Soccer!

Maya was on fire today! She had an audience today and she delivered..

The whole team was motivated by the bright sun and great weather..

Those girls were awesome today!

We won our soccer game and are still undefeated.. Hard to believe.. Those girls worked so hard out there.. It just makes us smile from the inside out at their determination..

Go FireFlies! Team #3

Buzz,

Alex

Happy Birthday to...

A very special friend.. Dan is one of my oldest friends.. He is one of the 3 Dan's and family..

We have known each other half our lives.. It's crazy.. We have been through it all.. We met in Middle school and here we are about 20 yrs later grown ups.. Right...

Now we are both married, have kids, jobs (by the time this post happens he will have yet another job).

Then we had crazy car rides through the backkroads of Vista, pool parties and music.. We rocked out to 3rd bass, PM Dawn and Kool Moe Dee.. To name a few..

We have a special bond and I am so grateful that he has welcomed MAG into his poker playing circle. It means so much that they are friends..

Dan is a crazy passionate Scorpio to the tenth power..

As soon as I can scan in a vintage Dan picture I will post.. I promise..

Happy Birthday!

Love ya!

Alex

Mrs. and Mrs...

Every once in awhile MAG is ok with being in a pic.. Thankfully, my comadre was around to snap this one..

See Pioneer Woman has her "Malbouro Man" well I have my "Mountain Man"

It's 85 degrees and he has a full beard.. Don't be jealous..

Send shaving cream :-)

Hee Hee,

Alex

A busy bee weekend!

October is beyond crazy and that was what this weekend was for us.. It was soccer and 3 bday parties.. It's too funny when even Maya wants a break.. Somehow we made it.. Now we just have Halloween.. What is not to like? Candy, costumes and general corniness... Love it.. Love the fantasy of it all..

Here is a sneak peek at our weekend..

Soccer!

Maya had to play the entire soccer game! Those of you who know Maya, know that a full game is too much.. She has little legs.. or something like that.. she plays when she wants, sits and subs herself when she wants.. That girl knows what she will and will not put up with on the soccer field.. We only had 3 players.. They were exhausted and hot.. They survived and won 5-3 (yes, we do keep score)...

Maya and Mateo,
Friends forever!

Mateo's party was a bouncing blast at Pump It up.. Yes, that girl loves to Jump and Slide.. Hold your ears.. Its all about noise at Pump It up.. we got to see so many old playgroup pals.. it was good.


Next it was off to the Izguerra's for Abelito's 25th.. I can't believe he is 25! I used to nanny for him. I made him mini-pancakes and chaned his diapers.. Now he and Maya even share a bday!

Mama Mona even showed up as the Money Lady!. Love it..Desiree is perfect as a Vamp Girl.. Lala struts her deadly stuff..

All of that in one Saturday.. Not to mention the house cleaning, Target run, work out, picture taking.. you name it we were in it and ate it.. There was food! We needed fuel..

Buzzz.
Alex

Pride..

Lion's Pride that is... Maya was selected as the "Pride of the Lions" for the week.. She gets to lead lines and sit on the special chair.. She was so thrilled. She had been wanting to earn it since she saw the first student get called up in front of the school and get a group ROAR!

Her teacher posted the following on her teacher website:

Lion's Pride

CONGRATULATIONS TO MAYA GALVAN FOR BEING CHOSEN AS OUR PRIDE OF THE LIONS
THIS WEEK!
Maya was chosen because she is not only working hard to know all the expert
sight words, but she is already writing wonderful sentences in her journal.
She is sounding out the words and listening for the letter sounds.
I also love that Maya is so patient and kind to our friends in need. Thank
you Maya for being a good citizen in Room 3.
HOW TO BE A LION'S PRIDE:
Be a good listener. Follow the rules. Be kind to your friends.
Be respectful. Share. Take turns with your friends. Be on time.
Do your best work. Do your homework. Help your friends.
Pride of the Lions will be celebrated at the Friday Flag Salute
each week on the Upper Grade Playground. Announcements will be
made from the Principal, PTA, and sometimes special guests. If
you are chosen as "Pride of the Lions," you will go up in front of
the whole school and be honored. And when you come back to class
you will receive a certificate and find out why you were chosen.
The Lions Pride in Room 3 will be our line leader all week and will
be the first to select books, computer, or free choice activities.
And every day that week they select a friend to take up the attendance
sheet to the office with them.
And guess what? You could even be chosen more than once. You could
be chosen twice or even THREE times. So try your very best to let
the teacher catch you doing wonderful things in Room 3.

Proud Mama,

Alex

Must slow down....

I am tired..we are tired.. Maya and Martin took a nap today.. As much as I wanted to I didnt.. I was on a mission to find my coupon organizer, clean the kitchen for the 50th time in two days, get some laundry put away, sort through Missy's gifts, bake more banana bread, write out a few more thank you notes, make a mini scrapbook for my mom, upload my pictures, oh and figure out Picasa.... you catch my drift. Oddly most of that got done, along with 2 Target runs for household items, birthday gifts, halloween candy and even a few Christmas gifts.. Can you hear the Ca-Ching sound of those purchases.. yeah. me too..

You will just have to bear with me while I recover.. I will fill you in on Maya's Pump It up Party..her Lion's Pride on Friday.. The yet unwrapped bday gifts from mom and dad and the all night poker game..

For now I will leave you with a random picture of our little family.. Its our Disney pic.. Its us huddled into the image.. It was a great day.. Before Maya was in the "school system" when we could take a random Friday off and trek to the House of Mouse. It was when we had passes and when we learned how much Maya loves rollercoasters..

Weeee...

Us!

Make a Wish!

Birthday wishes for the birthday girl..
That cake was bigger than she was but she loved blowing out her 6 candles..Where has the time gone? How did she make it to 6 so fast?
I guess we can't freeze time and keep her a baby forever.. Ok, I will brace myself..Its zooming by..
Happy Birthday Big Girl!
Love you,
mom and dad

Snickerdoodle cupcakes?...

Who would have thought to combine a cookie and a cupcake?.. Bakerella that's who..

Can you tell me how it is that sweets can look so good on the screen? I mean really? Look at these cute Snickerdoodle Duos. I could just lick the screen.. I am trying to think of 5 reasons not to make these.. Its Halloween, they could be a base for my ghost cookies.. They could be cupcakes.. heck they could just be pretty cookies to have for company...You coming over?

I know Sharon is probably hating me right now.. I like snickerdoodles..there is no word for Sharon and the relationship she has with that cookie.. Every time I see anything related to them I have to immediately contact her and promise her there is help...

I am on my way, with snickerdoodles in hand!

Hee Hee Hee..

Alex

New Hair...

Well Hair COLOR.. My mother who spent her entire weekend with me was kind enough to do my hair tonight before she left.. As if the food, the spa, the laundry, driving, cake and movie watching with me was not enough, she even gave in when I asked for her to dye my hair.. THANK YOU MOM!

Its fall! Its time for the rich deep dark tones.. I hope you like the new do!

Buzz,

Alex

So blessed!

Where do I start? My birthday weekend has been amazing.. Not only was I spoiled with a Spa Day (a now yearly tradition) but I spent time with my family, suffered food/carb overload, too deep of a massage, and that was just Friday!

Really I can't even believe how much happened over these three days. I want to Thank God for blessing me with an amazing family and life.. I have to pinch myself.. I feel so fortunate to have some amazing friends and a family who can make a spa day even more fun!

Friday morning, I was lucky enough to wear my new vintage apron from Katherine.. She mailed it and it arrived just in time for it to be my first gift...
Before I could jump out of bed Missy was in my bed with me wishing me a happy birthday.. How sweet that morning cuddle was.. I am a lucky mom...
My buddy and I headed downstairs to start the scones..I figured my Spa girls would want a treat with their morning coffee.. It was an all girl outing to Glen Ivy.. Mom, Monica, Mona, Miriam, Laura and Jordy came along for the experience..

The massage treatment I had would later prove beyond painful but more on that later.. We all enjoyed the mud, the sauna, the food!

The lunch we had at the spa was nothing compared to the feast my mom had in store for me.. She made Mole (Moh-Leh for non spanish speakers) and Chilles Rellenos for my birthday dinner.. What more could a girl want? Dinner ended up being an impromtu event.. My cousins came to my house, my uncle Pancho and family drive down from Perris.. Andre and Diana even stopped by with some coffee for me..Arthur and Christine were the last ones to join us.. it was a great night.. We ate.. There were lots of funny pictures and oh yeah, CAKE! my mom brought a cake. I honestly thought I was going to have to bake myself a cake.. Well this cake was wonderful and worth every calorie! It was a lovely light sponge with strawberries in a light whipped sweet cream.. YUM! Almost a chinatown cake but better in a French way.. Smooth!

Saturday while Martin was out pretending to be a sniper on the paintball field.. I was writhing in pain.. I couldnt move my arm and an emergency visit to the chiro was in order. Thank goodness grandma, uncle Arthur and Christine were there to save the day and take Maya to soccer.. Her team remains undefeated! It was the only game mom has ever missed.. So I was sad to miss that but the pain in my arm would have surely kept me in bed all day had I not made it to the chiro.. Go Fireflies! Look at our girl turning that ball! Love it!

While Saturday seemed to go in slow motion..it was pleasant to be forced to rest. It was good to have my mom and brother in the same house.. It was like the old days.. We enjoyed the company and maximed the beautiful weather by spending the afternoon chatting with the neighbors and again..eating! Reheated mole is richer and the tomato sauce for the chiles is further developed.. Yum!

No big events. Just several small moments of conversation and coffee with my family made me feel so wonderful.. So blessed to be safe, healthy and loved..

What more could a girl ask for? Nothing.. I have more than I could need or want.. I am so blessed! Thank you mom for the spa day and the food! Thank you Martin for being the type of husband who encourages me to enjoy the spa and will work out with me at the gym all week to recover! Thank you Arthur and Christine for loving to eat with us and making the house feel complete.. To my cousins I thank you so much for spending my day with me.. Thank you for the memories!

P.S. more pictures and story snipets to follow..

Big hugs!
Alex

CAKE!

Ok, tomorrow is my birthday (in case you were wondering or forgot).. Anyhow.. I have cake on the brain.. However, I can't decide..every site and recipe I find looks amazing.. I mean I stumbled across a PINK Lady Cake at SmittenKitchen and was tickled pink.. really.. so darling and strawberries are folded in.. I mentioned the strawberry obsession already..

Then last night I was trying to find cute treats for Missy's birthday since all the real heavy lifting will be for the Pump It Up crew.. I ran across all of Bakerella's cake pops.. How do I decide? The cupcake pops looks so cute and fun.. then there are all of the seasonal ones.. How much time can I spend on treats for 6 yr olds?hmmm... I know.. so maybe we need to host a Halloween Bash just to make some of these amazing treats I keep finding..

Speaking of which..cupcakes are always fun and I have so many cute cupacke displays, its almost mandatory I make some cupcakes..well just as I am thinking of cupcakes I come across these Designer cupcake baking cups.. Polka dots, gingham, and more! Who thinks of all these cute things? Too cute.. I know Julie will love them and put them to good use..She is the cupcake queen..

On a related note.. the queen of the ranch..or PW as we know here is releasing a cookbook!.. I want it.. Seriously.. Have you seen her site, the recipes? did you bother reading yesterdays post about cakes? Both were from her! I can only imagine how FABULOUS this cookbook will be.. Is there a midnight line for it? If so I will see you there..this is bigger than Twilight..

Ok, off to dream of cake, pastries and coffee..

Yum!

Alex

What I want for my birthday...

Well as you know its that time of year.. The most wonderful time of the year.. well my year.. my birthday month kicks off Fall and I just love it!..

Anyhow... you know I LOVE coffee.. I just stumbled across this COFFEE CAKE over at Pioneer woman.. I know. I hate her too.. and now coffee cake.. What I am going to do? how can I justify making coffee cake for myself.. I would eat the whole thing and not share.. So if you love me, you will make this cake for me.. I would share it with you....please..

Ok, so you aren't a coffee fan.. STRAWBERRIES are my favorite.. Always have and always will be all about the strawberries.. Think Strawberries in summer, ice cream..this cake..also by her. I know.. it's not fair.. the man, the kids, the ranch and FOOD..

You know where to find me.. my own ranch.. no one bearing cake has ever been turned away.. ok, no one has ever brought me cake ..

A girl has to try..

Alex

Score!

I had to post this.. look at that face.. pure Joy! Daddy I just scored a goal.. Weee...

Proud Mama Bear..
Alex

Pizza from the Gods...

Ok, I think we all know and love pizza.. Yesterday, however, I was dumbfounded by the best pizza I have ever tasted south of San Francisco.. Some day I will find that place, again.. but I digress... Until then I have a gem in my own back yard! I must share..

I must spread the word about this place because not only are they Green, gluten free and organic, they are DELICIOUS!!.. Which really is the only thing that matters to me, the rest is bonus.. The rest means we sleep better at night.. But the taste was out of this world.. The name Pizza Fusion does nothing to tell you about how fresh and fabulous the ingredients are.. I mean this is not a pepperoni pizza place like we are all used to..This is not your kid's greasy cheesy pizza.. Don't get me wrong, every once in awhile only that will do, however, for the rest of the time we just avoid pizza, stick to a diet and only if the taste, flavor and preparation is worth it do we indulge in ingredients like feta, artichoke hearts and cheeses not processed and orange colored.. This is pizza for people with a real palate..
Ok, again, getting ahead of myself... I can pass up most samples (Costco is no longer a caloric mine field) but I was fortunate enough to peek into the very traditional pizza box in time to see Kalmata olives and artichoke hearts on the sample tray.. How could I pass that up??

I tried, I kept thinking of my diet.. but my nose had taken control of my legs and was determined to get closer to that food.. the kind and friendly guy holding the box outside of Trader's Joe's said, I have 2 types..would you care for a sample? I looked again..inhaling the aroma which knocked me over... I asked if that was feta cheese..his grin confirmed..Yes, Feta on the Greek Pizza.. hmm.. That one 2x4 inche rectangle was glorious..The olives were tart against the smooth feta.. I was amazed at how mild it was and almost thought it was goat cheese.. A happy me continued on my way into Trader Joe's with a menu in hand.. I savored those three small and tasty bites.. I sailed pasted the TJ samples..afterall I just had a pizza like no other and I was beyond satisfied...

Next thing I know I am at the register and the cashier asks "Is this menu yours or trash?" What? No, Mine.. It belongs with me and not in the trash.. "Oh yes, I just had a sample outside.. It was awesome" I told him..The guy smiled at me and says "Yeah, well if you turn around..that guy is the owner"... Oh wow..

On my way out of TJ's the kind man who introduced himself and smiled at my compliments on his pizza offered me a free pizza.. What could I say? I couldn't believe my luck.. I double checked and he was talking to me.. no cameras..just us walking out of TJ's.. Is there a camera somewhere? I mean I didn's ask him for anything I just gushed about his pizza.. But it was honest gushing.. again.. did you read? Feta, Artichoke hearts, kalmata olives.. yes, in the words of my dear friend.. BEYOND FABULOUS!

In less than 20 mins I was gifted my special pizza and rushed home to enjoy.. savor the pizza.. That slice was worth those grueling 60 mins on the treadmill. (I told you I was on a diet.. I must burn off anything extra). The other 3 slices are carefully and individually frozen for later enjoyment.. YUM!

Alex

Bring your own milk....

Yesterday was one of those days blessed days where no plans for the day lead to baking.. The fall weather just called for some oven time and sweets...Missy and I pulled the usual containers and her ladder so she could help...Before I knew it we were maiking two types of cookies.. Thanks to Deanna and her gift jar of organic peanut butter we made some Peanut butter blossoms for Martin.. Since we were heading to the compadres house for dinner we had to make Chocolate chip..

I mean what kind of guest doesnt bring something to share with their friends? We love to bring home made goodies and in this case they were the perfect dessert....

Enjoy!

Alex

ROCKTOBER!

Ok, so I am not a big rock fan..But I am a fan of October.. What is there not to like?.. I mean yes, there is that little thing called my birthday..but October is far bigger than my birthday.. that is just icing..

October is Fall. Yes, in california it looks this sunny!..

October is the cool air, the pumpkins everywhere..its the cheeriness that comes with eating baked goods.. Its baking.. It's drinking hot chocolate with a good book.. It's having a reason to put on shoes and maybe even a sweater! Bring on the fall.. We are way ready...Then you have all the reasons to dress up, buy candy and parade around to all your neighbors seeking out the sugar laden goods..It's Halloween!

The sugar buzz is coming..

Enjoy a sweet treat with me..

Alex

A sweet escape....

Tomorrow will be a sweet escape..a day off.. Just the two of us, sans the missy.. While she learns we will be off for some catching up.. We always take our days off.. The important ones.. Our Birthdays and our anniversary.. This one is a milestone.. TEN years! I won't even count the 4 before that wich were dating and engagement...That was a blink..

We are a little beside ourselves.. 10 years? really.. wow.. I offered to get a big 10 tattooed on my leg but figured something less ghetto and more classy is more our style.. afterall only this year is 10 and I plan on celebrating a lot more..not to mention that tattoing involves pain.. Pain and I have never been friends..And unless Kat Von D has an opening in her appt book I am not going anywhere near a needle..

There's no easy explaination for it.. Our marriage has somehow made it.. we beat so many of the odds.. I mean just think, we got married in our early 20s.. The research is not in our favor.. we both come from divorced parent.. strike 2..... I wanted and thought I would wait until 30 to get married... I selfishly figured I had so many things to do, books to read and degrees to earn.. Funny how life works.. How much God has in store for us..

I always tell everyone how Martin tricked me.. He asked why he should wait so long to marry me..the real comment was "If you are going to marry me when you are 30 why not marry me now?" Well I just couldn't argue with that one.

My husband has been my number one fan and if I wanted to earn another degree he would be the first one saying "Go for it!" We are a team.. I am so blessed.. I truly feel that way and thank my lucky stars for blessing me with MAG.

I have been blessed to find a man like my dear Hubby.. This love is a gift.. Don't get me wrong.. that gift is work, it needs protection and nurturing.. But it is more than I thought I deserved..

I had no idea what a real marriage is, who does? We read fairy tales (Disney is a billion dollar industry with all those "Happily ever after" stories!) and then there is the real day in and day out of a real marriage.. People marry and divorce, some don't bother to marry and then they break up..You watch, you don't want to look to close, you may see your relationship in the pieces of those..You wonder how to navigate through your own marriage without knowing if you are doing things right.. just like parenting, there is no manual.... there is no one way..

It's highs are high and lows resemble the grand canyon.. Yes, its a winding road through which I have often felt like an old VW bug driving backwards looking out a tiny window for the light.. That light has often been the love and committment to this relationship. It's been honoring my husbands words and actions by saying "Thank you" to God for a strong husband...its been cooking his favorite dish out of the blue because he deserves nothing less than my love in his food..

On that note, food, of course! I will move on.. the count down to my birthday and some fattening cake, has begun.. My Spa day is almost here.. Missy's bday is around the corner..But tomorrow is about us.. our sweet escape...

Happy 10th Anniversary..

To borrow a line from Miss Janet.. "Love will never do with out you!"

XOXO,

Alex