my mom the dancer

I called my mom this afternoon. It rang about six times before anyone answered, which is odd.

my dad: hello?
me: were you busy?
dad: I was outside
me: oh, sorry. can I talk to mom? (yes, I asked "can" instead of "may")
dad: she's at ballroom dancing
me: BALLROOM DANCING?!?
I was at a loss for words and I just sort of, well, laughed.
dad: yes
me: did she try taking you?
dad: ni me recuerdes. me estuvo diciendo toda la semana (don't even remind me. she was telling me all week)
me: ok, well tell her I called please

I told Rodrigo, "Just wait. My mom is going to call me the second she gets home to tell me all about it and try to convince us to go".
The phone rang about an hour and a half later

my mom: did you call me?
me: yes
mom: I just got back from a ballroom dancing seminar and it was soooooo good. I got a certificate! It was five hours long since we had an hour off for lunch. There was a different instructor every hour with a different type of dance and you know, its not as easy as it looks.
me: I never really thought it looked easy
mom: well its not. my favorite was the salsa. you know, all the instructors have their studios on the west side. you and Rodrigo should go since its close to you guys.
me: I don't think Rodrigo would like that
mom: why? doesn't he dance? doesn't he like to dance?
me: well, we'll dance if we're at a club or a wedding or something but we're not exactly waltzing around
mom: well, you probably haven't taught him. if he needs me to teach him, I will
me: (thinking, "Oy vey") uh, thanks mom.
She went on and on about the seminar for about another 75 hours. Apparently, they disected all of Drew Lachey's dances on video and are conviced that dispite his shoulder problems, he should win. Drew will be glad to know he has my mom's approval.

feeling: my mom never seizes to entertain me
listening to: Avenged Sevenfold (Bat Country) <-- not exactly ballroom

eggshells

I only learned a few years ago that not everyone collects eggshells for Easter. My friend was surprised when I was telling her about it and told me that they just had hard boiled eggs to dye. I was shocked. EVEYRONE here does it and she's only from Marfa. That's not so far away. So, I figured I'd post about this so you all can have enough time to save some shells if you'd like. You take the egg and try to crack only the tip. Use the egg for whatever you're going to cook then rinse out the shell. Save all the shells in an egg carton. Try to get as many as you can. Close to Easter, dye the eggs like you normally would and set them to dry. Once dry you fill them with confetti, place a little bit of tissue paper over the hole and tape it up. Hide the eggs like you normally would. The part I like best about each Easter is cracking the eggshells on each other's heads. All the kids and adults get hit at least once. Of course the more eggs you save the better. Oh, and you do end up with a huge mess and confetti stuck in your hair but it is so much fun.




feeling: I really started late saving the shells this year
listening to: The Sundays (Wild Horses)

we keep getting screwed

Well, we keep getting screwed. The furniture store that I was telling you about gave us the wrong screws. First, they didn't know which ones were the ones that belonged to the stools we bought. We had to scan the instruction manual and email it to them. Then, after almost a week they said they'd found them and I went to pick them up. I guess I should've checked to make sure they were the right ones, but I didn't think of that. When Rodrigo was going to assemble the stools, we noticed that they were the wrong ones. They are not the quantities that we need and all different colors. They gave us some gold, some silver and some black screws. I realize that we could just go to a home improvement store and buy the stupid screws but I just don't think that it is too much to ask for the pieces of furniture you buy to come with the corresponding screws. That's just me. The way I see it, that should be a given. So we were just absolutely fed up. FED UP. Rodrigo called the guy again and told him to just take the stools off the order and we'll take them back. I think this guy hates us as much as we hate him by now and he told Rodrigo to just take the stools in and they would assemble them for us. Well, yeah. They were supposed to be assembled in the first place. Then the guy seemed frustrated because Rodrigo told him that he wanted the stools with the screws that belong to it (meaning not three different colors) So, really, local buddies, a word of advice. . . . stay away from OSGO furniture. I'd link you to their website but I don't want to give them any traffic. Oh, and they misspelled "CUSTOMERS" in their website. It reads "cutomers". Nice.
As if all this weren't enough, salesguy asked Rodrigo if he'd received his income tax refund yet so that we could go buy some more furniture. Uh, that's soooo not going to happen.
So, everything said, the thing I think is the most sad is how I'm not surprised by any of this. Its like I've come to expect bad customer service. It is so surprising and such a nice change when I get good service. The only person who I know has gone way out of her way was our realtor. Of course, she got the commision but she spent so much time with us. She was with us late hours and weekends looking at about a million houses. But now we tell people about her and two more sales have gone to her from us. I don't understand how people don't know that word of mouth is so important. Especially to a local business. Ok, enough of my ranting. . .

feeling: frustrated
watching: The Olympics
(yeah, I'm going to start posting these again)

rodrigo screws

We'd been having some problems with a furniture store. Towards the beginning of January, we placed an order for a loveseat and two stools. We were told it would be about 2 weeks since we were having them made. Less than two weeks passed and they called us to say that the items were ready. We went to get them and we were told no one knew who'd called us and there was nothing ready. So, I mentioned it to my co-workers and it turns out that other people have had trouble with orders from this same place. They took 5 months to get one of my friend's couches to him. Then we found out that Rodrigo's parents had waited 4 months for an order before finally cancelling. After this we were, of course, worried. We received about three more calls saying that our things were ready when they really weren't. Finally, Rodrigo told them to cancel the order and pretty much had to argue with the sales guy. We ended up not cancelling and getting free delivery. :P They delivered the items on Valentine's Day. The stools, though, were not assembled. When Rodrigo came home and was trying to assemble them, we noticed that there were no screws. We called them back the next day and had been getting the run-around for about a week. They were in the warehouse, no they weren't, yes they were, they were going to bring them to us, no they weren't, yes they were. We finally received a call today saying that they'd found them and we could go pick them up. I was in the area and went over to get them. I nearly laughed in the guy's face when he handed me an envelope that read "Rodrigo R. screws". Too funny. I called Rodrigo to let him know that word was getting around and he's going to end up with a bad rep. Here's the pic. Yes, I blurred out Rodrigo's last name. . .

my jacket

That is the jacket that I was wearing yesterday for a while. I know its a guy in the picture, but that is the exact same jacket. We went to my mom's house for dinner and when they saw my jacket everyone was saying things. It sounded like "England? Boo! Why that team?" all talking at the same time. You'd think I was part of the British soccer team because my mom started telling me that England was not even going to be in the quarter finals and all sorts of other stuff. We'll see. My brother and his girlfriend were also bashing England. It's funny because we're not overall a sports talking family except for the World Cup. Anyway, I think the jacket is really cute and they should get used to seeing me in it. Besides, its not even official FIFA gear.
So, I'm thinking of starting a World Cup blog because none of you that come here are used to reading about any sort of sports on here. I never write about that. I get soccer crazy, and it is highly unusual from the way I normally am. Not that I turn into some hooligan, but I talk about soccer a lot. Last world cup, I kept a journal of all the teams, the matches, and winners. Pathetic. During the 1998 world cup, I was a flight attendant and was out a lot of the time. I missed a lot of matches live. So, let me show you this year's mascot and I'll try not to write anything soccer related for a while. Everyone, meet Goleo VI. . . .

olympic medals

Have you been watching the Torino olympics? I've been sort of watching. I like the summer olympics more. Anyway, what I wanted to know is about the medals. Is this the first time that the medals look like this? I saw one on tv and I thought the athlete had a cd or a dvd hanging around his neck. They're kind of weird. I can't find a picture. Here is a picture of the ones that I'm used to seeing.




Oh! I just found a picture. These are the ones they're giving in Torino.



So, does anyone know anything about this? Why are they like this? Was it some designer or does it have some sort of meaning? I'm just curious but I haven't heard anything about it.

I wonder if the summer games will have the same kind of medal. Do they change by location? On a totally seperate note, the one sporting event that I am REALLY looking forward to is the soccer World Cup. YAY! Oh, and they're in Germany this time. I had a hard time when they were in Japan. I had to get up at 2 or 4 am to watch a live match. I'm already getting soccer fever. I can't wait!

is it cold in here. . . . . .

. . . . . or is it all the ice I'm wearing? :P Isn't that corny? I'd heard it and had to use it today. Here is the ice I'm talking about. My Valentine's Day gifts from Rodrigo are here. . . .

I absolutely *LOVE* this pendant. I've wanted one of these for the longest time and it's all mine now.
I also got another gift. This is the one that got us sick.

They got me a new car stereo. Rodrigo has told me the features but all I know is that it sounds nice and I can plug my iPod right into it.
As if that weren't enough, yesterday our new love seat was delivered! Yay! The colors are technically "camel" with "camel & chocolate" pillows. Really it's tan and brown. Our den is looking more complete now.

Brianna received about 10 million Valentines at school yesterday. I swear the parents at this school are like in competition to outdo each other. It seems that just sending the little card is not enough anymore. Brianna gave out the cards and some lollipops but a lot of other kids gave out cards with candy attached in a bag with more candy, a pencil, and erasers. She received about 5 of those little bags. Also bags of cookies, lip gloss, stickers and of course cupcakes. One mom actually showed up at the classroom and gave a cupcake workshop where all the kids got to decorate their own. Yikes, I have to quit my job to go out-mom them. :P
Hope you all had a good day!

my weekend

This weekend was pretty uneventful. Rodrigo and I got sick YET AGAIN. We're better now but my nose is all peeled and red. Ugh.
I worked on Saturday for a while then we all went to have a late lunch at Nothing but Noodles. (Yes, we live there) While I was at work, Rodrigo and the kids went out to buy one of my Valentine's day gifts. I know what it is but I'm not sharing until tomorrow. This same gift is what got us sick. That same afternoon, Rodrigo was messing with it (big hint) and it turned out to take longer than he had anticipated. It was supposed to take half an hour but it turned into 4 hours. He finally asked me to go hold a flashlight for him and that did it. We were both out in the cold for a while and we started sneezing. Yesterday we took turns napping. The kids were surprisingly good yesterday. I felt like we were babysitting them yesterday since we didn't want to get too close to them for long and with our cold medicine, Rodrigo and I were in sort of a daze all day.
Today, I've already had drama. We received information at the bank I work at saying that we needed to give out a new routing number. It was an important memo and I used this same routing number for my income tax refund. Well, I'd been waiting and now I find out that the routing number that we were given (that we've giving to clients) is one for New York accounts. I was sooooooooo mad. So, I had to have a bank manager type out a letter for me stating that I'm not a moron and really do have an account there. I had to fax that along with a copy of my i.d., my ss #, my phone number, a voided check, my first born, a pound of flesh and a bottle of blood in order for them to correct the error. Have I mentioned that I work here?!?! I can't believe it. Don't you hate it when your same company gives out conflicting information? One person says one thing, another says another thing and in the end everyone is messed up. Oh, well. I was just at work with Alec and I have to go back (by myself and to really work this time) in a while. I just hope that everything is fixed. Take care, all.

my heritage

I just found this not too long ago. Take a look at this page. I tried it with several different pictures but only on the celebrity database. According to this, I look like Irene Cara and Ayumi Hamasaki.












Hmmm... I look like them? I'm hearing a yes here. So, I tried it with a whole bunch of pictures I have. Not just of me, of course. Try it and let me know who you look like!

grammys and update

I usually don't watch the Grammys. If I do, I end up disappointed. Wow, it's been good so far this year, though. I saw Madonna and Gorillaz, Coldplay, *U2* and now Paul McCartney! Singing "Helter Skelter", no less! I am pleasantly surprised. Oh, and since I'm a huge crybaby, I already cried. At Kelly Clarkson's acceptance speech, can you imagine? I'm not even a big fan but she was crying and, well, you know the rest. . . .


Now for an update on Brianna's science fair that was causing so much drama. She won the sweepstakes award! Yes, my baby won! I was soooooo proud. I'd picked her up and they didn't know the results yet. The whole classroom walked into the place where all the projects were all displayed. The winners already had the ribbons posted on the project. I heard some kid saying "I got first place", and I thought "Aww, poor Brianna". When we got to her project it had a green ribbon on it and I was wondering what place that was. Then I saw Brianna jumping up and down saying "I got sweepstakes! I got sweepstakes!" Oh, I was sooooo proud! Her teacher came over and hugged us and I had to try really hard not to cry because I didn't want to embarrass Brianna in front her little friends. So now she has to go to the district competition. Wish her luck with that.


Ok, and finally for tonight, I was tagged by Margie. Here are my answers. . . .

4 Jobs in my Life
- bank teller
- credit specialist
- debt collector
- flight attendant (one of these things is not like the others)

4 Films I could see a million times
- Pulp Fiction
- You've Got Mail
- Goodfellas
- Kill Bill

4 Places I lived at
- El Paso, TX
- Mesa, AZ
that's it for cities just different residences

4 TV Series I really like to watch
- Family Guy
- Scrubs
- The Office
- Law & Order SVU

4 Places I've spent my holidays (oh, as in vacation)
- Acapulco, Mexico
- Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- SoCal (this is probably where I go most often)
- Las Vegas, NV

4 Favourite Foods
- pad Thai noodles
- rice bowls (any kind)
- shrimp cocktail
- lemons

4 Websites I visit every day
- my personalized Google page (it's my homepage)
- MSN
- ljc fyi
- a banking page I use for work

4 Places I’d love to be right now (instead of *here*)
- SoCal
- London
- in the bathtub
- at PFChang's (yum!)


4 People who should do this
Jess
Jessica
Michelle
Bailey

Oops! I guess that wasn't it, because I also have another meme. So, for this one you're supposed to take your iPod, put it on "shuffle" then list the first ten songs

1. Kashmir: Led Zeppelin
2. Airport Song: Guster
3. Exit: U2
4. And I Love Her: Beatles
5. Enjoy the Silence: Depeche Mode
6. Somewhere Only We Know: Keane
7. Around the World: Daft Punk
8. Persiana Americana: Soda Stereo
9. Are You In: Incubus
10. Fly Me To The Moon: Frank Sinatra

(ok, I'll add another 5)
11. Dolphin: Poe
12. There is a Light That Never Goes Out: The Smiths
13. Kiss Off: Violent Femmes
14. Wild Horses: The Sundays
15. Alec Eiffel: Pixies

Play along

roseanne

I will never again complain about the kid songs Alec listens to. I walk around all day singing things like "Fruit Salad, yummy, yummy" over and over in my head. That's ok. I'd rather it be that than this. Yikes! *shudder* Who would think to combine Roseanne's horrible singing voice with annoying children's songs. I saw a commercial for this yesterday and I thought it was a joke. The Wiggles and m.f.'ing Barney are looking pretty good now. Now I'm going to point my fingers and do the twist.

m.i.a.

I hate being away from my blog for this long. I'm back now. Let me tell you about my week last week. It was BAD. Nothing really major happened but I was sooooo frustrated! Brianna's science fair is this Friday. Last week we worked on the bulk of the project. She was just being so uncooperative. Now, yes she's only in first grade but her class was required to turn in a project. There was no other way around it. Usually, she gets pretty excited about things like this, but not this time. I thought it might've been the project but she was the one who picked it. She liked doing the experiment portion of it, but didn't want to do any of the work. They also had to turn in a research paper and Brianna was just refusing to do it. We did the research together, I typed the report out for her and she just needed to copy it. Well, she didn't want to do it. She just wanted me to do the whole thing for her. There were several days of begging, asking, and finally threatening. I told her that if she couldn't handle the work, I'd switch her to another school. This, of course, made her cry. I wonder if all the work was overwhelming. Maybe it just seemed like she had a lot to do. I don't know. I don't understand it either because not all parents help their child out so much. Well, the project is at school now and will be judged on Friday. Whew.
As if dealing with Brianna wasn't enough, Alec has just been so bad these past few days. The terrible twos have hit strong around here. Just in the past week, he got into the pantry and poured honey all over his hair and clothes, poured all the bodywash into the bathtub, has started using our coffee table like a truck, locked the bathroom door twice, and has learned to open our front door.
I've felt like such a bad mom this week. I'm so horrible that there are nights when I just can't wait for the kids to get in bed so that I could take a warm bath. Can you believe that? Serenity now.