Feliz Navidad!

Lucho con la ducha (Battle with the Shower)

Okay, I try to stay positive about my experiences here in Chile because seriously I do love it here. The weather has been nice and HOT, there is always some place new to explore and visit and things are so much cheaper (2 pounds of fresh, juicy strawberries for 75 cents) But right now I really need to vent about my daily battle that makes me question if living here is really worth it. My enemy = the calefont!

Oh yeah, it looks innocent, doesn´t it? It is NOT. For those of you who have experienced a calefont before, I know you are on my side. For those of you who are innocent to how evil this machine really is, let me explain.

Chile is really a very developed country but when it comes to heating water, that´s where it all goes downhill. A calefont is used with propane gas to heat water when you need it for showering, washing dishes, etc. Sounds like a resourceful tool, doesn´t it? Well, don´t be fooled. My daily showering routine now includes twisting the cold knob a few degrees so that the water is tolerable for approximately 8 seconds before it gets too cold for comfort. I then twist the knob the other way, waiting for my 8 seconds of tolerable water again before it gets too hot. (Scalding hot some would say...) And it goes back and forth, back and forth until I finally decide to just give up.

Now, I´m not looking for sympathy. I know that I chose to move here and leave all those wonderful water heaters behind. I´m just venting in a public manner and reminding you to all be grateful for the water heaters in your lives. Treat them well. Give them regular check ups. And remember that it could be worse!

Say 8 Tag -- Thanks Lar...

Just a little tag-a-roo from my favorite sister Laura--Enjoy!

8 Favorite TV Shows
1. The Office
2. Ugly Betty
3. Private Practice
4. Arrested Development
5. NCIS
6. One Tree Hill
7. Casáte Conmigo
8. Amazing Race

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Olive Garden
2. Bajio´s
3. Craigo´s
4. Melina's
5. Rupe's Burgers
6. The Backyard
7. Mexivan in Rexburg
8. Chili´s

8 Things That Happened Yesterday
1. Made lunch (tacos) for the elders
2. Ate `once´ with Pablo
3. Helped Pablo with homework
4. Sent my resume to a bunch of different places
5. Chatted with Mark
6. Checked my facebook
7. Caught up on the watching The Office (www.surfthechannel.com)
8. Offered to wash my clothes but the lady I live with it did it for me

8 Things That I Look Forward to
1. Christmas package from my Mommy!
2. Something sparkly on my hand
3. Getting Christmas shopping done
4. Going to the beach on Monday!
5. Pablo graduating
6. Seeing my family again and meeting my new nephew that will come in Feb!
7. Working...
8. Seeing Twilight (gets to Chile January 1st)

8 Things I Love about Fall/Winter (Spring/Summer here...)
1. The cool evenings
2. The sunsets in Chile over the Andes Mountains
3. Eating ice cream that was only like 17 cents
4. Going to the beach
5. Eating Mote con Huesillo YUM!
6. Taking siestas
7. Planning your day around the cooler parts of the day
8. I´m just grateful it isn´t snowing!

8 Things On My Wishlist
1. Peanut Butter M&M´s
2. New bag/purse
3. a small little Bling-Bling on my hand
4. Only having ONE roommate who is not female
5. a JOB
6. my own apartment
7. A nephew
8. Lindor Truffles

8 Friends I Tag:
Katy W., Michelle Y., Hillary K., Teresa S., Lacey H., Shara H., Kayla G. and anyone else who wants to!

Weekend Fun!

Though I didn´t spend my weekend eating lots of Turkey and early morning shopping, we did have a fun weekend! Friday night was the Azul y Blanco (Blue and White) Stake Dance for all the YM and YW. I recently got called as the 2nd counselour of YW in my ward, and Pablo is the 1st counselour of YM in the Stake, so we had plenty to do to get ready for the dance. Most of the day Friday was spent decorating and getting ready and then Friday night was the dance. Here´s a picture of three of my 4 Beehives (and the grand daughter of the YW President who is from a different ward) Here´s a picture of Pablo with the 2nd counselour from our Stake and the President and other counselours of the Stake YM Presidency--they are all single, RM´s if any of you are out there looking! (wink, wink!) Notice that they are all wearing the same blue ties--just following the theme I guess!

Here are a few pictures of our humble Thanksgiving Day feast if you will! Pablo and I made chicken and rice ( pretty common Chilean meal!) I didn´t know how to make rice like chileans do so I got online and typed in Google--how to cook rice. And guess what--I found a page with step by step instructions, WITH pictures! Nice! (Click HERE if you want to try it at home!)
And don´t forget our scrumpcious deseret of ALFAJORES! Not home made, but one of my absolute favorite treats here in Chile. Seriously, how do Americans survive without them?! They are chocolate dipped, cookie-ish, with manjar (kind of like carmel but way better!) My mouth waters looking at the picture!
I hope you all had great Thanksgiving/Black Friday weekends--though mine was a bit different then usual, it was still pretty great! Now, onward and upward with Christmas shopping and Holiday plans!

Gracias a tí, Podemos Seguir

I have a few other posts that I need to make but I really wanted to share this with all of you today so I decided to wait on the other posts and tell you about the Teletón. I know a lot of times I share crazy Chilean stories, but I seriously love Teletón! Basically since I got here to Santiago, all the news, etc. has been about the upcoming Teletón--it´s a national fundraiser if you will for kids with special needs to be able to receive the help that they need. The money that the raise during these 27 hours is all for kids who need help and can´t afford it.
The cool thing about Teletón is that during these 27 hours (it starts Friday night and ends Saturday night) all of the TV channels show only the Teletón, the banks stay open all night so that people can donate money, all the big companies do things to help motivate the people too. For example, for every Happy Meal that is purchased at McDonalds, they donate so much money, etc. It is really kind of fun to watch the entertainment durning the day but even cooler are the success stories that they show through the day.
The guy who started it all is named Don Franscisco. He was one of the first animators here in Chile and he actually lives in Miami most of the year. But he comes back to Chile every year to do the Teletón. It is amazing to see a man who has so much love for the kids--he spends a lot of the time crying when they share the stories and it is really touching. Here´s a link to a video of the last 30 years of Teletón.
I know this may not be very interesting, but I wanted to share a little bit of the good stuff here in Chile. Having a National Fundraiser is a lot of work and it´s amazing to see this country come together to get money for the kids who need it. If you want to check out a bit more about Teletón, click here!

Christmas is coming...

Feliz Navidad! I know that most of you are making plans to celebrate Thanksgiving, but here in Santiago I am anxiously awaiting Christmas! I´ve never really been a big fan of Thanksgiving anyway, so I don´t really feel like I am missing out on much!

The other day I was itching to get in the Christmas spirit so Pablo and I talked his mom into putting the tree up and decorated! So we put on some traditional Christmas tunes and started trimming the tree! Even though we were smothered in heat, it did make me feel a little Christmas spirit in my heart! Anyone else have their tree up yet?

(Typical Pablo picture...and the bracelet with `saints´on it isn´t his! Feliz Navidad!)

HSM3

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Pablito (little Pablo)

This little guy here is Pablito! My very creative boyfriend had to make a miniature, 3D paper toy of himself for one of his classes. FYI Pablo is studying Publicity with a minor in Creativity. He is on his last semester and finishes classes in January and then will turn in his Thesis and officially graduate sometime in March or April. He is kind of a perfectionist when it comes to these things and he worked really hard on his little guy here--right down to the marks on the jeans and the tee shirt that he is wearing is one that Pablo has. Even the hat is exactly like one of his! I just wanted to show up a little bit of his work. (Oh and by the way, he did get the highest grade in the class!)

Feliz Cumpleaños!

Happy birthday to ME! Last Thursday was my birthday (thanks to all the b-day wishes you all sent my way!) Thursday was kind of hectic and crazy because my boyfriend Pablo had to work on Thursday morning and I had to go to a trial job interview thing all afternoon. By the time we both got home Thursday night we were tired and just went to bed! Friday was a different story though! After sleeping in way too long, we finally got out the door and into the subway where Pablo refused to tell me where we were going. He is constantly surprising me with things like notes and little gifts so this isn´t something new for me. He ended up taking me to Cerro San Cristobal which is a big hill in Santiago where you can see almost the whole city! It was so sweet to be up there and see the city--we even got a peek at the temple from up there! We walked around the shops up there and went to a part where we could take a ride on these buggy-ski lift type rides to another part of the hill. It was so fun to just be with him and talk and enjoy one another. The whole time we were there he kept telling me that we had to be home at 8:30 because he had to do something for a teacher or something. I knew he was lying because he is a bad liar! When we got home, a few of our friends were here to share a birthday cake with us! It was a great way to end a good day and celebrate my birthday! I´m so lucky have such a great boyfriend who enjoys doing the same things that I do! Here are a few pictures of Santiago from up top and Pablo and I!

Marriage...is the reason we are gathered here today!

This last weekend I got to experience what weddings are like in Chile. If you thought that your wedding was hectic, just you wait! On Friday morning two of Pablo and I's friends got married and it was a day full of wedding stuff! Cristian Norambuena I met as a missionary and his family was always really good to me. And his now wife Stefanny is one of Pablo's very best friends. So it was cool to be there with them and share the day with our friends!
We started out the morning at the civil wedding. Here in Chile you have to get married lawfully before you can get married in the temple or in a church. Here is a picture of us outside the City Center where they got married.
After the civil wedding, we went back to Pablo's house to eat lunch and get ready to go to the temple. We were running a little late and ended up calling a taxi to take us to the temple. It was so neat to be there with them. When I was a missionary I got to work at the Temple Open House for the Santiago Temple and I grew to really love this temple. It is so simple and yet so beautiful. It was good to be back again and here the advice of the temple president, President Lyon as he sealed Cristian and Stefanny.
After the temple sealing we returned back to Pablo's house to get ready to go to the reception. It was supposed to start at 9 pm but we did not get there until a little after 10. But don't worry, the bride and groom didn't get there until almost 11. PM that is. The receptions here are a little more formal--you go dressed up, eat a fancy dinner and dance the night away! Around 1:30 am the couple cut the cake and then there was MORE dancing. Pablo and I danced the night away! My friend Cata taught me how to dance Cumbia so now I dance like a chileana! We finally decided to leave around 3 am--what a party! It was so much fun and I'm glad that we were able to spend the day with Cristian and Stefanny!

In Chile ya

I realize I have been in Chile now for a while, but things have been so crazy that I haven´t really had time to post pictures or anything. I got here last Friday at 4:30 am. Pablo was waiting for me at the airport with flowers (see picture above) So far everything has been perfect and we have had a lot of fun together. We went to go visit one of my converts, Andres on Saturday in Maipu. I brought them some butterfingers and their one year old got a hold of one. We had a great time with them! Sunday I went to church with Pablo and I forgot about how it is always colder INSIDE the church then outside. Oh and don´t worry, I had totally forgotten what showering with a calefont is like... Let´s just say it´s not very fun!
I love Santiago and it feels like home to be here again. Yesterday we went to El Centro and walked around and finally ended up in a park (Parque Forestal), eating ice cream and watching all the gay people cuddle in the park! Does it get much better than that? I don´t think so... Tonight we are going to the temple with one of Pablo´s friends who is getting married on Friday. And tomorrow I have my first Chilean job interview so I´m a little nervous. I haven´t been a very good blogger lately but I will try and change now!

ME VOY!

Sorry for the lack of posts...life has been crazy lately! But tomorrow I leave for Chile so these last weeks have been filled with packing, last minute memories, shopping, moving, cleaning, training, and plenty of goodbyes (which I HATE!) If I didn't get to say goodbye to you, don't worry, I would have just cried the whole time anyway! I'm a bawl baby! But I'm excited--this move is long over due and much needed. I get to Santiago on Friday so expect a better update then!

Need a good laugh?!

I have been hesitating blogging about this story...but I know that if I told the story to my old boss Erin she would tell me to blog about it. So if no one else thinks this is funny, Erin--this is for you!

The office where I work only has ONE bathroom. Now that isn't one woman's bathroom, that's just A single bathroom to share. Sometimes this can get kind of interesting, especially since the guy to girl ratio isn't even at all--the guys out number us by a lot. And the office has recently got a lot fuller so there are about 15 guys and 4 of us girls which for having only one bathroom, it stays pretty busy.

Okay, now that I have set the grand story up for those of you who don't know what the situation is, imagine now that it is the first day for 4 new sales guys. I had been running around all day, helping with paperwork, getting them on their computers, and doing all my Monday morning reports, etc. on top of that. I walk down the aisle to head into the bathroom and notice the door is closed. Which is common because a few guys sit near the bathroom and prefer to keep the door closed all the time due to the...um...stink problem. I do a little tap on the door and begin to twist the doorknob and swing the door wide open to find one of the new guys YELLING like a girl occupying the toilet. Oh yeah. Totally walked in on him. It was so BAD! I slam the door horrified that I have just walked in on the new guy and all of the sales guys start to laugh and tease me. I'm sure my face was bright red. I didn't even know what to say. Eventually when the new guy comes out of the bathroom one of the guys says to him, "Don't mind Becki. She does that to everyone. It's part of the Prosper hazing..." WOW. The whole rest of the week all of the guys teased me about it. One of them kept on sending me e-mails through out the day saying, "Remember when you peeked on the new guy?" Needless to say, I think it's time Prosper got separate bathrooms. Maybe I should share this story as evidence to get a second bathroom...and quick!

Silly Blake!

My nephew Blake (Laura's little guy) has got to be about the cutest thing ever (or one of the three cutest) Lately his vocabulary has about doubled every day and he says some of the funniest stuff! I know he's not my kid, but I had to put this video of him up. Lately he has been into painting since his mom just re painted his new room. So he carries around this old paint brush and says, " I paint the wall." And he repaints EVERYTHING! So I had to put a video up of him and his silly phrase!

Update on the whole Santiago stuff

Okay, not that I feel that important but I have gotten a lot of questions from some of you about me moving out of the country. And I figured it would probably be easier to answer them on here so that I don't have to repeat myself a billion times! (More like twice, but whatever...)

I've actually been thinking about moving to Santiago for about a year now (if not longer) and I was just kind of waiting to get school out of the way before I could do anything about it. Since I graduated in April, I just had to pick a good date to go! I am hoping to stay for a few years in Santiago at least but it will all depend on things once I get down there. I think that eventually I'd like to get more school done but right now I'm looking for some good experiences. I am currently working on getting TEFL Certified (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) so that I can get a better job. I don't have a job yet but I don't think it will be too hard to find one.

I'll be living with Tia Rosi, she's the aunt of one of my good friends, Geraldine Lara. She lives en La Cisterna (calle El Parron) for those of you who know where that is. And don't you all fret, I'll be updating my blog lots and I won't fall off the face of the earth! I am really excited about it all and just want to get down there! If you have any other questions, pregunteme no mas!

Needs...we all have them!

Okay, for lack of an exciting topic, I found this idea on a different blog. Go to google and type in your name and the word "needs" after it (i.e. Becki needs ) to find out what you really need! Here are a few of the needs that I found out! Kind of entertaining...

Becki needs- poetry or she will shrivel up and die. (not sure about this one...)

Becki needs Facebook. (enough said)

Becki needs a new hair color. (ouch! I like my hair color...)

Becki needs your help!!! (when don't I?)

Becki needs to know what to do Richard! (I guess just Richard will help me...)

Becki...you need to come to Florida. (on my way...making a stop in Miami on my way to Chile!)

Becki needs nothing.

Becki needs a cupid for her psyche. (hmm...)

Becki needs to be flash and cool. (aren't I already?!)

Becki sometimes needs to actually do some proper work! (blogging at work isn't proper?)

Puro CHILE tus cielos azulados...

It is very official. I am moving! I leave the 8th of October to move to Santiago, Chile and I don't think I could be more happy!! I've felt like this was a good decision for a long time now but I have been holding out to see if it really was the right one. And luckily everything just seems to be falling into place! I have seriously been blessed to have things come together like this! And I know it will be really hard to be far away from my family and friends but I have some amazing friends who are like family to me in Santiago also. And please come visit me whenever you want! It will always be nice to see familiar faces and speak some English! So hopefully my life will go from boring to exciting once I get this move behind me! (Yeah right, but we can always hope, right?)

Serioulsy So Blessed

I'm not getting paid to advertise or anything like that but I have just spent the last while giggling and falling in love with this blog. My sister told me about it and it kills me to read the stuff she writes! She's not for real (love her sarcasm!) but you just know people like her really do exist! So if you are looking for something to do and want to be entertained, check out Seriously So Blessed!

August Update

It's been a bit since I have blogged anything and I'm sure you can all guess why...Nothing has been happening! Nothing worth writing about anyway. So I thought I would just put a few things that have been brewing in my boring life. But don't expect to be entertained!
The latest and greatest has been reading Breaking Dawn. (Thanks to Whitni for letting me borrow it!) So far, so good. But for those of you who are Twilight fans, I'm not going to say much because I don't want to give anything away. I also read The Host awhile ago (by Stephenie Meyer also) and I think I will confess that I did like The Host better then the Edward-Bella-Jacob love triangle. But still, Breaking Dawn is captivating.
Another perk in the last few weeks has been the new season of Project Runway. I know you are all probably thinking that me, of all people, would like a fashion reality show, but seriously, I'm hooked! Even if I am just a jeans and tee shirt girl, I love watching the new and cool designs that they come up with each week and analyzing them as though I were the guest judge. (That will be the day...) My favorite is Kenley--I like her style a lot!
I'm also working on plans to move and get out of Rexburg for a while. I've sent off my resume and podcast to a few places in this city! I'll let you know when all the plans are set and you can start saying your goodbyes! (Don't fret, you have a few months still...)
P.S. I recently got to see two of my good friends (who also are sisters!) and were my roommates at one time in my life, Kristy and Jamie. Here's a pic to prove that we actually got together! Love you both lots!!

Dutch Oven Cookoff!

A little bit of this when my family is involved doesn't last very long! It's kind of a family favorite to cook dutch oven style and so because my older brother Alan and my sister in law Amber and their two boys were here, we had a yummy dutch oven dinner with a Campbell specialty of Jambalaya and of course two different kinds of cobbler! Don't worry, there were not many leftovers!
It's been really fun to have everyone together for a few days and spend some good time with my adorable nephews! Later I realized I had quite a few pictures of Marcus but who knows where Jackson was when my camera was out?!
Now that they are gone we will miss them but things should hopefully settle down...yeah right, like that will happen!

What's been going on?

A friend of my recently told me that she doesn't read my posts, she only looks at the pictures...so for her sake, here are some pictures of my nephews who are all here right now! We have had a lot of fun just hanging out!

Tag

What I was doing 10 years ago...
Let's think...10 years ago I was 15 just waiting to turn 16. I did go on my first date a week before my 16th birthday--Homecoming with Brandon Esplin!

What is on my to-do list...
1. Fold my clean clothes waiting for me at home... ick!
2. Translate my resume into Spanish to e-mail...
3. Write blog articles for Mark (like that will happen soon!)

What are 3 habits of mine...
1. OCD about certain things, like certain rooms being clean, the items on my desk at work, etc...it's weird, I know!
2. I nibble on the inside of my mouth when I am nervous
3. I have to brush my teeth before I put my makeup on...

Things you might not know about me...
1. I have had over 60 roommates (not including my 12 mission companions)
2. I HAVE to listen to ocean music as I fall asleep or else I will be up all night...
3. I'm a hopeless romantic!

4 TV shows/movies that I love...
1. Jon & Kate plus 8
2. The Office
3. Nacho Libre
4. Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightley one!)

4 Jobs that I have had...
1. Lead Distribution Manager at Prosper, Inc.
2. Translator for BYU-Idaho Preschool
3. Processor at Premier Insurance
4. and my favorite, general worker at Grease Monkey!

4 Favorite books that I've read...
1. Twilight Series
2. Harry Potter--all 7 of them!
3. Pride and Prejudice
4. El Tunel

5 Places that I've lived...
1. Rexburg, Idaho
2. Anaheim, California
3. Quito, Ecuador
4. Santiago, Chile
5. Fairway, Kansas

5 Favorite foods...
1. Mil hojas cake
2. Potatoes--any form
3. my mother's Lasagne
4. Pita Pit
5. Empanadas

5 People I tag...
1. Katy, Michelle, Ami (RS Posse!)
2. Erin
3. Amber/Laura (family goes together, right?)
4. Janese, Kayleen, Mary Ann (mission friends go together too...)
5. Kayla

Memory Game!

Here is a fun little game... leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time or a long time, anything that you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It is pretty funny to read the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you are playing and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. On your mark... get set... blog those memories!

Feliz 4 de Julio

Happy Fourth of July! We had a great day that started with an early morning breakfast in town with Laura's ward and then we were off for some shopping and catch a late lunch with the whole fam for Tim's birthday! We then went to go see Wall-E (very cute!) and then some more shopping while we waited for the sun to go down. Doug and my Dad had blocked off our spot in the dirt earlier that day so we were all set to watch the Melaleuca Freedom Celebration. The fireworks this year were better than last year--they were awesome! I hope you all had a great 4th also!

Batter Fried Zucchini

Are you all ready for another recipe? (Just shows how BORING my life is...) This one is a family favorite. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the summer my sister Laura was pregnant with Blake we ate batter fried zucchini almost daily. That's how good it is! And the fact that it is zucchini makes you feel like it is nutritious but it's fried so you know what that means--YUMMY!
We made some on Saturday to go with our BBQ so I snapped a few pics so you can get the whole effect. And I'll put the recipe below if you want to try them out at home!Batter Fried Zucchini (from my Aunt Nyla)

1 cup + 2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 slightly beaten egg
1 cup milk
2 tbsp. oil

Beat them all together until the dry ingredients are wet. (Laura likes to mix it all until the batter is smooth, so it's up to you how long you want to beat it...) Slice up zucchini--it can be thick or thin, however you prefer. And then dip the slices in the batter until completely covered. Remove from batter and place into hot oil. (THE BEST PART!) Brown each side evenly. You want them to be kind of dark, but not burnt and not too light or it isn't cooked long enough. Remove from oil when both sides are brown and place on a paper towel to drip dry and sprinkle with salt immediately. Let them cool for a minute and ENJOY!

Relay For Life

Our Team--The Wacky Witches (don't ask about the team name...)

This last weekend was the Relay For Life in Blackfoot. I got to be on a team with some great people--including Laura and my Mom. For those of you who don't know, the Relay For Life is a 12-hour walk that is done by teams to raise money for the American Cancer Society. It is a great cause and I'm sure we all know at least one person who has suffered from cancer. With all of the teams raising money, they announced that there was over $85,000 raised which is a lot of money considering the size of the community! It was a really cool experience because the first lap was done by all the cancer survivors present (all wearing purple shirts) and then the next lap was done by their families and caregivers. On the third lap they gathered up their teams and we all walked together. My mom in her Wacky Witches outfit!

One of the coolest things of the night was when they shut off all the lights on the track and had the teams light the luminaria bags on the track. We all walked in silence while someone in the lead walked and played the bagpipes. It was so cool to walk with my Mom and Laura and look at all the bags that were in honor of a cancer survivor or someone who had passed away because of cancer. It was a really humbling experience. We stayed up the whole night and walked and watched the crazy activities going on but it was a fun experience and I'm so glad I got to be involved with it! Julie Van Orden, our team's survivor and some of her friends!