My dear Isabel, you will be missed.

Isabel Benedetti
April 12, 1928 ~ October 28, 2008

Dear Isa,
The thing that I will miss most about you is ---- your emails! the political stuff that I told you never got under my skin, but it did.... Aren't you glad you voted early??!!
Sadly, I will miss those e-mails. I'm grateful to have known you. You were a ray of light in each of the lives you touched with your contagious charm, and wit.
I will especially miss your laugh!

Quilting for Paul

We had some t-shirts of Paul, and Cristina had the idea to make a quilt out of them. At first I wasn't sure how it would look. When I saw it, I was amazed by my sister's talent. I really think it came out beautiful. Hope you like the pictures.

AFSP Out of the Darkness Community Walk

Lauren and I walked today to remember Paul. It was long and exhausting!! (LOL)
I guess I'm worse off than I thought.
It would have been nice to have seen anyone that knew him.
Here are some pictures.. Enjoy!

Another year....

Paul Granada
April 10, 1981 - October 28, 2005

I can hardly believe as I type these words, that is has been 3 years since my brother Paul left us. Every year around Halloween time, I feel like just hiding and make believe that none of this ever happened, but the reality of it is, he is really gone. As we all get older, and the kids grow up I realize just how much he really missed out on. It wasn't worth it Paul, it really wasn't. If you knew Paul, you know he was warm, gentle, and kind. So out of his character to remove himself from all of our lives. I know about depression... We all get depressed at some point and time in out lives and experience these feelings. The difference is some of us don't snap out of it like we should. Mental illness is just that..... an illness. I assure you if Paul was in his "right mind" this wouldn't have happened. It's very important to bring light to Mental Illness and support those programs in search of funding to increase awareness on a bigger scale.
I will be walking on October 18, 2008 in memory of my brother Paul. I encourage you to read up on Suicide Awareness. If I had known what I know now about Suicide and the warning signs, my brother would probably be alive.

For information on suicide prevention please visit:
http://www.afsp.org/
http://suicidehotlines.com/

Hello Again!

I know it's been a while since I updated this blog, but honestly I've just been really busy this semester. I'm taking some pretty hard classes and just cannot find the time to do anything.
I thought I'd update this with the newest addition to our family!!

here's Paris!

Barberry Rice and Saffron Chicken

I learned to make this delicious Persian Dish over the weekend, and I thought I would try out for my family. It was finger licking good~
I was surprised it came out oh so tasty for my first time.
There weren't even left overs..
Yummie~

Me and My Lauren <3

I've had fun hanging out with my baby since I got home. We've gone out to eat, a little shopping, and just hanging out together.. I sure missed her, and I love being home with her.

Coming Home to TEXAS!!

We arrived at the airport and as usual I had to move some of my things into Robyn's bag because I went over the weight limit.
I got to the Madrid airport about 7 or 8 am, can't remember; I waited until 4:35pm to leave. Why??? don't know.. Just bought my ticket to leave that late...
Here are the pictures of me coming home....... FINALLY!
So happy :)

Last day in Spain

We celebrated at the Negra Flor (a local bar) in Valladolid, and from there to Sotobanco ( a discoteca). I decided not to sleep that night since I had to be at the bus station in Valladolid at 4:00 am. I'm glad I didn't, b/c I was ready and on time by 3:45. Anyway, we left Valladolid, and took a 2.5 hour bus ride to Madrid. We were there with plenty of time to spare!
It was nice to hang out with everyone before leaving.. I met some great people, and made great friendships.. Here are some pictures from the night.

PARIS WAS A BLAST!!!

Hello!!! I know, I know, I say the same thing about all the places I've been to since being here in Europe. Seriously though, Paris was AMAZING! I really enjoyed seeing my cousin who I hadn't seen in 8 years!
Marieth! I had a blast... You are the best!
(The people in Paris are much nicer than here in Spain... I hate to say that, because I've heard terrible things about Paris)
Apparently people in Paris are gone since it's "HOLIDAY" (vacation)
Anyway... Hope you enjoy the pics.

Paris!

So, I'm a little nervous about traveling to Paris alone. I'm scared of getting lost especially since I cannot speak a lick of French.
I leave today and will be back on Thursday. (YAY!!) then off to Texas on Saturday. I thought this week would never come. I'm extremely excited about getting my ass home to TX!!!

Santander, Spain

I went to Santander this weekend and it was so cool... The water was freeeeezing cold.. Maybe because we're close to the Arctic?? I went in for 2 seconds and couldn't bear it.... It was a really nice little town. Glad I went. We ate a wonderful restaurant, the food was exquisite, and not too expensive....Here are some pictures from the trip.

RETURN OF THE MULLET???

Ok.. so ever since I got here I've noticed Spanish boys are bringing back the mullet?
check the pictures out and tell me. I don't think this will go over to well in the U.S.

12 Days to go!!!

As you probably read before, I hurt my knee about a week after being here.. Don't know what happened ( I think I pulled a ligament or something on our first excursion to Salamanca).
Well, my host "mom" has 2 houses.. The first one being about 45 minutes away from our school, which is where I was staying.... and the other a cool retro place about 5 minutes from the school. The only thing is.... this apt. is a little run down. Either way, I would rather live here than keep injuring my knee, so I asked her if I could stay in the retro place, and she was cool with it. So after signing a waiver for UTA stating they weren't liable for anything that happened to me or my belongings , ( since the place is a little inhabitable ) I moved in.
The apt. is huge in comparison with the "pisos" here.. Pisos are the apartement flats. It's been nice having the whole place to myself... having friends over to study or whatever. I have internet connection, which is a luxury, and a washer. Things are not too shabby for me.
The only thing I would love is that the host "mom" feeds me. When I moved out she gave me 10 euros, and I've practically had to buy my own food since then. Kind of a problem, b/c it's relatively expensive to do anything here, even eat, and the food was included in the price of my trip. I'm not going to say anything to her... because I don't feel like I should be put in that position, and plus... If you know me.... I just won't say anything to her because I don't feel comfortable.
My life here has been pretty cool so far, besides the homesickness at the beginning.

León Spain

Today a group of us decided to take a day trio to León. It was a 2 hour bus ride north. Some of the things we saw were Gaudí's Casa de los Botines, and the old Cathedral of Leon.
Santa María de León Cathedral, also called The House of Light or the Pulchra Leonina is situated in the city of León in north-west Spain. It was built on the site of previous Roman hot baths of the 2nd century which, 800 years later, the emblematic king Ordoño II converted into a palace. Its doors, its impressive rose window, the choir (one of the oldest in the country) and the delicacy of some figures, like the venerated Virgin Blanca presiding over the constant traffic of visitors, are some of the not-to-be-missed features of this cathedral.
The León Cathedral, dedicated to Santa María de la Regla, was declared of Cultural Interest in 1844. It is known as the Pulchra Leonina and it is a masterpiece of the Gothic style dominating the mid 13th century, by master architect Enrique. In the late 16th century it was virtually finished.

Both were very interesting... We also visited The Palacio de los Guzmanes.
It was interesting because Construction work on this 16th-century building was never finished.
It is the work of the architect Enrique Gil de Hontañón. Its shape is trapezoid. It has four towers, one at each corner. It also has a courtyard with columns. On its façades, of contoured stone slabs, there are several carvings. On the lower part of the building you can find large openings with solid grilles and corbels with the arms of the Guzmans. On the upper part there are balconies with projecting sills and iron balustrades. It was declared a National Monument in 1963. Currently the home of the Leon Regional Government.

After the tour we walked around and took a siesta.. as you can see the little old man down there was enjoying as well. It was a nice interesting place, not to mention the fact that they had BURGER KING!!!! I really enjoyed that.