San Diego!

So I got back from San Diego yesterday afternoon. It was a really fun and relaxing trip. Nice to get away from all the hustle and bustle once in awhile, ya know? Commence..picture overload!

Ready to leave Dallas Love Field!

Flew to San Antonio first 

Arizona?

San Diego!

Some hole in the wall place that had great HH specials 

Veggie Burger & Citrus Avocado Salad 

Little Italy!

Mmm...gelato :)

Gelato Afagato style

Anthony's Seafood

View from the top of the Hyatt Hotel

Vodka & Pineapple

I spy...a maple leaf? 

My home for the next 6 days

Breakfast at Extraordinary Desserts! 

Matcha Green Tea Latte

Blueberry Cream Cheese...thing..

Strawberry Scone

USS Midway

Lol, Gia took a liking to David almost right away

All consoling little Lukas

Our boat for the tour around the harbor

Precious :)

Look, sea lions! (and seals?)

La Jolla!

View from George's at the Cove restaurant

Fresh caught Yellow Tail with greens and mashed potatoes

Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos

:P

 

Beach time!

More seals

Darn phone shadow, lol

Do you know..the muffin man...who lives on Mulberry Lane?

On top of Mt. Soledad

I forget what this was..Zinfandel? Twas delicious :)

Wines all around, lol

Seafood!!

Calamari

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church for mass

Mango Margaritas..mmm

Ceviche!

On the way to Coronado Island

The bridge! Aka..suicide bridge

Sangriaaaa!!

Fish tacos :)

Fried Ice cream

Jolly people, haha

My coworker and I spotted a deli that served SBux, yes!!

Out attempt at covert operations..

Last day on the floor for the trade expo!

Peohe's! Well..the bar, lol. We're waiting for our table

Crown & Coke?

Our view from our table out into the harbor/downtown

Ono!! I was more excited about the rice, muahaha

Sbux sighted in San Antonio!

Paired with some Cane's Chicken, hahaha

Some people like their beauty rest...

Clear skies, last stop before D-town

There were so many adventures, stories, etc...But I took back a sense of calm and happiness from getting to hang out with some really cool people :)

You are mine

Today's readings and gospel really stuck out to me...in the first where the ppl fully repented and God spared them from being wiped out.. St. Pauls mesg to the corinthians to let go of all attachments.. Jesus coming and John and brother leaving everything and following him...

We all have so many attachments to this world. Work, electronics, responsibilities, even family. Would we be able to be like John and let go of everything and follow Jesus? Will we be able to forgive everyone in the past and present who have hurt us? Apologize to those that we've hurt or harmed? Be humble enough to tell those we hate, that we love them?

Following Jesus doesn't seem like a walk in the park after that, does it. But then again, is the destination worth it? Eternal salvation. Forever in God's kingdom. No more fear, pain, hurt. Just love. Is that worth it? I do.

But sometimes I am saddened by how tough it seems. How weak our minds and bodies are. I've been told that others admire how steadfast I seem to my faith. But...they don't realize that i fight despair every day. I am human, too. I'm just very determined to make it to God's kingdom. And i will take all i can with me. If that means sacrificing my time for extra prayer, so be it. I don't want to be alone in heaven :P but i also see that God has gifted me with the ability to talk to ppl. To help engage them into good and healthy conversations about faith, about God. And i know that i am called to spread the Word to everyone. I pray God continues to guide and protect me on my journey. Because sometimes, the closer i get to Him, the more progress i make with ppl, the more obstacles come in my way bc the darkness wants to take us away. But i want to win. So. I remember God's message to us.

"I love you, and you are mine."

Cry of the Broken

This weekend has one heck of a roller coaster...

From trips to the mall, church retreats, manna xmas party, Sunday school exams/party, cleaning house, grocery shopping and cooking for two hrs straight... Its no wonder i passed out at the dinner table, lol.

But one thing that really stood out this weekend was when i was at my aunts house today. Some of my friends know... others dont. But my aunt had a mental breakdown around 2004 and she's a LOT better than she was... But she isnt the same aunt i remember from when I was younger. We were at the house that she had bought to rent to ppl... The one that had been stuffed to the max with just crap she had accumulated over so many years. The house that was left unattended for so long that rats roamed freely everywhere and was just not livable to anyone, yet she lived there for about three yrs by herself.

My uncle -her younger brother, three of his friends, my mom, sis, and i came today to clear out the house. He had rented a u-haul in order to move stuff from this house to my aunts other one and the rest to his loft. Everything else was going to goodwill. I was in charge of clearing out the paperwork. My uncle had gone through filing cabinets and loads of boxes weeks before, but there were still a few boxes left. My aunt had kept EVERYTHING.

For the most part, it wasn't too hard I just threw away anything that wasn't newer than 7 yrs. But my aunt was also in the room and i could tell every time i tore up statements from the 90's or chuckef huge stacks of paper at the trash bag, she'd have this look on her face that said she wanted to keep them. But what broke my heart was when i found some of her scribblings on scratches of paper that dated to 2004, when she got layed off and she started acting weird. She was already becoming paranoid about keeping track of all things she did... Always afraid someone was watching her. And it just worse as i was cleaning out the boxes. I wanted to just cry at the pain i saw through her writing. She was so lonely in her own world and none of us could reach her to help her. I glanced over at where she was trying to sort her own pile and i could see she was struggling with what she was trying to do. The meds that shes on now slow her down and makes her confused very easily... She kept muttering about how she used to make so much money in the past.. I told her she couldnt take any of that anyways after she died. I know that the darkness is still trying to push her over the ledge by reminding her of money and her paranoia.. I asked for protection for all of us there and reached out to friends for support. She has come a very long way from where she was before. I just pray God lets her experience true joy and happiness in this world before He takes her away...

Rambling...

It's been awhile since I've updated this...ironically, I got the Blogger app on my phone so that I could update more often...but that hasn't been happening, obviously.

Tonight, there was a lightworks meeting at my friend's house and I felt really at peace. To be with my friends and to feel God's presence as we all shared about the graces we received this past week. It was the type of setting I thought I was going into when I first joined manna. Intimate, warm, and a sense of trust and openess.

I think I should technically be super excited about my first trip outside of the country on thurs, but I just want to savor this peaceful feeling. No stress. No anxiety. Nothing but a deep calm. It's nice. I wish it could last forever.

No ac

So I got to work today and noticed that it was a bit muggy. Turns out there had been a power outage last night and it tripped something and affected the ac. So, now I know why almost every ba has a small portable heat/ac thingy. For times like this. I scored one from a desk that no one works at and had it blowing at my back all day. And one of the managers got ice cream for us. Winnnn!

I also updated my phone to Gingerbread 2.3...it was super fast and cool at first, but it seems to be lagging a bit right now. Maybe I have to reboot it...

Long week. Thank God it's over! Time to get ready for bday party and sushi!!

Restless

Today was such a busy day. It just seemed to be going non-stop!! After work, I got some sandwiches from Mozart's for dinner for la and me. They were actually realllllly good! We need to figure out how to make those. Then the band performed at st. Elizabeth Ann seton. It went really well and I am glad there weren't any noticeable mistakes! Of course, our mom had something to say when we got home, but we were just too tired so we showered and went to our rooms. Sigh. Oh well, I enjoyed my time with my friends. I've really missed hanging out with them!

First post from phone!

Testing!!!