ABC Wednesday -- "G"

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ABC Wednesday, today it's Letter "G"

The letter "G" is best applied when used with the following words: Grandma, great grandma, goddaughter, and granddaughters.

Here Grandma and Great Grandma share a shot with the little princess.
My Goddaughter and I posing during her farewell party.
My two youngest granddaughters.

A Blah Kind Of Weekend.

My weekend wasn't really the greatest. I fell into a "I don't want to do anything" mode and I just could not shake it. I winded up sleeping all day Saturday and only got up on Sunday to attend mass and have dinner at my sister's. Once that was done it was back home to bed. Needless other than going to mass and dinner it was totally a wasted weekend. So the fairly big "to do" list that I had for Saturday will just have to join the the list for next weekend.

This morning I woke up on time and left the house early only to find the entrance of the freeway backed up. I thought here I go again I am going to be late for work so I started to settle into the freeway traffic when I noticed the source of the slow down. This guy that takes the same freeway entrance and exit and rides a semi-custom bike was down. Now I don't know if he was hit, if he hit, or if he just lost control of the bike. I just hate to see riders down as it is a constant reminder of how vulnerable we are while riding.

I could see he was moving and there were people there already giving him aid. I imagine the ambulance had also been called. So I just silently extended a prayer for him to be OK and kept going. I have seen this type of scene before and I have to shake it real fast and not let it get to me, riding is still my passion and would not dream of giving it up, at least not yet.

One of those things in my "to do" list is to take the bike for service but since I have to drop it off and leave it there I would need a ride back home and then back to the dealership when ready. These days those rides are scarce as everybody seems to be extremely busy.

Well, hopefuly next weekend I will figure it out one way or the other. For now I just hope my week goes fine.

And I wish for yours to go fine as well.

Peace!

Joe Cool's... Eye and lens.

OK now that I have a fully functional camera there is no more excuse not to keep capturing images on a daily basis. With this in mind today I made an executive decision, first my "Arizona... But It's a Dry Heat!" Photo blog will no longer get new images. Instead today I started a totally new photo blog which I entitled "Joe Cool's... Eye and lens".

With me going all over the place these days I decided that I will post random images of things I see. If they attract my eye and are captured by my camera's lens I will publish them here. No theme, no rhyme, no reason, just random images and that's it.

So, please come and visit the new blog and please become a follower, I want to make sure it picks up and takes off fast but for that I need your help and support. A picture a day is all I will do and I hope you all like it.

Don't be shy and let me know in the comment section what kind of shots you would like to see, that will make it fun for me to go and hunt for them, or to at least try. There is going to be a little bit of everything so stay tuned and keep coming back.

Las Vegas

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas and obviously on Facebook too. Apparently the money I took to Vegas also stayed in Vegas. It's a good thing that the Casinos were not the first thing on our list, well except maybe on my mom's list but she adapted. Upon waking up and having coffee with cheese cake we all headed down to the swimming pool, the weather was a little on the hot side but otherwise perfect so we headed to the bar ordered some drinks and went to dip ourselves in the pool. The water actually felt cold which made it very refreshing.

Ha, ha, apparently we all have different taste in drinks.



Swimming is always going to make one hungry so after an hour or so my sister and mom decided they had enough and headed back to the room to make some very delicious tortas. Ummmm were they good or what? It was then decided that we would dress up and go out for dinner and then once again to the casinos. Me, I didn't take dress up clothes so shorts and a polo did the trick but everyone else looked like Barbie dolls, OK except maybe my brother in law whom didn't even resemble Ken either. lol





Then it was off to the strip, we wanted to see the Belaggio Fountains show but trying to find parking nearby was next to impossible so we ended at another hotel with lots of stores and the decor was so pleasing to the eye that we just pretty much decided to stay there and not try a different one anymore. We got there too late for the buffet but we found a nice sit down restaurant in there that was open 24 hours.









So, as you can see, we did have a terrific time in Vegas. It was wonderful time well spent with the two birthday girls (mom and sis) my brother in law, my lil sis from Cali and of course my fiance.

Looking forward to the next trip and or next adventure.

Peace!

ABc Wednesday -- "F"

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ABC Wednesday, today it's Letter "F"

This is an easy one for me, a motorcycle and car enthusist will definitely think of Fords and FatBoys.


Fat Boys Rule.




Fabulous Fords Forever.

Vegas Bound

The birthday girls invade Vegas.
So my mom asked, "What time are we leaving?" my sister said "Early!". My sister forgot to remind my mom that for her "early" means around noonish, so my mom was up and ready since 7:00 a.m., so when we finally left Phoenix around 1:30 p.m. for the first hour of hour trip the word "EARLY" was disseminated by my mom from front to back and back to front.



So with no real rush to get there as my lil sister left La Puente after we left Phoenix and after all it was her timeshare we were staying at, we made the trip to Vegas enjoying our stops in between to stretch and rest. Remember our trip to Las Vegas was my mom's 79th birthday present so we didn't want to get her tired before we got there.

Our mode of transportation was this aswesome looking Mercury Sable station wagon that belongs to my mom, even though she does not drive she keeps it fully functional and insured and she won't part with it because it belonged to my dad.

We did get to the resort before my sister and Abby so we headed for the supermarket and stocked up on food for the weekend. We spent about an hour at the store which gave enough time for my sis to get there. After the market we only had to wait for about 20 minutes.

Cancun Caribe Resort.
After getting installed we sat to relax, coffee was offered and the sweet bread came out too along with a bowl of grapes and cherries. Perfect for sitting at the table and for conversation.

My sister Elena, the other birthday girl went outside to the balcony which had an awesome view of the Las Vegas skyline and I decided to join her. It was about midnight and we all thought we may go to sleep soon but my mom had a different idea. She is like "So we are here now what? Where are we going?" And with that we all left. We cruised all the way to the end of the strip and I was getting ready to turn around when my sister Elena says, "Look Tacos Mexico", needless to say a taco stop was in order.

Old habits never die. We are in Vegas and eating tacos.
We then headed towards a casino and winded up at the MGM Grand. We went in and walked around for a while, some of us played the slot machines and before we new it it was 3:00 a.m., so we decided to head back to the resort and go to rest.

Just a Reflexion Or Random Thought

Without a doubt life has been good to me and it's easy for me to count by blessings. I really don't have time to waste on negative stuff, life is too short for that and I rather commit myself to living life to the fullest than wasting it. If one would only realize how once time is gone it won't ever come back then maybe one would adjust a positive mind set from the get go creating the best possible outcome. As the saying goes, it's better to fail at trying than not trying at all.

I don't want "my better half" to ever say or think that I should be more like someone else. I just want to be me, but the best me I can possibly be and for "my better half" to accept me just as I am. Of course people always change, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worst. Me, I hope is for the better but it takes an everyday effort and renewed promise of commitment.

Why can't he be more like you?
And see things as you see them
Do things as you do them
Say words as you say them
Live life as you live it

Then I would say
Because number one he is not me
He's his own individual
With his own ideas
And his own ideals
With his own dreams
And his own passions
With his own goals
And his own struggles
With his own virtues
And his own imperfections
And probably with his own reserved love
For the one person that will willingly
And lovingly back him up into fulfilling
The daily challenges that life inevitably
Will throw your way to be overcome and conquered.

So don't look for his imperfections
Those will probably be many
Instead look for the nice things in him
Even if there are not many
I guarantee that if you grab those and feed them
Nourish them with love not with mayhem
The dividends that you'll collect
Will be worth a thousand fold
And in the end
Isn't that what we all want?

I really believe that when you think positive and project it to your spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, significant other, etc. I will come back to you. It's that easy. It's hard to change someone else, but it's not too hard to start by changing your own ways and aim for a better relationship and a better life.

Emma's Fifth Birthday

Happy birthday Emma.
Last Saturday my niece celebrated her daughter's 5th birthday. I believe I may have published a picture of her in this blog back when she was pregnant. Actually that particular post was the sixth post in this blog (Click Here To Read It). How does time goes by so fast? Why is it that now that I am older I feel it swoosh over my head? When I think about how fast time goes by all I can think of is saying "Wow" and then can't help but think that I am getting old.

Here she is with her mom, her grandma, and great grandma. I just love this picture.
Another funny thing I noticed is that the majority of the guests this weekend were also in attendance five years ago, I think my niece has a good friendship stability.
Her friend baked this very pretty Hello Kitty cake. Wow, people nowadays are getting so creative. Not only did it look good but it tasted pretty good too.

Hello Kitty!
In my world, birthday celebrations like this one are endless, part of having such a huge united family. A good example of this is; my mom's birthday was yesterday and my sister's will be tomorrow. It is not uncommon for us to have celebrations back to back, or on the same day forcing us to either pick and choose or attend both for a shorter period of time.

As always Joe Cool's candid camera was out and about and here are some of those moments I captured during the fiesta.

Enjoy!

Here I am with the birthday girl.
And here she is with her great grandma.
The dad and her princess!

Emma and Fr. Prospero. Father Prospero is here visiting from Congo in Africa.
Blowing the candles off. Happy Birthday to you and many more Emma.

ABC Wednesday -- "E"

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ABC Wednesday, today it's Letter "E"

Yep, I think a suitable image for the letter E would be this one showing that WE are now ENGAGED and although we still don't have a date set yet it will be soon, or as soon as early next year.

Engaged.

To do things right
You have to wait
But the anticipation
Won't give you a break
So you go on
Day in and day out
And patiently wait
For the next time she's around.

Yeah, the wait kindda sucks but oh it will be so worth it.

Tidbits

The countdown begins, next week at around this time (I am writing this in the AM) my sister, her husband, my mom and I will be getting ready to go to Las Vegas. It's my mom's birthday on the 16th and my sister's on the 18th and my mom has been wanting to go to Vegas. So... to celebrate my lil sis booked her time share for next weekend, where she along with Abby will meet us. Should be a great fun time and I am ready for yet another road trip. The last time I went to Vegas was about nine years ago on a 4th of July. Oh memories!

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When it comes to family celebrations they are endless. Saturday my niece celebrates her daughter's fifth birthday and we will be there. Should be fun too! Kids, they grow so fast and without asking for permission. Let's celebrate!

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Well I finally went out on a date with my daughter and her husband to the movies to watch The last of the Harry Potter movies. All I can say is that I am going to miss them. Even though we all now the whole story takes in a six year period which is their primary school years, the actors in the movie aged way more than a six year span and yet it felt right that none of them was re casted. When it comes to franchise movies, this is the best franchised I have watched. Of course, no date was complete without a trip to yourgartland after the movie.

ABC Wednesday -- "D"

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ABC Wednesday, today it's Letter "D"

Dad!
Most definitely, the letter "D" is for DAD. Mine may have left us a few years ago but will forever live in my heart and my thoughts.

"DUCKY"
I know I have probably published this picture before but the fact is that I love it. Ducky was pointing out how somehow the letter "i" was missing and intended to get to the bottom of it.

A much growned up Diego.