Juju and i typically don't celebrate 'hallmark' holidays. Valentines day, Sweetest Day, Grounds Hog Day etc. He knows how much i love him and i know how much he loves me. I'm not saying its wrong, or dumb to celebrate valentines day, but to me its just another day in which corporate America tries to get you into trouble. Like, have you ever seen or heard those commercials that say, "show her how much you love her with this so and so" or "let her know you love her with this diamond blah blah". Let me make it clear that i am in no away against receiving diamonds. =-) I just think that you need a particular day to express your love to one another. I think having a random romantic dinner or a date on an ordinary Wednesday means more then commercializing your love on February 14th. Plus, i feel bad for the guy who cant come home with the diamond blah blah, to let her know how much he loves her. Now she'll never know!
I digress. So we decided to all go out for valentines day as a group this year. It was the usual peeps. We got all dolled up and headed to Tropical.
Vic and Leah with a bucket o'beers Keeping with the valentines lovey dovie decor & mood i wore a pink shirt. The funny thing is that it all 'clicked' when once i got there. Then i realized i was that person.
Here is my cousins Marco & Patty.
Candy, Me, My pink shirt & Juju
Juanito and Candy.
(Not Pictured)
Gaby & Jesse
Seeing that it was Valentines day, there was an $8 cover, but those 8 dollars entitled you to a rose, champagne in those fancy fake glasses and all you could eat (or until it was gone) buffet. I thought it was quiet a deal. I mean 8 bucks, that's enough to cover your dinner after bar. Although i think we did have some McChickens at Gaby's house afterwards. oops
Just wanted to throw these pictures out there. A few weekends ago it was my brother in laws, Jesse's birthday! We had hear of this new place tropical and after dinner we decided to check it out.
From left to right: Juju, Jesse, Juanito, Victor & the fire. J/k Don't be alarmed by all the smoke, there really was no fire.
The music was good and there was plenty of tables and chairs. The only thing that killed it for me was that it was extremely smoky, and my contacts became dry almost instantly and the music a few notches too loud. I felt a bit of an old fart when i complained about the music being loud, but it seriously gave me a headache.
Here is Gaby and I. You can see that I'm already squinting.
I volunteered myself to be the designated driver that night, seeing that all the guys were enjoying drinks from very tiny cups, i figured it i would take one for the team.
Here is Vic, Gaby and I. I wonder why she looks happier in this picture? hm. Anyhow we danced all night until my dainty feet could take it no more. Juju and i left shortly after 2, and headed home. But before i even had a chance to ask Juju suggested we simple go through the drive thru instead of a sit down place since he was pretty tired. So was i, so we headed towards McD's on our way home.
So there we are waiting to order our nuggets, when from nowhere, I get rear ended by the car behind me. I know what your thinking, weren't you stopped at the drive thru. Yes. Precisely my point. The chick behind me must have been starving.
Juju and I step out of my car and he examines my bumper as i proceed to scare the living day lights out of her (the driver behind me). I yelled and she began apologizing over and over again. I was tired, hungry and my feet hurt, so when Juj said nothing happened to my car i let it go and go back in.
So like i had mentioned earlier this week, on Friday all my girls and some family met me at Juju's house to get started on our centerpieces. I bought them months ago and i had already tested one with several different colors that i thought would give me the gold tone that i wanted. Since the centerpieces were black, i need to first coat them in brown and then go over them with the gold. Juju and i had thought of different ways to go about this, we even thought about spray painting them, but i really wanted them to have more texture then that. So we opted for the tried and true sponging.
Finally on friday (the 13th-eek) everyone was to meet me at Jujus house, so once Dulce and Pita got there we started unpacking and putting the centerpieces together. Soon after everyone arrived and we were got ready to get down and dirty. eh, well as dirty as sponge painting can get.
As you can see below everyone was sponging there little hearts away, being ever so careful and delicate with my centerpieces.Everyone had completed the first coat on their centerpieces when someone noticed that their paint started flaking off. FLAKING. OFF. what? i ran over to see what they were talking about, since i had already tried one at home and we were following the same procedure i used for the 'test' centerpiece.Well hot damn. Sure enough it came off easier then it went on. It literally came off on your fingers. As so you can see below there was no chance it would hold, even if we were extra careful. Nope. It was so cute because Pita was so determined to finish sponging hers brown, even though we all had come to the sad conclusion that it wasn't working. And Cristy was guarding hers from nati who was being malicious towards her candelabra. Plan B- Juj, being the genius that he is thought that priming them would help the paint stay. Sure enough, after we washed all the candelabras we had started painting brown, priming them did the trick. So after 14 frozen pizzas, a broken step stool, and several panic filled moments we got a good head start on them.
They aren't completely done, seeing that we had to unscrew and take the candelabras apart. The tea light holders will be a another adventure in its self because they are so tiny. On the bright side 5 of my girls dresses came in. I'm still waiting on 2 more and Dulces. I'll keep you posted on the centerpiece progress.
Its official. I am in the double digits. My heart is racing. It feels like only yesterday i counting down from 300. I have SO many things yet to do. I am dedicating next Monday to booking our florist. I'm taking a day off from work to get the flowers situated. We have 3 appointments lined up, so hopefully one of them will be our florist!. And next week Thursday, I'm going to meet with a travel agent to get pricing on our honeymoon. We still haven't decided if we are going right after the wedding or if we are going a few months after. I'll keep you posted! Seeing that Juju and I have both been working so much, its hard to make time to book appointments with vendors.
Oh side note, remember that i mentioned i had recently lost a few pounds? Well the other day when i went with my bridesmaids to get their dresses we had the alterations manager take the girls measurements. And i thought. Hmm. I don't know when, if at all, i last had my measurements taken. So i did. Vladanka ( the alterations manager) asked me what size i had ordered my dress in. I said 4. She measured me and said, well don't loose anymore weight or else your dress wont fit. Really? And according to my measurements, the 4 would start getting too big. I don't want to toot my own horn, but she did say i was perfect ;-) And who am i to contradict the manager? But i digress. So with Vladanka warning me not to loose anymore weight i felt good. A few days later i got home from work, and i told my mom what Vladanka had said and i told her i wanted to try my wedding dress on, since i hadn't tried it on since i picked it up from the shop.
So i pulled it out of my closet take it out of the bag(s) and being to put it on. la dy la dy la. Hmmm. I couldn't. Seem. To. Get. The. Zipper. Up. Mom? i called out in a panic. she came into my room and finished zipping me up. Perfect! if i didn't need to breathe. I checked the label to find that my dress was a size 2. 2! It zipped, and i don't have any back, front, or arm fat hanging out. But it is very snug. Although i swore into the '2 sandwich a day diet' instantly, i now realize that i have 98 days to loose a few more pounds. So no biggie, but i did have a mild heart attack that afternoon.
Tomorrow i am having a DIY party. Well its not really a party, but i am having all of my girls come over and help me get the centerpieces going. I'll post updates on the weekend.
I don't remember doing this in grade school, but for about 3 years i worked for MPS. And on the 100th day of school, the kids would have a huge celebration surrounding the # 100. The whole shabang, cups, plates, napkins, all with the # 100 on them. New Years look alike hats with 100 plastered all over, even glasses in which the kids looked through the zeros. (see kid below)Now that i think about it, I'm not sure if the kids really cared they had been in school for 100 days. I think the teachers were happy they were a bit more than half way through. Correct me if I'm wrong but i think there is 180 days of actual school. Teachers say?
Me on the other hand. No hat, No glasses, no parade down the hall. I am celebrating my 100 day mark quietly on the inside. True, i could run down the hall doing cartwheels, but i would unfortunately end up crashing into some ones cube wall. So yay for me, yay for juju. In 100 days we will be Husband & Wife. Oh, and you know what? Tomorrow i will be a double digit-er!
I have to admit I have had a few 'OMG, Where is my ring?!' moments. I never realized how much I play the underpart of my ring, I always touch if with my thumb.
Yesterday I had to take my ring to the jewelers, so I dropped it off by my sister in laws house. I have to get a costum band made for my ring. The designer has to keep it for 2 whole weeks. He is taking a mold of it and will show me the prototype next week.
I learned about this project via a fellow blogger. I became involved in this project myself recently. What it is, is that we have a team that sponsors a soldier and send him homemade baked goods. I know the war is a very touchy subject, so when i was asking a few co workers if they were interested in participating on my team it sounded a bit like this:
Hi girls,
I wanted to let you all know of a project that i am taking a part of...
"this is no way supporting or not supporting the war. We are supporting the courageous men and women who put their lives on the line everyday so that we may sleep peacefully at night. Regardless of why (or why not) war began, the men and women serving overseas answered the call to defend our country. I ask you to help me show our gratitude in this small way"
And so i was floored by the amount of interest that i received from my co workers who wanted to participate. Im very excited to do this. Im extremely glad that there is many people out there that are willing to take some time out of their busy schedules to make someone, a complete stranger, feel appreciated.
Im shipping out my care package on the 20th, so in a few weeks. If you are interested in joining feel free to contact me via email princesskilolo@aol.com Also, i thought i would mention that you dont have to bake, you can also send a care package with other goodies, I have an approved list of goods that can be sent to our soldiers overseas.
The other day in my daily current news and events on-line update i came across a sad yet interesting story. The title read "People Ignore Man Dying on Street". I clicked on the link, not because i am intrigued to see photos or footage, but because i was interested to know what could have possibly been more important than ailing this victim.
I was amazed at the lack of reaction people took to the dying man. There was even a poll asking whether or not you would stop to check on someone who seems to be injured. When readers were polled, 60 something percent of the people said they have or would have stopped to aid a victim. Hm. I wonder why the other 30 something percent wouldn't stop?
I have been, i wouldn't say criticized, but 'scolded' for performing random acts of kindness or for being a responsible citizen. Why? you ask? Well because i may or may have not put myself in the safest situation. But i figure, well if your going to go, might as well it not be in vain. Of course no one knows when their time will be, for all i know i could step out onto the street, be tripped by a snail, hit my head on the curb and die. I mean its a long shot, but it could happen.
Perfect example, one day cookie and I were heading home, when we saw a person in a wheel chair, slumped over. It was the end of November, and if anyone remembers, it was really really cold those last couple of days in November. The person was wearing a few layers of clothing and had a blanket over their legs. I saw them as i drove by and it immediate pulled on my heart strings. I got home and proceeded to get ready for bed. But i couldn't stop thinking about this person. I wonder how long they had been out there for? Where they sick? hungry? in pain? I wonder why they were out there? Where was their family? My eyes were filled with tears before i had a chance to grasp this persons situation. I knew i couldn't bring them home with me, the least i could do was get some food together. I whipped up a few sandwiches, put some fruit and snacks and something to drink in a bag and headed back into the cold to give it to this person.
I was nervous, i was scared. I didn't know how this person would react. I parked my car, picked up the bag of food with one hand and took cookie in the other. I approached the women and asked her if she was ok. I asked her if she needed help. I got no response. I could hear her breathing in a profound sleep so i gently approached her and got a close as i could. I didn't want to wake her and startle her. I left the bag of food and the foot of her blanket.
During this whole ordeal, a couple walked out the corner restaurant and just looked on from afar. There was even a younger guy, who, while i was standing next to this women in the wheel chair, came up to me and asked me to use my phone. And from across the street 2 people pointed and stopped to look. How could this person be invisible to people passing by? How can people be so cold? So heartless? I dont care who you are or what you do, that person, that stranger, that homeless man, is just as human as you and I.
Have you ever done anything like that? Helped out a complete stranger. I know some people might think its stupid or foolish of me to do something like this, but i again i say, Why not? You might respond, because its dangerous. You might get hurt. True. I might, but i might not. I might help that person in more ways than i can count. And besides God will never let anything bad happen to you when you're trying to do his work. And if something does happen, i assure you that you will go to heaven, shoes on and all. If you're not sure if you would be safe or not, but you really want to help someone out. Call 911. I've done it plenty times. Its free.
Last night Nick and I painted the town red. Er, well not red red, but needless to say we went out. Initially we thought about going dancing, but then we opted to go to a quieter environment. We went to a bar downtown called 'Stir'. It was recommended to us by one of Juju's co-workers. Its not your typical downtown bar, where you're pin balling against other people or screaming at the top of your lungs hoping the bartender heard your order. Its on Wisconsin avenue and right off the river walk, so im sure that in the summer, its quiet a view. Of course its frozen over right now, but the night lights gave it a pretty glow.
So this bar, lounge, was quiet cozy, even though its situated on a busy street. It was modern with updated suede furniture and small candlelit tables. Their specialty drinks were quite tasty, i only tried one, but they all sounded good. The music was good and the atmosphere was very relaxed. You could tell the place had its usuals, so they must be doing something right. I later on discovered that its fairly new, built in 07 & that its owned by 2 long time friends who struck up this idea and started building their dreams in a garage. How amazing?
I had a great time. Juju looked handsome and i, well, not too shabby. Juju and i had a chance to sit back and relax and just have a normal conversation that didn't lead to any wedding related decision making. The only decision we had to make was where we were going to get our after bar meal. Burger King won. Next time Omega, next time.
Vic and Leah with a bucket o'beers
Keeping with the valentines lovey dovie decor & mood i wore a pink shirt. The funny thing is that it all 'clicked' when once i got there. Then i realized i was that person.
Here is my cousins Marco & Patty.
Candy, Me, My pink shirt & Juju
Juanito and Candy. 
Everyone had completed the first coat on their centerpieces when someone noticed that their paint started flaking off. FLAKING. OFF. what? i ran over to see what they were talking about, since i had already tried one at home and we were following the same procedure i used for the 'test' centerpiece.
Well hot damn. Sure enough it came off easier then it went on. It literally came off on your fingers. As so you can see below there was no chance it would hold, even if we were extra careful. Nope. It was so cute because Pita was so determined to finish sponging hers brown, even though we all had come to the sad conclusion that it 
Now that i think about it, I'm not sure if the kids really cared they had been in school for 100 days. I think the teachers were happy they were a bit more than half way through. Correct me if I'm wrong but i think there is 180 days of actual school. Teachers say?
