He-Men: Real-life good guys: The Seeker

World, meet my lovely friend Oscar Gonzalez. I met him a little over three years ago as a new resident of my apartment complex. Once a month, when I'd drop off rent, we'd sit and chat about everything and anything. Out of that,  a friendship bloomed. I was intrigued by him--he was constantly trying to better himself; always going and doing. He took a year off to find himself--pushed himself to find his limits then pushed himself even farther. He's a good guy and will stop at nothing to find what he's looking for.


1. What is your story--a brief background of yourself?

I was born in Abilene, Tx. When I was 1, I was sent to Mexico to live with my grandparents till I was 8 years old. I was then brought to Dallas, Tx, where I lived my life with my mother and two older sisters. I didn't know my real dad till I was about 11 years old. I grew up in the church all my life and had lots of Christian mentors. I always wanted to be liked. I’m also tall dark and really cute LOL.

2. What/who motivates you daily?

God is my number one strength. Also, my sisters and my great and wonderful mother. Umm...working out too, it's funny that the littlest things can motivate me. 

3. What is your favorite childhood memory?

Mexico! Growing up there, I had my favorite memories as a young kid. Also, learning to make friends--I was a shy little boy. Don't tell anyone, but I prayed one day while I was outside and ask God to send me some friends..lol--I was new to the USA.

4. What is your biggest accomplishment?

I don't know. There are a lot of things that I find accomplished in my life: finishing high school, learning how to be on my own two feet without help, being a fighter no matter what, being great at my job, finding myself in SC, no babies yet, no jail time, not being dead…the list goes on. 

5. If you could be anyone for a day, who would you be?

El Che before Cuba. I'll get back to you on this. 

6. When was the last time you cried?

Last month. I broke down in front of Jeremy (my roommate/best friend). I’m a little hurt about my ex girlfriend, but I’m better no . I have my moments, but I get up again and fight. 

7. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

With a college degree, a wife and two kids. I see myself working with a church and really just trying to be a good husband and father.

8. What makes you unique?

I can’t explain it, but I can sense what the other person is feeling, I can identify well with others. I truly and honestly wear my heart on my sleeve. I’ve been told I motivate people. What do you think? 

Project 334: August week 3

Where did August go!? It's almost time to wrap it up. Here's a look at my week last week.

I had a super fun evening on monday the 15th. My flight attendant friend, Sean, flew to Austin for the night and we met up with his friend Kristin at Trudy's for dinner and drinks. We had a lovely night out on the town. Love friend time!

I had an eye appointment on Tuesday after work. I hadn't checked my eyes in forever! The appointment was awesome. There was even a massage chair while I waited for my eyes to dilate.

Wednesday the 17th rocked! I met up with my beautiful friend Jesse at Ikea and had a tasty lunch with her. She left for work and I decided to peruse the Round Rock outlet mall with no intention of buying anything. Ended up buying my first designer dress from Michael Kors. It's beautiful!

Thursday after work, I stopped by HEB for bread and milk, and was reminded that it's Hatch green chile time!! It's a little part of home that I get to indulge in each year. Oh so tasty.

The day I had my eye exam, I ordered glasses online for free (at coastalcontacts.com)! I got them on Friday the 19th. They're so cute! Sadly, my nose is a little too small to hold them up, so I kind of look like a nerd pushing my spectacles up. Worth it.

Saturday the 20th was a crazy day! It was tax-free weekend, so business was crazy. To unwind, I indulged in a super scrumptious veggie burger from Zingers. Lunch got me through the day.

Sunday was date day. The mr and I shared a lovely day together. We made breakfast together and lounged. He took me to dinner at Cheddars. I filled up on veggie and it was yummy. To cap off the day we watched Planet of the Apes. It was scary! It could happen...

I had a fantastic week! It couldn't have been better. Hope you had an awesome week too!

Love and light.
Adrienne

7 Things

I've seen a couple blogs with this fun post so I thought I'd join in on the craze. Here's some interesting things about me.

7  Places I Would Like to Visit:

* Sydney, Australia

* Seattle, Washington 

* Costa Rica, Mexico

* Juno, Alaska

* Delhi, India (or Mumbai)

* Athens, Greece

* Anywhere in Italy

7 Things I Would Like to Make:

* People happy

* A well read blog 

* A beautifully decorated home

* Pretty cross stitch pieces

* Lots of good friends

* A Good living

* Maybe a baby one day...

7 People I'd Like to Meet (Dead or Alive):

* Ke$ha (she's so crazy!)

* Ewan McGregor (he's so handsome) 

* Drew Barrymore

* Rachel Zoe

* Princess Diana 

* Zach Braff

* And one day: Jesus

7 Things I Would Like to Own:

* A beautiful home

* A large Louis Vuitton bag 

* A closet full of beautiful clothing

* A Treehouse

* Anything I wanted from Ikea

* A ceiling to floor wall filled with books of my choice

* An all white cat to complete my cat color spectrum

7 Things That Annoy Me:

* Mean, negative people

* Repeating myself 

* Bad drivers and driving downtown

* Being hungry with no food around

* When my employees don’t realize work is a JOB

* People who cuss

* When my cats wake me up in the middle of the night 

7 Films I Love:

* Garden State

* Moulin Rouge 

* Big Fish

* Harry Potter--all of them

* Wall-E

* Fantastic Mr. Fox

* Going the Distance

7 Funny Words:

* Dander

* Poppycock 

* Rendezvous

* Hoitee-toitee 

* Bamboozle 

* Conundrum 

* Duty

Do you have any fun "7 Things"? What's something that annoys you? I want to know!

Love and light.

Adrienne

He-Men: Real-life good guys: The Dreamer

World, I am proud to introduce to you my big brother, Michael Holguin. He’s three years older than me, so growing up, we were pretty close. We shared everything from games to friends to rooms. He was there for me, and without even trying, he became my role model growing up. He dreamed big, and accomplished whatever he set his mind to. He has a spark to him, and when it’s ignited by even the slightest interest, he’ll stop at nothing till he succeeds in it. He’s a good guy, he’s a hard worker, and I love him.

1. What is your story--a brief background of yourself?

    My name is Michael Holguin, I'm 30 years old. I went to school to study trumpet and music business, did that for about 4 years, then decided that wasn't for me. I then pursued my dream to be in a band, and formed No Regrets, a ska reggae band, which was around for about 4 years. During that time, I realized I had a  passion for recording, so I went to audio recording school. I received my audio engineering certificate in 2007, and worked at a recording studio in Los Angeles for about two years. During the two years, I started fooling around with video editing, which sparked my long-time dream of one day doing something with film. So, with my audio background and new found passion for film, I am now back in my home state of New Mexico, with plans to attend film school in hopes of combining my two passions, music and film, to do something amazing!

2. What/who motivates you daily?

    Noosheen, the love of my life, is honestly the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning (or afternoon). She gives me the motivation to want to do something more and better myself, even though sometimes I might lack the self-motivation. I might have far fetched dreams of becoming a huge film maker or music producer, which to me sometimes seems unachievable, but she always helps me to realize that it's very possible.

3. What is your favorite childhood memory?

    I don't know if it's my favorite childhood memory, but I always think of growing up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, because it was the time when my whole family was complete. My two sisters and me, my mother and my father. We were young, and it wasn't always happy times but, for the most part,  it was fun. There were of course, other times in my childhood that I enjoyed, but a solid family is always a good time.

4. What is your biggest accomplishment?

    I've had a few times that I felt that "this is a good moment". There's no better time than when you tell someone that you love them for the first time, and they say it back.....that was awesome. Besides that, I think winning a battle of the bands with No Regrets was pretty epic for me, and producing an actual album. Graduating from recording school, standing on the red carpet interviewing big names, and filming our first movie follow those.

5. If you could be anyone for a day, who would you be?

    I don't think I'd like to be anyone else for a day, but I could definitely name a few people I'd hang out with for a day. The list would be too long

6. When was the last time you cried?

    I have to be honest.....I am a cry baby. There are so many things that stir me up, from movies to music. To be specific, the trailer for the upcoming movie "Life in a Day" was the last time I cried. I'm not afraid to admit it by the way.

7. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

     My previous life experience has led me in so many different directions, it's really hard to say. I'm at a point in my life where I would like stability, a wife, and a family. I think I'm done with the whole "rockstar" dream, but I definitely want to pursue the film thing, which might be just as bad, but we'll see.  In 10 years though, I'd hope to have a stable job, be married and have at least two kids : )

8. What makes you unique? 

    I'm honestly not a big fan of this question. I'm very shy and I tend to keep to myself, so I wouldn't know exactly what separates me from other people. I tend to try to fit in, so being unique is not in my best interest. If it happens, then so be it. You tell me?

Project 334: August week 2

Last week was a super awesome week. Here's a quick look at what went down.

Nothing exciting happened on monday the 8th. Best part of the day was my dinner: red pepper, mushroom, hummus and tomato on jalapeno cheddar bread. Yum!

Tuesday after work, I went to Mansfield, Tx to visit my sister. I got there late and stayed up till 3am with her and her roommate. I was pooped and apparently so was my sister.

On the 10th, I slept in a bit, had lunch with my sister, her roomie Whitney and her bf Elisha. Lunch was followed with girl time and homemade chai tea.

I drove back to Austin Thursday morning and went straight to work. It was a long day, but I went home with gifts. Mrs Whitney was super generous and gave the mr and me some lovely fragrances. Oh, sweet Whitney.

Friday the 12th, I came home from work and found Tibs sleeping on his fake tree. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen a turtle do. He's a silly guy.

On Saturday the 13th, I made a second attempt at making an omelette. My first attempt ended up being scrambled eggs. However, this time I made pretty much the perfect omelette for my mr and me. So proud!

Sunday the 14th, as usual I had the day off. The mr and I slept in, had some brunch and lounged. We wanted to do something different so we decided to do some putt putt. Best date night ever!

Awesome week! Food, friends, family and fun. I can't complain. How was your second week of August.

Love and light.
Adrienne

He-Men: Real-life good guys: The Scholar

Everyone, I want to meet Mr John Litzler. John is my mr's big brother., and was the first family member that he introduced me to. Aside from his new wife, school seemed to be John's main priority. He just recently got his law degree from Baylor University, and last week took his bar exam to practice law. He's a good guy, he's a smart guy, he's one of a kind.

1. What is your story--a brief background of yourself?

A Texan, born and raised, I grew up in a small town named Sulphur Springs. I have two wonderful parents and an awesome brother. Growing up I loved soccer, band, and video games. I was always near the top of my class but never an outstanding student.  I came to know Christ as my savior when I was in the 4^th grade and that has pretty much shaped who I am ever since. Ready to shake the dust of a small town off my feet I moved to Austin to attend UT (then the nation’s largest university) and I hope to return someday with Stefanie.

2. What/who motivates you daily?

I am motivated by my faith and by my wonderful wife, Stefanie. God motivates me to show the world His love in everything I do.  Stefanie motivates me with her encouragement and love. Also, I want her to have the world. I’ve always struggled with laziness, but the harder I work the more I can provide for her. I want to remove any obstacle that stands between her and her dreams, and that provides more than enough motivation. 

3. What is your favorite childhood memory?

When my brother, Phillip, and I were kids we wanted a cat so badly. I’ll never forget the Christmas morning we woke up to the sounds of a beautiful mewing kitty. 

4. What is your biggest accomplishment?

I think my greatest accomplishment is convincing my wife, Stefanie, to marry me.

5. If you could be anyone for a day, who would you be?

Interesting question; normally people want to know who you’d have dinner with but not if you’d like to be that person. I suppose if I only had one day I would want to be the President of the U.S. I would see the office and the country in a whole new way for the rest of my life I’m sure.

6. When was the last time you cried?

ESPN does a documentary called “30 for 30”. One of the documentaries is called “The Fab 5”. It’s about 5 freshmen basketball players at the University of Michigan that changed the sport forever. In an infamous play the team’s best player, Chris Webber, attempted to call a time out when they had none left. It cost his team the championship game. He was heartbroken and was terribly sad. I cried.

7. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Hopefully as a gainfully employed judge. I am excited to practice law, but would love to be a member of a community. I want to get involved with a Texas community and church..

 

8. What makes you unique?

It’s difficult to say. I like to be a jack of all trades. I try to relate to people where they are and as a result I learn a little bit about everything and try most things as well. The older I get the more I hope to learn about more subcultures so that I can speak intelligently to people about their interests regardless of what they are. 

Gone golfing

Aside from the celebration of our three year anniversary at Six Flags, the mr and I haven't spent much time together doing activities. When we first started dating, we were doing something fun every week.

To mix things up a bit, we thought it would be fun to play some putt putt golf. There's a well know Austin venue called Peter Pan Golf--infamous because it's byob.

We Googled it and were surprised to find how inexpensive it was to play. 18 holes for $6 or 36 holes for $9, and they're open till 11pm. Perfect! And though Austin is still experiencing record highs, we risked it. Around 6pm we packed a up few drinks and water and set out. Rain clouds were forming in the distance so we opted for the 18 hole, easy course.

We were both a little putt rusty. Took several shots on our first hole, but finally got into the groove of it by the third hole. We were neck and neck most of the time, but Phil shot a hole in one on the fourth hole and he ended up beating me by two. It was 7ish by the time we finished our 18 holes and still hadn't seen rain. Luckily, we were able to add on the other 18 holes for $6 more. The next course was considered the "hard" course.

We saw no difference, but had a blast. The place seemed to be a first date kind of place, so we did some people watching between holes. We guessed how long couples had been together for and what date they were on. I wondered what people would think about the two of us and how long we've been together. We seemed to be the only couple laughing and getting into the game.

It was an awesome date night, and we'll definitey be back very soon. In fact, we might be going back tonight with a group of friends.

Love and light.
Adrienne

August Project 334

I can't believe we're already two weeks into August. Here's a catch up on what's been going on in my life.

Monday the 1st, I had to take a sick day from work. Whatever bug I caught in July left me feeling icky. The recovery day was spend on the couch watching tv with the mr and playing on our laptops. I couldn't think of a better way to recover.

Well into Shark Week by the 2nd, I remembered Phil had the perfect shirt to sport. We became addicted to all the shark week shows and it became routine to come home from work and watch some sharks.

After a couple month of being in Texas, my bff, Julie Farnsworth, finally came to visit me on the 3rd. She got to Austin at 6pm and we made our way to enjoy some live music and the crazy heat at Blues on the Green. Pretty sure we talked nonstop--we had lots to catch up on.

At 12am on the 4th, Julie and I found ourselves at Trudy's where we closed down the place at 2am. The salsa and chips were flowing along with the conversation, so there was no reason to leave sooner.

I worked the closing shift on Friday and after all the running around, heat and sicknesses, all I wanted to do was relax and unwind. Madison is my number one partner during those times. She makes any spot she lays in look so comfortable.

On Saturday the 6th, I came home to Tibs making squeaking noises. I'd heard him do it before, but I didn't think anything of it. Phil googled it and we figured he might have a respiratory problem. Too late in the day to buy a heat lamp, we moved his home to the spare bedroom to get more sun exposure and warmed his water. He welcomed the change.

I worked on Sunday the 7th so I could let my management team enjoy a work event in San Antonio. I got up a bit late and didn't have time to make myself lunch--that and the lack of groceries in the fridge. I was persuaded to have Pei Wei for lunch instead. Best part about eating Asian: using chopsticks.

So there you have it. Friends, food and Phillip consumed my week. As always, I hope you're weeks are being enjoyed with smiles and tons of tasty eats.

Love and light.
Adrienne

Girl time

Sometimes a girl just needs to spend time with her lady friends. For the last few years, I've had little time to make friends. And since I can't hangout with anyone from work, friends are hard to come by. Thankfully, I have an awesome younger sister who also has an awesome roommate for the summer.

So after not seeing my sister in ages, I had to take a mini vacay to the little, big city of Mansfield, TX to visit these lovely ladies. I left tuesday after work, and after three hours and several creepy backroads, I got to the Barth's at 11pm. Though I'd been up since 7am, Melisa, Whitney and I stayed up till 3am chatting away. It was much needed laughs and chats. But as awesome as hanging out was, after a 20 hour day, sleep was much needed too. I slept in till 12pm. I felt bad for sleeping the day away, but it felt so good.

Wednesday, after several outfit changes and having my sister do my makeup, we set out to have lunch with my sister's mr. Lunch was at Palio's, a tasty pizza cafe that ended up giving me the wrong meal, but I ate it willingly and unknowingly.

The afternoon was spent cleaning and organizing. Yes, this is a task that sounds strange to do on a day off  and for a new friend, but it was completely my pleasure. Organizing is something that makes my heart smile anyway, but there was a huge (rather unneeded) perk to helping Whitney organize: she gave me and my mr several bottles of perfumes and colognes that I would have never dreamt of owning.

Whitney is in the fragrance business and promotes names like Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana and Lacoste. She'd just received a fairly large shipment, and we helped her organize the bottles and several large boxes of other goodies. It was an enjoyable time and made even better with the Justin Bieber movie playing in the background and ice chai teas.

During the evening, Melisa, Whitney, her family and I went to wednesday night worship service and their church, Life Church. It'd been a very long time since I went to a prayer service, so it felt really good to take time out of the day to be thankful and pray for others.

After service, we were all starving. A group of church friends stopped off to get fajitas, queso and chips and brought it back to Whitney's place. Oh man, how I love fellowship and food. Their friends were all such sweet people--and the food was delish. The ten of us chatted till 11ish. After they all left, and the kids were put to bed, Melisa, Whitney and I stayed up till 3am watching Todlers and Tiaras and eating ice cream.

This vacay was super awesome and was everything I needed to make it through the very chaotic week I'm expecting next week at work (tax-free weekend). Plus, I'm happy I made new friends.

Love and light.
Adrienne

He-Men: Real-life good guys: The Leader

World, meet Mr Elisha Garcia. I met him maybe 9 years ago at our church in NM. I remember my mom pointing at him and telling my sister that he was the guy she was going to marry. They are definitely on the right path to her being right. He's the perfect man for my sister, but aside from that, he's an incredible man of God. He's brought me to tears on several occasions with the words he preached. He has a gift to lead, and it's awesome to see the work that God does in him. He's a good guy and hope to one day welcome him into our family.

1. What is your story--a brief background of yourself?

My name is Elisha Garcia and I just turned 25...kind of freaking out about it actually. I think it's because I still see myself as an 18 year old kid. I'm on staff as a youth pastor at the BEST church in the World, Living Church, work full time at Apple, and am in a 6 year relationship with the prettiest girl in the world, Melisa Holguin. I've been actively involved in youth ministry since I was 16 and love developing new/creative ways to present the love of an incredible Savior. I'm a graphic designer, lover of music, a realist who loves to dream, cinema snob, and shop-aholic.

2. What/who motivates you daily?

The thought of becoming better and fulfilling the unthinkable dreams inside of me. I know this can make you unappreciative very quickly, but there is a drive inside of me that wants for what's next. I know that God has called us to incredible things and those incredible places are where I want to be.

3. What is your favorite childhood memory?

It's kind of a cheesy guy thing but when I was about 13, every Monday night at 7pm, my dad and I would pop a huge bowl of popcorn, pour a couple cups of Dr. Pepper and watch 2 hours of rehearsed, and drama filled wrestling, known as WWF! Not sure why this was such a bonding point for us, but it became "our thing." The best part was during commercial breaks the room would end up erupting in our little "battle royale" where he'd let me win from time to time.

4. What is your biggest accomplishment?

This is kind of a weird question for me because I'm in a perpetual point of self evaluation (nothing is big enough, or just right), but a few days ago I turned 25 and was able to live out one of my life long goals. I was given the opportunity to preach to 1200 students and youth leaders. The numerics aren't necessarily the impressive part (although I love a crowd), but rather having the responsibility and opportunity of giving a charge to hundreds of people that will affect their life decisions. I'm 25 and speaking to large groups of influential, impressionable people about THEIR lives...that is NUTS!

5. If you could be anyone for a day, who would you be?

Do superheros count? If they do I think I'd be Superman. It may be cliche but I think every boy/man sees a bit of Superman within himself and wishes others saw them the same.

6. When was the last time you cried?

Two weeks ago, during our Youth Camp devotions, I was closing down the main auditorium and something came over me. Call it the 5 weeks of tirelessly working at camp, but the presence of God was thick. It was one of those moments where you feel small and He feels large. The only expression that could come out was thankful, reverent, in awe, tears.

7. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Married to my high school sweetheart Melisa Shell (with several animals if she has anything to do with it), leading in some capacity within a local church, pioneering a national resource/ministry.

8. What makes you unique?

This is going to sound like a back door brag, but in all honesty it's not. It's really more of a testament as to what and who God is in my life. I think what makes me so unique is the amount of accomplishments, and life, I've seen for as young as I am. I'm sure several other people have been where I've been, but I take a look at others in my field and the places they've lead and it baffles me. Sometimes I sit back and think I am way too young and unqualified to be leading the people I am, within the size of organization I am.

Project 334: July wrap-up

I can't believe it's already August! Seriously, was I the only one that felt like July flew by? Maybe it was all the fun I had this month. I guess the saying is true then: time flies when you're having fun. So now, let's say a long overdue goodbye to July.

Friday the 22nd, I was greeted at work with this lovely package--candy, chips and other tasty treats. My store was rewarded for being the store with the highest percent of jean sales in our region. What, what!

Saturday after work, my mr took me out to dinner at Chuy's for a little pre-celebrating our 3 year anniversary. He knows what I like--queso and margaritas!

The 24th was mine and my mr's 3 year anniversary. We celebrated the occasion at Six Flags over Texas. Felt like a kid again, then the heat hit and the 5 hours of walking in it. Not as young as we used to be, but awesome nonetheless.

I was so worn out on Monday, but still made it through work. For a boost of energy, I brought a bushel of vegetables and made myself a tasty dinner. I love eating colorful.

Still had a bunch of vegetables left on Tuesday the 26th, so I made an awesome quesadilla--lime soaked red onions, sliced tomatoes, cilantro and munster cheese. Nom nom.

I went to the dentist on the 27th. I've always loved going to the dentist, but I love it even more because my dentist is the shiz. The office is in the middle of tons of green, deer and squirrels are everywhere, the chairs are massaging chairs, peaceful sea life floats in front of me on plasma screens as my mouth is being cleaned, and the best part is Dr Bell loves to remind me I have an awesome smile.

I enjoy being a bum when I have free time. On Thursday, the mr, Reni and I piled on each other and were lazy till I had to go to work. A unit that's lazy together, stays together.

The 29th was a great day at work. It was busy and business was booming. I was feeling good, and at the end of the night I took a break from my manager duties to fold a perfect stack of polos.

After work on Saturday, the mr and I went to a friend's house to bid farewell to the mr's bff, who was moving to Michigan. We stopped off at a convenient store to get drinks, and I found this: NM beer in Austin. It made my night and made me miss home a bit.

I ended the month badly. Phil thought I was hungover, but I'd never felt the way I did on the 31st. I wasn't able to hold ANYTHING down all day. I had no energy or desire to move. It was a miserable day. Came close to going to the emergency care, but finally around 11pm, I was able to hold gatorade down. Thankfully.

Aside for the last day, I loved my July. It was filled with great people, good food and memorable events. I hope you had a great month and a good first week of August.

Love and light.
Adrienne