Last Weekend At NY/NJ

Doris, Saskia, Grandma & me.

Fun at the movies!

This pic came out blurry, but we were laughing hysterically as we were trying to do this high kick. :)

They're coming out with the Incredible Hulk - again. Are they just pretending the first one never happened?

Group picture!

Top: Me, Saskia, Bernie

Bottom: Ralph, Anabelle, Doris, Grandma, Joo Joo, Brianna, Nicky & Melvin

Haircut...again

I got a haircut yesterday. I asked for a shorter cut w/ layers and side-swept bangs. I got my cousin, Saskia. I look so much like her with this cut, it's not even funny. It takes some getting used to, but I think it will be okay. When I do it myself, I'll curl the ends so it doesn't look so blunt. At least I look 14 again, ha ha. Pics are to follow after this weekend...I'll be in NY spending time with my cousins so standby for updates.

Why Is It When...

...you're suppossed to do something that requires total focus and concentration, that you all of a sudden get distracted by sudden urges to clear up clutter, clean the bathroom...etc. ALL the things you dreaded and procrastinated about for days? It's like you procrastinate and do something else you procrastinated?!?

Hibiscus Tea

http://www.dragonwater.com/product_detail.tf/325_hibiscus_tea.html

This was the tea Anthony's mother kept making...it's called Rosa de Jamaica in spanish otherwise known as Hibiscus Tea. She would add some cinnamon and maybe another thing or two. It was absolutely soothing and wonderful. It's known for lowering blood pressure. I brought home a huge bag of it. When I made it at home, I may have steeped it too long because it was a deep red and tasted way too tart. But I will play around with the amounts and steep time to get it better. It makes for a nice bedtime tea when done right.

More Abu Pics...

Abu, The Capuchin Monkey

We recently returned from a 10 day trip to Nicaragua. It wasn't my first time, although I haven't been there in a few years. On the road from the airport to Esteli, there are usually people selling birds, iguanas and other creatures but on this particular day as we were driving, we happened to spot a man selling a small capuchin monkey. Some impulsive moments later and we were en route with this little guy in tow. We thought of many names...some very humorous, but ended up with "Abu" like the monkey in Aladdin. How original!

At first we did not have a cage for him, so to my displeasure, he stayed in our room for the first few nights. Then Anthony, his brothers and Lebeau built a fine monkey cage fully equipped with branches, a hanging toy and a little house/box where he can sleep at night.

He grew on me rather quickly. He made this little barking noise whenever the dogs would come near, sounded like "arf". I found it adorable. He's very sweet and loves to be held. When we got back we made it a point to go to an exotic pet shop that sold monkeys. We asked if they had a Capuchin monkey. The lady who owned the shop said "You don't want a Capuchin! They may look cute in movies but they are a lot of work and can rip your nose off!" Uh-oh we said. Abu is really sweet and you can tell he was raised constantly held by humans. I'm going to do a bit more research about them but I have a feeling Abu will be alright. He stayed behind in Nicaragua with Anthony's family. Every now and then we will call to check up on him and hopefully we'll see him again soon. :)

At the supermarket...Lebeau got lots of stares, lol.

Trip

I'm going on a last minute trip to Nicaragua this Wednesday. I haven't been there in over 4 years...our friends who moved to Costa Rica last year are going to send their kids on a bus to meet us. Now I'm looking forward to my trip even more because this was at first a "strictly family" trip, now at least I'll have someone English to speak to...

These trips to S. America are pretty adventurous...visiting his grandmother is a trek up the mountains. At least now with Lebeau and Beaudine for company, I won't be the silent observer. I'll be sure to post some pics when I get back. The funny thing is when we leave, their mother is coming to visit FL and stay at our house.

Relief...

...I just finished my taxes.

Sigh...

I've Been Dreaming About Love's True Kiss....

I couldn't help myself - I bought Enchanted today. LOVE this movie.

...Come my little friends as we all sing a happy little working song!

(Sad to say, I have some songs in my ipod).

Charlie Bit Me

A MUST SEE!

Other YouTube Favorites...

Take a look if you haven't seen it already.

• Buhlud
• Kick My Ask
• Baby Devil Laugh
• Cute Filipino Kid Singing
• Sneezing Panda
• Laughing Baby

Misc. Pics

A foggy day...taken in Montecito.

Kira at 14 yrs old...

Crazy NYC!

FUN IN THE SUBWAY...

WARNING: 1 Minute of Your Life You Wont Get Back...

Strange Kitty

This cat is one of the most unique looking cats I've seen in a while. She's kinda wild too. When I held out my hand for her to sniff, she sniffed a few times, then bit. I jumped 10 feet in the air...everyone was laughing.

Cooking Mama 2

I have a Nintendo DS game where you cook and make stuff in...and it's pretty pathetic 'cause when I play it at night it makes me hungry. Doesn't help since I'm trying to lose a few. I'm not on an "official diet" because I love food too much, I'm just trying to avoid eating Crispy Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers at 10pm at Chilli's if I can avoid it. I'm also trying to curb my bad habit of eating cereal at night too. SIGH!

To offset my nighttime 4th meals, I joined the gym down the street. I like it a lot. The machines are new and uniform - all the same brand and color. (No mis-matched older machines like they had at the BQE...although I can't speak for the BQE in '08). The last time I was there this PT totally took over my workout and worked me out pretty good. That one was a freebie. I'd hate to find out how much they cost. It's addicting because you want to get into shape quickly and they push you harder then you would push yourself. But no, I can't afford it right now...

Sprain

I sprained my finger! For the first time in my life, I sprained something. I've never broke or sprained anything in my life. In all my years of playing sports, you'd thing something like that would've happened already. Anyway, it all happened tossing a football around. I always played basketball, or volleyball or tennis, so I should have known with football, that I would kill my clean accident record. Anyway, the sun was in my eyes and the ball was coming toward me. Gaining momentum, instead of me catching it, it smashed into my left middle finger. It was painful, but the rest of the day didn't really bother me until the next morning when it was really really swollen. I got it checked out, nothing broken. You could imagine how comical I look wearing a splint on my middle finger. I only take it off to type (I have it off right now). It's a lot better and should improve by next week.

My New 'Do

I was due for a change...

Change is good.

Graham Colton, The Last Goodnight & Colbie Caillat

It's been a little while since I've been at a concert, so I found one that fit my budget: FREE. It was outdoors in City Place. Opening acts were pretty good. Graham Colton started off, and he was a 1 man band. His songs were all about love and love lost. They were really enjoyable. (However, when I downloaded his mp3's I was slightly disappointed as I grew fond of the acoustic rawness that I experienced live). He's someone worth looking into.

I was right next to a speaker, so the sound is kind of bad...

The Last Goodnight was pretty good too. They sort of are like Maroon 5 with an edge. I enjoyed hearing their main single "Pictures of You" among other songs.

Lastly, Colbie Caillat came on. You could SO tell this was their biggest concert yet. She looked nervous, like she was really concentrating on singing. Got the "deer in headlights" thing going on, but later she warmed up a bit. Her songs are actually really good, at first I thought they were boring but they grew on me. Bubbly is NOT my favorite. Her voice was impecable, her outfit was cute...but I just wish she smiled more and enjoyed herself a bit more. That sort of thing is contageous. I love really engaging preformers. She's new, so I'll give her a break. But her music is quality, she's going to get big if she isn't already.

Best part about this free concert besides the price, is that a friend gave me a helpful tip about bringing lawn chairs. I did, and I didn't have people breathing down my neck. However, this one girl tried to climb on my chair and I shot her the dirtiest look and asked what the heck she thought she was doing. Something about the amount of people in concerts that always makes me wanna fight. I don't know what it is. People are always crossing the line somehow...

Picture Posts

I finally got fed up waiting for the Blogger problem to clear up so I uploaded the pics again. The following posts are fixed:

• London!
• Liverpool Street
• Shops
• Tousins!