I am….

“You were put on this earth to achieve your greatest self, to live out your purpose, and to do it courageously.”

― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

My name is Annette Luisa Robertson-Edwards. I’m a happy Samoan gal born in the Island of the long lost cloud also known as New Zealand. My family and I slowly migrated to the US in 1997. I’ve been a Californian Girl ever since then. I fell in love with a football jock when I was 17 then went on to marry my high school sweet heart after we graduated. 3 years later I gave birth to the sweetest baby girl, Ellyse Edwards in Fort Collins, Colorado. Life entails so many great untold stories by every day moms like me, I just want my stories to be heard even if no one is listening or reading. I’m on a quest to achieve my “greatest self” any way possible, even if its sharing life experiences with a total stranger in hopes they can relate and know they are not alone. Or showcasing the random amazingness I have inside lol. Being a Capricorn I believe success is always an upward climb… I will be blogging about that Climb. My every day life as a wife & mother, and all the random times in between. Long after I’m gone I just want to be remembered.

-Ace Mamii

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram: @AceMamii 🙂

Lupus and when it all began…

I don’t even know where to begin? Since 2012 I’ve been battling Rheumatoid Arthritis and that has been a struggle on a day to day basis, so now that I’m living with Lupus it has been physically and emotionally overwhelming. I had put blogging on hold around August of 2014 because my husband and I were preparing for Ellyse’s first birthday party in California. The summer of 2014 was one to remember, such great times we had with family. If I had known that would’ve been one of the last times seeing all of our friends and family for a while then I would of cherished every minute more dearly. September second, a day after Labor day which we spent at the beach, I found myself in urgent care with what I thought was a fever. I was given some pain medications and sent home. I wasn’t too worried about it ’cause we had a flight back to Colorado to catch the next day.

Once reaching home in Colorado things seemed to change, I noticed my health getting worst. I had less energy and more joint pain than usual. About three weeks later after attending CSU’s 1st home football game for the season of 2014, I found myself rushing to the emergency after the game. I went in because I just couldn’t stand the pain I was feeling. It was like I just got hit by a bus and I had shattered every bone in my body. The pain was radiating all over my joints; It hurt when I would move. I was since then admitted and then discharged out of the hospital every two weeks after that first time rushing into the emergency and I mean EVERY 2 weeks!! It was like my body started acting up every saturday night and then I found myself in the emergency getting admitted again.

The first time I went into the hospital I was told that my kidneys looked dehydrated and that I was to be admitted for fluids and was given stronger pain medications to help with the pain because they were unsure of what was causing the pain. The second time I was admitted for the same reason because I was still dehydrated. The 3rd time was when I had more blood test done and a Kidney Biopsy which tested me positive for Lupus Nephritis. Late September I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lupus Nephritis. Lupus Nephritis is an inflammation of the kidneys caused by systemic lupus erythematosus. In layman terms and how I understand the type of lupus I have is that its an auto immune disease where my own body is attacking itself and in my case my body thinks its protecting my kidneys, but its actually attacking and damaging them. So yeah… the only person strong enough to kick my butt is myself lol. Lupus has been attacking my kidneys for sometime now and I just never knew it. Mentally I wasn’t prepared for all that was about to happen over the next few months. After finding out the proper diagnosis, the doctors were keen on setting me up with the right treatments and medications all with the hopes that I didn’t need dialysis and my kidneys would gain more function on their own. During all of this I wanted nothing more but to be home with my husband and daughter. I put them before my health. I found myself always fighting to come home from the hospital when I knew I needed to stay. Guess that’s why I kept ending back in the hospital almost every week. I honestly didn’t think I was that sick, like on the verge of dying kind of sick. I felt fine, looked fine and was still able to get up everyday to take care of Ellyse. I totally ignored what the doctors were telling me about how aggressively the lupus was attacking my kidneys and that I could DIE. I just figured I’d get better in a few weeks like all I had was the flu or a cold. In my mind I felt as healthy as a horse! When the doctors would stress the seriousness of my condition all I heard was “wham wham wham Lupus blah, blah, blah”. I was a really bad patient and didn’t take anything seriously because I was scared to believe that I was at the brink of death when I mentally felt healthy. On top of being sick and battling kidney failure, adapting to the new medications was hard for me. The medications were so strong I couldn’t keep them down and not to mention the amount of meds I was put on so quickly was a shock to my body. I also have low platelets which caused uncontrollable bleeding. One time I blew my nose and had my first nose bleed that wouldn’t stop for two hours and was one of the reasons I went to the ER again… Talk about traumatizing for your first ever nose bleed lol. One of the times I was admitted I was given fluids to help keep me hydrated, but seeing that my kidneys weren’t working the way they were meant to, I retained all that water weight and was a swollen ballon for weeks! I felt soooooo ugly! I hid at home until the swelling went down (which never happened till I started dialysis) Oh not to mention Chemotherapy!! Ugh, my hair started falling out after my first treatment. My husband would hold me and let me cry my eyes out every time I brushed my hair. Lets just say this was a very dark time for my inner Fashion Diva as I struggled to keep up with my physical appearance. In between the months of September till just after Halloween I had been in and out of the emergency for a total of eight times. The last time I was discharged from the hospital just before Halloween, I was given my first Cytoxan chemotherapy treatment and then was scheduled to return a month later for my second treatment on December twenty second as an outpatient . That month was the best month I got to spend with my tiny family at home, going christmas shopping and preparing for Christmas. I felt ok and normal because I was telling myself that it was for the simple fact that I was needed at home. Eli had to go to work and living in Fort Collins we didn’t have too much family to rely on to help us watch Ellyse; just friends and amazing church members from relief society who offered to watch Ellyse the times I was stuck in the hospital and Eli had to go to work. I am so grateful for the help we received during that time. The amount of thanks I have inside could never be truly expressed. Still ignoring how sick I was becoming I put all of my focus and strength into my family and my sister and brothe-in-law who came to visit with her children for the holiday season. I was excited that this was going to be our first white snowy Christmas in Colorado.

I woke up on December twenty second, all the children were still sleeping. I snuck off down stairs to make myself breakfast, but for some reason I felt different that morning. I knew I didn’t wanna go in for chemo but I knew I had too. It’s like crazy to think that that was the last day in my home and I didn’t even know it. I found myself staring at my kitchen appreciating it a bit more that day. Looking at my decorations in the living room five seconds longer than I normally would. I had an eerie feeling that something was not right but I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Feeling a bit sad, I sat on the stairs in my home with my dog Princess Cleo taking selfies and sharing my ham and cheese sandwich with her while I waited for my ride to Chemo. I kissed my husband and the sleeping children as I left the house not knowing that that was to be one of the last times I would be there. Upon arriving to the Chemo Outpatient Centere I was under the impression that it was only going to take me about six hours, then I would be home. As the nurses tried to get the IV site in my arm, my veins kept popping. It was from that moment that the nurses and doctors became suspicious that something else was wrong and that I should be admitted to the hospital immediately.I was hopeful that it was only going to be a overnight stay because Christmas was two days later, but that hope was taken away when I found out what lupus was doing to me now. Later on Christmas Eve, I found out that not only was the Lupus attacking my kidneys, but also my blood cells causing me to need numerous blood transfusions, platelets and extensive  Plasma treatments and also the start of dialysis to help my kidneys along while my body was fighting through my blood cells being destroyed by lupus. Geez! I felt like I was a snowball of problems that holiday season! I sat back in my hospital bed all by myself and watched all the important holidays pass me by. I watched my daughter open her christmas gifts through FaceTime. I also counted down on New years eve with my husband through FaceTime… I even spent my birthday on January ninth in the hospital! lucky for me the hospital staff were nice enough to let us use the Sun room to accommodate a few family and friends for a small birthday party. I never wanted Eli to bring Ellyse to the hospital because I felt there were too many sick people there and it was not a place for a healthy baby to be, plus it was below fifteen degrees outside and it started to snow really bad christmas day, I seen it as me still trying to “mother” from a far even if it meant sacrificing them seeing me to keep my husband and daughter nice and healthy, then thats what I wanted. Mentally I couldn’t take it anymore… staring at the same four walls and the same ticking clock day in and day out, sheesh! man I can see and understand why people go cuckoo after awhile in the hospital because I started to get anxiety being in the hospital for staying so long. I don’t want to go into hard core details because this blog would never end so I’ll save all the medical talk for my book I’ll probably publish someday lol. Long story short, I couldn’t afford to stay in the states for all the treatments I was going to need to stay alive. The doctors felt it was the best decision to continue treatments in New Zealand as I am also a New Zealand citizen. Going to New Zealand where health care is free, was looking like my best and was actually my only option considering I was in need of so many different treatments besides starting dialysis.

In critical condition, I was dialyzed then discharged from the hospital January 12th 2014 at eleven o’clock am. My flight back to New Zealand was at three o’clock pm that very same day because I was due for another dialysis session in the next seventy two hours and my flight back home already took up about twenty hours of that time. All I can remember is walking into my home in Colorado seeing my family and friends packing my luggages in a hurry. All I could do was breakdown and cry. I hadn’t been home in almost a month and I was realizing that it was going to be the last time I was standing in the first house Eli and I consider a “home” for us and the first house we brought our daughter home after she was born. I was taking all of this in…because in a matter of two hours, I had to get in the car and zoom down to Denver International Airport to catch our flight. To make matters worst, Eli and I hadn’t even gotten the chance to sit and talk and say goodbye properly because I was so sick in the hospital. Eli was so busy helping me and Ellyse through the airport and security and making sure we made the flight because we were late. As we reached the gate, Ellyse ran to the window and dragged Eli with her to look at the plane.  I sat in my wheelchair too weak to move. Five minutes after watching them play at the window, the gate agent signaled that it was our turn to board. My heart dropped as I looked to Eli. I had felt heart break before but this kind of heart break was more than I could bare at that time with everything that was happening. To be stuck in a hospital for a whole month then sent off to another country and having to leave all my friends and family suddenly, and then having to say good bye to the love of my life, ALL at the same time?! My gosh! I’m surprised I am still alive. Eli kissed and hugged us, both of us full of tears he said to me “I love you with all my soul” and I replied “I love you with all my heart” this being our saying that we have always said to each other since we were seventeen years old.  Those being our last words to each other, Ellyse and I were wheeled off to board our eigtheen hour flight back to New Zealand.

I was so weak the whole flight through but kept praying for the strength to stay awake for Ellyse’s sake. Just getting out of the hospital, all I wanted to do was lay my head down and rest but it was just me and Ellyse. I found myself dosing off here and there, but I’m so grateful for the flight attendants who helped us though the flight from Denver to San Fransico then to New Zealand. When we touched down in Auckland I was beyond exhausted. I could barely hold onto Ellyse. It’s a miracle I made it just before I passed out with Ellyse in my arms in front of my Parents and older siblings. As I was being wheeled out to passenger arrival, I seen my Mom and yelled out for her, then my vision started to go black and I passed out. I’m forever thankful for the two Air New Zealand flight attendants that helped collect our luggage and pushed us through to meet my family who was waiting for us. To be honest I don’t even remember what happened next? I just remember a glimpse of getting into an ambulance and then waking up in the hospital. It was a scramble to get things together for me here in New Zealand. Doctors here knew nothing of how critical my lupus was and that I was due for Dialysis again from leaving the states. Luckily things fell into place where as I received all the continuous treatments I needed to stay alive. I lived out of North Shore hospital here in Auckland for two months. I am now at home with Ellyse but still return to North Shore hospital for dialysis 3 days a week for four and half hours. I’ve completed four sessions of chemotherapy that has helped stop my lupus from attacking other organs in my body, but my lupus is still very active. My kidneys however, won’t recover from the damages lupus has done over the years when I was unaware I even had lupus. I’m now awaiting a kidney transplant. I’m here in New Zealand until my Lupus goes into remission and we find a successful donor who matches me. I’ve sat quietly to myself a million times and cried out to Heavenly Father “why me?… Why my tiny family!? Did I really deserve this?” Then I would paste things from my past and tell myself that that was why I’m suffering now. I know Heavenly Father isn’t about revenge. So I’ve come to the conclusion that “Every thing does happen for a reason” I may not know why it’s all happening to me now, but I’ll find out soon enough. Every thought I’ve had and belief has been tested. I’ve considered turning my back on everything I’ve ever known and was ever taught but then I thought to myself “I’m rock bottom right now, with nowhere else to go but up. Should I just stew in darkness or look up for hope?” Simple as that. Should I live life hating everything because of a sickness, or see the beauty in the rest of my life to come? This is a new journey and battle my family and I must endure and I’m proud you’re here supporting us. Kind words of encouragement goes a very long way… You’d be surprised how much you’ve touched a person though a simple Facebook message or Instagram comment, thank you. As for now I’ll be here in New Zealand awaiting my kidney transplant and fighting this battle as hard as the Japanese fought against Godzilla! 🙂

-Ace Mamii

Please help donate GoFundme.com/wj662jk

My Story Soon To Come…

My Christmas Story.

I have never really valued my health until sickness was present. It’s funny how something so simple is what I now crave the most… To be strong and healthy. I have just been newly diagnosed with Lupus Nephritis in October 2014. Lupus Nephritis is an auto-immune disease that attacks my kidneys for those of you who have been asking. I’ve been in and out of the hospital these past few months trying to get my Lupus to go into remission. It’s been a bummer Journey and taken a great toll on me and my tiny family.

I am currently on low dosage chemo treatments that help stop the Lupus from aggressively attacking my kidneys. On Tuesday, December 22nd I had planned to have my 2nd chemo treatment done but, things took a turn for the worst. My blood results showed that my kidneys are only functioning at 10% (which is considered failing) and I could be facing dialysis. I now know that not only is Lupus attacking my kidneys but also destroying my white blood cells, this is called TTP. In order to stop TTP I had must under go a weeklong procedure to clean out the plasma (sorry to get all medically sound with this story lol)

That leads me to the here and now… Me sitting in the hospital, alone on Christmas Day. I could be a real Grinch and sulk about the situation I’m in but with everyone I’m surrounded by I just can’t. I wanted to take the time to thank all of our Family & Friends for the support you give me daily. This holiday season has truly shown me the meaning of “Giving”. People who give me help that I so desperately need but was too afraid to ask for. People who give but don’t have much to give in the 1st place, Paying it forward.

This is the best Christmas present my family and I has ever gotten and I wanted to thank my older sister, Christina and those open-hearted who donated to the GoFundMe account she has set up. My heart is full and I’m over thankful.

Here is the link:
http://www.gofundme.com/j9npo8?forcedesktop=1

I know better days are coming… I just know it. Merry Christmas!

-Ace Mamii

20 Facts about my Awesome Daddy

Today is a special day! It is my fathers 64th birthday! These past few weeks people all over social media have been playing this “20 facts about me” game. You list 20 facts about yourself people wouldn’t know about you, seeing that my father is 64 and barely getting the hang of using his cell phone let alone facebook I’m going to list some cool facts about my dad in honor of his birthday.

1. I’m his favorite daughter 🙂

2. He’s the most hardest working man I know! He used to work 12 hour shifts from 6am to 6pm almost every day of my childhood in New Zealand to support all 8 us.

3. Some people compare him to Danny Devito. Which is pretty cool because Danny Devito is the voice of The Lorax and my daughter adores The Lorax!

4. Eli is the one and only guy my dad ever let me date… hehe he’s my husband now.

5. He’s a papa to 19 grandchildren

6. My dad considers “Stupid” as a curse word

7. A local boy from Safaatoa Lefaga.

8. The biggest WWF fan!

9. My dad still feels the need to give me lunch money… I graduated high school 5 years ago lol

10. My dad worked at a plastic factory in NZ and would catch feral kittens and cats in the parking lot and bring them home just for me hahaha. The cats grew to love me though.

11. He can fix just about anything!

12. He is the “Sock Police” during the winter, everyone in his presence must where socks or else you will be ticketed by a looonnnnggg lecture about how you can die because of cold feet hahaha dramatic I know.

13. At the beach when I was young my dad would piggy-back ride me all the way into the ocean on his knees until the water covered his face then he would play dead hehe.

14. My dad unknowingly wore a San Jose Football shirt to my husbands Farewell party to Colorado State (for a football scholarship) hahaha he said he brought it from the thrift store because he liked the colors but he doesn’t even know what San Jose State is?? lol Go dad!

15. He thinks he’s fluent in spanish and tongan, but is farrrrr from it lol.

16. Because of him, I’m a sucker for a yard sale and a good deal.

17. My dad bargained down the sales lady for my prom dress. He got me $40 off!

18. He still listens to cassette tapes, he’s retro cool.

19. My dad and mom are still in love and together even though she is miles away in New Zealand, true love I’d say.

20. A proud priesthood holder.

My dad is everything to me. He’s sacrificed so much, moved countries, worked overtime any chance he got just to provide a better life for my family and I. I’m so thankful the Lord blessed him with 64 years of life. I love you Daddy.

Ace Mamii

Happy 4th of July!

I can’t wrap my head around how fast this year is flying by! In parenting “time” seems to be the enemy. Last Independence Day I was 7 months pregnant. I was so Anxious and excited in knowing that I only had two months left until I was able to meet my precious baby. I walked around rubbing my belly all 4th of July imagining what that day would of been like if my baby was there with us instead of in my belly. She’s here now… 10 months old and ready to witness her 1st set of fireworks. Time is surely flying and I’m so grateful for this country’s Independence that allows me to freely and happily spend time with my family. Thankful to those who fought for the great American dream; the reason why many like my family migrate to the US in search for. Be safe out there today and have a happy Independence day!

Our Sweet Ellyse enjoying her 1st Independence’s day! 

Ace Mamii

Social Media pet peeves

I know, I know its been a while, but I’m back! I took a “early summer vacation” lol I’ve had a lot of time to spend with family and also a lot of time to spend living in the social media world for a while and I’ve been debating if I should even blog about this because I’m not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings, but to be honest, I just want to bring the humor of my pet peeves to light. If you’re not fluent in sarcasm I would say this blog isn’t for you. This post is not directed at any one person specifically and is nothing too serious. Chill out and hopefully laugh at yourself if this happens to be you. Here are some of my pet peeves about things that happen in the social media world!

SELFIES!

You know what… props to you! I don’t have the self confidences to post selfies all the time on Facebook or Instagram. I’ll post a selfie every now and then when i’m feeling myself or my outfit that particular day or night, but to ONLY post selfies gets a bit annoying. For family and friends I do love your sweet faces, but after the 4th self portrait, i’m rolling my eyes lol

Gym SELFIES

I hate you and your nice body and all the free time you get to spend at the gym…

Inspirational SELFIES

These type of selfies crack me up all the time!! People take selfies, and as their caption, put a very inspirational quote…like…what does that quote have to do with your face?? hahaha I guess it’s better than admitting your bored and have nothing to do with your self.

Weed SELFIES

OH EM GEE… you’re not cool… period!

Super Proud Mommy Post

Oh geez, being that i’m a mommy myself, I don’t even know where to begin? I feel like this deserves it’s own blog post lol I get it… YOU have the most adorable baby in the world and we all know he/she is the reason for your existence, the reason why you wake up every morning and go to work, your hashtag “Blessing” hashtag “MyEverything” hashtag “MyWorld”. I get it… I get it!!

Drama Post!

What are you? in highschool? (well unless you are in high school then okay lol) Calling out people to fight over social media is like… gosh I have no words?! thats how utterly childish it is. Grow up or go to jail… thats where you’ll be for physically assaulting someone that your smart ass just publicly threatened over social media… it’s called “Intentional harm” with proof!

Confusing status

Posting a status on facebook about how mad or upset you are about what ever got your nickers in a bunch then when someone asks you if your okay… you simply reply “yeah,I’m fine love” WTF? Get your life together lol

Pointless Instagram videos

man… you tricked me. I thought it was going to be a cool 15 second video, but it wasn’t and I just wasted 15 seconds of my life that I wont ever get back.

HashTag Gang

Please stop with the hashtag captions! It’s so annoying to see someone write there whole caption or status out in HASHTAGS! Hashtags are for TOPIC purposes! You hashtag the topic of your picture or status. Here is an example status: “I like turtles! #Turtles #GreenTurtles #SaveTheTurtles” not “#I #Like #Turtles!” and SYMBOLS DO NOT WORK when you hashtag!

Twitter raping

Twitter raping is where you tweet one after another and keep going until I click out of twitter because you felt the need to rape my twitter feed with one word tweets and tweet every single thought that came to your mind in those two minutes you were tweeting. Thanks jerk.

Month-a-versary

Please… spare us. Just celebrate your ONE year anniversary when you get there!! Cheese and rice people!!!

Follows to Unfollow

okay I know it’s just social media and it should be a big deal but I hate when people follow me on Instagram or twitter and then I follow that person back only to be unfollowed a couple days later so that that person looks like their famous with 2000 some followers and only following 27 people. Phssshhh I’m not you’re groupie. I simply UNFOLLOW and BLOCK you!

Relationship Drama

Like on a serious note… keep your relationship drama off of social media. You make you and your spouse look stupid.

The Mommy Blogger who blogs about her pet peeves

Oh. Well… Hello there 🙂

With all my pet peeves, I may have come to the conclusion that I’m spending entirely wayyyyy to much time on social media, but then I log back on and see everyones post and think, “Nope I’m right” hahaha hope you could relate or got a giggle out of this. Just remember people “Less is MORE”.

You stay classy my friends

Ace Mamii

Eli’s CSU Graduation Pictures: Class of 2014

Here are a few pictures I promised from this past weekend at my husbands graduation from Colorado State University.

Our Graduate “Elisara Edwards”

His name in the program

 

Our happy little family of three!

 

 

Sweet Ellyse and Daddy

 

All the guys..

all the girls

 

The graduate with my sisters and brother

Eli with some of his brothers and sisters

 

 

Proud moment between father and son

We love you daddy!

 

Elisara Edwards a CSU football player for the years of 2012-2013 Defensive End, and now a CSU graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a focus in Criminology!!   

 

 

 

 

From Memories to a Mile Stone: Eli’s Graduation

This week is one of those stressful mommy weeks. Lets just say there is so much to do in so little time… cleaning, washing and shopping. We will be accommodating 13 people in our home this weekend, all family members who are driving up or flying in for Eli’s graduation ceremony! I’m super excited to have everyone! This week marks a major mile stone in my husband’s life. He will be the 1st person in his family (and mine) to graduate from a university. It’s sad to say, but most Polynesians do not choose to further their education after high school or are not presented with the opportunity to do as such. This is why it is such a big deal to us! This weeks blog is dedicated to my loving husband! I’m just going to take a small trip down memory lane and tell you guys about his educational journey that has brought him to where he is now.

Like I mentioned so many times before, Eli and I have been together since our Junior year of high school. I went to Long Beach Jordan High School (best school ever!) and he went to some high school that granted themselves, “The Home of the Scholars & Champions”… Long Beach Polytechnic High School (MACHO ego much??). Lol theres a bit of rivalry between us seeing that our schools are both on the same main street, but a few miles away. In the spring of 2009 we both graduated on the same day, at the same stadium, but just at different times. Being able to watch each other graduate was one of the best moments in our lives, because we enter the real world together.

We were both looking to go to a community college. I wanted to go to Long Beach City College because I had so many connections that I had made during high school and Eli wanted to go to LBCC with me as well! He had plans to play football for LBCC. As the summer went by Eli and I started receiving phone calls and visits from other community colleges who heard Eli was not going to a university straight out of high school. These colleges were very interested in Eli that they started to call me! These colleges knowing that I wanted to attend LBCC had a big affect on Eli’s choice and why he wanted to attend LBCC, as well. They tried to persuade me to go to there college. One college that stood out to me for Eli was Cerritos Community College. The coach called me up one day asking me all sorts of questions and started stating his reasons why Cerritos College was the best choice for Eli. He compared Cerritos and LBCC and I realized that Cerritos to me, was looking like a great choice for Eli, so I agreed to help persuade Eli to go to Cerritos College. Long story short after weeks of fighting and disagreements, Eli finally went to Cerritos College!  As for me, I didn’t end up going to LBCC, but decided to travel to Australia instead. Eli’s choice to attend Cerritos was probably one of the best decisions he’s ever made for his athletic/educational career.

He was the starting defensive end at Cerritos College for both freshman and sophomore years! He had a great freshman year and was also starting his sophomore year off strong that he attracted the attention of Washington State University, which he later took a trip to WSU and then accepted their scholarship offer. He was well on his way to becoming a Cougar, but about 7 games into his sophomore year, the unthinkable happened. During their game against El Camino College, Eli Tore his ACL. I will never forget Eli’s face as I rushed down to the field when the trainer announced his injury; Eli was crushed. He sat the rest of the season out, but managed to play their very last game of the season. With his knee injury playing a big factor in his athletic career, we were worried WSU would not want him anymore. A few months after season we had a pleasant visit from the Washington State head coaches that ensured Eli still had his scholarship and they were looking forward to us moving up to Washington.

As fate may be, All the coaches at Washington State got fired, therefore resulting in Eli losing his scholarship. Eli continued to go to school and strengthen his knee in case another school came along. We started losing faith that Eli would get picked up, slowly but surely, division two schools started calling. We met with more coaches and learned about more universities. Time was drawing closer to graduation and the lucky winner ended up being Colorado State University. The same thing that happen to Washington State with the changing of coaches happened here at Colorado State, too.  It was at this time in Fort Collins where an unfortunate event occurred where CSU were in need of defensive linemen in which opened an opportunity for Eli to become a part of the Ram Family. In May of 2012, Eli accepted a scholarship from Colorado State and it was at that moment where our “Rocky Mountain” lives began; A “Bold New Era” had begun at CSU. Over the past 2 years, Eli has studied his butt off, I gave birth to my beautiful daughter Sweet Ellyse and we have managed to truly call this state “Home”. Since Eli has been here with CSU, the football team has been on the raise! We ended last season with a epic win in the New Mexico Gilldan Bowl against… wait for it… WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY! sheesh talk about karma! lol Life out here in Colorado has been nothing but good to us. 

All those hours I’ve seen Eli put into earning his college degree is truly a blessing. Someone had once told us that “Eli making it to the NFL would be the only way he could feed Ellyse.” I cannot express my gratitude to my husband for making the choice to stay behind and graduate. I love him for the simple fact that he sees more value in his bachelors degree rather than a NFL contract. He makes so many sacrifices for Ellyse and I that I want him to know that his sacrifices are being noticed and not taken for granted. I’m so thankful he is my husband. He is the true definition of the “WORLD’S #1 DAD/HUSBAND!” I love you Eli and will continue to love you everyday till eternity. Thank you for your hard work honey… Congratulations!!!

Graduation pictures to come later on next week!

Ace Mamii 

 

Craigslist Tips

Good day my fellow readers! It’s been a very long week seeing that I didn’t blog last week and I apologize! I needed a mommy break. While on my mommy break of relaxing and surfing the net, I found this weeks blog topic of one of my favorite websites; Craigslist! It’s like a yard sale online that never closes! I love it!! I’m such a sucker for a good deal! I’m not one of those moms who has to buy everything BRAND spankin’ NEW from Macy’s or Sears. Shoot it would be nice to be able to buy all the finer things in life, but in most cases it just doesn’t work out that way. When I was a little girl, my dad would take us to yard sales and flea markets every Saturday morning. Those experiences have helped me to embrace the saying “One mans trash is another mans treasure”. Over the years I’ve managed to develop a good eye for the finer “cheaper” things in life. My sister and I are always looking for some of the greatest things for the lowest prices. I’ve gotten lucky quite a few times that my husband calls me the “Craigslist Queen” hehe. I figured I’d share a few tips that have helped me get lucky on CL and also showcase a few of my prized items I found off of CL, as well.

Checking CL at the right times of the day. 

I understand no one has the time to sit around on CL all day waiting for a good deal to pop up, but checking CL at the right time of the day can help you catch the right deal. Typically people post their Items 1st thing in the mornings so that their post is fresh at the top of the list. I’ve also noticed that Saturdays are a great day to check out deals because people have the day off and actually have time to post their items on CL.

Always look for LIKE NEW items

I always scope out the “brand new” or “like new” items 1st.  I’ve noticed that these items are usually posted because of a desperate need for money and are almost always in good condition.

BARGIN BARGIN BARGIN

Make an offer! most times you’ll find those people on CL who are grouchy and don’t accept offers, but almost everyone else is open to offers. If they’re desparate for money, but are firm on their price wait a week or two and see if their ad is still there. This would mean that no one is buying their item and they may now be open to listening to offers.

Use the right words

When I respond to an email or send a txt my golden line is “…I have CASH and can pick up TODAY!” this almost always works. Also, I counter-offer and then always mention that I can pick up their item asap! This lights a little fire under the sellers butt to want “cash” money.

Dealing with the “FREE SECTION”

On CL there is a free section where people post items they don’t want, but feel someone else can benefit from it. You never know what type of things you’ll find in the free section. I’ve come across an XBOX 360 for FREE!!! in good working condition! A mother was tired of her sons attitude and decided to give it away for free on CL because he played it too much! I wanted to get it, but my husband said no 😦 we already have a xbox 360 and Xbox One soooooo another xbox would’ve been pointless.  Also, you have to take in consideration that “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” meaning even if it’s free, you have to sacrifice the time and gas money to pick whatever item it is up, but if the benefits outweigh the cost, its a great deal!  The key to the free section is that it requires some stalking. Free items are always time sensitive. Once someone post an item you like, reply straight away! Mention that you can pick it up asap (also be available to pick it up asap) people giving away free items want that item gone! REMEMBER: “the early bird gets the worm” so they will always work with the first person who can take it off of their hands.

Here are a few things I scored off of CL 🙂

My daughter’s car seat and stroller set.

I got very lucky with this!! I wanted everything brand new for Ellyse. When I found this stroller set it was like baby jesus sent it to me himself! I stumbled across an ad for this stroller set for $80. It mentioned that the set was BRAND NEW! I called up the seller to ask if the stroller was BRAND NEW and he said yes and that he was selling it because his wife didn’t want it anymore. When I went to pick up the stroller set I seen the exact same stroller set, but in red! It was then that the seller rolled his eye at his wife and told me that she preferred the “RED” stroller set that her parents bought them instead of the original set they blew $300 dollars on!! So for $80 I got a brand spankin’ new stroller and car seat!… uhhhh WINNING!

My husband’s bike

We live in a small college town whose preferred transportation is biking. My husband decided to” get in with the cool crowd” and bought a bike. We have friends who have spent about $800-$900 dollars on a bike! That wasn’t going to fly with me. I took to CL and found a “like new” Genesis Onex Mens Bike. This bike is a very nice, simple, one-speed cruiser that retails for $150 at walmart. The lady who was selling this bike just moved here and bought this bike for herself. She was only 5 feet tall. Her problem with the bike was that the bike was too big for her! She was selling the bike for $80, but I bargained her down to $50!

HD Solo Dre Beats!!

 

Eli was looking for a pair of ear phones for football games. Most of the boys on the team had a pair of Dre Beats. Eli wanted to be cool right along with them lol, but for $299 I was about ready to buy Eli a pair of $10 Skull Candies. I took to CL and found a pair of new Dre Beats for $80. Eli meets up with the seller and he is an older gentlemen who did not like the ear phones because they were too… wait for it… LOUD! hahahaha I don’t think he knew that that’s what Dre’s are specifically designed for, but hey! $80 for a new pair Dre Beats??!?? Hell yeah!!

My Ugg Boots

My daddy bought these for me off of a CL seller in Cali. I found a new pair of tall chocolate-colored Uggs  for $60. The seller showed my sister who was picking up the Uggs for me the receipt from Nordstrom for authenticity. With the help of my Uggs, this past cold and snowy Colorado winter didn’t faze my feet! Oh yeeeaaahhhh!

Astro A40s & Elgato Card Capture

Okay I’m going to take a small step into the world of eSports real quick… My Husband is a Pro Call Of Duty Gamer. And YES you can become a professional video gamer, who would of thought right?? hehe. In the gaming world you need a good headset and something to record all your awesome games. Astro’s are just about the best gaming headsets out there in the world of eSports. The Astro A40’s retail for $250 I managed to find a “like new” pair of Astro A40’s kept in great condition for $150 from a guy whose wife told him to get rid of all his gaming stuff (soon-to-be me one day lol). The Elgato Card Capture records your gameplay so that you can post those videos on YouTube. This device retails for $180 we managed to get the card capture for a whopping $45 in great condition, because the boy who was selling it was desperate for money due to the fact that his car got impounded.

MY FREE STUFF

I got a printer from an older man who just needed it gone. It is a big printer but it prints in full color and has brand new ink! I also got a vintage looking wooden table for my living room and a entertainment center! All for free and in good condition!

My Princess Cleo!

My furry best friend was bought off of CL! lol. Cleo is Poodle-Maltese mix that was a 21st birthday gift from my husband. I’ve been dying for a poodle my whole life! We came across an ad of thee cutest little puppy! Once my husband agreed to buy it for me, we ventured off to Hollywood where we met a local breeder. After meeting with the owner, we noticed that Cleo’s birth certificate indicated that she was born on the same day of my 21st birthday!! We didn’t care if she had missing teeth, eyes, or legs, we were sold when we seen that lol. She priced cleo for $350, but we bargained her down to $150! that was the best $150 dollars I’ve ever spent!!

An important part of my Craigslist experience is the stories behind each deal.  It’s always interesting why anyone would be selling anything.  Through the seller’s stories, you can feel a sense of who the person is, if the item you’re looking for is a “Hero” or “Zero” and the exciting feeling of finding “diamond in the rough”.  Craigslist is about bargains and life stories. I love this website! I hope these tips will help you land a good deal, too!!

You stay classy my readers!

Ace Mamii

Relief Society Activity: Polynesian Night

About 2 weeks ago I received a call from my relief society president who asked me to host a “Polynesian Night”. Seeing that we live in Fort Collins (the last town in Colorado before Wyoming) there aren’t many Polynesians here. I can only count a handful that I’ve personally met here and the rest are on the football team lol. I’ve been dancing my whole life and seen this as a great opportunity to bring some island flavor to the Mountain West! This blog is an inside peak of all of Thursday festivities.

We started off with a list of dance moves. I composed a short list of basic Tahitian moves and then a we created a short Hawaiian dance to the song “Honey Baby” by Three Plus. My husband Eli and friend Mike played the ukelele while we danced, the relief society really enjoyed the live music.

I brought some props from home to help get into the ALOHA spirit.

Everyone happily grabbed a prop, suited up and got ready to shake what their mama’s gave them lol. The night was full of Laughter and fun!  The sisters enjoyed giggling at each other as they attempted to dance. Nothing else could of made me more happier than seeing the sisters wiliness to try something new. I take much pride in my Polynesian culture and I’m happy I got a chance to share it with my fellow church members last night.

Here’s a picture of Ellyse just because… 🙂

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Ace Mamii