When Mommy Bloggers meet.

Just recently, I had the good fortune to score a meet up with one super talented writer and mommy blogger. I was actually a little bit nervous. Ya know? Like here I am, with my drug induced blog, maybe she wouldn't like me. Or maybe she would have one of those phone calls that people get in the middle of a blind date to save them from some horrible fate of spending countless minutes alone with a boring person. She'd get that phone call and then dash off, leaving me alone with my bottle of wine and Valium. Or maybe she was scared that I might try to offer her some Valium as well. Maybe she was hoping I had some? I don't know. Many thoughts ran through my mind.

Of course when we initially talked, we had made plans to go out without our children. Upon her suggesting that, I was immediately in love with her. For, who knows, only than other mothers what it is like to try and go out WITH your children and have a coherent conversation with anybody? It's just about impossible.

So the night came, and McMommy rolls up to my hotel. The valet swings open the door and the most beautiful girl behind the wheel of the car offers me a huge smile. I jump in the car and we hug as if we've been friends our entire life. We start talking. And honestly, I don't think we ever stopped.

If you read her blog, then you too know how awesome she is. I don't have to tell you that. There is a reason that you keep going back. Well, having met her, I can tell you that she is even more awesome in person. The likability factor just goes up. Is that a word? Well if it isn't, then it is now. And I don't even care.

She's sweet, thoughtful and extremely considerate. The fact that she likes red wine and cheesecake has absolutely nothing to do with it. Nor the fact that I drank most of the wine. I had to. It was in both of our best interests.

So we went to McMommy and McDaddy's favorite little restaurant. I couldn't have been happier that it was nearly storming out. We were going to go elsewhere, but we decided on this little love shack. I say that, because the atmosphere is romantic, cozy, and all that you would imagine of the perfect little Italian getaway.

There was a bottle of wine. There was some complimentary wine. There was a cute young waiter from Brazil. (Was it Brazil?)I mentioned something about my birthday, and then a bit later, the lights dimmed. (I could barely see McMommy) and then our table was surrounded. By men. (Why weren't there any girl waiters/waitresses?) Just curious. But only men surrounded us, and they sang. Happy Birthday! To me! I couldn't even believe it. It's not like I went out of my way to tell everyone. And it really wasn't my birthday. Actually, it had passed roughly two weeks ago. Or so. But who's counting?

I did bring my video camera, and was able to capture some of our evening. I chopped it up, so please forgive my editing skills. There was a lot more, but I do want you to come back and read my blog. If you see me acting like a total goof, then you might really think I am hitting the Valium.

And yeah, I also realize there is a piece of hair in my face. It's bothering me too when I watch the video back. I also meant to say that "I have 4 children in my care and custody" not "4 children in my possession" as I know that you don't "own" children. It's the Cabernet talking. (Really really good Cabernet.)

So, without further ado...

working on my post folks

I know, I know. The big dog.... A.K.A. "McMommy" from The McMommy Chronicles writes a post that included some things about me and now my little blip of a blog is being checked out. I see you guys!!

Honest, I will work on posting my videos with McMommy soon. But I just wanted to say that my laptop hard drive has crashed. Actually it crashed when I was still in Chile, so we had to wait until we got here to get it fixed.

I also just arrived in Tucson this afternoon. I'm a bit jet lagged and I need some rest. So I wanted to write something so you guys knew that I was still alive. And I didn't forget.

And I don't take it lightly that I just had a hot date with a far beyond outstanding member of the blogging community.

More details to come.

Where have I been?

That is the question.

Here are the top 10 things that have kept me from blogging.

10. The temperature. I'm cold. It's cold here. It's cold inside my apartment, we have a tiny heater. And my fingers are way too cold to type anything resembling sentences. Here is evidence. We took the kids out the other day. And yes, I realize it's June. But still, Brrr......

9. I'm teaching my cat some new tricks. Like how to stay off the kitchen table, how to hide from a preschooler and a toddler and how not to sleep at the foot of the toddlers bed. It's slow going.

8. I've been reading. Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins. Excellent book by the way.

7. I've also been listening to CDs. Not just music, but "Get the Edge" CDs by Anthony Robbins. Highly recommend. If you have never heard Anthony Robbins speak or read anything by him, I suggest you go immediately to the store and buy something. Go now. I can't wait for you. Just do it. You won't be sorry.

6. I have not been drinking cokes, or eating crappy foods. Well, except for my birthday (June 16) I did have some food that would fall into the crappy category. It was good though.

5. I've been visualizing the beach. We are getting ready to return to the United States. First up, Florida.

4. I have been coloring, painting, cutting, pasting, reading, running, and practicing writing letters with my kids.

3. I have been on Twitter.

2. I have been working on my cardiovascular health.

And the number one reason I have been unable to create a blog post:

1. Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. She has shredded my muscles down to the very bone. I could not lift my fingers to even type the word hello. I invite you to get the shred dvd and hop to it. This chic is hard core. And I am totally not lying to you when I admit that the second day, after trying her workout, I could not walk. I could not sit. And yes, I whinced, in pain for most of the day.

But now that I am 17 days into it, I LOVE her. Anyway. I just wanted to let you know where I was. And also one more teeny tiny thing. I need a break. I've been blogging for quite some time. And right now, I just need to take a little blog vacation. So I thought I'd let you all know that too.

I'm sure you guys may have been there before. Ever? Anyone? Bueller? Well, that's where I'm at. Please feel free to follow me on Twitter. I have an account there, and I check in often. I have a link there on my sidebar to the right. Feel free to give me a shout hello. :) :)

Hope to see you all again soon. Ciao~~~

WW, Confession and a shelf.

So, yesterday was my birthday. And I 'claimed' that I would not eat cake. I need to confess. Though I told my husband not to buy me a birthday cake, I did allow him to buy me a slice of cake. This came from the bakery down the road, it's ONE slice of black forest cake. And though it was still cake, it wasn't a WHOLE cake, which would equate to me eating a piece of it every single day until it was gone. This one is already gone, and was enjoyed very much!

And I may or may not have posted this picture here before, but I know I've talked about IKEA stores and their stuff. Well, about 31 days ago, we received some items that I ordered from them. And as I was putting together the shelf, I noticed that the very last piece was broken. I called them up, and thankfully they have an excellent customer service department. They immediately sent out the broken piece. It did take a while, as we are in another country, and the address I had it sent to was kind of a "back door" way for us to get things here.

Here is the finished product. I received the piece and was able to finish it up in about 5 minutes from the point where it was in the above picture. The kids absolutely LOVE it! And so do I! Way to go IKEA for having such good service and awesome products!

For more WW posts please visit 5 Minutes for Mom, Seven Clown Circus, and the Mostly Wordless Wednesday H.Q.

Happy Birthday to Me.

Today is June 16, it's my birthday. And I am thirty-hmphshh *cough* years old today. I will not be eating cake. I told my husband not to buy me one. So I'm posting a picture so I can enjoy it. Besides, the cakes that I could buy and eat here, are not that good. Trust me, I've tried.

We don't have any special plans for the day. And I'm actually going to wait until I return to the US to buy myself something nice. Yes, I buy my own gifts. My dh actually did get me something too. He gave it to me already. It is a 100 pesos coin mounted in a setting, to wear on a chain. I have been asking for that for a while. So kudos to him for buying it for me! Yay!

OK, I've got nothing else. So if you would please, join in with me while I sing to myself:

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday dear Leslie, Happy Birthday to me~~~~~~

New Day.

I've got nothing exciting to share. I'm down 4.5 lbs since I started working out on June 7. I guess that's pretty good. Considering it has only been 8 days. I keep expecting the numbers to be bigger. I think I've watched too many episodes of Biggest Loser. I don't think I'm going to drop weight like that. Not to mention, they are in the crazy camp of losing weight. And they do the treadmill while they sleep.

The kids are getting excited. Why, you ask? Well I don't think I've officially announced it yet. But we are heading back to the states! I couldn't be happier.

It's technically summer time for the US, and that means that Devon and Alyssa are out of school. So we want to get back there to visit them. Amazingly enough, my husband was able to swing the time off from work. He is only going to be staying for 2 weeks. We are all flying to Miami in July.

I can't even tell you how much I miss Florida. We haven't been back there since when I was still pregnant with Eddie in early 2005. We are staying at The Westin, right on the beach. And I am even more thrilled that we waited to make our hotel reservations. The price has dropped! So that's a bonus.

We are even able to rent a mini-van now to cart around all of these kids. 4 kids, plus 2 car seats won't fit too well into a small economy car. So with the price drop, it allows us to get the bigger car. I'm really looking forward to this trip.

We are staying for 4 days to visit with my husband's family there in S. Florida, and then we will be flying on to Tucson.

So, since I'm heading to the beach, I will be pushing hard with my workouts. Also, I just wanted to let you know, that I will not be eating cake tomorrow. (it's my birthday) I have been very good with my food choices lately, and for that I am really proud. OK, so though I will not be eating cake. I'll probably be thinking about it a lot. I love BIRTHDAY CAKE. Like, in a big way.

Oh and since I am thinking about it, today is June 15. One year ago today, we first arrived here in Santiago. Wow! It's been a year already. I can't believe it. Also, technically we now have less than one year left to go until we can move back to the US. DH says that we can leave out of here on June 1. Trust me, I'm counting down.

If you care to take a trip down memory lane with me, here is my first post from Chile.
We've Arrived!

Eviction Notice.

(5 lb representation)

Dear Fat,

I am writing this letter to inform you that you are no longer welcome here in and on my body. Your soft and fluffy nature is no longer comforting. Instead, your presence is more of an annoyance. I cannot fit into most of my jeans without discomfort. I am unable to wear those cute clothes that I bought before I became pregnant.

You made me think that you cared about me. First it was just one extra pound of you. And then you invited a friend. They in turn asked their entire family to come. And what's more, they have no intentions of leaving, ever. You crowd around my legs and midsection and mock me every single day as I try to figure out what to wear.

It does not soothe me to know that you have made me into one giant pillow for my children to lay on, moosh, or play with as a toy. It is not amusing. My patience has gone. I tried to be nice. I thought if I cut down on eating so many cookies, you would get the hint and just leave.

It is obvious that you, your friends and their family have decided to stay for the long haul. Well I want you to know that I am not OK with that. You see, it's going to cost me a lot of money to replace my entire wardrobe. And frankly, I'm just not in the mood.

I have nice clothes. And I have made a decision. I will be wearing them again. I just wanted you to know, it's time. I also want you to know what's coming. You see, I feel stronger now. I know I can take you on. You don't scare me anymore. Nor does a little hard work. I am going to defeat you. When I say these things to you, I want you to know that I am very serious.

Cardio. Exercise. Jillian Michael's. 30 Day Shred. Be very afraid. I know cardio is your ultimate enemy. I don't feel sorry for you. You have overstayed your welcome.

Please take this letter as formal notification of your eviction. You must vacate the body within 30 days. There will be no negotiations. I'm done with you. Please say your goodbyes. Pack your things. It's time you go.

Wordful Wednesday, time flies.

I'm not sure if I remember the year this picture was taken, so I am going to guess 2000 or 2001. It's a photo not of Alexa, but my step-daughter Alyssa. I know. I know their names are similar. And for the record I had the name Alex picked out for my daughter back in the late 80's.(For those of you who don't know me well, and wonder about it.)

She was so little. I met her in 1999, at just 13 months old. And she had only 4 teeth.


I do know that these pictures were taken at my mother's house in Tampa. This one was dated 2001. Here is Devon too. I met him just 2 weeks after his 6th birthday. Seems crazy to me.

This one was taken at Seaside (I think it was called) down in Miami.

All I want to say is that time flies. This next picture was taken December 31, 2008 at my mom's house in Tucson, AZ.

Alyssa is now going to be starting the 5th grade. She turns 11 at the end of the year. Devon likes to ride dirt bikes, motor bikes, is quite enamored with the young ladies and loves talking on his cell phone. He turns 16 (*gasp*gasp*cough*choke*) at the end of this year. Wow.

For more WW posts please stop by 5 Minutes for Mom, Seven Clown Circus, & Mostly Wordless Wednesdays HQ.

My new best friend, and the bachelorette.

OK, so take a look at this woman. How amazing does she look?


Yeah. Well, if you don't know who this is, her name is Jillian Michaels. And she is one of the coaches on tv's hit show, The Biggest Loser. It's a pretty cool show. I've seen it. But not religiously since we are out of the country. But I have watched it in the past. This chic is one hard core coach. She has a DVD out called the 30 Day Shred. I just started it.

All I want to say is, OMG will someone please help to get me up off of the floor! She ain't lying. If you can keep your butt in gear and do this amazing yet short workout, you WILL see results! I am so sore. But I am doing it. Loving her. I highly recommend this DVD if you are thinking about working out, or are too lazy to get to the gym. (that was my excuse)

Jillian is cool. Not to be confused with another Jillian from the tv show The Bachelorette. Yes, I'm watching this one. Look at how cute she is. And petite! You could put her in your pocket! I don't know how I got sucked in, or why, as I haven't watched the bachelor version of the show in a while. But there is something likable about her, and I just want to see her end up with one of the good guys from the show.

My favorites so far are Kiptyn, Jake, and Edward. I think the foot fetish guy is a bit weird for my taste (I think it's Tanner). Also the guitar guy Wes, I think that they should both leave next. I'm not into either one of them. Though I'm glad to see Dave leave last night. He deserved it. What was his deal?