our first christmas card

(That is right, we didn't make one the 1st year we were married.)

enjoy your day, live for it.

O' Falafel

A falafel is a small, fried ball made from dried chickpeas and/or white broad beans and is a common Middle Eastern snack. Seriously who would have known these little round balls were so yummy! We went with Cruz's friend Adam and his wife to O' Falafel. Adam is from Jordan, and he told Cruz about a yummy resturant in Sugarhouse that served Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food. (Which I had never tired; and didn't really know what to expect.) We finally got together to go this last weekend. And to my surprise the food was delicious. I loved FALAFEL. Seriously it was so good, I can't wait to go back. Too bad his friend is moving to AZ in 4 days, sad that we waited so long to meet up. It was a fun night of good food and good company too. 

i am thankful for...

Cruz and I had a fantastic thanksgiving break. I think that it was one of best long weekends we've had. Maybe because we just did whatever we wanted to do. We didn't have a lot planned. Some of the highlights were:

1. Thanksgiving Dinner... As Cruz said "I've been waiting for this day since August 3rd." (We've been eating super healthy since that date... he was looking forward to the food.)
2. Spending lots of time with FAMILY. I saw most of my siblings 3 days in a row. That doesn't happen as often as it should. It was fun to chat and be together.
3. Movies... We saw 2 movies over the weekend; The Christmas Carol, and The Blind Side. Both pretty great. The Christmas Carol, was a bit slow for me... but the little family sitting behind us made it all the better. My favorite part of the entire movie was when Scrooge sees his wife to be... the little girl behind us said "Mom, you have to do my hair like that ... T O M O R R O W" It was super funny. Thanks to Gerald and Nichole who gave us there tickets we went and saw The Blind Side. Thanks Guys we loved it... a must see at some point!
4. Shopping: On black friday I woke up at 7 am. Why? I wasn't planning on getting up early. Sadness... I used the bathroom, and when I got back in bed... I jokingly said to Cruz, should we go shopping? He said "No, I am tired." I said, "okay, good night." Then only a few minutes later he said, "Ok, I am awake... lets go shopping." So, we did. We had a lot of fun, and we were super lucky and didn't have to wait in any long lines. We even bought almost our entire Christmas. Look at me getting things done early. I had to wrap everything on Saturday so that I wouldn't use/wear everything before Christmas. 
5. Putting up the Christmas Tree. Since I'd wrapped all the presents, it seemed good to get the tree up. It turned out good I think... we posted lots of pictures on facebook. 

This post is really about what we are thankful for....

I am thankful for....

1. My Husband (He is my perfect match!)
2. Alan and Lisa (They help us out all the time.)
3. Having 2 cars, so much easier to get things done.
4. Family and Friends of course... I would be lost without them.
5. The fact that hard work pays off. (I have lost 30 lbs.)

Cruz is thankful for...

1. My beautiful wife (ah... so cute, uh!)
2. Families
3. Friends
4. New Car... and other new things for Christmas.
5. Having a job!
6. Making it to my healthy weight. (He has lost about 60 lbs. AMAZING!!)

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Too the next 100,000 miles

Last month 10.15.09 I was at a red light, and I looked down... and the Mazda had reached it's 100,000 mark!! Talk about perfect timing. I quickly took out my camera to take a picture. :) You should always have your camera ready. My Mazda is such a great car. I LOVE IT! Seriously, it is the best. We've had no problems... we are really good frineds. We've traveled here and there together. We talk about the most random things, and to be honest the Mazda is a great listener. So, here is too the next 100,000 miles. Cheers!!!

Worldwide Ward Christmas Cookbook

The Worldwide Ward Christmas Cookbook has hit the shelves. Are you so excited? I hope so. I put this book together at work--and it has great recipes for the holidays. (I work for Covenant Communications as a graphic designer.) I even hand did some of the illustrations. My family submitted some of the recipes for the book. You can find my parents famous cheese fudge on page 233 and Cruz's (my husband) recipe for Ham Bread a Venezuelan traditional recipe on page 134 as well as a picture of us. :) The Ham Bread is super yummy. We made it last year for Christmas. We are going to make it again this year. I hear that the pumpkin cobbler is amazing, I am going to have to try that one. This would make a fun gift for your family for Christmas or buy one for yourself. You can pick it up at Seagull or Deseret Book. (They may also have them at Costco.) I am really excited for the holidays. Happy cooking everyone!!!

bE HApPy!

Utah State Fair

I had not been to the Utah State Fair since... maybe the 5th grade. So, when Cruz mentioned that he'd like to go; I was game. Funny thing was that we planned to go Friday after work leave about 5 or so. Then on Friday André called and told me he had 2 extra tickets to the Boys-To-Men concert. Which would be at the fair grounds. Not that I am a big fan of Boys-To-Men, but I am up for almost anything that sounds festive. A fair and a free concert, who would turn that down? Well, Cruz and I had a fun time at the fair. Yummy food, a little shopping, the biggest pumpkin and a Ferris wheel ride were all fantastic. (The sun was setting, as you can see in the picture; when we rode the Ferris Wheel... so pretty.) It was fun to meet up with André, Joel, Katie (Sorenson) and Tyler. It'd been a long time since some of us had hung out together. Only disappointment was the $1 spent to see a giant alligator; he was pretty big, but hard to see through the cage. Other than that the Fair = fun, festive, and pretty much fantastic. I think we'll go again in about 10years. :)

Baby Emma

Announcing sweet little Emma, daughter of Alan and Lisa... and little sister to Kevin. Born 09.09.09, 6 lbs. 2 oz. and 18 inches long. She is so adorable, and little. It's fun to have her in the house (Cruz and I live in the basement). She has quite a bit of hair in the back, and it is dark brown. Looks like her eyes are going to be dark blue. She loves to sleep most of all. (Good for Mommy and Daddy.) She gets the hic-cups often... they are so cute; though I feel bad when she has them. We love her, and are so happy she is here. Welcome to the world Emma.

Happy Anniversary! (our First)

Love shows in small things that are done in kindness.
in tender words that are spoken in concern...
in sharing life side by side. day by day.

How can I ever tell you how good it feels to share you love and to be part of your life.
You've given me so many happy memories that I wouldn't trade for anything.
so many reasons to be proud of you, and grateful for your love.
You seem to know and understand the real me better than I ever thought anyone could.
Best of all, you love me for who I am.

It's great to know that I can always count on you whenever I need encouragement or support or someone who will just listen.
Thanks for believing in me. even when I'm having a hard time believing in myself. Thanks for being the kind and caring person you are and for helping me feel so good about our life together. And most of all thanks for sharing you love and your life with me—forever.

-E. Cunningham

Cruz and I just celebrated our first wedding anniversary yesterday (08.30). I can't believe it has been a whole year already. We have had an amazing year. This quote was in the card he gave me. I thought it was a perfect way to say Happy Anniversary. I love you sweet-heart. Thanks for a wonderful anniversary—I had a fabulous weekend. We spent the weekend in Park City. It was a great place to just get away for a bit. Cruz surprised me with a day at the spa. It was so relaxing!

Random pictures from our adventure in 

Park City to celebrate our FIRST WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!

In Park City.... sparkling cider.

Our hotel had 2 awesome pools. One was just for adults, so it was quite and relaxing. We were the only ones there. Even better!!!

Shopping at the outlets.

Lunch!

We spent the whole day at the beautiful spa.

Cruz also gave me these stunning roses. I married an amazing man. 

So happy to be with him FOREVER!!

Happy Birthday Cruz!

What a fun week it has been. Last weekend we decided to by a NEW car. It's a charcoal Toyota Corolla 2010! WE LOVE IT. :) Cruz started a new job, at US Bank on Monday, which he is loving. We are so blessed that he not only found a great job, but one he likes too. It was also Cruz's birthday. He turned 26 on June 30th. We celebrated pretty much the entire weekend with friends and family. Happy Birthday Love! On the 30th it was also our 10 month anniversary. Wow, time goes by fast. It's been nothing but a wonderful 10 months.

Little Baby David

This is the newest addition to the Ashby Family. (Congrats Nichole and Gerald) It has been a long time since we have had a little baby around. In fact the last baby that hung out at our family gatherings is now graduated from High School (Tyler). We are so excited to have little baby David join our family. He is a super cute little guy. He was born June 11th, 8 lbs and 1 oz. He has very long fingers and toes. Oh, and LOTS of hair. Hooray for cute babies!

love you... more

One year ago today on 06.08.08 Cruz asked me to marry him, and I said YES! Here is the story...

I'd finally felt that marrying Cruz was the right thing, after much thinking, talking and praying. We picked out a ring together, and he even bought it when I was there. But I told him that I wanted him to "ask" me. It was Saturday when we did all of this... 

We had some unexpected things come up, and had to change plans for the evening. So, he didn't really have time to do or plan anything for Saturday to "ask" me. 

My thoughts were was that he was going to wait a few days, I was thinking Tuesday or Wednesday. On Sunday I had my usual busy RS President stuff going on, so I was pretty busy until after church, which I called him to see what he was planning on for dinner. He said to come on over, he had a lot of homework to do before Monday...

I ended up at his house, we planned to go to a park for him to work on his homework, and I could read. It was getting kinda dark so we went to the park in Vineyard, but there wasn't much light to do homework. This totally fooled me, I was kind of wondering if he was going to "ask" me, but then we changed locations. (?)  So we decided to go up to Timp. park at the mouth of the Canyon. This was a park that Cruz and I had spent a lot of time with friends and such. I went home quick to change my clothes to something warmer, and off we went.

I was totally focused on GOOD LIGHTING for his homework. :) I pointed out a few places, that looked like a good spot. He said "lets keep looking," little did I know that he had asked his friends to set up a table. 

He finally spotted the table, and took me over there. By this time it was sun-set or after. The table was all set up with little candles...

We talked for a while, and of course when I saw the table I knew what was coming. He said something that made me start to cry. He then said do you want a tissue. I said sure. He pulled a crinkled up tissue, and as I unfolded it the ring fell onto the table. He then asked me if I would marry him. I  of course said "YES!"

It's been a fantastic year. Cruz, I thought I loved you the most I could then... and now I realize that, I really love you more and  MORE each day.

-chris

St. Patty's Day 2009 cookie fun

We had some friends over for a little St. Patrick's Day fun!

Everyone was such a good sport to wear green and we had fun making cookies... and decorating them.

Shamrocks, butterflies, and flowers etc... all delicious cookies, and some tasty green drinks.

Cheers to St. Patrick's Day!

Cruz actually hates green... so I have to say I was impressed when he was willing to get a festive shamrock t-shirt for St. Patrick's Day. Love it when people will be festive.

February Highlights

We had so much fun in February! These are some of the highlights.

• Valentines Day: Cruz did an amazing job at surprising me. He was very thoughtful and romantic. We had a very festive breakfast, heart shaped toast, pancakes, hot chocolate (Cruz's favorite), eggs, etc. With all that festive-ness we decided that we were truly made for each other... we both had a fun time with it. We enjoyed a movie, and then that night we made sushi at home. Best valentine's day ever!
• Antelope Island: Since Cruz hasn't lived in UT for very long, we went to see some of the sights with my Mom and Dad. We ended up going to Heber, then made our way to Antelope island.
  
• Tyler's Birthday/Game Night: we celebrated Ty's birthday a little late, but had lots of fun playing games with the family.
• Hiking the snowy trail to Stewart Falls: Cruz and I got a little spring fever, so we decided to go up the canyon. We were surprised at how much snow was still up in the canyon. We made the most of it, found a place to eat our Olive Garden leftovers, then hiked to the falls. We had a blast. We made it all the way to the falls, the trail got pretty narrow at some points, it was an adventure.

Well as you can see February for us was a BLAST. We also celebrated being married for 6 months. WOW, time goes fast. It's been a fantastic adventure so far.

World Wide Ward Cookbook

It's here! So, at work this is my latest BIG project. It was kinda a crazy project, but it turned out well. This is the Worldwide Ward Cookbook. It hit the shelves a few weeks earlier then planned, so check it out at your local Seagull Book or Desert Book Store. It has recipes gathered from members across the world. It was fun to see that the author had got a recipe from a member that I knew in Japan... it really is a small world.

Happy COOKING!

Hello blog world

Hi. Today on my lunch break I was looking at my cousins blog... and I thought, I should make a blog. So here I am at 10 o' clock making a blog. I am hoping that I can figiure it all out. :) Can I do custom designs... if not that will be so sad. (Honestly, that is one of the reasons I wanted a blog.) So any tips that you may have would be great.