it's HOT

Here's our five day forecast. . .

Thursday
104° / 76°
Clear

Friday
104° / 76°
Clear

Saturday
104° / 75°
Clear

Sunday
102° / 74°
Clear

Monday
100° / 73°
Clear

It's hot and that gets me in a bad mood. Ugh. Getting in the car my hand burns when I touch the seatbelt and the steering wheel. I turn on the air conditioner and it blows steam in my face. My face looks like a tomato. I keep thinking to myself "I live in a different climate. Heat does not affect me. I'm cold. It's freezing." (You know, trying to be mind over matter) It doesn't work too well, though. Plus, I've been mixed up in days all week. I thought today was Friday. Why can't I be off in a pool somewhere sipping lemonade?

feeling: HOT
listening to: Garbage (Bad Boyfriend)
what I should be doing instead of blogging: uh, I can't think of anything other than trying to stay cool.

birthday calculator

I just found this through Tom's site. . . .

Here's my birthday calculator. . . .

You were born on a Sunday
under the astrological sign Cancer.
Your Life path number is 5.

The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2442970.5.
The golden number for 1976 is 1.
The epact number for 1976 is -1.
The year 1976 was a leap year.

As of 6/29/2005 4:57:11 PM CDT
You are 28 years old.
You are 347 months old.
You are 1,511 weeks old.
You are 10,580 days old.
You are 253,936 hours old.
You are 15,236,217 minutes old.
You are 914,173,031 seconds old.

There are 12 days till your next birthday
on which your cake will have 29 candles on it.

Those 29 candles produce 29 BTU's,
or 7,308 calories of heat (that's only 7.3080 food Calories!) .
You can boil 3.31 US ounces of water with that many candles.

Your birthstone is Ruby
The Mystical properties of Ruby

Ruby is said to open one's heart to love.
Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewlers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)

Carnelian

Your birth tree is

Fir Tree, the Mysterious
Extraordinary taste, dignity, cultivated airs, loves anything beautiful, moody, stubborn, tends to egoism but cares for those close to it,rather modest, very ambitious, talented, industrious uncontent lover, many friends, many foes, very reliable.


There are 179 days till Christmas 2005!

The moon's phase on the day you were
born was full.


Get yours here.

my week so far

Busy reading through lots of information like this.

I feel like I'm prying, but I love reading these.

I'm loving the clothes in this catalog. I wish I had lots of money and could buy myself one of practically each!

If you want to enter this sweepstakes, tomorrow is the last day.

Oops! I guess he got his own groove back. I never saw the first movie or read the book, but I'd read/watch the sequel.

I was discussing this blog entry from Monday. I'd LOVE for people to remove their shoes when entering my house. I always do as soon as I walk in. Unfortunately, due to cultural differences, it seems most my family would be practically offended. My grandma flat out said that she wouldn't go to my house. So much for that. Here in El Paso, I've NEVER been to a house where we are asked to take our shoes off. I'd never heard of that until I went to California. Maybe if I ask nicely. . . .

I have to agree with this label.

Rodrigo's little sister got her first published article! It's in several newspapers and news channels across the country including here. Congratulations!



Have a good day!

feeling: BUSY!
watching: The Doodlebops (someone please shoot me)
what I should be doing instead of blogging:

music videos

I've noticed for the past couple of days that they've been playing music videos on MTV. Imagine that. I mean, I can watch MTV at any given time and it's always some sort of show. The only time they play videos is during TRL. To watch actual videos, I have to watch VH1.
So, I've been thinking about making a "30 Things I Want to do Before I Turn 30" list. I figured I'd make it now and have a year to work on things. Atainable things. "Stop watching MTV" was going to be on that list. I thought I was outgrowing it and frankly, that I should outgrow it already. But now. . . .there's videos again. Everytime I think I'm out, they pull me back in.
Also, when I was watching, I saw a promo for the Live 8 concert. I knew it was coming up soon, but didn't realize it was already this coming Saturday. Be sure to watch.
Anyway, have a great week. Ugh, Monday.

feeling: hmm, coffee
listening to: The White Stripes (Blue Orchid)
what I should be doing instead of blogging: eating breakfast

non-bilingual brianna

Spanish was my first language. I speak it fluently. By the time my brother was born, I was already in school and my parents were speaking English to me. My brother grew up speaking both languages at the same time and never really got a handle on Spanish. I mean, he speaks it and completely understands it but not as well as the rest of the family. When Brianna was born, I thought it was very important for her to learn Spanish and that's all I ever spoke to her. She started learning English when she was around 3 years old. From other kids, my mom and dad, from Sesame Street, you name it. By the time she started preschool, they tested her and concluded that she spoke well enough to be in an all English classroom. (Yes, here in El Paso, we have bilingual classrooms). I kind of wanted her to be in a bilingual classroom but she already knew all the English they would teach her there (colors, shapes, numbers, letters). In kindergarten, she spoke even less Spanish. I started to notice that we'd be at my grandma's (who speaks no English) and Brianna would ask me how to say words in Spanish in order to talk to my grandma. I thought it was odd since she had clearly known the words before.
Now that we also have Alec, I also only speak to him in Spanish. But, with Brianna, my nephew, their cartoons, etc. he's picked up English words. Much younger than Brianna was.
Anyway, I've noticed that Brianna just doesn't want to speak Spanish anymore. I told her that I was going to be speaking Spanish at home but she could answer in any language she wanted and she started crying. Then at Rodrigo's parents house this weekend, Rodrigo's mom offered Brianna a book. Brianna didn't want to read it because it was in Spanish. What? I don't get it. I've been explaining to her about our family and where her grandparents came from. Trying to explain how a lot of people would love to be able to speak more than one language. Asking her about her friends who speak other languages and saying how special that is. Explaining to her how important it is in a city like this. Explaining to her how I absolutely needed to speak Spanish for some of the jobs I've had. She likes to hear about when I was a flight attendant and all the time I spent in Mexico City. Still, she says she doesn't want to speak Spanish and doesn't like it. I don't know what to think. Should I just not push it and think she'll come around? I mean, if she has the opportunity to be bilingual, she should, right? I don't know how to encourage it anymore. I never went through this. Well, it was backwards. When I was little, I didn't want to speak English. So, I wonder if this too will pass. Any advice?

feeling: concerned
listening to: System of a Down (Cigaro)
what I should be doing instead of blogging: getting my clothes ready

happy birthday, the musical

I've been in stitches for the past few days whenever Rodrigo mentions this. Last week it was one of his co-worker's birthdays and there was a cake and a little office celebration. Just like any other office. I'm sure you've had those. Anyway, when he got home he was telling me that a couple of his co-workers go all out when singing "Happy Birthday". I couldn't stop laughing. He says they try really hard and was sort of imitating them. One guy supposedly tries to sing it opera style in a really deep voice. A girl tries to sing in a sexy voice Marilyn Monroe style. I thought about the places I've worked at and laughed even more because yes, there always was a person who tried to out-sing everyone. I know this is probably really corny, but I just find it hilarious. I told Rodrigo (or "Rod" as he's known at work) to never invite me to his office if it's someones birthday because I'm just going to laugh. Now I'm worried because at the bank the next birthday is going to be mine. How am I going to not laugh when they're singing to me? Maybe they'll just think I'm really happy. Plus, they're used to me laughing all the time anyway. Oh well, I'm heading there now. Have a good day!

feeling: amused
watching: Dora the Explorer
what I should be doing instead of blogging: getting Alec's diaper bag ready

sluggish

I've been feeling a little sluggish lately. Well very sluggish lately. Even when I get enough sleep, I always seem to feel tired. I know that I really need to change my diet. Chips and a coke being my breakfast, lunch, and dinner of choice. I also know that I really should do some sort of exercise once again. When I exercised regularly, I always had a lot of energy. I just don't seem to ever find the time. With the house, the kids, and working I just feel so exhausted each night. Plus, I'm having a really hard time getting up each morning. I've been looking into taking some sort of vitamin but I'm feeling overwhelmed. Other than taking "Flintstones" as a kid, I've never taken any other. Everything I read and everyone I ask seems to have a different opinion. People have told me that I should take iron or to take prenatal vitamins because of the benefits. I've read that vitamin B is really good and I'm also thinking about calcium. So, here's my question. . . Any recommendations? I mean, do you take any that are working for you? Or not taking vitamins but doing something else? Most everyone I know has a busy lifestyle, so, how do you keep from feeling tired all the time? If you do take a vitamin, is there anything that you absolutely look for? Let me know.

On a different note, happy first day of summer! I changed the template to try to match the season better. Plus, I absolutely LOVE sunflowers. Hope you like it. Here we're supposed to be "cooler" today at only 98 degrees. Ugh.

feeling: hot
listening to: Foo Fighters (In Your Honor)
what I should be doing instead of blogging: packing toys

i've never said that before

The one thing that I find myself saying to Rodrigo all the time is, "I don't think I've ever said that before". I think we missed our calling as a comedy duo or something and we're really always saying silly things. Seriously, I have no idea how many times a day I laugh. This morning he left to work and was gone for about 10 minutes when he called. I was kind of surprised since he won't call if he knows Alec is still asleep. He asked me if I could get some pants ready for him. I had a few seconds of "Pants? What? What do you mean?", then he told me that he had spilled coffee on his. I laughed but went to get some pants. When he got home I saw just where the spill was and it looked like he'd peed in his pants. Yes, of course I was laughing. He said that he was trying to mess with the MP3 player (here I rolled my eyes) and the coffee tipped over. He said he hadn't even realized it until he felt the burn. At this point I did my best Tom impression (from Tom & Jerry) wherever Tom's tail or foot is on fire and he doesn't realize it until he sniffs, then yells. I could hardly keep a straight face. Anyway, he was complaining about how the radio is really close to the radio and how he should sue the car manufacturer. I knew he was playing and as he was getting back in the car, I yelled out "Take pictures of your crotch". My first thought was "I've never said that before" then "Oops, I hope the neighbors didn't hear". Anyway, at least I know Rodrigo likes the Foo Fighters c.d. I got him.


feeling: silly
listening to: Foo Fighters (The Best of You)
what I should be doing instead of blogging: eating breakfast

Happy 2nd Birthday!

I know I'm going to be super busy this whole weekend so I'm posting this a day in advance.
Saturday is Alec's 2nd birthday! Yes, my tiny little baby is two years old now! I can't believe how quickly time has passed. I can't believe it was already two years ago since I was holding that tiny little baby. Alec was a preemie and weighed only 4 lbs. when he was born. Here is Rodrigo holding him on Alec's first day home. . .
See how tiny he was? Rodrigo's hand looks huge next to him. Here is Alec's latest picture. . .

Aww. I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact that he is now a "little boy" and not a baby. This past weekend, though, I saw him playing with kids and actually keeping up and I knew. Sniff. But he is still my baby and will always be.

Feliz cumpleanos, mi amor! Quien te quiere?

feeling: happy
listening to: Garbage (Why do you Love me)
what I should be doing instead of blogging: putting away dishes

reality tv

I often hear people talk about reality shows and ask, "Why is this on tv?" or "Who watches this?" Well, I have a confession to make. . . it's me. Yes, I love reality tv and I'm one of those who watch it. It all started back with The Real World and Road Rules. I loved those shows an insane amount. I think I've mentioned that I even kept a Real World/Road Rules journal. Last season I was addicted to American Idol and The Apprentice. I absolutely had to watch them. This season I wasn't expecting anything. I thought there wouldn't be any good shows during the summer but now I've found some I like. . .
Hell's Kitchen: I had no plans to watch this but was sucked in by the second episode. Chef Ramsey is so fantastically rude and British. How could I not watch this? The winner gets to be head chef at a new L.A. restaurant.
Dancing with the Stars: I also came across this show by accident. My mom loves ballroom dancing shows and movies. The show was on and I called my mom to let her know and she asked me if it was the show with Evander Holyfield. Evander Holyfield? Dancing? I had to watch.
Beauty & The Geek: I was just plain curious to watch this. It's alright. There is a girl who says she has an IQ of 500. So, you can imagine how brilliant the girls are. I keep watching because there is a very annoying guy I want out.
Hit me Baby One More Time: I really like this show. It's fun to see how artists look now and hear the songs again.

I can't wait to see these. . . . .
The Surreal Life 5: This will start later this summer. With people like Omarosa, Jose Canseco, and Janice Dickinson there's sure to be some good fights.
The Apprentice with Martha Stewart: (I couldn't find a home page) This won't be on until the fall schedule but I really want to see it.

I have no plans to ever watch this. . .
I Want to be a Hilton: They get enough publicity already. I wouldn't want to be a Hilton no matter what.
Rock Star INXS:
Only because I think no one can replace Michael Hutchence. I think he was INXS so the band just trying to find a new lead singer is pointless.

If you want to be on a show, try here. . .
The Amazing Race 9: I think my mom and I would do well on this show.
All the NBC shows: There's some new ones like Treasure Hunt, Three Wishes, and Made in the USA. You can also apply for favorites like Queer Eye and The Apprentice.

feeling: I can't believe I like these shows
watching: Conan O'Brien
what I should be doing instead of blogging: sleeping

digital fortress

I barely finished reading Digital Fortress today. I really liked it but hadn't had enough time to read anything lately. I couln't fall asleep last night just wanting to know what was going to happen. It is very "techy" but not so much that a non-techy like me can't understand. So, at the end of the book there's this code. . .
128-10-93-85-10-128-98-112-6-6-25-126-39-1-68-78
I first thought it was pages and checked if there were bold letters in those pages like there were in The DaVinci Code sleeve. No luck. Then I turned to those chapters. Since he mentions a "Julius Caesar" type of code breaking in the book I thought that would be it. Ceasar was supposed to have written messages in 64 letters. He split them up into 16 groups of 4 letters. Then you were to write the letters out in a box 8 letters across and 8 letters down. You wrote the from left to right then read them down and the message would appear. I figured since there were 16 numbers, I should take the first four letters of each chapter. I came up with this:

whenense
commgreg
ensewhen
huloyoub
althalth
insionem
roomthey
nowwunde

That didn't make sense. Then I tried just the first letter of each chapter and although it wasn't the entire 64 letters, it made sense

w e c g
e w h y
a a i o
r t n u

Get it? wearewatchingyou. Cute. Anyway, I made my own. Enjoy.

woon
atww
iuog
ltwa
shda
loix
haen
ymty
ivvd
gohv
neea
rroe
ganr
erut
ygie
aott

feeling: geeky
watching: The Tonight Show
what I should be doing instead of blogging: getting ready for bed

thief yvett

I stole some weenies. You might call them franks or hot dogs, but whatever you call them, I stole some. I didn't mean to and I feel like a thief. I went to the store for just a few things so I paid at the self check-out line. I scanned the weenies and the computer beeped like it had registered. Then I scanned a loaf of bread, the computer beeped but once I placed the bread in the bagging area, I got an "Unexpected item" message. I checked the screen and saw that I had already scanned the bread. I kept getting the message and I kind of laughed at how much smarter I was than the computer and removed the bread. I made sure that the cashier in charge noticed that I'd scanned the bread. I finished scanning items, paid, and left. I was already next to my car when I noticed that the weenies were not listed on the receipt. ARGH! I thought about going back in but imagined the cashier man thinking I had stolen a whole bunch of stuff and was going in to "seem honest" and throw them off. (Yes, my mind works this way). So instead, I did nothing. I left. I got home and told Rodrigo and he kind of laughed at me and told me I shouldn't worry. I'm only glad it's something I don't eat otherwise my throat would close up and I'd probably choke. Anyway, there, I confess. I am a common thief. :(

feeling: embarrassed
listening to: Nine Inch Nails (Only)
what I should be doing instead of blogging: sorting toys to give away

contract pending!

Friday evening we were told that our offer had been accepted! The only thing was that the seller was "giving his word". We know how that goes, so we weren't convinced until this morning when he actually signed the papers and faxed them over. We're really in the process now. This morning, I've been calling around to compare home inspectors as far as prices and to make sure that they inspect all the things we're requiring. Another spreadsheet.
The awesome thing is that I have this whole week off. I'm going to spend my vacation a little differently than what I had expected but I'm glad I'll get things done. I'm going to start boxing up stuff that we don't use. I figure this way I won't be doing everything in a hurry.
Anyway, let me tell you about my weekend. We went to Juarez this Saturday to my aunt's house. I'm kicking myself for not taking my camera but I thought we were just going to hang out at her house. We got to her house and she had a whole buffet style breakfast ready for us. It was DELICIOUS! We had stuff like chilaquiles, chicharrones, and food for me (because I don't eat spicy) like potatoes, beans, and juice. After breakfast we headed over to the university where my cousin attends. There was a showing of all sorts of cool courses that they offer there. Each class had their own display. There were things like cake decorating, cullinary arts, jewelry making, flower arranging, gelatin "art", and all sorts of other displays that I wouldn't know how to translate. Repujado? I don't know how to say that in English. Anyway, I fell in love with some of the stuff they had to offer. I only wish I could take some of those classes here. My aunt bought me some jewelry and I was really happy! (She loves me).
After that my aunt told us about this place where we could take the kids to play. It's called "Moyland". I've been looking like crazy for a website to show you but had no luck. When you walk in, it is an arcade, but behind it is a section for little kids. It was amazing! Here is some of the things that were there. . .
-Rides and bumper carts, of course. Along with a little mechanical bull.
-A mini grocery store complete with little kid cashiers, play money, kid size shopping carts, aisles of real groceries and a frozen section. Brianna really liked going in there to "shop".
-A mini hospital. The kids walk in and put on surgical masks and srubs then take care of dolls. There are all sorts of medical instruments, a gurnie, crutches, and a little girl receptionist. Very cute.
-A mini dairy. Here kids put on a white coat and milk a cow. The cow is not real but they really do milk it. After that they learn about the whole process from pasteurizing to actually getting the milk to the stores.
-A tiny house. It had a kitchen, living room, dining room, bedroom, and laundry room. Each room was complete with mini furniture and appliances. The kids were in there for a long time "cooking, setting the table, doing laundry" and in the end my nephew had to sweep. Ha, ha. He looked funny.
-A little Domino's pizza. You pay separately for this, but kids get to go in there, put on a uniform, make their own pizza, then the people that work there put it in the oven for them.
-A place where you get to make your own candy. You go through a process adding ingredients then get to keep the candy you make.
-A little school. This section was sponsored by Montessori and had various musical instruments, puzzles, various craft tables, crayons, and a giant abacus.
-A room where you can play lazer tag but we didn't go in there.
-Last but not least, the place where we spent the most time, a padded section with spongy, foamy toys, blocks, slides, and rocking horses. The kids take off their shoes and go crazy in there. Alec was in there for more than an hour while I took Brianna "shopping" and "riding motorcycles".
I loved that place but obviously not as much as the kids did. There is also a little radio station in there. There's a Wendy's, a Krispy Kreme, and an ice cream place. A whole section just has tables and benches and it can also be used to have birthday parties. There is a room towards the back which had all the pinatas and there is a sectioned off space where the kids hit them. I'd really consider having a party there except for that fact that it is in Juarez and I know a lot of people don't like to drive over.
Anyway, I've taken an awful long time typing this epic post and I have many more phone calls to make. It was a nice break, though. I'm not going to proof read this (as if I ever do) so forgive any errors. Have a great day.

feeling: busy
watching: America's Next Top Model
what I should be doing instead of blogging: calling inspectors

house

A little more than a month ago, we were heading to the store and there happened to be an open house about a block from here. We stopped just out of curiosity. We'd been to open houses before but since none of the houses really interested us, we didn't do anything about it. This time, though, we really liked the house. The realtor lady that was showing the house asked us if we were pre-qualified and told us what we'd have to do to start the house buying process. So, it started. The first thing we did was get qualified which was what I was excited about in the last post. After that we knew what our price range was and figured out what we wanted our payments to be. We decided that we wanted a house on this side of town, the number of rooms we wanted and all the things that we wanted to be looking for. That's what's been keeping me away from blog world for so long. Our realtor lady worked really hard for us and we did a lot of looking on our own. We've been to look at houses practically every day since. Oh, and we ended up not going anywhere on Memorial day weekend since we had several appointments. That same weekend we went to see the only house we liked on the other side of town and immediately fell in love with it. Houses on the east side of El Paso are priced a whole lot less than on the west side which is where we live. We were sooooo surprised. We thought long about the drive, about Brianna changing schools again, about moving and when we decided to finally bid on that house, someone else already had. I was really disappointed because it was the only house that I'd really loved. After that we went through a blur of houses. I'm so glad I took notes because I can't even remember which is which anymore. Rodrigo and I spent countless hours going through real estate sites, newspapers, driving around taking down phone numbers, setting up appointments with people that weren't working with realtors, calling millions of people, researching every property we saw, making spreadsheets, ugh, you name it. After a while I was willing to just give up and stay here longer. We saw another house on the eastside which was definately pretty but much smaller than what we wanted. The price was good, the house was cute, we would have to drive a lot more and change schools but we thought it was a good deal. We told the owner that we were interested and were taking my mom to show her the house (because I want her approval). That night we were at the grocery store and our realtor lady called. She told us that one of the houses that we'd first asked about was available again. The contract fell through for the buyer. We had been interested in this house but never even saw it because a contract was already pending. She asked if we could go over and we rushed over. It was after 9:00 pm when we got there and there was no light. We went around the house with our cell phones lighting the way and left the doors open trying to let some light in. Even though we saw it in the dark, we knew we loved it! It was exactly what we wanted. We'd finally found a house with the amount of space we wanted, on the side of town we wanted, and for the price we wanted. We went back to the realtor's office and wrote up a contract. This was at about 11 at night. It seemed that for any other house we'd be settling for something. I mean, the price would be good but it was too far. Or it was a little more than we wanted to pay, but it was in this area. Or it was a little too small or it needed a little too much work. I'm so glad we didn't go with a house that we only had lukewarm feelings about. It was funny because that afternoon I'd told my co-workers that I was burned out and we weren't going to see any houses that night. One of them said that one day we'd see one and just know that would be the one. Well, it happened. We went back yesterday morning and took a real look at it with daylight this time. :) You can take a look at some of the pictures here. Yesterday someone else placed an offer but it seems that ours is still better. So, they're supposed to let us know today who gets it and the rest is just paperwork and time. Anyway, so wish me luck and I'll keep you posted on the news.

feeling: nervous
listening to: Coldplay (Speed of Sound)
what I should be doing instead of blogging: ironing clothes