I'm Baaaaaaack

Hola!
Buenos Dias.

I'm tan and happy and had an awesome vacation full of free drinks at the swim up bar. The water was perfect and so was the company. I drunkenly sang at a couple of places with bands that didn't speak English. It was amazing. You should have been there.

I want to thank my mother for making me go on this vacation as well as buying me the bathing suite in the photo above. She also was kind enough to humor me and take some photos of me in the water so I could post them here for all of you. I personally think this action shot is hilarious.

She also took this gorgeous shot of the sunset.

It was odd sharing a room with my mother and brother when I'm used to living alone. We worked it out though. See, my brother loves me.

This photo of us is particularly hilarious because if you knew us you would know we aren't a touchy family. We don't hug or get near each other. Obviously this happened after a day of serious cocktail imbibing and I'm violently grabbing and shoving his face toward the camera. He never smiles. Actually, we made friends with that guy in the background and he told us that their group knew my brother as "The Angry Smoker" because he always looks pissed. Adorable, isn't it?

Some lovely person in our group talked us into taking a family picture and shockingly I think it turned out well. I'm betting this will be framed next time I visit the hometown.

The absolute craziest part about this vacation is that when I got home and got on the scale I found out I actually LOST weight while I was eating fatty buffet food all week. How in the hell did that happen? I guess Jet Skiing and that five minutes of water aerobics really worked out.

So as you can probably tell, I had an okay time. My mood has drastically improved. I did a lot of soul searching that made me realize I've got options and I'm a lucky girl.

Adios Muchachos!

The Holidays - A Break?

The Holidays are so damn busy. I went to visit the family in my hometown for six days and I feel like I was there for only three. Too bad it doesn't go by that quickly when I'm at work.

I flew out on Tuesday and was lucky enough to be on the only flight that wasn't canceled that day. My luggage wasn't as lucky but it only took an extra day to get it. Oh well. On Christmas eve my Mother's side of the family meets at my Grandmother's house where we eat a meal of Mexican food and take a twenty minute break to open gifts. I somehow got out of the clean up crew this year because I was busy upstairs wrapping the gifts for my parents. It isn't that difficult because there are only ten of us so I don't feel bad. I think we were out of there by eight.

Christmas morning is the best. It's just me, my parents, and my brother. Mom didn't feel like pulling the fake tree out of the attic this year which is fine with us. After we moved away she bought a very modern fake tree and she leaves all the decorations on, throws a big bag over it, and stores it that way. We don't really care if there is a tree or not as long as we have champagne. We drink mimosas and eat quiche while opening gifts and this year Cold Case Files was on TV. That gives the room ambiance while we thank each other for whatever we got.

I got some really fantastic gifts. One of which was a photo shoot with Teresa at Wiz of Oz Photography. I never got out of the dress up stage of life so this was the most fun I could imagine having. I told Teresa I was up for whatever since I didn't have any intention of using the photos for something specific. She put me in this black dress she found at Goodwill and the next thing I know I have a new header for my blog! I have seen about four of the photos so far and will get the rest in a couple months. Here is one of my favorites.


Later Christmas day we usually celebrate with my Dad's side of the family but all my cousins got married and started having babies so it is harder to get together. We went to visit my grandparents and saw a few relatives. My aunt's cooky boyfriend never even came into the house to say hello to anyone. He hid outside. We were not offended or anything but it was pretty funny. Christmas night we always spent tearing down all the decorations during my childhood. Since there weren't any this year we just cooked a huge meal. That was a pleasant change. While the rest of my family tried to digest and started passing out, I went out with an old friend for a drink. This was the only time I bothered to do that this year. The longer I'm gone the more I lose touch.

Friday night we went to a dueling piano bar. It was fun but the guys playing sort of sucked. Saturday my grandmother helped me put black streaks in my hair. She is a good sport. That evening we had dinner with her and her boyfriend.

My flight to Chicago was canceled due to Mechanical problems and they told me I couldn't get on another one until Tuesday. That isn't okay. I had to wake my brother up (he only had three hours of sleep) and ask him to drive me to Chicago right away. He lives in Chicago so this isn't that big of a deal. He just wasn't planning to leave for another five or six hours. Luckily I made a flight out of Chicago and was able to get home sweet home last night.

That brings us to date. Next I will tell you about my new nephew.

Good News All Around

Last night I found out my boyfriend can cook. He made an amazing meal that had us so packed full of food we had to take a break and lie down. It was that good. I went over to his apartment to find that he had set up a table for two with a candle and everything. He rocked Valentine's day this year. It was full of leather gifting and Pulp Fiction. Sweet. I'm one lucky chick.

I found out my cousin proposed to his girlfriend yesterday. After hearing about her for a long time I finally met her last Christmas and I thought she was great. I'm glad she will be family.
A cousin from the other side of the family found out his wife is pregnant again. That's one hell of a Valentine's gift. Look honey, I made you a baby! I'm very happy for them.

I'm going to the Bahamas in June! That means I only have three months to shop for bikinis. Too bad you can't get leather wet.

And I'm Off

I'm trying to get through this last work day. Only four more hours before I head to Laguardia. I should be in my hometown tonight but I usually get stuck overnight in Chicago which is just sort of annoying. Not a problem though. I'm looking forward to some much needed time off from work.

Last night Casey took me out to celebrate the holidays. His family sent a gift for me of a little animal that sings my favorite scat song ever.


We went to Rockefeller to see the tree and falling ice skaters. We walked up to the rink ledge right after somebody proposed then watched them Zamboni for awhile. We never saw anyone skate let alone crash on their butt and ram into a wall. *Sigh* Oh well. Casey had a dinner reservation but he didn't tell me where so we headed downtown and walked up to what looked like a brothel to me. It was Lips "The Ultimate in Drag Dining". Dinner AND a show? It's Diva night? I get to watch a man dressed as Madonna tell my boyfriend to "Get on the floor." ? It was freakin' awesome! Casey has the best ideas. Oh, and guess what? They do brunch! Unlimited Champagne and Mimosas. (Of course I checked.)

It was a good night and a nice send off to the Midwest for 6 days. I hope my plant doesn't die. I have to go get coffee and cab money now. Later Kids.

Give me your pancakes!

I love Strawberry Pancakes!

I've gone insane.

Where have I been?

Oh dear blog. It's been so long! How I have missed thee. These past few weeks have been busy but that is not the best excuse for having neglected you for so long. San Antonio was alright. I love my family and being so far from them only strengthens that. In general the city was okay. I can't say I'll be rushing back any time soon. I got home around 11pm Sunday night and left for Minneapolis at 1pm on Monday. Packing was easy at least. Although I was a bit of a mess mentally. I like to be as prepared as possible for business meetings and I was sure I was missing something important. Everything went well though. When I meet my clients I always feel reassured that I am doing my job well.

Minneapolis was an interesting city. I like being alone in a big city. When the work day ends I get to roam around finding a place to dine and amuse myself for a few hours. When I'm tired out I have my own hotel room to go back to. On this trip I found a cool little jazz club called Rossi's. I came across it while wandering and it was perfect. It was a dimly lit underground joint with a big bar and little round tables surrounding the stage. The band playing was the Scottie Miller Band. These guys have a southern blues sound that is really addictive. So much so that I went back a second night and made friends with them. The singer/songwriter/pianist Scottie and the bass player John took me out to a bar after the set and we chatted for a few hours. Really cool people. Wonderful experience.

Everyone is busy. Everyone has amazing stuff happening. How on earth do we all keep up with our lives? I have to say to the people I know read this, you all amaze the hell out of me. Shows and jobs and new amazing people just keep tumbling in and everyone is so talented. It's a rich life. I sound drunk and I have not been drinking. That means it's bed time. G'night blog. G'night rich friends.