Happy 1 Year Anniversary!

Today marks our one year anniversary! We met a year ago on 11-11-11 and the rest....is written on this blog :P  I will update later what we did for our anniversary date (once I get the pictures from Cody).  In the meantime, I will continue updating what we've done up 'till today.

It's the little things....
....that annoy you! Yup! It was the first annoyance! And it happened on October 8, 2012. No, it wasn't a big deal, but I just thought it was funny that it took Cody so long for him to get annoyed by one of my many sounds.  We were driving in his car and I was munching on some chips.  After each bite that I took I made a rhythmic "mmmm" sound. I think Cody had a headache or something, but he suddenly grabs my knee and squeezes (not hard) and that makes me stop. I look at him startled, partly because I wasn't even aware that I was making sounds and the other part because I hadn't even thought whether I was being annoying.  But, really, I make a lot of random sounds, so I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often.

Avatar
Finally! Another movie night! This actually happened last week.  With classes and studying taking up most of our time, we hadn't had a lot of movie time together. But during a lull from exams and projects, we seized the chance to immerse ourselves in a movie world...and what a world it was! Pandora!  I had been wanting to see Avatar since it came out all those years ago and now I finally have with Cody. Such a pretty movie :)  And it has a happy ending too. All I can say is that I wish I was blue, that there was more bioluminescence in our world, and that those cool leaf-footed-insect-look-alike-fire-twirling lizard really existed. Apparently, it's called a fan lizard. Isn't it beautiful?

Nevada City

 It's Nayely & Cody tested, Nala approved! So this is how I'm focusing my attention on Nala- by taking him with me on trips. There are obvious places that I can't take him. But Nevada City was one in which I did when Cody and I went last weekend. I'm lucky that Cody is very understanding and patient with me (and Nala). All three of us had a really nice time picnicking and exploring in the forest. But Cody is more than just patient; he actually likes all the silly ideas I come up with, even when they are a little hard to do, like taking a cat on a trip. After the forest, we took Nala to town. Cody and I walked around with Nala in my arms covered by Cody's sweater; he looked like my baby :p Everyone we passed kept commenting on how big Nala is. They said he looks like a bobcat. Go figure. Nevada City and the surrounding area is very pretty.  The trees looked as if they were on fire, just beautiful. Everything is more fun and beautiful with Cody.

Cody & Family

Well this post is a bit of a mix of things that happened from late September throughout October. Cody has been spending more and more time with  me and my family. It makes me super happy that he likes my family and that my family likes him too!

Happy Birthday to Me!

On my birthday, my parents like to celebrate like I'm 3 years old.  No matter how much I try, I just can't escape it. There's the pinata, balloons, goodie bags, presents, cake, and the traditional "mordida! mordida...." that is directly followed by your faced being shoved into the cake.  This year, I shared my birthday with my dad, so it made the occasion even more memorable.  Because it was such a special occasion, it was even more important for me that I share it with Cody. What I was more concerned about was whether Cody would accept my family traditions. I was relieved when Cody was able to participate and feel at home with my family. It added to the specialness of the occasion and I felt like I shared a deeply important part of me with Cody.


2nd Saturday with My Cousins:
Another 2nd Saturday date, this time in October, but with some of my little cousins! Shandell, Laura, and Leo came with us to look at several art pieces. I wanted them to explore the city and Cody wanted to them to explore the arts.  I don't think they were too excited about the night though; they are, after all just kids. I was really hoping that at least Shandell would have an appreciation of it though.  What made the night memorable was that there was a rally going on that evening for Women Take Back The Night. The cool thing about Sacramento is that there is always some kind of protest, march, or rally going on. So, as the group was marching along, we joined them in protesting violence against women. 

"Yes means Yes! 

No! means No! 

However we dress,

 Wherever we go!"

After the march, we took the kids to eat giant pizza slices. I think they really like that part.  Cody and I just want to make kids think, learn, and expand their minds.  I want to expose them to different things so that maybe it'll make them better persons as they grow up.  Cody is really interested in helping kids learn and grow. Together we thought this night would have a positive influence on my cousins, but I guess we just have to find another way of reaching out to them.

October's Litter Clean Up Day:

For our second litter clean up day, I invited my cousins again to accompany Cody and me to clean up trash. Only Leo came, but that was better than none of them.  We all had a fun time cleaning up by the river, but we were sad to find so much trash.  Today's rant, however, focuses on fishermen! They show up to fish and leave their trash on the banks.  They even leave their fishing lines and hooks! It's not just bad for the animals, it's bad for people too! What if you were picking up a rock on the shore and accidentally get a fish hook stuck in your hand or foot?!  Arrgh!

You can only keep a 12 year old's attention for so long, so we took breaks throughout the day to play on swings, wade in the river, and eat our PB&J sandwiches. At one instance, Leo stopped working because he was trying to catch a fish with a rock dangling from a fish line! He may not have a great attention span, but at least he was out with us.  Hopefully, we are making an impact on them after all. Cody and I have also been reading to and with them a few times a week. I hope they are getting something from these activities. 

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer:

I participated in this many years ago with my friend Jamie and I loved it! Ever since then, I have wanted to try it again, but for one reason or another, I just never did....until this year!  I don't want to say that Cody made it possible, because who knows if I would have done it regardless of his company. But I know for sure that his support and enthusiasm for me to finally do it was a big factor in helping me achieve this goal of mine.  I was so excited that I even invited my family. Even though only a few members of my family walked with us, I felt very accomplished and happy for us.  Every interaction that Cody and I have with my family is a chance to show them how good of a person he is and why I love him. 

Trick-or-Treat! 

With all the time we've been spending with my cousins, I was surprised to find that Cody actually wanted to take them trick-or-treating on Halloween. I mean, it's one thing to have kids, but it's a totally different thing to have kids hyped up on sugar running all over the place trying to get as much candy as possible.  And it wasn't just 2 or 3 of my cousins; it was the whole bunch: 8. What was Cody thinking?! Luckily, my aunt and uncle went with us to help us keep an eye on them.  Apart from the crazy of taking my cousins with us, this was our first Halloween together- so I wanted it to be memorable. We had first decided our costumes were going to be of a couple. Something romantic like Romeo an Juliet? No! More like Mario and Luigi. Can you guess who was going to be who? :P  But as the day approached, we got lazy and realized that we dont want to feed the consumerism idea of Halloween (we just didn't have any money to waste), so we just painted our faces. Cody had a cold, so he didn't really dress up.  I did Cody's face- Can you tell what he was?  Phantom of the Opera! At the end of the night, what made it memorable, was the fact that we spent it together.

Save The Planet!

Around mid September Cody and I participated in our first Global Litter Clean Up Day. It started by a group on facebook called, Give A Shit About Nature (GASAN). Supposedly, people all over the world participated, though, I don't think a lot of people did. But to those who did, thank you! 

Cody and I cleaned up a lot of trash along one block and along the river walk. We wished we could have done more, but there is A LOT of trash everywhere! I wish people wouldn't litter, especially smokers; they just throw their cigarette butts on the floor like it doesn't matter. But it does matter! Especially so close to the river! The toxins left over in the cigarettes get into the water and animals.

Of great concern when cleaning up is the plastic that holds together six packs.  These end up in the water and eventually into the ocean, where sea turtles and other animals get caught in them.  It is extremely important to break these up before throwing them away.  Another thing you can try is reduce your consumption of plastic in general and reuse any plastic you already have. I know, easier said than done.  But every little bit helps, right? I've gotta believe it.  So Cody and I will try to do these once a month, and hopefully, more people will join us so that we can clean up more than just one block. Any of you interested?









A few weeks later, Cody and I tabled for Save The Frogs! with Mike and Adrienne at the Sacramento Reptile Show. There were so many tiny amphibians ( and some not so tiny), along with a bunch of reptiles and arachnids for sale.  Our table however, wasn't selling anything live. We were trying to promote awareness for the drastic decline in population of amphibians and convince people that if they did want to buy animals, to make sure they were not wild caught.  We also tried to get people to sign a petition to prohibit the importation of bull frogs into CA because these frogs are not native and tend to outcompete other native species. Any money we made from the selling of t-shirts and other STF paraphernalia went straight to fund the non-profit org. It was a long day of talking to adults and kids and seeing really cool animals!

Later that evening, we all went to Adrienne's & Chase's house for some tofurkey hotdogs and soyrizo. We spent the rest of the evening playing a fun game of animals and math- I forgot what it was called, but it's not as lame as it sounds.  It's was fun hanging out with them for a day, plus, it was for a good cause :)

Lake Tahoe

Ya know how I'm always lamenting that my family is not part of my adventures with Cody? Well, this time, they were!- at least my mom and my cousin, Shandell.  Cody and I were planning a trip to Lake Tahoe for some outdoor time and climbing. Last minute, I asked if anyone wanted to go and my mom and Shandell expressed interest. So early the next morning we all set out for Lake Tahoe. My mom came well prepared with food and snacks, even a whole watermelon!  She also brought her puppy with us.  I guess love of animals runs in the family.


And while Cody and I climbed, they explored the area and/or slept. But it's a really different dynamic when you're hiking with a big group as opposed to with just one other person. For one, you just have to pick the perfect spot to picnic in order to cut the watermelon, otherwise, you'll have to lug the whole thing everywhere you go.  Second, you must absolutely get lost and wander aimlessly, only to realize hours later that you were just a few feet off the trail.

But in all seriousness, it was sooo much fun!  Despite being lost and not being able to find The Brain, which was a particular rock that Cody really wanted to climb, we all had a good time.  After the morning climb, we were walking back to the car and passed a lake that was begging us to swim in it.  Well, i got right down to my undergarments, in front of my mom and cousin, and went in.  All I have to say, is that the lake was a cold-hearted liar! It was not as warm as the shallow water said it was :/  But hey, you only live  once, right? I think my mom took that as final confirmation of having a wild child for a daughter- more so because she said there were construction workers nearby and "how dare[I]? People [would] see me". Baloney! I didn't see anyone except for us four (five if you count the dog).  Of course, I have gotten in colder waters, so we shall forgive the little lake. Or was it a pond?  Geez, my memory of this is a bit sketchy; it was, after all, 2 months ago.

The second climbing part of the day was suppose to be near Lake Tahoe's shore, but it wasn't.  This is the part where we got lost and I hiked for hours and hours with a whole watermelon in my bag.  At one point, Cody and I separated to go look for The Brain, but it only resulted in us chasing each other in circles. Note to anyone lost- never separate from the group. We've all seen it in scary movies, so I don't know why I did it.  Nothing scary happened to us though, we just got kinda frustrated at each other.  I think Cody was a little bit more frustrated with me than I was :/

But all was well in the end. We stopped for lunch and a quick rest. (No, we still did not cut the watermelon!) Even Canela enjoyed romping about. Afterwards, Mom and Shandell took a nap on a slab that we all nicknamed The Sacrificial Rock, while Cody and I continued looking for The Brain. We finally found it, but I didn't climb as much. Cody did pretty well though, but outside bouldering is always tougher than gym bouldering. When we were done, we returned to The Sacrificial Rock to get my mom and cousin and then back to the car we went! 

This time, we were on our way to Lake Tahoe, but we saw a man coming out of an ice cream shop with a HUGE ice cream cone; we obviously, had to stop for our own cone. There was also a cute wooden bear, so it was only fitting that Codybear and I would take a picture with our fellow brother.



Near sunset, we finally reached the shores of Lake Tahoe. The air was cold and the water was even colder, but I had never been in Lake Tahoe, so you'd be crazy if I was going to pass up the opportunity to go in :D  And Cody, following my lead, went in too!  Ok, so we're not all crazy up in those bear heads of ours- we only went in up to our knees.  Afterwards, we all had dinner and YES! We finally cut that darn watermelon!  All in all, it was an awesome day and I was happy to share it both with Cody and my family.  And I know Cody liked it too because he really likes taking people to new places and even Shandell fell in love with the area; she would like to live there someday.  I, on the other hand, want to live everywhere with Cody.

RIP Baby Khajit.....

    It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing the heartbreaking death of one of my cats, Khajit. He passed away on October 27, 2012 at the young age of 5 years.  Cody and I have been hit pretty hard by this. We will always love and remember him as our fat, grouchy yet loving Khajit. He loved climbing his cat castle, liked to play rough, loved eating every hour and always insisted on a full plate. He would always wake me up around 5-6am for his morning feeding by placing his claw on my jugular and he loved humping his brother to assert dominance. He also had penchant for eating yarn, which is what led to his untimely death.  Rest in peace my lovely kitty.  I love you and so does daddy.

Cody and I are now focusing our attention on Nala so that he doesn't get depressed at the loss of his brother. We have been spending more time with him and even taking him on trips with us, but I'll tell you more about that later, after I update with everything that's happened between last post and this one. And it's actually quite a bit, so I'll be doing it over the next several days (hopefully).