just hanging out

Alcatraz

More Pics from Cali

Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge

My 2 Favorite People

Steven's Time Home

We had a good 2 weeks ... here are a few pictures, I will post some more as I get them. Steven has most of them on his laptop, so I have to wait til he can email them to me before I can post them... Wish we would have thought about that before he left.. ha ha ha....

For those of you who don't already know ... We also bought a Truck while he was home!!! YAY!! That was our first Major purchase together as a married couple, so it was pretty exciting... Unfortunately Steven also has those pictures so I have to wait until he sends me those also... But we ended up buying a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder 4x4. It's Black.. Almost fully loaded.. has everything except the Entertainment system. We absolutely Love it.

Well I hope you enjoy the pictures ... I'll be posting them as I get em , so check back every now and then.... Love you guys!


arriving at the resort


Making new friends in Wine country


Sunset on the Bay


Sharing a few Drinks


Family Picture


Aren't we just too Cute...


My 2 Favorite People...


Waiting at the Airport before our Goodbyes

Personal Revamp ...

I've decided to do a little bit of personal revamping to myself. I'm working on making myself a better person. I've notice that alot of people, just assume that they are good people, and what, of course, they do is the right way, but they don't ever stop to think about the things or actions they do, that might negatively affect others. Most people are so concerned about what the other person said to make them angry or what the other person did, or how this person reacted to that and never really stop to think about what they, themselves did to contribute to the situation. I've realized that there are alot of little things that people can do to make themselves and others around them much happier. SOOOO..... here are the steps that I'm going to TRY and take, to make myself a "Better" person.

1. Be a Good Listener

I've noticed about myself, that sometimes when people are talking, I'm hearing what they are saying, but not really listening... a lot of the time I'm planning what I'm going to say once they stop talking ...

2. Be Interested ... Not Interesting

Ever had that person you're talking to, just keep going on and on about themselves, and your just like... "shut up, I'm tired of hearing about you"....Then I started thinking about it, How many times have I talked about my weekend, Steven, or MariElena, and the person I was talking to was thiking just the same thing. So I'm going to start listening more and being more interactive in conversations I'm having with others... To be more interested in what they are saying, not trying to be more interesting by trying to talk about myself also.

3. Don't be Judgemental

This is probably going to be the hardest thing for me to do. I think this is the hardest thing for most people to do. We all have our "good" behaviors, and our "bad" behaviors. I'm going to try and forget the concepts of right and wrong ... I'm going to look at it as, "It's just different from what I would do". People aren't Right or Wrong, People just are. I think that being judgemental cuts you off from building meaningful relationships with other. It just brings you down and wastes time. I'm not perfect, so I shouldn't expect others to be either.

These are the first few things that I am going to try and work on...There are much more things I want to work on... But one step at a time... These things are going to be hard enough... lol. I'm learning that you can't control how others react to or handle situations, but you can control how YOU react to and how YOU handle those same situations.

WISH ME LUCK!

Easter Sunday April 16, 2006

Today Mari and I spent easter at home.... Since it was raining outside... She had her esater egg hunt inside... I hid eggs all over the house so she could find them... She had such a good time....

Pictures from Iraq

Love

Just a little Something I made since I had some extra time on my hands.

Charlie's Angels! LOL

Updates

I know that it's been awhile since I've posted, I've just been a little busy lately with work, spending time with MariElena, and pushing myself harder at the gym these last 2 months before Steven comes home on his mid-tour. It's Almost here!!!! I'm so excited! I can't wait. As of right now, he set to leave Iraq on April 19th, but then again that can change at any time. Either way, I'm still excited!

Things where he is at, have calmed down for the most part. Not a lot in the news, and they aren't being effected too much by the civil fighting which I am grateful for. Other than, Steven's been doing alright. He misses home and his family of course, but he's making it.

When he comes home for his Mid-Tour, I've won a trip through my Job, so we will be spending 5 days in Beautiful Napa Valley, California! I'm hoping that he will have a good time, since we are staying at a spa resort, I'm sure he'll get some much needed pampering and relaxation.

Things back here have been ok for the most part, I've been sick the past 2 days so I had to miss work, which I didn't like, cause I've been doing so well! I'll just have to make it up on Monday.

MariElena has been doing good for the most part. Why is it that when you tell kids not to touch things because they aren't toys, that's exactly what they do?! MariElena broke a Precious moments globe that she's had since she was born, today! I wanted to strangle her! But of course I didn't I just put her in timeout, and took her movie privledges away.