The Garbell Blog

The past 5 months!

2010-01-03T17:30:00.000-08:00

Wow. It has been a while since I wrote. A lot of things have happened. The best thing is that Ryan GRADUATED!!!!! I am so excited. On Dec. 23rd I went to his graduation with his Dad, my Mom, Dad and Sister. It was a wonderful graduation. I am so proud of him.

The past 5 months:

I finished work at UCSD
Packed up the San Diego apartment
Moved to my parents house
Started sewing on my Mom's new sewing machine
Looked long and hard for an apartment and found a great one.
Fainted, fell on tile and broke my jaw.
Got my mouth wired shut the Sunday before Thanksgiving and flew to see Ryan with a wired mouth.
Got some of my wires cut.
Moved into the L.A. apartment and set it all up.

It's been a crazy 2009. I am excited for 2010. Here are some pics. I will write more at a later time. (If you see wires on my mouth I still have wires on my gums. Hopefully on Monday they will take them out.)

LA Baby!

2009-09-10T16:55:00.000-07:00

We got our orders today and are going to LA. We don't know where in LA though. I am hoping for Santa Maria but I will be okay with whatever. We will find out in 2-3 weeks. I am just so EXCITED!

More info to come.

2 weeks

2009-09-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

It has been 1 month since Ryan left. A lot has happened but I can't blog about it. Things are good. I feel closer to my husband and the Lord so I am grateful for this experience. I will still be glad when it is over :)

I am nervous however for the news of where we are stationed. I find out on either September 10th or 11th. I am getting butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. Let's just say that on the 10th I will probably be a mess and will be checking my phone every minute.

I keep have these fantasies that we get our first choice and then I can't stop smiling. Then I keep have these fears that we will get stationed in the a horrible place away from our family. Oh well. I guess whatever happens it is where we are supposed to be and things will work out.

I will keep you updated! Wish me luck.

Ryan is gone

2009-08-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

Ryan left Saturday August 1st for training. His graduation date is supposed to be December 28th but we are hoping it gets moved up. Excited for the new adventure but sad that Ryan is gone. I am actually doing pretty well. My dad gave Ryan and I beautiful blessings so I know that everything will be fine.

One Year Down

2009-07-12T18:52:00.001-07:00

One year ago today we were married in the San Diego Temple. We are no longer newlyweds...Yeah!!! Had an awesome first year so they should just keep getting better and better.

We celebrated are anniversary on Friday and Saturday since we had to be a church on Sunday. The below pictures tell the story.

First Ryan gave be 2 bouquets of flowers:

Then we went downtown and stayed in a Chic hotel. The room was awesome. They had robes for us, slippers, stereo and the shower was so cool.

Ryan sitting in the swanky chair.

Are awesome and comfortable bed

View from our bed

The elevator. It was the first elevator in San Diego and it felt like it. Notice how there is no garage, just a -1 floor.

Ryan in the awesome robe they had for us.

On Saturday we ate breakfast downtown, went to the beach then went to the Wild Animal Park and went on a Photo Caravan Tour. It was awesome because this time we got to feed the Giraffes and Rhinos. LOVE IT!

We had such a fun weekend :)

Happy Belated Birthday Ryan

2009-07-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

It was Ryan's 32nd Birthday on Monday. Poor Ryan had to drive all day back from Idaho and his car almost died in the process. He did get presents though. We decided to celebrate his birthday later. But here are 32 random things about my Husband.

1. His favorite color is orange
2. He now loves Huevos Rancheros (this happened since he has been married to me)
3. Used to be a picky eater when he was younger but is not a picky eater at all. I could pretty much make him anything for dinner and he would be okay with it.
4. Would love to live in Boise someday.
5. Looks so serious but is so NOT serious.
6. Has a concave chest-I can only lay in it. If I touch it in any way besides laying on his chest he freaks out.
7. Can't stand himself or anyone touching his adams apple. Even the thought makes him cringe. The best is when his shirt, or he accidentally touches it and freaks out.
8. He would like to own a miniature horse to take walks with on the beach.
9. He is really good at taking out the trash.
10. I don't like to drive a stick, so he is so nice and drives all the way to Utah and Idaho when we go visit his family. LOVE HIM for that.
11. He is probably the most chill person I know. I have never seen him yell and can't ever imagine him yelling.
12. Does not have a problem farting out loud in front of his family or friends.
13. In San Diego he always had a girlfriend. I think the longest he went was 3 months in between girlfriends.
14. He is a CPA
15. LOVES to watch movies.
16. Likes chick flicks more than his wife likes chick flicks.
17. Occasionally dreams about being a Navy Seal.
18. Ryan is a very generous person. He has a kind heart and is always doing things for people. He usually does it "behind the scenes" because he is not one for that type of attention.
19. Likes the attention where he shocks people. I remember when we were dating there were many "speedo" moments.
20. Can eat the, every flavor of jelly bellies, with the best of them. My old roommate and I fed our then boyfriends (now husbands) the bacon, rotten egg, dirt, etc. jelly bellies and he ate all of them, did not even flinch or spit them out. Just calmly told us how disgusting they were.
21. Is very quietly stubborn.
22. Hates musicals with a passion. (Last year he took me to see Wicked for my birthday. Sat through the entire show without making any comments. That was true love :)
23. Likes to try new places to eat.
24. Loves nice Nordstrom Jeans. In fact he is the one that got me into buying nice expensive jeans (and he looks very good in his jeans).
25. He is a big supporter of me taking time off of work. When I take days off he encourages me to enjoy my day and to not work too hard.
26. He is very logical. I love that about him because I am very emotional. We balance out well.
27. He a wonderful supportive son and brother.
28. Is a great son-in-law. My parents and sister love him.
29. Has a terrific sense of dry humor. Constantly making me laugh.
30. Is and will forever be young at heart.
31. Once wore the same outfit to work for entire year. Just to show his co-workers that he could do it.
32. He is the BEST HUSBAND ever!!!!

Rupert Idaho Trip

2009-07-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July Ryan and I went to see his family in Rupert Idaho, a small farming community. His sister and Brother in Law live there. We enjoyed good food, Fireworks, riding in the local parade and good times with family.

There was one problem though. Ever since Ryan and I have been dating there is always something that goes wrong when we go up to Idaho. Ryan has told me that he has never had any problems until I started going with him. I am starting to think that I am bad luck. Here is a list of the evidence:

First Thanksgiving - Got stuck in traffic. What should have taken us 3 hours took us 6. We were both getting sick so besides sitting in the very, very slow moving traffic we could not talk to each other because it hurt to talk.
Vegas Trip(not Idaho but still to see his family) right before we got married we left San Diego at 9pm thinking we would miss traffic. Nope, we were at a complete stop on the freeway for 2 hours because a tire truck had caught on fire. Finally got to Vegas at 5am in the morning. Should have been there at 1am.
Second Thanksgiving - We thought that since we had a bad experience driving the first Thanksgiving to his parents we would fly. On the way back San Diego airport had too much fog to land. We had to land at LAX. The airline said they would get a bus for us. Over an hour later there was no bus (it was midnight by now), and they told us that we could go to a hotel, be back at the airport by 5am and they might be able to get us on a flight to San Diego at 7am. My Dad eventually came and drove us to San Diego.
New Year's visit - Got stuck in traffic around Vegas again so had to spend the night in Primm. The line for the hotel took so long that we were standing in the sad looking, smoke filled casino for an hour.
Recent Trip for 4th of July- thought we were smart coming back on a Monday. Nope, Ryan's car's mass air flow filter starting to die right after Vegas. We had to turn off the air- conditioning from Vegas to Barstow at 3pm in the afternoon, and we could only go 30-40 miles an hour up the hills. 40 miles if we were lucky. We made it to Rancho, changed the part and the rest of the trip was smooth sailing.

All that said it was a good trip and we had fun. Here are some pictures of the experience.

Ryan at the damn.

Most of us that went to the damn.

Ryan and I got to ride with his Brother in law in the parade because he is the Sheriff. Ryan is in the Sheriff car.

Me in the back, like a criminal.

His family took us to a place called the City of Rocks. It was really pretty and had beautiful rock formations.

Retirement!

2009-06-06T17:42:00.000-07:00

After 36 years of teaching my Mom is retiring this year. I don't know how she did it! She is amazing. I can't imagine doing anything for that long. Last weekend we had a chance to go to her retirement party. Three other teachers were retiring and two of them were here really good friends. It was a good time. It got a little long for Ryan and my Dad but they pulled through. We ate dinner, then each of the teachers got a little presentation from the other teachers in that grade. Then there was a picture presentation, and then there was an open mic for all the teachers. Congrats to my mom.

Here are some pictures from that night.

I LOVE my Husband

2009-05-27T15:57:00.001-07:00

So this past week was not a fun one for me. I got sick, and it sucked. Although it was not fun, I was even more grateful for the man that I married. He is so kind. He pampered me, took care of me, and had just the right amount of sympathy for me while also making me laugh. I love that I can have so much fun with him.

Just felt like posting it because every day I am so much more happy that I married him. It's true what people say. You do grow to love your spouse more. Here are some of my favorite pics of him.

Ryan tries to pretend he is mad but is never very good at it. Makes me laugh. In fact we have contests to see who won't smile first. He always looses (which is so odd because he has the most serious face). Not because I make him laugh but he finds himself so funny that he is constantly cracking himself up. So he is always the one to crack first. He was cracking himself up in this picture.

For the most part does not use a normal smile in pictures. Don't have very many where he is just smiling. For someone who looks so serious, is not serious at all.

Sometimes he is just plain weird and I don't know where it comes from, but I guess that is what keeps it interesting.

Always makes me laugh.

Boise and Graduation

2009-05-27T15:45:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I went up to Boise a few weekends ago to go to his Niece's graduation. It was nice to see family. We had 2 BBQ's and ate at a good pizza place.

We stayed with Ryan's best friend's place. I loved it because they can watch movies together and I can go to bed and not feel guilty for leaving Ryan out there with no one. They also fixed me breakfast 2 days in a row. It was awesome.

Our Life

2009-05-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

I have not blogged in a while. Not because Ryan and I have not been busy, it's just because we are busy with the usual daily grind of work, church and family.

Summary of our life the past few months:

Ryan's brother was really sick so Ryan flew up to Colorado to see him. Found out he a Q-Fever. A bacteria you get when you are around birthing animals. Random. but we were glad that it is treatable.
Church callings are crazy. Just making it through the Sunday's one Sunday at a time. I go to church on Sunday and I never know a certain teacher will be there or if we will have nursery leaders. It does make every Sunday fly by. It's fun though. Never a Sunday like the next.
My mother is retiring. Never thought I would see the day. This year is her last year. Crazy.After my Dad retires hopefully they can go on a mission.
We may be moving but nothing is for sure and everything is up in the air. Will keep you posted later.

I am Grateful

2009-03-10T17:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I heard about HBO and Big Love. They will be showing sacred parts of the temple and the temple ceremony in their next series. It made me sad and mad all at the same time. I am just getting so tired of this. It also concerned because I know that some of my co-workers watch that show and I did not want them to get the wrong idea.

Well today I read the statement from the Church http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma

I have to say that it made me feel a lot better. My dad also emailed me and that made me feel better too. Here is part of his email:

"What would you consider to be the most sacred event in your future. Mine will be to have an encounter with the Savior. If I live uprightly, as fearful as that event might be, it will fill me with rapture and I look forward to it. But what about the wicked and the foolish? When the sign is given and Christ will appear for all the world to see, the wicked and the foolish will feel as if they were naked in front of all humanity because that which is most holy will be revealed and they will literally wish for the mountains to fall on them to hide their shame. If someone wants to discover the temple endowment ceremony, they can find it outside the temple. Books have been published depicting the endowment in detail. Little do the wicked know that they will be held accountable for what they discover and much more those that try to reveal that which is sacred with intent to discredit the Church, Satan will have them for a season and he will not be kind to them.

The Church will continue to grow, and God will change man's and Satan's wicked works for good. Be of good cheer. Nothing can stop the work of the Lord."

I guess now I am more concerned with how I am living my life and what I am doing to make sure that when I see the Savior, I will not be ashamed. I am so grateful for the church and a father, mother and husband who are faithful and teach me so much about the gospel. I guess this experience is teaching me that I still have things that I need to work on, and the Lord will take care of those who have evil intentions so I don't need to worry.

The Best Day of Your Life

2009-03-02T21:34:00.000-08:00

I loved my wedding so I thought I would do this. These are the questions you answer and put a picture to.

1. Wedding Date

2. Where did you get married

3. How long did you date / were engaged

4. Were you a Bridezilla

5. Wedding colors

6. How many bridesmaids

7. Where did you honeymoon

8. Where was your reception

9. Is there anything you regret or would like to redo

10. Did you save your cake top and eat it on your first anniversary

11. How long have you been married NOW

1. We were married on July 12, 2008

2. We got married in the San Diego Temple. It was awesome because I work at the temple and we got married on the same shift that I work...so I knew all the workers at the temple. That was a lot of fun.

3. We dated for 2 years and were engaged for 6 months. Yes, I am a patient women.

4. I don't think I was a bridezilla. I only freaked out once because of money. Called my dad (since he was paying for most if it) and he laughed at me so I felt better. Ryan was an easy groom. He only had one request, that I play a Pantera song at the reception. His request was granted even though it cleared out the dance floor and only him and his brother were dancing... too funny. I also thought I was pretty chill on the wedding day.

5. My wedding colors were red and yellow. I could tell that a lot of people thought they were weird colors when I told them. I thought they turned out nice for a summer wedding.

6. I did not have any bridesmaids. I only had my sister as a Maid of Honor and Ryan's brother was the Best Man. It was easier that way. I had my sister pick out whatever dress she wanted. She took longer finding her dress than I did finding my wedding dress.

7. We went to Montana on our Honeymoon. We went to Glacier National Park. It was so green and beautiful and I got to ride horses, take a helicopter ride and we saw a bear. It was awesome.

8. Our reception was at the Old Town Courtyard Marriott. I loved it because there was an awesome courtyard. Old Town was also a good place for a Mexican like me.

9. My wedding day was perfect and I would not change anything on that day. I would change the day before. I tried to do too much the day before and stressed myself out. My wedding day was a breeze compared to the day before.

10. My Aunt who made my cake did save the top for Ryan and I. We have not eaten it yet because we have not reached a year of marriage. Knowing us we probably won't eat it then either. Too bad, I loved the cake my Aunt made. It was so good. I was sad that I did not get to eat more of it.

11. We have been married 7 months and 19 days.

No Pressure

2009-02-17T12:36:00.000-08:00

I was never a fan of Valentine's day when I was single. One, you were either single so it was single awareness day or two, you were dating someone so it was a lot of pressure. Although I do have to say one of my favorite Valentine's Day was when I was single. Although later that night it sucked because that is the night my car ran away from me with out me in it.

My point - It was very nice not to have the pressure this year with Valentine's Day. Even when I was dating Ryan during the two Valentine's Day we spent together, he was in tax season and was so tired when we went out for dinner. This year, we did not have to buy each other gifts (I would rather go shopping with Ryan and we both get something we want...just my personality) and we had free tickets to go see a STYX concert at the House of Blues. We met up with my co-worker and his roommate and ate pizza in Downtown San Diego. It was a lot of fun :) No pressure and just hanging out with my Husband.

That got me thinking. Maybe I do not care so much about Valentine's Day because Ryan and I hang out with each other all the time. Yes we both work late or on weekends sometimes ( me more lately) and we have meetings for church, but we have no kids yet. Maybe when we have kids (which I would love) I will need more of a Valentine's Day. I guess We will have to wait and see.

PS - Ryan did send me flowers at work on Friday the 13th. Who knew he liked that holiday so much. I am excited for March because there will be another Friday the 13th in March. Maybe I will get flowers for that one as well :)

First Christmas

2009-01-07T16:42:00.000-08:00

This year the the first Christmas Ryan and I spent together. We went to Rancho for Christmas and Idaho for New Years. We had fun. We ate tamales, played Loteria (Mexican Bingo), when to Griffiths Observatory and Olvera Street, and spent sometime at Green Canyon Hot Springs in Idaho. All in all a good time.

My Co-worker also came to my house for Christmas Eve and won the big prize in the Loteria game. The newbies always win the big prizes.

Oh, never spend the night in Primm. We had to spend the night because there was a lot of traffic from Vegas to California. All the workers in Primm are not happy people and do not give good service. I think they are angry that they are not in Vegas.

There are no pictures of Rexburg put some pretty ones of the sunset when we were driving home.

Hair

2009-01-07T16:37:00.000-08:00

I am just posting these 2 pictures because I really like my hair in the the both of them. With naturally curly hair there are not too many good hair days. I need to relish in the ones I have.

Nutcracker Ballet

2008-12-19T10:41:00.001-08:00

For those of you that don't know I am in the Primary in my ward. We have a small Primary but a very lively one. Everyone is always so willing to participate. Sometimes they fight over who gets to say the prayer. I thought I would never see that happen.

Well one of my kids was in the Nutcracker Ballet. I thought I would go and see her. Another girl wanted to go but her mom did not want to, so Ryan and I took her. First we went to Soup Plantation and ate dinner with her family and other friends then off to the Ballet. Ryan handled it pretty well. He did not even play games on his phone...impressive. I love to talk to children. They say the best things. The girl we took is a talker. She made me laugh a lot. Although there was one thing she said that I could not believe. She told me there are First Graders and her school that have an I-phone. Wow! That is ridiculous.

All in all we had a good time. It was a nice because it helped me get in the Christmas Spirit.

5 Month Anniversary

2008-12-12T14:50:00.000-08:00

Today is mine and Ryan's 5 month Anniversary. I thought I would try to celebrate every month to have a good excuse to celebrate. I have forgotten a few months though. Oh well.

Sweat Love

2008-12-11T13:37:00.000-08:00

Ryan has a concave chest. For those of you who don't know what that is, his chest has a little indentation. It is perfect for laying ones head on. Really...I love laying on his chest. My head fits so nicely in the little indentation and my ears don't get smashed.

When Ryan works out, he sweats. He can create different shapes in his shirt with his sweat. This day he created a heart to tell me how much he loved me. I am so glad he communicates his love through his words, actions and sweat.

LA Visit

2008-12-10T13:02:00.001-08:00

Ryan and I went to LA a few weeks ago. We went to the movies with our friend Ean and he took us, to a Thai Restaurant with a singing Thai Elvis. I don't have any pictures of that but it was awesome. My Sister Maria came and ate with us. Then we saw the new James Bond Movie with Ean and his friends. Good times but it was a very fast trip. We did not leave San Diego until 3pm and left LA at 11pm.

Can you tell I make my husband so happy!

New Background-Rock Star

2008-12-04T11:20:00.000-08:00

Well I thought that I would change the Blog background because lets get serious...it was not very masculine. So, I thought I would look under the "Rock Star" heading. I think Ryan secretly wants to be a Rock Star. I hope you love it Ryan. I did it for you again!

The Fog

2008-12-02T17:03:00.001-08:00

Well Ryan and I had a good time in Rexburg. It was awesome! It was 40-50 degrees which was much warmer than last year. The trip there was great. Coming home...not so great. First our flight was delayed 2 hours. Okay, I can handle that. Then when we were up in the air Ryan told me were were flying in circles. I thought that was weird. Soon the Pilot told us that we would not be able to land in San Diego because of the fog. Personally I was okay with this because I know San Diego is a dangerous airport to land in and I was glad they were not putting my life in danger. Then we heard we were going to land in Ontario. I was excited because that is 15 minutes away form my parents house. Then the beginning of the bad news:

1. We landed in LAX (a little after midnight)

2. They told all of us to get our luggage and buses would be there to pick us up and take us to San Diego. When people asked the lady what buses, all she said was "Go get your luggage and I will be down there".

3. An hour later (the lady was not down there) we were told there were no buses.

4. We were told there was one shuttle but it only held 7-9 people.

5. They would give us a hotel room but we would have to be back at the airport at 5am to maybe catch the 7am flight.

Then to show how spoiled I am, I called my Dad and he drove 45 minutes to pick us up. He offered to drive us to San Diego that night but I thought that was a little ridiculous (5 hours of driving for him). He drove us to Rancho. Got there about 3am. Fixed us breakfast in the morning and then drove us to San Diego.

Thanks Dad!

Masculine?

2008-11-18T17:14:00.001-08:00

I looked for a new blog background today and I wanted something that I think Ryan and I would both like. Naturally I looked under masculine blogs backgrounds and found this one! I was so excited because I don't think I could have gotten anymore masculine than this background. (True Story)

Hope you love it Ryan! I did it for you :)

Best Baby Punch

2008-11-12T21:33:00.000-08:00

Back at the beginning of October my Supervisor Vicki had a baby shower. I made a blue punch for the occasion and if I do say so myself it looked so so cute and it was delicious. I hope all my friends have boys because I will make you the best baby shower punch ever!

Umpaloompa

2008-11-12T21:22:00.000-08:00

I got my new Driver's License today. I guess the the DMV thinks I am an Umpaloompa. Here is a picture of my new picture and another picture ( I choose it because I like Ryan's face) of my face with it's natural color.