We have PUPPIES!!

So apparently I'm a bad mama cause I haven't posted anything about our two new babies. We got them in October at two months old. Their names are Mr. Refried Bean and Encharito. They are chihuahuas. So freaken cute! This is when we first got them:This is EncharitoThis is Mr. Refried BeanWhen they were two months old at Canyon Lake.

On to other stuff.

My mom and brothers are still living with us. My brother will be out on the 1st and I am not sure when my mom will be out. I cant wait till its just Erik and I and the babies. I miss having a sense of privacy at all. I get so frustrated sometimes that I flip out and I feel super bad afterwards.

My work had our Holiday party on the 10th at Scott's restaurant. It was a lot of fun. I am so lucky to have some awesome coworkers. I truly feel like our bosses have chosen people that mesh well together. The food and drinks were delicious. The raffle was fun. I pulled a friend of mines ticket to win a canon digital camera. My supervisor pulled my ticket to win an iPad. I didn't know I needed an iPad until I won one. That thing is awesome. At the end of the night, the VP and the owner of our company were saying goodbye to each individual person and handing us an envelope with our bonuses in them. HOLY SHIT! My bonus was awesome. I was not even expecting one in the first place. Let's just say, I am a very happy employee. They told me I was doing a fantastic job and that our new client is in love with me. Woot!

My poor hubby works in the retail industry and is now working overnights for the holiday season. I miss him a lot. He's at work right now.

My girl friends and I had our annual xmas nacho dinner. It was fun. This year, our other halves were invited too. Got some cool stuff and dinner was good. It's always good to see my two besties. We don't see either other often enough at all.

Went to shinai last night. It was so much fun. I haven't fought in over a year and so I am hurting now pretty good. Totally worth it though. We had a pretty good turnout. We went to the bar afterwards and played some pool and had a couple drinks. I miss the shinai crowd. Its been too long! I think there is a New Year's party in the mix for some shinai people. I am excited for that. i don't think i did anything for New Year's last year.

Erik and I are going to Big Bear the weekend of January 15th. When we went on the last Labor day weekend for my birthday, we loved it so much, that we decided we might like to move there. So we are going back to see if we can handle the weather and then we will decide if are going to move there. We cant live in HB forever. Its just too expensive. We are still up in the air as to where we like to settle down at. I really love my job, so hopefully I can find somewhere that they either have a branch, or I can telecommute. Who knows how long from now that all this will happen.

Anyways, I need to get to bed so I can wake up at a decent time. Peace out!

current happenings

today i havent taken my lunch at work until 323pm and i get off at 5. its almost like whats the point. im in my truck chillaxen with my kindle ad reflecting on the going-ons in our life.

we just moved into this great two br apt in hb about two blocks from our last place. im finally going to have a craft room-that is once my mom moves out. ugh. shes down on hard times and i hope she gets a job soon and can figure their shit out.

we really just need a break from everything. were supposed to be in the honeymoon stage of our marriage but i swear if its not one thing its another. cant we catch a break. i go home and feel guilty that i have a good job and can afford to live where we do. everytime i bring something new home its like my mom loks at me with sadness or anger that i can spend money like that. i dont think she realized she does it or how hard i have worked to get to this point. it doesnt just happen overnight. i have worked in this industry for 7+ years now. holy crap i didnt realize its bee that long. im even still good friends with my first boss. thats awesome.

ok so enough ranting.

erik took me out to dave and busters on friday night and we just let loose and had a really good time. we really needed it. just time to focus on us for once. i really love my husband. he is sticking by my side even thugh my mom and brothers moving in, even though hes miserable, the complaing is minimal. how did i get to be so lucky to find a man like him. i guess i had to go through some crappy ones to find prince charming.

We Have Figured Out

what to do with our financial situation. It will be hard for a little while, but then its going to get SO MUCH BETTER! We will be able to save some money for the future to be able to have a little one of our own. I cant wait to pop one out.
I literally started crying earlier today while watching Cheaper By The Dozen 2. In the end of the movie, the oldest sister gives birth to a little boy. I dont know what came over me, but I started crying cause I wanted to have one too. I am ridiculous, I know. Erik was sad..
Hubby and I went to our friend Therese's birthday party at Dave and Buster's last night. It was so much fun. We had dinner and played a ton of games. Therese had a good time too. I was happy to see her so happy. I hope she uses our gift well. I am sure she will though.. Wink Wink.. We are going to try to fly up to Washington to visit her in a couple months.
Right now my little brother is over and having dinner with us and we are probably going to kill some zombies on the XBOX 360. Woohoo!
This coming week is going to be crazy..
On Thursday, my work is hosting a booze cruise for all of their associates. That will be fun. Its good to be appreciated. I have also been told by a couple different people in the company, that my efforts have not gone unnoticed! woot!
Saturday, my Aunt Becky, Aunt DeeAnn, and Grandma Meri are flying into town and we are having a family bbq. I cant wait to see all of them. Especially my Aunt DeeAnn. I havent seen her in many many years. I hope her sons, my cousins, are coming, too! I miss them! After the bbq in Lake Elsinore, we are leaving for Big Bear for a vacation for three days. My 26th birthday is on Sunday so it will be nice to celebrate, just the two of us in a cabin with a fireplace directly in front of the jacuzzi in the cabin. CANT WAIT!! So romantic! Going to try fishing for the first time too. Erik cant wait for that. Just relaxation and quiet will be much appreciated.
Anyways, I am going to eat dinner now.. Hope all are well. Catch up later on...

Quick Update

Things are going ok right now. My job is going great. I really like it and I am impressing the boss man. W00T!
My mom has finally moved out of her house. She is working on her independence for the first time in her life and I pray that everything works out for her. It seems like everyone is moving away from Huntington Beach. I think we will do the same eventually. We have to sign another lease for now to keep our rent decent. If we were to go month to month, we would have to pay an additional 400.00 a month. screw that!
Erik and I are doing well. I read a book called The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands. Man, did that book open my eyes to some things I didnt realize I was doing wrong.


Currently waiting for brother in laws wife to pop their son out and Eriks other sibling, Nichole to pop her girl out. LOL. Two babies in like 2 months, and we have none. I am getting used to the idea that its just not going to happen for awhile. We need to grow up financially before I can pop one out. We have no one we can count on to financially back us up if we fail. Therefore, we cannot actually have a baby until we are 100% sure that we can hack it on our own. It makes me sad.

We are working on getting out of debt for good in the near future. Not sure exactly how its going to happen or when, but I am trying to remain positive.
We are still trying to figure out where we would like to move to and settle down. The only reasons I had for staying in Huntington Beach, was my family. They have all moved out from here. So now, even though I cant handle the weather in Indio, we will probably end up moving inland somewhere.
Peace out, til next time. in a month or so.. ha ha ha

Im so excited and I just cant hide it!

I am so excited!!! My dad will be home from China in 3 days!! I havent seen him in a little over a year!!! Hes coming home for his birthday because he refuses to spend his sixieth working in China, and he misses us of course! I still talk to him all the time online, but its nothing like shooting the shit with him in person. I am a big daddies girl. Hes going to stay with us while hes back for the couple weeks until he goes back. Good timing too cause our family is going to be all getting together to see my Grandma Meri on the 19th. Shes losing her memory so we need to get in a good visit with her before she forgets who were are.

Work is still going really well. They have realized I can handle all the crappy files and they have decided to give me all of them. So, now, I have to deal with the crappy files and then I have to do my normal job on top of it. LOL. oh well, its more interesting than being on the phone all day. I kind of like doing some research anyway.

Potrero was a success. Lots of fun, except having to truck all my stuff back and forth to the camp ground. Didnt drink too much and had a general good time. Best Potrero war ever honestly. and We cooked this time around. and Somehow the Quesadillas with chicken and green sauce with fresh made guacomole, were the best ever too. How do you do your best cooking while you are camping. I dunno how, but Erik rocked it out. Love my hubby. Hes the best!

The bridal faire was a success. There werent too many brides there, but all in all, we rocked it out. The fashion show went well.

My mom has decided that whatevers going to happen with the house, is going to happen. If she gets foreclosed on, she has found somewhere to go, I think.

Today I flipped off some guy for cutting me off on the free way and he then brake checked me. Thank god I was far enough away to be able to stop completely. Then he got out of his car and tried to pick a fight. He realized I was a chick and got back in his truck and left. DB!! Bad day dude?

LOL. So its been an interesting few weeks. Better weeks ahead. Excited to see my dad still! and I just made cookies. Time to cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie with my hubby

So glad I am not a fan of the show LOST!

All I have heard and seen today was shit about the show LOST. I have never watched an episode of it and frankly, I am glad. Too much controversy. LAME! Now Grey's Anatomy! Holy crap that was a great season finale episode! Holy crap. People getting shot like crazy!

Enough of tv. For the past week or two, all I have been doing is working and then coming home and working on getting ready for potrero war. We have had to buy new chairs, a stove and other stuff. I am kind of excited. It seems like this is the first war I have gone to where we have gone all out and dont have to depend on someone else for anything. Doing our own cooking, have our own garb, and are doing everything ourselves. I am sort of proud of us.

My mom got an extension on the foreclosure sale date thanks to our realtor and lawyer hounding the lender. Woot! Now, hopefully the house will sell or be under contract before July 1st. Know of anyone who want to flip a house?

My work is going great. I start my fourth week on monday. What I do is Title Curative work for an escrow company. the process is as follows: the property goes to foreclosure sale from the attorney. the property then reverts back to the bank. the bank automatically sends the info to the escrow company (us). Even though the property doesnt have a buyer yet, we open the file and the title curative dept gets all the info on the property. Basically what I do is call the county and city of the property to make sure there arent any code violations on the property (weeds overgrown, old cars on the lawn, graffiti, and building permit violations). We then call the utilities for water sewer and trash. Basically we are trying to make sure the property will not have any liens on it when someone does want to buy it. the banks want to take care of all of that stuff before the transaction happens. We have to make sure to get payoff demands so the bank takes care of it. We are the only escrow company around that does that. Its pretty easy. I get bored from being on hold all the time with the code and utilities companies. My coworkers are pretty chill though. Its funny. My boss stole me from another company. I had interviewed with Ryan, my boss, about 3 months ago. He told me he wanted to hire me absolutely and he would call me in a couple days. he never called so I called him and he told me he had taken a toll of the office and that there wasnt enough work to warrant bring me on yet. He told me he would definitely bring me on in a couple months. He called me every couple of weeks to see what was going on. the last time he called, I had started a new job that day and so i told him and we hung up. he called me back 5 mins later and offered me more money and to start the next monday. So i decided to let that other job go cause it wasnt even in the real estate field and it would take two months of training and it didnt pay enough. I am now making ok money. (Still not what I am worth, but oh well).

My sister and I are doing hair for a bridal show on July 5th. http://bridalfaire.webs.com/ is the website if you would like to come. I hope you do. I will also be showcasing some of my new bridal accessories line during the fashion show, as well as, a booth with my business cards and postcards with pics of what I can do and physical examples. I am excited to get that off the ground.

Thats about it thats going on for the moment. Will write again after Potrero and the Bridal Faire. I bid you adieu

I love

My Husband. He's the best.
The end.

It's almost May Day!

Tomorrow morning my sister and bro in law are having their moving away party. It should be fun, but it's going to be hard to see them go. I am glad they are finally doing what they want to do though.
It's been almost a month since I last posted. Let's see what has happened since then:
Easter was fun. I went to my moms and spent time with her and my sister and niece. Chelsea (my niece) is so freaking cute and we did some egg hunting.



Chelsea's 2nd birthday party was fun too. It was so cute, we got there and the first thing I do is pick Chelsea up and she puts her head on my shoulder and tried to go to sleep. So cute! I think she had enough already and her party was just starting. There were tons of kids running around all over the place and I think she was just pooped. Erik and I got her a tricycle that was supposed to be a surprise, but one of the other kids rode it into the room while she was opening gifts and ruined the surprise. grr. Anyway, she likes it so thats good enough for us. She was so cute!!!

I started selling stuff on ebay. Doing pretty good so far. The post office lost one of my packages so I had to eat 30 dollars worth the merch, but its ok, I will make up for it somehow. I am selling alot of my costumes and corsets. my ebay name is Marawiggles if you want to check my page out.

So I started a new job last monday and it went really great. I liked the company alot. Nothing like my last job. I get home, run errands and get things shipped from ebay. While I am at AIM mail center, I get a call that I have been waiting for for months now. Its a guy who wanted to offer me a position with an escrow company in Newport Beach. He had been having me dangle by a thread all this time. I told him that I had accepted a position. he asked what and how much I am making. He offered me way more money!!! I called Erik and discussed it, and I have decided to accept his position. I am so scared though!! FREAKING OUT!! I feel really bad about this company I left, but I got to do what I got to do. So I start this coming monday. I am excited for the money, though I am scared cause I am back in the Real Estate market. I havent had the best luck in that market. Been laid off too many times.
Best of luck to me. I should be sleeping so I can get up and do the damn yard sale again in the morning. My mom has until May 20th to be out of my Gpas house before the bank takes it, or she gets an offer to buy it. Hopefully the later happens.

Realizations

We are in over our head. In all reality, I (Damara), am in over my head. After having done yard sales at my Gramps' house almost every weekend for the past month and a half, I have realized my Gramps was a hoarder. I also realized that I dont want to have to deal with me becoming that way. I realized that I was holding on to useless stuff that I dont use anymore. Purses, sports stuff, jewelry, textbooks, knicknacks, shoes: time to go! I have about two boxes of my stuff alone to add to the yard sale for next week. Its kind of refreshing to purge like this so hopefully I wont become something like a hoarder.
Our fridge pretty much died. It had stopped getting cold and so after our food going bad and us freaking out for about a week or two, we had someone come and fix it. Turns out our model of fridge has the tendency to leak freeon very slowly and will run out about every three years. Yay! <---- notice the sarcasm here. So, we paid 225.oo to have the freeon refilled and will definitely be replacing our fridge sometime before the three years is up. This is just ridiculous. I am glad I was given the fridge and didnt pay for it. I think I might be outraged if so! We did NOT have the money to pay for that, so we are definitely broker than ever!
Living in HB is getting harder and harder to rationalize. We are looking for a new place again. We should have moved into that place in anaheim when we had the chance. Figures, huh? We might be looking into a two bedroom and trying to get a roommate to save even more and pay off some of my credit bills. I have a horrible shopping habit that I need to kick.
Anyone looking to move? Wanna be roommates with me and my hubby?
I have been going to the gym and have lost three lbs! I have adopted a new way of thinking about my food and meals. Instead of eating three meals because I thought I was supposed to, I am now only eating to sustain my energy. Small little meals throughout the day, and I am trying to pay attention to my calorie intake. So far it seems to be working. In fact, I am hungry now. Time for a snack. I might hit up the gym tonight, too.
I think this is it for now. Peace out folks. Happy Easter and I hope your day is spent well with family.

Watching the Oscars and kind of bored

I thought the Oscars was going to be a better show, but oh well. I am headed to the gym to do weights in a little bit.
Last night I got a bug up my ass, and decided to rearrange my living room again to allow direct access to my huge treadmill. Its now in a spot that I can easily turn the tv towards it and work out. I hate having to wait for the treadmills at the gym, so I am just going to do weights there now and occassionally the eliptical. I want to try to take a class or something and see how that goes.
Yesterday I went to my sister, Cara's, house to work on the wedding planning. Got a lot done and decided. We even went bridesmaid dress shopping and pretty much decided on the three we liked and i am going to have my girls vote on what they like the most and I will decide from there. Either way, all three are great dresses. I have decided to have a dessert and cocktail reception, so the dresses are cocktail length, hopefully allowing the girls to be able to wear their dresses again. My colors are eggplant and silver. My little sister, Danielle is my maid of honor. It should be a great successful wedding and reception. I cant wait!!
I tried my dress on yesterday, not knowing if it still fit or not. Guess what??? it does. I need to lose like two pounds for it to look perfect again. I am so stoked. I was really worried. Im still worried, but I am working out, so I think I should be ok.
Sometime in the next week or two, I am going to go reception hall hunting. yay. Luckily, I have a insider on one place. Woot!

OK, off the to the gym now.

its been a little while, time for an update

So, where to begin.
I love thursdays. I know, random right. Its pretty sad that I only love Thursdays because 5, thats right, 5 of my favorite tv shows are on at night. Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Project Runway, Fringe, and the Deep End is on. Right now as I type this I am watching the DVR'd Grey's Anatomy.

Last week, Erik and I went to his families place to visit and for Erik to work on his brother's car. Hi brother, brother's fiance, and her daughter all had a nasty cough. After hanging out there for 3 days and getting to know my mother in law better, I got sick too.
Her daughter ended up in the ER with Pnuemonia. She is ok now. But, great, I have bad lungs and what she has. Awesome!
I waited a couple days hoping it was just a cold. Turns out its much worse and with no insurance and no money, I thought I was screwed. I called my docs today to ask if she could just call in some antibiotics to walmart and I would spend 4 bucks and move on with my life.
The nurse took my symptoms over the phone and told me she would call me back. She called me back and said my doc wants me in asap. I tell her I cant afford to come in and she says can you go to a clinic. I told her no, because they wouldnt understand my lungs like my doctor does. She says she will call me back.... She never does.
at 840pm tonight I get a call from CVS. I called my doc at like 215 today. CVS tells me my prescription is not covered by my insurance. I tell them wait, whats the prescription for? Turns out my doc called me in a scrip and failed to call me back. LOL. So I pay the 45.00 for my scrip and hopefully life will be good again in 6 days. She prescribed me the super strong shit. LOL.
I am mailing her a thank you card that I made tomorrow.
My doc rocks!!

Hmm, what else is going on.. My Gramps house is on the market officially as of today. This weekend we are having a huge yard sale to get rid of some stuff.
Things are going to get harder before it gets better.
I am 90% sure Erik and I will be taking in my little bro for a while until my mom figures out what shes doing.

I think I have typed enough for now. Peace

So much blegh!

I am not really sure as to why I blog. I guess it helps me organize my thoughts a little bit. I am watching a show called Property Ladder right now. Its making me want to "flip" a house so bad. Erik and I talked about it a little bit this morning before I took him to work. I think it might be something we do in the future. It could be fun. I have definitely learned alot from these shows of what not to do! LOL.

We are currently contemplating the thought of renting a room from someone to save up some cash and pay off some bills. Currently all my unemployment checks are taken up by my bills with nothing left for anything else. If at all possible, I would rather find a Studio apt instead of renting a room. We have gotten used to our privacy and living alone. I really love our apt, but shit happens I guess. When we move more inland after my Gramps house sells, we should be able to find a bigger and nicer place for a better price. I am thinking about heading towards Moreno Valley or something out there. I have checked out places online and you can find a nice place for like 600 a month. Whew. That's cheaper by almost half of what we are paying now. I am excited, we may actually be able to rent a house instead of an apt. Woot!

I still need to sit down and write out what I am going to say at my Gramps' service. I have an idea, but I need to put it all down just in case I am too emotional and I need Erik to read it for me. His service is a week from today so I need to start preparing.

I have started a new craft. I am now making cards. I have some pretty cute ones up for sale on etsy.com. Etsy is a handmade online store for all things handmade. I am hoping to get some sort of cash flow from that. If you like anything I have made, I will give you the friends deal. Just let me know. If you can think of something else you would like made, ask me and I will see what I can do. www.marawiggles.etsy.com . I really like the way everything turned out. I got to use to the Cricut Expression machine that my hubby got me for xmas, to its full potential.

I am putting a small stop on my sewing for now. There is a dress I want to make, but I do not have the money to buy the other two fabrics I need to complete it. My dad is going to send me money to start up my diaper bag business. But thats not going to happen for another couple weeks. I made a pattern for some really great diaper bags, but I cant make them without fabric. I cant make a store without inventory, so my dad is going to help me out a little bit which I am very thankful for.
That is all for now friends.

Getting Things Going

So recently, I have been getting alot done with my mom when it comes to my Grandpa's Estate. We went to the meeting with the Pastor, along with my brother Trevor. We came to a date and time of January 30th, at 1pm. Its a saturday, so family should be able to travel out here to come to the services. My church has recently undergone some major renovations and it gorgeous and huge now. The service will be really nice. I have to make a slideshow of pictures of my Grandpa which will be displayed on two huge white screens as people are walking in.
i also had the idea of making notecards and having people write well wishes and nice things about my Grandpa on them, and then we would bury him with them.
So much to do.
Onto happier notes:
I learned how to make sugar cookies from scratch today! I added more vanilla extract and used some orange that I freshly zested with my new zester. Woot for orange zest. They turned out super yummy, even though it took me three times to get it right. I really thought I wasnt meant to bake, but the third time was the charm!
I shouldnt be awake right now, but oh well. Erik and I took a nap today and didnt wake up til almost 730, so I am not tired.
I am watching a show called First Time Homebuyer on HGTV. I cant wait to start shopping for a house. Its going to be awhile.
OOOOOOOHHH. I finally got some info from my dad about how much of a budget I will have for my wedding. Let's just say, i am super ok with the amount he told me! He said to start looking around for a venue. I told him that I found a place in Hemet for a certain amount. He told me he would give me a few more thousand to have it closer to home, which is awesome!
So, once all the stuff with my Grandpa's estate is done, I get to start planning my wedding. So much to do!
I should try to sleep now. I think Kat and I are going to LA today to Mood Fabric store and Amoeba Records. Then, gonna have drinks with Tracy later on tonight. Full day planned. Need sleep for it. Good night all!

stuff

So this year, New Years was pretty chill. Nothing like the craziness of Time Square like last year. It was nice to just watch tv with Erik and eat some fudge that Kriska made and brought us. We went to sleep almost right after midnight.
The past couple of days have been pretty productive. I have gotten alot of my Grandpa's things sold. Helping my mom out quite a bit.
Tomorrow I have to take my Saturn in to get some work done. Please God let the problem be covered by my Extended Warranty! Good God help me please!
The other day Erik and I went fabric shopping for curtains for the bedroom. I made them today and put the blackout fabric on them. The bedroom is pitchblack now! Woot! Erik is a happy man now. We got such a great deal because some dumb Joanns employee mismarked some designer fabric for 10.99 when it should have been 24.99 a yard. There was also a sale of 40% designer fabrics. Joanns honored the lower price and the 40% off that. We got designer fabric for close to 6.00 a yard! best deal ever!! I made some great curtains from them. They look like they came out of a hotel. Erik said a Howard Johnson one to be exact. LOL.

Tomorrow, my mom and I have an appointment with my Pastor to plan my Grandpa's Services. Its going to be past two months by the time we have a service for him. So sad..
I should go to be now.. Good night all