Tuesday, April 17, 2012

A Slice of Heaven





Wow! I can't even remember the last time I posted on this blog, although I could just go back and see, but I'm lazy and let's just say that it's been awhile. Well anyway...since my last post, we lost a cat, added 500 square feet to our little cottage, took in my in-laws (yes, I have reserved my place in Heaven for that one), added a gorgeous granddaughter in April 2010and adopted a little dog who moved into our porch in September 2011.


Our Nephthys aka Nestle's (the late cat) passed away in 2009, about a month before we took on the laborious task of renovating our little Slice of Heaven by adding an extra bedroom, additional small living room, second bathroom, closet and a (shudder) ramp leading from the back door to the garden. Much to my dismay, we lost 500 square feet of potential garden space but I was willing to make the sacrifice to make life easier for my dear husband who was stressing out worrying about his parents. Hence, the elder Gutierrez couple moved in (cue Jaws soundtrack). The construction took 4 months and my in-laws moved in October 2009.


All I can say is thank the Lord above that I have the joy and privilege of babysitting my grandchildren at least two or three days out of the week or else I would have run away from home. They keep me grounded and prevent me from jumping off the top railing of the dreaded ramp!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Tick Tock Kid

Jordan is now crawling, standing, trying to walk and talking up a storm. You can't understand a word he's saying as it's obviously "jordanese". But, his favorite word of all, "ticky". Everything is "ticky". He plays by himself and says "ticky ticky ticky ticky...". So I now call him "Tick Tock Kid". I had to babysit at their house this week because Mommy was working at one of the schools in their neighborhood and wanted to be able to visit him at lunchtime. Due to his eczema problem it is very stressful babysitting because we, the grandmas, know that the child will be thoroughly examined by Mommy upon her return for any noticeable scratches or additional irritation. Not to mention the dryness. God forbid this kid should be just a little dry.

Additionally, we, the grandmas, cannot do too much around the house. Grandma S. wants to redecorate and rearrange things in the new house. Grandma T. wants to do a little light cleaning and cooking because she's getting tired of hearing about all the take out food they've been having to eat since they still can't seem to organize the new kitchen. It is not a spoken rule, but, we are not to go through the moving boxes to look for things. It is just understood, by me that is.

Jordan is just such a smart baby. He gets two naps during the day. At his house with Grandma S., he'll sleep until almost 10 in the morning. With me, he's awake by 8:15. With Grandma S. he's not on any kind of feeding or sleeping schedule. At times he will have his lunch at 2:00 and no bottle till about 5:00. With me, you could set your clock by his eating and sleeping times. Plus he points towards the kitchen and asks for his "nayna nayna" (meaning his food or his formula bottle). When he is sleepy, he climbs up onto my lap and says "nini nini" then starts singing "ooh ooh ooh".

He wants to try every kind of food and every type of beverage. He will take sips of iced tea, but, if Mommy is around and you offer him a sip he will look at you with a very concerned look and nod his head no. Even at 11 months he knows that his Mommy has him on a very strict diet and will get upset if he ingests something she did not approve of. Yet, Grandma knows all too well that as long as the dog dish is on the floor he's getting all the nutrition he really needs despite his Mommy.

For Halloween the little stinker butt is dressing up as a space shuttle astronaut. That is if Mommy doesn't fall asleep before 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

At the Mercy of Time Warner Cable

I MUST SPEAK OUT AGAINST THE TYRANNICAL FORCE THAT IS TIME WARNER CABLE!
Who are these people anyway? What gives them the right to monopolize the world. I have just about had it with them. We have everything with CABLE...phone, internet,wireless internet and both basic and digital cable tv. After one month since we had the wireless connected, we can honestly say yes, our phone works and our internet is up and running. We have suffered with intermittent internet service and terrible voice quality along with no dail tone on our phone for over 4 weeks.

Furthermore, you become a prisoner of your own house while you wait for the technician who will come by anytime between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. When they don't show up you use up your cellphone minutes trying to get information over the phone. They always ask you to do the same damn thing. "Please disconnect the power to the modem and then reconnect it". When that doesn't work your call is then forwarded to some place in India where you are then connected to "Marvin" or "Patrick" who apologize for your inconvenience and proceed to tell you "please disconnect the power to the modem and then reconnect it". At the end of a very frustrating call they always thank you for choosing Time Warner Cable.

I finally had success this week when Mike and Alfredo came by unannounced and proceeded to change out cables from the pole, installed new splitters and checked everything out. They investigated the number of times I had called and the number of times a technician failed to show up. They even gave me their cellphone number in case I had anymore problems. The next day I did have a problem and I called their number and they came out and took care of it. I am still in shock...but I have to say THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! YOU GUYS DID AN AWESOME JOB AND DESERVE A MEDAL!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Breakfast for Bimbos

Hey, did I miss something ...like a week. Last time I looked, the calendar said it was August. Somehow September snuck in. The change in the weather is apparent. The nights are a little cooler and I find myself shutting the A.C. off earlier in the evening because I'm cold.

I'm tired. I am babysitting Jordan every other week and taking care of my mom who's recovering from her second hip replacement. She can't bend over and I have to clean her cat's litter box every day. She is not allowed to drive yet, so I have to drive her or run errands for her. I don't mind doing it because she means alot to me and I am very grateful to have her in my life.

What I really don't care for is the ritual of going to breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays at the Village Inn. I can handle Saturday, but Sunday just about does me in. Sundays we are joined by my sisters, (the twins). (Saturdays we only have one of the twins to contend with and she is pretty docile without her wombmate). They tend to forget that I am the oldest of the siblings and by far the wisest. They have taken to calling me Mother Teresa, because according to my Mom, I can do no wrong and am just wonderful. My Mom is my biggest supporter and I'm obviously her favorite child. My sisters can be downright rude and obnoxious to the point of actually whispering and giggling in the booth like stupid school girls. The hefty harpies should see how ridiculous they look when they behave that way. On top of that, they also are very rude to the waitresses. They seem to forget that these poor people are handling their food and could very well retaliate. Let's all give a shout out to the friendly waitresses and busboys at the Village Inn who have to put up with obnoxious customers like my sisters. YOU GUYS ROCK!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008


Let me tell you about the one true love of my life. His name is Jordan Tre and he is 9 months old. He also goes by the nickname "itchyscratchy" because he suffers from eczema. But, nevertheless, this kid is all little boy. He's happy, he's otherwise healthy and just a true blessing from God. Mommy and Daddy have had a very difficult time trying to find some relief for his eczema, but Grandma and Grandpa know that in no time at all he will be just fine. KID JUST NEEDS TO GROW UP A LITTLE!!!! We have tried almost every remedy out there in Googleland, but to no avail. We tried the old fashioned cornstarch remedy. No luck. Oatmeal baths--zilch. His parents should now be stockholders for Aveeno and every other lotion producer in the market. The only way those products provide a little relief is if they are applied 16 times a day.


I swear for the longest time, this kid didn't realize he had fingers because his hand were always wrapped in gloves or socks. He's been seen by pediatricians, allergists, and dermatologists. They all had remedies and suggestions, but no success. So Mommy joined a support group online and quickly made friends. They too, shared their "horror stories" and referred her to other sites. Online experts know more about this kid than his own pediatrician, yet they've never touched the kid. There were all kinds of miracle creams introduced as well as nutritional supplements, but if there was no relief in a week or so...plan b,c,d,etc.


The latest thing right now is some local homeopathic "shaman" who has studied alternative medicine in India and apparently spent a couple of years living in a teepee somewhere in California in order to study herbology. I don't buy it and I am strongly opposed to the whole idea. Anyway, I give it a week.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

A Plethora of Pumpkins

If you've read my profile you know I like gardening. The weather in El Paso has been a little strange this year and perhaps Indian summer will arrive early. Since we moved into this house less than a year ago, we have had quite a struggle to plant a garden in our backyard. Since we live so close to the foothills of the Franklin Mountains, we have a bumper crop of ROCKS. Not just little rocks, mind you, but boulders. Being as I am not as young as I used to think I was, it has become a real PAIN to plant anything in the yard. Painful because it hurts and also because everything tends to die. But, by some odd twist of fate or what have you, we now have a beautiful little children's garden on one side of the house near our kitchen. This garden was put in for my grandson, Jordan, and it has a little bench for him to sit at when he's a little older and some funky little toadstools and a little path which at present is completely overgrown by PUMPKINS. The pumpkins are changing color and I'm a little worried about them since we've had quite a bit of rain. I read somewhere that I should place boards under the actual fruit to keep them from rotting. I am also trying to figure out how to turn them with accidentally breaking them off the vine.

We are planning to upgrade our heating and cooling system very soon and it's possible some of the equipment may have to be placed in the children's garden so I am going to have to gently rearrange the vines and pumpkins so that they are not in the way of the installers.

Jordan will be celebrating his very first Halloween this year and he will have his very own jack-o-lantern. . . home-grown and lovingly tended by his Grandma Terri. In the meanwhile, I hope everyone else out there will enjoy viewing my lovely little garden.