VALENTINE'S DAY WEEKEND...AND MORE UPDATES

It's been a bit of a challenge staying committed to my resolution about blogging more often, but I'm still making an effort. After all, it is only February.

It's been a great weekend. But before I go into the details of my weekend, let me go back a little to catch up on the past two weeks:

- As mentioned briefly in my last post, my nephew Diego would have been celebrated his 2nd birthday on February 2nd. We honored him by releasing some balloons into the sky. I only hope they reached him and that he was able to feel our love for him that day.

- We celebrated my husband's cousin's birthday last Saturday night at Rock Bottom Brewery. We had a couple drinks and helped Kimberly ring in another year. We had a good time.

- Then last Sunday after church, we had made plans to meet up with our family friend's that had very recently lost their little boy, Preston, due to Sandhoff disease. I can't fully express into words how devastated I am for them. February 4th would have been his 3rd birthday so we wanted to visit him at his gravesite. My husband and I had sent flowers to his parents on his actual birthday, in hopes that it would bring a small smile to their faces and make the day just a little bit easier. Clare, his mother, emailed to thank us and we made plans to meet up at his gravesite so we could see each other. That morning, she invited us over to their place to have lunch. Since her husband was working that day, we didn't get to see him but we had the chance to see the rest of her immediate family, which was nice. They are such amazing people - it hurts me so much to know that they had to go through this horrible tragedy. Clare showed us around their place - including Preston's room. I was heartbroken to see his things in their house - including some of his medical equipment. Although I wish more than anything that he was still here, I have solace knowing that he is at peace now and is able to run freely in the clouds.

Friday
My weekend started a little early on Friday, when I received these at work from my lovely Valentine:

Saturday
This Valentine's weekend started early on Saturday. My husband and I woke up bright and early to meet up with some members of our church to help participate in a program called "feed the hungry." I had done it once before with my niece back in December. I was very saddened by the experience and realized it was something I had to do again. So there we were yesterday...handing out food, gloves, beanies and umbrellas to homeless people. It was yet again, a humbling experience and I hope it's something we can do on a regular basis.

After we left our church, we had breakfast at The Coffee Cup. This was my third time going there and it was even better than I remember. My girlfriend Elvia introduced me to this place a couple years ago. I had their "Juan's Favorite" omelette with veggie chorizo, bell peppers, avocado and salsa...oh.my.gawd. It was amazing. I licked my plate clean...well, not really but you get the picture. If that wasn't delicious enough, the accompanying homemade potatoes were the perfect side dish to fully satisfy my palette. It was a perfect way to continue our Valentine's Day.

One of my gifts to my husband this past Christmas, were tickets to go see Phantom of the Opera at the Pantages theater. I got us tickets for the performance on Valentine's Day since I figured it would be a great way to celebrate the occasion. We started by having dinner at a quaint little restaurant, called Pete's Cafe in Downtown Los Angeles. Dinner was delicious. I started off with a glass of Pinot Noir and chose the free-ranged chicken as my main entree. Before that, I had their delicious baby spinach and pear salad...it hit the spot perfectly!

Then we were off to the opera. What can I say? Phantom is a classic and we both enjoyed the show very much. The music and sets are stunning. The story line moves along nicely, and all around it's a great, great show.

Sunday

Today after church, we headed straight to The Grove to meet up with our good friends Jesse, Pam and their son, Cole. We had lunch at La Piazza and then walked around there and the Farmers Market. Although it was a bit chilly to be outdoors, it was a great day to spend with friends.

On a different note, my sister Emma has started her own blog. If you get a chance, go on over and show her a little comment love. :)

Here's to another great week. I am not one of those lucky ones to have the day off tomorrow so I'm trying to make the best of it. Have a great week everyone!