Di: Hi, How are you? JR: Hi, I've got bad news

Thursday night. 

What a crazy night.

 JR left my house a little after 9:15pm on his motorcycle to go home. He almost always calls or texts me when he gets home so I know he is safe and to say our final good night. Right when he left I went upstairs to get ready for bed. I washed my face and brushed my teeth and slide right into bed.

My phone rings and It's JR.

Di: Hi, How are you?

JR: Hi, I've got bad news.

Di: Whats wrong?

JR: I got into a accident.

 My heart dropped and I felt pain in my chest. I wanted to try to stay calm while talking to him but inside I was freaking out. I start asking him, Where are you? Are you okay? Are you hurt? I'm on the phone with him while I'm starting to run down the hall to get into my car and get to him as fast as possible. I then notice...I don't have shoes, socks or a jacket on. I rush back and start putting on what needs to be put on while trying to figure out where he is. The accident happened on the 210 freeway. He tells me where he is and then I tell him I love him so much and that I'll see him in a few minuets. He sounded startled and shaken up on the phone. If anyone knows JR he is ALWAYS very calm.

I call my dad while I'm in the car. I tell him quickly what happened and to pray for JR. I also called my best friend, Jessica. She is good at calming me down. I needed them and God at this moment to help me get through whatever was about to happen.

The moment I pulled up and I saw him standing there, I cried. I rushed up to him to hold and kiss him. I couldn't believe how lucky and blessed he was and how lucky and blessed I was. I can't imagine not having him here with me. At that moment I never wanted to let him go again. I hear about motorcycle accidents all the time. At least 2 times a week while watching the news in the morning as I get ready for work. I've always made sure to tell JR I love him before he leaves and  give him a kiss. I've had nightmares of accidents and still inside a part of me thought it will never happen. He walked away from all of this :) He is okay. He is banged up but okay. That night while I prayed, I cried. I was so thankful that God protected him. I thanked him for all that he has given me. I thanked him for JR. 

The day after I made sure he came over so I could take care of him. I let him choose whatever he wanted to eat. He decided on In-N-Out. That night when he really wanted Diet Coke and I didn't have any, I went out to get some. I was more then happy to do it. I was just so glad to have him here with me. 

For those of you who know Jorge and might be worried, he is fine. He is banged up pretty bad in some areas like his poor legs (they have road rash). His arms and ribs hurt from the fall but he is okay :) My Handsome man is okay!! 

 Yesterday we went to Lancaster to visit my family. My cute little niece Lou Lou was going to be preforming at the California Poppy Festival. She is 2 years old and loves her dance class. She was so cute! JR has known Lou Lou since she was born. This is them at her blessing. As you can see they go way back ;)

 Yesterday we told her that Tio Jorge has ouchies. The reason we told her was because she likes to climb up on us to sit on our laps.We wanted to make sure she would be extra soft with him. JR showed her a little bit of his ouchies on his ankles and she was so worried for him. 

she said

 "Tio, you go to the Doctors and get a shot. Okay?"

She also gave him a big hug. She hugged him for a little bit . It was so sweet. 

She loves him. During the day she would remember and ask Tio if he was okay. 

 I'm so glad and thankful everyday for my loved ones. 

I'm thankful for my handsome man.

JR,

I'm glad you're okay 

I love you.

-Di

Mom

I've had people come up to me lately telling me they read my blog.

I didn't think anyone was reading it since I hadn't been receiving  many comments but I guess you are out there. 

It made me happy to know people are reading and enjoying.
Don't be shy and leave a comment if you like. I'd love it!
:)

 I started this blog so my mother, Jazmin, could be updated and a part of my wedding planning. I know it must be hard for her to be so far away during this important time of my life.

This is my mother.

My mother is my #1 Fan. I'm not exaggerating in any way. This cute woman made sure to go to all of my games, recitals, award ceremonies and school plays. If it were a sporting event she would be yelling and cheering me and my siblings on. I laugh every time I think about the way she would cheer so loudly at our games. 

A few years ago my parents moved back to South America. They currently live in Cochabamba, Bolivia and they love it!! They get to see all their family and friends again. At first it was REALLY  hard for me to deal with the fact they were gone. Just ask JR, I would just start crying out of the blue because I missed them so much. As time has gone by I've been able to handle it a lot better. During the holidays is when I miss them the most.

     Last May my parents came down to visit us kids and the grandchildren. The night before they left JR had the "talk" with my dad. He was asking for my hand in marriage. I love the fact that he did. Even though he wasn't going to be doing it right away, he knew this was going to be his chance to get to ask my father face to face. I had no clue he was going to ask for my hand in marriage. I thought he was going to tell him not to worry so much about me and that he loved me very much and that he will make sure to watch over me while they are gone.

     While all this was happening I was upstairs with my mom and sister. We were packing the rest of the luggage. My dad walks upstairs by himself, JR stayed downstairs to finish watching the laker game. He starts looking at me with this big smile on his face and he is about to start crying. I'm like, it's going to be okay, we will see each other really soon! You see, Every time they leave we all cry like crazy!! We hate saying goodbye to each other. Well I thought this is what was about to take place. He is going to start the good byes. I was wrong!!! He blurts out that JR just asked him for my hand in marriage!!! My mom starts freaking out and my sister is like, WHAT!!! I of course have the biggest smile on my face. I'm so excited! My dad starts crying and gives me a hug. My mom then starts with the water works and then it's over. The 4 of us are upstairs crying because JR asked for my hand in marriage. My dad starts telling us about how he did it and what he said. He was super impressed because JR did it in Spanish :) Well, then my mom turns to me and asked, when's the date??  I look at her and explain to her that I'm not engaged and that we don't have a date. I then explain to them that I don't think I'm supposed to know that he asked for my hand. I explain to my mother again about how it's a secret. How we don't have a date yet since i'm not engaged. Fast forward to the next morning.

 I wake up to a phone call from my brother.

Chris : "Congrats!!! I heard you and JR got engaged last night! That's awesome!"

  Di: WHAT!!!! Who told you that?? We aren't engaged!

 I explain to him what happened and he starts laughing and tells me that Mom told him :)

My mom was one of the first that I called when I got engaged. She started yelling and cheering for me on the phone and all I could do was cry. I wished that she could be here to kiss and hug me. I also wanted her to do this little clap thing that she does. It's really cute :) I didn't get the hug and kiss I wanted but she did tell me how happy and how proud of me she was. She told me that I deserve this, that I deserve to be happy and that she couldn't imagine me with anyone else. She carries this picture of JR and I in her purse and shows it off to everyone. It was nice to hear her approval over the phone about the man I had chosen to marry.I look back and I'm so thankful that my dad spilled the beans that night. I was able to see my mom's reaction to the "engagement" news and get a big hug and kiss from her that night. 

She was just happy that she could finally tell everyone that I was engaged. I was happy for that exact same reason.

I'm engaged....FINALLY :) 

It's really happening!

Last week I received an e-mail from Macy's inviting us join them for a wedding registry event for tonight. It started at 6:30pm and when we arrived they handed JR a scan gun & I grabbed some paperwork. We entered a couple contest's while we were there. It was a really niceevent. They had some very tasty  hors d'oeuvres and sparkling cider for us. We scanned and sipped the night away. 

       

It was so much fun to be able to walk around the store and see all of the cool stuff they had. One of my favorite parts of registering was being able to choose things with JR. Things that WE will be using in OUR home :) It's nice to be able to see what we like and what we don't like and then make a decision together. We only added a few things to our registry for now and we plan on doing more online and then going back to Macy's when it's not as busy. While we were leaving they gave us a tote bag with presents!!! Our first wedding gift!

A few pictures of us opening our presents

Excited about our gift's

$25 restaurants.com card, silicone hot pad & tote bag.

Spatula and mini whisk.

 Our gift bag with our goodies

While we were scanning and looking at all the kitchen stuff I was telling JR about how I really wanted this bakeware set. We were looking for the price but couldn't find it so I went to the price check station and found out it was on super sale..... 24.99!!

So we decided to buy it since they only had one more left. Our first purchase for our home :) It's starting to feel real. With every step I get more and more excited. It's really happening!! 
I'm getting married :)

The wedding date

We have been getting the question every engaged couple gets....When is the big day? or more recently it's been, Have you finally set a date yet?? I know it seems a little odd that after 2 months we still don't have a date set. Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset in any way at anyone who asks me. I know people are only asking because they are excited that we are getting married and that makes me really happy. I just wish I could have a simple way to answer the question for everyone. This is my attempt to answer.  

 I'd like you to meet my Daddy :)

This man right here is my HERO, he is my life. The one man who has always been there for me.  He has always told me he loves me and how special I am. He is such a hard worker, always puts God and his family first. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful father. 

I love him very much.

My father was diagnosed with Lupus about 17 years ago. He has since had his complications with this illness. Sadly, at the moment no cure exists. Although, I pray that someday VERY soon he might be blessed with one. 

My daddy's kidneys are not doing very well. Last year we sat down and spoke about the possibility of a transplant.  We had an appointment with this man right here and his wonderful staff.

 Dr.Tuso is the family angel =)

This man diagnosed my father and saved his life numerous times over the years. While we were meeting with our family angel, he informed us of the the status of my dad's kidneys. During a special appointment with him and his great staff they explained the process of the transplant. He would need to be added to the transplant list. A work up needs to be done in order to be added to the list. After he is placed on the list he will have to wait for a kidney which can take 6-7 years. During those 6-7 years he will most likely need to be placed on dialysis. JR currently works at a dialysis center and he has told me about some of the patients. It breaks my heart to think that he might have to do this for that long. They asked if any of us are willing to donate that way he isn't just waiting for years. We are all willing to donate but not all of us can for different reason that are completely understandable. In order to donate we need to make sure we are healthy and have no other complications.

What does this have to do with our wedding date?

My dad has finished his work up to be added to the list. I have had some blood work done last year and they checked to make sure I had 2 kidneys. Guess what ?!?! I DO!!  Everything has been rolling along pretty well. We have now been referred to UCLA medical center. This is the hospital that we decided on as a family. He has an important doctors appointment coming up with UCLA in a few weeks and we have decided to wait and see what the results will be. If his kidney function has diminished by a lot then we will need to proceed with the next step which is transplant. I will need to go into UCLA and have numerous tests done. From the limited test I had done last year and with my blood type it looks like I'm a match. We still don't know for sure if everything is a match but I was told that if the rest doesn't match with the beauty of science it should still work out. JR and I decided that we will wait and see what the doctors say. If he needs a transplant right away then he needs it right away and the wedding will need to wait. I want to make sure I can dance and have a good time at my wedding and I also want to make sure my dad is going to be able to do the same. If the doctors say that he should be okay for another year or two then we will get to set a date and start booking everything. My father has been through kidney failure before and we have prayed and fasted that they would start functioning again and they have. We have faith that whatever happens is meant to happen. 

This is my family.

I would do ANYTHING for any one of them. They would do ANYTHING for me. I'm blessed to have them. I love my family very much. My dad loves all of us. He has sacrificed so much over the years to make sure we had food on the table and a roof over our heads. I've NEVER heard my father complain once about how it's too hard. He is amazing! 

I hope this will help everyone better understand why we don't have a date set. I know it's kind of a different situation but it's whats going on. :) 

Happy Birthday Handsome!!!

It was JR's birthday on Friday, March 25th. I'm so happy this handsome man was born :) He had 3 days worth of birthday celebrations this year!!

Jorge had to work on his birthday this year so after work we grabbed a quick lunch and some Jamba juice. His first birthday gift was from me and his best friend, Derek. JR was going to the staples center to watch the LA Lakers vs. LA Clippers! How awesome is that! The Lakers won but sadly they didn't get any tacos that night. The boys had lots of fun and I think that it was nice that he was able to have a guys night for his last single birthday.  So since I wasn't able to really be with him on the day of his actual birthday, I had him all day Saturday!! I started it off buy giving him the rest of his presents.

 JR loves red vines and Jcrew. As you can see I bought him a little something from Jcrew and a 4lb tub of red vines. I also bought some yummy cupcakes from Dot's. They were delicious!!! Later that night we went to Cheesecake for dinner with his family. We sang Happy Birthday and ate this yummy cheesecake.

The next day of his 3 day celebration was Sunday. We went to church in the morning and  afterwards we headed over to his Sisters house to have dinner with his family and our good friend, Natalia. Natalia bought JR a Mint'n'Chip ice cream cake.One of his favorites!!

I just need to express how lucky I am to have such a wonderful man in my life. While I was writing his birthday card this year I cried.  I'm such a baby!! I know it's his birthday but I can't stop thinking about how I'm the one who received the best gift this day 29 years ago. I get to have HIM and not just for a little bit but soon I'll have him for all of eternity!! How lucky am I! He is so good to me it's crazy. I think about everything I have ever wanted in husband and he has every single quality and more.

 Jorge,

Thank you for loving me so much. Thank you for always making me feel beautiful everyday by telling me. I can't imagine my life without you and I don't want to. I can't wait for the day that we get to be sealed for time and all eternity. I know you will be an amazing husband and father.Thank you for being you. I love you mucho!!

 Love Always and Forever,

Diane

I entered a contest and I won!

Can you believe it!?!?! Thank you Amorology Weddings :) I'm so excited that I actually won something!

- a $25 Sephora gift card

- a copy of the new book HOW I PLANNED YOUR WEDDING

- a copy of Susan Wiggs recent novel MARRYING DAISY BELLAMY

I also won some Mascara from Clinique a few weeks ago. Thanks Clinique!!!

I can't remember the last time I won anything! I'm most excited about the Sephora gift card.

     I don't know if anyone has been to the sephora in Pasadena but they are AMAZING!! The night JR proposed to me I was a mess. I couldn't stop crying. As you can see in the pictures my face is red and I have tears (happy tears) falling down my face. When I spoke to my dad on the phone to tell him the great news, I heard him start crying. I started crying all over again after I had finally calmed down a bit. Just seeing the man I love down on one knee asking ME to marry him was just AMAZING!! After the phone calls we decided to go to dinner in Pasadena. JR and I were in the car and I was complaining about my make up. It was all messed up and I knew I wanted to take a few pictures. I just didn't want my face to look like it did at the moment :( I decided to make a quick stop inside sephora since it was right there. I walked in grabbed make up I had heard about and asked someone if they could do a quick color match for me. The girl started telling me about this other make up line and how great it was. I would have loved to listen to her had I not been in a hurry. I explained to her that I had just got engaged and was crying ( of happiness) and needed to fix my make up quickly. She looked at my hand  and told me my ring was BEAUTIFUL,smiled and sat me down. She grabbed another co worker and quickly explained the situation. They retouched all my make up and fixed my mascara in about 5 minutes. They were so sweet! They were my Fairy God mothers for the night :)  I've been wanting to go back but just haven't had the chance. I'm also planning on writing the company and let them know about how happy I was with my Fairy God Mothers :) 

The Dress

Warning... This is a very LONG post.

     I went to try on wedding dresses yesterday with my father and sister. We went to just take a look. I had the idea of having my wedding dress made. My roommate had her dress made and it came out BEAUTIFUL! It fit her body perfectly. She was very happy with the way it came out and the price was great too.

    So my dress shopping experience wasn't the way I always thought it would  be. Maybe I've been watching to much Say Yes to the Dress or something. I had an appointment  for 11am in Northridge. I showed up just a little bit before just in case I needed to fill anything out and to browse the store a bit. The store didn't open until 11am so I stood outside the store with 3 other brides. 1 of the brides didn't have an appointment and the other bride did.  They opened the store around 11:05am. The bride that didn't have an appointment walked inside the store before me and she told the lady in the front that she did not have an appointment and that she wanted to try some dresses on. The lady had her fill out paper work and then told me to do the same. She didn't ask me if I had an appointment or anything. The other bride who had an appointment had been taken into the back already and now the girl without an appointment was being taken into the back while I just sat in the front. I'm getting annoyed. Another lady approached me and asked me what I needed. I told her that I finished filling out the paperwork and that I had an appt at 11:00am. She hands me a magazine and tells me to choose dresses that I like. I explain to her that I already have  pictures and style numbers for the dresses I liked. I pulled them from their website. She looks at a sheet of paper and tells me that my appointment today is with Barbra. The store called me the day before to confirm my appointment and left a message telling me I had an appointment with Barbra. The lady then gets on the phone and I over hear her saying that she is the manager. When she got off the phone she complains to me about whoever she was on the phone her. I ask her if the first lady who was up here happened to be Barbra because if it is she is helping someone else (the non appointment Bride) try on dresses. I pointed out who I was talking about and she confirms that yes, that is Barbra. So basically Barbra is helping a walk in with dresses not the Bride who scheduled an appointment with her over a week ago. I'm getting even more annoyed.  The manager is now trying to figure out what to do. She sends another worker to check on Barbra and see what she is doing. She explains that Barbra is helping a bride find a dress. They go back in forth for a minute and I'm annoyed now so I jump in and explain that I'm supposed to have an appointment at 11am with Barbra. The worker finally leaves and comes back and starts walking me to the back. I try to ask her whats going on and she seems like she is now getting upset with me for asking questions. She is also trying to hurry me up, which I didn't like.

    She tells me to put on a corset and walks away. I wasn't sure if I'm supposed to get undressed at this point or just put on this corset. I had to ask her if I should take my pants off ? I had no clue what was going on. I didn't know if she was going to walk around the store with me or what! She finally comes back with a few dresses that I had showed her. I'm also trying to explain to her that I need sleeves. That I'm a LDS bride. She just doesn't get it. I explain that I need to be covered up and she tells me that they can't do that. I explained that I would get alterations somewhere else if needed but that if she has anything with straps or sleeves that I would like to try it on. She seemed like she was getting annoyed with me and made me feel like I was being too demanding, I tried to explain again that the reason is because I need to be modest and it would be easier to build sleeves on a dress that already has straps of some sort. She brings me strapless dresses and I try some on. They were beautiful! They really were but I knew that it's not the way the dress was going to look like in the end. I had to try to imagine how it would look like after I get it fixed. Some of them would be  hard to fix and others would just look like a completely different dress.After a few No's I was in the dressing room with her and she seemed to be annoyed with why I said No to the dresses. She then made a comment about how I'm not going to find a dress here because they are all going to be like the other dresses. I was offended by it because the tone and look on her face almost made me feel like she was telling me that I'm wasting her time. I asked her if she would please bring me the two dresses that I had pictures of that had sleeves. She seemed like she didn't really want to bring them. Almost like it was a waste of time but I insisted. She explained that one of the dresses was only for plus size brides so she wouldn't be able to bring that one but that she will get the other one.

  When I put the dress I requested on, I loved it :)  So now I'm torn between two dresses. I tried them both on and she started being nicer when I gave her credit for finding the dresses even though I'm the one who found it and insisted she bring it. I felt that I needed to make her feel good so that I could get the help I wanted. I just wanted it to be a good experience especially since my father was here for it. I asked for the pricing on the two dresses and it was about a $1000 difference. I noticed that the less expensive dress (#2) would also need the least amount of alterations and I would be able to wear it inside the temple. The 1st dress would need to have more alterations and that it would also ultimately change the complete  look of the dress. It was more of a dramatic dress. I was scared that in 10 years I would look back and say " WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!". Almost like the puffy sleeve dresses I've seen. So with the decision made I asked her again on the price and she explain that because of the sale that was extended for today only it was $50 off. Keep in mind that I had received an e-mail that morning that said it was extended for another week. She tells me that this dress might be discontinued and that she would double check. She comes back saying that it's not being discontinued and that it was actually $100 off of the sale tag but that the sales ends today!! She made sure I knew that they received an e-mail that morning saying that the sale was going to end that day.

 Before I made my final decision I had a few more questions. It took a while for me to get the chance to ask her since she started helping 2 other brides. So she is now dressing a total of 3 different brides.I'm confused about the appointment situation. I don't understand how I get time taken away from my consultation for other people who didn't even make appointments. I made an appointment over a week ago. All I wanted was one hour with a dress consultant. She finally makes her way over and I get to ask her my questions. What if I change my mind? How long do I have to cancel the order and what fee's would I have to pay? She said that I can cancel at any time. The dress comes in 2 different colors and I was torn between the two. She said that I could order it in one color and if I decided I want the other color instead that I could just order the other and return the one that came. She explained that I would have no fee's and that if I just decided that I want another dress that it would be no problem! I told her that I wanted the dress. I was really excited and made my way to the front to get rung up by the manager. She starts ringing me up and I sign and then she hands me the receipt after the transaction is over and says okay this is a final sale. I look at her and ask her why? I explained that I had asked the consultant about this and she said that I could change my mind and exchange it if needed. She looks at me like I'm crazy and asked me if I was having doubts about the dress. I explained that yes I was. I was torn between two dresses and that I wasn't sure which color to choose. She told me thats not possible and then proceeded to tell me that the consultant was wrong and that basically there is nothing she could do about it. I told her that if that were the case she should have informed me before the transaction was finished  that this was a final sale. She then told me that this dress is final sale because it's being discontinued. I told her that the consultant told me it wasn't being discontinued. I'm starting to get upset because no one in the store know what they are doing or talking about!!!  She finally says that it's okay. That if I needed to she would exchange the dress in case I change my mind later. I had her write it on the receipt.

    When I got into the car I decided to call the bridal store in Monrovia. I wanted to double check on the price and the sale. I felt like I they were trying to trick me and that they had been lying to me. While on the phone they explained me that the price was correct but that the sale would not be over for another week. That they were also e-mailed  in the morning with the extension.  I was so upset with them. They had been lying to me so they could make a sale. I just didn't want to deal with it anymore. If I were to walk back into that store I would have gone off. In the end I was happy with the dress. I felt good about it after I got home and show my roommate. Don't get me wrong though. I will be e-mailing Davids Bridal and letting them know how awful my experience was at the location. While on the phone with the Monrovia store I noticed the difference in costumer service. They were so nice and helpful on the phone.

    Now I wish I could put up some pictures but I'm afraid Jorge might take a look and see it. I will post some of a two dresses I ended up not getting.

I did like this dress a lot but I felt I liked it more as a fun dress rather then my actual Wedding dress.

 This dress was really busy up top. I also didn't like the way my body looked.  

In the end I'm happy and excited for my wedding dress. I'm so happy I found it and I can't wait!!