Happy Holidays!

icicle...

first snow...

This morning we woke up to the first day of snow.

The kids did not go to school. It was closed due to the weather. And of course, they couldn't hide their excitement about getting a snow day and be able to stay home. All I heard from them, as they were jumping for joy, was a big "Yes!" "Whoo hoo!" "No school!"

I, on the other hand, had to go to work. On the way there, I kept wishing I would have called in sick. After all, I had a good excuse...I am sick! But I knew I had to go. My boss gave me a big hint the other day about not missing work before I take my holiday time off.

So sick and all, I forced myself to go to work. Thank GOD it's only for a few hours and TGIF!!!

A few weeks ago, I had been sick with a bad cough. Just when I thought I've gotten over it, this morning I woke up feeling worse. My nose feels stuffed and yet it's dripping like a faucet. I look like Rudolph the red-nose reindeer. It's raw from blowing my nose too much. My ears feel plugged but hey, at least my cough has subsided. This is the longest I've been sick. It's getting to be irritating!

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, we had really good weather. It was sunny, warm and it felt like spring. Now the temperature dropped and it's been drizzling all day. This morning I woke up to the weather report announcing that we're expected to have very cold weather and snow (6-12 inches)!

This past couple of weeks, I've been in contact with a few of my HS classmates. Since our HS class reunion is coming up next year, they've been wanting to get together to plan for this reunion. It's been several years since I've seen my friends. I am excited to get a chance to meet them again after all these years and yet...I am scared. Scared because... well you know... are they going to like me? I don't want them to see me like this...I've gained a lot of weight since HS. What are they going to think of me?

On my way to work, I began thinking about this meeting. We're supposed to meet later today after work. I began wondering what my friends look like now. What have they been up to? Soon, I began having these feelings of self-doubt and low self-esteem. I had all these thoughts running through my mind. Pretty soon I was feeling sorry for myself. Finding everything wrong that they could possibly find about me... my looks...my weight... etc. Do I look old? Being sick did not help matters.

As I was getting off the train, I saw a man talking to a person who appeared to be his friend. But what caught my eye was that he had a large dark mole covering half of his face. He did not appear to be self-conscious. He was smiling and happily talking to that person.

I continued walking down the street and came across another man. He was a handsome man except for one thing... when he turned, I saw that he had an enlarged mole or growth behind one of his ears. It was so big it looked like he had a gulf ball hanging from his ear. The man seemed not to have a care in the world and did not seem to mind or worry about how people looked at him and/or what they thought about him.

For a split second, I felt sorry for them and then I started thinking to myself, was this a sign from above? No... I shouldn't feel sorry for them. I was right to feel sorry for myself... only because here I am putting myself down and complaining. Imagine if that would have been me! It made me realize that I should be more grateful. No one is perfect. Be thankful for what you have and what you don't have (in most cases).

After making peace with myself, I thought about attending this meeting. Forget about how I look or what they are going to think about me. I need to quit worrying about that stuff and stop being this way! I should consider myself lucky.

But as time passed, I did not feel any better. I had no choice... so I e-mailed one of my classmates to tell her I was not going to be able to join them. In a way, I was looking forward to meeting them and yet, deep down, I secretly felt relieved being sick so that I had an excuse not to go.

Is this bad or what?!

...

This morning I woke up feeling strange... more like I wanted to cry my heart out...and so I did (well, enough so as not to get noticed).

I got up and went downstairs to let my pet Coqueta out to pee. By the time I got to her her, she had an another accident. There was poop all around where she was laying. Since she stepped on it when she got up, she left poop paw prints all over the floor!

I was already in a hurry and I didn't want to be late for work. But I had no choice, I had to clean up the mess before I left. I got so upset! Not only did I had to clean up the mess, but I had to wash her too. It was so gross!

Before I knew it, I was in tears. Hot tears burning down my cheeks. Tears of anger...tears of pain...I don't know. As I turned to look at her, I saw it in her eyes... she too was sad and she knew I was unhappy. It made me feel even worse because I know it's not her fault.

Yesterday she was outside enjoying the nice weather. She was actually running around on the grass. Except for having her "accidents", she's doing great. But for some reason, she just can't go do her "duty" outside. It always happens when she's laying down. Is it fair to her and to me? What am I doing here? How long am I going to do this for? I know she's just a "dog". But she's been with us for 15 years! How can I not take care of her when she needs me? Am I doing the right thing?

I went back upstairs and as I was wiping my tears, my daughter sees me and turns to my son and asks him, "Why is mom crying?" My son replies, "I think she's depressed."

Depressed... yes, I'm starting to feel it. One more thing to add to things...and it's really breaking my heart...!

A note of thanks...

This is why I continue to keep our Thanksgiving tradition...

For several years now, the tradition has been to host Thanksgiving dinner at our house. Even though our family has known this for years and have attended our Thanksgiving dinner each year, I still have certain members who complain about not having been sent an invitation (even though I never do) or not giving them enough notice (even though it's been talked about it weeks before).

As the years go by, the family keeps growing and growing...and my "big" house suddenly is becoming "smaller". To the point that for two years in a row now, we've had to move our dining room in the living room to accommodate everyone for a sit down dinner.

This Thanksgiving, we had to use two of our dining room tables and two picnic tables to be able to seat everyone at the dinner table. Not including the kids table! We were expecting a little over 25 adults and 15 children.

As the family keeps growing, it's becoming harder to seat everyone together on the same table or in the same side/section of the table. My dad, for the first time in years, actually showed up for dinner and we ended up moving a couple people around. In doing so, I ended up "offending" certain people either because they weren't seated in their "usual" spot or at the "head of the table" or because they were put next to someone they did not want to be seated next to.

When they were all asked to sit at their assigned seats, everyone began moving and reassigning their seats and by the time everyone got seated, some members had already started eating dinner before we even said grace. I heard some whispers of family members complaining about the food being "cold" and how they had to "serve themselves" or didn't get to eat some of the food. The food was set at the table and everyone passes the food around. I was the last one to sit down and did not even get to enjoy my dinner.

Every year, has been the same, so what made this year different? What did they expect...to be catered?! There was plenty of food for everyone to eat... and how did they expect me to have everything served hot right out of the oven?

I thought Thanksgiving was a time for families to celebrate a holiday and an opportunity to get together and enjoy a nice dinner and share their company. But apparently this was not the case. To me, it appeared to be just another excuse for people to get together and "complain/criticize" just about everything. It also became another excuse to "party".

My sister AC came over to my house the night before to make all the preparations for the Thanksgiving dinner and spent the whole day on Thanksgiving Day cooking. My other sister came to my house several times during the week to help me clean up and get the house ready for Thanksgiving. It took me two days after Thanksgiving to clean up the mess that was left over. The problem is that only a few people actually help clean and even so, in the end, I still end up doing most of the cleaning afterwards.

Hosting Thanksgiving dinner for a big family, took a lot of time, preparation and work... and for people to come criticize and complain... really pissed me off! There was just too much going on. It made me realize certain things.... and one of it was...is this worth the effort?

Thank goodness Thanksgiving comes just once a year. I overheard a family member suggesting having Christmas at my place.... ha! I don't think so!

I think one holiday is enough!

Coqueta...

It's been a week since Coqueta got out of the yard and got hit by a car as she attempted to cross a busy street.

Let me tell you, she's one amazing pup! I don't think she's ready to go! I can't believe how well she is doing, considering what happened to her and her age!

She walks around and, even though it's a little harder for her now to walk up and down the steps, she does it. Her back legs aren't as strong as they used to, and they tend to shake. On occasion, her hind legs give out as she tries to climb the steps, so I try to keep her from doing so.

The one problem she has encountered is a weak bladder and bowels. She has had a few little "accidents". I can tell she gets depressed when she does have an "accident" by the way she just lays there and looks so sad. I've had to wash her a couple of times and once I do, she is back to normal. I hope things will get better soon. It's been tough on both of us. Vet says it will.

I'm concerned that, as the weather gets colder, how is this going to affect her. I'm sure her bones are going to ache...hell my bones already do!

Happy Halloween!

Here we go again...

Coqueta
Originally uploaded by Gris1.

Last night I asked my son to let Coqueta out to pee. He was doing something at the time and said he would do it a little later. In the meantime, I kept working on the computer.

After a while, my hubby asked where Coqueta was. I thought she was in the livingroom with him as she likes to sleep by the door. I asked the kids if they had seen her and they hadn't. We began looking for her all over the house (she's hard of hearing). In order to get her attention, we have to clap our hands loudly and give her hand signals. We checked the back yard and she wasn't there either.

My son had let her out and forgot to let her back inside the house. Since she stayed out for too long in the yard, she managed to get out of the gate by squeezing herself through the bars. By the time we noticed she wasn't in the house, it was too late. She was gone!

My son and I walked around the neighborhood looking for her. Since it was already after dark, we later decided to get in the car and see if we could find her in the alleys and streets. But Coqueta was nowhere to be found.

This morning I called the animal control to find out if they had picked her up. The lady said she wasn't aware of any pet fitting Coqueta's description. As I was riding the bus, headed for work, I called the vet's office to find out if someone had by chance found her and dropped her off there. As the receptionist checked, I got the good news that there was a possibility that Coqueta may have been picked up but at a different location.

Sure enough, it was her. When my hubby went to pick her up, they told her that she had been hit by a car. She was in bad shape when they found her last night. My hubby then took her to our vet's office.

I went to see her right after work. I can't believe she has survived this. She's 14 years old! The vet said that, at this time, there's not much they can do for her. She was alert and she attempted to walk, although a few times she kept slipping. You can tell her hip is hurt.

I'm so sad. She's been with us since she was two months old. I feel so guilty for not having paid more attention to her. Maybe if I would have gotten off the computer and gone to let her out, instead, this wouldn't have happened!

I don't know how much time she has left. She's been through a lot and she's old. For now, they are going to keep her until tomorrow for observation and she will be given medication.

light...

light coming from the window
Originally uploaded by Gris1.

--mga

power outage...

Last month, we had a severe thunder storm and we had a power outage. Unfortunately, I had left my computer on and when the power went out the computer crashed!

The bad news...I lost everything! I never backed up my files!
The good news, I got upgraded to XP and my USB drive finally works so I can download my pics directly from my camera!

I'm glad my computer is up and running again. Especially, because my kids need to do research and type most of their written assigments on the computer. But most of all I'm glad for me, because I can check my e-mails and post my pictures!

red hair

I was washing my hands in the bathroom at work when one of my co-workers (an older woman) came in. She took a look at me and our conversation went something like this:

Co-worker: "OMG, what did you do to your hair!?"
Me: "I changed my color."
Co-worker: "It's bright red!"
Me: "I know."
Co-worker: Why did you do that for?"
Me: (looking at my reflection in the mirror I noticed that the lighting did make my hair look brighter) "That's the way it came out. I guess I wanted to try something new"
Co-worker: "It's too red! Oh, I don't know... you should change it, that color is what slutty girls are using!"
Me: (My jaw dropped) I guess that was the look I was foing for!

15 years ago today...

(9/28/06)  

This morning, I got out of bed a little earlier than usual.  I went to the kitchen and prepared a fresh pot of coffee and began cooking a hot breakfast.   Once the coffee was ready, I filled his cup and set the card next to it.  

I called out to him.  “Babe!  Come down, your coffee is ready!”  When he walked into the kitchen, he had a big grin on his face.  “Wow!  You got up early and made me breakfast!?”  He saw the card and instantly knew he had forgotten!  “What’s this?”  “Ah, don’t tell me… it’s not my birthday so….it’s our anniversary?!”  

He took off his wedding band which has our wedding date engraved (so he will never forget -- but apparently it’s been useless!).  “Oh, babe!”   “I thought it was tomorrow”

After 15 years, it doesn’t surprise me.  In fact, I didn’t mind at all that he had forgotten.  I should be used to it by now.  Is not to say that he always forgets.  He remembers most of the time.  When he actually manages to remember an important date, he’ll pretend he didn’t and ends up surprising me later in the day.  At other times, when he really does forget, he manages to surprise me with something or we end up doing something the next day or by the weekend.   Today, I was just happy that he gave me a ride to the train station so I wouldn’t get to work late!

As I rode on the train, I kept thinking to myself, OMG!  I can’t believe I’ve been married for 15 years!  How time flies!  I can honestly say it doesn’t seem this long.  And to think people thought we wouldn’t last a year!  Ha!  

How did we do it?  I don’t know.

Married life is not easy.  It’s more work than we’ll ever know.  There’s more to marriage than just love.  We’ve had some good times and bad.  All I kept thinking was that aside from love, I guess the trick to a long lasting marriage is working together and compromising.  Both of us have to be on the “same page” so to speak.  Even with our “huge” differences, we can still find our middle ground.     Marriage is a partnership.

It’s been a bumpy road but we’re still standing.  I hope to have many more good years to come!  

Happy Anniversary!

son knows best...

My hubby and son were at the dinner table talking when my hubby suddenly says, “Oh shit! I just scratched the table.” He stops playing with his fork and looks at my son and says to him, “Do you realize that I’ve had this table since I was married to my second wife. It was one of the things that I got out of it”

I was in the kitchen washing dishes and hearing him say this, I asked my son, “Mijo, how do you feel knowing that your dad has had two previous marriages?” My hubby adds, “Yeah, mijo, what do you think about that, knowing that I was married to other women before your mother?”

My son turns to him and says, “I think they got off easy!”

CPR anyone...?

Yesterday, my job offered a CPR training course, which I attended. And this year was a little bit different. For starters, there was less to remember (2 breaths and 30 compressions). Simple, as that! I don’t have to worry about anything else, except keep performing the CPR until paramedics arrive!

The class was approximately three hours long. As we watched a video on how to perform CPR and how use an automated external defibrillator or “AED” (a machine that analyzes the heart's rhythm and, if necessary, instructs the person using the AED to deliver an electrical shock to the victim to regulate his heart), we also got to practice what we learned on a dummy.

Here are the steps:

Step 1: Make sure the area is clear of any danger (you don’t want to be a victim yourself, i.e. getting hit by a car on the street)

Step 2: If the person looks unconscious, tap the person on the shoulders and try to get a reaction from him/her while asking, “Are you o.k.?” If no response, go to step 3.

Step 3: If you are alone, immediately call 911; get and/or yell for help; if there are people around, have them call 911 (and get the AED if one is available).

Step 4: While victim is lying on the floor, open the airway and check for normal breathing. You do so by tilting the head back, raise the chin up with two fingers. If not breathing, give two breaths (check for chest rising as you do so). Open his shirt to expose his chest. Place the palm of your hand on the chest (between the nipples) and set the other hand over it and begin with compressions. Give cycles of 30 compressions (count out loud so you don’t lose track or skip a beat) and 2 breaths. (Thing to remember…once you begin this process, you must continue to do so until AED or EMS rescuers arrive).

Step 5: Repeat Step 4 until someone brings out the AED, or someone can relieve you (who knows how to perform CPR) and/or when paramedics arrive (leave it to them to handle the rest).

After learning how to give CPR, the instructor showed us how to use the AED machine. It came with a pack that included a mouthpiece (to give CPR so you don’t have to do it directly on the person’s mouth), scissors (to cut out any clothing to expose the chest), an extra battery for the AED (in case batteries are low) and a razor. A razor? Yes, a razor! One is necessary in case the patches won’t stick due to a very hairy chest. So I raised my hand and asked, “Do you have to apply shaving cream or something?” Everyone laughs. The instructor responds, “No. Just shave enough on the chest area where you will be placing the patches until they stick.” Sounds simple enough!

The AED machine had two buttons, the “On” button and the “Shock” button. The only thing you have to remember is to turn it on. Once you do so, the AED uses voice prompts to instruct the rescuer. Easy right?

We again continued to practice what we learned on the dummy. I immediately took the pads out from the AED, and was about to place them on its chest, when I realized I had forgotten to turn on the machine. Oops!

Once it was on, I listened for instructions and tried to follow them. I managed to place the pads (directions shown on pads -- one on the right side of the chest and the other on the left side below the breast) and again waited for further instructions. When the machine finished analyzing the heart, it instructed me to press the button to give the person a shock, (which you're suppose to say “clear” before pressing the shock button so you don’t end up shocking someone who might be touching the victim and, of course, I went straight for the button and forgot to do so). There went my grade!

After performing the “shock”, the machine instructions were to start giving the person compressions (to which I went straight for the dummy’s mouth to perform CPR). The instructor yells out, “Compressions!”. Oops! Sorry! I started doing the compression and the instructor tells me, “Count out loud!” “One, two, three…” After the 30 compressions, I was sweating! That was exhausting! I can’t imagine doing that a few more times. It’s a lot of work!

We went over what we learned a few more times and had a question and answer session. The shaving of the chest was brought up again to which the instructor comments, “And no….you don’t have to oil him up” and one of my co-workers adds, “Yeah, bring out the shaving cream!” Everyone laughs. The instructor also says, “And remember after the AED gives the shock, it instructs you do to what?” “Compressions!” Everyone responds simultaneously as they turn to look at me!

After work I told my hubby of my experience and as I finished relaying my story, he had a smirk on his face and says, "Sounds to me like you wanted to give him a clean shave before you blew...his lungs out!" ; )

things a mother won't (will) do... Part II

A few days ago, my son lost one of his molars.   Even though he’s getting a little older, we continue to talk about the tooth fairy.  My son claims, he “does not believe in the tooth fairy”, but the next morning, I caught him checking under his pillow to see if he had gotten anything from the fairy.  So much for not “believing’.  As I began to reminisce, it put a smile on my face.  My son’s still a little boy at heart (he’s growing up so fast and soon all this would be just a memory).

When I finally snapped out of my thoughts, I soon realized I had completely forgotten about leaving something under his pillow!  How could I have forgotten?  There goes another check mark on my report card for “bad parent.”    

The next evening, I was already in bed sleeping when suddenly my eyes opened and I remembered!  Ahhh!  I forgot again!   I quickly got out of bed and went to go check on him.  He was sound asleep.  I slowly felt under his pillow (trying not to wake him) and found the tooth.   Oh no… my purse is downstairs!  It’ dark downstairs and I’m too lazy and tired to go down for it.

As I turned toward the door, I saw my son’s wallet on the bookshelf.  It gave me an idea?  I turned to my son who was still sleeping.  And like a burglar at night, I quietly picked up the wallet and searched for money.  There was a folded five-dollar bill inside.  I’m standing there in the middle of the night wondering, “What the hell am I doing?”  For a split second, I felt guilty.  “How could I be doing this?”  “Just go downstairs and get your purse”, I thought to myself.  But sleepiness and being scared of the dark took over the better part of me… so I took the money.  

I quietly went over to my son’s pillow, set the money under it and quietly left the room trying not to make too much noise as the wood floor kept creaking with every step.  

Boy...do I deserve an award for “bad mother of year!”  

The next morning, my son was happy to find $5 under his pillow for his tooth.  Wow!  He was really excited.  (But no, he doesn’t believe in the tooth fairy.)  My hubby turns to me and mouths, “Five dollars?!”  I smiled,  “Long story.”  

“I’m glad you remembered, ‘cause I had forgotten,” he says.  “So did I,” I said.  I told him what I did last night and he shook his head.  “Did you remember to replace his money?”   I went and got my purse and realized I did not have a five-dollar bill.  “Honey, do you have a five on you?”  

things a mother won't (will) do... (Part I)

For my son's birthday, he got a turtle from one of his friends. Oh yeah, just what we need another animal (reptile) in the house!

I was not too happy about it. But what could I do. It was a gift.

My son made a home for the turtle in an empty fish tank that was in our basement. Unfortunately, after a while, the tank was stinking up the whole place. Ugh!!! It was disgusting!

My hubby and I convinced my son to make a home for the turtle outside in the back yard. Hey, now it can keep our rabbit company and play races with it! ha!

Anyway... about a week ago, my hubby had some free time (which is rare these days) so he began cleaning out the yard. (Finally!) As he's cleaning and clearing things out, he decides to make a little pond for the turtle near a corner of the yard next to the tree. He placed rocks around the pond and put the turtle in the water. The turtle appeared to be enjoying his new home... so we thought.

My hubby and I began talking and all the while keeping in eye on the turtle. My hubby said, "Look! The turtle is coming out of the pond!" "Let's see what he does." We kept watching it, but the turtle just sat still on a rock.

We continued to chat for another five minutes and when my hubby turned to check on the turtle, it was gone! He went over to the pond to see if it went back in the water but it was not there either! "O.k. where did it go?" "It couldn't have gone that far... it's a turtle for crying out loud!" I exclaimed.

I joined him in his search for the turtle. And, I'm sorry to say, the turtle was no where to be found! We checked our neighbor's yard to see if somehow he managed to get out through the shadow box fence. (Could it possibly have been able to squeeze itself through... on its side?)

We looked through every crack, hole and area where the turtle might be hiding...and still nothing! WTF!!! "How are we going to explain this to our son?" I asked.

After spending about 45 miutes looking for it, my hubby and I sat there in amazement and wondered how was it possible that it took off so quickly. Where did it go? Where is it hiding? We were keeping an eye on it! We've already disappointed my son for not taking him camping for his birthday. And now this! What are we going to tell him?

I just can't bear it if we disappoint him once again. Especially when he finds out that it was our fault his pet turtle has disappeared. "My son, guess what? We've lost your turtle!" No, I just couldn't do that to him! My hubby and I talked it over and finally came to a conclusion. We decided to do what's right (or wrong, as this case may be). Um.... we decided not to tell him.

"Let's see how soon he will notice that his turtle is gone," my hubby says to me. Man, he's going to be upset! Does this make us bad parents?

These few days, I noticed my son going to the back yard and doing "stuff". I even asked him once, "Have you fed the turtle?" He mumbled something that I couldn't make out and continued on doing whatever he was doing. To this day, he still hasn't mentioned his turtle to us. I have a feeling he's not telling us for fear that we are going to yell at him for "not taking care of it"!

Hmmm...Let's see who will crack first!

BTW... did I mentioned that he had to create an "All about me" poster for school and he included his "pet" turtle in the poster! Man... were going to hell!

If you ever read this my son, just know that I LOVE YOU! And we're SORRY!

You didn't learn that from me...!

My daughter was having an argument with my son and out of her mouth came out “butt hole”. I turned to her and said, “I don’t ever want to hear you saying that again!”

I then turned to my hubby and said:

Me: “Did you hear what your daughter said? She said “butt hole”!

Hubby: “She must've learned that from her mother.”

Me: “Me!”

Hubby: “Yeah, because I would have said “asshole!”

belly ring

When I got home from work the other day, my daughter gets up from the couch, grabs me by the arm and pulls me towards the back of the kitchen. She had a look on her face that suggested she was about to tell me something very important. By the scared look in her eye, I could tell she just didn’t know how to bring herself to say it.

She finally says to me in a low voice, “Mom, I don’t know how to say this… I didn’t really want to but AC said I should do it since another girl my age was getting it too.”

I’m looking at her and a million thoughts are running through my head… “What are you talking about?” I asked. She says, “Mom” as she slowly lifts her shirt up and exposes her pierced belly button, “Please don’t tell dad!”

My jaw almost fell to the ground. “What?!” “What did you do?!!!”

“I’m sorry mom, AC said it was o.k.”

AC? Ah, oh… arg! I almost screamed!

“Where’s your dad?!” “Dad is in the study, but please don’t tell him!” She’s begging me not to say anything to her dad. "Please...", she implores.

I’m trying to figure out how to deal with this situation. She’s 13!!!

And at the same time, my mind is going over a millions and one ways as to how I’m going to kill my sister!!!!

As I stared at her newly pierced belly button, I noticed it was a little pink around the edges. I asked her, “Do you even know how to take care of it?” “It looks red!” “What if you get an infection?”

I soon heard my hubby call me into the study. “Babe is that you?”

Ugh! I walked over to the study and opened the door. I took a deep breath to try and calm my nerves.

“How was work?” He asked. “Fine.” I replied with no emotion.

I could tell he knew something was up or at least something was on my mind (I’m not very good about hiding my emotions). “What’s wrong?” He asks.

“Oh, I’m just tired.” I replied as sat on a chair and began to yawn.

“What’s the matter with our daughter, she looks like she’s up to something?”

I don’t know, I just got home!” I almost yelled out, “Why don’t you ask her?!” But instead I said, “She’s in the living room watching TV.”

We talked briefly for a few moments and I went back to the living room to have a talk with my daughter. I will have to deal with my sister later.

I found my daughter sitting on the couch and laughing uncontrollably.

“You think this is funny!”

“Mom…((giggles))... mom…((more giggles))...mom..”

I was ready to smack her.

“Mom… look.” She pulls out the ring from her belly.

“What the…!?” It’s fake!!!!

“Ooh, you little…!“

“I got it from one of the quarter machines…!”

My hubby and my son come out to the living room. They were all in on it!!! AND they were all laughing at me!!!

Ha... ha...ha.

Now its time for me to figure out a way to get back at them for pulling this prank on me!








Maybe I should get one myself. What do you think?

Happy birthday Beebo...!

My son.... dressed, ready for school and eating his breakfast.

Today is his 11th birthday!

Happy birthday my son!

Love you,

Mom 

America, the beautiful...

 

America Sky

My brother called me late last night. "It's a girl!" he said with excitement. She weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. As he was talking to me over the phone, I could hear the baby crying in the background. By the sound of her crying, I could tell she has some pretty good healthy lungs! I wanted to reach out to her and hold her in my arms.

I knew my brother was very happy... he wanted a girl and God blessed them with one.

Congrats to my brother and his wife!

Today, I spoke to my 6 year old nephew who sounded pretty excited about having a little sister. I asked, "How is she, is she beautiful?" He said, "Yes, but she's skinny."

He also wanted to know if my son could go sleep over. I told him that the kids had school and that once his mom was home from the hospital and settled in with the baby, we would all go over this weekend to visit with him and see his new baby sister. I can't wait to see her!

Which by the way, my niece's name is... "America Sky".

going to church...

Raised as a catholic, you would think I take upon the tradition of going to church every Sunday. But unfortunately, I don’t. I guess you can say I’m a “non-practicing catholic”. I must admit I am a little ashamed to say it. But certain things that have happened, have been said and done about the Catholic Church have not encouraged me to attend mass every Sunday. That’s not to say that I don’t pray, because I do. Whether I’m feeling blue, worried about something, or even when I’m in high spirits I find myself talking to HIM and that makes me feel better.

I believe it’s been about a year since I’ve gone to church. My hubby and I decided it’s about time we attended mass to receive some kind of spiritual healing as well as to give us a chance to thank HIM.

We attended the Saturday evening mass. As we arrived, the mass was about to begin. I noticed that not too many people attended. In fact, there were a few elderly folk and only two younger couples (my hubby and I being one of them).

We sat at one of the last rows. As the mass proceeded, I realized that I had forgotten most of the prayers. I didn’t pick up a book of hymns and prayers, so I just mumbled and pretended to know the words. In fact, the prayers I learned as a kid were in Spanish and even then, I had forgotten them too. I know… I should be ashamed. But, I really do pray everyday. Maybe I don’t go to church every Sunday, but I pray and talk to HIM everyday, whether it’s when I’m riding the train, as I’m walking by myself, or just sitting on the couch watching t.v. That should count for something.

Here I was trying to receive some spiritual guidance and as I sat there trying to listen to one of the readings, I almost choked! The lady was reading a passage from the bible (to which I was not paying much attention to as my mind kept thinking of other things) that read something like this, “and the wife shall be (in subordination or) subordinated to the husband…” Whoa man! Stop right there! The wife has to be “subordinated” to her husband? My hubby kept tapping me with his hand on my leg and smiling and I wanted to punch him! “… and the husband has to love and cherish his wife…” I was still trying to analyze that piece of information in my brain… Sorry, she just lost my attention. I didn’t even want to hear the rest!

During the mass, we had the usual collection of the daily offering. An elderly gentleman was collecting the donations. He put the basket in front of two elderly ladies that were sitting next to my hubby and, just as my hubby reached over to put his offering in the basket, the man immediatley pulled the basket away and continued on to the next row. My hubby and I just looked each other. Did he really not see him reaching for the basket? I mean, he clearly was reaching for the basket. I don’t want to assume anything, but it seemed kind of odd… gave me something to think about. I don’t know.

As I took another look around the room, I noticed the majority of the people attending the mass were elderly “white” folk. I for one wanted to find out if it was just a matter of the man not “noticing”. We would soon have another opportunity to find out. They were going to have a second collection. I told my hubby he should try again. But, of course, my hubby did not want to. Maybe it’s just me, but I wanted to have the benefit of the doubt. My hubby refused. Oh well, I guess we’ll never know.

We came to the part of the mass where we give the “peace” handshake to our neighbors. After everyone gave their sign of “peace”, I turned to see the two little old ladies sitting next to my hubby, pull out from their purses, an anti-bacterial hand soap which they rubbed in their hands to kill the germs they just acquired from shaking the hands of strangers. Hey, I don’t blame them, with all the germs that are going around these days! I can understand that. Especially for the elderly since they have to watch out for their health even more so. I just got a chuckle out of it.

What I can’t understand, and maybe that’s why I do not go up to drink the wine ("Blood of Christ") anymore, is that, when you think about it, drinking out of the one “cup” that many people have put their lips and drank out of, is pretty gross and disgusting to me! Especially, when I’ve seen a few people in front of the line coughing. Ugh! I’m sorry. They have to figure a better way of doing this. Sure, they do wipe the rim of the cup, but still…! Again, this is just me speaking here, but, I rather do the handshake and worry about washing my hands later.

We soon came to the conclusion of the mass. The visiting priest, who was giving the mass, gave us the final “blessing” and the second priest from that Parish immediately stepped up to the microphone and said, “Mass will not officially end until after the announcements”. Oops! Everyone laughed. And part of the announcement was that one of the parishioners was going to provide coffee for after the Sunday’s mass and the priest said jokingly, “And she will also bring some baked goodies for us too!” The lady, made a fist at the priest and said, “No sir, I’m not!” Everyone laughed again.

Once the announcements were made, the visiting priest, with a bit of humor said, “well, I guess I will have to give you a second blessing… the mass has ended, you may now go in peace”.

...

After much consideration, this year, we decided to transfer the kids into a new school. They will be starting school sometime next week. So of course, everthing is due ... tuition, material fees, etc., and I just spent a few $$$ on their new school uniforms.

The good news is that this school's tuition is less than the old school. Although I wish I could place my children in a public school (it would save us a lot of $$!). But the reality is that the public schools are not the very best in our area. It's too bad. Another choice would be to move to a better neighborhood (with good public schools) which means buying a new home and paying more $$ on a mortgage. Unfortunately, we can't afford to move at this time.

It just amazes me how, little by little, money add up! Everthing is getting more and more expensive. The more money you make, the less money you bring home and the more bills you have to pay.

My hubby has been involved with a not-for-profit organization and hasn't been at the office. He had to take too much time off this summer to help the organization. And because of this, his income had only been trickling here and there. I recently got a raise at work. I'm very grateful for it, but it's only enough to cover the raise in healthcare benefits. So my paycheck still comes out to pretty much the same amount as last year.

My son's birthday is coming up this labor day weekend and I'm not ready for it. As a birthday present, he wants (and I mean really wants) to go camping and fishing!

My son has been wanting to go fishing for along time now. He even went on the Internet to look up places to go camping. It would be great, if we had the camping equipment or an RV. But we don't. We also tried looking into renting a cabin, but again, it all takes time (driving distance) and money. And unfortunately, our only working vehicle is not in a state to drive too far.

Now that the baseball season is over and my hubby has a little time away from the organization, he is now working hard to catch up at the office. So it makes it even harder for him to take more time off. Being self-employed means no money comes in if he's not at work.

So how are we going to manage this? Will he make the time? Will we be able to afford a mini-getaway?

I don't know. But I certainly hope so. It would make my son a very happy camper!

no more laundromats for me...!

I haven't been to a laundromat in quite a while. So how difficult can it be? Not to mention the time wasted but also having to drag the bags of dirty laundry!

Two weeks ago, we went out of town. Since it had been very hot and humid, I had to change clothes several times a day as they got wet with sweat! Yuck!

I had been under the impression that we were only going to be there for the weekend. But soon found out that we were staying three extra days. I did not pack enough clothes. I went to a store nearby and bought a couple of capris pants and shirts, but I still did not want to wear them out of the rack... nasty! So what was I to do? Be forced to go to the laundromat.

Once I got there, I picked a large machine for the colored clothes and a small one for the whites. The place had no air conditioning and I was already drenched in sweat within a few minutes of being there. As you can imagine, I was not a happy camper!

As the large machine began its wash cycle, water began leaking all over. I was beginning to freak out but thankfully the manager was around and managed to fix the problem. I thought it was because I hand't closed the door properly but, apparently, it was the machine that needed to be repaired.

After that little episode, I realized that I hadn't seen the light for spin cycle, or any light for that matter, on the small washer. I kept waiting to see when the light would turn on so I can put some liquid fabric softener in it. I kept waiting.... waiting... and I waited some more. Is it because I put it in the "hot" wash cycle setting that it is taking longer to wash than normal?

While I sat there waiting for the light to appear, I realized I had to wash my bra (since I had packed everything, but extra bras). I looked around and there were only four other ladies doing their laundry. So I slowly (trying to be inconspicuous) began taking off my bra and pulled it out from under my shirt. I then quicky threw it in the wash. Little did I know that, as hard as I was trying not to bring too much attention to myself, there was a man in his truck watching me through the window all that time! I was embarrassed! Oh well....if he saw anything, I hoped he enjoyed the little peep show because that's the last time I'll be stripping at the laundromat!

Finally the dark load was done and I put it in a dryer. While the clothes were drying, I went to check on my whites. I soon realized that the machine was still in wash cycle. The lights were not on so I couldn't tell what cycle it was really in, but it was apparent that it was still in the same cycle from when I first put my clothes in. What the hell!!! I immediately took the whites out of that machine and set them in a different machine. Now I had to wait longer for an extra load to wash not to mention having to pay for another machine (since the manager had left the building)!

When I went to check on the dryer, the clothes were still wet. What???!!! I had already put four quarters in it! It finally took $2.50 to actually dry them enough to take home. I wasn't aware that the price for drying clothes had gone up! I remember when we used to dry a load with two quarters max! The heck with that! I wasn't about to pay more than $2.50! Even if it meant having to hang my clothes and/or set them on the air conditioner in my hotel room!

So here I was... braless in public, with a t-shirt that was wet, hot and sticky, in a bad mood, with machines that were not working properly and ended up paying more to wash and dry my clothes than I bargained for!!!!

This is why I can actually say I HATE going to the laundromat! Oh... now I know how much I appreciate having my own washer and dryer!

...

Two weeks ago, we went out of town to go see my husband’s softball team play for the State Tournament. Those girls did a great job playing against the top three best teams of the state. The teams that our girls faced were tough to play against. The last day, our girls played a double header against last year’s State champions. They gave the first place team a tough fight. They won the first game but ended up losing the second game.

The weather had been extremely hot and humid. Every day, we went to watch the girls play and, I’m not kidding, by the time the game was over, everyone was drenched in sweat. We had to keep drinking lots of water and putting cold wet towels on our necks to keep cool. It was horrible! I’m surprised at how the girls managed to play in those conditions. Thank God there were no incidents because it was unbelievably hot! The good thing about this is that I think I might have lost a few pounds. Yay!

It was a great experience to watch our girls work hard and play hard. They’ve truly come a long way! Unfortunately, during the course of this event, there was too much drama going on which I cannot speak about. But because of this, in some way or another, this may have caused their relationship/friendship to be affected, and I'm talking about the adults! It’s too bad that things like this have to happen on such a special and important event. Hopefully, people can get past this…!

But other than that I’m very proud of our girls! They’ve been working all year and finally their efforts paid off! And now that they had a little taste of it, they are already looking forward to next year!

I had not planned on going. Expecially because I did not have anyone to watch my pets. But my hubby convinced me to go since my boss had given me the Monday off. It would be a nice mini-vacation. We dropped our pets to the vet and had them spend the weekend there. Little did I know that I was going to spend more days than I intended to. We left Friday after work and came home Wednesday late afternoon. I went back to work on Thursday. I had to call my boss to let him know I was taking two extra days and I’m sure he wasn’t too happy about it. But things worked out o.k.

When we got home, it was like a sauna. And, we found the freezer door to our fridge open and all the meats that we had just bought a few days before we left were defrosted and spoiled! It was so nasty…water everywhere not to mention the smell!!!

Oh, it’s good to be home!

happy birthday to me...!

These past few months have been trying times for me. I've exprienced too much drama around me that will last me a lifetime! I'm just tired of all the BS!

After everything's said and done, I can honestly say, it's been along time baby!

So here's to me! To good times and better days!

...

In the morning when my boss came to the office, he surprised me with beautiful purple orchids. How sweet!

My friends and co-workers setup my desk with baked goodies and chocolate covered strawberries! Mmmm...! Plus I got gifts! Yay! And before I left work, we celebrated my birthday with a bottle of champagne.

That night my hubby took me to dinner at a Korean restaurant. I can't believe I like Korean food. They served us with different side dishes of spicy appetizers, including white rice. We ordered beef ribs and steak that we had to cook over the grill on our table. I also had a side dish of grilled calamari. And instead of a bread product, they gave us a basket of romaine lettuce leaves which we filled with all those ingredients and rolled it like a mini Korean burrito! Man was it spicy and it had lots of garlic! Not a good date dinner if you ask me, unless you're a couple whose been together for a while and love garlic! So bring out the toothbrushes, mouth wash and a few pieces of minty gum cause I'm telling you watch out for that breath!

The next evening, my two sisters (and my sister's boyfriend) took me out to dinner at Cafe Iberico (my hubby didn't want to join us so he stayed home). We were served tapas (which are side dishes of different types of food)! We ate shrimp, calamari, chicken, spicy potatoes and beef. The food was fabulous! We also drank lots of sangrias! It got to the point, where I could drink no more.

After our fine dinner, we went to Lalos for after drinks. There was a dance floor and the DJ was playing good music. My sisters both pulled me to the dance floor. At first, I didn't want to because as usual, I get embarassed. But I got over it and began to dance with them. And to show you how out of shape I am, I was having a hard time dancing. I haven't danced in so long, I can't remember how to. My legs began to feel shaky and wobbly and I was having a hard time keeping up. It was one of those mixes that kept going and going. I didn't think I could make it out of the dance floor without help! After dancing with my sisters, and as the night progressed, the DJ began playing cumbias and barchatas. So my sister GC told her boyfriend to take me out on the dance floor. He's such a good dancer and he was easy to follow. All I had to do was keep up with his steps, twirls and turns and believe me, I was trying like hell not to lose step and fall flat on my face! And that in itself was a lot of work! Who needs exercise when you can dance!

They kept on trying to buy me more drinks but I couldn't drink anymore. Not because I didn't want to, but because I had too much to eat and I was too full! I was glad that I got to dance a few songs just to keep moving.

I've been eating just about everything these past few days, I'm going to seriously have to watch what I eat. (yeah right!) But it's all been good! I can actually say, it's been a good birthday.

Happy birthday to me...!

Mystic blue...

August 3, 2006 - My mom and I took a boat cruise at Navy Pier. Couldn't have asked for better weather. It was perfect! Especially after having very hot and humid weather the days before.

We had a wonderful dinner and listened to good music. After dinner, we went upstairs to look at the beautiful view of the lake front. Mom and I had a nice mother and daughter get together.

my life in a baseball field...

Recently, I have been going to physical therapy for my neck and shoulder and it's helped immensely. I can now move my neck after 2-1/2 weeks of being stiff and with pain (which has also been caused by stress). Slowly but surely, it's finally getting better and I'm finally in a better mood. I appreciate my my neck and back a little more and am more careful. I need to take time for myself and stretch out to relieve all that tension.

I haven't been on the computer as much for the same reason. Until now, I finally had a chance to look at my e-mails and download some pictures.

And yet at the same time, practically every day, I've been going to baseball/softball games to see my son and daughter play. Sometimes from morning to evening and at times from one field to another.

I don't know any other life but at the fields. If this keeps up, I may just pitch a tent up and spend the nights, since I practically live there!

I'm told that the tournaments will end by the end of July. I'm counting the days...

How do you spell relief...?

I finally called the doctor today to schedule an appointment.  For about a week now, I’ve had pain down my neck and shoulder.  I don’t know whether I have a pinch nerve or it’s something else.  But my neck feels a little stiff and there is some tingling going on.  I’ve had trouble sleeping due to the pain.  I can’t handle the pain anymore…!    

I wish my doc would recommend that I get a therapeutic massage or get some type of therapy.   A couple of years ago, I was going to a chiropractor but honestly, I rather get a massage instead.  Although I’ve heard from several people today that acupuncture works wonders.  I may even consider that option if nothing else helps.   I just need some form of relief without having to take medications.  

After work, stiff neck and all, I decided to go get my pictures downloaded to a CD.  As I entered the store, I heard an old man in crutches having a loud discussion with the store manager as he was in line at the cash register (he might have been a homeless guy).  Because of him, there was a long line of customers waiting to purchase their items.  I continued to walk into the store and went over to the photo section to use a Kodak machine so I could purchase my picture CD.  

While waiting for my pictures to download, I heard the old man getting closer as his voice got louder and louder and before I could turn around to see what was going on (due to my stiff neck), he got too close to me and literally pushed me hard (with his elbow).  So I got pinned between the Kodak machine and the old man.  It happened so quickly that I did not have time to react.  Lucky for me, nothing happened.  I finally turned to see the guy and he was still walking and talking loudly as the store clerk (who was walking him out) turned to me and apologized.  Usually when things like that happen, I tend to get nervous, but at that point, I was more worried about my neck.  

So how do you spell relief..?  I DON’T CARE …!   JUST GIVE IT TO ME!!!

you can say it, but can you spell it...?

Conversation between the kids as they were eating pizza:

Beebo: “That’s absurd.”

Deming: “Man, Beebo uses big words everyday.”

Beebo: As they continued with their conversation he blurts out… “sodium chloride!”

Deming’s
friend: “I bet you don’t even know what it means.”

Beebo: “That’s salt!”

Deming’s
Friend: “But can you spell it?”

Beebo: “S-A-L-T”

Everyone laughs!

...

As I am standing waiting for my train, a young pregnant girl (in her late teens or early twenties) comes up to me and says in a low and raspy voice... "Can I ask you a question?" I turn to look at her and she's either not feeling well or she's on some kind of drugs. She says, "Do you have spare change so my baby and I can eat?" For a split second, I felt sorry for her and almost dug into my purse to get some change, but my train was coming and I said to her, "Sorry, I don't have any."

And every day for the past week or so she continues to come up to me (and to everyone else whose standing around) asking for money for food. It's terrible knowing that she uses her pregnancy as part of her trick to get money from people. A couple of times, I've seen an older guy talking to her (he looks like he's part of this little scheme) and she begins her rounds.

Today, for the first time, I felt a mixed emotion of sorrow and disgust. But the one person I truly felt sorry for is the little baby she is carrying inside of her. The young girl was smoking a cigarette as she went around asking for money. So not only is she smoking while she's pregnant, but you know she's a junkie and is using whatever money she gets for drugs.

If you don't care about yourself that's one thing, but then why bring an innocent child into this world? How can you continue what you are doing while being pregnant? The poor little baby is going to come into this world with serious problems and addictions and who knows where it may end up. This baby doesn't deserve this.

It's so sad.. just thinking of how many pregnant girls are out there doing the same not only to themselves but to their babies.

sun plate...

It's practically the middle of June but the past few days have felt like the beginning of fall. It's been cloudy and cold! Instead of getting out the shorts and tank tops, we've been pulling out our sweaters and jackets! So much for putting the winter clothes away.

What's up with that? Where's the sun?

She's come home...!

Yay! We found my pet Coqueta!

The pound had called us yesterday to let us know they had her, but we were out and didn't get the message until last night. My hubby went to pick her up this morning. They found her last Sunday a few blocks down the street.

The kids and I are so happy to see her back and well. Welcome home my baby girl!

coqueta...where are u?

I’m so sad…!

Our pet Coqueta of 14 years is missing! The night before last, I let her out in the yard to pee and when I opened the door to let her back in, she was gone. I called out her name several times, but didn’t see her anywhere.

My kids went out looking for her but soon got late and and they had to come inside to go to bed. We’ve been searching for her ever since and as of yet still haven’t found her. We called the vet’s office and the dog pound in hopes that someone found her and turned her in. No such luck!

She’s not one to run away. I’m beginning to worry about her. I’m hoping she finds her way back home. She’s up there in age and can’t hear very well.

I just hope it’s not too late and something bad has happened to her…!

Coqueta where are you?