LB Poly Wins the Souther Section Championship; State Championship Bowl is next!!!

Me and Rosemarie and baby just came back from California to go to the boyz Southern Section championship game at Angels Stadium. We defeated Tesoro HS of Las Flores who was previously unbeaten at 13-0. We won 20-17. It was such a good game. We were down 10 points in the 4th quarter with less than 7 minutes left. We scored the winning touchdown with 2 minutes left in the game on a 60 yard touchdown run. It was crazy over there. We had so much fun...

NEXT WEEK, 12/20: LB Poly v. Grant High School(Sacramento, CA). We are 14-0 and Grant is 13-0. This is for the State Championship and it is being held at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. We are playing in the grand-daddy of them all. We are playing in the Open Division State Championship. We are playing in the highest bowl game in California. The second best game is the Division 1 championship is being played by Corona v. De La Salle-who lost one game already this season. We are currently ranked #1 in Cali and ESPN ranks us at #2 in the nation...Go Jackrabbits!!

Christmas time is coming!!!

I love this time of year. It is definitely one of my favorite holidays. I enjoy the festivities and events that take place during this entire season. I love the meaning of Christmas, Christmas songs, Christmas trees, Christmas decorations, gifts(giving and receiving), stockings, candy canes, turkey, family time, caroling(listening, not singing) and the cold weather(summers in Vegas are too long). It is a great time to contemplate on how this past year went for me and how can I make this upcoming year even better.This holiday season, we will be celebrating a lot of first times events. Here is the breakdown.

First time:

1. Estela's celebrating Christmas-her 1st Christmas.
2. Our first Christmas as parents(mom and dad).
3. We are spending Christmas at our own home-not out of town.
4. My father, Armando, spending Christmas with us.
5. Thomas mom/dad is out of the country for Christmas:in Samoa
6. We are going to cook our own Christmas dinner.
7. We put up a Reef and Christmas lights outside.
8. We baked cookies for our next door neighbors-old couple.
9. We are debt free before Christmas.
10. We are on a budget for Christmas-Economy sucks!

BONUS: as a blogger

I am excited to see what this Christmas season will bring to me and my family. As Christmas approaches, I am eagerly awaiting Christmas day. I am also trying my best to remember the highlights of these holidays. By taking camera shots and mental snapshots of how Estela's experience is going, oh yeah, and writing in this blog, I can remember the little tidbits and details of this Christmas for the future. Yaaay!!! Christmas time is coming...to be continued...

It's Raining, It's Pouring, I wish I was Snoring!

I love the rain!!! It hasn't rained here in Vegas for a long time. I feel like getting some hot chocolate with Rosemarie and baby, putting on my sweats, get under my sheets and and go straight to sleep with my family...okay, that sounds gay...lol. That would be the ideal situation though, yet I am still at work finishing up some paperwork. I hope it stays like this for awhile.

Proud of you Rich

This past weekend, I went to Long Beach for Richards big day. On Sunday, Richard was ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood. Congratulations bro! It has been awesome to see Richard grow and progress in the gospel. It is crazy how the spirit works. I am glad he is taking the necessary steps to be sealed with his wife in the Temple. I'll be there when it happens. It was a blessing to attend and participate in the ordination.

It was also a wonderful time to inspect and evaluate my own life. The experience made me ponder questions concerning my own salvation. What can I do better to serve the Lord? How can I exercise my Priesthood and magnify my calling more effectively? What bad habits and aspects of my life do I need to fix/improve? How can I be a better father? husband? Is setting a good example to my friends and family enough? Or does the Lord want me to be actively engaged in preaching the gospel by sharing my testimony? I spoke to my brother Milton last night about this subject and he reminded me of my mission. Full time missionaries have a special calling and gift of the spirit to preach and teach effectively. They have the spirit of influence and the Lord works with the investigator more intimately, allowing the truth to marinate in the soul. I believe it. During my tenure as a missionary, it was like no other experience in the world. People that I had doubts about would discern truth, accept it, and change their life.

I still believe as member missionaries, I can have a similar effect to those I come in contact with. I need to be more involved in the gospel. I find myself going through the motions at times. The journey of life is difficult for me but if I constantly utilize the atonement, I can find true peace and happiness. Something that the World can not offer me. I know all of this. I just have to maintain and keep on pushing.

UPDATE ON MY JACKRABBITS

Congratulations to my little cousins, Eli, Wilson, and Ryan Edwards. Long Beach Poly High School is currently ranked #1 in California and #3 in the nation with a 9-0 record. On there first game of the season, the team flew to Florida to play one of there best team: Miami Northwestern and beat them 29-7. Last Friday, we kicked Compton High Schools butt 40-13, who before the lost was undefeated at 8-0. Eli had 8 tackles, a sack(8rd loss) and a safety. Ryan had 6 tackles and Wilson had 2. Eli is one of the leading tacklers in the league starting at defensive end. Wilson and Ryan are starting on Offensive/Defensive Line.Scholarship offers are rolling in for all three. Eli is being looked at by UCLA and several other D-1 programs, he is waiting for USC. Ryan is being looked at by USC and he is still a junior in high school. Wilson, also a junior, is being looked at by Cal and other D-1 programs. One more game left in the season, this friday, against Long Beach Jordan, who are 7-2. I'll be there this weekend. Then the CIF playoffs begin. Good luck with the season boys. I hope you guys get to play in the BOWL game.

ROCK THE VOTE....yessir!!!

Today, I did my patriotic duty and responsibility as an American citizen and VOTED....(second time ever)woohoo!!! At a young age, my pops explained to me the importance of voting and advised me to vote, so that I can express my values and opinions on the issues of today. If I chose not to vote, I shouldn't complain about the decisions our leaders make. Our freedom to choose is a blessing. We should actively be engaged to share and express our opinions through voting. Our thoughts, are our thoughts. What we believe in, is our belief. This is the beauty of democracy. If you think war is best, support the war. If you support the troops but not the war, whatever that means, then do that, however that can be done. If you oppose the war, please say so, in terms that are unchanging and convincing. It is our CHOICE. I never really cared about all this crap until I had a family of my own and the woes of our economy directly affect me (gas prices, rise in food cost, job security). In the past, I never thought that my vote would ever mean anything. That feeling was reaffirmed when Al Gore won the popular vote in 2000 and he still didn't win the election. Why the change of heart? Well, I decided to take a leap of faith and exercise my right to vote. Today I feel that I have made a small yet significant difference in the stability and future of our country.

Will the candidates that I voted for, keep there promises? At what expense? Is our country going to get out of this recession? Did my vote really count? Am I making a difference? How much of a difference? I don't know if any of this will happen but hopefully it will benefit me and my family. The decisions I made today were solely influenced by what was more beneficial to me and mine. At the end of the day, that is all I have. With all the hoopla surrounding this Presidential race, we need to focus on the important issues affecting our country and establish our 'American Values' and 'Family Values'. If we have identified them already, strengthen them. We are more responsible for ourselves than we are - even collectively - for our country. Not only in the end but all along, ethics and moral principle depend on the actions of individuals. We should take responsibility in our own lives and situations, then we will survive during these perilous times. Live within our means(Don't buy a home/car/junk that you can't afford). Save your money. Begin a food storage. Do More With Less. Teach your kids values and principles to live by. They are our future. Regardless of our religious beliefs, these are practical issues we can overcome individually and collectively. All these things are done in the walls of our own home. Dr. Vik says,"We are the King/Queen in our own life". If our kingdom falls, we are responsible.

Estela Fliccs

"Moving the Needle"

Our company is currently working on a project to raise the awareness and internet traffic of our website. Zappos.com is infamous for selling a great variety and collection of dress, casual, and athletic shoes. What a lot of people are not aware of is that we also sell clothing, accessories, electronics, and even cookware. We have been getting alot of exposure from different television programs, most recently, our stint on the Oprah Show.

Management has recently initiated a program called "Moving the Needle" in hopes that all employees take a more personal role in lifting our sales and contributing to our efforts to meet our 1 billion dollar goal for the end of the year. My email inbox has been filled with suggestions and ideas from my coworkers to get our website and service out to the public. Ideas from informing our friends and families of our great deals (free shipping, convenient returns, quick shipping), placing Kiosks throughout malls, online forums, giving out Zappos postcards, marketing our culture, and even giving out dollar off coupons and percentage off coupons to our family, friends and customers.

This is my attempt to do my part in helping my company grow. I have worked here for about 3 years now and it is definitely the best job I have ever had. Our benefits are great, the culture is one of a kind, and there is a lot of opportunities for growth. For my friends and family members and whoever is reading this: COME AND SHOP AT ZAPPOS.COM!!!!! If you need a discount, let me know. If you don't want to shop, at least come check out the website. We have a lot of cool stuff. Thank you!!

Good Weekend!!!

Its been a pretty good weekend so far. On Thursday night, Rosie's friend Karina and her boyfriend Adam and there baby Isaac, came to visit from California. They will be leaving on Sunday. My wife was looking forward to see them all week. All I heard all week was"I can't wait to see Karina and the baby.....blah blah blah"....jk babe. It was good to see Rosemarie happy. They are a pretty cool little family. Pretty mellow like us. Karina and Adam remind me a lot of me and my wife but I complain a lot more, I'm sure. I probably have a lot more flaws. I don't know how my wife deals with me. Yesterday, Rose, Karina, Adam and the babies came by Zappos and I gave them a tour of my job. Then they went to a pumpkin patch where supposedly, they rode ATV's and checked out pumpkins. I was stuck at work-which sucked.

Last night, Jeff barbecued chicken and ribs. We all went over there for dinner. The food was on point.....mucho delicioso!!! The boys then went to South Pointe casino where we played Bingo. I never knew that there were so many hard core Bingo enthusiast. People are religious about Bingo. I saw folks pull out there little Buddhas and Trolls, rubbing there heads before the numbers were being called. That's just crazy. I actually won $150 bucks the last time I played but there was no luck this time. We spent the next hour playing the slots. We won a little then came home. Gambling can be thrilling and depressing at the same time. Bingo can be stressful, when your not winning.

Overall, it's been a nice weekend. What tops it off is that USC just blew out Washington St. 69-0. I hope they make it to the BCS Championship game. It is always a good day when USC wins.

Thank you for the call babe!

About 5 minutes ago, I checked my phone and got a missed call from Rosemarie. I went out the office and called her back thinking something was wrong. She never calls me in the middle of the day. She only calls me at lunch and after she gets off. When I called her back, I asked her what she wanted. She said that she just called to say, "I love you and was thinking about you". I quickly asked her what she wanted thinking she was up to something or had a hidden agenda. She said that she was just thinking of me and wanted to call. That's it. She was thinking about me.
It made me feel good inside. She just called to tell me that she loves me. She has never done anything to make me feel suspicious, yet I question her every time she tells me something. This is one of many character flaws that I have and need to remedy. Despite the arguments and constant attitude I give her, she is still thoughtful and loving. I am so lucky to have a humble and sweet wife. She is so good to me. Whether it is making me dinner every night or cleaning after me, she does it with the least amount of attitude. We have been through so much and we have a happy future ahead of us. I am not the best husband, but I am improving. If you are reading this Rosemarie, I love you too!

Near Death Experience.....

not quite, but pretty frickin scary. Last night, I was driving northbound on the I-15 at about 65 miles an hour, OK maybe 80. I was driving on the far lane about to exit the freeway in a couple of miles. The traffic was mild and it was pretty windy and cold. As I proceeded to drive, I suddenly noticed that there was a full size bath tub in the middle of my lane. The bathtub seemed to have fallen off a truck and was cracked in multiple pieces but the majority of the tub was still in tact. I swerved to the left trying my best to avoid running into it(2-wheeling it) but the front right tire ran over parts of the tub. I then tried to correct the sharp turn by turning sharp to the right. I tried not to over correct the swerve and tried my best to balance the car. The car fishtailed and went out of control spinning twice and sliding sideways nearly hitting the middle divider. I went across four traffic lanes and finally stopped about 4 ft from the middle divider. When the car stopped sliding and spinning, my car was turned facing oncoming traffic. There were at least 3 cars that got into an accident because of this. I started the car and did a U-turn so that I can go the correct direction.

After all of this, I went to the nearest gas station to inspect my car. My car got away from all the spinning and sliding accident free. My tires were all good and there were no leaks or damage to the engine. I couldn't believe it. I feel that I was definitely watched over last night.

WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED:

• I could have DIED...or seriously been hurt/injured. Dying would have resulted in Estela having no father, Rosemarie having no husband, my Mom and Dad having lost a son, and my brothers and sister having lost a brother.....crazy to think about it like that.
• My car could have flipped over and ultimately been a total lost (I'm glad I got full coverage and GAP insurance).
• My wife and baby could have been in the car and all of the scenarios above could have happened. This would have been absolutely devastating.

YOU SCREAM! I SCREAM! WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM!!!

Today, I heard from my co-workers that the Cold Stone across the street was giving free ice cream away, so we thought. I called and told Rosemarie and baby to come by so we can get some free ice cream. They served free ice cream from 5pm-8pm. When we got there, there was a stipulation. You can get free ice cream IF you donate a $1 to some kids foundation. It still was good deal. I can be so cheap at times. I had a cookies and cream cup with chocolate swirls and Rosemarie got a cup of banana nut and caramel ice cream with some nuts. It was mmm...mmm. good! I haven't had ice cream for a while. Baby Estela ate off of both our cups...and added some baby drool to the mix. Man, she can eat...if we put anything near her mouth...she tries to eat it...as a matter of fact, anything she grabs, she tries to eat whether it be keys, cell phones, her own feet, clothes, toys, sunglasses, etc. The list just never ends.

Now, I am back to work. My day is going well so far. We also had a pretty fun Team Building activity. We played a game called Outburst. It was interesting....never played it before. Life is Good...just Busy, Busy, Busy. I love my job. However, I just can't wait to go home to my loving wife and pretty little girl. Oh yeah....and watch the USC game. Everyone at work, was yappin' UPSET all day. USC is currently ranked #1 in the country and I hope that they win tonight. We play Oregon State tonight. Oregon State beat us 2 years ago, by 2 pts.(31-33), so its kind of nerve racking. Oregon State has a tendency to screw up our journey to the National Championship game. I love watching USC play and the Lakers, of course. During their seasons, I rarely miss a game. I have come to the realization that when either of these 2 teams lose, I happen to take it personal and get into a bad mood. I need to fix that.....GO USC!!!!

UPDATE: USC lost 27-21 to Oregon St....its a sad night...

Fun day at the park

We just got back from Sunset Park. We were there for nearly 4 hours and we had a blast. When I came home from work, we decided to go to the park to get out the house. Our plans were to get some food and lay down our Chinese mat under a tree and have a family picnic. It didn't quite go like that. Like always, Thomas was going along with the plan with a hidden agenda in mind. Thomas wanted to play basketball. It worked out though. Estela and I walked around the entire park. I pushed the stroller around and Estela didn't give me one problem. She seemed to be happy outdoors. It was good exercise for me. I am trying to lose some of this post baby weight/fat. Thomas and I keep trying to workout but we are slackers. We will do it for 2 weeks but for some reason, we get lazy. I guess thats what happens when you work too much.

Sunset Park is bigger than I expected. The park has a small pond located at the south end where there were kids feeding bread to the ducks. It also has several playgrounds. The 6 sand volleyball courts were filled with people. There was also a softball league game going on. The basketball courts had more than 50 people there. The weather is getting better here in Vegas, so it was nice to be out there. We are exausted. We need to do this more often. It was quality family time. Before I end this, I wanted to post a picture of my beautiful little one. Here she goes at 6 months:

Estela Rose Timoteo

Isn't she just the cutest little girl. We love her so much.

Something New!

We have finally decided to take the leap into the Blog World. We thought it would be a good idea to keep somewhat of a journal of our ongoing life. Baby Estela is growing up so fast, it is hard to keep up with the activity and adventure that our life and parenthood have filled us with. As the episodes of our life close and new chapters open, we hope that our family life continues to be filled to the brim with joy, happiness, and a abundance of great experiences. Here we go! Something New!