Well, we are on Holiday (today is our last day, though, so tomorrow we start work again...except Ale, who starts a new school year on Tuesday )...we've had a couple strong earthquakes (strong enough to wake me up at night: one was 5.4 and the other one 5.1 - Richter scale)...nothing too bad, no damages, but enough to be scary (not scary enough to get up and get out of the house, though, as the first one was at around 1am and the other one at around 3am)
I took 4 days "off" (meaning I DID have work to do- translations- but I chose not to work for those 4 days: Fri-Mon...my brain needs a rest! LOL!)

Didn't do much, but we have spent some $$$$...went to the movies, bought pizza for 6 people...went to the Children's museum...stuff like that... other than that, just enjoyed the luxury of getting up at around 10 am!!!! (I'm a night person, I REALLY don't do mornings...I'm fully convinced my brain isn't really operational until 9am!)

really,that kid does.

Yesterday, we were lying in bed (it was cold, we were watching TV) and she said: You know what would be REALLY nice?...if we could get BIG a house, so all 5 of us could live together (she means the 2 of us + sis, niece and nephew)...I said: such a big house would be expensive..we'd have to save a lot to be able to do that...and she replied: could I help with the money I'm making from the business, even if it's just $1? It would help, wouldn't it?

...or, she will, once we work the numbers...

I made her some iced popsicles yesterday...it seems Nanny had attempted this some times before, without success...

The popsicles came out perfect this time!
Ale wants to sell them to the neighborhood children for $1/each (I told her she really can't do that, since the store in our neighborhood has cheaper ones, but promise her we'll work on pricing and then she can start...I also told her she can make "chocobananos" - frozen chocolate-covered bananas)...This conversation took place at lunchtime...

At 3pm, she calls me to work, and wants to know who gets the money...meaning who gets to keep the profits....
she also wants to know where the "original" money will come from ...meaning the money to buy the supplies for the first batch....

I told her I'll loan her the seed money, and she gets to keep the profits, but she can't spend it, because she has to re-invest it...she got a little confused with the concept of profit, so I promised I'll explain to her when I get home...

Even if she doesn't make much, it'll be a good experience!

That's what Ale told me a couple of days ago. she then proceeded to tell me she hopes to get some new kids in her class next year that don't have cable, as well...I told her: Baby, the way things are going, some of your OLD class mates might become cable-less as well! (A lot of the parents complained at the Parent's assembly last year because the school was increasing tuition. While I didn't feel thrilled at the idea, I understand that teachers and staff face cost-of-living increases, too...plus, it's a PRIVATE school....that means it is OWNED by someone - the school principal- who actually sees it as a money-making venture...) I think at least 1 other student has had the cable disconnected, already!

I understand the need to "compete", believe me, I do...I went to a partially -subsidized private school and, while half the class was taking trips to the US and Europe every year, some of us couldn't even afford to go to the beach on Sundays!...I wore clothes bought from a door-to-door vendor, they wore designer clothes...you know what? I turned out just fine, and I don't see why Ale shouldn't!...and I keep telling her, if she had cable she probably wouldn't be out playing with her friends outside all afternoon!....
And I know cable is just 1 battlefront!...soon I'll get to fight other ones,like: cellphones and clothes! ugh! Wish me luck!

The day was soooo beautiful, we decided to go to the beach, to a nice little surf lodge someone had recommended to us...
We spent $50 for 3 people...not bad, considering sis had an entree and lunch (Ale just lunch)...and sis had a couple of beers...
As for those things that money can't buy...

This was the view from our table:



And this is us, enjoying the afternoon!

Ale thought I had 7 days vacation from work, just as she will have 7 days vacation from school.... I wish!
...I explained work vacations aren't the same as school vacations...she was disappointed, but, I promised her I would try to take the day off on the 26th (her b-day)...
I already asked and my boss said I can take it....

Well, the chicken pate probably cost about $3.15 to make...but I didn't even use up half of it!...so, let's say $1.50 ...and $1.35 for the bread...the 12 sandwiches cost us $1.85...or about $0.15 each!...
When we made them for sale, they were even cheaper, because I would buy the bread at the factory on sale for $0.60...yesterday I opted for buying it in the little corner store (which is always more expensive than supermarkets, even! that same bread would have cost me $1.25 at the supermarket) ...but I saved the cost of gas- going to the factory or even to the supermarket for 1 loaf of bread would have been crazy!

Ale was so very happy!...even happier because there was leftover chicken pate...which means we get to have sandwiches for dinner! ...since this is the pate Mom would make for our "pinata" sandwiches, they are extra special for us!

They called her to tell her they will give her the $23K she needs to consolidate her debts...of course, she's complaining: Oh, I needed 23K three months ago, now it won't cover 100% ...
I know, I know, she's a brat!

Anyway, she is supposed to sign next week and, she has asked me to help her in drafting a plan to get rid of the remaining debt (VERY high interest incurred in these 3 months...probably about $1K in total) and how to try to 1) pay off the new loan as soon as possible and 2) maybe even try to save a bit!

woo-hoo! this is so exciting!

A while back,boss#1 got a copy of then-unreleased (?) book, called The Lempa River, Flow of Life... I admired the book, but said nothing.
Today, the book was officially released and, boss#2 got a copy...which he just gave to me! YAY!

It has pictures and information about the Lempa River, which is our most important river in ES! - In turn, I'm giving it to Ale (but, I'll be the guardian for now!)

I want $10,000 for downpayment on a house...someday...
I opened a new "future account" when I closed the Disney one...they will be taking $30 out of my salary each month...but I can add as much as I want to/can after that...the will take it directly out of my account (where my payment is deposited) starting next Friday... I'm hoping to see THIS ticker go down as I watch the other one (debt) go DOWN...
wish me luck!

long story, but our Miami to Orlando flight got cancelled (and that was THE flight for us...the only one that had space! add to that 100+ revenue passengers from that flight added to the other ones = RENTAL CAR!)...I ended up having to rent the car in Miami and driving to Orlando!!!...and they DIDN't have compacts, or economy, or mid-sized cars...I had to take a full-sized one!!! ...add to that the fact that dropping the car at a different location is more expensive, plus the gas to drive that monster from Miami to Orlando...well, between the car rental and the extra purchases, we spent ~$200 more than we had budgeted (fortunately, I did have a little extra I could use for just such a thing!...after all, don't they say when you travel you should pack your bags and take your money, then take out half of what you packed and add 30% more $$$??)
I got lost, too! (have I ever told you I have a "broken" compass?? I get disoriented VERY easily!...here, it's a joke...but, believe me, it was NOT funny!!!)...it took me 2 additional hours to find our hotel!!! ...
well, that was day 1.
But on day 2....we went to Animal Kingdom and loved it!!! - we didn't do many rides, but we DID see a lot of animals ...AND...as part of the Year of a Million Dreams, we got chosen to be on the Mickey Mouse float in the parade!!!!
We had to buy some clothes because our bag DID travel to Orlando without us, and Miami said our bag was in Orlando, but Orlando hadn't acknowledged receipt of the bag...and, NO, when you travel stand by you don't have the right to be reimbursed for purchase of clothes or toiletries if your flight gets cancelled (you do have a right to compensation if the airline loses your bag, though!)
On day 3 we went to Epcot and they gave us free "ears"! (I had already bought Ale's, but she kept insisting that I buy myself ones, so we could both have ears...and I kept saying "No").
We also went to get our bag from the airport...and I got lost again! both on the way TO the airport and back!
Day 4 we went to Magic Kingdom. Left early (10pm) because Ale didn't want to stay for the fireworks (the noise scared her!)...
Day 5...got up at 4am to go to the airport and drop off the car/get on the 6:15 flight! Got to Miami, checked in and went to the Miami SEaquarium and to the beach (but did not stay because Ale stepped on a rock at the beach and freaked out! - she didn't want to go near the water again and I didn't want to fry in the sun!)...went back to the hotel for some pool time and to change. Went out to hunt for a Barbie Girls MP3 player she wanted (with her own money)...had to go to 3 different places, to finally find 1 left at Toys R Us!...

Every day, when we came back to the hotel, we added up what we had spent to make sure we were more or less on track...
And every day Ale got to write down what SHE had spent out of her $75...so it was a good exercise for both of us!

Came back home to find 4 pieces of translation waiting for me...all due next Monday, so I gotta get to work early tomorrow.

Gotta go! that's my report for today!!!

Who is this woman, and what did she do with my daughter??

Today I preferred to make myself a veggie sandwich instead of eating spaghetti and meatballs (which were already cooked when I arrived home, so it wasn't only pasta vs. veggies, but convenience vs. work)...this, from the kid who declared all veggies were "yuckie"- except carrots, peas and tomatoes and potatoes!

Either that, or he's laughing like crazy!

I made the payments I wanted to towards debt and, with the reduced airfare (had budgeted $700, turned out to be $435) and the gift from ex-hubby (of paying for Ale's park tickets), this trip has become a reality (almost!)

Now, all that is left is praying for space to be available on all flights so that we can proceed as planned with our "space-available" tickets! (wish us luck!, although, ex-hubby says the flights "look good"- meaning they are not full!)

We are leaving on the 30th, so my goal is to have EVERYTHING ready by the 26th (including luggage!)...

12 days until take off!!! - and I'm guessing we won't get to sleep on the 29th!!

Took Fiona to the vet's for her anti-rabies and anti-parasite vaccines...I was feeling lazy and decided to spend additional $$$ on a bath for her, as opposed to bathing her myself tomorrow...I don't know what they put in that bath, but she looks amazing and smells clean (hmmm, my doggie shampoo is anti-flea, have never wanted to splurge on the one that smells good...I also don't buy a doggie rinse) ...the total cost for the visit was $22, so it wasn't bad at all. The vet pronounced her in good health and even gave her a treat for being such a good doggie!
You know what felt amazing? Being able to just say: Fi needs to go to the vet's, let's take her! and not having to check first to see whether I could afford it, simply because I KNEW I could afford it!...and it was included in my budget for the month!!

tomorrow, I have to take Fiona to the vet's (rabies vaccine), Ale to church... go grocery shopping...pay my personal loan at the bank...

I'm thinking of dropping Fiona at the vet's, the Ale at church, go to the bank, pick up Ale, then Fiona...

and going to the grocery store in the afternoon instead of in the morning (I like to go with Ale after church because church is about halfway between our house and the supermarket with the lowest prices...if I go drop Fiona off at home, then it's a lot of extra gas...and I can't go with Fiona to the supermarket...and I'm afraid if I go to the supermarket after church I won't be back at the vet's on time to pick up Fi!)

((sigh))

we are supposed to eat for nourishment, but, for some of us, there are a host of other things associated with food.

Mom alternated between anorexia and bulimia. She was obsessive about food and would also go years (YEARS) on end eating the same food (egg-salad sandwiches for dinner, for example. She also went through a fried egg and a tamale phase).

Food was important in our house.Food was an indicator of love. Mom cooked to show she loved us, but, if we didn't eat the food (you HAD to have seconds) it meant you were rejecting her love!... we learned to "trick" her by using mini-servings, so you could have seconds...or even a third helping!

There was always excess food at the house. Mom liked to have "extra" in case we decided to invite a friend or two...we were a family of 4, and always sat at a table for 10...and, believe me, there was enough food for 10 at the table! (food for the maids- yes maidS, there were at least 3 of them- was separated before the food got to the table...contrary to local custom, maids didn't get to eat what was left over from the table, nor did they get beans and rice only: they got whatever we got, and a full portion was separated before sending the food to the table. If, additionally to this, they wanted something more, there were always beans and rice and tortillas). Any leftovers were packed in individual bags and given to poor people who (knowing there were ALWAYS leftovers at the house) would come by once or twice a week to collect them for their families.

So...yes, we could spend a lot less in food (mind you, we DON'T cook for 10 nowadays!)but...food is important EMOTIONALLY for us...

And, it's funny, sis stops eating when nervous, while I eat non-stop! oy!

***
chose this image because my friends all say one of the things that impressed them the most when they came to visit was that our pantry looked like this!


Mom also HAD to have food available in large quantities... know that '@' symbol? In Spanish, it is called an "arroba", and it is the symbol for 25lb!...we bought our potatos and onions by the arroba!!

Ale woke me up at 7 am to give me a note that stated she didn't want to wake me up, so she'd be downstairs playing....and to please look for her once I was awake so she could give me my presents
I went down at about 7:30...Remember that conversation about not BUYING presents? like the little mice in Cinderella, she went about looking for discarded stuff she could recycle. She got my niece to give her an old bead (BIG BEAD) from a broken bracelet and she turned it into a necklace!...she also used bits of construction paper to make me 3 different cards! ...oh, and she has taken to going around saying I'm her "favorite parent"!

She also told me she had wanted to bring me breakfast in bed, but that we were out of cereal and she doesn't know how to use the stove! :P

****
on a funny/ kind of sad note, my sister's ex stroke again and left HIS daughter stranded downtown, where she takes an advanced math course on Saturdays, so Niece and Nephew went to get her and she had lunch at OUR house...how can he expose her to what could be a potentially hostile environment?? -- perhaps he was counting on us being civilized enough to 1)let the siblings go get her and 2)be nice to her and ask her to lunch!...we've seen this girl (she's 15) probably 4 times in her entire life. I think she's nice; sis is rather indifferent towards her (let's not forget this poor kid is "living proof" that her ex was cheating on her!- plus, the kid is very introverted, and sis is extroverted...), but, in the spirit of it all not being the girl's fault, sis tries to be nice and make her feel welcome (both times she's been to our house, anyway!)...this guy is really something!

Nephew came this weekend (he comes every 2 weeks) and he had asked sis to buy some stuff to fix our front door... sis did buy the things, but was very skeptical that he'd be able to fix the door...she thought that he'd make it worse and that we'd end up having to call a carpenter...or having to sleep without a front door!
Well, Nephew DID fix the door, and he did a very good job, too!...it cost us only $20 + the stress of having to hear sis yell at him for dismounting the door! - seems he learned some carpentry at one of the last re-hab centers...

It's a first because he's finally taking care of us (at least in some respects), as opposed to us having to take care of him! (I know that sounds awful, but, it's true!)

I'm thinking of putting together a "homework supplies" box...using stuff I already have, but adding some stuff, I was thinking:

1. pencils (Ale tends to lose them!)
2. eraser
3. sharpener
4. colored pencils
5. box of crayons
6. watercolors
7. white glue
8. 2 or 3 brushes
9. old magazines (for cutting up)
10.glitter glue (we do have some leftover from the school supply sale)
11. colored bond paper, letter size
12. white bond paper, legal size (we have about 10 reasms!)
13. yarn in different colors (leftover from knitting projects)
14. ribbon
15. gift wrapping paper (I do have some small scraps left over, too)
16. construction paper (from school supply sales)


Anything else you think would be good?

Ok, our 4-day holiday is over, and tomorrow we all have to go back to work!
It was nice, while it lasted, and, for a change, I DO feel rested!...Our lunch is already packed in containers in the fridge (leftover Aztec pie) and I only have to add the milk, juice, yogurt and an apple for Ale's lunchbox (I pack a snack for recess and a full lunch for noon)...oh, and I'm sure she'll want to pack at least a piece of Easter chocolate! (but I have to remind her to eat it at recess, rather than waiting for lunch, otherwise it'll melt!- the Easter bunny always gets "real" chocolate!)

The Easter bunny came at the break of dawn...Ale woke ME up at 6:11am...wondering whether the bunny had already come...I told her to wait until the parakeets flew by- we live between the place where they rest at night and the place they live in by day, so we hear them every morning and afternoon, or would, if we were awake... (about 6:15am)

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz........Z!

I think I'm going back to bed! (I got up to make sure Ale didn't eat all the chocolate in one sitting!)

I was feeling so good, having made 2 full meals from leftover chicken (so, 3 meals total from the same chicken!)...and, as I went to look for something in the cupboard, I noticed.... there are those nasty bugs that eat pasta/grains in there!...ACK!...went through everything...had to throw away A LOT of stuff!... At least, I fumigated the cupboard and managed to save some of the stuff (I need to talk to Nanny, this is precisely why I bought all those plastic containers, so NOTHING would be exposed!)...ugh!

was really nice!...It must be a lot better if you can come in your own yatch or small plane ...the access road was terrible!...we only dared go in because we had already driven for 2 hours to get there! It's unpaved and narrow ...those last 10 Km took us 30 minutes to complete!...even if I had the money for the membership, I wouldn't be able to take it ( 3 or 4 times taking this road would probably kill my car!)...PLUS, it's far away (117 Km or something, sis said)...good thing one of the benefits sis gets is unlimited gas for her car, because otherwise it would have taken us about $50 for the trip...it really is not worth it for a day trip...if you were staying a couple of days, yes...

OK, back to the good part! The place is beautiful, the employees were all very nice (at other places they make you feel bad when you come with a free invitation - which is totally stupid, if you consider that people are given those free invitations to try to entice them to sign up for membership! Go ahead, alienate the potential customer!)...but her people were very nice...
They had a wading pool, a small pool and also a jacuzzi... they have cabins for 4 or 8 people if you want to spend the night...if not, you can stay in your "palapa" by the pool or by the marina (and, they do not have a beachfront, as they are further inland, but they will take you on a 2-hour tour to a nearby beach if you want to...free for members, $113 to hire the boat if you're not a member...needless to say we DIDN't take the tour...the food was also very good and, not really expensive (each plate cost $9, your choice of fish or meat- good, tender meat and really good fish- potatoes and a salad...sodas were $1 and beers $2...we didn't bring a cooler, but saw many people HAD brought their own drinks)
The place was very clean (worth noticing because, unfortunately, we still don't have a "don't litter" culture here in ES!)...oh, and that also applies to sound pollution...generally, if you go to the "popular" beaches or resorts, it seems they are trying to drown the surf sound (??? isn't the sound of the ocean one of the reasons one goes to the beach??)...here, they had some soft playing music (as in: if you were sitting next to the bar, you could hear it, but if you moved 2 or 3 meters away, you could hear the sound of the birds louder than the music- bliss!)...hmmm, so this is how the other half lives! we could get used to it!- and, honestly, at $300/year for the membership, it would be "doable" ...but, besides reasons 1 and 2 mentioned above...well, it's not a necessity, so, of course, it's not happening!- it was a nice excursion, though! - total cost was $25 for Ale and myself...I consider them well spent!

Here's a link to their website:

Woo-hoo! I finally convinced Ale to take the training wheels off her bike...just as I suspected, she didn't really need them, but was just afraid to try!...

She still drives as if she just came from the Happy Hour at some bar, but, she didn't fall or bump into anything...so it's just a matter of (more) practice!

I never learned to ride a bike, so this is twice as exciting for me!

well, sis is gone, but she did buy some food for the week (not the usual amount, since she and niece will be out)...however, since nephew was here this weekend, she did buy some sausages and meat...too much of it, actually, so now Ale and I have 3 sausages and 4 steaks that were left over...which means all I have to do is re-heat! ...there are also leftover potatoes and rice...so for the meat I'd have to do some "chirimol" for myself(chopped tomatoes and onion, sprinkled with cilantro and bathed in lemon juice...slurp!)...Ale still doesn't like it! (that's ok, neither did I at her age!)

sis and niece are gone this week (Holy Week, they- and Ale- get the whole week off, I only get 2 days) so, Ale and I will have the house to ourselves for a couple of days! woo-hoo!
She can sing in the garden at 6am if she wants to.... we can watch a movie without being interrupted (if we are somewhere else, nobody comes to bother us, but, the moment we pop a movie into the DVD player, everyone wants to chat!)....
we can cook anything we want (same thing: the kitchen is usually deserted, but, the moment we go in to cook, niece and sis keep popping in with dirty dishes or to open the fridge trying to find something to eat!)...
I sound like a hermit!- I'm not, really, I'm not!....(maybe just a bit)

A girl can dream, right?
Someday, I'd like to have my own house again...
I spoke about it with sis- to see whether she'd be willing to share a house or whether I just have to consider MY own circumstances...
she would be willing to share...
Just like I did with the car, I've started looking at listings in the classifieds on both major newspapers, just to get a feeling of "what's out there" in terms of availability and prices...
right now, we're probably light years away from actually buying, but, it's always good to have some sort of idea of what you want, isn't it?
...like: we were talking about it with Ale and she says despite all the problems, she'd rather share a house with sis and niece, because otherwise she'd "miss them so terribly much"...she also said we should consider an additional room for nephew, so he doesn't have to use the maids room (Nanny is NOT a "live-in" maid, so the "maid room" is used mainly as a laundry room, but we did put in a bed for him in there...while we understand that this might be alienating psychologically, right now, it's the best we can do...plus, it's only 1 night every 15 days or so that he stays at the house...but, Ale is right, IF he comes to live with us, he'd need his own room - either that or he shares with sis (if only 3 rooms like right now)
so...now we need a bigger house with the same amount of money! LOL!...
I don't think Ale remembers, but he did say the other day that he'd much rather stay and live in the city he's living in right now (3 hours away from us, but I do believe it would be a better, healthier environment from him...plus, I DO think his relationship with both parents is toxic, so the farther away from them, the greater his chances to succeed, imo)

Well, on paper, I have the $$ to take the trip...
On hand, I have $700 for the (space available) tickets

On paper (meaning money owed to me), I have $3,600...enough to fulfill my goals for Q1 2008, which were:
1- pay off cc1 in full (done already)
2- cancel the dept store card
3- reduce cc2 balance by half

2 and 3 would be easily done with this $3,600 and leaving still plenty of $$$ to put some into savings AND take the trip (with more money than what I had originally budgeted- which is probably good, as it would even give me a cushion in case my calculations were wrong)...

There have been several special airfare promotions lately which would, in theory, allow me to travel "space positive" ....but they were of the "today only" or "last day to purchase 3/9" things...and I DON'T want to purchase one of this discounted tickets (I read the small print: they are non-refundable, and there's a $100 penalty for changing dates...plus, given the new rules for date changes- this was with the airline I worked for before, so I KNOW!- I would not only have to pay those $100, but, if the fare for the new dates were higher than the one for the original dates, I would have to pay the difference, as well)...I mean, what use would "space positive" tickets be if I didn't have the money for the OTHER part of the trip (things like: a place to stay, food, park tickets!)...the nice thing about the "space available" tickets is that the price doesn't change...no matter if I buy them today, tomorrow, or even the day I intend to travel...also, they ARE refundable...so if I don't use them (or if I don't use a portion - say, I cannot get a flight from Miami to Orlando and have to take a bus or rent a car- I can refund that portion)...so, even if I bought those plane tickets tomorrow, if I end up NOT taking the trip, I could get my $700 back!...
And, I really don't want to committ to this trip until I HAVE the cash and until goals #2 and #3 are taken care of...
Part of this money should have been paid in early Feb....and another in mid Feb...so I'm already late in collecting...(I have spoken to the customers, don't worry, I'm doing something about it)...the other part is due in late March/Early April...

So, the Disney trip is a mirage right now...Ale knows, it's IF we take the Disney trip we would do this, IF we take the trip we would do that...she's also warned there's a chance we might not get on the plane!!! Although our dates seem good so far!- and I'm trusting Ale's luck for that! LOL!

We had a visit today from a local beach club wanting to sell memberships...they want to sell our office a "corporate" membership package - 10 memberships for $3,000 ($300 per family), as opposed to the "normal" membership which is $621 for the year...
Well, I wasn't really interested, but someone at our table (at lunch) wanted to see where this club was, so we all got brochures...we "stole" them while the sales executive was away from the desk...but, she saw us with them!...

so, she gave us the speech and told us how wonderful it is and asked if we were interested...we all said (as a polite way to get out of it)...oh, we would have to go visit first, you know, before making a decision...and asked about the price of a day pass...($25/person, with a minimum of 6 people required)...but, because we asked, she gave everyone at the table a free daypass for up to 6 people!!!....no expiration date, no need to hear the "spiel" - since we already did!, no blackout dates!! SWEET!

are starting to be a tradition...we generally do our grocery shopping on Saturday or Sunday, and, while putting stuff away I make a point to put the older stuff in front/on top of new groceries (sis doesn't bother!...so I sometimes do it after she's already put stuff away) and, generally, I end up with some veggies that aren't quite as fresh...so, I cut them up and make a cream for dinner, which I serve for Ale with some shredded cheese...I might also add croutons if there's some bread that is also not as fresh (but is still not green!)...it is light, it is good, very nutritious, helps reduce waste...and I can even get sis to have some (she generally doesn't have dinner and, all her problems generally "attack" her stomach, which means she doesn't eat as much/as well as she should, so the cream helps)...yesterday's was a mix of: carrot, potato, squash, broccoli, onions and guisquil -whatever THAT is, I really don't know the word for it in English!..here's a picture, though!