sewing 101

Well today was my first day of my new sewing class. My friend Carissa told me about this class that she was going to take and asked if I wanted to take it with her...she knew I had been wanting to learn to sew. So, after a bit of effort, by the end of class the teacher finally made up her mind to let me add it (I didn't register or anything before hand...just showed up). I guess I proved that was serious about this class and she broke the rules and let me stay. Yea me! :) Anyway, so it was a very exciting day for me...I finally learned how to use a sewing machine! YIPPEE!!! :) It was kinda funny though because we had to practice on paper. The first two sheets we had to do it without thread...and then we got to use thread on the third sheet of practice paper. But next class we will be making tote bags, so that will be fun! I'll get to actually use some material! haha :) Well, be on the lookout in the future for some of Jody's unique creations! :) There's no stopping me now!!!

Game Night

Tonight was fun...Bethany Baptist Church held a young adults/singles Game Night! We ate yummy food - chili, chips, brownies, cookies...lots of goodies! Then it was game time! We first played this game that I had never heard of and still am not sure of the name. I think it was called Wiff? They give a subject like "ice cream flavors" and there's one person who goes around the group and each person gets to guess and the person who guesses the right answer gets water splashed in their face. I wasn't too pleased with this game...I got the right answer THREE TIMES!!! Yea, I tied with one other person for the most times getting water in the face. BOO!But, I did get to splash Josh in the face, so that was nice payback! heehee :)Then we played four on a couch. Way too much thinking with that game...it wasn't my favorite. And then it was time for Battle of the Sexes. I don't understand why the guys get such easy questions and the girls get such hard ones! Not fair! Oh well, we still did pretty good. Anyway, it was a fun night :) Look at how cute Pastor Josh is with his little boy Tad...such a cute little PK :)

Visiting Grandpa

So as I have blogged before, my Grandpa Vasquez is not doing well. His health is failing and the doctors have given him a couple weeks to live. He has been diagnosed with acute leukemia and with all the infections in his body right now, there isn't much they can do for him. He isn't in pain and therefore not on any pain medications...right now they just have him on antibiotics for the infections.

Please keep praying for a miracle!!!!

Yesterday I drove out to my Grandma's house to visit with her and see if she wanted to go to lunch. A friend of hers was over helping her clean and get some things done around the house and so the three of us, along with her friend's son and my Auntie Lin, all went out to lunch at Chili's. We had a great time visiting, catching up, reminiscing about my dad, and talking about Grandpa. After a couple hours, we thought it was time we should get going and we went over to my aunt's house. After a few minutes there, my Grandma and my Uncle Allin and I drove out to USC hospital to see my Grandpa. I had seen a few pictures of him and so it helped to prepare me for my visit. When we got there he was awake and talking, but it was hard to understand him. I said "hi Grandpa, its me Jody! I love you!" He said my name and I think he said he loved me too (it was kinda hard to understand him) but I know he heard me and understood me :) That was special! I was able to hold his hand and listen as he tried to talk. I'm so glad that I was able to see him and spend some time with him!My Grandma is so strong right now and just wants to see her honey get better and come home! We are all praying for that...we do believe God can make that happen!
At one point my Grandpa said "I can see someone in front of me"...well Grandma was standing at the end of the bed and was so excited and said "Johnny, its me Ruthie! I love you!!". He said he loved her too. So sweet! He hasn't been able to see for weeks!! I'm so glad that he saw her! :) His eyes are starting to heal and the swelling and infection is getting better, praise God! Here's a picture right when he saw her and she is waving at him...such a special moment!! I'm so glad that my Uncle was ready with the camera and captured that for us!I also had the priveledge of reading a note from my brother and his family and delivered some flowers for them to Grandpa. They wouldn't allow the flowers to stay in the room but for a few minutes, so we took a picture and then took them out. But when I read the note, Grandpa heard and understood because he said "Danny"...he knew who the note was from :) Here's a picture with the flowers...My Uncle Allin was great with Grandpa that night...he can understand him very well, more than me for sure, and was helping him with all he needed. What a great son-in-law for Grandpa! :)Then another blessing, Grandpa fell asleep and slept for hours! He hasn't slept in days and has been so restless. So for him to have such a peaceful sleep was an answered prayer!After our visit, we headed back home to my Aunt and Uncle's house. My Auntie Lin had dinner ready for us when we arrived and we all sat together and had a nice meal while watching American Idol. After chatting for awhile, and looking through some photobooks, my Aunt asked me to dye her hair...so I had fun playing hairdresser for a bit! :) And i did a good job too (I think) :) Anyway, I did her hair around midnight (kinda late) and Grandma and Uncle Allin fell asleep so there's a picture of them too :)I love that Grandma and Uncle Allin are sleeping exactly the same, with their left hand to their chin and their right arm at their side...priceless! :)It was a long day, but a GREAT day! I had such a wonderful day spending time with family, seeing and talking with Grandpa, remembering some good old days, and just being with loved ones! God has blessed me with such a great family!!!

Grandpa, I love you so much! Thank you for the many things you have taught me in life...especially how to burp! heehee :) I did win lots of contests in the youth group for that! :) Seriously though, you ARE an amazing man and I pray that God will heal you! I'm so glad that I got to visit with you, hold your hand and tell you I love you! Keep being the fighter you are and kick this illness in the butt! :) If anyone can do it, you can! I love you!!!

Please keep praying for my Grandpa!!! I heard today that the plan is for him to go home on Monday with Hospice. Let's just keep praying for healing!!!

More Photos @

Jody Vasquez Photography

Man vs. Food

The other night I was at my cousin's house and we were all just hanging out watching TV. We had the Travel Channel on and were watching "Man vs. Food". Boy is this a great show! This episode was taking place in LA and he was hitting a few hot-spots. Watching the host eat made us hungry and we started to crave the food he had and took notes of where he was so hopefully one day we could try it out. So today, my cousin Cathy had to do some work out in LA and she let me tag along. We took care of her business and then hit the two hot-spots that were on the show. Oh my gosh, it was so fun! I love new little adventures like this!

1st stop:
El Tepeyac
(Beware, not in the best neighborhood!)
The home of the "Manuel Special" burrito that feeds 2 to 4 people. No, we didn't try it...it is WAY too much food! But the burritos we did get were pretty huge too and we couldn't even finish those!Our yummy burritos
(we split them so we could each try both)needless to say, we have LOTS of leftovers!!


2nd stop:
Philippe
(right by Olvera St)
The Original French Dipped Sandwich
celebrating their 100 year anniversary!since we just had lunch at El Tepeyac, we were definitely not hungry yet. So we took this food to go and had it for dinner back at Cathy's house later this evening. We devoured the yummy dips. Ya'll will need to try them soon!

Oscar Party

Last night was so fun. I had a few of my girlfriends over for a little party to watch the Oscar Award ceremony on TV. We had lots of goodies including popcorn, cookies, candy, pizza, and mini tacos. I ate way too much food, but it was fun snacking while watching the red carpet and the awards ceremony. I wish that they would've showed more people on the red carpet though...I felt like they didn't show many of the real popular actors/actresses. Ah well. I was glad that Kate Winslet won...she's great! :) And didn't you just love the new way that they introduced the best actor/actress awards! I loved that they made it personal for them...way better than filling the time with the host trying to be funny or something like that! :) Good job Academy...you won "The Most Thoughtful Award" for 2009! Anyway, I really enjoyed having the girls over and spending time with them. Thanks girls for a fun night!

the goodies and the oscarsannie in her formal attire for the awards ceremony
(red was very popular, annie's should totally be on the Best Dressed list!)me with annie and her little friend manhattan (holly's kiddo)sorry, no pics of the girls...they were camera shy! haha, jk!

PRAY! for my Grandpa Vasquez

My Auntie Lin has sent out a few emails updating the family on my Grandpa's illness and here they are:

About two weeks ago, my Grandpa (Johnny) got a severe attack of conjunctivitis. I was told he looked like Rocky did after his worst fight. After much treatment, he had made no progress, so they admitted him to USC University hospital. During the week prior to admittance, he had developed several other problems: Shortness of breath, swollen legs and ankles, somewhat slurred speech, loss of appetite, tiredness, and more. Once admitted he got severe abdominal pain and swelling. They discovered he had a twisted colon and did a procedure to fix that with more work needed on that later. They have been testing for everything. His eyes are still horrible and he can't see anything at all now. He hasn't been able to even get his eyes open since day one. Last night the doctor finally called and told them that they suspect he has leukemia. They have sent his blood for further analysis. Monday they want to do a bone marrow biopsy. He presently has a picc line to feed him. It is looking very grim and we need powerful prayers. He is so weak and sick, that chemotherapy would be a tough choice. If it is indeed an option. We just don't know anything for sure yet. So please PRAY hard and put my Grandpa, Johnny Vasquez, on all your church prayer chains.

Then I got another email later tonight from my Aunt after she had visited him saying that he looked so much better today than yesterday. He was very alert. They even found him suddenly breaking out in a very long detailed prayer for the doctors, his healing, and those caring for him, etc. His speech is still hard to understand, but he spoke to them alot and it was better than before. His tongue is still really swollen and his mouth is so dry because he keeps it open all the time. He was obsessed with wanting water, which the doctor wouldn't allow. His eyes are looking much better and he was able to open them himself a tiny bit tonight for the first time and said he saw light "up there." They are not sure what he was seeing as there is a TV up there and a ceiling light. But needless to say, we were thrilled with that news! His legs aren't swollen any more. He got 2 blood transfusions tonight and they will check his blood count tomorrow. He had very attentive and wonderful nurses tonight.

Anyway, please pray from my Grandpa! Prayer is powerful. God worked a miracle and cured him from stage four lymphoma once before. We all believe He can do that again! We need a miracle and lots of prayers!

(I will update my blog when I know more)

valentine's getaway

V a L e N t I n E ' s W e E k E n D


Who needs men when you have great girlfriends, right?!! heehee :)
(just kidding boys...we love you!)

My girlfriends and I decided to get out of town last weekend and go have some fun together on a road trip. The four of us headed out on Valentine's morning and started the 7+ hour journey towards the Grand Canyon.
I had visited the GC once before, when I was about 13 years old...it was the last vacation I went on with my dad before he died. Anyway, I have been wanting to go back there ever since.

But we first had to stop at the 'Bucks' to get our coffee for the long road ahead!
me - carissa - holly - kristyI like to document everything with pictures...
so here's a few from our travel:
the backseat passengerssnack time!our first stop...bathroom break!nap time...Turd Burgler!
(Kristy's name for all the annoying trucks on the road! hahaha!)We stopped in a cool little town and here are a couple pics from there:We saw some interesting signs along the way too:
After quite a few hours we crossed over into AZ...And after about 7 or 8 hours (I stopped counting) we finally arrived at the Grand Canyon and checked into our hotel...I immediately laid down, it was a long ride!The GC is so amazing and beautiful! I took advantage of having such beauty in front of me, and did a few little photoshoots. You can check them all out on my photoblog by clicking on this link:

Jody Vasquez Photography

But here's a few shots from the GC:

Day 1...

our first view of the grand canyon...so beautiful
a little close to the edge here, but i lived :)we're so happy to be there!enjoying God's beautiful creation!That night we had a great dinner at this steakhouse where I devoured some delicious baby back RIBS! Um, can we say YUMMMMMMM! :) Its a good thing there were no men around for this sight...it got a little messy! hahaha :)

Day 2:

More pics at the GC...
The cheerleader in us came out...
doing liberties at the grand canyon!me and Carissaposing at the Tower overlooking the GC
After we took all the pics we wanted at the GC, we then headed out towards Sedona.

more driving...me and Holly
We enjoyed a nice lunch at Oaxacaand then strolled around the town wandering through shops and taking pictures.
We enjoyed what little sunset there was over the rocks a random pic in the sedona airport parking lot...but according to carissa we look like "sophisticated escapees" - so true! :)and then we decided to hit the theater to see "Confessions of a Shopaholic" (the story of my life!). I thought it was super cute, even if it was cheesy!

Day 3:

way too early to be up...waiting for sunrise:
the sun has come up!
as the trip was coming to an end, we got back on the road and headed west. after hours of driving with no food in sight - we were starving! we finally came across a McDonalds and made an immediate stop at the arches!and after a long journey towards home...
we were SOOOO HAPPY to cross back into California!!!

Check out all of my photoshoots of the Grand Canyon and Sedona on my

photoblog

The trip was so much fun! I love my girlfriends and am so glad that we've been able to spend time together and make such precious memories! Thanks girlies, for making this weekend so special! I love you!

PS. I'm listening to our theme song from the weekend...
"Viva la Vida" by Coldplay...now get up and dance! :)