And the Award goes to...

I was given this award by Kristin about a week ago, but unfortunately I was not able to list my "obsessions" until today (moving has taken ALL my free time, but more on that later). So here I go:

There are only two simple requirement:

1. You must list 5 current obsessions.

2. You must pass it on to 5 other people.

Here are my obsessions:

1. I have an unhealthy obsession with trying to find new and different foods that I can eat from all over the world and I also try to make them on my own after.

2. I am obsessed with learning different languages. So far I only know Romanian, English, and Spanish, but I really hope to learn a few more in the next few years.

3. I am obsessed with watching spanish Telenovelas, shows like Law and Order, and Food Network (There. I said it)!

4. I am obsessed with being a good wife for my amazing husband (yes, at times I fall short, but who doesn't?).

5. I am obsessed with spending time with my family and friends who I am missing a whole LOT since I've moved.

The blogs that I have decided to pass this award to, are some that I have just recently come across. They are really amazing, so check them out.

1. Chelsea at A Colorado Cupcake

2. Cher at Love, Actually!

3. Alicia at My favorite things

4. The New England Girl

5. To a Pretty Life

Alright, so I have finally finished! Thank you Kristin for the award. I also promise to post some new things about our new life in TX as soon as I can see my floor clean of dozens of banana moving boxes.

Loving this life and the people in it

I am soo very thankful that this week has been such an amazing one so far… and it is not even over yet! On Monday I was able to go to Farmington and get to see my family. It was the last time I was able to visit before we move to Texas, so I experienced a lot of bittersweet moments. Like I’ve said a few days ago, I LOVE going back to my parent’s house, not just because I get to spend time with them, but also because I get to go to a whole bunch of different ethnic food stores and restaurants. It is really exciting, because a lot of the time I get to try things I’ve never tried before; the new food I tried this week, were fresh dates. They are a bit crunchy, and make your mouth pucker when they are this green, however after leaving them out for a few hours, they got softer and became sweeter.

A few minutes from our house they also have this cute little German pastry shop with lots of delicious sweet, moist, melt-in-your-mouth art creations. I may be just partially biased, but NO ONE can EVER beat the European sweets and deserts (there I said it!) We are just the best there are (once again, just a bit biased). So every time I go home, I make sure to pass by that little German shop. After you take one little bite of one of those babies, you will completely forget about all the calories it may contain, or the hours you will spend sweating on that treadmill. Actually, you will think that it was worth every last bite.

Next, dad and I went to the Russian store in order for me to get some of the many varieties of candy they have there ( can you tell yet that I’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth?). They have such a vast assortment of them, from chocolate wafers, to rum flavored ones, to straight up hard liquor filled chocolate (well, they are Russians, after all). They also have some really amazing smoked chicken and fish there, too. I really enjoy Russian food, and it may have something to do with the fact that the place I grew up in, was highly influenced by the Russian culture. Regardless, they have some really amazing food and I believe everyone should at least give it a try.

My great parents
My beautiful mommy and I
Dad and the fresh dates
Fresh, moist, and deliciously sinful pastries
Russian chocolates

Tuesday night, mommy and I went shopping: by FAR her FAVORITE hobby! They had lots of cute things on sale, and among those things there were tons of irresistibly cute baby clothes. Of course I HAD to grab some for Genna, and I may or may not have bought some for my future children as well (you don’t understand… they were REALLY cute). After we got tired of shopping, we went to one of our favorite places to eat, and had some garlicky super delicious shawarmas. If you’ve never had them, you should most definitely give them a try. They are somewhere on the top five of my favorite foods.

Genna's new summer dress
Ladybug outfit for my favorite baby girl
She will look sooo cute in this green outfit :)

Tuesday, I also was able to spend some quality time with my baby brother. We had some Starbucks, walked around the city, and found new sites in our favorite hometown park. We even wanted to visit the Holocaust museum, but they closed early. I will cherish the memories and time spent with Stefan that day forever.

Wednesday it was time for me to hit the road back home straight into my hubby’s arms. So after dad filled a small basket with fresh veggies from their garden, had some homemade flavorful hazelnut coffee with my mommy, and hugged everyone goodbye, I was on my way.

Doing what we do best: being silly
Rediscovering our home town
Fresh veggies from my parents' garden

Today was also a pretty amazing day. I got my hair cut and I actually like it a lot! Yey for good hair day! Brandon says that he liked it better before, but thinks that I still look cute. Men… what do they know?

New haircut :)

Also, I went out with some of my all time favorite girls: Carisa, Ashley, and Genna! They took me out to eat to the new Thai place in town as a goodbye lunch. *tear* The food was supper delightful and the owner is very friendly. Next we went to the beach for a few minutes to take some pictures. I think Genna really enjoyed it too, even though she looked like a little Arabic baby. She was one cute “Arabic baby!” It was such a gorgeous sunny day, and everybody and their dog was there. Don’t people work during daytime anymore???? It was sooo great spending time with those girls; I love them all to pieces!!!

My food :) Mmmm...mmmm...good

Carisa and Ash's food! Yum!

Ash and I
At the beach
The cutest, happiest baby ever! (thought the grandmas

would appreciate this picture :) )
Carisa and I
Carisa and her "arabic" baby

So this has been my exciting week so far. Tomorrow I have to really start packing. I am really looking forward to the weekend. I get to spend two entire days with the Belangers, plus I get to see a few of my good friends…but more on that later. For now, I just wish everyone a good rest of the week!

Quick look into the near future

There are a number of things that are about to happen in the next few weeks that I am quite excited about, and some that almost break my heart even thinking about them. So here is a quick look into my near future:

Tuesday August 11: EXCITED ABOUT IT! I just got home to my parents house on Monday night. They live in the Metro Detroit area and I just looooove going home. Beside the fact that I get to spend time with my family, and go shopping with my mommy, I love this area because they have tons of ethnic food stores as well as ethnic restaurants that I just love going into and buying really delicious things from. Some of my favorites around here are the Russian, Arabic, Indian, and Polish ones. The sad part is that this will probably be the last time I will come home before we move, and I have no idea when we'll have the chance to come back to MI.

Wednesday August 12: I leave my family, but I get to see my husband again :)

Thursday August 13: will probably be spent packing some of the things in our home :(

Friday August 14: This is a bitter sweet day, because it will be the last friday night that we are going to get together with friends and grill some food while we open the Sabbath. I will treasure those memories forever...

Saturday August 15th: Really exciting day!!! Brandon and I together with our friends Carisa and Josh and their baby girl Genna, are leaving bright and early to Minnesota to watch our friends Kyle and Sarah get married! I am doubly excited however, because I also get to see and spend some time with another good childhood friend of mine that also happens to live in Minnesota. I really can't wait to see her too!

Sunday August 16th: We are going to watch Sarah walk down the aisle and become Mrs. Foote! Super excited! The sad part is that our friends Guillermo and Estere are also getting married on the same day, and unfortunately we will not be able to be there :(

Monday August 17th: My parents and my little brother will come over to help us pack the remaining things we have in our home. I also get to pick my friend Valencia from the airport! I am sooo happy that I get to see her right before we move :) Can't wait for that!

Tuesday August 18th: Still packing :(

Wednesday August 19th: VERY VERY VERY SAD DAY!!!! I already predict lots of crying and sobbing. This is the day that we say goodbye to our loved ones and to the state that's been my home for the last almost 9 years, and hit to road into the unknown towards the state where you go big or you go home: Texas.

Thursday August 20th: First day in our new state.

So as you guys can see, the next few weeks are going to be insanely hectic! I will admit I am extremely scared of the unknown, so fasten your seatbelt with us as we take this leap of faith and trust that God will be in the driver seat the entire time as we embark on this new thrilling, frightening, and fascinating new journey of life.

The week in review

This ended up being quite an interesting and eventful week after all...

For my 22nd birthday, back in December, one of my awesome sisters in law gave me a very generous gift card to one of the salons in town. Right before my graduation I was able to use some of it by treating myself and my mommy to a nice massage and pedicure. Since I still had some money left on it, I thought I should try something different with my hair, so on Monday morning I made an appointment for the next day for some highlights. I never had highlights before, but I like to consider myself an adventurous person, so I said "why not?" I found a picture online of what I would like my hair color to look like, and another one of what my hair cut should look like. On Tuesday morning I got my highlights and my haircut, but neither one looked anything like the pictures. The highlights were supposed to be brown and not BLONDE and my haircut was not supposed to look like it was meant for a 12 yr old ( even though Brandon thought I looked like a 45 yr old mom). The girl that cut my hair said that I should take a day and think about it, and if I still don't like it I should come back the next day and she'll make my highlights darker. So needless to say, I went back the next day, she made it a few shades browner, and as a result I am much, much, much, happier with my hair color!

Wednesday was a very eventful day: I had a studying/ movie day with the girls, we celebrated two years of blissful marriage, and put our house on the market.

We haven’t done anything special for our anniversary because right now both our pockets and bank accounts are mostly on the empty side and we are going to have multiple expenses over the next few months. This being said, we both decided to wait a few months until we get a bit more money and we can do something big to celebrate our wonderful time together. We still were able to start and end this special day together though; we spent part of the morning eating breakfast at our favorite family owned diner in town while reminiscing about our dating and wedding day, and wondering what this new year has in store for us. Either way, we both agreed that we were both in for quite a great adventure: new state, new job, new friends, new home. At night we went out to watch Funny People, which I found to be way too offensive and not nearly as funny as I hoped it to be; still, it was nice to spend time together. He also got some flowers for me. What a sweetheart!

Stopping by to smell the roses
He gets the final rose ( can you tell I've been watching way too much reality TV?)

So glad we have each other ~
He deserves a kiss for putting up with me for two yrs!

In the afternoon, Carisa and I studied for a little while for our dreadful NCLEX (which literarly makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it), after which Ashley came to join in the fun. We relaxed on the couch watching “Confessions of a Shopoholic” while stuffing our faces with lots of buttery popcorn. Mmmmm…. Good!

Ash and I right before our "Shopoholic" movie

On Friday we had our usual Friday night get-together with Carisa, Josh, and Genna, and we enjoyed a good meal while talking about things we did this week, about how we are going to miss each other once we move, and how I really wish I could see Genna grow closer to us. I am going to miss those fun nights together soooo much!

Also, on Friday we got a gift package from Brandon's older sister and her husband, Cindy and Tony. They are so sweet for never forgetting any of our big days. I didn't take any pictures, but we got so cool things from them among which there was a cooking book with tomato and mozzarella recipes, and a "sphincter shrinker" hot sauce that literarily stands up for it's name. That had to be the hottest hot sauce I have ever tasted in my entire life! It even made Brandon sweat and cry (which, I must admit, it was kind of funny to watch).

Saturday was a really fun day too. Our friends Phil and Kristine were passing through Michigan on their way to a family reunion. So after we went to church on Sabbath, we enjoyed a great lunch at Kristine and Ashley’s grandpa’s house. We had a lot of fun joking, making fun of one another, remembering funny things that had happened in the past, and doing our nails (THANK YOU Ashley! You are awesome!). Right before sundown, we decided that since it was so nice and warm outside, we should all go to our house and grill some delicious food and watch a movie. Even though the boys voted for burgers and were opposed to having grilled pizzas in the beginning, after seeing how amazing those masterpieces looked, they devoured them almost as soon as they came off the grill. They were a bit crunchy and insanely yummy bites of mushrooms, peppers, mozzarella, parmesan, olives, barbeque “chicken” and fresh basil goodness. Let me tell you, if you’ve never had grilled pizza, you’ve GOT to try it! And make sure you make plenty of them because everyone will love them and no one will want to share !

Deciding on what movie we were going to watch, now that was an indescribably incredible difficult task to attain! There were 9 of us, and we couldn’t get three people to agree on the same movie. Some didn’t want to watch anything too scary, others didn’t want to watch anything to emotional; some wanted thrillers, and some wanted comedy. After over 20 minutes of debating and elaborating, we semi-agreed on “Obsessed.” It was fun to see how the girls (including myself) were screaming at the TV, screaming at their significant other, or just simply screaming for more than half of the movie. I personally enjoyed watching it, and even though I am sure they exist, it is hard and scary to think that there are people out there who are that crazy and disturbed.

Carisa and Genna on Friday night
Our "pretty in purple" toes done by our personal cosmetologist aka Ashley
Going around the table and grabbing our food
The barbecued "chicken" was delicious!

The newly engaged couple! Can't wait for them to join the marriage club...

Phil and Kristine and Chloe begging for food

Closer shot of our work of art, right after setting them on the grill
The masterpiece that Kristine and I have created

Some of the food we enjoyed
Ashley with a mouth full of food and Deanna relaxing on the couch

Carisa and Josh
The girls

Finally, Sunday we ended this week on a good note. Brandon and I went to see my friend Nick get married to his beautiful bride Deanne. It was such a sweet, touching, and emotional wedding. The groom was so handsome, and the bride was just breathtaking. You could really tell that they were so happy to join their lives together and to surrender their marriage to God. I pray that God keeps them both under His wings and that He blesses their marriage with His richest blessings. It was such a glorious joyful day…

The happy newlyweds!
Taking a quick picture with the happy couple

Their beautiful cupcakes. Aren't they adorable?

Oh, and it even rained pretty nicely today too, which means that I didn't have to water my flowers! Isn't God just amazing?

So this is how we spent another week, taking it one day at a time. The next few weeks are going to be even more hectic and there are some things I am really looking forward to, and some not so much at all, but all that is an entire different topic…