TGIF

yay, Friday is here!! We have a full weekend planned and Tyler leaves for camp on Sunday. Gulp!! I'm excited and anxious...I know he'll have a great time but we'll miss him terribly especially Joshua. Tyler did mention today that he'll be homesick and that we shouldn't do too much fun things with Josh while he is gone.

I didn't remind him that Josh and I have a sleepover date at the Wild Animal Park. I need to keep Josh entertained while his big bro is gone.

Hopefully the pictures that I took today at the marsh will appear in my Flickr box to the right. I will some more later but those are pretty it. It was overcast this morning so I was hopeful that it might be coolish but no, the sun came out and it was hot. We spent most of the time in the Marsh center where the A/C was on full blast. We had fun looking in the microscope and looking at all the cool creatures.

Gotta run and take of finishing my chile verde for dinner tonight. Yum.

This n That

Here is a pic of my toe up socks. I have progressed much farther than this photo since I have already completed the heels and on to the monotonous ribbing portion of the legs. So far the toe up technique is working really well since I can try them on for the ultra custom fit. I'm gonna have to practice more. This pair/ yarn looks very rugged and natural so these will be my Ireland socks #1. Oh I have more in store. Believe you me.

I went spider stalking the other day. Alarmed to see a black widow hanging out by the marigolds near the garage. When I water the flowers, the spray/ drops fall onto her web and she shoots out from her hiding spot then zips back in. I wanted to try to get pictures of her but she is so fast. She's moved on now to greener pastures so hopefully it is farther away from the house. This spider on the other hand is small and harmless. It lives by the avocado tree (more like a bush). I tried taking pictures of this one since it just sits there but the wind picked up and I couldn't find my tripod.

The avocado tree is growing like crazy but only on one side. That's because the neighbor's 2 wild and rambunctious dogs broke into our yard and snapped off several branches. My poor avocado tree is lopsided but the dogs are MIA. We were told they escaped and never returned.
The neighbors now have a puppy in addition to an undetermined number of people living there.

Lazy Days

This week was hotter than usual so not much is happening at Casa Queso. Luckily our next door neighbor has a pool so we hop on over to enjoy the cool water. Yeah, that's about it. Next week will be better. I need to catch on laundry this weekend and get Tyler ready for camp which is coming up very soon.

I have 2 pairs of socks on the needles in prep for Ireland which I know is in November but I can't wait to enjoy the brisk, cold breeze while walking through the Irish countryside and exploring old castles. You would think I can go totally yarn crazy there since the sheep outnumber the people but no, there are no cool, luxurious Irish yarn. I guess the Irish sheep wool to too scratchy for nice yarn that people can wear and is mostly used for carpets. Wuht?? What wool do they use for all those gorgeous cabled fisherman sweaters?? Anyway, I don't have the patience or that much yarn to knit a sweater.

I am currently knitting some cabled boot socks in Bordeaux to keep my feet pretty and toasty warm and also some toe-up plain socks for durability and ruggedness. The toe-up socks are still pretty new as a technique as these will be my second pair. I can try them on for a ultra custom fit which is awesome but the short row heel might give me some trouble. Luckily, I found a great tutorial on that so I should be okay. Keep you finger crossed. Pictures later.

Fall Travel

This is where is are going in November. I booked our trip this morning and it's set for November 19 to 26. Yes, we will be coming home on Thanksgiving Day but we will be arriving in the afternoon so my mom shouldn't be too upset.

I am SO excited. A few days ago, I asked Tyler if he would like to go to Ireland. He answers, "Yes, I've never been to the UK." Such a cute jet setter and Josh is just plain happy to get on a plane. Here's hoping that our flight is empty although I doubt it since we fly to Paris and connect to Shannon but you never know.

I'm giddy with excitement. It's been a while since out last trip and I don't count our cruise to Mexico as a real international trip. Let's see, I guess it would be Canada almost 2 years ago...but Hector will be the real traveller in our family this year. China, Taiwan and then Ireland. Yay!

I gotta start walking big time since everything I want to do involves a LOT of walking...

I <3 The Mighty Boosh

I recently discovered The Mighty Boosh on Adult Swim. It's hard to explain but it is oh, so funyy and hilarious!!! The DVDs come out today so I think I will head over to Best Buy and see what I find....in the meantime I can spend an insane amount of time watching clips on Youtube.

This one is about bouncy castles and the catchy ditty...I'm already singing along...




Sing A Long everyone!!!

Go Kart World

Lately Joshua has been 'obsessed' with Go-Karts. Hector took the boys to Go Kart World last month and that's all Josh has been able to think about. He has his brochure of all the tracks that he studies and tells us all about each one. Repeat over and over.

Hector took them again on Sunday and took my Flip to record some driving action. Last time Josh was still figuring out driving so he was lapped by Tyler several times on the Mini Indy track. Well, this time the video shows Josh has been practicing (maybe on his Speed Racer steering wheel) and he holds Tyler off pretty well.




Enjoy the video.....it's so cool to see Josh totally into this....

Foodfest

On Saturday I went with my 3 cousins and cousin-in-law to downtown LA. The goal: to finally try Don Chow tacos which blends Chinese and Mexican food. Menu items include tacos with BBQ pork, Kung Pow chicken, tortas (Mexican sandwiches), and chow fun (flat rice noodles). Don Chow's truck was parked at the Modernica's furniture sale which featured high-end modern furniture. We got there early about 10:30am and the furniture sale was going strong but we had our priorities....EAT! Hannah and I were starving so we ordered almost the entire menu. :)

We began with the BBQ pork torta with the traditional Mexican sandwich and the Chinese meat filling. Yum!! That sandwich disappeared fast. I forgot how quickly my cousins eat...they give Hector a run for his money. Next up, tacos and I think we ordered about 4-5 with various filling/meat and those were tasty too. Then the part I was waiting for, the chow fun. Carne asade with a peppery, spicy flavor which went with the chow fun perfectly. Oh so good.

I'd definitely hit Don Chow's again....but we're not finished. It's time for fro-yo at Yogurt-land which is a self-serve place with about 10 different flavors to mix and many toppings to choose from. Put your concoction on the scale and pay. Very reasonably priced and delicious. Perfect for a super hot day!!.

My cousins weren't done yet!! Nope, next we hit a Japanese grocery store (don't know the name) where there is a little fast food noodle place. More orders for ramen, soba and dumplings completed our foodfest. That was so much fun!!!

Normally I would take pics of the food but we were soooo hungry I didn't bother until the noodles but you know what noodles look like.... :)

July Socks

Been busy this week. Knitting has slowed down but I did finish a pair of Ribbed Lace socks. These are pretty small...they barely fit over Tyler's foot which is about a 5-6 ladies equivalent. They are so pretty though so maybe I can find a large girl/childs foot or very small womans foot. Let me know since I can't wear them....boo!

bee catching time

It's amazing what you can find on Youtube...because I now I need to catch some bees. :)

animal crossing help

This video makes catching a scorpion look kinda easy.

this is what usually happens to me....

Fireworks

super slide

More video goodness at the OC Fair.

Beach

Lagging behind in blogging but here is a little taste of what we did Saturday morning. What I mean by "we" is my cousins and me getting up early and being at Redondo Beach at 7:00am to see the paddleboard event. Hector stayed home to do kid duty, karate lessons and mostly sleep in.

There were 2 main groups; the stand ups and paddleboarders which are further divided into different size board groups. My cousin Matt has a good friend that competes and Redondo is close to Torrance so the rest of us tagged along.

Lots of competitors in the event so after the start, we decide to have breakfast. The stand ups had a 7 mile course to paddle while the paddleboarders had a 9 mile course. We figured an hour and then we'd head back. Oh, I had the most awesome Cap'n Crunch french toast so I'll be trying that out at the home kitchen very soon. We get back to the beach and Matt's friend already came in 5th place! Man, these guys are fast!

Here is an idea of the stand ups coming in to the finish line. This guy was pretty graceful...

Yeah, he's lookin good.

Then they run to the finish line....yay!

It was fun although it was hard to really see the actual race; next time I need to bring binoculars.

OC Fair

The OC Fair is now here!! Opening day was July 10th and as a promotion, the 1st hour (12 noon to 1:00) was free (entrance and parking). We arrived with Kat at 12 sharp, parked and waited in line which moved pretty fast so from start to finish it only took 30 minutes. We saved about $30 so that was very cool.

I brought my Flip so lots of little videos to show.



I bought the kids their $30 unlimited ride wristbands and they took full advantage of it. For 7 hours they rode rides and attractions MANY times over. Josh really likes the bumper cars so they rode it about 4 times.

Josh was a little bouncy energetic boy running from ride ride so I knew he would CRASH once we started driving home. Sure enough, he did. Overall, the whole day was a total success. Both kids won a stuffed animal at the balloon dart game and Tyler won an extra stuffed chicken at the ping pong ball toss. Fun times!

I Miss Hockey

I'll have to watch the NHL channel again to get my hockey fix.

Date Night

Hmmm, we are into summer mode here in the Tejeda household. Hector and I don't have a special date night each week although we do try and spend lots of time together as a family. For example, Hector called to let me know he was going to work late (until 7pm) which makes a 12 hour day for him. That's okay, we are trying to save some extra moola for a future fall trip. He also mentioned that rib roasts are on sale at Stater Bros. and the sale ends that day (Tuesday). We have a rotisserie that cooks roasts to perfection and we stock up when on sale. They get vacuum packed and frozen for future family gatherings.

Hector mentions that we can meet at the Stater Bros. which is about halfway between his work and home. Okay. I round up the kids and pile them in the car. We both arrive at Stater Bros. at the same time and then had a fun time running around in there. To put it simply, that place is HUGE! I think they used a lot of their warehouse area to make it bigger because it's a mega stroll to reach the back of the store. Plus the aisles are very wide, Hector thinks he could drive a car between the shelving. For some reason, I found the whole meeting and hanging out very date-like even though we spent maybe 30 minutes grocery shopping together. Isn't it silly that such a simple act was special for me? :) I'm getting old and doddy. At least I like hanging out with my hubby who is my soulmate....aw, it's true. Corny but true.

Oh, we bought 3 rib roasts totalling 12 pounds. I'll roast the little one this weekend.

I will say that we did have a real date night a week ago....bowling. :)

I would go out tonight but I haven't got a stitch to wear

Random News

Click here. Poor girl had to withdraw from her race. I wonder if the suits have different sizes because if it burst on her, what happens if a regular person wears one.

Activities

I am enjoying our summer so far. We try to get out and do some things just to enjoy the nice weather and each other's company. This afternoon we went to Joe's Crab Shack for lunch with He-man and baby D. Hector doesn't enjoy eating here since it smells fishy etc so it's a real treat for me to have some crab legs. It's also very nice since the restaurant is practically empty during the week days plus we get to enjoy the nice views of Redondo Beach.



Here is a little video of the kids at Joe's.

We also try to get out every day to get some exercise and the kids love their wheels. In this case, Tyler skateboards and Josh is getting better on his inline skates. Pretty soon I'll be able to put my inline skates on and we can cruise the boardwalk. I need to get another pair of wristguards since the kids use them too. Tyler already broke his wrist a few years ago so we need to protect that.

Josh looks like he's getting the hang of it.


Meanwhile I finished another pair of Noro stripey socks and I already know who I'm giving these too. Stay tuned!

I don't think I will get tired of making these cute, fun socks. They will be my go-to socks when I get stumped or bored with whatever project I'm working on at the time.