Relatives dropping by...

So, my Father's sister and her husband that are from Canada called the other day and told us they were going to be in town. And on Wed. they dropped by. This prompted us to yet another impromptu day of plans. So, together with my sister Desiree, we went to Animal Kingdom. We had a really good time together. Now for us to go visit them, in Canada. Will need to brush up on my French.
Here are some pix from the great day we had!!! Vivia took her "noc-yoo-lars" so she could get close-ups of the animals. At one point, she even wrote a new song. On the way to the Safari, she started singing: "old MacDonald had a... SAFARI" and she would scream out "safari". It was soooo funny. Actually, it was hilari-ruos- (as she says).
As we were watching American Idol, she was talking about how Hilari-ROUS the bad singers were! And she would say "OMI GOSH!" I love her so much, I can't describe it in words. :)
She got picked at the Lion King show to be in it. The little kids came out and they gave them instruments and they sang and danced. My uncle got picked on as well. HE turned BRIGHT red! It was great! This woman who worked a the show randomly came up to me and said, "Hey, I have a surprise for you- we saved a seat just for you... come with me" and she proceeded to take us over to the back door to the show and put us on a list to sit in VIP seats. (FRONT row.) So, we didn't have to wait in line or anything! That's what I call the favor of God!
Oh, by the way... in the photos below, look for the smiling goat- that too, is HILARI-ROUS.















Special Moments with a princess...

Feeling a little under the weather...

I'm just sayin'!

My husband... gotta train him.

This morning, Gabriel headed back to School for his final semester of his MBA. He will have it in his hand by this time, come August. He's been off for three weeks, and this morning, he was all business. I had to leave early this morning as well to go speak at an Encounter (conference). I got all dolled up in my new clothes from Anthropologie- put on make-up, my sexy knee high leather boots, and my navy blue pea coat. I was lookin' darn good!
He comes over pecks me quickly on the cheek and says "Bye."
In the flavor of "Do unto others..." I hinted... "Bye HONEY! You look gorgeous, good luck today..."
He goes "THANK you" and walked out the door and shut it behind him....
I giggled to myself at the sheer comedy of HOW FAR THAT JUST WENT OVER HIS HEAD...
I can see his feet through the glass window at the bottom of the door.
They pause, slowly turn, and come back and open the door where I am still standing in the same spot waiting.
He goes, "Did you want me to say that to you?" He laughed sheepishly.
Uh-huh, I nod.
He grabs me, plants one on me, and says "You look gorgeous, good luck today."
I say, "Why, thank you!"

Did it mean less because I had to tell him to say it? Absolutely NOT. The fact that he came back and made it right... MAJOR POINTS!!! Not that I keep track...

Most embarrasing moment... two in one week: more toddler talk

So, it happened. The proverbial deer-in-headlights moment where your toddler says something, and you absolutely FREEZE because there is just nothing you can say that will make it any better... I never had a "most embarrasing moment" until having children. Mostly because I do not embarrass easily. Never say never.

One: We are at this restaurant called "Aldo's" where they have awesome Italian subs. A little hole in the wall type spot. We are at lunch with all the women from my cell group, and with the head Pastor (my leader's husband), and the associate Pastor, and a couple other guys from the church office. Vivia is sitting next to Aslinn, one of my best-ies, I am engrossed in conversation with Crystal, and out of nowhere I hear this:
Vivia: "What's that?" pointing to Aslinn's Cindy Crawford-like mole.
Aslinn: "A mole."
Vivia: "Like on mommy's boobs?"
followed by roars of laughter from everyone at the table.
I believe I must've turned 5 shades of red within seconds...
So needless to say, the entire male pastorship of my church knows a little TMI (too much information) about my anatomy...

Two: We are leaving Chick-Fil-A Tuesday and this lovely woman who works there comes over to help us clean off our table. She begins talking to Vivia, making small talk, and out of nowhere, V.V. says "You're really really really black, and you have really really really curly hair." I wanted to crawl under the table and hide, or ask her "Whose child is this?" but instead, I just said: "It took her three years to figure that out!" The lady laughed and told us a story of another little girl who told her that her hands were dirty and she needed to wash them.

Oh, I just thought of one more...
Our neighbors are Indian. Not like Lone Ranger and Tonto Indian, but the "Thank you, come again" kind. (I'm not being racist: I love people of ALL races- just quoting the Simpsons). Their house smells very strongly of Indian Curry and other spices that resemble the smell of body odor after a day in 100 degree heat. So, we walk outside to go to the car, spout out the obligatory greeting to them because they are always ALWAYS outside, and she goes... "I smell something stinks, mama- (uh-oh, here it comes...) smells like Likeet." Likeet is the 3 year old son of the Indian family that we are constantly finding out on the sidewalk with his uncircumcised manhood for the world to see. And when I say manhood, I mean it! I wonder if that is why his father allows him outside, naked all the time: so as to parade around the idea of "Like father, like son." Or "the apple not falling far from the tree..." Either way, I am NOT happy with the thought of my daughter learning about THAT just yet. Although, I am sure she's already noticed, she doesn't miss a beat. I can see her a few weeks from now bringing that up at lunch with my pastors: "Hey look Mommy, that looks like Likeet's ___________. (insert whatever that little mind of hers will equate it to.)
So, how does one tactfully say to one's neighbor... "Please do not let your son walk around with his freakishly large genetalia hanging out for my daughter's virgin eyes to look upon?" hmmmm...
Good thing that's what husbands are for... to have uncomfortable conversations with neighbors.
Ifya say "good luck with that one..." I'll start throwing punches!

Really Cool Websites...

http://thepioneerwoman.com/

















http://www.iamsecond.com/

Vivia's Birthday Adventure... (in more ways than one...)

Imagine what you get when you have three first-born, strong-willed 3-year olds; along with their younger siblings and one being a birthday girl! That was our day yesterday. A day full of giggles, screams (both the happy and unhappy kind), hugs, hand-holding, hitting, "NO!'s", and Tinkerbell dresses. Us moms had a GREAT time as well, all bundled up on this cold Florida day. Papi met up with us after he got off work- with his own little gift for his Tinkerbell. (See some of the last photos).
I have tried doing the play-by-play in words alongside the photos and it always seems to not line up correctly. So, I am not even going to try here. Just follow the photos. They tell the story JUST FINE without me adding a buncha nonsense anyway! We had a blast! Thank you to Katie, Maggie, Allegra, Miranda, Alex, and Bailey for sharing this day with us! And all the fun presents too!

New Years Resolutions: Goal Setting... Vision Questions

I am a HUGE believer in setting goals. I do them every year. I have already done mine for 2009, but I may have to revise them a bit after reading this. In the spirit of sharing my secrets to success, here is an AWESOME recent find~ I fully intend (hate that word) to utilize this system this year. You can also find an E-book entitled "Spring Cleaning". It is a 10 day system to completely decluttering, organizing, and cleaning your home. REALLY excited!
This is energizing because to ME, when I think of the above stated task, I get depressed, anxious, and defeated before even beginning. My answer to this is usually to just hire someone else to come do it for me.
WHY? Because I feel (and I know my feelings are not fact, but perception is everything...) that the task is one that has no end. That it would take FOREVER. And I will be completely miserable. Oh, and I'd be overwhelmed by just trying to figure out where to start.
So, this system seems really do-able.
I will keep you posted...







I got these off an awesome BLOG called SIMPLEmom. CLICK HERE You don't have to be a mom to answer these questions or to set goals. These will help!
Enjoy!
~

Vision Questions for 2009

1. What skill do you most want to learn this year?

2. What is one skill you already have that you’d like to improve this year?

3. Name three books you most definitely want to read in 2009.

4. In what specific area do you most want to encourage your spouse? What are some ways you can do this?

5. Think of one of your major life goals. What will you do this year to make you one step closer to reaching that goal?

6. Name your kids’ biggest strengths. What are some ways you can specifically nourish those strengths?

7. Name your kids’ most prominent weakness. What are some ways you can encourage their ability to overcome it?

8. What is one of your strengths? Think of some specific ways you can exercise it this year.

9. What is one of your weaknesses? Brainstorm some ideas on how you can overcome this deficiency.

10. Think of an important relationship aside from your spouse and children. How will you nurture that relationship this year?

11. Name a few ways your physical health could be improved.

12. Name a few ways your family’s financial health could be improved.

13. In what way do you want to draw closer to God?

14. What is one area of home management that frustrates you? Think of some specific ways you could improve your attitude about it.

15. Have you ever created a family mission statement with your spouse? If so, why not do one for this year?

16. Name one specific thing you could do with your spouse this year that will deepen your intimacy.

17. What is something that is continually undone in your life? What will you do to fully complete it this year?

18. In what ways will you be involved with your local community?

19. What is one thing you’d like to accomplish by your birthday this year?

20. Think of three words you’d like to describe your 2009.

I would have made a great wife in the 1930's...

88 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

You have to take this quiz- it is so funny! I am actually working on the sewing thing, believe it or not... I am taking a sewing class with a couple of my friends tomorrow. I am excited! It will be fun to make aprons lol!

Will take photos and let you know how it goes.

My nightmare with Spirit Airlines...

Since I have a personal audience: I would like to formally let all you readers out there know about a NIGHTMARE I had with an Airline called SPIRIT. This happened a while ago, but nothing was ever done by the company to rectify the situation, so I, in my own way- would like to spread the word about this airline. Just because I can.
The letter I wrote to them is below- and it describes the events which took place.
Seriously, this trip became a nightmare because of this airline who did absolutely nothing to help us!
READ below...
Anyone else have any trouble with them?

To Whom it May Concern,

I have just returned from a trip that I took with three friends to Lima, Peru in which your airline turned into a horrific experience.

I am not one to complain normally, (as a matter of fact, the night we arrived and people were becoming belligerent about their bags not arriving, my party and I were of the few that kept calm, and were reasonable to deal with). But as the week progressed and I saw the rest of the story play out, I increasingly became furious about how we were treated, what was done (or lack thereof) to remedy our situation, the abuse of customer trust, the fact that no one helped us, and the fact that ultimately, our baggage never arrived in time for us to utilize our personal belongings. And then there was the trip home... (another disaster).

In Lima,
We had very little time to shop to make up for the things we needed because our vacation was planned minute to minute, however we went up to the Lima airport 4 times during our stay to check on the baggage as we kept being told, "It will arrive tomorrow." The airport was an hour and a half drive from where we were staying, not to mention the fact that we had to pay for and arrange transportation each time. And we waited in the airport for 2 hours one night, only to be told our bags didn't make it... Each incident keeping us out until well past 1am each time- when we had to be at Conference meetings by 8 am each day.

We were there on very important business, where we were to not only be enjoying the city of Lima, but also to be meeting very important people such as Ambassadors, Senators, and Congresswomen. All of which we had to do inappropriately dressed- in clothing (jeans) we had worn all week long.

Coming from a totally different climate, we were also very cold during our stay, as our coats and sweaters were in our baggage- resulting in all of us becoming sick with sore throats, and chest congestion/coughs etc.

AND MORE IMPORTANTLY... one of our traveling partners, was the whole week without her medicine, which is the worst part! She has need of two types of daily medication. Neither of which she had the whole week. And became yet another area we had to make use of our vacation/trip time in dealing with.

I have never wanted to laugh so much as when dealing with this airline. I kept waiting for there to be a person saying "Smile, you're on candid camera." It was a joke from the time we arrived in Lima until the time we arrived home a day later than we should have, again, due to your airline's unprofessional operation.

We missed our connecting flight to Orlando because again, our bags did not come out of the luggage claim quick enough to make it through customs- So, on no sleep, we were informed that we would now have to spend 7 more hours there waiting for another flight. We pleaded with the people at the ticket counter to get us home on another airline, or even rent us a car so we could drive, which would get us home hours before our flight would even take off. My husband had to arrange babysitting for my child so he could get to work that day (another expense), was late to work due to this, and the other three of my traveling companions missed out on very imperative rest they needed on the only day off to catch up on sleep from a red-eye flight.
The "Customer Service Representatives" told us "No". When we asked "why not" we were only told "because we're not required to, by law." They had 24 hours to get us to where we were going... They handed us lunch vouchers and said "good luck, and I’m sorry."
What about human kindness, "the customer is always right", and/or customer trust and satisfaction? None of which exists in my experience with this airline.

While we were in line at the airport that morning (coming home) waiting to talk with someone- each person who went up to be "helped" had a complaint- missed connection, lost bags, kiosk not working, please help me, but no help being offered! Most treated with disrespect, and just plain bad attitudes.

I have names of people who dealt with us, managers who would not approve of resolving the situation, and even just rude personnel who stood around and discussed personal lives (including very offensive language such as the "F" and the "S" word in front of us.)
Then, when I asked them a question about my flight, one of them turned to me and RUDELY said "NO!" and gave me a look of disgust.

This honestly has been the absolute worst traveling experience, me and my companions have ever had! I intend on passing this information along to my husband who is a Travel Agent for Walt Disney World and a member of the ATA. And to our hostess in Lima who happens to own one of the largest travel agencies in the country.

Only once was something offered to us as retribution for our horrific experience- and that was by a nice, and helpful manager at the Fort Lauderdale ticket counter. And that was $150. voucher each, which we refused, because, quite honestly, at this point, we wouldn't trust another vacation to Spirit Airlines.

It really doesn't seem enough to make up for what cannot be replaced, a dream vacation/conference that was completely interrupted and monopolized by the issues we were having in dealing with Spirit.

I truly hope to hear back from someone with the authority to make right and/or offer amends that may begin to be equal to that which we feel was lost, in a timely manner.

Since I, personally, work in PR and Marketing, I do know the importance of a company having a good image- and right now, this company's image is far from good in my eyes and (what seems like) the majority of people I saw at the airport Monday morning in Fort Lauderdale. I know that this will have to change in order for Spirit Airlines to continue to provide a "service" of any kind- then the reputation will have to become one of just that, "service".

Sincerely,

Cancun, Mex-Kee-co Photos

~My little world traveler, trucking through the airport.

















~Yes, the water really is that blue!!! Even Blu-er


























~The three Primos. Rio's like "Why you makin' me do this?" And of course, the girls are hamming it up for the camera. Cousin Emelia.
~All the cousins and in-laws, Martinez
~Family of Four. I think this may be our first family portrait...
~"Happy New Ears!!!" as Vivia says
~Mexico is for (margarita) lovahs...
~This was an underground cavern you could swim in. It was about 100 feet or more below the surface of the earth. And was 150 feet deep. Fresh water...
~Fresh Tortillas
~Chichen Itza, one of the new 7 wonders of the world. The Mayan city and pyramids. They were a lot bigger than they look in these photos. This was one of my favorite parts of the vaca.