but I have been very, very busy. I'll save that for another post. We had a good time at both of our mom's homes celebrating Thanksgiving. Instead of going to one home and not the other we went ahead and went to both. First my mom's, then his. We find it better than alternating each year. Besides they are neighbors. We spent more time at his mom's than mine, but we were able to take some cool photos.There was a feast at my mom's house, but the turkey was much juicier at his mom's. The next morning we ate Thanksgiving leftovers here at home. The family we live with had a feast as well. Although I had my first food allergy from something I ate that morning. Perhaps it was the salad, prepared in a way I had not tasted before. I wish I had taken more photos and even certain shots. The opportunity just was not there. We don't celebrate Christmas, so the next holiday shoot will be for New Year's. Which I will be celebrating with just my little Lily. :D

What Lily Expects

2008-11-25T18:22:00.000-08:00

I recently got some advice to let Lily cry when she's fussy. Reason being that it works out her lungs and keeps her from becoming spoiled. I tried it the first time and it went well. She didn't cry for more than a few minutes and hardly broke a sweat before falling soundly asleep. That was last night before Miguel came home from work. This morning Lily got fussy again, so I took her to my mom's, knowing a ride in the stroller would calm her down. She cried most of the way because she wanted her pacifier, but fell asleep just before we arrived. Then this afternoon she became fussy again. I let her cry again but this time was really dramatic. She was wailing bloody murder for more than 3 minutes, which is the max as I was told. I couldn't take it anymore and just had to pick her up and comfort her. But it did not seem to be enough. I had gotten a call about it possibly raining so I got ready to go home. Lily continued to cry in the stroller before we left until I finally gave her her pacifier. She was silent after that and fell right to sleep. It was pretty traumatic for her and I'm never letting it happen again. It breaks my heart to see and hear her cry. The good thing is that Lily is not used to being carried or having much attention at all. All she usually wants for soothing is to be swaddled or have her pacifier. Oh and she loves her boppy because it gives her the feeling of being held. She's not a very demanding baby at all, so I'd rather satisfy her wants and needs than let her cry. I don't think getting her used to a pacifier or attending to her when she cries right away will be so damaging. Everyone has their opinion though. She certainly expects to be taken care of immediately, but sometimes is cool with not getting her way. I'd rather sooth her by pacifier, swaddling, laying her in her boppy, or playing lullabies than carrying her in my arms, laying next to her, or needing to be right in front of her. This allows me to do more things around the house and out and about when I can. I've already noticed how other babies are plenty more demanding than Lily, a lot fussier too. So I can't complain about what Lily wants, she's so easy to please. :D

Here are some more recent photos of Lily. :D

My New Camera

2008-11-24T14:40:00.000-08:00

Last Week I finally got a new camera. Since the store I was dealing with made it such a hassle to get my old one fixed, I asked for the value of the camera. They were going to give me a gift card, but instead went with store credit seeing as to how I made it so clear that I really needed my camera now. I just had to throw in there that I am a photographer and am losing money over my camera being gone so long. As soon as I got the go ahead to get a new camera, I checked out all the Nikons and went with the newest D60 model. Smaller and a little more powerful than my previous D40x. So I'm happy. Since it was so cheap I went ahead and added a speedlight to make up the difference in store credit, an SB600. What an awesome investment. So I'm back to taking hundreds of photos. :D Now I have the potential to really take off with my work. I still plan on continuing with my photo postcards endeavor. :)

Here are some of the most recent shots I've taken with the new camera. I'm sure you can tell the difference that the speedlight makes.

I'm definitely going to be having fun with this one. :D

Lily Has a Photo Album Online

2008-11-14T19:44:00.000-08:00

I finally got a chance to post some of her best photos online. That way everyone can view them when there are too many to post here. Sometimes I go crazy with the camera you know. And with babies, there are so many expressions that you just have to capture them all. :D Here's the link:

http://flickr.com/photos/lyndawalldez/sets/72157608924859394/

I have been able to take Lily out more often now. Especially today since the weather has been really nice. Tomorrow will be the same. I was out and about with her and my sister Lena all day today. It was so awesome to be able to finally go out with my little girl. Lily really liked it too. She seemed in awe of all the new sounds, smells, and sights. Especially of the feeling of the sunshine on her skin. Oh, and I got to try out the new electric breast pump that I got a few days ago. It is such a time saver. I love it. Its tons more efficient than my manual one by the same brand, Medela. I was feeling hopeless this morning about feeding her because I thought my milk supply was drying up. I was about to feed her some formula that I had when I remembered the new pump. I had to see for myself if it was really more efficient in pumping milk and if it was really faster. It sure is. I'm going to continue breastfeeding her just because its beneficial when I'm in public and without a bottle to feed her. I'm going to invest in a large boppy as well. I have only tried breastfeeding her sitting down the normal way once and had some trouble. I feel a boppy would help a lot. I'm carrying my electric pump in Lily's diaper bag everywhere now though. It will surely help me build a greater milk supply. Lily is even feeding more often. Which is a great sign for me. I was worried she was getting dehydrated since her stool seemed to be harder than usual lately.

Lily has begun to respond to baby talk and singing as well. You can't imagine the joy I feel when she smiles right back at me from her amusement. Although her big smiles are brief right now, soon enough I'll be able to make her laugh and giggle. I feel the same anticipation for that as when I was waiting to hold her after she was born. What a beautiful feeling. She is also making more cooing sounds. Her neck is a bit stronger as well. I hardly ever swaddle her anymore because she's strong enough to get out of the bundle too. She remains easy to please, although she has become more demanding. Now she likes being held more, rocked to sleep, having her pacifier to sleep, and being held upright rather than horizontally. I definitely feel like I know her better than anyone else. Especially when she's crying. It really is true that babies cry differently according to each need. My heart melts when she cries out of loneliness. She makes this cute little sad face like she's pouting and her eyes water with tears. It doesn't happen often and when it does it is quite unexpected. I want to take her photo when she cries like that. She actually doesn't cry, she makes whimpering sounds when she's lonely and feels like I'm not around.

Motherhood has been the most beautiful experience of my life, hands down. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I can't believe how fast time goes by either. It seems too fast. I wish I could cherish her being this small for so much longer. Then I come to see it as trading old joys for new ones. :D Which eventually become greater. Being a mom has definitely humbled me more as well. It really does take a lot to be a mom. I can see how some people can't handle caring for an infant. I thank God every single day that he chose this time for me to have a daughter. Having Lily and caring for her has not been too hard for me. Even though its a 24/7 job and I'm fiercely protective of her, it hardly gets frustrating or overwhelming. I've learned so much, I'm considering posting the knowledge I've learned as well as tips and helpful info for others. Something useful for others and to serve as a reference for myself. I'm compiling stuff into drafts right now. Just thinking up ideas.

My bad I don't have any photos to post right now. Still trying to work out how I can manage to take, edit, and post a photo a day of her. It will give people the opportunity to see her every day even though they can't be with her physically. She seems to change in appearance so quickly too. Some are saying she's looking more like me now. :D Check out her latest shots and let me know if you think so too. :)

Lily Turns 1 Month

2008-11-10T21:48:00.000-08:00

To celebrate the occasion I took photos with my mom's camera at my mother in law's house and her camera in my home. Tomorrow I'll hopefully be able to go to a studio for more professional photos. I hope to keep this trend up each month. :D

New Photos of Lily

2008-11-09T23:25:00.000-08:00

Here they are!

Update: Lily is breathing much better and does not need to get eye or saline drops anymore. Yay!! Oh and she'll be one month tomorrow. My little girl is growing up so fast!

Renovations

2008-11-08T16:55:00.000-08:00

I tried searching for and choosing a new layout for my blog, but was unsuccessful in finding one that suited my needs and taste. So I just changed the color scheme of my current layout and made a few more changes around here to enhance it. I decided to go ahead and make Lily's photos public. I figure it would satisfy all the requests I get for her photography and bring more people to my blog. My blog could use more visitors or even a whole new audience. Oh, and I've changed the name of my blog as well. One Day At a Time defined my life before marriage and motherhood. Devoted Eccentricity more accurately describes my life as it is now. Such huge life changes warranted the big changes around here. I hope you guys like it.

I have been able to have more time for myself lately now that Lily is bouncing back from her infection. She was very congested and we have been doing everything we possibly can so she could get better. It worked. Saline drops in her nose every few hours, eye drops 3 times a day, nose massage 3 times a day, 2 vaporizers, no outings, making her sleep in her car seat, nursing her as often as she wants, and keeping her comfortably warm. Her congestion is clearing up but is still bothering her some.

I have been using many other cameras besides my own to take her photographs lately. Mine is being repaired at the moment. Who knows when I'll get it back or get a new one since I just got word that it barely left the store for repair after I left it there about two weeks ago. Circuit City will definitely be hearing from me. I need my camera!! I wish I could post video of her, but the camcorder we are using records on tapes. Not sure how to transfer the content onto the computer. For now you can enjoy some of the early photos of Lily Jean. By the way, she turns 1 month on Monday. Yay!!! My baby's so big now. :D

More to be uploaded soon!

The Death of the U.S, Dollar

2008-11-08T10:44:00.000-08:00

Watch this video to learn about one of the ways the New World Order will begin to take place. If you still believe that there will not be a New World Order, you're in serious denial.....and just plain blind.

Now you know why those TV commercials are out for companies wanting your gold. Don't give it to them, keep it and turn all of your money to gold. Need more info about the NWO, email me or look up videos on Youtube and sites on Google.

Caring for Lily

2008-10-19T18:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys, but because of my new state of motherhood, I'll be focusing on caring for Lily for a while. I won't be making photos available publicly for her privacy and safety. So if you want photos, I can send you prints. :D Just email me. I am so very happy about having my baby girl at last. Both Miguel and I are so grateful to God. We're handling new parenthood pretty well, I think. Since I had a C-section I'm getting as much help as I can. I'm feeling much better now though. I'll be sure to update friends and family by email whenever I get the chance. Usually when Lily is sleeping. Stay tuned!

The Arrival of Lily Jean Solorio

2008-10-16T01:40:00.000-07:00

Announcing Lily Jean,
our wonderful new baby girl!

It just doesn't get any sweeter than this!

Lily Jean was born on October 10, 2008 at 5:04 pm to her proud parents
Miguel and Lynda Solorio.

She weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces, and was 20 inches long.

Being Sick

2008-10-07T11:50:00.000-07:00

::sniffle:: I'm still not feeling better, so I'm taking extra measures to get out of this rut of being sick with a cold. It never fails, I just have to get sick at least once a year. What a drag. Usually its 4 times a year. My immune system is terrible. ::cough:: Yesterday my cold progressed, so Miguel and I went to get some medicine my OB said was ok to take right now. Just some Robitussin and some Breathe Right nasal strips that ended up not fitting my nose. I felt like crap this morning, so I drank more OJ a bunch of water and am eating some beef stew I made last night. With a bit of lemon juice and Tapatio sauce, it should help to temporarily clear up my sinuses. The Robitussin is for night time though, so I don't think I should be taking it now. I'll get all drowsy and clumsy. Tylenol did not seem to help at all in the last two days. Water though seems to be my best rememdy. So long as I keep chugging those glasses of H2O, I'll hopefully feel more relief tomorrow or even later today. ::achoo!:: Its such a dread to sleep at night because I end up waking up so many times. I thought being sick while having another womanly condition was bad, its worse when you're pregnant. Gee, it will sure be an in interesting story to tell Lily about how Mommy got sick towards the end of her pregnancy. Oh joy.

Still no sign of Lily, although it just may be perfectly normal for her not to be budging yet. Some women spend up to 10 months pregnant. My due date might have been off by a lot as well. We'll see what the nonstress tests determine tomorrow. We're packing up everything we need for the hospital just in case. :D Very busy day! ::sniffle::

Possible Inducing of Labor

2008-10-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

My cervix is still not opened enough. So Lily is not budging like she probably should be. If I were open enough, I would have been induced today, but some tests need to be run now. There's a good chance they will deliver me on Wednesday, although I'm apprehensive because of some of the dangers associated with inducing labor. If Lily doesn't look so good on Wednesday it will surely be D-day.Up to this point I still have no idea what contractions feel like, even though the new OB I saw today said that I was having one then and there. I was like "Huh? I don't feel anything." At least I will be very sure of when I do go into real labor.

So Lily's birthday may be October 8th. We're hoping I go into labor naturally before then so that inducing labor won't be an option. Not sure how I can talk the doctors out of leaving me and my baby alone until she's really ready when they seem so pushy about it. I'm sure its about insurance issues. Still, Miguel thinks its a good idea to go with what the doctors say. I have a lot of praying to do.

Either way, Lily must be born. She might be one of those babies that needs more time. That's what I am concerned about. Although, I will have no choice if she starts losing fluid or oxygen. Wednesday is the day that will decide her fate. Please pray for us.

Ups and Downs

2008-10-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

First the ups. :D Miguel's birthday was a blast. He may have had a little too much fun for his own good, but it is surely something to look back on and laugh at. :) Also, my mom has taken some steps towards rectifying the situation with my dad. He should be getting better really soon. It eases my heart. Oh, and we have been shopping every chance we get for all kinds of stuff with all the birthdays around this time of year. I've never known so many people with birthdays at this time of year before. Very exciting. We have found a way to get really sweet deals and are saving a lot.

Now the downs. :( We finally got the AC removed and put into storage because I got sick from the cold air being a bit too cold. I've had throat problems for the past few days and today it got really bad. I finally just had to implement my "get better" regime. Lots of OJ, water, campbell's chicken noodle soup, some tylenol, and plenty of rest. I have only done it once before when I got sick in high school, but I have to now too because I don't want to go into labor while being sick. Oh yeah, and Lily is a week "late" now. My OB wants me to see her earlier than usual because she is concerned about my pelvis being smaller than it should be. There is still no talk of having a C-section though, so I'm kool. Inducing labor is not an option by any means. Miguel and I are confident that no matter how long it takes Lily to be born, God will let us know when she is ready. Women don't stay pregnant, so it should be no problem.

I will post as soon as possible when Lily is born. I have my draft post prepared for the occasion and will post it as soon as I can after her birth. :D So don't trip guys, no news is no news.

No Lily Jean Yet

2008-09-30T16:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my due date, but Lily still has not budged. So I took the opportunity to make some finishing touches to what we have prepared to take with us to the hospital. She's surely be fashionably late, but we're ready when she is. Whenever God decides to bring her into the world is fine by us.

The situation with my dad remains the same with the exception of some good news about his status. My hands remain tied in being able to help much because of my own state, but we pray that God keeps my father safe.

I recently decided to try my hand at selling prints of my photography to the public. With some great pointers from my friend Jeff, who is a fellow photographer, and the drive I have; I'm sure I'll be able to go far with it. I have stocked up on photo paper and ink for this very purpose. Now I just have to build my collection and seek out clients. Advertising also comes to mind. For me this is not as great an undertaking as other projects I have had, which makes Miguel encourage me to take it on. He really likes the idea I have to take a photo of Lily every single day. Surely he would be able to help me with that. We're even going to get her an exclusive album just for that.

I don't have any photos to show right now, but hopefully soon I will get the ones I've edited posted on here. I've been to a few gatherings, partying every weekend. :D Miguel's days off remain as busy as ever and since tomorrow is his birthday, hopefully we'll be able to chillax and enjoy the day the way he wants. :)

Taking A Breather

2008-09-19T21:11:00.000-07:00

I have been away for a while because of some bad situations that came up recently. I simply could not focus on blogging or much else during this time. My biggest worry is that my dad is in a manic state, he is bipolar. He is very ill right now, which affects me emotionally in the worst way. I'm gonna have to take a breather from the public spotlight until this situation is rectified. I know you will all understand. If Lily is born before I can return to blogging, I will update on our status afterward. Until then, you can get in touch with me by email.

Roller Coaster Week

2008-09-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

This week has been a hard one. With several ups and downs. I went to my OB on Wednesday and learned that I gained 2 more pounds since the previous week. Everything is still perfectly fine. My info has been sent to the hospital. I took photos but have yet to upload them. This week I learned that my dad has been progressing into a manic state. I wish I could do more to help him, but my pregnancy being so close to its end now, I can't risk being so stressed. Miguel certainly doesn't want me to go into labor early. All I can do is comfort my mom when she calls about him and pray that he is safe each day. Its always been a really tough issue for me to deal with when my dad's bipolar is no longer under control. One of the most sensitive situations for me because its so serious and close to my heart. Not sure how things are right now since I avoid learning of new things that will only make me more worried and hurt for my dad. I'll be sure to update on when things are all well with him though.

Miguel recently suggested that I search out what sex offenders live in our city. I was surprised at how many do. Even more surprising is that a man that I spoke to once, lives right across from us, and has come to our home several times, is in those search results. He's a friend of one of our roommates. It gave me chills. I don't feel so safe anymore. Its bad enough I don't want to live here anymore for other reasons. We're in the middle of investigating this further ourselves. We need to get some things clear with our roommate.

A few days ago I got a notice that I am no longer fully covered by Medi-Cal insurance. Miguel was denied any coverage because he earns too much to qualify. Since we're married, I got my full benefits cut. The only things they are covering me for now are anything pregnancy related. All the way up to labor and delivery. Anything else we must pay for up to $881 as a share of cost. We're going to see if we may qualify for Healthy Families so that at least Lily is covered at low cost visits. Besides that we'll have to either wait for Miguel to get a permanent job with benefits or get some other health insurance like Kaiser Permanente. We're exploring our options right now.

On the bright side, my mom offered to buy us a traveling system stroller at Burlington Coat Factory. There's a cool sale going on right now. Once we do get it we'll be selling the car seat we have right now. Its one of the only essential items we have left to attain. The only other items we need are milk storage bags for bottles, a nursing cover, socks, and some baby washcloths. I've updated my Target Registry to reflect the changes I've had recently as well as list the clothes we're looking to get for Lily. They have some really cute outfits. I especially love the Kimono style shirts available.

I finally went to the DMV to get my name and address changed on my ID. Miguel thought I would not have to pay for the change, but I took extra cash just in case. It cost $23, which I think is outrageous. I got my new SS card, and only need my new ID to finalize my new identity as Lynda Solorio. I've changed my address with the post office so that they can forward my mail from my old address. I have also reordered checks with my bank to reflect the changes as well. It was funny, but the lady who took my photo at the DMV made me smile on purpose so I would get a good photo. She had asked me about my pregnancy. I wonder how my huge grin came out. He he.

I'm 2 weeks away from my due date. I can't believe it. It seems the closer I get to delivery, the more weary I get. I can't help but sleep most of the day. I am not sure why. My contractions are more frequent now as well. I have been getting some other new pains as well, but they are from my muscles and nerves around my belly. Normal stuff as I have been told. You can't be too cautious with this kind of stuff, so I ask about every new pain. Being dialted already feels very different and seems to make my balance a little more off. I have most trouble getting up from sitting or lying down and get these quick stinging pains in my joints sometimes. They annoy me more than anything. I have noticed that my legs have swollen a bit as well. My socks leave indentation marks on my skin now. Something I can't really avoid. My mother in law suggested that I have my feet up most of the time to help relieve the swelling. I figured that would help, but can't quite figure out how I can do that here. Miguel said to just use the new pillows we got to prop them up when I'm laying in bed. So I'll do that.

I finally finished editing my birth announcements and will hopefully be able to send them out in the first week after Lily is born. I just need to put in her info and print them out. I will be going to a birthday dinner for my nephew Adrian today with Miguel. A great way to just chillax and put aside our worries while getting him acquainted with some of my family. I'll be sure to post photos!

Finally Reaching Full Term

2008-09-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

Having finally reached 37 weeks, I am now full term. Which means Lily can be born any day now and be totally fine to survive outside the womb. She's got everything she needs. Now its just a waiting game for her big debut into the world. Since last week's OB appointment I was told that I have to make weekly visits now. Three weeks remain for the baby's due date. I'm nervous about her arriving earlier than expected, even though it would be perfectly fine. I'm also so anxious to finally hold her, count all her little fingers and toes, and bring her home with me. I can't believe she's almost here. I can't believe I'm really having a baby. Reality sure sets in quick.

I have been napping a lot these days, mostly after Miguel goes to work and later on his days off. I can't believe how tired I am every day. I seem to sleep well in the day, but at night its a whole different story. All I have been able to keep up with these days is preparing for Lily's arrival. The only essential thing we need now is a stroller our car seat will fit into. Otherwise we'll just have to buy a traveling system. Two people have said they would get us a stroller. With the situations they are in and my due date only 3 weeks away, I highly doubt that will happen. Thankfully we've had a backup plan. It has been evident throughout my pregnancy that it is wiser not to rely on anyone else to take care of things that are pertinent to us and our child. Things always turn out better and to our satisfaction when we handle it ourselves. So its what we have been doing. Only a couple of people have been pretty good about following through with what they said they would. They have been amazing with their support as well. I guess that's how I have been able to tell who does things out of their hearts from those that just want to look good. Either way, Miguel and I have been doing the best we can on our great journey to parenthood together. We're committed to each other and our child. Making sure she has everything she needs and protecting her from what she doesn't.

A few other thing I need to get done by the time Lily is born is to get some thank you notes out, draft my birth announcements, and get started on Lily's Memory book. I have hardly had a chance to do these things or even write back to my friends. I bought a big pack of card stock that should come in real handy for the projects I have in mind. There are a lot of birthdays this month as well, so I have some cards to work on as well. I recently got a call from my dad's aunt about the photo I wanted from her of my grandfather. She doesn't have any, but said my grandmother surely does. The thing is that she lives in Mexico, where it takes 2 months to send or receive anything. It has been hard enough trying to get a hold of anyone over there that may have an internet connection. So I guess I will have to opt for having a copy mailed. My dad's parents are the only ones missing from the family tree scrap page I have created. I also noticed that Lily will only have 2 great grandmothers living when she is born. So its important to me to get photos taken of her with them. One trip will be across town while the other may be all the way to Tijuana. Thankfully, she has all of her grandparents though. :D

Today I received two packages from my friend Jennie. She is so awesome. Look at everything she sent me! Thanks a bunch Jennie!

Out With the Old and In With the New

2008-09-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

Our new super printer, a gift from my dad.

The new mobile on Lily's crib, a gift from Miguel's sister Melina.

The new chair we got at Big Lots. Cover it with a blanket and some pillows and its perfect for the nursery.

The nightlight we got at Big Lots as well. Perfect for those late night feedings and changes. We tore off all the feathers on the top and bottom to reduce the hazard to Lily.

Recent Photos

2008-09-06T00:44:00.000-07:00

At my mom's. I can barely fit through the passageway to the kitchen anymore!

A photo to demonstrate how long my hair has grown.

Miguel and I in our home. Aaaw, we look so cute together.

The inside of Lily's crib.

Cool New Stuff

2008-09-04T20:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of our busiest days ever. We got up really early to take Susan to school, then went to eat breakfast, then to the Social Security office to get my name changed. I'm officially Lynda Solorio now. I'll be getting my new card within 2 weeks, keeping my old one as memorable keepsake. After that we stayed at Miguel's mom's house for a while. Then we took off to the OB clinic. I was told I would be going in every week now and that I'm about half and inch dilated already. After that we went to get some vitamin refills at the pharmacy, ate out for lunch, then took off to the market for groceries. Once we got home I showered while Miguel put the crib together, then when it was his turn, I knocked out cold on the bed and fell right asleep. In the whole day we spent enough gas for Miguel to go to work and back in 3 days. Whoa. We eventually woke up around midnight and stayed up a few more hours to eat dinner before going right back to sleep.

Today I set up Lily's nursery space and returned the crib we previously purchased. It feels so great to finally see a great manifestation of our preparation for Lily's arrival. The photo on the right is of her crib with her sheet set and the drawers on the left. That's her keepsake pillow on top in front of the bags I've packed for the hopital. Although we can't hang any objects above her crib since we're in earthquake territory, I'm planning on putting up some posters with tape. Not sure of what yet though. I still have yet to get the rest of Lily's clothes washed. Besides finishing her nursery, I installed the new printer my dad gave us. Its so awesome! I can finally print borderless letter size photos and load my photos in a snap. I can even print my photos without a computer. Koolies. Its an all-in-one like my other printer but with the added bonus of having a fax as well. :D

Yesterday we managed to get the video recorder from Miguel's mom to use when I give birth. Miguel joked about how he would have to have both cameras on hand trying to capture every moment. It was so silly. I tried out the camera today and it seems to have pretty good features for what we need. We'll be using my small tripod for the video camera and the DSLR will be hand held. Not sure how Miguel will manage, but he seems to always find a way. Both are fully charged and ready for anything. Since we're only borrowing the video camera we'll be using my web cam for home videos afterward. I really want to get a new one or just get our own portable video camera. My last point and shoot camera had a video feature but the camera only worked when it wanted to after it had an accident. Inconvenient when you need to get a shot right away. I no longer have it though.

More photos to come later. :D

The Release of Picasa 3 Beta

2008-09-03T04:40:00.000-07:00

Since Picasa 3 was released yesterday I decided to download it and play with its new features. I have to say that I'm totally stoked at everything they rolled out with this newest version. I have been without Photoshop CS3 for some time now, but now I don't really need it. Picasa 3 now comes with the basic features that once needed Photoshop for. Its so awesome!

It used to be a drag to create collages in Picasa, but now all the confusion is gone. I created the collage you see here in a snap and even printed it out. Its of my months through pregnancy. Another cook feature is that I can blog straight from the software, as I am doing now. So I don't need Flickr to post my photos here anymore. I just edit them in Picasa and blog them in a snap. Emailing photos is really convenient too. I can send entire albums to my friends and family. Then they don't have to ask for prints, download photos one by one from Flickr sets, and I don't have to bother transferring them by media card or a burned CD. Picasa makes it effortless to send photos. And if anyone wants orginals, they can download entire albums from my Picasa Web Albums. A feature I really wish Flickr had.

Picasa 3 is not just for photos either. You can create movies out of your videos now with all kinds of cool perks and even upload them to Youtube. Isn't that awesome! So cool for when I start making home videos of Lily. That's just the tip of the iceberg, you've see it for yourself and benefit from everything this wonderful software has to offer. I can't believe they offer it for free! Google is nuts. If you have a ton of photos or videos and want to make them look better or create cool projects with them, Picasa is the software for you. Not only does it help you organize, store, back up, and edit your photos; it lends you so much creative freedom.

To get Picasa 3 on your computer you can download it here. Happy editing!

Feeling Under the Weather

2008-09-01T23:24:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling sick these last few days and rather burned out from being so busy. Perhaps everything I've been doing has made me feel sick. Or its just third trimester blues. I have been feelings stressed out by demands from family members. I'm also getting nervous over giving birth soon. Especially because of what I expect to happen afterward. As if I'm not already divided from my own family enough, the things to come will undoubtedly make everyone feel even more distant. Some will understand, and unfortunately the rest will take things personally. But, its not my concern any more. I have to do what I have to do.

I have gotten my hospital checklist in order and have everything ready for departure. Well, except for the video recorder, SD card, and charger. I did not like the idea of Miguel videotaping me giving birth, but I came to realize its much better to just let him be a dad and do what he wants. As he's said before, he's excited, he just has a funny way of showing it. There's no doubt he's already fallen in love with our little one. I seem to always see it in the little things. We're both so stoked about being a family at last.

I have managed to get most of my photography backed up through Flickr as well as CD's. Only a few hundred remain besides the wedding photos of my brother JR. I am not sure I'll be able to finish backing them all up. We have Lily's nursery space to set up, her clothes to wash, and I have a lot of cooking to do to stock up for Miguel's meals while I'm unable to take care of anything else but the baby. Although I am beginning to think that the 40 day absence I planned on taking won't happen the way it should. As a first time mom I may not afford to be on my own with Lily at all times. Someone has to step in, but I still don't know who. Some people have already tried pushing their own ideas and advice about how to care for Lily on me, which I fully ignore just because I hate it when people do that. I may not know what I'm doing, but I do know that the wisest of teachers are the ones that stay back and wait for students to come to them.

I already feel like a lioness pretecting her young, wanting no one but Miguel and I to be with her and care for her. I just hope I don't make the mistakes some mothers make from having such strong feelings to isolate their family. So I'm working on deciding how to go about sensitive issues such as who I will call on for help and where she will be taken care of most of the time. The time is at hand to consider all these things that may become huge problems in the future if left unresolved. I'm not usually one to be spontaneous with things like this. If that were the case I would have been married to Miguel long ago.

Lately I have been concerned over people being nosy and sneaking around to find out information about me. As if I was not already paranoid enough from being spied on for years, I have to deal with privacy issues involving some people close to me. It pisses me off when I catch on to the schemes some have to learn about my life and those around me. They must not have a life. Or are simply too caught up in their own misery that they have to try and bring me down to make them look better somehow. Lame. I wish I could take every measure to protect myself and my family, but I'm not going to let something like this beat me or rule my life. I'd rather live freely with the confidence that I don't have to worry about how it will affect me. So some changes and warnings are in order. If I want these circumstances to change for the better, I surely have to get the ball rolling in that direction.

Ok, I guess that's enough venting for now. I hope I have not distressed anyone or bored you with my ramblings. The photo in this entry is of some nice looking clouds over Miguel's house when he lived there during the Spring.

Getting Ready for Lily

2008-08-31T15:33:00.000-07:00

I called yesterday about the missing crib parts and was told they would be searched for in a storage space. We got a call today, the parts have been found and may be dropped off later in the afternoon. Yay! We'll finally be able to completely assemble the crib. Then we can return the crib we bought for store credit and buy other needed items.

We received our official marriage certificate in the mail yesterday. I was so excited. It means I can finally officially change my name. I'll be going to the Social Security office tomorrow and the DMV the next day. I know my new ID will arrive before Lily's due date, but not sure about the new social security card. Both of these are necessary for the name changes I need on some other stuff like my insurance cards, bank account, WIC folder, etc. I've already filled out some forms to inform certain agencies of the changes I've had such as moving, getting married, and getting a new number. It feels nice to be able to fill out forms and mark the "Married" check box instead of the "Single" one. :D

The hospital I'll be giving birth at is one of the best in the country. The amenities are awesome. Some of which Miguel must have forgotten about since he did go with me to the hospital tour. I let him know he would have to stay with me overnight for however long I had to be there. He was concerned about being able to shower, so I told him he could there. He was surprised. I guess he assumed it was a regular county hospital. He still thinks the hospital is way too far to travel to, but he knows its worth it too. Its the compromise we make to have the best for Lily. So Miguel will be able to stay with me and the baby while we're at the hospital and still go to work. He thought he would have to take a few days off. I let him know I wouldn't want him to especially since he gets to stay with us. Its a longer drive to work and back and he won't be able to give anyone rides like he does now, but it will only be for a few days at the most.

I recently remembered about a site that featured a timeline of one's life. I have had the idea to create one on paper but struggled to organize events chronologically with photos. The templates in my digital scrapbooking software suck too. So I opted to sign up for Our Story instead. This site is the perfect solution to a few problems I've been having as far getting history down for Lily. I can make a better timeline, add all the photos I want, and have others add their own stories, events and content. Then I can print it all out. Neato! Another awesome feature I love about Our Story is that there are question sets for just about any occasion. Just what I need for everything I want recorded about my own life, family, marriage, and child. Its a pretty nice way to leave something behind to Lily and any other children I have so that all their curiosities about Miguel and I are answered.

We bought Lily a drawer set like the one we already have so that we can put it next to the crib. I noticed how handy it was for my mom when she was caring for Andrew. It makes diaper changes convenient. We'll have her bathing things there along with diapers and wipes so that its all within easy reach. We would have gotten her a portable closet for all her things, but there's no room. Our room already is a combination of a kitchen, bedroom and nursery. We certainly can't keep crowding it. All we need now is a stroller and a good stock of diapers and wipes. :D

The JKeagan Toolbar

2008-08-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

I created this toolbar long ago and don't think I ever got the opportunity to tell you all about it here. Its the JKeagan toolbar which I customized to meet my needs. Its also designed to keep in touch with the members who download the toolbar. Its a very simple toolbar that makes things within easy reach. Practically anything you want. With new features rolling out quite often. I recently upgraded the toolbar with updated information. So go on and download yours today and let me know how it works out for you. :D Download here.

The photo in this entry is of a tiny kitten belonging to a neighbor of Miguel's family. How cute!

Happy Birthday Miguel Sr.!

2008-08-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated Miguel's father's birthday at a little Mexican restaurant with the whole family. All 13 of us had fun and ate well while wishing Miguel Sr. a very happy birthday. He turned 59. We got to take a bunch of photos, many of them priceless. I wasn't the only one with a camera though. :D

These are just a few of the photos taken yesterday. You can view the rest in their Flickr set here.

Journal Scrap Pages and Photography Progress

2008-08-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

I uploaded 200 photos from Miguel's sister's computer yesterday. There are still over 400 left. It took soooo long to just get those 200 up. Over 8 hrs! That's because they have a very slow internet connection. Which I should have considered before deciding to upload them from that computer. They have Windows Vista and a brand new computer, but the internet is ancient. So I'm going to go ahead and transfer the photos back onto my mom's computer so I can upload them faster. Should only take a little less than 2 hours on hers. Although I have the fastest internet, my computer is ancient. Sooooo slooooooww.

I have been scrapbooking as much as I can these past few days. My efforts have certainly made my journaling more interesting. Making each day a new ooprtunity to be more creative than the last. I look forward to the empty pages to fill ahead. I'm including several different elements to keep my interest. Although now, I am applying a different method to including the scrap pages I make. I previously would grab photos from my Flickr photostream and print them out on one sheet. Then print out a background page from my digital scrapbooking software. I would cut and paste the photo(s) to the background and then do the same with the background to the page(s). It did not leave much options for embellishments or text. So I decided to go the easy route and print everything on one page using my digital scrapbooking software (Scrapbook Factory Deluxe). Better ink quality while still using less ink and I get to include text and embellishments to make the layouts prettier or more eyecatching. Although I'm working with premade layouts right now, I'll be drafting my own sketches for new layouts to use later. Here are some pages of what I have scrapped so far.

The inside front cover

Pages within

The inside back cover

By the way, all of my uploads as of recent to my Flickr photostream are private now. No one but me can see them, but I can still use them here. So this is the place to check out new photography and scans. I've done this to prevent some people who already view my photostream to keep tabs on me from checking out my recent photography. They don't know about this blog. With a little one on the way, I will likely not make many of my future photos public on Flickr unless they are general artistic shots of a non-personal nature. So enjoy what I have to offer here and check out my archives to see my best work left for all to see.

Scrapbooking and Zines

2008-08-22T15:42:00.000-07:00

I started working on some scrapbooking ideas yesterday and decided to decorate my journal with what I spontaneously came up with. I decorated the inside covers of my journal with a wedding layout and a layout for the sonograms of Lily Jean. I have been working on making scrapbook pages on the pages of my journal as well. An exciting way to make sure I include at least one photo a day. I'm going to go out and buy Lily's journal today. I can't wait to start decorating it. I got a great idea from a book about decorating journals that's perfect for this project.The book referenced a really great site I checked out about scrapbooking as well. Its twopeasinabucket.com. If you haven't already, check it out. I love this site.

I began working on my future perzine yesterday. I may call it Pieces of Me, or something else depending if I'm inspired otherwise. I'm including a bunch of random stuff. Little things here and there. It won't be a very large zine. Just a fun little project to share with others.

Well, I'm off to do some organizing, toodles!

Journaling Inspirations

2008-08-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

Since checking out a bunch of books from the library about journaling and reading over some of them, I have all these new ideas I want to try. I know of a great way to decorate plain composition books now which I'll be applying to my next volume. I found out about some extras I can include in my journaling as well, just to make the content more interesting. Such as photos and drawings. I also realized that nothing is too mundane to write about or include in my journal. I'm going to redecorate my current journal and print out a bunch of photos to paste in the pages I'll be filling in the near future. It should save me time and effort when I'm ready to journal. Preparing pages is such a good idea, I can't believe I didn't think of it before.

There really is no better reason for me to journal now than what I'm experiencing in my life right now. Being pregnant, being newly married, and becoming a mother; my life is changing forever. I'm going to be keeping a private journal just for myself and a separate one for Lily. The journal I write for Lily will be just for her. Something to treasure when she's old enough to read it and understand what I wrote. I'll be starting it with a special letter I was inspired to write from an email I received.

I've decided to keep the bookbinding materials I have for my journal decorating projects. They will be coming in real handy for them. We have the space for them anyway, so why not? I have finished my color ink cartridge and have installed a new one. So it may be a few more months until I begin using the new all-in-one that my dad gave us. I can't wait to see what it can do even though it will take up way more space. Most of its ink will likely go to my zine and photography. Ha ha, I can already hear Miguel fretting over me printing out so many pages. (He thinks I waste ink). :)~

I'm nearly halfway through my current journal, which is a college ruled plain composition book. They cost $4 at the Rite Aid I get them at. I've been buying them there for years. It beats buying the sturdier ones I used to fancy at Office Max for $6. I lost my old pen I always wrote with at my mom's house, so I got another one I found and am using that one. I will likely never change my journaling style no matter how appealing others may seem. I started out a certain way, and it seems I was meant to stick with it. So I am. My tools? A college ruled composition book, printed or cut out drawings and photos, a glue stick, and a blue papermate ball point pen. My style? Dating the top of the page with every new entry, writing the time for each new entry throughout the day, numbering every page, and making sure I fill a page completely before starting a new day.

I have tons to write about now, so I'm gonna get to it. :D

Backing Up Photos

2008-08-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

For the past few days I have been focused on storing all of my photography onto my Flickr account and getting the photos I need for Lily's family tree scrapbook page. I was able to get all of Miguel's grandparents yesterday. Now I just need my grandparents on my dad's side and his parents. I found out that I have more photos than I previously thought on Miguel's sister Susan's computer. Over 650. I thought it was like 200 or 300. I can manage to upload them all in a day though if I'm there early. The photos are likely full resolution. I'm about halfway done with the wedding photos of my brother Jr. Although I have been having problems organizing the photos I upload into his set. Fortunately I have tagged them just in case.

I am taking a break today from working on my photography to take care of my duties at home. I need to do some cleaning and cooking. I went to the library and surprisingly got 13 books checked out instead of the 6 that I was notified were available. I have a lot of reading to do. Thank goodness I have about 2 months. I'll likely skim through them though. Oh yeah, and I got my first postcard from a swap on swap-bot.com. It gave me an idea to create a template of my own for swap-bot swaps using postcards. I left my sister with the responsibility to send the postcards for the swap, but she forgot yesterday and will hopefully send them today. I have yet to prepare the postcards for the second swap. Good thing I went out to buy more postcard stamps. :D

Blast from the Past

2008-08-17T17:32:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share some photos I came upon today in my online archives which I think are interesting.

Miguel and I in the beginning of our relationship.

Miguel as a baby.

Me as a baby.

Accomplishing Goals and Swapping

2008-08-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

I became a member of swap-bot.com yesterday in hopes of getting some inspiration for my own creative endeavors. I went ahead and started swapping myself so I could get acquainted with the community there and get myself rated. Eventually I would like to host my own swaps there. It would certainly be a nice idea to incorporate into the Mail Pals newsletter.

I have been making more progress on the things I continuously need to accomplish by having a buddy to keep up with weekly goals. As it is I keep a printed to-do list by four categories: Call, Do at Home, Write, and On the Go. I refer to it whenever I forget that something needs to be done. It happens. I also have a chore schedule to keep my place looking nice and neat. This system really works for me and I recommend others to participate by going to messies.com and checking out their Yahoo Group.

I have making making a mad dash lately for just about everything that I feel I need to do before the baby is born. I have a list for that and am tackling each item one by one. I'm confident I'll be able to accomplish those goals in time. I'm getting more anxious for Lily's arrival, but I know the wait is worth it. :D

I have been exploring Blogger's new features and designs over this last week. I really like a lot of the new things they have incorporated, but I can't use some of the things I want to because of the template I have. So I may eventually change it to suit my needs. I actually purchased this template and have adapted to it well, but I do need more functionality and flare. Now that I'm testing out the Draft Blogger, I see a greater need to update my blog. Which I'll be doing on a gradual basis.

I'll be going to my primary doctor tomorrow and to my OB on Wednesday. I was going to take a 2 and a half breastfeeding class at the hospital I'll give birth at last night, but I realized I could not because I had no stuffed animal or doll to take with me. Oh well. There's surely others who can show me the ropes.

Since finally clearing my computer of all the photos I needed to store, I am now working on organizing them. My brother Jr still doesn't have all of his wedding photos, so I'll be taking care of that hopefully before his anniversary. Most of the photos I have that still need to be stored are on my mom's computer, which is most convenient for me. I'll be going there every day that I can to upload them to my Flickr account. I've calculated that if I upload a few hundred five days a week I will manage to get them all on Flickr before the baby is due. I'm gonna have to multitask and acquire the photos from all the other scatted locations at the same time though. So its a big goal. I don't have anyone else to help me though, which makes it harder and simpler for me at the same time. I will accomplish it at a slower pace, but I at least know what I'm doing.So it beats having to write directions for someone or having to sit down and show them every step.

My Indoor Garden

2008-08-15T16:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of the new plants we got recently, as promised. :D

A purple mini rose plant

A tiny pink foliage plant

A large foliage plant

A long ivy plant

Getting Things Done

2008-08-15T15:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent most of the day at my parents house washing Lily's clothes and blankets for her hospital bag as well as her crib set. The Dreft detergent I bought smells great and is surprisingly not as thick as I thought it would be. Its concentrated as well, so it saves me a sooner trip to Wal-Mart or Target for more.

While I was there I managed to transfer all the photos I had left on my computer of my brother JR's wedding to my mom's computer and upload some of my other photos to Flickr as backups. There are now nearly 4,000 of my photos on my mom's computer. I was surprised, but its to be expected when I have been shooting so much over the last year. Especially since getting my Nikon D40x, which will be a year old next month. MY Flickr account has nearly 8,000 photos. That with all the other photos I have scattered in several locations, I have about 15,000 photos in my collection. Much more than I previously assumed.

I'm sure it would take me years to go through them all and sort them so that I can properly organize them into albums. So that will probably never happen unless I have a helper with all the time in the world to do it and knows what they are doing. Still, at least I have all the photos I have taken since I started my photography journey, with only a few losses. My next big goal is to get all the photos I have from elsewhere and put them all on Flickr before my Pro account expires in January. I don't think I will be renewing for 2 more years. What a task though.

I have decided to make my perzine (which still has no name) in a scrapbook format. I'll publish it four times a year starting in January. That way I can start my content next month with the birth of Lily and have everything ready by the new year. This seems much easier for me to manage. Once I have my templates done all I'll need to do is add text and photos. Since I'm publishing so infrequently, the zine will surely be large so it will have to be in black and white to save on ink. So far I have a mailing list of over 10 people. I'll continue to update you guys on the progress of this upcoming publication.

I have had many tasks to do since most weren't accomplished this last Wednesday. I did some shopping yesterday, mailed some things, and finally got some of the new stamps. I rescheduled my doctor's appointment which unfortunately is not until Moday afternoon and got some much needed photos taken along with some cool ones I got lucky with. They will be uploaded soon. :D

Jr was at my mom's house most of the day as well. He was making plans to have a weekend vacation and invited me along. Although today I got the news that the trip has been canceled. So I'm staying home with hubby instead. My mom was disappointed though, she was looking forward to it. I got to go with her to my brother Peter's court this morning though. Got up extra early for that. He looks much different, but his case is coming along well. So my mom is happy releived about that despite the news she got yesterday. Her medical insurance was canceled and now she has no way of getting it back. With her state of health it is crucial that she have insurance. Jr and I gave her advice on how to get new insurance, so we'll see if she decides to do that or not.

Yesterday I also learned that the original photos that my mom had of her parents have been lost. I got saddened because they were really great photos and were the only ones that existed of their kind. My grandfather was a professional photographer in his day, so my mom has a great collection of photos from way back in the day. She suggested I try to get some photos from my aunt. Since she makes regular trips to Mexico, she may be able to get me some exclusive photos of some of my relatives. I had copies of the original photos of my grandparents, but have no idea what happened to them. Bummer.

I have finished editing the web site for the new Mail Pals newsletter. A few have checked it out, but I have yet to get any ad submissions. No ads, no newsletter. So I'm going to go a little further and advertise the newsletter wherever I can to get things going. Hopefully I'll have enough by the end of this month to get the ball rolling. The new web site is here. Please tell everyone you know who may be interested in this. :D

The photo in this entry is of one of the ponds at the local Ford Park. I took it at night last year.

Delays and Some Newfound Creativity

2008-08-13T15:09:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to think that we may never get the crib Mary gave us set up properly. Good thing we still have the one we bought. Surely we would have had it in place by now. Oh, and the baby shower is canceled. Although it still doesn't seem to late, there is just no money for it. I was looking forward to it, but there certainly more important things to take care of.

I was supposed to go to the doctor today to get my Scabies checked out. I ended up not being able to because Miguel got us lost for an hour and just gave up to come home. The directions were good and ready on the screen and he could have printed them out, but he depended on his memory (which obviously is not so good) to guide us there. I'll have to make another appointment and drive there with my dad. Along with so many other destinations I have to go to, the library, Target, the Post Office, the grocery store. I won't bother waiting for Miguel's days off to do things that need to get done. Miguel has been much too unreliable these past few weeks and I can't let him get in the way of progress I need to make. So I'll be going to my mom's house to wash the baby's linens and clothes sometime this week. We regularly wash at the nearby laundromat, but I don't like the cleanliness level of that place.

I have created a family tree scrapbook page for Lily. I got all the names I needed, but have yet to get a hold of the photos. Some I have to hunt down. It will be quite an accomplishment when I am done though. :D I also did my first scrapbook page commemorating my wedding day using the supplies my friend Jennie sent me. I plan to do many more, but this is it for now. Here is a photo I took today of the layout. I worked on it last night. I have it on our fridge until I get a scrapbook album to place it in.

I have been newly inspired to start another zine. I've learned a lot from managing my first one and will definitely be better at making sure this new one is a better success. It will be more like a perzine, which is of a personal nature. Published about three to four times a year and totally free. I'm still drafting ideas as to what I want to include in it, such as scrapbook pages of my photography, new poems I write. Perhaps a journal section if I'm up to it. Maybe even some of my old drawings. Just a bunch of random stuff to share with others. I guess it would be a neat way to keep everyone I know updated on the more exclusive details of my life. No name yet either. Just a bunch of ideas.

My pen pal newsletter is looking better since I worked on the format of the pages yesterday. I'm working on getting people to submit ads though. Those who do get a free issue. The newsletter is basically like a large friendship book, but with a few extras. It will be rather small to start, so not much work to worry about. Just a lot of creativity to apply. :D Oh, and I got another pen pal, so now I have four in all. That's it for me. I write pretty long letters to them all as it is, I wouldn't want to be bogged down by needing to write more often or to more people. So I have removed my ad from the pen pal site I was on. I just hope these pals work out. I would be disappointed in them not blossoming as my pen friendships with the others have.

Oh, and the photo in this entry is of me at the beginning of my 8th month of pregnancy. :D

Oh How I Hate Delays

2008-08-10T14:44:00.000-07:00

Miguel tried setting up the crib yesterday, but was unable to complete it. There are two parts missing for the front of the crib to be in place. Its one of those cribs that changes into transitional beds. Our friend Mary will be looking for the parts. If she can't find them, her boyfriend may be able to make the parts. Otherwise we'll have to stick with the crib we already bought. As it is, the crib takes up a lot of room. We decided to leave it up against the wall and bed so that we would have room to access our closet. We'll be using the bottom of the crib for storage bins with Lily's things.

I have yet to wash all of Lily's clothes and linens, so I gotta get on the ball with that. I bought some special baby detergent just for that, its called Dreft. Rather costly, but necessary. I thought I would go the route of washing all her things by hand, but in my condition and with my time limits its just not possible. So into the washer they go.

I recently got a letter from an inmate in another state. It surprised me because he said his friend gave him my address. Judging by the letter I assume the friend failed to mention that I am married and pregnant. I had posted a pen pal ad on a popular web site and decided to change it to leave out my home address. I also added that I won't accept inmate, male, or minor pen pals. Although I currently do have a pen friend who is a male inmate, I no longer feel like having any more. I am being more careful about placing my home address online now. I simply can't risk it. So now whoever wishes to reply to my ad has to email me for approval before they can send me anything by snail mail. As it is, I have only started a new pen friendship with one person. That's how limiting I am now. Especially since I'm not into having pen friends just for the sake of having them. Just a few is good enough for me. So until I'm satisfied with the new pen friendships I establish, my ads will stay up. I'm glad I directed everyone to another email address besides my primary one. There are some really whack people out there from all over the world. I wish I could get a PO Box, but I can't afford it. I don't get enough mail to bother anyway.

I recently got Scabies. I have to go to my new primary doctor tomorrow. It has worsened over a few days, so I really have to get this taken care of. The last time I remember having Scabies was in the 6th grade. It is so irritating. Too bad there isn't any over the counter medication I can use.

I finally got the extra wedding photos from my mom's camera. I have yet to edit them all, but will publish them online soon. :D

Week 33

2008-08-07T15:24:00.000-07:00

I turn 33 weeks today, according to my OB. Not too much longer to go. We finally got our crib yesterday, but Miguel was much too tired to assemble it. We always have very busy and tiring days on his days off, especially Wednesdays. We are planning on setting up on Saturday. In the meantime, the parts are stood up against the wall next to our bed. We'll be returning the crib that we bought to get store credit and purchase some much needed items for our room. Chairs, shelves, and maybe some pillows. I have moved my little office area next to the dresser. Where my laptop and extra keyboard sit atop the TV tray and my printer atop the edge of the dresser. My speakers will go into the cabinet underneath, but Miguel has to drill a hole for the wires. The phone is atop our alarm clock as well. We did the best we could in organizing the space we have now, and it seems to be a lot better than before.

I managed to clear out my things from Miguel's mother's house yesterday. A lot was thrown away and some still remains to be thrown out. I brought home some more storage boxes which will be very useful for Lily's things. I have a bin full of bookbinding materials and supplies, some of which has never been used. I'm still undecided on what I want to do with it. Hang onto it and use it in the future, sell it, throw it out, or give it away to someone crafty. Miguel wants me to sell it, but I don't think the items can sell as well as electronics these days. I don't want to ship everything either. Bookbinding is a rare interest. I only know of one other friend who does it. Perhaps he would get use out of what I have.

In another bin I have tons of notebooks I have to look through to save what is important and throw out the rest. The rest of the stuff I brought home is just memories and useful things for my creative endeavors. Things I know I will definitely need in the near future. One of my most prized possessions is surely my paper cutter. It cost a pretty penny, but is worth it. That thing slices through paper like no one's business.

Besides doing some organizing today, I also have to cook, clean and catch up some reading. I went to the library earlier and found out that there is free Wi-Fi being offered there now. Pretty neat considering I have a laptop. They said they just need my library card number to grant access. That's a lot more flexible than having to use their computers on a limited basis for only an hour. Surely I won't be needing to take my laptop unless I plan to spend a whole day there. Who knows, I might just plan to so I can explore the books I've been wanting to look through and still keep up with things online. I went to pick up some books I ordered. One on pen pals and the other on Excel 2007. I totally forgot everything I learned about using Excel and need to figure out how this new version works. Its so different from past versions.

I'm also doing some much needed reading on how to care for my baby when I bring her home. I'm totally clueless, and I doubt I will be getting much help besides what Miguel can show me. So its important that I am prepared. Its such a blessing that I have not already given birth. Although I fear that I may need a C-section. As I endure the growing pains of being in my third trimester, I become yet more anxious to reach that final day. I almost forgot, I went to the doctor yesterday. Just a regular 2 week follow up. I gained 3 lbs in 2 weeks. Lily is growing pretty fast.

I won't be putting in the crib stuff until I get everything washed. So photos will be a bit delayed. I can't wait though! Its the finishing touch to our small abode here. :D

No Crib Yet

2008-08-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a really lazy day. We got up really early in the morning to shop for groceries. Then we went to eat out and then to Home Depot where Miguel got me this really cute little foliage plant. I'll have photos soon. We went to his mom's house afterward and knocked out as soon as we got home. We were both so tired from not having much sleep.

We waited all day for Mary's call about the crib, but the phone never rang. We did not hear from her today either. So I'm guessing something might be up on her end. We should probably wait until we can go over next Saturday. Its not so bad after all though because I still have not figured out where I'm going to move my little home office area. So its bought me some time.

Not much else to update than that. Til next time. :D

New Web Address

2008-08-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

I have changed my standard Blogger web address to lyndasolorio.blogspot.com from the previous lyndawalldez.blogspot.com. Please note this. If you arrive via inputting jkeagan.com, it should already be forwarding to this new address. Nothing else has changed. I will be in the process of updating this info for all the sites I have the old address logged in. I appreciate your patience. :D

A Smoothie Recipe

2008-08-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

I tried a new recipe I came across today of a smoothie that I would like to share. It’s a real treat. Lucky for me I had the basic ingredients on hand. If you try it, let me know how you like it. :D

Creamy Melon Cooler
2 c cubed cantaloupe
¾ c frozen vanilla yogurt
1 tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate
¼ tsp chopped mint leaves
4 ice cubes, crushed

Pulse cantaloupe, yogurt, orange concentrate, mint and ice in blender until smooth. Pour into 2 glasses.

Organizing Progress

2008-08-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

Lily’s crib will be getting set up tomorrow. I have cleared and organized some space in our closet to make the transition easier. Several items in the closet are going to be placed in the crib. I also organized the space atop and near our dresser. Miguel thinks that is where I should make my laptop’s permanent home. Still not sure how I will manage the move though. It seems it will be tricky because of the wiring. The large bin will surely have to go back into the closet. Perhaps we can use the space underneath our bed as storage as well. We’ll see how it eventually evens out by the end of tomorrow when all is said and done. I want to get a bulletin board to post some of the loose papers I already have on the walls around the room, but it seems space is limited for it. I already have a whiteboard and I am not sure where it will end up once the crib is in place.

I’m thinking of donating the art I have on my walls so I can replace each piece with decorations that are a bit more appealing. We’d like to put up shelves for more plants as well. As if 5 weren’t enough. Miguel has the idea of collecting small cactus plants though. Yet, with the recent earthquake it doesn’t seem like such a good idea. Especially with a little one on the way. She might be inclined to try and touch them. Yikes! Though plants to brighten up a room and flowers surely add some color into it, it seems wiser to start an outdoor garden instead. Then I can just worry about giving them plant food and watering them. I currently have to monitor their soil moistness and move them in and out of the house so they can get the sunlight they need. Sort of a hassle at times. Don't worry, photos will be up as soon as I get a chance to get them here!

Keeping Busy and Organized

2008-07-31T14:43:00.000-07:00

As expected, yesterday was a whirlwind of a day. We got up really early to do laundry, then get some vitamin refills at the doctor's office, then to check out the crib Mary wants to give us; which we are going to set up on Saturday, then to pick up her daughter from school, then to my WIC appointment, then grocery shopping with Miguel's mom, and finally home to take a much needed nap. Miguel had slept only 2 hours the previous night. After our nap we went to the market again to get some smoothie ingredients and a refill of drinking water. After which we called it quits for the day and watched movies until bed time.

I had the idea of keeping track of how we spend our money by keeping a balance sheet. After a few tries and some mistakes on my part, I decided to give it up. Miguel doesn't cooperate in keeping track of what he spends, so it messes the whole system up. We're better off just adding the totals every week and trying to remember what our biggest expenses are.

I was also trying to plan a weekly menu, but simply kept drawing blanks when it came to figuring out what would be available to cook at week's end. Meals differ between Miguel and I as well because I don't eat what I usually cook for him. So instead I'm writing down a meal plan for each day on what I plan to eat throughout the day based on what we have on hand. I'm gonna try to eat 6 times a day and pace myself for every 2 hours. That way I'll get the nutrition both baby and I need and I'll never be too hungry. Seems simple enough.

A few other things that have made my life easier; prepared envelopes, a standard to do list, a chore list, and an online calendar as well as a paper one. I previously had several sheets of different stamps to use for mailings. Since I bought some more #10 envelopes I simply placed all the stamps on envelopes and made some postcards as well so that they are prepared for mailing ahead of time. Then all I have to do is stuff, address, and seal them. It makes it easier for when our Time Warner bill arrives. Vonage is even simpler because they automatically deduct funds from my bank account. No paper and no effort. :D

My standard to do list is just a template I made on Microsoft Excel of a single sheet divided by four boxes. They are labeled Call, Do At Home, On the Go, and Write. Each item I list within these boxes has a check box next to them to keep track of the tasks I complete. I keep it where I can see it all the time and write everything in pencil in case of any changes. It has really helped me get things done and plan future tasks better.

My chore list is pretty simple. There are three sections, Daily, Weekly, and Monthly; based on my needs. I list the chores under each and have it posted on my wall next to the light switch. So if I forget a chore that needs to be done, I just refer to the list and complete it. Cuz you know, being pregnant sure makes you absentminded at times. I then assign a day of the week and month for the other two categories to be done on my calendar.

My online calendar keeps me on track with appointments, important dates, and bill payments. I have each item I input send me a reminder to my email within a reasonable time period so I won't forget about that item. What makes it convenient is that I can see what I have ahead of time right in my email and access my full calendar there as well. Of course, I'm using the new Yahoo Mail instead of the Classic version. On top of that I have printed calendars up to two months ahead. I only write major events on these so I can refer to them and know how much time I have to prepare for each. I keep these in a sheet protector in a binder I use often.

I have already begun my recipe book by printing the category dividers, Main Dishes, Sides, Desserts, and Beverages. I've organized all my loose recipe sheets into these and am typing them into Microsoft Word. Which reminds me, I still have to write down a few recipes I've come up with before I forget how I cook them. I might as well set aside a notebook for that purpose. I'll just take it in the kitchen with me and write everything as it is created. When you're hungry and feeling a little creative, its amazing what you can come up with. :D