Goings On

*Sigh* Once again, I have been very bad about blogging. This has been a very, very busy few months. As most, if not all, of you know, we FINALLY opened Pueblo Viejo on July 25th. That first night was very chaotic as we were not as prepared as we should have been, but we got through it, and business is finally picking up, even with the crappy economy. The first few weeks I was working up there for lunch and dinner, and I had Wesley with me at all times, which, needless to say, was difficult. I have to say, though, he was pretty good most of the time. He would watch DVDs or play with his learning computer. This week I have only been working the lunch shift, so I'm home with him at night.
Pueblo Viejo

School starts here the week after next, and I feel so bad that we haven't done much of anything this summer. The whole summer was spent going to the restaurant and taking Wesley to the doctor. No joke! He hasn't even been swimming once this summer, I'm embarassed to say, because of several ear infections, allergies and coughing viruses. But, he did have fun at three different Vacation Bible Schools as well as going to his preschool for several weeks, including this one.
Vacation Bible School program at our church
I am super-excited for next week. Wesley and I are meeting my mom in Naples on Monday for a few days at the beach! It will be just the three of us, and my mom has promised me that I can have as much alone time as I want, and she will watch Wesley. I assured her that I want to spend a lot of time with them, but I will be grateful to take a swim or lay on the beach in solitude for some me time.

Well, I guess that's all my updates for now. Oh, I hope all of you guys will make a trip to Busch Gardens sometime soon and stop by to see us! Our house is always open, we are only 45 minutes from Busch Gardens AND you would have an awesome Mexican meal awaiting you!

I Did It!

Isn't it a wonderful feeling when you complete something that at one time you thought you couldn't do? Well, I just finished the menu for Pueblo Viejo, and I must admit that it looks great! We bought a program, PrintMaster, from Best Buy a few weeks ago, and I got really frustrated when I first started trying to make the menu, that I almost gave up completely and was going to go to a printer and have someone else do it. But, this morning I decided to tackle it again, and it's taken me all day, but I've finally gotten it done! Arturo is very pleased with it, and I'm very pleased with myself for trying again with a wonderful result. This will end up saving us a lot of money by being able to print our menus from home. So, I'm not going to be modest....Yay For Me!

Another One?!?!

The past two months, Wesley has had probably 3-4 ear infections, and he might have another one now. When he got up this morning he was complaining that his ear hurt. *SIGH* I signed him up to go to his preschool Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week, so I was really looking forward to having some alone time and for him to not be bored here with me. He went yesterday and had a great time. He won't be going today in case he does have another ear infection because I don't want him to feel bad there and infect anyone else. He has a doctor's appointment this afternoon. After the last ear infection, probably a month ago, the doctor thought we might possibly have to put tubes in his ear (it was always the right ear), but not even two weeks ago he had a recheck, and the doctor said he was 100%. Now his other ear hurts. UGH!

In other news, my parents are coming through here today. They're on their way to San Destin where my dad has some banking meetings. My mom is going to be with my grandmother and my two aunts helping pack up my grandmother's things as she is going to be moving into an assisted living facility soon. I really hate the idea of that, as she is and always has been so independent, but she is almost 88 years old now, and I think she realizes that this would be the best thing. I was so hoping that the restaurant would be completed by now so that my parents could see the finished product, but alas it was not to be. Oh, we're getting there, but it's still not done. I can't wait to post pictures on here so everyone can see it. It really is going to be beautiful!

Haircuts

Isn't it amazing how liberating it is to get a haircut? My hair had gotten very long, but I was sick of it. I was putting it in a ponytail everyday, and that's usually a sign to me that it's time to get it whacked. Once I make up my mind to do it, I want to do it right then, so yesterday I walked into a place I had never been to before and got 5 or 6 inches chopped off.

Iron Man And Ruby

Wesley is in total superheros mode right now. His favorite shows used to be Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! and Blues Clues. Now it's Spider-Man, Spectacular Spider-Man, Spider-Man Unlimited, Iron Man, X-Men, etc. When did he make that transition? These superhero shows are sometimes a little violent in my opinion. I'm sure they're not meant for 4-year-olds to watch, but neverless we let him watch them. Actually, Arturo and I are enjoying those more than the Noggin and Nick Jr. programs that we had gotten so used to. It's so cute to watch Wesley put pencils between his fingers and pretend he's Wolverine or put on his Spider-Man costume and shoot webs at me or get down on the floor and do Iron Man poses. I love how active his imagination is, and I love having a little boy!

On another note, Wesley is loving our new puppy, Ruby. It's just like I was picturing in my mind before we got a dog. I was imagining him running around the yard with her, petting her and snuggling up with her for a nap. He is also learning some responsibility. I let him give her her food and water, brush her and tell her no when she's being naughty. He's also been better behaved since we've had her, and I'm wondering if it's because he's not getting all the attention anymore. I, on the other hand, am doing all the dirty work. This morning I had to get up at 5:25 to let her outside. Normally, she wants to go out at 6:30, which is still early for me, so that has taken some getting used to. We're also still working on the housetraining. She's crate-trained already, but she is still having accidents in the house. I know it will be well worth the effort once she is completely trained, but getting there is a pain in the bootay. She is a good girl, though, and we are so glad to have her in our family.









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Happy Mother's Day

2007

He Was Mine First

Okay, as most of you know, I've liked the actor Gabriel Byrne for, let's see, going on 18 years. What?!?! Good grief, that's a little painful to admit. Anyway, most of you and all other people never really even knew who he was until shown a picture or a mention of a certain character in a movie. Now, G.B. has his own show on HBO, In Treatment. He has won a Golden Globe or one of those kind of awards for his efforts, and now he is being labled a sex symbol and the next "McDreamy." This man is almost 60 years old, and they are just now recognizing how incredibly good-looking and what a great actor he is? I must admit, I am a little jealous that all women in America have taken notice of my Gabe and find him so appealing. It's not like I've been in love with Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise all these years. My infatuation started when this man was middle age already. Well, the infatuation is starting to wear off. You see, once other people started noticing my crush, he was not as delectable anymore. I can't believe I'm saying this, but is Gabriel Byrne not doing it for me anymore? Well, the current Gabriel Byrne is not. But, I will always love to revisit his old films (i.e. Shipwrecked, Hello Again, End of Days, etc.) when he wasn't a sex symbol to rekindle old feelings. *Sigh*

Updates

I have been a terrible blogger as of late. Things have been really hectic the last few weeks.

I am pleased to say that Arturo was home all of last week and is home again this week! Hopefully, he won't have to commute anymore, and we can now focus completely on our restaurant here. There is still a lot to do, but we are making progress with it, and I can tell you this: It is going to be beautiful when we are done. I will have to put pictures up to show the finished product. The name of the restaurant is Pueblo Viejo, which means "Old Town" or "Old Village." So, we are going to decorate with very old pictures from Mexico and just general pieces that have that "old" feel. You Andalusia folk can get an idea by some of the pictures that are in Old Mexico that I happened to see a few weeks ago when I was there. I take credit for those pictures, by the way. At my high school in Mobile, I found them in a closet, gave them to Arturo, and I think various members of his family have copied them because they now hang in many restaurants.

It has been so nice having Arturo home. Wesley has been absolutely terrible, though. When it was just me and him, he was wonderful most of the time. When Arturo is around, I don't know what happens to him. I guess we were just in a routine, and then Arturo kind of messed that up, as bad as that sounds. Of course, I would much rather our family be together and Wesley have a few more meltdowns or whining spells. Did I actually just type that? Just kidding...

Wesley is doing great at school. I'm now trying to plan out the summer. I'll probably put him in at least three VBS's and maybe a few half-day camps. I want to keep him busy and not having to sit at the restaurant while I work.

That's it for now, and I'll try to blog better, I promise!

I'm posting a few recent pictures.

Wesley's 4th Birthday at Disney World - March 14th


Money Well-Spent


My Two Favorite Boys

Subliminal Message, Maybe?

You think Wesley is trying to tell me that I spend too much time on the computer? This is my clarinet case, by the way.

Wonderful Long Weekend

We had a great weekend and President's Day yesterday. My parents came on Friday night. My dad went to Dothan on Saturday to see my grandmother, who is in an Alzheimer's place. My mom stayed with me and Wesley. The three of us had fun on Saturday. We ate lunch at Red Lobster and then went to see all the kitties up for adoption at Petco. That is always fun, and I always fall in love with one. After Wesley's nap we all played outside for a little while. Arturo got home Saturday night about 11:45. It was so good to have him home. Sunday for lunch we ate at our newest restaurant, Texas Roadhouse. It was very good. I was so excited for Sunday night because Arturo and I got to have our first date in many, many months. I can't even remember the last time we had one. We went to eat at Thai Cuisine (our favorite restaurant) and went to see Taken. That was an AWESOME movie. Yesterday we showed my mom and dad our restaurant. Yes, I can say now that we got the place. The rest of our day yesterday was spent playing outside, walking around the mall, eating at Beef 'O'Brady's and grocery shopping. I hated to see Arturo leave this morning, just like I always do, but hopefully it won't be for too much longer. We're hoping for a lot of good news this week.

Wesley didn't have his nap yesterday. Arturo and I were talking at Beef 'O' Brady's last night, and I looked over at Wesley, who had gotten unusually quiet, and he was sound asleep.

Arturo and Amanda

1. What is his name? Jaime Arturo Godoy.
2. Who eats more? He does. He's always getting onto me because I don't eat right or enough.
3. Who said "I love you" first? He did.
4 Who is taller? He is by about an inch.
5. Who is more sensitive? We both are.
6. Who does the laundry? Me, but very, very occasionally he'll put a load on.
7. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me.
8. Who pays the bills? Me.
9. Who cooks more? I do, but we go out A LOT.
10. Who is more stubborn? Me for sure.
11. Who is the 1st to admit they are wrong? Usually him, but I'm getting better, slowly.
12. Who has more siblings? He has 4, and I have 1.
13. Who wears the pants in the relationship? We both do.
14. What do you like to do together? Lately, just being able to have a conversation without interruption is lovely. We love to go out to eat, go to movies (which is very rare now), walk, ride bikes, really anything.
15. Who eats more sweets? Me, but I am so much better than I used to be.
16. Guilty pleasures? Any time that we have together doing anything when Wesley is at school or being watched by someone else.
17. How did you meet? At Old Mexico in Andalusia, 14 years ago.
18. Who ask whom out 1st? He asked me out first, but I made the first move to let him know I was interested.
19. Who kissed who first? He kissed me on the cheek during our third date, and then at the end of that date it was a mutual lip-lock and total fireworks! I'm happy to say there still are fireworks!
20. Who proposed? He did.
21. His best features and qualities? I think all if his features are beautiful. He is loving, generous, kind, an extremely hard worker, dedicated and funny.

New Beginnings

Arturo is no longer at our restaurant. He was having problems with one of his partners, who also happens to be his cousin. They hadn't gotten along for awhile, and now Arturo is gone. He has been working at another restaurant out of town, but we're hoping to lease a restaurant right here in Brooksville, which is only about 3 miles from our house. We're going to look at it on Monday and hopefully sign a lease. It's very exciting and scary, too. With the economy the way it is, starting a new business is a big risk, but it's a risk that we are willing to take and hopefully everything will work out. This is something we have wanted for awhile, to have another restaurant, but it's sad that it had to happen this way, with him basically being forced out of his own business that he had made successful. But, the Lord works in mysterious ways, and maybe this will turn out to be a wonderful venture for us.