It was a cool morning, Friday, November 21. I put on my walking shoes
and slipped into my comfy work clothes and walked into the living room
tying my hair into a tight bun, I couldn't help but smile when I saw all
the boxes and suitcases I started packing a month prior (with the help
of my amazing husband), knowing in that 2 more days, we will be heading
away from California to find a new Home in Tennessee!
Majority of our belongings ready to be packed away from our apartment in Alpine, CA!
With
the help of my most loving Mother, we three went to work and filled up
our 6x12 Uhaul. Dustin was so amazing, He organized that Uhaul like if
he was playing Tetris! He stacked it so well, there was absolutely NO
way anything would budge during the drive!
My mami with her son before we began our packing up the uhaul!
Locking our apartment door one last time! It was a lovely place to live in,but now for new and better things yet to come!
We had some amazing memories in our comfortable apartment and had an amazing view from our yard!
My parents living room in their house up the mountain where I grew up, met dustin online for the very first time here, got to meet him in person for the first time in this living room, told him that I loved him for the very first time in this living room, told my parents we got engaged (on this same land he proposed) in this living room, and I waited in this same room to walk out the front door and down to the EXACT Same spot he proposed to get married! In this room our whole relationship was done in!
That night
after a long day of packing and some cleaning and last minute organizing
we drove our cherokee hauling all our belongings with Sadie up to the
Home I grew up in, in the mountains of Alpine! We wanted to spend one
last weekend with our parents and enjoy it before we drove a very long 3
1/2 days to our destination! It was a nostalgic kind
of evening, the night air was very chilly, thus my parents turned on
their Wood Stove in the living room to warm up the home, the familiar
creaks of the hardwood floors brought a lot of comfort yet also brought
an emotional lump in my throat I tried to laugh away with humor.
My parents wood stove warming up the whole house from the living room!
I
got to sleep in my childhood home with my husband our puppy one last
time in the living room next to the crackling wood stove dreaming of new
memories we will be having when we head on East! We
woke up bright and early Sunday morning (the 23rd), saying goodbye to my
parents was a bit hard, especially for Dustin who grew to love them
like his own (He and my dad were pretty close!), but I couldn't remain
sad for very long, the excitement of going out to the "unknown" with my
husband was just too much! We were about to embark on an adventure, just
he and I, to a place we have never lived in or know much about... So
away we went! As we approached Yuma, AZ I had mixed
feelings, I was in "awe" because passing the Yuma city line will be the
furthest I have traveled with my husband, and this may be the very last
time I go see my grandmother who is 100 years old. We
entered into yuma and we drove to the nursing home where my sweet
grandmother was staying, I walked in by myself and saw her sitting
quietly in her wheelchair. I couldn't help but feel hot tears coming
into my eyes, as she looked like a helpless, sweet little girl, and yet
remembering her always joyful attitude and constant laughter growing up
was ringing in my mind!
Dustin and Sadie waiting for our trip to begin from Yuma, AZ!
I talked to her for a little
and she recognized me (to my surprise) and blessed me and my family on
our trip and I kissed her goodbye. When I left I felt a peace, knowing
that my godly sweet grandma's prayers will follow me and my husband and
our little ones for years to come! We had quite a trip!
Sadie was an absolute dream! Sitting quietly or napping the whole time,
and never once had an accident as we let her out each time we had to
gas up, and almost every trucker, no matter how tough they looked,
absolutely adored our sweet, gentle sadie! Telling us she was absolutely
gorgeous and what a good hunting dog she will be if we start training
her now (which Dustin is wanting to do very much so!), and how well
behaved she is for just 7 months!
The princess on our bags and soft blankets, she was in pure bliss!
We traveled up
through flagstaff, AZ which was beautiful no doubt, but was so extremely
windy that (I was driving during that time), I was so nervous we would
have to pull over and wait for the wind to die down because our uhaul
trailer was having quite a time behind us being pushed around slightly!
But by the grace of God we made it up to 8,000 ft in elevation just
fine. Seeing snow on the ground driving through arizona and New Mexico
was a beautiful sight! So quiet and serene, like what I was feeling
inside!
high elevation in Flagstaff, AZ
Snow in New Mexico! It was beautiful!
This was entering Texas! Everything is bigger in Texas, so is their faith in Jesus! :)
We arrived in Tennessee day before
Thanksgiving and had 2 appointments to look at rental homes. We were
tired but excited at the prospect of renting a house and no longer and
apartment! We prayed that the Lord blesses us with
peace if we find the home meant for us, and if not that He will allow an
unsettling over us if it is not the home. Prayer surely does move
mountains! The first home I was excited for because of
the fireplace and living room. The area was a bit crowded and seemed a
little claustrophobic, but the inside of the home was very charming! The
only thing was, right when I met the landlord, a strong twisting
unsettling happened in my gut, and I wasn't sure about the home no more.
Dustin loved it! But I spoke with him privately and said, "Trust me,
there is something about that landlord I don't like. He is nice, but... I
just can't put a finger on it, there is something here that is not
right.". So we said, "No" to this home. The second
home, the landlord was an absolute dream! But the inside of the home was
something you can get lost in! There were 3 rooms but each room was
connected by a door that went in one bathroom and out the other so you
had to be sure to lock both bathroom doors before having privacy and it
was just not very pretty! The landlord was very sweet about us saying
no, and he even offered to bring Thanksgiving food over to our hotel so
we wouldn't feel so left out! Thanksgiving came on by and we got to spend it with 2 dear friends of ours who live closeby. Friday
came and we had 3 appointments, though we only saw 2 homes, I was
starting to feel nervous that we won't have the home of our dreams for a
decent price and we will have to hurry and find something because our
uhaul rental agreement was about to expire that day! The
first house we saw I thought it charming! It was a 1950s bungalow and
there was quite a charm there and it was super close to where Dustin
would be working! I was about to give Dustin the thumbs up when I was
walking toward the kitchen by myself imagining how I would decorate when
I heard the Lord speak to me and said, "Before you make a decision, go
look at the other home. You will regret it if you don't.", when the Lord
speaks, I have learned time and again to trust and obey right away
without second guessing! So we told the landlord we
would let him know if yes or no, and we went on to a home further away
from where we were (about 20 miles), and right when we approached the
area, I was in love!
Right when we pulled up, I took a picture right away. That was how sure I knew this was the Home the Lord blessed us with before I even got out of the car!!!
Our Sadie wondering where she is... you are home, Sadie Girl!
As we pulled up to the home, I
almost began to cry with the beauty of such a lovely home! The Landlord
greeted us warmly and we had an amazing time looking around and I
couldn't help but right away give my husband the thumbs up! That Home
was EVERYTHING I told the Lord that I desired, from the number of rooms,
to a HUGE backyard, to a big front yard with a rustic looking home on
top of a small hill in order to have a higher look on everything
surrounding us, I also desired hardwood floors only, an attached garage,
a BIG fireplace, and an open kitchen to have room to move around in...
Each and every thing I asked the Lord for, He provided in that home
within the price we could easily afford!!!! We got the
house that night and right away Dustin and I got down on our knees
(literally) and thanked the Lord for His mercy and favor and goodness
upon us... and thanked Him over and over for his guidance and protection
on our journey to Tennessee and to our Home! We dedicated our Home to
the Lord and invited Him to dwell and reign there and prayed over our
home and plead the blood of Jesus in every corner of that home! The
next day we unpacked our Uhaul (praise the Lord for our friend, James,
who volunteered to help us unload the sofa, beds, and trunk so I
wouldn't have to lift!), and before we unpacked one thing from our boxes
we returned the uhaul and went and found a beautiful Christmas tree
from a lot that farm all their trees in N. Carolina (not too far from
the border of Tennessee), came home and made our house a home by
decorating and lighting up the tree!
Our cherokee that wonderfully pulled this uhaul all the way from San Diego, CA to Tennessee!!!
Sadie approves of our new life!
I can't believe
it, I can't believe how far we have come since our wedding day 2 years
ago to now... we started at a humble beginning now look how far the Lord
has brought us and how much higher He is taking us! Thank you, Jesus...
Your goodness is amazing to me!!!!!!
We stopped by North Little Rock, Arkansas
Taken by our dear friend, Aaron at the Old Mill, Little Rock, Arkansas
I am so excited! In a week my beloved and I are moving (along with our sweet Sadie girl!) to our new home... Tennessee! The original move was to Fairhope, Alabama (we fell in love with that small town last summer), but my husband who is a man who is an amazing leader of his home, told me a month ago that he was not feeling a peace about us moving to Alabama, of course, I was crushed! I wanted to go to that charming little town like we originally "planned" (amazing how we think what we plan will go as planned, when many times God may have planned something quite different for us! ) and begin a family and a home! But I immediately regretted my pouty attitude I bestowed upon him and a couple of nights later (while we were playing our usual card game of Phase 10 at our local Starbucks), I had to ask forgiveness for not fully trusting what the Lord was putting in His heart! So I asked, "Where is it that you think we should go?", Dustin then said, "I really think we should move to Tennessee.", I paused for a moment then looked at him with a smile and said, "Where Jesus leads you I will follow, let's go!"... Hehe if Abraham could obey the Lord when He told him "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you.", then who are we to doubt? Abraham, i'm sure, had absolutely no idea where the Lord would take him and yet he went, the Lord was much more merciful with us by giving us a location before we "went"! ;) We are blessed that I know 2 friends who live there and I am super excited about moving to a brand new land, and to a state that is not only conservative but has strong Christian values which this country so desperately need!!! Today, we decided to go and enjoy our last Saturday sightseeing around our favorite spots, which was a local coffee shop (they know us there quite well! Haha! I am desperately going to miss their coffee! Sigh...) and Coronado... While we were taking photos together (selfies as they call it! Haha!), for some reason a beautiful hope came over me with extreme joy about our new adventure!!! I turned to look at my beloved to tell him what I was feeling that moment, when I looked in my husbands eyes, I saw a future that was full of a deeper sense of joy, love, fulfillment, adventure, peace, comfort and growth, not just individually but as a married couple... more so than what we have now!!! Why? With a marriage founded on Jesus Christ, all things are possible and the Lord reminded me right there, "Elisa, here are the plans I have for you... a plan to prosper you both and not harm you... to give you both a future and a hope."! Thank you, Jesus! Today, Dustin and I were carefree and full of excitement and enjoying each moment we had together... because in a weeks time... To the east we go, to a promised land we are ready to claim to not just take dominion of, but to dedicate it to the Lord of our Marriage... Jesus Christ!!!
My beloved and I! I love this photo! Taken on Coronado Beach!
Overlooking San Diego from Coronado!
Beautiful San Diego!
We had a lot of fun digging in the beach and being silly!
Dustin using the panorama on my phone and I decided to say hello! :)
I can never imagine living my life without my beloved by my side and I by his! I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine!
I honestly have no idea what to call this. All I know was each Autumn since I was a little girl, our home would smell of the sweetness of this yummy soup my mom would make and it just got me excited for the cold that was coming and enjoying this sweetness next to the fireplace as it would be raining outside, snuggled under a blanket reading a book on the sofa. Sigh... memories!!!
My mom told me recently how simple it was to make it that I just had to make it for Dustin as he has never had it before!
When I made it, it made the house smell of spicy pumpkin and it was cold that night so it was perfect weather for it!
I did it the same way my mom made it, except, I added seasoning she never did and boy... it was EXCELLENT!!!! Dustin absolutely LOVED it!
What you will need:
Sugar Pumpkins (the smaller, the sweeter and I used 2 of these pumpkins)
Piloncillos (I used 4. Piloncillos is made from pure unrefined sugar cane that is pressed into a cone shape. It tastes like brown sugar with a hint of molasses. You can find it in many grocery stores or better yet, mexican food markets.)
Pumpkin Spice
5 Cloves
Cinnamon
Milk, Whip Cream and Nutmeg (for topping afterwards).
You cut in half the pumpkins and take out all the fiber and seeds (save the seeds for later to roast and enjoy!).
Wash very thoroughly the inside and outside of the pumpkins and cut them in more halves in order to fit into a large pot.
In the middle of the pot put in the piloncillos, cloves, pumpkin spice and Cinnamon (for the seasonings, you go with the taste. I like mine nice and sweet, some may not like too much. So taste, taste, taste!!!).
Pour in water until it covers the top of everything in the pot.
Bring it to a boil, one it boils then let it to a medium simmer and leave it to cook. 30 minutes to 45 minutes later check on the pumpkin (and before that keep tasting the stew).
To see if it's ready, get a fork and pierce the top of one of the pieces of pumpkin and if the fork easily slides in and the pumpkin even slides open easily, it is ready!
Pour some pumpkin and the soup into a bowl, add a splash of milk and some whip cream and nutmeg and you got yourself a yummy hot dessert to enjoy!!!! Careful, one bowl of this and you will be snoring rather fast! ;)
This roving that came already dyed is Merino Top wool that is being spun on a drop spindle.
I have been crocheting for a full year (late september would be one whole year!) and have found that I have a real knack at it and have made many things from crochet and other crafts (as you have seen in a few of my recent posts). But I have always wanted to learn to make things from scratch. One thing was: Yarn. Once a year we would have a Yarn Crawl, which is every yarn shop would keep stamp "passports" of crafters as myself to come in and check out the yarn and have their passports stamped at each shop, this is to bring recognition and support local yarn shops! One place I went too was no yarn shop, it was an Alpaca Farm! I've always been curious how wool was spun from a drop spindle (something I could easily afford, as a spinning wheel cost close to $500!), and to my luck! This farm was offering one hour class for spinning! My mom and I go (she and I are best friends. Seriously, we LOVE the same things and are always laughing together, so naturally I have to bring my mama with me!!!) and we are right on time for class! This teacher of ours was a HOOT! First off, she was a nervous wreck (perhaps just her personality) and so IMPATIENT but... She made it so funny even she had to laugh at herself! My mom and I ended up cracking up more at her than learning anything! But goodness, was she sweet. She had such a passion for her Alpacas and her craft that I HAD to buy a starters kit for $17 which was about 2 ounces of adult alpaca roving and a beautiful drop spindle. I had it in my yarn bag for a good month. I never opened it, I was intimidated by this new craft I didn't have the courage to even try practicing it!
Until one day my mom invited me to a Yarn Fiesta and there were people spinning yarn EVERYWHERE!!!! From spinning wheels to drop spindles of all kinds!
We walked past these dear women who were spinning on a lovely wheel and another with a drop spindle. I spoke up and said, "Sigh. I bought a starters package but i'm intimidated by it. Our teacher was sweet and fun but she scared the life out of us for spinning it just seems more of a headache than relaxing!", the lady who was using the drop spindle smiled and said, "Honey, this is so extremely easy. Just watch it's as easy as 1, 2, 3..."
Then she proceeded to show me in less than 2 MINUTES how to do it, in the most simplest way and extremely calm and happily she began to spun in front of us. Right there and then I got the courage to try it...
That night as I returned home I took my starters package and roving and didn't think twice, I winded it on to the starting string and just began to... spin!!!!
In less than an hour I did this:
The next day I finished up spinning and finished off the yarn by soaking it in warm water and letting it dry all day and night on our bathroom door handle and then when it was dry my, then, alpaca roving was now yarn ready to be used!!!
My confidence has boosted so much in spinning yarn that I have spun in the passenger seat of our car as we drove up to Los Angeles, and I absolutely love to spin outside of our beautiful home with Sadie relaxing out on the yard as well!
I haven't made anything yet with the alpaca yarn or have finished this new yarn (with Sadie hypnotized by the spinning yarn in these photos!), as I have other projects to focus on too, plus getting ready for our BIG move... which that will come later on! ;)
But I hope this encourages anyone reading this... if you have a desire to do something, just do it... then allow intimidation to stop you! Just dooooo iiiiittttttt!!!! :)
September 15, 2014 was just a couple of days away and that date is extremely important to me, that was the day when my Adventure like no other began, the day I said to my Beloved, "I Do". We celebrated 2 years being gloriously married going through horrible and wonderful things already in just a couple of years being together, and everything we have been through together has only made us stronger and more in love. I have never fallen in love with my husband, no... I have been constantly rising in love with him! For when I fall there will always be a bottom, but the more you rise... it is endless, my love for him is just that... endless. This year we didn't know exactly how we wanted to celebrate 2 years, a dinner? Movie? Getaway to our favorite small town up in the mountains? We knew we couldn't do too much as we are saving money for something that is coming up very very quickly and which I am excited and nervous that it is finally happening!!! But more on that some other time! ;) As we were wondering what we should do to celebrate our 2 years in matrimony I remembered when I went with my parents to visit my Grandma who is 100 years old (yup, you read it correctly!) in the nursing home that my mom (who visits my grandma at least once a week to every couple of weeks as we live 2 and a half an hour from where she is) asked my grandma if she could bless her and my dad. My grandmother placed her hands on their heads and closed her eyes and prayed with all her might. It was the most beautiful things I witnessed and right there and then I knew that Dustin and I NEEDED to be blessed by my grandmother who is a godly woman (which runs in the family!) before we do anything major in our lives and before the Lord takes her home. I told my Dustin a few weeks ago about what I witnessed and asked for an Anniversary gift for the both of us if we go visit her and ask her to give us a blessing and we can take my mother with us to witness it and celebrate with us (it was a weekday that we went which is why my dad couldn't go). Dustin agreed which I was over the moon about! The evening before our anniversary Dustin took us to a beautiful small park on Coronado Island to see the city at night! We brought a beautiful comfortable blanket and had a meal of Five Guys burgers (oh ya, that place is AWESOME!) and on my phone I have a "Love Song" playlist and we listened to it on a very small speaker while we were watching the city lights!
During the sunset behind us, San Diego lights were coming to life!
The city lights were absolutely beautiful! plus hearing the water softly hit the rocks was so romantic and peaceful!
My husband and I talked quietly about our past 2 years together and our future together, during our chat a song came on that made dustin get up and extend his hand and say, "May I have this dance?"... Sigh... yes, he is a romantic.
Dancing to his song to me on the eve of our anniversary gave me the giggles that night!!!
My favorite song to end our night was a piece from the soundtrack from the movie "UP" that describes in my heart our love!
It didnt end there either! That night my beloved surprised me by lighting up some candles to finish off our night with another dance before we went to bed!
Isn't my man handsome? :)
So pretty!!!!
The next day we drove with my mom to yuma and spent quite a few hours with Grandma, before we left my mom explained to my grandma that this day was our wedding anniversary and we desire a blessing from her...
My mom explaining to my Grandma who is 100 years old our desire for a blessing from her upon my husband and I.
My husband and I knelt down in front of Grandma and bowed our heads as she placed them upon us and gave us a blessing upon our marriage!!!!
My grandmother blessing us as my mom is taking the picture.
I felt privileged to have my grandmother who is an amazing godly woman bless my husband and I on our 2nd year anniversary!!!
Before we left each of us said goodbye to my grandma and I was hoping for her to say something to me, but she just kissed me and said to be good and stay safe. Dustin was the last one to say goodbye, and she grabbed his hand and brought him in closer to her and looked up at him and in spanish said these words which made my mom and I gasp and smile: "God be with you and keep you safe and may he bless you, your marriage, your home, and your children." She then did the sign of the cross to seal that blessing upon him. My mom whispered with excitement, "Mija! She was reserving the last of the blessing for the Man of the House! She could have said it to you or told me to tell you but she waited to have one on one with Dustin! This is so beautiful!" Oh, yes it was!!!!! I am excited to pass on this godly heritage I have (My great grandmother, my grandmother, my mother and now myself... 4 generations!) to my children and my children children's, and so on, so forth. As we drove back home I smiled at my husband as this video I played and whispered to him, "To many more Anniversaries, my beloved!"... I am a blessed Wife, the worth in the privilege of being a wife and keeper of my home is worth far more than rubies!
What do you think when you hear the word, "Rabbit"?
Naturally, you think of that cute little bunny you see in the pet stores with its wee little paws, and its wiggly little nose and fluffy tail, saturday morning was filled with our favorite bunny, Bugs Bunny! "Eeeyyyy... What's up, doc?", Oh! Come on! How can one not remember the excitement of waking up every saturday morning to cartoons! Now, THAT was the life!
When I think of the word, "Rabbit" I think of (now)... Food.
When I mentioned I made rabbit for the very first time the majority of the reaction I got was a scrunched up nose and "Ewwwwww!", but think about it, when you eat chicken or cow or any other "farm" animal, they were once alive and had to go through the same process a rabbit has to go through, being processed for the dinner table! So why is a rabbit considered gross? Because most people are only used to the food that are given them to eat, so chicken and cow are considered normal. I just find that fascinating, how most people can think only in a box! I'm glad i'm not like that at all!
Ok, ok, ok, enough of that now to the rabbit I made for the very first time ever!
We got this rabbit (already cleaned out, I just needed to do the butchering) at our local farmers market from a rancher who raises his own sustenance. My husband was so fascinated at trying rabbit he asked me, "Babe, can you make rabbit for me?", so with absolutely no recipe or any inkling how to make rabbit I said, "Of course!", like I said, i'm the kind willing to try new things!!
All I asked was, "is this a fatty or lean animal?", he said that rabbit is very lean and DO NOT eat the fat as it is disgusting! I took his word for it.
I had no recipe, no idea what I was going to do, but what I did have was excitement and curiosity for what I was going to make for the very first time... and love. Love for my husband to please him and a love for cooking, with Love, any dish will fall into place!
After I created this dish, my husband was so extremely pleased by it he wanted seconds and thirds! It was absolutely delicious!!!!
So, here is my personal recipe (roughly speaking, I rarely narrow down to tablespoons and cups, I just say, "give it a dash or so and taste, if it needs more add! Better to add then mess up and can't take it back!): This Rabbit made 2 servings.
I used the crockpot for this. I didn't trust myself to grill or use the oven. I used an organic red bell pepper, whole mushrooms and raw natural butter.
I butchered the rabbit myself, it was a lot easier than I thought!
Yes! I had to add our puppy, Sadie, in here! She was almost drooling when she saw the rabbit and smelled the spices! She never left that spot until she realized she was getting nothing! Poor thing! Ha Ha!
For the seasoning of the rabbit, I added to both sides of the pieces pink Himalayan salt, pepper and Cajun spice.
Oh ya! I'll drool with ya, sadie!!! I know this is gonna be one fine meal!
For the veggies I seasoned them with lemon and pepper and a bit more pink salt!
Before I forget! I heated the crockpot with the amount of butter I desired (again, I don't give actual amount, I love butter so I gave the pot a huge dollop of buttah! Mmmm!!!). With my crockpot I just had it at 150. This pot REALLY heats fast and a strong heat as well! Each pot, i'm sure, is different. Just remember that rabbit is a very lean meat, so make sure the heat is low.) In this photo I added the veggies to the butter first and then covered it with the Rabbit. so that the seasoning and flavor of the rabbit will go down to the veggies and the steam of the veggies and butter rises to the rabbit!)
Allow to cook for 3 hours. Try not to take off the top often, as the moisture will escape and you will end up with a dry rabbit!
It was absolutely DELICIOUS!!! My husband and I had this awesome rabbit stew with a side salad of romaine lettuce, tomatoes and red onions. I made a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, himilayan salt, bacon and chive seasoning with thin shredded parmesan cheese!
I hope you enjoyed how to make rabbit! Try it and see if you like it! I know I will be having rabbit again but maybe next time i'll try it differently! Either way... it was a wonderful meal!
