Tours & BBQs

Sunday, April 22nd – Sunday is our cleaning/gardening/projects day but I’m really not sure at all what we did that day, heh. Ok, lemme see. I know I cleaned the house most of the day and juuuuust as I was about to sit and rest, the girls asked if NOW could we please make the Kool-Aid Play Doh?? I couldn’t deny them the Play Doh; they’d been patiently waiting as I’d cleaned.

We went to the kitchen and got all the ingredients out. The girls made grape and cherry scented Doh. It was super easy and much less messy than when we made the food coloring doh. AND they smelled great!

Justin and Jaylen were next. We’re pouring all the dry ingredients in and we realize we’re almost out of cream of tartar. I don’t want to go to HEB but I know we have to. Emily joins me and the other kiddos stay with Mom. The trip is quick and Emily didn’t have a small meltdown when I rejected several things she tried tossing in the cart, which is always wonderful!

We get back and the boys all make their scented Play Dohs. I know they probably won’t ever play with them again after that one time (because they only played with the 1st ones they made once LOL) but I love doing these little projects with them :). Here’s the video if you’d like to try this with your little ones :).

Monday, April 23rd – It was an early morning for all of us. I got ready, got the boys up early and we were out the door with plenty of time. Eenan and I talked a while and then they both passed out for about 15 minutes, my poor dudes. It always makes me so sad, having to drop them off and knowing I won’t see them for a week. I have to try my hardest to hold it together when I drop Jaylen off and he keeps looking back, smiling his little half-smile at me. When he finally gets to the door he blows me a kiss–discreetly, of course, as he is in 4th grade–and I blow him one back. It’s the worst feeling, ever, watching them walk away .

I drove back over here and went to work. My love called me when he was about drop off Aly for me and I wished her a good day. I only see her briefly on Monday mornings as I’m leaving. It’s too early for her to wake up when I’m going to drop the boys off. So Mom gets her ready for school and gives her breakfast and Jorge drops her off. Thank God for them both!

We had our meeting, and then I had my coffee and Special K bar at my desk while I got situated. My love had enough time to stop by Starbucks after dropping off his boys and then Alaethia, and since I’d already had coffee he brought me a passion tea.

OMG. Made my morning :). He also stopped by the bank to deposit and take care of a discrepancy. We found out on Thursday of the week before that 4 charges had been posted to our account from NEW YORK!! So he went in to fight it and we got the money back, thank goodness :). He’s the best ♥ :)!

I picked up Aly from school, ate with the girlies and went back to work. I had lots of stuff to follow up on, since that week was when we had a group of dignitaries visiting from Irapuato and we’d be taking them on a tour Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Thankfully my love would be picking Aly up from school for me on those days; huge weight off my shoulders.

I was so glad to be home from work. Mom had already given the girls dinner since they said they were “starving” (and she said they couldn’t have PB&J sandwiches until they ate dinner LOL). We were outside for a bit, watched their shows and then they had their sandwich :).

How cute are those crossed legs?!

Since I’d be working late all weekend my love and I decided to have our date night that night at Chili’s. I got the girls in the bath and Mom stayed with them while they played while I changed. I called at 8:30pm to check up on them and Mom said that they were out like lights!

We used a coupon and got a great deal on a 3 course meal, plus Margaritas!

It was great. We chatted, and gossiped and ate to our hearts’ content. We were home early and got to catch up on one of our shows :). I love this man. I love the time we spend together :). I was really going to miss him and the kiddos during the weekend :(. It was definitely going to be a looooong week.

Tuesday, April 24th – We tied up loose ends the next day at work regarding all the touring sites for the next 3 days: confirming all meals, all presentations, picking up the company Escape we’d be using. It seemed pretty seamless!

Including the tours of the city, we have 2 other events we’re preparing for at the same time; it’s getting pretty crazy! My boss and I went to Feldman’s at the end of the day to buy chocolates for some goodie bags we were putting together for the dignitaries. I got everything together that we’d need and put everything in my bag so I wouldn’t forget it.

I got home, made dinner, had dinner with my loves, called my boys, and then Jorge and I went to Walmart to get a few things since I’d be busy the rest of the week. Mom was awesome and bathed the girls for me and I put them to bed when we got back. Stories, hugs and kissies: our nightly ritual. I’m pretty sure I crashed out immediately after that.

Wednesday, April 25th – I dropped Aly off at school and got to work with plenty of time. We packed the Escape with everything we’d need and went to the hotel to meet the dignitaries. We’d met one of the gentlemen before, at our Centennial event last year. His wife was too cute; they’re an older couple. The other 5 visitors were men and one of the men’s 20-some year old daughter, who was an interior designer.

Our first stop was the opening speech with the Mayor and a special breakfast at House.Wine. Larry, the chef, made us some eggs Benedict and fruit. Everything was delicious!

On the way to our next stop I receive an email from Gerry. It was Administrative Assistant’s Day and she was asking who all was going to go along for the luncheon our boss was taking us to at the Country Club. I tell my boss, “Aww. I won’t get to eat with the girls.” And he says, “Think of it this way: you’re having a 3-day celebration. You’ve having breakfast, lunch and dinner.” Well. He did have a point LOL.

We toured the Abasto Corporation. It wasn’t the most exhilarating info but I was interested to learn that there are some companies housed there that sell individual things, like Mexican candy and fruits and veggies, which is awesome since we can’t go to Mexico anymore (well, we could, but I wouldn’t want to). We MUST go back, hehe.

We finished with the tour and, man, was I glad to. I was wearing a dress and wedges and my feet were already killing me and I was tired of holding my dress down because of the wind .

AC provided lunch. I don’t know where it was from but it was a chicken with gravy, mashed potatoes and some kind of cilantro pesto pasta. OMG, it’s so good. I MUST find that recipe!

It was time for the tour of the Fire Department and Emergency Operations Center afterwards; very informative. I’m just sad I didn’t get a photo on a fire truck bwahaha.

It was SO HOT that afternoon and some of the tour was outdoors. It was pretty cool learning about the different types of trucks and what they do. We even found out they have jetskis and ATVs for emergencies.

Everyone had snacks but I just had some coffee. Our break was next so my boss dropped me off at the office where I picked up our camera charger (I was going crazy with the photos) and I noticed two red roses and Godiva chocolates on my desk from our boss. Aw :*).

I found a vase and put my roses in it, got everything else I needed and came home to shower really quickly. I gave the girls a chocolate each, gave them hugs and kissies and then drove to the next stop, which was a dinner party at a private house. It’s such a beautiful place. It’s got a great patio, lights in the trees, lovely music, a nice pool; the ambiance is just wonderful. I want to get our backyard to be just like that, sans pool .

I sat talking with the ladies (some of whom are on one of my committees), sharing stories. The older lady, who’d been carpooling with my boss and I all day, shared stories about her life and asked me about my kiddos and family. When I told her how many kids I had she said, “Madre Santa!! Nunca me lo hubiera imaginado!” (“Holy Mother! I never would have imagined!”) She’s just so sweet, and funny! I’m intrigued by everything she says and all she’s been able to do in her life. She told me that whenever we had a chance to visit Irapuato, we had a place to stay and they’d take us around to get to know the city. Wouldn’t that just be awesome?!

Palenque Grill catered. They served this amazing shrimp in some type of buttery, cheesy sauce. I ate all of it. My healthy eating and 6 lb. weight-loss was sure to have been ruined by now! And I’d been doing so well *sigh*.

I excused myself around 10pm; everyone else stayed an hour or two later. When I got home, the girlies were, of course, asleep. I kissed them and got a run-down of the evening from Mom. I went out to the garage where Tony was hanging out with my love. Jorge already had a pomegranate Margarita waiting for me ♥ I love him! I drank it and went straight to bed probably not even 10 minutes later, heh. I was exhausted!!

Thursday, April 26th

The morning was much like the previous: breakfast for Alaethia & dropping her off, getting our stuff together and picking up the dignitaries at the hotel. Our first stop was our gorgeous new public library. We got a tour of the entire thing. I’d been there for the Grand Opening, and had taken the girls a few times, but we kinda just hung around the kids’ room and bookstore. I need to take Eenan to the Teen Room; they have tons of anime and books he’d like :).

We had breakfast and the iPad presentation in one of the glass-walled meeting rooms. They’d invited 2 elementary classes, 1st and 3rd grade, to show us how they incorporate their iPads (provided to almost every student in the district) into all their assignments. It was pretty impressive. I’m almost tempted to move Alaethia this coming year, as our district has open enrollment. I need to get more info.

Our next stop was the Museum, where they had a presentation on this big 3-D “world”, showing us weather patterns from the past few years and months. It’s amazing how it’s done with 4 projectors on this huge white sphere. We also got to visit all the exhibits, including “Robots + Us” and “Fast Forward” by Colin Christian. I took photos of the dignitaries playing with all the Robots games and experiments. And I took TONS of shots of Colin Christian’s sculptures; they were AWESOME!!!

Size comparison:

These are all made of fiberglass, and painted much in the same style as one would a low-rider. The artist’s studio is actually IN a low-rider garage! He was so intrigued by low-rider art that he started sculpting these. I thought that was pretty interesting!

We sat down to lunch, courtesy of the museum:

We viewed a few more exhibits, took group photos and then we made our way to the Economic Development building. I was getting INCREDIBLY sleepy, what with the food, the sun coming in through the windows and the air conditioning. I became even sleepier when they were discussing Visas and whatnot. I had to excuse myself and go to the lady’s room, because I totally nodded off. How embarrassing!

When that was finally over, we made our way to the Convention Center to show them the building. While we were talking in the main lobby, they presented me with a little flag, some candied strawberries from Irapuato and a pin :).

We wrapped up and my boss dropped me off at work again so I could come home, shower and change. Our lives would be much easier had they worked a shower into the plans when they built the building!!

I spent a little bit with the girls, who were excitedly running around “helping” me get dressed, heh. Gosh I missed them! Even moreso because Mario would be picking them up that evening since it was his weekend .

I met the group at their hotel and we all took off in the company car to Frida’s Grill & Cantina, where we were having dinner.

I was busy taking photos of the exchange of gifts between the Mayor and the president of Sister Cities and making conversation with our guests that I didn’t get to eat very well, but I ate nonetheless. I do, however, wish I’d been able to eat more of my cheesecake before we had to leave!

We headed to the Michael Callas opera right after that. I really enjoyed it, and so did our visitors. They kept poking fun at one of the men who fell asleep through the whole thing LOL.

It took us a while to get out of that one, since the group wanted photos with the singer (and guess who had the honor of chasing after him to accomplish that LOL) and then the older man found a long-lost relative and we would walk about 2 feet and he’d step back 1. It was funny; his wife kept rolling her eyes and saying stuff like, “OMG, we’re never gonna leave” LOL.

When we finally did get in our vehicles, the group told us they wanted to go have drinks, probably Downtown. I told my boss I was exhausted and would go home. It was already 10:40pm! Plus I missed my Babe a lot! So home I went, and cuddled with my love before crashing out.

Friday, April 27th

The next morning, we started out at South Texas College’s technical campus. We had breakfast, provided by them. I was sure I’d gained all 6 pounds back! Never had I had such a FULL breakfast, lunch and dinner for 3 days in a row!
We toured and they told us about the programs they offer. We head over to the nursing campus after that and I get a call from Michelle that I needed to move my van from the south-side parking lot to the west-side. Grrr. It was 11am. They wanted it moved by 12 because the BBQ teams were already setting up for our 1st annual BBQ Cook-off the next day. There was no way I could move it before then. My chipper mood quickly diminished. I explained to my boss and he said not to worry: he would arrive with the dignitaries at Poncho’s for lunch, I would take the company car to work to move my van and then go back. I did just that. I felt awkward arrive late to the restaurant and practically had to shovel in my food, but got to eat a little. We chit-chatted, took more photos and then we headed to the police department.

We got to see the CSI/evidence room (literally, just SEE it. We werent’ allowed in there, of course LOL), dispatch, a K-9 doggie; just about everything. We were even encouraged to take photos on their police motorcycle!

We received little tokens everywhere we went. The police station gave us genuine pins and the little black leather flip-books they use to jot down info :).

We breaked, I went home to change, and back to the office, where we were having a Good-bye BBQ dinner for the dignitaries.

Everything seemed to be running smoothly, but then Wally realized the brisket wouldn’t be done on time. They sent someone to go get some at Lonestar BBQ and all was well, thank goodness. I entertained, chatting with the guests and at the same time I kept running back and forth to my laptop, which was burning a CD of the 350+ photos I took! They wanted them all LOL.

We had a small good-bye speech and I was humbled by the little old lady, who said thank you to my bosses, but that I was a great host as well. Awww!

We ate and I invited Jorge to go eat with us, per my boss’ ok. He took forever to get there since he came home to shower and change, but he arrived before some of the guests left. I introduced him to the lady and she said, in Spanish, “You must be a good boy because she loves you. She’s a wonderful person.” I looked up at him as he said, “I know she is”. She said, “Take care of her. Treat her like a little doll; like a Barbie, who has brown hair.” She was the sweetest thing!! I wanted her to be my 2nd grandma!!!

We wrapped things up, our guests left, we made extra plates since we had food leftover (LOL) and then we cleaned up (while Jorge ate). We went home, dropped Mom’s plate off and since the night was young and it was just my love and I, we went to Longhorn Steakhouse to have some drinks. I’d been wanting a Watermelon Margarita for MONTHS, and my babe got me one :).

We finished up our drinks at the bar and then we met Tony and Rudy at Hillbilly’s. I hadn’t been there in a long time. We chatted, watched a rather unflattering group dance (I told Jorge if I ever weighed 300 pounds and decided to go up there to dance in a mini skirt and tiny tank top when I was drunk off my butt, he best drag me back and give me a scolding! He said “You’ll never weigh 300 pounds, trust me” LOL!), and then we came home. All-in-all, it was a great night. It was nice to get out for once :).

Saturday, April 28th

My love had to work the next morning, but I tried sleeping in a bit. It was shortlived, as the insurance adjusters were knocking at the door at 8am to evaluate the damage from the hail storm. I watered my Petunias when they left, and was pleasantly surprised to see that my little fuchsia-colored Petunia had made a come-back!

I made myself some breakfast: eggwhites with chopped turkey slices, a little bit of Colby jack cheese, & spicy garlic sauce, of course. Oh, and a slice of wheat toast with cinnamon honey butter. OMG, it was great!

I showered and got ready for a Saturday at work. It was our 1st annual BBQ Cook-off, so we all hoped it would go well. We had a MUCH better turn-out than we’d anticipated and it was just fun :).

I was at the drinks booth first, then at the Beer Garden. My love got to have a few beers and some food when he got out of work. The awards were announced, we cleaned up, took a group pic and then we were out of there. It was fun!

I called my kiddos, who were just chilling at Mario’s house. Jorge and I were kid-less and had nothing to do. I told him, “Let’s be spontaneous and just go to the beach, or somewhere. You’re always saying I need to stop planning stuff.” He thinks about it and says, “How about next week we make reservations at a hotel, get everything ready for a picnic with the kids, and done, planned!” I just stare at him and he stares at me and says, “Oh my God. I’m planning stuff?? I got old!” LOL

We ended up chilling out here, buying stuff from the ice cream truck and enjoying the breeze outside. His boys were dropped off here later and we all just chilled out. I was so glad that that hectic week was over. Now I just had to mentally prepare myself for the next month to come!