Thursday, August 28, 2008

Albuquerque, New Mexico --Here We Come!

Ashton and I will be visiting my old college roommate and friend, Leah, and her family in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this weekend.

The last time Leah and I saw each other was went Ashton was only a few weeks old and for a very short time ...just a few hours.

So I'm very excited about spending quality time with Leah catching up and meeting her baby boy, Jacob, and husband, Juan Carlos. I'm also thrilled to see her parents and sister, Becca. Becca also has a baby.

Leah says it might rain this weekend, but there are a few things on my list to do...

Go to Santa Fe. It's filled with galleries (especially photography) and everyone says I need to go. Of course, with kids it will be a different experience, so the plan is to go to have breakfast and go check out a children's museum.

Route 66. One of the movies Ashton and I love to watch together is CARS. Route 66 is featured in the movie, so I would love to take Ashton to see it. It's also in my book, 1,000 Places To See Before You Die .... or something like that.

I won't have my computer, so I don't know if I'll be able to blog from Albuquerque or even if I'll have time.

So miss me while we're gone and when we get back expect to see lots of great pictures.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Dark Clouds Can't Keep Us Away

TY Park on Saturday was all dark clouds, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the new pool.








Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Papa's New Bird

Papa and Gram got a bird. Why? Not sure, but the colorful feathered friend is the newest addition to the already animal filled House home.

In addition to the bird, they have a dog, Macy (Jaime's dog), a rabbit, several stray cats and a possum.



Papa and Gram have always had a lot of animals. Marc remebers when they use to have a bulldog and a pig. Gram even had a goat.



Now, they've added a bird to their list. They named him Jake. But, they didn't really know if Jake was a boy or a girl.



So they paid to get Jake examined to determine his or her sex. After lots of pocking and proding up it's butt. Papa and Gram found out Jake was really a girl. That's ok because Kaylie had the wisdom to make Jake's first name, Ashley. Or something like that.



What I do know is Papa looks like a pirate walking around town with a parrot on his sholder.

Monday, August 25, 2008

First Week of School

The first week of school didn't have a very good start.

Tropical Storm Fay postponed the start of the 2008/2009 school year after dumping lots of rain on Florida and blamed for at least 11 deaths.

But, by Wednesday, the clouds made way to blue sky and sunshine to greet students to a new school year.

Parents rushing to drop of their children and get to work.

Austen is in 5th grade and is the captain of the patrol team, which comes with flag raising and early morning wake up calls for all of us. He's very excited and we're very proud.

Ashton's new cubby in his new class, non-graduating pre-K 2.

Dalton's new 4th grade teacher Mrs. Charlot.

Artwork in Ashton's classroom.

Dalton and friend acting silly in the school's hallway before going into class.

Austen with his new 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Lane. She seems really cool. Austen says Mrs.Lane allows them to eat candy and use their cell phones during snake breaks.

Ashton with one of his new teachers, Ms.Diana. His other teacher's name is Ms.Layce.

Friday, August 22, 2008

My First Phone Call

I go my first phone call from Ashton's daycare to report his bad behavior in class. NOT a good way to make a good impression on him new pre-K teachers.

"Ashton is in the office because he and another boy have been choking each other," said Ms. Diana.

It was all in the context of play fighting, but it's still not acceptable under any circumstances.

I'm embarrassed, shocked and disappointed that Ashton would do this and continue to play in this way even after he promised to stop.

I know there will be other phone calls. But, having no point of reference seeing how I'm an only child.

Is this normal behavior? How should I address it with Ashton when we get home?

A Mother's Obit

A friend of mine sent me this obit to read that is both shocking and very sad.

After reading it, I wondered how my own children would think of me after I die?

I often ask myself if I'm a good mother, person and example of a good human being for my children to model after and look up to?

I often wonder if I'll be close to my children when they're adults?

Only time will answer all these questions, I just hope I'm still alive to learn what the answers are.

Till than I'll try to be a good mother, person and friend. And pray that I get a kinder, more loving obit than this mother got from her children. She must have been evil. Judge for yourself

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dolores Aguilar, born in 1929 in New Mexico, left us on
August 7, 2008. She will be met in the afterlife by her husband,
Raymond, her son, Paul Jr., and daughter, Ruby.
She is survived by her daughters Marietta, Mitzi, Stella,
Beatrice, Virginia and Ramona, and son Billy; grandchildren, Donnelle,
Joe, Mitzie, Maria, Mario, Marty, Tynette, Tania, Leta, Alexandria,
Tommy, Billy, Mathew, Raymond, Kenny, Javier, Lisa, Ashlie
and Michael; great-grand children, Brendan, Joseph, Karissa,Jacob,
Delaney, Shawn, Cienna, Bailey, Christian, Andre Jr., Andrea, Keith,
Saeed, Nujaymah, Salma, Merissa, Emily, Jayci, Isabella, Samantha and
Emily. I apologize if I missed anyone.
Dolores had no hobbies, made no contribution to
society and rarely shared a kind word or deed in her life. I speak for
the majority of her family when I say her presence will not be
missed by many, very few tears will be shed and there will be no lamenting over
her passing.
Her family will remember Dolores and amongst
ourselves we will remember her in our own way, which were mostly sad and
troubling times throughout the years. We may have some fond memories of her
and perhaps we will think of those times too. But I truly believe at the
end of the day ALL of us will really only miss what we never had, a
good and kind mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
I hope she is finally at peace with herself.
As for the rest of us left behind, I hope this is the beginning of a time of healing and
learning to be a family again.
There will be no service, no prayers and no closure
for the family she spent a lifetime tearing apart. We cannot come
together in the end to see to it that her grandchildren and
great-grandchildren can say their goodbyes. So I say here for all of us,
GOOD BYE, MOM.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

What camera should Chelsea buy?

Chelsea said...

I love taking pictures. I was thinking of start a blog like this one. I need to buy a camera because mine is cheap. I also don't know which camera would be best for me. I need major help. I don't know where to start, what to buy, all I know is I take pictures of everything with my phone.

Chelsea is in need of a camera, but doesn't know where to start. She knows she loves taking pictures, but what she's used to capture her life's special moments is her camera phone. Not acceptible gear for anyone who appreciates photography and wants to become serious about the art form.
Choosing a camera to take pictures with is a common delema for many people. Cameras are expensive (very good point-&-shoot $300-400 or a profession digital camera $4,000), there are various models of cameras (film, digital) and companies that produce cameras (Nikon, Canon, Minolta, extra).

Where should Chelsea start?

First -- How will she use the camera?
If all Chelsea wants to do is take snapshots of family and friends for a blog or to print than I suggest buying a good point-and-shoot camera. The best out on the market is Canon PowerShot G9. Suggested retail price on the Canon website is $499.99. But, I've seen it online as low as $245.00. When I get the money, I'm going to buy this camera to take pictures with.

Second -- If she seriously strives to be a photojournalists than the investment will need to be larger. This is what Chelsea needs in her camera bag:
1 Digital Camera with manual mode .. Canon Rebel is good and not to expensive or Nikon 100 or 70
1 70-200mm F-2.8 lens... This lens is expensive, but she might be able to find a used one online
1 17-35mm F-2.8 lens .. Also expensive, but she might be able to find one online
1 Flash
1 Flash cord to take flash off of camera

All total this can be close to $10,000 worth of gear. If she buys used it could be less. However, the Canon Rebel sometimes comes as a kit.

The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi is compatible with all Canon lenses in the EF lineup. Canon's Speedlite 430EX is perfectly suited to the EOS Digital Rebel XTi. In addition to Canon's EF lenses and Speedlite flashes, many other accessories are designed by Canon to work perfectly with the EOS Digital Rebel XTi. An EF-S 18-55mm is included in the EOS Digital Rebel XTi Lens Kit. Cost online $674.88 from J&R.com

Hope this helps Chelsea ..... we should get together to talk further...how's lunch?


Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Everyone Safe, but Wet

All is well in South Florida. A little wet, but nothing major. In Wellington "Horse Country" a tornado hit a barn and demolished it, but no horses were hurt.

Our oak tree didn't fall on the house, so I'm thankful. But, the heavy rain exposed leaks in our back roof that will have to be fixed.

All the boys are out of school today again, but going to hit the books tomorrow.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Rain, Rain Go Away


Rain has begun hitting the Keys, Miami and Broward. We're expecting more rain and winds to begin picking up after mid-night tonight and into tomorrow as Fay hits the West coast of Florida around the Tampa area.

School was closed today, so Austen and Dalton are at their mother's home. I dropped off Ashton with my grandmother, so he could spend the night with my mom.

Marc and I have been working away. Marc is setting up generators just in case power goes out at several locations. I've been managing our storm coverage from Fort Lauderdale.

Mandy, who lives outside Tampa, should be prepared with water and food. Saskia and Quinten are in Holland, so they're missing all the action.

The new Sun Sentinel


The new Sun Sentinel logo .... looks like a super hero should be wearing it on her chest.

The Sun Sentinel (we dropped the hypen) has re-invented itself from the front page all the way to the back in hopes of gaining new readers. Younger readers that normally wouldn't have time to read a newspaper.



Hit readers with a 2X4 is what our new owner wants us to do, so our design team has worked hard to do just that.



Colorful
Quick Hits ... giving just the facts
Lots of visuals .... mostly cut out photos
Magazine style



Part of me likes the changes, but part of me can't help but worry that we'll loss our daily, over 50-year-old readers by not giving them more stories starting on the front page. I worry that all the color and cutouts will turn off readers looking for more.



The success of the paper can't just be about making it look good. It needs to be all about the CONTENT.

We need to make people want to read us by giving them hard hitting watchdog news about corruption in government, crime in our cities, giving voice to those who don't have a voice. All the great qualities journalism is rooted in. Without CONTENT we're eralivent no matter how wonderul we look.



Our photo staff will continue to do quality photojournalism with little resources, a smaller staff and motivation that we need to give our readers CONTENT.



I pray that all of these changes work. For my future at the Sun Sentinel and for our readers.



What do you think of the new look of the paper?
What do you look for in a newspaper?

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Water Play Instead of Snakes

We never slithered over to the Miami Science Museum. Instead, Ashton and I headed to enjoy the beautiful sunny weather at the local water park, while Marc slept recovering from a 60 work week.

Ashton was upset about not getting to eat snake food or touching a snake, but all his tears dried up when I told him we were headed to the water park.

Ashton is swimming like a fish. I made sure to take him to a water park with a pool. I've been watching the Olympics, so I've been day dreaming of a day I would be the proud mother of an Olympian. A long shot, but you never know.

Tropical Storm Fay seems to be heading way West. We don't expect to get any serious effect from the storm except some rain. But, Broward County has cancelled the first day of school meaning Austen, Dalton and Ashton's first day of fifth, fourth and pre-K will have to be on Tuesday. I'm calling the school in the morning to check if they'll be open or not.

Thank God we didn't get hit by Fay. We enjoyed a great day playing in the water and sun. Hope the week also looks bright.

Snake Day


It's Snake Day at the Miami Science Museum today, so I'm taking Ashton to check it out.

Lots of fun things for us to do.

Venomous Snake Show:
A live show of the most venomous snakes in the world by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom One Unit, staring the Black Mamba from the "Kill Bill" series.

Eat Like A Reptile:
Bug Feast! Watch, participate and sample some of reptile's favorite insect cuisine. Two live shows as Professional Chef, Kat Duran prepares this unusual and highly nutritional tasty treat for all to enjoy.

I don't really like snakes. The thought of them makes my skin crawl. But, I know Ashton will love it. Plus, it's educational.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Ribs & Tropical Storm Fay on the Menu

I'm cooking ribs in the oven and organizing our photo coverage for Tropical Storm Fay that now looks like will hit the Keys and Tampa. Watch out Mandy.

We're sending a couple of reporters and a photographer to cover the storms in the lower Keys and tomorrow we'll determine when to send a second travel team to Tampa.

SunSentinel reporter and weather guru Ken Kaye reported on our website, Sun-Sentinel.com:

Tropical Storm Fay is now aimed at Tampa, not Naples.
As of 5 p.m. Saturday, the National Hurricane Center forecasted that the storm would strike Tampa on Tuesday afternoon.
Forecasters also said the storm's winds slowed slightly to 40 mph. The storm was located about 60 miles south of Guantanamo, Cuba, and traveling west at 16 mph.
Forecasters warned that Tropical Storm Fay could bring hurricane-force winds to the Florida Keys as soon as Monday.

I went grocery shopping just in case.

Spoke with Mandy, who lives outside Tampa, and didn't even know there was a possible hurricane coming his way till around 2pm today.

PEOPLE NEED TO READ THEIR LOCAL NEWSPAPERS MORE!!!!! INFORMATION IS POWER.

Thankfully Saskia and Quinten are in Holland till next Friday. Mandy says he'll monitor the storm and prepare tomorrow as needed.

Storm Rib Recipe

Ingredience:
Country Style Pork Ribs
Mojo
Badia Complete Seasoning
BBQ sauce

Place ribs in a pan and season with seasoning on both sides. Coat with mojo and allow to marinade (the longer the better). When ready to cook, pre-heat oven on 350 degrees. Cover ribs with aluminum foil and place in medium oven rack. Cook for 1 hour. After an hour, check meat for tenderness with a fork. Cook till tender. Once the mean seems to fall off the bone, uncover, spread BBQ sauce over ribs (can skip this step if you want) and raise temp to 400 degree to brown.

My mom is making these ribs today and gave me the recipe for me to cook it as well. It's my first time, so if it sucks.....blame my mom. If it's great, it's my great cooking skills.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Tropical Storm Fay


We're about to launch the new re-design of the Sun Sentinel and now we're facing Tropical Storm Fay possibly hitting South Florida as a tropical storm or hurricane. Not very good timing, but a great news story.

Sun-Sentinel.com reports that the initial forecast puts us (South Florida) in the path of the storm, although the projected path --- that can drastically change -- points it toward the Keys and into the Gulf of Mexico.

Tropical Storm Fay Stats as of 5pm according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami-Dade County:
  • 35 miles east of Santo Domingo
  • 850 miles southeast of Miami
  • moving west-northwest at 14 mph
  • sustained winds of about 40 mph
  • tropical force winds extended 85 miles from its center
  • system could produce up to 12 inches of rain along its path
I guess my plans on taking Ashton on Sunday to the Miami Science Museum's Snake Exhibit will have to be delayed.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Ashton's Digging the Big Kids Class



Ashton is having a great time in his "Big Kids" class. Although he can't remember his new teachers' names, Ms.Dianna and Ms. ? ..I can't remember either), he loves that he's playing on the bigger play ground and his new classroom.

I'm told he'll be getting homework and learning the rules and expectation of a kindergarten classroom setting. Cool!

He's excited about learning new things and making new friends...and I'm excited for him.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

A New School Year

Another summer has come to an end and Austen and Dalton are getting ready to begin a new school year. Ashton is moving to Pre-K 2 in Ms. Dianna & Ms. Lacey's class.

Austen will begin 5th grade.
Dalton will begin 4th grade.

It seems like yesterday when we took Dalton to findergarden and Austen to first grade. I feel old. OK .. I am old. But, as summers pass the boys are getting older.

Next year Austen will be in middle school. Dalton will be a year closer to joining Austen. And Ashton will be getting ready for kindergarden.

How fast time passes as we grow older.

This is why I try to live by a few simple rules:

Enjoy the little and BIG things in life.
Don't stress about things that in the grand scheme of things makes no difference.
Never take for granted our family and friends.
Have fun at work because you're there more than at home with your family.
Love and spread love to your family and friends.
Kiss you children and Marc often and tell them you love them.
Try to be patient, understanding and tolerant of others.
Recycle
Love you self.
Pray to God often.

These aren't always easy to follow, but I try.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Jacob Sal Escobedo



Leah is one of my oldest and dearest friends. We met at the University of Florida where I was studying Photojournalism and Leah was studying to be an Aerospace Engineer (I think).

After a few years at UF, Leah decided to change paths and go back home to Albuquerque, New Mexico to study Languages. She became a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines, met and fell in love with Juan Carlos Escobedo, married and on March 27th had a beautiful baby boy, Jacob.



Born at 3:16am at Albuquerque Presbyterian Hospital
Height 21 inches
Weight 7 lbs. 15 oz.



I haven't seen Leah in years. The last time we saw each other was during one of her over night layovers in Fort Lauderdale when Ashton was only a few weeks old. He's now going to be four in October, so it's been a few years ... way to long.



Now I have the opportunity to travel with Ashton to see Leah, Juan Carlos and their newest addition to their family, Jacob.

I had planned to go in a couple of weeks, but due to a travel restriction my trip must be delayed till a weekend that's best for Leah and her family.



I'm very excited and can't wait to see the Escobedo and Salazar families. Plus, Ashton will get to see a new state and city.

I hope to pass on my love for travel and adventures to Ashton. He's already loved to ride on planes and trains. He's been to Orlando, Daytona, Steamboat Colorado and in a few weeks .. Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Playing With Fossils



The House Family went digging for bones Sunday at the Miami Science Museum's exhibits of dinosaur fossils from China. We also gazed at a few of the 88 named constalations at the Miami Planetarium.



Rise of the Dragon
Some of the finest fossils in the world have been discovered in Liaoning Province of northeastern China. The unusually fibne details preserved in these 125 million-year-old fossils reveals hidden treasures.
The fossils of Liaoning shed light on the evolution of flight and provide some of the most convincing evidence that birds evolved from dinosaurs.







Ashton loved the big dinosaurs. He ran around screaming with delight at the T-Rex and other fossils. Dalton and Austen also enjoyed the bones, but they seemed to love the live snakes and spiders. I could have done without that part of the exhibit.