Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Happy Birthday Dave!!!

So today is Dave's birthday, yay!!! We had an A M A Z I N G time yesterday. We checked in to our beautiful hotel suite, had a very nice dinner downstairs, gambled a little bit, had some ice cream, then went back upstairs & watched Black Swan. He loved it, although he said he did miss Bella, & I missed her like crazy. On Monday I had my first of 4 dental sessions to get my cavities filled. I had four done....it took him 20 minutes....I paid $320. Jesus. After the others are filled I'm getting a whitening done for free though! Yeah, he threw it in. You know, the one where they put gel on your teeth & then put a florescent light on them? Bitchin'...

And on Saturday night was my friend Jordan's 23rd Birthday party. A Pirate vs. Ninja party. I was a pirate, actually technically I was a wench, but whatever. It was fun, got to see some old friends from high school.

OH! And yesterday I made my appointment to have my windows tinted (limo tint) & my back lights smoked out! I'm super excited, I've wanted this for a while & with summer coming up, it's the perfect time. I'll post pictures when I get it done.

And the most surprising thing that has happened is that today, I was offered a job. No shit! By my old boss, the CEO of Auto Tech. He knows I had no intention of going back to work in one of the shops, I just can't. It was WAY to stressful, & my primary role is taking care of Isabella, so he offered for me to basically work directly for HIM. Going to all the stores, picking up & sorting his mail, helping his wife with whatever other company duties. It's part time to start but the good thing is that I can pretty much pick my own hours, & I mostly will work from home so I can still be with Bella. After a while I'll probably start handling the company's payroll, insurance, stuff like that, & be moved up to full time. I'm so excited! It'll be nice to bring home a paycheck again. So I start on Monday, with a meeting with Mike.

I included some pictures from our night out & from the Pirate/Ninja party. Enjoy!

My friend Elssie & I


Jordan & I

Our living room/kitchen in our gorgeous suite!


Kitchen

Our wonderful view of a golf course

Bedroom


My favorite part, the giant tub!!


At dinner <3

Had to throw a picture of Bella in here!

My little bunny with her Grandma!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Date Night, Birthday, Anniversary


Happy St. Patrick's Day!


SOOO I spilt soda all over my car the other day. It got on the seat, the carpet, the shifter, the emergency brake, yadda, yadda, yadda. Yupp, klutz, right here. But I took it to Alex at Auto Tech's car wash this morning & he of course did an amazing job on it. I needed to get the seats shampooed anyway because there are formula stains everywhere. (Bella likes to throw her cup when she doesn't want it anymore) Then I went to a jeweler to FINALLY get my diamond ring re-sized. I've needed it re-sized for a while now, it kind of just slips off my finger. So I dropped that off. Then Bella & I went to her daddy's work because they had Krispy Kreme doughnuts & I LOVE those so he let me know there were some there. She is now slumbering peacefully & I get my quiet time. When she gets up I think we'll do a little shopping, go to Ulta (LOVE that store) & Rhapsody Elle. I need to find a sexy outfit for Dave's birthday. I think a skintight mini dress will do. ;)

Tomorrow is "date night" for Dave & I. We don't often go on dates so I'm super stoked. We're going to go see "The Adjustment Bureau" which I've been wanting to see. I love going to movies with Dave. I feel so comfortable around him, which is one of the benefits of being with someone for so long. Jesus we've been dating for.....over 4 years now. What?! Yeah, since January of 2007. We weren't in a committed, exclusive relationship until April 1, 2008 though. So yes, our anniversary is coming up. I don't know if we'll really do anything, since anniversary's aren't really that big of a deal to me, I think the occasion calls for just a card. Unless it's a big one like 5 or 10 years. So it will be our 3 year anniversary even though we've been together longer.

Dave's birthday is on the 30th...of March...he'll be 44...I know, weird. Haha. I planned a little surprise for him. I wanted to go to California for a 3 day weekend but he didn't want to go. I know, he's a freak. So instead I booked us a room on the 29th at a hotel here in town, actually a suite. Full on, 1000 square foot, living room/separate bedroom, GIANT tub pimp status suite. The best room they had on the top floor. So Bella is going to spend the night at her G.ma's & Dave & I are going to go to a movie, I'm going to take him to a nice, fancy steakhouse restaurant for dinner, maybe gamble a little, then spend the night at the hotel, SLEEP IN, & have breakfast. It'll be perfect. Just what he needs. Personally, I don't really dig expensive high end restaurants. Too stuck up for me, but he really likes nice places so I'll do it for him. Then he'll probably go to work or play golf or something. I know he'd really like a set of new irons, but he knows that I couldn't afford it. I just bought him a new driver for Christmas & that was over $300. Actually more because I also bought him 3 professional lessons so that was another $130. Ridiculous, I know. I don't get the whole golf thing, I think it's pretty lame but he enjoys it so whatever. Ahh I'm so stoked about his birthday! And the great thing is that "Black Swan" comes out on DVD that night so I'm going to buy that & when we go upstairs to our room I'm gonna make him watch it. :)

So it looks like the next couple of weeks will be fun, except for me having to go to the dentist. That's not cool, but I have to get all these damn fillings. Whatever. Hope everyone is having a great day!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Sunday Funday

So Bella & I went to the park this morning, it was too nice outside to stay at home. We stopped at Kohl's for a little shopping, then headed over to the park. Bella loved it! She loves running around & giving everything "hugs". We then had a nice lunch at Mimi's Cafe & came home. Poor baby wore herself out, she fell asleep in the car on the way home around 12:00 & she never takes her nap that early. And when Dave took my car in yesterday to replace the tires & brakes, he surprised me & had it washed. So sweet. I love having my car clean, I can't stand it when it's dirty. It's funny because with my two previous cars, I couldn't care less if they were dirty, but when you have a car that you actually like, I guess you want it clean. Haha. So anyway, here's some pictures of her at the park in one of her A D O R A B L E new spring-time dresses I got at Babies R Us yesterday. Although I did put some pants on her because I thought it was a little too chilly. I love putting her in dresses, she already has about 7 or 8. Lol. I go overboard when it comes to clothes for her, they're just all so cute! There's more pics of her at the park that I uploaded onto my Facebook, so check them all out there if you'd like.

 Look at that hair!
 Isn't it such a cute dress?!

 Bella was running around giving "hugs" to all the butterfly benches.
 She loved running around in the grass.


 Beautiful.
 Yeah her hair soooo was not cooperating with me this morning. Haha
 The sun was in her eyes. xoxo.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Awesome Weekend

I had a good weekend. Well it's not over yet but so far it's been pretty decent. The weather is nice, (although a little too warm for my taste) today I got to sleep in until 9:30, & I just got back from Babies R Us. I love that store. It's impossible to go in there & not spend a lot of money. I go there to get Bella's diapers, I get the biggest box of Pampers I can find, but today I decided to browse around for some spring-time clothes. I got her a few dresses, one of which is ADORABLE & I plan on putting her in it for our adventure at the park tomorrow. :) Their prices are pretty outrageous, though. The one thing I will not buy from them is furniture. It's so expensive & such a waste! I mean you pay like $550 for a flippin' dresser or $1500 for a bedroom set & it's not even real wood! Helllllooooo....are you retarded or do you like wasting money. And the worst part of it all is that on their dressers, the drawers are not deep enough AT ALL. They're tiny. It's just ridiculous. They're cheap pieces of junk & the people that buy them are such boneheads. Oh well, whatever they like to do is their business. We got our crib off of Craigslist for $160, and it's in perfect condition & it's cherry wood. REAL wood. I just don't see spending $500 on a crib that you're only gonna use for a couple of years. I get spending $500 on a dresser, if it's real wood & it has decent size drawers because you can use that for years. My mom got my dressers before I was born & I used them until I was 17 because they were very good quality. Anyway, I think it's stupid how much Babies R Us charges for their furniture, but I find it even more sad that people are so silly to spend that much on crappy furniture.

 My kitty. Ain't she cute?!


I then went to Petsmart & visited the dogs & cats up for adoption. I love cats. I like dogs too but I'm much more of a cat person. I'd like another cat, maybe when one of these stupid dogs dies I can get one. Haha. Now don't get me wrong, I love our dogs & want them with us for a long time, but they are dumb. Riley is a good protector. She always wants to know where Bella is & when her & Dingo are playing, she always puts herself in between Bella & Dingo so she doesn't get hurt. It's so cute. Poor thing has seizures, & pure bred dogs only live on average about 6 or 7 years & I think she's already 4 or 5, it'll be a sad day when she dies. That's Dingo's buddy. I'd like to get a black cat. I love black cats & have always wanted one.

I'm excited for tomorrow. It's always fun when Bells & I go to the park. She has so much fun!!! I'll have to get some pictures of her while we're there in her cute dress.

Friday, March 4, 2011

The many faces of Bella Rouge...

 Laughing. I know it doesn't look like it but she was laughing.
 Sneezing.
 Crying. She was mad because I wouldn't let her play with the candle on my nightstand.
Happy. Because I gave in & let her have the candle.
This was all within about 4 minutes. She's such a silly girl.

American Idol Casey Abrams March 1, 2011

Congratulations...to me!

That's right, I finally got my diploma. I actually finished all the coursework back in 2009, but we just finished paying for it so I actually have it in hand. I just wish I would have gotten it a few months ago so my dad could see. He knows I finished it, & that I was just waiting to finish paying the bill, so he knew I was a high school graduate. I did it for me, but when I decided to do it, I was most excited to tell my dad. Out of everyone, he was the one that wanted me to finish the most, so I'm glad I did. It doesn't mean very much, I mean most people graduate high school & a lot of them are still dumb as shit despite it, but it was a necessary step to take in my path of becoming a teacher.

The weather is pretty decent right now, on Sunday it's supposed to be 71, so I think it's a perfect day for Michele & I to take the girls to the park & maybe have some lunch, but it's been in the 60's since early February which just depresses me. I like winter & in my opinion, it should be colder in February. And of course, as I usually feel around this time of year, I can feel summer looming, just waiting until the most opportune time to rear its ugly head. I hate Las Vegas summers. I've been here for 21 years & I'm still not used to it. I get hot when it's 75 degrees outside. The only thing good about summer, in my opinion, is that there are no school zones. Everything else sucks. I'm a winter time kind of girl. It says "comfort" to me. The cold, crisp air, a nice hot vanilla latte from Starbucks, even the clothes are cuter. I love shopping for winter clothes.

I don't have much planned today, Dave took my car to work to give it a smog, LOF, & put new tires on it & I don't like driving his truck. Partly because I can't park it without smashing it, & I don't like the bumpiness of it. I like my car. Low to the ground, loud, smooth & such power. You barely have to tap on that gas & away it goes. It's so awesome. Anyone who says you shouldn't have a coupe when you have a kid is just lazy. I have no problem putting Bella in the car or taking her out. The only thing I don't like about my car is that it's an automatic. I wanted a stick but it's not that big of a deal. I can't wait until I can get one of the new mustangs. You know, the 5.0? Awesome.

So if I don't have to go anywhere, I won't but I might take Bella to have some breakfast. I wish everyone a wonderful day. :)


Christina


 Look at that hair! She had just woken up from a nap. <3

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Ink me up

I wanted to post a couple of photos of my most recent tattoos, which aren't so recent. The lioness on my arm was done for my birthday last July & the one on my side was done in November. That was supposed to be my last tattoo but with my father dieing, I'm thinking I'm gonna get one for him too. When I got my rosary done on my wrist for my G.ma, my dad said, "Why don't you get one done for me?" And I said, "When you die, I will." I just never thought it would be so soon, but I know he'd love it so I may get something that says "Daddy's girl" or his name or something on my ankle, but then I really need to stop because I'm running out of room. Haha.

 This tattoo was the most excruciating pain I've have ever felt in my life. It took about 5-6 hours with no break, just constant agony, but well worth it. I know you can't read it, it's Robert Frosts' "Fire & Ice" which has always been my favorite poem.
 Don't mind the sunglasses, it goes with the whole "badass" image. Cause I am you know.......a badass. :)
My lioness is my favorite tattoo to date. I get more compliments on this, & it's easy to see why. I picked out a picture of a lioness I saw online & Noelin did a fantastic job of bringing her to life on my arm. He is purely incredible. Here's the picture I found online:

Isn't it incredible? She has such poise & she's so confidant & regal. Noelin wants to do a backround on her but I think less is more, which is why I didn't get her in color. Anyway, there ya have it.

 Awe, isn't he sweet? He just texted me that & I thought I'd share. :)


Bella Rouge!!!!!! She got that ridiculously adorable coat from her great Aunt Chris & great Uncle Ed for her birthday. Unfortunately, it hasn't been cold enough for her to wear it but I had to take a picture of it because of how cute she looks! This next winter, Dave & Bella & I are going to rent a cabin in Big Bear but she'll probably be grown out of it by then. :( Oh well, at least I got the pictures!!!!

Stand Up!!

So I didn't think I would have such an overwhelming desire to post so often. Maybe it's just a phase since I just started this. Maybe after a while I'll get bored & stop posting so much, I don't know. In any case...

Bella is sleeping as I write this. So the house is nice & quiet, at least for a while. I figured I would have some coffee, do a little blogging, & read some of my book. Bella hates it when I read while she's awake. She wants my undivided attention. Haha. I swear, she's becoming more & more like me everyday. I worry about her when she gets older, like in high school. She's gonna be one of those girls who stands up for herself too much. I know, you ask, "But Christina, is there such a thing as standing up for yourself too much?" Why yes, there is.

You see, when I was younger I had a very hard attitude. I still do, actually. I have a close group of friends & family who I love & respect & I feel like I don't need anymore. So to people I first meet, I put off this cold, hard attitude with this "look" that says, "Don't talk to me." (So says my boyfriend, anyway. Haha) Apparently without even knowing I'm doing it, I'll be glaring at someone, giving them a very mean look. Most of the time, I really don't mean to do it, it's just in my nature. I'm protecting myself. Here's this person who could eventually hurt me, & I don't need them so I'm going to give them dirty looks so that they will feel uncomfortable & stay away from me. I used to do it even to customers at Auto Tech......so they say.

But I think that I've softened up some as the years have gone by. I used to not let anyone get away with speaking badly of me or of anyone I care about. If someone was giving me a dirty look, at school perhaps, I'd stare at them & look just as mean until they'd look away, as most people will because it becomes uncomfortable. My boyfriend, Dave, is, in my opinion, very gifted in the sense that when someone says something negative about him, whether it be to his face or behind his back, he doesn't care. He lets things go. And it's not like when most people say, "Oh I don't care what they say. Doesn't bother me." Most people, myself included, when saying that, are lying through their teeth. They say it to make themselves look better in the hope that if they say it, it might come true. Like if you admit that your feelings were hurt, it would make you less of a person? Bullshit. It makes you honest. It makes you human. But no, when Dave says he doesn't care, he really doesn't. I wish I were that strong of a person. My feelings get hurt. Sure there are people who I really don't care about where if they say something, I literally couldn't care less, but most of the time I hurt. To hear something mean said about you hurts you, & instead of wanting to show that pain, you would rather show anger & attack back at them. You want them to feel that pain as you have. I used to be very confrontational, I still am, but I've calmed down more. Like if Dave & I are out somewhere & we're holding hands, let's say I see some woman looking at Dave. Not just looking, flirting with her eyes or whatever the fuck it is that girls do, I don't just ignore that. This bitch sees that we're together, we're holding hands so you can't say, "Oh I thought you were his daughter." (Haha.) And she still is disrespectful enough to be staring at my man. Uh-uh. I don't play that shit. I will stare her down & give her the dirtiest look that says, "If you don't move you eyes off my man, I'll cut them out." Haha. I wouldn't ever do that, of course. But she doesn't know that. If she sees my "look" & continues to stare at him, then I go up to her. I don't want to fight. I'll just say something like, "Excuse me, honey, would you mind keeping your eyes off my boyfriend. It's starting to get annoying" That's all. Dave hates that. Haha. Most women would take the hint & move on, but rest assured, that doesn't mean I'm afraid to take it up a notch if she runs her mouth off. Some women are devious, disgusting creatures who need to be put in their place & most of them continue to act that way because no one has. I will. I may be a bitch if I don't like you, but one thing I won't do is try to flirt with a guy when his girlfriend is right there. That's just fucked & I won't let some bitch do that to me. I don't mind admitting it, I'd much rather stand up for myself then sit back & cry about it or let someone else do my fighting for me. THAT is weakness to me. I will ALWAYS fight back. If you let someone walk all over you or talk badly about you & you just put up with it, you don't fight back, that person & probably more people, are gonna know that you're a chump. You don't have enough respect for yourself to say something to them. I understand if like you work with someone so you wanna keep the peace. But if they continue to be disrespectful, enough is enough. You need to let them know what's up. But now, I wouldn't go up to someone & start pushing them, trying to fight. I've grown past that. I'll talk shit back, no problem. Of course, there is a certain line & if someone crosses it, God help them, but it would take a lot to get me to say, "Fuck it" & actually start beatin' someone down.

I worry that Isabella will be even more confrontational then I am. God, what then? Haha. I couldn't really tell her that's bad. I mean if I found out she walked up to someone & punched them for no reason, she'd be in some serious trouble. But if I found out that some stupid girl was talking about her for a while & she tried to ignore it but the girl wouldn't stop so she went up to the girl & defended herself & it resulted in a physical fight, I'm not gonna tell her "You were so wrong for doing that." I'd be proud of her. I don't know, I'm jumpin' the gun here & thinking too far ahead, but I think about these things all the time. Strange.....

Anyway, that's what I was thinking of & I thought I'd share it. What do you think?

"Every man has but one destiny" -The Godfather



As I'm sure you all can tell, I like The Godfather. It's more then just "like", it is my favorite book & I encourage you all to read it. I never thought I would be interested in it but when I started reading the first few pages, I was hooked. Although the movie is good, the book has so much more that the movies left out, as is usually the case.

Ahh, I love coffee. There's nothing more comforting to me then having a nice hot cup of coffee early in the morning, I'm going to miss it. Oh yeah! For those of you who don't know, I'm quitting smoking. My official quit date is March 12th. I have "tried" to quit before with no success, but this time I'm not going to "try", I'm going to do it. So if I post some rants around that time, forgive me, it'll be the nicotine fits talking.

So another day, another dollar. Well....not for me. Haha. Sometimes I feel guilty about not working but then again, that's what Dave & I wanted. When I was a few months pregnant we both agreed that I should stay at home with Bella so we wouldn't have to put her in daycare. And up until about a month ago, I was receiving unemployment. $300 a week so that more then covered my bills. We're doing okay but it always seems like so many things come up at once. Take the beginning of March, for example. Around the 1st is when the mortgage is due & when Dave pays his required child support,. My car payment is due on the 7th. These are things that are due every month, okay no problem. But then we found out I need rear tires on my car, & they're probably about $160 each, mas o menos. My registration is also due on my car on the 10th. $275. WHAT?! Yepp, that's right. It's expensive to have a car as bitchin' as mine. I also have a dentist appointment on the 16th & we have no dental insurance so for a routine cleaning it's over $100 & Dave's daughter's birthday is also in the beginning of March. It's all this extra shit that really gets us.


Our relationship is pretty good right now. We're hardly ever fighting & we're just enjoying being with each other, & Isabella. We don't go out on many dates but we can always go out to a movie or dinner if we choose to, my mom loves watching Bella.



Ah & yesterday Bella Rouge learned how to get down the stairs! She's been able to crawl up the stairs for a while now but she never wanted to come near the stairs when we're upstairs, she'd get all scared, but yesterday she just....did it. She's doing so many things these days. My favorite thing she started doing recently is holding hands.....sort of. Haha. When I tell her, "Are you ready to go take a bath" or "Let's take a nap" she'll start walking to the stairs but I'll stay by the couch & say "Take me with you" while holding my hand out. She will then run back to me, grab my finger in her hand, & pull me along with her. She'll also do this if we're outside & I let her walk around. I LOVE IT!!! So does Dave. When he first saw her doing this he immediately jumped up & said, "I wanna do it!" Haha. He loves his little girl. I love watching them together.

We paid off my bill for my high school diploma so it should be coming any day now. I DID IT! I'm very proud of myself & I know my dad would be too. My next step? I'm going to start taking community college classes until I get my associates degree, then transfer my credits over to a university & take two years there so I can get my BA. (Cuts down on the cost) Once I get my BA, I will become a teacher which, as everyone knows, is what I've wanted to do for a long time. I will not be satisfied at any job I have unless it's teaching. Of course this isn't going to happen soon, it's a long term thing, but it will happen. I'm actually a very intelligent person. When I was actually at school, I did very well, it's just that I was never there. I hated going, I hated waking up so damn early.

Charlie Sheen is an idiot, by the way. Sorry, I know it's off topic but as I'm writing all this I'm watching the today show & they just had an interview with him. Poor guy. He's so wrapped up in his addiction & denial he's never going to have any recovery unless he gives in & realizes he's powerless. Oh well.



I'd like to go to Seattle this summer with Bella, there's family that hasn't been able to see her in a while & I know that once you bond with this little girl, any time spent away from her is heartbreaking. I remember how hard it was for me to leave her when I went up there in January to visit my dad, & then back up there again for his funeral. Plus I hate Las Vegas in the summer, & it would be nice to spend time with family. So we'll see how that goes. Something might deter me from being able to go though, a few of you know what I'm talking about but I don't want to tell EVERYONE because it might jinx it. Let's just say it's something I've wanted since I was 13 years old. ;)

Anywho, I need more coffee & then I need to get myself & Bella ready for the day ahead. I encourage you all to start your own blog. I'll follow you. I'd love to read up on your lives.

Christina

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

In the Beginning...

So I decided to start this stupid blog. Don't really know why, just to vent, I guess. I don't do the diary thing anymore so I figure this is a good way to express my feelings as well as updating my friends & family how me, Dave & Isabella are doing.

Right now we're doing pretty good. Dave is working hard, as always. Nothing really new happens with him. Haha. If he keeps doing what he's doing at work, in a few years he will be a pretty wealthy man.

Bella is good, too. She's such a happy baby & I hope I can keep in my mind the HUGE smile she gets on her face everyday when she hears the garage open & knows daddy's home. She keeps trying to do summersaults, & is a very picky eater. But she does love ice cream, just like her dad. It's weird to look at her doing so many different things & getting so big because it feels like just yesterday when we brought her home from the hospital. I miss it when she was a newborn. I tell this to Dave & he looks at me like I'm crazy. :) She is still in the 90-95% on her height which is to be expected. I'm 5'7" so she's going to be tall with long legs which is fine with me & Dave has always said he hopes she is tall like me. We still don't know what color her hair is, it depends on what outfit she's wearing but I'm sure she'll eventually turn into a blonde. And she is a very loud, stubborn baby. Again, like me. :) She lets you know when she wants something & she is not afraid to tell you when you're doing something not to her liking. I hope she stays that way. I want her to speak her mind, to never be afraid to tell someone how she feels.

I'm doing okay. In a few days it will be 2 months since my dad died. I have dreams about him. It will be the weirdest dream where everything is so strange that I know it's a dream, but in it HE is so....real. His physical appearance, his sarcasm, his "looks", so I wake up crying. I talk to him a lot. I miss him so much.......

I'm going to update more later, but right now I can tell Dave is hungry because he keeps looking over at me with this look that says, "PLEASE make dinner." Haha.