Wow! I am SO happy with all of your beautiful and supportive comments! Thank you so much for caring! I wish I could give each and everyone of you a hug Your response makes me feel extremelly lucky to have you as blog buddies!

Last Friday my beloved R – yes, his initial is the same as that of my Princess! drove more than 900 km to see me and brought his daughter F with him – all of this unplanned and unexpected until the moment he told me he was doing it! Needless to say I was TOTALLY ecstatic! He estimated it to be a 9hr drive – 24 years ago he used to make the trip as well – but in the end they were on the road for over 12 hrs!  Of course he says it was well worth the trip and F was a great sport but next time she wants to fly and I don’t blame her!

We had such a good time together and Renata and F got along just great even though F is 14 yrs. old and Renata will be 5 next month. I am very thankful for that and the time we got to spend together, it was a taste of what family life could be like…

Here are the three of them in the ocean – my Mermaid had a blast!

And then, Saturday night one of my cousins got married and it was amazing to be able to attend a family function with R!!!

We had a terrific time and don’t you think we look great together?!?!!! The best part is that next Thursday R is flying over to spend the weekend and celebrate my birthday with us – is that the greatest present or what?!!! On that note I will say goodnight and promise to come back with more news and photos

Have a fantastic week and thank you for being so lovely ~

took place a few weekends ago in Mexico City – even though that meant leaving Renata behind for the first time in years – and has shaken up my everyday and future life plans… I am elated, I feel blessed at this TOTALLY UNEXPECTED second chance with such wonderful person and at the same time overwhelmed by the intensity of my emotions, in awe of the aftermath of any decision I make as it will have a direct impact on Renata…

I left him 22 years ago – after 2 years of a wonderful and loving long distance relationship - when I went to school in San Diego… and I broke his heart by doing so… And now, due to a miracle we have been given a second chance and this time both of us want the relationship to last … forever…

I saw him, walked over to him - my smile got even bigger than it was since the moment I left the plane - and next thing I know I am clinging to him, not wanting to let go of his embrace, wanting to make that hug go on forever, wanting time to stand still, wishing I could remain in his arms forever… and of course what he wanted to do was take a look at me and I woudn’t let him because that meant letting go of his embrace! LOL! I guess that is rather silly considering my age, however, love is supposed to be ageless, no?

It was a WONDERFUL weekend full of memories, laughter, endless conversations and love… old love, new love…

I’ve been in a daze ever since… Trying to go about business as usual and at the same time knowing that NOTHING will ever be the same and sooner or later a decision has to be made and there will be no going back! I am not scared by this new chance at love with such incredible person, however, the fact that at least for the next few years Mexico City will be the place we will call home is imposing – to say the least - especially for a PATA SALADA (small beach town girl) like me!

The fact that my family and friends will have a cow and will be shocked is an understatement, but I have to do what I have to do… and to be together for the rest of our life is what we both want, soooooo … I will keep you posted on any and all developments! Hehehehe

Posting regularly seems to be an issue as of late and I miss it. I miss your comments, I miss visiting your blogs, etc. I have decided to try and post once a week, if I am able to do it more often great but without the self-imposed pressure of daily posting.

I leave you with a photo of my sweetheart & I, please say a prayer for us so the transition into this new phase in our lives goes as smoothly as possible.

Love ~

We ended 2009 and started 2010 in a fun way. Last night we were at my favorite Aunt and Uncle’s home, it was just family and we had a fantastic evening.

This morning we started our day/year by going to Mass and it is was beautiful! There was a mariachi band instead of the regular piano/keyboard and it sounded lovely! The sermon was about faith and how we believe/keep our faith with/in our heart – not with/in our mind… in other words, if we start analizing things we lose faith! How true this is!

Therefore, my wish for YOU at the start of this brand new year is that you have lots of faith in your heart! That you believe YOU are capable of doing anything you set your mind to, don’t allow your mind to “talk” you out of doing anything you want to do.

I already have a little list of MUSTS for this year, as they start coming true I will tell you about them Have fun this weekend and THANK YOU for being such wonderful blog buddies, please don’t stop visiting this blog and thank you for your comments, they make my day!

Happy New Year! Feliz 2010! ~

has been SOOOOOOO enjoyable! And it ain’t over yet! I have been terribly busy with work; however, I have enjoyed whatever time I’ve had available and it feels like a great achivement!

My wonderful friend Jackie and her family moved to Guadalajara last summer and I had not seen her since before we went to SD, she came to town for the holidays and we got to spend some time together and it was just like the good old times! Our friend Maritza (http://asthepalapaturns.blogspot.com/) had us over at her place yesterday afternoon and we all had a terrific time. Thank you Maritza , we had a great time and the cookies were super YUMMY!!!

Erica and Maritza

Jackie and I

No, this is not Mogli – is sweet JJ helping hang one of the two piñatas Maritza had for the children.

Piñata breaker extraordinaire in action with Leah and JJ in the background

The little ones on the ever so popular bouncy-whatever is called-thingy

and my cheeks-full-of-pizza Princess – always ready to pose for Mami and her ever present camera!

Enjoy the last few hours of this year. I hope 2009 is fantastic down to the very last second and may your New Year’s Eve be memorable and preceeds a fantastic 2010! ~

All day long I was waiting for night-time so I could go to sleep and when the time came for me to finally go to bed I decided to stay up and craft – yeah! It has been a long time since I purposely sat to create something, and it feels great to do so!

This holiday season went by mighty fast, I did not craft any of the gifts I gave – I ended up buying most of them and the rest I already had… shame on me! I cannot believe Christmas is over, I am not ready to let go of the Christmas carols, the cider, etc. and neither is Renata as she keeps on asking me to play Christmas music!

Due to the fact that I am indeed very tired, I worked at a very slow pace and therefore did not accomplish much. I made some gift certificate holders/cards, so plain I am embarrased to show them – but I liked them I hope the recipients do too!

I made an ATC to participate in an online challenge – please visit my other blog to see a photo of it, I am NOT thrilled with it but I guess I became rusty as it has been a long while since I created cards…

What I am REALLY happy with is an paper birdie I made following a tutorial I found tonight at a new blog I visited. I did the bird mostly free hand, glued three layers of birds and also cut out the wings free hand. I made two wings for each side and added generous amounts of fine glitter after using distressing ink on the birdie.

Here is a photo of her – her name is Wordie – just finished!

Here she is, in-flight! (Hee, hee – being silly is part of being tired I guess)

And she is now safely in her cage… with the door open, just the way she likes it!

Thank you for stopping by and enduring my silliness ~

Today the Catholic church celebrates the Holy Family and listening to the sermon tonight  I conciously gave thanks for the family I was born into and for the family I’ve made for myself. I am very lucky, I have great friends! Some I’ve had for many years, others have been in my life for just  a few and others are fairly newcomers and I am grateful for all!

Even this blog has brought fantastic human beings into my life and since becoming a member of  swap-bot I’ve come across some very generous ladies who have been extremely kind to both Renata and I.

Thank you for your friendship! To me you are angels the Lord has sent into our lives and regardless of the length of your stay in our journey your company IS being throughly and conciously enjoyed YOU are part of the family I have created for myself… and by default for Renata as well!

I now  leave you with this photo of my Princess and I, it was taken earlier this month during the yearly city-wide festivities of the Virgin of Guadalupe – I must do a post on the subject!

May the last week of the year be exactly the way you want it to be! ~

I hope this day was everything you dreamed it would be/could be! Ours was fantastic!!! Renata tried to get up early and I convinced her it was still night time so I was able to sleep a little longer – shame on me!

When Renata got up she found what she had been asking for under the tree and started playing right away. I cooked breakfast and my Mom and sister came over and ate with us. At 11am we went to Mass and after mass we changed into comfortable clothes and got ready to go to our Annual Extended Family Christmas Feast! Yeah!

Every year, my father’s (RIP) siblings and their children and grandchildren get together at an uncle’s house and each family brings a dish and we set up a great buffet. There are salads, main courses, side dishes, drinks, desserts, bread, et. I brought a chicken dish and a piñata, my sister made dessert, etc. We all had a fantastic time, lots of great company, nice conversation, togetherness, you name it! And my Princess? Let the following photos tell their story:

Playing with cousins…

Hitting the piñata!

Enjoying a late afternoon swim!  

I feel VERY blessed, I wish you feel the same way. From our family to yours: Feliz Navidad! ~

I pray you and your family had a peaceful and harmonious Nochebuena/Christmas Eve; tonight, around our table there were only four of us: My Mom, My sister Elena, Renata and I – Diego was sleep! We shared a wonderful meal, prayers, laughter, nice music, companionship and love for each other – it was great!

Happy Holidays from my Princess and I! ~

Hello there!!! My computer got really sick and I was unable to post… it is really weird how one can miss a computer – is not even a person!!! However, it allows me to be in touch with people so I guess that is a good “excuse” to miss it when it is not working

I know it’s been awhile since Thanksgiving but I still have photos to post and thanks to give to our friends: the Black family for having us over for yummy fun and nice company on Thanksgiving day! Here I am with my friend Erica, who by the way is a great cook!!

Here is Renata with Grandma Black

Erica and Marcel – a friend of the Black family from Canada

And the yummy food!

There will be a part III – sorry and after that I promise some holiday posts and pics of little things I’ve been tring to make. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and wish you a fantastic week!

Thank you for stopping by ~

To all my friends from the U.S. I hope you had a great day! We did – There are so many things we have to be grateful for – we are very lucky.

At school the English teachers have to organize a luncheon for the children and so we did. Each child brought some food (Turkey, mash potatoes, salad, pie, etc.) and all went into a buffet table. A tent was decorated and set up for the children, teachers and all other staff members that work in the Preschool/kindergarten section of the school. Since Renata’s school didn’t do anything to celebrate this very special and meaningful day – she does not go to a bilingual school, they just teach 1 hr. a day of English, I guess that is why – I took her to school with me so she could see/be exposed to a (somewhat ) Thanksgiving celebration.

I have some photos to share with you – FINALLY! This is the tent area being set up – I was in the classroom teaching

This is my creation, what do you think?!

And here are the children ready to be served!

We had some yummy poultry meat, mash potatoes, green salad, corn, fresh bread, assorted juices and pies galore!!! My all time favorite is PUMPKIN, and we had two of them, so there was plenty for everybody.

This creation was done by the other English Teacher – I love it! I want to take it home next week when we change the decor to Christmas!!!

I have more photos to share of Renata enjoying her visit to the school, but they will have to wait for the next post as I do not want to make this one that long… I am going to leave you with this photo of the Teachers:  Aida and I!

Thank you for stopping by. I wish you a fantastic weekend and if you are a Black Friday fan, may you find tons of great sales! Tomorrow is Friday, tomorrow is Friday, Friday – Friday – Friday! LOL!!! ~