Where are they now?

You guys know I'm a BIG Oprah fan, right?  Well she has this show on her OWN network called, "Where are they now?".  It's basically a show where she brings back her past guests and gives her audience a follow up to where they are now. I was inspired this week to give you guys a status of  some of my featured Gentlewoman and where they are now. There have been lots of changes and updates - good ones in fact and I wanted to share with everyone.
 
My very first Gentlewoman was Nayra Guerrero.  You remember her, right?  Aspiring fashion designer, who was actually pregnant at the time of her interview....well Nayra has since given birth to a beautiful baby boy named Gavin.  He is so incredibly adorable and looks just like his mama.  May I add, that he has also become quite the fashion baby icon. 
 

 

 
My next update is on Mrs. Rita Mireles, my sister-in-law.  Rita has been continuing her blog, "Curbside Creations".  If you haven't checked out her blog, you are missing out.  She's a furniture transformer extraordinaire and she is such a great writer, who is always full of sunshine.  Rita just hit a milestone by turning 40 this month and has welcome the new age with a weight loss that has her looking ever so stunning. Within a matter of 3-4 months, Rita is now 20 pounds lighter and is looking pretty good.  To catch her story on how she lost the weight and her 40th birthday celebration please check out her blog, "Curbside Creations".
 

 

 

Next, there's Ms. Tania Cuadra and let me say, this hot mama made a major change!  She cut off all her hair and has become the queen of short hair.  Shortly after this drastic change, Tania took on a job at Dior.  Things were starting to fall in place.  Tania also recently took a trip to New York over the Valentine's holiday.  Now, tell me, doesn't she look fabulous!  She's also found a new chapter of happiness and I am so proud and happy for her.

 

 

 

 

My next update is on Ms. Korina Del Toro.  This Gentlewoman, gave birth to her 4th child, Dylan who is now 3 months old.  Isn't he adorable?  And wow, Karina, you make motherhood look so fabulous.  Congratulations on this adorable little boy.

 

 

 

And finally, to conclude, I want to update you all on Andrea Gutiérrez, she was baptized this week along with her two children!  How amazing is that?!  Baptism is the first step of obedience after making a commitment to Christ.  Baptism allows a Christ-follower to communicate to the world their heart felt commitment to Christ.  Congratulations Andrea for your baptism and for the baptism of your children.  I know you must be very proud and happy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gentlewoman, Dolores Moreno

This is probably one of the best things I’ve done in a long time.  Last night, I went to my mom’s house to interview her.  Let me be real honest, I expected my mom to get a little teary eyed, but I wasn’t prepared for what happened.  I get to the second question and my mom couldn’t even talk. She broke down and broke down again with literally almost every question.  What I told her, amidst the tears was, “Mom, this is good for you.  It’s good to get your story out.”  I heard bits and pieces over the years, but never got my mom’s story like this.  Just how you are getting to know my mother, the queen of all Gentlewoman in my eyes, I got to know her better too.  This has become the biggest blessing so far from this blog.

My mom came from a rough childhood.  From not feeling loved, being given away from her own mother to not knowing who her father was, to marrying and having children young, a failed marriage, all these unfortunate circumstances could have led her life in a different direction.  I love that her story ended in triumph.  I adore my mother and I am so motivated and touched by her story.  It really assures me that no matter what you go through in life, your circumstances do NOT define you or the path your life will take.  Mom, thank you for taking the road less traveled, it has made all the difference. 

My Mom

1.   For those people who don’t know you, can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

My name is Dolores Moreno.  I am a proud mother of 7 children.  I’ve been joyfully married for 32 years to my second husband, Avelino Moreno.  I really enjoy cleaning, decorating and of course shopping.  I also really enjoy going to church.  A little over a year ago, due to certain circumstances, I decided it was best for me to retire.  I can say this has been the happiest year of my life.

2.      I want to ask you about your childhood, only because I want people to see where you came from, which was a very unfortunate situation.  Your biological mom gave you up and you didn’t even know your biological dad.  Can you tell me about your childhood? Well to be honest, I really never had a childhood. My mom told me that my biological mom had given me up because she was very young.  She told me this at the age of 10.  My step mother, who was actually my aunt, said I was very sick when I was born, so my biological mom gave me to her, so she could raise me. My stepmom was very, very strict with me. I never felt loved.  I questioned why my mother gave me up to my aunt.  My stepmom expected me to be a grown up at a very young age.  She had me cleaning, cooking, everything a grown woman would do.  I remember having to run home from school to make sure I was making tortillas by the time she got home.    When I reached the age of 15, my stepparents took me to a family party and that’s where I met Jesse, who later became my husband. He was 15 and I was 16.  We started seeing each other and by the time I knew it, I got pregnant.  I tried to hide my pregnancy and instead of telling my mom, I ran away with him.  I can’t say I was in love, but I wanted to get away from the life I was living.  My mother ended up looking for me and she called the police.  They found me and took me juvenile. I ended up confessing to my mom that I was pregnant over the phone.  My mother was very upset and as soon as I was out of juvenile, she drove me and Jesse to Oklahoma to get married. In Texas you had to be 16 to get married and Jesse was only 15. After I got married, I ended up moving in with Jesse and his family. His family was very poor, but I didn’t care, at least there was love.  Something of which I had never felt as a child. When it was time to give birth, my mom told me that she would pay for the hospital. While at the hospital, she convinced me to give my son my maiden last name.  My mother ended up taking my first born away from me.  She said I was too young to support a child, and while I had no sort of income, nor did Jesse, my firstborn was now in the care of my mother. I thought that was best for him because he would have a home and food.  But it didn’t turn out to be so happy.  My mother wouldn’t even allow me to take care of him. She would rather take him to someone else to watch.  Meanwhile, I was now a drop out.  I didn’t finish high school and I went on to have 4 more children with my first husband.  As for my father, I never knew who he was. The first time I met him was actually at his funeral.  I must have been about 12 years old.  My parents took me to a funeral and told me that was my dad in the coffin. That’s all I’ve ever known about him. 

3.      When you were 16, you got pregnant.  You always told me you wanted to get out of the house because grandma was so mean to you.  How were things different back then for young teen moms versus today? Back then parents were so ashamed of their children if they got pregnant.  It wasn’t as common as it is today. Families would make you hide your pregnancy and make you get married, regardless of your situation.  You had no choice.  Schools were not preparing young adults with sex education or birth control information.   It was completely different.  Young girls didn’t have much of a voice.  There also was no support system or a way to help you finish school. 

4.   You ended up having 4 more children from your first marriage.  I’ve heard the stories of how your ex husband would leave you at home with the kids with no money and no food.  How difficult were those times?  Very difficult.  It got so bad to the point where I would have to dilute the milk by putting water to make it last.  I didn’t have food, and I would go to my mom’s house in attempt to try and ask for food but I would turn away because I knew she wouldn’t help me. My ex-husband was young and wanted to experience life.  He started to drink and became a womanizer.  I was always pregnant so that threw him off.  I am ashamed to say that I had to steal food, but I had to feed the kids.  He would come home drunk, demanding food that we didn’t have.  He also became physically abusive and would hit me.  It was a very difficult time in my life.

5.       Gilbert was your second child and became very ill shortly after you brought him home from the hospital.  Can you tell my readers a little more about your pregnancy with Gilbert and his illnesses as a child? By this time I was 18.  I was really looking forward to having this baby.  I almost felt like Gilbert was my first born because I was actually going to be able to keep him. Gilbert was born and after we took him home we knew something was wrong.  He would cry and cry so bad.  We took him to the hospital and the doctors said he had a heart murmur and would need heart surgery. Heart surgery was completed successfully, but then he had to have surgery on his lungs.  The surgery on his heart had actually caused fluid to build up in his lungs. When Gilbert had this surgery, he would scream out for me, but the nurses wouldn’t let me in the room.  It was a very difficult time - a mother’s worst nightmare. I remember being in the hospital, sleeping day after day until he got well.  He ended up recovering from those two surgeries.  Later at the age of 6, they called me from school that he had fainted. We took him to the doctor and they told me he had an abscess in his brain.  Gilbert had to have brain surgery and remarkably he pulled out of that.  I remember the doctors telling me that he wouldn’t live past the age of 15. During this time, I always wondered why this was happening.  I was very sad. Once Gilbert had all his surgeries he led a semi normal life.  He couldn’t participate in sports, but that didn’t deteriorate his spirit.  He had a great sense of humor, very outgoing and very caring.

6.       How were you able to leave your first husband?  Was it easy?  What was the hardest part? It was easy because God had placed a good man in my life.  Jesse and I had separated for about a year. During this time, I met my now husband, a man everyone told me not to marry because they thought all he wanted was his papers.  Once we were serious about our relationship, I went to get a divorce.  It was so much easier to get a divorce back then.  I remember going in and paying $150 and got my divorce.  After that Jesse tried to make it hard on me and my husband. He would stalk us and try to make my life hard.  When we separated, he took the boys and I kept the girls.  Once he found out I was dating, he brought me all the kids.  He wanted to make it as hard as he could so no one would want me with all the kids.

7.   You ended up meeting my dad and with that came happiness but also brought forth a new set of problems with your ex husband and with my other siblings.  How difficult was that time?  How were you able to create a blended family? That has been the hardest part of being a mother.  My kids from my first marriage didn’t understand that when I had my last two, things were different.  They always questioned why they didn’t have the things that my last two had.  Their dad was different.  He was never home and there was never money.  By the time I had married my second husband, my kids were teenagers. My husband let me discipline them; he never stepped in unless they disrespected me.  It was harder with the girls than the boys.  There were things I was able to do for my last two children versus my first five.  I was also much older when I had my last two.  (34 and 36)  I know life wasn’t fair for my children in my first marriage, but the circumstances were out of my control.  I wish things could have been different. 

8.  You were raised Catholic, but you were introduced to the Christian church which then became your life.  Can you tell me about that time period in your life?  During my first marriage, I remember going to St. Edwards Catholic church, always wanting God to change my life. I remember kneeling down and praying but I never felt anything.  Things just got worse.  My aunt was going to a Christian church and ended up inviting me.  I went and when I went in there I thought all the people were crazy. They were singing, clapping, dancing, praising God, but I wasn’t use to that.  I really thought they were crazy.  I really wanted something different in my life and that’s how I ended up there.  I remember the pastor asking people to come to the alter for those who needed prayer.  I went up and just felt a load come off of me.  It felt so good. I was so excited that I went home to tell my husband who was also Catholic.  He went and the same thing happened to him.  We knew we had found something and we ended up falling in love with God.  We started giving to the church and going every Sunday.  When you are trying to do good, there are always distractions and temptations.  We eventually forgot about God. We got caught up in these distractions and eventually stopped going.  Fortunately, we have found the best church, Fellowship Church. That is where majority of my family goes now. 

9.       I am really proud to have you as a mom.  Against all odds, you were able to come out on top in my eyes.  You always give God credit for everything you have and for how far you’ve come. Looking back, is this how you viewed your life to be?    I don’t look at the material things; I mainly thank God for my health.  I didn’t think far ahead when I was young.  I use to shop at garage sales, and thrift stores.  I never had dreams or goals. No one ever motivated me or believed in me.  All my blessings just came and they happened.  I remember when I was little, I had this little Bible.  I remember writing in it, “God, I hope they don’t hit me today.” I wanted peace and I wanted to feel love.  I didn’t get that when I was a little girl.  I think God has rewarded me.  He has given me beauty for ashes. I feel His love.  I know that He loves me.  None of my accomplishments or blessings including material things have been able to compare to the love I feel from God. 

10. We lost a very special person in our family last year.  Your son (my brother) is no longer here with us on Earth, but awaiting us in the kingdom of God.  From a mother’s point of view, how does it feel to lose a child?  I’m gonna be honest.  When Gilbert was in the hospital, it was torment.  I didn’t want him to suffer.  So when God took him from me, it was sad, but it was worse seeing him go through what he did.  God let me have him for 40 plus years, more than double what doctors predicted.  He is still alive in my heart. I try not to cry for him because I know that he wouldn’t want me to cry. One thing I noticed when this happened, I think God prepared me, like he prepares all of us.  Things are gonna happen, but He gives you Peace and you learn to accept it. 

11.   What is the best piece of advice you have ever received? That God loves me regardless of my past or my upbringing. That fulfills me.

June 2013 - Baptism Day

12.   Who inspires you?  Why? Life, inspires me, because it has so many changes.  I love to see the sun.  I love to go outside.  I see things different now- maybe because I’m older.  I value little things like flowers. Second, my husband. When I met him, he didn’t know how to drive.  He didn’t speak English.  He always wanted to be something in life.  He has so many dreams and he is so strong.  He didn’t let his circumstances bring him down or keep him from realizing his dreams. He takes care of everything.  He’s a hard worker and he is an excellent father and grandfather. He is also a man of faith. 

    Third, is Ali. She is the reason why I stopped working.  We almost lost her and my daughter during labor.  It took me 3 months of praying to God and asking him what I should do. I was scared to retire, worrying if we would make it without my income. I remember God telling me, if you take care of this angel, I will take care of all your needs.  So that is my life now.  I get up in the mornings and I take care of Ali.  It has been the best year of my life.  I am so happy I retired.

13.   What do you think women in our generation need to hear? Oh man, first of all I don’t want to be too much with the Jesus stuff, but you need God in your life.  That’s the ONLY way.  I’ve learned that.  Also, don’t believe what people say.  People use to tell me, “Who’s going to want you with 5 kids?”  Someone did want me. A GOOD man in fact. 

14.   What are your dreams? My dream is to live to 100 and to see all my grandkids graduate and go to college.  I’m also dreaming for a new house.  It’s all in God’s hands. 

15.  What are you most proud of? Myself. Because I can do what a 20 year old can do, if not more.  I have lots of energy.  I love to help.  I don’t feel my age.  I’m proud that I’m in good health. These days with so many divorces, I’m proud I stood by my husband.  We had issues here and there, but it was all worth it.  Our grandkids, they are our reward. I am also proud to have 7 wonderful adult children that I love with all my heart.

GWE is turning 1!

Wow!  I can’t believe it.  GWE is turning 1 in just a just a couple of days. (February 22 to be exact.)  I was just rereading my first blog entry a few minutes ago and it almost made me cry.  Just remembering how scared I was at that time is just mind blowing.  Here I am, almost one year later and things have changed for me.  I am so incredibly happy to see how far the blog has come and to know that I have people supporting and rooting for me and the blog.  I will actually have a blog makeover in the coming month(s) – a 30^th birthday gift from one of my biggest supporters, Rita Mireles.   

To celebrate GWE’s first year, I am doing my first raffle!  I’m giving away two books that changed my life and will hopefully do the same to you.  My Purpose Driven Life and The Magic! (More goodies may be added in.)

Maybe you already have these books, I encourage you to still enter to win.  You could regift and give to a friend or someone who needs change in their life. 

Also, if you love GWE, please share with your friends and family.  Thank you again for all your support and for taking the time to read my blog entries.  I appreciate it all!

Vickie XOXO

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Gentlewomen, Ale and Becky Guzman

My next two featured Gentlewoman are a set of sisters, who if you glance at quickly, would think are twins, but in fact a couple years apart.  I must begin with Alejandra Guzman, or better known as Ale, she’s been a dear friend of mine since I was a sophomore in high school.  She is still the sweet and loyal friend I have known all these years.  I had the pleasure of knowing her sister Becky through her and realized while they look very much alike, they are actually very different but still the same in many ways.

These two sisters are leading two very different lives; one is a single mother working the 9-5 while the other is in the Air Force stationed in Florida.  Ale is an amazing mother.  Her son, Kique is her everything and it shows tremendously.  Becky on the other hand, took a risk and enlisted in the Air Force, something I admire greatly.  Not many people, especially women, make this commitment or dedication to something much bigger than themselves.  I believe they are such great women who are leading their lives to the fullest amongst the twists and turns their lives have taken.

Ale and Becky just completed their first FULL marathon (26.2 miles) recently in the sunny state of Florida.  The months leading up to the big day were filled with lots of dedication and I am very proud to see my friends accomplish their goals.  I love that they have become strong, independent and still managed to be the sweet girls that they are.  I admire women who strive for bigger and better because I know the inspiration is contagious.  I haven’t told anyone (except my husband), but seeing these two sisters accomplish this dream made me dream the dream of completing a full marathon.  After I did my half in November, I told my husband, wow that was hard, I can’t even imagine doing a full. Well, I tell you inspiration is grand and I received it from these two women.  It makes me feel confident in knowing and reassuring myself that there is no limit to what we as women can do if we just set our minds to it and keep our faith in tact and know that with God everything is possible.

And so I hope, just I got inspired, you do too.  Maybe it doesn’t mean completing a half or full marathon, but maybe it could inspire you in other ways.  We all have our gifts and dreams, the door is there just waiting for you to open it.

Alejandra Guzman

Rebeca Guzman

1.   For those people who don’t you, can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

Ale - Hello there my name is Alejandra Guzman my close friends and family call me "Ale". I was born in Guanajuato, Mexico in a very small town names Santiago Maravatio. At the age of 7 my parents brought me to Dallas, Texas and I have lived here ever since. I'm the 10th child of 11 children - yes that's a pretty big family, but I love it as we are an extremely united family. Lastly, I am a single mother to a wonderful loving 3 year old boy named Enrique Alejandro Guzman & he of course my reason for living.

Becky - Hello, My name is Rebeca Guzman and I go by several nicknames (Becky, Becca, Rebe, Revaqui, Guzzy, etc...) I am 29 yrs old; I am the youngest of 11 kids, single, no kids yet, (I am sure they will come when the time is right). I have 17 nieces and nephews, some of which I am really really close too. They even call me Mama. I was born in Mexico raised in Dallas, Texas and I currently reside in Florida. I come from a very humble Mexican family. I grew up sharing one bedroom with 4 of my sisters, so I am very close to my sisters. They are my life. I’d be lost without them. They are always there to give me advice and guide me in the right direction - especially Ale, she knows me better than I know myself. I can’t picture my life without them. I suck at shopping; I rely heavily on my sisters for that. I am a fun and crazy person and I love to make people laugh. I love working out and I love my family.

2.  I am so excited for you two as you will both compete in your first ever FULL marathon!  (26.2 miles)  I love seeing my friends doing amazing things and this is surely one of them.  Can you give some insight on your training, your dedication and what prompted you to want to achieve this goal?

Ale - Anyone that knows me since high school knows I've always been a runner although the main difference is that in high school I was simply fast without hard training. I wish I had the motivation in high school that I do for running now. Running a marathon came as a personal challenge that I knew without a doubt I wanted to accomplish one day. I feel I'm more of an educated runner now with a little bit of a runner’s background. Running a full marathon, I knew that it would take time and dedication. Training for a full marathon 26.2 miles was not easy. Having to juggle my training runs early in the morning before work was the key.  Reason being, I am a single mother and I refuse to compromise time away from my son. With that said my long runs were scheduled on weekends and yes that meant that I was getting up as early as 6am to get my run in on a Sunday morning. Going through this training I was able to learn a little more about the physical abilities my body has. I drove my body through exhaustion during my longest run 21.5 miles prior to the big day. The most challenging part was training with an injury in my right ankle. My Achilles kept acting up. I had to rest it for 2 months, but that was not an option. I had to balance my training and compromised my injury by not allowing it more rest days than it called for. The training for a marathon already changes you and none the less makes you a runner at heart! My number one motivation for running a marathon was my son. I can honestly say that I want him to look up to me and say if my Mom did it so can I. It might be crazy to say but I would love to run a marathon with my son one day!

Becky - One reason that prompted me was my sister Ale. I vividly remember dropping her off at her friend’s house at 5am on March 24, 2013 where she was meeting up with other girls to car pool to their half marathon. At this point I never imaged that I would ever run a half marathon one day, much less a FULL?! I remember thinking she’s crazy but I admired her for her dedication to running. Now here I am almost a year later completing my first full! I guess now I’m crazy like her.

The other person that prompted me was my superintendent. He is an ultra-marathoner and he gave me the confidence I needed to believe in myself. I arrived to this base December 2012.  After a few PT sessions of 5-7 mile runs he saw that I outran most of the boys from the office. He would always tell me that I was a beast and then started trying to talk me into signing up for a marathon. At this point my longest run was 8 miles, so I told him I would sign up for the Half-marathon he said “What?! NO Way! I’ve seen you run! You can run a full”, so I signed up for the full. Training was the hardest part; you have to be very dedicated to wake up at 05:30 on Sunday mornings while its dark and everyone is sleeping and run your 10-20 miles. You pretty much have to dedicate your weekends to training because Saturday nights you need to rest and go to bed early. I don’t think I’ve ever been so dedicated to anything in my life. Training is a life changing experience, it becomes a new lifestyle and you begin to look forward to these long runs as a way to get out and be free and love life. Sometimes I was miles away from my car and it started to pour, I just had to keep running and laugh at it. Sometimes I came home with bloody toes.  During runs, I would sometimes get emotional and cry just to think of the people that would give anything to be able to even walk. What a precious gift if is to be able to run.

3.  So….tell me.  How does it feel to be one of the few that can say they completed a FULL marathon?

Ale - It feels amazing to finally have fulfilled one of my personal goals. Running a full marathon makes you not only physically stronger, but mentally strong as well. It lets you know that nothing in this life is out of your reach of accomplishing with the help of God that is.

Becky - Oh I am still in disbelief that I finished - I feel like a bad ass! I feel famous when people walk up to me to tell me “I heard you ran a marathon, congratulations!” It’s really a great feeling of accomplishment. I am really thankful for all the people who cheered us on.  When you are really tired and everything hurts like never before and you still have one more hour to run those people cheering you on really help you keep moving. Spectators are there to see you and you can’t let them down. You have to keep moving. It’s as if they are your fans and you have to put on a good show for them.

4.   I love the bond the two of you share as sisters.  It’s almost like a reflection of the relationship I have with my own sister.  There are more Guzman siblings in the family, including a sibling that was murdered.  Ale once told me full story right after I experienced losing my older brother.  I know you both have mentioned your sibling as being your guardian angel and watching over you.  Can you tell me a little bit about how losing your sibling changed your life?

Ale - When I lost my sister I was only 23 years old. Losing her changed my life. My sister was the most selfless person that I have yet to know. She had a heart of an angel! I don't wish losing a loved one the way I lost my sister to anyone. After that day, I was changed.  I never knew I would be going through the experience of arranging the funeral and burial on my own. To this day I don't understand where I got the strength from as I've always been known as the most sensitive sibling. I have now learned to live with my sister in my heart. Of course it still hurts not to hear her jokes and see her beautiful smile but that would be selfish of me to want  her here on earth when she's in a better place than us enjoying the kingdom of God. I like to think that my sister is our angel that continues to protect us from up above as she did when she was with us here on Earth. I thank God for sharing such an amazing person with us for the time we had her. I know we will meet again until then the bond between my sisters here on earth is something unbreakable that at times is envied by others in a good way.

Becky - Yes, as a matter of fact we ran this marathon in dedication to her. We had customized tech tees that said on the back “We fly with our Angel’s wings” and we had wings printed on the back of our shirts. While I was training I would think of her a lot and felt as if she was there with me and the road. I would just laugh or cry. After losing my sister I learned that life is not guaranteed and I have to cherish my loved ones every second I can. The pain never goes away and to this day I get emotional talking about the subject. I always remind myself that instead of being sad I need to thank God for letting me borrow her for the years that I had her. I can’t say this brought me closer to my sisters because we have always been very close. I miss her everyday but I am at peace because I always had a great relationship with her. I’ve learned that the most precious gift is family. I can’t be happy without my family. Although I am far from them I keep in touch and keep a great relationship with all my siblings and parents. After losing my sister I sort of live in fear of something bad happening to someone else in my family. I’ve been in situations where I have no idea how I made it home safe and that’s when I know my sister has been there watching over me.

5.      Becky – you made the decision one day to join the Air Force.  Can you tell me a little bit of how that decision was made?  Also, how do you deal being away from your family and friends? 

Becky - After graduating high school, I went to college while I juggled different jobs (Sonic, cocktail waitress, Bank of America) but I was never satisfied. I always wanted to do something different and exciting out of the norm. I got my associates in Criminal Justice and I applied to many places to be a Police Officer but unfortunately never got hired. I was getting frustrated as it is a very long process to apply to the police department and then not get hired. I was annoyed. Then one day I had a talk with my sister Ale and she asked me “Have you ever thought joining the military?” Months later there I was enlisting in the Air Force. Deep down I always wanted to experience living somewhere else outside of Dallas. I like the Air Force but I don’t see myself making it a career just because I am so close to my family. I just wanted to experience it and I’ve enjoyed it, I’ve made so many lifelong friends and I can say that I have friends all over the world. That is pretty awesome.

Being away from my family has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I’ve learned that you will never know how strong you are until that is your only option. It hasn’t been easy to be away from my family but I’ve learned to live with it. At least I am fortunate to say I have an awesome family waiting for me at home and I will be back one day. I try to visit often that way I don’t feel like I’m too far away from them, and that way my 3 year old nephew will never forget about me. I miss them a lot.

6.       Ale – sitting in the car a few days ago we were just talking about how much time we wasted when we were younger.  We were talking about the things we should and could have done.  What advice do you have for women in general about waiting too long to kick start “living life to the fullest”?  What advice do you have for single moms who want to pursue their passions, but feel held back because they have children?

Ale - I believe that living your life to the fullest comes with maturity and is a part of growing up. You know the little things in life are what matter the most and what makes this life beautiful. I was young once and thought that going out to bars and night clubs was the thing to do every weekend. When instead I could have been spending more time with family, training for a marathon, furthering my education and gaining knowledge from my elders by listening to their life experiences.  I have no regrets but thinking back there's so much I could've done during those years that I didn't.

Being a single mom, nothing is easy, I chose to be a single mom and I knew that it was not an easy task, but who said anything being worth doing is easy? My son is the reason I pursue my personal goals. Running a marathon was one of them.  As a single Mom, pursuing your personal goals is amazing because you're leading an example of strength and tenacity for your young ones. We single moms are stronger than we think at times otherwise God wouldn't send us a little angel to care for. Sometimes we may think we are selfish for pursuing our personal goals as that usually takes time away from being with our kids but everything is possible and we shall be able to fulfill any personal goals that we moms may have. Our children one day will be proud of us doing so while being a wonderful mom at the same time.

7.       What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Ale - I would have to say the best piece of advice was soon after I became a mother. Like most first time moms, I was sharing with a friend that I had cried when I knew how many shots my son was going to be given during his first check up. I actually cried before he even was given the shots. Well his advice was very smart and in a very nice way he reminded me now that I was a single mom that I shall never shed a tear for certain things as natural as that. He reminded me how strong I am inside and that I shall no longer show signs of weakness. As for my son I shall be he's gladiator, unbreakable upon his eyes. Believe it or not but I have taken his advice and I believe he was correct in many ways. We women are so very strong but unless you look for that in yourself you will never know.

Becky - "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're probably right."I saw this on a sign when I was running my marathon and it is so true. Your mind is a powerful thing. In order to accomplish anything you first have to believe in yourself.

8.       Who inspires you and why?

Ale - My Mother inspires me she's the strongest woman I know. Not only did she have and care for 11 children but has always helped others with her generosity. My mom has a huge heart despite all of the tragedies and suffering in her lifetime. She loves to sing and is a women devoted to God which is the reason I believe she has the strength to move forward and continue living with such a positive attitude towards life.

Becky - Oh my God, My mother! I admire her relationship with God. She has so much faith. I hope I can be like her one day. She has been through so much and she is the happiest person I know. One month after my sister passed away, my oldest brother had a brain hemorrhage in December 2005 due to high blood pressure. This resulted in him being half paralyzed for the rest of his life. When he was released from the hospital months later they offered my mom the option to take him to a nursing home. My mother refused and said no one would take care of him better than his own mother. She has been taking care of him ever since. My mom is 71 years old and I know it’s not easy for her to take care of him because she has to shower him and pretty much take care of him like if he was a baby again. I know she is strong because of her relationship with God. It really moves my heart to see how much she has suffered all her life and how she can still smile. She is such a hard worker that never gets to rest. I admire that woman so much, just to think of everything she has been through makes me tear up. She is my superwoman.

9.       What do you think women in our generation need to hear?

Ale - Well there's so much that I believe women, some more than others, need to hear and  I would say more so in all generations. I believe that every woman has an inner beauty that if you don't feel you've reached that point in your life to where you can truly say you've found that in yourself - I challenge you to seek that. Every woman should be in love with themselves and know that no matter what we as women are extremely special from inside and out!

Becky - Be yourself, love yourself, do what you love and you will be rewarded. I believe that every woman is beautiful and they need to know that. This may be harsh to say but I am going to say it, I unfortunately know some women too close to me who think they need a man to move forward and don’t realize that they are beautiful and strong and they would be much better off without them. It makes me so mad when I see a man take advantage of a woman. Don’t get me wrong this is only in reference to bad men. If you have a great supporting husband I am more than happy for you! Congratulations!

10.   What are you most proud of?

Ale - I'm most proud of the woman I've become and I have to thank God for granting me the honor to become a mother because from that day on the person that I've become today is all thanks to my son.

Becky - I am very proud to be 100% Mexican!! I wouldn’t want it any other way, I love my roots! I love my country, the food, and oh my god the Mariachi! I am also proud to be part of the 1% that joins the military and also to be part of the 1% to say I’ve ran a full marathon.