Arizona Mills

Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice.  ~Dave Barry

Ok she had been to Arrowhead Mall in Peoria but I still have not taken her to Arizona Mills in Tempe so after we attended mass and dropped my mom home I headed to the Mills without telling her where we were going. We got there on an empty stomach so I suggested we eat first. The mall as expected was pretty packed and parking space was scarce but we spotted an empty spot near the entrance and parked the car before we were beaten to it.

We had dinner at the Rainforest Café and let me tell you it took the whole rest of the day and lots of walking afterwards just to digest it. I had an extremely tasty steak and chicken fajitas plate while Abby opted for an equally tasty plate of pasta Cajun style aptly named “Pastalaya”. Ummm both plates were very delicious and filling and worth every penny. We pretty much finish all the food as we didn’t want to be carrying it all over the mall.

Ok the truth is we did carry the food but in our tummies.

Arizona Mills has more higher-end stores that are not found at Arrowhead Mall but when you visit the stores on a Sunday and a holiday is near and all the stores swear they have “good sales” the place becomes hard to navigate and I for one feel crowded and overwhelmed. I grew up being a swap meet type of guy not a mall person.

Still, Abby did find herself a cool looking suit ensemble in a different color than her standard black. I have yet to convince her to put more color in her wardrobe but hey little by little. It appeared that this year orange is the new pink but she wasn’t buying it.

Before we knew it gates and sliding doors were being slammed and that was out cue that it was time to go home. Truth be told my feet were so tired from walking that in my case should have been cue enough but Abby is a tireless browser/window shopper and I just have to shape up to keep up with her. Ah youth has escaped and swooshed over my head without my permission.

As we stepped out to the parking lot it was already dark and after a not to bad traffic jam from all the exiting shoppers we were on the freeway on our way back home.

All in all, a most excellent day out in the company of my honey. I am sure we will be doing this again soon.

Family Get Together

On a Sundy afternoon...

Michelle and Nichole looking pretty and I believe hungry.
There is nothing like spending a Sunday in the company of your kids and grand kids, this blog doesn't really have a theme but if you look in the archives you will see that it has always focus on family and family life, and yes, mine in particular. I am pleased to see that we always pull through the adversities life may throw at us and we do so with unity, hope, and love, and lots of it.

That be me and Nikki. The pizza was just a hold me down until the real food was ready

During these past two years my little family has experienced many changes and little by little we are adapting to them, for a little while there I felt like we were all heading in different directions as part of the changes as well as the growth of the individual families, at times we all seem to just plain struggle but we are all making it one way or another.

When adversity comes knocking I am always amazed to see how fast my kids round up together and unite and start helping one another, this gives me a great sense of pride and to some point of accomplishment. My son is going through a rough time in his life and again not only my daughters but also my two son's in law have been there for him and it is so nice to see how he is thanking each one of us just by showing us some very positive changes. Yes, in this case actions are louder than words.

Michelle and El Daddy~O.
So for three Sundays in a row we have gotten together as a family and just enjoy each other's company weather by cooking or watching the football games, but mostly cooing, but as I told them, next week you're all on your own because this kid here will be making his first trip of the year to good ol' crowded Southern California, specifically the La Puente area.

I rock when it comes to cooking, today I prepared this finger licking good gallinita pivil.

At The Park on a Sunday Afternoon

I have been and probably still am at a loss for words, events, and basically topics to blog about. Luckily this was a good weekend for me. I spent my Friday afternoon cleaning house, I had been neglecting it lately and even though I don't get it dirty it does get dusty all on its own.

Saturday I woke up early as I had an appointment to go order my new glasses. I did but little suckers left me almost $350.00 in the hole, oh it started higher than that but being the negotiator that I am I brought it down considerably. Still quite a hefty price for two little pieces of glass attached to some metal not thicker than a wire.

I came back home with the intention of washing my car but guess what? This is Phoenix and it was hot. I did wash it but had to wait until past 5:00 o'clock. As I normally do every Saturday I stayed home watching TV and saving my throat for Sunday. I learned my lesson as I went out a couple of times only to not be able to sing on Sunday, and as luck would have it I had solos to perform. Now I prefer to stay home although I may go out on occasion.

My telephone's alarm wakes me up at 7:30 AM every Sunday. I like to get up and make me a coffee to wake up. I check my emails and facebook while I drink it and then it's shower time as I like to get to church promptly at 9:30 AM. Even tho our mass is at 11:30 we normally use one hour to practice our songs and to warm up our voices.

Well, we were asked to please cover for the 1:30 mass too so we did. My daughter left me a message that they were all going to a park to have a family barbecue and asked if I wanted to join. I told them that after the 1:30 PM mass I would be there.

When I got to the park the food was almost ready, all my grand kids and honorary grand kids were there too, the only one missing was my son whom stayed home sick. We had such a good time, the weather was perfect, the kids were all running all over the playground and having a good time. They all looked so cute with their red chicks as one by one run to me to say "hi grandpa" and to give me a kiss.

I so needed such a day, a day with my kids, my grand kids, my nephews, my family.

A tandem swing? What a great invention. lol
Awww my daughters and daughter in law, or in other words my older generation babies.
My nephew Chris and his little baby Joseph, or as I call him "mi tocayito".
Me playing with my little princess Atalie.
Our chef cooking the beans, chicken, etc., but what? No salsa! Who dropped the ball?
Ummm, que rico!

Sunday

I really have not had anything to relate to you guys so I've been quiet. I've been keeping myself at home which really does not give me anything to write about. Weather has been crazy, some days are cold and the next are warm, no wonder everybody is getting sick.

Last week this "Choir Boy" completed his first year as a member of the choir and I can honestly say it has made a big impact in my life. I feel good to be back in church and to be able to serve in this capacity. Really looking forward to the second year. Right now as I type this it's almost time for me to start getting ready to go to church. I have made it a habit to get up early on Sunday and to try to fully wake up by having me my morning cup of coffee while I check for my emails and stuff. My days of rushing to do things are over.

Normally as a treat after mass I get treated to a wonderful meal at my sister's house. What? Me spoiled? Absolutely! :-)

So far I've had a great weekend, both my Friday afternoon and my Saturday morning were most excellent, although my afternoon nap turned out to be a full blown four hour sleep, ha ha what else is new? So I am hoping to close this weekend with a fantastic Sunday, and so far so good.

Well hopefully next week I'll come up with something else to write about but for right now I am just going to wish you all have a fantstic peaceful Sunday hopefuly full of family companionship.

Happy Easter

.