Celebrate today or tomorrow?

Today we tell Fernando Happy Birthday, simply because he was actually born in the month of February.
BUT, tomorrow we will tell Fernando Happy Birthday again, simply because he wasn't born ON February 28, he was born the day after - which that year was February 29th!!

He prefers to celebrate his birthday on March 1, for that very reason.

ANYway,

Happy Birthday, Fernando!!! Today, and we'll say it again tomorrow!! How fun is that!!!

We pick up Andrew from the airport today!! We are excited about him arriving, but I wonder who is MOST excited? Can you guess??

'Course the first thing that needs to be done when anyone arrives, (be it by car, plane, whatever) is they have to go through the port of entry at Taco Cabana. It's mandatory, there's probably a line about it in the passport somewhere.

Western Dancing

What a nice evening we had! Before going to the western dance hall, we stopped in at John and Angie's house to visit for a few minutes. Then, we all went in John's truck to the Midnight Rodeo.

After taking a few pictures outside, we walked inside and immediately I could tell that it was going to be a fun evening. The place is set up very well and has something for everyone - food, several bars, dance floor, big screen TV's, pool tables, comfortable seating and so on. Since we got there fairly early, we got a prime place to sit and enjoy the evening.
The first thing we did was get in the short line for the buffet. Everything looked so good! We had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas, chips and queso, salad, rolls and veggies and dip. It was all delicious!

Since the place we were sitting at was right by a lone pool table, after we ate, Guillermo and I decided to play a game of pool. But when we got to the pool table, the guy who played before said whoever plays next has to play him, since he won the last game. So, Guillermo took him on and beat him. He beat about two more people after that, and then he and I had a chance to play a game. We had fun playing together, but as we were playing, someone else put their quarters down, so when we were done, Guillermo went on to play the next person. He beat a total of about 5 people, before someone got the best of him.
Guillermo and I did a little dancing, played pool, and we enjoyed beer and margaritas with John, Angie, Martina, Charito and Angel. John and Martina looked like professional dancers out there on that dance floor!! We all had a great time and as we were leaving, we made plans to come back again at the end of April! That's how much we enjoyed the evening!! We look forward to going back.

Remembering the Alamo!

Martina and I took Guillermo to SAC in the morning, and then the two of us drove downtown to visit the Alamo. We parked at River Center Mall and walked all the way to the Alamo when I remembered that I had left the camera in the truck. So, Martina stayed at the Alamo to look around while I walked back to get the camera. It was such a nice day to be outdoors! We enjoyed the nice warm weather sitting on a bench, surrounded by blooming Mountain Laurel trees, while we listened to a docent talk about the history of the Alamo. Once we were finished with the Alamo, we walked to the Menger Hotel and then walked back to River Center Mall. Since Martina hadn't had any breakfast, she bought a little Cinnabon and we went outside to sit along the river while she ate it.

After leaving the mall, we drove to Central Market where we did a little shopping for an Indian dinner we plan on cooking on Thursday. And then it was time to pick Guillermo up from SAC!!! We are down to one car right now, as the red car is in the shop because it seems to have an oil leak. :-(

Off to Dallas and a birthday boy

For Wednesday and Thursday night's dinner, we enjoyed delicious Bowle that Martina made. In it she puts fruits, vodka, sparkling wine and red wine. It is so smooth and made a wonderful accompaniment to the spaghetti dinner that we enjoyed both nights. We look forward to having it again for Mom's birthday party!

Today, Friday, Martina packed up for a plane trip up to my brother and sister-in-law's house in Greenville, TX. We left early from our house so that we could have breakfast at the Magnolia Pancake Haus. MMmmm - our breakfasts were delicious! From there, we went to North Star Mall where we had about 45 minutes to look around. I left Martina in A'gaci to look around while I headed to Zumiez to get Jason a gift card for his birthday. The time passed all too quickly, but Martina did find a couple of really cute blouses in A'gaci. Then we headed to the airport, and since we checked in online and printed out her boarding pass last night, she was good to go! She'll come back Monday afternoon.

The most exciting news is that today is Jason's birthday!!! I won't put his age but he is in his lower lower-thirties. :-)
From what we heard, the day wasn't all that great for him because his dog Duke hurt his leg while exercising in a park. So, he and Duke had to spend some time in the vets office. Then later, Jason noticed a nail in his tire, which necessitated buying a whole new tire (and spending time at a tire place). Hopefully, tomorrow will be a day more like a birthday-type of day for him! Either way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JASON!!!

Also, Rebeca told us that she received the scores from the third test that she had to take for her license in Landscape Architecture. And it was no major surprise to us, but she passed this test too!! We are so VERY proud of her! 3 tests down and two to go.

Guillermo and I had dinner at Red Lobster again this evening (to celebrate Jason's birthday from afar). Afterwards we came home and practiced a little bit of the Texas Two-Step because in one week we are going with Martina to a country-western dance. John and Angie will meet us there, so it should be lots of fun. Anyway, we had learned the steps when we took classes for Rebeca's wedding, so the moves came back to us rather easily. We think we are ready for next week!

I'm not a big fan of posts with no pictures, but unfortunately, there are none this time.

Rodeo Day

What a day we had today!! We left early in the morning to the Stock Show and Rodeo!! Once we got to the rodeo grounds, the first place we visited was the Swine Barn. We looked in on some pens where the pigs were and we watched a couple of swines being weighed, which can be entertainment in itself. One of the pigs being weighed was mad about that and let everyone around him know how much he hated it!!

Then we went to the barn where they were going to hold the Sheep Dog Trials. That is one of my favorite events to watch - those dogs are so focused and so skilled. Several of the more seasoned dogs get into their low stalking position as soon as they enter the ring, already on the lookout for sheep that aren't even there yet!

 After watching that a little while, we walked around and came upon the food booth section and it smelled so good around there we decided to get us a little bit to eat (fajita tacos and chili-cheese fries). Then we visited more tents and booths before it was time to head into the arena for the Rodeo. 

The rodeo was very entertaining, with the bareback riders and the saddle bronc riders being the most exciting to watch. All of the events were very exciting though, and we were very impressed with the skills of some of those guys. After the rodeo, we ate some barbecue, Frito pie and a beef steak sundae (Martina). We were quite tired when we got home.

Happy Valentine's Day

We aren't doing that much today. We had breakfast at El Palmito (which is always very nice), and then we went to the gym to work out. After working out, we went to Lowe's to buy some blocks to put around the house. So, basically, we are taking it easy now, because we have a full day tomorrow! We are going to the rodeo!! That will take up most of the day, but we are looking forward to it. We haven't been to a rodeo in many, many years so it will be fun to share that with Martina. Before the rodeo begins, we'll walk around the grounds and look at the animals, watch the Sheepdog trials, eat delicious food and visit the many interesting booths that will be set up. So, it should be a fun day.

But Guillermo and I did reminisce about our first Valentine's day together 32 years ago. We can still see it as if it was yesterday. He came over to my grandparent's house with a big pot of beautiful tulips. I loved those tulips, they were so beautiful and we will never forget how happy we both felt. I took this quote that I saw in the newspaper today: "Romantic love can last a long time, if you kiss the right person." How true that is!

Working in PE and Visiting the zoo

Friday was the first time I ever substituted for an employee who works in a school gym.   I had done PE once before (long time ago) for an entire summer, so I figured it couldn't be that bad.  And since this assignment was at my former school, of course I knew the coach well, and that was another plus.

I don't believe I have EVER come home more tired from any working assignment. Aside from a 30-minute break for lunch, pretty much the whole day was spent standing or walking. Not that I didn't enjoy it. I DID! It was fun working with Doug and the majority of the kids were a pleasure to work with. Of course, there are those 4th and 5th graders who never want to do ANYTHING, because they are too busy doing better things, like talking with their friends but that's how it always is. I did not exercise with the kids but walked around with them when they had to walk, so it was an easy day to get steps in. Everyone in the office looked at me expectantly after school, waiting to hear if I would do it again and I told them emphatically that I would. It was tiring, but it was a good day.

Saturday we met Mom, Linda, Jacob and Martina at the zoo, so it was another day of a lot of walking. The weather was just perfect for visiting the zoo. Cloudy, breezy and cool, so the animals were out and very active. Usually when we go to the zoo, it's quite hot, so it was a refreshing change to be there in such nice weather and to see the animals actually moving around.

This past week

It sure would be easier to just do this blog everyday, but sometimes there just isn't time!
Okay, so this is what's been going on.
On Tuesday, Jan. 27th, Jason took the oral exam for his PhD and he PASSED!! Of course, that really was no surprise, but still, it's nice to know. I'm sure he feels a major sense of relief, and now he'll be getting ready to defend his dissertation in the spring. He should have absolutely no trouble with that. We are very proud of Jason!!

On Wednesday, Rebeca sent us an email that was sent out to many people about the new partners in the firm where she works and Rebeca is one of them.  Here's part of what the email said, which also included a picture!:
NEW STRATEGY FOR THRIVING IN TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES
Local company promotes key personnel to ownership positions
January 27, 2009
"SAGE Landscape Architecture and Environmental, Inc. has promoted five key employees to membership in its newly formed “Partners Group.” They include Landscape Architects Sandra Tolley and Brian Sager, Project Manager and Lead Designer Rebeca Field, Administrative Director Anne Hammett, and Director of Project Management Mary Schwindt. Group members, along with SAGE President Joy Lyndes, will be responsible for the future strategic development, management and operations of SAGE in Arizona and throughout the Southwest."

We couldn't be any prouder of Rebeca!!

On Thursday, I met Mom and Linda at World Market. Mom and I did a little shopping there while Linda went over to Barnes and Noble for a job interview. (Linda found herself in the unfortunate, but lately all too common, position of being laid off from her job.) After the interview, we drove to a little pizza place called "Dough" and had lunch. The pizza was excellent there, and we marveled at the stove they were using, which was delivered here from Italy. It was interesting to read about the journey of that stove on the back of their menu. After eating there, we drove across the street and had a great peach cobbler (Mom had Trifle) at the Lion and Rose Pub. We discussed the pros and cons of all Linda's job prospects and just enjoyed ourselves.

On Friday, Guillermo and I took Martina to a Korean Barbecue restaurant for dinner. The food was delicious - Beef Bulgogi, Shrimp Pancake, and Stir-fry Shrimp Spicy. Martina loved it so much, that she wants to take Andrew there when he comes at the end of the month. We saved half of the Shrimp Pancake to have for lunch the next day.

On Saturday, John and Angie came over for Paella dinner. While I was getting the last minute things ready for the meal, John and Guillermo walked around the house looking at and discussing what repairs or improvements we should make before putting our house up for sale. We had a wonderful dinner, and made lots of good plans to do things together in the coming months. Dancing at a Western dance hall one day, dinner at their house another day, and a trip to the coast in March!! We had a great evening together!

Finally, today, Martina and I met Mom, Linda and Jacob at La Villita, where we spent some time looking around in the cute shops. Mom, Linda and Jacob left after a while to go to the San Antonio Museum of Art (we joined them there later). In the meantime, Martina and I walked along the river thinking we would visit the Alamo, but eventually we decided against it. Instead, we looked around in some stores and Martina bought a few things for family back in Europe.

That's the past week in a nutshell. Whew! I'm all caught up!