Happy Birthday to ME!

Omgoodness... It has been awhile.

In the spirit of my birthday, I feel it is important to reconnect with the world. 

First and foremost, I believe my mother deserves a big Thank You for delivering an 8 pound, 9 ounce baby 27 years ago. (Me!) Without your hard work and determination during my beautiful and magical child birth, I may never have come out. So today, I thank you.

Moving On:

I usually am not a huge fan of birthdays because of a) my dislike for having the added pressure to be happy all day and b) the extra awkward attention that comes with birthdays. 

However, today I feel humbled. I am reminded of how lucky I am.

Although I believe that I am the creator of my world, experiences, destiny, etc., I sometimes wonder what I did to deserve the people I have in my life.

My dad and step-momma who surprised me this morning with balloons, cards, presents, and a rendition of "The Savoir is Born" with Jesus' name replaced with mine.

My momma who called, emailed and text me all day to make sure my day was going perfectly.

My sister and her girlfriend, Jon, who sent me presents three weeks ago and rehearsed a made up version of Happy Birthday for me for two days before performing it during our 8:00 a.m. conversation.

My little prince who did not attempt to attack me once today.

Xtine who showed up tonight with some of my favorite things: donuts, candy, Starbucks gift cards, cookies and tamales.

Maggie and my aunt who separately surprised me with flowers...

My grandparents who never forget my birthday regardless of whether they remember to take their medications.

Oprah who wished me a happy birthday in her subconscious. 

The rest of my family who sent me surprises in the mail, called me, text me and emailed me. 

Last, but not least....My friends who called me, text me and Facebooked me just to let me know they were thinking of me.

Thank you. I promise you... your presence in my life influences and inspires me everyday.
 

Letter to Santa

Dear Santa, 

I am in disbelief that the holidays are near an end and Christmas has now passed. Although the year seemed to move fairly slow, the holidays seemed to move at an extreme speed!  

I would like to take the opportunity to say "Thank You" from my whole family. I understand it to be fairly difficult to reach every house in the entire world in only one night.

In addition to your long standing obligations, you stopped by my roommates house on Christmas Eve, mingled with my family, listened to our concerns, drank some red wine, ate some cookies, played with my little prince and you even stayed for dinner! You truly out did yourself. 

So... as promised, I am sending you some token pictures of your visit to our 2011 Ugly Sweater Christmas Eve Dinner! I hope you enjoy and please feel free to stop by again next year!

"Exhibit A" 

(Ugly Sweater Christmas Eve Dinner-My Sister's Girlfriend Won!)

"Exhibit B" 

(Ms. Nicole Marie and Mr. Oliver Really Out Did themselves)

 "Exhibit C" 

(Your Little Head Elf was Patiently Awaiting Your Arrival!)

"Exhibit D" 

(My Angry Older Sister was Angry When She Discovered 

Her Toilet Seat Cover Did Not Win Her The Ultimate Prize)

   "Exhibit E" 

(Mr. Oliver Showing His Sweet Sweater Off)

"Exhibit F" 

(My Aunt and Uncle Having Fun Before You Arrived!)

"Exhibit G" 

(My roommates dressed in ugly onesies)

"Exhibit H" 

(While the whole family was comparing creativity, to our complete surprise... you showed up!!!)

"Exhibit I" 

(My Little Prince Couldn't Believe His Eyes!)

 

 "Exhibit J" 

(You were so generous... I cannot believe how many gifts you brought!) 

 

"Exhibit H" 

(After receiving your favorite type of wine, you invited all of us to sit on your lap... 

Just like when we were little!)  

"Exhibit I" 

(Everyone could not wait to get a turn!) 

  "Exhibit J" 

(My roommates were ecstatic! Roommate No. 1 said he had not seen 

Saint Nicholas since his days in the jungles of Colombia!)  

 "Exhibit K" 

(You made his Christmas!)  

 "Exhibit L" 

(After everyone had their turn sitting on your lap, you wanted to pose for pictures!)

 "Exhibit M" 

(After pictures, I caught you jumping for joy outside!)

  "Exhibit N" 

(I was even surprised to see you "planking"!) 

   "Exhibit O" 

(Thank you from all of us for giving us the BEST Christmas present of all time!) 

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

I'm Alive!

Dear My Loyal Blog Followers: 

Although I have not updated my wonderful blog for some time, I still very much appreciate the daily support that you have all given me.

Let me get straight to the point, I am alive, I am in the middle of studying for mid-terms and finals, I am sick and (at this exact moment) I am sitting in evidence, not paying attention, because I have nose drool running down my face. 

Here are some quick updates:

My little prince, Dylan, is alive, happy and fat from his Thanksgiving feasts. I am happy to report Mr. Dylan only attacked three (3) Thanksgiving guests during the holidays and only had one "accident" on my roommates white couch. It pleases me to say that progress is definitely being made.

My angry older sister and her girlfriend Jon came home for the holidays! However, after only a week of constant chaos, they retreated back to their cave in N. Carolina.

My roommates are doing well. Tiffany, Roommate No. 2's alter ego, came out at the most appropriate times during the Thanksgiving weekend (especially when cosmos were involved). Roommate No. 1 has been too busy eating "Mochi Balls" to notice his wife has an alter ego.

Oprah has yet to RSVP to my law school graduation in May 2013 and I am still yet to receive my Life Class Journal.

Although Oprah's Life Class has been over for some time, I am enthusiastic that I will one day meet Oprah and receive my Life Class Journal. 

As for me... I have discovered a routine of bitterness that I have developed that rears its ugly head around this time of year due to the stress that I instill in myself preparing for my upcoming mid-terms and finals.

I have learned that I despise the Commerce Clause, am not interested in the Confrontation Clause, understand the Equal Protection Clause, dislike the entire Family Code and am angry with the whole concept of HEARSAY.

Until next time, here are some pictures summing up the last couple of weeks:

"Exhibit A"

(Monterrey Bay Aquarium With My Momma and Sister)

"Exhibit B"

(Turtle)

 "Exhibit C"

(Jelly)

 "Exhibit D"

(It has a face)

 "Exhibit E"

(Star)

 "Exhibit F"

(Angry Older Sister & I)

 "Exhibit G"

(Thanksgiving Dinner-Brothers!)

 "Exhibit H"

(Turkey)

  "Exhibit I"

(Ms. Nicole Marie and I After Thanksgiving Dinner/Wine)

  "Exhibit J"

(Santa Cruz Hike After Stuffing Myself With Turkey)

"Exhibit K"

(Princess Birthday Party)

"Exhibit L"

(Cinderella Surprised the Birthday Girl! 

I seemed to like her as much as the 3 year olds)

 There are so many more pictures, however, class is ending! Until next time my friends...

Why. Why. Why.

Sister, you look really pretty.

When We Were Weeee Little Lads

Although I thoroughly enjoy sharing stories about my Roommates, my Angry Older Sister, my Sister's Latin Wife, my Little Prince, my Dear Friend Oprah and my daily struggles being a law student, I do not think it is fair to deprive my loyal blog followers of the rest of my family.

I would, therefore, like to give you a very small glimpse of our lives as children.

As a quick reminder of how our family became United States Citizens, I intend to give you a brief synopses of the events that made our lives happen. Here it is in a nutshell:

As you may recall, my Roommate is the oldest of three brothers born in Bogota, Colombia. My Roommate was chosen by his parents to be the first to make the journey to the United States and to return for the rest of the family when he declared it to be safe. 

"Exhibit A"

(My Dad's Scary Journey to the U.S.)

When my Father declared the U.S. safe and after my dear uncle decided to get a fresh start in life, my Father brought my Uncle to the U.S.

"Exhibit B"

(Best Friends/Brothers)

After the brothers assimilated into the U.S. culture, they decided to get married (not to each other), build a home, have 2.5 children and play soccer. 

This brings me to "us", the 4 children.

"Exhibit C"

(Ms. Nicole Marie, Angry Older Sister, ME! & Monkey Cousin)

To everyone's surprise, Ms. Nicole Marie began her journey as a clown:

"Exhibit D"

Ms. Nicole Marie was a rambunctious little child. Although her hair did not fully come in until she was 5, she still won the hearts of many with her love for her monkey brother.

"Exhibit E"

(Bald at Age 4.5)

Although confused where her little brother came from, Ms. Nicole Marie would never deny that her monkey brother was her friend.

"Exhibit F"

(Monkey Cousin)

You may be thinking that it is remarkable my Uncle was capable of having a monkey child; our family believes so also.

Unfortunately, around age 3, my monkey cousin began transforming into a human. He still, however, did not understand the concept of clothes.

"Exhibit G"

(Monkey Cousin Transforming)

Although to the blind eye my monkey cousin was starting to resemble a human, we all had to remain patient while he learned how to act as a human. 

Luckily, my Uncle took the time to help the monkey learn how to do simple human things, i.e. fishing.

"Exhibit H"

(My Uncle Teaching Monkey to Fish)

Like my uncle, Ms. Nicole Marie also stood strong next to my monkey cousin while he transitioned into a human.

"Exhibit I"

(Monkey Cousin Learning How to Take Pictures)

Occasionally, Older Angry Sister would allow monkey, Ms. Nicole Marie and I to play with her. Although, monkey had been going through his transition for some time, he still had some anxiety during play time and missed family events.

"Exhibit J"

(Left- Right)

(Angry Older Sister, Ms. Nicole Marie, ??, ME!, ??,- Notice: No Monkey)

Although my cousin monkey has slightly regressed in his progression from monkey to human, he is doing fantastic! To much of our surprise, he is graduating college with an emphasis in the study of primates!!! 

"Exhibit K"

(My Monkey Cousin 2011)

 

My Sister is Going to Be on David Letterman!

Well.... Not exactly.

My family and I are traveling to New York next week for my cousin's wedding. 

Because my sister and her side kick Jon will be arriving before their best friend in the whole world, ME!, my sister decided to make the most out of a horrible situation.

Since one of the million amazing things to do while in New York City is to attend the David Letterman Show, my sister called his "office" to ask for tickets.  I believe she left a message with his assistant. 

Although I did not want to break my sister's spirits that her dream of going to the David Letterman Show may be a tad bit ambitious, I must admit, I did have my doubts.

However, during our 8:00 a.m. ritual of talking on the phone until I arrive at work, David Letterman's Assistant interrupted our conversation with a telephone call!

Although I was slightly annoyed at the interruption, I graciously allowed my sister to answer the call and waited patiently on the other line.

After speaking with Mr. Letterman's Assistant and correctly answering a trivia question, my sister "clicked" back over screaming that her and her girlfriend Jon are going to the Letterman Show on Wednesday, October 12, 2011!

I should warn you that my sister has been known to make it onto TV. Please see "Exhibit A" which illustrates my sister's star performance on the Price is Right back in '98. 

Please note, the Jon that my sister is giving a shout out to in her "Hi Jon" sequence is now her husband and all the 7's that she chooses are because Jon's football jersey was No. 7. 

"Exhibit A"

 Good luck sister! Make us famous! Wear a "Sincerelyxtina.com" T-Shirt!

(Note- I still call my sister "sister".)