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".
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
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”.
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”.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
...
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 $$ on a mortgage. Unfortunately, we can't afford to move at this time.
It just amazes me how, little by little, money add up! Everthing is getting more and more expensive. The more money you make, the less money you bring home and the more bills you have to pay.
My hubby has been involved with a not-for-profit organization and hasn't been at the office. He had to take too much time off this summer to help the organization. And because of this, his income had only been trickling here and there. I recently got a raise at work. I'm very grateful for it, but it's only enough to cover the raise in healthcare benefits. So my paycheck still comes out to pretty much the same amount as last year.
My son's birthday is coming up this labor day weekend and I'm not ready for it. As a birthday present, he wants (and I mean really wants) to go camping and fishing!
My son has been wanting to go fishing for along time now. He even went on the Internet to look up places to go camping. It would be great, if we had the camping equipment or an RV. But we don't. We also tried looking into renting a cabin, but again, it all takes time (driving distance) and money. And unfortunately, our only working vehicle is not in a state to drive too far.
Now that the baseball season is over and my hubby has a little time away from the organization, he is now working hard to catch up at the office. So it makes it even harder for him to take more time off. Being self-employed means no money comes in if he's not at work.
So how are we going to manage this? Will he make the time? Will we be able to afford a mini-getaway?
I don't know. But I certainly hope so. It would make my son a very happy camper!
The good news is that this school's tuition is less than the old school. Although I wish I could place my children in a public school (it would save us a lot of $$!). 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!
Friday, August 11, 2006
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!
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
...
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!
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!
Monday, August 07, 2006
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.
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