Feliz Ano Nuevo

My littlest didn't quite make it.
And neither did the 5 year old.

;)

And I missed the new year by a few minutes because Isabel was providing her mama a midnight pedicure; the first of many in 2012. I should have added "indulge myself a little more often" to my list of resolutions. Still may do that.

As I type, the fireworks continue outside, my glass of cran-raspberry margarita is slowly disappearing, and the rest of the house is attached to some form of a technological device. I think I am going to grab my Kindle and play some Words with Friends... what a way to ring in the new year.

Here's to the start of a fantastic year.
Cheers.

2012 Resolutions

2012 has to be a good year for us. I insist.
And because I insist, I decided to jot down a few resolutions for the coming year. I am sharing a few here, but please know the usual be more organized, be kinder to others, blah blah blah are also included.

To explain #1 - here is a picture of me from right after Marcos bought my my new bike {which prolly couldn't be considered new any longer}...

{2009}

I am ready to get back on that cruiser and go crazy. You know Isabel got a new cruiser for Christmas, and the husband just hit "ACCEPT" on his Amazon order which consists of a smooth, silver cruiser of his own.

We need to make some serious changes around here. I mentioned in one of my previous posts that I had to take a trip to the ER. I am still not 100% sure what the deal was, but it felt like I was *dying* and that someone was sticking a knife and slowly turning it clock-wise in my back. As in KIDNEYS!! It took some major meds to get me even remotely comfortable. I am done not taking better care of ourselves. Since then, I've been taking my meds and also drinking water like it's going out of style.

My cute boyfriend and I have decided to remove ourselves from dairy for at least the month of January. Hopefully beyond. Do you know how hard it is to have Taco night without sour cream and cheese?!

Easy, we did it last night! Champions, we are!

We went grocery shopping today and got tons of good stuff. My poor niece, who is away for the weekend, is going to be shocked when she sees our 2012 pantry. ;) 

My seventh resolution is to just CELEBRATE life more. Whether it be birthdays, holidays or the random Tuesday, we need to appreciate it. Watching my grandfather decline has made me realize that the experts are correct; life really is too short.  :(

We are ringing in the new year as a family of 5 tonight. If Nic bothers waking up, that is. We are having a healthy dinner, some healthy drinks {virgin for los ninos!}, and are hanging out, err - in.

If you have a resolutions post, feel free to leave it in the comments, or share what you are going to be focusing on in 2012. I think it's going to be a great year.


Happy New Year to all of you!

One of the last days of the year

It's just about 75* here in the outskirts of Phoenix... a lovely, pretty much clear, blue-skied day. It's hard to believe that today is one of the last days of 2011. Where did the year go?

I stepped outside to take a look around... It's a Friday, but because of the impending holiday, people were out and about as if it were the weekend already.

This is what our lovely tree  {the twig to the right} looked like last January:

Here she is today... I think her leaves are just about ready to fall off.

 Abby is off visiting her cousin and her uncle this weekend, so we invited Isabel's friend, Hannah, over for the weekend. They've been riding bikes, picnicking and going, going, going for two days straight.

The front of our house.
I just realized I haven't put my January wreath up yet. The house looks nekkid.

Here's a close-up of Isabel's new bike. Complete with a cup holder.
Lucky gal.

Marcos took the boys to the movies and to go run some errands today. We are having Carne Asada for dinner tonight, with homemade rice and refried beans. They went into Phoenix to get the best tortillas money can buy. Yummy.

I've been working on my January mantels and cleaning up the house. I start my new job on the 9th, so I am also trying to get my office straightened out.

I love a new year... it's a chance to start fresh.

We had a Very Merry Christmas

Our Christmas was wonderful. We celebrated it on Christmas Eve since Marcos had to work on Christmas day. We started dinner a little too late, so we opened presents first... then ate a fantastic roast at nearly 9pm.
Guess what?! Roast tastes the same, no matter what time of day.  We didn't complain.

The theme this year was bittersweet; not really a theme. But this could possibly be my grandfather's last Christmas with us - all we wanted to do was spend time with him and to let him know just how much we love him. Our gifts to grandpa were thoughtful and things to be considered his favorite {a years supply of chocolate covered raisins, anyone?!}

The kids made out... Alex with mostly clothes and gift cards. Isabel received a beach cruiser, clothes and smelly girl stuff. Abby lucked in an "owl" kind of way, from posters to pendants. And Nic. Dear little Nic... got too many Legos, another Buzz, and everything else on his list {the original copy, not the one he kept adding to up until we started opening presents}.

Marcos went ALL out and bought my a Kindle Fire. iPad what, what?! Who needs an apple when you can play with fire?! ;) Dude. Amazon should pay me for that slogan, really.  I love it. A lot. The Kindle, I mean.

I got Marcos some clothes and a new Fossil watch.  Oh, and we replaced our old, broken {thankyouverymuch,nico} Wii with a new, sleek, black one. And our most important present of the year?! A new Weight Watchers scale {for the body, not for food}. Lordy, the new year's resolutions start soon!

Here is our tree before my parents and my grandparents brought over their gifts for everyone.

And here it is after. No, we aren't hiding 15 other children. I promise.

Here's Nic and his Spanish speaking Buzz.

The big bike, being opened by Isa... Except we told the kids it was a TV for the neighbor, George {we don't have a neighbor named George, I don't think} to throw them off. We even added a fake tag.

We had a lovely Christmas...
But now... it's packed away. I went from 3 bins to 5. And really, I could use another. So many decorations.
I am slowly trying to get the house back in order... to get us ready to start 2012 off right!

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!!

Cheap, yet Priceless

I had a hard time trying to figure out what I wanted to get my mom for Christmas this year.
Specifically, I wasn't sure which magazine subscriptions she needed or needed to renew.

I decided to go with my homemade theme and actually make {most of} her present this year.

I opened up my trusty PhotoShop and started working on a Subway Art piece. I prefer PhotoShop Elements, but my trial ended long ago {and I think I've guessed too many times on a key code}... so I worked with regular PhotoShop to figure out how to make it work.

With the presents all open, I can finally share what I made for my mom. It was cheap and easy. My time was free, the print was $5.99 at Costco {16x20} and the frame was 50% off at Hobby Lobby ($34 total). So for $40, I was able to bring tears to my mom's eyes.

She *loved* it. These are all of the key words that sum up most of her life. I could explain each of the entries away, but they mean most to *her*... so I will spare you.

However, I'd like to show you what I made for my grandma... following the same theme of PhotoShop and Cheap, yet Priceless...

It's her and my grandpa's birthday... Their anniversary... and then the birthday of their 4 kids.
Each of these pieces were framed in a nice black frame... and will look great in their perspectives houses.



We had a blast opening presents on Christmas Eve night...
Look at these doggies... they stayed like this with my mom for almost an hour:

We didn't even get to dinner until 9.
We had everyone back over {my parents actually spent the night} for stockings and breakfast this morning. And then I had to go the E.R.

A memorable Christmas for sure. But more on that later.
I am still kinda high from the morphine, so I am hitting the hay.

Buenas Noches, amigos.

MeRrY cHRisTmAs

It's Christmas Eve...
"Santa's helpers" were up late last night doing the things they do so well.
The husband actually has to work on Christmas day, so we are moving our festivities to tonight.
Explain that to a 5 year old.

 

Can you believe that these presents are just from the husband and I?

My mom and grandma will be bringing their loot later.

Crazy.

{Now taking donations for my light bill}

That big one, up there in the picture on the left?! Yep... that's not for me.
:(

The stockings are all hung... but we won't get to those until tomorrow morning. We figured we'd leave something to do on Christmas day. We still have items to add to them...

Off to get a ton of baking and cooking done. My grandparents and my parents are coming over for dinner and then it's *present time!!*

See you on the other side...
:)

Ho Ho Ho

Olive Lucy

Allow me to introduce.... my new puppy.
I mean *our* new puppy.

Isn't she the CUTEST thing ever?! We drove about 60 miles one way to check her out and ultimately scoop her up. She was a steal. And if I had enough guts, I would have "stolen" both her brothers, too!

But alas, one new puppy is more than enough... right?!

We spent the entire car ride coming up with names.
Emmi
Eden
Demi
Milly

We decided on Olive. We mentioned it before we saw her in person, but decided on it for sure the moment we laid eyes on her.  My mom suggested her middle name. I think it's fun. :D I mean, who *doesn't* love Lucy?! :D If I have my way, it's sticking.

Ellis {the dog} is loving her new baby sister. They are the same exact breed, both brindle... but Olive {the dog} has more caramel tones to her. Plus she's half Blue pitt bull, so we see some gray/blue colors. She's LOVERLY!  Really.

Wow. Two new animals in less than a week...
Someone commit me.

What the heck am I thinking.

Especially next year... we will have to send out 8x10 Christmas cards... lol

Love,
Marcos, Jaime, Alex, Isabel, Abby, Nic and Ellis, Dunbar & Olive

I'm a Freak: V-Day Already?!

I swear, I am worse than Hobby Lobby or Wal-Mart.
I don't think even they have Valentine's on their mind yet (although, I did see some Spring at the Hob Lob this week!)...

I am really wanting to be super organized this coming year... so I thought while I had some down time, I would get started on Isabel's V-Day cards. Her being almost 13 and all, we had to mature her cards up a little.

Here are Isabel's cards from last year {inspired by COM}... which was our first time ever making handmade cards.

And this is what we have as our first draft for this coming V-Day:

This may not what we end up with, but it sure has our creative juices flowing. Isa mentioned that she'd like to do a little gift for her close friends at school, so I am going to have to see what else I can come up with.

Off to check out Pinterest to see if I can find some additional ideas.

Happy Valentine's Day Holidays!

Linking up to {COM}

A Christmas Poem for you...

These are the days when you need a little Christmas cheer...

a reminder of why we do what we do at the end of each year.

 It's not about the table settings or the presents,

it's not about the tree or the sparkling ornaments.

This is a time when there's talk of joy, peace and love...

But really, it's not about caring or giving or any of the above.

Instead, dear family and very dear friend,

it's truly about embarrassing your deserving children.

One day, they too will laugh.

:D

Enjoy!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Christmas Party 2011 {National Lampoon's Theme}

Lordy, Lordy - you are going to regret the day you asked to see picture of our family's Christmas party.

Oh. You *didn't* ask to see pictures of our family's Christmas party?

Well, now that I've mentioned it... I can't be rude. Take a peek over my shoulder as I flip through the memory book.  The Christmas Vacation theme was perfect... and everyone played their part.

Thankfully, Uncle Eddie was kind enough to remove his shoes before entering the house. You know, since his RV was *out of order* and all?!

I took a ton of pictures... I wanted the memories captured.

Look at the rug on my grandpa's head. Seriously.
:D

Some family shots...

Some food shots... Yes, the pic on the far top-right is the green Jell-O... with simulated cat nip. 

Some tender moments. Left is my cousin Laurel and her two daughters, Sela and Ryah. Top right is my cousin Bri, her son Ben and me. And the bottom left is my cousin Chell - talking with her son Austin.

We decided to *only* do gifts for the kids this year. Here are a few great gift opening shots...

We had 13 kids there.

Here are a few pics from around the house & party.

Even the guest bath saw some decorating action...

Here is my super simple holiday art...

My cousin Jason...

Look at this VINTAGE tree skirt. I have it folded in half {there was no way I was going to try and lift the made-up tree high enough to get this baby under it.... we will use it next year!}...  $1.99 from Goodwill!!

I could take a million pictures of our tree. It makes me happy. And giddy.
Like a school girl at an Elvis concert.

 

The winners of the Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest, you ask?!

My cousin Chell and her fellas. She made ALL of those lovely shirts. I didn't get this at the party, but looking at the picture now, look.... it's Santa and then some reindeer. Like, they are pulling Santa. She's a clever one, that Chell!

What I don't have pictures of:                                                                                               

• My awesome singing and dancing performance during our Christmas Carol Karaoke... Not sure what happened to that footage.
• All of the food I ate {and kept going back for}.
• The lingering family members, with their perfect kisses and super-tight bear hugs.
• My heart - FULL with love for the people who I get to share my life with. God is good.

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