A walk down memory lane with the senior edition of the Titan Times, my high school news paper.

It's amazing how sometimes cleaning turns into a time to reminisce.

Eric and I were both cleaning last night preparing for a few friends who are coming to stay with us for a while at the end of the week. Eric and I have a tiny apartment so our dining room doubles as a storage facility. In an attempt to make our dining room a place where we can actually eat Eric and I decided to go through our storage closet and get rid of some stuff to make room for the boxes that are piled around the dining room table. As I was cleaning I came across a bag of stuff that had some old journals from high school. I used to write a lot in high school and gave detailed accounts of everything that happened so it was hilarious reading some of those journal entries. In the other room Eric was going through a crate that was literally filled to the brim with papers, most of which looked like study guides and powerpoint print-outs from his Chiropractor school days. I was so tempted to just through it all out over the weekend without telling him but I decided not to. Just the thought of throwing out a box of Eric's stuff brought back memories of a recurring argument my parents used to have about a garage cleaning episode gone wrong. While my mom was at work one Saturday my dad was cleaning the garage and this woman walked up from the street and asked if he would like to sell the doll that was laying on a pile of stuff. Of course, my dad sold it to her for like 3 dollars or something and it turned out to be my moms Ragety Anne doll from whose knows when, that was worth a lot of money, but more importantly had a lot of sentimental value. After that flashback I decided not to do it and now I'm so glad I did because in that box Eric found some GEMS!

As Eric was going through the box page by page he found a few copies of our old High School newspaper called the Titan Times. One of the issues he found was the Senior Edition from our Graduating class. You see, at my old high school the newspaper used to put out a Senior Edition right before school ended that had a few great columns dedicated to the seniors. For instance, one column was a list of each Senior with their college of choice and their major. Another had advice to the underclassman filled with embarrassing moments and what NOT to do. But the column that left me crying with laughter and at a few points about to pee my pants was the column entitled "Senior Predictions." In this column the newspaper staff wrote a list of predictions for the future for every single senior. It was hilarious!!!! I remember back in high school this column cased A LOT of drama because some of the predictions were offensive, obscene, hurtful or just plain rude. Some of the predictions referenced peoples most embarrassing moments, highlighted major character flaws or poked fun at some of peoples unfortunate awkward years. Just to give you an idea, some predictions involved future porn stars, getting a doctorate at a local community college, beauty school dropout, being a spokes person for a major fast food chain and the list goes on! According to one of the writers, he said he remembers getting threatened to not be able to walk at graduation for some of the things that were written.

Thanks to the digital age I was able to scan the paper and upload it into a FB photo album so that the whole senior class could relive those memories and laugh again. Eric did not really want me to do it because he was afraid I would open up a can of worms or incite anger all over again but I just had to show everyone. Despite his reluctance he helped me scan everything into his computer since mine isn't really working with the printer right now. It was definitely great for a good laugh again and so far most people have appreciated the walk down memory lane or were good natured about reliving those rude comments.

But here we are, 8 years later, looking back at the good ol'days of high school. Though most of those predictions were laughable and almost have no basis in our actual lives today some actually played out. My senior prediction read, and I quote: Jeanette Amezquita - married to Erick with 12.3 kids and a pet chiwawa." The spelling errors make me laugh. I remember having mixed feelings about that in high school because I was always known as "Eric's girlfriend" by the underclassmen who had crushes on my incredibly cute boyfriend so to be predicted to just be his wife and a baby machine, at the time,though not hurtful or offensive, was definitely a little bruise to my ego. Needless to say, at least part of that prediction came true. I did in fact marry Eric and get a dog, though not a "chiwawa." As for the 12.3 kids, Eric and I have always wanted A LOT of kids but so far God seems to be laughing in our faces about that wish. At this point I'd be happy just have one cuz the way things are going that would be a miracle in itself.

Well, I do hope that 8 years later people are still not reeling over what was written about them in their high school newspaper but you never know. And frankly, I really hope some of those predictions did NOT come true! Either way, I enjoyed my little walk down memory lane and just think, in 2 years we can do it in person at our 10 year reunion! Boy does time fly!!!

Eric's coffee slinging days are DONE!!!

For the past 4 years Eric has been working for Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. He started working there while he was in Chiropractor school because it was fairly close to his school and they were able to work with his schedule. He fit in perfectly. For those of you who know Eric, he totally fits the coffee shop atmosphere. He's a perky, smiley guy who is great around people. When we got married 3 years ago he was still in school and of course he continued working there.

The perks were great. As a brand new teacher I would spend hours in the coffee shop. While he worked, I worked. I would find a spot and grade papers, write lessons plans, read, etc., all the while there was a steady flow of caffeine coming from the cute barista behind the counter. I got to know the workers there and felt like one of them most of the time. I made great friendships with some and some of them would even help me grade papers on their breaks or share my table with me just to hang out. I watched Eric as he suggested coffee's and tea's to the Coffee Bean Virgin's and I watched him say things like "hey _____, will that be the usual?" I even sometimes caught a glimpse of some of those regulars who I'm positive had a crush on him. It was so funny to see some of those girls faun over him giggling and complimenting his smile, nice eyes and long eyelashes. I would crack up as he would casually put his left hand over the register as he punched in their order showing off his bling but of course, those girls were so enraptured by the sparkle in his eye to even notice that he happened to have a band of sparkling diamonds fixated on his left ring finger.

After Eric and I had been married for about 6 months Eric quit coffee bean in order to focus on his studies because he wanted nothing more than to be the best possible Chiropractor he could be. We made the decision for him to quit together but I will be honest, I did not want him to quit for two reasons. For one, I was not that excited about being the bread winner on my Catholic High school just-above-the-poverty-line salary. Secondly, who would supply my bottomless cup of latte's and iced blended coffee drinks? I was devastated but there was an obvious weight lifted from Eric's shoulders and that was enough to give me some peace about it. However, those glorious days of focusing on school quickly came to an end when our rent went up and I lost a few thousand dollars in my salary due of low enrollment. So off Eric went to ask for his job back and thankfully they took him back.

Well, those days are finally over. After a good 4 years Eric's coffee slinging days are done. Earlier this month Eric was given a job as a Chiropractor just a few miles a way from home and just around the corner from my school. He now works 3 days at the Riverside Chiropractor office and 3 days at another clinic. Eric is officially a full time Chiropractor and can finally put that old college job aside and start working a real big kid job. I'm so proud of him for working so hard these past few years and especially these past 4 weeks as he worked 3 jobs spending only a few hours at home each day most of which was spent sleeping. He has truly won my heart over again and I can't wait to actually have my husband home in the evenings with me.

Eric also inspired me this weekend as I watched Eric work his last few days at Coffee Bean. I began to realize how much of an impact we make on each other every day as we go about our lives. On Saturday, I went with Eric to work and I watched as customer after customer came in to the Bean just to say goodbye to Eric. One couple, that I frequently see at the bean, walked out of the shop promising to return the next day for Eric's last day of work. It was so neat to see the friendships that were made with customers after just a few years of making their coffee. For some there were tearful goodbyes and congratulatory remarks as Eric moves on from the Bean to his career in Chiropractic.

So, we have finally arrived. We are finally big kids with big kid jobs.