Just the two of us

a little late....

2011-06-26T05:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Father´s day to the sweetest, kindest and funiest daddy in all the world!!!

Love you. Hope you have a wonderful day.

ps. he also gives the BEST hugs!!!

The most BEAUTIFUL mother!!!

2011-05-08T06:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother´s Day to my mommy!

Isn´t she SOOOOO beautiful!!!!!

Love you mom!

Sunday with family

2011-03-07T02:43:00.000-08:00

Slacker!

2011-03-05T02:37:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to say hi!

Life around these parts the past, oh.....5 months just hasn´t been all that interesting....HENCE the lack of enthusiasm or "ganas" to post. You just need to ask my parents and they´ll tell you that the only thing I ever talk about is my calling.

So I don´t bore you all with how "fun" my calling is, I´ll just let you know that all is well over here and we hope all is well over there!

Day with Tito David and Tita Cindi

2010-09-07T08:50:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we talked about Sasha coming to stay with us for a night, and the only time we could fit it in between work, camp and her school was the day after camp. For those of you that don´t know, Sasha is the daughter of one of Davids best friends, she´s five and too cute. She made herself right at home and we didn´t have even ONE problem.

The first night we got back to our place late, but she was so wired up that we played the Wii and watched a movie. Of course David "lost" at Wii so he had to do push-ups....Sasha helped.

The next day Sasha and I had a girls day. I painted her finger and toe nails, curled and braided her hair and we were off to shop!!

Her mom had never painted her nails before, so it was a new experience for her, she looked at me a little weird when I started painting but she thought they were pretty! Her parents were surprised to see her nails when I took her home, but they liked them...thank goodness! They didn´t get to see her hair because she took a bath before going home.

She´s only five, but already a great shopper!! She doesn´t just pick stuff she likes, she actually puts the shirts with the pants with the shoes and with the purse to see if it all looks good together! It was so much fun!

This is one of the little outfits we picked out. It was sooo funny...for those of you that know me, you know I LOVE black, but not so much for kids. Well, I don´t know what got into Sasha but she fell in love with this little black skirt made from faux leather! We left it at the first store and went to three other stores - I was hoping she would forget about it, but she didn´t. So here she is with her black "leather" skirt, grey sparkle shoes, purple and black shirt, black headband with a bow and a black leather bracelet with a bow....we forgot to take a picture with it, but she also picked out a little black purse with pink rhinestones! She wouldn´t hold still so I could get a really good picture, but I think she looks so cute!!

Besides shopping we also, played the Wii, made pizza, painted a jewelry box, bought some cars for her little brother, watched a movie, drew some pictures for mom and Tito David (who had to work) and sang primary songs on the way back home.

I love being Tia Cindi and had so much fun!!

Love you Sasha!!!

ps. needless to say that after camp and Sasha, today I´ve been doing a whole lot of NOTHING!! :)

Girls Camp 2010

2010-09-07T08:31:00.001-07:00

Not much to say. I LOVE the girls in my stake and we have a great time together. I hope they learned something and had fun. Most importantly I hope they know they´re loved by Heavenly Father and that they can always count on Him.

Do as I´m doing...in between skits.

Last day...cindi has a tired face!!

Princesa, hija de un Rey

Thanks David for coming the last two days!! I know it´s not a great nights sleep but you help me keep going!!

3 Musketeers together again

2010-08-10T03:06:00.000-07:00

Hans and family moved to Canada about 5 years ago and this is their first trip back to Spain.

David, Hans and Abi

They look like three old men chatting about life, which they did. But when they are together they also act a little bit like 16 year olds again too!

It´s interesting how you can really know who your best friends are by they way you act together. We hadn´t seen Hans and Yolanda for 5 years, but we all acted like it had just been 5 days.

Since David and I don´t have kids of our own, we borrow other peoples for the pictures!!

And all the kids got along great...like they had been friends forever too.

I, of course, grabbed baby Ruben as fast as I could. Sorry I don´t have a better picture of him, but I did get a great video of him in the pool I´ll post soon.

It was a delightful afternoon with great friends and fun kids.

A big THANKS to Hans´mother and sister for the wonderful food and letting us enjoy their home.

7 years...

2010-08-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

Who knew 7 years could go by so fast?!?!

Love you honey!

Nice to know.

2010-04-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

For those of you that don´t know, David and I have been trying to get pregnant for 5 years now...without any luck, obviously!! Here in Spain we have socialized medicine which in a lot of ways is really nice, all of my tests are free and I have a very nice doctor, but waiting lists are long. So about 2 years ago with my same doctor, but privately, we tried artificial insemination 3 times...also without any luck, obviously! Because of costs (and I just got sick of it all) I went back to my doctor to ask him to put us on the list for in vitro fertilization (the free kind) and then took a break from doctors and worrying about it.

In November of last year I got a letter notifying me that I would have my first appointment with a new fertility doctor in March of this year. It was a wait, but it was nice to know things were moving along. We went to my first appointment, which was basically a "get to know you" appointment and then made other appointments for tests etc. So, last week I went back to the doctor to get an ultrasound and results. What it comes down to is that unlike my sister-in-law and cousins that are totally "fertile Myrtles", I´m not! I won´t bore you with the gory details but I will say that it is nice to know there´s a "reason" why we haven´t gotten pregnant. Finally, the doctor told me that because of our situation we are able to be put on the "priority" list for in vitro which is nice....even though it´s still a waiting list of 6 to 12 months.

So, now you know....even if you didn´t want to!! But I have to say, for me, it really is nice to know!

*Side note for all my brothers (Nathan, Chris, Bobby and Jeff): If the in vitro works I do expect you all to come over to participate in the baby blessing. If you start now you´ve got a good year / year and a half to save your pennies!! Don´t say I didn´t warn you!!

Guest room...

2010-04-13T13:02:00.001-07:00

When we moved in this is what the spare room looked like. And just so you know...the mattress is on top of a bunch of boxes!!

After about 8 months of ugly spare room, I decided it needed to be, at the very least, usable. So I pealed off the border, painted over the ugly redish and yellowish with paint we had here and went to Ikea for some basics. It was good enough to get by for a while, but I knew it wouldn´t last!

Finally, this past month I have been painting different rooms in the house and got obsessed with "home improvements" .... and my mom told me that if they came over to visit they would have to be able to walk on both sides of the bed (as you can see above the bed is up against the wall)... so I decided to change the room completely.

The only thing that really frustrates me is that because the room looks small and simple now, it looks like it was easy to do..... and it wasn´t!

Who knows if I´ll get sick of this "decor" too ( or if a kid will ever come?!), but at least I think that with each make-over the room has gotten better!!

So, now that my guest room is pretty and usable and there´s even space in the closet, all I need now is............... a guest or two!!!!

Snow in Terrassa too.

2010-03-14T14:28:00.001-07:00

From outside my windows you can see that we got even more snow in Terrassa.

These were taken the day after.

Our side of the street gets lots of sun, but the other side is almost always shady and there was snow over there 3 days after it had snowed!

Snow in Barcelona!!

2010-03-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

Barcelona hit with heaviest snowfall in 25 years

Schools were closed, roads were blocked and power was knocked as Barcelona was hit with its heaviest snowfall in 25 years.

Those were the headlines this week. On Monday we got snow.

Now, I know to most of you snow isn´t too news worthy since you live with it half the year...but here in Barcelona it´s pretty much a novelty. You should have seen the people taking pictures (ok, so I was one of those people). Roads were closed, buses and trains stopped working. Let´s just say, it´s a good thing it doesn´t snow often or we would be in big trouble!

Snow on the beach. Something I don´t think I´ve ever seen before.

The funniest thing to me were the umbrellas. I don´t think I´ve ever see people use umbrellas in the snow before either?! And the people that actually work in Barcelona (not the tons of tourists) were visibly annoyed by the snow, and of course all the problems and inconveniences it was causing.

I got to leave work early so David could pick me up because the trains weren´t working. We picked up Julia and sat in traffic for a while, until I thought of something better to do....we went to movie and had dinner and by the time we got back on the road everything was cleared up and we got home nice and quick!!

Andorra

2010-03-14T13:36:00.001-07:00

The first weekend in January David surprised me with a little getaway to Andorra (look at the map below to see where it is). We went with a couple from our ward. It was just a two day trip, but we had a nice time. It was nice to be in the cold and see a bit of snow.
Of course these good little return missionaries found a half gallon bottle of beer on the sidewalk (almost completely full, it must not have been very good!!) and decided to take some funny pictures!

You may not believe this but Andorra is actually a little tiny country. And it may be stuck between France and Spain, but their official language is Catalan!!

12 dongs = 12 grapes

2010-01-04T04:37:00.000-08:00

This is a Spanish tradition... Everybody gets 12 grapes and when the clock strikes 12 it "dongs" 12 times and in order to have a good year you have to eat a grape each time it dongs, without falling behind. I have to admit that I´m not a big fan of this tradition since the grapes here have seeds in them! But what I find HILARIOUS is that there are some people (like my mother and sister in laws) that have to actually PEEL the grapes before eating them!! I had NEVER heard of peeling grapes before I came here!

getting ready....

2010-01-04T04:15:00.000-08:00

Everybody with grapes in hand....

HaPPy NeW YeAR!!!

2010-01-04T04:09:00.000-08:00

We had some friends over for dinner to celebrate the New Year.

My wish for everyone is that 2010 is better than 2009!

2010-01-04T03:34:00.000-08:00

The 26th is a holiday in Cataluña, so I thought I would give Julia a day off of cooking and cleaning and had everyone come over to our house. We ate lots, played games and as you can see everyone had an opinion on how to cut the ham!!

Christmas Day 2009

2010-01-04T03:27:00.000-08:00

Christmas day we still had lots of food, but not so many people. So after eating it was nap time for these four while I "played with" Miriam´s hair.

This picture proves that Christmas is pretty boring when there aren´t any little kids around!!

Christmas Eve 2009

2010-01-04T02:31:00.000-08:00

Lots of food and family on Christmas Eve at Julia´s house.

FHE fun!

2010-01-04T02:06:00.000-08:00

At FHE we played "Cuantos Puntos" (how many points) and these were the players that ended up with points. If you look closely on their faces you´ll find the points!

Ready for Christmas

2009-12-03T09:12:00.000-08:00

It´s been hard, but I waited until after Thanksgiving (in the US) to put up the Christmas decor. I love having the lights and tree etc. up, it makes it feel more like home.

This is our little Nativity set...it will do until I get moms!!

The tree mom bought me the second time they came over here.

Out the window you can see lights on the balcony...we were the first to put lights up!

NEW MOON

2009-11-12T01:15:00.000-08:00

Not to be mean or anything, but to show you all that sometimes there is an advantage of living over here in Spain...take a look at the DATE on this poster (I know the day and month are backwards for you USAers) yup that´s right, it comes out here 2 days BEFORE it comes out in the USA!!

So, I´ll be thinking about all you sister-in-laws and cousins and friends while I´m in the theater in Barcelona watching it on Wednesday - in english!! And I´ll try not to post anything that would ruin it for you all!!!

Birthday

2009-11-09T01:09:00.000-08:00

After I got my talk out of the way on Saturday evening David and I went out to a great Italian restaurant (yummy). Then Sunday, my actual birthday was just nice. We got up to go to Stake Conference...it was actually a very nice conference...I got to see all my YW in the stake and the YM too and because of the gran invention of facebook most of them even said "Happy birthday" to me. They are the best youth EVER!

Anyway, after conference we came home and I whipped out my Las Golandrinas tortillas from the freezer and made some yummy bean and cheese burritos. And to make them even better I added some Del Taco sauce to them (I happen to have 2 bags full of the sauce that I brought back from Cali. this last trip!!) They weren´t quite as good as the real thing, but pretty close! For dessert we had brownies and ice cream.....more yummy!!

After eating we headed over to take care of Carlos and when we got home (I know it was sunday, but oh well...) we snuggled up and watched a super cute movie.

After the movie mom and dad called and we had a nice talk.

All in all, it was a very nice day.

OH! but FYI, I´ve decided that until I have children I will continue turning 30 each year...I think that´s fair!

Thanksgiving Part III - All that work and it´s over so fast!

2009-11-03T00:51:00.000-08:00

Half of the gang...waiting for the rest.

All 14 of us...I´m counting the turkey!!

It was fun when all the bowls and plates started getting passed around....it may have all been in Spanish, but the chaos was the same as it is at home!

David, of course, has a horrible time being the center of attention so playing the piano for everyone was really difficult for him...... WHATEVER! He LOVES it!!!!!

All in all it was a very nice day. Julia and David were GREAT helpers I wouldn´t have been able to do it without them!

Thanksgiving Part II - "Be prepared"

2009-11-03T00:50:00.000-08:00

Saturday (Halloween) David and I got up early and I dropped him off at the gym and I did the last of the shopping. When he got home from the gym he was astonished that I was in the kitchen cutting up the vegetables (for the veggies and dip), he didn´t understand why I was doing that Saturday instead of the same day as the dinner. He ate lunch and then was kid enough to come help me. After we cut, washed and bagged up all the veggies I looked at him and said, "That took 2 hours...do you still think we should have waited until tomorrow to do it?" He of course replied, "No." and didn´t complain the rest of the day as we kept preparing things.

He really was a good helper. Of course he would help and then take a break and then help and then break (while I kept working the whole day)...but at least he helped and was happy about it!

My mother-in-law is always in charge of the turkey...she buys it (I wouldn´t know where to go to buy a turkey) and cleans it up and worries about it while it´s cooking!! Between going to bed late, her SNORING (seriously, her snoring abilities are up there with Aunt Lu´s!) , thinking about what I still needed to do the next day, getting up to put the turkey in the oven and the fact that I had to go to church, I didn´t get much sleep!

5:30am, the bird came de-feathered, but it ain´t no butter ball, so we still had to do some last minute plucking!

We don´t usually put anything inside the turkey, but this year Julia decided she would try it out.

What´s funny is that one of the MANY times she woke up to check on the turkey she decided that it wasn´t cooking fast enough and the stuff she had stuffed it with was the problem so she took it all out! When she told me what she had done I asked her how long the bird had been in the oven when she took the stuff out...it had only been in for 2 hours...of course it doesn´t look "cooked" after 2 hours! SO FUNNY!!!

The turkey turned out just fine...thank goodness after all the "stress" it caused Julia!!

Saturday I also made an apple pie and a pumpking pie. Both turned out pretty good, and the pumpkin pie most everyone had a piece of, but the apple pie was too cinnamon-y for them (they don´t use cinnamon much in Spain...I don´t know why? it´s soo yummy!!!). But that was fine with me....I get the pie all to myself!!

Since it was Halloween I bought a pumpkin and carved it to have as a decoration. Everyone was so impressed that I had carved it myself. It´s interesting with different cultures...something so ordinary, for us, like carving a pumpkin for Halloween, is so "amazing" to them.

Thanksgiving Part I - Froo Froo

2009-11-03T00:48:00.000-08:00

The turkey pillow...so cute!

So, for those of you that know my mother at all you know that "froo froo" isn´t really her thing... so that makes this post even better!

As most of you know it has now become my job to have Thanksgiving each year here in Spain...this is my BIG family event of the year, so of course I want to make it GREAT (I have a tendency to go overboard sometimes!). So, while I was home this summer mom and I were trying to think of ways to make my BIG even more special and I told her I´d like a nice "fallish" tableclothe - so the big mistake of the year...we went to KOHLS (moms favorite store...and starting to be one of mine too!) Not only did we find a tableclothe, but of course we bought 2 because I would have to set up two tables. And if I have a tableclothe I need napkins to match...right?! And then of course you have to have a centerpiece. OH and who could forget the cute hand towell to hang in the bathroom and the cute kitchen towells. And last but not least you HAVE to have a turkey pillow on the couch!!!

It was SOOOO much fun to be able to pick all this stuff out with mom...she was actually kind of "froo froo" for a minute...and enjoying it!! We were excited about finding a tableclothe, but what mom REALLY got excited about were the cute towells! They are cute!

Below is the centerpiece and candles I brought from California. Mom thought I was a bit crazy...couldn´t I find a centerpiece in Spain? Yes, but it wouldn´t have been as much fun as picking it out with her...and Spain doesn´t have candles that smell like this! They smell like sugar and spice, sooo yummy!!!!

I needed something to put on the second table (and we only bought one centerpiece in CA - thank goodness because my luggage already weighed too much!!)...I already had these candles so I just bought some decor stuff and put them on a plate I have....it worked.

My mother-in-law was shocked when she came over and saw the table set and all the little decorations (and the fact that the table was set and ready the night before also caught her off guard!!) The whole day she was making sure that everyone saw all the little details. She´s so cute, she makes such a fuss over everything. But really she was very pleased with her daughter-in-law! I think it´s so funny how excited she was about everything...it´s not like it´s out of this world to decorate a little.

David was so cute about it too...he said I´ve raised the bar for the family, now everyone is going to have to/want to decorate and make things pretty when they put on a family dinner!

Thanks mom for taking the time to shop with me and be a bit froo froo (I know you don´t like to do either of those things!!). It was lots of fun and made Thanksgiving way more special for me and everyone else. LOVE YOU MOM!

Drill fun!

2009-10-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

I know this is kind of a silly post, but I wanted to make sure that my father knew I was putting the drill bits he got me while I was home to good use! You see here in Spain most of the walls (everything really) are made of brick so when it comes to hanging stuff it´s NOT easy. But now thanks to the fabulous drill bits it´s almost too easy! These pictures only show one thing I´ve drilled into my brick walls, but I´ve also put up curtains a painting and a ceiling lamp with the new bits!

Thanks dad!!

2009 Family Trip Part I

2009-10-06T07:05:00.001-07:00

After our 14 hour trip to California my parents picked David and me up at LAX for another hour long drive San Juan. We stopped at A´s burgers for some yummy food and when we finally got home David went for a bike ride while I re-packed. David and I got showered and changed, packed up the car and the four of us were off for a nice 12 hour drive to Utah!! Oh what we do for family...and what a good husband I have, he only complained a little bit!! Of course the AdvilPM I gave him for the car ride worked wonderfully - he and mom cuddled up in the back and slept most of the way!

It was wonderful to see the Norton family and as you can see the boys took building their hamburgers VERY seriously!!

We LOOOVVVEEEEE these kids. David really got attached to Lauren this trip, it was so cute to watch her cuddle up with him or him playing with her on the playground at the reunion. I miss the hugs and kisses so much.

On the trip back to California we stopped just long enough to visit with Aunt Beth and Danielle. You can´t even tell that Danielle is about to BURST (8 mnths. prego), she´s always so beautiful. I miss her tons. OH! she did have her 5th the first week of September, so that makes the count 3 boys, 2 girls...I wonder what the next one will be?!?!?!

Happenings...

2009-10-05T18:21:00.001-07:00

We had Davids mother, Aunt, Uncle and Grandfather over for dinner. It was the first time his Aunt, Uncle and Grandfather had been to our apartment since we moved in. It was a really nice evening...Davids Grandfather even got him to play the piano for us.

AUGUST 2, 2009: We celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary!

David made me a beautiful meal and we spent the day together. He´s a great husband...and actually a really good cook!!

The weekend before David and I headed to the States we went down to Valencia with Julia to visit Davids little sister Miriam. We had a nice time seeing the sites, going to the beach and seeing what Miriam is up to.

Bye to David, Nelly and fam

2009-10-05T17:59:00.000-07:00

David and Nelly came to Spain just a few months after David and I were married. They are from my "favorite food" country....MEXICO!! When they got here they had two super cute little boys and they left with the same cute boys and a darling little girl.

It was great to get to know them and they are already missed.

We had them over for dinner and a movie before they left for Mexico. We (the adults) watched one movie and sent the kids into the bedroom to watch a different one. Of course, the kids fell asleep....isn´t it amazing how kids can fall asleep anywhere and in any position?! I wish I could do that!

More Girls Camp...

2009-10-05T17:39:00.001-07:00

The picture of the group is a picture of most of my LIT´s (and a few extras).

The picture of the stairs is the OH so much FUN climb we had to make to get to the campsite and every time we had to go potty!! It was probably what the girls liked least about camp...and rightfully so!

As much work as it is (and let´s not forget that I don´t even like camping) I have to admit that I love the time with the girls and looking at the pictures brings back good memories. I only hope that the girls got something out of it too!

Girls Camp...finally!

2009-10-05T17:07:00.001-07:00

It´s been three months since Girls Camp, but oh well.

The evening before camp my LIT´s (Laurel leaders) come to my house and we finish preparing last minute details and have some fun together. We made a banner, flags, decorated hats and made pizza for dinner and cookies for dessert.

There were 13 of us that night (not all of them could make it...the rest met us at camp) which made for some interesting sleeping arrangements. It didn´t matter much though, most of the girls only slept about 2 hours between talking and watching movies!! I warned them they won´t have any time to rest the next day, but they didn´t care.....until the next day! But I kept my promise....they were busy the whole day! It´s always so much fun to be with my LIT´s...I love them so much!!

By the way, as much fun as it was working together making the pizzas, I think next year I´ll go back to buying them!! It may be a bit more expensive...but there´s not so much MESS to clean up!!

Nerviosa y Animada!!

2009-07-01T03:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I have quite a few things to post, but I´ve been a busy girl the past few weeks and it will still have to wait until next week because this week is girls camp!!

I am always a bit nervous before camp but this year I´m super nervous and excited. Let´s just say that girls camp is "my baby". I am in charge of everything...from finding the campsite to coming up with the program to buying all the materials. This year I have had a lot more help thanks to my stake YW presidency and my new "assistant", but the sucess or lack thereof is on my shoulders. To add to the fun this year I have DOUBLE the girls than I had last year, which is obviously a great thing, but that means double everything...especially chaos.

Now that I´m older and a little wiser I do have to admit that I don´t care so much if everything runs like clock-work...it´s more important that the girls have a good time, meet new friends and in some way their testimonies are strengthened.

So, thanks to mom and dad for all your support and ideas! I´ll tell you all about it next week!

ndh: Noche de Hogar

2009-06-09T16:59:00.000-07:00

Well, last week David invited the missionaries over for this Monday and on Sunday (while I was waiting for David to get out of his super long meeting after church) I was talking to the missionaries and some young adults and ended up inviting all the young adults in our ward over for family home evening with the missionaries! One of the young adults has been hounding me about making cookies for him (cookies are a real novelty here...very American!). So I told them I´d make dinner too.

So on Monday I found myself in the kitchen and up to my elbows in flour all afternoon making cookies and pizza. A few months ago I found a great (super easy) recipe for the crust so pizza is kind of fun to make now. I do have to admit it´s a bit messy, but well worth the work and clean up.

Anyway, we ate pizza and cookies, one of the Elders goes home next week so he gave the "lesson" and then we played a game (my team won and David´s lost...he didn´t like that!!)

With just the two of us our family home evenings are kind of boring so this was a nice change. I think I might make it semi-permenant...every two weeks or so?!?!?! I´ll see if David is up for it?!

If anyone has some fun family home evening game ideas I´d LOVE to hear about them. But nothing too "primary" they are, after all, young adults!

Making me juice!

2009-06-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

So, David and I are kind of boring and sometimes it´s hard to find things to post (especially since we don´t have any cute kids to take pics of, like most of you do!!) so... this past Saturday he got up and was making me some freshly squeezed orange juice and I thought it was a good time to show you all what a good boy he is. The juice was soooo yummy and Sunday morning he made me some more before Church. Thanks honey!

ps. We don´t always have so much trash, I had just done a big cleaning job around the house!!

CONFESSION!!!

2009-05-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make...

...Yesterday I went to see the Hannah Montana movie all by myself. David OF COURSE didn´t want to go, so I decided to go alone. I have to admit that I loved it and it almost made me cry!!?!?!?

Officially "Grown-Up"

2009-05-04T04:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day..although it made me really feel OLD.

About a week ago David, who was at the time the Elders Quorm president in our ward and a primary teacher, was called in to talk with the Stake President. I was hoping they would release him from the Elders Quorm because he had been there for almost four years and it was time for a change (I thought). He was in with the Stake Pres. for a good 30 or 40 mnutes. When he finished he came to find me, gave me a hug and told me what had gone on with the Stake President. I didn´t know quite how to react and I was preocupied getting my class ready for YW (we were at a ward conference and it was my turn to teach the class). After church we talked about it and we were excited, but confused at the same time about the new calling he had received.
Knowing that he would need a new suit for the calling (not because he doesn´t have any, but because they don´t fit!!) this week I went out and bought him a new one. I had to go back to the store 4 times before I finaly got it right and since he works so much and couldn´t go with me!! But finally Sunday came, he put on his new suit and tie (Barça colors of course) and we were off to Stake Conference where they sustained him as a new member of the High Counsel. They invited him up to the stand to sit with the rest of the High Counsel and before hand I was joking with him, telling him not to fall or everyone would laugh! As he sat up there I looked at him and then at the faces of the other men around him and thought, "When did I get old enough to have a husband on the High Counsel?" It was funny to look at him with his white, round, rinkle-free face and dark hair and then look at the rest of the men and notice that he was 1 of 3 that didn´t have grey or white hair or NO hair at all!!
After the meetings we went to a room where the Stake President set him apart. The words were beautiful and they reminded both David and I of things we need to be better at and the enormous amount of love Heavenly Father has for us.
I am greatful each day to know of the resoration of the Gospel and the beautiful plan of salvation that my Heavenly Father so carefully prepared for me. I love my Saviour and the immeasureable love and concern He has for me. I love my parents for being such strong examples of how we should live our lives and their many sacrifices in my behalf. And I´m so thankful to have a husband worthy of the Priesthood and willing to accept the callings the Lord calls him to. How I got to be so blessed, I don´t know...but I sure am happy about it!

So, here I am at 30 years old thinking, "Dang I´m old! How did that happen?", but happy.

Youth of the Church are Amazing!!

2009-05-04T03:42:00.000-07:00

Youth conference was a blast. We went up to a ski resort and did some sledding and there was a ropes course. But the most fun were the games and dances. I have a problem when I´m with the youth...I think I´m one of them! We had so much fun. One of the activities was a type of treasure hunt where we had to find different clues and had different obstacles to do. The picture above is durring this activity. I was in charge of Group #9 which consisted of 16, 17 and 18 year olds...most of them I know really well because I´ve been with the youth about as long as they´ve been in young mens and young womens. We were definately the team with the most spirit and the LOUDEST...from one activity to another we would cheer or chant loudly "NUEVE. NUEVE. NUEVE...."

It´s probably a horrible thing to say, but it´s the truth...the moments that I´m with the youth are the moments that I´m the least homesick. They are so full of energy and love and as much fun as we all have together there are also those moments that you can really see the growth in their testimonies and the love they have for their Saviour. They are simply amazing and great examples to me. I love them so much!

Wish me luck!!

2009-04-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

Hi all, this is just a note to let you know that I´m headed off to Youth Conference tomorrow. It should be a cold, rainy and posibly snowy weekend. I love the youth here so I´m almost as excited as they are to go. Love you all! Hugs.

Viewer Discretion is Advised!

2009-03-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

I know this is a silly entry, but it´s been an important part of our lives the past few weeks...

Now it´s not the cleanest show but about three weeks ago David got HOOKED (and I mean, needing some AA meetings, hooked!) on Prison Break. One of the guys David works with told him all about it and that it was so good and he had to see it so he downloaded the first season for David to watch. So three Friday´s ago David came home from work and told me we were going to watch this show his friend gave him. What David didn´t tell me is that he was going to get SO HOOKED that we were going to watch ALL 24 episodes in 2 days!!!!! Then he bugged the guy so much that the next week he downloaded the second season....yup another 2 days of Prison Break (do you see a pattern here??) Well this weekend his friend only gave us the first 9 episodes of the 3rd season and David was so impatient that he found a place on the internet that had the rest of the 3rd season and the fourth and downloaded them himself (we´ve never been big into downloading). And he was so excited that he didn´t care that they were only in english with no subtitles. So, this weekend not only did we watch A LOT of Prison Break I had to put it on pause every now and then to explain things to David. Anyway, by the end of this week we should be done with the fourth season and just maybe I´ll get him to take me OUT again?!?! Here´s hoping!!

Turkey

2009-03-26T04:44:00.000-07:00

So, I´ve never been a big fan of turkey. Even on Thanksgiving I enjoy the side dishes WAY more than the turkey (especially Aunt Cassy´s fabulous, no marshmellow, yams!!).

Yesterday I was at the grocery store buying my chicken (of course) and next to it I saw a turkey breast all sliced up in thin slices and ready to cook and I thought I´d try it out...

...So, today I got out the turkey, put a little olive oil in a pan and cooked up the turkey. After trying the first slice I cooked I decided I still wasn´t a big fan of turkey.THEN I had a fabulous idea, "Let´s give this turkey some flavor!" I pulled out my paprika and sprinkled a little on each slice. BAM! Turkey is yummy to eat...finally!! It´s still not as good as the yams, but really, WHAT IS?!?!?

ps...just for those that are interested...18 down and 15 to go!! (pounds)

Teeth!

2009-03-26T04:43:00.001-07:00

Teeth are wonderful things...without them I would be unable to enjoy LOTS of my favorite foods. BUT, they are expensive to keep up!
Yes, I went to the dentist today and he ranted and raved about my fabulous crowns (thanks Rich!!). He asked if they had been done here (in Spain), that´s a big NOPE!! Anyway, he also found two little cavities in between a few teeth and one major cavity that almost reaches the nerve. Now, I am a pro at the whole root canal thing, but my bank account ISN´T!!!
My hubby is awesome, and even though he hates spending money, when I told him the possible cost of 700€ he didn´t like it, but he was so good and said, "Da igual, la salud de los dientes es muy importante." (Translation: "It doesn´t matter, it´s important to have healthy teeth.")
So, I go back on April 16th...let´s hope that I don´t have to do the root canal!?!?!
I MISS YOU DR. WHEATFILL!!!! Oh ya, I miss mom and dad paying for it too!! Ha ha ha!!!

16!!!!

2009-03-18T07:58:00.000-07:00

Nobody is going to believe this, but it´s TRUE!!

I´m "hanging out" with a girl that is a new member and just came to Spain with her family from Argentina. She stopped coming to church because she felt uncomfortable so I´m trying to help her.
Anyway, she invited me over to have lunch with the family (she is the oldest of 6 kids) and while we were eating a friend of one of the kids (a 15 year old) asked me how old I was. I told him I was OLD and then I asked him how old he thought I was. Then he said, "16". What?!?! I know that people like to "be nice" when guessing someones age but 16?? I told him I was oder and he said "ok, but you can´t be any older than....22." Hey, I even like 22!! I told them I was 30 and they all looked shocked!
Now, I´m not stupid, I´m sure they were´t that shocked but they at least acted shocked! I don´t care, it made me feel young for a minute!!

Happy St. Paddy´s Day

2009-03-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick´s Day!!
Wear green so you don´t get pinched!!

I wish I could get you all a pot of gold!

Learn to like COOKING!!

2009-03-17T04:15:00.000-07:00

For all of you that really know me, you know that Cindi and Kitchen are two words that don´t go together, AT ALL!! I have NEVER enjoyed cooking. I´m a big fan of food...food that is made by OTHER people. But in January, like everyone else, David and I sat down and made some goals for this year. One of these goals was to invite people over for dinner ( sounds like a silly goal, but it´s not). Some of these people are just friends we want to have over and others are people in our ward that we feel like we need to befriend. Because of this goal I´ve been able to work on a personal goal...COOKING.
This last weekend we had a couple come over for dinner and I was having a hard time thinking of something to make. The hardest part about dinner (besides the fact that I don´t like cooking) is that over here it´s really LATE, I mean, 9:00 at night. Because it´s so late I don´t really like making pasta or steak or potatoes, things that are really heavy. This makes things even more complicated. Finally, after searching for a new yummy/easy recipe and not finding one, I decided that since the stuffed eggplants were a success at David´s birthday party I would make stuffed bell peppers. But when I told David he didn´t like

the idea. He had never had stuffed bell peppers. So, I made some of each...eggplant and bell peppers. (By the way, he did end up really liking the stuffed bell peppers!) The other thing that is difficult over here is that they don´t only have one course... you have to have appetizers. Again, I didn´t want something that was too heavy. I was going to make the Spinach-artichoke dip because it´s always a success, but I also have the problem that I´m on the no carb diet and I knew that if I made the dip I wouldn´t be able to NOT eat it. So, I checked out my favorite recipe web site (http://www.allrecipes.com/) where I found a recipe for Orange-glazed asparagus.

Anyway, I ended up with a dinner consisting of orange-glazed asparagus, sauteed mushrooms with ham and garlic and guacamole with chips (that was David´s contribution, he wanted to make guacamole) for the appetizers and stuffed eggplant and bell peppers for the main course.
Of course being a true Ginn the dessert had to be yummy, not just fruit or yogurt like they have here. I made 4 large chocolate oatmeal cookies (that I baked after we ate so they would be served warm) with vanilla ice cream. (Yes Nathan, I ate dessert even though I shouldn´t have!!)

So, SLOWLY but surely Cindi Ginn is learning to enjoy cooking! This just goes to show that miracles do happen!!

Run for Fun

2009-03-11T06:04:00.000-07:00

David and I have decided that we are FAT!! We were paying for a gym, but we weren´t going, so we decided to buy a treadmill. If David had it his way he would have the treadmill, stationary bike weights etc... and they would all be in the middle of my living/dinning room (you have to remember that I don´t have a garage or bedroom big enough to put them). For now we havc the treadmill (in the middle of the living room) and it´s kind of nice. I can watch TV or a movie or turn on my music and run.

Happy Birthday to all

2009-03-11T05:20:00.000-07:00

On the 28th of February we celebrated three birthdays...David´s, Julia´s and Grandpas. I asked David what he wanted for dinner and he told me he wanted stuffed eggplant...so that´s what I made. I spent half the day cleaning and the other half cooking. I felt very domestic...which, for those of you that know me, I NEVER feel domestic!

The stuffed eggplant was yummy, but the real success of the day was the spinach-artichoke dip. Over here they don´t have Chili´s or Applebee´s, therefore they don´t have Spinach-artichoke dip either!!

I bought some cake mixes and frosting on-line from an American store in Madrid and for the first time in 5 years I had some REAL birthday cake!! I don´t know if anyone else really like it, but I was in HEAVEN!! Frosting cakes is kind of hard, but it was fun (and time consuming)!

Last day

2009-03-11T05:03:00.000-07:00

This was the last day at home. Let´s just say, if it weren´t for David (in Spain) I would have stayed in sunny southern California.
We went to pick up dad at work to take me to the airport and took some last pictures....soooo sad!

Dan-Cin

2009-03-11T04:50:00.000-07:00

Dan-Cin, Dan-Cin, Dan-Cin... Dan-Cin machine...

While I was in Utah I wasn´t able to see EERYONE I wanted to, but I was lucky enough to see Danielle. She made a trip from St. George, just to see me! (Dan you´re AWESOME!!)

When we get together it´s like time hasn´t past at all!! (Except for the fact that she has 4 and a half kids and I live in Spain!) We spent the afternoon together and just had a blast together, like we always do.

Thanks cutie for making the trip!

Christmas in States V

2009-02-12T08:54:00.000-08:00

Playing Hit the Deck with Grandma....the kids couldn´t get enough of this game, but WE did!!

Both Stacia and Landon are awesome readers!

Christmas in the States IV

2009-02-12T08:42:00.000-08:00

Of course visits from Uncle Jeff are always fun. The kids absolutely adore him and he and I had some fun going shopping for new clothes for him. I sure do miss him!!

Christmas in the States III

2009-02-12T08:32:00.001-08:00

I had a blast with Stacia, Landon, Mili and Lauren. Of course neither mom or I got much sleep the week we were there! We sure do have a greater appreciation for mothers with babys that have diaper rashes!!

Christmas in the States II

2009-02-12T08:11:00.000-08:00

While I was un Utah taking care of Bobby and Ginas kids with mom (because they were in HAWAII!!) cousins Dave and Robyn (i hope that´s how to spell her name) came over. I was able to talk with Robyn and it turns out she´s not crazy!! She´s actually very cool! Dave of course tortured the kids and they of course loved it!!

Christmas in the States!!

2009-02-12T07:49:00.000-08:00

Nathan and Alexa came out to California for a few days. We were able to play at the beach a few days, go to the POPs and see Cats. It was a lot of fun being with my big brother and Alexa and I became good buddies!!

Alexa running at the birds on the beach!

Brinley is quite the character. It was so much fun to get to know her better!

We went to Laguna Beach and bought some beads so Alexa could make some necklaces for her sisters and mom.

So much fun!! Ainsley is the cutest little red head and Natalie and I got to spend lots of time together playing.

Thanks to Brandi and Nathan for letting me go to their house and play with the girls! I don´t have a picture, but I had lots of fun spending time with Brandi too! We got lots of talking in and she showed me how to make an AWESOME salad.....it´s my favorite!!!

More Twilight!

2009-01-19T04:01:00.000-08:00

Ok, before I write about my trip to the U.S. I wanted to tell my Twilight story. I thought I would see the movie in the states, but everyone kept telling me I HAD to read the book first, and to tell you the truth I guess I was feeling a bit rebelous because I didn´t want to read the book...to tell the truth I wasn´t even all that excited to see the movie. Before I knew it, I was back in Spain and hadn´t seen the movie. BUT, while I was gone David went to see it by himself...not reall because he was interested in the story, but I had told him that is was based on a book by a Mormon author. He went and saw it and LOVED it...I mean if he could have he would have gone to the big "girl party" Gina and her sisters had. So, since the day I got back he wanted to take me to see it. We had plans to see it four days straight, but something always came up. FINALLY we found some time and went. He was so giddy and excited about "sharing" this movie with me. I have to tell you that NEVER has David seen a movie in the theater TWICE...I have a hard enough time being able to rent a movie that we´ve already seen. But he was so excited.

Anyway, in the end I really did like it. I´ve even thought about ordering the first two books on-line and reading them (it´ll probably never happen though!) David is keeping tabs on when the second movie is going to come out because he´ll probably be the first one in line!! He´s so funny!

CREPÚSCULO = TWILIGHT

2008-11-28T07:26:00.000-08:00

I was feeling left out with all the Twilight blogs from the other side of the world, so I decided to write one too. The other day two girls from my ward came over so I could highlight one of the girls hair and they started talking about "Crepúsculo" a book that they´re reading. I asked them what it was about and they said "it´s called Twili or something like that in English." Iknew exactly what they were talking about! Then, today in the train I saw two diferent girls reading the book and thought....."Ha llegado!" which translated is, "It´s arrived!"

Anyway, I just wanted you all to know that "Twilight Fever" has crossed the "pond".

Birthday Surprises...

2008-11-17T05:41:00.001-08:00

Yup I´m 30!!!

To start this story I have to first tell another story... Just over five years ago I celebrated my very first birthday with a husband,living in a different country and with NO friends or family. It happened to be on a Saturday (the same as this year) and David didn´t have to go to school. Maybe I was being a total WOMAN, but I thought for my first "married birthday" my husband would do something sweet and thoughtful for me...after all I lived in HIS country and I turned 25! We woke up that morning and he sang happy birthday to me and that´s the end of the story....there was NOTHING else, no card, no dinner, no present, no NOTHING!! David studied the whole day and I cleaned the

house. My father was already NOT very happy with David (just because he took me SO FAR AWAY from him) but when he asked what David did for my birthday and I said, "nothing" I thought he was going to come through the telephone, kill David and take me back home with him. Let´s just say he wasn´t very happy about how David treated his "baby girl". It was an unforgettable birthday..even though poor David would like us to forget it!

So, what makes this year SO special is that after five years David has improved...thank goodness!

Of course it took some not-so-subtle reminders the week before, you know, things like, "next saturday is my birthday" and "you do remember I turn THIRTY. It´s kind of a special birthday" and "remember your 30th birthday?"...just small reminders! I have to admit I didn´t have much faith in my cute hubby!

The night before my birthday David went to pick up his mom from taking care of his father and they went grocery shopping (which is normal). I was at her house when they got back and David and I left for our house. On the way home we decided to stop for some Burger King (there aren´t many choices here...no Del Taco or Taco Bell..so sad). While we were waiting in the drive-thru David asked me what I wanted for me birthday and I said little things like, spend the day together, go bowling or go see a movie, and maybe go to dinner...I don´t think I was asking for TOO much! Then he said, "wouldn´t you like a little heater so you can heat up your feet, because they´re always cold?" SIDE NOTE: You´d have to know David to know that he would seriously think of something like that. He´s thoughtful in a very LOGICAL way. His gifts always have to be "uselful" not just "fun"...I mean, he bought me a heating pad for Christmas last year!

I figured that he had bought the little heater with his mom and that was going to be my birthday present and Burger King would be my birthday dinner!

When we got home he took a bag out of the car with a wrapped present in it and he told me I couldn´t open it until 12am. We watched a movie that was on TV (well, I watched, he fell asleep) and when it was over he sat up real fast and said, "what time is it?" I told him it was 12:30 and so he gave me my present. It was a box, just little heater size, but I thought to myself, "I´m going to be excited about it (like I always am) or he´ll stop giving me any type of present...good or bad." I unwrapped it and saw "hp" on the box....I was SO confused....does hp make heaters now? But I opened the box and there it was.....the cutest little laptop you´ve ever seen! I was BLOWN away. He´s always so stressed about money etc. I NEVER expected a gift like this. The last year I´ve been telling him that "when we have the money" I´d like a little computer to take on the train or plane etc. and that´s just what he got me. Not to take away from the "wonderfulness" of my gift, but he had no idea what he was going to get me until he went to the store with his mom that same night...the night before my birthday. He said it was between the laptop or a treadmill....he figured the laptop would get used more and he´s probably right!!

So, after 5 years he did good! But it doesn´t stop there.... (see blog below)

more birthday surprises...

2008-11-17T05:15:00.001-08:00

See how cute it is!!

The picture below the new laptop is next to Davids big laptop so you can see how small it really is. It only weighs 2.5 lbs!

On Saturday I had even more surprises! We woke up late and went to buy my favorite breakfast...warm, soggy croissants and chocolate churros...YUMMY!

I played with my new laptop and then in the evening David told me we were going to go out to dinner at a nice restaurant and I needed to wear a dress (not my favorite thing to wear, but if he was going to make the effort to take me out I´d wear a dress!) He told me that on the way to the restaurant we would stop at his moms house so she could give me the present she bought for me. At this point I was thinking maybe his mom would have dinner for me and it was a surprise because...pay for a laptop AND take me to a fancy restaurant seemed to be TOO much for David. But I wasn´t sure...usually he´s not a very good liar, but he´s improving in that too...I don´t know if I like that! Anway, we got to his moms house and he had a few people over for a little surprise party. Julia had spent all afternoon cooking different foods that I like, it was very nice.

After eating the boys sat and watched BARÇA...of course. I said David was improving - not that he´s PERFECT!!

Here below I´m with Lara my friend Raquels little girl. She just turned 1 a few weeks ago!

Here I´m with Sasha, Abi´s (David´s best friend) little girl. This picture doesn´t do her justice because she is a beautiful mix of her father (from Perú) and mother (from France).

All in all I have to admit that David did a good job this year...let´s see if he can keep it up for the next 50 years!?!?!? Thanks honey!!

Visitors from my home planet.

2008-11-10T05:19:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday I had a lovely visit with Dorthy Dalton and Bonnie Lynn from Capo 2. I met them in Plaça Catalunya and we went to dinner. Poor Bonnie had gotten her purse stolen that morning...I felt so bad for her. She was at a McDonalds and sad to say, that is the first place thieves hit (always lots of tourists). We did stop at a "blanket" and bought her a new purse for 15€ (one of the many blankets on the sidewalk full of fake Pradas and Gucci...). We really had a nice time at dinner and then walking around Barcelona.

Thanks for the visit!!

David´s ego...shattered!

2008-11-10T05:07:00.000-08:00

Well, you have all probably guessed by now....David did NOT beat the "older guy". His boss said that David played better than expected...but it just wasn´t good enough. David is really actually ok with it (of course now he´s determined to get into shape...which is a good thing), he knew that it was a long shot. He hadn´t played in over a year and the other has been playing twice a week for the past 20 years!! It was fun for David to play and "get in good" with the bosses.

As you can all see, even #1 Rafa doesn´t win ALL the time!

David and his ego!

2008-11-04T06:06:00.000-08:00

Last Friday David had his regular weekly meeting with all the "top dogs" of the company (head architect, developing manager etc.) and when they all went out for lunch they started talking about sports...they´re a bunch of middle-aged men, what else do they ever talk about?!?

So, David started talking about how he loves to play tennis and then the head architect (53 years old) said that he plays once or twice a week.....

To make a short story shorter - David will be playing his "in shape, I play tennis two times a week" head architect this Friday! Of course David the "I think I´m all powerful...and how could a 53 year old beat ME (even thought I´m 30lbs. overweight)", is loving the idea of proving his strength and ability to one of his "bosses" in front of all his other bosses....ALL the "top dogs" are going to go watch the match.

The loser will have to swallow his pride and buy breakfast for everyone!

David thinks he´s as tough as Number 1 Rafa Nadal...

...but he´s more like this poor guy!

Will the young out of shape ego maniac win? Or will it be the slightly older tennis playing veteran?
To be continued....

Follow up on the suegra...

2008-11-03T02:21:00.000-08:00

The operation went well. Cristina and I had to take off the red nail polish Julia had on her toenails before the operation. Julia is such a happy person that after they rolled her out of the room it only took her 1 minute to find a friend and start up a conversation... while she was in the hall waiting for the elevator there was a young man also in a bed waiting to get operated on and they just talked and talked! And when she came out of the operation she came rolling into the room laughing and talking to the nurse (a hippy-looking kind of guy and super nice) about his peircings and what kind of peircings she should get!! It was funny. During the operation Cristina and I had a few hours to talk about life!! Especially about married life. It´s comforting to know that no matter how much you love your husband EVERYONE has those "not so happy moments" in their marriage!! We also talked about the good stuff...it´s not ALL negative! Unfortunately, I was unable to convince her to start trying to have kids NOW...I mean if I´m not going to have any of my own and all of my nieces and nephews are in the States, she could at least provide me cute baby neices and nephews over here...right? That´s not asking too much is it?!?!?
The rest of the weekend I stayed at Julias house I even MADE dinner one night and lunch one day...I do have to admit that on Saturday night we ordered Chinese!! It was really quite nice, she rested, we watch a bunch of girly movies, I cleaned up the kitchen and her wounds and gave her shots each night...and still have to go over each night to do it. The whole Rodríguez family HATES needles...it´s kind of funny actually, just the thought of having to give or have shots makes them all grossed out. For me, between my father the diabetic (I don´t even remember a time when he didn´t have to give himself shots) and the whole fertility non-sense (each time I do atificial insemination I have to give myself shots..David won´t do it OBVIOUSLY) it doesn´t bother me a bit. But Julia is basically back to normal. She still has a bit of a limp and she´ll go to the doctor on Wednesday to see how everything is going. All in all, I think I made some "good daughter-in-law" points with her!! It was a nice few days.

La suegra

2008-10-29T03:10:00.000-07:00

Well, today I´m off to take my mother-in-law (suegra) to get her knee operated on. I will be living with her for the next few days while she´s getting better. I hope she doesn´t expect me to cook much becuase as we all know....Cindi can´t cook! Maybe we´ll live on take-out?!

Planes, trains and automobiles...

2008-10-27T01:20:00.000-07:00

The trip turned out to be a "success". In less than three days I took 2 planes, 4 trains, 2 taxi´s and 4 subway rides...when I got back to Barcelona I was EXHAUSTED!!!

I arrived in Madrid and got to the hostel, changed and went to the temple. I had three roommates in my room, a mother and daughter from Portugal and an 80 year old lady from Spain that had gone to live in Argentina for 45 years and is now back living in the northern part of Spain. They were all very nice, but just my luck the portuguese mother had a really bad cough and snored like my Aunt Lou!!! (I thought I was going to get a rest from Davids snoring, but nope!)

The second day I got up at 5:45am took a cab (I was soooo lucky a cab passed by right as I got to the street!) to the Police Station (where they handle the documents) and ended up being lucky number 13 in the line. So, from 6:15am to 9:10am I stood in the cold wind and rain...yes it just HAD to start raining that day...and I was out there for three hours. I called David about 8:00am and told him that if I had to do this again in 5 years I was going to go live in MY country with or without HIM!!! Once I was in the building it took about 15 minutes for them to call my number, do what I had to do and I was out on the street again to go back to the temple. It was still raining when I left and my feet were frozen so I just wanted to get warm. On the way there in the taxi I remembered passing a Starbucks not too far from where I was, so that´s where I headed!!! When I walked into the Starbucks I was soaking wet, my glasses fogged right up, but I was happy to order un "chocolate caliente...grande y un muffin de arandanos". (Large hot chocolate and a cranberry muffin...yummy!) I cleaned off my glasses sat down and warmed up. I took the subway back to the temple (much cheaper than a taxi). My roommates weren´t there so I got into my PJ´s and warmed up for about an hour before getting dressed and ready to go to the temple. I spent the rest of the day at the temple...which I absolutely LOVED!

The third day I got up when I wanted (after another night of symphonic snoring and coughing) and spent the WHOLE DAY in the temple. For those of you that have temples "right-next-door" you probably don´t understand the "spending days at a time at the temple", but for those of us that have to travel "far" to get to the temple that´s what we do. We go for a few days and do nothing but work in the temple. As much as I wish I had a temple close by I have to admit that I like going and being there for days and not just hours. I got to know all the cute little temple workers real well. I even brushed up on my Portuguese!!(that´s a whole other story!)

On Friday it was time to leave the hostel...you have to be out at 9am and clean the room before you leave...and catching the subway to the airport. I got there EARLY as usual, which was good because the Madrid airport is funky confusing!!! I bought some chocolate chip cookies and tic tacs (things that aren´t available on a normal day...the airport has things that no one esle does) and sat and waited for my plane. OH!!!! I totally forgot....I ate my first McDonalds Egg McMuffin in Spain!!! It wasn´t quite the same, but it felt a little like home!

All in all, it was a short-long trip. But hey, in another two weeks I get to do it all over again!! Yup, I have to go back to pick up the marriage certificate....NO, they can´t just send it to me! Welcome to life in a different country!

Living in Spain

2008-10-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

Living is Spain is not horrible, but it´s not as exotic as it might sound either! David and I have been here for 5 years and that means it´s time for Cindi to renew her "green card" (that´s not what it´s called here, but you get the gist) and let´s just say the spanish government is NOT making it easy for me!! So, to make a long story short, in order to have all the apropriate documents I need to get my green card renewed I "get" to take a trip to Madrid. I "get" to go to a government building at 6am. I "get" to stand in a line, hope to receive a number and hopefully have all the information I need so that they´ll give me a new marriage certificate. It´s not all bad though, I will be staying at the Madrid Temple hostal and I´ll go to the temple Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday....that makes it all worth while!!