Category: Decorating

It was so freaking awesome to have today off! I’ve only been at the new place for 16 days and I already had a day off 😀 .

I started my 3-day weekend by having coffee with Sally and her kiddos at Moonbeans. My kiddos were at their other parents’ for the weekend and Jorge was working late, so who better than to spend my Friday evening with? It’d been a while since I’d been to Moonbeans, but was pleasantly surprised that I could order an iced coffee with HWC and Torani sugar free vanilla! I don’t think I’d been there since before they remodeled.

We chit-chatted, and caught up–I need to see this girl more often! I love hearing her stories and laughing when we get together <3.

The kiddos were becoming antsy, so we drove to Bill Shupp Park just a block away. They played around and Sally and I tried getting the perfect selfie, but we were losing daylight and the kiddos started photo-bombing us 😆 !

It got dark and we went home. Jorge called to ask if I wanted sushi and well…who am I to deny my husband some sushi?? I haven’t been 100% Keto (and you can totally tell by my complexion 🙁 ), but I keep telling myself, “Just this time and then that’s it! Back to Keto!”

But look at that! Ugh. Like, there isn’t even a way to possibly make Keto Sushi with Flamin’ Hots! (Or is there…?? I must look into this!)

After my carb-fest, I passed out on the sofa shortly after trying to watch “Riverdale”. I swear I was on Season 2, Episode 4 for WEEKS because I always fall asleep! This is a show the kids and I got into during Christmas vacation (or was it New Years?) and they’ve all gotten so much more ahead than me!

So Jorge left to work the next morning and I lazied around in bed till I was good and ready to make breakfast.

I FINALLY finished that episode of Riverdale…just to realize it was my last one! So disappointing!

So that brought an end to my lazying, unfortunately.

I started tidying up the kitchen (as much as I can; I need to really give that place an overhaul! We have so many random cups and storage containers 🙄 ) and I started watering and cleaning up my succulents.

Jorge got home from work and I made him lunch, only to get into it about money, 🙄 . Men, I swear. He left and I went about my day.

I went outside to check on my plants and realized my rescued cacti is on drugs…not sure exactly what is going on here LOL.

I filled up my pink Yeti with some Starbucks blonde roast, heavy whipping cream and Torani SF sweetener–this would serve as my “Lunch”. Then, Mom and I left to the cemetary to change out Gramma’s decorations from Valentine’s to Easter. As much as I love to decorate, I just feel…strange? Not even sure how to describe how I feel going to the cemetary. I mean I know I’m “visiting” Gramma’s body, but maybe it’s because I’m with Mom that I feel like I can’t totally just be with her and speak to her. I just miss her 🙁 .

I finished tidying up her space and we came home. I was supposed to go grocery shopping but I didn’t feel like it, so I started tidying up my closet. I love shopping (thrifting, mostly!) and my closet has just EXPLODED with clothing that I can’t put any clean clothes away sometimes, then my computer chair gets messy because that’s where I “store” them. So I got rid of a trash-bag full of clothes that I haven’t worn for over a year, and that bag will probably sit in my garage for a month before they make their way to Goodwill, heh.

I tried sticking to Keto all day, but I started festering anger in my chest about Jorge and my argument earlier (because that’s what I do) and decided to clean up the dining room table, but not before devouring the last 5 chocolates in 2 different chocolate hearts I “found”. Hey, I’m human, and that’s unfortunately how I cope: by devouring shit that’s bad for me and will make my face explode in acne.

Still, I was starting to feel hungry, so I browsed through the fridge. Hmm. Everything required cooking. I just so happened to find 1 Corona, and 1 Michelada picante mix so you know what happened after that:

No regrets. It was the best damn Michelada I’ve had in a long time! (I don’t think anything will beat the one we had at La Jaiba that one time, though!)

Anyway, I happily took my Michi with me to my desk and caught up on my blog posts. Now that only leaves about 5 more that I need to finish! FML.

Jorge started texting me around that time and never really apologized LOL, but we got to chatting about why he exploded. He was feeling run-down and underappreciated in all different ways–but I told him that’s still no reason for us to argue because I won’t hold back lol.

Made us some nice eggs and bacon. Was thrilled until my egg popped 😕 and Jorge rolled his eyes as I bitched about it 😆 . But it was still delish. Does anyone else use their bacon strips as “chips” to scoop your yolk with??

I used to have an obsession with scooping my yolk with Doritos 😆 , so this serves as a substitute.

Jorge and I caught up on a show, and then he had to go in to work. I used the time alone to go to HEB and finally do some shopping to get it over with. (I love to eat and cook but despise grocery shopping. And shelling out $200 almost every time isn’t thrilling either 😕 .) I got home and cleaned and instead of making a nice dinner, Mom treated us to Wingstop instead :D.

Robert M. came over to visit the hubs. They had a few beers outside on the porch and came in later on. We caught up on life and my new job and everything else.

We went to bed when Robert left. I didn’t know what to do the next morning: lazy around and read, go to World Market to use up my gift card, blog, or take a quick run in the morning.

I woke up today to the doorbell. My poor Alaethia had a terrible stomach ache so she stayed home. All the boys were off for President’s Day as well, so poor Emmos was officially the only one who went to school that day :(. Alaethia rested on the sofa and I made myself the best Keto Krepes, ever. I wish I had some sugar free syrup to add to them, but the last time I tried buying some, I realized it had tons of carbs still! But, I just added some Kerrygold Butter on top of these and I finished the whole thing!

Linda and I chatted a while and then I showered and Alaethia and I went to visit my peeps at the Chamber to turn in a box of supplies I still had and the Parks-n-Rec. key for the bathrooms. I got to see Rosie, Sarah (who said, “Quedate!!” Stay!! LOL), EZ, Blanca and Gerry, Beto, Anabel and the new girl they’re training to take over her place (she’d be taking Sandra’s old position). I went upstairs and saw Jorge and we chatted a while, Tom, Michelle, and I chatted with Luis, my old supervisor, for a while. I missed everyone else since it was already noon. As much as I miss my old workplace and my co-workers, upon seeing the piles of papers on my old boss’ desk, I’m kind of relieved that I don’t have to deal with that anymore 😆 . This is the “busy season” and I’m sure I’d need a Xanax or meditation by now if I were still there!!

Alaethia and I finished up at the Chamber and left for lunch. She was feeling better and the first thing she could think of eating was Taco Bell 🙄 . So I called Jorge up and we picked him up to eat lunch.

I tried getting the most Keto-friendly thing possible: a bowl. I didn’t know the bottom layer was rice, so I left it. And then it was time for Snapchat LOL.

We dropped the hubs off and then we headed to World Market, must to Alaethia’s chagrin. She wanted to be home, watching videos on YouTube 🙄 . We took our time looking around and Alaethia loved it. She especially loved the candy section 😆 . She picked some items for her and Emily and I got a mug rack, some coasters for our new nightstands, Martini glasses that were on clearance and super cheap, Torani syrup and another pump.

Jaylen had been dropped off while Mary went to pick Eenan up from school. Emmos got home and then I started chopping up my poor, overgrown bougainvillea. After almost 7 years and Jorge’s constant nagging about how ugly it is, I finally decided to start the process of chopping it down 🙁 . The poor thing has been through hell (when we moved in, it was already ugly and chopped up LOL), but the hail storm in 2012, the roofers smashing it later on and then it cracking down the middle didn’t help. Now grass has taken it over so Jaylen helped me chop it up. I swore I’d be extremely store but I was ok. I had several cuts from the thorns, but I was grateful for Jaylen, and later Eenan, for helping me drag the giant branches to the curb.

I made some Keto Zuppa Toscana for dinner and had enough for leftovers at work, woo!

And then I had some Carb Smart Ice Cream with Lilly’s Dark Chocolate Stevia Sweetened Chips (that’s a mouthful!) for dessert.

(I was sitting at my desk with all intentions of pounding out this blog post, but I get distracted and am–undoubtedly–posting this 2 weeks later 😐 .)

All-in-all, it was a great weekend. Now I’m refreshed for a great week!

It had been a hectic month and a half, what with 3 important, somewhat unexpected events at work. To think they weren’t even large expos or festivals. One was a dinner, the second one was a breakfast and those two were pretty easy. They flowed well. The last–and largest–was the most stressful. It was a 2 1/2 day event and it was my department’s duty to take care of all details (and by my department, I mean my boss and myself LOL). I asked myself daily if I’d actually be able to pull it off. We got tons of help from EZ, Bob, Michelle and Gerry–tons. I was eternally grateful. And in the end, everything worked out, THANK GOD.

The press conference at the airport started late, but it went well. Lunch at House.Wine was perfect; they do such a great job with our groups!

I’m pending a photo from the first evening’s dinner at the museum. Alexis, Michelle and Anabel took over for me and helped me so much that night. I made sure to have everything ready since they’d be taking over for me. Jorge and I had already made plans way before we learned about this event to attend the George Strait “Cowboy Rides Away” Tour. Of course I was on my phone the entire time, making sure the violinists arrived, that the crew ate, that the food was ok, that there was enough seating, etc. I really didn’t relax until George’s encore!

I was a little nervous about the concert, as we got to attend last year in San Antonio and it really wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. He didn’t sing an encore, didn’t sing very long, sang a few covers instead of his own songs and at the end, didn’t even sing “The Cowboy Rides Away! BUT. He completely redeemed himself with this one!! He did a great rendition of “Folsom Prison” with a huge gunshot blast and all, had an encore, sang “The Cowboy Rides Away” at the end and sand for almost 3 hours!! It was fantastic :).

Anyway, the most important part of the visit, the ceremony, was the next morning. After that, I headed to the office to double and triple check my RSVP list. I KNEW I was going to get some last-minute attendees, but so far, everything was okay.

After many, MANY visits to shops downtown and HEB, Gerry helped us get the gifts ready and then Michelle, Bob, EZ and I headed to Quinta to set up. After a misunderstanding (isn’t there always one??), we were ready to go.

Everything went without a hitch, thank goodness. Even after 13 extra people showed up O_O.

Since our crew didn’t get to eat, our boss took us to House.Wine for dinner. We chit-chatted, ate and had dessert. He even gave me a high five. All the weight floated off my shoulders. The last part of the event was the next morning and then, THEN I could relax.

The Cowboy Breakfast the next morning was a hit and everything went smoothly. I was so glad!! After picking up some vases we forgot at Quinta, I was FREEEE!!! I joked with Jorge that I needed to get a T-Shirt that says, “I Survived SLP Delegation Visit 2014” LOL.

I made sure to ENJOY and relax the rest of the weekend. Well, as much as I could following a 3-yr-old around and vice versa LOL.

I was awarded a gift certificate to Tony Roma’s so Jorge and I planned a date night for Wednesday. It was so odd to have a non-stressful week! But you can bet I appreciated the crap out of it!

My babies were picked up the Thursday afternoon (day of the first event/concert) by their dad and his family. They were taking them to Disney World. I tried my hardest not to text every 5 minutes to ask Mario to please take care of my children. And when I felt that I was missing them to the point that I was going to become depressed, I’d keep myself busy. Mario was nice enough to send me photos of their activities throughout the trip, and I spoke to them every single day, so that was nice and comforting.

I’d been running and eating well for 2 weeks straight (running for almost a month in total, with breaks in between)…until the Wednesday before the event, and after that my diet and exercise went down-hill :(. I keep saying I’m going to start again but Jorge and I started watching Orange is the New Black while our kids were gone so…yeah. You can say it took precedence =\.

Jorge and I finally had a date night on Wednesday. I can’t really remember the last time we had a date night. We eat lunch together often, but we’re usually accompanied, so it doesn’t really count, heh. It was nice to spend time alone together and reflect on our day and talk about ourselves and just everything. The food was pretty darn good, too.

We didn’t have dessert there. Instead we went to House.Wine just to have the Banoffee ^_^. It was a pretty great night :).

Thursday was a pretty easy day at work and I got to take Friday off. I made the most of it, cleaning a little, making myself breakfast and lunch and I finally decided I was going to plant a succulent garden! So I went to Home Depot and picked up these babies:

It was a lot of work to find the perfect pot and to get them just right in the pot, and even then I left a few spaces in the pot bald =\. But it was so satisfying to see it come together and it brought such a huge change to my patio table!

I hope they thrive! I check on them all the time and I even added new cactus soil to my old ones on my windowsill ^_^.

I’m reading up about propagating them and have a few started up already, most of which happened on their own.

Sally and I finally got a chance to meet up on Saturday :). We tried having brunch at Birdie’s but that didn’t work out very well so we ended up at Los Cazadores. We had a nice long catch-up chat; it was therapeutic!

We went to Marshall’s next and browsed and then I dropped her off and came home to be picked up by Jorge, Jr. and their cousin Joey and his wife, who are in town for a while. We went to Cheddar’s for afternoon drinks and this was the continuation of my bad eating (had scrambled yellow eggs, bacon and a pancake at Los Cazadores, then spinach artichoke dip and chips and a Maui Margarita at Cheddar’s). We shared some stories and shared some laughs, it was nice. We headed to a Vape Shop for Jorge and then we tidied up at home since everyone was coming over to watch the UFC fight. I managed to stay awake most of the time, until we ordered pizza and I crashed out on the patio sofa LOL. Poor Jr. wasn’t far away, lounging as well since he was in pain from being diagnosed with gout =\.

Father’s Day was the next day and my babies came home early that morning. They brought me some gifts <3. [caption id="attachment_2247" align="aligncenter" width="253"] Cheshire cat cup and Ariel blouse![/caption]

We all settled inside and I started making breakfast. Took Jorge some breakfast in bed and asked what he wanted to do. He said: nothing. Just stay home and relax and do nothing. We obliged :). Well, until we had to go get a few groceries LOL.

We had the traditional botana from Espi’s and watched movies with the kids. It was a really low-key day, just like he wanted :).

We had a lunch date yesterday at Kumori. We hadn’t been there in a LONG time!! I missed the miso soup and the jalapeño firecracker. MMMmmm.

We took my truck in to the shop since the air conditioning in the back of the truck stopped working so I picked my love up after work. We did some MORE grocery shopping and we got home to find out poor Emmos didn’t feel well. Needless to say, she had a terrible fever around midnight and I had her sleep with us since fevers at night terrify me. That’s always when they get so much worse. So I held her and gave her medicine and water and took her to pee and refreshed the washcloth on her forehead. We woke up, took Jorge to work and I took her to the doctor. She had a throat infection and the ear infection started as soon as we got home. Since I was already in the office, I got another cholesterol lab done. I was hoping I’d be eating well and exercising–the way I had originally planned so I could get off the pill completely, but I ate like crap all weekend =\. I wouldn’t doubt I still have to be on the darn thing :*(.

My Emmos had fever on and off all day, but she was in good spirits and I’m hoping the fever finally subsided. The only bad thing is, now she’s really feeling the sore throat. I cleaned up since I was home and the boys helped me with the lawn. Made dinner and now I’m beat and ready for bed. Hoping for a much better day all around tomorrow :).

Ever since my “big” events finished and all we had to worry about for the week was entertaining a delegation from Irapuato, I’ve been feeling a little more at ease, a little less stressed-out, thank goodness. It was about time, heh.

That’s given me more time to browse through eBay after I’ve tended to the girls and put them to bed. I recently got lucky on a few auctions. I get the “collecting” bug about once a year, and this is about the time it happened last year, too :P.

I was stalking a seller from California, who seemed to be selling her entire collection of 80’s plushes. She had all the UK Care Bears and the rare UK Popples. I scored the Chef Popple, which I’ve wanted for YEARS, and my very first UK Care Bear: Sea Friend Bear ^_^, both for amazing prices!

I also scored a few Yum Yums. I hardly collected these since they’re always so expensive. I bought the bunny around 2003 or so, then found Peppermint Kitty around 2008ish and hadn’t bought them since. I still kick myself in the butt for not taking the chance to buy Chuckle Chip Bear back during the All-City Garage Sale days, for $4. I didn’t buy him because he was kind of floppy and dirty, but now that I only see him for $40+, I regret not getting him =\. I am thrilled, however, that I found Lucky Lemon Lion and Goody Gumdrops Mouse for under $20 each! I also finally made my Yum Yums their own page after all these years!

I also got some Fluppy Dog hats. I think they’re the Fluppy Puppy hats. I’m confused as to whether those are the hats they came with or you had to buy them separately back then? Who knows. I only got them because they were a steal, heh.

Anyway, I spent time with the girls as much as I could Monday and Tuesday, because Wednesday and Thursday I knew I’d be working late. It isn’t often that I do work late, but the girls fall apart when I do have to, no joke. They did much better this time, but I still can’t help but feel guilty =\.

Alaethia, Emily and Jaylen had Open House at their schools on Tuesday evening. Their dad joined us. First to the girls’ school, where they had great things to say about both. It was a quick visit with Emily’s teacher. We reminisced about how fast time flies since it’s been 2 years since he was Alaethia’s teacher, too.

We went to Jay’s school next and his teachers all had great things to say about him, too. Well, I can’t say “all” because there were a couple we didn’t see. I got to see Norma and we chit-chatted a bit. She told me Jaylen’s math teacher is a little on the mean side and we figured that was why he was having trouble asking about this darn science project he has in his Pre-AP class. But when we started talking with the teacher we joked around with him and got all the info we needed about the project. We did some already, now that he’s on Spring Break, so I’m hoping his father will help with the last few things he’s missing. He says he forgot that part at the house, so we’ll see.

The delegation had 2 gentlemen that had joined us before back in 2012. We took them on the tour back then, too. 3 new gentlemen joined this time.

We had breakfast at the Country Club the first morning (yellow-egg ham & cheese omelets–which I shouldn’t have had =\), where I had to leave abruptly and join Laura at Latina Hope, the program we’re spearheading, along with Eduardo. We were teaching a jewelry-making class and Mrs. Thelma was teaching wreath-making. We joined her class the first session and I have to say, I am in love. Like I need another hobby!

I made this burlap wreath for Dina :). I had originally wanted to make it in the shape of an actual sunflower, but I couldn’t find yellow mesh at all when I went. Must be because of Easter.

I met the group back at the Rotary Club, where there was a very informative presentation about Quinta Mazatlan. We had lunch, then headed to the school district’s Central Office where we had another informative meeting. I love being “in the loop” heh.

We had dinner at House.Wine. after that. I had THEE BEST salmon pasta with garlic caper sauce. I wish I had that recipe!

(I just got hungry again.)

It was a fantastic evening. The live music was great and the men kept us laughing all night with their jokes. They’re so down to earth!

The next morning Jessica helped me get ready for a breakfast I had put together at the Incubator. Koko’s was catering, there was Shipley’s coffee and the breakfast was in the gallery with a few of the artists, the delegation and some of the committee. I’m glad Jessica was there to help me and eat breakfast with me. (Also: hardly anything I ate those 2 days were things on my low-cholesterol menu. Oops.)

We had a tour at the STC medical building, lunch at the Spanish Room with Eduardo, and then a meeting at MEDC. And then we said our goodbyes and my boss and I headed to the office where he needed to finalize some things for a trip they were having the next day and I had work bills to pay. I also had to turn in my absence sheet because I promised the girls I’d take some days off to spend with them during Spring Break. I had been feeling really overwhelmed and stressed about work, I really couldn’t even tell you why, but I really do enjoy what I do ^_^.

We went to Eenan’s Open House next. He was extremely nervous about it, as he ended up with a 33 in his Spanish class. Yes. A 33. I was upset at first, but I kept calm and didn’t explode, especially because I could see just how afraid he was. I also couldn’t be too mad about it because his core-subject teachers spoke the world about him and he had great grades. I applaud him considering he’s also in Pre-AP classes. So we spoke to the Spanish teacher, and him, and hopefully he’ll do better this semester. I’m sure he will :).

We went to his counselor’s office to get access to his grades from home. On the way back home we had a deep conversation about religion and beliefs. About how his dad is an atheist (he has been since we met in high school, although around 2010 when he served me with divorce papers and wanted people’s attention and pity, he was as holy and Catholic as they come, posting verses and whatnot on Facebook, grrr) and it bothers Eenan that he insults people’s beliefs. We talked about our own beliefs. Then we got further into religion and…hypocrites. I’m glad I can have these conversations with them. I hope they can always talk with me freely about anything that’s on their minds.

Jessica and I went to the City Health Fair on Friday morning, after we were done with all our morning work. I wanted a second opinion, I guess you can say, about my cholesterol, but considering my diet the 2 previous days, I don’t think it’ll make much of a difference :(. I did get my BMI done and it says I have 6 lbs. to lose to be at my ideal weight for my height. I’ll take it, ’cause I seriously thought it was more >_<. Dina, Briana and the kids came down to visit starting Friday evening, which means we went into turbo-cleaning mode, heh, and we put up some wall decor we'd been putting off. (And by "we", I mean Jorge :p). [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Wall stuffs ^_^"][/caption]

Javi came over, too, and we all sat around with the kids and spent time together and laughed and used our electronics. It’s always great having them over.

Dina took the boys to the movies on Saturday morning. Of course my teenager chose to stay home LOL. While they were out, Emily and I went to get groceries and then all us girls went to Fantasyland Skate Center for a party Briana had invited us to. Needless to say, the girls were all terrified, poor things. They only went around the rink once and said NO MORE.

We had a good time anyway.

We chilled out the rest of the evening. Once the kiddos had all passed out we enjoyed some wine my love bought for us. It’s some Diva brand, I think, and it was a pineapple-coconut moscato. OMG. It was heaven.

I woke up and made wheat pancakes for everyone.

They were so tasty. I’m so glad there are some leftover, heh.

We spent the day lazying around with the kids and then Dina, Briana and the kids left. We lazied some more and it’s such a relief to know neither the kids nor I have to go anywhere tomorrow. Unfortunately my love works tomorrow :(, but I plan to be a good girl and clean the house and spend time with the kiddos. I’ve been waiting for this downtime all year! 😀