Ashley's Birthday

This weekend my sister, her boyfriend, my husband, and I went to visit my parents to celebrate my sister's birthday!  We left Friday and returned today.  Friday when we arrived there was green chile stew and sopapillas for us to enjoy.  Here is a picture of my dad rolling the dough.

Saturday morning Carlos and I went for a jog.  We all then had a wonderful breakfast together.  Afterwards, we all began to prepare for the day (making food etc).  That evening we had quite the smorgasbord.  My parents' friends and their 4 sons came over.  Our main course was burgers.  We had a very tasty strawberry punch and strawberry cake.  My sister was in a strawberry mood.  After all the food, we played pictionary!

She opened her gifts before the company arrived.  She was very excited to get a GPS unit.

We were all very tired and full at the end of the day (and not too pleased about the time change, but who is?).  You can see video footage of this weekend here.  I will also post more pictures on facebook. We had to hurry back on Sunday so that I could make it to my choir concert and so that my sister could get home to study.  It was a very wonderful weekend.

Goings On

Three items of note:

1. Well, if you've read my past blogs you may be familiar with the fact that we have had some issues with our refrigerator.  Unfortunately it is broken was again.  I'm sure it's the exact same problem.  It has been breaking every six months.  The latest repairman believes that the problem is a slow leak.  That definitely would make sense, because it could be taking the refrigerator 6 months to leak enough freon to where it is no longer cooling down enough.  The repairman is supposed to arrive this afternoon to take our refrigerator, and he's suppose to be bringing us a "loner fridge".  Hopefully he will, and hopefully the problem will be fixed for good.... we'll see.
2. Thursday it was announced at my office that our company is not getting enough work, and that they are going to have to have a round of layoffs.  I work at the branch office of the company.  We are a small office.  Two of the employees at the branch office were laid off.  We are now left with 8 people in our office.  Friday felt very very odd.  Being such a small office we all have grown pretty close.  One of the men laid off had been working there for 13 years, the other man had been working there for 6 years.  It's going to be different without them there, and it's going to feel very different knowing that I was not one of the people who was chosen to be laid off.  It's very interesting the thoughts and feelings that have accompanied this event.  Too much to explain in just one blog.
3. On a happier note... My husband and I finally made it out to our local farmers market today!  It was a lot bigger than I was expecting.  Being the middle of winter (well, nm winter, not really winter), there wasn't a lot of produce.  There was a lot, a lot of arts and crafts, performers, puppies to adopt, lots of foods & drinks, and lots of people.  It was very nice just to get outside in the beautiful weather, to be among a group of people just enjoying themselves, and to see so much that our local farmers, artists, and vendors have to offer.

My View of Valentine's Day

Things that I do not believe:

• Valentine's Day is not for single people.
• Valentine's Day was created by card companies.
• Some people are "above" Valentine's Day, or they don't need to be reminded that they love each other.

Things that I do believe:

• Valentine's Day can be celebrated by anyone.  Celebrate the love, not only of a significant other, but of your friends and family too.
• Valentine's Day dates back centuries before Hallmark was founded.  While the holiday is commercialized, no one is forcing you to buy cards, candy, or flowers in order to celebrate it.  Get creative and celebrate in a way that is special and/or inexpensive for you.
• People are only "above" the holiday if they choose to be.  If that's the case, why celebrate anything, or any other holiday.  Why not take the opportunity and the time to remember and celebrate the love in your life.  If more people took more time to recognize the love in their life the world would be a happier place.
• There is nothing wrong with not celebrating if a person chooses not to.

I grew up celebrating this holiday.  Even before romantic love ever entered the picture.  I will continue to celebrate it even if it's just in my own little way.  Today I am preparing a delicious roast for dinner.  I am wearing a pink sweater with heart jewelry.  My computer is even themed with Valentine's colors.  I went to Valentine's Tea at my church on Saturday, and I exchanged valentines with my parents.  My parents gave my husband and me some gift cards for Valentine's Day.   My husband is one of those people who views Valentine's Day as a "Hallmark Day".  We've never really had any big celebrations because of this.  However, he's open to the idea of celebration, but we still don't make a big deal out of the holiday.  We will use our gift cards soon, and will most likely consider that meal our "special Valentine's dinner".

So whatever your view on the holiday, I hope you have a great day!

 HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Unlucky, yet very Lucky

Thursday morning we awoke to find that we had no hot water. The most likely cause of course: frozen water in the pipe. Luckily the frozen spot was located quickly and was thawed with a space heater. Carlos and I then insulated all of the hot water pipe and overnight we left a slow drip on the hot water faucet. We were also lucky in the fact that we did not have any leaks or breaks in the water line. When we went to Home Depot to purchase the insulation we luckily got the last few segments of pipe insulation that they had. In was kind of fun climbing around on the rafters in the attic to install the insulation.

For those of you who are unaware... New Mexico has been experiencing very unusual cold temperatures. In fact New Mexico has been declared in a state of emergency due to the energy (gas/electric) shortage caused by unusual high usage for heating. Rolling blackouts have been implemented throughout the state. Water breakages and outages are very common this week. We were lucky in that our house did not experience any blackouts.

Late yesterday afternoon Carlos noticed something that sounded like running water. We immediately thought, "Oh no! Busted pipe!" Sure enough, a fitting on the pipe in our backyard had busted. Luckily though, this would be an easy fix and did not cause any other damage to the house (lots of local homes have had leaks in their attics/walls). We were able to turn off the water, purchase the necessary fittings and tools, replace the pieces, and get the water back on, all in a matter of 45 minutes. :)
We were also able to get to the hardware store just before they were about to close.

Below is a picture of the broken elbow:

Here is a picture of the repair (well, we still need to add plumber's putty):

So, to sum up... We were unlucky in that we had a frozen hot water pipe, and a busted fitting.

We were very lucky in that:

• The hot water pipe did not break.
• The cold water pipe was an easy fix.
• We got the last few pieces of pipe insulation.
• We got to the store to purchase repair pieces just before they were about to close.
• Neither pipe incidences were in a location to cause serious damage to the home.
• We did not experience any of the rolling blackouts that were prevalent here in town.
• Carlos and I had each other to help with the repairs/preventative measures.

SNOW!

We have snow!! :) It is quite a rare event here. Especially to receive an entire 3 inches! Lol. Carlos and I went for a walk this morning in the snow (8 degrees, with wind chill of -7). It was awesome! We bundled up enough that it actually felt quite nice. Carlos' grandparents live very close, so we stopped by to say hello to them.

Here are some pics:

The schools are closed, but the office where I work is open. It actually didn't have any power, and therefore my boss said that we could come in late to allow time for the power to come back on. The roads are pretty much pure ice. I have never before driven in these conditions. However, I felt like I was prepared to give it a try for my first time. My car did not feel the same way. I drive a small rear wheel drive vehicle. There are several hills on the way to work. The first hill I came to had a line of cars trying to get up it, and it also happens to be on a blind curve. So... When it came my turn to drive up... I just didn't make it. I tried all I could think of to get my car to get up the hill... I ended up just putting the car in reverse, and headed back home. It was a bit exciting in a way.

I called my job and let them know that I wasn't going to be coming in today. My coworker who answered the phone told me that he saw a lot of stranded cars on his way to the office, and that our secretary was currently stranded on a hill. Of my 11 coworkers, 8 drive trucks. Their trip to work probably was not nearly as difficult.

I am pleased with my decision to have a self proclaimed Snow Day!

Retreat & Family Health

The past couple of weeks have been quite busy, and slightly overwhelming.

The week before last was spent in preparation for the upcoming retreat that I was working. Despite all of the obstacles that the retreat was faced with, everything turned out wonderfully! Logistically things went very smoothly, and I believe we made a large impact on the girls who attended the retreat.

The morning after arriving home Carlos and I left to go to Albuquerque. We needed to go to Albuquerque for a doctor appointment for Carlos. He has been diagnosed with Grave's Disease, and the endocrinologists closer to our city are very limited. We loved his new doctor and are happy with the doctor's recommendations for treatment. We made the most of this trip. While in town we spent time with many of Carlos' family members, watched Carlos' brother's band, we had dinner with my brother and sister-in-law, and had lunch with a friend.

After one night in Albuquerque we left to go to Carlsbad to surprise my mom, who was in the hospital. Her reaction to the surprise was great. We were so happy to cheer her up, and to provide some support/company for Dad as well.

We spent two nights there and headed home. We had a relaxing weekend. I am actually excited about the fact that I have nothing on my calendar for weeks or even months to come (that won't last long). I will have plenty of time to both relax and to be productive. :)

Misfortune?

This weekend I am working a Christian retreat, called a Chrysalis. In fact, I am the lay director for the retreat, which basically means that I'm the one heading it up.

We have had a lot of misfortune befall our team members. First, one of our spiritual directors broke her back and was unable to continue serving on the team. We acquired a new spiritual director who is now in ICU with a blood infection, and is now unable to serve. Other team member issues include: death in their immediate family, stomach issues, a broken hip, and most recently... My mother was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. She was so very excited to work this retreat. I am very sad, first of all because she is so ill, and secondly because I know how much she was looking forward to this opportunity. I was also looking forward to working this retreat with her.

It's hard to imagine so much misfortune for a team that is working to do so much good and to make a difference in the lives of the young women who will be attending the retreat. It's one of those times when I just have to ask... Why?