the proof is in the photos.

At the airport in San Diego getting ready to head back to DC. Though it was a quick little weekend, it was definitely a good one. California, my heart will always belong to you and your gorgeous coast line.

mississippi y una boda.

Last weekend, we hit the road and headed south to Mississippi to see Nikki and Henry get married. Nikki and Dave were in Peace Corps Panamá together and lived just a few towns away from each other while out there. Anzuelo and Nikki's dog, Elfrida, are actually siblings (same father) and used to play together whenever they saw each other so it was especially exciting to see how they'd react to each other.

The drive itself wasn't terrible. Initially, Dave wanted to do the 16 hour drive in one sitting. I was completely against it... I love driving but couldn't see being on the road that long after both of us had worked during the day. Dave's schedule allows him to have every other Friday off and we were fortunate that last Friday was one of those. We used that to our advantage and left DC on Thursday when he got off work (I finished nannying an hour before he was off).

I can't begin to express how gorgeous it is out here on the road. California is definitely beautiful but that long stretch of 5 through Central California doesn't come close to any part of 81 (I'll admit though that I do miss that drive on 5 going from the Bay to SD). We stopped for dinner at this yummy place called Macado's in Christansburg, VA.. I read it as mah-CAH-doughs... I guess it's technically pronounced MACK-a-doos. No matter how you choose to pronounce it, definitely stop there if you get the chance! They've got tons of locations.

We spent the night in Chattanooga, TN and then headed for Paul B. Johnson State Park in Mississippi. We spent the rest of Friday catching up with Nikki and Henry, watching the dogs play, and exploring Hattiesburg.

The wedding was on Saturday. It was the perfect little ceremony. I heard at one point that there were only 42 people there - perfectly intimate. Nikki and Henry looked so happy the entire day and I'm so glad that we got to share in the day. Dave was one of the "groomsmen" and "dog wrangler" as both Anz and Elfrita were in the wedding too.

We headed back to Chattanooga that night to get a head start on the trip home. We both had work Monday morning and I didn't want to have to wake up incredibly early AND arrive extremely late. People have commented about how short of a visit it was when compared to the length of the drive. I think it was totally worth it!

Enjoy the video and photos!

march already?

I can't believe it's already March! This year is going by so quickly. This month marks the opening of Wanlass Park in San Pablo. It's small but perfect. My entire childhood, this area of land was an unused field. A few years ago, they began plans to renovate the area and open the park. They began construction but it was slow moving. I honestly didn't think it would ever open! But finally, it has and I love it. Plus, we've had great weather the past week. So glad the sun was shining for the grand opening of the park. Sadly, Mr. Weatherman said it's going to get cold fast the next few days.

For me, March came off with a rocky start - I wasn't feeling too well. My stomach was not happy and wasn't afraid to show it. Luckily, I had Friday off to recuperate. I'm happy to report I'm finally, mostly 100%. My appetite isn't fully there but I'm able to keep things down without feeling nauseated.

Friday also marked the day that I submitted my advanced draft of my synthesis project. This, my friends, is the paper that stands between me and graduation. It is also the thing that I dreaded from day 1 of starting the program 2 years ago. I have to admit it wasn't as bad as I was led to believe. I was lucky enough to have decided on my topic early on and therefore wrote many of my previous assignments on the same topic. This gave me a lot to work with when putting my paper together. In the synthesis, we develop a case management program based on current literature for a specific population. Mine are obese and overweight pregnant women. After doing more research on the topic, I was shocked to find out just how much of our population is overweight/obese and how many women gain more weight than recommended during pregnancy (almost 50%!!!!!!). I present my program to the University and anyone else who is interested on March 30th. 

Oh, another note about school... My graduation announcements arrived! Such beauts.

Saturday, I was feeling mostly better and went with my cousin to the San Francisco Flower Mart to look at flowers for her wedding. Love the smell of fresh flowers. Afterward, she introduced me to one of the best places I've ever eaten. The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen. Yum. They only serve breakfast and lunch. We were there during breakfast. I got the veggie sandwich. Delicious. To make it more breakfast-like, each breakfast sandwich comes with an over-easy egg inside. Again, yum. I'm so happy my stomach was able to handle it. All of it. Saturday morning was one of the few times since Thursday morning that I've enjoyed a full meal.

Today was another one of those times. I made delicious puffed pancakes topped with a little syrup, powdered sugar, raspberries, and blackberries and a side of turkey bacon. Maybe my body is just in the mood for breakfast foods?

Lastly, I bought my tickets for DC in May! Not the tickets for the big move, but the tickets that will allow Dave and I to find a place to live! So excited!!!!

up and running.

Mom and Dad on their wedding day in 1985

Mom and Dad are getting remarried on July 31st. This year marks their 25th year of marriage. On September 14, 1985, they were wed in a little chapel in Lake Tahoe. This year, they have decided to not only renew their love but become officially married in the eyes of the church (I personally believe the Lord already views them as officially married even though the chapel was nondenominational). Their website is up and running if you wanna give it a look.

http://www.ewedding.com/sites/huddleston

busy bee.

August 31st and September 1st were the busiest days I've had here at work. I worked extended hours both days because, as anyone who lives in Davis knows, those are the days where everyone moves OUT of one place and moves INTO another place in 24 hours. I'm lucky enough to LOVE where I live and did not have to move this year! Fortunately, we only had about 19 turnovers (which I hear is a low number). We had to do move-out inspections and make sure the units got cleaned, carpets washed and walls painted so that the new tenants could move in the next day by 11 am. The next day, we had to do move-in inspections, go over paperwork and make sure anything that didn't get cleaned did. Honestly, it wasn't that bad for me since I wasn't doing the cleaning but it was tough for the people who had to shuffle through all the units.

My dad and I went to Mariposa to spend time with Ate Lyn, Kuya Roger, Jonah and Xavier. Mom couldn't come because she had work. Luckily, she's getting the next two weeks of work off for their anniversary and her birthday. It was a fun weekend in Mariposa. We arrived Saturday morning, had breakfast, played with the kids, took a nap, ate lunch, went to the Mariposa Fair, watched the Demolition Derby, ate dinner, went to sleep, woke up the next day, ate breakfast, hit the road. Now to go into a few of the activities in detail.

Playing with Jonah and Xavier is so much fun. They're both growing so quickly. I love when Jonah rocks out on his guitar to KISS and The Beatles. He can't play the songs yet, but he looks awesome strumming away and singing. Xavier is becoming a wonderful little brother, copying everything Jonah does. Such sweet boys.

In the evening, we went to the fair to watch the Demolition Derby. By far, one of the coolest things I've ever seen. We were in the second row (some think it's too close... I think it's PERFECT!) and got to see a lot of action. The cars rammed into each other, caught on fire (little fires that the fire department put out), and the crowed cheered. I hope to go again and fully recommend that you go if you haven't before!

On Wednesday evening, I decided to host a little gathering to celebrate me getting into nursing school. We held it at a friend's house not too far from my own. I bought sushi for everyone to eat and we did sake bombs in their backyard. It was a fun evening and I'm so glad the people I wanted to see and celebrate with were there.

Thursday evening, we took Jenn to Joe's Crab Shack in Old Town Sacramento for her Bachelorette party. She against the whole things seeing as she got married back in March but, with the reception on Saturday, we couldn't resist. We made her wear a sash and a tiara equipped with a veil. We girls also wore smaller tiaras. The whole night, she thought we were gonna do something to embarrass her but it never came. As we walked out of the restaurant, our waiter ran up to her and screamed at the top of his lungs that this was her bach party and everyone cheered. She was mad. Hahah.

Friday evening, I went out to dinner with my parents at Red Lobster in Fairfield. We went to celebrate their anniversary since it's on Monday but we wouldn't be able to get together that day. My dinner was absolutely yummy. I got the create your own thing and got shrimp alfredo and scampi. Mmmmm. I must say I was disappointed with the amount of biscuits the waiter brought us. He only brought us a total of 8 the whole evening. 8!!! Who only brings 8?!? Hahha. Needless to say, he didn't get a great tip.

Saturday was Jenn's wedding reception. It was a lot of fun. It was held at The Boathouse near her house. They played a lot of music that we line danced to. It was a great night with an open bar and Mexican buffet! Yum!

Only 43 days until Panamá!!!

a wedding, a concert and a photo shoot.

This has definitely been an eventful weekend. From Gigi's wedding to a photo shoot with Lauri Levenfeld with a Kenny Chesney concert in between, I was on my feet the whole weekend.

Saturday morning was Gigi's wedding. I wish I would've taken pictures with my camera but Auntie Conchita wanted me to take the pics for her so I am left with zero pictures of my own. The wedding was fun though! It was short and sweet. I'm so happy for Gi and Don. Held at Christ the King in Pleasant Hill, it was such an intimate ceremony. The food was good too! We went to a Chinese restaurant and had a feast. I filled my plate and ate as much as I could and then they brought out more food. And then even more food. I was still too full from the first plate that I didn't eat anything else - much to the dismay of Mommy Wilma and Auntie Conchita. They kept trying to get me to eat more. The one thing I could've done without - listening to Mommy Wilma and Auntie Conchita talk about who they spanked the most. Cat and Gigi were the winners! Turns out, Janice, Jay and I were the good kids. The recollection of the past wouldn't have been so bad if they hadn't kept asking me if I remembered... I said yes, though half the time I didn't. Oh well. Hahah. It was still a lot of fun.

We had to leave the reception right after cake because I needed to get into the City to meet up with everyone for the concert. Thing is, I left my charger at home and needed it desperately. My phone has been dying on me every so often - the battery is practically defunct. We drove home, got the charger and headed to the Del Norte BART station - with me successfully changing from my dress for the wedding into my dress for the concert along the way. I thought I was going to be late but luckily for me, not so much for them, the girls got stuck in traffic on their way from Davis to SF. Even with the train stopping at a station for 5 minutes because someone was blocking the door and not moving, I still managed to get to the City before them. I headed to the hotel and sat my self down at the bar and enjoyed an Amaretto Sour. Mmmmm. Then my phone died again. Worried I'd miss the girls walking by, I walked to the lobby and found Sol and a few others from the group. Then the girls arrived! We went up to our room at the Marriott on 4th Street and enjoyed a few cold beverages before heading to AT&T Park for the concert.

The concert itself was amazing. The full line-up: Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Sugarland and Kenny Chesney. We arrived too late and missed Lady Antebellum and Sugarland ended up canceling so we only saw Miranda and Kenny. No worries though, it was still a blast! Top memories of the night: waiting in an incredibly long line at the boys bathroom that actually moved slower than the girls bathroom line, meeting the craziest people, dancing in the aisles to Kenny's songs and waiting at Denny's for almost an hour before actually being served. Between waiting in line for 30 minutes to get a table and waiting at our table for 20 minutes to get some water and another 20 minutes to have our order taken and messed up... well... the whole Denny's thing was a disaster but it was still fun.

Miranda Lambert

Kenny Chesney

Sol, Katie, Jamie, Tam and Me

Sunday was a lot of fun too. Sunday morning, after check out, we went to Katie's place (totally cute, btw) and then got breakfast at a place nearby. I only got orange juice because I was meeting up with my parents and didn't want to leave before the food came. I went with my folks to Stonestown and shopped at Ann Taylor. Got an adorable top that I'm actually wearing now. It's a cream faux-wrap top. Love it!

Afterward, we went to the Sutro Baths over by the Cliff House to meet up with Lauri and the girls. Back in March or April, I entered a contest to win a portrait shoot with the amazing Lauri Levenfeld. About a month ago, she told me I had won! I decided to do some pictures with my parents since we haven't had a family picture in over 5 years and then I did some pictures with the girls. It was so much fun.

Tam, Me and Tiff with Lauri taking a picture of Mom and Dad in the back

Sutro Baths

I'm extremely tired from the weekend and thought I'd get a chance to sleep in and recoup. Unfortunately, I forgot that I had to be at work at 8:30 this morning meaning my sleep was cut short. Way shorter than I would've liked. At least work hasn't been bad. :)

sd and oc.

Last Thursday, I flew down to San Diego to visit Dave. All day Thursday, I couldn't wait to get there. Work seemed to take forever but eventually it came time for me to go to the airport. Tam, my roommate, dropped me off. I walked in to see which gate I will be at and notice that my 8:20 pm flight was delayed until 10:20 pm. I immediately called Tam and had her pick me up. After a trip to McDonald's and watching some tv, we went back to the airport. By this point, my flight had gone from being delayed till 10:20 to being delayed till 10:50 to finally leaving at 10:30.

The flight itself was terrible. All I wanted to do was be in San Diego with Dave, but instead I was on a delayed flight with some of the loudest people on earth and was inflicted with some sort of allergy. By the end of the flight, my sinuses had become so inflamed that the decent caused me the worst pain I've ever felt on a plane. The right side of my face hurt so badly. I looked it up online after my flight and I think I was experiencing aerosinitus. Well, after hours of waiting, I finally arrived in San Diego at 12:05 am. Luckily, that ride was the only bad thing to happen to me the entire weekend. Dave met me at the airport, took me to his folk's place, and I fell asleep. I was so exhausted.

The next morning, Dave and I grabbed sandwiches at Board & Brew and then drove to Fashion Valley Mall to buy a gift for Holly and Steven at Crate and Barrel. We ended up getting a few of the cheapest items instead of getting one large item. Then Dave and I went to Tiffany's to pick up a necklace he purchased for me. This necklace. It's the Elsa Peretti Open Heart Lariat necklace.

After Tiffany's, we went to Macy's where I bought Dave a cream-colored dress shirt so that we wouldn't clash when standing next to each other at the wedding.

When we finished at the mall, we made a quick stop at AAA so that Dave could pick up some maps for his host families in Panamá and bought wedding wrapping paper, and then we went to the beach!

First stop, 18th street in Del Mar. This is the beach right next to where Dave lives. I love it here. Every time I visit him, this is where we go. Mostly because it's so close to his place.

After sitting at the beach for a little, we decided to go to the beach in Encinitas. We went to D Street and Moonlight Beach. So beautiful. I think I actually prefer it to Del Mar, which is good seeing as how I hope to live in Encinitas one day.

We stayed at the beach for most of the day, and then visited Dave's uncle, who owns an apartment with a gorgeous view of the beach. After visiting his uncle, we went to Barnes and Noble to check out some Panamá travel books and then went to see the new movie Adventureland. It was actually a really good movie. I recommend it to all of you!

After the movie, we went to Dave's house where his mom had made dinner. It was a chili dish and it was so good. We stayed in the rest of the night... I fell asleep pretty early.

Saturday was the day of the wedding. We got ready and drove up to the hotel in Lake Forest and then went to the wedding at the Coto de Caza Golf and Racquet Club. It was a really short ceremony, at least compared to Filipino weddings, and had an open bar. Lots of alcohol with little food made cocktail hour at lot of fun. There were two tables of band people and we were all set at the back of the reception area. We all realized very early on that we were the loudest people at the reception, which was the reason we were at the back.

View from Coto de Caza Golf and Racquet Club

Me and Nikki

Jed and Kuya Thomas

Dave and Me

The night and the weekend itself were both a lot of fun, but I was glad to fly back to Davis this morning. The only thing I was sad about was not seeing Dave for another... 2 weeks.