It's Soccer Time!

Jadyn played her first two soccer games this weekend and her team, the Li'l Divas, kicked butt and took names [I know, I know--they are playing 'just for fun'...but I'm a highly competitive person]. On Saturday's game, Jadyn scored one goal and on Sunday she scored two goals, one from almost halfway down the field with her little power leg! Andy and I are so proud of her. This season, Jadyn's best friend is on her team and they made up a cute tummy-bump dance that they did on the field each time one of them scored...too cute!!! I have good feelings about Spring '09 Li'l Divas--great coach, great girls...a great team!
Here is a picture of the girls playing:

Here is a pep talk from coach Danny:

Here is Jadyn and her best friend:

Book Review: Wilt

After finishing the final book in Tom Sharpe's series [as I wasn't aware it was a series when I read it], I have finally tackled the first one. Wilt was even funnier than the other Tom Sharpe novel I read. I love British comedy! While indulging in British literature, I tend to use terms in everyday life such as 'mad', 'daft' and 'penis gobbler'. Tom Sharpe uses sex as comedy in the most unbelievable, hilarious ways and the reader is laughing all the way through.

Wilt is a very stubborn, logical fellow who hates his lazy, unintelligent wife, Eva. In this book, he is accused of murdering his wife and although he didn't, Eva has disappeared. The reader has all of the information regarding the circumstances, but the characters do not and it is quite humorous to watch it all wrap up in the end. Highly recommend this book for a light, funny read; however, if you are sensitive in terms of sexual connotations, I wouldn't advise partaking in this comedic masterpiece. Yes, masterpiece. Ha!

Workin' on my Fitness...

One of the [many] perks of Andy's new job is the on-site workout facility owned/operated by his company and for a ridiculously low price, our family of four are all members! The gym has everything from cardio equipment, weights, classes [all sorts], child care, swimming, an outdoor track, tanning, racquetball and squash courts--and that's not the half of it. A bonus is that one of our best friends (wo)mans the front desk and it is always fun to chit chat with her.

Lately, Andy and I have had the racquetball bug, going up there almost every evening to knock the ball around [no pun intended]. I am definitely getting better, almost able to stand my ground against him, but it is exhausting. We usually walk away soaking wet--who knew that working out could actually be fun???

The swimming pool is on the lower level of the facility near the racquetball courts and we have gotten to witness kayak training in there a few times. Pretty funny if you ask me! Seeing the pool, though, really makes me wish I could swim in public bodies of water--no matter how hard I try [and the amount of chlorine added], the mental grossness of it all overpowers me.

So, that's pretty much the update on my fitness regime…fun stuff!

Side Note: Racquetball can be a very dangerous sport. Andy accidentally pelted me on the side of the head last night [think: temple area] and there was some crying involved...

NFL Players Lost at Sea

This Story truly upsets me. I can't stop thinking about it and how vicious Mother Nature can be. I am so sad for the families of the three missing men.

Lopez Does Dallas

On Saturday, Andy and I headed to Las Colinas, a suburb of D-town, to celebrate the 30th birthday of my BFF's husband. Eric is the first person in our group of 'close friends' to cross the big 3-0 threshold and he did it in style!
We started the evening off with a delicious Italian dinner and a small group of friends. It was intimate and fun...and the five couples at the table are some our favorite peeps. The night was topped off at a bar called Republic with a very large group of McFriends and the biggest, most comfortable black leather couches ever. It was fun--and it was SO wonderful to see everyone!
Here is a picture of my BFF, Jules and the birthday boy:

Here is a picture of our other favorite Dallas couple, Christina and Brandon a/k/a 'mom-and-dad-to-be' [Congratulations, we Love you guys!!]:

Melting Pot Fun

Friday night, my sister and I went to drown our sorrows in chocolate fondue at The Melting Pot. We had a delicious meal of bread w/ their Wisconsin Trio fondue, salad for my rabbit-eater of a sister, surf and turf and my favorite: DESSERT, which included pound cake, brownies, bananas, strawberries, cheesecake, rice crispie treats and marshmallows dipped in their Ying Yang [dark chocolate and white chocolate] fondue. Even thought we were both so stuffed by the time that dessert arrived, we couldn't pass it up. I really need to go to the Melting Pot for JUST dessert...that would be awesome, plus way better on my budget!!! Below are some pictures of Jaimie and Stephanie's night of fondue madness!
Stephanie is ready to munch on some shrimp:

Our Yin Yang dessert. Mmmmm:

And finally...we have one of the women's restroom perks: Maxipads. I am trying to refrain from imagining the emergency that made management think having a bowl of these on the counter was a great idea:

Book Club: My Sister's Keeper

Our book for February '09 was My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Excellent Choice. I am two for two in terms of enjoying Ms. Picoult's books and will definitely pick up another title on my next trip to the book store. This book was a heart felt tale about the struggle of a family dealing with a disease [leukemia] that was dominating their world. The chapters are written in the point of view of different characters and the reader gets into the mind of each, knowing and feeling their pain/situations. This book comes highly recommended by me.

Book Club Treats:
Leukemia is represented by the color orange [as breast cancer is pink], so in relation to the theme of My Sister's Keeper, Jennifer made carrot cake cupcake treats with cream cheese frosting--and they were beyond delicious. Jennifer really spoils the crap out of our fun little group!
In addition to the cupcakes, I went to the store and got tiny containers, put official-looking labels on them [to mirror what you might see when giving a urine sample at the doctor's office] and put apple juice in them--one for each member of the group. This is mimicking a humorous part of the book--and to find out what that is, you will have to pick up a copy!

R.I.P. Rosalina

There seems to be bad hamster juju in the Lopez house. A week after we purchased Rosalina as a replacement for Hammy [the dead hamster with ginormous testicles], she died. Rosalina was the sweetest critter ever--she didn't bite, she let us pick her up and play with her and she was super cute, which is clearly a quality that determines hamster sweetness. Needless to say [if you have been following these blogs regularly], we are down to one hamster: Clover--and she needs hamster Ritilan in a major way.

So. What are we doing wrong with the hamsters? Hammy lived a good four months, but I have heard that hamsters live for years. In Rosalina's case, I have come up with the following theories:

We did feed her a lot of sugar and some of it included chocolate [something we did not do for Hammy], so maybe that was the cause of death. [In our defense, she was extremely cute stuffing her cheeks with cookies that we just couldn't stop!]

Maybe Clover was envious of all of the attention we showered on Rosalina and resorted to murder while Rosie was sleeping. [Dun-Dun-Duuun!]

Too much human contact from picking her up so much. [Okay, quite possible]

Petco sold us a sick hamster, making Rosalina doomed from the beginning.**

There is poison in the hamster food we purchased. [This is a possibility, as Hammy died less than a week after we switched]

Regardless of the cause, Rosalina was given her own little checks box [thank goodness Andy recently ordered more checks] and buried next to Hammy. I'm sure that they are frolicking through the clouds in hamster heaven, happy as can be--and maybe even making hamster ghost babies!

**Petco gives a 15-day hamster warranty and Rosalina [Hamster God rest her soul] died within that time frame; however, we thought it silly to replace a ten-dollar hamster. Besides, two hamsters were SO messy and stinky--much more so than one--so maybe this was a blessing in disguise…Just the wrong hamster died.

Mardi Gras!

I hope that everyone had a *FAB* Mardi Gras, which is French for 'fat Tuesday'…but for me, every day is a fat day, unless I’m dieting. We didn't celebrate a la New Orleans yesterday, but I did go to Crabtown for lunch with the girls and got some beads...Tres fun!

Here is a pic I snapped of Jade last night, decked out in her celebratory gear:

…which brings us to Lent. [Happy Ash Wednesday, by the way] I don't normally give anything up for 40 days, but I've decided to make an exception this year and would like to share my list with you. I really hope that to be strict enough to follow through…So, here it goes:

For Lent, I am going to give up…

1. Exercising. I mean, it only gets in the way of my real life anyway.
2. Working. This one is going to be hard because I actually get paid to do it.
3. Bathing. Just Because.
4. Clothes. This will be liberating--can anyone object if it's for religious purposes?
5. Talking. Won't my husband be excited about this one!?!?
6. Breathing. The air stinks, anyway. [Note: I've tried this one before and failed miserably. Maybe this time…]
and finally...
7. Being Patient. Ask anyone who knows me, I am the most patient person ever, so this one is going to be the most difficult.

What are you giving up this year?

Jadyn - Justified: Policemen

We've all heard the saying 'Kids Say the Darndest Things' and it's totally true. Kids are so much smarter than we [adults] give them credit for. They absorb everything seen and heard, and the way they put everything together is quite amusing! Jadyn has had a lifetime of funnies [all of which are written down in a book]--she is definitely our little payaso. Below is a conversation that Andy and I had with our 8-year old little girl on Sunday evening:

Jadyn: If either of you do anything illegal and a police officer asks me about it, I'm going to have to tell him.
Jaimie: You would get us into trouble? That's very disloyal.
Jadyn: I cannot lie to a police officer.
Andy: What if the police officer was really ugly and he asked you if you thought he was attractive...what would you tell him?
Jadyn: I would have to tell him he's attractive.
Jaimie: Why? That's lying to a police officer.
Jadyn: If I told him that he was ugly I would go to jail.
Jaimie: A police officer can't put you in jail for telling him he's ugly.
Jadyn: Yes he can because that would be assaulting a police officer
Andy & Jaimie: [Pause. Laugh]
Andy: No, Jadyn. I think you mean Insulting a police officer!

Five Years at P|M

Five years ago today, also a Monday, I walked through the doors of P|M to start my very first day of work. It's amazing that I've lasted so long in one place, considering the fact that I was just 'passing through' on my way to law school--a dream that turned into a nightmare once I was in the thick of things and witnessed the excruciating hours and stress an attorney endures daily. [Let's not forget to mention the insane student loans!]

My P|M journey has been a long one: enjoyable, emotional and, at times, exasperating. In fact, I've put my notice in twice and been denied, which is a wonderful feeling [especially when the denial includes monatery gain]. I have been promoted multiple times [sadly almost hitting my glass ceiling] and have been very fortunate to work with bosses who appreciate everything I handle for them.

Our building location has changed, our firm name has changed, my direct management has changed and only one person that I befriended on my first day is still working with me, others having moved on to different things [not necessarily bigger and better].
Only God knows what the future holds, but my P|M journey has been a good one…so far!

Here is a picture that was taken in our 'old' building, circa 2004:

Spill Your Guts!

My friend, Reese, had a super fun post on her blog the other day that I've been really excited about copying...so here it goes [Exclamation Point x3]

Here are the rules:
1. Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying. No, you can't go into your closet and pull out your favorite purse! We want to know what you carried today or the last time you left the house, including the bag's contents.

2. List how much it cost. And this is not to judge. This is for entertainment purposes only. So spill it. And if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, we’d love to hear it.

3. Tag some chicks. And link back to this post so people know why the heck you’re showing everyone your bag.

Below is a picture of the clutch that I carry. They usually run around $100 at the Coach store and I got this particular one for my 27th birthday [please note my adorable Gemini key chain that matches the tattoo on the small of my back!]

...And here are my clutch guts:

Credit/Debit/Insurance Cards + License;

New twitter companion: my Iphone;

Soft lips-Cherry [in honor of Katy Perry, duh!];

A bobbypin;

Thirty Five Cents, no particular reason;

A blue pen;

Casino Cards: Firelake [my *fav*] and Riverwind; and

A toothpick book that I picked up at Soliel;

The third rule of this game [which I find highly discriminating--I mean, what if a male wanted to spill the guts to his manbag??] is to tag some chicks, but, mirroring Reese, I am going to go ahead and challenge you to spill your own guts--if ya wanna!

Roses and Clovers

With Hammy dead and bloated (STP reference, nevermind), Jadyn's hamster cage needed a new tenant--and what better way to replace one hamster than with TWO hamsters?? Cute factor multiplied by two, with double the stink and double the mess. [Joy] One of the reasons Jadyn believes that Hammy died was that she, and I quote, "didn't put enough effort into his name", so this time around, Jade spent some time picking out names for her new hamsters (both girls): Rosalina and Clover. They are messy little critters, but they don’t have offensively large testicles, which makes them way better than Hammy already.

Meet Rosalina and Clover:

Weigh-In: Week Cinco y El Fin

Today is the final day of the P|M Weight loss challenge (instead of last Friday because participants wanted to make it exactly five weeks). Contrary to my previous prediction, I did not win (Boo!); however, I did lose a total of 9.6 lbs (6% of body weight, which is what the contest was based on)--which is a victory in itself! Just need to keep up the hard work!

…yeah, THAT'S gonna happen…

The way I see it, if I eat right (i.e. bland, small portions) and I exercise my booty-patootie off, I can lose an average of one pound per week. With that mindset, it would take at least fifteen weeks to get to my goal weight. That's a looooooong time, but hey--I'm not getting any younger, so maybe I'll put a little effort into it. Maybe…

Anyhooters, I may have lost the challenge, but I am definitely a winner and feel stupendous! Now…where's that cheeseburger, medium rare with sauteed mushrooms?

*A Lopez Blog Marathon*

On Tuesday, February 10th, I decided I was going to challenge myself and attempt to post (at least) 30 blogs in 30 days. I found a website that is designed to keep me motivated called NaBloPoMo and immediately signed up! I thought this blog-marathon concept would be a piece of cake, but it turns out that I am having difficulty deciding what to write about…so bear with me as I try to keep the Lopez posts upbeat and interesting!!!