It's been over 3 months since my last blog but I've decided I'm going to begin blogging again...for multiple reasons. I'm going to make this blog fun and start adding a combo of things beginning with updates about my new business and everything else going on around me. For starters, Charlie bought a new house. So congratulations to him on his new purchase. I'm super happy for him. My friend Ranya moved to China and now my only way of communication with her is via facebook, skype or email so still trying to adjust to communicating through all those online options. I'd much rather have her here. On the bright side, Ames came to visit this past month and finally got to meet baby Jonas! The most cutest baby ever!


The business:
My business is growing. I'm really blessed to be where I am in such short time. I honestly can't complain. We've been fortunate to grow in such short time but hard work is slowly paying off. Kelly and I have been working our tails off so we hope to be bigger and better in a few years. For now, we will continue to work hard and focus on expanding. We also offer ASL classes every Tuesday at 6:30 pm at Woodhaven Baptist Deaf Church for $50.00 dollars. Its an 8 week course, starting with basic ASL. It will work as a semester course so this class will go up to ASL 4. Please spread the word and if you're interested we welcome you to join us. Please visit our website at www.kelmarserviceshouston.com Our website is a work in progress but please log on for updates.

I've started to twitter, not sure how it works but seems as though many people are on and why not join them. So if you tweet please look me up! You can look me up by my email iluvcharlie7@hotmail.com Seems to be the big thing to do and still growing. I did it more to follow the Housewives of New Jersey.. of course my favorite show. So if you don't follow me, follow these fab women!

To conclude my blog, I will ask that you guys pray for my family and I. My mom beat cancer and is going through chemo therapy.My mom is strong and so are we so we will get through this one way or another!


xoxox
Marisol

What's New

I quit IKON! Yep, I finally did it. January 4th was my last day. February 4th marked my one month anniversary as a business owner. It feels great... I always said I refuse to work for someone the rest of my life and I finally did it. Although there have been some challenges, its going great!

So what kind of business did I open??? Well I started my own job placement agency for the deaf and hard of hearing. We offer job placement services, job coaching, interpreting services and job employment support. I'm not alone on all this, I have a great business partner name Kelly Reagan who has been working her butt off to make it all happen as well. So I"m going to give her credit. I have to congratulate us because yesterday we placed our first client...our hard work has finally paid off!! But it doesn't stop there. We have a great amount of clients waiting for the same success story. I hope we're able to place them all! Or should I say... We will place them all. (I refuse to spit out negative as we start our business)

What else is new??? Carlos is going to be a home owner!!! February 19th Carlos closes on his house and I'm so excited for him. This weekend we went furniture shopping...it was lots of fun! And for all of you who are wondering if I"m moving in...NO I'M NOT!...Lol However, I'm super excited for him.

I'm going to start blogging again (or so I think I am) My friends have asked "whatever happened to you blogging?" Well it gets to become a task and I put it off like a lot of other tasks...lol However, for the sake of keeping those who I don't see all the time updated... I will start blogging again. Summer is coming up so stay tuned for the next addition of "What Da" pics. I can't wait!

p.s.
I"m accepting all "what da" pics as I prepare my posts for the year

What's been going on....

I get on a "blog" roll and then I start to slack and right now I think I'm in my slacking mode so because my boss is out of the office I"m going to take this opportunity to blog a bit about what's been going on.


I finally applied to take my BEI Test to become a certified interpreter. My test is November 30th. Although the failing rate is 80%, I'm gonna give it a shot and do my best. I just hope I don't become part of that 80% failing rate. Unfortunately, if I fail I will have to wait 6 months before I can test again and pay another $75 dollars!!... So hello? I"m gonna get my study on!

Two of my friends are pregnant.. Amy is now pregnant and guess what she's having???? A BOY! We sort of knew it but we were hoping for a girl. (only so we could craft some awesome things for her) Now Amiga on the other hand (aka Linda) is having a girl and is due almost any day now!...lol She's about 2 notches from popping and I think she's super ready to meet her new baby. I'm also excited to meet Priscilla too! Can't wait till both of these girls have their baby!!!


Last weekend we celebrated James' birthday (Ranya's bf) and we had a blast. Dinner was at this spot in Richmond, Tx name Larry's and then we hit Loggia in Sugarland. Its a really cool spot, the atmosphere is great and the music is awesome. They have huge beer tubes that are so worth drinking out of...Just ask James :)

I'm still waiting for my background check to clear so that DARS can start sending us clients and our business can get rolling. So that's still on hold. Then I got some sad news that a good friend of mine will be going back to Venezuela on the 20th so that's a BUMMER! I hate to see her go but now I'll have to go visit her in Venezuela. Te miro el año que entra chamita!!!

Last but not least, we are leaving tomorrow to celebrate my 28TH birthday in New Orleans! It should be lots of fun. It's not that big of a group this time but it's a great group of people going so that's all that mattes. I want to thank my family for having dinner and cupcakes yesterday and all the great gifts I got. Thanks for always acknowledging my day! :) Love ya'll!

Labor Day

Don't you just enjoy 4 day weekends? I know I look forward to them and of course all fun that comes with it. The fab four (Trina, Aldo, Charlie and I) went to the river for the last time this summer only to be disappointed by the very very very water! Literally you could count the amount of people floating. There wasn't the usual long line of people trying to get into their camp site. So we decided to not to float and head out to Canyon Lake only to discover that too was dry!! However we did make the best of it and had a ball either way!! We managed to still swim a bit.

Interview Update: Well, the interview went fine. (I guess) He would like to have me shadow him for a while until I get the hang of things. For now I will be working with him on Tues & Thurs until I can get the hang of the job. He said he didn't want to just throw me out there. I guess this is good and bad. I was ready to leave Ikon but at the same time I'll get to test the waters and see if this is something I'd want to do.

On a better note. I finally had a meeting with DARS to get my business started. I am hoping to start my own job placement agency for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing. I have turned in all paper work and now waiting on my background check so that I can get started. Please keep me in your prayers so that my "soon to be" business will kick off.
I'm also working on finding hearing aid companies who are willing to donate hearing aids to foreign countries and free audiology test. Most children are left behind in the education system due to lack of hearing aids(because in foreign countries they aren't free like in the US) or deaf education. Unfortunately, a lot of children are put to work because they are considered "deaf and dumb" After so many years you would think that "label" would fade but it still exist. I know I can't change the world but I want to do whatever little I can to help. So if I can have some helping hands I will take all the help I can get. :)

P.S.
Leslie this means u. You can offer counseling for these children in foreign countries who experience trauma but can't afford to talk to someone...great way to give back! :)

So that's the update for the week. I'm so glad its Friday. Tomorrow is my little cousin's 3rd birthday and can't wait to celebrate with her :)

Till I blog again... have a great weekend!

Some new and old updates....

I've slacked a little on my blog so here I am updating everyone on whats been going on.

August: Well, Charlie and I took another one of our weekend trips and this time not to the river but to New Orleans to celebrate my friend Jennifer's birthday. It was a blast partially because we went in a large group. It was ... Ranya & James (aka Jamal & Latika) Jennifer & Mike (voted cutest couple) Jessica & Robert( or should we say Roberto) and of course Charlie & I (The Piggly Wiggly's) and it was a great mix of people. We literally partied till the morning and we have a book full of stories but as we(the group) promised.... What happens in NOLA stays in NOLA! But her are a few pics just to show how much fun we had!

Interview: Last week I had the opportunity to interview with Sorenson. I was referred by an old teacher of mine and I'm always so grateful for her, she brings a lot of opportunities my way. It went well(i think) because I have a second interview this Friday at 9 am to demonstrate my skills. Basically he told me that if he's not going to tell his boss I am hearing I better be a... and I quote " damn good signer" So with that said, I am super nervous and now intimidated. Once again I will ask for some you all to pray for me and wish me LOTS of luck!

Conceal Handgun License: I am now an official CHL holder! I am licensed to carry a GUN! Yes, little bitty me can now carry a weapon! I was super excited and nervous but it was all worth it. I scored a 226 on my shooting test and a perfect score is a 250. My sis also took the class and she also passed with a score of 219. So we both are some bad asses..lol

My weapon , courtesy of Charlie!

My score!

Jojo just now learning how to shoot!...lol

Look at my sister... target shooter!

There you have it... all that in the month of August. Till I blog again...

Love,
Marisol

Neel & Neerja's Wedding

Neel & Neerja : Bride & Groom

I did it! I interpreted at my first wedding ceremony. Two of the speeches I received ahead of time but the other two were emailed to me the day off. That was certainly a challenge but most defiantly a learning experience.

The bride's father is deaf, my teacher and her husband are also deaf so I had to stand in an area where all three could see me (which meant in front where everyone else could see me). Of course that made me shy but I was trying to not think about it too much. At the beginning it was a bit hard because the person was talking so fast and it was hard to keep up. I was next to the speaker so I heard a lot of echo and it was hard to understand the person speaking. So with that said... I missed a lot of information! Finally I just let them know that I couldn't understand because of the echo and I was moved to a more comfortable area! It was obvious I couldn't hear or understand because they were all quick to tell me that my move made a difference.

I was under the impression only 4 people were going to give a speech but instead it turned out to be more than 4. I thought to myself.. "God, please let me interpret right at this girl's wedding, this is her day and if these people don't understand me, thats going to really suck!!!" There were some parts I did miss, I tried catching up as fast as I could. At times it got rough because some family members had heavy accents and some words weren't pronounced correctly. Regardless I got through it.
There was one time when a friend of the family stood up to say a poem and next thing you know he started to speak in their language. I sort of froze and just stood there dumb-founded... and signed .." He is speaking another language"...they just laughed at me, I must have had a confused look!

Next the bride and groom were to do what would be considered their first "dance" as husband and wife but instead they "interpreted" their song for her father to understand. It was SOOOO awesome, they did an awesome job. Super unique and it was so nice to see how this girl made sure her father was included in everything.
Over all the wedding was AWESOME! Lots of color and very traditional. The women's dresses were beautiful. The fabric and beading of these dresses were super elegant! Not to mention, the jewelry was beautiful as well! I had a blast. Here are a few pics that I took with my phone, I was so worried about arriving late to the reception that I forgot my camera. (and yes I did get there on time)..lol

Charlie's Birthday & More

This past weekend we went to New Braunfels (yes again) to celebrate Charlie's birthday. I'm dating an old man now... he's officially the BIG 3-0!!...lol We had a great time. We are fortunate to have a great friend (Trina) who has a place for us to stay when we go out there not to mention she is one of the best cooks! Let me just tell ya'll the menu she had for us when we went out there... Friday night we had pork-pull sandwiches. The meat was so tender! The flavor it had was insane and the sides, well thats a whole other story. Then Saturday night she cooked steak & shrimp! OMG...that too was FINGER-LICKING GOOD!!! I know you think I'm exaggerating cause she's my friend but trust me when I say her cooking is insane! Carlos alone ate 5 steaks! The steaks were so soft, it didnt seem as though you were eating a steak. No trouble cutting it, you didnt have to use a knife! Omg, just yummy! We're all on a mission to give Trina a ring so she can come live with us and cook every night!! Lucky for Miranda she lives downstairs from her and gets hotmeals almost every night!...lol Anyhow, we had a great time and can't thank Trina enough! Can't wait for next year!

In other news, my mom is in Lebanon for a month! Although sometimes my mom and I have our differences, I miss her. She's only been gone for 6 days but it's pretty lonely without her. So I've been bombarding Carlos with my presense for the last few days :)! I'm sure he's ready for me to go but I hate staying alone ...ok, ok I'm scared to be home alone...lol I've lived on my own before but for the last 4 years I've lived with my mom and I guess you can say "I"m not longer useto staying alone"..lol I'll be ok, just sucks!.....

Yesterday I had interview with CAAG. It was a bit unexpected. A friend of mine called me over the weekend and told me about an opening as an "interpreter coordinator" I really didnt think much of it since I was out of town and really had not access to a computer.Anyhow, so I finally decided to email them on yesterday and sent my resume. I got an instant call back and he said that yesterday was the cut off and if I could come in for an interview. Of course I said yes, I think I did well! They will make their cuts next week and will pick 3. Then final 3 will go in for an interview(individualy of course) with a panal of 8 people and then they'll make their final decision. Please pray that I am one of the FINAL 3 picked and most importantly the person they want for the job! Wish me luck!!!!