Married in Miami

I don't know who all reads this blog anymore, but I now have a new blog for which I am writing about my new life and husband in Miami. You can follow along here:

http://www.marriedtothecuban.blogspot.com

:) Cheers!

Havana Nights in Kansas

About a week ago, I experimented on my family in preparing a Cuban meal and having them test it out.  I made everything from scratch including rice, black beans, palomilla steak, tres leches cake and mojito's.  To start off the meal, I read an excerpt from a poem by José Martí, the beloved Cuban poet who died fighting for Cuba's independence from Spain.  I also passed out "cubanismos," or Cuban slang, on note cards and placed them at each setting around the table, and had my very white family attempt to pronounce them.  ;)  It was quite enjoyable!  We listened to light salsa music playing in the background, the very first salsa mix that Israel brought to Kansas in March.

Pink Obsession

Lately, I've had this small pink obsession.  I'm still a huge fan of red and aqua, but I've really been liking light pink and medium pink shades.  There's something about pink that's so feminine and lovely!

The Final Countdown

In just 36 days, I will be married to this wonderful man:

God's Grace is amazing.  I truly do not deserve Israel Sánchez, but for some reason, God loves to bless us and give us the most perfect gifts.  I met Israel when I was least expecting it, when I wasn't looking for a relationship.  But I'm thankful Israel kept pursuing me until I finally let him call me.  ;)

It will be such an incredible blessing being married to Israel.  I've never been happier in my entire life, and I can't believe I get to call him my husband in just a little more than a month!  

It's extremely hard living 1500 miles away from each other, but there is comfort in the fact that this is our last separation.  Soon we will be married and can spend all of our days together.  

I've met the love of my life, the man who meets every quality I always wanted in a future mate.  The fact that we met through this very blog, through Jesus, still blows me away! 

 

A Little Domesticity

I have never considered myself very domestic.  But I have felt that begin to change dramatically in the last few months.  I guess the secret to this motivation is being engaged.  

I have never cooked much in my life, nor had much of a desire to do so, too paralyzed by fear to attempt any real meal.  Someone gave me a Cuban cookbook as a wedding present, and I was immediately intrigued.  I have looked at every single recipe multiple times and am actually excited to attempt a real Cuban meal.

While I spent a few weeks in Miami, I tried out a couple of recipes.  I even asked Israel's great-grandmother for her secret to dry rice (the way Israel prefers it), through my fiancé acting as a translator, of course.  I used the rice cooker that his mom had left behind and attempted Ofelia's recipe for perfect rice.  It actually turned out exactly like how she said it would!  So if all else fails, at least I can feed my Cuban his much needed rice.

Working on fabric flowers for the wedding, I found myself longing for a sewing machine and desiring to sew more than just a loose button.  It is exciting to think about different decorations for our home and picking out which 11 inch frying pan I would like to scramble eggs on.  

This is all fascinating to me, as all of these desires to cook well and make a home are so fresh and new.  Only 40 more days until I am a wife to the most loving man I have ever known!

A long overdue update

I haven't written a real entry in a long time, so I thought I would update a little.  Right now I'm at work with Israel in Miami.  It's been a productive day for me, working on our wedding slideshow and editing pictures for that.  

It's been such a busy summer I almost don't know where to begin!  I spent a week in Williamsburg with Tricia and friends, three weeks in Ireland with just Tricia, and one week in Miami to see my wonderful fiancé.  I came home for a couple weeks after being away for a while and then Israel came to spend some time in Kansas one last time before coming back for the wedding.  

It was so wonderful having Israel here, enjoying the Fourth of July and my birthday.  It was one of the best birthdays I've ever had, just having the man I love there with me celebrating.  We also got a lot of things done for the wedding, including meeting with the photographer, florist, pastor, invitation man (also my uncle and host of the wedding site), and applying for our marriage license.

We also spent a total of 6 hours registering at Gallery Classic and Bed Bath and Beyond, something I had been somewhat dreading but actually turned out to be very fun!  It turns out that Israel and I have very similar if not exact taste in decor, etc.  The fun thing about Gallery Classic is that they set up your very own display with a sign that has both the bride and groom's names and the wedding date!

Israel and I flew back to Miami together on the same plane for the first time ever, and it was so refreshing not to have to say goodbye.  I have to say I've never had so much fun on a flight before. :)  Since I've been in Miami, I've tried cooking a couple successful meals, including one Cuban classic-- arroz, frijoles negros, y huevos revoltillo (rice, black beans, and scrambled eggs).  And I was surprised by the fact that I actually enjoy cooking!  I spent an afternoon at the pool with Giselle, and tomorrow is her birthday so we will be celebrating that by having a barbeque at Israel's cousin's house.  

I'll be here for a couple more weeks and then I will be in Kansas for the remainder of the summer until the wedding!  Oh and one more thing:  My adopted grandma Betty (or Tricia's great-aunt) gave Israel and I a week in the timeshare of our choice for our honeymoon!  This was the most unexpected wonderful blessing!  So we have decided on lovely St. Thomas to spend time together as a newly married couple!  :)

Elenita

I would say my dislike of cats started when I was pretty young...  :)