X-mas wrapping...

I have always liked wrapping gifts and finding interesting ways of making each wrapping even a little different/unique, rather than just wrapping and sticking a pre-made bows. Although I am guilty of doing that, I do enjoy taking the time to wrap a gift. During x-mas I buy wrapping paper both before and after x-mas and am always stocked full of paper and things to embellish like ribbon, bows, ornaments, etc. Last year I decided to get only solid colors during the after x-mas clearances on wrapping paper, that way I could use it on other occasions rather than only during x-mas. This x-mas I decided that there is just so much waste that comes from wrapping gifts, that I will no longer buy any wrapping paper. I am trying to reduce the among of waste I produce. Probably a product of seeing Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. So I am using the remaining wrapping paper I have for this x-mas (pictures of some of my wrapping to come later) and any other events thereafter until I run out and will no longer buy wrapping paper nor things to embellish. Doesn't mean I won't be wrapping gifts whenever there is a gifting occasion, just using more clever wrapping options with things that can be used and reused as opposed to just tossed in the garbage. Some tips I have already picked up for when that time comes is using pretty hand towels, kitchen towels, even t-shirts. It's not much, but it's a start right. If you have any ideas on clever waste reducing gift wrapping techniques, send them my way :)

Just listening to music...

On a normal Monday I wake up around 4:30am and get ready for work leaving at around 5:30am to get to work by 6am. When the alarm went off in the morning I just did not feel good and could not get myself to get up to go. I don't have a cold or the flu just felt really drowsy as if I had taken a sleeping pill. So just before 6am I called out from work today. It seemed as though seconds later I woke up, however it was now 10:30am. WOW!!! talk about sleeping in. For me that is very late. Aaron made breakfast for us at that time. Thanks Aaron, and then we sat down to watch ELF. Everyone needs to see this movie and get themselves the DVD. Amy calls it a modern classic.

Feeling better now...

Just listening to music as I copy as many of my cd's to my computer. I have decided that I want to get rid of my cd's. they just take up unnecessary space.

I had originally started doing this several months ago, actually last year when I got an external hard for this sole purpose. Of course the external hard drive I got last year is now half the price and at some sites less than half the price as compared when I got it last year. SO now I am thinking of getting a second one just for movies.

So I had started copying the cds using .wma format. I now have decided that I want them in .mp3 format instead. So I hae started this process today. I will either give away or sell the leftover cds. I'll post here the ones I decide to just give away in case you want them, as they become available.

Anyways this is just one more step to get rid of all this crap I have. I have tons of stuff not in use that takes up space. I even thought of getting rid of the stored decorations from Halloween and Christmas as they take up too much space just being stored and are used 1-2 months out of the year. I probably won't get rid of that though.

Ya'll have a good day!!!




... Updated 02/14/2010, link to Amy's blog http://thosecrazyschuberts.com/ 

Holiday Party 2006!

Holiday Party 2006!

nothing... just pictures...

Nothing just pictures from the holiday get together at Rocio's.

Blueberry coffee cake not pie I tell you!!!

There's a holiday party I am going to today. Starts in about an hour and I am not even ready so I'll be late. It's a potluck party.

I woke up around 6:30am on the back of my mind what will I be making for the potluck party. Should I make a main dish, a side dish, or dessert, or snacks. The decision lied really in how much time I wanted to put into this.

Yesterday I bought a cookbook with nothing but chicken recipes. I scanned through that. It has many dishes/recipes I want to try, however not for a potluck. First, I would need to taste test the recipe by making it home at least once. So scratch of the main dish idea.

I then noticed a cookies and bars magazine I got a few days ago.I started going through it and one of the first recipes was called Minty Meringue Drops. Recipe simple, check. Gets me into the x-mas mood, check.

So off to the pantry to check and make sure I have all the ingredients. Not too good of an idea as I ended up going through all the baking stuff to see what else I would need to make more cookies from other recipe magazines. The meringue drops recipe required 2 egg whites. I though what a waste of egg. Would I toss the egg yolks, or make it into dinner. Jackpot I found a recipe for yellow cake that uses egg yolks and no egg whites. That recipes requires four egg yolks. So hey I figure I will just double the meringue recipe and well win. I would take tons of cookies and cake to the party. Plus I have all the ingredients to make butter cream icing from scratch. Perfect.

So off to the store now to get the remaining ingredients plus more for various other recipes I want to make throughout the next few weeks. One of the recipes is called Blueberry Macademia Nut Swirl Coffee Cake. Sounds yummy doesn't it. The sample picture looks scrumptious.

Back from the store and everything on the counter I decide I will make the blueberry. I had more than enough time to make the coffee cake and then make the cookies and yellow cake and butter cream, then get ready and go to the party. So yeah, cookies cake and coffeecake.

The recipe making comes out perfect. I always read the recipe completely before making it to make sure I know what I'll be doing and where I will have time to do what and in what order.

The recipe says to "Spoon batter into grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Drop blueberry filling by..."

So off I go with greasing a pie plate and spoon the batter and then the rest of the steps, and into the oven. Yeah I am happy. The pie in the oven and with enough time to start on the rest of the recipes... Nah... I'll just take coffee cake only don't feel like doing the rest of the recipes, plus Aaron started making a big cookie to take to a party he is going to. So I sit and watch tv.

About half time into the baking time I think to myself, "I can't wait to try the Blueberry Pie... wait a minute, wait a minute. Blueberry Pie... That sounds yummy but the name of my recipe was yummier." So I go take a look at the recipe calling for a greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Crap!!! I put it into the wrong type of baking dish.. I open the oven and sure enough it was had started to overflow. Come to think of it, When I was putting everything into the pie plate I thought to myself, "wow, this is alot for a pie plate" So I put a cookie sheet under the baking pie and just let it finish baking.

Alright so what the heck am I taking to the party. At this point I have a headache. I take a chill pill. Well it was ibuprofen, and head to the store to get blueberry pie filling. The recipe is so simple that I could still make a new one and this time put it in a "greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

So right now I just finished putting the new blueberry pie... correction Blueberry Macadamia Nut Swirl Coffee Cake into the oven. I still have to get ready. I just took another glance at the recipe and it says 1 cup blueberry pie filling. I put the whole freaking can(15 oz) that's about almost 2 cups of blueberry pie filling. That's it this blueberry coffeecake will be the moistest coffee cake they will ever taste!!!

Everyone have a good evening!!!

Building a graham cracker house...

Building a graham cracker house is fun. At work, we are set into different teams/groups. Last Tuesday we got the mere basic ingredients, a can of icing, colored sugar for sprinkling, and a box of generic brand of graham crackers, for the "Gingerbread House Contest." We could however supplement whatever other ingredients we chose to bring. The top three teams would get a prize. Sonia, Nancy and I brought extra stuff for the house. I put together the base and height of the house, placed almost half of the marshmallows used as snow, and put some of the pretzels to be used as fence. Mollie put the roof and iced the house and decorated it. Nancy finished the fence, the marshmallow snow and the trees. We did an awesome job. Just take a look. Most teams did an awesome job and had alot of creativity. We did not win , however I enjoyed this activity very much. Here are some pics of our house in progress and Mollie's creative touch.

First place went to a team that made an island near a volcano with water and dolphins and more. Truly a first place winner. I had to take several pictures of this one. Take a look:

Second place went to this one:



Third place went to this one:


The second and third place winners I don't agree with much. Well, actually I could have seen the second place winner take third.It was after all well put together. But the third place winner really should not have won. Sure it looks nice, but there was more creativity in some of the other houses that did not win. Another thing. The original contest said it was the top 2 teams who would win, and somehow there ended up being 3 winning teams and I have the filed e-mails to back that claim. Anyways, I'm sure you'll agree with me that the first place winner is definitely a winner, second place winner surely could have won, but take a look at the houses of other teams who did not win and you'll definitely agree that the third place winner should have been one of the other teams. Take a look at the rest of the houses below:



Judging for the contest was on Wednesday and Thursday we got the results. On Wednesday we also had our holiday dinner. I helped put together the tinsel trees used as center pieces. The food was good and we had team members as carolers. Yesterday, Thursday, we had our team potluck and gift exchange. Lots of food, laughs, and gifts. It was a great work day.

It's Friday now and off I am to do some final X-mas shopping.

Thanksgiving Weekend 2006

On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, I went to work for several hours. The original plan was to work, leave early if possible to do my turkey dinner as lunch, and then head over to Marla's in the evening for dinner. Well, not really Marla's as her plan had changed. She got the normal amount of stuff for her Thanksgiving dinner which is great, only thing this year her family is in Chicago so it would be only her, her husband and her 2 kids. So she decided to take her stuff to her friend's and cook there along with what her friend got and have dinner there. Sounds like a plan. I'll be there for dinner with dessert. I would be making a Cheesecake with a creamy topping and fresh raspberries and kiwi.

Work did not go as planned. It was fairly slow, but decided to stay the entire shift for the day. I couldn't pass up 7 hours including lunch at 1 1/2 times pay on such an easy day.

I was not able to make the cheesecake the day before, so I would need to get home, make the cheesecake, and then head over to dinner with Marla, her family, and friend. I got off work at 1:30 pm and was past 2:00 pm when I got home.

~brain-wandering, last year I was off and my mother came to visit. We went shopping at K-Mart that happened to be opened on Thanksgiving Day, we got some awesome deals, then went to dinner at Marla's house that was fully packed with her family and friends, we then headed to the Phoenix Zoolights. such a lovely day~

The plan for me now was to make the cheesecake, then head over to dinner with Marla and friends, and postpone the dinner with My cousin, who is also my roommate, and Aaron, also my roommate. However, I realized that what I had really wanted is to just stay and make dinner, even if it was just heating up the ready-meal, and have a relaxed afternoon/evening at home. So instead I started my dinner at home. This meant that dinner would be at around 5pm or 6pm. I don't remember if I called Marla or if she called, but decided we would try to get together the next day, Black Friday...

About 30 minutes before dinner was done, Jerry had waken up. He works nightshift at a store so he sleeps during the day, however he was off on Thanksgiving. We served ourselves, ate with no room for dessert and then just vegged out, the rest of the evening.


I woke up Friday morning at my usual time. On a normal work day I am up between 4:30 am - 5:00 am, but Friday's are my days off. I usually sleep in on this day which means getting up no later than 10am. That's really late for me.

I really wasn't going to shop 'till i dropped, just wanted to get a digital camera that was advertised at a really good price as a gift.

Target Stores kicked off their 2-day sale with doors opening on Friday at 6am. So I drive by my closest Target and there was maybe 20-40 people in line, so I decided to drive to check out a different location. I drove to the Target Greatland by the Chandler Fashion Mall. It's now 15 minutes before 6am and there must have been about 200 people lined up. The line extended from the entrance almost to the road of the shopping center. I am not about to wait in line for anything no matter how great the sale is. Third and last attempt. Drove to the Target in Ahwatukee and the line extended from the entrance all the way to the Mervyn's store which is on the other end of the shopping center. It was now just 3 minutes before 6am. So no thanks. No sale is great enough for me to stand in line and then try and "fight" with people on stuff. I will gladly pay regular price for anything than stoop to that level.

I drove back home, made a pot of coffee and turned on the news. The news had on of course video of the people lined up at Target and other stores, with some having camped out the night. An hour and a couple cups of coffee later, I decided I would go to Target. I went to a different location than the ones I had driven by earlier. It was now just past 7am. The parking lot was plenty full, but not as packed as I expected. My guess, the early birds were done and gone and the rest of the people were still sleeping off their Thanksgiving dinners from the night before.

Inside the store, most people were shopping the electronics and toys section, which is where I was headed. I did not find the camera that was advertised, however I was not going to waste my waking up early and not getting at least something. So I wandered around the store and found some neat deals on other stuff, not for gifts, but for me. :) So I now have a crock-pot, and I got it at an awesome price, a movie, and a new computer monitor. I also got a couple hand towels. The hand towels have a snowman on them to match with a hand soap dispenser from Avon shaped like a snowman that my mother gave me last year. I was most happy about the monitor. I have been wanting to update/upgrade computers for a while, so a new monitor is a first step. My old monitor was a bulky 15 inch, CRT I think it's called. Anyways, that one is going to Goodwill, I now have a 19" Widescreen LCD Monitor. So excited I can't even tell you.

Anyways, I got home and of course first thing I had to do is hook up my new Monitor. At first it seemed that it would not work, but I had not plugged in the cord correctly on the back of the monitor. So so excited, next step upgrade PC.

By this time it was close to noon and I was ready for a bite. I called Marla to see if we were still getting together, in my mind possibly having lunch, but when I called sounded like she had her hands full with her children. She said she'd call back. Waited about 10 minutes but something must have come up. So I made a turkey pot pie with some of the left over turkey and watched several episodes of Smallville. Watching back to back episodes makes the time fly by. Marla called back several hours later, so we should definitely get together sometime before the year ends.

It's X-mas time... I always kick of the season watching Christmas Vacation. So I popped that in as I started assembling the small fake x-mas tree. It's a small tree. I got it several years ago when my cousin moved from Texas, and we got an apt together. The tree seems small now that we are in a house, but it was the perfect size for the couple of apartments we got to use it in. Assembling it was as far as I got though as It was late and I just plopped down to finish watching the movie and then went to sleep. Aaron put up some snowy green garland on the hallway entrance and hung ornaments on the loops. It looks nice. I had a good day.

Saturday and Sunday of this weekend was my weekend to work. I work every other weekend. No luck leaving early on either day, but Amy was working on Saturday, so the day went by faster. Left work at 4:30pm got home after 5pm. Ate some left overs as I watched several more episodes of Smallville. I strung some lights on the tree. Aaron suggested I put colored lights, however the first x-mas I had with this tree I made it look quite elegant with all white non-blinking lights, with gorgeous silver, frost-white and red glass ornaments and perfectly made ribbon-bows. I loved the look of that first time so I have kept it similar, adding a few different ornaments each year. Last year I added perfectly matching ornaments in green. Each year My X-mas stuff grows by a couple of extra lights and decorations. This year is not the exception, but I still like my tree with just white lights. The only colored lights I have are for a pre-strung green garland that I got last year, and 2 sets of either 200 or 300 small lights used for the outside. Maybe I'll get a bigger tree in the future and decorate it with colored lights.




.... Updated 02/14/2010, link to Amy's bloghttp://thosecrazyschuberts.com/

Dwight... Thanksgiving.... and X-mas....

Yesterday I got the Dwight Schrute Bobble Head I had won at ebay... so excited.. not sure if I should keep him at work or at home? OH I also got some Thalia cds (Japanese versions of the ones I already have) and Mortal Kombat II for the SNES. I never had that game, but played it quite a bit back then when it came out. Thankfully I still have my old SNES to play it in... Oh and Target has the Seasons 1-3 of Smallville on sale for $14.88. That's right $14.88 I had originally gotten the first season at regular price and then realized if I kept buying them I would have spent tons of money on it. So am so glad that they are on sale. plus I get my 10% off.

I also went and got Viva Pinata at Target plus they were giving out $10 giftcard just for buying it. I don't have the Xbox 360, but eventually I will. Oh another thing I want to get that I haven't gotten a chance to is the Zune., however before I can get that I need a new computer. My computer is from 2000 and it is running Windows ME. Yeah I know old... So, I have been looking around. Originally I wanted a super beefed up computer from Alienware or Voodoo, but realized I don't really play as many PC games as I once used to. It would be really expensive if I did get one with all the additions I wanted that I really would not use.

Now on Thanksgiving that's already next week... I had decided that I would get a ready meal for that day since I was working. I still am. In past years I have either made it myself or bought it ready made from Albertson's or Safeway, but for X-mas. It was not really tradition for us to do any celebration for Thanksgiving. It is more an Anglo thing, and I am Hispanic/Latino who grew up in the border, my cousin the same, and Aaron is Native American. So yeah celebrating Thanksgiving is really not something that is on my mind, but I do love turkey. Anyways, I think I will be getting it from Supertarget though.

Albertsons had a very basic one for $39.99 Which is already more than what Jerry, Aaron, and I could eat in a week. It included Turkey (10-12lbs), Bread stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, choice of pie, and rolls.

Basha's has a fuller meal for $49.99 that includes Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, baked yams, green beans, gravy, cranberry/orange sauce, pumpkin pie, and rolls.

Safeway... I haven't been to Safeway in the longest time and have not seen their specials so I have no idea what they are offering as their ready meals this year.

Supertarget has theirs for $59.99 and includes 10- to 12-lb. Butter-Basted Turkey, 1.5-lbs. Fresh Green Beans with side of 15-oz. Lemon-butter Thyme Sauce, Potato Trio: 2-lbs. Traditional, 1-lb. Bacon Cheddar, 1-lb. Sweet, 2.5-lbs. Stuffing, 15-oz. Gravy, 15-oz. Cranberry Sauce, 12 Dinner Rolls, choice of pie, and it also includes appetizers Triple Créme Brie, Artichoke and Spinach Dip, Stone Ground Wheat Crackers, Honey Cashew Crunch

So it seems I get more bang for my buck at Supertarget and it's practically free. I will get 10% plus with all the OT gift cards I have received, this will be essentially free. However Supertarget, has pick-up days from Monday - Wednesday, I think they are closed on Thursday, while the others I believe are open part of the day on Thursday. So I may just do Thanksgiving a few days early for us at home since on Thursday I will be going over to Marla's and may even stop by at Nancy's also.

Now on X-mas... I need to locate the boxes where I have the x-mas stuff to sort and start decorating. I have not started x-mas shopping yet, however I don't have alot to get so it can wait for a while. I did get already most of the x-mas cards. That's the one thing I always do, send x-mas cards. X-mas cards make me happy. I don't really care so much about gifts 'cause I can always get myself what I want/need, but I do like cards. I have all my x-mas (and birthday cards) that I have received through the years stored by years, since 1998. That was the year I left home in the little town I lived in Texas.

Ok so now back to work.... Have a good day ya'll!!!

Thanksgiving coming...

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and still don't know what to do. I do know I am working the first part of the day. The first to invite me to their place was Nancy. She lives just down the road from me so it would make sense to go there after work. Marla also invited me to her Thanksgiving with her family. However, I kind of want to have my own Thanksgiving. I have several recipes for a Turkey but since I work I'll probably just order one of those complete meals from Albertson's that only need to be reheated. I have ordered them in the past and they do a pretty good job. I have ordered from Safeway and Albertson's before. Beats slaving over making my own. So that's it decision made...

Feels like...

I am at work, but feels as though I should be at heading home

Regulator w/motor

I ordered the replacement part that I need for my car window today...Can't wait for it to get here. Once it does arrive I'll need to have someone do the labor of changing it for me. Good thing I got it online... much cheaper than Tempe Honda who would have charged me twice the actual cost of the part or Meineke who would have charged me 1 1/2 times more than the actual cost of the part. The part itself cost me $148 and Tempe Honda said, "the part usually runs at $275" and Meineke had quoted me a total price of $474 where $130 was labor the rest for the part. Yeah so you see why I decided to buy the part myself. Now, I just need to locate a good local mechanic. Amy, referred me to a local place that based on what she said and some reviews I found on the place, seems good. It's not so close to me, but I'll be giving them a call once I get the part in. This situation though, makes me want to learn more about how to fix vehicles. Well, maybe not vehicles, just my own. :) Oh, the website I am getting the part from is: www.Car-Stuff.com


... Updated 02/14/2010, link to Amy's blog http://thosecrazyschuberts.com/ 

Window...

I have a 2002 Honda Accord. On Monday my car window decided to stay down. Wouldn't roll back up. So I did some research on line and found that I may need to replace the regulator or motor. The regulator comes with the motor, so regardless of whether it is the motor or regulator the whole thing would need to be changed. Today I went to get it fixed, before I signed the work order I was told of a fee to check and diagnose what is wrong with it. I already knew what was wrong with it so I told the guy, all it needs is the regulator w/motor to be changed. He said they would charge the fee to inspect then they would charge the fee for the part and labor. That did not sound good so I decided not to get my window fixed at this place. FYI: the place was Tempe Honda.

The one thing I did do at Tempe Honda was get my oil changed and tires rotated though. While waiting I sent a text to a couple friends see if they knew anybody who could fix it for me.

So came back home to do some more research and see if I could locate a different place who wouldn't try to overcharge me. Through autozone.com I found a Meineke close to me. So I called Meineke and was also told they would charge a fee to inspect. Their fee was lower than Tempe Honda's. I told they guy what needed to be changed and he said he would "make some calls" and call me back with a price. So he called back in like 10 minutes and quoted me an amount that was completely off the wall. The total higher even than what it would have cost at Tempe Honda. I asked him specifically to break down the cost and sure enough I was being overcharged for the part. They were charging me twice than what the actual part would cost, aside from the labor. So scratch that place.

I got a text back from Blanca saying that Nancy's boyfriend Joey could see it tomorrow....Happy thought of my car window fixed went through my head for about 1 to 2 hours... Just got a call from Blanca after she realized that the window I was talking about was my car window and not my house window. Joey builds houses so he would be great if I needed something to be looked at around the house.

So I am in search of a mechanic who won't try to rip me off on the cost of the part or labor. I don't need to check what's wrong with my car because I already know what's wrong with it. The part I can get on line at the true cost of it and in some sites I saw I could get a discount...

I actually found a guide on how to do it myself, however I do not have the tools needed to take apart my door and fix it. I did try. :)

So if anybody knows anybody who can fix this for me that would be awesome. Please let me know...

Happy B-Day Prima!!

Just giving a shout out to my cousin Gloria Cecilia whose b-day was yesterday. Hope you had a great day!!

Jumping on the Bandwagon... Sort of...

My first mp3 player was cd player that could play mp3s from a cd. I would burn cds with mp3s and I would carry my cd player in my back pack. Wow, just realized I haven't carried a backpack in the longest time. Anyways then Apple came out with it's iPods and digital music became mainstream or popular. I don't like being a follower so I didn't jump on the digital music player bandwagon. Last Christmas I got a Dell DJ Ditty as a gift, but since my computer is still running on Windows Me, I have not been able to use it. Today I went to an electronics store with he sole purpose of jumping on the digital player bandwagon, however with the one guideline of not getting anything by Apple. I succeeded. I got Myself a 1GB Player from a brand I have never heard of, not Apple, not Creative, not Dell, and not Sandisk. The brand is T.sonic. I have never heard of the brand and that is why I chose it. Plus it works with Windows 98 and higher so I won't have a problem using it with my computer. Hopefully it turns out to be good. Now, I seriously need to start looking for a new computer. Anybody have any suggestions on what brand or specs I should get on my next computer? I would build one myself, but I don't know how to, and don't feel like investing the time to learn how to build one, although it seems like fun to build one. Everyone have a good Tuesday!!!

The Office...

I can't wait for the next episode of The Office...

So fucking pissed...

If you read my previous blog about the a/c not working then you know today the a/c people were coming. They were to be here anytime from 7am - 12 noon. Since I worked today from 5am - 3:3opm I was not able to be here. My roommates were. We live in a house that we are renting. Anyways, the repair people did their job and fixed the a/c, based on what my roommates said the bill was just over $600 and our landlord asked them if we would split the costs with her and they said yes. That's what I am fucking pissed about, our rental contract states that we fix stuff like replacing filters, keeping the place clean, changing light bulbs, etc. That sort of normal renter's maintenance and the landlord or owner of the house is to keep the place in a habitable condition, ie fix the actual house itself if breaks and is not of our doing. The a/c breaking down and not working was not our doing, it just stopped working. Since the landlord was not here the repair people called her to see how it would be paid and my roommates and her agreed to pay the amount and deduct half of the costs from next months rent. So one of my roommates (my cousin) paid the full amount with his personal check. That's the part that got me the most mad that they paid it. So now I have to do damage control. I'll need to call the landlord tomorrow and go over the contract with her to clear this up. I have a feeling that because my roommates already agreed to go half way that we are going to end up paying that half. This totally sucks. So anyone know whether I am right on this and if I should even pursue this or should I just let it go and pay my third of the half? I feel much better know that I've blogged this...

Hot, hot, hot...

It's getting hot in here.... The a/c stopped working a couple of days ago. The filters were replaced, but it still does not work. Monday is the earliest that we could get someone to come out and fix it, so until then it's toasty in the house. Good thing that the nights are getting cooler, even to the point of being cold, but during the day from about noon to maybe 8 or 9pm it's really hot. On a positive note to this, the electric bill will undoubtedly be less when it comes in next month.

Off to vote...

It's voting day today in my district, so I am off to vote and then off to do errands. I need weed killer, household cleaning stuff, and to restock the fridge and pantry. I registered as soon as I turned 18. My first time voting was when I lived in Texas. I only got to vote once there, then I moved to Arizona. I registered to vote in AZ and have been voting early by mail ever since. This time, it's my first time attending an actual voting location in AZ, I'm excited and a little nervous. I'm not overly political but voting is the least I can do for my country. It amazes me how many people my age don't participate. I don't get it. How can you not vote and expect things to get better. The only way things can change is if we vote, and there definitely needs to be a change in this country, because right now everything is going to hell. Anyways, hope you all have a great day and if you haven't registered to vote.Please do so...

For further information about Voter Registration Deadlines in AZ, please contact your local Secretary of State’s office:
Administration/Elections
1700 W. Washington, 7th Floor
Phoenix, AZ 85007-2888
http://www.azsos.gov/election/

Where are my keys?

Work was a bit of a drag today... The first part of the day went fairly quick... then after noon, it just went really really slow.... All I wanted to do was come home to blog.. nothing really to blog about just wanted to..

As soon as I was off work, I hurried to my car. I reach into my pocket to grab my keys and nothing. Where are my keys? I went back up to my desk and nothing. Looked through my bag and nothing. Went to the car and there they were, sitting on the passenger seat laughing back at me. In my haste in the morning to get to my desk I must have dropped them without notice. First time this has ever happened. Enedina was still at work so I stayed with her chatting until my ride arrived. Eventually I got home. Later, my cousin drove me back to my work's parking lot, and am now finally home able to relax...

note - this blog needed a photo, and I am a Thalia Fanatic hence the picture

Newblog...

I was searching for stuff to enhance my different blogs and found newblog... So now I have another one to manage... I like it. Link below:








... Update 02/13/2010, I no longer have the newblog, the link will redirect to their homepage...

No more hair...

So I am tired of my hair, I think I am shaving it off again.

Hamsters begone...

Blackie has eaten all her children.... so now I only have blackie left.. :)

Weekend visit...

It has been a good week. I had all this weekend and part of last and until today off. I have been off since Thursday. Friday, my Ma and Tia Rosa flew in from Texas to visit us. Haven't seen my mother since November 2005 and My Tia since March 2005. They just flew out at noon today.

During their visit we went to many of the valley malls, Tempe town lake, and many stores. On Saturday though we took a day trip to Sedona. Took them to Tlaquepalque, uptown Sedona, the chapel that's on the mountain, and other shops. We also went to Red Rock Farmers Market where we got Five Amigos Fire Roasted Pepper Salsa for our cookout on Sunday. My Tia's B-day is in a couple of weeks so we got her a cake and had a bbq for her while she was here. So, I think I am starting to like Sedona a whole lot. Hope I can take more trips more often to Sedona. You should visit Sedona. There are awesome shops, food, resorts, spas, plane and helicopter rides, jeep rides, is considered a spiritual mecca, and have a whole lot of different types of tours and a whole lot more.

I think I most enjoyed our trip to Sedona. It was cloudy and on our ride back here were pockets during the road where it was raining so hard you couldn't see the car in front.

Yesterday we went to see Pirates, and it is really good. After 2 1/2 hours I didn't want it to end and now I have to wait until the next installment comes out 'cause I am hooked.

On another note. I think what I like is embellishing. I'm not scraping, but every time I go to a store that has stickers, paper, ribbons, stamps, etc. I want to get them. I am no longer buying stuff to scrapbook, the stuff I had went to Amy, but I think I am going to occasionally get stuff that looks neat to use for cards.

I have been thinking also of shaving my hair off again. doing so would certainly be good right now that it's getting hotter and hotter, but it would mean me maintaining facial hair. I just don't look good without any hair and no facial hair.

Tomorrow it's back to work. Hope the new system that was being implemented is not so troublesome as it seems to have been the first few days.

















... Updated 02/13/2010, link to Amy's blog http://thosecrazyschuberts.com/ 

Looks like you are trying to run a country...

Found this funny picture at this site.

Even more...

I was originally going to get 2 hamsters, however there was just one hamster I liked at the pet store when I went. I got a black female hamster. Named her Blackie. When I got her she had a big belly, however she is not overly fat just her belly. The first thing I did after waking up today is check up on her. I peered into her lavish enclosure that I made for her. I have swirls of tubing and so far one spacious above cage condo, where the last couple of days she had been making her own. She brought up shavings and food. I was still half asleep while looking inside today, but there seemed to be something moving in her condo along her side. I cleared my blurry sleepy vision and took a good look and there they were, 6 tiny hairless hamsters. Apparently that big belly of hers was not from eating but she was pregnant. At the pet store they keep the females separate from the males. This one must have gotten pregnant before separated. So I am overjoyed. She keeps them in the condo section which worries me a bit as they are starting to move a bit and then periodically they fall down through the tube. Doesn't seem to hurt them as they land on the bottom shavings but then Blackie goes down and takes them back up. She takes a drink of water and stays up with them. Then they fall down again. This has been repeating itself several times already. All but one are calm. There is one that she struggles to grab and take back up. I have a feeling that one is going to be feisty. I hope they all do survive. I have never had hamster babies, I am going to trust that the momma, Blackie, knows what she's doing and not bother her.

New Family Members...

The original blog date for this post is Monday, July 24, 2006. I have several blog locations and I usually blog on one and then repeat the blog immediately on the other two but the last few blogs stayed only at my myspace.com blog. So here is one that I should add to this one:

Still Purging...

So I am still working on reducing the amount of stuff that I have. Mostly the things that I don't use and is just stored away. Some of it is going to the trash. Some of it is going to Good Will. Some scrapbooking stuff is going toAmy. I have decided that sbing takes too much time, money , and Space for me to dedicate the time it deserves.
Amy suggested today as I mentioned at work just sticking to regular albums to doing online/digital sbing. Great idea and I may do that at one point. Right now though I am going to stick to as few as possible albums and frames and keep most, if not all, photographs in digital form. I will of course keep the negatives of my film camera days. I don't have alot of scrapbooking stuff, mostly paper, and a few things here and there from a basket I won several years ago.

Anyone have any space saving ideas/tips?


This next section is from Saturday, July 29, 2006 and it goes:



nothing...

So today I am cleaning and doing such errand as shopping for cleaning supplies, groceries, oh and a trip to GoodWill. I have a box full of stuff to give away. I am so glad I have continued to do good in clearing away stuff that I don't need. I saw a show on TLC yesterday about a couple who moved into their house and have had stuff in boxes in their living room for a year. So makes me feel good to know I am not the only one who has boxes full of stuff. On that note, I have a box full of rodent tunnels and a wheel. I used to have a hamster several years back. So if anybody wants them or knows someone who does let me know. Anyways here is a fun site of Singing Horses.


Ok, so the reason the previous 2 posts are needed is because as I have cleared boxes of stuff, I went back to look at the box full of hamster tunnels, etc. and started playing with them, put together some of them. So now I want to go get a hamster or two and have this awesome tunnel system for them. I was thinking of getting three cages one for each and an extra one where I would sneak in special treats for them. So I am no longer in need of giving away my hamster stuff, but it will not remain boxed up either. So I am off to the pet store in a couple of hours. Now I just have to make sure that Aaron's cats don't get to them...

Weekend Trip...

This past weekend I went to Sedona with Aaron. We sorta went in a spur of the moment. We were going to go to San Francisco, but booking a flight on the day you want to leave and to return the following day proved a bit too bold of a decision, Even with flights leaving with about 2-3 hours of difference, that plan did not pan out. now, I am actually glad it didn't as we each grabbed our hastily packed  bags. One bag each only and drove to Sedona, AZ. This was Saturday afternoon, and when we got to Sedona, first thing was to find a room to stay in. That done we went to dinner at this Indian place where we ate once before, 4 years ago. That was the restaurant where my taste for Indian food began.

Next day comes...Sunday... we go to some shops in town. There was a  small farmers market, called Red Rock Springs Farmers Market. There were all sorts of salsas, jellies/jams, spices. etc. We got a bag of Churro Nuggets. They are mini crunchy churro pieces.

We gased up and the girl at the register suggested we eat lunch at the Haunted Hamburger. Later, we took a toor of this relly neat resort in Sedona and, without us mentioning it, the girl there also suggested we have lunch at Haunted Hamburger.

Haunted Hambruger is in Jerome, about 20-30 min from Sedona. So we finished our mini Sedona tour and drove to Jerome.We ate of course at the Haunted Hamburger. The place packed, the food average, the atmosphere, well if it hadn't been packed i am sure it would have been nice due to the spectacular view.  So, I had great expectations for this place, however I didn't much care for it. It is located on the edge of the mountain top with many ups and downs. Not my thing. They did have some neat little shops
We then drove back to Phoenix. There was a rainbow when we were just driving into Phoenix. Awesome gay touch by nature to the end of our mini trip. :) Hope everyone's weekend was as fantabulous as mine. :)

Here are some pics:

Nothing... just sorting pictures

So I have finally finished sorting out packets of pictures into different categories. If you read my prev post you know I have been sorting things and getting rid of stuff and in the interim I have been sorting pictures. I am glad I have digital camera, I couldn't imagine trying to sort out more pictures from the days i didn't have a digital. I do however need a new digital camera. I have a 2 year old digital that only does 3.1 MP with not a whole lot of options.

As an intro camera to digital it has worked, but I have decided my next camera will need to be able to take pics in at least 7 MP. I have been looking at different cannon models. Anyone have any suggestions?

Another thing that I have been able to do by sorting my pictures is, aside from taking many trips down memory lane, is sort out special events that I have been wanting to scrapbook. I got into scrapbooking about I think 3 years ago when in a raffle at work I won a basket of tons of sbing stuff. My first scrapbooking project was to scrapbook my friend Marlas 1 year old birthday party for her daughter. It's half way done So my first sb project half way done, with over 2 years to finish it.
Yeah I know kinda taking a long time. However the progress I did make for being my first I think is good even if slow. And now I have been able to sort out at least other events and their corresponding photos and items to go with them. About 5 projects or so. Oh, for some really neat sbing pages check out Amy's page at blogger. She has awesome sbing talent. She also takes great pictures, o yeah you should hire her for your next event, wedding, etc.

So here are some pics of the front cover of this particular scrapbook. :) Hope everyone has a good week!!!

... Updated 02/13/2010, link to Amy's blog is now http://thosecrazyschuberts.com/

Good, Long ago memories

Those of you who know me, even a little, know that I keep things for a very long time. I had forgotten about my Business Card holder. I had stowed it away during on of my moves and hadn't found it since. I have started purging things that are put away and never in use. On one of the boxes I finally found my Business card holder.

The natural thing to do was to browse through it. In it are cards from many places including the one from my very first apartment from back in 1998. Anyways, the point is in it I have one from Royal India. Of course Indian food is one of my favorite cuisines aside from Chinese and Mexican. But why is this particular restaurant of any importance you might ask? Well, Several years ago an aunt of mine was living in Seattle, Washington. I got to visit her about 3 years ago. I even have a Made In Washington Stores business card. From this store I got some really tasty smoked salmon, it came vacuum sealed and inside this really neat looking wooden box, that of course I kept.

We also got a couple of boxes with an assortment of products from the Made In Washington Store. We of course went to the obligatory visit to the space needle and the market. It was fascinating! They really do toss the fish like you have seen on TV!! There was freshness all around from the food, to the variety of miscellaneous stores. On of these stores I got these fans. I tell ya I could live in Seattle, I loved that place so much.

During the course of my visit, on the weekend, we drove to Vancouver, B.C. It was so awesome. After entering Canada we made a stop at a yard sale. My mom got a really neat looking wooden accent table with some really great craftsmanship and interestingly carved. I got this really neat vase. We drove around called a few hotels while on the road to book a night. We dropped our bags and then went to explore. So we stopped for dinner at the Royal India Restaurant in Gastown. The food delish, the atmosphere amazing, and the evening just great. The following day we took a city tour and stopped to shop in many places. We had a quaint lunch at a Mexican place called Pepita's. I didn't keep a business card from this place. I kept a pen that has their info on it. It's located on Denman Street. I also had a whole lot of fun putting in my dollars into these machines that convert it into Canadian money. I could have done that all day and been just as overjoyed as I was about the rest of the day. I get entertained so easily sometimes. So needless to say I want to go back. I want to go back to Seattle and Vancouver. Everything also was so lush and green, but of course any place is more lush and green than Arizona... Since I didn't have a digital camera back then, as soon as I get a scanner I'll be putting up some of the photos from my trip.

Name change!!

I have been thinking of changing my name. I was named after my father who I never really knew. I met him a couple of years ago, but there was just no connection and have had to interaction with him since. Nor do intend to. I have had a nickname since middle school and just about everybody knows by it. So I found the perfect last name for me also. Researching it seems very tedious to do a name change so I have decided not to change my name. At least not yet, but from it will be my alias or my alter ego. :) Those who know me then know my name already.

Muggy weather!

It is very muggy outside. Clouds rolled in yesterday and with them the moisture. This is why I didn't like living in Texas and why I would not live near too much water. The Muggy Weather. I like it hot and dry and I think that's why I am still here in AZ.... Laters

Transamerica

I really liked this movie. This movie is about a transsexual who is ready for the final surgery when he gets a call from her son. She had no idea that she had fathered a child with a long ago girlfriend. The story takes you literally on a road trip as they head to LA. Felicity is awesome in her role as Stanley who is to become Bree. Kevin is also great. He's so sexy. They movie has a great moving ending and made me want to continue what is the next chapter in their lives.