Saturday, July 31, 2010

Groupon!

My new obsession is Groupon!

Maybe not a full obsession, but that is only because I don't want to go broke!  I really admire the innovation behind this new business!

Here is how it works:  There is the deal of the day and u buy it, but the deal is only "on" once a set number of deals are sold.  If that set number is not sold, your credit card is not charged.  It's power in group buying..it's a groupon!

Here is this really good article on the founder.

Ok, so I finally went to cash in on my first Groupon.  I bought a Groupon for $12, but worth $25 at Las Tablas.  Since I was having a specially hard close, on Monday I decided that I was going to take Fabian to Las Tablas, hopefully having something to look forward to was going to make me feel better.  Well, as tired as I was, I kept the date and went.

I literally had to go on some tablas to enter Las Tablas!  There was construction all around the restaurant.  I used the tabla to cross and get to the door and then the door wouldn't open!  Finally I called Fabian, already inside, and asked him "How do I get inside?"  He said, "Side Door"...ooops that's where I parked.

Anyways, I had a huge steak!  It was juicy and delicious!

The steak came with potatoes, plantains, and maduros?  The empadanas (appetizer) were aight, also the chimichurri sauce wasn't all that great, but oh well it was better than what I had been eating all week! 

My other groupon is for a ride on Lake Michigan on one of those boats.  I'll let you know how that goes!

Friday, July 30, 2010

Fist Pumping!

In honor of the Jersey Shore premier...

Let the fist pumping begin... CLICK HERE!

Brought to you by your one and ONLY DJ FrenzE!!!

I remember you had wanted to get some music from Fabian, but it didn't happen.  Well, here is something to hold you over!

Also, breaking news...Snooki was arrested today for disorderly conduct!
Click here and here!  I am sure we will see it on the show!

Also, Angelina is back.  I started to watch the premier yesterday, but fell asleep!  I know, wtf?  BUT it was close week and I was super tired!  I will have to catch it online!

Making Life Better, One Annoyance At A Time

Just a quick post.  Do you ever have that one little annoying "to do" task that could literally take 5 minutes but you just keep putting off?  Well, I do.  I had this board where I tacked up some pics (pics from the pic activity we did a while ago; you 'member?), but wanted to cover the cork board with something a little nicer.  I went out, got the paper...MONTHS ago but I had not gotten around to actually doing it.  Well, enough is enough.  Finally I took 5 minutes to cover it.


It felt good!
I don't know why I waited so long specially because I would see it every time I went out the door!  Now I feel good every time I exit my studio.  Yey me!

Now, if I could only tackle the pile of clothes that has been living on the couch for weeks...or months?  I am embarrased!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Just Another Floody Day!

Last Friday we had thunderstorms...and that created a huge mess for Chicagoans!  So on saturday it was Javier & Yolanda's Wedding Shower at Maggiano's!  I was so excited to go;

1) Because I am so excited for them
and
2) Because Maggiano's is so YUMMY!

The shower was from 12-4, so I left my place at 11.  It was suppose to take 45 mins to get there so I thought that would be enough time...boy was I wrong!

I ran into issues right away!  Dempster was closed due to flooding.  When I finally got on 294 the speed rate was around 3 MPH!  The only good thing about this situation was that next to me was one of my co-workers...actually ex-co-workers (since he quit that Thursday night).  It was such a great coincidence because I had not gotten a chance to say good bye!  We rolled down our windows and chatted it up!

So what was suppose to be a 45 min drive turned into a THREE HOUR drive!  I felt so bad arriving late, but here is what made me feel better; Javier got there at 1pm! 

It was so nice to see them happy!  I kept thinking of how far we have come along...remember "the good  ol'days"?  Yea those.  Anyways, the one thing I couldn't get use to was all the ahhhh-ing about toasters and blenders and all the other appliances.  I know I get excited about housewares, but it was just weird.  Anyways, one thing I did get very excited about was the waffle maker...mmm mmm mmm!

After the party I went to get a manicure to make it up to myself.  I love treating myself, don't I?

 
Here is a pic of them with my other favorite gift...a molcajete!  
 

El Party (Pt2)


(Me, my dad, Nancy, my mom and Yesenia)
Okay so the party was in my parent’s backyard and it started slowly but that just meant that you had free reign of the food-tacos and enchiladas to the MAX!  The party quickly picked up and it was a great mix of family, friends and even more friends. The weather was really nice-not too hot. Here are some pics from the party:
Uncle Julian, Mom, Yesenia and Dad

My sister and baby Caitlin(sp)
You may recognize these peeps!
Nancy, Eva, Alicia(Eva's mom) and Hari!
 The last attendee did not leave until 5:30am! I think I m getting old because everyone knows I love to host parties sometimes I find myself hosting a party I was invited to(right David?) But not this one-I was tired! I went to bed at 1:30and then woke up at 3am and found my family picking up the chairs and stuff from outside. Then I moved to the couch and was talking-okay maybe just listening to my cousin and sister and then woke up at 5:30 to move to a bed. Ahhhh,  good times.  I guess there was some confusion when I spoke with Diana and Liz that morning because I told them the last guest left at 5:30am but then was called out on the fact that I did not stay up ‘til 5:30am. I got major grief over omitting that little tid-bit. And that was the party. Whew-i'm tired just writing this post-I need a nap.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Let's play catch up!

Ok, so I have gone back to Summer Dance. It is so much fun! So far I have done Chicago style steppin', Salsa, Banda (yes, Mexican Banda Jackie!), and swing. I have enjoyed each one, but I have to say that banda night was a blast. A group of us came out (including your primas) and I danced since I got there until I left! I was dripping sweat from my hair, my chones, from everywhere! Good thing I was not there to impress anyone jaja. But there is something about hearing banda that makes my feet move all on their own :-)


For swing, I danced with a morenaso, he was fun. A slightly older man who was actually teaching me how to swing and really enjoying it himself! Good stuff. (Hey side note, did you hear about the huge Eye sculpture that's in Chicago? Google it! ).

I have attended some networking events in the city and they have been fun, one had free tequila and the other one ran out of food, can't have it all! I also made it to Fabian's very last minute b-day party and that was lots of fun. I was very glad to meet his family and other friends and put faces to the stories Eva shares. That same weekend (the 4th) we had a quinceanera for my aunt's twin girls and I got to dance banda again! I'm telling you, I have danced more this summer than the last couple of years together! (I may be exaggerating, but you know me).

As you heard, Diana's party was a blast! Although I have yet to understand why they had the little kiddie pool full of sand and hidden in a corner, when it was meant to be decoration (I would've used it as a cooler, but that's just me) LOL sorry girls, I just had to bring it up again. Great job on decorations though! Also, someone stole the inflatable monkey that Diana had. I reaffirmed that I still can't do hula. We hired fireworks for Diana (ok, old joke, we didn't, but you know how it was the 4th, everyone told her we did. She didn't believe us). Great times!


The following weekend I attended the "Old School House Picnic" in the south side with my buddies from work. It was so much fun. Liz joined me (and Idalia in spirit, she went last year but couldn't make it this time). I also saw Chava, he was working the event with his CPD uniform on. I put him on a project: to find me a cop friend of his I would want to date. He said it would be hard but he would try lol But I digress, so this event is all house music. I like it a lot even though am not a "house head" becaue I still have lots of fun, so you gotta know it's a good event. I think you would have a great time there Jackie! It's mostly black people, and to be honest, it is one huge event where I have seen a majority of black folks get along, no incidents, just out there to have a good time. Eva said that this is also Fabian's fav music, maybe next year we can put up our own tent and diversify the group I went with :-)

I also went to Cine en el Parque to watch "Cinco Dias sin Nora". It was a Mexican movie with some odd humor that I actually did find funny. But this is another item off my list of Chicago Summer To Dos. Then I went out on a Thursday night, crazy! We went out for Alice since she was celebrating her Santeria process being finished after a year. We went to Excalibur and they were playing salsa, merengue, cumbias, bachata. I like to dance, dance, dance! I was very tired the next day, but I survived and was glad I went out.

You also already heard about Nancy's taquiza, girl, they ain't playin'! Those enchiladas were awesome. They took me back to when I was growing up in Mexico and we had the quermes at church and I loved eating those enchiladas. I think I even dreamed about them! But we didn't get no cake, you know those stingy Andrade sisters :-p

I also attended an event put together by Tzviatko to create more awareness about Malaria. That man, always volunteering and doing good deeds. If only we could fall in love! jajajaja! I'm so funny. I met his mother, and she is very nice (mi futura suegra! lol). I think that is where the boys get it from.

I ran 12 miles this past Saturday! It was super hot and I started at 6 a.m. but by the time I finished, I was just about to pass out from the heat. I was proud of myself for getting up though, because I didn't get a good night sleep and still pushed myself to go. I am trying to find buddies to go with me on the bike or just jogging part of the way, but no one wants to go that early. And then when they do go (I won't mention any names, but you can ask Liz) they go at the same time but don't tell me and go the opposite direction to not run into me. Bogus jk jiji

On Sunday I went to Michigan with my parents to do blueberry picking. We got almost 200 pounds. 150 we cut ourselves with the help of my uncles. We want to take some to my bros in TX since we will be visiting them this weekend for my little nieces' 1st communions. That is a LOT of blueberries, but they are sooo good and fresh. I ate soo many while cutting them. We freeze some to get us through the winter too!

Today I went to check out a place where I may do my field work for my Masters during this next academic year. I like it, but I'm kind of scared. They are teens that face different experiences and a harsher reality than those I've worked with. We'll see. This is what I thought I wanted, let's see if it holds true.

I'll be moving to the girl's place next week. Actually I already stared moving some things, but the bigger stuff until I come back from TX. I'm also very excited about this. Looking forward to new adventures. I'm ready to move! And Liz is moving like two blocks from there! So close, yey!


Ok, gotta go to bed. It's past my bedtime!


Te extrano!


Yolis

P.D. I see you Jackie! jaja!












Wednesday, July 21, 2010

4th of July Weekend (3 for 4)

So a little late, but here is my run down of what went down!

Friday: Improv Fabian's B-day Party. 

He wasn't sure what he wanted to do (for like 2 weeks) and the day of decides he wants to chill and drink at his house.  I got some balloons, a cake, manteles and called it a party!  At 4:30 the cops showed up and gave him a $50 ticket for the noise...w/out warning!  I guess there is zero tolerance for noise in Cicero.  Luckily he knows someone that pardoned (sp?) his ticket :)

Saturday: George and Annette's Wedding Shower in Aurora.

These are Fabian's friends who are getting married in late August.  They had a combined shower catered by Atotonilco's taquero.  The food was soo good!  Atotonilco's is Fabian's favorite taco spot so needless to say, he was ecstatic!!!  The party was fun!  They played a few games and Fabian won the guess the beer game, wouldn't u know it!  They also played the guess ur fiance's leg!  That was so funny!  He guessed right, but she cheated! 
So at midnight, Fabian played "My Girl" and George and two friends starting singing it to Annette, when the cops showed up and it was party over...or a $250 ticket.  So we turned off the music and turned on the grill.  George is the grill master so of course he wasnt going to let us end the night on a hungry note!

Sunday: Fabian's ex-roomate was throwing a sudo-super sweet sixteen party for his 30th b-day! 

Check out the mansion he rented for the party!!  We were all very excited to party in a mansion!  He was also super secretive about it and didn't disclose the location until the day of and through text mssg.  Being the HGTV addict that I am I was specially excited to see the house, the floors, the ceilings, everything!  So the party was going on when at around midnight the owners showed up w/the cops and threw us the eff out!  Everyone grabbed their stuff and got out ASAP.  I got me a drink and jumped in Fabian's truck!  I guess the owners were not aware of the festivities and had not approved the use of the house for a party.  In all honesty, we were not harming the house, but I can understand if u do not want your 2.7M home to be the happening spot for the night.

Monday: Movie Night at the Brew-n-View!

We had had enough w/the cops and the parties!  We decided to make it a movie night at the Hollywood Blvd Theater in Woodridge.  We saw Grown Ups.  Fabian loved it...I thought it was ok.  I am glad to say we ended the weekend without any other cop apperances!

Banged!

I was aching for a change...so I got banged!


Sometime last month (June 19th to be exact), Liz, Idalia and I went to lunch/linner at Habana Libre.  The food was delicious!!!!  I had the sandwich cubano and it was one of the best I've had (I've had three)!

Back to the bangs...so I wear them down about 2 times a week.  Honestly they get annoying, so I think I am going to grow them.

I got them bc I really like how Zooey Deschanel looks...u know a little vintage. 

So now that I did it, I can move on.  Next!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Talking about...

Talking about Molly's Cupcakes... after my Thai birthday dinner Fabian took me to Molly's Cupcakes!  I had the Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake and Fabian had the Strawberry Shortcake one.


My Cupcake!

Fabian ready to attack!

They were delish! 

Now talking about cupcakes...there is a new show on TLC called DC Cupcakes and it's about a cupcake bakery in DC.  I saw 3 episodes last Friday and it's ok.  Not much different from all the other cake/bakery shows...but I don't know why I stayed up and watch all of the shows...u know me...I love reality tv.

Talking about reality tv... Jersey Shore's 2nd season starts on July 29th...next Thursday!  I feel horrible following that show...but u know me.  They are also asking for $30,000 per episode for season 3...lucky bastards!

El pastel (Pt 1)

Dear Jackie,
Como estas? Este fin de semana pasado was super and it even carried on to el Lunes. Let me big from the beginning…my sister decided that she was having a Taquiza(enchiladas and tacos) for her bday at my parents house (Cicero). In the picture is my cousin...Jesse aka El Taquero!  Nancy was going to turn 24! I can’t believe it-I remember when she was a baby.

On Friday (7/23), I went to my mom’s house to help with cleaning and last minute details for the party. I went to the apt that night because I was going to have a busy morning with two important pickups and needed to get back by noon to Cicero. So the morning started a little late but I was determined to make it work. I needed to pick up the cake, flan, get my eyebrows did, mani, pedi, get ready and be at my mom’s house by noon. Too much, huh? You know me the overachiever and then stressed about everything and nothing at the same time.

But I digress, I decided to go get my eyebrows done down the street from my apt first. I was at the location but they opened at 9:30am and it was only 9:10 so what to do? And then I realized my debit card was at the house in my pant pocket-grrr! So I headed back to the apartment and then decided to try again and go back to the nail shop-it was 9:35 and still not open! I needed to move on otherwise I was going to fall behind. I decide to go pick up the cake (Ashland/Milwaukee), then head over to pick up the flan (Western and Cermak), and go back to the apt to start getting ready. This was my plan and noting could stop me now. I get to Jewel to pick up the cake my sister wanted (I had my hopes on impressing her with stylish cupcakes from Molly’s Cupcakes but it was not to be).


Anywhoo, I get to Jewel bakeshop and ask for my cake and they start looking for it but to no avail. The cake is not done and they cannot find the order for it. Luckily, the lady that took my order the day before was there and tried to recall for everyone what type of cake it was. Unfortunately, no cake and they asked me when I needed it by and they would have to make it from scratch. When do you need it by? the lady kept asking me-NOW! kept running through my head.  I was so upset and could not understand how this could happen but I didn’t think arguing was going to help me. So I described what I wanted again and they said to give them an hour and they would have it ready. I left feeling bewildered and upset. I need to calm down and not worry so much  because what was done was done and they were already working on a new cake. So I headed to my favorite place to get my much needed mani/pedi on Fullerton and Ashland. When I got to the nail place, I signed in and just at that moment got a phone call stating that my cake was ready. I decided to go get the cake instead of the Mani/Pedi- it seemed like the most practical thing to do. When I arrived back to the bake shop I saw the touches of pink that had to be my cake. I got my ticket and a $5.00 off coupon for the inconvenience- that was nice! I headed to the register and it rang up at 52.99-what?? The lady had told me that the cake would be about $35 and then I read the tag. ½ sheet of cake-oh no! They had made a bigger cake than I had wanted. I went back to the bake shop and asked them what happened and they claimed that I told them I wanted a ½ sheet cake which I did not because at no time did they ask me the size but instead went straight to the flavor, décor, etc. So they told me that they had found my ¼ sheet cake and that I had two cakes at this point and needed to make a decision on what I wanted. I took the tag for the ¼ cake and headed to the register AND then I went back all confused because the ¼ cake looked small but the ½ looked too heavy to carry on the bus but it seemed like the one I needed. I asked them for the bigger one and just went up to pay for it. But guess what? I forgot my sister gets a discount on the cakes and my $5.00 discount came out to 40 buck which is what my original budget for the cake was and I got twice as much. I carried the cake out and then decided to just go straight home because it was very heavy and did not want anything to happen to it. Here it is:

It was really good but the night was so crazy I barely tasted it but my sister loved it which was the important thing.
Stay tuned for PT 2 the actual party…

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Long weekend with Friends and Family!

Wow, what a weekend!!
Where do I begin? Well why don’t we start with yesterday and work our way backwards. Yesterday, was the same old, same old with the small exception of my friend Matt.

Last week sometime we discovered that we are both die hard NKOTB fans. Yes, he is a boy. I know what you may be thinking, is this for real? The answer: YES!  Although, I think his infatuation is bigger but when they first came around-circa 1986 as opposed to me that just can’t get enough the second time around-circa 2008. So he promised me that he was going to look for some old trading cards from back in the day that he swears he has and give them to me. Between me and you—I don’t think he wants to part ways with them-jk!


Yesterday, was the 5th of July and didn’t do much but lounge around the old apartment, watch TV with my sister, Yesenia and talk with you on SKYPE(it was real nice chatting with you!). Sunday, the 4th was a bit of a haze because I didn’t go to bed until 5:30AM or so due to Diana’s Luau party aka tiki party. So Saturday was a GREAT day but let me begin with Friday and get to Saturday.

Friday after work I went to my Aunt Maribel’s house who was entertaining some out of town guest and she was making Pambazos and enchiladas. All I can say is YUMS!! A Pambazo is similar to a torta but it is dipped in the enchilada sauce to give it its color and unique taste. This was only the second time I had had this dish and it was a great tasty surprise. The last time I had these was in Mexico and they were spicy as hell(excuse me!).  Had you had these before Jackie?  But I digress, after we ate it was time to peace out because I had to get a couple of things for the party the following Saturday.


My sister and I headed to Menards to pick up some sand, a pool, and any other item we could find that was within our budget to transform our home into the Hawaii getaway we wanted to provide our guests. It was during this trip that I almost invited a Menards employee to the festivities. Too funny! Truth be told-my sister was all about the task at hand and would not allow me to “desviar me del curso.” 
After Menards we went to the Metra stop to pick up my two cousins Melissa and Crystal (I hope you spell her name with a “C”). Crystal is the one with my sister Yesenia and Melissa is pictured with me.
 We picked them up and then headed back to my parents house to “ransack” the place for anything that we may be able to use the following day. We managed to take some chairs, coolers, tables and serving trays. The next day we were having an early start because we were going to the beach!!
I was so excited but torn because there was still much to do for the party but if I was going to enjoy the festivities I really needed to do something for myself to be able to give to others. Our morning was supposed to start at 7am but due to some unexpected chat sessions we all went to sleep late and our leave time was more like 11:30am.

When we arrived to Oak street beach it was great and reality set it. First, that we got there a bit on the late side and our time would be rushed but still we enjoyed three hours of fun in the sun. The sand was HOT. My sister complained that maybe we could have used an umbrella and will from now on call the beach by its actual name “Cancer trap.”

She felt like she could not hide from the sun and no matter how much sun block she put on that day it was not enough. Now she thinks she burned her feet on the hot sand because they still hurt three days after the fact. I had a nice time and learned so much about beach does and don’ts. This will be my next entry and hope to compile a nice list by the end of the summer because I plan on hitting the beach once a week minimum.
We finally came back to the apartment and started to get ready, decorate and eat lunch-at the same time. There were many hands on deck but unfortunately due to the beaming sun it made it nearly impossible to do anything because it was bright, hot and too early.

The party was supposed to start at 9pm. Bless you Diana for this start time! It was at exactly 7:45pm that things really started picking up and the sun had gone down somewhat. We cranked it all we had and by 9:45 no joke everything was all set and ready to go. I had such a GREAT time but more importantly Diana looked like she enjoyed herself. The party in a nutshell: great decorations/great food (biased because my aunt catered it)/great DJ-la musica ni se diga! /limbo contest/great drinks/great chips/cute hamburger cake-great Oreo cake and most of all GREAT friends that came. I think they were planning the next party already. Our last guest left at 5:00am and Diana and I cleaned while we had some energy.  If there is one thing about summer parties that I have learned from all the fiestas we have had at Fillmore and on Chicago is that it is in your best interest to pick up at night/madrugada and take everything in because that SUN will be killer in the morning even without a hangover.

I’m going to compile a list of dos and don’ts for throwing a party.  Well, that was my weekend and let me just apologize right now for not having pictures of the actual party but you can look on facebook for pics.  If I can get my hands on any exclusive pics, I will post them and will make a better effort to make sure I take more pics of everything.
Bye!