Memorial Day 2010

Our Memorial Day weekend started the second the Yeates family arrived in town! We love the Yeates family and are glad they decided to share the weekend with us! Let's just say that there wasn't a moment that we didn't laugh, talk about bodily functions, chit-chat, or bet about which elevator was going to open up first! We are glad to have such good friends as the two of them!

The weekend was full of sight-seeing, visiting beaches, eating lots and lots of food, and much much more!

WHAT WE DID!

Fisherman's Wharf,
went down Lombard Street,
ate at Little Italy (North Beach),
saw people do their daily Ti-Chi in the park near North Beach,
rode the Cable Cars up California and towards Fisherman's Wharf,
rode the Trolley Car,
saw the Giants (Baseball game) beat Arizona Diamondbacks,
took the "Guzzler" slide down the Coca-Cola bottle at At&t park
ate Thai food at Osha,
drove to Monterey (Cannery Row),
saw the beach of Carmel,
ate at Bubba Gump Restaurant,
drove the 17-Mile drive around Pebble Beach,
came back through CA-1 (north),
went to Church and got stuck in the parking lot (no pictures to prove the crazy blockage because none of us brought a phone or camera),
went to the Civic Center Farmer's Market,
Nike Town and Romulo got an official Brazilian Soccer jersey for the World Cup,
Japantown,
ate at Mifune in Japantown,
went to Chinatown,
ate DimSum at You's,
saw the Golden Gate Bridge (by many different sights-spots),
saw Financial District,
ate hot fudge ice cream in Ghiradelli,
drove along Ocean Beach,
visited Haight and Ashbury,
Twin Peaks,
Golden Gate Park,
saw a Drag Queen Race in high-heels in the Castro district on Monday,
Painted Ladies,
stopped and took pictures of the "Full House" house, and much much more!

Enjoy the pictures!
Us along the 17-mile drive at the Lone Cypress.
Mama always said that life was like a box of chocolate!
Romulo getting all excited about picking out his soccer jersey for the World cup. Can you tell that he likes it (look at all the pictures he wore it pretty much every day after that)?
Us at the Twin Peak overlook.
The four of us being silly in the car while driving around the 17-mile drive.
Where is the love? Haight and Ashbury.
Literally stuffed ourselves at this amazing Japanese restaurant in Japantown. Thanks Chris for ordering!
The three amigos together at the Golden Gate Bridge.

Children's playground at the Golden Gate Park.
Romulo in love with this dinosaur in the Haight/Ashbury district.
Castro- Drag Queen Race to help raise money.
All this Dim-Sum is from You's and cost us $10.
Japanese restaurant where we stuffed ourselves (Mifune).
The Memorial Day Group at a lookout point for the Golden Gate Bridge.
The coca-cola bottle at the Giants AT&T baseball stadium. Inside of the bottle are two slides. After the game we went down the highest slide, "Guzzler". It was so much fun!
And the weekend wouldn't be complete for Romulo without a ride around the bridge.

We love you Yeates' and miss you greatly!

Time Traveling Thursday

I have a digital frame that is near the kitchen and I loaded it up the other day with random pictures and with pictures I didn't put a lot of thought. I just randomly picked pictures and loaded the memory card for the digital picture frame. Well, today while I was cleaning I saw a picture that really stuck out at me and one that I totally LOVE because it has two people that I really love in it. There are many people in my life that I love but this picture shows exactly how much love is shared between the two people and I'm grateful that they are apart of my life.


This picture was taken in August 2009 in La Jolla, CA when my little sister got married in the San Diego LDS Temple. I just love my mom and Romulo in this picture. I have no clue what they were joking or laughing about. But I guess it doesn't matter I'm just glad I captured it and that they shared that moment together!

High On The Mountain Top

My friend Allison was kind enough yesterday to give us the inside scoop of all the hot spots where the native San Franciscan's go! Sure we've lived here for the past 2 plus years but still its always nice to get more information about different districts and such because we have our favorites or just the normal tourists spots! But yesterday was super fun and I think we drove the whole city in our Mini-Cooper which was fun too!

I'm not sure why I never knew about Twin Peaks but NOW I DO! Twin Peaks are two hills with an elevation of about 922 feet, in the center of SF. It was SUPER WINDY but none the less was breath taking. You could see the whole city and get a good view of how amazing SF really is!
Not a really good picture at the top of Twin Peaks but hey at least I had my cellphone and it could at least capture some of the amazing views!

The World is a Rainbow

On Friday Romulo and I had the opportunity to volunteer at Jose Ortega Elementary School here in S.F. with Junior Achievement. We were paired up with a 2nd grade class to teach about "Our Community". Now these 2nd graders aren't like your normal class, they are taught 70% in Mandarin Chinese and 30% in English. It totally blew us away when we first got into the classroom and the teacher started speaking Mandarin and EVERY SINGLE KID responded! She was checking the homework from the night before and it was interesting to see all the kids respond in one way or another. I don't want this to sound racial but every kid (white, black, Hispanic, and Asian) knew Mandarin. We were told that they are a pilot program to see how well kids respond to a new language and be immersed in it. These 12 kids have been together since Kindergarten and will continue being together until Middle School. How cool is that? They learn to speak, write, read etc. in that language while also learning it in English. And its neat to see the Asian kids (who speak Chinese already) help or be partnered up with the other kids to help them out.

But before we got to the classroom, the whole school met in the Auditorium to do Friday Sing Along. It was so fun to be back in Elementary school and to be singing. We sang a song called, "The World is a Rainbow" and let me share it with you.

The World is a Rainbow

The world is a rainbow
That's filled with many colors,
Yellow, black, and white and brown,
You see them all around.
The world is a rainbow with many kids of people
It takes all kinds of people
To make the world go round.
Now you be you, and I'll be me.
That's the way we are meant to be.
But the world is a mixing cup,
Just look what happens when you stir it up.
The world is a rainbow
With many kinds of people,
And when we work together,
It's such a sight to see,
The world is beautiful when we live in harmony.

I thought the song had a great message and one that everyone needs to remember. Now, I went to an Elementary school that didn't have as many diverse people but I still learned these lessons from my parents, in school, and in church. I loved the line in the song that said "the world is a mixing cup, just look what happens when you stir it up". It's so true because we shouldn't be looking at the outside but in the inside. It's that inside "stuff" that matters the most!

Those kids taught me lessons or refreshed lessons that I've already learned. Its funny how you volunteer your time and you get the most out of the situation! Sure Romulo and I spent 4 hours of our day to help teach the kids that "our community" matters mixed with finance but they taught me that we can do anything if we put our mind to it. Just look at age 7 they have pretty much mastered a new language!

So just remember the world is a rainbow and when we work together its such a sight to see!

Go to your HAPPY PLACE

Sometimes when I feel like the walls are coming in on me and I can't breathe, I think of a happy place! And for me at this moment my happy place is CARMEL, as in CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA! Just look at this place (pictures below), "breath of fresh air". We went there when my sisters and nephews were in town and it reminded me how I need to enjoy the scenery around me. Lately, I've been so caught up in the moment and the things that aren't going the way I've planned them that I forget to "stop and smell the roses".


First time seeing Carmel, I was with my parents when they came to visit in '09. I couldn't believe the white sand and blue blue water.


Second time, Romulo surprised me for a weekend away at a bed and breakfast (Seven Gables). I got to see this view every evening and every morning from our bedroom window! Could even hear the sealions at night! So magical!

Most recent, seeing Carmel through the eyes of children! Not as sunny or clear as times in the past but just as memorable as ever!

Your Home Flies

We had the best of time last week while my younger sister Ellen, my oldest sister Sarah and her two boys came out (they live in Northern VA) for a visit to see SF. It was super fun since they had never seen SF. Plus we had a blast doing fun kid stuff. Who knew SF was a fun kid place? My nephews were just adorable riding BART, seeing how the city life is, playing the city parks, riding the cable cars, eating chocolate, looking outside of our apartment windows (we live on the 14th floor), touring the Jelly Belly factory, seeing the beach and digging in the sand! My nephew Zander said that our home flies (because we live so high off the ground - on the 14th floor).

Simplify

The most simple things in life right now bring me the most joy! Who thinks its silly that I am about to blog about my new found love which happens to be a cleaning tool? Yup that's right this little VACUUM BROOM STICK is my new LOVE! Electrolux Ergorapido is "quick cleaning with no strings attached" and that statement is sure understated because I used this thing this morning and I am in love! Its a cordless (with a rechargeable battery) 2-in-1 stick and hand vac. Its super light weight and I could zip this thing around our apartment in no time.
While I'm talking about my apartment I will post some today pictures of it. Please don't judge because I haven't finished putting the final touches on it (like get all the bins/boxes out of the way, need pictures/art on the wall, and tiddy up those little clusters of clutter that are everywhere).

The view from our bedroom windows!

Glad To Be Here

I just returned from a conference I had to do for work and let me tell you I dragged my feet going but flew home because I was so uplifted by a lot of the messages I heard! Isn't that how most things work, you don't think you will learn anything and then someone flips the light switch and you are instantly enjoying yourself! Well that was me! I am glad I walked away feeling so good!

This morning we had a motivational speaker and he is my new found HERO! His name is John Foley and he was a former Blue Angel! I mean how cool is that! He was talking about TRUST and BUILDING A TEAM around that trust! Did you know that the Blue Angels get as close as 18 inches from each other when up in flight! Yeah! Crazy, but usually they are about 36 inches (3 feet) from each other for a whole 45 minutes!

He mentioned a phrase that I want to blog about. He mentioned that a key word that the Blue Angels always use is, I'm "GLAD TO BE HERE"! He explained that after they land from doing a series of flight routines or after a show they "debrief". They sit around and literally go through each turn and routine and make comments about how they did and see if they could/can improve upon! And after someone makes a comment they finish by saying, "I'm GLAD TO BE HERE". Its interesting to think about because they literally are glad to be here because they put themselves at risk every flight and second they are honored to be a Blue Angel because only 126 people have held that title! At the end of the presentation he told us to think of that phrase every morning when we wake up.

Instead of thinking about all the things we have to do that day, ask yourself "Why am I GLAD TO BE HERE?" It made me really think. "Yeah, why am I glad to be here?" And I think that question can be answered in many ways but for me I am glad to be here because I have a great life. Sure things haven't gone as plan and aren't going as planned but hey I have good health, a great job, a loving husband, supportive family, and have a testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ! I know through my testimony of the gospel I can and will have everything I am wanting and needing.

So tomorrow ask yourself, "Why Am I GLAD TO BE HERE?"

Counting Towards Eternity

Romulo and I have always counted each 3rd of the month as an anniversary! Sure sometimes we got into bed on the 3rd and realize we forgot and simply said to each other, "Happy Anniversary!" and that's it! Other times we will make an effort and go out to eat or sometimes I will plan a FAVORITE meal for Romulo!

Well today is that day, HAPPY (monthly) ANNIVERSARY! It's been a great 5 years and 8 months! Can't wait to see where Eternity takes us!?!

Kisses handsome!

Our Little Blue Eyes

Many changes have come to the Aguilar household. We have moved from Walnut Creek to San Francisco. We are super excited to be in the city and have our commute cut from 40 minutes to 5 minutes. Seriously! We lived in the city when we came for Romulo's internship in Summer of 2007 and loved our time. After school we decided to move to the East Bay in hopes to start a family. Well 2 years later nothing has happened in that area so we decided since we both work in S.F. we might as well enjoy it to the fullest!

We are renting from a new apartment complex that just opened up in January of this year and we will be the first tenants to rent the place. Can you believe it, its like a new house?! Picture taken before I could decorate but you get the idea. Once I get this place put together (which will probably be tomorrow :) ) I will place better pictures!

View from our living room windows.

Kitchen-granite counter tops!

Living room. There are 4 huge windows all over the living room/kitchen dining room area. Lots of light.

The bathroom; its huge!

Not only did we get a new apartment but we got a new car! We decided since we would be living in the city and the roads can get tight at times we decided to upgrade the car and down-size the vehicle. Our Outlander at times felt a little big in certain areas of the city; plus why do 2 people need such a big vehicle. :) Meet our Baby Blue Eyes - Mini Cooper! Isn't it fantastic?! (Sorry for bad pictures too! Better ones to come, I promise!)

2010 Mini Cooper (bought with 18 miles)
White top/white mirrors/interior black leather/exterior color: Horizon Blue Metallic

My younger sister has a Mini too and she has talked this car up so much that when we decided to move to the city we instantly thought of this! When we were at the dealership I called her and she gave us the in's and out's on what to get and not get (features). I was worried about driving manual in the city (there are some major steep hills people) so we got automatic and we also got Bluetooth since its against the law to drive while on the phone here in CA. And if your wondering about the size don't worry both Romulo and I fit perfectly inside and there is a little room for someone to come along too! It's not a sedan people, its a coupe!

After a few hours of leaving the dealership my sister texted me asking if her Mini had a Cousin? And it was true my sister's East Coast Mini has a new West Coast cousin! Ha-Ha!

Well now that I have shocked you all, I will let that news sink in!