where did the weekend go?

Weekends have just been flying by around here. I can't believe the weekend is over. Saturday, Rodrigo got swallowed by a shark. He was miraculously spit back out and we were able to tour the rest of the Tucson Children's Museum. The kids absolutely loved it! Rodrigo and I laugh at whatever place we are, so it was fun for us too. After we left, we had a very late lunch/early dinner at Claim Jumper. Mmmm......everything was delicious. The kids had "The World's Smallest Sundae" which looked really huge next to tiny Alec. Aww.
When we got home, we just hung out and watched movies. Yesterday, Alec was nowhere to be found. Luckily, Batman came in to take his place and informed us that Alec was gone. I was surprised that Batman looks so much like Alec, but well, of course, Batman won't answer if we call him Alec. :) Rodrigo left to cut his hair and when he took a couple of hours, I knew he was out buying something. Seriously, this guy loves to shop more than anyone I know. Sure enough, he came home with a really nice grill, we put it together and grilled some steaks for dinner. Then I watched the Emmy's and that was it. What can I say, we're boring now. How was your weekend?

feeling: I can't wait for my hair to grow out
listening to: Snow Patrol (Chasing Cars)

Oh, by the way. . . there are some of you that I don't have as flickr contacts. Most of my pictures on flickr are private, so let me know if you have an account so I can add you.

tia yvett

This November I will be having a niece. Being the good aunt that I am, I take my duties very seriously. What I see as the most important task right now is making sure that my niece has an amazing name. Now you know that if I were a celebrity, my kids would be running around with names like Audio Science, Pilot Inspektor and such, but well, I'm not famous. The first names I suggested were cool celebrity baby types like Echo, Blue and Desert. These were shot down immediately. It didn't help that my mom was there when I was giving these suggestions. My brother might've gone for it had he been alone. Once I explained that Echo would be after the Incubus song, the name would've been in the bag. Still, no such luck. When we were moving I gathered Brianna's baby clothes that I didn't have the heart to give away. You know, the "I'll save these just in case" outfits. I placed them in a box and labeled it "For baby Midori". Another box had a couple of more choices. I think they were Sabrina and I can't remember the other one. All my hopes were on Midori. Anyway, it seems that they are really going to name her that. Yes! Right now it's as a middle name but, hey, I'll take what I can get. The baby is going to love her name and she'll love tia Yvett for it.
Rodrigo a.k.a. Buzzkill asked, "Isn't that like Japanese"? My response was something like "So? We don't have to name by race. Alec isn't Juan or Jose. Besides, have you seen my brother".
He also asked, "Isn't it also like a drink"? My response: shut up. alchy.

feeling: glad it's Friday
listening to: Guster (Airport Song)

this week's project runway

Each week I like Jeffrey a little more. Although I was not a fan of his dress (as I'm sure not even he was), I was completely on his side. Now, I'm not bad mouthing any of the moms, but I'm sure it's going to sound like that. Angela's mom was not a good sport. I mean, they knew that they'd maybe have something to do with the challenge, right? If I were on the show and my mom were there, she'd be up for anything. It's not like she was really going to wear it everyday. I didn't like that the lady was whining to Tim Gunn. She didn't say something like "I hate it, I hate him" but rather went for something really subtle. I HATE when people do that. Saying negative things and trying to make them sound sweet or like she's some sort of victim. That kind of behavior is one of my pet peeves. I'm surprised Jeffrey wasn't more upset. Then she went and started crying. My blood was boiling at this time. The last straw was when she said that she felt "matronly". Seriously, I mean the way she looked before was the very definition of matronly. Had I been Jeffrey, I would've probably slapped her. I just don't like when people want others to feel sorry for them when there's no reason to. I also don't like when people don't try to make the best of situations that might not be completely to their liking. I don't know, I mean, I'd have been up for almost anything. A style or color I don't usually wear? Sure, why not. -I step off the soapbox here-
Ok, all that said, I was sad to see Robert go. I really liked him but I couldn't argue about that decision. The judges are right about him being boring for a while now. I'll miss seeing him and Kayne. He should've gone by "What Would Barbie Wear" and he might've been fine. Still, it's easy for me to say that since I'm not actually there. I'll miss him. I'm sure he'll still have a great career, though. He seems like a geniunely nice guy.
Also, wow on Jeffrey's mom. She is a very nice looking lady and you can tell that she loves her son a whole lot. Kudos to them both for being in a better place now. My favorite garment was Michael's dress. I would totally wear that. As for Laura, uh, congratulations. Wow, six kids? I'd go crazy. I know they only show a small side of their personality, but she doesn't seem all that motherly. I don't know, I guess I can't really say that for sure but she looks so, like, cold. Ok, that's all I have to say. Did you watch? What did you think?

feeling: sore
listening to: The Fray (How to Save a Life)

puppet

Brianna's first big homework project was due yesterday. They had two weeks to work on a book report and a puppet. She had to choose a book, pick the character she liked the most, make a puppet out of that character, write a book report and have the puppet present the report. Cute. The directions suggested that they use a brown paper bag, popsicle sticks or a sock to make the puppet. I was going to help her, of course, but I didn't want the puppet to be something that looked as if only I had made it. Ok, I didn't want it to be a puppet made only by me. We made it with cloth, felt, doll hair and eyes. The pattern we drew was something like an oven mit but with two "fingers" instead of one. Brianna traced and cut but I obviously didn't let her use the hot glue gun. This is the finished product. I just made a few trims after this picture was taken.
Oh, it was a Strawberry Shortcake book, by the way. So, I was a little worried that it didn't look like second grade work and then. . . . Only two of the puppets were not like this. They were sock puppets. All the others were just like this. One of the little boys took a marionette. THEY MADE A MARIONETTE! Now, unless this kid is a little Geppetto, you know he didn't do his own homework. So, elaborate puppets and marionettes, eh? Oh really? I can see that this is going to be another one of those classrooms like Brianna had in Pre-K. One of those where parents compete to turn in the best homework. I just don't like getting that way because this is their homework and it's not fair to them to have them not do it. Still, it's on now. They already got their next project and Brianna's is going to rock. She has until Sept. 8th to turn it in and I'm going to go buy materials for her TODAY. She can do the actual research and work while I do the decoration. I have a glue gun and I'm not afraid to use it.

feeling: I can't believe it rains everyday here
listening to: Ride (Vapour Trail)

free time

I posted last week about maybe joining a gym. I joined. That was really at the top of my list of "If I had more time, I'd . . . . " So now I'm not working and I have that time that I'd wanted for so long. I'll go through a few things I know I wanted to do and let you know how it's going. . . . .

I wanted . . . .

- more time with the kids. I'm definately getting that. Oh My God do I have more time with the kids. I have to say that it has been a change for them to see me all day. Brianna sees me before school, right after school, all weekend long so they are acting quite spoiled around me. I'm not too worried, though because they'll get used to having me around ALL THE TIME.

- to start some sort of exercise plan. So far, so good. Now I just have to keep this up.

- to have a super clean house. I must say that I'm doing quite better than I imagined. My house looks good enough for anyone to drop by at any given time and I won't have to hide anything. :) It makes such a huge difference to be at home. Ah, I love a clean and tidy house.

- to get more organized. This involved several things. I'm starting off with pictures both in print and online. I've been organizing scrapbooks and online albums. This is taking longer than I thought, but you know how time consuming it is.

- to make nice things again. I used to like making things for friends and family. I was up on everyone's birthday and holiday decorating was heaven for me. I haven't done much on this one. The only thing I've made is a puppet with Brianna. Oh, also I've updated a birthday book, so that'll come in handy. I'll wait until Halloween to see about the holiday thing.

-to improve my memory. You know, just not running around as much has really helped. I dumped out a lot of things in my brain that were taking too much space. Bank codes, combinations and passwords were taking up too much memory. Also the fact that I'm jotting everything down in my organizer. Palabra jot, palabra jot.

Those are the main things on a very long list. Some others are really long-term things that take more planning as well as some very trite things like growing nice nails. *sigh* Ah, the weather is nice, I like this music and it's going to be a great week.

feeling: good
listening to: The Shins (New Slang)

another project runway post

Next season I'm not going to watch Project Runway from the beginning. Seven days is wayyyyyyy too long to wait to watch a new episode. This Tuesday I was stoked about watching it until I realized it was barely Tuesday. Seriously.
Oh, and waiting for the episode where Keith was kicked off was driving me crazy. Plus, my mom was here and I think she loves the show more than me, so that made it worse. She kept asking, "Who do you think is getting kicked out"? Next season, I won't start watching the show until the season is almost over. Then I'll watch the marathon. That way I don't have to wait.
So, about last night's show. . . . Aww, poor Allison. I liked her. I can't believe that Vince guy is still there. Angela too. They should throw her out for sucking in the beginning. Also, I think Jeffrey was robbed. He deserved the win last night. I liked Michael's design, I just think Jeffrey's was much more impressive.
While I'm on the subject, why does a lot of the new fall clothes I'm seeing look like something Jeffrey would've designed? quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack

feeling: hot
listening to: Audioslave (Original Fire)

gym stalkers

A nearby gym has been courting me. Someone saw me walking around on the street, saw how out of shape I was, stopped me and told me I needed to get to a gym a.s.a.p. Ok, that didn't really happen. What happened was that I called the gym to get info on prices and such. Of course they don't give package prices out over the phone and instead want to me go in and take a test drive. Mistake #2: I gave them my phone number (because the first mistake was calling). So now they're hounding me calling every day telling me they have some promos and that I should really go in.

So, for the longest time, I had a mental list of things I'd do if I had more time. I have more time now. Also, I need to exercise. I think it's time. I finally gave in and made an appointment for later on today. They will have a drum band at hand so that they can play that dreaded music that plays while someone is about to be beheaded in a guillotine. It'll be played right before they take my measurements and weight. Ugh. Time to leave the lovely land of denial and oblivion. Once weighed, someone will either slap me on the face or hit me upside the head with the scale. Then they'll proceed to wire my mouth shut. Either that or they'll dangle a bag of cheetos just out of my reach while I run for it on the treadmill.

Yeah, I'm laughing now but I'll see how I'll be later today. I'll keep you posted.

feeling: like I'm about to have my last meal
listening to: The Backyardigans