Hanging with my friends

I've been taking care of my buddies Jonathan and joshua. They are both being a little bit grouchy. But we have been having fun taking crazy pictures of our faces on photo booth. Here are some pics that I want to share with you guys. Jonathan starts school tomorrow. He is entering K-4. Read his mom's blog for more updates. And if she isn't updating, go remind her to do it.

I want to finish by saying, again, that my husband ROCKS my socks off. You are the best baby. Thank you for loving me. muah!

La, la, la ..Relaxin' & Chillin'...

Just finished putting away clothes, watching Shrek, and my most favorite chef/cook is on on the Food Network - Giada deLaurentis. I've been taking care of our friend's, David & Vicky Aguirre, kids. They are the cutest. You can see their picture on Heredes' blog. He took the camera with him, so I couldn't post their pic, but I will later. Our friends, Dave and Vick, are the Student Ministry leaders at our Doral campus and they are super great friends. Thank you guys for dinner last night and entrusting me with your children. I really enjoyed the drop off yesterday at my house :) And, thank you for dinner again tonight. Mahi-Mahi was delicious. And keep up with the blogging.

I had a great last week, great weekend, and it's been a great day today, so far. So thankful!!! Last Friday I got to hang out with two of the most wonderful, most beautiful women I know- which would be my sister Chanti & friend Kristy. They took the time to hang out with a free wife (Heredes was at Orlando). We watched "Becoming Jane". OMG how sad of a love story. The movie was good, hard to understand sometimes because the audio was so bad, but was good. When my sis finishes reading Jane Austen's novels, I think I will start. So, if you are a fan of the author or want to know a little about her life, go check it out.

Heredes got back Friday night and he had such a blessed time. Make sure you read his posts about the speakers at the Willow Creek conference. This is a good spot to give some "props" to my one and only Heredes. My man is just amazing. I'm like speechless of how great he is. I am a very blessed woman to have him as my husband. Trust me, I'm not always smiles. He is an innovator, imageneer, focused on his calling, lover of our God and people, and is everything I could ever need. He is so patient, so fashionable, and to cool to own a Blackberry. (lol) I get so excited when I see how God opens doors for him (us), his discipline, and love for life. Baby, I love you and I am yours FOREVER!!

Okay, now for those who know me, you know that I really enjoy to cook and bake. I have been in the mood to bake and cook all sorts of stuff. My inspiration has been- not all the cooking books I own- but this awesome, incredilbe magazine called Cooking Light. Here is the menu of things I was inspired to try.

On Tuesday night I grilled Salmon, made a nectarine glaze (which I didn't have nectarine jam or nectar, so I used real nectarines), and cooked up a spinach pilaf. I liked the outcome, even though next time it will come out better.

The same night, I made White Chocolate, strawberry (changed for craisins), & oatmeal cookies. Once I started blending the mixture I new this recipe was going to be SIMPLY DELICIOUS. Oh you guys, if you want the recipe I'll give it to you because it is great. I sent the cookies with Heredes to share with the peeps on the trip.

On Saturday, Heredes and I had a breakfast picnic at our pool. I love picnics. I made an egg frittata- the italian version to an omelet. This one came from my head. They are not that hard to make. I diced some tomatoes, added spinach, green peppers, turkey, egg whites (for my cholesterol), and topped it off with a slice of provolne cheese. And don't forget salt and pepper. It was gooood. We had that with some grapes and water. 'Tis was a nice morning.

Oh boy, for lunch I tried cooking with eggplant. It was this sandwich that you grill eggplant slices, purple onion, top it off with 2 slices of tomato, lettuce (I used spinach) and finally spread the breads with an aioli mayonaise. It was different, but very good. It was the first time I have ever cooked eggplant and second time I eat it. Might become one of my favorite veggies.

Lastly, last night I made these banana, walnut, oatmeal muffins. HMMM...Bam!...they were spectacular. Just got home actually from the Aguirre's house and I shared the muffins with them. So, what's next on my recipe list..I'm not sure...Maybe a Jerk chicken with mashed plantains...I'll keep you posted.

The Antology series at church is going GREAT! This weekend's service was incredible. Pastor Troy used the ant, of course, and bread to remind us that just like the ant gathers its grain for future ants to eat (they never eat it because an ants life span is 45-60 days), we are to gather our grains that will be prepared and left for the future generation to eat and live out! God has entrusted each one of us with talents to be used for HIS mission goal: to seek and save that which is lost. Not to be lazy, like the sluggard, and watch our talents disappear into our lazy boy chair. I had to ask myself what am I doing with what God has entrusted me with? Am I even thinking about the future generation that will carry God's name on High? Am I reaching my God potential today? I hope you can ask yourself those questions and answer them honestly and see how much bigger the real picture is. It was so great and I just have to say thank you Pastor Troy for your push on discipline and importance about finding our individual God potential.

Don't forget to click on the MyNakedPastor link and make sure to be part of it in September. It's going to rock! Until next time, goodnight!

Welcome back!

My brother gets here at 5:40 am today. I am so excited. Praying that he gets here safely especially since he is traveling alone....And my Husband gets back at 6:30 pm in the evening. I'm so excited. I just finished playing cards with my parents. My sister joined us for the last 2 games. I lost and cried. I'm such a dork. I got a new book yesterday and I finished the first chapter today. It is really good. Developing the Leader within You by John C. Maxwell. Got alot of stuff to learn and start applying...especially that "teachable spirit" part...I'll write more when I'm done with it. Right now, I'm just happy my bro and hubby are coming back home!!!

Don't forget to check out MyNakedPastor at FRC.

Naked?!

Click here please. :)

With my parents

Last night, Heredes and I went to my parents house. We swam in the pool, my mom cooked dinner, the boys bought us dessert, and we watched Apocalypto. It was a good movie. If you haven't seen, watch it. It's about the Mayan civilizations in Central America and one indian's escape from a crazy, bloodthirsty tribe. I don't want to go into details if anyone out there hasn't seen it yet, but I do recommend it.

While watching the movie, our dog Xena, had a fun time chewing up my new shoes. (well their like 3 months old, but still). So, that fun pic I posted is what she did. She got in big trouble for it.

Our church- Flamingo Road Church- is starting their new series: ANTOLOGY. It's going to be good. So come by and check it out. You can visit FRC for the closest campus and service times. Well, I've been doing a little bit of research on ants. It's amazing how much you can learn when you read. :) During my research yesterday, I read about a species of ants in Asia that are used to heal opened wounds. Hear this out. People attach the ant's pinchers or mandible on the open wounds, rip the body off so only the head stays on, and the ant's head works like stitches. The most exciting thing, though, is that during the movie last night, a little boy cut his leg and his mom was using the ants to stitch up his wound. How cool is that. You read about something interesting and then you get to see it in action. I had to share that because it blew me away. (And I felt so smart bc I was the only one who knew what the mom was doing with the ants. Yay!)

I had a great night with my parents and my hubby. And hope to see you guys at FRC for Antology. God bless!

Peru- Gabo I love you!

My mom and brother went to Lima, Peru about two weeks ago. My brother is actually still there and having a blast! My mom is from Peru. She was born in Iquitos. Yup, the jungle area. Her dad still lives there with his family and my grandmother and the rest of my uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. live in Lima. I was so happy for my mom. She was able to see her mom, which is like the best grandma ever! She was able to visit the FRC campus while she was there. I think I already mentioned this, but I'll say it again:) She invited two of her unsaved friends and they liked it alot. She met Steve & Dorcas & got to chat with them a bit.

My uncle is constantly sending us pictures of what they are up to over there. My uncle took his family, wife and two kids, and my brother to Cajamarca. My uncle made sure to give his kids and my brother a lesson about Cajamarca and then test them on it before they lef to their destination. From what I understand, it is pretty much where the last civilization of the Incas lived before the king surrendered his crown to the Spaniards. It's the northern countryside of Peru. I found a website, if you guys are interested, with some information about Cajamarca

So, there are some pics I am posting so you guys can see my handsome brother (milking a cow, with a parrot on his neck, & with a little boy from the village), beautiful mom (in the dark sweater & white turtle neck), and part of my family (my uncle's wife and two kids, my grandma next to my mom, & my grandma's sister in front of her). I'm happy to be half Peruvian (my other half Venezuelan) and that I am part of a church that is ministering over there. Can't wait until Heredes and I can go. Enjoi!

Days at FRC

So, I am encountering what some would call "writer's block" but I will call it "Blog block". Since I don't really know what to write about, I will write about what I have been doing the past week. I have been visiting my husband at his office up in Cooper City. It has been so fun and incredilble! I have been able to talk to people a bit more and hang around and see how they work and joke around. The atmosphere in the offices are so great. I have had the great opportunity of helping Sharon D. with some of the stage props. She is so creative. I love it! I got to hang out with my dawg Jackie Huetter, soon to be Fuller. Yay! Black magic sisters 4 life yo!!! :) I also learned to cut paper in the cool printing room. It feels like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory in there, just that its all printers & paper machinery. I also helped out for the first time as a lifegaurd on 1st Wednesday. And how can I forget hanging out with my friend Heather P. and chatting on aim..

God is really opening some awesome doors that I am still shocked about. I am so amazed and thankful and totally excited. We had a great staff meeting on Tuesday and Pastor Troy is back! Lot of cool series coming up like Antology and much more.. It's just been a fun week and half here in the office with my husband Heredes.

Oh and i took some time to change the layout of my blog because two people had the same one. Hope you like, because I like it for now at least. And there was a poll for you guys to vote on, but right now it is not working...well, i'm out and maybe i'll have some other stuff to write on my blog that will inspire you ....