Laticia: Realizing Dreams

Over the years, I've realized many dreams, like putting myself through and graduating college, buying a new car, earning a Masters degree, finding a job that I love, going to Hawaii, etc.  At the time, each of those achievements seemed pretty big, especially the college-related ones.  But the biggest dream I've realized in my life has been, without a doubt, becoming debt-free and finally owning a home in San Diego...and with that dream, another one followed shortly thereafter...

The House

By the grace of God, I realized a HUGE dream about 20 months ago when I bought my first house in San Diego...something I NEVER thought I'd be able to do!  This house is truly God's house.  If you want to see how escrow went for me and read about some of the "fun" I had with my homebuying experience, checkout this blog I created just for it:  http://sdbeachgirlmoveseast.blogspot.com/

As it was happening, it didn't feel real, and I was kind of afraid of waking up from this dream I was having.  I think it finally sunk in when I had my first major repair last year when my water main had  some leaks (not just one!) and I ended up replacing the PVC piping with copper (Thank you Matthew!!).  Yeah, that was a big dose of reality...welcome to home ownership, right?!  Nevertheless, I still have days when I can't believe I actually got out of that little apartment in PB and bought a house...with an oceanview!!...and a yard!...which led me to realize another dream...

The Puppy :)

God is sooo good!  Just two months after I'd moved into my new home, I had the opportunity to realize yet another dream!  Of owning a doggie!  And not just any doggie...a boxer puppy!  Coincidentally, as I was going into escrow, my tennis instructor's Mom's boxer had a litter of (12!) puppies, and he kept reminding me of this at every lesson (He knew I eventually wanted to get a boxer, and he also knew I was buying a house with a yard).  Finally, in December, when he said they had three left, and one was a girl that I "would fall in love with," I gave in and decided to meet her.  I believe it was after he tagged me in Facebook with this picture:

Will you love me?

She sure was cute, and he even let me have her for the day.  Believe it or not, I gave her back that night saying I needed to sleep on it.  What?!  This was a hard decision for me because a) I had just bought a house, b) I wanted to make sure I was ready for this kind of commitment and would be able to give her a good home, and c) Matthew wasn't exactly gung-ho about it.

Needless to say, on December 30, 2010, I became a first-time pet parent, and I believe I have given her a fantastic home and the kind of life any doggie could ask for!  Her name is Sophie, and she kinda rules the house...lol...She even has her own Facebook page :)

I absolutely could not wait to get a house so I could get my very own dog...and it's taken awhile to get used to the idea that she's MINE and not borrowed!  I love my baby girl Sophie so much!  And there isn't a day that goes by that I don't look at this adorably sweet bundle of unconditional love, and thank God for her...and say to myself (or Matthew!) "I LOVE having a doggie!"  (By the way, Matthew adores her, and they have a very special bond between them.)

Did you just say "TREAT?!"