And, it's 2026

Hello new year 2026... Summer, Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve have passed in a blink of an eye. Another year gone, another year older and hoping 2026 is at least a fair year; kinda in the middle between Good and Bad.

I am here again. I always tell myself "I gotta get back to writing" and I never do. I am going to make an effort this year to keep this up and write because writing gives me an escape.

Time is truly flying. My kids are getting older and I miss them when they were little and when they truly needed me. My mother is getting older and it's sad to see her that way because she can't do many things like she used to and she also walks very slow that at times she needs her walker. I am getting older too... my birthday was on Dec. 31st and I didn't do much but celebrate my bday at home; had a slice of my son's bday cake (his was on Dec. 29th) so I didn't bothered to get myself a bday cake for me.

Halloween came... my favorite time of the entire year. All October is my favorite month. To bad we don't decorate our outside house with ghost, ghouls, skulls, skeletons, spiderwebs, and all things spooky like we used to. My kids are grown and they aren't into that, it's a lot of work to decorate the outside, then buy a lot of candy for the trick-or-treaters and be on stand by at the door to hear the doorbell ring and give candy. Maybe I'm getting old? But, I still enjoy the spooky atmosphere October brings. I do decorate the inside of our home. 

Thanksgiving came... I went to my mom's and we drove to my sister's. Both of my sons went with me plus my youngest's girlfriend also went; we stayed at my mom's for another day and we came back on Saturday.

Christmas came... gifts were not as fun as it used to be. I did went to my mom's for Christmas Day; this time alone. I only went for that day and came back because we had to go back to work on the 26th (Friday). Christmas is not as it used to be; it gets sadder and sadder every year. I actually bought a fake xmas tree (9 ft) this time as I didn't like our current one that was small and thin as a pencil. I like fat big trees so I bought one and a lot of new ornaments... that made me happy to see our xmas tree.

Then, my son's 25th birthday came... bittersweet moment for me. Two days later, my birthday and new year's eve. My husband made dinner but no presents nor cake for me. I like balloons but no balloons either. It's ok. I received the new year in my jammies on the couch all comfy and warm. 

Now, I am on a two-week vacation that started on Jan. 5th. I'm going to be back at work on the 20th. I didn't had any vacation since I started working at the Institute 3 years ago. I had to use those hours because I maxed out and I wasn't earning any more vacation hours. I didn't go anywhere but I am enjoying my time off as it is nice to wake up a little late and not before 5am.

When I go back to work, my work-buddy (B) will be transferring to another department in the institute... so his last day with our department will be on Jan. 23rd as he will be starting his new position on the 26th. Sad to see him leave our department as he was a joy to work by his side. Now, I'm going to be by myself until who-knows-when the department will hired a new person; which I hope soon. Just glad I took this time off now and not later because that would've been impossible or harder to take time off with one less person. Everything happens for a reason. 

I'm supposed to be saving money for a down payment for a new car but it was difficult to do that in the months of November and December. I decided to be in line at 3:45am at the doors of Starbucks for that Hello Kitty collection they had and I was able to get 3 tumblers plus another one for my work-buddy's wife. I wasn't aware of those bear cups because I would've gotten two... my focus was hello kitty. But, no worries because I was able to get me a Starbucks bearista cup later and it's my pride and joy. I also got a glass tumbler that Starbucks Hong Kong did a collaboration with Kuromi... why was this not in the U.S.? I don't regret wasting my money on that nor the xmas tree and its ornaments; worth every penny.

Now, to start fresh in this new year and save as much as possible because this Chevy of mine is not going to last much longer. 

Chapter 3 of 12. Welcome March!

Another month went by and now we are in a new month; hello my dear March. A brand new month... the Green Month as March brings St. Patrick's and lovely Spring (plus, allergies lol). 

Nothing much has happened. My husband has been working around the house and he's been more "happier" since he quit his job. He says he's going to have relaxation and enjoy this time before he starts looking for a job (right after we return from our vacation in July). We are OK.

In a more happier note, for me, I decided to go ahead and give myself a new fancy new phone. I've never had a "fancy" phone so this time, I decided to give it to myself. So, I pre-ordered the new Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra... it's going to take some time before I have it in my hands as it's going to be shipped between March 24 - April 20 (estimated date/s). I already have 6 new cases for my S22 Ultra even before my phone lol; I can't wait to have it. I was actually going back and forth between an iPhone 13 Pro Max and the Galaxy S22 Ultra... but, the S22 Ultra won. Currently, I have an S8 and I felt in love with Android as you can customize your phone in soo many different ways... something you can't do in an iPhone unless it's Jailbroken. I was an iPhone gal for soo many years but decided to give Android a try and love it. Don't get me wrong, iPhones are nice phones and they have a lot of good things and that's why I was thinking in going back to iPhone but after researching between the iPhone 13 Pro Max and the S22 Ultra... I made up my mind to keep using Android.ツ

Let's talk about creepy

I've been a Ghost Adventures' fan for many many years... ever since I watched the documentary before the series of Ghost Adventures even began; I think the documentary was aired in 2007 and in the SciFi Channel (same network as Ghost Hunters back then as I used to watch that one before Ghost Adventures). Well, Zak Bagans has a new series on Discovery+ called The Haunted Museum which he worked with Eli Roth, which he is an awesome Director in the Horror world, to create this series about the relics and collections Zak has in his museum in Las Vegas, Nevada (The Haunted Museum). Well, yesterday I saw the 2nd episode called Monster in the Machine and I seriously can not wait to see more episodes.

These episodes are well done that they are creepy and give you the horror and suspense you want... but, what did you expect?!...Eli Roth's the Director so obviously these are going to be great. The 1st episode was Dollhouse of the Damned and that was a great episode also. At first, I thought it was going to be similar to A Haunted series but I think these are better (in my opinion). I am a horror fan and I'm always looking for that feeling of getting scared when I watch either a movie or a show. So, this is great to watch and specially during this spooky month of October.

Found an article in Deadline that was published in May 2021 talking about The Haunted Museum series that I just found. So, whoever reads me loves horror and the paranormal, The Haunted Museum series is a great one to check it out.

Just wanted to stop by and write my thoughts.

Welcome back October! Lovely to see you again.

And, we are finally in the awesome month of October; my favorite month of the entire year. Hoping this month brings us (and you) joy, health, spookiness and total enjoyment.

Well since my kids are now 17 and 20 years old, they aren't much into Halloween nor the month of October... but, I've always loved this month since I was a child and I still continue to enjoy the "hell" out of it as an adult.

Since it's October, I will try and do this Inktober for the 31 days that October has. I like to draw (I am not that good at it nor I am a pro at drawing) as it really relaxes me a lot and I truly enjoy it while listening to music. I think, this is my 3rd year doing Inktober... could've been my 4th but I quit way too early on that year that I didn't even got to my 8th day/picture lol 👎.

11 Years In Time

I'm without words at this very moment. My last entry in this blog was in September 21st of 2010... 11 years ago! Time flew, I grew older with grays, my little boys are no longer little kids anymore but young men now... life just changed thru these 11 years that passed by. When I came across with this blog again, I wasn't sure to delete it... leave it alone so I can come back and read some of the posts and go back in time for myself... or, pick up where I left off which is back to writing and use it as a journal for myself. So, I decided to come back and give my blog some life again. I'm not looking for "subscribers" or to have a famous/well-known blog but to have somewhere I can go write and express what I'm feeling; similar to a journal/diary. But, friends and friendships are always welcome and nice to have since... specially other moms.

The update-

∙My "little boys" are now 20 and 17; one is in College and the other in High School (11th grade). My husband and I are still together on our 22nd year of marriage... of course, marriage is not easy and we have our ups and downs but still with each other.

∙My lovely mom is still alive (she is 95 years old) and still living in Mexico. Sadly, my mom can not drive anymore so my sister is the one taking her to the doctor's appointments, to the store/grocery shopping, etc. as my sister lives in Mexico too and just ~10 minutes away from my mom. Not too long ago, my mom had eye surgery to take a cataract out from one of her eyes; all went well with her surgery.

∙We moved out of the apartments in late 2010, or 2011, and into a lovely home and we're still here. My husband wants to leave California and move to Maine... MAINE!!!! I am very sad about this because I am a California girl and one thing I love about living in California is the weather. Reason my husband wants to move out of California is because the cost of living is ridiculously expensive and its taxes... but, we'll see. I know Maine has a beach and it looks lovely but I am afraid of its Winters because I've never experienced a REAL Winter nor snow... not to mention Maine is just next to Canada and I know Canada gets way too cold; but I'm a bit tiny open to the idea.

Well, hopefully I will keep coming back here and write my mind. I do miss reading the blogs of other moms I used to know that were in the same Mommy Boards I was back then... but like me, they stopped blogging here. I guess, it's time to fine new blogs and new "friends" around here.

'Til next time 👋

My tongue pierced experience

Other than my ears, I don’t have anything pierced. I always wanted my tongue pierced, lip, and/or eyebrow. On Monday, September 13, 2010, I decided to go to a Tattoo Piercing place and do it… get my tongue pierced. I searched a place with a good reputation and good piercers until I finally found one.
I won’t lie, I was VERY excited but at the same time I was nervous as hell. The shop looked kinda empty with one tattoo artist and one piercer. There were three girls in front of me (as it was first come first serve thing) so the tattoo guy told me there was like a 15 minutes wait after it could be my turn. I began to fill up some paperwork as you have to be over 18 and show some ID before hand.
One of the girls before me was having her belly button pierced. I thought the three girls were together because they were in the piercer’s room but apparently they weren’t and only the last two girls were together as they were sisters. When one of the girls left, another girl sat on the bed (she was getting her tongue pierced too). I was very nervous that I was walking around the shop but I couldn’t concentrate on one thing nor to calm myself down LOL. The other girl was talking on the phone and checking her sister that was sitting on the bed… she then asked me what was I getting and I told her a tongue piercing. Then she told me, come on in so you can see what you’re getting yourself into LOL. I got behind the counter and into that little room and sat on the stool that was there. Man, the girl that was getting her tongue pierced was extremely nervous, afraid, and got a panic attack. The piercer tried to calm her down but her sister was laughing so much and telling her it wasn’t going to hurt that much. I asked her if she was getting one too but she already had her tongue pierced a week before. I asked her several questions LOL. I was nervous!!
The guy that was doing the piercing was very cool and down to earth… and he was cute too. The girl was ready for her tongue pierced but apparently she was having second thoughts LOL… until her sister changed her mind. Time for the poke! When that needle passed through the girl’s tongue, a HUGE scream and tears came out of her. Man, by that point I started to be MORE nervous but I still wanted this piercing done. I couldn’t believe this girl was screaming so loud. I wasn’t laughing!!… but her sister and the piercer were laughing LOL. Afterwards, she couldn’t talk nor shallow LMAO. Her sister asked her if she wanted to stay and see it done to me so she could feel better but she just wanted to leave and kill her sister for making her do it LOL. It was over for her.
For me, it was just starting. I was very shaken and nervous when I sat on that bed. They guy began to tell me that it’s not THAT bad. He was getting the things ready and I was getting more nervous. I was texting one of my friends to see if I could calm myself a little but didn’t worked LOL. It was time!! I took some Listerine to rinse my mouth, spit it out… the guy cleaned my tongue with a paper towel… then he marked “the spot” on my tongue and told me to close my mouth and swallow. Saw the freakin needle that was gonna do the work and Oi!!!! Guy told me to stick out my tongue… by the way he told me I have a long tongue LOL which is good because it was gonna be more to the inside than usual and it’s less painful. Oh boy… did he said “less painful?” We were ready!! Told me to take a big breath in and then out… THEN he passed that needle through my tongue. I have to say that IT DIDN’T HURT!!! That girl really really exagerated with the tears and her screams… totally!! It was a very quick procedure. I didn’t screamed, nor closed my eyes, nor jumped. The piercing was perfect!! I was very happy afterwards. Also, because of my long tongue, the balls on the bar aren’t close to my teeth… I have to stick out my tongue in order for the top ball to hit my teeth… so I guess that’s a good thing as I heard you can crack some of your teeth.
Now, the only bad thing was the day after. My tongue got swollen and it was extremely sore/painful from the bottom (he did it from the bottom up not top to bottom). Eating was painful so I basically chewed on ice, drank lots of iced water, soups and anything soft or liquid. I stayed away from cheese (as it has bacteria) and spicy food. I didn’t wanted to end up with an infected tongue afterwards so I followed the rules. I brushed my teeth after every little thing I ate and rinsed my mouth with mouthwash… I also used sea salt water to rinse.
After the 3rd day, I could feel my tongue was getting better because the soreness was getting less and I could eat a little more of other things. Today is the 6th day after I’ve got my tongue pierced and it’s back to it’s normal feeling. I’m starting to get used to having the bar in my tongue and to eat normal and anything. I also was able to brush my tongue on the 4th day (if I don’t brush my tongue, I feel like my mouth is dirty).
I had a very good experience in getting my tongue pierced. If someone is thinking in doing this, go to a place where they are professionals and have a very good reputation. I would probably go again there to get my lower lip pierced on the side. I’ve seen places where they don’t do a good job and you end up with damaged nerves in your tongue or the bar won’t go in the hole, etc.
I’m happy to say that I’m officially tongue pierced!

Home and back to "normal"

Finally on September 26th, Joel got discharged from Children's Hospital. No more hospital. No more sleeping in the hospital. No more McDonald's. No more IV on Joel. I am so thankful that this experience is OVER! Thank you God!! Joel is doing wonderful now. I think (besides the pain of the surgery) Joel's 2nd issue was the IV stuck on his arm and that hurt him while moving. Doctor's orders were to walk walk walk the next day after surgery. Joel gave me so much trouble every morning because he didn't want to get up and walk around. There were three important things the Doctor looks in a patient right before they let them go home... 1)Walk around, 2)No Fever and 3)Appetite. Obviously, the walking and the appetite for Joel were a little hard but at the end he worked on them and passed. When we got home, you could see a difference in Joel... he could move around more freely and he could get on and off his bed so much easier than in the hospital. Now, he was able to laugh a little more without feeling pain.

Today, September 29th, Joel returned to school. Of course, there are some important things Joel needs to avoid for 3-6 weeks and those are strenuous activities such as rough play, bicycle/skateboarding riding, contact sports, and P.E. Talked to the school and his teacher about them and they even made copies of those instructions so that they are aware of it. I'm glad that little by little things are coming back to normal. On October 7th, I'll be taking Joel to his Follow-Up appointment in the afternoon and for the doctor to take off the tapes he has on his tummy (hopefully, it's not too painful for Joel).

My overall view of Children's Hospital

I think Children's Hospital is a really nice hospital for kids. I didn't had a bad experience while I was there. All the nurses and the volunteers were there to help the parents and for the parents to be comfortable while staying there. On Friday (which it was a little late for me), a volunteer came by our room to let me know about some programs the hospital have and mostly was about The Ronald McDonald's House (which is just across the street from the hospital and above the parking lot). That Friday night, I went for Free Dinner at that house. I couldn't believe how beautiful that place is. They have 40 rooms for parents that can't afford hotel while their child is in the hospital and they provide all the necessities for the parents... food, showers, laundry room, etc. and free of charge. I think that is wonderful!! Also, another thing I would've loved to know was that the hospital (and that was in the same floor and close to Joel's room) has a shower place for parents... they just had to ask for towels but you must bring your own shampoo, conditioner, etc. Bummer! I went home to take a shower and knowing that would've saved time and gas.

Also, this hospital is great for kids. There are tons of things for the kids to keep them busy while in the hospital. Joel had his own Wii system and that thing had a lot of games... and besides that, he could watch movies. Bad part was that the room we were in didn't had a tv hooked to cable so we watched movies most of the time. At certain hours of the day, the hospital opens this Play Room where the kids can walk there and play... they have Wii, Xbox, PlayStation, books, movies (dvd's and for vhs), a hockey table, tv's, computers with Internet, and more!! I took Joel several times there so that we can get movies and board games so that we both can pass the time quicker. Everybody was so helpful!! Even before Joel's surgery, a woman came by (I think she is the Social Worker in there/or in that floor) and she explained to Joel why he was having this surgery, where his appendix is, etc. and she did it with this doll that had like a human anatomy from the inside so that Joel could see where his appendix was. She also explained where the nurse was going to take him just before surgery and who he was going to meet there. She also talked about putting him to sleep and what he was going to feel. I think that was very nice of the hospital to do for kids that are going to surgery... that explanation with pictures and with that doll help kids not to get too scare or nervous before their surgery. So, I didn't had a bad experience while there.

The Result of the Sickness

That tummy ache Joel had Tuesday morning... turned into vomiting almost all day Tuesday. I got very concerned about Joel's health because he couldn't keep anything down and even the Pedialyte was coming up. I was very worry of him being dehydrated. Tuesday night came and Joel wasn't feeling any better and now he was complaining of more stomach aches. By this time, no vomiting and it looked like he didn't felt the "need" to vomit anymore which was a good sign for me. Still, he was complaining of his tummy hurting. The first thing to came in my mind was that maybe Joel's stomach muscles got sore because of all the vomiting he did during the day. He went to bed and I went to bed thinking that it wasn't that big of a deal and his tummy was just sore from throwing up.

Wednesday morning came. My hubby got up around 4ish in the morning to get ready for work. At around 5ish, Joel got up to go to the bathroom and then went to bed. I then got up to go to the bathroom too and when I got out of the bathroom my hubby came to me with a worried face telling me to come see Joel. Gosh, he scared the crap out of me because the first thing in my head was "Oh no, he's throwing up blood now"!!... but that wasn't it. My hubby told me that the pain Joel was having could be his appendix so right there we decided to take Joel to the ER. We got to the ER at around 5:30 in the morning and glad the ER had couple of people waiting and it wasn't a full room; Joel got called quickly. So, Joel got an ultrasound and blood tests done. When the doctor came to let us know what was wrong with him, he said "Appendicitis". Great!! Joel got transfered to Children's Hospital. It was our first time for Joel and me to get in an ambulance... so that part was cool.

Joel got a room right away and we shared the room with two other boys that had surgery (both of them got released today so we have the room for ourselves for now). It was a little difficult for all of us because since Joel was an Add On for surgery, we couldn't get an exact time for his surgery. We got at Children's Hospital at around 11ish in the morning on Wednesday. But, thank goodness for the pain medicine that made Joel feel a little better and was able to sleep. The final hour to get ready for surgery came at 10pm... and probably the surgery began at 10:30 or 10:40. The surgery took an hour. Close to midnight, the doctor/surgeon came to the waiting room and told me that surgery was over and that everything went smoothly and Joel was ok. When Joel woke up from the anesthesia, one of the nurses came for me so that I can be with Joel. It was surprising to see Joel wide awake, talking and eating popsicles which made me very relieved to see him like that. After that, they took him up to his room.

My hubby hasn't gone to work since Wednesday because he's taking care of Seth while I stay here in the hospital with Joel. But Thursday and today, my hubby HAD to stop by his work to take care some of his things... on Thursday he left me Seth here in the hospital because he had a 2 hr meeting. Today (Friday), he had to stop by his work but this time he took Seth with him.

So far, my stay here in Children's Hospital hasn't been a bad experience. Everybody is nice and very helpful... and, they are great with kids. Before Joel going to surgery, a woman came by to say hi to Joel and to explained what was going to happened to Joel in surgery so that he could understand and not be too scared. She explained it with a doll and explained to him about the appendix. Another time, a fireman came by to say hi and to give him some toys (Seth was here too so he got toys too). Everyday, someone comes (besides the doctors and the nurses) to either give the kids something or to tell them that there are Play Rooms around here that are open at certain hours so they can grab movies, use the computers, toys, video games, board games, etc. and not get too bored in their rooms. I think Children's Hospital is great!! Today, I noticed they have a Shower place for parents!!... if I knew that ahead of time, I wouldn't have gone home to take a shower yesterday. Too bad I didn't bring shampoo, conditioner, mousse, etc. to take a shower here tomorrow... ugh! Oh well.

So, the doctor came this morning to check Joel out and it's going to be another day here at the hospital. Hopefully, tomorrow (Saturday)... Joel will be able to go home!!

Sickness

If only there was a medicine to make it all better. Joel's sick. This morning, he told me he had a tummy ache. I thought he needed to go to the bathroom and that it wasn't that bad. I almost took him to school but thank the heavens I didn't. At around 8ish, he threw up. Had to wash his blanket, pillow, and clothes because they were puked on. Joel then told me he felt a little better (yaay!). I thought, oh good... maybe that's over. Wrong! It is now around 2:35 pm and Joel has threw up like maybe 6 or 7 times... nothing much to throw up because he haven't eaten. I tried to give him a piece of toast but he didn't even finished it half way. I don't know what's wrong with Joel or why he is sick. Seth's fine. I'm fine. I just hate it so much when one of my kids get sick like this. Is like, I would give anything to take their sickness and for me to suffer instead of them. I just hope this is something quick that he catched and it's out of his system soon. Hopefully, Seth doesn't catch it.

Velvet

Well then, thanks to Diana... I'm hooked on this song now "Velvet by The Big Pink". The repeat mode button is going to be on when I'm driving.

Alive and kicking

Isn't this nice... I've been neglecting my blog for months. Not good!! I need to come back and update it.

Operation Aloha

I found out about this Operation Aloha album just yesterday... as my husband hit the play button, I began to listen to "Failure" and I totally felt in love with that song. Thank goodness for good ol' iTunes!! This album was just released May 12th. It's funny that this album was created in Hawaii with friends and some musicians that went to a secluded island in Hawaii... they stayed in a treehouses for 30 days with NO running water, electricity, cell phones, expectations. They had microphones, instruments, and whatevet musical related they can carry... they also drained wine bottles that ended up becoming percussion instruments. It's awesome that they came back with an awesome tan and a this new record.

This Operation Aloha is made up from Maroon 5, Phantom Planet, Gomez, All Spots To Black... a 14-member mix. The album has 14 tracks. I love it!! I do like all sorts of music (with the exception of rap and country 'YUK') and this album is a keeper!! It's music is somewhat like tropical, rock, indie, pop, hawaiian, and it's under alternative.

Season 2 of Ghost Adventures

I'm excited that there is finally a date for Season 2 of Ghost Adventures. I can't wait!! Ghost Adventures is one of my favorite Paranormal shows out there. Friday, June 5th, at 9 pm Season 2 starts. 26 new episodes (compared to only 8 episodes in Season 1) are coming up and the locations will be the MOST haunted in the world!! So, Ghost Adventures will be securing that 9 pm time-slot with reruns from Season 1 at that time. Thank you Travel Channel!!

Also, I can't wait for that three-part series "Return to Bobby Mackey's" that's going to lead up to Season two of Ghost Adventures. Yep, three episodes are scheduled for May 15th, May 22nd, and May 29th. I can't wait for those either. I'm excited!!

iPhone vs Blackberry?

I've been an Apple fan since I was in college. I think Apple makes really cool gadgets. I'm a proud owner of an iPod Touch (I love iPods) and I really like the other things the iPod Touch can do (besides music). Now, I'm thinking in getting an iPhone... or a Blackberry? I'm between them two... iPhone or a Blackberry?... which one is better? I must say that I like the Blackberries. My friend has one and she LOVES her Blackberry (and so do I lol). Maybe, I should go for the cheapest? I don't know. The only Blackberry I don't like is the flip one. I don't know what to do. Get the iPhone or the Blackberry? I'm very familiar in using the iPod Touch... I know where to get those thousands and thousands of Apps the iTunes Store has... easy to get them and to download them right to your iPod Touch/iPhone. The only thing that is missing in the iPod Touch is the phone and the camera... that's all... everything else is the exact thing. Maybe, I should just get the iPhone. Ugh! IDK!!

May and School Assembly

I can't believe we're in May already!! Mother's Day (10th) and my mom's birthday (14th) are in May... double the gifts for my mom. We are almost reaching the middle of the year. Then next month, my baby will be turning 5 years old!! Time is flying very fast. Gotta enjoy every minute of it while we can.

Today, Joel will be receiving another award at school (yaaay). The Assembly is at 1 pm so I have to be a little bit before 1 so that I can sit in the front row. :) I don't know if I will be able to video taped the whole assembly so that my husband is able to see it. I'll see what I can do.

Ugh, then today... we will be out of water from 11am to 12pm. Maintenance is going to be working on something that they need to shut the water off. So that means... I have to get in the shower NOW (it's already 10am here). I also need to finish washing the dishes before I leave to the assembly.

Another cool and quick note. One of my bff is planning in getting a Mac... it seems she wants a 17" MacBook Pro (woohoo). My husband gave me an Aluminum MacBook for our 10th wedding anniversary and I told her that maybe my husband could get her one for a lower price because Apple gives him good discounts on their stuff. Sooo, I asked my husband and he said yes he can... so that's so cool and I'm super excited for her. I can't wait for her to get her Mac. I totally LOVE Macs.

Swine Flu

Is the Swine Flu something to be very concerned about? Or... is it just another 'normal' flu? I've heard there was an outbreak of the Swine Flu in 1976... so, it's not new stuff. For me, it does concerns me. I have two kids and I do care about their healths. Thankfully, the schools in our District remain open and safe for our children to attend. This is the time to practice good hygiene skills... ensuring that we all wash our hands frequently and for at least 20 seconds at a time, cover our cough to prevent the spread of germs, and sneeze with a tissue or into our sleeve.

Now, there was an incident in one of our local schools that children became sick and that school was closed for couple of days. It was confirmed later that the kids were sick with the normal seasonal flu and not Swine Flu (thank goodness). School was re-opened.

I think this is kinda scary. It's spreading. There's been 159 deaths in Mexico... 7 of those deaths have been confirmed from Swine Flu... and the rest of them are suspicious. There's been one death in the United States caused by it... an almost 2 year child. Then, there are 2,498 possible cases and 19 confirmed in Mexico. The United States has 68 cases confirmed, 14 in New Zealand, 13 in Canada, 5 in Great Britain, 4 in Spain, 3 in Germany, 2 in Israel, and 1 in Austria. Scary?... I think so. California alone has 14 cases confirmed.

Living in Southern California and close to Mexico is a little bit more scary as many people cross the border daily. I have family in Mexico (Baja). I have a cousin that lives in Mexico City... and worst, my mom lives over there.

This is a good site to go and read about what's going on... http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu.

A trip to Mexico

The kids and I are taking a little trip to Mexico (Tijuana Baja California) tomorrow. We are visiting my mom so we are going to stay for two days and we'll be coming back on Sunday morning. I was going to leave this morning but since we had a Maintenance Inspection in our Unit... well, I couldn't go. Then, my mom was going to meet my nephew, Tavo, this afternoon so that she can make an appointment at the DMV to renew her Driver's License and my nephew was going to go with her... or she was going to renew it (not sure which one was).

So, my hubby had to take the tint off my car from the side windows... that totally blows!! There is a law in Mexico that it's illegal to have tinted windows in cars now and it doesn't matter if the license plate of the car is from the United States or not... it's still illegal. The only time you can get away with it is if you buy a new car like an SUV, minivan, or a pick up truck that came with tinted windows from the factory... that's the only way the Mexican Police will let you go without a ticket. Oh well!! My mom lives in Mexico so I gotta do what I need to do so that I can still go visit her. I don't understand why she doesn't come to the States and live here instead. My mom is a US Citizen and she is entitled to live in this side. But I guess, she doesn't want to because she owns a house in Mexico and if she comes here... she will be renting.

I'm watching Hell's Kitchen right now. I can't believe Robert had to leave because of his health issues. I liked Robert.

Earth Hour 2009

I keep forgetting to post about the results of Earth Hour. But, we had fun on that night for that hour of darkness. The kids were excited and Joel was counting the time until 8:30... and boy, he was bugging me about it LOL. Funny!! Sooo, the kids and I played Gin and my hubby decided to listen to his iPod. Couple of my friends also got involved in participating and it was nice to hear about it. We are really looking forward to next year's Earth Hour!!

Earth Hour

What will you be doing this Saturday night from 8:30 to 9:30 pm? Will you be voting Earth? On March 28 you can Vote Earth by switching off your lights for one hour. Or, you can vote global warming by leaving your lights on. The results of the election are being presented at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009. They want one billion votes for Earth, to tell world leaders that we have to take action against global warming. They need the world to take action on Global Warming. And you can start here. So, are you in? I'm happy to say that we are voting earth this Saturday. It's only one hour. Easy!! Lots of cool stuff you can do in the dark LOL.

What the heck?

It's very difficult for me to say ~No~ or to that ~No thank you; not interested~ and close the door to people asking for something. I got a knock on my door early this afternoon and it was a young guy. Boy, he was talking so fast that I could barely keep up with him. Ok. I'm all up to helping people when I can and when I have extra money. These type of people talk to fast and (thank goodness I knew about them before) they just want to suck you in and earn those "points" they want for supposedly take a trip somewhere in the world (this guy wanted a trip to Spain). No thank you!! These people knock on your door, start talking about what they are doing, the points they get, suck you in to sign for some magazines for 2 or 3 years... and the magazines are even MORE expensive than when you buy the subscription in those little papers the magazines have inside. I mean, they don't even ask ~are you interested?~. Noooo!!! They just ask for your name and write it on their little paper paystub and tell you they just need a hard surface so they can write more comfortably. At that point, I told him I was broke and I only had $5+ in my wallet (which is true). He then asked if I had a checkbook... no I don't!! Credit Card... no I don't!! So, he said thank you and left. Phew!! Wish I knew who he was before opening the door and start listening to what he had to say... which by the way, it was getting close to the time I needed to leave to go pick up Joel from school. I only opened the door because he looked like the maintenance guy around here. And, he was really nice but all vendors are nice.

Talking about vendors, a guy named Felipe was supposed to call me yesterday in the morning about the car but he never did. I blanked out when he called on Monday morning and I totally forgot to give him my husband's work number. But, like my husband says "if it's mean to be it will be". So, no worries.

St. Patrick's Day came and went. I made the kids green cupcakes which they loved!! And to top it off, they asked for green milk too LOL. That day, when I went to pick up Joel from school, it was so cute to see a lot of green in the kids... even silly hats, socks, and green jewelry. Everybody was in the St. Patrick's spirit. What's the next fun holiday coming?... Easter!!!