What An Interesting Weekend!

So far this weekend:

• Juan went to take his $400 citizenship test after months and months of waiting for his July 18th appointment.
  
• Juan got denied to take his citizenship test within only 5 minutes of being there from an immigration officer who didn't know what he was doing. (New man on the job.)
• Once back home, Juan called the office and talked to someone else who told him to travel back into the city to have an talk with her about the situation.
• Juan drove back and finally was able to take the test given by the same officer, who was now hurt after having a hit to his ego.
• He passed the test! Now he just has to relinquish his Resident Card and be sworn-in as a United States citizen.
  
• Friday night, we drove out to West Chester to go swimming with our friend, Kurt.
• We tried to get Siena to go to sleep for the night for about an hour and a half.
• Saturday morning (today,) we drove around the area looking for yard sales with chairs.
• On our way around town, we were involved in a car accident. The woman making a left-hand turn drove straight into our lane. Luckily Juan swerved as hard as he could and we avoided a head-on collision. Unfortunately, both cars still suffered damage to the front driver's-sides. The woman was smoking something when we saw her coming toward us and after Juan talked to her, we were pretty sure she was high. This was made more evident after she left the scene to "get her insurance card" from her nearby home, never to return. Luckily, her mother came back to handle the situation and she admitted full fault on behalf of her daughter to the police officer. We're so grateful everyone was safe and unharmed, especially Siena.
• After making a few stops before heading home (thanks Kim!,) we finally got the car insurance situation squared away. (Remind me to never intentionally get in another car accident, not that I ever would, because dealing with insurance companies is such an annoyance.)
  
• Now I'm heading off for West Chester again to take Siena swimming, this time with Amber. Hopefully the weather is as good as it was yesterday....
  

Delicious Dough

This is one of the best foods I have ever learned to make: quick rise breadsticks. The reason I love it so much is because it is so versatile and works when I am in a hurry. You can make it with the purpose of baking almost any kind of yeast dough. I have been using a lot for grilled pizza and it has never let me down.

1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp sugar

--mix together until yeast and sugar dissolve--

then add:

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
2-3 cups bread flour (if using all-purpose, add more until it isn't sticky.)

Knead and let sit for 10 minutes. Punch down and form into breadsticks (or whatever you are making it into,) and let rise for another 10 minutes. (If you are making grilled pizza dough, don't let rise the second time, just stick it straight onto the grill.) Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

*If you are making breadsticks, brush with a mixture of melted butter, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 Tbsp. dried parsley, and 2 tsp. garlic powder before letting them rise the second time.

For a really good grilled pizza recipe, go here. Also, if you want to adapt this calzone recipe to a pizza recipe, it's easy and soooooo yummy.

Pet Store Trip

Thanks to our generous friends, we have been viewing the BBC Series, Planet Earth over the past week and Siena just loves it! She loves watching the animals so much that today I decided to take her to see some, up close and personal. Since we don't have a zoo pass, we did the next best thing--visited our local pet store. The second we walked in, she was mesmerized by the guinea pigs and miniature dogs. We walked around and saw some big fish and little fish, loud birds and quiet birds, fluffy gerbils and leathery reptiles. She liked the bird cages the most, and even tried squawking to them. (Actually, the noises she made are quite normal for her. If there were tigers there, she would growl at them.) She loved the whole trip; however, I realized the second we walked in that we would not be getting an indoor pet--ever! They stink.


Take a look at the amazing-ness we've been watching.

Dirty Knees and Crazy Hair

Well, there is very little to write about right now, so I thought I'd just post random pics of Siena playing on our dirty floors today... yeah, that's about as exciting as it gets. (*yawn*)

The only other thing I have to say is that Siena got her first haircut last night. I finished up cutting Juan's hair and as I was sweeping up the mess, I decided that her mullet had to go. Her hair was trimmed in less that 2 minutes, but the clean-up took much longer! Baby hair is like kitten fur--too fine to just sweep up. It's not that different-looking, so I'm not going to take pictures, but HALLELUJAH that the "party in the back" is GONE!

Grrrr!

Siena's newest "thing": growling for her food like a ravenous hyena. I don't understand this. She certainly didn't learn it from Juan or me, but I highly doubt that it is part of human nature to growl.

Garden Dreams

I was inspired by Dani's post about her garden, so I decided that while we are living here, something will change with this:and this:

The Hardiness Zone is different here in comparison with Utah, so I'll have to do some studying on which plants I want to use. I'll probably start with some flats of Foxglove, Curly Tansy, and some grasses, and see how they do before I go full speed ahead. Somewhere in there I want some Clematis or Wisteria and some Silvermound... and so many other plants. Man, I'm going to have to get a full-time job to support this fantasy garden. Anyway, the goal is that it is finished by the end of next summer so we can enjoy it for at least a couple of years.

Frijolito

Juan was channel surfing the other day and stopped at a show called "Frijolito". We've never heard of it before but because of the funny name, we watched it for a few minutes. (For those who are wondering, frijolito means "little bean".) It didn't take us long to see that the show is pretty much a soap opera of a child in search of his father (at least that episode was.) I think the idea behind the show is to bring a kid-friendly soap to bored mothers. I wonder how many kids really pay attention to it while their mommies are stuffing their faces with bon bons and Diet Cokes, glossy eyes glued to the tube.

Next topic.
Siena is getting another tooth. All the signs point toward it-- runny nose, irritability, inability to sleep, irritability, excessive drooling, irritability, constant gnawing, oh and did I mention irritability? I'm actually really happy it's happening now; I would hate for the poor girl to have it drawn out over a longer period of time.

To finish up:
I found some random pictures and videos, so while Juan was out with the missionaries, I experimented with iMovie. Hopefully it uploads with our super slow internet connection.

Hmmmmm, nope. I'll try my luck later.

Catching Up

I did it! I finally put pictures on a 12x12 page! I definitely need more practice, but it was a start.

Siena is out with Juan right now and I get to blog... hooray for me! She cut her first tooth the other day (bottom left incisor... dental quiz: what # is is associated with that tooth?) I don't know if it's related to that recent event or not, but since then Siena has been practically yelling (or groaning happily) at the top of her 13-year old-sounding lungs. Weird, I know.

Hmmmm, what else can I write while I am waiting for pictures to upload.......

We found out that we live right next to part of Fairmount Park instead of a golf course, which we had previously thought. The trail entrance is about 100 ft. from where we live. That was a fun discovery.

Wow, I just realized that maybe the reason I haven't been able to think of anything to write is because I haven't checked everyone else's blogs yet. That must be where I get inspired to blog.

....now if only those darn pictures would upload.

The Things I Took For Granted

Now that we've been unpacked for a few days in the new home, I've been really antsy to get back to blogging. There's only been one problem--no Internet hook-up yet. It has been a good thing, I guess, because I've done things I probably would not have gotten to otherwise (such as going grocery shopping for food storage... not an easy task, I might add.) However, today it really got to me so I charged Juan's laptop battery (which is on its last leg, so I've got 30 minutes online and not a second more) and drove over to our old apartment where we still have a wireless connection. I feel like a spy or an investigator sitting out in my car with a laptop. I wonder what the neighbors think.

Anyway, so here's a re-cap of our recent "to-ings and go-ings":

• We moved. We're so happy with our new home. Refer to this post to find out why.
• Juan has been working at his new job and it's working out really well for him.
• The 4th of July started for us at 6:30 am when we drove out to Lancaster to meet some friends for a Smörgåsbord breakfast. (For those curious about how I did it with the diet: I didn't count calories that day-- big holidays are exempt ;^)
• We went to a barbecue with some friends from the Branch that evening and watched the kids play with fireworks.
• I caught Siena "talking" in her sleep today. It was so cute!
• ...and last but not least, we have become a little obsessed with The Next Food Network Star. Yeah, the reality is that I like this reality show. I hope the winner is either Kelsey (the Utah girl--gotta represent!), Lisa (Miss Tres Chic), or Aaron (Homie with Good Food.)

Well, we probably will not get to post until the 8th when we get our Internet hooked up, so sorry in advance to you, Mom, for not giving you your daily fix. Pictures to come....

Can't Pass Up A Good Tag

Joys:

• My heartthrob husband
• My little Siena
• Family, family, family. We're so grateful that all of our family, even extended family, is close-knit.
  
• Teaching the 13-14 yr. old kids in Sunday School
  
• The new apartment
• Oh, I could go on...
  

Fears:

• Slowly ruining Siena's life with bad parenting.
• Losing ability in my hands and legs.
• Losing my teeth (Hey, this existed before Juan wanted to be a dentist. If you didn't know someone who has reoccuring nightmares about losing teeth before, well... now you do.)
• Spiders and Snakes (had a hard time even writing that one.)
• Natural disasters
• War
  
• Basically anything bad that could happen
  

Goals:

• Start up my floral business out here soon
• Finish one single scrapbook
• Become a trophy wife. (Ha ha ha, I had to put that in.)
• Meet our new neighbors pronto. This week, I have literally just met our current neighbors and we've lived here for a year. Ironic and pathetic!
• Keep up with this diet thing. (My progress so far is positive.)
• Get more piano students
  

Current Collections/Obsessions:

• Blogging
• Creating digital scrapbook page designs (I've never actually put pictures to them, though. I guess you could say I am a digi-scrap hypocrite.)
  
• Cooking and experimenting with food
• I have a collection of dirty laundry. Does that count?

Random and Surprising Facts:

• Raincheck on this question, please? I can't think of anything random or surprising at the moment.
  

Yesterday we went out to West Chester to grill with the Adamsons. They have a grill near the outdoor pool at their clubhouse, so we took advantage of it. This was Siena's first time in a pool, so we were worried she wasn't going to like it. Well, she loved it and we're hoping Kurt and Amber will let us come back and visit them (...and the pool) a lot more this summer. ;^) It was a perfect day for swimming until we got there--go figure. We only got to swim for about 10 minutes before the rain started up, but it was fun.

Siena used to be so afraid of Kurt, but now they're the best of friends.

Can't beat summer grilling!


Juan found this grill on Craigslist. (One of the best Craigslist purchases we've ever made.)
Siena loved the green beans, as Jeremy and Genevieve can attest. She loved them so much she smeared them all over her face and tummy. So much for the bath she had right before the barbecue.
Juan, preparing the steaks.

Don't tell me this steak doesn't look good! ;^)

Fireflies

When I first visited the Eastern United States, I was mesmerized by the fireflies. I had never seen one in real life and when I first saw the little lights moving above the grass at dusk, I didn't know if it was an illusion or not. Well, it's firefly season again and Juan just caught a glimpse of one for the first time the other day. He was so excited! Nature is the most interesting subject to me; I think that is the reason I chose Horticulture as my major in college. The idea of growing something as big as a tree from a seed the size of my fingernail is a phenomenal process. Plants don't even have brains, yet they have adapted themselves to their conditions by changing colors and even their own anatomy. I was interested in learning more about fireflies and so I went online (here). This is what I learned:

• Fireflies "light up" because they are warning possible predators that they hold defensive chemicals in their bodies. (Well, this is a theory, because nobody really knows.)
• Their light is actually produced by a chemical reaction that they have control over.
• 100% of the energy given off by a firefly is actually light, whereas only 10% of energy produced in a household lightbulb is actually light; the remaining 90% is given off as heat.
• Not all fireflies are created equally. Some species can't give off light.
• In mating season, fireflies use "flash patterns" to attract a mate.

It was interesting to me at least.

Too Tired to Eat?

I've been excited to go to more Park Days (where some women in the 1st and 4th wards bring their kids to the park and get to visit.) I don't get a lot of opportunities to socialize because the branch is so spread out and so few in number, and really where else do you get to socialize if not at church activities? So being invited to come was a big deal for me. Anyway, I started getting Siena ready to go and realized that I should probably feed her before we go. This is how it went:


She has had a really hard time going to bed early at night and last night was no exception. It's hard to adjust her bedtimes and nap times back to their regular schedule because she's simply not tired. Any suggestions?

This was taken on Sunday at 5:00 pm and the whole time I was thinking, "Man, they are cute all snuggled up together ...but Siena, you're killin' me; you'll never go to sleep tonight!" Lo and behold....

So back to Park Days (and how I was sooo excited to go.) I decided to let her sleep because an 11:00 nap was looking a lot better than a 4:00 nap. I return to being a hermit for the day, but at least we'll get some good, old-fashioned sleep.

It Starts

We have to start packing today. Ugh! I have desperately avoided this moment....

5,4,3,2....

Two more finals for Juan and he will officially be done with his first year of dental school on Tuesday! I just wanted to let him know how proud I am of his hard work this first year, even though it wasn't 100% fun. I mean, who really wants to learn about the physiology of the hand while they're in grad school to learn about teeth?
Before we know it, the long hours of studying in the wee hours of the morning, all the interesting experiences on the subway, and all of the missed football games will be over... well, I can't guarantee that one. *wink* It's exciting to think that he will be working on actual patients next year. (I guess the only downside is that our summer breaks are officially over after this year until he retires. Boo!)

A Goal Scheduled for Embarrassment.

I'm just going to let out my secret to the world: I have to lose some inches before I take the plunge (literally.) I went to buy a swimsuit today with Juan and left with nothing but a heavy, heavy heart. Do you think it was the store's fault? No. Stac has officially let herself get... *sniff*... FLUFFY! The drive home was miserable, more for Juan than for me. While I complained about hating to workout, wishing I could get liposuction, and praying for a new diet pill that would melt the inches away in seconds, he suggested the idea of setting a goal. (Don't get me wrong, Juan has been nothing but encouraging about my "current state-of-being", but there's no seeing past the cold, hard truth for me.) So, knowing he was behind me the whole way, I set a goal to work out every weekday, eat according to the Food Pyramid, and maintain an earlier bedtime/wake-up routine. Now, this would be easy to botch up if it were not for the "Loser Clause"; I decided I needed something totally embarrassing to look forward to if I didn't keep up on my goal. So here are the consequences: I will have to put my hair up in a side-ponytail, wear high-tops, and go jogging along West Chester Pike (a busy street near our house,) --in spandex. Juan said that was a little harsh (and the more I think about it, it would be more of a punishment to the drivers who had to see it, and that's not fair.) So the real consequence is that when we visit Utah (and hopefully Las Vegas) in August, we are going swimming and I have to get in the pool. No if's, and's or butt's about it (no, that was not a typo.) To further cement my conviction in completing my goal, I have posted this to the world and in doing so, I will have tripled or quadrupled my embarrassment if I don't accomplish it.

*deep breath*

It's a Thursday and I've Got Boring News and Exciting News.

I don't mind Thursdays because it means we are nearing the weekend... time where laziness is permitted, uh, I mean... time where we can finish projects, clean the house, actually make a fully-balanced meal, etc. We have finished re-finishing the coffee table (thanks to Juan fixing my mistakes) and are on to the dining room table. I've been more excited to see the finished product with this project than the others, but more "dragging-my-heels" at starting it. It's going to take a lot of work. That's the boring news.


Now for the exciting news: Juan got a job at Sears Hardware. It's just the job he was hoping to get for the summer and on into the school year. They are really flexible with hours and are located really close to our new apartment. We're so grateful he got the job because it's really hard finding jobs where you don't have to work Sundays here.


Um, other than that, there's really nothing to blog about (thus the two-day hiatus from the blog.) Siena is pulling herself up to, getting into, crying about, laughing about, babbling about, and pulling out of her hair anything and everything she possibly can.

The Walker

The Answer

Okay, it's really not that juicy, but I'll tell you why I couldn't type more on my post yesterday.

I started my day with going to the doctor. You see, about 5 weeks ago I jammed my hand between my body and the corner on the wall. It was a stupid freak-accident that left me with indescribable pain, more than a usual jammed finger would leave. I couldn't move it a half of an inch without writhing in pain. Well, I splint it that night and the next morning, it felt like nothing had really happened. I was so relieved.

Over the last month, I really thought nothing of it and was just hoping that the soreness would eventually leave. It hasn't. In fact, it has gotten worse. I finally realized that my knuckle "popping" every other time I used my left hand for something was probably not a good thing because the pain increased every time. Yesterday, my knuckle had finally swollen to the size of a big, juicy grape, so I splint it again. Today, when I woke up expecting the same "overnight success", I was left with a motionless finger.

No big deal, though. The doctors took about 20 minutes to deliberate how to handle it and finally concluded that we'll wait another few weeks to see how it turns out before they give me x-rays. Meanwhile I have physical therapy exercises to keep me busy.

There you have it: the most lengthy and hypochondriacal explanation for a hairline fracture or severe sprain. "Why is she able to type a super-long post if she's in such pain?" you may ask. Let me tell you, I've been doing my therapy exercises all day to be able to write it. My readers are very important, you know.

Para Nuestro Querido Papi, Suegro y Abuelo:

Book:

The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy

I read this book in high school for an English class and decided that it was my favorite novel of all time. I read it again last month and decided that it still is. It's about a man's struggle to keep his friends and good name while his bad temper and many misunderstandings pull him further down from his gain in society, while those around him steadily rise above him due to their own honest (and dishonest) efforts. As dramatic as the book is with all its plots and subplots, I picked up that Hardy had a couple significant issues he was trying to address. The feminist attitude was just surfacing in the Western Hemisphere when Hardy wrote the book; Hardy wanted to indiscreetly give his approval of women's rights through the women characters of his books. Actually, the "hero" of this book was actually a poor girl who had schooled herself to become a learned woman in a society where that was reserved only for the upper class.

Oh, I could go on... but I can't and I'll post why tomorrow.

Banished

In lieu of a despondent sequel to my last post, I will just mention that Siena and I have stayed in her room all day (minus taking pictures of the house for our landlord and grocery shopping.) It's wonderful being shut up in one room, and so far I really mean that. Juan moved the AC unit into her window and we're feeling nice and cool. Her room has become a kitchen, dining room, living room and bedroom for both of us. I've got the computer and she's got her toys. It looks like we'll be doing this for 20 more days.

I'm not abusing the blog...

...I just want to paint a picture for those who haven't experienced "coastal living" yet. (Juan told me that I shouldn't use the blog to complain, and I agree, so feel free to feel sorry for us, but don't feel obligated. Also, I threw in a couple of "good things" on my "bad things" list to offset my guilt.) Did it work? Yes, so here it is:

Humidity Top Ten

1. Frizzy hair
2. "Hotter than it really is"
3. Beautiful, green vegetation everywhere (good thing)
4. Sweaty feet
5. High electric bills
6. Sad baby
7. Hydrated skin and hair (good thing)
8. Moldy bread
9. Soggy chips and cookies
10. Mosquitoes, etc.

You Won't Believe This!

Siena has been standing up by herself for long periods of time lately. Tonight she made a personal record of 23 seconds! We're so proud of our little "Nena". It's cute because she is also proud of herself; she shows us this by clapping her hands together while she's standing. (videos to come....)

Voila!

(I tried out my 80's photo editing skills.) Siena kind-of looks like my little sister Sierra in this pic when she was a baby. The only difference is Sierra's hair was much curlier.

Creepy Crawly

For those who are not yet believers:



Okay, so I had to urge her to crawl by tempting her with my shoe. I don't know why she would rather crawl toward a dirty shoe than a colorful toy, but whatever works, right?

Ride 'Em Cowgirl

We have awesome friends. Before the Beaman's moved, they bequeathed their daughter's zebra toy to Siena, a most grateful recipient. She usually gets really into it, but I couldn't capture her in her "riding mood" on film. The attempt was cute anyway.

key word: PROJECT

Today was a big day at the Chavez Residence: I finally finished the rocking horse! (For those of you who have not seen me in my front yard slaving over this "project" for the last month and a half, let me fill you in: I bought an old hand-carved rocking horse at a yard sale and decided it would be a fun project.) Yeah, I learned that I'm not cut out for "projects" because this one took too long and I have no patience. Too bad I have already purchased a coffee table to re-finish for our living room in the new house. (Ha! I say that like we are going to be home-owners soon. Just a dream right now, Stac, just a dream.)

So, anyway... there will be pictures soon... I hope. Once the horse is reunited with his head, we'll have a "photo shoot". Aaaawwww!