14 weeks/ christmas

this christmas has ruled.

we drove down to san diego the night before christmas eve. i have come to really enjoy our car rides to and from san diego. most times we don't even have the radio on while we drive and we just talk. its fun to day dream about what next christmas will be like with our baby in the backseat. crazy!

the whole family is here which is always a good time. the rain has let up and its been so nice. my dad has all the boys working of course. but we're having fun.

christmas eve i woke up around 11pm (my sleeping patterns have been WEIRD) and was told that naz and jamie had left... that naz was getting my last gift. ? um ok. but what store is open this late? on christmas eve? whatever. so went to bed at 12:30... still no naz. woke up around 4:15 and naz was not in bed. got up to look around the house... maybe he fell asleep on the couch? nope. nowhere. when i see jamie walking into the back door. and she says oh its joy! it was so weird. they said they had been home for a while... blah blah.. there was traffic? so go back to bed. and the whole morning i'm wondering what the heck? finally when all the presents were opened i was allowed to go into the garage. my sister jamie has her recording equipment in there.. and so he sat me down in front of the computer.. and hit play. he had written me a song. and he and jamie went down to the studio at the church to record it that night. it was beautiful and so rad to hear him singing to me. i've be

en asking for him to write me a song for as long as we've been together. yeah. 8 years. needless to say i was in tears. and it was the best gift of all.

we leave for home tomorrow. and it will be nice for naz to have a few days of nothing to do before he goes back to work.

baby: the nerd can move its little face. it can grimace, squint and frown. i don't know why it has anything to frown about... but i bet its cute.

mom: hoping my energy comes back up a bit like everyone says it should in the 2nd trimester. and i really hope my appetite comes back too. cuz i'm so hungry but i don't wanna eat anything. it all doesn't sound good.

13 weeks

so i think i need to get a camera. we were going to buy a great one but naz somehow talked me out of it. classic. hahaha. hopefully there will be another company sale so we can get it.

so 13 weeks now. its raining like crazy and it feels nice to know i don't have to leave the house for the rest of the day. i went and did my errands and felt pretty good. i'm looking forward to my 2nd trimester where everyone says that you feel your best. but so far it really hasn't been that bad. i've been so grateful. from what i've heard some woman experiences have been i was so scared i was going to be feeling like death. but as long as a keep some food in my stomach, and rest often... i'm ok.

my parents left this morning but its nice to know that i'll be seeing them in just a few days. it was such a good weekend and so much fun getting to hang out with them. saturday night there was a huge car wreck in front of our building and my dads rental car was in the middle of it, but thank God that it was just a scratch on the bumper. other cars were not so fortunate. so anyways we were up the whole night, so church the next morning was out. so we went to breakfast and then to pasadena for some shopping. came home for football and in.n.out.

baby: it has fingerprints! how cute is that.

adulthood.

well heres our news! i can't believe we finally get to say it out loud. we wanted to tell my parents face to face, so that meant waiting till today. and so now that they know, we can let everyone else know too.

it has been so hard not to blog about our little nerd for 12 whole weeks! blerg. so hopefully it will be satisfying to do so now.

we are 12 weeks along and due june 27th and though i'm definitely feeling pregnant, i think i could be feeling much worse. so no complaints yet. (only the complaints naz has to hear, poor guy) it is still hard to believe that i am even pregnant. but really.. how do you prepare for something like this? maybe next time?

so my parents are in here in LA for today and tomorrow. we went today to ikea and out to lunch and then stopped by the salon so they could see the shop. while at ikea i finally made a decision (that i've been thinking about for over a year and half) and we bought a bed. so naz and dad put it together after dinner and dang it looks so good. it feels great not feeling like a college kid with your bed on the floor. ah. today was great.

todays bonus: showing my parents the bedtime intruder video, them loving it, and now my dad is humming the song to himself.

tomorrow. tomorrow.

tomorrow is going to be a good day. keep posted. cuz i'll be posting.

AH!

intentionally quiet.

ya know when you have so much to talk about that you just don't talk? yep thats me.

i am really excited for this weekend. my parents are coming up here to LA for a quick visit before we go down to san diego for christmas. it's going to be so fun to share with them all thats going on with us. and go eat at some of our favorite places. hopefully we'll make it to the nickel diner.. and get some awesome mac and cheese. nom nom.

on other not fun news: i am so behind on my stitching for christmas gifts. i wanted to make most of my gifts this year and now the pressure is on. i started them back in october... and i guess i just kept thinking i had plenty of time. well i don't. and i need to get crackin'....i mean stitchin'.

thanksgiving hangover.

this weekend we went down to san diego for thanksgiving. and we had a blast. it was really chill which was so nice. just us 2 and my sister and brother in law and their two boys. that night we went over to naz's aunts house for dessert and got to see his side of the family which always rules.

now that we are home.. i have no motivation to go do my errands today. its also pretty cold outside so it makes me less motivated. but i will. just give me a min.

while in sd i got my haircut and it feels great. its funny that even hairstylists can go too long without getting it cut. so it was great to have it done. it was much needed. i feel like myself again.

thats about it. (like i said... really not motivated today. haha)

intelectual emotionalism.

i dunno how much i've talked about my discipleship past.. but here it is: in 2007 a best friend of mine, carly, referred her aunt, aunt debbie, to me as a client. aunt debbie... is pretty much awesome. so when she told me about how she taught a discipleship group... i said "i'm in." after going to bible college... and now being married.. i suddenly though. "ok.. this life is for real. and i need to be purposeful with it."

throughout that year of sitting around aunt debbie's table God did an amazing work. it wasn't just knowledge, and facts, and sharing... it was an intimate relationship that was growing between me and my Lord. 2007 was the year when i started to really feel my hashimotos, i didn't know what it was then unfortunately, so even though it was an awful year physically... i experienced the Hand of Grace, and that was so much more important.

so here i am. in Los Angeles. with a call to discipleship. now what? i was getting so discouraged when we moved here and the doors were just not opening. but God is faithful and this year.. right when aunt debbie always starts her group. i had a group here. there are 5 us now meeting every saturday morning. to pray, eat, share, worship, and dig into who Jesus is. it's so awesome to see how much our heavenly Father provides all our needs. even our need for fellowship. (and accountability)

SO much is changing in our life right now. and even though it is scary.. we are not called to go through it alone. whew!

"that which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." John 3:6

(if you wanna read about discipleship groups some more... visit here.)

this week has been pretty good. truckin' along. i've been extremely lazy... but my doctor has upped my thyroid meds so i hope to be doing better and better.

today after work and nice nap we took the geeks (our pigs) to the park. it was the first time for sasquatch and it took him but to understand he could just eat the grass. at first he would only take it out of naz's hang. but soon they were having a blast.

this coming week my family will be coming up and we can't wait. moving to LA has really shown me how much san diegans dislike LA. haha. we've been here a year and have seen very little visitors. oh well... we are looking forward to seeing our nephews.

well i should be paying attention to sherlock holmes. even though its a little scary. and i don't want to completely pay attention. haha.

i've gotta talk about this... to anyone.

so yesterday i watched. the business of being born. its on netflix.. and its even "watch now" anyways. it scared me a bit. but i understand its biased. BUT it definitely brought up some real questions about the norm. and how children are born in this country. i'll expound on it later i'm sure... but it was just a real eye opener. how we don't even question how things are done. it was like when we watched food inc. you never realize where our food does come from until you start to think and question... and it was the same with this.

the part that struck me the most was... this woman spoke about how people will research for months what car to buy or vacation to take.. but not even research the birthing process. i was so one of those persons. i just pray that when the time comes that God will open or shut doors for us... and guide us to what is best. whew. its some heavy questions. but its an awesome documentary.. and i would suggest it to anyone. ok.. off to start the day.

wow.

life just got way more exciting. and there is so much to come.

we got another pig. his name is sasquatch von einstein. he's so little compared to chubs.. but we're hoping he'll beef up some as he grows.

we are still planning on our trip to hawaii... and i can't wait.

and naz said i can buy the camera that i want.. i'm so excited to get a decent camera. i'm no expert or anything. but i'm not awful either. so it will be nice to have something to learn more on. especially since we are going to hawaii. i want to be able to take some rad shots there.

well off to work. just a quick note today i guess.

what a friend we have in Jesus.

this summer i guess is over? no one told the sun. and though it's awful living in 103 degree weather... i'm glad i can still have my tan. it's gettin' good.

the weeks have been flowing into each other so fast that it is hard to believe that we have almost been here a whole year. i still tell people "we just moved here" which i guess is true.. but how long can i use that as an excuse for not knowing where things are? haha. oh well.

next week is nazareth's 28th birthday. crazy. crazy that i remember his 20th! oh we're getting old. and don't tell me we aren't.. cuz it's true that we are getting older. i've been thinking about it a lot lately. a part of me wants it to slow down. mostly because i wish we were at the place where we could start to have children and buy a house and start to feel like adults.. but the other side just wants it to go really fast so that i can be an old woman.. and so we can go see Jesus. and not in a depressing way.. but i just can't wait for this life to be over. even though i love it. i would rather be with Him. but i'd like to have some grandkids first.

speaking of plans... we are hoping to go back to hawaii in march. we went for our honeymoon.. and theres no explanation needed for wanting to go back to a ridiculously beautiful place. my bff and her husband are gonna come with us and we'll rent a house for the week. we are so close to booking the trip.. so i pray that we are able to go.

ahhh sunday.

this past month has been awesome. nothing much to do then just life... oh and sweat. it's been hot. not very good for my body. but i've been staying indoors as much as i can.

the fact that it is already aug 22nd is crazy. we have been in la now for 9 months! it seems like we just got here. but we've each had 2 jobs since being here so.. i guess 9 months sounds right.

oh i don't know if i mentioned that we aren't going on a trip any time soon. so don't look out for pictures. i know its lame. but it just can't happen right now. meanwhile we have been enjoying falafel fridays and sunday nap times. tonight some friends are going to come over for a swim. and thats free to do. so double bonus.

friday night we got to go see john legend and the roots play at the troubadour. it was like watching history for sure. they are coming out with a collaboration record in september so there were playing some small promo shows. and since its coming out on columbia.. we got free tickets (notice free? yes.) it was amazing to see them play in such a small club. and common came out for 2 songs which ruled. as we walked back to the car (a million miles away) naz and i talked about how awesome it is that we get to live here. so even though we are dirt poor. and missing our families and friends. we can see the blessings that God has been giving us. we both decided that even if given the chance to go back to san diego or to stay. we would definitely stay. Los Angeles... you have impressed us.

so much... so little

why does it have to be so darn freaking hot? this week has been harsh. but thank fully naz is letting me have the black car while its so hot. its been in the low 80's down in beverly hills... so i think he'll be just fine. meanwhile the valley has been getting hot and i need the a/c.

so yesterday my doc called and said i have hashimotos. its what has caused my thyroid to fail. there's no other treatment then what they are already doing... so.. nothing is going to change in my life.. other then the japanese jokes i'm sure to get from my family. my mom will blame it on the fact that i like sushi i'm sure.

this last weekend was a lot of fun. some friends of naz's came up for an art show so we met them for record store shopping and dinner and then they came over before we all went to the art show. it was a ton of fun.. and nice to see friends. for some reason most people in san diego don't think the 5 goes north after encinitas. my sister has been up of corse a few times but not much of anyone else. but we'll be going down for labor day.

i need to take some snap shots of new stuff i've gotten. a rad clock and a little ottoman i got for 9 bucks at our goodwill. funds have been tight. and when i say tight i mean.. squeezed. so i didn't get this table i really wanted. maybe this week i can go back and see if its still there.

off to work. no clients this week... fingers crossed i'll get some.

dumb paper work leads to cutting more hair

its all about papers here in the house today. going thru our budget, bills, and stuff for love sake. and just as soon as i'm feeling good at how things are going and i wanna go in the pool.. the neighborhood girls flood into the pool screaming marco! blerg... so i'm just going to have to wait for them to leave so i can take my swim.

meanwhile. pluots are todays jam. so juicy i had to use two paper towels to help me out. i encourage everyone to eat them..

salon names

i work at a salon called Lola and Roxy's. there is no lola and there is no roxy. she named it that to be the two sides of the salon.. the vintage and the rocker.

whenever i pass an open retail space... i think "oh that would be a good spot" for what? i dunno.. but i think about it ALL the time. i guess i would open a salon if i had the money and the desire (which i don't... right now) and the opportunity.

so with all those thoughts i try and come up with names for my salon... and of corse the first word that always comes to mind when thinking up words is "cheese." there is no reason for that word to always come to mind.. but i've accepted it. "cheese beauty parlor" i'm not gonna lie. i like it. i've also come up with "pretty darn good hair studio" "why not hair" and "one true beauty salon" (remember in little women when jo cuts off her hair.. and amy says it? i laugh every time.) some people name their salons really dumb things.. like "hair it is" and "hairport" ok. maybe there not so bad. now i kinda like hairport.

the last day.

lacy left this afternoon. thank God my bff brandy could come with us to help on the drive back from the airport... and to stay with the car while i took lacy to the gate. it was fun having her here but i'm glad things are back to normal for now. i'm very used to being alone and doing our thing... 10 days is a long time. so now i just need to clean the house and get ready for the rest of the week to finish nice. i'm going in to work tomorrow to help with the phones and then i have a client on saturday. i really need to start putting my energy into getting more clients. but i got this job like a week before lacy came so now i should have the time to put into going around and leaving my cards in the local shops. sorry that this is kind of a rant. its just been a stressful month. but God is faithful to take care of us. and He'll bring the clients in... and He will bless my work.

i'm looking forward to getting some time to read my books. i was on a roll there for a while... and i really want to finish the one i'm reading now. its called 'let the great world spin' my brother gave it to me to read.

tonight we're having soyrizo with tofu tacos. easy. quick. delish. i just gotta get up and start cleaning. praise the Lord its been cool today. keeps the fatigue away.

anarchist much?

well i did it. went into the salon today for a class... and had connie chop it off. i even saved the chunk of hair. i really like it.. and i'm glad i did it. i forget though until i reach for my head.. or look in a mirror and then i remember.

tonight we had chinese food... and i can't believe i used to eat this stuff all the time. its just so sweet and doesn't quite feel like a meal. i think i'm gonna go make some eggs or something. and never eat it again. i want a falafel pita.

its only 7:45 and i wanna go to bed. i'm just sleepy. but i know if i took a nap now.. it would be over. i would be cranky as something. gotta push thru till at least 10:30. can't buy me love is gonna have to pull me through. oh... i think it can. in the near future i will be listing my 80's teen genre favorites. what are yours? top 10?

rainier shine

heres my gem for today. i can't believe i've never had them before. i went to my favorite store ever for groceries today and there was guy inside selling newspaper subscriptions. lately.. i'll talkto anyone. since i've been running low on friends lately.. first he thought i was 15. pft. then looks in my basket making sure i bought some rainier cherries. i hadn't so he made me go over and try one.. he was right. they are the bomb. (yeah i said it) so i exchanged the gross red cherries for these clusters of heaven.. and went my way (along with a paper subscription of corse).

naz's little sister is in town so naz took her to a water p

ark today. it was nice to be by myself. i've gotten really used to it. i like thinking about what i want to do and the projects i have in my head. there are so many. i know im not the most creative person ever but i aspire to be. and if i can keep creating i don't feel like i'm falling behind.

i've decided i really want to go on a vacation. i've decided that a long time ago i know... but it's something i think about a lot. maybe i'll be like seinfeld and take a vacation from myself. but i can't grow a mustache... so.. maybe i should shave a side of my head.

july so far

the weather here in LA has been awesome. its been cool in the mornings.. overcast. and then warms up enough to spend the afternoon in the pool. i don't know how its been in san diego.. but this great. i'm sure its going to heat up like crazy in the next month or so.. but its been nice so far.

naz's sister lacy is coming to visit and we get to go to disneyland. the last time i went i was pretty sick.. so i'm hoping this time will be better. i'm looking forward to just spending time there. its fun just soaking it all in.

tomorrow is the world cup final. and i'm sick of people complaining about people who are into it. its like the olympics. who cares about gymnastics for 3 years? and then everyone cares during those 2 weeks and its a lot of fun. anyways.. spain is in the final and i'm so excited about. so watch the game.. and root for spain.

oh yeah... and naz got that job. i knew he could do. and when i say he. i mean He. Jesus. God the Father. Holy Ghost. we are still waiting to see if we'll get a raise... so the prayer goes on. of corse we want the raise.. but we want to be content with whatever the Lord gives us, and to be good stewards.

the other day we heard on the news about how prices for houses are at an all time low. so we started looking up houses in our area.. and there are actually some that are decent. who knows if we could buy a house anytime soon.. but it sure is fun to look and to dream of one day having our own place. my dream in life is to have my own washer and dryer. maybe while at disneyland i can make a wish for my dream to come true.

freedom.

yeah we have freedom in this country.. yeah we need to be reminded that others don't. but what about our hearts? is there freedom there? are we truly free and living like it?

while down in san diego some jehovah witness' came to the door.. and it got us all thinking. jamie found this website made by a guy who had been one for years. he had written his testimony out and the biggest thing that impacted me was his lack of freedom. he talks about how he never felt like he was good enough for God. that his hours and hours of service were not worthy, and he should be doing more. i know i have had been told that lie and believed it, and a life like that is bondage. even as a believer we still try and work for our own salvation, we work to perfect ourselves. and we will never be good enough and never feel like it either.

Matt 11:28-30 "come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. for my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Christ has done the work, paid the price, and has set us free. truly free. no longer are we slaves to sin, no longer do we have to worry about being good enough. cuz we aren't.. only now.. we have the righteousness of Christ instead of our own. this is true freedom. a freedom that can never be taken away. a freedom that is not conditional.

happy 4th of july everyone.

swimming

so since my bout of hypothyroidism i've gained about 30 pounds. its a totally weird feeling to know in your head that your gaining weight and not being able to do anything about it. there were a few months i could hardly walk around my apartment... let alone work out.

so with all that behind me (kinda of.. not 100% but maybe 85%?) i've started weight watchers again. im on my 4th week of it.. and lost about 4 pounds so far. so now its time to kick it up to high gear.. (or as high as i can go) we have about 2 months before we go on our vacation and i wanna be ready. i'm being realistic that i probably won't loose 20 pounds in 2 months.. but i wanna be close. and its giving me something to shoot for. our pool is right outside our living room window so i've been making it a point to get in every day and do as many laps as possible. so heres hoping for this being a great week.

wow its been a while.

after reading my best friend carly's long awaited update.. i realized it had been even longer since i posted a blog. soooo much has been going on. i don't even know where to start.

naz: hes so rad. and having so much fun at work. he interviewed for another position at columbia, but we are just waiting to see if he gets it. if he does it would be great. he really likes the guy he would work for and feels that he would love to learn what he does. it would also be more of a secure position which always rules.

me: i got a job! i dunno if i wrote about my last job... i accepted a receptionist position at a salon around my birthday. it was suppose to be a two day a week gig... and it was going great.. but something happened with the male owner and i dont know what happened.. but he suddenly decided that he didn't like me.. and so i was asked to leave. it was the weirdest thing ever. but at least it gave us some extra cash to replenish some of our savings that we've been living off... and it also put the idea of doing hair back into my head.

when doing hair completely relies upon clients. it makes it difficult to jump right in without the right set up.

i sent my resume into a salon from a post on craigslist and she called me. i went in to talk to her and it was just perfect. its a brand new salon with only 4 chairs. its in a trendy spot in burbank, and she's giving me commission. commission allows me to build my clientele without the stress of booth rent. that weekend i got a friend to model for me and i was in. last week was my first week and i had 3 clients already! it feels so good to be in a salon again. i loved my salon in san diego, and now i feel like im home again.

the future: we are looking forward to this summer. naz's little sister is coming to visit which means fun, sun and fun. i even bought a star map so we can stalk the movie stars.

we are also planning a vacation. since our honeymoon.. we really haven't had a vacation. besides a few weekends.. so we are looking into going to mexico. im very. really. really. excited about it. i just hope it works out.

wow. this has been a lot. and i could have mentioned more! haha. oh well. theres always tomorrow. Lord willing.

how lovely is the dwelling place of the Lord.

tomorrow is my birthday. i will be 27. i don't think i would care if i didn't already feel like i was 65.

we are going up to santa barbara to spend some time with our bff's jen and jon. i am really excited for that. i am also excited to open my presents tonight from naz. since we'll be out of town.. he said i can open them tonight before we drive up. bonus.

going along with us to santa barbara is our new addition... mr. chubs bevilacqua. last sunday we adopted a guinea pig.. and he is the cutest thing ever. he is already getting used to us, and will start squeaking when he wants us to pay him attention. we're so glad to have him.

happy birthday everyone.

a lot has happened since my last post. a lot.

1) naz's job is a bit in the air due to restructuring of the company. we are confident in the promises of God that He will take care of us. no matter what happens. but we really hope to stay here in LA.

2) we have been going down and back to san diego quite a few times since being here. and im glad we are at least home now for the next few weeks. its hard trying to create new relationships when your not around on the weekends. we had a blast at easter though. that pic is of my nephews. its crazy how much naz and i miss them.

3) i am finally getting to the doctor. they are going to be running some tests and hopefully im on the way to getting back to normal.

4) God has been so faithful to give us the faith we need to continue. He has been teaching me a lot about what it means to live by faith. and being content with where he has us. i've noticed that some times when we say "oh i trust in the Lord..." do we really trust? are we really sure that God is in control...of everything! only when we surrender to His will and start living by the Spirit does it even start to dawn on me.

therefore. our life is pretty much in the air. but we are doing just fine.

from morro way to moorpark st.

(click here to view more pictures of our house)

i finally got around to taking some pictures of our new house. i have a few more projects that i want to do, but so far i'm pretty pleased with how well our stuff has fit into this house. mom, i'm sorry it took me so long to do this. i have no excuse. thats good at least.

we are starting to fall in love with our little niche of the city. we have enjoyed going to new shops and new places to eat. we found a baja taco stand that reminds us of san diego enough to get us by... they even make their own tortillas in house.

we've found our new home church at reality la. we really like it and are going to be starting home groups this week. we are both looking forward to making new friends and getting involved here.

naz still loves his job and is getting more and more acquainted with the people and the work. i love knowing that he is enjoying what he is doing. the record store that naz was working at, music trader in san diego, is closing its doors. it is only God that could have provided a job that worked so well for him while going to school for just the amount of time needed. we are bummed for our friends that still work there and that the store that naz put so many hours of hard work is going to be gone. but know that all things work together for good for those who Love the Lord.

and me? what i am going to do? i've been thinking about going back to school... i want part time job (or at least naz tells me i do) and i want to do a discipleship group... pretty much i want to do all three. what to do first is yet to be decided.