Date Night

Had a wonderful date with Laura and the Gargano's from Argentina. BYU men's volleyball and a out-of-this-world pizza at Malawi's. Laura and I had an exquisit Santa Fe pizza, followed by this amazing Berries with Cream dessert pizza. Baby-sitting night for the kids at the Duarte's. Can life get better?

The Flesh is Weak

I have changed my eating habits. For breakfast I have a green smoothie consisting of spinach, kale, beet greens, bits of fruit, and water. Yum (sometimes choke)! No more bread and cheese (my favorite)! I snack on carrots, broccoli, brazil nut, almonds. Drinking lots of water. Dinners are mostly salads, veggies, legumes. Usually I am satisfied. But not last night. I was getting the kids ready for bed when a big, chocolately, fudgy, gooey brownie popped into my mind. I went to the kitchen and ate 4 strawberries and hoped that would take care of it. Nope. I shamefully snuck into Monica's valentine box and ate ALL her Hersey kisses. I confessed to her this morning and apologized. She forgave me (whew!). Why does chocolate have to be so yummy and tempting????? L.

P.S. I would have posted a picture of something chocolatey but there is none left :(

Confusion in the weather department

There may have been some confusion in the weather department up in the 145th floor this morning. Obviously someone did not get the memo that it is almost spring and the flowers are ready to come out. I'm positive this misunderstanding will be corrected soon and we will see the sun come out. I'm just sad for the poor fellow who made this mistake that probably have cost his job, but maybe he's just being transferred to the north pole! He would be a good asset for the company there...

Our Chocolate Eye Girl

Chocolate eye girl, you are so brave! When you got this scooter and took off going the wrong way, I alarmed at the fact that sometimes we all go against the tide, but you took off with your little steps like no one I've ever seen. Without fear, despite of your little size, you submerged into this wonderful world of exploring new things. You do it every day, not only at the skate ring, but everywhere you shine those chocolate eyes and move those little legs as to say: "Step aside, here I come!"

From How to Make an American Quilt

"Young lovers seek perfection. Old lovers learn the art of sewing shreds together and of seeing beauty in a multiplicity of patches."

Vuelve hijo mio

¿Por dónde caminas mi hijo?

¿Adónde fuiste con tus sueños de niño?

Te recorrías hablar de tus maestrías,

Y de las noches en que no dormías.

La música de tu sonrisa llenaba el aire tan dulce.

El calor de tus abrazos ya no siento.

¿Adónde fuiste cariño mío?

Aun ayer te vi llorar por la vereda,

Y querer volver a tu cuna.

¿Porque no vienes por la noche?

¿Porque buscas la sombra del árbol que se muere?

Los días son largos sin tu mirada,

Y quietas las loches de la distancia.

Ayer pensé en tu dolor,

Y cuando llorabas por no tener todo.

Hoy pienso en tu silencio,

Y el mundo que todavía no ves.

Te parecerá que el cielo te llama,

Y veras una mañana de primavera,

Llena de las flores que te hacen sonreír.

¿Dónde estás hijito mío?

Vuelve a los días en que te llamabas el rey.

Acércate de mis brazos que jamás te echarán.

Eres más que el rio que pasa y se seca,

Sois más grande que el pájaro que vuela al infinito,

Sois el hijo de mi amor eterno.

Vuelve a casa mi chiquito,

Vuelve que te cuido.

10 plus years ago...

This picture was taken at the end of a long day. I drove my big fat green van to the shores of Bear Lake, to find about 100 or so of Laura's relatives. It was a sunny day. The water was freezing. The food was good. The company interesting. Everyone tried so hard to make me feel welcome. I can still remember the feeling of being accepted. It felt like when you embrace your best friend. Well, exactly like it.

food or zzzzzzzz

Food and sleep. Both essential to sustain life. At certain times though, you have to make a choice. Which one will it be? Do you know of any food that tastes as good as sleep feels? I didn't think so.

Dear Morning

Dear Morning that comes so deeply to my life
I want to tell you how proud I am for being  loved by you
The days are better than ever because of your gentle breeze
Your sunrise makes me invincible
Your silence is a melody to my ears
It is so easy to love you when you laugh
It is so easy to love you when you cry
You came after the sorrow and solitude
I will remember this forever
You came to wake me up
Singing the songs of love
And nobody did it like you
It is night again and all I can do is wait for you
Then the light will shine in the dark
And your music will break the silence
It was so easy to love you
Because you loved me too

A day in the life of an MBA student

The alarm goes off at 6 in the morning. I get up and prepare my stuff for the day. At 6:30 I get Monica up and we read scriptures with Laura. At 7 I'm out the door headed to the Smithfield house: it's time for some exercise. I run for about 30 minutes and then go to the gym for another 15. At 8 I have racquetball class. It's a good time to get rid of any frustrations I may have. Right after racquetball class I take a shower at the RB building and head to the Tanner building (the Marriott School of Management). With the fun part of the day out of the way, it's time for some grilling. I open my laptop and check my schedule for any readings, homework, quizzes, or whatever is due that day. I have two hours to work on those. At noon I go to the MBA lounge and have lunch with friends.

At 12:30 I have my first class and at 2 pm I have the next one. It's back to back torture as the professors love cold calling students with questions you never thought about.

At 3:30 it's time for group meeting to discuss upcoming projects. This could take anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hours. I check on Laura and the kids every once in a while, but by this time of day I'm missing them. At around 5 Laura calls me to check my schedule and make plans for dinner. I usually tell her I'll be in school for another hour or two, but sometimes I tell her it will be a long night. Some projects take longer than others, and there are meetings all over the place. I’m convinced people love meetings.

On a good day I'm home by 6:30 and then I play with the kids until Laura tells me I'm being too rowdy. I'm usually the dinosaur and they are the hunters. It's rough on my back but refreshing on my mind. We put the kids in bed by 7:30 or 8 and sometimes there is time for a movie. That's a good day! Last night I left the Tanner building at 10:30 pm, and I wished I had finished what I had started, but that only means there's more today.

Cell-phones and Life!

I lived in a time with no cell phone and no internet! I know, it's hard to believe it. How could anyone not hear from a friend for more than... well... 1 hour?! And what about the net? How could anyone not know what as going on in the world for more than... umm... 10 mins?! The truth is, we have the world on our fingertips, and what do we do with it? I'll tell you what we do: we close ourselves in our empty closets, believing we are out there with the waves and the zings and the zaps of our electronic universe. There was a time when I walked for 30 mins just to talk to a friend. It gave me time to think what to tell her. There was a time when a letter was a meaninful testament so much richer and complete than a text message will ever be. And yes, it took days to get there, but it created this hard-to-explain world of dream and fantasy. Cell phones have made it easier to talk to our friends, but I miss the days we spent hours on the phone, catching up with things, since we had so much to talk about.

Sunday Will Come

"Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.

No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come."

Elder Wirthlin - October 2006 Conference

Quilt in Progress

Laura has been working on this beautiful quilt with the MBASA group. MBASA is the MBA spouse association here at BYU. Isn't it cute? Monica and Arthur are helping with the pins. Cita tried to sew her own finger, lucky the machine was unplugged.

Cooking like a pro!

I just made dinner for the family! I made beef stir-fry with rice and a spinach salad on the side. It was good, although it wasn't as good as Laura's. Anything she touches turns yummi. Now we're trying to get the kids to agree. They're scared of anything that's green, red, or yellow, unless it involves fruit loops! Tomorrow is valentine and Laura has done it again! She has stolen my heart. How I wish we could be in Moolack Shores, Newport Beach, Oregon, where it all started.

You are growing so much!

Our baby Monica is not a baby anymore! She looks so big and so full of energy. She is still daddy's girl, and mommy is still trying to win her over. But one thing is for certain: Cuca is an awesome girl! We couldn't be prouder of her.

When will it all end?

The kids are burning with fever and nightmares. It is the battle of the century for our little soldiers, who are fighting their viruses with the strength of their little soldier bodies. Running noses and coughs are the music we've been listening. Close windows separate us from the sub-zero temperatures outside, keeping it all inside. Laura and I are ready for a change. We want to feel the ocean breeze running through the curtains of an open window. We want to feel the warmth of the sand underneath our sandals and wet swimming-suits. I want to go home!