Category: Photos

I tried blogging yesterday, mostly because of the fact that Annie was talking about all these superstitious things, one being that doing something on the 31st or the 1st will help you do whatever you did all through the year. For example, cleaning your house completely promises a clean house all year. If this is true, I’m going to have unwashed dishes, unmopped floors, a grimy bathroom, and a messy bedroom strewn with toys all year long. At least I’ll have clean clothes!

Obviously I didn’t blog yesterday, so sadly I probably won’t be blogging much this next year–if the superstition is true. I’ve become so bad with blogging. I feel like my site’s just taking up space. We’ll see how it goes in the next month or two. If I still can’t manage to update on a regular basis I think I might just scrap the whole site/blog thing. I’ve been doing this since 2001, so it kills me to stop blogging, but with graduation coming up and maybe a potential job, I can just tell I won’t have time for online things anymore. How do people manage to have a life AND blog?? I feel SO bad because I haven’t even had time to visit my friends or even wish them Merry Christmases or a Happy New Year!

Christmas was fantastic. The whole family was here, well, with the exception of Gramma but we did go see her on Christmas Eve. The kids woke up, ready to rip open presents and when everyone arrived at Mary’s, they each had their little piles and opened them up in front of the adults. Eenan and Jaylen couldn’t have been happier with their presents from Santa.

Eenan screamed, “I knew I was getting a DS!”, and Jaylen couldn’t believe his eyes when we opened the front door and he saw his little Powerwheels. They were so happy with their presents and I thank God that we were doing okay in ’05 and could actually afford to get them nice things.

I’d told Mario to promise he wasn’t going to get me anything else since we got our rings but he bought me something anyway. A black shirt from Hot Topic that said, “Cute on the outside, naughty on the inside”, and a mauve-colored, suede Union Bay bag I’d loved from JC Penny. I felt elated but so bad at the same time since I didn’t get him anything :(. Next year though. I’m counting on my job so that I can surprise him just as he’s always surprised me :).

I ended up having to exchange the shirt for a completely different one since it had two little tears in it and they didn’t have my size. I exchanged the Grumpy one too (which was from Mary) since Mom had already gotten it for me. I exchanged the jeans Mary got me since they were L.E.I.’s and the only size 5’s I can squeeze into comfortably are Arizona stretch boot legs. (God I need to lose weight for Noelia and Andy’s wedding!)

Mario had this past Friday off so we went to the mall and did our exchanges (Hot Topic even threw in one of the shirts I was leaving behind but I was too embarrassed to go back once I realized what happened , so I got a free shirt!). One of his bosses wanted him to go in to work, but since we had stuff to do all day he didn’t get a chance to. He was supposed to work on Saturday but I woke him up late (I forgot he went in at 9 instead of 10). When he called the “boss” to tell him he was going to be a few minutes late, Mr. Boss said to stay home if he was going to be late. Mario obliged and came home. I was thrilled to spend extra time with him, but my gosh, this dude (the boss) throws hissy fits for everything. He’s the same one that suspended Mario for three days because he playfully told him “fuck you”–which the boss himself tells EVERYONE.

We ended up watching The Nightmare Before Christmas and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with the kids that morning. It was nice to just be home together.

That night Jose, Elda and the boys were here, Noelia and Andy, Jorge and Bonnie, Mary, Mario and I and our boys, Mom, Yazmin, and after midnight Tommy, Yadira and Angela joined us. Since Mary brought some tequila over from her and Yazmin’s quick trip to Reynosa I made Margaritas, Mom made her homemade burritos, and Mario made his famous Bailey’s Milkshakes. All the kids popped fireworks. Eenan quickly changed his mind once he inhaled smoke from a sparkler and as the night wore on, Jaylen became extremely brave and was lighting “big” fireworks with a punk. I was so nervous, but Mario and Jose kept reassuring me that he was fine. Sammy was lighting Black Cats and at one point one shot straight for his eye! Luckily it hit him about an inch under, but I was terrified of the kids using the fireworks after that.

When 12am came around we clinked our plastic cups of champagne together (in my case, a Margarita since I don’t like champagne either), Mario and I had our New Year’s good luck kiss and we hugged everyone that was present. It was such a nice night . Our neighbors across the alley always have those really big, fancy fireworks so we turned our chairs to that direction and just watched and talked till about 1:30a.m. I tried calling my friends at exactly 12 but the lines must have all been tied up since nobody here could get through on their cells.

Mario had a day off again yesterday but we hardly spent time together since we were each doing our own thing. He was off helping his uncles clean up Grandpa’s lot and I cleaned the house a little bit and then Mom and I went to Aunt Nora’s. She had a gift for each of us (need to get her something, too!) and she gave me 5 Rubbermaid bins full of Christmas decorations! Mom, of course, fought me on a few things (Aunt Nora yelled, “Woman, these were for Yaya!”) but I got most of what I wanted. I even kept the tiny, brand-new tree she gave us. I thought Mario was going to have a fit, but he was in an incredibly good mood last night. Just in case, I’d made everything I kept fit into just two bins, woo!

We’re planning on having a garage sale sometime this month so I’ve slowly (very slowly) been getting stuff together. I really need to look through the big closet and the kids clothes and toys. Gawd. That room looks like a disaster area . I’m GOING to be more organized this year. I have to if I want to keep my sanity.

I have a feeling 2006 and my 24th birthday are going to be the best. I just know it will be. I’m so grateful for everything we had and everything that happened in 2005. It was a fabulous year.

And now, for New Years Resolutions! Out of last year’s I only did #’s 2 and 9, tried doing #8 to no avail, and of course you can never do enough of #5. As for this year:

1. Continue getting good grades at school and graduate on April 26th.
2. Visit Gramma more often.
3. Visit Aunt Nora more often.
4. Get organized!
5. Split bedroom (grr!)
6. Finish with the bathroom walls.
7. Lose weight in time for Noelia and Andy’s wedding!
8. Get a job I love after graduation.
9. Treat each day like it’s the last. Tell my family/friends I love and appreciate them every chance I get.
10. Spend more time loving my husband and kids.
11. Be NICER and more patient.
12. Stop being so hard on myself when I don’t get straight 100’s in school. (I’m stressing out more and more lately, it’s ridiculous.)
13. Make time to blog and visit online friends!

A list of my loot.
1. 13″ True Heart bear from Mary and Big Mario.
2. 13″ Hopeful Heart bear from Mary and Big Mario.
3. Shape hole-punchers and punch-helper from Mary.
4. Victoria’s Secret Garden Pure Seduction lotion and body spray from Mary.
5. 10″ Harmony Bear dressed in “rockstar” clothes 😛 from Mary.
6. Pink anime Tinkerbelle shirt from Mary and Big Mario.
7. Gray Grumpy Bear shirt from Mary and Big Mario (which I exchanged for a green Bambi one since I already had it).
8. Two pairs of jeans from Mary and big Mario (which I exchanged for a different size and a mauve-colored Cheshire cat shirt).
9. A Precious Moments planner/calendar from Mary.
10. A brown velour track jacket with gold trim from Natalie (my gift exchange).
11. Mauve/suede Union Bay bag from Mario.
12. Black “Cute on the Outside, Naughty on the inside” shirt from Mario (which I exchanged for a white Little Mermaid one since the black one had two tears and they didn’t have any in my size :().

Things I got before Christmas:
1. Dining set from Mom.
2. Gray Grumpy Bear shirt from Mom.
3. Black Penny shirt from Mom.
4. Engagement/Wedding rings from Mario :).

Things I got from our friends at school:
1. Hello Kitty toaster, Hello Kitty light switch, and Care Bear stickers from Lucy.
2. Red glass pitcher, glasses and Care Bear card from Ricci.
3. Red sequin hand bag, pink filigree/rhinestone clip, and pink/silver charm bracelet from Mayra.
4. Good Luck bear baby and a card from Romeo and Kimberly.
5. A huge Sweet Pea bath and lotion set from Rosy (my gift-exchange).

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Last Wednesday, after having yet another frustrating day at school with Quickbooks, I went to the post office and ran into an old friend, Jessica, from my OSM days. We caught up (she’s married, has a little boy, one on the way) and found out she’s been living 3 streets away from me for the past 4 years! What a small world we live in. I knew I’d seen her at the Dollar General once and she swears she saw me walking down the main street with a stroller (ah yes, when I was actually making an effort to lose weight) and at Wal-Mart. We talked for a while on Saturday; I need to remember to call her back.

Sometime at the beginning of last week, Aunt Nora called and asked if we’d like her old bedroom set since she was buying a new one. I remember LOVING her bed, and ask, “Is it the one I said I liked?” and she said, “Yup, that one.” Score. She gave us the drawers and bedside table too. The dressers she’s had since she first got married () but the bed is brand new. It looks beautiful :).

Mario was going to take the Sentra Saturday morning, but when he tried to turn it on, nothing happened. Turns out the starter died. All I could think about was my final on Monday and how we were broke, couldn’t afford a new starter and HOW WAS I GOING TO FINISH CHRISTMAS SHOPPING??

Mary came to the rescue and bought the part for us (we need to pay her back *adds to long list of debts*) and Mario waited around all day for someone to help him out to no avail. Finally, later at night, Jose came home and fixed it with the company of Mary and Big Mario. Mario was too upset to go out there.

Brushka had her second litter of kittens yesterday. Panthy-Poo (who’s solid black) was the one who mated with her, yet she had black tabby ones (probably from Panthy), gray tabby ones like her, and a WHITE ONE. I told Mario, “Aww, she’s so cute! If she’s got long hair like Artemis, I want to keep her.” And to my surprise he replied, “I kinda want to keep her too.”

Booka (as Jaylen calls her) will be staying indoors until we get her spayed. With all these new kittens, that brings the total to 14 cats and well, I’m too young to be a crazy cat lady . I hope we can find them good homes (Booka’s last litter: Bah, Enchilirido, and Goop, were all given to Ricky and they disappeared a week later since they had them outside. He lives in a ranch–I’d hate to think what animal, like a coyote, could have gotten to them). I gotta get Choco Cat spayed and John needs to get his cat spayed, too.

I went to school all by my lonesome today. Ricci moved to Mission, so she won’t be going with me to school in the morning. I gotta say, I’m so used to going everywhere with her it feels strange without her there LOL. I’ll be bringing her with me afterschool and dropping her off at her Grandma’s, where Goyo will be picking her and the girls up. I’m really glad they got their own place–they really needed it.

We got to school and I tried explaining to Ricci and Romeo how to do a few things (that I could remember) in Quickbooks when Mrs. C-R suddenly asked us to sit and get ready for our final. She said, “Your final is your assignment from Friday. There’s 3 cheat sheets, each one’s 5 points off of your final if you ask for it. There’s also a bonus you can do. If you get it right, it’s 20 extra points, if you don’t, it doesn’t affect your grade.”

My mouth dropped. I stayed an extra hour after school on Friday to finish that assignment because I JUST HAD TO get it right. And I did! When I was about 1/4 ways done with the bonus Company, Mrs. C-R places a letter on my desk. It says that I already had a 100 for that class (yeah baby!) and I could take the bonus if I wanted to. She also said she was proud of me (aww ) and to always keep my head held high. She left a P.S. that said, “Thanks for always helping out your classmates.” I was beaming and smiling from ear to ear. I gave the bonus a shot anyway (I think I messed up on a deposit though ) and thanked her for the letter. I’m going to miss her when I graduate .

I was so worried about that Final. I was sure I was going to bomb it. I even had a dream–no, a nightmare–Saturday night that I’d set my alarm wrong on Sunday night and woke up at 12:20pm. I totally missed class and Mrs. C-R wouldn’t let me re-take. I woke up with my heart beating a mile a minute!

I went to drop Mario’s lunch off at work since he forgot it and Mom, the boys and I went downtown to get Tio Arturo’s gift and to this Japanese store I’d always wanted to go to. After 30 minutes of looking for parking we went over there and I’m in love. Mom bought me a little Lucky Cat snow globe and I think I found my inspiration for decorating the living room. I’d always wanted an Asian theme and now I know where to go for all my decor :). They have gorgeous vases and such pretty paper lanterns.

Welp, I should get to baking those Snickerdoodles. I’ve got TONS of baking to do before Thursday!

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This has got to be the longest I’ve ever gone without blogging. I’ve sat down in front of the computer ready to type my frustrations out and I never get the chance to actually…sit. My site’s going to crap…I’ve lost so many visitors in the process .

Since the last time I updated, my head’s just been out of whack. It’s gotta be this bi-polar thing. I’m fine one minute and a sobbing mess the next, and over the tiniest thing. I wish I could go to the doctor so I could actually be diagnosed with something instead of just thinking I’m going nuts.

This Quickbooks course’s got me REALLY stressed out. Out of all my classes (including the computer hardware and software ones) this one’s the hardest. Last Friday was one of the worst days for me. Aside from my hormones (or whatever’s wrong with me) going haywire, I was having a fit with Quickbooks because I made one tiny mistake and had to start the assignment OVER. I literally broke down (thankfully right before a break) and cried my eyes out. I couldn’t even understand why I was crying–I’d messed up on assignments before and it never affected me like that. I felt so…weird and stupid crying over that. It didn’t help that my friends kept saying, “You’re too hard on yourself!”, when it had absolutely nothing to do with the assignment.

That day, I got home late (because Ricci and I stayed a little later to work on our assignment) and got yelled at by Mario. I cried that whole day. I even cried–no, no, bawled–because of a song I heard on the radio (The Christmas Shoes).

I’ve felt better since, but there’s really no telling when I’ll get all sensitive again. I just hope it stops happening at school!

What made me feel a little better on Friday was that we went to the mall and got the kids a few winter things (a new jacket for Jaylen and beanies) and bought meat to bar-be-cue. It was super cold that night but the fire in the chimney made it all warm and toasty. Ricci, Goyo and Belinda came over for a while, Andy and Noelia, Mary, Big Mario, Mom and the boys were there and then later Chris and Nancy came over. We stayed up talking with them till 1:30am. Nancy and I actually talked to eachother this time. I confessed to her (and her to me) that I was embarrassed to talk before because I was embarrassed about my Spanish (and her, her English). She’s really sweet; I’m glad we got the chance to chit chat. Now I won’t feel embarrassed going over to their house for bar-be-cues and stuff. That’s why I’d never go before LOL.

We went to Catherine’s birthday party last Saturday at a place called Kidz Rock. Aside from the scary waiver we had to sign that basically told us we were signing our kids’ lives away it was pretty cool (the employees could basically beat the kids to death but we signed the waiver so they weren’t at fault. It also said they weren’t responsible for any diseases, partial paralysis, or death that may occur ). The kids had fun though.

This whole week’s been spent buying Christmas gifts. Ricci and I have literally gone to the mall every day after school since Monday. I actually finished getting my friends their gifts and I’m so happy. I hope they all like what I got them. Ricci knows I got her stuff from Victoria’s Secret Garden and both Mayra and Lucy know I got them purses I just hope they like them.

Oooh! Ricci finally told everyone she’s pregnant! Yay :D!

Since it’s the holidays the mall and 10th street are super crowded; mostly with Mexican tourists. My GOD those people do NOT know how to drive here. That, and they like to park in the middle of the parking lot when they can’t find a parking space and put their emergency lights on. So annoying. I almost had an anuerism at least 10 times this weekend. To think we still have 3 more gifts to get (and 1 more for Eenan and 2 more for Jaylen) on the 23rd when Mario gets paid again. Oy.

Spent tonight making Snickerdoodles with Mary and Mom. Mary made Pan De Polvo, Mom helped roll the cookies in sugar and later Elda came by and made pecan sandies. We made little tins for the kids’ teachers tomorrow. I still have to make more cookies for us here at home (Mario and I can eat a whole batch of Snickerdoodles ourselves) and some for my classmates. It’s going to be a busy weekend.

I should REALLY get into the shower and get our clothes out for tomorrow. Eenan’s last day is tomorrow. I’m so proud of my little guy–he made the All A Honor Roll for the first time this year. He’s so thrilled.

I’m so sleepy. I don’t think I’ll be ironing tonight . I’ll hopefully update again soon. Hope being the key word.

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