Oh Christmas Tree...

So now that it is after Thanksgiving we have decided to put up the tree. Everytime we do it together I wonder the hell did I ever do it by myself in the past. Elena of course just had to help us so there are a lot of ornaments on the tree that don't got past the 3 foot mark lol. It looks like we will need a new tree after this year. This tree has been thru the gauntlet and it may be time to retire it. My mom had it for about 3 years before we got married and when we moved we took it with us since she was so adamant about having a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree from there on out. So far this tree has stood in 4 different homes in the last 7 years all across the country. I think we got our (or rather moms money worth) lol. Here are some pictures.





Of course I had to add a picture of Elena sleeping next to the tree once we were done lol. Til next time!!!!

Thanksgiving....

Has once again come and gone. We had such a great Thanksgiving. It was just us,The Macgregors, and our other friends Ashley and her daughter Sarahbeth. It was so great to have our friends here and it also makes us realize just how lucky we are, not just because we have each other, but because we have wonderful friends and extended family as well.We had a wonderful spread that lasted a few days even though we've sent people home with food lol. Elena helped me with the pumpkin cheesecake and with some other stuff. She also helped Ray with the turkey. She has so much fun in the kitchen, I wonder if I have a chef on my hands....

Here are some pics:


Elena being the oh so cute chef that she is...













Here she was helping me make a pumpkin cheesecake which came out great!!











She was so great a "giving turkey a bath" except when she kept trying to wash the seasoning off of it lol.








It's wondeful to see how much she is growing, not only physically but as a person. I try to appreciate it not only on Thanksgiving, but all year long. She and Ray are the only things in my life that keep me going. I love my family.
All in all, it was an absolutely wonderful holiday!!! Now time to get ready for Christmas!!!

Christmas decorations

Today we have decided to get our Christmas decorations ready since Thanksgiving is literally around the corner and we want to put them up right after. Well I have been feeling a bit artsy and decided to paint some decorations. In doing so, I have obtained a certain little helper to help me with all my painting needs. She got a little carried away though lol.
She insisted on wearing a smock so we put one of Ray's old shirts on her. How cute is she??


Painting a santa she so affectionately named Penguin


She was so focused


Then she started painting herself....


Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!

United States Coast Guard Foundation Dinner

So on November 12th, we got a sitter and went to the Annual USCG Foundation Dinner. We had such an awesome time!!! This is the first time Ray and I have been to anything formal. Everything was grade A and it was wonderful. We had the tastiest hor'deuvres, top shelf liquor, filet mignon that you could literally cut with a butter knife, delicious chocolate mousse, and let's not forget the endless Moet champagne and chocolate covered strawberries....oh goodness my waistline is expanding again just thinking about it! We had such a good time and lots of good company. We've had the pleasure of meeting true war heroes...some were old veterans who loved to share stories and some were young, wounded but very much in high spirits. It was an amazing night in so many ways. Here are some pics dressed up. Can't wait to go again next year!!



Ray in his dinner dress blues minus his cover and white gloves


Me in my red dress! (Ray picked it out)


Me just taking pictures on the way home...lol

It's that wonderful time of year again!!!!

Ok ok, so I am not a huge Halloween fan.....until now! Elena and Ray had sooo much fun today that I can't wait for next year. Elena originally was supposed to be tinkerbell but she has a growth spurt and couldn't fit the costume so we had to let her pick out a costumer at party city and she insisted on this cheap gown and then got mad when it covered her shoes lol. So I made a few alteration and viola! my baby had a unique costume and in her words she was a "giant princess".

Here is Elena in all her giamt princess glory lol



And here is my absolute favorite pic!

This is our first Halloween all together and the 3 of us couldn't be happier!

Since there are over 50 pics of our Halloween I figure I would just post them on Facebook and you can all take a look. Here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=35380&id=1551707366&l=f7a4c16b7f

In the last week I also celebrated my 25th birthday...(+3). Since it was a Monday and I had to work at night, Ray took the day off. Unforunately, that morning I needed to get to the doctor's but after that it turned out to be a great day. We did some shopping and then went to see Law Abiding Citizen (good but crazy movie). Then we picked up Elena and went to Macaroni Grill. It was low key but we had such a good time. I love spending time with my family.

So in a nut shell there isn't much going on but we are having lots of fun just enjoying life in Florida and being together.

Ok so it's been a while......

I know it's been a while but the last few weeks have been very hectic. I have started working both jobs and I truly love it. I miss being busy and productive. I know many people think I am not making time for my family but it is simply not true. I see Ray when I get home from work and we pick up Elena early so we have a few hours of family time and dinner and then I go to work. I am not working on the weekends so I spend all weekend with her. Anyway, we are all doing great with the new schedule and I am so happy. Today was a great day. After a long talk and realizing it is no longer easy to get by with one car we decided to get me an early birthday present and bought a car!!!! I am in love!!!!


2009 Nissan Altima



I love Altimas and I am so happy to be getting one again. Now Ray can have his truck back lol.

We also went to Planet Jump today because Elena has been doing so greatwith the potty training. We had so much fun and I felt like a kid again just jumping around in a bounce house. It was definitely an awesome day and I see a special little someone having a birthday party there soon! (not me!) lol

I've been busy!!!

So I've been busy for the last few days. On Saturday I flew to NY to attend my grandmothers funeral. It was a beautiful service and burial. There were so many people there to see her and for that I am thankful, it just shows how loved she was. I flew back home on Tuesday morning dead tired because I decided to go out the night before with my cousins for one last night out. We had so much fun and I really needed it. I feel like I am amongst the living again and I am so happy. I have a job now which started on the day I returned. So far I really like it. I work for Brighthouse network. I was also offered the job thru United Health Group. Because I am still in the training stages and the training schedules do not conflict I am going to do both for the time being and see which one I like better. I know that if I don't do this, I will truly regret it and Ray will have to hear about it for weeks lol. Ray doesn't mind that I work at night but I do. We have discussed it and I made it perfectly clear that as long I can see my family for an hour or two a day I am happy. So this is pretty much what we are working on right now.

Going to NY was great despite the circumstances. I got to see my mom, and she got to see how happy I am now that we live in Florida....and my tan. I am much happier, I am healthier, and I have a life. I couldn't ask for anything more!!

Oh and one more thing!! I went Red!!! My new happiness has a new hair color!!!

I've had better days....

Today is 09-09-09. Lots of people seem to be excited about the date although I have no clue why. On Sunday we went to Sector St. Pete where they had an Olympic sized pool outdoors along with grills and had fun bbqing with other Coastie Chicks and their families. It's nice to finally be able to go out and do thinks like that, I am still not used to it but I am certainly enjoying it.

Now on to the sad news: My maternal grandmother passed away. She was actually the only grandparent I have ever known since the other 3 all passed away before I was born. I honestly don't know how old she was but what's important now is that she is pain free and in a better place. Here she is pictured with my little cousin Erik.



Rest In Peace
Francisca "Panchita" Rivera
September 8, 2009

Hello All!!!

Today is the beginning of the Labor Day Weekend and what a great relaxing weekend it will be! It's such a beautiful day that we plan on spending it probably bbqing and going to the pool.......BUT this morning I got bored. Elena seemed to be in such a great mood so I asked her if I can do her hair and she got so excited she ran into my bedroom to go into my bathroom which is really weird since I don't usually do her hair there. Here are some pics:

Look at what I did


So it's not the greatest but YOU try and get a 2 1/2 year old to sit still and make her enjoy it lol.

Look how long her hair is!





She had so much fun letting me do her hair, she was singing to me and trying to hold a conversation as if she were in a real hair salon which is so weird cus she has never been in one lol.

I think I'll have her be Princess Jasmine just so I could do her hair like that for Halloween. What do you think??

Send me Good Job Vibes!!!!!!!

So tomorrow I go to my "3rd" interview with United Health Group. I really hope I get this job. It pays well, it offers advancement and we could definitely use the extra income! Use lose a lot of money when you move from Alaska to Florida or rather anywhere in the continental US. The first day I had to do a 2 hour testing. Out of 10 people, only 4 got selected for phone interviews which I am so happy that I was one of those people. I had my telephone interview yesterday and it seemed to have went well because about an hour afterwards I received a call for a face-to-face interview. So keep your fingers crossed that I get hired!!!

I received Elena's school picture today. It's truly amazing how much she has changed.

This first pic is her less than a year ago (Oct 08)

...and this was her in July of this year


My little girl is no longer a little girl. She is a big girl, one with her own opinions, ideas, and thoughts. Sometimes I forget that she is only 2 1/2 years old because she acts like an older child and sometimes I look at her and wonder, "where has my baby gone?". This morning she told me something that I thought I would not hear for a few more years, she said "mommy, I'm gonna be busy at school. I see you later. I love you." I was almost in tears!!!

Now moving on to things that don't make me cry! Last night we made Ahi-Tuna with Citrus-Cilantro Vinagraitte. It looked beautiful, however I do not care for fish, especially when it's mixed with citrus. If you don't like this combo either, then make sure you stay away from this dish. However, if you don't mind the mixture, you will probably love it, just like Ray did. Here are some pictures:






Remember to send me those vibes cus I'm going to need them!!!!!!!

What a great weekend

It's the end of another weekend....and I am so looking forward to the week ahead. This weekend I find out about the brighthouse network job, and i also have an interview at United Health Group.

Even though I am looking forward to the week ahead, we had an AWESOME weekend! Since Ray's birthday was in the middle of the week, we celebrated this weekend. We went to the Tampa Improv, where we saw Sommore. She was hilarious! It was a great show! Afterwards, we took a walk around Ybor City for a little bit and then went home.

This is what we found when we came home:


Elena got the babysitter to lay down with her and they both ended up falling asleep lol. Meanwhile this was us in Tampa:



And of course me taking pictures of myself lol


Today we had a bbq. We had over a few people mainly from the gym, our neighbors and landlord. We have been truly blessed with wonderful neighbors and such outstanding landlords. Elena had fun with Grace, our landlords 5 year old and Madison, our neighbors 10-year old. However, her poor room will need lots of TLC from me tomorrow cus it's wrecked!!! Oh and I know it's a shocker but I wore a dress today! Here are a few pictures from today.



This is what happens when you let a 5 year old and a 2 1/2 year old play dress up unsupervised




Elena yelling cheese!


TILL NEXT TIME!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Ray!!!!

So I haven't been on here lately cus our lives aren't that interesting but I did want to write about today. Today is Ray's 32nd birthday!!!! This is the 1st time in 5 years I can celebrate his birthday with him and I am so happy about that! Today started out as any other day he is on leave. We woke up, took Elena to "daycare", and went to the gym. After getting back and freshening up we went to the movies, we saw Inglorious Basterds. I'm pretty indifferent about the movie so I won't get into that but we had a nice day together. We picked up Elena from daycare and came home and had some spinach pizza. (Neither one of us wanted to cook lol) I made chocolate cupcakes and they seemed to be loved by everyone in the Surita household.

Elena singing Happy Birthday to Ray


Elena enjoying her oh so big cupcake!


Me and the birthday boy


The two most important people in my life


As far as the rest of the week went, we made two different dinners. Last night we had Lemon glazed chicken over rice which I didn't get to take a pic of because we were so hungry, we didn't remember until we were already done lol. On Sunday night we made Penne with spinach and ham. It tasted very good and we made enough to last 2 days. I love those kinds of meals!!

Penne with spinach and ham


I'm starting to notice a lot of these meals look alike but they all taste so different from each other and unique in their own way.

On Saturday we went to Ray's aunt and uncle house. Cookie and Johnny are the nicest people I have ever met. We had so much fun and it's really nice to finally have family nearby. Forgive me for not having too many pictures of that day, I forgot my SD card home so I can only get two pictures on the camera.

Elena and daddy playing in the pool


Even while it started raining she still found a way to play and have fun!


I promise to take more pictures next time!!!!!

Recap of our week

So it's been kind of a busy week for me. I've been doing a lot of working out and concentrating on my diet because this weight just has to come off. I have cut my caloric intake down to 1200-1500 a day. I've already lost 2 lbs in the last few days! Yay me! We are still on the healthy eating thing but I have added a twist to it. I have decided that not only will I do 1200-1500 calories a day but I will have to have at least 25 grams of fiber a day. I found so many tasty things that are high in fiber that are helping me with my diet but I will tell you that if you have never done a high fiber diet and want to try it, do it slowly. Your stomach will thank you!

So here are some of the meals we made over the last few days for anyone who may want a recipe or two.

Wednesday night we had Pork Lo Mein


Thursday night we had Curried Turkey Stir Fry served over brown rice



Since today is Friday we didn't cook, we just ordered spinach pizza from CiCi's pizza. Scoff and make faces all you want but it is really good! Elena loves it more than regular pizza! Anyone who knows Elena knows how much she loves pizza!

Tomorrow we are going to Ray's aunt Cookie's house and we decide to bake her some cookies. Elena and I made cake mix cookies and they came out really delicious (I only had one I swear!) Here are some pictures of her helping me make them and the final result.







We also took some over to our neighbors house along with a birthday gift for their daughter. I love any excuse to bake!! lol.

So I finally tried it!

Yes that's right I finally tried it! I finally ate fish! In my 27 years I can honeslty say I have not eaten fish more than once or twice but Ray has been pushing me to try it so after 4 years of him pushing it I finally gave in. Tonight we made Cuban style Tilapia Salad. It was absolutely delicious! What's so great is that these meals only take about 30 minutes each. We even made the dressing for this particulr meal. I'm liking this whole healthy eating. We eat till we are full but not that over exhausted full you get when you eat bad food and you know you've done wrong and need a serious nap lol. I also found a gret new 100 calorie pack snack from South Beach Diet. It tastes just like Famous Amos cookies. There aren't too many in there but what do you expect for 100 calories? Oh and the best part? It has 20% of daily fiber. Thats a BIG plus! Anyone who has looked in my pantry knows I love the high fiber stuff! I am still trying to work out in the mornings and also trained with a trainer today. I'm trying to stay motivated and get myself back in a shape thats not round!

So here was Elena helping again and the final result:




I don't know how I feel about trying other kinds of fish but this will definitely be making another appearance in the Surita household again!

Wish me luck!

Ok so I need some good luck vibes because I just interviewed for a job with Brighthouse. For those who don't know what Brighthouse is, it's the local phone, cable, and internet company (no, it's NOTHING like GCI!). They actually have really great service and will even send people out to your house on Sunday! GASP! I know it's unheard of, especially if you've lived in Kodiak, AK but yes there is actual service like that. So wish me luck! I hope I get it! I've applied to over a 100 jobs and have had only 5 interviews. The worse part? I'm doing better than some other people looking for a job, I've heard people entering 50-100 resumes and not hearing anything so I am going to take what I can get!

I've also worked out today. YAY ME!!!! I have been working out almost every weekday morning at like 645, and I train twice a week on top of that for an hour each time. I'm so proud of myself. I was gonna go this afternoon too and I actually got there but I ran into Crystal, my trainer and by the time she and I were done running our mouths Ray was done working out and we had to go lol.

Tonight we made mushroom and spinach fettucini. I must tell you it was absolutely delish! It taste a lot like fettucini alfredo without all the fat in the alfredo sauce. Who knew there were so many healthy alternatives? The best part? All of these recipes only take 30 minutes or less! I don't know what we are having tomorrow night but I can't wait!



Elena LOVED it too!




Ok, I must go now, a certain little potty trainig monster who is walking around in my heels has decided to pee in them! Oh the joys of motherhood!

Our Lazy Sunday

So today was just a lazy day for us. Its our day of rest and our way to recoup for the week ahead. Ray for work, Elena for daycare, and me........for going out to bars where people dance ON the bar lol. It was absolutely wonderful not having to leave the house, not because I didn't have a choice but because it WAS my choice (if that makes sense). It actually was such a lazy family day that Elena cooked dinner lol. She has so much fun helping in the kitchen. It's wonderful to be able to do these kinds of things with her. I'm thinking next weekend we will bake some cookies! I am sure she would love to do that!

This is Elena preparing the marinade


Now she is putting the meat in the marinade



She is making sure the meat is fully covered with the marinade


She is so helpful and had so much fun cooking. This is definitely a great way to spend some quality family time together.

And viola! This is the final masterpiece! Korean BBQ Ribs!! (THANKS JENNY!)



The ribs were great and we paired it with white rice and a side salad. Ok, so it may have not been the healthiest meal but we have been substituting regular products with their lighter versions. We can't give up all the things we like! What's the point in being healthier if you can't enjoy it??