Everlast

Three Months!

2010-02-03T09:54:00.000-08:00

Three months ago today I was high as a kite - mostly from sheer joy but also from a little morphine. My sweet Stella came into this world and made my life even better. I can't believe my little monkey is three months old. These past months have gone by so fast but at the same time I feel like Stella has been here forever. I can't imagine life without her.

At three months this is our routine:

Bedtime between 9 pm and 10 pm

Wake up at 6 am and nurse

6:45 am play in the swing and talk to mommy while I pump

7 am Stella goes down for a morning nap while I shower and get ready

8 am leave to drop off at daycare

9 am 4 oz bottle

12 pm 4 oz bottle

3 pm 4 oz bottle

(Naps between 9 am and 5 pm vary each day at daycare, unfortunately)

5:30 pm pick up from daycare and head home

6 pm nurse

7 pm evening nap

8:45 pm bathtime

9 pm nurse then bedtime

I pump twice a day at work (TONS of fun!) and so far it has worked out pretty well for us.

At three months Stella smiles all the time. She does lots of "talking" as long as you are paying attention to her. She has great neck control and holds her head up like a champ. She also is a big fan of standing up and has very strong legs! She likes her swing and loves her changing table but most of the time prefers to be held. She's only a LITTLE bit spoiled :) She is a Pampers only girl (Huggies resulted in a new outfit every day for a week at daycare). She switched from Nuk to Dr. Browns bottles and has been doing great (but the Dr. Browns are a pain in the butt to clean!). She also really loves bathtime!

She has been getting good reports at daycare. They told me she is the best behaved baby in the class and only cries when she needs something. The sweet teachers send me pictures during the day so I can see how she's doing.

And she's usually quite happy! Luckily daddy and grandma get to visit frequently throughout the day and she loves having her visitors.

She is such a joy to be around. The last three months have been the happiest three months of my life. I feel like I was made to be a mom and being Stella's mom is the best job I could ever have.

And mommy and daddy just LOVE how much personality Ms. Stella has!

Almost the Weekend!

2010-01-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure I have ever been so excited about a weekend. Not only am I looking forward to getting to spend more than just a couple of hours with Stella but I am also EXHAUSTED from this week. I was getting a lot more sleep before work and this is going to take some getting used to. Waking up between 5:30 and 6 and going to bed around 11 may be normal for some but not us - Mama wants some sleep.

Last night was the first night that Stella was in a good mood after daycare. She made it from school to the house without screaming (a first!) and my mom came over and Stella actually just hung out with us for a while and was alert and happy. It was so nice to get to spend some time with her when she was awake and not crying.

I got to daycare this morning and the teacher said they needed to let me know that Stella threw up yesterday it was "very, very, very warm". I said "well, yeah, it came out of her body which is also warm...". She said it was abnormally warm and they felt like I needed to know. Not sure exactly what I am supposed to make of that. Other than that she got a good report. They said she loves tummy time which is great since we don't do much of that at home :) One of the swim coaches at the JCC came to see Stella and said she is very strong for her age. We think so too because she had pretty good head control when she was born and has been standing with all her weight on her legs for a while. Maybe she'll end up with some guns like her daddy!

This weekend we will be celebrating Stacey's birthday with a game night tonight and Saturday night mom and I are going to see 101 Dalmatians with Marisa and Anna. Other than that I hope to get some naps and lots and lots of snuggles from the cutest baby on the block.

Man, I love that punkin.

Trying to Adjust

2010-01-13T09:08:00.000-08:00

This is week one of full time daycare and it's just as bad as I had imagined :( I knew before Stella was even born that leaving her and going back to work would be hard. But she surprised me and made it even harder. At two months she is so responsive and fun and I just want to be with her all day. Not to mention I feel like we have a pretty good schedule down and I know that will change with daycare.

We are both having growing pains. I hate leaving her. Dropping her off when she's smiling and happy is incredibly difficult. I just want to stay and play. Dropping her off when she's upset and crying is incredibly difficult. I just want to stay and hold her.

Stella doesn't seem to understand why she has to drink from a bottle and why there is so much noise when she is trying to nap. She is not eating as well as she was and she is sleeping very little. That part is hard too because I spend my entire day counting down the minutes until I get to see her and when we get home she is either incredibly cranky or asleep. Last night we got home and she ate around 6 and went down for a nap at 7. She slept from 7 until 9:45 at which point I had to wake her up for her to eat. She ate and then went right back to sleep until this morning. The poor thing is just exhausted but it means that Martin and I didn't get to spend any time with her - she didn't even get a bath!

Yesterday her report from her teacher was "she just cried and cried and cried." Which almost made me cry and cry and cry. I talked to the other teacher this morning and I asked that they work on getting her some good naps - swaddle her and use her sound machine. Today will be better, right?

I'm not sure I'll ever adjust to not being with her during the days but hopefully it will get easier to drop her off.

In the meantime I will just keep pulling up pictures to get me through the day and continue throwing myself the pity parties :)

She's Here!

2010-01-08T10:27:00.001-08:00

I know, I know, it's been months. But I've been VERY busy.

Stella Marie was born November 3, 2009 weighing 6 pounds 6 ounces. She is everything I hoped for and more. We scheduled a c-section and it was great. I was able to get a good night's sleep the night before and we woke up excited and totally freaked out that Tuesday morning. When we got to the hospital my blood pressure was through the roof. The nurse kept saying "Laura, you MUST calm down". I was so scared! The worst part was definitely the epidural. He had to do it twice and it wasn't fun but luckily it didn't take too long. The procedure itself was pretty crazy. It took no time at all, I felt incredibly sleepy and I just remember laying there thinking if I closed my eyes I would fall asleep and would miss the whole thing. I heard the doctor say "Wow! Look at all that hair." Then I knew she was here but I heard nothing and started to freak out. The nurses were all telling me how pretty she was but I still never heard her cry. They popped her over the sheet for me to see her for one second and I remember thinking, holy crap that baby is dark. Turned out the cord was wrapped around her neck which is why she wasn't crying and why she was so dark (blue). They worked on her for a minute and I finally heard the most beautiful sound in the world. My baby was crying. I couldn't believe she was here. Martin left my side to watch them give her a bath and do the measurements. I was so desperate to get a good look at her. When I finally saw that precious face I think I experienced every emotion you can have. I looked up at Martin and I will never forget his face - he looked so happy and SO proud. The moment you see this little creature that you helped create is something nothing can prepare you for - it's truly amazing.

They rolled me out of the operating room to go to recovery and I saw all my family in the waiting room. I gave them a wave as I rolled past them but I just wanted to hug all of them. I was so excited to share this moment with my family that I love so much. It was a very emotional day. I was just so happy. Watching each of my family members hold my daughter for the first time was such wonderful thing.

The rest of the hospital stay was fabulous. We had an awesome suite, great nurses and I recovered from the c-section surprisingly well (seriously, it was nothing!). And yes, it's true, you will simply stare at your new baby for hours for at least the first month!

Bringing home baby was exciting. I couldn't wait to get her in our house, see how the animals reacted to her and get her in all of those adorable clothes we had waiting for her. Turned out nothing fit her because she was so petite!

The first night home was horrible. She cried well, screamed, the entire night. My milk had not come in and she was starving. I was exhausted and miserable that I couldn't fix it and make her better. We took her to the pediatrician the next morning (thank goodness their office is open on Saturdays!) and they gave her some formula which made her immediately happy and me immediately burst into tears. That's what hormones, exhaustion, frustration and relief will do.

The first month was pretty rough. Stella didn't sleep more than two hours at a time at night, slept very little during the day and breastfeeding was very painful and difficult. Most days I never got out of my pajamas and went days at a time without a shower. It was the hardest thing I have ever done and yet the most wonderful thing at the same time.

These days Stella is sleeping 6 to 7 hours at a time, breastfeeding is actually an enjoyable bonding exercise and she is an absolute joy. She is smiling and cooing and getting prettier and prettier every day.

When I hear her cry early on and Saturday morning and thing "I do NOT want to be up" all it takes is for me to see her face and I'm immediately happy to be awake, sharing those early hours with her.

Stella is the most wonderful gift imaginable. I spent my whole life wanting to be a mommy. I can honestly say that being Stella's mommy is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me and so much better than I ever could have imagined. It's like every day is Christmas morning. I wake up excited to see her, to see that toothless grin and to get those special snuggles.

Motherhood is not for everyone. You have to be willing to be pooped on, peed on, thrown up on and let's not even start on what it does to your body. But it is for me. I feel like this something I was made to do. I am so proud to be Stella's mom!

Wow

2009-07-28T11:09:00.001-07:00

In the year 2014 your baby will start kindergarten.

In the year 2025 you'll be teaching your child to drive a car.

In the year 2027 you will be watching your child graduate high school.

Crazy huh?

V Day

2009-07-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

We have reached 24 weeks which is considered V-day..In other words, viability day!...If for some reason Stella made an early appearance, there is a very good chance of survival...of course, we want her to stay put for a while but this is a big milestone!

"This is another big week for your magical growing baby! Just take a look at the checklist for this week: 1) ears: done; 2) fingernails: done; 3) (if you have a boy) testicles: taking their 3-4 day trip from the abdominal wall to the scrotum; and 4) lungs walls: secreting “surfactant”. What’s that? Well, surfactant is sort of what it sounds like: a surface-activated fat whose main purpose is to assist the your baby's little lungs during inflation (as in, filling with air, not getting more expensive). Just in case you’re curious, your submerged baby is still breathing in amniotic fluid, preparing and rehearsing the lungs an oxygen-filled life outside the womb. By the end of this week, your child will be weighing around 2 lbs and 14 inches long. Your cutie-patootie may even be a little more plump, but isn't anywhere near their full baby-fatted cute-self. Most of the “filling out” is coming up in that long awaited (and slightly dreaded?) third trimester. Woo-hoo! Get ready! In the past few weeks, the top of your uterus has risen above your belly button and is now about the size of a soccer ball.

This month has gone by pretty quickly and the third trimester will be here in another three weeks. Pretty crazy. Next month I will have my glucose screening test and at that appointment I will schedule the 4D ultrasound. That should be super fun! We will get a glimpse at what she really looks like and I can't wait to see her sweet little face.

I am feeling pretty good these days thanks to a new mattress which is helping me get great sleep. I still feel pretty tired most of the time but I'm trying to enjoy this time before I get even bigger and getting around gets harder!

We had our first meeting with a pediatrician last night which went great. I liked the doctor a lot. She is young and has lots of experience with babies. She and I seemed to have the same views on many of the issues we discussed and she was able to answer all of my questions.

We have a busy month ahead of us. We have scheduled our hospital tour, breastfeeding class and childbirth class for next month.

At some point we really need to get crackin' on the nursery!

Halfway and a Sex Change

2009-06-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

We are 20 weeks!

"This week you're carrying about 10.5 inches and 10.5 ounces of solid baby-miracle-goodness! Their little delicate bones continue to ossify and toughen while their itsy bitsy finger and toe pads are finishing up. Your little monkey now has teeth buds, although they’re hidden beneath the gum line. And finally! Their limbs have reached their relative proportions—no more alien baby! Their cute pink lips are more defined, and might be helping out in a bit of prenatal thumb-sucking. If you have a little boy, then their tiny testes are descending, though they have not yet passed the abdominal wall. What’s more, eyelashes and eyebrows are also visible. At this point, your little one really looks like a miniature baby—and we do mean miniature as your little swimmer currently weighs a mere eighth of their final birth weight. With half the pregnancy behind you, the most significant gains are yet to come!"

We went for our big ultrasound last week and found out that momma and baby are healthy and growing. But we also found out that our son is actually our daughter. It's a girl! It took a little while for my brain to switch gears but we are super excited.

So hopefully in (less and not more than) 20 more weeks we will be meeting our little Stella Marie.

I have a feeling it's going to be a long summer. The heat is already killing me and it's only June. We have a lot of painting and housework to do before she gets here so my plan is to stay busy until November!

19 Weeks

2009-06-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

"Your amazing little baby is now around 10 inches in length! If this seems a bit shocking, you’ll be relieved to know they’ve not actually grown over 3 inches, but that their little legs are now straight enough to be measured. This is when doctors begin measuring fetal growth from head to toe, (no longer “crown to rump” or CR). Lanugo (little hairs) covers their whole body now, trapping that charming cheese-like vernix caseosa (see week 18) to the surface to the skin. This week your lil’ fetus will start on an appetizing diet of amniotic fluid which they are now capable of swallowing, digesting, and passing the fluid as far as their tiny “large” intestines. Fortunately for you, this nice little lump of baby-poop won’t be coming out while they’re still in your womb. Some time shortly after they’re born, this fun lump will become the first in a long line of baby poops."

I can't wait for my big ultrasound on Thurday - my birthday! They said it will be about an hour long so I will get lots of different views of the little one and hopefully lots of great pictures as well.

Nursery

2009-06-11T07:19:00.000-07:00

I have looked on a lot of websites lately to find crib bedding that I like. Katie sent me this one and I think she found the best one out there:

Isn't it cute? The best part about it is that it's affordable too! A lot of people pay $500 to $600 on their crib bedding so I was pleased to find this at such a good price.

And since my birthday is coming up (June 18th, write that down)....................

What do you think?

Baby Plus

2009-06-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

The 18th week also means that I am starting to wear the Baby Plus monitor. Mary and Juan gave it to me (thank you so much!) and they used it with Zoe. Apparently Oprah did a show about it and Juan thought it was a must have for Mary.

Here is what it is:

"The BabyPlus curriculum is a series of 16 naturally derived sounds that resemble a mother's heartbeat. The rhythm of the sounds increases incrementally as the pregnancy progresses. The BabyPlus sonic pattern introduces your child to a sequential learning process, built upon the natural rhythms of their own environment.This "auditory exercise" strengthens learning ability during the developmental period when the advantages will be most significant and enduring for a child. BabyPlus is the first educational tool designed for prenatal use that has been proven effective. BabyPlus children have an intellectual, developmental, creative, and emotional advantage from the time they are born. Your baby can very clearly hear these patterns. She/he learns to discriminate between the sound coming from the mother and those from BabyPlus. In other words, learning has begun."

Benefits of BabyPlus®
BabyPlus® parents report babies at birth and infancy:
More readily nurse
Display an increased ability to self-soothe
Are more interactive & responsive
Are more relaxed & alert at birth

And later in life demonstrate:
Earlier developmental milestones
Enhanced intellectual abilities
Longer attention spans
Improved school readiness
Greater creativity & independence

Juan and Mary saw a huge difference between Zoe and Dominic and obviously that could just be the difference in children but they are believers in this device.

You are supposed to wear it for two hours a day - one hour in the morning and one hour at night. I have been setting my alarm an hour before I have to be up and putting it on - I have to turn the sound machine up very loud so the sound of the monitor doesn't keep me up! Then I put it on for another hour when I get off work in the evenings.

Who knows if it really works but I figure it can't hurt!

18 Weeks

2009-06-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

"We have two more ounces! Your "getting bigger-n-better by the minute baby" is already up to 7 ounces and 6 inches! This is a big week for their baby skin. There are now two distinct layers—the epidermis (or the surface skin) and dermis. Currently, their skin is covered with a greasy, waxy, cheese-like substance, known as vernix caseosa. Sure, it sounds pretty nasty, but this mixture of fatty secretions covering your little swimmer from head to toe is the best way to protect their oh-so-thin skin from bruising and abrasions as well as chapping caused by amniotic fluid exposure (and your little one is swimming in that stuff!). Still don’t like the fact your little darling is currently slathered in fatty cream like a greased pig? Well, you know the birthing process? Where you have to push something the size of a watermelon out a hole the size of a grape? That adorable little greased piglet would have a lot harder time getting through the birth canal without the vernix caseosa. Fun fact for momma’s with baby girls: it’s a uterus within a uterus! Your little girl will have developed a uterus and vagina canal by the end of this week."

Ok well that was a gross update......sorry people....

17 Weeks

2009-06-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

"Don't be too shocked but... your baby is EVEN bigger than it was last week, not to mention getting cuter, and smarter every day! As you’ve come to expect, there’s no shortage of growth and development this week: your fantastic little bean stalk has added yet another half inch to their overall height-- making them nearly half a foot long! Their little limbs have reached (or are within one week of) their relative proportions, and will continue to grow evenly with the rest of the body after this week. Reactive listening has begun for your baby, even though their ears are not yet structurally complete or fully functional. Meanwhile, different parts of their astonishingly complex brain are developing to process your little one’s hearing and other senses, (you know, sight, smell, taste and touch). Mind boggling factoid of the week: if you’re having going to have a little girl, her ovaries have already produced millions of primordial egg cells, which, within a few weeks, will develop into actual eggs! Phew… just wait till she’s a teenager eh?"

Cuter and smarter every day- sounds good to me!

So am I having a girl? We will soon know! Hoping to find out tomorrow. I can't wait - I just want to see the little one and make sure everything looks healthy.

We will be taking the girls with us so they will get to enjoy the moment with us. Let the countdown begin - tomorrow around 6:00 pm I should be laying on the table getting ready for the news.

16 Weels

2009-05-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

"By week 16, your baby-to-be's body is doing more to support itself. Her kidneys function and produce urine that then passes through the umbilical cord. Within her stomach, bile is secreted, although she relies on you for all of her nutrients. Her appearance changes as her scalp hair grows and may even have color. Her developing facial muscles make it possible for her to open and close her mouth, maybe even give you a smile or two. "

"Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado; 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop."

The Graduate

2009-05-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

Friday night we watched Tavi receive her high school diploma. What a night. She looked amazing and we were thrilled, proud and terribly sad. I can't believe she is going off to college. I will always remember her very pink 13th birthday. My how time flies. We are really going to miss her but we know she's moving on to bigger and better things and we can't wait to see what the future holds for her.

We had a party for her Friday night and enjoyed celebrating this special occasion with those we love. It was a great night and we are very excited for Tavi.

Doctor's Appointment

2009-05-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

My appointment yesterday went well. My blood pressure was up a little bit which the nurse told me to watch but the doctor told me not to worry about. I remembered later that I had taken Sudafed so that may have had something to do with it.

Everything else looked good and the baby's heart was beating in the 150's this time. I talked to her a little about deliveries and I did feel much better by the time I left.

I scheduled the big ultrasound for June 18th - my birthday! I'm excited. I am very much looking forward to making sure that everything looks healthy.

I can tell that I haven't been sleeping as well lately. I have been having weird pregnancy dreams. One recurring dream is that I'm drunk (sorry Grandma) and forgot that I was pregnant. I remember only after I have ingested a large amount of alcohol and then - panic. No, this hasn't actually happened but it is a weird recurring dream to have.

I woke up today and feel like I did one of Martin's ab workouts yesterday. I assure you, I did nothing at all. I guess you'd call that growing pains. It's pretty uncomfortable. Every time I breathe I can feel those muscles aching. I knew that would happen as the abdominal wall stretches but I didn't expect to just wake up with it one day. Pretty weird.

This has been a seriously long week and I'm looking forward to Tavi's graduation and graduation party this weekend!

Taking A Poll

2009-05-20T08:20:00.000-07:00

What do you think we are having? Make your pick on the poll to your right!

Looks like we are set to meet Martin's friend for an early ultrasound on the evening of June 3rd. I'm not sure I can wait that long!!

15 Weeks

2009-05-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

"Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")"

I am still hoping that Martin's friend can do an ultrasound next week. I'm not going to get too excited in case baby Juarez ends up being modest and doesn't want to let us see "the goods". Even if we aren't able to find out the sex, I would just love to get a good look at the little one. We haven't had an ultrasound since 7 weeks so I would like to see how much peanut has grown and make sure everything looks healthy!

I go back to the doctor tomorrow for blood pressure/weight check. Gotta love that scale! At least I will get to hear the heartbeat.

14 Weeks

2009-05-19T09:09:00.001-07:00

I didn't get to post last week but here is what happened to our little peanut last week:

"Welcome to the second trimester! This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb. Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb. In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. "

I'm so glad to be out of the first trimester!

13 Weeks - Last Week of the First Trimester

2009-05-05T11:28:00.000-07:00

"How your baby's growing:Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce."

I'm confused. Wasn't the baby just a plum? Isn't a shrimp smaller than a plum?

I can tell the second trimester is coming. The nausea is much better, almost completely gone. I have energy again - not back to 100% but much improved. I actually did grocery shopping, cooked dinner and stayed up until 10 pm last night. That's a huge difference from a couple of weeks ago.

I'm excited to see what the second trimester brings. We are hoping to find out the sex of the baby in 3 weeks - if we can work that out. We'll see!

12 Weeks

2009-04-29T07:52:00.000-07:00

Here is what peanut is doing this week:

"Even though your little Einstein’s body is still growing quite rapidly 2 inches long right now, the overall super-speedy growth of their amazing brain continues to leave the head proportionately larger than the body— and is actually slightly more than one third of their total body mass! The head and neck are still straightening at this point as can be seen by their little chin lifting off of the chest. Your baby is also actively rehearsing “breathing” by using amniotic fluid to prepare the lungs for future air respiration."

A big head, just like it's mama.

"The big news: your little pooper is now officially going to need diapers! Although a majority of the waste produced is transferred to the mother’s system for discharge (to avoid having it linger in the amniotic sac), some urine is released to the amniotic fluid and your baby will actually breathe it in before it passing it on to your for discharge. Not to worry, urine--in this particular form, is completely harmless to your baby."

You all wanted to know that, right?

As for me:

"And how's mom doing? Logically, as your baby is growing bigger, so must your uterus. By now, your once-flat and relatively small uterus is stretched to the size of a softball (12-14 cm), but that’s nothing: by the time you deliver it will have grown to 15 – 17 inches (37 – 42 cm). Your uterus is slowly increasing at a rate of approximately one centimeter per week."

Correction

2009-04-22T09:30:00.001-07:00

I went to the doctor this morning and found out that I'm actually 11 weeks YAY!

So here is what the baby's doing this week:

"Maybe you’ve noticed… your baby is a super-duper grower! Your lil' fetus will be gaining a substantial amount of weight this week and has already achieved fruit-size-status comparable to a plum. What's more, your little scientist is already starting to explore their body, focusing most intently on touching their head, and especially their face and mouth. Their mouth in particular will provide them with hours of entertainment. This happens not only because your baby is gaining coordination, and is therefore able to move a hand on command, but also because their palms have gained sensation and can actually “feel” what it touches.They're also developing their swallow reflex this week. And lastly, your baby's smelling and other olfactory senses will begin developing this week, which when combined with the maturing taste buds, will provide your baby with their first experiences of taste and smell."

The baby can actually feel things - is that crazy or what?

And for me:

"If you’re still enduring the joys of morning sickness, it should finally be subsiding to the point of non-existence by the end of this week. The growing placenta combined with your little one’s developing pituitary gland have given you a break on hormone production, so now your can focus on the fact you’re about to enter the second trimester of pregnancy, which can be most aptly characterized by lots of growth for both you and your little uterus-tenant.
At this point you should be making a conscious effort to gradually increase your consumption of healthy, vitamin-rich food, but remember: THIS DOES NOT MEAN LIFE IS NOW AN OPEN BUFFET. Think about it, if it’s not good for you, then it won’t do any good for your developing baby. If you’re finding that you’re still hungry after dinner, don’t simply default to having extra ice cream for dessert. Have a second helping of vegetables and fish, or whole grain bread with jam. Good nutrition is absolutely vital for your baby's brain and body development.
Additionally, make sure you’re taking “me-time” to center yourself and focus on your body’s interactions with your baby: listen to relaxing or inspiring music, read good books, think happy thoughts, you know, all the mentally stimulating stuff that puts you in a good mood and makes your pregnancy feel like a positive experience. In other words, watching international news isn't recommended. The better you treat your body and emotions now, the healthier and happier your child will be once “they’re on the outside.”

It's not an open buffet? Well crap. Extra helping of fish? You gotta be kidding!

So I'm extremely pleased that I'm a little further along than I had thought. Can I celebrate tonight with an extra ice cream?

Surprise!

2009-04-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Well not so much surprise - everyone pretty much already knows. But we are expecting a little one! Little Juarez will be here in November and Martin and I could not be more excited!

The last few weeks have not been very much fun. The nausea and fatigue were worse than I had expected. However, I am very happy to report that I am feeling MUCH better. I actually made it to the grocery store and cooked dinner last night! It is wonderful to have some energy back. Next step is to get moving. I need to start walking or do something active with all the food I'm eating these days!

The number question we have gotten is "are you going to find out the sex". The answer is ABSOLUTELY! I am way too much of a planner to go 9 months without knowing. I understand a lot of people like to be surprised at the end but that just isn't us. We can't wait to find out - about 9 more weeks :)

We are currently in week 10 which means:

"Your astonishingly tiny baby has been hard at work growing as fast as possible—almost doubling in size in the past three weeks! Amazingly, you’re in for a repeat size doubling performance within the next three weeks! Your tiny champion still weighs less than a quarter of an ounce but has already completed the most critical stage of their development. Using Doppler technology, your doctor or gynecologist can let you hear their tiny rapid fetal heartbeats this week (145-165 beats per minute!). Chances for miscarriage are greatly reduced when the heartbeat can be detected, so take a sigh of relief if you’ve been needing one—it hasn’t been an easy ten weeks! What’s more, they’re getting ready to make their first baby poop! Your little one’s major organ systems are developing, including a functioning digestive tract capable of moving food all the way through their bowels. The final shiny gold star on their fetal behavior chart for the week: your little scrapper has already developed defense mechanisms to protect them on reflex!"

First baby poop? Now who isn't getting excited about that?

As for me:

"And how's mom doing? More good news for mom: the placenta has grown substantially in size and function and is now beginning to manage some of your child’s hormones, finally taking some of the hormonal burden off of you! Since the placenta has gradually taken over the hormone production for your baby, you should finally start to notice that much-awaited decrease in morning sickness symptoms."

And I would totally agree with that! The hormones have really made me feel crazy. For one, it has made me feel completely stupid (no comments, please). I have been super forgetful and just not as sharp as I normally am (no comments, please). I have also had weird cravings like corn dogs - ew. I am not a hot dog eater so this one was pretty weird. Luckily that phase has passed!

I go back to the doctor tomorrow. I'll keep everyone posted!

Pretty Much Perfect Weekend

2009-03-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

We had such a great weekend. Martin got to ref lots of boxing matches and I got to eat sushi!

Friday night Martin went to the Golden Gloves to ref and judge the matches and Jeannie took me and Katie to Jensai where we stuffed ourselves silly with sushi roll and after sushi roll. It was heaven!

Saturday morning (well closer to afternoon if I'm honest!) we got up and accomplished a lot around the house. After a trip to Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Anna's Linens we were able finally complete the girls' move downstairs. We also got a great deal on a vacuum cleaner at Home Depot. We had been without one since ours broke and our carpet had gone from cream to grey and it wasn't pretty. We got tons of laundry done and Martin cleaned the kitchen until it sparkled.

Saturday night Martin went back to the Golden Gloves and I met Dad, JB, Katie and Jeannie at Los Arcos for some greasy food and lots of laughs.

Sunday morning I met Tavi and Jeannie to get a mani/pedi and then lunched at P.F. Changs. It was a great way to spend a Sunday morning! Tavi then had to head to BAM to work and Martin and I actually went to a movie. It's been a VERY long time since we went to the movies. We saw Gran Torino (Note: Movies between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. are only $6!). Martin and I both really enjoyed it. It was sad at the end but super funny and entertaining (if you aren't easily offended).

The best part was that we were still home by 7 p.m. and were able to regroup and get ready for the week.

We had a great weekend and hope everyone else did too!

Weekend Wrap-Up

2009-03-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend. It started with Tavi calling to let us know she was accepted ON THE SPOT to Point Park University's acting program. She auditioned and interviewed with them on Friday and he woman said she would talk to the scholarship office and see what she could do to help Tavi get some additional scholarships to the school. The other student from ASFA that auditioned for Point Park was not accepted which made Tavi feel even better. The woman said "Tavi, you have real, raw, talent". Woot!

Martin is still trying to get over the flu so he spent most of the weekend trying to rest and get better. Friday night we had Anna's friend, Lexi, spent the night. They played very well together and we didn't even had to get up during the night to tell them to sleep!

Saturday morning we got up and made pancakes and then Marisa had her championship basketball game. Her team lost but she had fun playing which is all that matters. That afternoon I took the three girls to Chickfila for lunch and then to Jonas Brothers 3D. Before heading into the theater we stopped at the Dollar Tree for a posterboard so they could make a poster for the "concert".

Luckily the theater wasn't crowded (unlike Hannah Montana 3D!). Anna and Lexi went to the front of the theater and danced and held up their Jo Bro sign. Marisa was a little "too cool" for that so she just sat back and watched Nick on the big screen.

"He is totally cute."

After Lexi went home I took Marisa and Anna to Books-A-Million to spend their Christmas gift cards. They had a blast shopping and spent the rest of the night reading until they fell asleep on the sofa.

Sunday we spent most of the day at Jeannie's so I could wash clothes (thank you Jeannie!). We went to lunch and played games (both board and wii) until it was time for them to make the long trip back to Clay.

I am hoping to enjoy some sunshine this week with the time change; however, I am not a fan of 80 degree weather in early March! Let's hope we get a little Spring weather this year instead of jumping full into a hot humid Alabama Summer!

Keep or Give?

2009-03-05T12:56:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I found these sunglasses on clearance for $2.99. I know what you are thinking, wasn't she JUST complaining about having no money? But they were $2.99. And, well I can't control myself either.

So I got them home and put them on and they were bigger than they looked in the store. You know they always put the security device in the spot that makes it impossible to REALLY get a view of what the glasses will look like.

I was disappointed. I thought they would be so cute but now I think they just look B I G.

What do you think?

Give them to someone who likes huge glasses or keep them?

Losing Control

2009-03-04T08:43:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged in almost a month! The last month or so has sorta been a roller coaster. There have been ups and downs and the biggest thing I learned - and I'm still learning and trying to accept it - is that I can't control everything in my life. It's hard for me - I'm a planner. I love having a plan and I would love to be able to plan for everything in life. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. There are just some things I don't get to control (my grandmother's health, unexpected bills, other peoples' actions/reactions, appliances breaking, etc.).

That said, we are doing the best we can and trying to make the most of things.

My grandmother is doing very well and we were able to take her 80th birthday beach trip on February 20th. It was great to see the beach and spend time with family we rarely see. We gave her a memory box - we all wrote our favorite memories of her and put it in a special box. We took turns at the beach reading the memories aloud and we all really enjoyed hearing each others memories. I am so glad to have her back to her old self and out of the hospital.

We finally got our sewer bill. The City of Irondale and the City of Birmingham were "fighting" over Irondale's sewer services so they just didn't bill us for a while. I got home after work to find a $200 sewer bill in the mailbox. Ouch that hurts.

If you start to notice a weird smell around us it's because we can no longer dry our clothes. Our dryer died. It was very old and it was bound to happen eventually, I just wish it would have happened some time after tax season! SEE I want to be able to plan when my appliances die! The weather isn't exactly warm enough for a clothes line so looks like we will be headed to the laundromat this weekend. If you know of anyone getting rid of a dryer please call us!

Our microwave also died. Martin was devastated because this means no more microwave popcorn! We had gotten the microwave as a wedding present so it lasted a year - how long are they supposed to last? That didn't seem like very long to me.

Not having a microwave has actually been sort of blessing (although, I would still like to have one eventually). It has forced me to cook new things in new ways. I have been trying to save money on groceries by reading all of the mailers and cutting coupons. The combination of a limited grocery budget and no microwave has made me start cooking things I have never cooked before. Last weekend I made "refried" beans from dried beans. Normally I would have bought canned beans and stuck them in the microwave. This was a little more time consuming (but not much) but they turned out very well AND were a ton cheaper than buying the cans. It makes a lot so I can freeze some for future meals.

Winn Dixie has been having great specials on meats so I have definitely been stepping out of my comfort zone. I have discovered chicken thighs (skinless) - they have MUCH more flavor than the breasts and if you buy it skinless it is still healthy. I have also cooked pork chops and even chicken with bones. I used to be a ONLY boneless/skinless girl but once you realize how much money you can save by buying it with the bones and how it adds flavor you'll never go back (well, I will for somethings).

Last Sunday we had snow and this time it was real snow! We had about 5-6 inches at our house. It was absolutely beautiful. I spend the day baking and cooking and Martin and I watched movie after movie. It was a wonderful, lazy day. Even the animals were lazy with us!

These pictures were taken before the "real snow" hit. This is what it looked like early on. I didn't take any pictures of it when it was at the most.

Hopefully I'll be back to normal blogging soon.

A Walk In The Park

2009-02-05T08:47:00.001-08:00

Last weekend we took the girls and the Zarates to a huge park in Leeds that Lindsay told me about. Not only was the park awesome but the drive there was really nice. We took Grants Mill Road and went over beautiful bridges and saw lots of horses and other animals. The drive was great but the park was even better!

Dominic LOVED it. He was so excited. He didn't even know where to begin so he just did a lot of this.

That boy had to be tired by the time we left. He ran ALL over the place! I think Juan was pretty tired too since had to chase him everywhere he went.

Zoe was too little to really enjoy it but she did get to swing for a little while.

It made her giggle out loud. It was too cute.

When she wasn't swinging she thought staring at Martin was pretty entertaining.

Marsia and Anna went down all of the huge slides and climbed the climbing rock and then spotted their favorite part - the perfect climbing tree!

We all had a great time and will definitely be back!

Thank you Sjon, Mark and JW

2009-02-05T08:06:00.000-08:00

The girls got their Christmas present from Sjon, Mark and JW. They were a BIG hit!

Look closely - see the toes???

Tavi got hers last night and loved hers too. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of toes.

Thank you Sjon, Mark and JW!

Egg Mcmess

2009-01-30T12:19:00.000-08:00

I was running late this morning - again - but I wanted to make a quick breakfast before I left. I made an egg and cheese on an English muffin. I have made these before and when you leave the yoke a little runny its delicious! That combined with an ice cold Diet Mountain Dew and I'm off to a good start.

I wrapped my hot breakfast in a paper towel and headed out the door. I had my purse on my shoulder, breakfast in left hand, diet dew tucked under my arm and I was trying to lock the door with my right hand. Then I dropped the keys. As I bent down to pick them up I forgot that my diet dew was open so as I leaned forward the potent green liquid poured out - and all over me, my breakfast and into my purse. CURSES! So I went back inside and dried everything off, including the arms up to the elbow because it had traveled down my sleeves, and then headed back out the door. This time I got the door locked and got into the car. I put the keys in the ignition and took a bite of my breakfast. Remember that runny yoke? It EXPLODED. It went everywhere. On my jeans, down my sleeves, all over my hands and face. LOTS OF CURSES!! Back into the house I went. Yellow goo everywhere and getting it off was made even harder because our sink was full of dishes (ahem, Martin...) so I could barely even get to the water. I cleaned up the best I could and headed out . Again. I pulled out of the drive way at 8:28 and I have to be at work at 8:30. Nice.

I tried to get to work as quickly as possible and as I pulled into my parking lot I touched my hair. Hmm what in the heck could have made a big section of my hair so stiff?

Yes my friends, right before I got out of the car I realized I had a huge mass of dry and crusty egg yoke in my hair.

What's with today, today?

Let's Wrap It Up

2009-01-27T10:52:00.001-08:00

Ever need a simple recipe for lunch or dinner? Well, I always do! This a very simple suggestion that kids and adults will enjoy.

Chicken Caesar Wraps.

I made these the other night for a sick man and a vegetarian. The man was pleased but omitting the chicken for the vegetarian made this a very light dinner so you would need something more substantial for a side.

First, cut up some chicken and cook it in a skillet over medium heat. I seasoned mine with lemon pepper and Spike and cooked it in olive oil pam.

Make sure you cook it until there is no pink on the side (insert dirty joke here).

While the chicken is cooking chop up a tomato and some romaine lettuce. Take your cooked chicken (you may want to cut the chicken into smaller pieces) and place it on a burrito size flour tortilla.

Notice how yellow it is? That is from my crappy camera - the chicken and the tortilla are actually very normal in color.

Next layer on your lettuce.

Then add some crumbled feta cheese. I used reduced-fat tomato basil flavored.

Come on, I said layer on it on - don't be bashful!

And top it with tomato.

Just disregard that wine opener in the back of that picture. I have NO idea where that came from.

I usually like to add some black olives to this but I didn't have any in the house.
Finish it off with your favorite Caesar dressing.

If you are making this for kids or a picky adult who doesn't like Caesar (crazy person) you can always substitute ranch dressing.

Now just rap it up - My name is Laura, and I'm here to say - oh wait, wrap it up.

Looks pretty boring from the outside but after your first bite you will be hooked!

Enjoy!

Chicken Parmeasyn

2009-01-23T08:13:00.000-08:00

After reading Sjon's blog this week I started craving Chicken Parmesan. It's great comfort food and it's super EASY! I thought everyone made it the same but after reading how Sjon makes hers, I think everyone probably has their own recipe.

I got a special treat on Wednesday night because Martin's last client cancelled so he actually went with me to the grocery store - that never happens. We bought the groceries and then went home and he helped me cook.

He enjoyed pounding the chicken! I think that was his favorite part. While Martin was pounding the chicken to an even thickness, I mixed Italian breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese together in one bowl and an egg with a little bit of water in another. Then Martin dipped each piece of chicken in the egg and then into the breadcrumbs. Instead of frying them in oil I used olive oil Pam and browned each piece of chicken in the skillet until the outside was nice and crispy.

Then I popped them into the oven to cook through. 20 minutes later I pulled them out and topped them with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese.

And put them back in the oven for another ten minutes for the cheese to melt.

I served it with whole wheat linguine and it was delicious! The chicken was so tender and juicy but still crispy on the outside.

The cheese was crispy and a lovely shade of brown but the flash makes it look white in this picture - yes, I need a new phone.

The best thing about making this is that it makes great leftovers - I ate it the next day, cold right out of the fridge. Don't judge me.

After dinner Martin helped me do the dishes and then we curled up on the sofa in front of the fire.

It was quite a lovely evening!

We Are One

2009-01-22T08:53:00.000-08:00

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."

I am so proud.

Allow Me To Introduce

2009-01-16T13:10:00.000-08:00

Our new (to us) car:

She finally got all of her little bumps and bruises fixed and came home with us today. She's a 2005 but only has 29,000 miles on it - not too shabby. She has a full tank of gas and since she gets great gas mileage hopefully that will last us all weekend - which will involve 3 separate trips to Clay and back. Gross. Poor little girl, as soon as she comes home we put her to work.

Martin and I are so excited about not having to carpool anymore! And if you would like to send donations, make checks payable to Laura Juarez :)

Have a great weekend!

2009 - The Year of the Budget

2009-01-13T11:06:00.000-08:00

Well, ok, probably not an actual budget because Martin and I are terrible with money. And because its haaaaaarrrrrdddd. But one thing is for sure - this year we will be FORCED to budget our money better. This year my paychecks will be smaller due to an increase in health insurance premiums, a (small) contribution to 401k and the medical expense flex card. That combined with an additional car payment, car insurance premium and another new one - life insurance premiums. Yes, we are geniuses and decided to do this all one time - brilliant! And within the next couple of months or so we should also have Martin's 401k set up. Not that we will have much of anything left to contribute but every dollar counts, right?

Oh and we are also going to pay off our credit card debt.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

A girl can dream.

We have downsized our cable (goodbye movie channels!), gotten rid of caller id (we pretty much just don't answer our home phone at all now), cancelled our internet (Martin is UNhappy about that one), and haven't paid our water bill in two months. Yes, I know I have to actually pay the water bill it's just so annoying that I can't do that online!

We are really going to have to watch what we spend on eating out and going out. I will have to miss the circus this year (first time in 5 years). I know that pleases Martin! I know we can do it but we are really going to have to change our ways.

So far we have done well this week. I guess we don't get much credit since it's only Tuesday. But I planned the menu for the week and bought groceries Sunday evening and it is really amazing how much money you save if you actually plan your menus. I didn't buy anything that wasn't on my grocery list and spent a lot less money then I normally do.

Tonight's dinner is questionable. As I have said before, I love my crockpot. But I am trying a new recipe and when I left it this morning I didn't have much confidence in it. Steak cut in cubes, cream of mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix, etc. But no water or other liquid other than the soup which is very thick and it's supposed to cook 8-10 hours. I am imagining getting home tonight to a black ball of burned beef. If that happens we'll HAVE to go out to eat - oh no! See! Slipping already. I guess I need to keep a jar of spaghetti sauce in the pantry in case of recipe failures. Need to add that to next week's grocery list.

Feel free to pass on any money saving or budget suggestions or tips. We will need them.

Wish us luck!

Totally Lost and Unfocused

2009-01-08T07:28:00.000-08:00

I'm back! This has been a crazy couple of weeks.

Christmas was great! We spent Christmas morning at my mom's house and then went and picked up the kids and spent Christmas evening at my dad's house. Everyone was spoiled rotten, including the adults!

The day after Christmas was spent getting ready for our trip with Tavi to New York. We had such a great time and Tavi absolutely loved the city. We saw Hairspray (with the original cast! Thanks Dad and JB!), we went to the Top of the Rock, ate at some amazing restaurants (Thanks Jeannie!), shopped and shopped and shopped some more, went and saw the NYU campus, went to Time Square, Central Park and everywhere in between. We crammed as much into the three days as humanly possible!

The weather was pretty warm but we decided that was probably best since Martin does not like the cold!

The city was so beautiful decorated for Christmas.

By the end of the trip we were all exhausted.

That picture was taken in the back of a cab during a ten minute drive. Those two can fall asleep anywhere!

We got back from New York and spent one night at home before repacking and heading to the lake for New Years. We had a great time taking the dogs on a hike through the woods down to the water and letting them do some rock climbing! Jake and the girls loved it!

New Year's Eve we cooked steaks and twice baked potatoes and Martin set off fireworks. We were all very excited about 2008 being over and looking forward to a fabulous 2009!

Everyone stayed awake to bring in the new year (well I don't know if you can really count Jeannie).

If you watched the ball drop in New York those glasses should look familiar. We bought them for Marisa and Anna while we were there.

New Year's Day we wanted to start the year off right so we made a big breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns (well, tater tots, close enough) and then packed up to head back home.

It was a great way to spend New Years. 2009 was going to be our year!

Well at least we thought. On January 3rd while Martin was out running errands a woman ran a red light and ran right into the Focus. The Focus that we had for only 3 weeks and hadn't even made a payment on yet!

Yes, my friends that is what you call a total loss. Thankfully no one was hurt. Anyone looking for a safe car? Try a Focus. We are amazed that with that amount of damage, Martin was able to walk away unhurt. The damage on the other car was not nearly as severe.

She'll need a new door and some body work but I think her car will probably be ok.

As you can imagine Martin and I were very upset. We had waited a long time before getting a second car and after getting it we really realized what we were missing! Now we are back to one. Not to mention we were so worried about how much money the insurance company would give us versus what we owed on it.

The night of the accident Dad and JB cooked us a cheer up dinner. We tried to find humor in the situation and just be thankful that no one was hurt. We had a nice evening and then headed home to try to get some sleep.

That didn't really work out for us. We got home to find that Layla was missing. This is not her first time to get out so I tried not to freak too much. She has a collar with a tag and she is also chipped. But then a few minutes later Katie called to tell me Jake was also missing. Jake has never, ever gotten out of her fence and unlike Layla, is not familiar with being off leash and alone on the streets. Panic set in.

We loaded up the girls and headed to Katie's house yelling for the dogs and asking neighbors if anyone had seen them. We got to Katie's house to find her even more in a panic than we were. She was, to put it mildly, hysterical. Layla would go home with pretty much anyone, but Jake is not the kind of dog that walks up to strangers and Katie really believed that he was gone and would never be able to find his way home.

As we were screaming up and down the streets, Katie heard a bark that she was sure was Jake's. (We didn't really believe she could pick out his bark in the dead of night, remember she was pretty hysterical!) But then out of the dark we heard the jingle of a collar and Jake came running home - two steps behind him was Layla.

We were both furious and unbelievably happy. We have no idea how they found each other. Katie and I live pretty close to each other but it is still a long way for short beagle legs to walk. We aren't sure how Jake got out and how they found each other but we were just glad to have them home safe and sound.

I guess these two really are inseparable!

This week has been spent worrying about the car situation and trying to adjust to "real life". A five day work week, paying bills and dealing with the insurance company has been exhausting but luckily the week is almost over.

I heard from the insurance adjuster yesterday and it appears that 2009 is looking up. They are going to give us enough money for the car to pay off what we owe. Now we are back to square one - we have to find another car (within our very low budget!).

We are hoping this is not the way 2009 is going to be - if so, it's going to be a very long year!

But we aren't giving up! We are so thankful to have such wonderful family and friends who are there for us when we need them. Even if 2009 doesn't go our way, we know we have a lot of people who love us and who needs more than that? Well, ok, we do technically have to have money so we don't lose our house. I don't think our loved ones necessarily love us enough for us to live with them ;)

Please 2009, take it easy on us!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T08:22:00.001-08:00

Gifts are bought and wrapped, Christmas carols have been sung, ginger bread house is made and the cookies are done!!

Last weekend we made Christmas cookies with the Zarates. Dominic did a great job and Tavi, Anna and Marisa had a lot of fun.

Dominic concentrated very hard placing his reindeer eyes on his cookies.

Tavi made cookie/pretzel people.

Anna and Marisa made snowmen.

I think we used four rolls of cookie dough!

We are ready for Christmas! I am off until January 2nd and am looking forward to some rest and relaxation.

Two more days - I hope everyone has a great holiday. And remember Anna, he's always watching.....

Merry Christmas!

Last Minute Gift

2008-12-23T06:58:00.000-08:00

Need a last minute gift for a foodie? Try this recipe. I don't know if you can even technically call it a recipe since there isn't much cooking involved but I can tell you then turn out great. Two ingredients - pretzels and rollo candies.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Unwrap the rollos and place them wax paper or aluminum foil.

Put them in the oven for a couple of minutes - just watch and when they appear to be melting pull them out. Push pretzels on top of melted rollos.

Let them cool. If you are in a hurry place them in the freezer for a couple of minutes. They are delicious and can be made in minutes!

Better than chocolate covered pretzels because you get the caramel too.

I made them last weekend and they were a huge hit!

Tavi, UArts Amazing!

2008-12-22T13:45:00.000-08:00

Tavi just got accpeted to the University of the Arts www.uarts.edu AND got a scholarship! WOOT! This is (as of right now) Tavi's first choice and she is so exicted!

We are so proud of you Tavi!

Making a Statement

2008-12-17T12:52:00.000-08:00

Martin got new glasses. The new ones make more of a statement then the ones he has had in the past. I asked him to send me a picture. This is what he sent me.

Yes, he's a four year old.

Then he sent me the real one. He's dressed in workout clothes and at the gym so it's hard to tell exactly how they look but what do you think?

And yes, he will be pissed when he sees I posted this! Cheers!

It's Not Thursday

2008-12-17T11:25:00.001-08:00

I can't get that in my mind. It's Wednesday - only Wednesday. The good news is I realized today that our office is closed on Christmas Eve (I kept getting confused on what days we are open). The bad news is I get New Years Day off but will have to come in on the 2nd. Boo. One day and then a weekend. Oh well, it's just one day.

Last night I got Anna, Tavi and my family's presents wrapped. I still need to wrap Marisa's gifts and get the box wrapped for Martin's family. And I am still waiting to receive a couple of gifts that I really hope get here in time. Other than that we are ready for Christmas! Actually that's not true. We won't be ready for Christmas until this gross weather goes away. I do not want a 70 degree Christmas!

8 days until Christmas,
5 days until a 9 day break from work,
and 10 days until New York!

Martin goes to the doctor today about his shoulder. Let's hope he's just being a wuss and it's nothing serious - I mean that in the nicest way Martin!

Can't Focus

2008-12-15T11:37:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely weekend that, like usual, went by too fast.

Friday night we bought a car. Yep, we finally did it. We had put it off as long as possible but it was time. We got a great deal on a 2006 Ford Focus with a four year warranty. Getting the warranty was HUGE. And the money we'll save driving to get the kids in a car with good gas mileage will be great!

Saturday we tried to finish up Christmas. We got Martin's family done and now just have to pack it up and ship it to California. We are officially ready for Christmas - except for DAD. He's impossible.

Saturday afternoon we went to see Jeannie and brought her some soup. She is getting better every day - she'll be up dancing soon!

Sunday I helped Katie decorate her Christmas tree. Hopefully she'll post some pictures on her blog IF SHE EVER BLOGS AGAIN :) Her tree looks great! Once the tree was decorated we went to Jeannie's to take her pups for a much needed walk/run.

Last night was Dad's birthday party. We ate, drank and played hand after hand of Apples to Apples. It was fun to get the whole fam together.

After last night today has been sorta rough. It's hard to focus on work and I keep getting bad news. My gas bill went from $40 last month to $140 this month and it looks like the insurance will be more on the Focus than it is on the Explorer. Arg. Not happy.

Today is T-Fin's birthday. I hope you have a fabulous day, Dad. I love you!

Thanks for Nothing Frosty

2008-12-12T10:55:00.001-08:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah, everyone said it wouldn't snow. They were right. Mississippi and New Orleans got it all. No fair. It did get pretty cold though. So cold that this morning Talem stole Layla's warm bed.

Kicked her right out of it. It was pretty cute though - last night they were both crammed in there together. You can tell Talem is in charge at our house!

This weekend we are going to try to finish up Christmas and get the stocking stuffers for the girls. I started wrapping last night which is one of my favorite things about Christmas time! Christmas is almost here!

We will also be checking in on poor Jeannie. Her surgery yesterday went well but she is in a lot of pain today and hasn't been able to sleep.

Everyone keep her in your thoughts. You can do it Jeannie! Just think about the jumping jacks you'll be doing soon! We love you!

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Don't forget T-Fin's birthday is Monday! In lieu of gifts go to Books-A-Million and buy lots of stuff!

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas!

2008-12-11T11:22:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't it be lovely to wake up on Christmas morning and see all of the trees outside covered in snow like our Christmas tree?

Know what would be better than that?

Waking up tomorrow and finding out that the office is closed due to snow.

Here's hoping!

Weekend Wrap-Up

2008-12-08T09:40:00.000-08:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! This weekend we got the house (almost) ready for Christmas.

Friday we picked out our tree and decided this year to go with a flocked tree. Because we bought the display we got it half off!

I thought since the tree was white, colored lights would be pretty on it. We bought three boxes and got all the way home before I realized that I needed colored lights with WHITE wire, not green. Back to the store I went but was unable to find colored lights with white wire. So we had to go with white lights.

Martin helped me put the lights on the tree but then we realized that we hadn't bought enough. Back to the store I went to buy more lights.

Then the girls helped me hang all of the ornaments while we listened to Christmas music.

The tree turned out very pretty! I wasn't able to find the lights I wanted but I did find this:

How many people do you know that have a Mexican nutcracker??

Then we made our gingerbread house. We make one every year but I think this year's turned out the best.

The rest of the night was spent cuddled up with the babies in front of the fire watching tv.

Saturday morning Martin had an appointment at the eye doctor and got some new glasses which he really needed! The appointment took forever so we were rushed all day long. After the doctor we went to the Humane Society with the red sweater crew - Jeannie, Roscoe, Sam, Sissy, Katie, Jake, Martin, me, Marisa, Anna and Layla - to have Stacey take Christmas pictures of us. With a group that size I was expecting total chaos but it actually went pretty well. I'll post the pictures when we get them in.

Saturday night was Jeannie's trim the tree party. She got some awesome ornaments including a rooster tree topper. Her tree looks great but I forgot to take any pictures of it!

Sunday was a lazy day. I stayed on the couch with the girls watching television until about 12:30 when Martin got home. We took them to lunch at Cocina (we hadn't been there in forever).

I ordered the lunch fajitas.

They were only ok. The food isn't spectacular there but these are!

The pomegranate margaritas are worth going there for. They are delicious and not too sweet!

The girls got chicken fingers and a hamburger and were quite content.

Katie let them play photo hunt on her iphone after lunch which was lots of fun.

Tavi had an incredible weekend visiting University of the Arts. She had her audition on Saturday during which her contact fell out! Aside from the contact fiasco she said her audition went very well. She got a call back audition and interview and felt like she nailed it. She loved the school and the campus and got to play in some snow while she was up there. Now we just wait to hear from the school!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Everyone done Christmas shopping??

Just In Time

2008-12-03T09:07:00.000-08:00

Tavi got her braces off just in time for her audition this weekend at University of the Arts.

Doesn't she look amazing??

Good luck this weekend Tavi!!

Gobble, Gobble

2008-11-25T10:43:00.001-08:00

We get the girls every other year for Thanksgiving and this year they will be at their mom's house so we had to celebrate early. Friday night we made mini pizzas and turkey cookies. Well, sort of.

The girls and I made turkey cookies.

Martin just tried to use up as much of the decorations as possible.

And made this.

Maybe it's a self portrait?

Our turkey cookies looked so little like turkeys that we finished decorating the rest of the cookies "free style".

Anna made a peace sign.

And Marisa made a puppy.

We then drew our 2008 Thanksgiving tree and each wrote things we were thankful for on the leaves. I pulled out last years tree and compared the two. Things like family, friends and health were on both trees and Anna has been thankful for "her birthday" two years in a row. Girl loves her some attention!

We started to work on our Thanksgiving tablecloth (everyone writes in permanent marker our favorite memory of the year and a wish for the coming year) but unfortunately my sharpies were all out of ink so we will have finish that next weekend.

I am off tomorrow until next Monday and I am very excited! Katie and I will be braving the busy grocery stores tonight getting ready for Turkey Day.

I hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Why?

2008-11-21T11:58:00.000-08:00

I have no idea. But I totally want about 7 of these:

And one of these:

I Failed You

2008-11-21T07:39:00.000-08:00

Ok, I must apologize. Remember when I told you the Pumpkin Spice coffee mate was a great way to start your day? I lied. I was so excited to taste this holiday flavor ....... then I did. It. is. gross. I looked up reviews online and saw "it tasted like a spiced hot dog". Appetizing? Nope. I didn't think it really tasted like meat, but it just had this sour milk taste to it. Gross.

But I do, however, recommend the Sweet Italian Cream. I had that this morning and it was very good.

I only have about three readers so I doubt anyone wasted the money on this suggestion but if you did, I owe you three bucks!

To make it up to you I will give you a super quick, easy and delicious recipe!

Calzones.

All you need to purchase is refrigerated pizza dough, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese (or do what I did and buy a "Italian mix") ricotta cheese whatever fillings you like and marinara sauce.

I made these last night with the low fat turkey pepperoni (men and children won't be able to tell the difference!), black olives, and mushrooms from Martin (ew fungus!). The best thing about this is everyone can make their own. If you have a vegetarian in the house (how annoying) they can add extra vegetables and leave out the meat (just kidding Katie, Mikel and Tavi) and kids can have fun adding their own ingredients and making their own!

You roll the dough out into circles, add the filings and close them back up into calzone shapes. The recipe said to brush them with olive oil but I just sprayed them with my olive oil Pam.

We put olives on top to identify the ewwy mushroom ones!

Cook at 375 for 15 minutes and serve with warm marinara sauce.

TA DA!

Totally delicious and way better than any greasy calzone I've ever had a restaurant. I paired mine with a caesar salad and it was great comfort food for a cold night.

Let me know what you put in yours!

Take 2

2008-11-20T12:28:00.000-08:00

Ok, I found this and Anna would love it!Anna and Marisa both would love this

But I think we'd need two of them so Martin and I could play too!

As much as it pains me to say it........they would both REALLY like this

I find basketball so incredibly boring but the girls love it. sigh.

They both really want new bikes.

They got new bikes about three years ago but we just got rid of them because they were waaay too small now!

Good thing kids are cheap huh ;)

Your Holiday Shopping Guide

2008-11-20T08:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's post gave you what Tavi's dying for this year. But - she'd also love cash - all these application fees are expensive!!

For the other two Zoo Day Camp! Anna and Marisa stay with us from Christmas to New Years every year. On December 29, 2008, they can do "big cats" day camp at the Zoo. (Marisa's favorite animal is a tiger.)

"Campers will spend the day exploring animals at the zoo. Activities, crafts and tours will teach campers about the animals that live in the zoo. Campers will get to an up close and personal encounter with some of the educational animals each day."

My mom did this for them last year and they LOVED it.

Looking for something for my mom? Go here: http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=12387418

Shamrock would be a great brother for Sophie and Cricket!

How about JB? I think these would look fabulous on him!

They have different color options. Very cool.

I think Mr. Hopkins should totally own this.

It's not like anything I have seen him in but I think he could pull this off and look great.

Anyone out there have any money? My sister is in desparate need of this.

Seriously, her tv is like 40 years old. You still using rabbit ears Katie? :)

Too expensive? This would look great on Katie.

How about this for Jeannie?

I love the high neck and the waist detail. Too cute.

Wanna deal? Jeannie would look hot in these! AND they are 50% off!

Perfect for a cold, windy day in New York!

I think Sjon should have something fun to wear to all the concerts she goes to. Match this with her mohawk sporting husband and leather coat (or a cute red coat!) and she is good to go!

But then for a date night I think Sjon (or me) needs these.

Hawt!

Mikel, I think Matthew should buy you this.

I really like the pattern but if you want to go for a more classic style, I like this

This is neat for Matthew

It's a tiny pen that fits in the crease of any wallet. Who ever has a pen on them anyway? If he needs to jot down something for work it will always be there.

This one is tough because I think it would be great for Matthew and JB :)

Hee, I like it!

Well that's all for now. Notice how I have NOTHING for Dad!! Ideas welcome!!!

Discovered.

2008-11-19T08:12:00.000-08:00

Is a great invention.

Is a great way to start your day on a cold morning!

Would look so awesome on me. (size 7 for anyone in the mood to buy me a gift.)

Has been Tavi's obsession for months and months and months and they are finally on sale. CRAZY on sale actually but we are taking her to New York for Christmas so we can't buy them for her. (size 7 1/2 for anyone in the mood to buy Tavi a gift.)

Are a steal and again would be great for me. (see above for size, you know, if you love me.)

Is an amazing, beautiful and talented kid. She just found out she has been academically accepted to Point Parke University and also received a partial academic scholarship and a partial leadership scholarship. It's a very expensive school but she hasn't even auditioned yet and may receive additional scholarships for drama. She is over the moon and Martin and I are incredibly proud!

Weekend Wrap-Up

2008-11-17T10:13:00.000-08:00

We had a busy but fun weekend that involved very little sleep.

Friday night we celebrated Katie's birthday (early). I got her a ticket to the Reba/Kelly Clarkson concert for her birthday and Dad and Jeannie were going to go with us. Sadly, Jeannie suffered an unfortunate encounter with a hard boiled egg and was unable to attend. We missed you Jeannie! We began the evening with dinner at Bottega Cafe with JB and Martin. We didn't have any candles so JB put the table candle on the dessert plate and we sang Happy Birthday.

She blew out the candle and we ate her birthday desserts for her. Martin and JB then left and the three amigos went to the concert. We had a BLAST!! Reba and Kelly were unbelievable. Head over to the Woodside to check it out.

After the concert we went back to Dad's and sang country music at the top of our lungs until 2 a.m. (Fun but not necessarily smart.)

Saturday morning Martin and I had to get up and drive to Nashville. Martin's contact from HBO Sports got us tickets to the Tayor v. Lacy fight.

"Jermain Taylor and Jeff Lacy have been buddies ever since they roomed together in the 2000 Olympic Games. They had always hoped they would never have to fight each other. But with their careers on the line, friends or no friends, Taylor and Lacy are going to go at it. Will a friendship forged in combat survive combat? "

Martin was BEYOND excited. As Katie will tell you, we had to hear about this every day leading up to this weekend!

I had heard of their names before but didn't really know anything about them. I was looking forward to seeing Deontay Wilder who was having his pro debut before the Lacy/Taylor fight. Wilder is from Tuscaloosa, Alabama and was on the U.S. Olympic team this year. Martin knows him and has refereed some of his fights in the past.

I will admit I was mostly interested in trying to see celebrities and getting on television - and Martin agreed to take me to a nice dinner before the fights.

We got to our hotel in Nashville and I was exhausted. The weather was gloomy

which made me even more tired. The fights started around 6:00 p.m. and we had 5:00 p.m. dinner reservations which left no time for a nap. It did leave about 15 minutes to watch Bob Ross. That guy is just nuts.

He just takes a paint brush and randomly smudges paint on a canvas.

Then all of a sudden - out of nowhere - snowy mountains. How does he DO that???

We had to pick up our tickets before dinner because Martin was dying to find out where our seats were.

When he took them out of the envelope I thought he was going to pass out. Yes, you read that correctly - fourth row!

We went to dinner at Miro District. Dean (you may remember him from Bottega) opened Miro District about three months ago and the restaurant was amazing.

I wanted to take lots of pictures but as you can see they turned out too dark.

We started with the stone crab claws with arugula, orange, shallot, and citrus aioli. The crab claws were enormous, fresh and delicious. Martin had the grouper with creamy polenta, fall vegetables and carrot nage and I had the butternut squash risotto with braised beef, leeks, brussels and sage. Martin was dying to get to the fights but I had to try the tiramisu with polenta poundcake, mascarpone, and espresso. It just sounded too good and it did not disappoint!

Like the restaurant, the bathroom was very nice too.

But when I went to wash my hands, I looked in the mirror and saw the weirdest thing - those mirrors make your pupils look solid white. It was CREEPY. I tired to take a picture but didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.

The picture shoes the white outline but when I looked in the mirror my entire pupil was white. I know, random but it was really bizarre!

We then went to the Vanderbilt University gymnasium to watch the boxing matches. As soon as we walked in we found out they didn't serve alcohol - it was going to be a long night!

We watched about five hours of boxing (vote for me for world's best wife!). I was pretty entertained by people watching.

These guys were walking around trying to get attention.

They looked absurd and it ended up being about 90 degrees in there so I can't imagine how hot they were in their fake furs. They were here getting their picture made with Evander Holyfield (who was also there for the attention, in my opinion!).

Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield is a multiple world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. And check this out - he has 11 children. Yikes.

A pair of twins sat in front of us. Well actually the man sitting next to us called them quadruplets.

They were identical twins and even dressed alike. As you can see they were identical from behind as well. It was a lot more impressive in person but let me just put it this way - Kim Kardashian has nothing on these girls!

I didn't really get to see any celebrities but there were a lot of boxers from the Olympic team that Martin recognized and Eddie George was there.

Deontay knocked his opponent out in the second round and Chaz Witherspoon beat Adam "The Swamp Donkey" Richards. Yup - that was his nickname. Swamp Donkey.

I wanted Jeff Lacy to win but that didn't happen.

But it was a good fight and Martin had a blast.

After the fights we met up with one of Martin's clients. He is a senior at Vanderbilt and he wanted to introduce Martin to all of his friends. He took us out to several different bars. Martin was a celebrity - apparently Alex talks A LOT about him. All of Alex's friends "couldn't wait to meet him" and Martin hated all the attention :)

Sunday morning we got up and went to the hotel restaurant.

For a light lunch under flying saucers(?).

A club sandwich the size of my head and enough french fries to feed a family of five.

Our initial plan was to head on home after lunch but Martin saw that the bar next door had ALL of the football games on. So we decided to duck in there for a drink and to watch the games. Tampa Bay won their game but my Falcons lost.

We then finally got in the car and came back to the 'ham.

Martin had to get back in time for the Cowboy game.

The weekend was fabulous and ended on a high note when the Cowboys beat the Redskins (aka Martin beat Katie).

Thanks T.O., sorry K.F.

Slow

2008-11-13T09:32:00.000-08:00

The last couple of mornings I have been totally scattered. I move so slow in the mornings and lately have been late, late, late.

Yesterday I woke up and was running about ten minutes late when I realized I still hadn't packed my lunch. I ran downstairs to pack a sponge sandwich from the night before and saw my recipe for dinner sitting on the counter. I then remembered it was supposed to cook all day. I took two glances at the recipe and just threw stuff into the pot and ran out the door.

Here is what was supposed to go into it:

INGREDIENTS
3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups water
1 (15 ounce) can white kidney or cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 (11 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Yeah, I only got part of that. Before I left I tossed in the chicken (not cubed or cooked like the recipe said), chicken broth (instead of water), 2 cans of white beans, and 1 can of green chilies. Yep, that's it. When I got home I added the cumin. The chicken didn't need to be cubed because it just fell about into perfect shreds after cooking all day. I mashed half of the beans in the soup to thickened it up. I found a cornbread mix in the cabinet and made that to go with it and Martin and I were in heaven. Seriously - how weird? So few ingredients but the soup was wonderful!!

I am totally in love with my crock pot! Everything I have made has turned out great and it's SO easy. Who doesn't love coming home to a house filled with delicious smells and a dinner ready to be served?

If you have great slow cooker recipes - send them my way!

Do Not Try This At Home

2008-11-12T11:09:00.000-08:00

Last night Katie and I (well Katie picked the recipe and I made them) attempted to make these.

My friends - DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. They were not good. It was like biting into a wet and dirty kitchen sponge. We piled on cheese, ketchup, mayo, anything we had in the fridge and it didn't make them any better.

The only thing that saved the evening was Katie's homemade potato chips and onion dip. They were delicious. Hopefully she'll post a blog on it so you guys can try it. It was simple and pretty healthy too.

Tonight I am attempting chicken soup. If that fails, I'll call Papa.

Trip to a Dale

2008-11-12T10:59:00.000-08:00

Monday night Martin, Katie and I drove to Gardendale. I had never been there. I was actually surprised at how much stuff was out there! There are a lot of restaurants and places to shop, a lot more than Irondale.

Anyhoo - we went to Gardendale to see Marisa be honored for being a fifth grade scholar (she takes after her daddy). Being a fifth grade scholar means she scored an 88 or above on her fourth grade SAT. Superintendent Phil Hammonds awarded the certificates at Gardendale First Baptist Church.

Marisa looked adorable and mortified by the attention but I'm sure she enjoyed it. We are so proud of her and appreciate Katie coming out to the 'dale with us. Katie is always up for watching a fellow scholar get recognized.

Marisa is one smart cookie - maybe she takes after me.

Lemony Snicket

2008-11-11T10:13:00.001-08:00

This weekend we celebrated Marisa's birthday, again. Martin and I gave her tickets to High School Musical 2 in Atlanta for her birthday.

We woke up Saturday morning, packed our bags and headed out. Marisa has been wanting to see the movie "Jaws" for a long time so we got it for her to watch on the way there.

The shark ate someone and Marisa thought it was "cool", Anna thought it was "gross". They were watching it on the dvd player I got Martin about four years ago. Unfortunately, half way through the movie the dvd player died. So they haven't seen the end yet.

We stopped in Douglasville on our way at the "best gas station ever!". This is a must every time we go to Atlanta. It's crazy but they LOVE it. Marisa got the "best ever" strawberry banana smoothie.

When we got to Atlanta we went straight to the hotel. Unfortunately, we thought they would be able to get in the hot tub but it was closed. So we hung out in the room for a bit.

We then made dinner reservations, got dressed, and headed to Maggiano's to eat.

Unfortunately, when we got there our table wasn't ready and we had to wait. But the girls were good humored about it and sat in a "very soft chair" and waited.

Most of the food was very good and surprisingly affordable. Unfortunately, Anna's was terrible. She ordered grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and broccoli. She said that the chicken was "watery" (it was actually incredibly greasy and gross) so I shared my enormous plate of lasagna with her. Marisa ordered the spaghetti with a "giant meatball".

Yeah, so the picture is terrible but it tasted great. It was off the kids menu but it was HUGE!

We had a great dinner.

Then it was time for dessert.

They surprised the birthday girl with a big platter of deliciousness - brownies, creme brulee and cheesecake. She was in heaven!

That is her "no more pictures, I want to eat it" face!

Then it was time for High School Musical! Luckily we made our way to the Fabulous Fox Theater without getting lost.

The theater was amazing! Unfortunately, they did not allow photographs so I couldn't take any pictures but if you have a chance to see something there - it's great!

The girls really enjoyed the show and the actors were very good. Guess what. Martin only slept through half of it.

Sunday morning we woke up and drove around to try to find somewhere to eat breakfast. Unfortunately, Martin than drove right into another car. We were very luckily. We were not driving very fast so the damage was minimal and we were able to convince the other driver to not file a report. Our car has a few scratches but no one was hurt and it wasn't reported to insurance so we can deal with a few scratches!

We decided to forget breakfast and head to Underground Atlanta. Unfortunately, that short drive turned into a long one and we ended up lost for a while. But we finally arrived and went through the shops and got a "photo cube" made to remember the trip.

Everyone was getting hungry so we decided it was time to lunch and then to Lenox for a quick shopping trip before heading home. The drive from Underground to Buckhead should have been a pretty short one but unfortunately, that was not the case for us - lost again!

The girls wanted to go to the same restaurant we had taken them to last time we were in Atlanta (they are all about tradition!) so we went to Uncle Julio's. They ate pumpkin flan for dessert and they now obsessed with anything pumpkin and insist on calling it "baby food" at all times.

After lunch we went to Lenox. It was beautiful. The clothes were amazing. I could have stayed forever. Unfortunately, we had spent all the money we had so we couldn't buy anything.

It was time to leave the fabulous city of Atlanta and return to Birmingham.

Unfortunately, the trip home began with us being lost (again) for about an hour before finally finding the interstate. Note to self: buy navigation system.

There seemed to be a series of unfortunate events and we had some bumps (literally!) along the way but we had a truly fabulous weekend. The girls really enjoyed it and it was great to get away for a little while. They are at such a fun age and they keep me laughing all the time. I wish they would stay this age forever but I know we will enjoy them more and more as we watch them grow up.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Oh Sheila

2008-11-06T08:25:00.000-08:00

Sheila: "Did you hear about that 23 year old Russian girl who went missing from Homewood yesterday?"

Me: "I'm reading the article about it right now. How terrible."

Sheila: "Yeah, they knew something was wrong when she didn't pick up her baby from daycare."

Me: "Oh, it says here they already have a person of interest. I wonder if that means it may end up being a husband or boyfriend."

Sheila: "Probably, you know her baby is black."

Me: silence.

Oh Sheila

2008-11-06T08:23:00.000-08:00

"Did you hear that reporter who was at an Obama celebration at some ballroom? He said, "this is the first time I have ever reported on a president where I smelled weed." THIS is what we have to go through for the next four years."

No Work, All Play

2008-11-06T07:56:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to the Duncan Sheik concert at Workplay.

Tavi came over after school and we all went to Sol y Luna to meet up with Dad, JB, Katie, Matthew and Mikel for dinner before the show. Martin and I had the lobster soft taco, chicken tostada and the beef flautas. It was delish! Katie hates that restaurant but I really like it.

We then headed over to Workplay where Matthew and Mikel had reserved us booths (they are celebrities there since that's where they got married). Dad got mad at us for talking to loudly (even though we were whispering!). But we had a great time. Tavi loved the music so much she wants to buy it for her ipod. Martin even enjoyed it and we all know how hard he is to please :)

Thanks Dad and JB we had a great time!

Yes, We Can!

2008-11-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

What a truly amazing night! Last night was definitely a night I will never forget. We made history and it was beautiful.

We had a party at Dad's house to watch the results come in. It was so much fun! Dad, JB, Katie, me, Martin, Matthew, Mikel, Amy, Nap, Jeannie, Mary, Juan and Danny (who flew in just to attend the party) all celebrated together.

The house was decorated.

We had tons of food, some cleverly named like Barack-O Tacos.

And Amy made blue jello shots!

They were a big hit!

We sat and watched the numbers with excitement building until it was finally time to call it for Barack! At that point it was time to open the magnum.

And celebrate, and celebrate, and celebrate some more, and scream a little, and jump up and down a little and hug a lot.

I can't wait to see the Obamas in the white house. America - help is on the way!

And Lindsay, I'm going to believe that your facebook status is referring the number of days until your next pregnancy.

America is changing and it's going to be for the better. Let's all encourage others to look past his skin color and see the amazing person who is going to lead this country to greatness!

The Excitement Factor

2008-11-04T09:53:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke up before my alarm went off. I was excited and eager to get to my poll.

Apparently, so was everyone else in Irondale. I wasn't sure exactly where my polling place was but when I ran into this

then I knew I had to be close. I couldn't believe the cars. They were everywhere! I had to park and walk and later heard people were parking half a mile to a mile away and walking in.

I got in line next to the welcome sign.

I was so excited to see such a great turnout.

People were smiling ear to ear and taking pictures to document this special day. The line looked pretty long but since that meant high voter turnout I remained excited. That was until I saw this

I thought the line was just a straight shot into the building. Nope - Once you got close to the building, it then started wrapping around like a line at Disney World.

The excitement started to wear off. I was in high heels and my feet were killing me. I was in the shade and the wind picked up so I was freezing. I had not had any caffeine and started to get grumpy and sleepy. But I pushed through. I waited two and half hours to place my vote for Obama.

As I was leaving these people were just beginning to wait.

I'd say Irondale is very excited!

The huge majority of the people in line were there to vote for Obama. This guy wasn't.

He proudly showed off his McCain embroidered golf shirt. He didn't really need the shirt. He looked like one of the angry McCain supporters.

Now that I have changed into flat shoes and warmed up the excited has returned. I am proudly wearing my (ok Esa's) Obama/Biden pin and my "I voted" sticker. I can't wait to see what happens tonight. If doesn't go our way.......well it just has to go our way. We can't take any more of this.

It's time for change.

VOTE!

Barack Obama/Joe Biden 2008

Weekend Wrap-Up

2008-11-03T08:56:00.000-08:00

Friday night we took the girls to a Halloween party. We dressed up as the characters from the Wizard of Oz.

Anna was Dorothy,

Esa was the Lion,

Martin was the Scarecrow,

and I was the Tin Man.

Yes, the kids were much cuter than the adults.

Saturday we went to a Bat Mitzvah for one of Martin's clients. The girls sat through the service quietly knowing they would get to make multiple trips to the dessert table at the luncheon following the service.

Saturday afternoon we enjoyed the great weather and played outside. Esa got to sport her birthday present from Dad and JB.

It is a Vote for Esa shirt they got her in New York and if you look closely you will see she is proudly wearing her Obama/Biden pin. Too bad she isn't old enough to vote!

Saturday night we had to go to the Bat Mitzvah party and Mary and Juan took the girls to dinner while we proceeded to act like we hadn't been out of the house in years. We danced and danced and danced some more - we had a great time.

Sunday we took the dogs for a walk and went shopping with Jeannie and Katie. Jeannie got an awesome new coat for a great deal and Katie got these

They are SO. HOT. I plan on sneaking into her house and stealing them at some point. I am insanely jealous!

Jeannie found a new game, Imaginiff, which is our new favorite - well, it ties with Apples to Apples. The girls loved it. We played it again last night with only adults and really enjoyed it.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. This is going to be a very busy week for us but should be a lot of fun!

Remember to vote - unless you are a republican and then feel free to forget :)

My Drug

2008-10-30T07:34:00.000-07:00

I love to shop. So much that sometimes I wonder if I am addicted. Shopping is my drug. If I feel bad or had a bad day, nothing makes me feel better than going and buying something. If I'm having a great day shopping just makes me feel even better.

Katie said to me earlier in the week that she really need some winter clothes. All she had to do was make that statement and I immediately set a date and time.

I love to help other people shop almost as much as I like to shop for myself. I love watching someone put something on that makes them feel pretty and see their face light up in the mirror. When I shop for people I just go down the aisles and throw everything I think might look good on them into the shopping cart. Usually they will say "Oh, Laura, that?". Trust me! It doesn't hurt to try things on and you have to have an imagination. Everything looks different on than it does on the hanger. Not to mention, the look of an outfit can change dramatically by what you choose for shoes and accessories.

We didn't have a ton of time last night because we had walked after work so we decided to stay close and go to Ross and Old Navy. I adore Ross. Some people think I'm crazy but if you have the time and can actually sort through all of the junk you can find some real gems for great prices. I wanted to go to Old Navy because I have a credit card there so I didn't need money in the bank to buy something!

I will not tell the exact amount spent last night but I will tell you it was very, very reasonable (cheap actually by my standards). Katie walked out with a new coat, scarf, a sweater tunic, three dresses, a pair of leggings, and a pair of tights - found, tried on and paid for all under an hour.

The sweater tunic and one of the dresses needed a long sleeve black shirt to go under them. That was the one thing we could not find at Ross so we headed over to Old Navy. Old Navy was having a big 50% off sale and I was excited about finding some great cheap items. As we were walking in I remembered the day about two months ago that I had cut up all of my credit cards in an attempt to curb my shopping addiction. Sadly, that meant I could by nothing. I got over it and went charging through the store looking for the needed long sleeve black shirt. Stuck in between some really ugly stuff I found it! It was perfect. Just what we were looking for and the right size. It was in the 50% off section but it did not have a sale tag on it so we started looking around the store to see if we could find where it came from. We went around the entire store only to realize this was the very last of these shirts and in fact the ONLY plain long sleeve black shirt in the entire store! I told Katie it was destiny! To top it off when we got to the register it was $5 less than we thought. This was Katie's night!

It turned out to be my night as well. Not only did I have a great time with Katie but I also found the one thing I said I actually needed - a pair of flat black boots (my feet have been killing me walking to work every day in my heels). I bought them at Ross for $12.99 - a steal! And, the fact that my credit card was cut up saved me the $89.00 I really wanted to spend on a coat at Old Navy.

I'm wearing my new boots today and every time I look at them it makes me smile. I guess the high hasn't worn off yet.

Spongebob and Chicken Fingers

2008-10-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

Mary had to do final measurements for boot camp last night and asked me to watch Dominic and Zoe after work. How could I resist this face?

It had been a while since I had seen them in daylight! I can't believe how quickly they are growing up.

We talked,

we played,

played some more,

(look at that concentration!)

ate dinner,

watched TV,

and took a bath.

Ok, no pictures of the bath, gotta keep the hands on the baby. But she was so funny in the bath and she was an angel when it was time to wash her hair. What a great baby.

I can't believe how much Dominic is talking. He even responds to the television shows, "can you say monkey?" "MONKEY!". It is so cute.

I left Mary's and ran to CVS for a firelog, milk and a bottle of wine. I got to the register and asked the guy if they had any firelogs. He looked very confused and finally said "what is a firelog?". I said "you know, a log that you put in your fireplace?" He didn't get it. He had to call a manager over. I'm not making this up. So Dominic if you want to start working now, I'm pretty sure you could get a job at CVS!

Child Abuse

2008-10-27T11:54:00.001-07:00

Sarah Palin Cabbage Patch Doll. Just in time for Christmas!

I just threw up in my mouth.

Weekend Wrap-Up - Happy Birthday Esa!

2008-10-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

This weekend went by way too fast!

Friday night we went to the Jackson Browne concert (do not be confused it was Jackson Browne not James Brown) with Jeannie and Amy. I didn't know any of the music but we had a good time anyway. His music was good, back up singers were great but the bar was too far away! We left the concert and were all hungry so we had a late dinner at The Grille with WAY too many french fries.

Saturday Tavi met me, Martin, Katie, Jeannie and Amy for lunch at Jackson's. She had just finished taking the ACT and had time for lunch and a nap before her performance at ASFA. It was good to see her even though she was sorta brain dead from numerous hours of testing. Martin and Tavi headed home for a nap and the rest of us stayed behind to see if we could drink every bottle of champagne Jackson's had - I'm not sure if we succeeded but we had to have come close!

We then drove out to Clay to pick up Marisa to take her to dinner for her birthday. 11! I can't believe it.

We did not know until Saturday morning that we would be picking her up so we threw together a last minute birthday party at Los Arcos. Jeannie ran and got table decorations and Amy, Nap, Katie, Matthew and Becky all joined us to surprise Esa.

We ate dinner, sang happy birthday, ate birthday flan,

(See how blurry the fork is? Yep, she was excited!)

played with candy teeth Jeannie bought her,

and played round after round of Apples to Apples. Thanks to everyone for coming - she had a great time.

Sunday Katie and I walked the pups for about.................10 minutes. Eh, better than nothing. We then spent the entire afternoon playing MORE Apples to Apples with Jeannie and Becky.

I'm pretty sure I have just about memorized all these cards now!

This week's goal is to eat at home every night and TRY to walk the dog 3 or 4 days. We'll see how it goes!

I've been tagged.

2008-10-23T13:34:00.000-07:00

Here’s a chance for a little interactivity for all the bloggers out there. Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their lives. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food—but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

Here’s what I want you to do:1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20.Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (I mean I think, do you mean jello shots?)
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Ok, Olemissmom - tag, your turn!

Was It Worth It?

2008-10-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

"The Republican National Committee has spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August."

Sounds crazy, right?

Well...........maybe McCain is right and she did need clothes.

Oversized vest, long sleeve jacket and turtleneck?

Is that a plastic visor?

Denim jacket? Ok. Denim Shirt? Not ok.

Early 1990's sweater vest?

I give her credit for hair here. At least it isn't striped like it has been at some times. But you should not wear clothes that are the same color as your skin and never have something tie around the largest part of your body.

Is she wearing the First Dude's shirt?

I can't even wrap my ahead around this pink thing.

And, she allowed herself to get photographed in it more than once!

Oh dear. Hate the shoes and they don't even go with the outfit. This also clearly illustrates her need for both new clothes and an interior decorator.

So maybe she really did need some help. However, this is ridiculous.

You are seven. Gimme that bag.

You Can Have Your Cake And Get Nauseated Too!

2008-10-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

After work I went to pick up the wedding cake that JB had babysat for us for a year! They actually had to move it when they moved into the new house. JB even added icing to it to make it look pretty for us. Thanks JB!

He carefully put it in a box for the ride home. It didn't look quite as nice by the time I made it home but it was still pretty.

And you will never guess who gave us this card.

Hey, how did you know?

Mom also gave us cd's with Naturally 7 music on them. I haven't listened to them yet but I'm sure they are great! Thanks mom!

This was left on our front porch yesterday

It is a really cool plant with a very sweet card from Reverend Michael Sanchez. Let's hope I don't kill it!

My wonderful sister brought us these

Wrapped in a cute bag with lots of

Paper! It's our paper anniversary - get it? She's so clever.

I slaved over the stove and made a special and fancy gourmet dinner for the two of us.

It took about 11 minutes - just long enough to boil the pasta and pour a jar of sauce on it. Because it was a special occasion, I even threw a piece of bread in the toaster. I think this was a pretty traditional first anniversary meal. (Come on, who actually has any money on their first anniversary?)

After dinner we cut the cake.

I had been warned by everyone not to expect it to taste good so I knew it was just about the tradition. I was interested to find out what flavor this layer was because as you may recall (you better) each layer of my cake was a different kind.

The top ended up being yellow cake with strawberry icing in between the layers. The outside white icing was very................................bizarre. Martin was more adventurous than me so he actually took a bite of it and it was literally like chewing bubble gum.

Surprisingly, the cake part was pretty darn good! Very moist and still had a lot of flavor.

You can see how the outside icing looks a little weird. Martin ate two pieces (without the icing) and I had a few bites of mine until I started to feel a little sick. Then we retired to the sofa to wait for the nausea to disappear. Luckily it only lasted about 20 minutes.

We spent the rest of the night watching crazy television shows and enjoying the fireplace.

Martin and I thought our evening was lovely. I think the kids were bored to death.

Thanks again to all of our great friends and family. You made our wedding so incredibly special and we appreciate you all thinking of us yesterday.

Be sure to read my blog tomorrow. Katie is planning our anniversary party for tonight - I'm sure it's going to be a crazy fun time. Can't wait Katie!!

Weekend Wrap-Up

2008-10-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

Friday I was off work and was able to meet Lindsay for lunch. We had a great time and we really need to do that more often! I was even lucky enough to spend a few minutes with her adorable kids. Seriously - these kids are BEAUTIFUL!

After lunch I made a quick stop and found a Christmas present for Grandma and Martin's sister (two more down!).

Friday night Martin was sick so I took the girls and met Katie and Jeannie for dinner. Somehow dinner turned into a night at the salon and both girls went home with french braided hair.

Saturday Martin was still sick.........and I had a hair appointment so Jeannie offered to take the girls with her while I got my hair done. I wanted to do something different with my hair but after talking it over I pretty much stayed with the usual:

No, I'm not crying. I don't know why my eyes look so teary.....

I then met Jeannie, the girls and ALL the dogs for lunch. We sat outside and enjoyed the great weather while Marisa and Anna told me how Jeannie had been spoiling them rotten. See -

Yeah, it broke but it was still cute.

Anna wanted the cookie that would "change her mouth colors". And, indeed it did.

Saturday night Martin was finally able to get out of bed and we took Marisa and Anna to the haunted house. This was Marisa's fourth time to go through but Anna had never actually made it. In the past, she would get a few steps inside, bury her head in Martin's shirt and beg to be carried out. This year she FINALLY made it through and she was very proud!

That picture was taken before we went through - I think Marisa looks more scared than Anna. Anna looks like somebody gave her some "liquid courage".

We left the haunted house with Anna and beaming and went back to Jeannie's house for dinner. We had roast, mashed potatoes, broccoli with homemade cheese sauce and chocolate pie for dessert. After dinner we played hours and hours of Apples to Apples until the girls were literally falling asleep at the table. We then headed home.

The picture barely turned out but Marisa was so exhausted she fell asleep on top of Layla on the ride home. Layla clearly didn't mind.

Sunday consisted of more hours of Apples to Apples and multiple pitchers of margaritas (thanks Jeannie!). It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Today is our actual anniversary. Happy anniversary to us! Thanks to Kelly for the sweet, sweet card that we got in the mail on Saturday. Thank you for thinking of us. We love you!

Tonight we are planning on staying in and eating year old cake. Don't be jealous!

A Very Happy Anniversary

2008-10-16T07:19:00.000-07:00

(Warning: All photographs were taken with phone camera and are pretty crappy quality.)

Martin and I had a great celebration last night. First was dinner at Satterfield's:

Appetizers

Martin - Roasted Garlic and White Bean Soup with Crispy Prosciutto, Creme Fraiche and Chive Oil

Me - Fried Gulf Oysters and Okra with Frisee and Chunky Tartar Sauce

Entrees

Martin - Buttermilk Battered Tanglewood Farms Chicken Breast Truffled Israeli Couscous "Mac & Cheese" Braised Collard Greens and Buttermilk Sawmill Gravy

(see! terrible picture!)

Me - Hickory Grilled Hereford Beef Filet Pan Seared Cherry Tomatoes, Purple Mashed Potatoes, Dragon Tongue Beans and Chimichurri

Dessert

Chocolate cake thing and chocolate ice cream with caramel on the side (I don't remember what it was called or what was in it.)

We got one of the corner booths, shared a great bottle of wine and stuffed our faces. The food was amazing. Half way through we switched plates and I don't know which was better. The chicken was so flavorful and the beef was cooked perfectly. Haller (the chef) remembered it was almost our anniversary so he prepared the dessert and put a candle in it. Everyone there came up and spoke to us and congratulated us on making it a year (these days that's forever, see Chris Kattan). I wonder if our celebrity status there expires after a year....

After dinner we headed to see Michael Buble. This show was very surprising. The opening act, Naturally 7, was amazing. They are an a capella style group but they call what they do "Vocal Play". They are able to create the sounds of an electric guitar, violin, bass, harmonica, turntable and drums.

Seriously, some people in the crowd didn't even realize it was a capella. You really need to look these guys up on You Tube.

Then Michael came on stage. I expected to sit back, relax and just listen to him sing. I had no idea he was such a performer! He was really really funny and get the crowd laughing the entire time - and the man has some moves. He had all the middle aged women in the crowd throwing themselves at him.

We left early because I was exhausted and we wanted to beat the crowd but it was a great concert.

Happy Anniversary Martin. I love you with all my heart.

Happy Hump Day!

2008-10-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

Ok so we are over the hump. Two more days and then the weekend - can we make it?
_______________________________________

Christmas update: Mom done. Matthew and Mikel done. JB done. Katie done. Still left: Grandma, Martin's dad and Dad (birthday AND Christmas, please people bring on the ideas!).

_______________________________________

I decided if I dress like it's winter maybe it will get cold. Yesterday I actually pulled out the knee high boots. I stuck with my camel colored ones which I thought would look more fall than winter.

Today I'm wearing these:

I'm wearing mine with a dark grey dress and red high heeled pumps.

I just recently bought a pair of these:

Mine are black (and will not be over the knee). I plan on wearing them with leggings, pumps and a dress. Come on cold weather!

Today I am trying to decide if I could pull of these:

Maybe not in that color and paired with a skirt or dress and cute ankle boots (note: I actually found a cute pair, but beware there are a lot of ugly ankle boots out there).

Then I just need to purchase this:

The bright color would be a great contrast to my mostly black and grey fall/winter wardrobe.
_______________________________________

Tonight we are celebrating our anniversary (early, it's not actually until the 20th). We are going to go to dinner at the restaurant that catered our wedding, Satterfield's, and then go see Michael Buble. Jeannie introduced me to Michael's music a few years ago when we went to visit her in New York and I love him!

Acute Viral Nasopharyngitis

2008-10-14T10:43:00.000-07:00

"After initial infection, the viral replication cycle begins within 8 to 12 hours. Symptoms can occur shortly thereafter, and usually begin within 2 to 5 days after infection, although occasionally in as little as 10 hours after infection. The first indication is often a sore throat. Other common symptoms are congestion, sneezing and cough."

Yep, I have it. Sounds terrible doesn't it? It IS terrible.

I know it's just a common cold but it can really make you miserable! Don't worry, I am being tough.

I was so tough I even went to Wal-Mart to buy groceries on a Monday at 5:00 p.m. I think everyone will agree that is indeed very tough.

Since Martin will eat soup for every meal and I was feeling particularly whiny last night, I decided it would be a good soup night. I didn't have a recipe so I just tossed some things into the grocery cart. Here's what was in it:

chicken broth
chicken
rotel with lime juice and cilantro
taco seasoning
kidney beans
chick peas
box of macaroni

Seriously, it doesn't sound that great but it was delicious! It was a little spicy, just enough to get the nose running (and Martin sweating). It was nutritious and super quick and easy.

My recipe for getting over a cold: chicken soup, chocolate and peanut butter ice cream and in bed by 9:00 p.m.

How do YOU get over a cold?

Oh Sheila

2008-10-14T08:09:00.000-07:00

"I have never seen so many white girls, I mean white girls, you know it's always been the blacks, getting knocked up and being proud of it!"

"I just want to tell them, you wouldn't be knocked up if you had a job and had something to do other than spread your legs."

So much wisdom.

The Last Supper

2008-10-10T08:41:00.001-07:00

Jeannie is heading to the lake with Amy for the weekend and couldn't imagine being gone all weekend without the Los Arcos Mexican style tacos. She asked us to go with her last night but Martin and I had been there the night before so I kept telling her we couldn't (and didn't need to!) go twice in two days. But that Jeannie is very convincing. So, of course, we ended up there.

Dinner was great like it always is and when we were leaving the owner brought us all a piece of flan to take home.

Ok so flan obviously doesn't photograph well. I'm not a big fan of flan but Manuel makes his with a layer of chocolate and a layer of coconut which makes it AMAZING. It is definitely the best flan I have ever had.

But get this - Martin wants to go back again tonight!!! Apparently, a bunch of our friends are going and invited us to join them. Seriously, I think the first step is admitting we have a problem. We DO NOT need to spend the money or eat that food again!

Tomorrow we are taking Tavi to Fall Preview Day at Birmingham Southern College. Sunday I have boot camp work to do - so far those are our only plans.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Frankly, It's About Time!

2008-10-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

Franklin fired as Auburn's offensive coordinator

We'll see ya, smells bad face!

Wet Wednesday

2008-10-08T10:15:00.001-07:00

This morning Martin didn't have a client until 8:30 and he finishes at 5 (Jewish holiday again) so we decided we would carpool to work to save gas and Martin wouldn't have to ride the Vespa in the rain.

We walked out of the house and as soon as I locked the front door it went from no rain to total downpour. I'm talking - I couldn't see in front of the car to drive - that kind of downpour. I started complaining about how wet I would be by the time I parked and walked to the office. So my thoughtful husband texted his client and told him he would be a few minutes late and told me he would drop me off instead. I was very lucky. When Sheila (you all know who she is) got here she was SOAKED. I'm talking her hair, shirt, and shoes were dripping and her pants had soaked up the water from her feet all the way to her lady part. While she sat wet and freezing I was warm and dry at my desk. Thanks Martin!

This weather today is not doing much for my mood or energy level. Although things have improved - this is what it looks like now

it is still very cloudy but it is a drastic change from what it looked like when I got to work.

The weather combined with only four and half hours of sleep last night is making me kinda cranky. We didn't go to sleep until 12:30 this morning because as we crawled into bed last night the power went off (and this is very rare at our house). With no power we had no fan, no air conditioning and no sound machine. I couldn't fall asleep because I was surrounded by hot still air so I just laid there and woke Martin up every time I heard a noise - I heard a lot of them. It turned out it was the tree next to our house blowing in the wind and scraping the house (but I only believed that was actually the source of the noises until I had kept Martin up for two hours.......).

Think this means I can refuse Alabama Power their raise next week?

A Stanky Surprise

2008-10-07T09:50:00.000-07:00

Last night we celebrated Becky's birthday with a surprise party at Grey House Grille in Homewood. We decorated the table and got the must - an embarrassing birthday hat (pink and black metallic crown with "Birthday Princess" across the top).

Jeannie was able to pull off the surprise with no problem and Becky had a great night. We devoured multiple plates of the blue cheese potato chips, sipped on significant amounts of wine and enjoyed great company.

Hope you had a great one Becky!

Tonight will be a quiet night at home. We will watch the debate and then off to bed. This 5 a.m. thing is no fun!

Short post today - actually working!

Weekend Wrap-Up

2008-10-06T07:31:00.000-07:00

This was the first weekend in October so we spent Saturday getting ready for Halloween. Anna and Marisa helped me decorate the yard.

We hung our glow-in-the-dark skeleton,

put out our crashed witch,

(she looks better in the dark, here she looks a little weird)

and got out our light-up skeleton.

Obviously, this guy looks way better in the dark because a) he lights up and b) you don't see all cords!!

Once the house was decorated we headed to get some lunch with Katie and Jeannie and then to pick out pumpkins to carve. Katie had never carved a pumpkin before so it added to the fun! Anna picked out a BIG orange one, Marisa picked a small white pumpkin and Katie found a really cool blue one! Jeannie let us carve on her deck (and let us make a huge mess doing so).

Martin does not like carving pumpkins at all but we did get him to help us out and cut the tops off.

Look how nervous Anna is that he's going to mess up her perfect pumpkin! Martin then retired to the couch to watch tv while we got to work.

Pumpkin carving is no easy task. Anna learned that her picking a big pumpkin meant much more gooey stuff to have to empty out!

She dug and dug (and got some help from Jeannie) and finally got it clean.

Once the pumpkins were clean, it was time to pick the stencil. Anna and Marisa picked pretty quickly. Anna chose a skull and Marisa chose a "Jakers" (she thought it looked like Jake). Katie had a tougher time deciding but finally put together something she liked.

It was then time to poke the holes around the outline of the design so they would know where to cut.

Check out that concentration!

I think this was about the time Katie started to wonder if this was more work than fun... but they all kept working.......

And look at my 28 year-old sister's very first carved pumpkin. It turned out great!

The girls were excited to see them lit up so we strapped in the girls and their pumpkins and headed home.

The final results were fantastic!

Not bad, huh?

Sunday the girls went to Jeannie's to clean up the pumpkin mess they had made and to put in some more hours earning the wii.

Tavi came over Sunday night and we had dinner and talked some more about college. We had a nice night with her and then had to head to bed since we had to be up at 5 a.m. Yuck.

We had a great weekend with family and friends. Hope everyone else did too!

Well dadgum, it's Friday (wink wink) you betcha!

2008-10-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

I can't even get into last night's debate. I just want to say ONE thing. McKiernan NOT McClellan. Palin made it through the debate still standing so the republicans were pleased. They did not care that she did not answer any question asked, and, in fact, made up her own questions to answer.

It's finally Friday and I get to sleep in tomorrow, yay! I can't wait. We pick up Marisa and Anna tonight for the weekend. They will get to see the changes in their room so I'm sure they will be excited.

Tomorrow I think we will go to the pumpkin patch and let them pick out pumpkins to carve. At some point this weekend I have to go spend hours at Mary's getting her ready for October boot camp.

Sunday the girls will go to Jeannie's to get some more hours in to earn their wii.

Well with that said, looks like it could be a pretty boring weekend! Maybe we'll get an invitation to go somewhere fun between now and Monday!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Almost Fryday

2008-10-02T11:37:00.000-07:00

My boss is out today so I am just sitting here. Thinking about how I want

and

I blame hormones.

I plan on going home and getting dinner ready early so when the debate starts I can relax and watch it with no interruptions.

I hope Biden dominates.

This guy hopes so too.

What a croc!

2008-10-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

What is this world coming to?

First this:

Then this:

Gross all the way around.

Eggcellent!

2008-10-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

I have been craving eggs and egg salad ever since JB posted about his egg and olive sandwich. We finally went grocery shopping last night and I got the fixings for the best sandwich ever!!

I made my quick and easy egg salad (hard boiled eggs, pinch of salt, dash of pepper and low fat mayo), I thinly sliced tomatoes and green olives and cooked some bacon. We usually buy whole wheat and whole grain products at our house but for this sandwich I bought some delicious super soft white bread (it did say it was whole grain though....). I toasted the bread, spooned on a helping of egg salad, topped it with 2 slices of tomato, a few sliced green olives and a piece of extra crispy bacon. It. was. so. good. I made Martin's with extra bacon and no green olives and he liked it so much he had multiple sandwiches :)

After craving it for weeks, it hit the spot!

The rest of our night was pretty uneventful. We watched Dancing with the Stars (there was nothing else on!) and saw Kim Kardashian (aka Pinocchio) get kicked off. How sad for her - kicked off before the old lady! She really was THAT bad.

Martin is enjoying the JCC being closed for the Jewish holiday. He was able to go have lunch with Marisa and Anna at school today. He was so excited because Marisa and her teacher gave him a Dallas Cowboys pencil.

We are so easy, eggs and pencils.

It's the small things in life!

Weekend Wrap-Up

2008-09-30T09:15:00.000-07:00

Martin and I had a productive weekend. Friday afternoon we picked up the dresser we bought for Marisa and Anna's room. As we were moving it into their room, some friends called and wanted us to join them for dinner. We rushed out the door and enjoyed an early dinner so we could get home to watch the debate. I thought McCain did a good job of freaking us all out with his creepy laugh and Obama did a good job of explaining in easy to understand terms what his plan is if he is elected.

Saturday morning we got up early and ran some errands before meeting with a financial planner. We then scooted (literally) over to Dad's house to deliver his Obama yard sign. That reminds me - a promise was made it would be up in the yard by Monday. I need to check that out......Dad invited us to go have lunch with them. We went to Bottega Cafe and had an amazing lunch! While sipping on Greyhounds, I enjoyed the deviled eggs and the chicken tortellini salad. Martin started with a delicious beef and lentil soup and then had the mussells (insert jokes about how he already has muscles here....). Katie, Dad and JB were rushing off to see Rent so we skipped desert but I heard they had a sweet potato coconut cheesecake - yes please!! We hadn't had a Bottega lunch in a long time and it was wonderful!

Martin and I then went on a long search for a mirror to hang above the girls' new dresser. After going to five different places we randomly walked into the new store, Garden Ridge, where we found the perfect one!

The rest of Saturday included watching two football games. Auburn had a painful win and Alabama had an even more painful win. I think there were a lot of stunned dawgs Sunday morning.

Sunday I spent way too many hours moving all of Marisa and Anna's clothes downstairs and getting the room ready for them. I think their room is FINALLY finished.

The Cowboys had an unfortunate loss on Sunday which made Martin very unhappy.

Tavi came over Sunday night and we went through piles and piles of college paperwork. We had a nice evening and I think were able to help her sort some things out. We scheduled campus visits for the local schools and came up with a to do list.

This is my last week to sleep in. Next Monday it is back to getting up at 5:00 a.m. and loads of boot camp paperwork to do. I better enjoy this while I can!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Oh Sheila

2008-09-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

Sheila: "Oh, yeah I saw his wife the other day at the Oriental shop."

Me: (thinking......rugs?)

Me: "Really, what was she doing there?"

Sheila: "Getting her nails done."

Me: (biting my tongue)

McWhite Guy

2008-09-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

I found out last night that one of my best friends, Stacey, is going through a very hard time. Please keep her in your thoughts.

So Stacey, this is for you - Friday morning Rhyme Time:

It's finally Friday, who wants to debate?
Will McCain show up or send his running mate?

There is no better way to spend a Friday night,
Than watching Obama and McCain start to fight.

We want to hear from you, Senator McCain,
Don't tuck your head and run it makes you look lame.

The people want to know what you and Palin beleive in,
Other than that gays, abortions and telling the truth are sins.

I have faith in Obama to do the right thing,
Vote Obama/Biden, lets defeat the crazy right-wing!

Question of the Day

2008-09-25T11:52:00.001-07:00

What would YOU do with $700 billion?

Mooch

2008-09-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

So we have made it to Thursday without spending any money other than the $3.99 for Monday's potatoes!

Only problem is I think we are officially mooches.

Last night we went to Dad's house and Katie and JB made the Bottega vegetable lasagna. I thought it was great - Martin thought it was a little too green for his taste (what does he know). We finished the meal with a piece of red velvet cake. Note to thighs: don't let JB cut the cake. We got to enjoy the outdoor fireplace after dinner and the weather was wonderful!

Here's the question - who is buying our dinner tonight???

Just kidding of course, that would be rude..........................

I was a little disappointed when I got to work and realized today was Thursday. For whatever reason I was convinced it was Friday. Now I have to work tomorrow too! And by work I mean show up.

What does everyone have planned for the weekend?

Weathered the Storm

2008-09-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

So things are looking up. Turns out when you blog about being broke this will show up at your house!

Yes, that's a BIG bottle too! Thanks K!

Last night Katie went through her house and brought me things she had leftover from her meat eating days. She also brought a pack of spaghetti noodles and a can of black olives. I was able to make Martin's lunch (brown rice, green peas, can of chicken (thanks K) and soy sauce), our dinner (spaghetti, the sauce we had and black olives) and my lunch (left over spaghetti) without spending a dime.

She also brought her dinner over which was fake chicken nuggets. They were quite tasty. I think she was hoping to have leftovers for her lunch - but - Martin and I both liked them so........that didn't really work out for her.

With stuffed tummies we retired to the sofa to enjoy the wine and watch Dancing With The Stars. That show is crazy. How can Warren Sapp be so freaking good - quick and light on his feet oozing personality. Then Kim Kardashian is just TERRIBLE. She is like watching Pinocchio dance before he became a real boy. She follows the steps but she is stiff as a board with a blank stare!!

We had a very nice evening - especially since it started with me and Katie walking Jake and Layla. Something I kept saying I was going to do but never got around to.

Thanks to my dear, hard working husband, we are getting back on top financially. This week has shown me if you have to live off very little - you can do it. (Especially if you have a sister that will bring you food and wine!)

Happy Hump Day guys. I have high hopes for today after my morning started with lots of laughter. I made my breakfast - oatmeal and cottage cheese. I know, some of you just threw up a little in your mouth. I asked Martin if he wanted to taste it - he took a BIG bite and proceeded to literally gag and SPIT IT OUT (on the carpet!). I couldn't help but laugh. And this is the man who will eat anything.

To each his own....

Peace out people.

No Dollars No Sense

2008-09-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

So the Juarez family is broke. Again. Those that know me know this is a pretty common occurrence. This time we are down to only the change left in our drawers. I made a mistake and forgot to deposit a check before I paid the power bill. I know, stupid. I just forgot. That of course went unnoticed for a while because it takes things a while post. It wasn't until yesterday morning that I realized that purchases from the weekend were going to bounce. Don't you like how it's called "bouncing"? Makes it sound like a pleasurable experience. Good times.

I left work yesterday and knew we had no food in our house and no money. The only thing in the fridge was a container of homemade meat sauce that the Nadlers had sent home with us Saturday night. I needed to save gas so I knew I had to stop at the store before going home. The only money I would have is what I could find in my purse and car. I found 82 cents in my purse. I searched and searched the car until I found $4 dollars in change. I stopped at Bruno's and got a pack of three baking potatoes for $3.99. So dinner was taken care of. Baked potatoes (2 for Martin, 1 for me) topped with the meat sauce and some cheese (that I found in the back of the fridge, we aren't sick yet so it must have been ok).

Now lunch would be tricky. I dug deep in the cabinets and came up with enough items to make a filling lunch for Martin. Brown rice, frozen green peas, a can of tuna and some soy sauce. Hey there smells bad face, it was actually pretty tasty!!!

For now we will have to be creative as we patiently wait for pay day to roll around. Looks like no more of these for a while

Good news is I found a jar of spaghetti sauce yesterday when I was searching my cabinets so I just need to come up with enough change for a box of pasta for tonight!

Having no money tends to get me down. Luckily my good friend, Stace the Face sent me these kind words this morning:

I don't care if you lick windows, take the special bus or occasionally pee on yourself..You hang in there sunshine, you're friggin' special.

What a great friend, always knows how to pick me up when I'm down.

Have a great Tuesday!

Weekend Wrap-Up

2008-09-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

Isn't it amazing how quickly Mondays come around?? We had a very good weekend but like most - it was very short!

We didn't see Tavi this weekend because she was in Atlanta for a theater camp. We picked up Marisa Saturday and took her to breakfast and to run errands while Anna was at dance practice. We then picked up Anna and we went to Party City to get an early start on Halloween. The kids wanted to do group costumes this year so we started our search. However, it was hard to get Martin and Marisa to focus

After many laps around Party City we all agreed on The Wizard of Oz. Anna will be Dorothy, Marisa the cowardly lion, Martin the tin man and me the scarecrow (my costume feels like I'm sitting inside a haystack or rolling around in pine straw- I am itching just thinking about it).

We then headed to Fern Street to meet Betty and John, a couple Martin knows from the JCC. They have two grown boys who are off at college. One of the boys left something behind that Betty and John have been dying to get rid of..............

Anna and Marisa were happy to take it off their hands!

See Martin's hand holding on tight? Turns out they were great drivers in the grass but when they got out on the street - they forgot everything they had learned. It made for many many laughs and just as many high pitched screams! (Girls, remember you cannot push the brake and the gas at the same time!)

Saturday night we had a dinner party to attend at the Nadler's house. We all enjoyed it. There was a football game on Saturday night but we won't talk about that.

Sunday morning Anna and Marisa were supposed to go to Jeannie's house to put in some hours of work earning their Wii. Turns out Aunt Jeannie is the best boss ever. Their first task was to read this

Which included Marisa's favorites

I was a little confused. How was this supposed to be "work"?

Then Jeannie put the little Mexican workers to work. They headed into the backyard and pulled up weeds ("Jeannie is THIS a weed??"), they carried books up the stairs to the office, they watered all the flowers,

And then it was doggie bath time. Anna was Jeannie's little helper. Together they washed Layla, Roscoe and Sam.

Layla says thank you Aunt Jeannie!

After the baths, Marisa was in charge of drying the dogs.

Roscoe was not amused......

The girls ended the weekend with some additional go-cart riding and a quick dinner at Subway. Then it was time to make the long trip back to Clay.

Martin's weekend ended on a high note with his Dallas Cowboys beating Green Bay.

At least one of our teams won this weekend.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day

2008-09-18T11:32:00.002-07:00

Ahoy me hearties!

Ol' Chumbucket and meself plan to hoist anchor at the galley Los Arcos tonight. Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of tequila! Me hope me buckos will come join us.

Fairwinds!

I leave you with the top ten pick- up lines for pirate day:

10 . Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?

9. Have ya ever met a man with a real yardarm?

8. Come on up and see me urchins.

7. Yes, that is a hornpipe in my pocket and I am happy to see you.

6. I'd love to drop anchor in your lagoon.

5. Pardon me, but would ya mind if fired me cannon through your porthole?

4. How'd you like to scrape the barnacles off of me rudder?3. Ya know, darlin’, I’m 97 percent chum free.

2. Well blow me down?

1. Prepare to be boarded.

Names Can Be Deceiving

2008-09-18T11:32:00.001-07:00

The name Sheila means "Smart and Wise", from the Latin caecus.

"I wish they would address the parking issue. Yesterday I had another man come up to my car and he was actually white. But still I really am beginning to get concerned for my safety."

Outlook is Dim

2008-09-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

Today I had to attend Microsoft Outlook training. The firm is converting from Groupwise to Outlook. The training sessions were separated by practice groups. There were only seven of us participating from the general litigation group. The attorneys refused to attend - didn't want to mingle with the little people.

I sat through two terribly boring hours and didn't learn anything I didn't already know. We were unable to even complete the class because an old lady up front (wearing her best Golden Girls outfit) had to ask question after question. "Wait, how'd you get there." "Wait, my screen doesn't look like yours." "Wait, how' d you get to the internet."

SHE CLICKED ON "INTERNET" BRAIN SURGEON! Can this woman please get a private tutor?

Icing on the cake - teacher calls me out. We were told to create an email and send it to the class. We were sending from training computers so the only identifying information was Trainer 1, Trainer 2, etc. I created my email - subject "Sleepy" and body "1 hour left". Everyone (minus Ms. Ican'tfindthatonmycomputer) sent their test emails out (most of which involved a shoutout to Bama or a Rolltide! - gross). I had no idea teacher knew which Trainer id went with each computer. When mine popped up she looked over at me and said to the class "I guess someone ate too much".

I guess someone should have stayed in bed today.

Meet the Family

2008-09-17T10:04:00.002-07:00

For those of you who haven't met the other members of our family, I would like to introduce you to our dog, Layla. We rescued Layla about two and half years ago. She is not a huge fan of men (right, Martin?) but she is really sweet.

In case you are wondering, that is fear in her eyes. She is not only afraid of Martin but she is also afraid of thunder, Dallas Cowboy football games and cell phones. And, yes that is one of my shoes laying in the floor and Marisa's stuffed animal behind her. I never claimed to be neat.

So it's blurry but here she is again. Anna and Marisa like to "tuck her in" for her naps.

The other member of family is our cat, Talem. Talem has been with us one year this October. He is Martin's only son and the girls say that he's Martin's favorite child. He is very sweet but I find him to be pretty annoying. Love ya T!

Some might say this is not a very good picture. Well, here's the truth. He was an adorable kitten and then he grew into...........well............not so adorable. Anyone seen Tommy Boy? Our dear Talem is a fat guy with a tiny head. Not just that, he can't take a good picture to save his life. We have tried. Repeatedly. Finally, we had to admit it's not the camera or the photographer, he just is indeed ugly. We love him anyway.

Christmas in September

2008-09-17T10:04:00.001-07:00

It drives Martin crazy that I start Christmas shopping in September. He doesn't want to think that far in advance and thinks it is just an excuse for me to spend money. Of course, I do love to spend money but this is the only way we can get everyone a gift and still pay our mortgage each month. I spend a little out of each paycheck from now until Christmas. Anyhoo, I have to be careful how much I tell because I don't know who will read this.

I have purchased Jeannie's gift and received notification that they shipped it today (and it is awesome, if I do say so myself).

I got Tavi a vintage-style locket from Etsy.com, a 40's inspired headband with a huge peacock feather (that I totally fell in love with and want to keep for myself) and a cool pair of shoes.

When it comes to gifts for Marisa and Anna it is very difficult. They are selling the same crappy toys they sold last year. No one has come out with anything new. Here is what I have so far:

I have ordered them Apples to Apples for Kids and The Ungame. Sjon introduced us to Apples to Apples and I knew right away we had to have it. The Ungame is the "paper version" of a game we love to play when we go out to eat. It has questions that you ask each other. For example, "if you could be anyone in the world who would you want to be" "what is your biggest regret in life" "what do you want to be when you grow up". I have been running out of questions lately to ask so I am excited to have an entire game full of new questions!

I also found a game called Lightning Reaction - Shocking Game. It's a two player game where you hold onto poles and when the light changes you have to push the buttons down. If you lose, and aren't quick enough, you get shocked. Like actually shocked. Like ouch, I just put my finger in a socket shocked. Should be quite amusing.

Marisa will be getting a Glow in the Dark Ouija Board. She's never had one and come on, who hasn't had fun getting all freaked out with their friends playing on the Ouija Board!! She will love it because she is very much into ghost stories and scary stuff.

I am ordering Anna and Marisa each a Picture Puzzle book from Books-A-Million. If you have kids and haven't discovered these books, they are so fun! It is like the bar game Photo Hunt but you can take them with you to restaurants or play at home.

I am still searching the BAM website and anticipate all three of them getting more books.

Martin's dad will be getting a wedding picture, just need to print it and find a frame.

So, left to go for Christmas: Mom, Dad, JB, brother/Mikel, Katie, Grandma and then finish the kids. Now that I have written it down - doesn't seem like I am as far ahead as I thought....

If anyone has suggestions for the kids or anyone else - let me know!

We also have birthdays coming up. But no worries, The Planner has it taken care of. I have Katie's birthday present done. I ordered Marisa tickets to see High School Musical 2 in Atlanta for her birthday. Still remaining, the hardest one - DAD. That task is even too difficult for The Planner - suggestions welcome.

Oh, I just remembered, I haven't even started thinking about Christmas cards! Looks like I have my work cut out for me.

How can you mess up Mexican food?

2008-09-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

I left work yesterday and for the first time actually enjoyed the walk to my car. The weather was amazing and no one asked me for money. I thought about how I would spend my evening. Martin had to work until 7:45 p.m. so I knew I had almost three hours before I would pick him up (he's not driving the Vespa right now because the tire needs to be replaced). My first thought was I would take Layla for a walk. She could use the exercise. I could REALLY use the exercise. The closer I got to home the less appealing that idea seemed. I got home, remembered Layla was out of food, scratched the walk idea, tossed on a moo moo sized t-shirt and headed to Walgreens for some cheap puppy chow. On the way, I called Katie and suggested we go enjoy the afternoon and sit outside at Hacienda Grill, sip on wine and snack on guacamole.

It was great weather, great company and horrible food. The chips tasted like old oil, the guacamole was thick with no taste at all and the cheese dip was the consistency of Pond's cold cream. It did end on a high note - a cheesecake burrito. See Katie's blog for more information! One word of advice though, if you want a cheap buzz - come to Irondale. Wine at Hacienda is $3.50 a glass.