On Saturday, a friend of my sister's (L)came over to celebrate my birthday (I cooked, she brought the wine!)..she had on an amazing pair of sandals...and, C fell in love with them...and asked where L had gotten them and how much they cost...Next, she started hounding my sis to give her an advance on the money for the ad (the cheque will be ready in 2 weeks)..sis said:no...and I said: you have to wait until payday, like the rest of us...Mommy, Mommy, PLEASE...NO. You don't have credit!...she kept insisting all weekend, but, sis is not budging! (good for her!)

...I read someplace that learning to crochet is good exercise to improve your handwriting...so, I brought up the idea with Alejandra and SHE LOVED IT!...I told her we'd begin once she and I were on vacation, but, she insisted so much, I started teaching her yesterday!!...
she's so enthusiastic about it, she tried to do a couple of stitches on her own today while I was in the shower!...it is a less than perfect chain so far, but she's getting the hang of it!

My niece got picked to be in an ad for a local dept store...she's getting $60 after taxes...soooo, my sister wrote this on a piece of paper and pasted it on her bedroom door:

This is what happens in real life:
They pay $60
you spent $4 (to have a blouse altered)
you spent $5 (to have your hair blow dried --when you could do that yourself at home)
You owe me $20
and your aunt $5

You end up with : $26

Welcome to the Real World!

We have our patron saint festivities (such a Latin thing, don't you think?) in 2 weeks...so, in the capital city we get August 3,4,5 and 6 off...some years it's great, whenever the 3rd falls on a Tuesday, but, still, even just 2 days off like this year are nice...
I'm thinking about what to do with Ale those days (the city all but shuts down)...I was thinking about doing some arts and crafts at home and going for a nice "picnic" in a park near our house...(debating the last one, though, as the city seems to have grown more dangerous lately...) ...maybe take her to the aquapark one day...although, what I hate about that is that they don't let you bring your own food and, their food is both HORRID and EXPENSIVE (I wouldn't midn the expense as much if the food were worth it...)

This is what went through my head today when my cousin called to tell me that her car needs a new tire, because it's starting to vibrate funny and she took it to her friend that is a mechanic and he told her there is a "bump" in one of her front tires....
Now, I DO believe it, but, I also knows that means paying for the phone bill just dropped a few more rungs in priority for her! ((sigh))

Yesterday, we were going to pick up a friend and we went by a church...Ale said: people have weddings in churches...people that go to church must have money...
I asked why and she said: because to get married, you need a cake...
(MIC)Not really, you can have a cake if you want to, but you don't NEED one...
(Ale) You also have to buy a dress, and the man has to buy the thing he wears, and that's expensive....
(MIC) that is nice to have, but you don't NEED that, either...
(Ale) still, if you want to have those things, it is expensive, so what parents should do is save their clothes for when their children get married, because, after all, you only use that dress for one day...

This month had to be only slightly above minimum
Have not received my payment for some services yet...have to consider the phone bill ... and payment was due tomorrow...If cousin comes through and pays me for the phone bill -- even if little by little -- I'll put that $$ towards the card...If the bank approves my loan, that will go towards the CC, too...I'll deal with the phone bill separately... ((sigh))

My birthday is this next Sunday, but, sis decided to surprise me yesterday and bought some ravioli from our favorite Italian restaurant...yum!...

She also decided to bring them yesterday to avoid a full family celebration (honestly, we don't feel like partying with my cousin right now!...not that we hate her or anything, but, we are both hurt right now and we'd rather skip the family get-together right now....not to mention it's much cheaper to buy food for the 4 of us than for 6, specially considering my nephew is not precisely considerate about the amounts he eats or seeing that there is enough left for others!)...so, we had our family celebration yesterday!! ravioli from El Rosal, a nice bottle of Chilean wine and Frank Sinatra on our stereo (we grew up with that stuff!, so in a way it was like having Mom and Dad present!)

I'm currently trying to help my cousin make some money (NO, I'm NOT lending/giving her any money!)...she's back to selling clothes...so, I asked a friend and she said whenever SHE wants to sell something, she just sends an email to all her friends, asking them to forward it on...and she usually gets many responses...sooooo, I created an e-mail regarding the clothes and listed both her and my numbers..I already received 1 call...we'll see how it goes...after all, it is in MY best interest that she make some money!!

You just have to laugh...
My niece was telling me yesterday that a friend's father had told her he could find her a job as a cashier at some store once she's out of school, so she can earn some $$$ while going to college...she then said: It's a job...AND, then she said: and I'm sure I can do something with $1,500 (whenever we speak of salaries in ES, it's always monthly salaries that we speak about)...
so I said: $1,500? ...she said-- very defensively -- it's SOMEthing...
and, I said: sure it's something...I make $800 and your mom makes $1,100....
she then goes: Oh!...it must be less, then...
Yeah, if it is 1,500, then it's probably Colones ($171.42), pre-tax!...she figures she'll spend about $30/month for her Peugeot (that her father says he's getting her!-- she should know by now, he'll find some lame excuse...HE'S NOT EVEN PAYING FOR HER SCHOOL!!!)...

I swear, that child lives in Fantasyland! ...

I finally have the school supply list!
Out of 35 items, I need to find 11! (and they are not expensive/difficult to find, either!)
I need a construction (cover) paper and a luster paper booklet...I'm drowing in plies of it, so I'll just have it cut down to Legal size and use fasteners (of which I ALSO have tons!) to make the booklets...that will leave me with a total of 9 items to get...of which at least 4 are Dollar store items! -- woo-hoo!!
I'll post total paid for all these once I have the stuff!

It went just as I expected...he's acting as if he were the offended party!...at one point, he was slouching in his chair and my cousin said: sit up straight...his answer: I can't help it, I'm sleepy! ((said with an attitude,not in a nice way!))...
When I left she was in her car, and he was standing next to the passenger side of it, with his door open, but visibly arguing with her!...I imagine he was scolding her for putting him through all that!...I hope he says something stupid enough to make her mad enough to react!!...In the meantime, I have to cough up $300 today and $100/month for the next 7 months...at least they didn't include any interest on the money!
...OH, and I made it VERY clear that HE DOES owe me interest...same interest as the highest card and, until HE repays me, and even 3 years after the day he finally does, I have EVERY right to remind him 24 times a day --if I want to-- that he made those phone calls on MY line and damaged MY credit!

**********************
Latest update: what he did was get out of the car and get lost for a couple of hours...he just returned home...of course, my cousin was already worried...(which I imagine was his intended purpose!) ...some days I feel like punching him...but others I just feel like slapping her into her senses!

I also printed a spreadsheet with all my fixed and variable expenses -- including debt repayment-- for my nephew...I'm going to put this in front of him and let him "decide" what I should stop paying/cut to pay for HIS calls...then I'm going to ask him to explain to me WHY he thinks it's fair that I do that in order to pay for phone calls I didn't make! (obviously, the answer is going to be a great big "I'm the wounded party here" silence, but...)

I'm chocking with anger right now!

Well, last year I was trying to sell the apartment, drowining in debt and worrying about my sister's illness...on top of that, my niece had just been returned from the US by her aunt and her dad...by the way: that promise he made to my sis to pay my niece's tuition?? ...guess what?? ...yep, he has faaaaar too many expenses to help with that (you gotta understand, the membership to the country club, tennis lessons for himself and the new Mitsubishi Nativa ARE expensive! --CREEP!)...There were also BIG problems with the old car!

This year my economic situation is not desperate (despite the "new" debt thanks to my nephew/cousin!), sis is just pending her last (we hope!) MRI, niece is at school and getting satisfactorily good grades (honor roll student she's not, but, at least she's not failing any subjects this last trimester!), the new car and I are still in our honeymoon phase (it has to go for an oil change at the end of the month)...and Ale is going to a "real" school in August!

Things are definetely looking up!

I need to confront my cousin ref the phone bill...I mean, she knows, and she knows I'm mad...but, I want to tell her that I'm particularly upset about the way she has handled the whole thing...and, no, I'm not talking about her parenting (or lack thereof!)...I'm talking about HER... she told me the other day that she had gone and paid the internet/cable service so it would be reconnected (was disconnected for 1 day!) because "not because of D., but because of me, because cable is my only enterntainment and I don't feel it's fair to give even THAT up"...
well, I guess she hasn't figured that, so that SHE can have her enterntainment, MY DAUGHTER AND I are going to have to cut ours to be able to pay for her son's bill...at least, I'm hoping that this is because she's CLUELESS, because if she realizes this and still justifies reconnecting her cable, that means she's just as inconsiderate as her son...

I also want to tell her that I DO expect her to pay me, and, since this will have to come out of my cc payments (I'd have to make minimum payments only on the cc to be able to apply the rest towards this debt for 6-8 months), that I expect her to pay for the interest...at the same rate I have on the cc...

Also, I want to make it clear that, if she runs into any more financial trouble (and she will!), I am willing to offer moral support, but nothing more...

I'm really not confrontational, so I know this is going to be difficult...

On top of that, I haven't decided whether I should do this as part of a meeting that I want to have with her and her son (God, grant me the restraint to NOT kill him!) or as a separate meeting -- she really doesn't need anybody else making that child feel like SHE's not in control...but, then again, the situation between them is such, that...does it really matter? She has no control, he truly is Master in that house (yes, capital M)...

any ideas are welcome!

Well, I have to go to the lawyer's to try to keep them from docking my pay over the phone bill (which effectively means I will be paying MORE than if they were docking my pay, but, at least my record won't show that they had to resort to this! -- plus the people at payroll in the company don't have to see it!) AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHH
I just called my cousin and told her she IS coming with me and her son IS coming with us, as well....I know there won't be any consequences for him and I know he couldn't care less about my pay (in fact, I think he might even feel some sort of satisfaction that the B*tch is having trouble! -- I'm sure that's how his pampered mind perceives me!), but, I want him to at least have to FACE the lawyer and own up to what he did, and see that there ARE consequences...won't do much good because the consequences don't affect HIM, so he won't care, but...AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHH!

She also submitted an idea for the contest, and she went for her interview today and, was accepted into the program on the spot! This is great news!
Woo-hoo!

These pictures were taken two weekends ago, while Ale was having her swim lessons by one of our new managers

Ale at a break

With San Salvador volcano in the background! (everyone falls in love with that volcano! --guy almost had a heart attack when he saw it from this perspective, he lives on the other side of it!)

my nephew D (cousin's son) has, as you may already have guessed no regard whatsoever for other people's property/well-being... (this is the one that stole --my cousin says "took without permission"--his mom's car and crashed it, the one that racked up the $1,000 phone bill, the one that keeps hounding my cousin to pay the internet bill because he wants to go on line and chat --and my cousin makes this a 1st priority because at least it keeps him in the house!!)...well, since my OTHER nephew, R (sis' son, who is in rehab) has been home for 3 weeks, due he was recovering from surgery, I haven't worried about D. using the internet or the phone at my place (having "been there, done that", R. is now much more conscious of these things!)...well, R left yesterday to go back into the rehab center (the Doctor said his recovery period is over and can now resume his normal duties at the center)...so, I KNEW there would be trouble today... I gave our nanny specific orders that D. was NOT to use the computer or the phone, or drink our sodas while we are not home...sure enough, he came in today and, without even asking, just sat himself down to the computer...what happened next is a little murky, because there are 2 different versions: the nanny's (which strikes me as more trustworthy) and my cousin's (who claims she was here at the time... she DOES admit he didn't bother asking anybody if he could use the computer...I figure the nanny is too lowly a person to ask and, Ale being only 6 is inconsequential in his mind!)...the nanny says he DID use the computer despite her telling him not to...my cousin (his MOM) says he immediately stopped using it when the nanny told him to...In any case, I already talked to her and, I intend to talk to him, too, anyway...it is not the $$$, as the line is dedicated and so there are no additional charges...although we COULD talk about additional charges for the electricity...it's the PRINCIPLE of the matter...I, for one, believe my cousin should have STOPPED paying for the internet the minute the $1,000 phone bill arrived and started applying those $50/month towards repayment...her view of it is: 1.that would have angered him and he would have screamed at her (he's 16!)...2. the internet keeps him inside the house...3. she has to pay anyway because she has a contract, so not paying would only mean late fees for her!... hmmmmm...so, it is preferrable for her to let ME hanging than deal with her son!!...well, SHE may take that view, but I certainly do not, and I feel he needs a lesson in PRIVATE PROPERTY...the computer belongs to my niece, but, my sister and I pay for the internet service, so it's OUR service and I don't want HIM using it...how about THAT??... I also don't want him anywhere NEAR my phone!...which my cousin is now using to make her business calls (and supposed to give us her share of usage, but, since she hasn't had any income for the last 2 months, has only paid for 1 month...and then, not really for HER whole share!, just for part of it!!)...I get really mad, but, I try to be understanding (with her, I can be, but NOT with him!)...she does need help to get on her feet...she did help me a lot (both monetarily and emotionally) when I lost my job and, she's always willing to help (drive us around, accompany us to Dr's appointments or hospitals during crises, take care of Ale if I don't have a nanny) and, that is stuff that I really appreciate and don't put a price tag on...so, she can help with that sort of thing and we can help with $$$, despite all our difficulties, so I'm willing to do it and not be too picky about her phone bills (it's not like they're exhorbitant, either), but, I am NOT willing to let her son abuse the relationship between our families and, I have told her on several occasions just WHY I'm not in agreement with her approach to the problems with him...so, at least in MY house, he has to obey the rules!! I wish I could PUNCH HIM!!! ARRRRRGHHHHH!...I swear, if he ever disrespects my nanny again like that by disobeying her orders, I'm going to send a letter to the neighborhood administration requesting that security be notified that he is NOT to be allowed into the neighborhood....

My cousin is finally starting to warm up to the idea of one of those "plug in" phones (you plug them into any electrical outlet and you have a working phone line!) which are only available through pre-paid plans (you use up your minutes, you buy a card, just like a prepaid cellphone...) ...sure, the rate per minute is higher, but, with her son, it would still be cheaper than a regular phone (if only because you cannot abuse one of these, your time expires, your phone is dead for outgoing calls until you recharge!)

It has taken me almost 6 months to convince her of this!

She's taking out a loan on her house to pay for several debts (including the current debt on her house)..it makes sense because the rate they'll give her is lower than her current one...plus, she gets to pay for her car and several other debts...she currently pays about $500/ month for car and house (2 separate payments of $300 and $200), and, with this new loan would have one payment of $300 ...part of the money she's borrowint would go to pay for the famous phone bill!

Well, only a handful of children showed up...but, at least Ale's current best friend was there!...and also some of the ones that have been with her the longest (who are also leaving the preschool at the end of July! gasp!!)...she had a blast, and I guess that's what's important...meanwhile, we had so much food leftover, we've been living off sandwiches, soda and cake the whole weekend (and, yes, I paid dearly for it in the form of a mild migraine --how's THAT for an oxymoron!-- yesterday night!...I'm back to my "normal" diet today...except, I paid $0.33 for a natural fruit juice instead of my usual $0.30 for soda!! ...right now, I think "soda" and my body's reaction is YUEEEECHHH...which is a really good thing!)...
The party itself was fun for the kids, and they even got to make a souvenir to take home at the recycled materials workshop...Alejandra and her friends had a great time, but, if I had to guess who had the most fun, I'd have to say my niece and her friends (all 16-year-olds!)LOL!...the "Bored-out-of-his-mind" award would go to my nephew, who didn't enjoy even the HOuse of Gravity, and spent the whole time complaining because the cafereria was closed and there was no coffee!..I still don't have any pictures, but will post them as soon as I do!

well, we had the party at the Museu, and less than half the people showed up...(on a side note: the saddest part is to think, even on a Friday, we would have had a higher number of people show up if we had done this at Pizza Hut or any other fast food restaurant! -- seems people are afraid of Museums!)...anyway...remember they had said that I only had to pay for the people who had attended...well, at the end of the event, the person in charge of events --with whom I had had a meeting on Tuesday -- said that what they would give me was a 25% discount on the tickets for the people that hadn't shown up...WHAT??...I had discussed this with someone else, and they had said I'd only had to pay for the people that attended...she said that the person that I had spoken to about this didn't know about Events...ok, so, now it's getting late and Ale is starting to get desperate to go home and it is starting to rain and I can see there will be A STORM...so, I was pressured to leave as soon as possible....then, they gave me some used tickets as proof of purchase...NO, I will accept used ticket stubs for the tickets we DID use, but, at least got them to give me the tickets that I paid for that we had not used!..so, now I have a BUNCH (about 38!) of tickets to the Museum (which I intend to use/give away! I don't care, but, I WILL get my money's worth!)...we went there on Sunday already...
What I will do is add this to my enterntainemnt account as available fun money until they run out...
...I'm guessing this is just one more reason people DON'T have their parties there!>

LOL! :P due the nanny situation, my cousin and a friend took Ale with them all day today...on their to-do list was the purchase of the pinatas for tomorrow... the friend called me and said: Wow, your daughter is one tough customer...she knows what she wants and she won't accept anything less...(I cannot wait to hear THAT story in full detail!)

LOL!...my Baby!

I just got a call from a lawyer's office ref: the famous phone line that my nephew (son of my cousin) abused!!...it makes me SOOOO mad!...

Mainly, the reason I haven't done anything about it is that the phone company WILL reconnect as soon as I make a payment and, unless I pay in full ($1003.20), they will NOT accept my request for any changes in the account (like restriction of international calls), which means, as soon as I make any payments, the line will be up and fully operational for him to make any phone calls he pleases! (she works all day long, so he'd have at least 6 hours a day of unrestricted access!)...

This REALLY sucks!

The nanny's daughter called today...the nanny is not feeling well, and will not come to work today...maybe (MAYBE) tomorrow...

Today I have no problem, I just left Ale at school and she'll stay until 5:00pm (talked to the principal, they run a DAycare/homework club in the afternoon, so no problem), but, tomorrow is teacher's day, so they have the day off...and, if the nanny cannot come, I need to find a solution...one option is to let her tag along with my cousin...the pros: they love each other, I know I can trust my cousin...the cons? her schedule is not regular at all...sometimes she has lunch at 3:00pm...Ale cannot do that...so I'm a little aprehensive about that... The other option (not really!) is to let her stay home with my nephew and niece (nephew is recovering from his operation and, niece is 16...she, too will be off school, but, we anticipate she'll have her hands full with her brother, and don't want to overwhelm her!)...Third option is for me to request a day off work ....but, I've requested so many already -- what with taking my sister for medical appointments and other stuff!...what is there to do?? ((sigh))

the local newspaper publishes a monthly magazine called El Economista, which features local entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial initiatives....the June mag arrived yesterday...Ale now likes to read the paper with her breakfast and, she said to me: Can I have the magazine?...as a joke, I gave it to her...she read it!...I don't think she understood much of it, but she read it! LOL! -- let's hope for some subliminal learning...

yesterday, we went to buy a few extra party favors for Ale's b-day (I thought there were 30 children at her school...turns out there are 40!...I don't expect ALL to show up, but, I wanted to buy 3 more "baby" gifts)...We went to the Dollar store and, Ale picked the gifts: she found two 3-packs of squeaky toys and said: "Look, Mom, we give 1 squeaky toy to each kid, so with 2 packs we get gifts for 6 children!" (which is what we ended up doing!)

I feel so proud of her! -- and she's only turning 6 next week! Not only does she know how to plan a party now (which she mastered at age 4!) she also knows how to keep her costs down!! woo-hoo!...I feel like I'm doing a good job with her! (of course, she's such a smart kid, it's easy!)

Of course, we did spend money on goodies (part of DD's full movie experience!)...but, the whole tab was $5.95, when, usually, we spend $10 when we go to the movies(we always go to the matinee, so prices are cheaper)...We've got 2 more tickets, which are valid through 28/June, so we are going again next weekend...

the people from the coop discounted $65 from my pay again, so now Ale's school fund stands now at $402.11 (they should be discounting $32.50 each pay period!)...well, again, will try to live without it and send them ANOTHER message to try to correct it!...worst-case scenario, I'll have to withdraw $32.50 from that account!...
best-case I won't have to and can pay 3 months in advance at the beginning of the year!!

1. New bed for Ale... Pending, not urgent yet, but increasing in priority as she grows...she'll soon be too big for her bed!--will start quoting!!

2. New bike for Ale...Has dropped even lower in priority...depending on how things go, maybe Santa can bring it!

4. Ale's birthday party!! - She wants to have it at the Children's Museum...Museum is available! will have the party next Friday!...depending on how many children/adults attend, it might be about the same that I would have paid for the cheapest party package at Pizza Hutt --if ALL attend, which is difficult, given that it's on a Friday!--and a much more interesting and unique experience...I'm already working on the invitations!!