Goodbye 2008!

2008 has been extremely good to us. Ron and I have been truly blessed with a gracious handful of serendipitous circumstances. Our journey started off in New York City when the Rachael Ray daytime talk show flew us out to their studio to perform our wedding first dance on national TV. While there, we also got to appear on the Filipino channel's Balitang America (you can view the videos from the menu on the right side of this homepage). While there, we also got to shoot a trash the dress session.



At the beginning of the year I also purchased my FIRST CAR under my name (took awhile, but hey i invested in a home first). My old black beamer, Phoebe, was reaching ends meet, so my dad decided to take over. Despite constant pressure to "buy a new car," I kept Phoebe for a few years after becoming an RN because she was soo good to me! A little before New Years, I brought home "Sasha," a 2008 white 335i. Gotta love twin turbo...

"Stings like a beamer!" (from the movie CARS)

Early on in the year Ron and I also discovered that we had been accepted to the Master's program of our choices: Ron at Cal State Fullerton pursuing Nurse Anesthesia and me at UCLA pursuing Nursing Administration.


We did alot of traveling before grad school started in the Fall. Some of the places included Las Vegas, Santa Barbara, the Big Island of Hawaii, and San Francisco to break in Shark-bait's engine (Ron's Honda Fit). We also scuba dived in the ocean for the first time and swim with manta rays, which was a real treat in itself!

under the sea in Kona!

our in and out of San Francisco spontaneous road trip!

This past August I celebrated my *Quarter Century* by having a Throwback 80's Party!

the tightest birthday cake ever! before mario started melting off!

pacman dessert table!

bringing the 80s back!

At the end of the summer, Ron and I both left UCI Medical Center before starting grad school. He's currently unemployed and a full time student attending classes 5 days a week (it's a job in itself). I'm still working part time at Kaiser Permanente with a per diem job at Children's Hospital in Orange County.

We've been fortunate enough during the nation's financial meltdown since our line of work wasn't directly affected. I guess that's the perks of being in the healthcare field: people are always going to get sick. May God help and Bless Barack Obama when he takes office in a few weeks. He's got his work cut out for him with the mess he has to clean up.

Lastly, 2008 brought an end to our "newlywed" title. So far, "married life" has been such an adventure! We had paid off our wedding debt within 6 months following our big day, so for those that have always wondered or asked: YES IT CAN BE DONE!

We hope 2009 will be just as grand as 2008! My new year's resolution is pretty typical. HIT THE GYM once again, take care of myself more, and do well in school!

See everyone NEXT YEAR!
HAPPY 2009!!!

Merry Christmas!

So this is a little bit of a late entry, but I've been in C-town for the majority of the week since Christmas and my computer is home based in La Habra :P Just as tradition goes, we spent Christmas is San Diego at Tito Ermie's house with family, games, food, dancing, and presents! I'll only post a couple of pictures since I just edited everything this morning and we'll be soon on our way to celebrate New Years!

My brother says I never post pics of the two of us, so here's one!

And then of course, he always wants a picture with Ron...

This is a favorite because my dad and tita erma are so HAPPY! We sure enjoy our GAMES!

tito ermie was so proud of himself for taking this picture, but by the background dropping off can you tell who he was focusing on? *hint its his son! hehe

the reason for the season!

Like I said, there were more pictures which included the games and the different Cruz families, but these will have to do!

Christmas with the Girlfriends!

The best thing about the Christmas holidays are definitely the gatherings I'd take dinner with family and friends over materialistic presents any day!

Since high school (or was it since the beginning of college in 2001?), the "La Sierra girls" have made every effort to get together for the holidays. Nowadays, times have changed and so too has the dynamics of our group. It'd be unfair to still dub us strictly as the "La Sierra Girls" since that is no longer the case. I've been blessed to have such a great circle of girlfriends in my life. I'm hoping that these annual holiday dinners will remain a yearly tradition as we continue to grow, reminisce on old times, and create more memories!

Ann, Bonnesa, Bonnie, Christine, Jalyn, Jen, & Vanessa: Thank you for taking the time out of your busy lives to get together. You girls are like sisters to me and I consider myself extremely blessed to have you all in my life! It's refreshing to know that I could "let my hair down" (hmm let my guard down), talk about anything and everything, and laugh all night! Thank you always for your love, support, and for being such genuine people. just me, kristini

potluck!!

Bonnesa's game kept us pretty entertained

this is what happens when you get designated as the camera man!

gift exchange

Another First...

I've never been one to read *books*, unless of course they were required for some reason. It was a joke for me to join my unit's *Book Club* back at UCIMC because I knew honestly well, that I wouldn't participate. Fortunately for me, the girls didnt mind since Book Club meetings ended up being a perfect excuse to hang out. That was until I watched the movie Twilight and became facisnated with the story's plot. Yes, I jumped the Twilight bandwagon pretty late, but I don't care. It took me a little over a week and a half to complete the entire series. I'm sure I could have had it done sooner but I was in the midst of finals week, finishing up preceptorship at CHOC and celebrating Grace's pinning and Pacquaio's win. It was insane!! I could not put the books down! It was the last thing I read before I fell asleep and the first thing I reached for upon waking up! I'm so surprised and proud of myself for reading & completing ONE book, let alone an entire series!

I'd have to say that my favorite book of series would have to be the first and the last one, Twilight & Breaking Dawn. I enjoyed Twilight because of compelling story line. I loved the *newness* of it all and the compelling story line as it unfolded. How could you not fall in love with Edward Cullen and his family? Breaking Dawn was the conclusion of all the craziness. And it was definitely, CRAZY. Some parts we're a little hard to imagine, but I did appreciate the happy ending. I also have to admit that I did enjoy Jacob's part and sarcasm in book 4. Full Moon was too depressing for me because it reminded me of some past scars (plus it was geared toward Jacob fans), and Eclipse was alright, but irritating at some points (It got better for me towards the end however).

I'm actually quite sad that I finished the series, but I am happy to have my life back!!! Who would have thought that *reading* could be so addicting and time consuming???? I'm so glad I didn't start reading this saga until the last week of school! (It did interfere with my finals, but only a little bit)

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

RECAP on yesterday's GAME DAY

So let's start with the bad news...
THE BAD NEWS: UCLA lost (althought it was expected being that USC does have a better football team)

THE GOOD NEWS: Ron and I had the time of our lives!!!



My biggest highlight from yesterday's game was right after halftime. The stadium started blaring "the song that they always play at soccer matches" according to Ron. At first some of the USC players started dancing on their sideline. Then the the whole team slowly started shifting towards the middle of the field. Next thing you knew, the entire UCLA team proceeded to meet them half way. With the intensity of the crowd, and the music that seemed all too befitting, it seemed as if I were watching a commerical!! The spectacle of it all (plus sitting in Row 3!) and the whole HYPE AND ENERGY that comes with RIVAL GAMES WAS AWESOME! Like I said, felt stuff you'd see in a commercial!

i wished i had my camera on video mode. this scene was too tight for words!

ANYWAYS
as for the UGLY NEWS...

THE UGLY NEWS: I'd have to say would refer to Oscar De La Hoya's face after 8 lopsided rounds in the ring with Manny Pacquaio! Damn De La Hoya's height ain't got nothing on the PacMan! Oscar came entered the ring with his game face on compared to Pacquaio walking in with all smiles! He said this fight was "personal" but he sure failed to show it!

There's Something About Mary!

The youngest member of the Cruz family will be turning 18 next year!! My cousin MM (real name: Mary Michael, yes i think Tita Erma & Tito Dennis had hoped for a boy, hehe!) and her family are planning her traditional Filipino debut to be held in March. Over dinner a few weeks back, my Tita Erma had mentioned that she wanted pictures of MM taken with her dog Booger (yes, Booger..) for a "Something About Mary" theme. Being that photography has always been a long time hobby, I told Tita Erma, that I'd be more than happy to do it!!! It also gave me an excuse to try out and play with some lenses! Besides my brother and Ron, MM is actually the very first person that's ever been my model! Gotta love family for being so willing :)

I can't believe how much MM has grown right before my eyes. I remember back in the day when I use to give her hugs and say, "My MM!!!" and she'd reply, "My Ate!!!" Now she's talking about college applications! cRAzY!

Anyways, I'm still working on my steady hand and being cognizant of my environment so bear with me!

Meet Booger!

I think he was getting fed up with Tita Erma placing bandages around him!

First stop, downtown San Diego!

MM was shy but it didn't matter, she's naturally photogenic

Booger was one HOT DOG! he got compliments like, "WOW the Target dog!", "Wow, the Budweiser dog!," and "aWwW what happened to your dog?!"


Change of location and outfit! Balboa Park!

I liked this picture not only because of the lighting, but because of Ron in the background. He was lens man, video cameraman, driver, dog baby sitter, bag holder, and pooper scooper!! lol

Ron says me and MM have the same eye shape... haha ! Only hers a little bigger and her eye color is lighter!

Camouflage! The only thing that bothers me about this pic is the shadow across her face.. oh well, still learning!

There's Something About Mary!!!!

Doesn't MM's face scream, "I LOVE HANGING OUT WITH ATE!!!" ???