Cowboys 2011

Jason Garrett made us lose today. When there is only 7 seconds on the clock and we are within goal field reach, it is recommended you do not call time out on your own kicker right before he makes the three pointer!!! Leave that to the opponent team to do it!! Our kicker made the first field goal Garrett stopped by calling a time out, then our kicker missed the second one sending us to overtime which we lost. So thanks Garrett! Jerry Jones was visibly upset about the call. I was screaming at my television.

I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag

Yes, Jesus Loves Me!

Movies We Watch

Movie: Green Lantern

I'll start by saying that the color Green is my favorite color. The Green Lantern not so much. It lacked the AB-mazing personality of Thor, and Charisma of Captain America. All in all it's a forgettable movie you'll probably likely to watch at the movie theater if you can spare a dollar and bearing uncomfortable seats and after checking IMDB it looks like Green Lantern 2 is coming in 2013 because at the end of this movie the liaison between the Green Lantern and that other outer space green planet out there some zillions light years away decides to try on the "Ring of Fear" and he likes it. Great! We now have to suffer and watch another Green Lantern movie.

2 Green Stars.


Movie: Cars 2

Owen Wilson as the voice of Lighting McQueen did not  live up as the exciting voice as it did in the first movie. I even questioned if it was Owen Wilson's voice, it did not sounded as enthusiastic as before. This story is actually not about Lighting McQueen but about Mater confused as a American Spy (CIA) and Green Fuel Energy. It was flat out boring and hardly any laughs. We got sick of hearing Mator talk. They did played that Cars song (the 80's group) "You Must Think I'm Crazy." That was cool, it took me back when .... At any rate, not worth seeing twice, however, there is a Toy Story short that was HILARIOUS! It made me laugh more than the entire Cars movie. Sad.

2 Mators.

Movie: Bambi 2

Let's just say that John and I cried watching this sequel of Bambi. It picks up right where the first one left off. We see Bambi living with his father still waiting for his Mama (she died remember?) and his father is the King and he lacks the patience to rear his child. Therefore, he teaches him to be strong while looking to send him away with another family. This is a beautiful film of staying together as a family and finding the courage to remember those who are no longer with us.

5 Stars!

Five on Friday - BRRRR

1.What’s your favorite thing about cold weather?

Absolutely nothing, but the promise of SPRING!


2.Soups and hot beverages seem to be everyone’s favorite cold-weather culinary combatant, but what’s another food that seems to take the bite out of the cold?

Hot Spicy Chili, Red Wine, Chicken Soup, Red Wine, Chowder Soup and Red Wine! 

3.When the weather is just starting to turn cold but is not yet in full frigidity, what do you add to your bed until it’s time to break out the heavy artillery?

First I turn up the Thermostat to 75/76 degree, a couple of socks, two comforters, and John's feet.

4.What household chore seems especially unkind in these colder months?

Picking up the mail.

5.Among people you know, who seems most oblivious to cold weather?
 
John loves winter, it is his favorite time of the year. Give me the beach any time specially during the winter months. brrrrrr.

Happenings of Raquel and Sofia

Sofia posing with her new Elephant.

 And Raquel posing with her new Little Lamb

Con Abuelita!

It was a night when John was bored and created this...

A new trick, washing hands upside down.

The Turkey Carb Lowdown 2011

Family, carbs, Black Friday, more carbs, Weekend, more and more carbs...and lots of naps.

Here's Raquel napping with Mocha.

Turkey defeated Vanessa on the first round. 

Mandy didn't stand a chance either...

The Fantastic 4! 

Raquel was fascinated by Mocha.

Sofia and Super Coco Beware!

On Black Friday, we got up late, ate breakfast late and went shopping for our Christmas tree and our individual ornaments. This year was the very first year that I didn't do anything but help John with the Christmas tree stand aside from that the girls took over decorating the Christmas tree! yippee!

To end the night, the girls decided the animals needed to be shown the way to Noah's Ark.

It is not a Seaman Reunion without dancing!

For What Shall I Give Thanks?

This year has been another year with its usual ups and downs and looking back I want to give thanks for,

1. Making peace with a friend even though it was very hard, I was able to find peace.

2. The Doctor who operated on Sofia's Adenoid Glands and successfully removing them, now she's breathing better and we haven't gone to the doctor since August for Sinus infections.

3. I give thanks for having a job that helps us pay our bills, our house and the girls school and not occupying some city public park, and even if I didn't have a job, I wouldn't blame Capitalism.

4. For my Stephen Minister Counselor who advised me to write and in doing so I have found an outlet.

5. Yesenia and David who were so kind in including us in their wedding; we felt very special.

6. For the few friends that I do have even though nowadays it is hard to go out and mingle, thank you for being patient and understanding.

7. For family! Even though we are crazy and dysfunctional, we are there when it matters.

8. For my Nanny, because she shares the same principals and values that John and I do. She's amazing!

9. Retrouvaille, because every time we give our marriage talk, we grow stronger every time.

10. For the Corporation that invented running shoe insoles, because they allowed me to run again and lose my pregnancy weight.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank You, God, for sustaining my breath, and thank You, God, for preserving my life. Thank You, God, for providing what I need this day, for I do not know if tomorrow will come, nor what it will bring. But if it comes, and if I see it, thank You, dear Father in heaven, that, in the midst of all the wrestling, and despite all my weakness, You will bring me along.

Movies We Watch

Movie: X-Men First Class

Going back to 1962 where Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and Professor Xavien (James McAvoy) met in their younger years by discovering they were not alone in the world and together they convince other mutants who were not so lucky with their physical appearance to accept who they are and fight against Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) whose goal is to bring the U.S and Russia into a war collision. It was a rather good movie, not a spectacular movie. Hugh Jackman's small cameo was great and I did wish he was on it, but this movie was not about Wolverine but Magneto and Professor X. There was something missing and I cannot put my finger on it. Keving Bacon was amazing as Shaw, John and I both agreed he's an underrated actor.

Overall, I think it lacked connection between the younger mutants it sometimes fell unbelievable. It only left me wanting to watch the first X-Men movies.

2 1/2 First Class stars from me.

TV Series: Downtown Abbey

Upon looking for more period pieces drama movies on Netflix, I stumble upon Downtown Abbey and I immediately fell in love. Set in pre World War I England, it tells the story of the Crawleys who live in their Downtown Abbey castle and their servants. If you have seen Gosford Park and loved it, you will also love Downtown Abbey.

Lord Crawley has lost his next heir in the sinking of the Titanic who was to take ownership of the Abbey but now finds himself scrambling to find who will take his place upon his death, unfortunately, back in the day, his first daughter does not stand a chance to inherit the Abbey because only males inherit land. They are able to find a very distant charming cousin who is a lawyer who finds the Crawley's way of life not to keen with his own or the new way of life in London. He soon falls in love with the Lord's daughter Lady Mary Crawley who dislikes him.

Totally amazing series! Unfortunately, it plays in England first then it is shipped to the U.S for us poor Yankees to view it second. Season two will air in January here in the States. I can't wait! Huge cliffhanger at the end of season 1!

5 Abbey Stars!!!

5 Things About Me Today

1. I looked up the meaning of the word: Vulnerable: capable of being physically or emotionally wounded or hurt. I lived in fear of being vulnerable for many, many years up until four years ago that I realize that being vulnerable to family and close friends is OK; It is a risk nonetheless, but how else are we to reach out when we need a lending hand or emotional support from others if we do not come out and say: I need help, I feel defeated and I don't know what to do? So, without saying much, I urge everyone to please reach out to family members for help without the fear of rejection and/or judgement.

2. Depression: sadness; gloom; dejection. Or the squelch of my appetite. Yep, I have this mental disorder, another definition for this gloomy word that comes and goes like a roller coaster and I'm able to hide it very well from my love ones until a colleague of mine finds me in my cubicle (work place) crying my heart out.

3. Thanksgiving is coming and I will pig out. yey. Then I will run for miles and miles on ending until I burn everything I ate then I will repeat the same steps for Christmas and New Years.

4. We gave our marriage talk this past weekend and one lady came to us and said that she was giving up on coming for more marriage talks but decided to give it one more try and she was happy she did because she felt our talk was "warm" and she was happy that she came. It is never easy to talk about your own failings in your marriage and past struggles but it is very fulfilling that we are helping other marriages find hope.

5. I am not doing Black Friday...I think they are for freaks who wake up at ungodly hours just to shop. I have been a freak in the past myself and I have always found it exhausting and unfulfilled. Just saying.

Five on Friday - Illness

1.When you’re sick in bed, do you prefer to be left alone or to be taken care of?

Pamper me please! with a delicious hot soup and a remote control.

2.How difficult or cooperative are you as a patient?

I'm pretty cooperative and talkative. I like to talk to the nurses and get to know them and ask them why they chose their profession and all their stories vary and then they start telling stories about bizarre patients. It gets pretty interesting.

3.It’s just a really bad cold so all you can do is ride it out. What are your strategies?

1. Aspirin
2. TheraFlu

If these two don't work then I do:

3. Z-Pack

4.How ill do you have to feel in order to shut it down for the day?

Temperature must be over 100 so that I can call quits.

5.Waves of nausea are washing over you and through you. Do you fight them off, or do you just throw up to get it over with?
 
Throw up and keep moving. No sense of fighting the inevitable.

Putting on the Brakes

A First Look at ''Second Chances''
By: Chuck Colson

Divorce is epidemic in the culture and, I’m sad to say, in the Church. Can that change?

In her 1968 country tear-jerker about her divorce, Tammy Wynette sang about her son and about-to-be ex-husband, “I love you both and this will be pure H. E. double L. for me. Oh, I wish that we could stop this D.I.V.O.R.C.E.”

New research shows that Tammy is not alone.

Working with the Institute for American Values, principal investigators Professor William Doherty of the University of Minnesota and retired Georgia Supreme Court Justice Leah Ward Sears discovered that “About forty percent of couples already deeply into the divorce process report that one or both spouses are interested in the possibility of reconciliation.”

According to their study, “Second Chances: A Proposal to Reduce Unnecessary Divorce,” this means that a significant number of divorces are preventable and thus unnecessary.

Most people believe that divorce is the result of long-term marital strife, but this turns out to be false. As Dr. Doherty and Justice Sears wrote in the Washington Post, “[O]nly a minority of divorcing couples experience high conflict and abuse during their marriages. Most divorces occur with couples who have drifted apart and handle everyday disagreements poorly.”

And they add, “It is these ‘average’ divorces that research shows are the most harmful to children.” And because the state has a compelling interest in the wellbeing of children, the state also has a compelling interest in preventing these unnecessary divorces.

That’s why Doherty and Sears have gone beyond research to develop a proposal for changing state laws.

First, they recommend a one-year waiting period before a divorce is granted. The decision to divorce is often made when emotions are hot. Once the papers are filed, couples find themselves on what Justice Sears calls “the divorce superhighway.”

As a result, couples find they don’t have the time, the tools, or the space to reconsider. A slower road, especially for couples with children, will allow couples to consider the consequences of divorce against other options.

Second, they recommend a mandatory early warning letter from the spouse intent on filing for divorce. It’s a way of putting the other spouse on notice that, “we have a problem” before the legal wheels begin turning. And it would trigger mandatory pre-filing education for parents of minor children.

Doherty and Sears go on to recommend that couples contemplating divorce have access to marriage reconciliation services whether they use them or not. While many couples with troubled marriages seek counseling, most therapists aren’t adequately trained in couples counseling and many feel they should be neutral on the question of divorce. Second Chances recommends proper training and a pro-marriage bias for counselors.

Second Chances is “a modest proposal” to reduce divorce, and I am all for it. My question for Christians and for churches is, why wait for a new law? Do we really believe that marriage was instituted by God, that He intended it for human flourishing, and that marriage and the family unit are the cornerstones of civilization?

Then for heaven’s sake, let’s use our creativity and gifts to do everything we can to help struggling married couples stay together.