With family holidays creeping upon us, I think it is important to remind your family how much you care for them and I am very thankful they are there to support me in many ways. Even if it is a funny email, a phone call or a card, I am happy everyone is around to support me and my brothers.
I would also like to say that if anyone is feeling a trip to So Cal, do not ever hesitate to call and you are more than welcome to stay with us.
I love you all!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
I am so proud of you Sarah!
I can't believe that in a month my cousin Sarah, more like my sister, will be getting her Master's Degree from USC!!! Soo exciting! I am so happy for her and I am even more proud that she asked me to attend the exclusive event May 15th. We havn't officially discussed it but I will be going, yay :) Again, I am so proud of her and so happy for her upcoming wedding. Things just seem to be falling into place for her and I am happy for her.
On another note, Vegas was so fun but I need to download the pictures still... so they will be coming up soon.
Live, Laugh, Love and Congrats to Sarah!
On another note, Vegas was so fun but I need to download the pictures still... so they will be coming up soon.
Live, Laugh, Love and Congrats to Sarah!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
4 days to go!
I am getting pretty excited to go to Vegas, even if we aren't staying for very long. It should be a lot of fun and I like Vegas cause I never know what to expect.
On another note... The earth quake in Italy is devastating and I pray for the families and friends who have lost loved ones.
Other updates: Jose is working hard as usual and I am happy for him. He doesn't enjoy working a second job but the guy he works for allows him to come and go as he pleases and pretty much leaves Jose with the responsibility of taking care of things. He works for a pilot who manages airplanes so Jose takes care of the hangers and cleans the planes. It has been a little weird lately because his boss has been busy getting his Gulf Stream permit, which allows him to fly Gulf Streams. Pretty exciting, but for Jose its work and he is used to being around planes every day so this is nothing unusual. He is hoping, one of these days, he will ask Jose to go with him on a quick trip so he can sit in the cock pit. We have friends that fly and are getting their license but single engine planes are very different from Citations and Falcons, so we'll see.
Other news, Blue is getting bigger and more of a little butt. We love him so but he has such an attitude and personality that is hilarious and frustrating at the same time! He whimpers for no reason, except he wants to be petted or paid attention to, he licks Bear's feet and Bear hates (I mean HATES) that, which is kinda funny because we know Blue does it on purpose to bug Bear, and he pouts when we get mad at him for chewing on things or making a mess or to just pout...
Yard work is hard and frustrating with so much to do! It seems like we do so much and then, when we look at it, there is still so much to do... Our progress with the pool is slow... we are still filling it in but it was such a big pool that it is a huge undertaking.
That's all folks!
Live, Laugh, Love
On another note... The earth quake in Italy is devastating and I pray for the families and friends who have lost loved ones.
Other updates: Jose is working hard as usual and I am happy for him. He doesn't enjoy working a second job but the guy he works for allows him to come and go as he pleases and pretty much leaves Jose with the responsibility of taking care of things. He works for a pilot who manages airplanes so Jose takes care of the hangers and cleans the planes. It has been a little weird lately because his boss has been busy getting his Gulf Stream permit, which allows him to fly Gulf Streams. Pretty exciting, but for Jose its work and he is used to being around planes every day so this is nothing unusual. He is hoping, one of these days, he will ask Jose to go with him on a quick trip so he can sit in the cock pit. We have friends that fly and are getting their license but single engine planes are very different from Citations and Falcons, so we'll see.
Other news, Blue is getting bigger and more of a little butt. We love him so but he has such an attitude and personality that is hilarious and frustrating at the same time! He whimpers for no reason, except he wants to be petted or paid attention to, he licks Bear's feet and Bear hates (I mean HATES) that, which is kinda funny because we know Blue does it on purpose to bug Bear, and he pouts when we get mad at him for chewing on things or making a mess or to just pout...
Yard work is hard and frustrating with so much to do! It seems like we do so much and then, when we look at it, there is still so much to do... Our progress with the pool is slow... we are still filling it in but it was such a big pool that it is a huge undertaking.
That's all folks!
Live, Laugh, Love
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
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