Random Pictures From Christmas Eve

Weekend Projects

I was a very busy knitter this weekend! I'm still putting off that 2nd sock and of course I found some hats to knit where my darling model Josh agreed to display. He isn't really as miserable as he looks, he just takes his job very seriously. This first hat is a rolled brim beret which I had promised my dentist's assistant a few months ago. I have a teeth cleaning appointment in a couple of weeks so I'm set for that. Very quick and super easy to knit...I can see myself whipping these up for some friends. I never used to like browns but now I do enjoy them even though I still don't wear it too often.

Here is my 2nd hat from the weekend. It has that beret type feel to it but it's saggy, baggy and trendy. I like how it looks....I can either tuck my hair inside for those bad hair days or wear it as is. I'll be keeping this one for myself for now.

Winter Break

It's unusually cold these past couple of days so the kids and I have enjoyed playing the latest video games Tyler received for Christmas. The first one is Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games for the Wii. Omg, this was a bit challenging but once we figured out the controls we had a blast trying to win a medal. The field and track events are especially fun like the hammer throw, triple jump and javelin. Tyler is skilled at the trampoline where I am seriously lame. I do love the archery event which is my favorite. We have to take a break because my arms are sore from all the flapping and waving we have to do!!

Last night we opened up Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii and wow, another great game for us. Tyler absolutely loves this game and it even has a co-op mode where I help gather crystals/gems for him because he is usually running around like a headless chicken. He does manage to complete the tasks but doesn't spend time exploring the area as thoroughly as I would. This game looks like lots of fun but I would probably get dizzy from it after a while. There are times when Mario is upside down and the camera is rotating all over the place.

Yesterday was a nice day for Josh. He understood it was his birthday and that he is now 5 years old. Tyler and Hector went to the store to pick out some Star Wars action figures for him. We headed over to Kids Concepts for them to play at for about 2 hours. It's a nice place for the kids to run around in the tunnels, ball pit and slides. The parents sit and relax while the kids burn off their excess energy. After that we went over to my mom's place to have cupcakes and open Josh's presents. It is a bummer that his b-day is so close to Christmas but we make do and we'll have a day where we'll head over to Legoland for another celebration.

Happy Birthday

Today is Joshua's birthday!! My youngest is 5 years old. I can't believe it. Joshua has been a source of great joy and love to our family. We are so happy with his progress in the last 2 years and wish him more continued success for his transition to kindergarten next year. It is nice to see that family members can see his improvement over the years.

Christmas Wrap-Up

We had a wonderful Christmas...how about you? We spend Christmas Eve at my SIL Lupe's house where the clan gathers for great food and fun. We brought along the Wii for entertainment for kids and adults which is always lots of fun. I made my cheesy parmesan potatoes and also some parmesan artichoke dip to complement the excellent rib roast. Everything was awesome. Most of Hector's family was there along with some nephews and niece who are all grown up and have families of their own. Lots of loud laughter and talking throughout the night plus some frantic last second gift wrapping in the bedroom with just the girls.

Like usual, everyone gets gift cards from us but I managed to knit some bracelet purses to put the gift cards inside for the girls. I also brought along all the hats I knit this year and let the girls pick out a hat. That worked out really well and the kids got a hat too. Unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries so maybe I can get a pic from one of them later.

The kids got some really cute and soft bathrobes from my MIL which they wore right away. Hector gave me my gift which was the iPod touch. Sweeeet! And Carlos hooked me up with lots of itunes cards so I am set! Anyways, we stayed way too late so after getting everything gathered up and in the car, we had to drive home and arrived home at 1:30am. Ugh. We put the kids to bed then arranged the gifts and left cookies for Santa. Phew!

Of course, Tyler woke me up at 7:30am to open presents and I managed to hold him off until 9am when we all got up. The kids were so excited...Joshua absolutely loves his Jedi Starfighter and Nintendo DS while Tyler wanted to build his Lego Star Wars kit. They both love the Mario vs. Sonic Olympics games for the Wii and I admit I like it too. I got a shop vac for Hector and his own Nintendo DS with Zelda game.

Unfortunately, Hector was called into work around 11:30am Christmas day and was gone for most of the day and then had to spend the night at the hospital after 5pm until 7am the next day. I took the kids over to my mom's where we had our Chinese lunch and opened more presents. I got a very nice wrap and Best Buy gift card. My mom loves her digital picture frame loaded with over 100 pictures of the boys. I was still so exhausted from the night before so I crashed hard and slept for about 3 hours. :) Overall, we had a busy but very special Christmas time and now it's over or is it?????

Keeping Busy

I have totally unmotivated in completing the 2nd sock so I hang my head in shame. I love the result but it's the getting there part that has bogged me down. Instead of just buckling down and knit the darn thing, I've taken the avoidance route and knit other simpler things instead. Plus I found a cute gift card bag that I can knit which can double as a little purse. That is so much more fun than knitting another sock. In addition, I've knitted several hats and a cute wine bag.

In the mean time, the kids are officially on winter break. Carlos has arrived to be with us for the holidays while I'm knitting gift bags. The kids had a blast at the park, riding bikes and scooters and playing with their jump rocket. A perfect day after several days of rain and gloom. Josh does have a cold/cough and had a slight fever but he is still his happy-go-lucky self with a long nap in the afternoon.

Another friend arrived with his 3 kids late last night and left sometime early the next morning aroudn 6am. Maybe they'll come by later this afternoon for some proper visiting. The kids will enjoy it. My friend Kat and her cousin might make an appearance later today so it'll be a busy place here. Sunday night is the Social Distortion concert at the House of Blues Anaheim so Hector and I will be making our way there tomorrow night.

Shouldn't You be in Vegas?

Do you ever think that your "twin" or look-a-like exists somewhere in the world? Not an exact duplicate but pretty darn close? The last couple of times we went to a hockey game, we see a guy there in the next section that makes us say, "Hey, Carlos is here!" It's become our inside joke but man, this guy makes us do a double take.

Just for fun

I was eating some plain M & M's the other day and I felt something odd in the bag. It wasn't round but oblong like a caplet or pill so I was kind of alarmed that maybe something got in the bag that didn't belong. This is what I pulled out...a freaky M & M!!

The Ol' Switcheroo

So for those who have been keeping up with my blog, I've been taking a Photoshop class which has simplified and clarified some of the tools and tricks for me tremendously. I learned to Clone out unwanted objects, brighten, select and move objects from one picture to another and turn my photos into art-like pieces.

I had to ask my teacher how to transfer a face/head from one photo to replace a unwanted face from another photo and it was based on the stuff we learned so I just had to try it and see how it went. It is usually difficult to take a picture of a group and have everyone in it looking at the camera and/or keeping their eyes open etc. I usually take multiples pictures of the kids hoping that there is one where both are looking decent. Well, those days are in the past. I still take lots of pictures but I have a trick up my sleeve to change that.

Here is the picture that I wanted to use but Tyler (in the blue jacket) doesn't quite look as good as he could. Josh looks good so I decide to 'fix' Tyler's head/face.

Here is a great picture of Tyler that I will transfer his head onto the first picture.



And here is the result: Both kids look awesome and I now have that perfect picture of them.

Christmas Shows

With the cooler weather going on and most of our shopping done, I had some time to watch some movies and programs. I usually don't have the attention span for long movies plus I get interrupted a lot.

1. John Tucker Must Die. Okay, not a Christmas movie but I have a fondness for lame teen movies and this one fit the bill. Three girls find out they are dating the same guy and decide to get revenge with another girl as bait.
2. Shrek the Halls. Very funny and it was all packed into 30 minutes. The kids lost their interest in it though because of the next show on my list but I enjoyed this program. I might watch it again because the kids were being a bit loud so I couldn't really enjoy it thoroughly.
3. Winnie the Pooh Christmas. Or something like that...Tyler watched it and liked it very much. I heard Hector laugh too but I honestly have no clue as to what happens in this show. On a side note: As I typed in Winnie the Pooh, Josh was looking over my shoulder and read what I had just typed out loud. Could have bowled me over with a feather!! :)
4. Deck The Halls. Hector had mentioned that he heard that this movie was funny. Hmm, I don't think so. It has some funny moments but not many. Danny de Vito moves into Matthew Broderick's neighborhood and proceeds to outdo his neighbor in the Christmas department ie. he wants his house to be visible from space (yeah, right). I sat through the whole movie because I wanted to finish knitting another hat.

On a Roll

My wonderful Persimmon mini-muffins that have disappeared! The kids love these so I made a couple of batches for us and Hector's work. So yummy!!

More pics

I'll continue catching up with the pictures in my camera today.

This was our view from our hotel room at Primm, Nevada. You know when you're in Vegas when there is roller coaster outside your window. Yeah, I went on the Desperado about 15 years ago and there is a very scary first drop (hey, it's this one) where you descend into the bowels of the casino.

The police department has Santa visit various areas of our fine city. They send out police cars to block traffic in front and behind while Santa stops to visit all the good children. This year was a first that Joshua went up on the platform with Santa.

Catching Up

I downloaded the pictures from my little digital camera just now so I'll focus on these for a bit.

Extreme closeup of a sock that I started a month ago that have been set aside so I can finish my Christmas stuff. The recipient will be the person who can fit their foot into it. I've only done the leg part and I need to wait until I have complete quiet so I can start on the tricky part of the heel turn/flap because I'm trying to knit 2 socks at once and haven't figured out that part yet.

This is what greeted us when we arrived in Las Vegas at the Paris. Job requirements: Must be able to roller skate and wear skimpy spandex outfits while people gawk at you and take your picture.

My Eiffel tower shot Las Vegas style...

Tinkle

Josh's potty training is going great and mostly he stays dry at night. After a brief trial of Pull-ups at night which stayed dry, I switched him to underwear. That worked okay for 2 weeks then Josh had a couple of accidents so I went back to the nightime Pull-ups.

The other night I woke up when Josh walked into our bedroom. Normally he just climbs into bed with us but he just stood at the foot of the bed so I asked him if he had to go potty. Josh said yes so I helped him in the dark and put him back to sleep in his bed. Inside I was thrilled that he was able to wake up to go to the bathroom so I'll see how he does for a little while longer before we get rid of the Pull-ups.

The weekend was uneventful. I enjoyed my fire and knit on another Christmas project which is about 50% complete. I helped out a friend with a photo crisis which I had to remember what I learned in Photoshop only 4 weeks ago. I made a double batch of persimmon bread and will try to freeze the leftover persimmon pulp for next week. Both kids love the bread and muffins so I think it'll be a fall tradition. I have lots of pictures to post as soon as I upload them..yeah I'm lazy.

It's a Mystery

My dear hubby stated (out of the blue), " No one looks good in leopard. No one except a leopard." This statement was funny since my man said this and he really has no interest in fashion. But he does notice sometimes what women are wearing especially if it is against all common sense etc. or maybe she didn't bother to look in the mirror before leaving the house. So to clear everything, all animal prints should be outlawed as clothing.

We'll be watching you or you will be fined.

Power shopping

More shopping today!! This time Hector and I hit Costco and Target and did some major damage at both places. My online order of our holiday cards were done and I found my Mom's present and some more for the kids.

We took a break after that to clean out the garage a bit (okay, Hector did that part) while I strung up more Christmas lights on the bushes etc. My mom stopped by to drop off a Santa light and snowman light to add to our growing light extravaganza! Then at Target we bought more lights for the upper story and other bushes plus I'm waiting for some to be delivered to us. We're going all out this year and the kids are really enjoying it too.

So far everything that I ordered online is on its way...my calendars are already finished! Woo hoo. Hector ordered some stuff for the OR staff so we had to get 60 bags for that. I offered to print out labels for the bags but he says he'll use a Sharpie to write. Wuhhh?? Is he crazy? :)

Tonight is very windy and chilly but I'm cozy and warm with a crackling fire. I'm happy.

Satisfaction

Yeah, so I dragged myself out of bed at 6:30am to day to get ready and the kids set for the day before my 8 am. appointment at Josh's school. Ugh, I probably should have been up earlier since I had to explain (again) to my mom that

1. she had to walk Tyler to school this morning in case I didn't get back in time.
2. no, Josh was not staying home but coming with me to the meeting. I didn't want her to have to deal with 2 kids and walk to school.
3. Tyler knows the way to school and he knows where to enter etc.
4. yes, I had Photoshop class today. Every Wednesday. Until December 14.

Plus getting the kids fed, dressed, teeth brushed and Tyler's lunch made. It was like adding another child to the mix!!

After the meeting, I headed over to Target to pick up some Christmas ornaments and gifts for the boys. My mom is stumped every year for their presents so I have to put on my personal shopper hat and help her out. Next stop, Toys R us for Hector to see if there were any Wiis (this is for a co-worker that is on the search for one). As soon I got there, 2 woman were chatting in front of the store and one of them had a Wii in her bag. GASP!! I rush over to the video games and there is a long line of about 10 people. I didn't have a very good feeling since I saw only one Wii behind the counter. I stood in line and it turned out that half of them wanted Guitar Hero (ha, already have mine!), another person wanted a Nintendo DS and 3 people in front of me bought a Wii. But I was lucky and managed to get one! Yeah! I also ran into an old UCLA co-worker of Hector's so we chatted and caught up with one another for a bit. Then it was on to the mall where I bought some educational scientific presents for Tyler and on a whim stopped at Ahhs where I snagged some cool T-shirts for the kids and stocking stuffers. I managed to do some serious shopping in 2 hours so I was pretty pleased with myself.

Of course, I'm exhausted and my sweet darling hubby is buying me my favorite chicken tostada so I can have dinner in bed! I'm spoiled!!

Busyness

Today was productive...I have completed about 85% of the calendar I am putting together. It took some time to wade through a year's amount of pictures, making sure they were edited/enhanced properly and uploaded. I also noticed that I have a lot more pics of Josh than Tyler because Josh has a shorter school day than Tyler and Tyler has less patience for picture taking.

I want to try and set up our Christmas tree and hopefully take some Christmas photos to sneak in the calendar. So I'm off to do that now so wish me luck!

I had the parent/teacher conference for Tyler this afternoon and it went very well. There may be a chance Tyler might be tested for GATE so we'll see how that goes. Tomorrow we have Josh's conference at 8am (ugh) so I'll be half asleep for that meeting.

Party Time

On Saturday night we ventured out into the chilly, crisp air to 90210 for Hector's work holiday party. This year it was held at the The Prime Grill which is a kosher steakhouse. The kids were invited and they were excited to socialize with some other kids their age. We always bring some Gameboys to keep them amused and like usual, the games were a bit hit. Dinner is usually served later because of the Sabbath and the kids get antsy for food (me too). Overall the dinner was good but not spectacular. The room where we had dinner was actually outside in a tent with about 4 heaters. I had some spicy tuna things, ribeye steak and profiteroles for dessert. I still like Morton's of Chicago better.

We left around 10:30pm because we have to get the kids to bed and just when I pull onto the 405 freeway a CHP is about 100 yards ahead of traffic slowing cars down to a complete stop. Great. I'm still on the onramp stopped and some cars are inching over to the right trying to exit but they can't. A BMW pulls over to shoulder in front of me and stops; next thing I know a young woman opens her door (driver's side), leans out and start puking! ARgH!! Ugh...and I can't move. We were stuck stopped for about 20 minutes so all that the people in their cars could do was watch this girl barf. Either she partied too hard or ate some bad food. Well I hope it was the latter because she shouldn't have been driving if she was drinking. Finally she stopped and the traffic started up again. There is a lot of construction still going on in that area so the CHP stopped traffic to get all the heavy equipment and trucks into place. Ugh....so that was how our evening ended.

I did manage to knit 2 more 'fall leaves' hat so I'm pleased how productive I was in that department but now I need to do lots of laundry and straighten up around the house.

Tyler brought home his report card and he did very well this term. Keep up the good work!!

Countdown

I think I'm getting a little panicky over my Christmas knitting. I really really want to knit some hats for Josh and Tyler's teachers. The only problem is that Josh has a team of teachers and aides which number up to 10-12 people. Unfortunately there is no way I can knit hats for all those people and live my normal life. So I'll just try to knit for his primary class teacher and aides and hope for the best. I need to have them finished by Dec. 20th or whatever the last day of class is.

I did finish my MIL's vest so that is complete. I just need to finish the second sock and everyone else will have to wait. Ah, my intentions were very good but somehow time got away from me these last couple of months.

This weekend I do to need to gather all my pics for the calendar project that I put together for family and friends. Thankfully Costco is pretty fast at printing them but I want to get that out of the way to concentrate on knitting.

My wish list for Christmas this year is fairly simple (to me). My SIL Lupe always says that Hector and I are VERY difficult to shop for during the holidays. I will always be extremely happy with

1. itunes cards: I love being able to click on music and movies. Sure I can charge the amount to my credit card but it's nice to have an account with some $$ in it so I feel better about spending. Does that even make any sense?
2. iPod touch: I know, me of all people do not NEED another iPod but something about this one looks extremely cool without the phone feature. That way maybe I can start whittling down my iPod arsenal to someone who can use it. Hector does not have an iPod (the shuffle doesn't count).
3. Joann gift cards: I wish the Knitpicks had gift cards but Joanns will do. I always will find a reason to go to this store and see what I can score.
4. Gift cards to bookstores (Borders or Barnes and Noble): Knitting is fun but I am always on the lookout for books to help me. Believe me, books are my first love and they complement all the hobbies that I pick up along the way.
5. a Spa package: a massage and facial would be absolute heaven.
6. A macro or wide angle lens: something new to play around with when the shutterbug in me wakes up.

That's my list which ranges to the simple to the extravagant. Some of these may sound boring or a cop-out but I really appreciate a gift card even though it doesn't take much thought for the giver. Okay, gotta run and knit some more. It was raining nicely this morning and after a fun romp in the rain to school, I'm enjoying being inside listening to the rain. We need it desperately this year after the fires and now will come the mudslides. But rain is good today.

A funny thing happened on the way to the airport

Today I was reminded of this story when I saw a man at the park walk to a bench, bend down and pick up a pair of glasses, telling me that he found where he lost his glasses. That was fortunate.

On Thanksgiving morning, Hector was driving to the Long Beach airport to pick up Carlos. He was in the process of changing his glasses to his prescription sunglasses when his cell phone rang causing Hector to fumble for the phone and somehow his glasses flew out the open window onto the 405 freeway! Yeah...they're gone. So now he has to use his back up pair that aren't as sharp and clear. I thought that maybe on the off chance the glasses might still be okay but it wouldn't be smart to run out on the freeway looking for some glasses.

So maybe next time you're out on the 405 freeway in the South Bay and you hear a crunch...maybe you found Hector's glasses!!

Catching Up

I hope that your Thanksgiving weekend was filled with lots of food and joy. My weekend was nice and relaxing. I picked up all the fixings for our Thanksgiving feast on Wednesday plus and rib roast. All I had to do was heat everything up and put the roast in our rotisserie (set it and forget it) and make parmesan mashed potatoes (which was a great hit). Thanks to T for the recipe!

My cousin made all sorts of dessert goodies so we had plenty to choose from. Yum!

The rest of the weekend was spent lazing around eating leftovers and playing Guitar Hero 3. You Rock!! I did manage to go to Joanns on Black Friday to scoop some yarn for my MIL's vest which is 2/3 done. The shopping part was super easy (5 minutes) but the wait in line was super long. It probably took me 45 minutes to get to a register. Thank God for iPod...I just listened to K & B radio show on it and the time flew by! After that I didn't want to set foot in a store for a while.

We did get a call from our friend Mark whose wife Nicki is expecting a baby boy next month. She wanted to know where Hector got a certain sandwich for her a few weeks ago because she was craving it desperately!! :) It is THE BEST SANDWICH IN THE WORLD...a Godmother at Bay Cities Deli. Being the nice guy he is, Hector went up to Santa Monica the next day and picked 3 sandwiches for Mark and Nicki and some for us too. Yum! So everyone was happy!!

I'm Back

I arrived about 90 minutes ago from a relaxing and fun trip to Vegas. I did manage to win about $300 overall so that made my stay enjoyable with plenty of money to bring back home. We took a quick peek into the Planet Hollywood Casino and it is very nicely done. It's nice to see that Vegas to coming back to the sleek, glamourous look instead of the cheesy, kitschy, theme hotels like Excalibur.

We stayed at the very nice Paris hotel and we pretty much hung out in the general area. The cafe there is a little pricey but everything I had was delicious especially the Cobb salad. The only awful part is the drive home and hitting traffic delays up to 90 minutes where we travelled about 5 miles.

Hector stayed home with the boys and now I have to gear up for the Thanksgiving festivities. Tomorrow will be a busy day so if I don't get back to post tomorrow...Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2nd Attempt

Okay, this is easier to see the watercolor effect which looks cool. Now I can add poseur artist to photoshop amateur.

Aritistic Attempts

Too bad it is hard to see the differences in the 2 pictures. The color adjustment is obvious but I used the dry brush along with pen & ink to make the photo look more like a watercolor. I don't know how to get a zoomed in close up but I like the results. I can make my blah flower pics look visually more interesting and vibrant. Ah, back to the drawing board....

Heat wave

My Gaawd, it was hotter today than it was yesterday. I was totally ready for winter or at least cooler temps and the weather had to flip flop to record heat! I'm trying to knit my Christmas presents and this totally ruins it for me (not really) but last week I did light a fire twice which put me in the mood. Right now I'm wearing a tank top and shorts with the ceiling fan on.

Enough of that bellyaching...Hector is on overnight call so I get the bed all to myself! At least until Josh wanders in sometime during the night. I had a fun Photoshop today so I'm off to practice. Maybe I'll create some cool examples for tomorrow....

Jedi Training Academy

Yesterday we headed on over to Disneyland and hung out in Tomorrowland for about 4 hours. The kids sat thru 2 showings of the Jedi Show where about 25 kids are picked to train to be a Jedi. The kids didn't get picked at the first show because we weren't very close to the front but I promised we would get to the next show earlier to get a better seat. Both boys were fascinated with the show and Tyler memorized the moves. The best part was watching all those kids fight either Darth Vader or Darth Maul and the look of these kids faces were priceless. Some of the kids had this look of shock but a Jedi was there to help them with their moves to win the battle.

Josh is really really into Star Wars so he was happy to go to another show and wouldn't you know it, he was picked! He wore his Jedi robe and was given his lightsaber. All the kids went through the moves then the bad guys arrived. The children divided up into 2 lines and either fought Darth Vader or Darth Maul. Josh fought Darth Vader and he did very good. My mom was impressed that he wasn't afraid! Tyler was a bit upset because he wasn't picked but I told him we have many other times to try (plus Tyler needs to wear a brighter shirt to get singled out).

Afterwards, the kids got their very own lightsabers so both were extremely happy. It was an unusually warm day so I was wiped out, the park was crowded so it was time to head home.

How Josh Would Look If He Was A Girl

CUTE!!!

My Quest

I hate my eyelashes. They are short, super fine and sparse. I avoided mascara for the longest time because it irritated my contact lenses/eyes. Lately, I found a nice mascara that wasn't clumpy and coated my lashes perfectly so that my lashes looked better and natural. That was okay for everyday use although I hated removing the mascara every night.

The other day when I was in the drugstore and I found a lash extension kit. These are individual lashes that you glue to your eyelashes and should last for weeks. I tried professional lash extension over a year ago and I loved the results but they didn't last the 4-6 weeks as stated. Mine lasted about 1-2 weeks and once they start falling out, it starts looking funny especially on me. So I was excited about the do-it-yourself kit for $12.99 versus $120 and up. I sat down one night and applied the lashes to my right eye. At first I was dropping lashes every time I tried picking them up with tweezers but soon got the hang of gluing the lash on once I switched tweezers. The result was nice. My lashes were super long and to me they looked fake but maybe it was just me. My gripe was the glue which dried clumpy and since I'm right handed, my right eye looke good while my left eye looked a little off. I decided to sleep on it and the next morning, the lashes on the left eye looked really droopy (maybe because I sleep on that side). I had a to use adhesive remover to get the lashes off and put them aside. Plus I was concerned that the adhesive would pull out what little lashes I had left. Too abrasive and semi-permanent I decided that since I had the patience to glue on individual lashes, I should try false eyelashes again.

Back to the drugstore....I found a pair that looked nice and not too gaudy. I put them on for our anniversary night and enjoyed how they turned out. Btw, Hector doesn't understand my eyelash envy at all but he is wise not to make any mean comments. :) So on special occasions, I'll bring out my falsies and bat my eyelashes coyly.

Knitting project

I finished this hat a while ago and it will be given to my niece in Maryland. She and her family will benefit the most of my knitted hats and I'm glad someone will enjoy them. I used a fuzzy bulky yarn which really shows the pattern well and I'm about halfway the same hat in a worsted weight but I'm not feeling it. It just doesn't have the same heft and softness so I'm setting it aside to decide its future.

At the beginning of my knitting frenzy, I was determined to make hats for all my friends and family. It's now November and that goal has been cut down dramatically. My top priority is to finish the second sock and knit a vest for my MIL. The sock is fine but the needles are so small and fine so I'm definitely procrastinating on that project. Plus I think it'll be easier to bring on my trip to Vegas this weekend.

I did start the vest and so far I like how it is turning out. Here is a picture of the yarn which looks pretty and calming. I hope she likes it.

11th Anniversary

Yesterday was our 11th wedding anniversary and it was a very nice day. Hector went in to work later than usual so he gave me part 1 of my present which was a Montblanc pen. Yeah! I really love pens...I usually had a nice variety for pharmacy work. I was forever using a pen to write prescriptions or initialling off prescriptions. Hector gave me a Montblanc before which I lost so I'm determined to keep this pen for a long time.

I gave Hector some tools (always a safe gift)...this time it was a bunch of drill bits. After he went to work I went to Target and found a travel duffle for Hector to replace his old one. It has served him for many years but it's time for a new one.

Later in the afternoon, Hector came home with part 2 of my gift. It was a gorgeous pair of diamond hoop earrings. I realized that I had pointed out the earrings to Hector a few weeks ago and he remembered! Well, it helps to let him know what jewelry I like or else no one is happy. :)
I took a picture of them but diamonds are extraordinarily difficult to photograph so you'll have to trust me that these are beautiful. Yay.

We had dinner at Arnie Morton's which was wonderful as usual. I had the Caesar salad, cajun ribeye, asparagus and creme brule. I have my leftover ribeye to enjoy tomorrow. :) After dinner we headed over to Hollywood Park for some horse racing and the concert afterwards featuring English Beat. We arrived right after the 6th race and I decided to place a bet on the 7th race. The race only had about 6 horses running but the information given began to confuse me so I chose the horse based on the jockey's name....Tyler. The odds were 8-1 but I bet $5 for the horse to win. And the horse won!! It was really exciting and I won $40. The concert afterwards was cool since only about 100 people hung around. We didn't stay very long but we heard I Confess so that was pretty cool. I really wanted to hear Save It For Later but we had to get home. Overall, we had a really fun anniversary and enjoyed our night out together.

Latest Trick

Today I decided to try out the latest Photoshop skill I learned and you can be the judge. Which is the original picture? I selected the outline of the boys and plopped it onto another picture. I can even adjust the scale to suit the picture.

Okay you probably picked the waterfall pic as the original and you would be right. That photo would not make sense if the kids weren't there in the corner but if you didn't see the original photo and saw my autumn leaves photo, it looks convincing doesn't it?

wednesday

I can't believe it! I went to the drugstore to buy a specific item and while shopping found all sorts of other necessary items too and then when I get home I realize that I forgot the original item I wanted. Ugh. I hate that when that happens.

I have a very busy day. I have my photo editing class then pick up Tyler and whisk him to swim class, rush home to get Josh off the bus then out the door for Tyler's soccer practice (which has been cancelled for the final 2 weeks on account of total darkness).

Our 11th wedding anniversary is Friday. Last year was more exciting because it was 10 years and I was anticipating my eternity band. This year is just eh, another year. :) Not sure what Hector has up his sleeve but I'm sure it includes a delicious dinner at Mortons. He is driving me crazy with his ability to tease me about my gifts while giving away no hints. Bah.

I agreed to have Thanksgiving dinner at our house since the kitchen is finished. We are going to order the dinner from Whole Foods again so all I have to do is heat it up. My aunt and her family will come so that is always lots of fun and maybe we can expect Carlos (Hector's brother) too. My only dilemma is that we have no dining table. We have a couple of folding tables that might get called into use or maybe I can wheedle one out of Hector very soon.

I will be heading out to Vegas next weekend with Kat and her parents for some fun. I can't wait. I should practice my video poker skills.

The picture above is Tyler as Simpson character. Pretty funny.

Smorgasbord

Who doesn't love some giant candy corn??

It has cooled off a bit here and I'm enjoying it. It feels good to curl up on the sofa and knit or take a nice brisk walk and enjoy the crisp air.

Profiteroles...a dollop of vanilla ice cream sandwiched between a puff pastry swimming in chocolate sauce. YUM!!

Montmorency Falls

Okay, sorry for the lack of updates but I'm back and ready to get back to my routine. I didn't finish our Canada trip so this post will be about Quebec and our outing to Montmorency Falls. When we arrived in Quebec, we were given several brochures on various tours. I read that the falls was only about 7 miles from the city so I thought everyone would enjoy it. The brochures had the falls included but other destinations were included over a 4 hour period. Tours are nice but I don't like feeling rushed and the kids can get squirrelly too. The only tour offered with the falls was $120 for a family of four but Hector said he would be able to find an affordable way to the falls and cut out the other stuff. The concierge looked shocked that we wanted to find a bus and head up there on our own but Hector made some calls and found out what bus we needed to take.

So the next morning we headed out and managed to find the correct bus stop. We bought bus tickets at a convenience shop and got on the bus. Even though the falls aren't too far, the bus was crowded but started to thin out as we drove further than the city. Josh fell asleep so that was nice he would be refreshed once we got there. After 45 minutes we arrived at the falls and walked to the park with beautiful autumn foliage that led to a bridge that spanned the beginning of the falls. We stood on the bridge looking out and seeing all the water flow over the edge. Btw, the Montmorency falls boasts the fact that it is 90 meters taller than Niagra. Okay, true although I've never been to Niagra. There is several view points of the falls. a couple of lookouts at the side of the falls and another huge concrete lookout that is at the base of the falls which is constantly wet from the spray. To access this area from we were we had to walk through the park and reach the stairs and walk down. The only thing is there are about 500 steps....good thing we were heading down and not up! The kids were having a great time running around and checking out the waterfall. Tyler and Hector decided to go to the observation deck at the base so they walked down another set of stairs while Josh and I watched and took pictures. Hector brought an umbrella which shielded them from the spray but they still managed to get very damp. Once we joined them at the bottom we walked to the main building where cable cars carry people back up to the other side of the falls and we rode the cable car up. Once we got to the top, there is a hotel with a cafe so we stopped for a nice leisurely lunch (I don't think is such a thing as a fast lunch in Quebec). We calculated how much we spent on our do-it-yourself tour: the entrance to the falls = FREE, bus tickets (rountrip) = $18, cable car (one way) = $15 and lunch (food is pricey overall) = $70. Sure we spent almost as much as the tour but we spent 4 hours just at the falls taking out time and that alone was worth it.

The sun began to peek out later in the day but I must have took over a hundred pictures that day. We even saw rainbows!

Happy Halloween

Man, I've been feeling wiped out lately which is due to a mild cold that Josh also has. So far it's just the sniffles and slight cough so I hope that is the worst of it. Last Friday I took the kids along with my bud Kat to Disney's Halloween night. We were cute cats while the kids dressed in their Star Wars outfits. There are numerous candy stations where we received handfuls of candy. It is a nice setting to trick or treat in and kids even took a picture with some villains (the evil stepmother and stepsisters from Cinderella).

Josh had his Halloween parade on Tuesday and Tyler had his today. I finally got around to decorating the yard and carving the pumpkins yesterday and it looked really cool tonight but of course I forgot to take pictures so maybe next time.

Today's lesson was learning to stitch pictures to form a panorama and changing the color of the sky. I'll try some on my own to see how much I remember this weekend.

Busy weekend ahead...soccer game, Kings hockey game and Lakers game! Phew!

Slideshow

I decided to put together a slideshow of our recent trip to Montreal and Quebec City. Please enjoy!