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

road trip

We decided to take a road trip this Memorial day weekend. I'm hoping it works out but all the places we've narrowed it down to has rain in the forecast practically the whole weekend. We can't decide on Albuquerque, Santa Fe or Phoenix. I'm partial to Phoenix because I used to live there and miss it tremendously. Plus, I've never been there with Rodrigo or the kids. Well, Brianna just as a baby. I think it'd be kind of nice to take them to my old hang outs. Well, some of my old hang outs. I'm looking through Phoenix's online newspaper to see what's going on this weekend and I found video of Kathy. She and her husband are pretty well known (ok, famous) over there. I practically hyperventilated when I saw that she had my page as one of her links!
But I digress. . . .
So, if we do go, I'll be sure to take pictures. If not, I still have things to do around here. One of my bank clients has been a ballet teacher for over 40 years and yesterday she took me some tickets for the recital this weekend. She's the sweetest lady ever. I hope I have that poise and posture at her age. Come to think of it, I don't have it now at 28. :(
There's also something that's been keeping up busy lately. I'm not supposed to be excited about it yet (but I am tremendously excited) until we know that it is a for sure thing. I'll keep you all in suspence for a while until I know I can share. Oh, and it's not a baby. I'd have told you all about that the second I found out.
Anyway, I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend. Have fun, reflect on our fallen heroes and be safe.

feeling: excited!
watching: The Today Show
what I should be doing instead of blogging: putting away clothes

argh, kids!

If my children hadn't been mine today and I was just some babysitter, I'd think long and hard about ever having any children of my own. They were horrible. Just absolute nightmares. Brianna wasn't as bad as Alec but together they were the perfect recipe for a headache. It was Brianna's last day of school and the parents were invited to attend the class party. I thought it would be a good idea to take Alec because I was on crack. He wanted to be right with the kids so when one of the little kids in the class would stand up, Alec would run to take the seat and grab whatever was on the table. I became the ridiculous mom running around after the uncontrollable baby that screams when he doesn't get his way. The teacher was pretty unaffected by all the commotion since she is, afterall, a kindergarten teacher. I'll spare you the rest of the details since they are long and boring.
Later that evening, Rodrigo was also on crack and thought we should take Brianna out to dinner to celebrate her last day of school, good grades, and various awards. (Yes, let me boast a little) We went to one of our favorite places and were seated in a place they had sectioned off as a "family section". Because if you have children, you automatically love all children. Right away I spotted this tremendously annoying girl that frequents the bank, She was with her husband who's even more annoying than her. The whole time we were there, he was talking so loudly about themselves and turning their relationship into some sort of newlyweds episode. He was yelling about how he'd lost her in an airport once. Anyway, he spoke so loud he woke his baby. So now we were next to a crying baby and they came over to our table to rock him. Yes, right next to our table. They were right behind Alec who was already being bad and so now he was trying to grab the baby and paying no attention to us. Then, some lady from another table came over to rock her crying kid right next to that girl. RIGHT NEXT TO OUR TABLE. I mean, if we tried to get up, we wouldn't have been able to. They started chatting and went into a full conversation right there. How annoying. Meanwhile, annoying guy is over screaming into his cellphone. Ugh. When we finally got home, the commotion continued with the kids running around screaming and playing with each other, jumping on the bed, chasing each other, you name it. I couldn't wait for them to go to bed. Then right before I put them in bed, they came and snuggled up to me smelling good like baby lotion and start giving me kisses. I'm a sucker.

feeling: exhausted
watching: Conan O'Brien
what I should be doing instead of blogging: sleeping