So, April 11th at 2am we will be driving to Las Vegas for the annual car show at Viva Las Vegas, now at the newly remodeled Orleans Hotel. We would stay the night but with the dogs and the fact that there are no hotels nearby that have rooms and no other hotels offering us a good deal, especially since we won't be in our room most of the time, we decided to go early in the morning. Jose is used to getting up that early... The rest of us will have to deal with it. We won't be partaking in most of these events, since our purpose is to go to the car show, but I thought it was a cute image. I am soo excited!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Viva Las Vegas 2009!!!
So, April 11th at 2am we will be driving to Las Vegas for the annual car show at Viva Las Vegas, now at the newly remodeled Orleans Hotel. We would stay the night but with the dogs and the fact that there are no hotels nearby that have rooms and no other hotels offering us a good deal, especially since we won't be in our room most of the time, we decided to go early in the morning. Jose is used to getting up that early... The rest of us will have to deal with it. We won't be partaking in most of these events, since our purpose is to go to the car show, but I thought it was a cute image. I am soo excited!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Lemon Raspberry Cake
This cake is sooo, yummy and refreshing. Perfect for spring/summer weather.
1 box of Lemon Cake Mix
(Eggs and oil as specified on the box)
1 small bag of frozen raspberries
Sugar
Cool Whip
1. Prepare the lemon cake in a bundt cake form as directed on the box.
2. Let cake cool
3. Puree about half of the raspberries with a bit of sugar. Use your judgement on how much you would like to add by tasting it, I used about 1/2 cup.
4. Place cake on a decorative plate and poke holes in the top with a toothpick or fork.
5. Place remaining raspberries int he center of the cake, frozen still hold their shape once thawed.
6. Slowly, pour puree over the peak of the cake and it will drip down the sides on its own.
7. Serve as you would a bundt cake and garnish with cool whip, add a sprig of mint if going for the decorative look.
Updates - Pictures!
This is the boys playing. Blue tries to use his height as an advantage, when Bear is standing up so we aren't sure why he tries to get under Bear when he is laying down...
This isn't a good picture but it shows how big Blue is now.
Our new downstairs bathroom. We need to add pictures and towel hangers, but we still love how it is.
We have made other changes to our family room but since it is still a work in progress the pictures are delayed. We need to add a pool table, shelving for the records and pictures for the walls.Live, Laugh, Love
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Funeral Friday
There will be a funeral held this Friday for Jose's aunt Ester (aka Aunt Chubby). We aren't sure where but it will be in Moreno Valley somewhere.
Live, Laugh, Love
Live, Laugh, Love
Help Kids in Need!
http://www.bettycrocker.com/stirringupwishes/Support.aspx
Go to this web site and click on an area you think should be supported. So far it looks like OC is doing pretty well but you can vote for a local chapter or one you feel needs a little support.
Live, Laugh, Love
Go to this web site and click on an area you think should be supported. So far it looks like OC is doing pretty well but you can vote for a local chapter or one you feel needs a little support.
Live, Laugh, Love
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
So little time...
Hey all. Sorry I haven't been updating, I seem to say that a lot huh? Well, it's true.
Last week we had a family tragedy. I mean it in every sense of the word. Jose's Aunt passed away. It was quite all-of-a-sudden. She went into the hospital Wednesday for congestive heart failure, basically her heart had fluid in it and it stopped. For those who don't know, when they diagnose that they say the patient has no more than five years left. Thursday we went to visit her and she was awake and talking, joking, in fact, about things. We stayed for a couple of hours until she just couldn't stay awake any more and we left, we each said good bye and that was the last any of us were ever to speak to her again.
Friday we were told she had a stroke and was in ICU and she wasn't doing well, in fact they thought she might be paralyzed. If you know, my history with ICU isn't a pleasant one but I went to visit and to be there for Jose who was taking it pretty hard, and still is. Right before we got there she, apparently, had another stroke, a really bad one. We stayed at the hospital and during that time they took her for scans to see if they were able to relieve the pressure that her brain was putting on her skull, causing the brain to push against it. They considered surgery to remove some of the inflamed tissue but decided that it would be too much for her body to handle. We left to get some rest.
Saturday morning Jose was told she was on life support. The family had decided to take her off of it after everyone said their goodbye because the doctor said there wasn't any way she would survive this, her body was too weak. Saturday we spent a lot of time in the ICU room and it is very hard to see someone who is so nice and kind, so helpless and knowing that there would be time very soon she wouldn't be with us anymore. After the family was sure everyone was able to say their goodbyes, even people flew in to see her, they took her off life support. That time after that was a blur but I remember thinking, maybe she'll hold on, maybe she'll surprise us all and wake up and be fine, like I did before, but that isn't what happened, and a few minutes before 7pm she passed away.
She is survived by her husband, two sons, four daughters and seven grandchildren. She will always be remembered as the aunt who cooked the best food and was so kind and forgiving. It truly is a tragedy and we are getting through but I worry about her children. I know what it is like to lose someone you think will always be there so I hope they are able to learn to deal with the sadness that I have, and learn to enjoy the time we have here and with the people that are still around us. Also to know that no matter what she will always be around, in the wind and rain and sunshine. She will be that little voice in their heads telling them how to be and how much she loves them.
On another note, we have been busy with the house and redecorating it. Our completions so far, you ask? The downstairs bathroom - we painted the walls revamped the carpets and all we need is some new hardware but what we have looks good, just not our ideal. The family room - we painted the walls a deep purple, bought a carpet to go over the brick floor in one half and the other half has carpet and only needs a pool table. We bought a new TV stand and hope to buy a flat screen, once things turn around, and we will be obtaining art, pictures of actors, such as Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn & Elvis. In the area with the pool table we will hang the likes of the rat pack and old time gangsters. The back yard - We took down a lot of the ugly trees (we found out they were olive...) on the slope and took out the decking, we will be filling in the pool with some of the dirt from the slope and build a retaining wall to grade the hill back a bit so we have more yard space. We are hoping to pave a bunch of the back yard so we can set up a bar and above ground Jacuzzi but that'll be in a while. We are also wanting to put a wall around the house to secure it and add value to the house.
The dogs are soo big and I am hoping to post pictures of them soon but my computer is being fixed as we speak so its only a matter of days until that is up and running.
My next project you ask? Since we went through all of my mom's boxes I know I have all the photos she ever took. This being the case, I am hoping to be able to start scanning them into the computer, once I figure out how, so we will have digital copies for generations to come. We also plan on taking out a lot of the shrubbery on the slope so we can start the grading.
Live, Laugh, Love
Last week we had a family tragedy. I mean it in every sense of the word. Jose's Aunt passed away. It was quite all-of-a-sudden. She went into the hospital Wednesday for congestive heart failure, basically her heart had fluid in it and it stopped. For those who don't know, when they diagnose that they say the patient has no more than five years left. Thursday we went to visit her and she was awake and talking, joking, in fact, about things. We stayed for a couple of hours until she just couldn't stay awake any more and we left, we each said good bye and that was the last any of us were ever to speak to her again.
Friday we were told she had a stroke and was in ICU and she wasn't doing well, in fact they thought she might be paralyzed. If you know, my history with ICU isn't a pleasant one but I went to visit and to be there for Jose who was taking it pretty hard, and still is. Right before we got there she, apparently, had another stroke, a really bad one. We stayed at the hospital and during that time they took her for scans to see if they were able to relieve the pressure that her brain was putting on her skull, causing the brain to push against it. They considered surgery to remove some of the inflamed tissue but decided that it would be too much for her body to handle. We left to get some rest.
Saturday morning Jose was told she was on life support. The family had decided to take her off of it after everyone said their goodbye because the doctor said there wasn't any way she would survive this, her body was too weak. Saturday we spent a lot of time in the ICU room and it is very hard to see someone who is so nice and kind, so helpless and knowing that there would be time very soon she wouldn't be with us anymore. After the family was sure everyone was able to say their goodbyes, even people flew in to see her, they took her off life support. That time after that was a blur but I remember thinking, maybe she'll hold on, maybe she'll surprise us all and wake up and be fine, like I did before, but that isn't what happened, and a few minutes before 7pm she passed away.
She is survived by her husband, two sons, four daughters and seven grandchildren. She will always be remembered as the aunt who cooked the best food and was so kind and forgiving. It truly is a tragedy and we are getting through but I worry about her children. I know what it is like to lose someone you think will always be there so I hope they are able to learn to deal with the sadness that I have, and learn to enjoy the time we have here and with the people that are still around us. Also to know that no matter what she will always be around, in the wind and rain and sunshine. She will be that little voice in their heads telling them how to be and how much she loves them.
On another note, we have been busy with the house and redecorating it. Our completions so far, you ask? The downstairs bathroom - we painted the walls revamped the carpets and all we need is some new hardware but what we have looks good, just not our ideal. The family room - we painted the walls a deep purple, bought a carpet to go over the brick floor in one half and the other half has carpet and only needs a pool table. We bought a new TV stand and hope to buy a flat screen, once things turn around, and we will be obtaining art, pictures of actors, such as Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn & Elvis. In the area with the pool table we will hang the likes of the rat pack and old time gangsters. The back yard - We took down a lot of the ugly trees (we found out they were olive...) on the slope and took out the decking, we will be filling in the pool with some of the dirt from the slope and build a retaining wall to grade the hill back a bit so we have more yard space. We are hoping to pave a bunch of the back yard so we can set up a bar and above ground Jacuzzi but that'll be in a while. We are also wanting to put a wall around the house to secure it and add value to the house.
The dogs are soo big and I am hoping to post pictures of them soon but my computer is being fixed as we speak so its only a matter of days until that is up and running.
My next project you ask? Since we went through all of my mom's boxes I know I have all the photos she ever took. This being the case, I am hoping to be able to start scanning them into the computer, once I figure out how, so we will have digital copies for generations to come. We also plan on taking out a lot of the shrubbery on the slope so we can start the grading.
Live, Laugh, Love
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sorry its been a while :(
So the issue now is my home computer died and I haven't really had time to figure out what to do next... I have a couple of options, one trying to reload the data on it by using the start up disk, I have a feeling my data will be gone which kinda sucks, or by just ignoring the fact there is a problem and hope it goes away. I have been doing the latter of the two but I feel I might just need to face the music and deal with the problem...
New News: Jose and I have decided we will be going to Europe next spring.We are planning on visiting the usual touristy spots, London, Paris, Marseilles, Venice, Rome, Amsterdam, maybe some places in Germany too. We haven't ironed out all the details but we are soo excited. We plan on getting an unlimited Eurail pass so we can have flexibility and be able to go every where! We are so excited in fact, that it is kinda overshadowing our New York trip. We are still pretty excited but the idea of going to Europe is even more so, for me especially since I have been to NYC a couple of times. Ideas on things to do or places to stay are definitely welcome. Also, if there is a place we must go to let us know, we are still looking into it.
The doggies are doing great! Blue is getting so big now that I can barely pick him up. When he jumps up on me his front feet reach my waist! (Keep in mind that he is only 6 1/2 months old...) We figure he will be about Bear's size when he gets fully grown but we think he will be meatier than Bear, which means Bear may pick on him now but he'll regret it later on! They are so cute together, they act just like brothers and Blue loves Bear so much he goes wherever Bear is and he likes to sleep next to him too. Bear is still getting used to that, but I know he likes having a companion.
Other than that, things are going ok. Jose, Steph and I will be working on renovating the house. We have soo many ideas and can't wait until we get the funds to do what we envision. For now we'll have to do only a couple of things but we are still pretty excited about that. When it is all done, we are hoping to have a place to escape the chaos of life and relax. Our goal is Summer but that seems to be getting closer and closer so it may be the end of the year.
Last, but not least, Sarah is getting married and it is going to be soon! I am soo happy for her and Adam. They are so cute together and I know they will be happy. So far, we know the wedding will be late summer and the bridal shower, sometime in August. Once the dates are finalized I will post them so you all know what is going on.
Live, Laugh, Love!
New News: Jose and I have decided we will be going to Europe next spring.We are planning on visiting the usual touristy spots, London, Paris, Marseilles, Venice, Rome, Amsterdam, maybe some places in Germany too. We haven't ironed out all the details but we are soo excited. We plan on getting an unlimited Eurail pass so we can have flexibility and be able to go every where! We are so excited in fact, that it is kinda overshadowing our New York trip. We are still pretty excited but the idea of going to Europe is even more so, for me especially since I have been to NYC a couple of times. Ideas on things to do or places to stay are definitely welcome. Also, if there is a place we must go to let us know, we are still looking into it.The doggies are doing great! Blue is getting so big now that I can barely pick him up. When he jumps up on me his front feet reach my waist! (Keep in mind that he is only 6 1/2 months old...) We figure he will be about Bear's size when he gets fully grown but we think he will be meatier than Bear, which means Bear may pick on him now but he'll regret it later on! They are so cute together, they act just like brothers and Blue loves Bear so much he goes wherever Bear is and he likes to sleep next to him too. Bear is still getting used to that, but I know he likes having a companion.
Other than that, things are going ok. Jose, Steph and I will be working on renovating the house. We have soo many ideas and can't wait until we get the funds to do what we envision. For now we'll have to do only a couple of things but we are still pretty excited about that. When it is all done, we are hoping to have a place to escape the chaos of life and relax. Our goal is Summer but that seems to be getting closer and closer so it may be the end of the year.
Last, but not least, Sarah is getting married and it is going to be soon! I am soo happy for her and Adam. They are so cute together and I know they will be happy. So far, we know the wedding will be late summer and the bridal shower, sometime in August. Once the dates are finalized I will post them so you all know what is going on.Live, Laugh, Love!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Roast Chicken - SOOO Delicious!
We had this last night and it was sooo good! You can use different vegis and use half of a roasting chicken if you don't plan on using leftovers.It truly is a one dish meal!
1 whole roasting chicken
6 small new potatoes
3 large carrots
1 yellow onion
1/4 c low fat butter
3 garlic cloves
2 t oregano
1 t salt
1 t pepper
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Remove all the extras in the chicken and rinse; pat dry
- Place in large baking dish; either 9x13 or large oval roasting dish
- In a small bowl, combine all of the butter and spices
- Scoop some of the butter into your hand and stuff under the skin of the chicken breast. You can separate the skin by sliding your hand under the skin, above the meat. Do this to both breasts of the chicken.
- Once that is done save the rest of the butter to put over vegis and legs of the chicken.
- Cut the vegis into large chunks about 1 1/2 inches.
- Stuff some of the onion in the bird, make sure not to stuff it just place about a quarter of the onion inside.
- Place the rest of the vegis outside the chicken.
- Put everything int he oven and bake for 2 - 2 1/2 hours. The chicken temp should be around 180 degrees, to be safe.
- If you would like to make gravy with the juices, strain the juices and put in a sauce pan. Heat juices and sprinkle flour in until the color is a light brown (there is no specific amount because each chicken will let off a different amount of juice) I would say about a tablespoon to two... Make sure and whisk until thickens. It will be thick enough after it begins to boil. If gravy gets chunky, just strain it again.
- Enjoy!
Sorry for the delay!
Sorry it has been a while since my last post. There hasn't been much I can write about except Sarah's news. I was sworn to secrecy, however, to ensure that she was able to call the family herself. If you don't know yet, I will post it next week.
For those who don't know, Jose and I have been on a diet. We have been going strong since January 19th. He has already lost 20 lbs and I a mere 10. I guess slowly but surely is the way to go but for some reason it just doesn't seem fast enough! Our weight loss has slowed down a bit but it's still going so that is good.
Valentine's Day is coming up and we are so excited to go out and eat. We haven't eaten out since Jan 19th so we are pretty excited. We are going to go to the Yard House, one of our favorite restaurants, and then he agreed to go see "He's Just Not That Into You" that evening with me. Isn't he sweet!
New York this winter is what I'm thinking about every day... I can't wait!!! It is going to be so much fun. The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center and the ice skating in Central park, just magical. It is truly what Christmas looks like to me and I can't wait! We are going to do our Christmas shopping there too! Nothing is more fun than getting random fun gifts for friends and family that can't be found anywhere else. Other than shopping we are going to see the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Ground Zero and best of all Macy's :)
Other than that, I have started to think about where we are going when we go to Europe. The idea here is to travel before we settle down and get married. After we get married we are going to be more settled but I'm sure we will still go and travel a bit but going to Europe takes a lot of money and time. It won't happen often so we are hoping to make the best of it. We will miss our babies but when else will we be able to go to Europe without worrying about our kids?
Regarding our babies (dogs), they are doing great. Bear is being very good but Blue is a little terror. Blue has his little ways of telling us he is upset, like when we close the door to the restroom he will find the rugs from the other restroom and take them into the living room or hallway... He does have his sweet side and he loves to snuggle but they enjoy sleeping on our Queen size bed with us and a German Shepard and Lab end up taking about half the bed, Blue is getting so big! We are trying to train them to not sleep on the bed with us but it's so hard to kick them to the floor when they look so cute!
Jose and I are both grateful that we still have a job and are able to make our bills but I have started to pay off school loans so that makes things a bit tight. We're making it through, thank you Lord. he finds ways of helping us out when we need it most so we know that we will be taken care of. We hope that Jose's parent's are able to move in with us soon but we are happy to have a roof over our head and food on the table. In times like these we need to make sure and just be grateful.
That pretty much sums it up... I pray all of you will not have too many troubles during this time and can try and enjoy the idea we are living in a historic time. I still can't believe Obama is president, it hasn't hit me yet :) I hope all goes well within the next couple of weeks and the people who are losing their livelihood will be helped.
Live, Laugh, Love
For those who don't know, Jose and I have been on a diet. We have been going strong since January 19th. He has already lost 20 lbs and I a mere 10. I guess slowly but surely is the way to go but for some reason it just doesn't seem fast enough! Our weight loss has slowed down a bit but it's still going so that is good.
Valentine's Day is coming up and we are so excited to go out and eat. We haven't eaten out since Jan 19th so we are pretty excited. We are going to go to the Yard House, one of our favorite restaurants, and then he agreed to go see "He's Just Not That Into You" that evening with me. Isn't he sweet!
New York this winter is what I'm thinking about every day... I can't wait!!! It is going to be so much fun. The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center and the ice skating in Central park, just magical. It is truly what Christmas looks like to me and I can't wait! We are going to do our Christmas shopping there too! Nothing is more fun than getting random fun gifts for friends and family that can't be found anywhere else. Other than shopping we are going to see the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Ground Zero and best of all Macy's :)
Other than that, I have started to think about where we are going when we go to Europe. The idea here is to travel before we settle down and get married. After we get married we are going to be more settled but I'm sure we will still go and travel a bit but going to Europe takes a lot of money and time. It won't happen often so we are hoping to make the best of it. We will miss our babies but when else will we be able to go to Europe without worrying about our kids?
Regarding our babies (dogs), they are doing great. Bear is being very good but Blue is a little terror. Blue has his little ways of telling us he is upset, like when we close the door to the restroom he will find the rugs from the other restroom and take them into the living room or hallway... He does have his sweet side and he loves to snuggle but they enjoy sleeping on our Queen size bed with us and a German Shepard and Lab end up taking about half the bed, Blue is getting so big! We are trying to train them to not sleep on the bed with us but it's so hard to kick them to the floor when they look so cute!
Jose and I are both grateful that we still have a job and are able to make our bills but I have started to pay off school loans so that makes things a bit tight. We're making it through, thank you Lord. he finds ways of helping us out when we need it most so we know that we will be taken care of. We hope that Jose's parent's are able to move in with us soon but we are happy to have a roof over our head and food on the table. In times like these we need to make sure and just be grateful.
That pretty much sums it up... I pray all of you will not have too many troubles during this time and can try and enjoy the idea we are living in a historic time. I still can't believe Obama is president, it hasn't hit me yet :) I hope all goes well within the next couple of weeks and the people who are losing their livelihood will be helped.
Live, Laugh, Love
Monday, January 26, 2009
So much fun!
So I didn't get as many good pictures of Rocky playing but I hope to soon. This weekend was busy but so much fun!
First, Friday afternoon I found out my Uncle Rocky and Cousin Sarah would be joining us to see the game. The game was a good one but because Rocky was sick that week, he didn't play. Its ok though, we had so much fun hanging out afterwards. Everyone came to our house and spent the night, except Sarah, and it was nice catching up with everyone.
Then Saturday, I had brunch with the girls and then, Jose and I went to a concert, Freestyle Explosion. It was a lot of fun! We danced and laughed and had a great time.
Then Sunday, we slept in until 1. I can't remember the last time I was able to do that! The we drove to Santa Ana and hung out with his parents. They are so sweet and I really enjoyed it. Lots of laughing and talking, practicing my Spanish :)
Overall the weekend was agreat one, relaxing and fun. I can't wait to have another just like it, only four days away... and counting :)
Live Laugh Love
First, Friday afternoon I found out my Uncle Rocky and Cousin Sarah would be joining us to see the game. The game was a good one but because Rocky was sick that week, he didn't play. Its ok though, we had so much fun hanging out afterwards. Everyone came to our house and spent the night, except Sarah, and it was nice catching up with everyone.
Then Saturday, I had brunch with the girls and then, Jose and I went to a concert, Freestyle Explosion. It was a lot of fun! We danced and laughed and had a great time.
Then Sunday, we slept in until 1. I can't remember the last time I was able to do that! The we drove to Santa Ana and hung out with his parents. They are so sweet and I really enjoyed it. Lots of laughing and talking, practicing my Spanish :)
Overall the weekend was agreat one, relaxing and fun. I can't wait to have another just like it, only four days away... and counting :)
Live Laugh Love
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