deena's buzz

Lauryn

2011-01-18T12:07:00.000-08:00

I am such a slacker. Lauryn is 5 months today and I can't believe it. She is growing so fast and is so much fun. She is always making us laugh.

She can sit by herself now and is practicing the rolling over thing. Her favorite thing is her jumper right now. She can bounce so high. She especially loves it when everyone is watching her. She will stop and see who is watching and when you look at her she will laugh and bounce some more. She loves attention.

She loves her dad too. He takes care of her during the day while I am working and then goes to work when I get home. Whenever he is in the room she follows him with her eyes and waits for him to look at her. They "exercise" during the

day. Which consists of tummy time and practicing sitting on her own.

We bought a webcam for our computer and James talks to his family and friends in Ghana. He is so proud of Lauryn. Every time he talks to someone he has to get Lauryn and show them how much she has grown.

Life is good. Having a baby

around is definitely hard but so worth it. She is such a blessing in our lives.

Our Daycation

2010-02-18T11:41:00.000-08:00

When James came last fall he went to Vegas with Rich and some friends. On the way home they stopped at a gas station in Cove Fort for some food. He saw the sign for the fort and asked me about it later. This past weekend we decided to drive down so he could see it. So we got in our car, sang along to our radio, and drove the two hours to Cove Fort. When we got out of our car this little old missionary met us and invited us in. Her name was Sister Reid. We watched a video of the history of the fort and then took the tour. James was most impressed with the telegraph machine and the loom (is that what it is called?) After the tour I took some pictures of James and then Sister Reid asked us if we wanted her to take a picture of us, which of course we did. The first picture she cut off James' head, the second was just of our bodies, and luckily the third turned out great! She was so cute! We decided to send a Book of Mormon and DVD to James' dad in Ghana. Hopefully they can find him! We enjoyed our little daycation. It is always nice to spend some time alone to have fun and talk about life!

Changes

2010-01-29T14:25:00.001-08:00

So, it's been forever since I've written and a lot has happened. I was married in July to James Sackey. We met while on vacation in California, and we were married in Ghana where he's from. I love being married. It's nice to always have someone to go home to and to talk to. He's very patient and kind and sweet. He started taking the missionary discussions a couple of months ago and was baptized on the 16th of January. He always reminds me that we need to pray. =) In December we found out we were expecting our first baby who will be here August 20, 2010. I think James was more excited than I was in the beginning! So, there has been a lot of crazy changes in life and they are all so good. I hope to be better about blogging in the future!!

Spur of the moment craziness

2009-03-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

So to tell this story I need to go back to the end of our Mexico trip. We were on our way home and were waiting in the LAX airport when Amber and Geri said they'd met this cute black man who was waiting at our gate. Well, many of you know my love of dark skinned men so we went back to the gate and I started talking to him. His name was James, he was from Accra, Ghana, and he was in LA for a conference. He was on his way to Austin to stay with some friends and was going on our plane to Utah for a short layover. He was so cute. He asked if I had facebook and I gave him my email address. A couple of days after I got home he sent me an email saying he was sorry that it had taken so long to write and that he hadn't forgotten about me. The friend he was staying with in Texas didn't have internet in the house so he had to go to the library in order to write me. We chatted through email for a day or so and then he asked for my phone number. He called that night and we talked for a while. It was so easy talking to him and he had the cutest giggle. We started talking about how it would be fun to see each other again and he thought he might have enough frequent flyer miles to get a ticket to Utah but I thought it would be fun to go to Texas to see him. I was talking to my mom on a chat and I said that I was going to see him and asked if she wanted to go. I think at first she thought I was kidding but realized that I wasn't. She said that she couldn't go but maybe Amber or Geri would be able to. It took ALOT of convincing but Amber got it worked out so she could go with me. This was on friday night and saturday morning we left for the airport. Of course things couldn't go smoothly for us. Our plane was delayed in Salt Lake which delayed us in Denver which meant we didn't get to Austin until 11:30 p.m. We decided to drive to Seguin which was a small town where James was staying. That in itself was an adventure. Thank goodness for Ambers phone and the GPS system!! We finally made it and crashed at the hotel. The next morning James met us at the hotel and we went to see the Alamo. This was the one thing that Amber absolutely had to see if she was going to be in San Antonio.

After the Alamo we decided to go to Sea World. We knew that this was something that James probably wouldn't get to see. He loved it and we had so much fun.

After Sea World we went downtown to check out the Riverwalk. San Antonio has the San Antonio river flowing through it and they have boats that you can take through the city. It was absolutely beautiful.

That night we went back into Austin to have dinner with my friend John. I actually taught him on my mission several years ago. It was so good to see him again. He gave us a little tour of Austin and we went back to the hotel.

We had a couple of hours the next day so we decided to look at the San Antonio Temple. It was Monday so of course it was closed but we were able to walk around the grounds. It was so beautiful. There were several people working on the flowers and the lawn so we talked to a few of them. They all told us how blessed they felt to have a temple there.

It was sad to have to say good bye to James but I knew that we would keep in touch and if nothing else we would be friends.

Mexico Part 2....Mazatlan and Puerta Vallarta!

2009-03-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

Mazatlan was a beautiful place. Amber, Geri and I had arranged for a private tour of the city. They would take us anywhere we wanted to go. Our tour guide was Bernie and she was so nice. We started off by driving around the city. We stopped to see the cliff divers. I can't believe how crazy these men are. They stand on top of this tall platform and jump into the water. Normally this wouldn't be scary to me but as I looked into the water I saw these huge rocks. We went right around noon and the tide was low so we had to wait a while for him to think there was enough water. I don't know how they do it or really even why they do it.

Bernie took us to some fun places. We went on a little walking tour and she took us to the cute little bakery and the church. At the church they were having a service and Bernie kept encouraging us to take pictures. It was a little awkward but the church was beautiful. I think the funniest thing that happened this day was when we were walking through a little park area in town and there was this man standing on this box and he had painted himself silver. He looked like a statue and thats what Geri thought he was. Amber told her to give him some change and when she did he started dancing! You should have seen the scene Geri created. She was screaming and laughing and everyone was staring. He danced for a little while and then gave her a kiss. It was so funny.

Our next port was Puerto Vallarta. We took a mexican cooking class at Senor Frogs. We made salsa, guacamole, chile rellenos, and enchiladas. The food was pretty good but the waiters were even better!! Gotta love the latin men.

After our cooking class we met up with Shelli and mom to go on the Rhythms of the Night excursion. We boarded a smaller boat which took us to a private island. On the way to the island the crew served drinks and did a show. They were all so cute and fun. On the island we saw a show and had a dinner by the water. It was probably one of the best things of the whole cruise. On the way back to the ship the crew did another show and played music. It was fun for all of us but I have to say Geri got the best show of the night. Those of you who know her will need to ask her about it!

The cruise was so much fun. We met so many people that we loved. The crew on the ship were the best, so friendly and fun. The latin people in the ports were hospitable and generous. I can't wait until I get the chance to go back again!

Mexico Part One

2009-03-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

I have finally made it out of the U.S. Well, I've been to Canada for a day but I don't think that should really count. My mom and Roger and their friend Shelli had a cruise to Mexico planned in February. When Roger passed away my mom thought about canceling the trip but felt like she needed to go. So, she called the company and they were willing to put my name on the plans.
A few weeks before the cruise my friend Amber called me and asked if there was anyone that I knew that would share a room on the boat with her. Her husband had suggested that it would be a nice break for her. So, we called my friend Geri and asked her to go. It took a little doing but she was able to go with us!
We flew out of Utah on February 14th to board the ship. We were all so excited to have a break from work and our normal lives. We boarded the Norwegian Star and the fun began!! We spent the first couple of days on the sea but found plenty of things to do. The first night they had a big barbecue on the top deck of the ship. It was so fun to be able to see all of the different people, listen to the music, and have some food.
After the dinner there was a singles night in the lounge. Geri and I went to see who was there and what they were doing. We ended up playing a game called "musical men". Kind of like Musical Chairs but they replaced the chairs with the men. It was so much fun. Geri ended up knocking several people over and winning the game!!
Our first port was Cabo San Lucas. We stepped off the boat and walked down the pier. I had always heard about the people who try to sell you things when you were in port but I didn't really understand until I experienced it. While I was walking down around a man came up to me, probably about my age, and put his arm around my shoulder. He asked if I wanted to buy some jewelry. I said no thanks and kept walking and he kept following me. He told me his name was Freddie and we started talking. He offered to find me a boyfriend to take home with me and he also offered me some marijuana. Don't worry....I didn't take him up on either one!
Geri ended up being swarmed by most of the street vendors. I think they must have seen her coming! I think she ended up buying more jewelry in that one stop than the rest of us did the rest of the trip.
In Cabo we decided to do the whale watching excursion. We boarded a little boat and off we went. The first hour or so was really slow. I was a little disappointed that we hadn't seen anything and then our tour guide found some for us. There were 3 of them. They were a little ahead of our boat but you could see their tails come out of the water and go back under. He said it was the first time he had seen 2 males fighting over a female. It was pretty cool.
Some of you may be wondering what became of Freddie. Well, on the way back to the ship he found me once again and was excited to tell me he had found me a boyfriend! So, we all took our picture together and we departed. Cabo was a fun place. It's a place I would like to go back and spend more time. That is one thing that I don't really like about cruises. You just get to spend a few hours in a place. It's enough to do something fun and decide if you'd like to go back.
Well, that is Mexico Part One. There are so many fun things that happened during our trip. These are just some of the memories. Hope you enjoyed them!

Vacation is coming

2009-02-05T10:26:00.000-08:00

Everyone keeps telling me I need to update my blog. Next week I am leaving for a cruise to Mexico. My mom, her friend Sheli and I had it planned and then a couple of weeks ago my friends Geri and Amber got a cabin so they could go with us. I am so excited! I've never been on a cruise before and I've never been to Mexico so I'm excited to try something new. I will keep ya'll posted on the trip and the hot latin men!

Twilight

2008-11-25T19:19:00.000-08:00

So, I got a call from my friend August about a week ago telling me that they had bought me a ticket to Twilight and that I would be there. I told them I would go if they dressed up. They assured me that they were going to. I met them at the theater, and was very surprised to see that they actually had. It was so funny because as we were walking back to our cars, people were staring at them. I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time.
The movie was pretty good. Twilight was my favorite book out of the series so I read it MANY times. While I was watching the movie I noticed that they had left out a lot of the little things that I loved so much. I guess books are always better because you can put in those little details whereas in the movies you don't have that luxury. Also while reading the books I pictured the characters a certain way and most of them looked nothing like I pictured them!
I am a big fan of the movie though and can't wait to see it again!

Houston

2008-09-17T10:53:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I served my mission in Houston,Texas. As I was there I met so many wonderful people that I grew to love. Since I've been home I have continued to keep in touch with many of them.
When I heard Hurricane Ike was going to hit the Texas coast, I began worrying about my friends. I heard that the Lake Jackson area had a mandatory evacuation as well as my area of Seabrook. I was unable to contact anyone in Lake Jackson but I was able to text Jessica, a friend in Seabrook. She assured me that her family had evacuated to San Angelo and they were all doing well.
My family and I watched the coverage on TV and saw the devastation Ike was causing in Texas. As I was watching it I saw many of the places I had visited and seen being destroyed and it made me sad to watch it. I kept thinking of the wonderful people and the beautiful things that were there.
I have gotten a couple of emails since Ike hit. Sister See sent one that said her son-in-law was able to go back into Seabrook with the fire department. He reported that there was severe damage done to the See house. Their boat was pushed up into their garage, a tree had fallen on part of their house, the water had smashed their furniture around their house, and everything had fallen out of their cupboards. She told me that the water mark inside their house was estimated at about 2 1/2 feet. She said she is in good spirits though and they are well insured. It is just a matter of starting over and rebuilding.
My mom has suggested that for Christmas this year we go to Houston to help some of those that are in need of rebuilding. I think it is a great idea. I always love going back to visit and I think it will be even more special to be of service to those that I love so much.

A new Chapter

2008-09-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

After much nagging from my friend Amber, here I am an official blogger. So now I can start journaling about the many adventures of my everyday life. As of lately I've been feeling like I need to take a vacation. I'd really like to go somewhere out of state, maybe Chicago, New York, or maybe even Ghana. However, with my pocket book I might just have to make a run to Wendover. Wanna Go? Sometimes the monotony of the day to day tasks gets old. I think I'm ready for a change. Maybe a tattoo? Just Kidding. No, I'm not going through a mid-life crisis just trying to figure out where I stand in this big world.