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Thursday, July 23, 2015

School School School . . . & More!

I think the title of this post about says it all! The first block of summer semester ended, and we are currently in the second block of summer with only 3 weeks left. There is so much I have to do, and it's only for two classes: Human Life Span Development, and Fitness for Life. Not to mention, I have non-school related things going on. For one, I have moved out of the Richardson House by BYU, and Hector and I got our own apartment in Murray - Lost Creek Apartments. We have been there for almost two weeks now, and it's finally started to feel like a home. We also got two cats; Draco and Nami. 

Draco is a 3 year old Norwegian Forest Cat / Maine Coon mix. We found him on a KSL listing.

Nami is a short haired calico kitten. We just got her last week from my old coworker Reyna.

We are so in love with both of these kitties. At first, they didn't like each other, but we gave it a couple days, and now they're inseparable. If Draco can't find Nami around the house, he cries and cries until he finds her. It's adorable! Draco also likes going on walks outside on a leash. It's quite strange to see, but also adorable!

Thursday, June 11, 2015

It's Never Too Late...

Well, this is embarrassing! I really have a hard time keeping up with my blog. Since now I'm back in school, I'm going to be better at updating it often.

I am now on my second semester at UVU, and it's going great. This last semester (Spring 2015), I had 5 classes starting off; Archaeological Method and Theory, Biological Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Marriage and Relationship Skills, and Introduction to Social Work. I didn't realize how much work I would be doing in all of those classes, so I dropped the Marriage and Relationship Skills, and Introduction to Social Work classes. Which is totally fine, because I can take them in a later semester. This semester (Summer 2015), I registered for Tennis, Areobics: Zumba, Fitness For Life, and Human Development Life Span. Tennis and Aerobics are in the first block of the summer semester, and Fitness For Life and Human Development Life Span are in the second block of the summer semester. So far, things are going well.

I also got 2 jobs working at UVU. I work as a House Manager for the UVU Noorda Theatre, and I am a Receptionist for the School of the Arts Advisement Center. Both jobs are really fun, and easy going, and I'm able to meet amazing people.

Outside of school and work, I spend all my time with my amazing boyfriend, Hector Davila. Hector and I graduated from Springville High School together. We met our Junior year of High School (September 1, 2006 to be exact) in our ballroom dance class (Hector was my Waltz partner), and we've been friends ever since. It wasn't until after our trip to Seattle, Washington this last year (October 2014), where our relationship bloomed into something new and exciting. We became a "Facebook Official" couple on December 16, 2014, but we both agree that our relationship really started when we first met. This year, we will be celebrating our 9 year "anniversary". It sounds kind of silly, but to us, it's romantic. Hector and I recently found an apartment up in Murray, Utah (Lost Creek Apartments), that we applied for, and will be moving in hopefully by the end of next month. We're really excited about that. Hector really wants a puppy, and I really want a kitten, so once we've settled into our new place, we'll hopefully be getting one, or both.

Hector and I also recently got back from our second trip to Mexico. The first trip to Mexico was completely spontaneous. The only people we told were my parents, Hector's stepdad, and his little brother. Word got our around my family, and some of them were happy for us, some were jealous, and some were worried for my safety. I just reminded them that I have Hector there to protect me. And he did. Hector's mother lives in Mexico with his little brother, and she didn't know we were coming down to visit. When we got there, she was so happy to see Hector, and vice versa. I had never "officially" met her (other than one of mine and Hector's dance recitals in high school), so I was really nervous to meet her. I don't know what I was so nervous about, because she was so kind, generous, and welcoming. While we were there, I was able to experience a lifestyle that was so strange and foreign to me. I was able to see sights, try amazing food, and meet some of Hector's family.

Here is a shop that we passed while we were walking around "downtown" Cuidad Juarez. It seemed to be more of a tourist shop, and it was filled with things ranging from outdoor decorations to yummy treats. It was pretty exciting.

Pictured here is one of the Catholic Cathedrals that is near "downtown" Cuidad Juarez. The inside of this magnificent structure was absolutely breathtaking. I loved it!

Here, we all enjoyed a lunch that was seriously, out of this world! I forgot the name of the restaurant, but it was sooooooo good! (Pictured left to right: Hector's mother, me, Hector, and Hector's grandfather).

And here is a park that we went to that was right across the street from the Cuidad Juarez Mexico LDS Temple. This park had rides, food, booths, and entertainers. At one of the food booths, we got a cup of corn that had spices in it. It was amazing! There were also dogs wandering around getting food from people. These dogs seemed like they would be expensive dogs here in the US, but here, they were strays. It was so sad. There were several dogs I would have loved to take home.

The second trip to Mexico, Hector and I took some of his mom's storage boxes down to her. These boxes were filled with Hector and his brothers' childhood memories. It was cute watching them go through the boxes. We were only planning on making the trip really fast, so we could get back to work and school, but we ended up being there for a week. It was another much needed vacation for the both of us, Again, we were able to go see some sights, and eat more amazing food!

One of the sights we went to see was this beautiful monument. All I know about it is that the man on top was named Juarez and he helped free people (?) I'm not exactly sure, but the monument was detailed quite beautifully.

This is another shop that we went to. It was part of a "strip-mall" type shop, and they had many types of trinkets. I was able to find another keychain for my sister Celeste, cause she lost the first keychain I got her from the first trip to Mexico we took.

Ok, this restaurant we went to was so amazingly good! It's called Cafe Apolo. You can see on my plate that I got tacos, and you're asking yourself, "Why would she get tacos?" But no, seriously, they were the best tacos I have ever had! There were a lot of workers just staring at us, and they asked to take photos of our lunch party for their Facebook page. Afterwards, Hector and his mom said it's because I'm a pretty white girl, and they want to use those photos to promote more tourists to come eat at their restaurant. That's a good idea, if you ask me. That, and I get to be on their Facebook page! LOL

After lunch, Hector's mom wanted to take photos of us around the restaurant, and this photo was taken. If you're wondering what restaurants to eat at in Cuidad Juarez, I recommend this one!

Now that Hector and I are back from Mexico, it's time to get back into the school / work groove. It's been tough, because we still want to be on vacation, but we're planning another trip at the end of this year. We only wish it would come quicker, because both trips to Mexico went by too quickly.

I will update more about the adventures of my life sometime soon!