Merry Christmas!!

I was very prepared for Christmas this year, I made up my list early and gave it to my mom in late October and she was thrilled well, not really. Today turned out to be a great day. The weather has been nice despite the 6 days of straight rain last week, which I had no problem with, I love the rain. This morning was nice a chilly and my mom and I opened presents. My mom got me some great gifts, she got me the complete first season's of the "Vampire Diaries" and the "Office", the Harry Potter 2011 calendar :), some pajama shirts and comfy socks, a purse, a Wii fit for our Wii console, and some other goodies. It was interesting how we got our Wii console, we got it for free!!!, a friend of my moms gave it to us when she found it in her neighbors yard. I had opened all of those and we sat and ate some cinnamon rolls from Cinnobon (yum!!), I got up to go and put my presents in my room and came back to find two more surprises - an Ipod Classic and some new headphones! It was a really great surprise, I had been talking about getting a new Ipod for quite some time and then my mom could have my old one. We've had a few problems sorting out how to get two Ipods on one computer and spent about almost two and a half hours fixing it and only gotten it half fixed. But other than that it has been a great day. We ended our Christmas day with a nice steak dinner and rain :) Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year :)

Kitchen Painting

It's amazing how a new coat of paint can make everything seem so new and make everything so much better. In June my mom decided to repaint the kitchen, we thought it was time and we were getting tired of the yucky brown color. We debated for a while on the color because we had to chose a color that would cover the wall paper. So we came to a decision to paint the cabinets black and the wall white. We started off slowly because we did not know how it would turn out and there was a lot more prep work then expected. I would do some of the prep work during the week and my mom and I would paint on the weekends. The first thing we wanted to do was pull up the floor (we also decided to put on a new floor). We started on the area above and below the stove and it was turning out very nice, then moved onto the area below the sink. Once that was done we started on the cabinets above. It took us quite a while to do everything, by late October we had the area of the fridge to do which was a big area and the floor. Painting the wall white was kind of tricky, but we covered it with lots of layers of primer and white. We made it a goal to be done by Thanksgiving cause I was having friends over for dinner. A week before Thanksgiving my mom put the floor in and bought some nice curtains and we were done. We were happy the way it turned out and that we were finally done :)

During

After

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt1 "

  Kimberly and I went to see "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" this morning and it was amazing. I think that it was the best movie of the series. It was true to the book which was great and since there are two parts why not stay true to the book. I really enjoyed it, it had a great combination of drama, comedy, and suspense. I loved watching all the special effects that were in the movie. I was captivated throughout the whole movie, I jumped, I laughed, and even cried. It was weird not seeing the comforts of Hogwarts since 'Harry', 'Ron', and 'Hermione' are on the run from Voldermort and the Death Eaters. I had some of my favorite moments: When 'Harry' was transported to the Burrow(where 'Ron' lives) and the others were transformed into Harry's to throw of the Death Eaters. When the main three went into the Ministry as workers to try to obtain something and to find more information (I am not going to go into further detail) Also, when 'Harry' and 'Hermione' went to Godric Hallow I was in suspense then too and jumped when the snake struck from nowhere at the opening at the top of the stairs. I got teary eyed a few times when 'Hedwig' (Harry's Owl) died protecting him from the killing curse. Can someone please tell my WHY!?!?! HEDWIG NO!!!. I was sad to see her die, I loved that Owl but I was grateful that she went quickly . When 'Dobby' died I could feel the tears come I loved that Elf too and I am getting teary eyed again just thinking about it right now. The performances was awesome as always Dan, Rupert, and Emma did a really good job. Rupert was so funny, I love his character. Helena Bonham Carter once again stole the show at ever scene that she was in, she is amazing at playing 'Bellatrix Lestrange'. I will definitely be going to see it again, hopefully soon. I cannot wait for Part 2, to see how they portray the rest of the book in the movie and I am really excited to watch the final battle. I am sad knowing that the end of this series is almost upon us. I always get excited when a new 'Harry Potter' movie is coming out, it is the best movie series ever.

Birthday Dinner

I had my birthday dinner with my church friends yesterday at Elephant Bar. My evening started out with me and my friends who I went to the restaurant with having to make a pit stop at my friends house to drop off the cake. My mom told me that it was too hot to leave the cake in the car like I had originally planned. That pit stop caused us to be late and anyone who knows me knows that I hate to be late where ever I go, but it wasn't a big deal. As the evening began I relaxed and started to have fun. My dinner was good and everyone else seemed to enjoy their food too. I opened a gift from Kimberly, her brother Brandon, and sister-in-law Christine cause they were not able to stay for cake I got Twilight stuff: a few key chains, pins, and a 'Team Jacob' thermos. The Twilight stuff would go great with the wolf earrings that Lisa and Rachel bought me when we went to the Santa Monica Pier :) Everyone had a good time talking and eating. After we were done with dinner some of us headed to Katie's house to have cake. I bought my cake from Wal Mart and it turned better than I had imagined and everyone thought it was so cute. I bought number candles and my friends were joking that they wanted to make me 52 lol, I wanted to go younger either 2 or 5 depending on my maturity level to which Karina replied that I should be 5 (thanks Karina :)) After cake I opened the rest of my presents from Yinna and Katie. Yinna got me a journal and Katie got me body spray and wash, earrings, and a few accessories. We played games for the rest of the night mostly some of us played on Katie's Wii. It was getting late so Karina and I decided to leave. I had such a great time and I was grateful that I was able to spend time with such great people. This has been the best birthday by far :)

My beautiful cake

Me and my friends at the restaurant

Me and my beautiful cake

The cake with the candles I hated having to cut into it

Happy Birthday to Me!!

It feels like only yesterday that I had turned 24 and had all my friends over for a BBQ. Where does the time go? I ask myself that all the time just thinking how fast the year has flown by. Today I celebrated my 25th birthday and I had such a great day. I woke up in the morning to a surprise, Betty left a balloon on my door. I knew that there was something on my door because I heard her put something on it but the didn't stop me from getting scared when I opened the door. Also, I found a 'Happy Birthday Jessica' banner hung up in the dining room. The day was like any other day, I just lounged around the house doing nothing but today seemed different because I didn't feel guilty about doing it :) haha. Throughout the day I got birthday texts from friends and family. Mostly from family and friends that live far away, it was nice to hear from them and take the time to wish me a Happy Birthday. My mom was able to come home early from work and Betty made me my favorite dinner Milanesa ( I could eat that forever) We had dinner together and after waiting a whole entire day I just had to open my presents. I got everything that I had asked for with a few surprises in between. From Betty I got make-up and a chime from her, her daughter and her two gran daughters, it was really pretty. From my mom I got the two new 'Vampire Diaries' books (which I am going to start reading the moment I wake up tmw) the complete first season of 'Glee', and a pillow pet in shape of a dog. My mom's logic of thinking that by giving me the dog it will stop me from bugging her to get a real one, it's not doing to happen :) After spending time with family I went to my churches activity and got Happy Birthday's there too. I had such a great day and sometimes I do forget how lucky I am. To be surrounded by such great people who are great examples to me of love and faith is just truly inspiring. I am grateful to be at a point now where I love my life, family, and friends I feel complete. But the celebrating is not over yet and I still have plenty more to do :)

My surprise Balloon...

and banner

Me with all my gifts :)

Here the all are after being opened :)

Santa Monica Pier

Yesterday I went to the Santa Monica Pier with Rachel, Lisa, and James for my birthday. It was the first time that I have ever visited the Pier and I have always wanted to go. So I thought what a perfect time to go. We arrived at the Pier in the afternoon it was still foggy out so I wasn't able to get any good pictures. Before we ate lunch I decided that we should go on our first ride so Rachel, Lisa, and I went on the Scrambler just to be on the safe side. It was so much fun and Rachel even plowed into me at one point but I guess I asked for it when I told her to let go of the edge she was holding onto. After the ride we went to eat lunch at an English pub that was down there. We headed back to the Pier and went on the Roller Coaster it did not go very fast but it still threw us around like a couple of rag dolls. When it came to the end there was no one else in line so we got to go twice, it was so much fun. Before we left we just had to hit up the Arcade and play a few games and got a cool prize with our ticket winnings. We were at the Arcade for a good while and decided it was time to leave before we spent anymore money and headed home. I had such a good time and I was glad that I was able to spend some time with my friends.

I got one good picture when we got there

The Scrambler our first ride
Lisa, Me, and Rachel at lunch
It was clear enough to get a good shot
Photo op before the coaster
Rachel and I played a game of Air Hockey and I won 7-5 :)
James and I got to shoot Zombie Pirates, it was a lot of fun
Lisa and Rachel played to0.
For our prize plastic fangs, I know were a couple of dorks :)

Descanso Gardens

Katie and I went to Descanso Gardens in La Canada earlier today and it was so beautiful. Our birthdays are 9 days apart hers is on the 11th and mine is the 20th of September, so we decided to do something fun just the two of us. It was so pretty looking at the different gardens that they had. We just spent the time walking around looking at the different gardens and taking pictures. It was such as nice day. The last two days it looked like it might rain so I as afraid that it might today but it turned out to be really nice. We ended the day with lunch and we had a really good time.

The first area that we saw

Me and KatieMy Favorite PictureSome pictures of flowers:

My Summer

Before I tell you about my Summer I must ask where does the time go? I cannot believe it is the end of August. It was really funny, at the beginning of August Kimberly was driving me home from church I mentioned it was August already and she sounded surprised. She did not believe me and checked her phone to see and was shocked to find that I was right. We were both surprised at how fast the year had blew by. Before we know it it will be 2011. I think I have rambled on enough let get to my fun summer activities:

My Summer got off to a rocky start as I got let go of my job. I must admit I was angry and sad as it happened so sudden. But, I know that everything happens for a reason. I light of everything it freed me up to have the best Summer I have ever had. I spent the Summer hanging out with friends, going to the beach, and doing other fun activities. Hanging out with friends mostly consisted of seeing the top Summer movies. 'Eclipse' was my first Summer movie. I went to go see it with Kimberly and Katie as stated in my earlier entry. 'Despicable Me' I saw with my friends Katie and Hannah. I tried so hard to wait until it was in the Dollar Theater but I couldn't wait. It was so cute I couldn't help but cry. 'Dinner with Schmucks' I saw with Katie, it wasn't as funny as I thought but it had its good moments. I was not planning on seeing 'Step Up 3', but as soon as I found out it had some dancers from 'So You Think You Can Dance' I had to see it. I saw it with Hannah and Katie. Poor Katie I'm surprised that she isn't sick of me yet:) 'The Other Guys' I saw with Karina it was the best and funniest movie of the Summer. I found a new love for a T.V. show 'The Office' it is so hilarious. The Summer does have its downfalls as my favorite T.V. shows are on rerun:(. But, on the other hand when it is Summer then that means the return of my favorite reality show 'So You Think You Can Dance' this season was the best season they have had with so many great dancers and great routines. This season they tried something different where they invited dancers from previous seasons to pair with with the new dancers. I like it it was nice to see some of my favorite dancers come back. Also this Summer I have done something that I never thought I would do in a million years: teach Sunday School for church and this Summer I was called to be a Gospel Principles teacher. I was grateful for the calling as I hope that it was give me a chance to come out of me shell a little. Everyone says that I am doing a good job and it puts me more a ease now when I teach. This Summer has been awesome weather wise. It has only been starting to get hot this week. My Summer has started winding down these past couple of weeks as my friends has gone back to school. It was a great Summer and I was glad that I was able to spend some time with my friends. My birthday is coming up and I have a lot of cool things planned I want this one to be special since it's a special number 25!! So I will write about that next time.

Newport Beach

Monday's are beach days for Katie and her friends we went to Newport beach. I had been to Newport beach before but this beach is up north close to Laguna beach. Emily had been there last Monday and said that is was so nice so went all went there instead of Seal Beach. It was such a beautiful beach with tide pools for the kids and great surroundings of houses and rocks. It was overcast when we got there so it was nice and cool, so most of the kids had fun playing in the tide pools. It was not crowded at all when we arrived so that was nice and we were able to get a nice spot closer to the water. Everyone had a good time and even though it was overcast it still did not stop me from getting sun burned. We are planning to go there next week too.

Mallory had a good time, she was so good

Kaleigh and Jennica enjoying the waves

Kaleigh, Maddie, and Ella at the tide pools

"Eclipse"

After almost a year of anticipation I got to see "Eclipse" this morning with my friends Kim and Katie I had so much fun. I loved this movie a lot and I thought it was way better then the other two. The action in this one was great with so many great stunts and special effects. I enjoyed the back stories of 'Rosalie' and 'Jasper', I was interested at how they were going to portray it. It was also good to see 'Bella' have time with them something different. Of course I love all the scenes with Cullen family especially 'Alice' she is my favorite character and the ones with the wolf pack were not bad either. It was nice to see 'Jasper' speak more, usually he is quiet and trying not to kill people :) In the book we do not get to see much of what is happening with the creating of the newborns and the fight scene with the wolves and vampires. It was great to be able to see that and how it all played out. Even though I like 'Bella' and 'Edward' together I felt bad for 'Jacob'. My favorite scenes: when they learned how to fight, the battle, and the tent scene. Some of my favorite performances: Ashley Greene is perfect for 'Alice' and her leap over the wolf to get to the newborn was awesome. Anna Kendrick again stole the scenes in everyone that she was in she is such a great actress. I loved the Volturi members were great especially Dakota Fanning she how to bring on the creepy. Xavier Samuel and Jodelle Ferland were great as 'Riley' and 'Bree'. I was really glad that I read that book about Bree before I watched to movie. Bryce was good as 'Victoria' her stunts were good and the end where she meets 'Bella' and 'Edward' she did good there too. So, if I get the chance to see this movie again I will definitely go see it again :)

Kim and I got our tickets yesterday

At 1 in the afternoon people were already lined up for the midnight showingKim, Me and Katie today after the movie

Pool Party!

Well summer has officially begun and it is that time again for going to the beach and doing some other fun activities too. This summer Katie and a few other people planned some fun activities for their kids to do. Monday's are beach days and Thursday's we will be doing a different activity every week. This Thursday we had a pool party at the Jackman home (I love the Jackman family) and it was a lot of fun. The kids had a great time swimming and some of us were having fun sitting around talking and eating pizza :) I did not spend that much time in water (I did not have a suit) so I did what I do best: take pictures and helped with the kids. Some moms had newborn babies so I was pretty content for the afternoon. It turned out to be a good day and a great start to a wonderful summer. I am looking forward to the rest of the activities and for the opportunity for making new friends. Here is to a great summer!

Sweet Mallory at 5 months

Ella soaking up some sun :)

Mallory's first time in the water with mommyLevi so cute at 13 months. He had a good timeJonas had fun he swam the entire time. Susy with her beautiful daughter ElnoraLainey had fun playing in the jacuzzi Maddie had so much fun so swam the entire time too. Ella and Maddie