easter 2005

I'm still "recovering" after a long weekend. Lots of running around with the kids and visiting family for Easter. Saturday we took the kids to a Sesame Street Live show, then out to Fuddrucker's. Easter Sunday the kids were up bright and early looking to see what the Easter bunny brought them. I'd stayed up getting baskets and goodies ready for everyone. We went to Rodrigo's parent's house and then to the kids' godparent's house where my whole family was at. Click here for pictures. I was really tired yesterday but was comforted by the thought that not many people would be showing up to the bank the day after Easter. Well, not many people went but we're having a nice visit from an auditor. Heh, heh. Needless to say, we're all on our best "we're being audited" behavior. I was trying to make pleasant conversation with a regular client today. I knew he was a preacher or minister (my friends and I refer to him as "the meanest priest in the world") and asked him how his Easter was. He told me that he is Greek Orthodox and didn't celebrate Easter. Oops. He went on and on about how I've talked to him every week for months now and I didn't know what faith he was. Oops again. Now he's invited me to their Easter celebration in May but wants to give me a tutorial first. He started off with a little lecture in Julian dates. Triple oops. I think I gave our auditor lady a good chuckle, though. Anyway, I hope everyone had a good Easter. I also hope I keep my foot out of my mouth from now on. Good night.

feeling: dumb
watching: local news
what I should be doing instead of blogging: putting Alec in bed

business cards

I am a very important banking person and so earlier I received a new batch of business cards. Very boring, plain, bank-like business cards. I was reviewing them and they come complete with company logo, my name, and about a million ways to get in touch with me. White and navy blue. No cute font. I couldn't help but notice that there is room below my name for something else. I asked my manager, "Couldn't we put like a daisy or something in this space"?


her: (blank stare) Are you serious?
me: Yes, it would look really cute. Or a butterfly or something. At least some really cute font.
her: (giggling) We work at a bank. (blank stare)
me: (thinking) and?
She just laughed. I guess they're staying that way. I later thought about the type of people that actually go there and realized that most wouldn't like to get a card with little flowers on them. Ugh. Maybe I'll add a dollar sign. Or a bull (you know, for "bullish" but wearing a bow to make it cute). Ok, now I'm just being ridiculous. Good night.

feeling: thirsty
watching: The Tonight Show
what I should be doing instead of blogging: picking out clothes for tomorrow

bad trait

I don't think this is a good trait of mine but I've always done this. I always point out how people look like other people or characters. I've done this for as long as I can remember and I don't do it to be mean, but sometimes it comes out that way. Of course I don't say it to peoples' faces (unless its a completely flattering resemblance) but when I tell my family, friends, or co workers, they always laugh. At work, there's a guy who works at our branch a couple of days a week and I refer to him as Cousin Larry (from Perfect Strangers). Just today "Hagrid", "David Bowie" and "James Earl Jones" showed up to make transactions at work. Here is a list of some of the people I can remember working or going to school with:
"Chicken" (Prissy from the Foghorn Leghorn cartoons), "Zoolander", "Waldo","Scar", "Frida", "Picasso", "Elf", and so many countless others. My family is not spared either, I think Brianna looks like a baby chick so I've always called her "Pollito" and I think Alec & Rodrigo look like Topo Gigio.
I also tend to make up stories about people or jump to conclusions, rather. It doesn't help that my besy buddy at work, Liz, does the same thing. Together we have "determined" that a lady is having an affair (when she really just had a hair appointment and her family was looking for her), people have drug problems (sniffling with a cold), a guy has mild Tourette's, and various people suffer from severe psychosis. The last two I really think are true. I would think all this was really mean if we actually went and told other people, but I think this just makes time pass a little quicker and makes work more enjoyable. Liz, by the way, is engaged to "Matt Damon". Does this make me horrible? Oh, when will I grow up?

feeling: immature
watching: The Contender
what I should be doing instead of blogging: taking out the trash

book meme

I just found a new book meme while going through blog explosion. I copied the meme but accidentally closed the window and now don't know where I was. Sorry to the blogger for not giving credit but as soon as I find it, I'll post it. Anyway, here it is . . .

Here are the instructions:
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't search around and look for the "coolest" book you can find. Do what's
actually next to you.

Well, its too bad that the last instructions state to not go looking around for a cool book because the closest to me is not the coolest. Anyway, the book closest to me is Bridget Jones's Diary and here is the fifth sentence:
"I just started having paranoid fantasy for no reason about Daniel having an affair with someone else and thinking up dignified but cutting remarks to make him sorry."

Ok, your turn.

feeling: sick
watching: Dora the Explorer
what I should be doing instead of blogging: putting away laundry

livestrong

I've been wearing my Livestrong wristband for a while now and I've recently noticed that EVERYBODY is wearing one. This was the subject for a local radio station's morning show. I got to work that day and was telling my co-worker about it. She told me that she'd even seen the wristbands at a gas station. I couldn't believe it. I had just seen a story on the news that said that a local school had prohibited students from wearing this wristbands because it disrupted the classrooms. What? Why are so many kids wearing cancer awarness bands? Anyway, I ended up seeing some at the gas station and they stand for "Girl Power". I also saw some at a drug store. They were called "Dream Bands" and are in a variety of colors. Pink is for dream, lilac for hope, and so on. There are also some other bands that stand for "low carb lifestyle" and other things. I was shocked. Lance Armstrong started off with such a good idea and a worthwhile cause and now all these people are selling them just to make a profit. Kids are just wearing them to see who can collect more colors. Then the other day at work, I was helping some lady explaining some stuff to her. I got the feeling that she wasn't listening to me and then all of a sudden she asks me, "Are those the sex bracelets?". Huh? I tried to explain to her what it meant and who Lance Armstrong is but she kept talking about some article about kids wearing different colored bracelets where each color represents a different sexual act and if someone pulls that color off, they have to perform that act. Those are the thinner "jelly" bracelets like the ones Madonna used to wear in the 80's. I tried telling her that but I think she don't think she believed me. Great. Now some lady thinks I'm some kind of perv who had all the other colors snapped off. I like my wristband and what it stands for but I am seriously considering not wearing it anymore. Oh well. . . . . .

feeling: relaxed
listening to: Radiohead (Karma Police)
what I should be doing instead of blogging: washing dishes

hello again

Ok, I'm ready to post again. I tend to get in a negative attitude whenever something bad happens. This is not a good trait since I don't know anyone who has a perfect life all the time. I was thinking about what a crappy year this has started out as and I realized that I'm missing out on positive things. I felt really uninspired and each time I sat to post I didn't know what to write about.
We went through a breast cancer scare with my mom. Late last year she went to get her annual and was told that there was a something showing up but no lumps could be felt. She went through various tests and a biopsy then had to wait a long time for results. She didn't tell me what was going on for a while. Of course we were all worried and it turned out to be just denser tissue. She still has to go get checked every six months now to keep an eye, though.

Another thing that was playing on my nerves was Brianna's school. I wasn't happy with it for a while. Everyday I'd ask Brianna what she did in school and everyday she would tell me they saw a movie. Mostly Disney movies that are over an hour long. I started getting upset because I'm sending her to school to learn not to watch movies. Every time I saw her teacher, she would tell me how Brianna was the best reader in class but the books that Brianna was reading were the same ones she was reading last year. The principal also really bothered me. Imagine speaking to a person that has the worst grammar, always sounds really dismissive and acts like they don't care about anything. Now imagine this is your child's school principal. If I started writing all the things that were bothering me about the school, we'd be here all day. From no adult supervision during recess (in which Brianna got a black eye) to ALL the students receiving "U's" (for unsatisfactory) on their report cards. On their REPORT CARDS because they talked too much that day). I was frustrated for days and about to explode for any little thing. I finally did. The final straw was when I asked if I could take cupcakes after the holidays to celebrate Brianna's birthday and I was told that it is now state law that no food can be taken by a parent unless all the other parents consent and sign that it is ok with them. Huh? State law? What a lie! Every other school in this city does it. I couldn't believe they were lying right to my face. I had the hardest time trying to switch her over to another school. Her first school wouldn't let me have copies of report cards, attendance records, and made me request everything days in advance when all they had to do was print it out. I had to go to the district offices and explain my situation from no after-school program to no parental involvement and was finally granted a transfer. I am SOOOOOOO happy now with this school. Apparently, the state law doesn't apply to this school because parents take turns daily to send snacks and drinks for the kids. There's parental involvement, I actually get a school lunch menu, they have school monitors and volunteers and most of all Brianna likes it. At the last school she was at the point where she was crying every morning because she didn't want to go to school. This Friday I'll be helping at their movie night and Brianna is really looking forward to watching "Shark Tale" with her friends. I want to apologize to and thank my co-workers for allowing (or better yet, putting up with) all my daily complaints and phone calls to and from the school. They got all the details everyday and agreed that the school is in very bad shape. I was changing Alec one morning and thinking about how everything was sucking and Rodrigo said "Isn't this year starting off really well?". My first reaction was to get mad, I thought no, this year sucks, there's been a bunch of crap in a short period of time and what's so good about it. He started listing good things that have been happening and I instantly felt guilty. I'd been missing out by focusing on the negative. I felt I needed an attitude adjustment. I went and cut my hair really short (which always makes me feel better), started cleaning up and started blogging again. I feel new, like refreshed or something. Like I no longer have something weighing on me. I feel like I can do anything right now. I promise to not stay away this long again. Welcome back.

feeling: refreshed
watching: "The Wiggles" (with Alec)
what I should be doing instead of blogging: nothing, blogging is fine

Tomochi

My very favorite breakfast place is a restaurant in Juarez named Tomochi. I *love* going there. We hadn't been there in the longest time. We went today and it was also Alec's first time in Juarez. I love the food, I love the rustic decor and today I absolutely fell in love with their Christmas decorations (which are not taken down in Mexico until after January 6th).

The Christmas tree ornaments were styrofoam balls covered with beans, black beans, rice, corn kernels, lentils and some other grains with red bows. The garland was rope (or lasso). There were also some crosses made of cinnamon sticks.

One of the wreaths was made of different sized baskets.

Another one was just wrapped in lasso and decorated with a bow.

I think my favorite wreath was this one that was covered in folded tamale leaves.
Aren't all these decorations cute? I had one of those "Why didn't I think of that?" moments. Anyway, I thought I'd share with you all. Wishing you a very happy new year!

feeling: I ate too much!
listening to: U2 (Vertigo)
what I should be doing instead of blogging: putting clothes in the dryer