La Gringa Mas Bella: Married to the Mexican!

Random: Facebook Horoscopes and Shopping ...

2009-08-14T06:46:00.000-07:00

I haven't been blogging all summer long, okay I did a couple of times, but I really haven't had anything exciting going on. I've been sick the past three weeks with a nasty bacterial infection. I finally broke down and went to the doctor, which he prescribed some prednisone and something else for me, so that's history-thank God!

I've been logging into facebook noticing that Megita is just about to pop~literally. Apparently lil Celestino doesn't wanna 'come out' and the doctor is talking about inducing labor in the next week or so. I can't wait! I missed her baby shower because the Mexican works on Saturdays and the Saturday of her shower, it just didn't work out. So that is one thing I'm really getting excited about.

Today I need to go shopping for school clothes though so I'm not too optimistic today which is why I decided to check my horoscope on facebook ... why on earth did I do that????

Is that depressing or what! I go back to work later this month and I'm gonna be driving all day today bouncing from mall to mall. I didn't wanna panic over the horoscope prediction so I thought I'd do a lil test on myself to see who I am compatible with, according to the stars, and damn if that wasn't just as depressing LOL.

Depressing if you know that:

My exhusband is Pisces.
The other 2 ex's I despise are both Gemeni.
The only ex I still speak amicably with is Virgo.
And the Mexican is Taurus!

This stuff is pretty accurate no? LOL~I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds.

In the meantime the horoscope will not keep me from doing what needs to be done, after all the kids do start school in the next couple of weeks and someone needs to buy them school clothes, thus I am on my way to shop.

Hopefully by fall I'll be back into my ole' blogging self again :)

Rip Current Safety ... READ!

2009-07-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

This past week I've been so sick with allergies that I've been glued to the sofa like a zombie, so what better to do than get depressed by watching hours of local news!

The most depressing news, of course in this area, drownings. I bet there have been a dozen or more drownings around here this summer ranging from infants to the elderly, including two hispanic men; one who drowned at the beach, the other at a lake. The night before last I watched in horror as a seven year child described how his father drowned saving him. A seven year old said his dad couldn't breath, his mouth was in the water and he floated. How awful!

People please be careful swimming!!! It is dangerous. If you're planning on visiting the eastern shores, read Staying Safe in the Water: Rip Current Safety.

A few years ago my sister came down from Kentucky for a weekend visit so we decided to head out to Folly Beach for a day. I almost drowned ... there was a whole in the ocean floor!

I was jumping waves when suddenly there was nothing beneath me and I swam like hell to reach the surface but the waves kept pushing me under. Finally my knee hit the side of this big whole I was in and it must have hurt so bad that I paddled with all my might to get out. It was scary.

Not related to the water, there was also another interesting story about mother's working from home and using the internet to bring in some extra cash. One mother told of how she earns $200 a month by writing How to articles at e-How.

You know I had to write one too just to see how it worked, so check out How to Bake Cheddar & Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapeños Wrapped in Bacon and leave me a comment if ya like it :)

I could use some extra money too but I wonder how many articles one would have to write to earn $200 a month? The lady said she worked about 10 hours a month writing ... not bad.

In the meantime, everyone please be safe swimming. Have fun but be aware :)

The Blessing Found on Craigs List!

2009-07-12T23:04:00.001-07:00

I know I haven't been around a lot lately and this is partly why. A few days ago I finally blogged about my friend who lost her home to fire and how sad it was. I have good news!

Today I decided to check out CraigsList to see if there were any mobile homes in the area that fit my friend's price range=CHEAP. My friend had looked at a mobile home last week for $3500 but the owner sold it before her husband could check it out.

I felt so bad because my friend has been whining about how she's homeless and really needs some normality to come back to her life. After all, it is devastating to lose so much overnight.

Well I found their new home on CraigsList!!

The original price was $6500 but the owner came down to $5000. This 1991 double wide has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, needs some cosmetic repair, but is in pretty good shape. I think with some vinyl siding ... it could look brand new.

The owners said that they had considered removing their CraigsList ad but I am so glad they didn't give up on selling it just yet. It might not seem like much but it's a home. And when you don't have a home ... well, it has to be pretty hard to wake up everyday with an uncertainty of where you're gonna live.

I really believe that things happen for a reason and apparently the first mobile home my friend checked out was not intended for her. I do think that this home was intended for her because everything just seemed to fall into place and the owners couldn't have been nicer people. We all told the owners how the family had lost their home and they were willing to come down a lil on the price. Every lil bit counts and I think everyone was satisfied with the deal so I think we'll all be sleeping well tonight.

I have to say that each time I meet people who are down to earth and care about others that it just deepens my own sense of humanity. I told the owners before we left that I usually don't like some people I meet ... they were pretty cool though :)

I'm ready to pull out my work clothes to get started on the repairs so I hope my friend will fire up the grill to feed me ... I'll post pics once we get going :)

My Summer Food Crisis ...

2009-07-08T22:47:00.001-07:00

Yes, oh yes, these are pics of my fridge and my freezer. Lately I've been having a major dilemma called 'What to Cook?' Could it possibly be the chaos in there? I mean look at all the crap in there.

You'll notice the mayo is sitting on top of a plastic container and the ketchup on top of something in the door, then there's the chicken-still in the bag I brought it home in. I know what that is on top of the cool whip too: a sub sandwich the Mexican wrapped in aluminum foil for lunch tomorrow at work. And in case you're wondering what that brown stuff is in the gallon jug on the top of the door-yep, tea ... I'm just too lazy to brew it-it is much easier to buy.

Ice cream is a must have item in this house. I promise there is not a day that goes by that we don't eat some sort of ice cream. Bottled water is another must have item along with tortillas and tomatoes. I usually do pretty good with meal prep but lately, these past two weeks or so, I'd rather hit Quiznos, Chinese, or Wendy's up for dinner instead of cooking.

I think I've worn out my grill. The standard grilled meat, grilled veggie, and jello just isn't satisfying my taste buds anymore. What's worse is that I have about 20 pounds of pork chops and nearly ten pounds of shrimp in the freezer ... with no idea what to do with it.

Today I opted to follow the directions on the side of a can of Campbells Cream of Chicken Soup!

Trust me, chicken and rice casserole is a winter comfort food. Oddly Caleb and I really enjoyed it earlier in the day and the Mexican downed the remainder of it tonight with a turkey sub. Jordan had baked chicken nuggets and french fries. Then at ten o'clock I popped some Grands biscuits in the oven and microwaved some sausage patties.

Is it just me or is anyone else suffering?

I don't know but my plan for tomorrow is to clean up my fridge, organize it, make some strawberry jello desserts, a banana pudding, and pray that I can get back on track with summer cooking. Maybe I'll break this depressing food confusion swing I'm going through and be inspired enough to make something I want-if I can only figure out what it is that I want :)

Sibling Rivalry & the Jealousy Within!

2009-07-08T21:24:00.000-07:00

We were all really excited that my sixteen, Michael, was coming for a visit. My other two children, Jordan (8) and Caleb (10), couldn't wait for their big brother to get here. Both of them had made sure they had all of their Yu-Gi-Oh cards together to show him, the Yatzee game ready to play, and all of their video games in the correct boxes.

Jordan and Caleb are pretty close in age but Michael is sixteen ... a huge difference, so I wondered how things would go and the following three pics pretty much sum up Jordan's experience with his big brother!

Yep, my eight year old was extremely jealous and even confided in my friend (the one that just lost her home to fire) that "Mom buys Mikey everything and doesn't buy me anything".

W-H-A-T!

To me that's just an example of how spoiled my kids really are. Jordan is jealous because I bought Michael a car, I bought Michael a pricey Mp3 player, and a reel for his fishing rod. My ten year old, Caleb, always gripes over what I buy for Jordan. And poor Michael never says an unkind word about anything which I think is pretty uncommon for a teen.

Yesterday when it was time to take Michael to the airport he smiled before heading to the gate to board his plane and I snapped a picture of my easy going son. I'm really proud of him and believe he is gonna be just fine. The fact that Jordan refused to hug him good-bye didn't seem to bother him at all.

The kids spent a lot of time together playing games, swimming, and wrestling with only a couple of small arguments in between. All in all, it went well and I can't wait until he comes back next time ... hopefully Jordan will be over his jealousy by then! I can only pray :)

Random Stuff: The Beach, My Son Michael, Michael Jackson, Fire, and Megita!

2009-07-08T09:09:00.001-07:00

Last summer was really crappy because even though I was on "vacation", I spent the majority of my time traveling back and forth from the medical university dealing with kidney issues. Needless to say I was excited this time around to have my first real summer off and so far I've enjoyed it so much.

Last week my son from Kentucky came for a visit, he just went home yesterday, but we had such a good time. I was so sad to see him go back to Kentucky and Caleb (pictured below) cried his lil heart out when his brother left, so today things feel a lil strange around the house without Michael here. Here are just a few pics from one of our days at the beach :)

Caleb found a hermit crab ... actually the first of many. And he had to play with all of 'em.

Caleb put some sand in a water bottle along with some salt water to create a mini and temporary environment to observe the hermit crab. He didn't want to let the crabs go, he loves animals so much, but when he realized he could hurt them by holding them so long-he let 'em go.

I giggle when I look at this picture- Have you ever seen a happier man in your life!? LOL

I don't know what time we left, but at the end of the day there were few people left around us at the beach. Just before dusk families dressed in rolled up jeans and white button down shirts with photographers began showing up. Many say dusk is the best time to take pics at the beach.

We also enjoyed a lil food. This was the first time that my oldest had ever eaten shrimp and he liked it. I marinated my jumbo shrimp, bell pepper, onion, and pineapple chunks in lime juice with a lil spicy Mrs. Dash sprinkled before tossing them on the grill.

Michael's visit was so short so we're already planning on getting him here for Christmas and Spring Break too. I can't wait! I'm already shopping around for plane tickets.

In other news ... the Saturday before last, one of my best friend's experienced the loss of her home to fire. I was reminded of how short life is and how it can all change in less than a blink of an eye. Fortunately the family escaped unharmed. I couldn't imagine my life without her.

And Micheal Jackson's death, what a sudden thing.

I was talking to my mom when she told me to flip my t.v. to CNN because he had collapsed. I was glued to the t.v. and found myself praying for this person I've never met in my life to live and when it was reported that he passed away, I wept.

Weird? I don't even understand it myself.

I grew up watching Michael Jackson videos, trying to do the moonwalk in my socks across any slick floor I could find, I wore the t-shirts, owned the albums, had his posters all over my walls, and, for a time, was obsessed with the song Beat It.

The first time I ever watched MTV was on a visit to my aunt's house in Indianapolis and the only reason I even knew what MTV was-was because everyone was talking about the Thriller video. And I watched it over and over and over, just couldn't get enough of it.

I never imaged grieving over someone I never personally knew but I have.

Moving on ... I finished painting, my bedroom is purple and green. Enough said? I think I experienced some color overload maybe and will post a pic of that masterpiece soon :)

I don't know when I'll ever be posting regularly or keeping up with blogs like I did because at the moment I'm just enjoying being at home, on vacation, and doing what I want whenever the mood strikes. It's great!

Megita, who is also not keeping up with her blog, is busy expecting the birth of her first baby and will be having a babyshower in a couple of weeks. She called the other day and said she would be sending me an invite so I'm really looking forward to that. I may need some ideas on what to buy though.

I hope everyone is well and until next time, God Bless :)

Shame on Mark Sanford ...

2009-06-25T06:01:00.001-07:00

Everyone wondered for days and days, where is Mark Sanford? Our beloved governor (yeah right) took off and no one knew. It made national news!

Governor Sanford (pictured below with his family) has been taking heat from all over the state since he refused to accept the stimulus money that South Carolina needed desperately to save teacher jobs. The stimulus money has been on the minds of many at my own workplace and, for that reason, I've had a low opinion of Sanford myself. Sanford's latest discretion doesn't help matters much either.

I can't help but pipe in a lil on the scandal ...

Reportedly (which means I saw it on my local news report) Sanford has taken three trips to Argentina, where his mistress lives, in the past. All of those trips were payed for with South Carolina money. That pisses me off.

I could really give a hoot less who the man has been sleeping with-I'm not his wife, and that he supposedly payed for this last trip (#4) out of his own pocket, which he should have done all along if he was gonna roll around with another woman. The man shouldn't have taken those trips on taxpayer money. As a taxpayer I'm constantly worried about where my tax money is spent and this ordeal just reminds me of why I worry so much!

I would love to have an all expense payed trip to Argentina, but I can't afford it. I'd probably enjoy a hot fling with a guy from Argentina too; can't afford that either, so Mark Sanford should be ashamed of himself.

Reportedly (local news) Sanford plans to spend his remaining time in the State House trying to 'make it up' to South Carolinians.

My best advice for him would be to spend the rest of his time making it up to his wife and his children because his reputation is already shot to hell within the state-and that has little to do with the affair.

I really feel for his family because there's a newspaper that has obtained scripts of all the emails exchanged between Sanford and his mistress in Argentina. I've heard one of them and I can't imagine how I would feel, as a wife, to know that my husband said those things to another woman.

It's one thing for the whole world to know that my husband cheated but entirely something else for everyone in the whole world to be able to read the words exchanged between him and the other woman. I think that is something extremely private and my heart goes out to his wife.

In the end, I'm sure that years from now I will not be on my death bed crying because Mark Sanford used state money to go to Argentina either. Soon enough this story will be yesterday's news and forgotten by most. I just hope that other politicians open their eyes and realize that government as a whole has to be better than this.

The Colors of My Life ...

2009-06-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

Ever seen the movie The Pursuit of Happyness? I loved the part called 'Running', when the hippy took off with the bone density machine. Well I kinda feel like I'm near the crossroads, and this part of my life is called 'Painting'.

The pic is a bit fuzzy but I snapped it with my cellphone. I sent a text message to my BFF and asked the question 'is this red?' She replied with "you sure do like to paint don't you". The truth is, hell no ... I hate to painting but I just can't get it right.

I don't know why I can't get it right either. My walls actually started out a light almond (off white?) color when we purchased this home. I didn't like it so I opted to purchase an inexpensive mistint, light pinkish, color from Lowes in 2003? It's been about that long since we last painted so with my son coming for a visit, I decided to repaint and paint my life with colors.

The photo above is actually what I'm calling the accent wall. The other color we used to paint the rest of the room was called 'golden sand'. I'm really into earthy colors; browns, greens, yellows, reds, sky blue, etc. My furniture is a light chocolate suede, accent furniture chestnutty, the room's trim is a dark wood, and I like mismatched accents. I'm guessing this is what an HGTV designer would call eclectic chaos? I don't know but the real dilemma I'm facing is curtains.

I guess I'll be out shopping soon trying to find something that will go with all these crazy colors I got going on.

Today is my son's birthday, he's officially 16! I really wish I could call him up and say Happy Birthday, but he's paying his dues in juvenile detention. I'm sure that he is missing his family and wishing he had some freedom, especially today, but maybe this will help to open his eyes to see how precious life and the people in our lives are.

I'm trying to get back in the blogging habit and some of my blogs will likely be random until I submerge myself into all of my interests once more. So bare with me.

I already know what my next post will be ... driving to Kentucky VS. flying to Kentucky, trust me, it's been quite a topic these past couple of days :)

Am I Back?

2009-06-11T23:55:00.000-07:00

Am I back or not ... that is the question. First I'll start off with where I've been and what I've been up to lately because I sure have not been surfing the www for quite awhile. This post has no pics or anything flashy, so be prepared to read if ya really wanna know :)

The Truth Comes Out ...

I don't know if I have talked about it much or not, if not here goes ... once upon a time (when I was 17) I fell in love and married the wrong guy. Details can be spared, but what began as a truly loving relationship bursted into flames so hot that they still burn to this day.

That 7 year relationship produced a son and like many divorces, ours was a nasty one plagued with a child custody battle among other things. Our son lived with me until he was 7 years old. I never denied my ex or his family the right to visit our son, etc. Our son spent summers, christmas, etc. with them and I was alright with that ... my son wasn't.

When he was with them they would buy him everything he wanted and of course when he came back home with me, a single mom, I couldn't afford to do all the things that they did. My seven year old son begged to go live with his daddy and I let him. I believed that the ex's family was better off, financially, than myself and I hated to see my child want for things that I could not give him.

Now our son is 15 years old!!! Time passes so fast.

To make a long story a lil bit shorter, our son is coming to visit me at the end of this month. He can't come and visit me now because he has to wait until he serves ten days in juvenile detention. Our son, living in Kentucky, is also on probation, etc. Apparently he's been in a bit of trouble that I knew absolutely nothing about and according to my son because he was told 'don't tell your mom'.

My son and I have maintained phone contact, the occassional card swap, and rare visits.

The truth came out not long after my trip to KY when my son told me that he had sold drugs at school (prescription drugs and marijuana) and was caught holding on to three or four stolen pistols by local police who raded his home at 1:00 a.m. one morning.

Dealing With The Truth ...

Here I go with my emotions because God knows I have been so confused. I didn't freak out when my son told me and I'm glad I didn't. I opted to talk to him about why he would do those things, if he thought that was 'right', if he was proud of them, where he saw himself in the future, his feelings, etc.

I just really wanted to understand.

I told him that he was very intelligent and that even though maybe he can't see himself doing great things that I can. We talked about things that interest him and things he's good at doing, etc.

After I got off the phone with him I broke down and cried. I worried myself sick and started the blame game. I blamed me, then my ex-husband, then my own parents for the way they raised me, and ultimately God. Phases maybe? I don't know but it took me a few weeks.

I finally came to the conclusion that it is what it is. Lots of people get into some trouble in their teens, I did. I know I did my fair share of stupid things, most of which I am ashamed of too!

And finally, no matter who is to blame ... my son needs help now before its too late.

Constructing the Plan ...

I really wish I had a plan. I don't even know where to start. A thousand ideas have flashed across my mind, some multiple times but the fact is I don't have a lot of experience dealing with a teen. I guess I'm gonna get a crash course soon because he'll be here at my house in just a few weeks and he's staying the entire summer. This will be the first summer we've spent together since he was 7 years old. I can't impress him with a Happy Meal and a trip to the park anymore so I don't know what's gonna happen.

All I can say is that I've bottled all this stuff up inside and it's been killing me. I had to get it off my chest before he comes and saying it out loud, like here, will likely help me out.

In the meantime, I am out for the summer now as far as I know. I could be going back to work in July. I hope I don't have to go back in July because my son will be here with us and I really want to spend as much time with him as I can. I think I need to spend a lot of time with him. I think I'm hoping that he will learn more about our life, the way we live, meet some of our friends, and slow down a little bit. I really want him to enjoy life and see it as this great gift that we are all given.

I really hope that everyone on the www is doing well and I miss being here in my neck of the woods. Maybe I'll be able to find the time now that I'm on vacation to reconnect with my blog and reclaim my place in the www. Wish me luck :)

Disney's Miley Cyrus Movie Filming in Savannah ... Extras Needed!!

2009-05-20T09:00:00.001-07:00

I don't watch a lot of local news so I had NO clue that Miley Cyrus was going to star in an upcoming Disney feature film called Last Song filmed minutes down the road in Savannah, Georgia. My kids are pumped over this knowledge and begged me to take them to Savannah ... what's a mom to do???

I have NO clue so I emailed the production company with the following two photos and another from Patriotic Day from last year. I also included this long description of how great my kids are :)

I don't often talk about how great my kids are so why not do that now?

The first pic is of Jordan. Jordan is eight years and currently failing the second grade probably because he will not stay in his seat at school. This child runs on high octane apparently and it's really hard to keep up with him; he's always up to something. He has sang since he could talk.

Not too long ago we found a local guy who said he would teach our boys to play guitar. Jordan has a short attention span and put down the guitar as quickly as he picked it up. Now we're moving on to the piano. Thank God the music teacher plays guitar, piano, and about a dozen other instruments I can't pronounce or spell!

Usually while Caleb and I take guitar lessons, Jordan is singing on the microphone.

The next photo below is of Caleb ... what a sweetheart. Caleb is like a li'l Romeo and still has the same girlfriend, Randi, so far. He says the girls can't keep their hands off of his hair at school but he loves the attention. He's doing well with guitar lessons but his real talent is with comedy.

They both compete for attention all the time!

Caleb sneaks out with my camcorder and records different scenarios. The first time I discovered a recording I thought I'd pee my pants laughing because it was a windy day and Caleb acted like he was the weatherman reporting on a storm on the way. Thank God he was safe on my porch.

Okay I'm finished bragging but if anyone would like more information about becoming an extra in the movie, don't call the production company because all they can do is give out the email address ... I know this because I'm a ding dong that tried to call 'em.

On the other hand, I've never done anything like this so my phone call may not result the same as someone else's? I don't know. Maybe I just don't know how to talk 'the talk'? If there is such a thing LOL.

For more information please visit: Savannah Film Office and scroll to the bottom of the page for the email address and a hotline number will be posted soon :)

Wish us luck, I sent our email!

A Few Pics From KY ...

2009-05-08T21:55:00.000-07:00

I'm sure that everyone knows that Kentucky experienced a horrible ice storm, afterall it was national news, and I had to snap at least one photo to show just some of what it left behind. I have more dramatic photos but I think this pretty much shows a common sight of any roadside in Kentucky.

You can see that all of the trees have suffered breakage. These are just small trees on the roadside that once stood proud and beautiful; now they are just a mangled mess.

The next photo I snapped just before the mangled trees because I had driven down the road and back up again. Caleb said, "Hey look at that deer!" I didn't see the deer when we passed but on the way back up the road again, the deer was still there. Usually when a deer feels that it is in danger, the tail will stand up ... you can tell this one had no fear. Odd no?

This next pic is a favorite place of mine that sits on a side road between the towns of Springfield and Bardstown in a small place called Fredericksburg or commonly "the Burg". It's private property so I always stay in my car to admire it but it is beautiful and I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to live at this place. It's really peaceful :)

This next photo is not anywhere near my hometown but almost every time I go to Kentucky, I stop to see Cumberland Falls. My parents took me to Cumberland Falls when I was a itty bitty tike and I still love to go. I've heard tales of catfish in Lake Cumberland that are said to be twice the size of humans ... some even bigger. So I've never wanted to swim.

This next photo really saddens me because park officials have had problems with trash for years now. All of this stuff flows over the falls and finds a resting place on the lake side, creating an eye soar. This stuff pollutes the lake too. It's such a beautiful place and look what people have done to it. Sad.

I've lived in South Caroline since '98, so you can imagine how many times I've traveled between South Carolina and Kentucky. I know all the good spots to find fireworks, where to see a natural mountain stream, etc. The road has so much history to me that in a way it all feels like home to me.

Sometimes I miss Kentucky but I love South Carolina too. Each place has unique qualities.

At the moment I have some issues with family in Kentucky that I'll go into when I have the mental clearness to go into detail about it. It's really broken my heart and on top of other stresses, well, I'm just depressed I think. I'm optomistic, yet praying so stay tuned.

The Great Smokies Flea Market

2009-05-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

A quick update ... finally here are a few pictures from my trip to KY. I've been back now for awhile and even though these pics have been up on MySpace, I still wanted to post 'em here. I really enjoyed the Great Smokies Flea Market in TN and can't wait to actually be able to spend a full day or so there, hopefully on my next trip :)

I'm serious when I say that anyone can find just about anything at this huge flea market. you can see just some of what one can find there. They have all sorts of pets for sale too from puppies to flying squirrels; seriously!

And checkout Caleb ... he only spent $3 and was thrilled with his cheap find. He was happy the entire trip and I was too because you just can't beat cheap thrills!

I wish I could say that my trip was cheap but I can't. I always pack lite and come home loaded down ... I still don't know how that happens. I have more pics that I'll post in a bit :)

FREE Meal at KFC-Print Your Coupons ASAP!

2009-05-06T04:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when I got home it was raining and my satellite signal was going in and out so I wasn't paying much attention to the tube until I head Oprah say something about a free meal at KFC.

The offer expires today 5/6/09 at 9:59 p.m. so if you don't hurry you will not get a coupon. You can print up to four, so hurry!!!!

Go to www.oprah.com/kfc

You'll see a link to print coupons, click it. Then you'll go to the KFC site and click another "print coupons" link. Then if you've never printed coupons from that site before you have to install the "online printer" which only takes a minute or so to download and VOILA! You are set!

I tried to print my coupons yesterday (Jenn was able to print one) but I got all four of mine this morning at 7 a.m. so good luck. I'll see ya at KFC :)

On the Road Again ...

2009-04-05T05:27:00.001-07:00

Yep I am on my way to the big KY, Kentucky that is, but at the moment I'm traveling down interstate 40 making my way to Knoxville, Tennessee. In other words I'm crossing the mountains and I can't do that at night, it scares me to death.

So lastnight I had planned on getting as close to the mountains as possible and just sleeping at a hotel. Where I-26 meets with I-40 there was traffic backed up for only God knows how far, so I took the nearest exit after waiting in traffic that had been inching along too long. I stayed at a Budget Inn? I don't know what the name of this place is but we are somewhere in North Carolina and I only payed $55 for a decent night of sleep; not a bad room either. The parking lot is another story but who cares ... the kids got up in a good mood ... RARE! :)

(OFCOURSE WE HAD MC DONALD'S FOR BREAKFAST ... KIDS LOVE IT, WORKS 4 M3!)

What are those last pics right??? LOL let's say that I noticed a 'crack' in the pavement near the edge of the lil creek or whatever it is behind my car ... more like a gaping HOLE! I was afraid to stand near it :)

But I tonight I will be safe and sound at my Mom's, no need for another hotel. Today we are just taking our time and who knows where we will be by lunch. Wish me a safe journey and to everyone, a happy weekend :)

Under the Big Top ...

2009-03-29T13:51:00.001-07:00

Since the soon to be sister-in-law has had such a rough weekend, the Mexican stayed home so we girls could just have a good time with the kids and off to the Cole Bros. Circus we went. You wouldn't believe how many Mexicans work at the circus either!

The Mexican was a lil upset because I was going out with the soon to be sister-in-law two days in a row and told me to drive my car. He knows that we couldn't all fit in my car (my SUV is in the shop) so we all piled into the soon to be sister-in-law's big expidition. The one that had been parked for 3 months and the same one she said (after we were three miles away from my house) may have a family of mice living in it. OMG! I thought I would die all the way there and all the way back, but we still had a good time.

NOTE: I will never ride in her vehicle again though.

Here are just a few pics and if you'd like to see more just click on "Add me on MySpace" to see more pictures, I've uploaded about 25 pics there :)

What's so unique about this picture?? Well the chick is hanging by the hair of her partner's head, seriously. These two twirled around connected only by the hair on their heads. Amazing.

I've often heard that animals at the circus are treated very badly, especially elephants. This pic was kinda bittersweet to me because if you look at it and think just how majestic these creatures are it's sad and beautiful at the same time to see it.

The fog effect, the lights, the white flowing sashes= beautiful. Hanging above an audience under the big top has to be priceless ... I would love to do that!

I tried to place like a red circle around the guy so that he would be more noticeable in the photo ... he was blasted out of the cannon and flew 65 m.p.h. across the way ... too cool.

Out of all the clowns at the circus, Caleb liked this one the best. Could it be because she spoke Spanish?? I don't know but most of the employees at the circus did. Some were from Mexico, Columbia, and Peru. There were others from places like Yugoslavia and the Phillipines I think.

The only thing they didn't have that I would've liked was lions or tigers.

And did I mention the rain??? We were soaked! It rained ALL DAY LONG, which meant that the big top was only somewhat dry inside. The ground was saturated ... thank God I wore my crocs. The Port-A-Pottys were outside beneath the rain filled sky so I had to think twice about making that trip.

Our feet were nasty so I was really glad that I didn't drive my car afterall. LOL.

Part 2: Other Disasters ...

2009-03-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

I blogged about Caleb's new girlfriend, Randi, and about our night at the skating rink (Jordan's odd relationship with Lisselle) ... now it's time for what happened on the way home from the skating rink.

On the way home everyone was hungry so we took a pitstop at McDonald's. The soon to be sister-in-law has suspected for quite some time now that her novio (boyfriend) has been honeymooning on the side. Why?

It's a lil complicated but before the boy came to the U.S. from Mexico, he left a girlfriend behind like a lot of Mexicans do. And like a lot of Mexicans do, they drop that left behind girlfriend in Mexico in exchange for more adventurous women in the U.S.

And life goes on ... well the left behind girlfriend found someone new and she came to the U.S. with that newby, to Colorado to be exact. I don't know how but these two began talking on the phone some time last year and the soon to be sister-in-law caught him talking to her.

So the soon to be sister-in-law asks all the important questions:

1. Why are you talking to your exgirlfriend?
2. Do you still love her?
3. Do you still want her?

You get the idea. So he tells her that he's not really sure how he feels about the exgirlfriend because she is in Colorado living with another man and the couple has a baby. He said that his exgirlfriend said that she wanted him back and wanted to come to S.C.-he also told her that he wanted her back too, and that he wanted her to come here to S.C. to be with him ... baby and all.

The exgirlfriend said she would come as long as he talked to her brothers, since they are so protective of her but he didn't wanna talk to her brothers. (Guess he didn't want her that much afterall, too much trouble??)

Then he convinces the soon to be sister-in-law that it was nothing and that he wouldn't talk to the exgirlfriend in Colorado any more. And she believed him.

The soon to be sister-in-law confronts me a few months ago to see if I could log in to the cellular account for a detailed report of incoming/outgoing calls just to make sure that her man is not talking to the exgirlfriend in Colorado still.

I couldn't resist because I can't stand to see any chick be wronged or vice versa so Friday night at McDonalds, that's what we did. We logged into the cellular account and yes he is still talking to the exgirlfriend in Colorado and possibly a few new chicks too.

Where does one find the time to do these things???

Well on the weekends, he stays out 'with the boys'. Often times ALL NIGHT LONG and doesn't come home sometimes until Sunday afternoon. The soon to be sister-in-law allows him to do this because he's kinda macho; he gets mad if she comes around when he is with his friends or calls too many times, etc.

And she does everything she can to make him happy. (#%^$#@)

So on the way home we are nearing the parking lot where my soon to be sister-in-law parked her vehicle (she rode with me) and she calls her boyfriend to see where he is, he says he's at a place locally known as West Side. A place just around the corner from where her vehicle is parked so when she gets off the phone with him she says, "let's ride to West Side".

So we did and, of course, the boyfriend lied ... he's not there.

I remember the Mexican telling me about some apartments near the Kangaroo gas station that his brother is rumored to frequent so off we go to see if he is there and wouldn't ya know ... yep there's his truck.

We figure out a way to lure him out.

We pull up to the apartments and the door is open to the unit where his truck is parked and we see a dark figure (there was only t.v. light inside) standing near the door who, once upon seeing us, closes the door rather quickly. The soon to be sister-in-law goes to the door and knocks, the apartment goes completely dark, and no one wants to answer the door. She hears a back door open and close, she continues knocking and a woman answers who says that her boyfriend is not there. Another woman is peeking through the living room to see who is at the door and suddenly said boyfriend just pops up from the other side of the apartments ... he walked all the way around to avoid being caught.

It's clear to me that he was with someone else, but somehow he is working on convincing the soon to be sister-in-law that he was in a totally different apartment with a bunch of guys drinking. He acts like he has no clue about the apartment she is talking about and says it wasn't him standing by the door.

Whatever!

In the meantime the soon to be sister-in-law really wants to believe him because she loves him but she also knows what she saw. Her weekend has been hellish and the two of them are not getting along well.

The Mexican blames me, he doesn't even know that we looked at the cellular records, but says it's my fault for giving her a ride to those apartments. I don't care what he says because if he lied to me about where he was I'd look for his a$$ too. When the soon to be sister-in-law found her boyfriend she jumped in the truck with him and argued later about the circumstances.

You see, I wouldn't have left the apartment if my man was in questionable circumstances because everyone would've heard me ... it's not that I have a short fuse or anything but he'd have more some explaining to do. I'd have an all out investigation going on starting with the people who live in that particular apartment!

The soon to be sister-in-law had to get out of the house yesterday so we went to the circus :)

Spring Love and Other Distasters ...

2009-03-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

The beginning here is not so much drama persay but something I've been giggling about for a couple of weeks now. It all started with a trip to the local beauty shop to get haircuts. Both of the boys, ten year old Caleb and seven year old Jordan walked into the beauty salon and there sat this girl named Randi that they go to school with.

All three of 'em sat in the beauty salon picking on each other, calling each other names, etc.

I got really pissed off and fussed at both of the boys for being so mean to the girl; I gave the Mom Speech about how you should treat others the way you want others to treat you for nearly an hour.

Then (a week or so ago) ten year old Caleb tells me that Randi is now his girlfriend! OMG!

Okay so obviously I have forgotten how love at the age of ten really feels and was totally blind to what was happening right before my eyes. So Caleb began bringing 'love notes' home everyday. Just little notes that said 'Randi and Caleb' with hearts drawn all around or similiar with "Love Struck" in big letters or "I Miss You". Really cute stuff until the other day ... this is what he brought home (see pics)

The decorated box contained the above pictured pup, a small bottle of cologne spray, something leather, and a heart shaped pendant with no chain ... and another love note. Awwwwe. It was really cute. I think the pup and heart shaped pendant both came out of bubble gum machines or something, she didn't spend any money unless she purchased the cologne maybe but how cute is that! (truly a heart felt gift no?)

So lastnight was friday night and Caleb had asked Randi if she wanted to go to the skating rink with him. Randi called and said she couldn't because her family had company visiting. Caleb was a lil upset but we went skating anway. Here's my budding Romeo, Caleb, making himself have fun without his lil girlfriend :)

The Mexican decided that he was too tired to go and opted to stay home. Well I didn't wanna go to the skating rink with just the kids because they leave me ... then what do I do? So I called up the soon to be sister-in-law to see if she wanted to take her two daughters Lisselle (pronounced: Lee-sell) and Elaine (pronounced: E-lie-nay). And off we went.

My seven year old and Lisselle have what we like to call a love/hate relationship. These two love to hate each other and hate to love each other. Take a look at this snapshot to see what I mean. Can't you see they really love to be together ... deep down inside??

These two usually work against each other but usually on alternate days. Jordan will find something that drives Lisselle crazy ... like riding her bicycle. Lisselle goes crazy, screaming and crying. Then Jordan rides the bike in circles around her singing 'nannananna-boo-boo ha ha I'm riding your bike. '

Later Lisselle might change the channel that Jordan is watching or wait for him to put down his gameboy so that she can play it. Then she starts with her taunts. Trust me, it's hard to be around these two at the same time. Once Lisselle goes her own way, or vice versa, Jordan is usually okay. Here's the pic of Jordan without Lisselle ...

At the moment the soon to be sister-in-law is on her way to my house, picking up some McDonald's because I'm too lazy to cook :)

Keep in mind that this is just PART 1 to friday night because there was a lot of drama in the early morning hours of Saturday. I didn't get to sleep until about five this morning and am still in my PJ's at almost 3 o'clock this afternoon. So stay tuned!

Latino Talent on YouTube ... Who Knew!

2009-03-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

Today I've done a lot of surfing and found lots of new blogs (I need to update my links to add those) and I found a lot of interesting things to say the least. One of those interesting things happens to be this YouTube video of Nia.

Nia is ONLY 13 years old and sings beyond her years. I found this video while reading Latino Pride and if you click on over there you can read more about Nia; how she began singing, etc.

I admit, I do not surf YouTube a lot so if I find out about anything on YouTube it's usually because I either read it somewhere or someone told me. Occassionally I do visit and I'm always amazed at what I find. I would suggest to anyone with a few down minutes to surf YouTube from time to time because the site is filled with all sorts of amazing videos no matter what search query is entered, a result is sure to pop up!

Whatever you do, watch the video!

Prank Your Buddy: Funny Text!

2009-03-16T16:56:00.001-07:00

Don't ask me why, but I felt compelled to post this because a friend of mine really got me today. I was sitting at work and I get a text message. I take a quick peek to see who its from and I think awwwwe, my friend Pam has sent me a text.

I click "read" and this is what I read ...

I need to talk to you ASAP about some stuff that just went down and it's about you. My phone is going to die so call me back on my friend's number ... 413-497-0025.

Okay so me being the sweet person I am wonders who on the planet earth could be talking smack about ME!

I look at my coworker and read the text to her. We're both freaking out. I can't stand it so I jot down the number and call my good friend Pam. You wouldn't believe what I heard.

What a prank!

Oh well, if you wanna know what I heard you'll just have to call. If you think it is as funny as I thought it was then send to ALL of your buddies; just like I did.

On the flip side: If anyone has something really good I can send back to my buddy to get her back for this, do let me know! LOL

Slumdog Millionaire or Wetback Millionaire??

2009-03-16T16:16:00.001-07:00

Recently (past 2 days) the Mexican has been learning how to use the computer, pity me, but today he found his first youtube find. He cracked up over this short parody of Slumdog Millionaire. I haven't saw the movie ... but now we're gonna have to see it because of Wetback Millionaire. Too funny!

I wish there really was a Wetback Millionaire because it would make a good comedy :)

FREE Ebook: Five Keys to Learning Spanish Rapidly

2009-03-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

That's right ... FREE! Rosana Hart from Mexico with Heart is offering a free ebook titled Five Keys to Learning Spanish Rapidly, absolutely free. I should write a free ebook about how many times I can possibly use the word free in one sentence huh?

I'm really excited about this ebook not only because it is free but because I have read Mexico with Heart at various times and have enjoyed it, so I'm pretty sure that this ebook will be good.

I can't tell you how many emails I have gotten over the past year or so with questions about learning Spanish quickly. People always want to do things fast and 'rapidly' is in the title of Rosana's ebook.

At one time I posted a weekly word in Spanish but that's a bit tiresome and learning Spanish takes a lot more effort than learning just a word a week.

In the early days of learning Spanish for myself I grouped like words together; like the days of the week, months of the year, colors, numbers, etc. My mind seemed to process the information better that way.

Once I felt that I was comfortable with those words, I broadened my horizons and became a bit more brave learning words for things that are commonly found in a house (kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, etc.) and eventually worked into things that are found in specific places like restaurants or doctors offices.

I then moved on to AR verbs, these are the verbs ending in -ar like caminar (to walk) or bailar (to dance). In English we have past, present, and future tenses. So I found it necessary to say whether I walk, walked, am walking or will walk. You get the idea. Then it was important to justify "who" is walking; you, me, them, they, etc. So I learned how to put my sentences together.

Some days I do really well and speak nearly perfect Spanish. Occassionally I'll goof up with something but my sister-in-law, who says she is Tex Mex, does the same thing so it's not just a gringa thing.

The important thing is that even if I goof and improperly use a word, I know I did it and can recover from it quickly. Most of the time the person I am speaking with catches and already knows what I'm getting at anyway so it's not a big deal.

I've signed up to read over this ebook and will post my thoughts on it soon. I haven't been able to do much of anything this whole weekend because I had a tooth pulled on thursday and I've been in a lot of pain pretty much up until today. I'm finally feeling better.

So if you've read the ebook and wanna share your thoughts or if you know of another freeby that looks good, let me know. Til next time ... I hope everyone has a great week :)

Spring is Near!

2009-03-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

Today at work a friend and I noticed a beautiful flower emerging from the line of bushes that are filling with buds bursting to bloom ... just a sign that Spring is right around the corner. I couldn't resist and had to snap a quick photo with my cell phone to share. The pics below were taken of an azalea near my job.

After all the cold weather we've had, I just can't wait for Spring. Luckily Spring is just around the corner. I came home to check on my own azaleas and they too are bursting with buds. My local hardware store once had a huge sale on azaleas and I purchased ten, eight died!

Needless to say ... I don't necessarily have such a green thumb but two are still alive, so far doing really well, after three years or so. I started wondering about the flowers in Mexico. I wish I knew more about them and the Mexican doesn't really get into the whole gardening thing so he's not much help when it comes to questions about flowers in Mexico.

On my trip to visit my inlaws I saw beautiful flowers. My sister-in-law's mother had lots of beautiful potted flowering plants, most of which I had never saw before. She went around telling me a few of their names but there's no way I could remember them; I don't even remember the names of half the flowers that grow in my own yard.

So today I decided to look around the www to find some Mexican flowers and I found some at the Mexile. He, Gary Denness, lives in Mexico and blogs about it. Gary also has documents a lot with pictures, beautiful pictures ...

Gary's photos of the flower shop make me wish I was there to pick out some for myself!

To see more photos of beautiful flowers in Mexico just visit Gary's Spring Flowers post and see all your eyes can see because there are plenty of photos. I enjoyed reading over the Mexile too :)

I'm Back ... and Love is in the Air???

2009-03-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

Since I'm officially back, I've been surfing the web finding the answers to all the questions that have plagued my thoughts, reading blogs, updating and creating profiles. Normal stuff right?

I created a profile on Pyzam, don't ask why but I did. I logged into my email today and there was a notification from the site stating that someone sent me a message.

I'm normal ... I get excited when someone sends me a message so I eagerly click the link to see who has contacted me.

I didn't expect to see what I saw though ... read on.

The look of your eyes and that smile on your profile , melted my heart
away. Those smooth cheeks you have, oh, I wished I could've given you a kiss
right away. As soon as I see your face, my knees go weak, my heart throbs hoping
to feel you around me. Your body is perfection and to me it does not matter.

I loved the way you looked at me on your profile. I couldn't talk, my
mouth felt numb and I stuttered. I wished I had the courage to do so 'cause
you're the most beautiful angel I have ever seen. Maybe God closed my eyes to
other girls and you attracted my attention. I have been waiting to meet a
beautifull lady like you for 3 years now, I hope I'll be able to talk to you
soon. I just don't have the courage.

Thanks for the smile you gave me on your profile. I really felt so
lightened inside that I melted. I could say nothing but to just stare at your
natural beauty. I wish we could go out together one day and we could have our
nights by the bay and that I could pour out my feelings to you. Thank you, you
awaken me, deep inside. Even if you don't love me, I'll always wait for you and
no matter what, you are in my heart... no matter what happens. I hope I'll be
able to hold you in my arms and tell you that I love you. That's all I need from
you. I love you and that's a promise. you can mail me back to my Email address
XXXXXXXXXXXX.

Okay I realize that this probably happens a lot because it has happened to me before. I did a search on this guy's email address and I got lots of results, so he surfs a lot!

If I wanted to 'mess around' I surely wouldn't wanna do it with a guy who comes across a bit stalk-ish-like ya know. I think he pissed me off and the end of the first paragraph too when he commented about my body being perfection "and to me it does not matter".

He's saying I'm fat! LMAO.

I got a kick out of it regardless and so did the Mexican. I had to post about this lovely message because I giggled long and hard over it. I even teased the Mexican telling him that there are lots of men in the world who want me so he better watch it. (I wouldn't trade him for nothing)

Anyone else getting messages like these? Just curious :)

Image Courtesy Of: Subhub

I'm OFFICIALLY Back!

2009-03-02T20:09:00.000-08:00

This is probably what I looked like tonight setting up the new computer ... there is just so much to do when setting up a new one. It seemed like it took forever to set up a new connection and antivirus, etc.

EVERYONE in the house knew that I was not to be disturbed! I was on a mission.

My computer is STILL at Bestbuy. They replaced the hard drive and it wasn't working, they called me and asked permission to send it off to wherever these pc's get repaired at and I said yes, which started a new service ticket. It's been a month and friday they said my pc was in transit and today ... it is still in transit. And who knows if it will be repaired once it comes back to the store because it wasn't the last time. I am hopeful though.

The Mexican will soon be heading off to Mexico and his family doesn't have a computer. We had originally planned on sending my old desktop down south of the border but it's eight years old, even I don't wanna mess with trying to hook it up. It was slower than Christmas the last time I played around with it so we bought a cheap Acer.

I'll be using the Acer til the Mexican takes it away or my HP is repaired.

BUT I AM OFFICIALLY BACK!!!!!! WHOOOOOHOOOOO.

I have soooo many things to blog about like what I've been up to and things that have happened ... a few juicy stories. Most of all what I really want to do right now is visit some other blogs that I have desperately missed. Tomorrow night the kids have guitar lessons but Wednesday evening I'm gonna be surfing the net!

It feels good to be back :)

Photo Courtesy of: WildLifeRanger

Update ... Computer Situation Sucks

2009-02-22T16:25:00.000-08:00

Once again ... I'm hijacking my friend's computer and it appears that I may have some type of coding problem; it's gonna have to wait though. Bestbuy is getting on my nerves. So far they have had my computer now for 3 weeks, ofcourse after I had to go through the pain of finding the purchase in my financial records to prove that I purchased it from them, and I have no clue what is going on with my computer.

The geeks told me that they sent it off somewhere and the hard drive was replaced. I then had to take my resource cd's to them so they could install my operating system. Well the computer wouldn't take the discs, it just had a blue screen. Now they say that they have sent it off to where ever they send sick pc's to for more diagnostics.

Why can't they just give me a new computer!

I don't know and it is soooo stressing me out.

Something else that is stressing me out is the uncertainty on the job. Since I do work in education and so many cut backs are being made ... I could be jobless. Maybe I can fall back on my Avon business?

Seriously I've been selling Avon and it's not bad. My skin is the softest it's ever been.

Well I hope that everyone in the land of www is doing well and weathering the financial crisis. Keep the faith and I miss EVERYONE. :)