2013 recap

2013 was a good year :)

January was a quiet month.

 February we had our 48th wedding anniversary, Sandy flew down for a few days and Lizzie came up also. We had a nice time all together.

 March  Tristan turned 15! I also returned a HS ring to an old bf from South Dakota. Jameson Lee O'Dell was born March 7 (same day as Jeff).

 April Tristan flew down to stay with us for a few days,

Marvin turned 73 years old, his brother and sisters, David and Iris came to wish him a happy birthday.

 May the highlight was Mother's Day. I had a wonderful day with  Lizzie and Marvin, even Jeff showed up. Missed Sandy but she called :)

June the lowlight was getting a traffic ticket :(

Sandy had her 47th birthday and was surprised by Lizzie flying to Utah to spend the day with her :)

 July Tristan came to spend a week with us, he brought his longboard, and had fun at the beach. Marvin had to go to Urgent Care  because of pulled ligament. I had a bad case of dry mouth. I called Nuri for her birthday, same old same old.

 August Sandy and Marty celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary. We had the house exterior painted. Cape Cod blue. Sandy flew down on the 30th.

September Sandy and Lizzie came around for Labor Day weekend, it was fun having them both here.

 October  Marvin had to go to ER for a bleeding ostomy, luckily it ended up being nothing too serious. We bought a 55" TV and a safe. Lulu turned 2 years old.

November Lizzie celebrated her 42nd birthday. Lizzie has been coming to LM one or twice a month, it's always nice to have her here. For Thanksgiving, she and Jeff came to spend the day with us. We had a very good time.

December was a great month. The highlight was by far my 70th BIRTHDAY SURPRISE.  Sandy and Tristan (surprise #1) flew down. It was just surprise after surprise abd I had absolutely no clue about what went on. I spent a wonderful day with my daughters at the Getty and Gladstones, being driven around in a limo, to come home to a very very SURPRISE party with family (wish Mia could have come) and friends!!!!! Thank you Lizzie, Sandy and Marvin and Tristan!

Christmas Eve was nice and enjoyable as was a quiet Christmas day with Lizzie and Jeff.

     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Books I've read in 2013 = 79

 

Here's to a wonderful 2014

 

 

 

Another Birthday dinner :)

Last Sunday, Marvin and I went to Black Angus for dinner.

Many restaurants and fast food places send a coupon for a free entree, or dessert, or appetizer, Black Angus is usually the best birthday coupon of all!

I had (for free) a wedge salad with bacon and blue cheese dressing,  a great rib eye steak with bleu cheese sauce, it was amazing, and a loaded baked potato. And a loaf of sweet molasses bread with honey butter.

Marvin had a New York steak, with a house salad and french fries.

We were full so we decided not to have dessert.

While we were waiting for the check, here come 4 smiling waitresses singing Happy Birthday, with a giant, freshly baked chocolate chip cookie, with vanilla ice cream, and 1 candle :)  Even though we were full, we couldn't resist sampling it.

Just a joke

A pregnant woman is driving down the street and gets into a fender bender, and is out cold for a week. When she awakens, she realizes that she is no longer pregnant.
"What happened to my baby!" she frantically asks the doctor.
"Ma'am, you had twins!" the doctor replies. " A healthy boy and a girl. Your Uncle Jack came in and named them."
"Oh no, the woman says. "Not Uncle Jack! He's an idiot!"
She asks the doctor, "Well, what's the girl's name?"
"Denise."
"Wow," the woman says, "that's not such a bad name--I like it! What's the boy's name?"


"Denephew."










 

Christmas Day recap

. Christmas day was a very warm day, people were wearing shorts and tank tops. I'd rather it was a little cooler, but I take this over the horrible weather they are having in the East coast and many other parts of the world.

Lizzie and Jeff came home around10, and opened their Christmas stockings. Then Sandy called to wish us a Merry Christmas. Both girls like to do Christmas stocking, I did them when they were little, but Marvin and I never did, unless some years Sandy made one for us.

After that we opened our gifts. I'm just going to write about what I got. From Sandy, I got my pastries, which they delivered early and therefore were already eaten, yum!, and the yearly calendar. I love that. From Lizzie, I got an Internet address and password logbook, which is great because I have pw and  URL's all over the place and is nice now to have them all together. I also go a box of Godiva chocolates, which I didn't share ;) , and a lovely bookbag from Barnes and Noble which I have already used today to go to the library (Lizzie said taking my books back to the library in plastic grocery bags was ghetto lol). I was very pleased with all my gifts.

Then I went to make breakfast, waffles, bacon and scrambled eggs. It was nice to be together Christmas morning, and of course we missed the Thompson's but I'm sure they were having a good time in Pocatello as wll :)

After Lizzie and Jeff left back to San Diego, I started making my catalan Christmas soup. It basically takes all day. It has chicken, beef, marrow bones and a slew of veggies. The best part for me was gettin to eat the marrow (Lulu got the bone). I remember when Nuri and I were young, we used to fight over who would eat the marrow. It got pretty nasty. My grandmother (yaya) sat in a chair complaining she never got to have any! Awwww.

I thought the end result tasted very good and it brought back some memories of home.

It was a very good Christmas :)

Christmas Eve recap

Our Christmas Eve FB invitation, said 3 to 8. Dewey called in the morning to say there would only be 3 of them, Lee was sick and Rick and Christina couldn't make it. Lizzie had been here since the night before and she was a great help :)
Then around 2:30 Bettie called they were running late (surprise!). Jeff again had met with traffic but he still got here before them.

Lizzie, Marvin and I went to Marvin's room to listen to their yearly Christmas music/poetry. We really enjoyed it. Dakota has a very nice voice, and Jeff's Christmas song was nice and funny, the last one was Lizzie reciting poetry, and as always she was awesome. She has a lovely sweet voice.

When we all got here, we had our Christmas Eve buffet: sweet&scy nuts, Jeff's Texas caviar, Mary's goopy green stuff,  Honey baked ham, a humongous one, and Mormon potatoes. WE also had a couple of dips and chips.
My Mormon potatoes were a fail!, it had NO seasoning and it was really bland, I also think they had not been in the oven long enough. Marvin's biscuits rose and smelled great. Lizzie does not care for ham, so I made her 3 slices of breaded pork. And then I totally forgot about it until we were finished eating :(
For dessert Marvin had made a sugar free pudding cake, fruitcake, cookies, panettone and cream puff (which I also forgot!)
Lizzie, Marvin and I had Cava with peach nectar, the others drank water or 7UP.

After dinner we had our $5.00 gift exchange. Surprisingly enough, it came out OK and everybody enjoyed their gifts (mine was a Christmas pattern lap throw, Marvin's was a plaid lap throw and some sugar free treats).

Then of course, was picture taking time, and afterwardsMary, Dewey, and Bettie (and Petey) left. Lizzie and Jeff left soon afterward to go to their hotel in Anaheim.
I went to bed shortly after Midnight.
Tomorrow I will write the Christmas day recap :)

That elusive Christmas spirit

I am not a shopper, as you all well know. I especially don't like to shop when there's lots of people in the store. I get impatient waiting in line or not finding what's been advertised.

This year, I was pretty "worried" about my birthday. I wanted it to be special, after all turning 70 is something to celebrate. When Marvin turned 70 we all met in Las Vegas, went to a show, had meals together and it was fun. Before meeting the girls and family, we went to Death Valley and that was great too.
I thought of many ways I wanted to celebrate my birthday, but nothing really seemed right. Then Sandy said whe would fly down, and Lizzie said that i always said having both girls here was the best present, which is true. But then Tristan also came and that was a big surprise and I was happy!!! Then Lizzie came with my birthday cake, and on Saturday we had a great time at El Cholo.
I really thought that was all, and I was more than OK with that. But then came Sunday, and we have all written about it. It was a super great birthday full of great surprises. Marvin knew all about it and never said a thing! The limo, the Museum, the Malibu restaurant, and then, at home, the family and school friends!!! Lizzie came up with the idea in July and Sandy and Marvin added to it, so it all came out perfectly and everything was things I wanted and liked. I still can't believe I didn't guess any of it!!!!! I also got a nice phone call from Mia :)

I have been fighting a cold since the first of the month, but happily I felt quite well for my surprises, but alas, the next day I was back in bed with a fever and cough.

I haven't been to a store at all (other than to Target to get an air mattress). I told the girls that every other year (the years that the Thompsons are not coming down to La Mirada) I would give them cash instead of gifts to make it easier on me. And that's what's happening. Only Sandy preferred gift certificates, which is OK, and Tristan sent me his wish list and I got him a couple of things he wanted :)

For Christmas Eve, Marvin's brother and sisters and maybe a nephew or two, will come to our house, and also Lizzie and Jeff :) Then on Christmas day, we'll have breakfast and Jeff and Lizzie will go back to San Diego after that.

Next year I will start shopping or ordering things at least a couple of months in advance. I think that'll work :)

My birthday!

I was born at the stroke of midnight, 70 years ago. For a few years I celebrated my birthday on the 16th, and then the 17th (my baptism say 16th, my birth certificate the 17th).

I was going to write about the excellent surprises Sandy, Lizzie and Marvin had planned for Sunday, but I just read Sandy's blog and she explained everything much better than I ever could.  It was a total surprise, and there was not a moment I didn't enjoy!

I am amazed everything went like clockwork. They had been working on it since July! The very first surprise was to see Tristan waiting at the airport with Sandy. I had no idea he was coming! Having both my daughters and grandson come to spend my birthday with me, was just wonderful! :)

We also had a fun lunch at El Cholo on Saturday where I got a little tipsy with my Margarita and sang at the top of my lungs "Happy Birthday to me"

And then of course, it was Sunday, and everything ran so smoothly, and everything planned was so great, that even the weather collaborated and it was a gorgeous day! I loved the Museum, had been wanting to go there for a long time, and I loved the beach side restaurant with the wonderful views. I totally enjoyed being chauffered around in the limo, soo nice! And getting home and seeing Marvin's family and a bunch of my teacher friends was just amazing!!! I think my mouth stayed open for the longest time !

 

I will make a Birthday album in Facebook and you will all be able to see all the fun things that went on :)

 

Thank you again so much to Lizzie, Sandy, Marvin for a spectacular day! and to the elves, Tristan and Norbert, you were great helpers. Love you all very much.

 

Can't wait to see what the plans will be for my 80th!!!!!!! ;)

Happy mama :)

Tomorrow Sandy is flying down from Utah to spend a few days here, and Lizzie will be here on Friday night too.

That  makes this mama happy!!!! :)

Frustrated

'Tis the season...fa la la la la

Well let's hope I get into the spirit of the holidays. So far December has been pretty much a bust. I have been sick all week, I'm losing my voice, and my patience.

For the past 2 days I have had to deal with the incompetence of people. I am talking about our health insurance, about being on hold in the phone for hours, about not getting straight answers etc. Today I went to speak with Members Services, and again, more incompetence, I spent almost 2 hours waiting for somebody to know what the hell is going on, and you all know how patient I am. And  yet, no answers. Too long a story to write about it here.

And then the traffic, going to pick up Marvin, I was already frustrated after my experience with stupid people, and the traffic was just bumper to bumper, basically all the way. It took over 45 minutes from home to the 5 freeway.

Maybe if I had been feeling better things wouldn't have annoyed me as much, I don't know. But I've been in a total pissy mood most of the day. I have had a tick in my left eye since I've been home that is bothering me a lot, and that doesn't help either. Well let's hope for a better tomorrow.

December blues

I have a cold and I feel terrible, fever, chills, cough...I was in bed most all day  Sunday and  Monday. Marvin had to take care of things, food etc. He  made chicken and dumplings and they were really good.

Today I took him to dialysis and I went to Target to get some outdoors lights for the house, but I didn't find the ones I wanted and I was not in a shopping mood (but then, I never am)  I went to bed until it was time to go pick him up.  Tonight he cooked sausage and eggs and hash browns. I am happy he was feeling well when I was not.

I hope I can get rid of this cold once and for all, I hate not feeling well.

Last November Day

Well it looks like I made it and wrote every day, so did the girls, and Mia you did good too :) I will miss reading the day to day happenings. I will try to write at least once a week, we'll see.

November was a good month in general, had my feet done and also my hair :)
Went out to eat with Marvin a couple of times, tried to train Lulu (she's back in the kennel, she did pretty good, but I will wait till after the holidays to start again. Lizzie came down a couple of times, and the month culminated on a very nice Thanksgiving.

Here's some of the movies I watched and enjoyed:

8 Femmes (2002)

Before Sunrise (1995)

Before Sunset (2004)

Before Midnight (2013)

A Perfect Man (2013) Amsterdam

Cheerful Weather for a Wedding (2012) British 30's

Populaire (2012) French-typewriter contest

Home for the Holidays (1995) Holly Hunter

She's the man (2006) Channing Tatum

Magic Mike

Drinking Buddies (2013)  beer

Four Rooms (Hotel Mon Signor)

 

And books...

 

James Patterson – Alex Cross, Run

Meg Gardiner – The Shadow Tracer

Susan Mallery – A Fool’s Gold Christmas

Liane Moriarty – Three Wishes

Dorothea  Benton Frank   -The Last Original Wife

Faye Kellerman – The Beast

 

Now I am going to bed, still have a pesky cold. Looking forward to a great December!

The Day After

It was not only the drinking of the bubbly that made me sleepy, I am catching a cold, and after Lizzie left back to San Diego, I've been sleeping on and off all day.

I am happy that for Thanksgivinf Day I was feeling OK and  enjoyed the meal and the company. It was a very nice day. Both Marvin and I enjoyed it a lot.

This morning it was raining, and that made me  want to cuddle up in bed after taking my cold medicine. I  saw on TV some of the fools that went to Black Friday and got mauled, scratched and trampled, just to save a few dollars.  I have never  gone to a Black Friday event or plan in going. Yes you find great bargains (for instance the TV we just bought was now $200 less, but to fight the crowds and put up with all the pushing and shoving etc. is not worth the savings (most likely they only had maybe 2 or 3 of them anyway, it's like a "Come on" so people go and buy stuff. Oh well. Maybe somr of them enjoy it. I think my sisters in law and their friend Gale, used to go to Black Friday, this year Mary and Dewey didn't come down so I'm sure they wouldn't go just by themselves, but who knows :)

I am now going back to taking my alka seltzer plus and go to sleep. I hope I will be feeling better in the morning.

Thanksgiving and Hanukah

It is a rare occurrence that Thanksgiving and Hanukah fall on the same day, but it happened this year. Double holiday for some people :)

Our Thanksgiving was very nice, as Lizzie wrote, Jeff had a long drive to get to La Mirada from San Diego, but he finally made it, it must have been very tiresome but he was happy to be with all of us and cooked some really delicious rib eye steaks and a yummy green bean casserole. We are not traditionalists when it comes to Thanksgiving, I am sure the girls still remember the day we had to make do with Chinese food ;)

Give me a good steak for a turkey any time! we also had some appetizers, the spinach dip and deviled eggs were especially good, also cheese, brie and cheddar. Of course some nice Cava to drink. Even Marvin had a few sips of the bubbly.

Jeff did a great job making the casserole and grilling the steaks, the steaks were enormous, and juicy and tender, yum!

Here's a picture of dessert, chocolate meringue pie, and profiteroles with strawberries. We all had a nice talk after dinner discussing family events and music and movies.  Jeff left shortly after and Lizzie decided to stay until the morning.

It was a lovely Fall day, they were forecasting rain but we had sunshine and mild weather. Got to love California!

I had a little too much Cava, and after Jeff left I took a nap. Matter of fact I just woke up :)

My friends Norbert, Lolin and Jennifer called us to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving. We missed our family from Utah, but after reading Sandy's blog it seems they had a nice time as well.

We really have a lot to be thankful for.  Love you all!







Late!

Lizzie got home, all is good,  I will post it so it goes before midnight!

Love you all

Holidays!

Just 2 more days till Thanksgiving!

Lizzie will be coming tomorrow and Jeff will come on Thursday. They are bringing steaks and a green bean casserole (Marvin and I have never had green bean casserole!) I am happy they are coming. I wish the Thompson's could be here too, but they will be in our thoughts! Too far to travel.

Thanksgiving has never been too meaningful to me because I didn't grow up with it, it being a typical American holiday. But I understand and appreciate the meaning of giving thanks and getting together with family and friends.

Today we took a big giant box of Whitman's chocolates to the Dialysis Center, as a thank you for the care that they give Marvin. They are really a capable, friendly bunch of people. They were happy to get it and thanked Marvin for it, even the doctors did! :)

I guess tomorrow I need to clean a little and start getting things ready.

Hasta luego!

Haircut

As I said yesterday, today I had my appointment to have my hair colored and cut. I told Lauren to cut my hair shorter because   my hair grows fast and it was getting shoulder length. Also I wanted my hair a little darker because it was too blondish. Now is a honey color I like :)

Other than that I didn't do much of anything.  Lulu seems to be doing OK so far being unkenneled, we'll see how it goes :)

Besos.

Fall Cleaning

I worked on and off all last week trying to get my closets clean and "weeded out". Today I had a nice Jacuzzi soak in the morning, and then I've been putting my summer clothes away and getting my winter clothes out. There really is not a lot of difference between the two, only  shorts and summery clothes are going to go on storage (I still keep a few out for those summer like winter days). And I have brought out the sweatshirts ( I almost never wear them because I get too hot), but mainly I have been discarding stuff that I haven't worn for a long while. Even so my closets are still full. Marvin has said, and I must agree, that basically I just change the clothes from one closet to another.

Tomorrow I go to have my hair  done. I find it weird that I get  anxious when I have to go to the salon even though the girl that does my hair is super friendly and very good. I have to sit down and wait while my hair color does its thing, and I get antsy. Oh well, I may take a picture if it comes out to my liking :)

And that's about it!

Training Lulu, part 2

She slept all last night night in  her pillow, when Marvin  went to make his breakfast she kept on sleeping. When I got up at 9 AM she got off her pillow and I gave her breakfast and water, then took her outside where she did her business.

When Marvin and I got ready to go to dialysis, she went back to her pillow, I gave her the usual treat and we left. When I got back, she was still in her pillow sleeping.

As I was ready to go pick him up she went to the pillow, but as soon as I left she jumped on the couch and I could see her looking thru the window. When we got back, she was sitting on top of Marvin's chair, but she had not done any messes of any kind.

Now Marvin went to sleep, so I turned off the living room lights and she went to her pillow. I came to my room, looked out and she was laying quietly. I took a picture. She is now sleep.

So far, so good :)

Have a good Sunday

Training Lulu

Today Marvin and I went to have lunch at El Cholo. We had chips and salsa, guacamole, albondigas soup for him and tortilla soup for me, and we shared some delicious filet mignon tacos. I had the best Margarita ever, it was great! I was going to have it blended and try the brain freeze trick but I chickened out, so it was on the rocks. YUM.

When we got home, Lulu was happily sleep in her kennel, she has been really good about getting there when we go out and sleeping all night etc. But I decided maybe I should start weaning her out. Her kennel is quite large and takes a lot of space.

So I took out her bedding and fluffed it up, got her a new blankie, and set it on the bare carpet. She looked at it and sort of dragged the blanket a little but didn't sit down. Tonight she stayed by Marvin's room and played with her bone. Just now I went to check how she was doing and she's fast sleep in her bed!!! winning!

We'll see if she will sleep until I get up to feed her, but Marvin gets up earlier and has breakfast and I think she may get up then too. I hope she waits till I take her out to do her business. She's good doing it outside in the morning after breakfast.

Then when I take Marvin to the center, I will leave her loose, and hopefully she will stay in her bed, but I am not sure. We'll see.

So far so good, keeping my fingers crossed :)

Brain freeze

Today has been rainy and a little chill in the air. So other than taking Marvin to and fro, I haven't done much of anything.

So I will tell you about a trick I learned.

I love Margaritas. I use to love best when blended, but they gave me brain freeze and it was so painful I have stopped having blended drinks and now  my drinks are always on the rocks.

The other day I was browsing the internet, and here was a simple hint of how to stop brain freeze. Here's the article. I am sure I will be trying it.

"The sensation of brain freeze is insanely painful, a stabbing sensation all over your head that can incapacitate you instantly. Understanding the scientific cause of brain freeze can help you cure it, though. When you eat or drink something cold, blood vessels at the roof of your mouth contract to prevent body heat loss. When the cold is removed, they dilate, sending a rush of blood to the brain and causing that familiar headache. So what you want to do is keep the roof of your mouth warm while you eat, and the best way to do that is to curl your tongue and press the warm bottom against the top of your mouth. Try it, it works!"

 

Does it work for you?

 

 

 

Lunch with the girls

I went to Jersey School to have lunch with my old Kindergarten team, Jennifer, Norma and Gloria. They go every Wednesday, always to the same Mexican Restaurant, and they always order the same things. They also take turns paying. Today it was Gloria's turn and she paid for me too, nice!

The waiters there know us as "The Kindergarten teachers", they always stop and talk to me about futbol, and tease me about Barcelona and Real Madrid. We've gone there for years!

When we got back to school, I said, well now I get to go home, they were not amused ;)  It's funny the new kids  in Kinder and First grade call me Mrs Gummy Bear, the older ones call me Mrs. Wann but still they ask for gummy bears. I have a large supply of them because Norbert's sister always was giving him big bags and in turn he gave them to me.

Today has been sprinkling on and off in the evening, so I guess Fall is here for sure. Today I also picked up the first 2 tomatoes we planted  late September, and a whole bunch of them will be ready within a week or two.

Till tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Lizzie :)

Today my baby turned 42. Like Sandy said, even though they are all grown up , Lizzie will always be my baby and Sandy my big girl! :)

Time sure goes fast. I can very well remember when I turned 42, and now it is my youngest daughter's turn. That makes me feel old!!!

 I will be posting some birthday pictures of you for TBT. I tried to scan some today but my scanner was giving me nothing but problems.


I sure hope this year will bring you nothing but good times, and happy days.

Love you very much!

 

 

to the cat whisperer



A walk in the park

This morning I went to get me a raisin roll for breakfast and asked Lulu if she wanted to go for a walk. She immediately acted crazy which I took as a yes. So off we left in the pick up, she loves riding and going anywhere.

After I got my treat, I decided to go to the park and take her for a walk. She was excited! When we got there she couldn't wait to get out of the truck and start her walk. She walks as if she has an appointment to get someplace and is running late. I have to walk fast and still she pulls on her leash, i have to stop every so often and she sits down and after a second is ready to go again.

We passed through a wooden bridge, and below the bridge were some rocks and a bunch of ground squirrels. Now I was wondering how she would react because she goes nuts whenever a squirrel is in our yard, she barks and runs after it. However she didn't even give them a glance, is like she thought hey that's their house so be it, but if they come to my house I'll run after them! I actually was pretty surprised she didn't react at all. She's funny this way!

 

Tomorrow is Lizzie's birthday! I hope you have a very nice day :)

Love you!

 

 

Family videos

I think I wrote that after we got our new TV, we put the "old" one in the spare room and Marvin got the VCR working.

I looked for family videos that I had not seen in a looong time. We looked at a very eclectic one, it had a little bit of everything, it was not a very good video, lots of snow (not the weather one).

Today I decided to clean some of my drawers, and I found a box with old movies I took with my old camcorder. I found one that said "Tristan" so Marvin and I, and Lulu, settled down to watch it.

It was filmed by me, and strangely enough I did a good job, no quick moves or  jumping from one frame to another. I did do a lot of zooming! It was when Marvin, Lizzie and I went to Utah when Tristan was born.

We were taking pictures and filming,  LaDonna and Caz were there too, and the 2 dogs. It was fun to see Tristan when he was a little baby. And how we all looked 15 years ago.

Then there was more video from when I went back to Utah by myself and stayed there for a while. Tristan was a lot bigger then, Sandy was giving him a bath in the kitchen and he looked like a little Buda :)  What a cute baby he was!! There's a part when he's in a swing thing by the kitchen and he's just babbling away, sooo adorable!

 

Another day

I am running out of things to write, it seems most of my days are the same. Today it's been pretty boring, I was not in a very cheerful mood and I couldn't think of anything to do while Marvin was at dialysis, or what to have for lunch. So I just went back home, made me a BLT and just played in the computer and that's about it. I am not mentioning  even more boring things like doing dishes and stuff like that.

I did finish a book that I enjoyed a lot is called "Three Wishes" by an Australian writer Liane Moriarty.

Las night I watched a French movie called "Populaire", it was quite a different movie, check it out http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2070776/ in the plot summary they call her boss handsome, and i laughed because I thought he was pretty homely, oh well.

Till tomorrow :)

Sibbarpsgränd revue

This is a Sibbarpsgränd revue, it was part of a show with  The SNOBS, which are a Swedish/Norwegian Organization of Barbershop Singers (have you heard about them Mia?).

It's pretty funny! ;)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=4990403852603

There's something about Lulu...

Lulu is 2 years old. She is a funny silly dog, with her own mind set.

She has the really strong teeth for a smaller dog. I have to buy her toys that are meant for large breeds otherwise they don't last at all. I have timed her, and a new toy usually lasts less than 30 minutes before it is in pieces! She doesn't really play with them, she just tears them apart. She loves plastic, even the hardest kind. When Marvin drinks water from a little plastic bottle, she sits in front of him staring fixedly and won't move until he finishes it and lets her play chew on it.

She has calmed down a lot and is more cuddly and sweet. Once in a while she will go crazy and run around like a maniac growling and jumping. It's a funny thing to watch! She's also a big jumper! She can jump really high, it's amazing.

She loves people, I don't think she'd be a good watch dog, no matter who it is, man, woman, child, friend or unknown, she is just totally happy to see them.

She also understands a few words (really) like squirrel, toy, ball, etc. She may be sitting down  by Marvin's chair, but if either one of us say, look at the squirrel...she'll jump and go to the sliding door and  if open she'll just go running outside.

She will go to her kennel by herself when we go out, and at night, when we go to bed she goes  to sleep in her kennel with no fuss. She has always been a good sleeper and she stays sleeping until I get up in the morning and feed her and take her out. Usually around 9 :)

Marvin likes to talk to her, she sits and looks at him and I think she nods. She loves to go to him after her breakfast and have him scratch her especially  while she's sort of upside down looking up. She's really attached to him.

My main problem with her if that she is very stubborn, and still poops  inside once in a while, especially in the evening. After breakfast I take her outside and she does her business, I have tried to take her out as often as I can , sometimes I stay outside with her after her dinner and play with her or take her for a walk, and she'll do nothing. But the moment we are in the house and I go to my room, she will do it in a very stealthy way. I very seldom catch her in the act. It's very frustrating!.

They say there's no such thing as a poorly trained dogs, only poorly trained owners. And I have to agree with it. I haven't been very consistent training her, especially when I first got her. Even when I took her to obedience school (she didn't get a diploma) I didn't really follow through. But I'm still trying.

We love her.

Hot day

Today it was  about 90 degrees all dsay, thankfully it cooled off a little after the sun went down.
Last night I had the heater on because it got chilly , and today is back to the AC!

I didn't do much, just went to Trader Joe's and Target and had lunch at Chipotle.  Marvin was feeling a little under the weather and didn't want to have dinner. I think maybe all that "exotic" food the other day may not have settle down too well.

Tomorrow I think I will write about my strange dog. She really has a different attitude towards things. It's kind of funny and kind of frustrating!

Hasta luego!

Especially for my daughters and to all who read this post...

 

 

 



Love you all :)

The "Before" movies

A few years ago I watched a movie called "Before Sunrise" with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. It was a story about boy meets girl, he's American, she's French, on a train going to Austria.
The whole movie takes place in one day, and is mainly a conversation between the two of them.
I am not a fan of Ethan Hawke but I sort of liked the movie even though nothing much happened, at the end they make a date to meet next year, and that's how the movie ends.

Nine years later, there was a sequel to the movie called "Before Sunset", I watched it and is the same 2 people, nine years after. He's in Paris promoting his novel, the novel is about how he met her on a train. He's having a signing of the book in a library, and  then he sees her standing  in a corner. So this second movie is again the two of them talking walking down the streets of Paris, catching up on what happened to them. It seems he kept the date but she didn't.  It also takes place in one day, in real time. He had been married and divorced and has a son. It ends with him going up to her apartment, he has to catch a flight back to Chicago that night.

And now, in 2013, there's the  last (maybe) movie called "Before Midnight". Again is the same 2 people, now they are married and have twin daughters, his son came to spend the summer with them and they went to Greece. But again, the main part of the movie is the conversation between the two of them.

Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy and the director wrote the last 2 movies. I found the story of how the 3 movies came about as interesting as the movies themselves.

All movies were highly rated by critics. I enjoyed them too. Have any of you seen them?

November Sunday

No birds
No bees
No leaves on trees
November

This is a little poem I taught the kids in Kindergarten and  they made a little 4 page book. In the 1st page they wrote No and drew a bird, and so on.. in the last page they wrote the word November, with a different color for each letter.

I was in the Jacuzzi this afternoon and I was thinking about this poem. I looked around my garden and it being Southern California, there were lots of birds in the bird feeder, and of course the hummingbirds too. There were bees buzzing by the lavender, and all the trees had nice green leaves.

Miss Universe

I am watching Miss Universe in our brand new 55" TV.
It used to be my favorite show to watch, but I haven't been watching it for a few years, but I watched it today just to see what the beauty standard is this year :)

This morning I was reading El Periodico of Barcelona, and right there it said who the winner was. It's a good thing because I always like to know the results of everything before I watch it.

Winner was Miss Venezuela, 2nd was Miss Spain, and 3rd I don't remember. All the women from 83 different countries were, of course, gorgeous. I enjoy watching the national costumes, some countries really go overboard. What was Miss USA costume? She was dressed as a "transformer" !??!!! WHY?

Venezuela takes being a Miss "Anything" seriously. They have  a "Miss" farm where young girls are raised to become misses, they are taught how to dress, how to walk, how to carry themselves, and they are plucked, trimmed, exercised etc. It works, there's been 7 Miss Universe winners and 6 Miss World winners from Venezuela, and here's this year's winner, 25 yr old Gabriela Isler.

smooth soft pretty feet

Of course it is because I went to the podiatrist. I have a standing appointment every 3 months. The doctor does a great job and my feet have never looked or felt better. Even my heels are nice and soft.

I also was going to have some blood test done, but the lab couldn't find the order, I was annoyed because I fasted for nothing lol.

Other than that I did nothing all day. Marv went to Costco to get bacon and other stuff, he also went to get In'n'Out for dinner. I hope I like bacon #1 better than I liked bacon #2.

I hope you all have a nice weekend The weather here is gorgeous! :)

Comments etc.

I'm always amazed at the number of people that read our blogs. Mine should be read by 4-5 people only, since I don't advertise it to anybody. I understand sometimes people happen to it by chance, or by googling something and it takes them to the blog.

I would like people that read my blog be able to comment if they desire, it be fun to know what  unknown people think about the posts. But I cannot see a way to allow anybody to comment. Maybe just as well :)

It was fun that today both the girls and I posted pictures for throwback Thursday, it's fun to reminisce. It's also fun to  do the NaBloPoMo even though I never know what to write about, but is fun to read about what's going on with all of you (Mia you need to do it too, no excuses, it only takes a few minutes).

I also enjoy when some of you write comments to my posts. A while back Sandy said she didn't know exactly if you were to comment on all the posts, or not. I don't think there's any set rules, but is fun to know  you have read it and had something to say about it.

So now I will comment on some of the latest comments:

I bought the Oscar Meyer thick sliced bacon and had a BLT for lunch, it was good but not as good as I thought it would be. And bacon works great with chocolate.
Lizzie found the nest in the orange tree, she took a picture too. It's a good size one but I cannot see any movement so maybe it's an old one.
I'm glad you enjoyed the posies. Sandy you need to keep on clicking.


oops I better send it!

There's a word for it...

Once in a while I eat something  and I enjoy it so much that I tend to eat it over and over, until I get tired of it and then I won't have any for a while. There's a word for it..compulsion maybe?

Lately I have been eating lots of spicy chili mango slices, I look for it at the supermarket and become annoyed if they don't have it. I even wrote the company, and they assured me they will supply Stater Bros with spicy chili mango, matter of fact they told me they sent half a case of it especially for me, and to ask the produce manager about it!

Lizzie had a taste and she didn't care for it. But I love it!!!

The other thing I can't get enough of lately is bacon! We went to Mimi's for lunch with Lizzie and I had a BBLT, the next day we had bacon and waffles, Monday I had bacon and tomatoes, and I think I could eat bacon every day, 3 times a day. Today I had a bacon turkey sandwich from Panera and tonight I had the last of the bacon, and yes, I crumbled it on top of the last of my brownie. YUM!

I searched the internet to find out what are the best brands of bacon:

#1 Kirkland bacon (from Costco) in packages of 3

#2 Oscar Meyer (thick cut)

#3 Walmart great value lower sodium

 

I wonder how long this urge to eat bacon and chili mango will last, but right now I am sure enjoying it.



Ebooks vs "real" books

I love to read, I read a lot, always books from the library. Once in a while I will buy one to keep, but  the rest of the times I just go to the library. I can order books from all over LA county so it's basically an unending supply, that includes ebooks I can read in the PC or the iPad, so far I have not d/l ebooks.

Best thing, it's all free.

I like to hold a book, to turn the pages, to see the different fonts, the book cover, etc. Reading an ebook in a kindle or nook seems a little cold, although I think is great while traveling or going places, so you don't have to tote heavy books around.

A couple of weeks ago, I took a brand new library book to the ER. Sometimes it takes  hours to get things processed and I figured I might have time to read.
 After being there a while and talking to the doctor and knowing things were taken care of, I went to the cafeteria to get me a snack and a Pepsi.

 In my big purse I had my wallet, my iphone,the book, a hankie, a pair of glasses, a brush, and a bag of nuts, and after taking a sip of Pepsi, I added it to my purse. When I got back to the ER, I noticed my purse was dripping! I took everything out and sure enough, I had not closed the bottle and there was pepsi all oer everything. I dried what I could, and laid everything on top of a pad (lots of them in a hospital room)and got another pad and soaked my purse...well you get the idea.

The book was ruined. The pages dripping and sticking together, it was  bad.

When i got home, I used the hair drier on low page by page, then ironed the pages...all to no avail. Today I went to the library and explained what had happened. No worries, I had to pay for a new one, $25.00, plus $10.00 for processing.

Maybe this time, an ebook would have worked better :)

Flora and Fauna

The Fauna

On the 4 day of November I saw in my garden....

           3 humming birds

           2 brown squirrels

           1  lurking hawk

and a nest in my orange tree!

 

and of course, Lulu running after them!

 

 

and the Flora

 

The tomatoes are growing..

The roses are blooming,

The geraniums are cascading

and the herbs

basil, lavender, parsley

sage, rosemary, thyme

smell

wonderfully

 

Little posies

For my daughter Sandy that said it snowed in SLC today, and for my sister Mia that live in a cold weather country, maybe this will give you the illusion of Spring :)
Just click and make your garden grow.

http://www.procreo.jp/labo/flower_garden.swf

November

November started very nicely. The weather is amazing, nice and warm, getting a little cooler at night. Tomorrow daylight savings time ends, I am not so happy about that, I don't like the short daylight. They has DST in Europe a couple of weeks ago, I have read that Spain doesn't want to do DST anymore, we'll see.

The highlight of yesterday was Tristan texted me his grades!!! He got A's on everything, even the Honors classes. I am super proud of him!! :) It's nice texting with him. I am sure we will both be watching SNL tonight!

Another highlight was Lizzie coming this weekend. We went to Mimi's for lunch. I had "Le Duet" basil tomato soup and it was delicious, then a BBLT (Bacon Lettuce and Tomato on Brioche) and a fruit salad, yummy. Lizzie had "La Femme" Grilled chicken breast on a croiussant with mixed green, tomatoes, and basil pesto mayonnaise, with french fries.

Because this month is Lizzie's birthday, I told her we could go shopping see if she could find something nice to wear. We went to Kohls and JC Penney, but she couldn't find anything that appealed her. Maybe next time :)

Lulu had a haircut, which was soreley needed, it was hard to tell where her eyes were, she looks cute.

Lizzie just finished baking some brownies, so I am going to have some. I hope the rest of November is as nice as the beginning :)

October recap and Hello November!

I was going to do it yesterday and then I didn't. Well here it is.

October Highlights: Got new glasses, went to Jersey's Say NO to drugs parade, subbed in 1st grade, went to Alpine Village .

October Lowlights: Trip to the ER, scary time.

For Halloween, we had Christmas in October!  We bought a 55" TV, Norbert helped us set it up and bring it home. Also bought a safe.

Here's the books I read in October:

Jonas Jonasson -The 100 year old man who……

Jonathan Kellerman – Guilt

Debbie Macomber – 1022 Evergreen Place

Holly Chamberlin – Tuscan holiday

Kelly Harms - The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane

Hester Browne – The Runaway Princess *

 

And the movies I watched:

Moonsoon Wedding (2001)

Stuck on Love  (2012)  *

What Happens in Vegas (2008)

Some Girls (2013) 

The Way, Way Back (2013)  *

Girl Most Likely (2012) 

Dan in Real Life (2007) 

 

Back to School & ER trip[

I subbed today in a 1st grade class. I didn't really know the kids, although I subbed in kinder last year a few times, but they sure remembered me. I was greeted by chorus of  Here's Mrs. Gummy Bear!!! other kids said no, she gives us gummybear but she's Mrs 1 !
They were a good class and didn't have any problems, it was also nice to see some of the older kids, they all ran to hug me on their way to the cafeteria or recess. Of course I gave them all a gummy bear. It was also nice to see some of the parents that came to pick up the kids  telling them that I had been their kindergarten teacher :)

 

There's a hint of fall in the air, we had 2 days of light rain, and the temperature dropped to the low 70's, high 60's at night, time to turn the A?C off and put on the heat!

 

Last Thursday, I had to take M to ER because of loss of blood, we were afraid he'd have to have surgery (one doctor said he needed) but then the surgeon came to examine him and said it wouldn't be necessary. That was a relief! He was kept overnight for observation and was given 2 units of blood. He was released the next day and is feeling fine :)

 

Two more days till Halloween!



Monday

Today is Monday. I am going to tell you how I spent the day.

Woke up at 8:30, fed the dog, took her out, went back to bed.

Woke up again at 11. Ate a cookie,  took a shower, got ready to go to Costco with Marvin.

Marvin drove, we went to Stater to get some stuff and from there we went to Costco. We looked at the TV's, maybe at some point we will get a bigger one than the one we have now. Bought a pair of  shoes and shorts for Marvin, and a box of chocolates for me.

Went to El Cholo for lunch. Tortilla soup and a coconut Margarita for me, plus chips and salsa. Same minus the Margarita for Marvin.

Back home, did a couple of loads in the washer, cleaned the kitchen, played with Lulu outside. Did some gardening, enjoyed the nice weather. Did some PSP in the computer. See below.

 

Took the trash out because tomorrow is trash day. Gathered some stuff to give away to Goodwill. Fed Lulu, took her out and let her chase crickets. Watched a movie in  I really enjoyed "The Way, Way Back" (2013).

 

Cooked dinner, BLT's with hash browns. Watched some TV. "The Voice".Chat with Mia in Facebook. Played Words with Friends. Ironed some shirts, yes I said ironed (just the collars). Did some web surfing, checked the news in Barcelona and in the US.

 

And that's about it. It is now past midnight, probably I will watch another movie before bedtime :)

 



 

Our Fall tomatoes are doing better than the Summer tomatoes did!

By the seashore

Today was a beautiful October day. sunshine, blue skies, a nice breeze.
Marvin told me yesterday he wanted to go to the beach and we couldn't have picked a more gorgeous day.

He drove down to Huntington Beach, parked and walked to Ruby's for lunch. He walked with just the cane from the parking lot to the beginning of the pier, then walked the rest of the way with the walker. He did super well, didn't even stop to rest. There were surfers all around, people walking and enjoying the day, even  a pelican walking around and of course, the ever present seagulls.

It's always a little cooler at the beach, and it was a little windy, but neither one of us needed a jacket, it was nice. We sat by the window so we could look out to the ocean, but didn't see any dolphins. The lunch was good, we shared a Black Forest milkshake, and he had a new age burger and I had a super burger, they came with fries.

After we walked back to the pick up, the wind started to get a little stronger. I stopped to look at the windmills, and I bought one of a black doggie that looks like it's running with the wind. It'll be in the garden tomorrow :)

All in all a pleasant day.

Lulu's Birthday :)

Lulu turns 2 years old today. I got her on January 8, when she was almost 3 months old.
She's been good company and although she frustrates me sometimes about her doing her business inside, she is doing a lot better and maybe she's finally getting the idea.
She loves people and greets them lavishly. She jumps up and down and she's just happy. She loves to go for walks and for a ride in the car. She can sit with Marvin and sleep on his lap for a long time, Marvin likes to talk to her and tell her she's cute, she understands.
She likes to play with me and still runs around like a mad dog growling and carrying on. She's a big jumper too.
Happy Birthday Lulu :)



On being 15

A couple of days ago, I was texting back and forth with Tristan. He was telling me about the amount of homework he had to do everyday, he was cool with it. We also talked about our mutual admiration for Eminem and about his new song, Salvation, which I was listening to at the time, I told him I have problems hearing/understanding the lyrics and he sent me a website that not only has the lyrics to a lot of rap songs but also their meaning.

Afterward I started thinking about being 15, in the first year of High School. How things have changed and how they are the same. I don't have a lot of experience with boys, since I am female and so are my children. What we have in common, males and females, is the 15 year old "angst".

Even though it's a long time since I was 15, I remember that was the year  I became somewhat alienated from my parents and my sister. I would much rather do things on my own, I would spend many hours at night in my bed listening to "my" music (much to the annoyance of Nuri since we shared a room). I used my bed as a tent and hid under the blanket with my little radio. I used to listen to a London radio and the reception was no good, but in the Franco Spain, the type of American/English music I liked -Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, Everly Brothers etc.- was forbidden to play in the radio.

When I looked in the mirror I saw me as a girl with long hair and bangs, a long face and a big nose and a crooked tooth, I was skinny and didn't have much of a shape. It didn't help that my best friend at the time (Lolin) was beautiful. My social life consisted of chaperoning my 17 years old sister to parties and even at times when she went out with her bf Jorge -who became her husband-. It was boring. I couldn't wait to be 17.

What do you remember about being 15?

 

 

Routine follow up

Not a lot of feedback yet, but I read what Mia suggested...

I am not a joiner. I don't like to belong to groups, associations etc. I never joined any teachers associations, they asked me to joing a retired teachers group, but no thank you! I could join dialysis groups, caretakers groups etc. No way!
When I was teaching we had Kindergarten teachers get together to develop curriculum, etc. I did not like that either. I spent the time doodling and throwing paper airplanes. I get easily distracted and bored.

I like to be with people when we get together for Happy Hour, or in somebody's house for drinks and talk etc. I like parties. Fun things.

The City of La Mirada offer  computer classes, painting/music classes etc. Mainly for retired people. I went and checked some of them, and  I just don't care to be in classes with old people. Even though some of them are younger than me. I jsut don't have much in common with them. I am not interested.

So I guess, I will keep on doing what I'm doing until I get some more ideas or something comes up :)

Today I took Lulu for  a 45 minutes walk around the neighborhood, and yes, I got semi lost, all the streets look the same. I remember my father getting lost when he went for a walk, I can understand why. Lulu was exhausted when we got home!

Tomorrow Marvin and I will go to Alpine Village in Torrance for lunch. He's been wanting to eat  German food, we like the pate and thge bread, I love the wiener schnitzel. I will also stop at the bakery and get a german cheesecake. Of course, it being Octoberfest, I will have a beer.

This weekend Lizzie will be here, it will be nice :)

 



Routine

My days are pretty much routine. 

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, are dialysis days. During the 4 hours Marvin is there, I usually go grocery shopping, or get gas, and try to find a different place for lunch.

Wednesday and Friday, I do a little housework, some gardening, some cooking...

Sunday and Monday, I usually hang around, sometimes we go out to eat, sit outside and enjoy Lulu's antics.

And of course, every day I spent a big amount of time in the computer, doing PSP, checking FB, playing games etc. And reading.

Marvin has been going to get breakfast on Sundays, and also shopping for groceries. Today he went to get a haircut. He's feeling pretty good :)

Today I had my flu shot, and had an ophtalmologist appointment. My eyes are still dilated!

Does any of you have any suggestions on things to do, to break up my routine? I wil entertain any ideas!


A couple of tags I made today:

 

 

 

 

End of Month Recap

September started very nicely with both girls coming home for a couple of days. It was so nice to be all together, we has a good time :)

Other than that, nothing much happened, no news are good news right? We planted some Fall tomatoes, spent time outside gardening and planting flowers, the weather has been really nice. Marvin has been feeling OK all month and he got a good report from dialysis :)

In other news, Sonia has been forced to close Taco Ganxo because she was not making any money and decided to close before they lost more. They probably won't be coming in November. Eric is still working at a hotel, so she can rest and spend time with Nicole, she really has been working hard and I'm proud of her.

In other news, Monica and her husband have separated. Didn't last very long :(

Movies I've watched this month:

Easy Virtue (2008)

We Are the Millers (2013)

Two Weeks Notice (2002) 

Must Love Dogs (2005) 

The Last Song (2010) 

Moonsoon Wedding (2001)  love it!

 

Books I've read:

(They were all easy to read and enjoyable)

 

Susan McBride - little black dress

 Luanne Rice – The Lemon Orchard

Erin Hilderbrand - A Beautiful Day

Menna Van Praag - The House at the End of Hope Street

Claire Cook - time flies

Ellen Sussman – The Paradise Guest House

Lucy Dillon - Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts

Susan Wiggs – The Apple Orchard

Eve Marie Mont – Free to a Good Home

 

You all take care and have a great October.

Time Flies

September 24, the day  of La Virgen de la Merced, the patron of Barcelona.
The city celebrates with parades, fireworks, etc. It's a big holiday.

49 years ago my friend Titina (Isabel) and I were celebrating and  walking around the Ramblas and ended up in Plaza Catalunya. We saw 2 guys looking around sort of bewildered and we went to talk to them.

It was Marvin and his friend George. And that's the day we met.