"For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic"-Riot!

I'm not really a pessimist but lately I feel like I have been. Working 46 hours in a week WHILE having the flu will do that to you. (I think I need another 10 day vacation).

With that being said, I'll give you my recap of 2010...because I was too sick on January 1st to do so:

I'm not gunna lie, 2010 was the PITS! I have never been happier to see a year go by! 2010-you will NOT be missed! You blatantly SUCKED!

*Deep breath*
Ok, it wasn't that bad but a lot of really terrible things happened. Tristin and I have to agree that this was probably our most trying year together.
Now I can't be too harsh on our events of last year because every milestone had a very important lesson attached. I'm grateful for the lessons and the maturity that unfolded from it, but that doesn't mean I'd want to relive it all again.

With all that being said, am I excited and hopeful and optimistic for 2011? I'm a little apprehensive to be honest. Living in Colorado has got to be one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Moving to the USA being the hardest. Seriously, if it wasn't for the Church and our close Church Family that we have here (They are Heaven's Angels in my eyes!) I would have packed my bags and left.

However, with this past year in the past and a clean slate on the horizon, I sometimes feel a little shred of hope and optimism (and I'm sure more will come once this virus is finally gone and I stop coughing). one of my goals for this year: Trust more, fear less.

So here's to what ever is on the horizon! I have NO idea if you are going to be great, or completely blow but I'll be waiting and I know you are waiting for me/us too.

Best wishes to you and your family for the year 2011! Love, Tristin and Juanique

Our 4th year Wedding Anniversary

Time is a scarce commodity that, in so many ways, is taken for granted. I know that I have a hard time holding on the the present and worrying about what's past and what's to come. Then it's day's like today when I have an entire 24 hours to celebrate and reflect on some of the choices I've made in my life and the perpetual outcome of those choices. Thank Heaven that on the 9th of August, 2006 I made a choice that altered my life for the better. I said YES.

Now a fantastic 4 years later (geez-time flies) I'm celebrating one of the smartest decisions I've made in my life time.

**Warning-This post WILL be a mushy/love-dovey/incredible-cheesy-that-you'll-probably-regret-reading-it, post....don't say I didn't warn you.

Why do I love Tristin? Here are a FEW reasons why:

-He's incredible sensitive and intune to his emotions as well as others and he's NOT afraid to show it (HUGE plus!!)
-He's incredibly loving
-He's my biggest fan (and I'm his)
-He's my best friend
-He's very intelligent that it sometimes blows my mind
-He's SO patient (and even more so when I'm not)
-He's very supportive of my dreams and visions to the point that he sees them more clearer than I do
-He's a great listener and advise coach
-Just being with each other makes me happy, even if we're just lying on a couch together
-He's a hard worker
-He is SO funny! I have NO idea where he comes up with some of the stuff he says but he keeps me laughing almost every day
-He's all mine!

Babe, thank you for the most wonderful (and sometimes terrifying, lets be honest) times of my life! You've been there with me through thick and thin. Thank you for adding to the happiness in my life! I look forward to the many years to come! I'll love you for forever...and then some.

You CAN NOT be Serious!

So my parents and I have just passed our 5th year of being permanent residents here in the USA. Our next step is to apply for citizenship. However, the USA makes that very difficult. But it's not the process that annoys me, it's the questions they ask. Have a look and see what I'm talking about:

Have you ever:

a) Been a habitual drunkard?

If I was, I probably wouldn't be sober enough to fill out this application

b)Been a prostitute or procured anyone for prostitution?

HAHAHAHA- Seriously? Would an illegal prostitute even bother filing for citizenship?

c)Sold or smuggled controlled substances, illegal drugs or narcotics?

I once tried to smuggle imported honey past TSA. It didn't go down so well....

d)Been married to more than one person at the same time?

I've been asked this question FAR too many times in my 23 years of living

e)Helped anyone enter or try to enter the United States illegally?

No...

f)Gambled illegally or received income from illegal gambling?

Haha-Right. I don't have those kind of hook-up

Being foreign is SO fun sometimes!

Santa was good to us this Christmas! He was nice enough to buy us a new uber-fast laptop (due to our other ones being destroyed) so I could learn how to do PhotoShop on it! Here are my first creations! They took HOURS to do! Everyone says the huge learning curve with PS is worth the wait...I sure hope they are right!

Thank You, Tristin, for being so patient with me and teaching me how to use this program. Heaven knowns I'm not the most patient person in the world.

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family! We hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating with friends and family. And I'm sure those of you who could talk to your missionaries were over the moon!

Its Birthday Time, Baby!

YES... It truly IS the most wonderful time of the year! December is my FAVORITE month because not only do we celebrate Christmas, but Tristin and I get to celebrate BOTH our birthdays and our wedding anniversary! (yay us!)

December 10th I turned 23! My birthday was a BLAST! No joke, I felt like I was a little kid again playing games and getting spoiled! After work I got home and saw these beautiful flowers waiting for me with a Charades Card attached to it saying "Give this to Nicholas or Dimitri to act out where the next clue is!" It was a Charades Treasure hunt which I learned I was pretty bad at. Bodily actions can be so ambiguous sometimes!

Sona also made me a Carrot Souffle (to substitute for a birthday cake) which was to DIE FOR! Sadly I ate most of it. Poor thing didn't even have a chance

*thank you, Sona*

Later that night we went to the Ward Christmas program which was STUNNING! My very good friend, Rebecca, put pretty much the entire thing together and on the back of all the Christmas Programs she printed this:

"And last but not least, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Juanique. I love you. thanks for giving up your birthday night for my program."

That in itself was a great birthday gift

Sunday morning (yes, the celebrations keep going on) we had a Birthday Breakfast with our Colorado families: the Gourgouris's and McDonalds. I'm not joking when I say my birthday celebrations were so much fun. Everyone made me feel really special and loved. and just when I was starting to think I was getting to old to really enjoy birthdays. Tristin and I are so blessed to have surrogate families out here that really feel like true-blood family to us.

Then finally, today (Tuesday) was Tristin's Birthday. Happy Birthday, babe!

The Gourgouris's took he and I out to dinner to celebrate where Tristin got sung to while wearing a sombrero

When we got home he too had a treasure hunt but instead of acting, he was given clues that he had to figure out, ie:
The princess could still feel that pea, no matter how many they stacked up of me!
Answer: A Mattress!

...and that's where the next clue would be! (This is definitely a tradition I'm gunna do with my kids. It's so much fun having to search for your birthday gift than it is to just be given it)

*make sure to watch for Nicholas's classic facial expressions in the pictures! He managed to photo-bomb practically all of them.

Thank you everyone for all your wonderful birthday wishes and gifts! We had such fun on our birthdays!

Christmas Video

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Merry Christmas everyone!! We love you all!

Have you met my Pets?

I realized that I take a lot of videos of my family's and friend's animals. Here are a few dogs in my life that certainly make life more interesting when humans are monotonous and boring.