How Fast They Grow... Part 2

And here is the second set of five.

Juan Jr.
Better known as "Juanito"
This is the drama king of the family. Him I could not touch or carry in my arms for the whole first year. He was just a baby while one Christmas Eve I took him from his mom's arms to carry him and he started crying so much they had to go to a room and stay with him for the next 45 minutes or so. After that I was afraid to carry him. Then little by little he started coming to me all on his own. Now it's no problem, he'll come to grandpa and say hi.

Arielle.
In contrast to Juanito, this one became possessive of me. No one, and I mean absolutely no one could hug me without her screaming her little head off. For the first two years of her life and before she would talk this little one could scream in such a high pitch way that it would actually hurt your ears. Anybody even getting close to me and she would actually scream so hard that you really had to think twice before getting anywhere near me. Now when she talks about me she refers to of me as her greatest grandpa, but better yet her #1 grandpa.

Now we come to the trio that joined us last year. Mi chica knew these three were coming but didn't get the chance to see them here. Story goes as told by my daughters that as an angel she had them with her and played with them before sending them over to us. You know what, I believe that to be true.

Ramon.
In about a week, this little one is having his first birthday party already. One year old, so hard to believe. I guess to other people he does not look like a Ramon. They call him Raymon until my daughter in law corrects them and tells them that it is actually a Ramon. I think she is even learning to roll her R's. lol Me, I prefer to call him by his second name, and what is that you ask? Why it is Jose of course. I dubbed this little one "Little Joe", and I believe I am the only one that calls him that.

Atalie.
Alayna and Arielle are the dad's image but OMG when I saw this one for the first time a few minutes after she was born, it took me back to the day her mom was born and I thought it was history repeating itself. To this day I still say this one is all Michelle. She is tiny and very smart, started seating by herself when she was like seven months and standing by herself at around the same time. One more month and a few days and she too will be a year old. This is a super well behaved little girl that prefers freedom to roam around than to be held in anybodies arms.

Laila.
And here she is ladies and gentlemen, this is the baby of the Melo clan, the youngest of the ten and the one will be spoiled rotten by most, specially her mom. lol Pay attention to her mouth. Do you see it? Well, she inherited my mouth and I couldn't be happier. She laughs when I talk to her and always answers me which is funny cause I don't see her that often. She gives me the impression that she knows exactly who I am. I just love her.

So there they are, all ten of them, the sunshine of my life. Now you know why I keep saying that I am so blessed. Yes, God has been good to me.

How Fast They Grow... Part 1

A Day at the Park with my kids and grand kids.
Tallynna.
And here is living proof that they in fact grow too fast. Not too long this princess wouldn't want to be torn from grandpa's arms. Now she has reached the double digits, not the teens yet, thank God, but 10 years is nothing to sneeze about. She is my oldest granddaughter, and we have a special bond. I love her to infinity and beyond.

Brianna.
This one is right behind her sister as this year she will also turn 10 years old. When we (Sylvia and I) received the news that this little one was on the way we were supper happy, the best news we had received in a very long time. We remember that for the first year there would not be an outing to any store where mi chica wouldn't come back with a new outfit for her. This one holds a special place in my heart and always will.

Diego.
Only one way to describe this one. "To know him is to love him" this little man is way beyond his years, the oldest of four and the only boy he takes care of the three sisters that succeed him and has fun while doing it. At seven (almost eight) years old he can handle them and always makes sure that they have what they need. No secret that grandpa and grandma love this one in a truly special way. Yes he was the sunshine in mi chica's life.

Loyiel Jr.
Better known as "Ducky"
I can't really find the words to describe this one because there are just way too many. The first Duckworth baby needed a suiting nickname and it was unanimously agreed that it would be "Ducky". The duck is just a most lovable kid, nothing faces him and don't try to engage him into any serious conversation because you probably lost him at hello. He has a short attention span for grown ups, playing and having fun is more of a top priority. Can't help but to love this one as he truly is a bundle of joy.

Alayna.
Better known as "La Princesa" she just radiates beauty and love. However, this one really got into it with mi chica you would have thought they were equals in the way they fought. I think they had the same personality thus clashing big time. And yet they loved each other so very much. Me? She is just my Princesa and she loves me very much.

Going Places

All of a sudden I have the urge to just get up and go, take one of the ponies or the hog and point it in no particular destination and just go and explore. There are too many places I want to visit that I haven't been to yet and the beauty of it all is that they are all local places. I for one do not have that urge to travel the world or go look for exotic lands, just right here in Arizona there is so much I want to see and get acquainted with.

This includes places that I have already visit once in the 21 years I've lived here. The Grand Canyon, Lake Havasu, and Sedona are places I visited once but would love to go again, that goes for Williams too. Then there's places I have not visited such as Bisbee, Toumbstone, Lake Powell, Prescott, Gerome, and an endless amount of smaller towns only visible through the back roads.

However, the next road trip is schedulled for next month as some of us will be going to The Fabulous Fords Forever carshow at Knott's Berry Farm. We skipped this annual outing last year but I for one am looking forward to going this year.

That means that by the time I am ready to take a local ride or cruise the weather will be perfect for it. As the weather gets hotter here in Phoenix the weather up north is waiting to refresh you. I have been itching to go on a picture hunt, ever since my camera died I have been on hiatus and I think it's been a little too long already, so hopefully soon I will get back in picture taking mode.

A Wonderful Weekend Indeed

My brother and Master Mixer DJ Melo.
Wow, I must say I had not had a weekend like this in quite a while, I was starting to feel pretty abandoned by my kids and was really longing for their company. Well that ended this weekend and I hope it sparks many more family get togethers to come.

I had a fantastic Friday afternoon that started great company and a buy one get one free Chipotle's burrito. Anybody that has been to Chipotle's should know that their burritos mean business, no matter how hungry you are when you finish one of those there should not be any traces of hunger left.

My Saturday started pretty good, the weather held and as predicted it was gorgeous so that prompted me to take out the convertible to go to all the places I needed to go. Had to take a class at church at 1:00 p.m. so I got ready, jumped in the car and got there just in time. Two hours later I was heading back home thinking about food, yes I think about food a lot, as I was driving a text came in from my daughter Michelle asking me what my plans were for that afternoon. Well Monday is her husband's birthday so she said my son and his family were meeting them at Denny's and asked if I wanted to go.

Me and four of my munchkins waiting to be seated at Denny's.
I had seen Michelle two weeks ago but had not seen my other kids since the "Big Game" day and if my son was going to be there then I would see two of them at least. Then another text came in, this time it was my sister-in-law asking if I wanted to join her and my daughter Nichole in going to a club to dance the night away. I coordinated my time and was able to accommodate the outing.

I was picked up at nine and we were off. It was my sister-in-law, my daughter and her friend and we were to pick up one more girls. I was warned that I was going to be in the company of many beautiful women. Well, they were not lying.

We went to one of the clubs my brother DJs regularly and got there kinda early. We scored one of the few tables there and waited for the people to start dancing. The girls went to the bar to get some drinks while I stayed at the table guarding the seats and their purses, then this "lady" stands behind me and asks if the seats are taken. "Oh yes they are" I said. "Are you here alone?" she asked, I said no and pointed towards my four beautiful companions, "All four?" she said, "yep!" Was my reply. "Do you want to make it five?" she said. It is at that time that my posse came back from getting our drinks. "Awww dad, are you being picked up by a "tranny"?" lol The lady, wasn't a lady but a guy in drag, but then again I knew that.

My Nikki and I.
Nikki and I dancing some Merengue.
Ja, ja, how times have changed since my disco days back in the 80's. Bottom line, we had a blast, danced the night away and finally called it a night at around 2:30 a.m. but we were not done yet as we were all hungry and decided to go eat some tacos.

I party the night before but that did not change the fact that I had to be up early to get ready for church. My grandson Diego asked me to pick him up and so we bonded all day long. Later I called my daughter's and invited them to come and eat some enchiladas. Nikki spend most of the afternoon with me and then Michelle and family showed up.

All in all, a wonderful weekend full of the greatest company I could have had, family friends and good food and as icing for the cake the opportunity to experience having a tequila shot with my brother at the club for the very first time.

Yes, it was a great weekend and I will do my best to repeat it all over again next weekend.



These are my partners in crime from Saturday night. Aren't they all beautiful?

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.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz!

I Was Robbed!

So, the alarm clock (a.k.a. my cell phone) goes off as it does Monday through Friday exactly at 5:20 a.m., but as always I snooze the little sucker once or twice before I finally get up. When I finally opened my eyes again I glanced at the cable box for the time and I decided it was time to get up and shower.

I took my time getting ready, headed for the kitchen, prepared me a coffee, and finished getting dressed. Glanced at the cable box again and was proud at how well I was doing with my time. I should be hitting the road soon and hopefully will be at work on time.

I even sat for a little bit watching the news then went to brush my teeth, that's when my eye caught something that should not be there. As I looked out the window I saw light as in daylight. Daylight? I can't be seeing daylight, most of my commute is when it's still dark so why is there daylight?

I go to the cable box again and look at the time. It now shows 6:55 a.m. SIX FIFTY FIVE!!! What the heck? I go in to work at 7:00 a.m. Somehow my snooze lasted exactly an hour because my mind registered that I was on time by looking at the minute side of the clock but never caught on that it was already an hour late.

Needless to say I was late to work but not too bad as I only came in late 35 minutes.

OK, this happened yesterday not today. So, this morning my alarm clock (a.k.a. my cell phone) went off and I got up, hit the shower, got dressed, made me a coffee, hit the road and was in to work at 6:30 a.m.

Ha, ha, ha, what a difference it makes to not snooze.

Bzzzzzzzzz!

Oh hell no! You did not just come in uninvited did you? Of course you did. You can just turn around and go out exactly the same way you came in. EXCUSE ME! Are you deaf? I said get the heck out and I mean NOW!!!

"Bzzzzzzzzzzz First let me walk up and down this here pillar and survey your window. OK I"m done but let me do it again... and again... and again." I could have sworn the bee was saying that to me.

You can just imagine how I felt sharing my personal space with a huge bee going 65 miles per hour down the freeway and having it about half a foot from my head and face. It really was too close for comfort and although I believe that if you don't bother it, it won't bother you I was just freaking out. What to do? What to do?

I remember I had my jacket in the back seat so in a swift move which my Mustang is capable of such moves I veered to the shoulder stopped, put it on neutral, set my parking brake, lowered the windows, and attempted to scare it with my jacket.

Oh crap, I totally missed and now it's going to be very mad at me. Get out I said, while trying to swat it with my jacket and all of a sudden out the window she goes. You had never seen two windows go up so fast and a car merged into traffic the way I did it.

The whole ordeal lasted about 5 minutes but might as well have been an eternity. Bees are definitely NOT welcomed as co-pilots.

Decisions

“When a decision has to be made, make it. There is no totally right time for anything.”
~ George Patton

Sometimes it is hard to make a big decision and one struggles with it's execution for longer than it is necessary but at the end of the day one hopes that once taken you'll know that it was necessary and wise to do so.

I never speak or write about work here but last week on Monday morning we were greeted by the type of news that one as an employee or manager never wants to hear. I've been working for the same company a little over 20 years and our previous owner prided himself in having a no layoffs policy, now things are a little bit different as the owner sold his company and retired. Good for him I say, but bad for some.

Unfortunately Monday the 7th was a bad day for 8 of our support group co-workers, 2 managers, and about ten Account Executives. My department suffered a loss as two of my employees were part of this decision. It was a top down decision and I was just as surprised as everybody else. Needless to say the mood as been a little on the gray side.

At one point in life we all must make such heavy weight decisions and do them in such a way that a the end of the day you can go to bed at night and think that every other alternative was considered and that the outmost respect and compassion was taken into consideration and that there really was no other way around it.

So, as the sun still rises everyday I realize life goes on and we must move on.

Jessica's Arrival to Phoenix.

I received an impromptu invitation from my favorite sister-in-law to go pick up my niece Jessica to the airport with the promise that there would be a good chance of some photo ops. Now, how can one refuse to that? Jessica, whom everybody knows is a princess to me, of course I was happy to tag along. Besides I didn't know if Kika knew the airport as good as I do. lol Just had to say that.

So I waited a while and Kika eventually picked me up late I may add. So off we went to the airport where a very frightened girl waited for us. She told us she was by baggage claim so we parked and too the elevators all the way down to the baggage area and within minutes found her. She was on the verge of tears as this was her maiden flight and she felt lost.

Came to find out that they were late taking her to Ontario so she made it in the right flight but her luggage had to wait for the next departure. I found out the next flight would be in at 3:00 and that luggage would be out by 3:20. It was actually close to 3:30 when she finally got her suitcase.

So, due to this the photo ops had to wait as my sister-in-law left the pozzole cooking on the stove, but at least we went up to the restaurant area and ate some (yes, you guessed it) tacos to kill the hour and a half we needed to wait.

Now she is finally here and will be here for the whole week. So, have a fantastic time my princess and welcome to Phoenix.

New Year's Day - Santa Monica Beach

This is probably a land mark. The Santa Monica Pier Carousel.
So it's about a month and a week overdue but here it is. This is my New Year's Day outing to Santa Monica Beach in California. I totally expected the weather to be uncooperative but to my surprise we had a nice warm sunny day with nothing but clear skies. The morning was a little chilly but by 1:00 all we needed was a sweater and lots of "ganas" to walk down the beach.

Lots of walking we did on those pathways along the beach.
I had not been to Santa Monica in well over 25 years so it felt like it was all new to me. The pier is actually a nice place to spend a Sunday afternoon, and if you have some moulla to spend (which we did not) then it's even better. The only thing familiar to me was The Carousel and it's building, everything else was new.



Scenes from Santa Monica, California.
Lots of photo ops for a camera junkie like me. The ocean, the beach line, the pier, the rides, the sunset, and best of all the people walking around there and the ones displaying their talents for a few coins. It was all good and we definetely had a great time.




I so want to go in the summer and ride my bike from Santa Monica to Venice Beach and back. Spend a whole Sunday there watching all the side shows and seeing all these talented people do and display their stuff. I think maybe I will go this summer and do this.



In the meantime I hope you enjoy these images from that day.

Is it too late to say HAPPY NEW YEAR? :-)

Desert Rose Chile Run / Cruise

Finally the weather gave us a nice break, it actually started as a freezing morning but once the sun started going up it actually sent some warmth our way. So, by 9:00 a.m. I was ready to hit the road, my partners in crime were on their way so it was shaping to be a nice morning. A quick breakfast eggs McMuffins, hash browns, and orange juice with lots of pulp later and we were on our way to the meeting place which in my case was only 10 minutes away.

When I got to Litchfield Rd. and I-10 two cars were already there. After me four more more showed up. We pretty much departed on time. We cruised to a nearby town by the name of Arlington, no not Arlington, Texas but Arlington, Arizona. The Desert Rose Cafe was to host it's annual Chili Cookout. I had done this run many times on the Harley, but this was a first to have cars join the bikers.

We gather promptly at around 10 a.m. on Litchfield and I-10.
This first generation Mustangs are timeless. I love the style and look of them.
Caught this image while waiting for our buddy to catch up with us.
The drive was pretty nice, clear skies, sun out, warm weather by noon, oh yes it was all good. There were vendors, beer gardens, they had an pretty good band playing all day and of course lots of chili. I hate to say this but the lines were too long and the plates too little so I did not eat there, we saved the appetite for later. But we did enjoy a beer and walked around the small venue a few times.

At first I noticed that attendance was low, and I attributed it to the cold weather we had been experiencing but by 1:00 p.m. people that probably decided to go at the last minute started showing up and eventually the place was a sea of leather.



By 1:00 p.m. the place was pretty crowded and if finally looked like a biker run.
The musical group lead singer made mention of how the car clubs were invited this year and mentioned that all he could see were those awesome Mustangs. Then you hear the one, two three, four, and of course they started to sing Mustang Sally.



The driver of the lead car in our group is a medic and while at the Desert Rose he was called by another member to go check out this guy that apparently had passed out. I never really asked him what happened but he came back some four to five minutes later.

We decided to all leave together and instead of heading back towards Phoenix he drove in the opposite direction. A few miles ahead there is a beautiful bridge and at the very end of it we were flagged by some bikers to slow down and stop. There was a down lady biker that apparently had lost control of her bike and was injured.





When we took off in the opposite direction I wondered where we were going, when we got to the accident scene my copilot in crime said, "See, there was a reason we came this way". Yes, our friend in the lead car once again put his skills in good service. We had to stay on the bridge for about half an hour. He kept the rider on the floor and had her pretty secured while we waited for the ambulance. Remember we are in the middle of nowhere and the lady rider whom by the way had complete leathers and full helmet was lucky enough to have a nurse and an experienced medic assisting her.




One of our other members got a blanked off his car to cover the lady rider. When we all left we noticed he stayed behind. About 10 miles ahead we stopped to wait for him. I asked "Why did he stay behind?" and my friend said, he is not about to leave his blanket. It's a really nice Ford Mustang blanket. I too would have waited for it.

I asked my friend, "So, where were we going?" and he said the guys just wanted to see the bridge.

Have you ever heard the term "God works in mysterious ways!"?

All said and done we had an awesome 90 mile round trip cruise and finally got back home at around 5:00 p.m. after we stop for some Chinese Buffet.

Looking forward to the next adventure already.

Still Brrrrrrrrr-ing today.

Brrrrrrrrrr!

Question: Why do I live in Phoenix, Arizona?

Answer: So I don't have to go through and endure cold weather.

So why am I freezing my butt for the second day in a row. This is Phoenix, we are not used to this, heck for me anytime the temperature drops under 70 degrees it's already too cold. So even though I am all bundled up the coldness is still creeping through. Just an FYI, I don't like it one bit, if I did I would be living somewhere in the east coast.

Yes, I realize I am whining and that our cold does not compare to that of some of you but again this is Phoenix, this is the valley of the sun and to me sun should equals warmth and heat, and in a nutshell warmth and heat is why I live here to begin with.



















Yes, today this is Phoenix attire, but some of you may think I live in Alaska. No seriously, this is definitely something we are not used to here so I have to make a big fuss about it.

After my morning coffee, a nice warm tea was in order to warm up the good ol stomach. I say it needed lemon, honey, and tequila to make it taste good but since I was at work I had to just take it plain. I am not a big tea drinker but this morning it did the trick.

I am dreading to see my plants and bushes at home, I am sure many of them will not be able to withstand the cold weather. But we will see. I am hoping the will.

Are you all as wimppy as I am when it comes to cold weather?

The Weather

The bug must be going around, I woke up with a slight sore throat which in my experience usually means that later on I will have a regular sore throat, but yet I am hoping that it won't go beyond that. I hardly ever get sick and I don't want to get sick now. Weather is not helping though, it's still going from hot one day to cold the next.

But let me tell you, a nice hot coffee with some home made sweet tamales made by my mom made the morning be a little bit better. I woke up and as usual I made me a coffee, put it in my travel mug and headed to the garage. To open the doors while I was carrying all sorts of things I sat my coffee on top of the washer, proceeded to take the car out the garage, locked everything, went out through the front door, drove all the way to work and it was then I realized my coffee was still sitting on top of the washer. Needless to say I felt very sleepy but I already drank a coffee and the caffeine is kicking in, so so I am finally waking up.

Weather in some places of the country being hit by Mega Storm.
Listening to the news and hearing how so many states in the country are getting hit with what are considered the worse storms to date or Mega Storms as they are being called, I can't help but feel lucky and be thankful to God for the wonderful weather we are having here in Southern Arizona. Our weather couldn't be better and I plan on enjoying it, because I know that pretty soon I will be blogging my complaints on how hot Phoenix is.

Weather here in the Southern Arizona.
By the way, I have kept up with my morning and afternoon walks. I just came back from my morning one and although a tiny bit cold it was totally enjoyable. Nothing that a jacket didn't take care of.

So for all of you my friends back east, I do brag a little bit but know that I do pray for you all to get a break from this crazy kind of weather. I definitely can't relate but seeing pictures of people trying to shovel their cars out of the snow just seems like a heck of a lot of work and looks like quite an endless task.

Tomorrow we celebrate "El Dia de la Candelaria" and we will celebrate it with a candle mass, this conmemorates when baby Jesus was presented at the temple by his parents according to the Jewish customs. This is also the day that the candless are blessed and one of the many things these candles help with when lit is to chase away storms, so I am keeping that in mind tomorrow when I get mine blessed. I'll light mine up and will think of my friends from back east.

Are you all snowed in and trapped at home?

*All images in this post borrowed from the Internet.