Happy 2009!! Goodbye 2008

So this year we decided to stay home & chill.
After talking to my sister I invited her over to dinner & welcomed the New Year together, here is Angelique sporting her 2009 memorabilia. Happy to be awake at midnight eating candy & ice cream & running around screaming & making noise!









December went just as fast as November & for that matter the rest of 2008. We went to the

Dawn to Dusk race & ended up being 7th over all in the Co-ed Duo teams. I had a great time, it was nice & sunny & cool. No rain!! yeii for that.
Two weeks later we went to the San Tan trails, we had not been there before & found that there are a lot of new trails. It was pretty fun, except for one very long stretch on a wash that seemed to take forever!
We were able to take a couple of pics with Jeff's new camera gift card from Target, pretty cool!


We didn't want to do to much for Christmas this year so we decided to spend it at home, My Mami ( Happy 55th B-day!!) ended up coming over & had dinner with us. Lamb roast, Sweet Potatoes Al Gratin, Asparagus with garlic & butter, Salad with olive oil dressing, & some fresh biscuits. We had a lot to eat & then some! Oh yeah we also made Pumpkin Pie(2), which we just finished a couple of days ago.














Here area couple more pics from our New Years celebration, I got a picture of all the girls,
however somehow the boys didn't make it in to any pictures, really Sergio, Llello, Scotty & Michael were also here, we played Cranuim & Apples to Apples all night, Had a really great dinner & went to sleep at about 5:00 Am.

















Today I've been dragging my feet & will finally get out for a short ride, Jeff is already out diligently following his training plan, Thanks Art!

This year I found out if I ride more I can actually get a little faster & stronger, now I have to
work on consistency as Jeff likes to remind me. I got a promotion at work & don't have to work weekends any more, yeiii! I went to New York for the first time in my life & was there for about an hour....Went to 2 weddings, welcomed a new niece (Yvette), Got a "new" road bike (lender), didn't loose the 10lbs I wanted, but also didn't gain any so I'll take that as even. Found out my Mom doesn't like sushi. I have a crazy, dysfunctional family that drives me nutz, but then again so do many other people.
I am very thankful to have such a wonderful Husband, I love him dearly & look forward to spending many more years together!!

November 2008

November flew by, I blinked & here we are December 31st 2008, last day of this great 2008 year.

I got to spend some time with friends & visit the place where we met, Aunt Chilada's! We had some good Mexican food & a couple really good Margaritas, Yummy!
A few days later I flew to New York to help my little sister drive back to Arizona....This was not necessarily a fun trip, but it was memorable. I was very excited, but after 3 hours on the plane I realized I still had 2 more hours to go, this was the longest flight I've been on so far so it was pretty boring, all by myself..The good thing is that there was no one sitting by me so I had 3 seats to myself! Look at the positives, right?


I got to JFK at about 5:00 pm Eastern time & started driving at about 5:45. Manhattan is an interesting place, specially trying to drive at the end of rush hour, on a Friday night, in a
place you've never been before....Where everyone & their mother loves to ride the horn for no reason whatsoever than to make noise or get on your nerves. Friendly place!
What made it even better is that Maribel didn't fill up the fuel tank earlier so we had to stop & try to find a gas station.
It was very cool to drive over the Brooklyn Bridge & see the skyline at night.
I was a little freaked out but everything worked & we made it New Cumberland Pennsylvania that night & started driving the next morning again.
My poor nephew was stuck in his car seat for what I'm sure seemed an eternity. At first I believe he was having fun but after 2 days he was a very unhappy 18 month old. I'm sorry little Angel!!
On Saturday November 22nd we drove thru the rest of PA, Ohio, a tiny part of West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois & arrived at St. Louis Missouri at about 10 pm. Spend the night outside of St Louis. This part of the drive was kind of ok, we drove thru some snow but mostly it was clear skies & cold, cold & did I say cold weather? We stopped at so many gas stations & ate so much fast food that I was ready to get home & cook!
On the 3rd day, Sunday November 23rd, we drove the rest of Missouri, Oklahoma, Pan handle of Texas & made it to Albuquerque New Mexico. This seemed like a really, really, really long & boring drive. Wait it didn't seem like it, it actually was!!
I was hoping to make it back to Phoenix that night but since I was the only one who could see well enough to drive at night & we were very tired I decided to spend the night in Albuquerque. Next day we made it thru the last part of New Mexico & as soon as we hit Arizona I felt like I was home!
We made it back just in time to get Thanksgiving dinner ready!!

Me & my charming..he, he Husband had a great time cooking a big Thanksgiving dinner for my family. We had a great big turkey, mashed papas, green beans in butter & garlic, yucca (yummy), mushroom stuffing, corn, salad & for dessert empanadas de coco.
Some good wine & lots of kids running around!! Thanks you, Mom, Ruth, Sergio, Maribel, Angelique, Angel, Marleen & Yvette, for spending this Thanksgiving at our home!


We also had a special guest show up to make it a memorable night. Our Good friend the Turkey live and in person!

He made an appearance after dinner during play time & scared the ***** out of Marleen (not shown in picture). Yvette who is in her Mommy's arms was very happy indeed & immediately wanted to taste the Turkey.
Marleen (almost 2 yrs old) however looked like she had just seen a giant Turkey saying hello!....I guess this might be scary to a little toddler. Who would have thought!

Stay tuned for the Dawn to Dusk recap, as seen from my eyes!

Dust Devil #3 White Tanks

On Saturday 11/15 was the 3rd race of the 2008 Dust Devil Series. We got up pretty early to make it in time for Jeff & I to warm up....right!
This is the only one of the 3 that Jeff was able to race in. We had a really good time. He raced Pro I beginner & we both got 1st place. Yeiii!!!

After wards we went over to Estrella Mountain Cyclery to use our Gift certificates from the race. They were generous enough to had out certificates to all the race winners. I ended up with a really nice pair riding shorts, short enough that I don't get a tan line down at my knees! I also got a camelback bottle & Jeff got some socks.....I think I got the better end of the deal!
Next Race Dawn to Dusk at Pemberton!! cant wait!

McDowell Dust Devil

On 11/1/08 the 2nd race of the Dust Devil series took place, we left with plenty of time to be there by 8:45 so I could warm up & race at about 9:30....well that didn't work out!

First we had to spot & get Gas, 5 minutes not too bad, then the 101 north was closed at Warner & then we got stuck on Price road with the rest of the traffic. I'm glad to say we made it to the race on time....

time enough to register put on my shoes & hop on the bike to start the race!!!

One of the riders I never saw again, another

passed me on the sport/tech loop. Then another rider passed me on the long loop. After the first lap I warmed up so I was able to keep the last rider who passed me within sight & passed her at the end of the long loop. I started to slack off a little on the last sport/tech loop but was able to pick it up a notch.

(I'm on the far right of the picture....)

I finished 1st in my age group(20-29) there were no overall results but I came in 3rd (I counted).

According to Jeff & Art I'm not podium ready yet because they were not able to get a good picture of me up there......I just think we need better photographers, he,he

Now I'm looking forward to the 3rd race coming up this weekend 11/15 at White Tanks.

10/25

On 10/25 I went to pre-ride McDowell, the 2nd Dust Devil race was set for 11/1.

I got to ride with Wendy & kendra who are awesome to ride with.

It was still pretty hot but we had a really good time. Don't we look pretty in Pink??

That night I got together with the girls, at our "Girls night in" get together. We've been setting a date once a month to just get together, eat some good food, drink some good drinks & just catch up on our busy lives. In October we decided to go with a Halloween theme & carved pumpkins!! It sounds easier than it is, specially after a couple of beers! But most of us got thru it & survived, unfortunately my pumpkin didn't, it was way hot that week so I had to get rid of it a couple days later :(

April with her masterpiece, too bad I moved the camera, the dog with a bone was a real spectacle!

Busy, busy...

I don't take that long to post!!!.....well maybe a little, since I notice it's been about 2 months, sorry coyote!
Anyhow, I've been very busy working & watching TV & riding my bike, plus the computer was acting up so it was way too frustrating to try & write, but today seems like a good day.
I have been trying to ride more & get into shape, this last weekend 10/11/08 I got to race again after not racing in about a year. Estrella mountain is fun I like the challenge, even if I have to walk a few parts. Mom went to see the race which was cool...thanks Mami! & got to be worried about her little girl crashing! Really it was not bad just a little jarring. I got to meet some nice ladies & hope they keep racing, it's always more fun when you have competition. I ended up getting 2nd overall & 1st in my age group, but best of all is I did my fastest lap to date, yes even with a crash! It's just nice to see results after having to ride inside the house all summer on a trainer...mostly because I don't like getting up at 4am or 5 or even 6. Now that the weather has turned I'm in heaven!!!Sunday 10/12/08 was Columbus day!! Feliz dia de la Raza...& happy anniversary to me & Jeff. Yes we've been married a year already, this year just flew by, it seems just yesterday I was making wedding arrangements! We had a wonderful time, I was told not to make any plans, so I didn't, but at about noon when my hubby informed me he was going on a 3 hour road ride I thought I was getting jipped. However being the understanding wife that I am....I didn't complain & even went for a short recovery ride myself. Later I was informed to be ready by 5pm to go out for dinner & a night out, we went to Maria Maria, a restaurant owned by Carlos Santana by Tempe town lake, It was very delicious & interesting, an enchilada sauce with pumpkin???Yummy! Afterwards we got lost for a while trying to find the Celebrity theater & when we finally got there the next surprise was that Jaguares was playing.....it took me back to my high school days...very cool. Tomorrow I turn 28, not doing much just working, but over the weekend we'll be going to Sushi Eye with my sister & brother-in-law. & of course we'll get some riding in.
Well that's it for now, next race is the 1st weekend in November!! Cant wait! : )

Feliz sin cuenta, digo cincuenta

Feliz Cumpleaños!!!!!


El Cinco de Julio nos juntamos para celebrar el medio siglo de vida de mi Tia Lupita!!

Lo mejor fue que era fiesta sorpresa.....aunque creo que lla se la imaginaba..

The theme for the day was Lila, Tia Lupita's favorite color.






Aqui esta una foto de "las muchachas", Mami, Tia Mirta, Tia Lupita, Tia Fely, Y Tia Chuyita, De joven a mas jovencita,

















Mami junto con mi Nana Ofelia y Tata Manuel, igual de jovenes que siempre.








Tambien tome el tiempo de tomar una foto con mi Tia Lupita, siempre nos han dicho que nos parecemos mucho, yo creo por los cachetes, por que de hecho no es por la estatura o lo morena!














A La hora del Pastel la vela no se queria mantener prendida para que Tia la pudiera soplar, pero nos divertimos mucho viendola tratar.

Las niñas bailaron toda la noche,

La nueva generacion es mucho mas moderna como pueden ver en el corte de pelo de Nico