Off to Brazil they go

Pablo and Jim are on their way to Brazil for a month! They’ll be staying mostly in Salvador but I think they may find time to visit other places. How exciting! I guess this is the year Pablo visits several Latin countries because shortly after his return from Brazil he’ll be on his way to Panama.

Soul Food

We had another adventure food Friday today. This time we went to M & M Soul Food Restaurant in Carson. This was my first time trying soul food and MAN IT’S GOOD. I ordered the fried chicken with collard greens and corn. They also gave each of us a corn bread muffin that was simply out of this world. After lunch I was so full I took a 15 minute nap at my desk…LoL, I guess I’m not used to eating heavy meals anymore.

Random SHOUTS of “Encouragement”

I’ve noticed in most of my step classes there’s always that one person that loves to randomly shout during the workout and it’s just irritating. I’m not sure if they do it to encourage themselves or others but it’s really annoying. The first time it got to me I was at a step class and this lady that was working out right next to me just would not shut up. As soon as a song came on she would start “WOOOOW’ing” and “YEEEAAHH-ing” …. At one point she completely startled me. I was focused on my workout when suddenly…right next to me “YYYYYEAAAHHHHH!” Son of a $%^&*… I almost fell off my step! If this is you….please stop it! It’s neither cute nor encouraging!

Lunch Meeting

Susana and I had a real nice lunch meeting today at The Cheesecake Factory in Redondo Beach and got to admire the lovely harbor from our table. What a nice view!

Happy 17th Birthday Cynthia!

My niece (who lives in Holland) turns 17 today. Holy cow time flies!! It seems like just yesterday Marco and I were taking her and her little brother to play at the park. I can’t believe how quickly time goes by. When we left Holland, she was still in pigtails and braces and now she is getting ready to get her driver’s license!

Belated Father’s Day

All of us were busy on Father’s Day weekend so we postponed the celebration until today. I think my dad had a nice time hanging out with the kids and checking out his new CD/Radio/iPOD player. A little birdie (my mom) told us he was looking for one so it turned out to be the perfect gift.

Welcome to The Longest Day of the Year

So it’s officially summer now, YUCK! I’m not a big summer fan ‘cause that means higher electric bills or having to put up with hot and sweaty valley weather. Hopefully this summer won’t be as bad as they’re predicting.

Back from Spain & Portugal!

Hip-Hip-Hoooraaaa! Amanda and Pablo are back from their Spain/Portugal trip. It looks like they had an awesome time out there and they have the pics to prove it. Amanda took over 300 pictures of Pablo alone! Dang! I think that’s a new record. Even I didn’t take that many pics of Pablo while on my Euro trip….wait….uh, maybe I did, lol.

Hot Birdie

It’s been HOT lately and it’s not even summer yet! Even the birds are trying to stay cool. We found this little guy hanging out at one of my favorite restaurants during lunchtime. I don’t think he was there for the yummy rotisserie chicken.

New Desktop 4 Rose

I hung out at my bro’s for a little while today while Marco helped Rose install her new computer. She got a pretty good deal on a desktop at Best Buy so Marco and I came over to help out with it. Well, Marco helped; I just sat around and caught up on some reading for my December Euro trip.

Party @ the Westlake Inn

Ernesto and I ended up working a party out in Westlake Village together which turned out to ok pretty cool. The kids were nice, the parents didn’t hassle us too much, and we actually got to sneak a plate of food while working. The Westlake Village Inn turned out to be very impressive along with its golf course complete with swans and waterfalls! Crazy man, crazy!

Catalina Island Photos

The Catalina Island pictures are up. Just following this link to view all photos.

Santa Catalina Island

Today Thomas, Marco, and I took a day trip to Santa Catalina Island. This was my first time there and I absolutely loved it! Once we arrived we explored the island, took a tour of the city (Avalon), took a glass bottom boat tour, ate at some awesome places, and fished for a few hours. Thomas ended up catching his first fish ever, Marco got to fish at his favorite spot, and I acquired a new friend….Catalina the fish (seen above). More pictures to come.

Hola! -From Pablo.

It looks like Pablo is having a wonderful time in Spain with Amanda. Lucky!

Joel's 31st!

Another surprise birthday party at Miceli’s. We celebrated Joel’s 31st birthday at Miceli’s with pasta, pizza, drinks, and all kinds of other goodies. It turned out to be a very successful surprise party with 15 people there…including little Ethan of course.

Party @ Calamigos

Today was another day of partying; only this time I was working it instead of enjoying it. I had a Henna party at Calamigos Ranch and the kids turned out to be real sweet so the evening went by real quick. I love when that happens!

Graduation Season

It’s graduation season. I wasn’t able to attend Jim’s graduation party (sorry Jim!!), but I did make it to Allan’s. It was a real nice party, I’m just bummed that I forgot my purse at home and left my camera behind. We had a real nice dinner with Allan’s family and then watched a sweet video that covered every award, certificate, graduation and all other accomplishments throughout Allan’s life. I particularly liked the videos of Allan’s kindergarten graduation. So cute!
I hope Allan and Jim enjoyed liked their graduation gifts.
Congrats to all the grads!