Oscar movies

This year I have seen a couple of Oscar nominated movies. "Midnight in Paris" by Woody Allen, was quirky and entertaining. I like most of his movies with a few exceptions.

 And I just finished watching "The Descendants". It was a good movie, although quite dramatic. George Clooney is well deserving of a nomination as best actor. I enjoyed the movie although usually I don't like dramas.

 I will see "The Help" maybe tomorrow, and although I am not crazy about baseball I may watch "Moneyball", Brad Pitt is also nominated for best actor and I like him.

 I don't think I'll watch "War Horse" or "Hugo" but I would like to see "The Artist" and maybe "The Tree of Life". The last nomination is "Extremely loud and incredibly close" and I am not sure about this one either.

 May the best movie win.

A day in January

Woke up at 6:30 AM, went to check on Lulu, she was awake and happy to see me. I fed her and play with her a little.

 Had breakfast, clean the kitchen, wash clothes.

 Got ready to go visit Marvin at the hospital. Yes, again another abscess :(

 Stopped by Target to look for a kennel for Lulu. Realized I forgot my wallet in another purse.

 Went to ICU room 2328, Marvin was doing well, feeling pretty good now that the abscess had been drained. We matched "The Price is Right" and talked some. He is going to be transferred to the 6th floor room 6107, later today.

 Went back home. Let Lulu out and she was again very excited to see me. Luz, my next door neighbor, brought me a container of chicken soup she had just made, so nice of her.

 Outside with Lulu, turned the water on in the front yard. Lulu was curious about it, kept getting closer to the sprinklers, ran back to me yelping when she got a little wet.

 To the Pet shop to get a brush for Lulu, some treats, and a chewy bone. She LOVES it!

 Marvin called to say he was in his new room. Lizzie called to see what was going on.

 Norbert came over to take the Christmas lights down. He also put the registration sticker on the SSR. He played with Lulu, she was a little wary at first but finally warmed up to him a little. She kept running back to me. He said she was a cutie and exactly the kind of dog he thought I should have got.

 Went to El Torito. Had Don Pepe fajitas and a Cadillac Margarita. YUM.

 Back home. Called Marvin and wished him a good night. Played with Lulu, she's tired and fell sleep on my lap while I was reading "Sleepless Nights" by Sarah Bilston.

 Played Words with Friends in the computer, checked Facebook, read the friends and family blogs. And now I am writing this. Watching The People's Choice Awards.

 And then, bedtime. I am tired :) Good Night

Lulu

I have been wanting a dog for a while, I talked to Marvin about it and he seemed to agree and left it up to me on breed, color, etc.

I wanted a smaller, mellow dog and I read that maltipoos do well with older people and they are very smart and, well, they are cute! :)

I looked all over the internet, Pennysaver, local etc. (I had an interesting email exchange with a seller from Texas lol, but that's another story).  Then I went to a local pet shop here in La Mirada and they had 2 maltipoos , a boy and a girl, a black one and a white one. They were sweet.

This weekend, Lizzie was here, and we went to see the puppies at the pet shop, I was undecided. Later on, we went to put gas in the car at Sam's and drove by again, and checked them. I liked the black one but I thought it was a boy, when the manager said it was a female, I more or less decided to get her. Indecision is my middle name!

We brought her home Saturday evening, and surprised Marvin! She was very quiet and shy, and just layed next to Lizzie and slept. She drank water and pee a few times and Lizzie picked her up and put her in her wee wee pad. Then we tried to think of a name, Lizzie liked JoJo but I can't pronounced it well lol, finally we settled with Lulu, it suits her.

At night, I put her in a basket in the living room, and she started trying to climb up, then she whined and howled (sounded like a bird),  after a while she was out of the basket!  So we put her in the small bathroom with a couple towels, her basket sideways and the wee wee pad. She was happy.

This morning I got her around 8AM, and she had pee and poop in her mat, like a good girl, and went I took her in the living room she acted like a puppy, running around and playing. Lizzie bought her  a food and water bowl and a little toy. She loves it. She and Lizzie bonded pretty quickly.

After Lizzie went back to San Diego, she's been following me around all over the place. She layed down with Marvin on his chair for a while. But then she went into playing mode, running like a little banshee and growling and even barked once! It was funny :)

So here we are with a puppy in the house. Welcome home Lulu! :)

January 1, 2012

Just a short post to welcome the new year.

 I cooked a nice omelette for breakfast with peppers, onion, bacon and potatoes, was very good. Around noon, it was such a lovely sunny day, that Marvin and I went outside to look at the birds and the flowers. I cut some beautiful yellow roses for my room, and took a picture of a hummingbird on flight. After that, Marvin watched many football games and I cleaned my room.

 For dinner we had filet of beef with roasted potatoes, and did I mention I drank a whole bottle of Freixenet throughout the day? :)

Bye Bye 2011 - Hello 2012!

I read all the year reviews of Lizzie, Sandy and Mia. So here's mine:

 January: was an OK month. Working at Jersey. Just taking it easy. Went to Kaiser to learn about PD.

 February: It didn't start well,on February 4th I had to call 911 because Marvin had really low sugar (hypoglicemia) and passed out. Had to take him to ER. Feb 18 Sandy and Tristan came down for our Anniversary (46 years). The next day Lizzie came too. We all went to Cha Cha's. I got an iPad. It was great to be all together.

 March: Nothing much going on. My last Kindergarten class was something else. I will not forget my last field trip with them to the farm!

 April: April 4th, Marvin had his catheter inserted for PD. April 13 was Open House, also was the day Mia came to visit. Norbert picked her up.April 15, Mia and I went to school to do the Easter egg hunt. I got called from the office Marvin was in pain and we had to hurry home and I took him to ER. A few days later Norbert took Mia to a beach tour. April 21, Happy 71st Birthday Marvin! Sandy and Tristan are here, they went whale watching with Mia. Mia also cooked Swedish meatballs, Lizzie came the next day. Mia left the 29th. I wish things had been better during her stay.

 May: Celebrated Mother's Day and Day of the Teacher. Thanks for the presents and the love :) A highlight, Barcelona FC won the European championship! I watched the game, soo great! Ended the month with a limo ride with the K kids to Huntington Beach :) Marvin started the cycler.

 June: Retirement Tea for Little Lake. Marvin came and so did my friends from Jersey. Lizzie came over for Father's Day. Last day of school and end of year lunch. I was given presents and books. We had my retirement part at El Cholo. It's hard to retire after so many years, especially because I loved my job and my kids.

 July: It was a good month. Marvin and I went to eat out many times. I had root canal! Tristan came over at the end of the month.

 August: Sandy and Tristan to Disneyland. Marvin to ER August 27th. Peritonitis. He will now be on hemodialysis.

 September: Marvin at the hospital for 2 weeks. After being released, had to rush him to ER the next day. Another week at Kaiser. on the 20th, a visit to his doctor sent him back to ER for his heart. Last week of September was totally emotional.

 October: Another terrible month. October 6, on a visit to urgent care, Marvin fell off his walker while I was pushing it and I was pinned underneath. Back to ER but released after check up. Next week he was feeling pretty bad and on the 13th the ambulance had to come to take him to the hospital. Was diagnosed with an abdominal abscess. He was released Oct. 27th. On the good side, Sandy, Tristan and Marty came down and built a ramp for Marvin in the backyard. Looks good.

 November: Marvin has been doing pretty well, we had Thanksgiving dinner at home with Lizzie and Norbert. From the Claim Jumper.

 December: Marvin has his good and bad days...he's pretty weak after dialysis most of the time. He had a procedure at Kaiser to have a fistula on the 30th. Lizzie came over Christmas Eve, and also Dewey, Mary, Bettie (Lee was sick), Christina and Rick. It was very nice. Today, the last day of 2011, took Marvin to dialysis, cooked salmon for dinner, and then Marvin went to bed. It's almost midnight and here I am writing :)

 This year I have read 90 books.

 Here's hoping for a healthy and happier 2012. Love and thanks to Sandy and Marty for all the help this year, to Lizzie for coming often to visit and helping out, .it's been very appreciated. A special thanks to Norbert, he's been a great help. And Marvin...hang on..things will get better :)

Christmas Eve and day

Nostalgia

When I wrote the blog on my birthday, I wrote about the house where I was born, and on a whim, decided to check Google Earth and check the address. It was bittersweet to see the neighborhood, the houses, the church where I was baptised and had my First Communion... After a while, I decided to check on houses for sale at that neighborhood. Imagine my surprise when I saw that "my" house was for sale! it had some prictures and I have posted one above. It looks different because it's been painted and spruced up, and the ivy and some of the greenery is all gone. It is for sale for 2 million euros!!!! I wish my parents had kept it! lol Here's some black and white pictures of how it looked when I lived there. Even then, it was in a prime neighborhood and it was a really nice house. In one picture Nuri and I are holding our palms on Easter day, in the other one, we are with yaya, my father's mother :)