{so simple, yet so profound}

Ok... I'm sure there's a chance that I'm the last person on earth to find out about this, but I am mystified!

Background. I am what you would call a chapstick addict. I have it with me at all times. In an effort to simplify my life, I have strategically placed chapstick in my nightstand, in my purse, in my car, and in my desk at work, in order that I may never be farther than 20 yards from it. But what I have come to realize, is that if you use chapstick often enough, it actually starts to have the reverse of it's desired effect. I noticed that my lips have actually become dryer than they were before this whole chapstick addiction began.

And I can recognize my own vices, so I have recently begun an effort to wean myself off of it. But the whole reason I began using it in the first place is simple... I love having soft and properly moisturized lips. So in giving up chapstick, I was again faced with the dilemma of figuring how to keep the ol' lips feeling good.

Enter wonderful coworker. In talking with a friend of mine at work the other day, she shared with me that she too had recently given up chapstick for the same reasons as myself... BUT... she had another trick up her sleeve. She said she'd learned long ago that honey and sugar are nature's best kept secrets when it comes to soft and lovely skin.

Far be it from me to let this one go, so I tried it, and I am blown away. It made my day. There are several variations of this natural wonder, but this is what she shared with me. Mix equal parts sugar and honey in a small container... it should be pretty thick, not runny... then take a very small amount and rub it on your lips. Voila! Instant lip exfoliator/moisturizer. I did a little internet research too, and apparently, sugar is one of nature's best natural exfoliators, and honey is one of nature's best moisturizers. Be careful not to rub too hard. You aren't trying to remove entire layers of skin here. Rubbing gently will exfoliate the dead skin cells, and when you're done, either wash it off with water. or let's be honest... it's sugar and honey... just lick it off.

Other variations that I've learned of are sugar and olive oil... another great natural moisturizer, or putting a small amount of sugar on half a lemon and rubbing that on your lips. Although I'm told there's quite a bit of burn involved with that one. I'm also told that this sugar and honey concoction makes a great hands and feet exfoliator for an easy home mani/pedi too.

I love learning fun tricks like this... and if I learn of anymore, I shall surely keep you informed!

{the delicious hilarious valentine's day}

As a newly married couple on the verge of moving and starting graduate degrees, we're not exactly doing a lot of extravagant spending lately. Of course we appreciate the finer things in life... who doesn't, really. But I'm also a firm believer in the fact that every now and then... we deserve to spoil ourselves ever so slightly. And one of Maurice and I's favorite ways to indulge ourselves is with great food at great restaurants. Among our favorites are The Lodge and Citrus Restaurant (inside Hotel Valencia). And for a long time, we've wanted to try Silo Elevated Cuisine, so we figured Valentine's day would be the perfect opportunity! They had a special 4 course meal with wine pairings prepared for the occasion, and dare I say... it may be one of my new favorites.

Our meal started with a lobster bisque soup, which I loved. Maurice wasn't sure he liked the "seafoody" taste, and after reminding him that lobsters do, in fact, live in the sea, we did agree that the wine was off to an excellent start.

Next came salad, and we were even, because I am not a salad person. However, I can usually find something in a salad that I like, so while Maurice scarfed his down, I munched on the cheese crisp and croutons and periodically moved some of the lettuce from my plate to his, so it wouldn't be obvious that I disliked the salad. I don't hold that against Silo... I generally don't like salad anywhere, so they aren't to blame. This round of wine was also great, as was my cheese crisp, and dinner was about to get real good.

For the main course, we got to choose from several menu items. Maurice chose the filet mignon while I had the wood grilled duck. To say it was delicious would be putting it mildly. Both were cooked to perfection and we traded bites back and forth across our table several times. This round of wine? also excellent.

And then came dessert, which was chocolate gelato with cream and crushed espresso. I will confess that I didn't have high hopes for such a simple sounding dessert, but I was pleasantly surprised. The espresso was not overpowering and the wine was a perfect sparkling dessert wine.

By the time the check came, we were full and satisfied, allbeit a little bit tipsy. So put Silo in the win column, because the food was excellent and the staff were extremely friendly and attentive. And if you're big on atmosphere like me, you'll love the modern and bustly New York vibe.

And as if our Valentine's night wasn't already great enough, we had great tickets to see Gabriel Iglesias at the Majestic after dinner. I'm as big a fan of great food as I am great comedians, and he does a great show. We laughed. A lot.

We were pretty late getting home and it was pretty painful to get up for work this morning, but it was totally worth it to spoil ourselves with a great night out for Valentine's day.

{My Big Fat Minneapolis Dilemma}

I know what you're thinking... is that really how dilemma is spelled? I was as surprised as you are, but alas... that is correct. Dictionary.com has never failed me. But that's really not what this is about at all.

In my last post, I listed off the places that Maurice and I are considering moving to, pending his acceptance to schools in those places. You might have been a tad surprised to find such an extreme a place as Minneapolis on that list. When asked, I typically list that city off last, so that when I see the inevitable looks of total consternation on people's faces, I can quickly follow with "That's right... I said Minneapolis." I assure you, when Maurice first uttered the words "I'm thinking of applying to the University of Minnesota", my knee-jerk response was a firm "Absolutely not". And I meant it.

But Minneapolis continued to make its way into conversations about school. This might be a good time to mention Maurice's passion for sustainable architecture. There aren't many graduate schools that allow students to study with a focus on sustainable architecture... and U of M happens to be one of those schools that does give students that opportunity. And so my hardened heart began to soften a bit, a very small bit, and I offered what I thought was a more than generous compromise, agreeing that he could apply to U of M as his backup school. In other words... if ALL ELSE FAILS... we can go there. I still was not breaking into song and dance over the idea of moving to what might as well be wintery Russia in my mind.

And now somehow... over time and what I can only assume was calculated manipulation, the University of Minnesota has made it's way to the near top of Maurice's list of schools he'd like to go to. And thus... my great dilemma. Let me just say this... I am not opposed to Minneapolis in every way. I have been told by no less than 5 people, who have actually been to Minneapolis, that it is a remarkably beautiful city. It's rumored to have some really beautiful parks, the cost of living is reasonable, the not-winter seasons are supposed to be really pleasant and the job market is better than a lot of other places. Let me also say this... I'm not freaked out THAT it gets cold. It's HOW cold it gets that freaks me out. Bear in mind, we are also considering Denver, Chicago and Philadelphia. Those aren't what you'd call tropical climates. But over the course of the past few months, I've started to question people who know a thing or two about Minneapolis, and the thing that stands out to me, is that when I ask them if Minnesota really gets as cold as people say it does... the response is generally a good, hearty laugh. The only person who didn't laugh, responded with "No, it's worse".

And so there you have it. At this point in the decision making process, I am still very torn between my desire for Maurice to get the best possible education, and my dislike for hypothermia-ridden fingers.

If any of you have been to Minneapolis, whether you did or did not like it, tell me what you thought! In the mean time, I'm going to try and find where I put my Northface coat.

{The Latest and Greatest Flores News}

This morning I got a text message from an old friend, asking what was new in the Flores household. I began to text back, but quickly came to the realization that I cannot even properly update friends on my life through text because there is so much going on. We have some busy days ahead, and instead of trying to cram it all into a text for you, I decided that a good old-fashioned life update blog was in order. Let's take this one thing at a time, shall we?

Krista arrived safely in Africa, and if I do say so myself, she seems to be adjusting beautifully! She is doing a great job of keeping her blog updated with stories of life in her new home continent, including stories of travel and shopping at the market... which may I add, is no small feat, considering that life in Senegal requires her to know 2 different languages... neither of which is English. And yesterday, thanks to a little thing called skype, we got to video chat with her for the first time since she left. It is definitely hard to have her so far away, and for so long, but she seems to be loving it so far.

And in other sisterly news! Maurice and I are really excited to say that we are going to have another niece or nephew! Stefanie and Adam are expecting their second baby, and are due sometime in August. We are both so excited for them, and can't wait to have another little one around to spoil.

And in even more sisterly news! We're also excited to be adding a brother-in-law to our family. Maurice's sister Ashlie and her fiance Marty are getting married on June 26th of this year, and we are really excited and are honored to be a part of the wedding. I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures of wedding-related festivities to come.

So by now, you're probably starting to realize that summer is going to be a pretty busy time for us. Truth be told, I haven't even scratched the surface yet. You may remember that last spring, after MUCH consideration, Maurice and I decided to spend another year in San Antonio, instead of moving to Philadelphia. Well that year has just about come and gone, and now we find ourselves in a very familiar boat. Sometime in April, we should start hearing from the schools that Maurice applied to for next year. Philadelphia is one of the places that we are considering still, and he also applied to schools in Houston, Denver, Chicago and Minneapolis. So again, who knows what city/state/timezone we will be moving to. Each one of the places sounds like a really exciting prospect to me, and if you asked me 3 days in row where I wanted to move, you'd probably get 3 different answers. It's such a complicated decision, when you think about tuition, scholarships, cost of living and job markets. We are just praying that God will show us really clearly where He wants us to go, because at the end of the day, I really want Maurice to be at the right school, and I know that God will provide us with jobs, even in a less-than-fully-recovered economy.

So long story short, on top of weddings and babies, we will also be moving this summer, and potentially moving out of state. We have really enjoyed spending this year in San Antonio, but we are ready for a change and excited to see what happens! So get ready for round 2 of "where are we moving" and stay tuned this Spring for updates!

I think that pretty effectively catches you up on the goings on of our life lately. It is certainly going to keep us busy, but we are certainly blessed.

Cheers to that.

{Krista Goes to Africa}

This post is a somewhat bittersweet one for me. I'm so proud of the faith and courage of my sister, but we all miss her sorely as she now lives half a world away. As some of you may know by now, about a year ago, Krista felt that she was being called to move to Africa. This past Friday, January 8th, Krista and I celebrated our 28th birthday here in San Antonio. On Saturday, January 9th, we all got up at about 5 in the morning, headed to the airport in 18 degree weather, and saw Krista off as she moved to Senegal, Africa... where she will spend the next 2 years serving God and ministering to the Fulakunda people.

The Fulakunda are a largely muslim people group, and aside from spending time building relationships with them, she will also be helping to coordinate church groups who go over there on mission trips. She is passionate about Africa and it's people, and has previously been on 4 trips to Northern Africa and Uganda. Before leaving, Krista spent 2 months in Virginia in training, and while she was there, she made a great prayer card to give out, and she greatly covets your prayers during her time over there.

As you can see, she's included an address where you can email her while she is over there. She has also started a blog to chronicle her time over there... the link is on the card as well, and you can also find her on my "Friend's Blogs" list to the left of this page.

I am extremely excited to see everything that God is going to do through her while she is there, all the while hoping that 2 years will go by quickly and that she will be back before we know it! Again, please be praying for her and for the thousands of other missionaries like her who are spread out all over the world sharing God's love.

{So long 2009... was nice knowing you}

I hope that everyone had the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of New Years. Maurice and I certainly had a busy holiday season this year, but we aren't complaining, because it was full of family and friends and wonderful memories of our first Christmas as Mr. and Mrs.

But before I begin looking forward to a wonderful and exciting and adventurous 2010, and in keeping with last year's tradition, I'd like to take a minute to look back and share the things, both great and small, that I learned in 2009. And without further ado, they are as follows:

- That tiny first apartments as a married couple are meant to be small and humble, and that one day, I'll likely look back on this cramped first year with really fond memories.

- That sometimes, no matter how careful you are, or how many steps you take to prevent it, sometimes people's cars still get broken into, and people's credit card numbers still get stolen. it just happens.

- That marriage is sometimes really tough, and it takes a lot of work, but it is also the greatest kind of love and is completely worth it.

- That when you have a really bad day, say because, your credit card number got stolen, it's pretty great to come home to someone who always has your back and is always on your side in life.

- That wedding planning is something that is inevitably stressful and that it's not something I ever want to participate in again.

- That President Obama is as inexperienced and full of hot air as I anticipated him to be.

- That it is still my responsibility to pray for our leaders faithfully, regardless of political differences.

- That I only have one true enemy in this world, and that others, who may feel like enemies at times, are just his prisoners.

- That Jon and Kate plus Eight couldn't last forever.

- That Saturday mornings are best spent being lazy and watching "Flip This House" with my husband.

- That you can't please everyone, and that many times, it is not your responsibility to try to.

- That it's important, I think especially as a woman, to take the time to take care of yourself, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

- That Riviera Maya, Mexico is a place I wish to visit again. often.

- That the Mexico City Airport isn't a place I wish to visit again. ever.

- That living close to our families is a luxury that I shouldn't take for granted.

- That the right decisions are the ones that pay off in the long run, and that patience is a virtue that isn't always easily acquired.

- That though I may try, God's love for me is still much more profound than I am able to understand.

Etsy Update

So I'd like to give you kind folks an update on some of the Etsy sites from the previous post.

1. Kristen Minor's photography site is back up and running. So go look at them. Do it.

2. Ashley Carter has added some adorable aprons to "The Art of Domesticity". You are doing yourself a real disservice if you don't take the time to check them out.

3. Hue by Jenny Houston is no longer offering the free earrings, so I hope that you got em while they were hot... BUT! not to worry if you didn't, because she just added tons of new pieces and she still has the trusty $5 deals section!

Cheers!