Sweet Stories From Erika Graham

Where's The Beef & Chicken Little

2011-08-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

Ok all......I am looking for some of my creative friends to share with me there favorite Chicken Recipes along with there fav. side dish, and also there favorite Beef/Steak Recipe along with there fav side dish. I am getting bored with the same foods.

Also if you have family recipes you are willing to share, I need more food options. I want to make something new here at home and am just at a loss.

Farewell to Oprah

2011-05-24T12:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am a Oprah Winfrey fanatic...lol. As long as I can ever remember, I have always Loved watching the Oprah Winfrey Show. I am so sad that it will be coming to an end as of tomorrow. I think that Oprah is one incredible, inspiring woman. She has had so many guests on her shows that have inspired me, and helped me think about things in life to become a better person. She seems to be a woman of integrity, honesty, compassionate, Joyful, and sincere. I want to know, who is going to fill those big shoes for a talk show???? I guess only time will tell.

The Treasure Box

2011-05-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

So a few months ago I started ordering food from this website called The Treasure Box. During these hard economic times this has helped aside from having to go to the grocery store regularly. There is many different MEAL PACKAGES to chose from for $32.00. What is nice is last month I got a Seafood box along with the regular April Menu. But this month there is a Great MEAT GRILLING PACKAGE. For $32.00 and what you get, I think its a good deal. Now I know some of you have bigger families, but the packages at least help out a little bit for the month. If you get the regular Monthly Menu Package which is a variety of meats, sides, and deserts it can last about a week, unless you eat alot. Here is the website to them. Check it out. This is only available right now in California, Arizona, and Nevada. You have to place your order by a specific date and then pick up the food usually about a week and a half later. This month you have to order by May 11th and pick up on Saturday May 21st. Click on find location and input you zip code and it will tell you were the nearest pick up location is near you and what time you can pick up your orders at if you place one. I hope you like it and give it a try. Again, its affordable and when you are on a budget and need to save on cost it really helps.

http://www.thetreasurebox.org/index.php

Lessons Learned

2011-04-27T18:02:00.000-07:00

So, I was listening to this song the other day, and I felt like it totally described my life. I am sure some of you have heard it before. Lessons Learned by Carrie Underwood. This is the song that i have playing on the page at the moment. The lyrics really hit home for me in my life past and present. As many may relate, we truly do Live and Learn throughout our lives and what a great way to express it, through this great song!!!

"Lessons Learned"

There's some things that I regret,
Some words I wish had gone unsaid,
Some starts,
That had some bitter endings,
Been some bad times I've been through,
Damage I cannot undo,
Some things,
I wish I could do all all over again,
But it don't really matter,
Life gets that much harder,
It makes you that much stronger,
Oh, some pages turned,
Some bridges burned,
But there were,
Lessons learned.

(Chorus)
And every tear that had to fall from my eyes,
Everyday I wondered how I'd get through the night,
Every change, life has thrown me,
I'm thankful, for every break in my heart,
I'm grateful, for every scar,
Some pages turned,
Some bridges burned,
But there were lessons learned.

There's mistakes that I have made,
Some chances I just threw away,
Some roads,
I never should've taken,
Been some signs I didn't see,
Hearts that I hurt needlessly,
Some wounds,
That I wish I could have one more chance to mend,
But it don't make no difference,
The past can't be rewritten,
You get the life you're given,
Oh, some pages turned,
Some bridges burned,
But there were,
Lessons learned.

(Chorus)
And every tear that had to fall from my eyes,
Everyday I wondered how I'd get through the night,
Every change, life has thrown me,
I'm thankful, for every break in my heart,
I'm grateful, for every scar,
Some pages turned,
Some bridges burned,
But there were lessons learned.

And all the things that break you,
Are all the things that make you strong,
You can't change the past,
Cause it's gone,
And you just gotta move on,
Because it's all,
Lessons learned.

(Chorus)
And every tear that had to fall from my eyes,
Everyday I wondered how I'd get through the night,
Every change, life has thrown me,
I'm thankful, for every break in my heart,
I'm grateful, for every scar,
Some pages turned,
Some bridges burned,
But there were lessons learned,

Oh, some pages turned,
Some bridges burned,
But there were lessons learned,
Lessons learned.

Happy 9th Birthday Gavin!!!

2011-04-20T17:32:00.000-07:00

Sooo yesterday April 19th was my nephew Gavins 9th Birthday. I cant even believe he is 9 already. I remember when he was born. He was the cutest little baby boy imaginable. I loved being able to spend so much time with him, as back in 2002 I was living in Henderson, NV still. I remember all the times he would come and stay at my house. How I loved every moment with him. I was blessed to be able to babysit him on my days off and I cherished every moment of it. There are so many fond memories of him as a little guy. I left Nevada in 2005 just a few months before his 3rd birthday. That was one of the saddest days of my life. Who knew anyone could love a kid so much. I mean I love all of my nieces and nephews but I had this BOND with Gavin. I was younger when my other nieces and nephews were born so they were not spending nights with me. Here are some pics of my little MUNCHIE MUNCHIE as I have always called him.

I was blessed to be able to also have him as my Ring Bearer in my wedding which is the most recent picture I have of him which at that time he was 6 years old.

August of 2010 Gavin went on a trip to Idaho with Me,my mom, my sister, and my niece Allison. This was one of thepics from our trip.We had gone to Yellowstone National Park. He was so fun to have around for an entire week.

This June 2011 he will be spending a week here in California also. I look forward to spending time with him, and see how much he has changed being that he is 9 years old now. Happy Birthday Munchie!!! I love you!!!

2010 Coming to an End

2010-12-30T19:04:00.000-08:00

So, I was blessed to have a wonderful Christmas. I know I mentioned the different meanings of Christmas Eve, but I didnt get to share the pics of my wonderful time with my family. So Christmas Eve we all went to my sister Heidi's house, and then on Christmas morning we had breakfast at my moms. It was really nice, all the kids came in there pajama's which is just how my mom likes it. This year has been a very tough year. We had a lot of ups and downs. We have lost some great friends and family in our lives but hold there memories close to our hearts. May we ring in the New Year with great joy. Be thankful for life, and surround our lives with the belief and faith that we have a loving Father in Heaven who loves each of us. Iam thankful for having a wonderful family, I dont know what life would be like without them. So, here is a piece of my family Christmas with you.These are pics from Christmas Eve at my sisters, I will post pics from Christmas morning, another day!!!

MOM & MY NIECE BRITTANY

MYSELF AND MY SISTER HEIDI

MY BROTHER DENNIS, ME, MY
SISTER HEIDI, AND MY MOM JUST MISSING MY BROTHER ROBERT

MY NIECE ALLISON

MY NIECES MONICA, SOPHIE, AND LAUREN

MY SISTER HEIDI, NIECE SOPHIE, AND MYSELF

MY BROTHER-IN-LAW ESTEFAN,& MY HUSBAND MICHAEL

MY NIECE MONICA AND MYSELF

Christmas Eve What It Means

2010-12-24T14:01:00.000-08:00

"THE MEANING AND PURPOSE OF CHRISTMAS EVE"

Here we are yet another Christmas Eve. I am blessed to be able to be able to say that I am spending another Christmas Eve with my family at My sister Heidi's house. I decided to look up what Christmas Eve is all about. "Christmas Eve as most know is the day before Christmas. The celebration of Christmas begins on the evening of December 24th." On this day, the Christmas Tree is manifested in glory.

In some religions there is a midnight mass that takes place. There is an ancient belief that Jesus was born precisely at the stroke of twelve. Sounds of Bells, Lights sparkling everywhere and hymns of joy are some of the aspects of Midnight masses or services across the world.

"THE CHRISTMAS TREE"

The tradition of The Christmas tree started in Germany. The very first trees were oak. Christmas trees have been a symbol of good luck since the Middle Ages.

The Christmas Tree is the greatest joy for kids. I remember as a child the excitement of being able to decorate the Christmas tree. Or as some would call it today the Holiday Tree. We would make shrinky dinks, and string popcorn, and as we got older, my mom LOVED to coat that beautiful Christmas tree with Tinsel. LOTS and LOTS of Tinsel...lol.

Christmas Eve is a lot of time when you have family reunions. With everyone having such busy lives, not everyone is able to see eachother on a regular basis throughout the year. Christmas Eve is also the night in which we eat lots of food, Enchiladas, Tamales, Nachos, Ham, Stuffing, etc. Also the excitement of the countdown of Santa Claus coming to bare gifts.

"THE TRADITION AND ORIGIN OF GIVING GIFTS"

The tradition of Giving is the best way to celebrate the festive season. Giving doesnt have to come with a price tag. The day of Christmas comes with a message of peace for the home, the nation and the world as Jesus Christ taught the humanity about giving peace, and happiness to others. In some homes the added excitement of giving a physical Gift no matter how big or small.
The origin of giving gifts comes from when Jesus was born. Gifts of gold were given, and other things. The gift of Christmas also symbolizes purity and simplicity. Although as centurys go on, it seems like in our world Gifts are not being given in a form of simplicity. Were has the true meaning of Christmas gone? Its not about the gifts, or the money, its not about who got the better car or Video console, Purity and Simplicity. That is what we forget the gifts symbolize.

May this Christmas Eve we all enjoy spending time with our families, enjoying that magestic lite up Christmas Tree and remember the most glorious Birthday that we are about to celebrate.

John 3:16 : " For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

12 Years Ago.........

2010-10-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

Twelve years ago today......My Dad passed away. He was an incredible man. He worked hard to provide for our family and always managed to make a way for all things to be possible for us. Little did we know when he died, how much he TRUELY sacrificed for us. My parents really didn't have much money at all as it turned out, as a matter of fact they were beyond poor. My dad always gave, gave, gave and we never knew, not even my mom how much he lost in return financially. But he was such a humble man no one, again not even my mom new it.
This year as most of you have read, I had the privilege of visiting my Dads family in Idaho. The spirit of the Lord was with us and also the spirit of my Dad with us was such an incredible feeling. My Dad had a lot of amazing qualities.
**I remember growing up as a kid and going fishing with him and my brothers out at Castaic lake. It was sooo fun. I never would put the bait on the hook, and even though my brothers would always tell me stop being such a chick and just do it, my Dad never minded hooking the line for me.
**I also remember going on many trips to Baseball games, and to Magic Mountain a lot as kids. You could say I was truly a Daddy's Girl.
**As I got older, I was blessed to be able to work with my Dad after high school. We use to commute together to Chatsworth almost everyday. That was a great time for us to be able to bond together. That was also when i learned how to drive a stick shift car. My Dad loved his Geo Metros..hahaha.
**Later I moved to Las Vegas on October 14,1996 and still kept in touch via phone with my Dad. He called me everyday at my job. Luckily I worked for La-Z-Boy Furniture at the time and being that it was a family owned company the managers were so great, and allowed me the time to talk to my Dad whenever he called.
Then on October 14, 1998 yep you are reading that correctly EXACTLY 2 years after moving to Las Vegas, I got the call from my sister at like 3:00 am that my Dad had passed away. Talk about SHOCK!!! I didn't know what to say or think, I was in utter denial. Luckily my brother Robert had been living in Las Vegas for a short time and I had to call him, and he came over right away.
Although 12 years has passed, sometimes it feels just like yesterday, other times its been a lifetime, I know that my Dad is resting peacefully and happily with our loving Heavenly Father, and feel a sense of joy knowing he has been reunited with his parents and other relatives that have passed before him. I hold dear all the memories we shared, and at times can clearly hear his voice if I just stop and think. There was not one day I can recall were my Dad did not tell me how much he loved me.He loved us very much, and absolutely adored his grandchildren. I feel blessed to know that he was able to cheer on his other two grandchildren Gavin and Sophie as they entered this world.
How lucky I feel to know that one day I will reunite with him again. That we were sealed as a family for time and all eternity.
So, I say to you today Dad, I will see you soon!!!! When my time calls. I love you!!!

Two years ago!!

2010-09-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

Two years ago I married the love of my life. I can't believe that time has sure flown by. I cant say that it has been the easiest 2 years for Michael and I, but I can say that we are still incredibly in love with each other. We have made it this far in the short two years of marriage we will manage to make it through many, many more years. With the crisis of our economy, work has been a struggle, finances, etc. But we still find time in our day to show our love and appreciation for one another. We hope that through the grace of God, and many, many prayers, that great things will come our way soon. We would like to move from were we live eventually and start a family one of these days. I love you Michael!!!

****CHEERS to our anniversary, and here's hoping for many, many more to come, and hopefully in the future, when its the right time, include children in the picture******

$aving$!!!!!!

2010-09-12T16:47:00.000-07:00

Dont know how many of you are into savings, but I am a HUGE fan of savings. I had been seeing this commercial for a long time on t.v. to get coupons from but had not been to the website. Today I decided to go there, and WOW, talk about easy and fun. The savings on these coupons are great, and you dont have to leave near me to get them. Just plug in your zip code and it will give you the savings for your area. Happy $avings everyone!!! Please feel free to comment. CouponSuzy.com has all kinds of different coupons.

I feel my Savior's Love

2010-09-05T15:04:00.000-07:00

In August me, my mom, sister Heidi, niece Allison and nephew Gavin took a road trip. We drove through Utah and up to Idaho to visit my Dads family.This was the first trip that my sister and I had taken with my mom just by ourselves. Or shall I say the first LONG trip my mom has taken with her daughters. And luckily 2 of her grandchildren to. What a great time being able to bond more with each other.We had great conversations and were able to visit with my MORTIMER family, as well as visit the newly built Rexburg, Idaho Temple.
REXBURG, IDAHO Temple

We believed and prayed that the presence of my Dad would be with us at all times during this journey.Since we were going back to his hometown. As most of you know I started attending church again awhile back, but with conflicting work schedules and lack of time being able to spend with my husband I was not always able to attend each and every Sunday.

This trip was a Blessing waiting to happen.

As most of you know my sister and I are married to Non-members of the church. So at times that can make it very difficult to make decisions especially if we want to discuss religion. How can it not be when at times in our lives when we met our now spouses we were INACTIVE members of the church.On our way home from Idaho we spent one night in Salt Lake City. We wanted to be able to walk around Temple Square and go through the visitors center.My cousins Melissa and Jori joined us. I was so excited to go and to be able to experience walking through with my mom and sister we had not gone through there in over 20 years together,also my niece and nephew who have never been there.

I felt the spirit of the Lord with me as we walked through reading the purpose of life and watching the videos at the visitor center. I loved seeing my sister and niece so humble and interested in the literature around us. What a beautiful building and seeing The Salt Lake Temple at night was incredible.

HE LOVES US......
The next morning as we were getting ready to leave Salt Lake City and continue our journey home my sister came out of the restroom and had a "moment" is all I can say that she said My Dad is with us and was with us at that very moment. Tears started streaming down my cheeks as well as my niece Allison who was 3 years old when my dad passed away. My sister was almost in a different state of mind at that moment, as if a still small voice was whispering to her she said she felt her entire body full of a good weight of energy and a tingling of some kind.Now most know that my sister has Brain Cancer so at first my mom thought maybe something was happening like she did not take her medicine..but she said no, she was not having that kind of feeling, she said it was my Dad,she could clearly hear him saying tell them I have been here all along. I don't doubt in any way that my Dad was there with her and all of us at that moment, and that she heard his voice tell him to send us that message, but a part of me also believes that THE STILL SMALL VOICE, was our Redeemer and Lord, Jesus Christ sending a message. A message of Love, Acceptance, and Strength to enlighten us and build our hearts to know that we belong as members of The Church, whether our husbands choose to our not. That we are daughters of God and that we have a purpose. Although we have made our own choices in life, he will always forgive us if we Repent, and accept.
I thank God and my DAD who has always been a member of the church for Blessing us with that trip as a family, and allowing us to understand that when we are ready, the gospel is there for us.
We returned from our trip to Utah on Sunday August 16,2010 which would have been my Dads 65th birthday, and on Saturday August 28th, I got a text message from my sister that said she and my niece Allison were going to church on Sunday with my mom, and of course I was joining them.
Today marks the 2nd Sunday that we have all eagerly awaken and go with a willingness to learn and worship thee.What a great abundance of joy I feel in sharing the gospel experience with my mom, sister, and my niece which whom has been curious of religion for quite sometime now.

I thank my husband who although has no desire to investigate or take part in my journey of being a member and becoming ACTIVE again accepts my decision even when he may feel its a burden on his Sunday in me spending quality time with him with my long work hours. I know that God will bless not only me, but my home life as well.

I thank my brother-in-law Bruce who also does not take part in our beliefs has accepted that my sister has the desire to return to church.

I am also blessed to have a wonderful niece Allison (not that all my nieces are not wonderful,because they are)who has the desire to learn of our religion and has a open heart and mind to possibly one day embrace it.

This has been a blessing and prayers that I believe are being answered.I believe that my Dad had a lending hand at this very time in our lives when Faith and Hope and the gospel is so essential to our daily lives. When my Dad passed away there was a song we sang that has a lot of meaning. At this time in my life and what I believe my sisters life this song holds even MORE meaning:

I know that my Redeemer Lives

What comfort this sweet sentence gives

He lives! He lives who once was dead

He lives! My ever-living friend

He lives! To bless me with his love

He lives! To plead for me above

He lives! My hungry soul to feed

He lives! To bless in time of need

He lives! To grant me

He lives! To guide me with his light

He lives! To comfort me when faint

He lives! To hear my souls complaint

He lives! To silence all my fears

He lives! To wipe away my tears

He lives! To calm my troubled heart

He lives! With blessings to impart

****HE LIVES I KNOW MY SAVIOR LIVES.....

I FEEL MY SAVIORS LOVE, THE LOVE HE FREELY GIVES ME!!!!!!

**I felt the spirit of the Lord with us during that trip, and pray that my testimony will grow stronger in time***

Thank you to all my friends who have always helped me along the way in reassuring me that Things happen in life for a reason, and its OK.

My Moms Finale..I thought i posted it but guess i just saved it. She was the QUEEN!!

2010-06-06T16:12:00.000-07:00

Well...Last night was my moms Finale. Her yearly Talent Show. Only this year, she was literally the QUEEN of the show. We first started the day by all going to have lunch. The weather here is getting HOT, and what was suppose to be a nice air conditioned resturaunt we thought we would be in, ended up being a SAUNA. So, we couldnt wait to get to the Hart High School Auditorium to be in a air conditioned building. Unfortunetly they are remodeling and the air was out in the theatre. Yes that is correct, a theatre filled with people showing off there talent and NOOOO AIR, or ventilation. That was horrible. But enough said about that.

The theme of this years show was Ports of Calls..Different Cruises. They traveled to Hawaii, Mexico, Carribean, and back to New Orleans.

I am attaching clips of my moms dances from each Port of Call. They are each short but she had a great time up there. Of course, she was also the highlight of each dance.

HAWAII.......................................

My mom loves to dance and definetly you can tell in her performances. At the end of the show, they did a nice slide show for my mom, and all of us kids and grandkids were ALL there to celebrate with her. They invited our entire family up on stage and we were able to present her with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and my sister Heidi said a few words basically thanking everyone for supporting my mom, and she thanked them for finally giving US our mom back after 32 years.

Moms Shining Moment!!!

2010-05-27T19:52:00.000-07:00

I have been blessed to have amazing parents in my life. They have worked hard FOREVER it seems and have always managed to find ways to provide for me and my siblings growing up. Although my Dad's life on earth was cut short and he didn't get to live til he reached Retirement, my mom took the load and continued on her journey. I am so proud of my mom for all that she has accomplished throughout her career, and the sacrifices she made constantly for all of us in our family. It is with HONOR for me to share with everyone that my mom has finally reached the end of her working journey. She will be officially retired as of June 30th, 2010. Since my mom doesn't read my blogs she has no idea what I am putting here. I don't know if any of you are aware of what my mom has done for all these years. Growing up as a kid we lived in Santa Clarita, CA and my mom worked part time for many years at Newhall School District as a ESL Teacher and then assistant. Being that I am the youngest as I got into middle school she took on a 2nd job as a teachers aid at Hart High School. So in the morning she worked at the elementary school and in the afternoon they had a program for Troubled Teens at the High School. She worked hard til 6pm everyday. When we moved to Palmdale in 1988 she still continued to work both jobs, and had to learn to drive the commute everyday. My mom has driven what is typically a 35 minute drive, that takes her 1.5 hours Everyday for over 22years. When my dad passed away in 1998 she was given an opportunity to get a full time position as the attendance lady and translator at the elementary school. Which was a true blessing as all these years as she would put it she was SICK of those high school HEATHENS...lol So she has been working at the elementary school full time since 1999. Tomorrow the school is having a Retirement party for her. She is not much of a HUGE BANG party gal, so she told them she just wants a luncheon at the school. So since it is minimum day for the kids, the luncheon will be after.

One of my brothers high school friends happens to be the mayor of Santa Clarita and on the state counsel has known my mom as long as he can remember. When he found out she was retiring with the school district he decided he wanted to do something great for her. So as a surprise she has no idea that he will be presenting her with a Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of the State of California. She will be so shocked for that. A farewell tribute will be taking place as well next weekend at the end of the schools annual talent show. My mom will be happy to see that ALL of her kids and Grand kids will ALL be attending this year, even my brother from Robert from Las Vegas. Usually Michael and I are the family that goes. I will post pics of the talent show next weekend.

Sooo Cheers to you mom...Thanks for all your hard work for over 30 years!!! I love ya.

How to Make Compost

2010-04-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

I found this very interesting...And am going to attempt to do this. Lets see how well I succeed. At first Michael was like, WE ARE NOT MAKING our own compost. You have to use your kitchen waste. But not according to these directions. So, I think I can manage to try this. Let me know if anyone else wants to try it out and lets see how well it goes.

http://www.ehow.com/how_3541_begin-compost-pile.html

Your Path.

2010-04-25T19:33:00.000-07:00

“If You Are On Your Own Path Things Are Going To Come To You. Since It Is Your Own Path & No One Has Ever Been On It Before, there’s No Precedent, So Everything That Happens Is A Surprise & Is Timely.”

Joseph Campbell

Remembering a friend Andy Reed!

2010-03-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

Sometimes things happen in life when we least expect it, or even if we suspect it is coming we are selfish and angry that it had to happen at that moment. I remember when I lost my Dad nearly 12 years ago. The feelings that I had. Very mixed emotions and so many questions as to why he had to go when he did, so young and without answers. I was very young to when he passed away. Some people in my life don't get it when they lose a loved one a Parent, Grandparent, or Friend how I can say I understand. But for the most part I do understand just I have my own ways since I have lost a Parent, Grandparent, and friends in time to. I have been blessed to be friends with The Reed family for many years. They welcomed me into there lives practically since the year I moved to Palmdale,CA back in 1988. This week Brother Andy Reed passed away in Las Vegas, NV. I am blessed to have called him my friend, somewhat at times like a Dad. He took me in as a member of that family. I was fortunate to spend MANY years of holidays with The Reeds and enjoyed every bit of it. Andy had a way about him, he was a man of wisdom, extreme knowledge, a heart of gold, and definitely knew almost everything about sports and Politics. We agreed on one thing for sure, we both enjoyed being Democrats. Every time I saw Andy he welcomed me always with his same greeting " ERIKA.....it is soooo good to see you...come here give me a hug." Who wouldn't love a guy like that. I have known for quite awhile that Andy's health had been declining. I was blessed to have had him at my wedding in September 2008 and he was able to meet my husband Michael.

MY WEDDING SEPTEMBER 20, 2008 Las Vegas, NV

After that my last visit with him was in April 2009 at the wedding of one of my other girlfriends Leslie Evans.

LESLIE EVANS WEDDING APRIL 2009 Agoura Hills, CA

Although again his health was down, I was still able to enjoy hanging out with Andy, having some good laughs and all of us going down memory lane. What an enjoyable day that was. I wanted to post this blog today to just share a bit of what joys it was for me to be able to call Andy my friend and be apart of his life. I look forward to continuing my on going friendship and relationship with The Reed family. I have had so many conversations with both Mary and Laura his daughters talking about what is easier in losing a Dad. Having them pass suddenly with no answers like my Dad did. Or seeing them sick and slowly declining in health. I don't think any are easy because no matter what the end result is our Dad's passed away, but I would say THE REED family has such STRENGTH because I think that seeing there Husband, Dad, PAPA declining physically may be worse. I know that Andy is resting now in peace with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I do believe GOD has a plan in store for all of us and that one day we will reunite again. To Virginia: You are one amazing Woman...You have such strength that I cannot even describe. You have been through so much and have given so much. ...A message from my mom if you ever need someone to talk to just give her a call. To Mary and Laura...throughout many of our conversations, i now say... if you guys ever need someone to talk to or just listen or just want to know if what you are feeling is normal I to am just a phone call away....And Dave....well I am sure if you want to talk you will do it by text message or a Facebook status but I to will be that Reply back to in a heartbeat..lol. Remember that the one thing we are all blessed with is memories in our hearts that no one can take away from us. So hang on to those Fun memories and be strong. God will keep your family at peace, and bless you all throughout the years to come. I love you guys very much!

Flag Football

2010-03-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

So...most people know that I absolutely LOVE my youngest nephew Gavin. Not that I don't love all of my nieces and nephews but I have a particularly special bond with my nephew Gavin. I was fortunate to be able to see him the day he was born, and also take care of him as a baby. Had weekend slumber parties at Aunt Erika's house. Was BLESSED to have him as my ring bearer in my wedding also. I was very sad when I moved back to California that I would be leaving behind my wonderful "Munchie Munchie" which was my nickname for him. But I am fortunate to have pictures be sent to me on him growing. So my brother Robert signed Gavin up for a Flag Football team. Even though they lost there first game Gavin looked so proud and like he was having a blast. Had to share the pic.

"The Easter Lilies"

2010-03-19T11:57:00.000-07:00

So....I was reading a story, and came across this interesting article that I wanted to share. Maybe you may find it interesting and informing as I did. Hope you enjoy.

The Easter Lily

Easter morn with lilies fair
Fills the church with perfumes rare,
As their clouds of incense rise,
Sweetest offerings to the skies.
Stately lilies pure and white
Flooding darkness with their light,
Bloom and sorrow drifts away,
On this holy hallow'd day.
Easter Lilies bending low
in the golden afterglow,
Bear a message from the sod
To the heavenly towers of God.
-Louise Lewin Matthews

The Easter Lily, also known by its Latin name Lilium longiflorum, has become the traditional Easter flower. With all the different flowers available in the spring garden, it is this beautiful, white flower, that has come to symbolize the spiritual values of Easter: purity, life and renewel. The flower's trumpet shape is a reminder of the heralding of Jesus, returning triumphant to Jerusalem.

The Easter Connection

According to Biblical scholars, the Easter Lily was found growing in the Garden of Gethsemane where Judas is said to have betrayed Jesus. Legend tells that white lilies miraculously sprung up from the ground where drops of Jesus' sweat and tears fell during his last hours.

The Easter Lily also has close associations with Jesus' mother, the Virgin Mary. In early religious paintings, the Archangel Gabriel is pictured extending a branch of white lilies to Mary, symbolizing that she had become the virgin mother to the savior.

Today, many churches use large bouquets of lilies to adorn their alters and crosses during the Easter season.

In the Valleys I Grow

2010-02-13T11:34:00.001-08:00

So...A friend sent me this email and I thought it truelly was a beautiful Poem. Click on the link below and enjoy!!!
http://llerrahmusic.com/viewcard.php?code=102467

Joy, the true meaning.

2010-01-10T13:45:00.000-08:00

A co-worker and I were talking one workday during lunch in the month of December. We were discussing how so many other workers had been stressed thinking solely on what gifts they were getting there kids for the holidays and how are they going to get them something that they asked for since they did not have the money.How sad I felt to know that Gifts was the only thing that made up Christmas for so many of my co-workers. Being that I could not financially get gifts for my family I expressed to my friend that I was thankful that I would be able to just share the JOY of spending the holidays with my family. She then went to ask me if I knew the meaning of the word JOY. I told her what I thought it meant, and she went to tell me that she has taught her kids what the meaning of JOY is. I was touched by her definition and truly believe that this is the TRUE meaning.

What is the meaning of the word JOY in one persons life?

1: J
2: O
3: Y

#1 is JESUS. Jesus is and should be the #1 priority in our lives. We live each day in hopes to return and be with them.
#2 is OTHERS. As we live our lives we should always think of Others and help others in all ways possible.
#3 is YOURSELF. After living each day with Jesus in mind, and helping others we need to think of our self , yourself and make sure we are being the best we can be.

SO JOY MEANS.

JESUS,OTHERS,& YOURSELF.
Everyday as I go about my day I keep the word JOY in my mind.Again, this year 2010 is the year for me to bring Christ back into my life. Live according to the gospel and Follow the plan God has in store for me. Having JOY is a daily reminder now to me, thanks to my friend from work she has inspired me to remember without JOY we may stray away from the narrow path and how easy that is, speaking for myself from past experiences I believe that I have found a piece in me that knows that as long as JOY is within me, I know I will be with my Father in heaven again someday!

Bringing on the New Year with Hope & Faith!!

2010-01-03T14:49:00.000-08:00

As we start a New Year everyone talks about New Years Resolutions. Some want to lose weight, stop eating candy, change something about themselves or accomplish something that year after year they say they are going to do. This year My new years resolution is to find New HOPE and FAITH in my life. I have been an inactive member of the church for so many years and this is my year to regain HOPE and to Build my Faith that I was born and raised to do. So I share with all my journey on rebuilding my Faith, Hope, and Happiness in life. The only New years resolution I have is to HOPE to be able to keep up with my blog and HOPE to possibly be blessed with a child this year. All I can do is HOPE for this and keep the rest in our loving Fathers hands. May everyone be blessed with great health this year and a year of joy and happiness. As my first blog of the new year I am seeking HOPE and guidance to build a stronger family, build up my Faith in Christ our Lord and Live his commandments for all my days ahead. Thank you all for being great friends and supports and helping me in making the right choices in my life. I feel blessed with having a loving husband who supports my decisions regardless and know that he will always be there and love me no matter what.I loved this mormon message and in case you have not seen it I thought I would share it hear. Happy New Years everyone!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbsU3b2srQA

Why go to church??

2009-12-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

My mom sent me this email and I thought it was a great message.

WHY GO TO CHURCH?

If you're spiritually alive,you're going to love this! If you're spiritually dead, you won't want to read it.
If you're spiritually curious, there is still hope!
Why Go To Church?

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all." This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 3222 C000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu or a single one of those meals But I do know this.. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!" When you are DOWN to nothing... God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment! I think everyone should read this!
"When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could you get that for me?"

IM SO PROUD OF MY SISTER HEIDI!!!!

2009-10-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, my sister Heidi lives with Brain Cancer. She is such a positive person and very passionate about the medical field. She has been in the medical field very many,many,many years. My sister has applied with what was then called the Clarita Career College back in late June and was offered a job as a Mod A Medical Teacher to start I believe that August. When she was told in July of 2007 that she had Brain Cancer she made the decision to turn down the position due to her health and to focus on radiation. After radiation and her long recovery of developed Cushing Syndromes in April of 2008 my sister was ready to go back to work. So she re-applied at the same school and right away they remembered her and offered her a job immediately. They had at that time changed the name of the school to Charter College. My sister's goal in life has always been to try to impact others. Even more so when she was diagnosed. She truly believed in her students and was determined to make a difference in at least 1 students life. My sister had to make a hard decision within this past month to stop working. She has been overwhelmed with lots of work, that again she is very dedicated to accomplish. But by dedicating so much of her time, she has not been able to have her much needed rest to keep her body from not being tired. Per Dr.s orders, she has been forced to have to pretty much retire from work at this time. Thursday October 29th was her last day of teaching her last MOD A class. The Director at the school had advised my sister to let the students leave at 12pm instead of 1:30pm that day. My sister having meetings a lot with this job just assumed there was going to be a staff meeting. Once the students left the director came in and my sister was starting to pack her box up. The director told her, Heidi just leave this for now and come with me. When my sister walked out of her classroom on the 2nd floor of the school. She was greeted with over 200 students and staff lining the hallways and stairways of not only the 2nd floor but the 1st floor of the school as well. She has students that she taught from when she first started that didn't even attend the school anymore because they had already graduated all the way to students that were still presently enrolled. The great thing about my sisters position is, when you go to this school My sister is the first instructor for EVERY student for the first 5 weeks. Then the students are disbursed to the field in which they are going to school for. My sisters job was to make an impact in each students life for them to know that they can follow there dreams if the medical field was what there dream was. Apparently from the moment my sister gave her notice of resignation the school had been pulling together to have this Farewell put together for her. Apparently there was so many people that they had to have more than 10 Costco cakes present at the gathering. My sister was honored with a Scholarship that was placed in her honor. Called the Heidi Christpherson Scholarship. She will be meeting with the administrators soon to discuss what qualifications will need to be met in order to obtain this scholarship.

Heidi......I am soo PROUD to call you my sister and just as much as you inspire me in my own person life with your hardships, struggles, and life changes. You can now see that YES you have accomplished exactly what you sought out to do in life. Which was to IMPACT others. This day your final day of work goes to show just how many peoples lives you indeed did Impact. I love you. Here is a link to the entire article that was posted at her school. Please take a moment to read it and be just as touched as I was. I have posted some pics but the rest are on the web page on the slide show.

http://chartersuccess.com/lancaster/features/oct-09/heidi/index.htm

1 Year already!!!

2009-09-21T17:20:00.000-07:00

So....yesterday was Michael and I one year wedding anniversary. Time flies. It came so quickly I think. We have had a rough one year. Well not together as a couple but with trials in our lives. But all and all we made it. Michael is truelly the love of my life and my best friend. Oh sorry Heidi (my sister) you are my best friend to.

We had a wonderful day. We went to The Odyssey Resturaunt in Granada Hills and had there Sunday Champagne Brunch. ( Minus the Champagne for me.) BLAH We had a perfect spot in the resturaunt were we were able to overlook the entire valley below us.

Then we decided to go to the Santa Monica Pier just to walk around. It was so incredibly packed there, not to mention HOT. We had this really cool picture made there that was painted that has our last name GRAHAM on it. We did not stay for very long. The last time I had gone to Santa Monica they did not have the tribute to the soldiers on the beach but this time they did.

It was nice to get away from the Antelope Valley for the day though. I have been working so many hours a week that I was looking forward to this weekend. I was able to take 2 days off of work with it as vacation days. Monday and Tues.

Here are a few pics that we took. Looking forward to another year and a upcoming year of Positive Live Changing decisions in our lives.

The sad news I was told on June 24, 2009

2009-06-25T18:23:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was a day that I will never forget. What I thought was a ordinary day turned out to be a day that will now change the rest of my life.
Woke Up: 5:15am
Got to work :6:45 am
I was going about my normal morning, I ate a bagel around 7:30am with my morning soda, since I dont drink coffee very often soda is what gives me my caffiene. At about 10:30am I started not feeling good. I felt very hot, so I turned on my little fan at my desk. Next think I know while I am on the phone with a homeowner, I feel this RUSH of tingling go from my feet to my head, and apparently after that my head tipped over onto my desk. I had passed out. My co-worker next to me but her homeowner on the line and my manager was sitting right behind me. She rushed to my desk. Once I came out of it in a matter of seconds my co-worker completed my call and my manager took me carefully to her desk. She asked if I wanted a paramedic to be called. She got me some juice and some gum to try to get sugar in me. I sat there for a little over an hour not knowing what happend but not really feeling good. I decided to have Michael come and pick me up to take me to Urgent Care.
That was when my long night started. So after running an EKG and that being normal, they did blood work and urine samples. My diagnosis was sadly found. They clearly were able to determine that I have Diabetes. I was going to be there for quite awhile. Now the Kaiser Urgent care in Lancaster has been newly built. They built almost a hospital style one on the same property as the old, but one half is all rooms for urgent care and the otherside literally is like a hospital triage unit. I had to get attached to a IV so that my body could get re hydrated. My blood sugar level when I got there at 12:00pm was at 276. Apparantly for a person who does not have Diabetes your blood sugar should be below 130 someone with type 2 Diabetes should be below 180. So with being said they did diagnos me with type 2 Diabetes. I know I will beat this with change of foods and diet. I hate that now I have to check my blood sugar levels everyday and take a baby aspirin every day for the rest of my life. I cried at first since I didnt know a lot about it. I was scared. But now that I am reading more into it I know that I will be fine, as long as I want to be fine and maintain my lifestyle in a healthy way. I thought it was all because of my weight, however the Dr. said no its not always due to weight. So wish me luck on my new chapter in life.

A Day at the Museum Part 1 "Indoors"

2009-06-21T09:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a girls day out. My mom, sister, grandma, and I took a trip down to the J. Paul Getty's Museum. Leaving the Antelope Valley were it was sooooo windy and cold and getting down to Los Angeles was wonderful. It was very overcast the entire time but was such a beautiful day. The museum was absolutely amazing. There was different time eras of paintings, sculptures, and settings of ancient time. I did take lots of pics. Here are a few that really stood out to me.

This was just a beautiful painting up close an personal. What a great Name The Fountain of Love.

I also fell in love with this one painting. The postcard setting didn't come out very well in my photos so I am unable to actually post what the painting is of but basically its of a little girl named Jeannie Kieffe from 1885 with her back against the doors, this painting looked SO real it was incredible. The details in it literally resembled that of an actual photo. The purpose of this painting was at one point to show that of a child's perception of a world scaled for grown-ups.

When I saw this next painting I felt very joyful. I wish every May Day was like this. Unfortunately its not. However it is my nephew Chris birthday on May 1st so I can just think of joy for that. The title of it was "SPRING"

There was plenty of other paintings as well. Here is some religious paintings, I didn't get the descriptions for all so I am just posting the pics. I do know the names of a few of them, there is a painting of David with the head of Goliath painted by Pietro Novelli an Italian artist from 1603-1647. The Immaculate Conception which was painted in about 1730. Another one which is described as Christ in Glory. Which appears to be of Christ reigning on high with Angels surrounding him. This painting was done by Pompeo in approx 1736-1737. And then others.

These were some of the paintings captured. Now there was another part that was really interesting, there was a section were it was showing items that were used in France in the 1800's. I captured two different photos of common bedrooms back then. One looks like a giant sofa however you could not just sit on it, it was really deep in depth so although it appears to look like a sofa it was wide and really did look like a bed. More like what is now our modern day DAYBEDS this must of been there style. The bed itself had wheels in the middle under the bed.

This next Bed was bed that was popular in Italy.Its funny my sister and I were walking around on our own in this section and we saw it and thought our grandma will probably love this style, and sure enough when she reached that room she did and wanted a picture with it.

Finally there were two sculptures that I really liked. The artwork was fantastic.

These are just some of the few beautiful things I saw while spending my day at the museum. There was so much more there that we saw. The museum has other parts as well to it in which I will piece together on my next blog.If you are here in Southern California and are looking to enjoy A Day at the Museum "Indoors" then I highly recommend the J. Paul Getty's Museum. It is FREE yes FREE to get in, you just pay $10.00 for parking. It is right off of the 405fwy, exit Getty's Dr. I hope whomever is reading has enjoyed seeing pieces of the art that I saw. Stay tuned..there is more beauty to come that was also on the grounds of the J. Paul Getty's museum.

Our Disneyland Adventure

2009-05-31T11:24:00.000-07:00

I had not been to Disneyland in many years and wanted so badly to go. So, Michael and I did a mini getaway and took advantage of being Southern California residents and got a 2fer deal there. This is were you pay the one price of $69.00 admission and it allows you access to both parks. However you can only go to one park a day, and you have up to 30 days to use your ticket to get into the other park. We decided to stay down there in Aneheim and just go to Disneyland the first day on a Friday and go to California Adventure since that is a much smaller park on Saturday.

I had a blast. I love seeing the expressions on the little kids faces and only makes me more excited about having children of my own to one day be able to share that experience with them. I have to admit I was disappointed that Its a Small World my absolote favorite ride was broke down for the day. Same with Indiana Jones. One last let down was that I really wanted to ride the Finding Nemo ride but literally the wait was like 3 hours. NO JOKE. We got to ride everything else that we wanted to that day with only minimal 15 minute waits. Except for Splash Mountain that one I think we waited like 35 minutes.

I know that I enjoyed it more than Michael, his response was maybe when we have kids I will think different. I just dont get it but oh well. He just kept saying as long as I was happy that was all that mattered. Here was a few pics from our fun-filled day!!!

The Next day we went to California Adventure. Other than watching the shows Im not really impressed with that park. We did get to see the Muppett Show in 3D, The Alladin Musical, ride the Monsters Inc ride and the Grizzley Rapids which I will tell you literally gets you soaking wet, there is no way to avoid it on that water rafting ride. Here was some pics from California Adventure. We had a great time overall though on our mini vacation.

A celebrity in Our neighborhood

2009-05-31T11:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have been quite the BLOGGER slacker for awhile here. So, I decided it was about time to post a new blog. As most of you know I live in Littlerock, CA ...The Fruit Basket of the Antelope Valley as most people know it as. Across the street from our house is a big dirt field then Pearblossom Hwy.

Awhile ago we noticed movie trailers starting to pile in to the empty field. Each day a little more equipment would come including police cars, Buses, etc. We knew they were going to be filming something but were at a loss as to what was being filmed. These trailers stayed there for about a week before they started filming. Right on Pearblossom hwy is an old rundown as I put it "TWEEKER" motel called the Dena Inn Motel apartments. It is just rundown and actually quite scary looking. We noticed one night seeing the big movie lights over by the motel which we can see from our house out in a distance. We thought, oh they must be filming a horror flick or something.

After several days of filming we decided one evening to walk to the local gas station Vallero which is next to the Dena Inn Motel. We said lets walk get an ice cream and it would give us an excuse to see maybe a movie star or see what they are filming. So Michael, Me, my brother-in-law Estefan and his girlfriend Jenny walked over there. We asked a little girl who was watching what they were filming and she told me. I wont spoil it til the end...lol We decided after getting our ice cream to stick around and watch. They were getting ready to start filming on Pearblossom Hwy right across the street from the Dena Inn Motel almost next door to the Desert Bizarre if any of you remember that place.

We waited for nearly two hours to end up watching a Bus line stop and a man walk across Pearblossom Hwy holding a grocery bag going to the Dena Inn Motel. At first I thought that was it, i stood here for 2 hours for that then my husband asked me if I knew who the man was walking and I told him he looked familiar but was not quite sure his name. I had remembered seeing him in movies. Although the filming was not for a movie it was for a Drama Series that appears on A & E television.....So, we were able to meet the celeb and get pics....The series they were filming was called "THE CLEANER" and the celeb was Benjamin Bratt. Here is the pics he let us take with him. They were filming all over the Littlerock area. For about 2 weeks on this one episode that should be coming out soon.

JENNY, BENJAMIN BRATT, ESTEFAN

BENJAMIN BRATT AND MICHAEL

ME AND BENJAMIN BRATT

Santa Monica Pier, day after Leslie's wedding

2009-04-18T16:08:00.000-07:00

So, the day after Leslie and Robs wedding we decided to go to the beach. Michael and I met up with Laura, Mary, Alex, Ken, Dave and Shawna down Pacific Coast Hwy. We decided to go to Santa Monica Pier. Alex had never been there before which I thought was really exciting. We ate lunch at Bubba Gump Restaurant, and my husband Michael really wanted to see Alex do her acrobatic routines from these trapeze schooling that was doing a show there. Needless to say Alex would not do it even though she has excellent gymnastic moves, however she was very OK with walking in public like this.

Laura on the other hand wanted to remember the good ol days when she use to walk the runway and strike a pose.
Dave and Shawna just enjoyed the water.

As well as Me and Mike

It was nice walking around listening to the waves, seeing the new and improved Ferris wheel and also listening to this relaxing music of a man at the end of the pier with his keyboard and microphone with the ocean behind him singing and playing this beautiful relaxing music that was quite enjoyable.

Lastly we ate lunch at Bubba Gumps which was really good.That was were we said our goodbye's and take along yet another reunion memory in our lives, until the next event comes up or vacation takes place in which I enjoy spending time with my youth friends and families.

Leslie Evans wedding and reunion!!!

2009-04-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

So, it has been a bit since I have posted a blog. I am sorry, just been busy. But I do have a few pics to post. As you may have seen from previous blogs, I have been anticipating on the wedding of my dear friend Leslie Evans. The day finally came on Friday Apri 10, 2009 in Agoura Hills. She got married at this beautiful place in Malibu Lake and she looked stunning.As much fun as it was reuniting with old friends at her bridal shower it was even funner at her wedding running into even more friends.Here is some pics from that day.

******************* Leslie looked absolutly beautiful************************

***************************BEAUTIFUL***********************************************

******************Mr. & Mrs. Helm**********************************

I had a great evening hanging out with friends Liz Simms,Mary Reed-Robles, Laura Reed-Humphries and Me.

Also Alex whom I was her first babysitter when she was a little girl. She is not so much a little girl now.

It was nice having my Husband Mike meet my friend Lauras husband Ken also.

And of course visiting with my longtime family friends THE REEDS.

It was nice getting away to attend Leslies wedding, it gave me and my husband a little mini vacation to staying out of town for the night.

We had a great day and night and it was fun to reunite with everyone again.

Then & Now

2009-03-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

Ok...so my girlfriend Laura was the first to post this on her blog but I laughed so hard I could not resist but to post it on mine. So, as we reach closer to Leslie Evans wedding its time to see a blast from the past as we were growing up as kids.

This was taken in 1992
Laura: 15years, Leslie 12years, Erika 16years

And we are still fortunate to every once in a blue moon get together again to celebrate eachothers joys in life.

This was taken February 2009

Laura: 31years, Leslie 29years, Erika 32years.

I guess our POOF BALL HAIR DAYS are over!!!!! lol..lol..lol
I am truelly blessed to still have friendships with both of them. Luv ya guys!!

Fun times with old friends

2009-03-01T14:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to be able to visit with some of my longtime friends. It was 0ur great friend Leslie Evans Bridal Shower. I remember growing up as a teen we all have many wonderful memories of hanging out together. So, I decided to post a few memories here that we all had together. Our group in school was Me, Laura Reed, Jandy Perrett, Sarah Strong, Amy Graham, Karen Gahie, Liz Sims, Mary Reed, and Lynsey Geyer. Although Mary and Lynsey were a grade above me we hung out with them also at different points in time. Leslie was the baby of our crowd how we use to put it. When I was a senior in high school she was a freshman. Although now in life I dont really consider her much younger as my husband believe it or not is the same age as Leslie. Leslie is a character one fond memory I have is how every summer we would all literally swim and hang out all day long. I think I lived at Leslies practically all summer. I would spend almost every night there, Laura Reed lived across the street so she would always say she was going to spend the night but in the middle of the night she would go home. Leslie also use to wear her bathing suit literally morning, noon, and night. She would sleep in it, swim in it, and just hang out in it. Course she was the one friend who had the perfect figure to do it, and when we would go out, she would just but on a pair of shorts and a tank top, of course keeping the bathing suit underneath. One year Me, Laura, Jandy, Karen, Liz, Sarah, and Amanda decided to kidnap Leslie on her birthday before seminary and go to breakfast at Denny's which the only one at the time was off of Palmdale Blvd and the 14 Fwy, across from what use to be the Ramada Inn. As we tried to quitely get into Leslies room, it was dark and one of us went around her bed and we didnt realize her Lamp shade was on the floor. All of a sudden you heard this loud CRUNCH.......well lets just say Leslie had a permananet lamp after that which did not indetail to having a shade on it.....lol. That was funny. Mary who at the time worked for Burger King had gotten us one of those crowns that they use to give out to kids. Leslie had to just wake up. Didnt get to do her hair or anything and wear the crown for breakfast. We had a blast. All of us have shared in good times and bad with eachother. We have all been blessed with being able to find Love in our life. So, to share in the joy of Leslies Day it was great to re unite with some of our old friends and there families. Some were not there but we will see others at the wedding. Leslie and I have had many conversations in our pasts about relationships and marriage. Rob is one lucky guy to have Leslie in his life. So with that being said, Leslie the baby of our group of friends....We have truelly saved the Best for Last........Best of Wishes.

My new look

2009-02-23T21:02:00.000-08:00

Ok, so after years of having literally the same hairsytle, i was bold enough to go with a change. My hair was just much longer then I think it has ever been since I think my senior prom. I of course was growing it out for my wedding, but since then realized this hair is dull, ugly, and just plain boring. So, my wonderful cousin Sarah who lives here locally did a change for me, i wanted to cut my hair at least to my shoulders, then i decided why not give me some bangs. So, after spending much needed time in the salon I got a new look. So, heres to 2009 and a new hairdo...lol

In Remembrance of My Mother-In Law

2009-02-14T13:24:00.000-08:00

In loving Memory of Donna Marie Diaz-Graham
02/16/08

This weekend marks the one year anniversary weekend of the passing of my Mother-In-Law Donna Marie Diaz-Graham. She was a special person in my life. Donna although had a personality like no other woman I have ever met, she was very loving towards me. When I first met Michael I was told that I could not meet his mom, because she didn't like just any girl that came along. His brother and dad also told me that if Donna did not like you, YOU would know. So I started dating Michael in April 2006 and did not meet Donna til July of 2006. To everyone surprise, Donna and I got along great from the very beginning. We shared a friendship like no other. She was an amazing seamstress, loved the Lord, and was very smart to. She was going to make my wedding dress originally as she new we were getting married several weeks before passing. But at the last minute advised me that it would be in my best interest to buy a dress instead as she didn't want to disappoint me on the making the dress if I did not like it. I did tell her nonsense that all her work she has done was beautiful, but she urged me to shop around. So, I did. The weekend that I went to Davids Bridal to look for my wedding dress was the weekend of February 16th, 2008. The boys had gone riding for the weekend so I stayed at my sister Heidi's house to have a girls weekend starting wedding plans. Much to my surprise when I was going to my grandmas on that Monday February 18, 2008 Presidents Day, Michael called me hysterical. The boys got home from camping and found that there mom died. It was a very sad time. This has been quite a year I must say, but want to take a moment to remember Donna for the beautiful woman, friend, and mother-in-law that she was. There was a song played at her service that I had never heard before and thought it was absolutely beautiful. So i decided to put the lyrics here.

http://www.jango.com/stations/107658285/tunein?proxy_id=40027113&song_id=140358

The song is called : I BOWED ON MY KNEES AND CRIED HOLY by Michael English.

I dreamed of a city called Glory

It was so bright and so fair

As I entered that gate, I cried holy

All the angels met me there

And They carried me from mansion to mansion

And all The sights I saw

Then I said I want to see Jesus

He's the One who died for all

I bowed on my knees and cried Holy, holy, holy

I clapped my hands and sang Glory,

Glory to the Son of God

When I entered the gates of the city

My Loved ones all knew me well

They took me down the streets of heaven

All the saints were too many to tell

I saw Abraham, Jacob and Isaac

Talked with Mark, sat down with Timothy

But then I said, I want to see Jesus

He's the One who died for me

I bowed on my knees and cried Holy, holy, holy

I clapped my hands and sang Glory,glory, glory

I clapped my hands and sang Glory

Glory to the Son of God

SURVIVOR!!! And Reality TV.

2009-02-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

Well last night was the season preimere of Survivor. I have never been a BIG fan of the show, but usually determine that by watching it for a few weeks. So, last night didnt really give me much on anyone, I thought it was kind of boring actually. We shall see what next week brings, its make or break for me watching this season based off of next weeks episode. Although I am very excited about The Amazing Race starting.
I am still very glued to THE BACHELOR, he is down to his final 3 ladies. I was sooo happy to see him get rid of Naomi. She was just out there. I am hoping he picks ultimately in the end Molly but I hope at the end it is Molly and or Jill. I would be happy to see him with either one. But my #1 pick is Molly.

American Idol Views

2009-02-12T14:29:00.000-08:00

Well I have to say that so far on American Idol after watching last night, I am disappointed on some of the contestants that the judges have chose to keep and and even more disappointed at some of the contestants they chose to eliminate. They did something quite different this season for those who do not watch, and took the contestants remaining to the judges mansion and decided at that point they would do a small interview with each contestant and eliminate it down to the final 36. They had some of them do a sing off, it was just ridiculous. There were some who sang great in Hollywood who the judges brought in the group but eliminated in the end, and there were those who could not even remember there lyrics in Hollywood and they made it through, gosh my opinion is if it didnt matter that you knew your lyrics in Hollywood then everyone should have just memorized a few notes and called it a night instead of staying up with little to no sleep trying to do your best. I was really mad at last nights outcome. I hope that this is a good season, but from the looks at how the judges views are, I am not convinced that this will be..We shall see I will give it a little bit of time, but may end up tuning American Idol out this season if it seems fake. There is one thing that I am happy about and that is that they did in the end even after putting her through I am happy that Joanna Pacitti got disqualified. She has already had her time to shine, including already having an album that was a flop. I dont know how many times this girl feels she deserves to get shots over and over again. I believe that Idol should be for those who have never had record deals and who are new to the limelight.

From the movie JUNO

2009-01-25T13:29:00.000-08:00

OK..so sometime last year us girls in our family were hanging out and my sister Heidi wanted us to see the movie Juno. She said it was a great movie. We all attempted to watch however it was loud at my grandmas house were we where at and the music to me was soooo lame. I just couldn't get into the flick. So, I didn't watch it. However today I took the time to watch it in peace and quite and I actually really enjoyed the movie. So first off I have to say sorry to my sister Heidi for saying it seemed like a boring movie. However, in watching the movie I am 100% against teenage pregnancy but the movie in general was good, and the music once really watching was quite catchy. So, I have decided to put the video and lyrics to my favorite song of the movie on here. Its called Anyone Else But You!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeqqHjyWWtI&eurl=http://stereo.joechung.org/2007/09/18/the-moldy-peaches-anyone-else-but-you/&feature=player_embedded

Anyone Else But You

by The Moldy Peaches

You’re a part time lover and a full time friend

The monkey on you’re back is the latest trend