Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Songs About Texas









This will likely be the last post before the annual beach get away. Well, it's not quite a get away any more. It's actually a family vacation, and we camp so it is actually almost more work than being home, except I have an excuse for laying around!

Here are pix of yet another annual family tradition-Texas Bluebonnets. I included a series of shots leading up to the "best" picture which I used to replace the old title photo. Please check out all the fake smiles and beautiful bluebonnets to boot. These pictures were taken on a borrowed camera but they look great on the TV. Hopefully I will be able to pick up my camera before the trip. Mom's camera doesn't have a memory card and it only holds about 20 pix. I take 20 pix just trying to get one good shot of everyone's face!

Saturday, April 26, 2008



Did I mention that my camera is out of commission and all the "convincing" I have laid on Dom hasn't helped get that big, new, expensive camera yet? However he managed to purchase a new bike..."this is to help us cut down on costs baby." Well, he's got me there. I like bikes anyway. It is used and he is replacing some parts but he did purchase an extra helmet so I am looking forward to riding a little with him once he has it ready.

In other news, this week we went, um...everywhere! Mady stayed home more than the rest of us since she was pet sitting, which she loved, loved, loved. We went to hang out with some of our friends @ their houses and we went to the zoo...yes, AGAIN! We went over to my sisters house to weed her flower bed for her since she has an ow-ie from the training @ the academy and can't walk too well. We hung out @ Deer Creek for a coupe of hours and talked about where water in creeks comes from. Storm drainage, and rainfall got the most votes. We also talked about why it is so important not to pollute our earth and why we need to take care of it.

Our family has been talking considerably about why it is important to be a little more self sustaining lately. We have stocked up on a bit of propane for cooking and deisel fuel for the generator as well as food and water. We have decided to go ahead and plant vegetables even if it is a little late. Some harvest is better than no harvest @ all. Dom and I have both been reading more and more in the news about predictions of food shortages with the increase of fuel prices. I could go on and on about this but instead I will let this guy do it. Watch this clip.


Saturday, April 19, 2008

Are Friends Electric?

Well, what do you think, are friends electric? My camera has yet to drive itself to Best Buy to be shipped back to Sony so I suppose electronics are still inanimate objects not friends. It appears as though all the vacation pix will have to be scanned in unless I convince Dom to buy me that new camera now instead of with Economy Stimulus package...what would it take to get that new camera now?

We have the laptop back up and running and thanks to a friend of ours we have an older, but very respectable, cpu hooked up to the new flatscreen! Do you have this @ your house? Have you surfed the internet on a BIG screen? Insane isn't it? Mady walked in from a play (named Lipstick put on by the local High School) and I had the internet up on both the laptop and the TV in our bedroom so Niki and I could play, and Mady nearly fell over.

Then I was thinking about all the technology we all carry around with us or use everyday. So here is a technological break down of a typical day @ the Ortiz house.
Wake up, use remote to open shades, log onto the WWW. Check in with our friends using IMing & text messages to see what we are doing for the day. Load up the car with cell phones, movies for the in car DVD, Nintendo DS, and iPods and possibly the laptop depending on what we are going to do that day. Strap in to our personally programmed seats and turn on the GPS to direct us on our days' adventure. Arrive to hang out & play with our friends and take tons of pix with our awesome cameras or cell phones. Begin our drive home, stop to pick up lunch we ordered on the way and pay for food with a piece of plastic that is actually money! Go home, remotely open garage door, & unload all the days equipment. Plug the camera into cpu and upload all the pix and add them to our blogs and distribute to friends with a few clicks of our cordless mouse.

One interesting thing about all this is the fact that each family member has all their own equipment. Mady and Niki have mp3 players and cameras (though they rarely use their cameras) and we now have 2 computers. Judging from the way things are going, I do not believe it will be long before Mady has her own computer. We are all recording our own version of History. Makes you wonder a little about all those history books doesn't it?

Another thing, isn't it almost the worst day when some of your technology is down? I use my camera everyday. I am periodically cataloging everything we do. Am I personally going over the edge? I have to admit I do not do a very good job of catching everything I see on my camera the way I actually see it. When I look back @ the pictures I have taken they rarely appear as I recall. I tend to think it is bc my camera is too slow but it's highly possible I need to read more and take some classes to learn to take better pictures! But come on, there is only so much one can do with a point and click! If you have viewed the ol' Amazon wish list and saw Wish List Camera, and you know Dom, you would know how almost impossible it is to convince him to spend any chunk of money. He believes I take enough pix to warrant a better camera!

The kids and Pam and I visited a local ranch today where one lady, sort of a local historian, has kept and collected all sorts of pioneer farm equipment, and household furnishings/accessories and displays it in all of the ranches 10 or so log cabins/buildings. This family ranch was established in 1854 and is still growing. There is a home from each generation on the ranch, it is quite a progression worth seeing. The best part of all this is it is free once annually. What a generous family. Niki was extremely interested in all the old artifacts. She was actually able to touch some of the items from the pioneer time period dentist office and bank. While the boys napped the girls and Pam and I ate lunch @ a local cafe and headed back home to rest on the porch and swing.

Tomorrow's plans? Eat with the family @ Nenaws and Papaw's of course, what else do ya do on Sunday?

Friday, April 18, 2008

Technology



Well, isn't technology great? Just when I am about to snap some great pix of the kids playing in the mud the freakin' camera takes a dump! Then we had computer issues. I have to wait for 2 weeks for Sony to send a new camera...I have to send it off first which I absolutely have to do tomorrow or it will not be back int time for vacation to Galveston. I can't wait! Every year our entire family goes to Galveston for a week or so. This year is difficult bc my mom and sister just started new positions or careers so they will not be joining us until the weekend. As has been typical lately I have a ton of things to report just not enough time. Here are some pix of the bowling but other than that I got nuttin' as far as pix go.


Mady is pet sitting 2 doggies for some friends of ours while they are out of town. This is her first official paying gig. So far it's going alright. I think they are keeping her up @ night. She went to bed early tonight. She has been staying with them all the time. Tomorrow we are going to attempt to go to a park for awhile. The doggies will stay in Mady's room while we are out, fingers crossed it goes well.
Niki is infatuated with a little boy who lives across the street. We have lived here for almost 7 years (Niki is only 5 and the neighbor will turn 7 on Monday) and they have only just met. They are too funny playing together. One of the girls took their picture when they were hugging each other bye yesterday afternoon.
Luke and Ezra are into everything. Surprisingly, they are the most well behaved boys when we go out...unless we go to eat in a restaurant, not doing well in that department. They aren't even 2 so what can I ask of them? They are tearing up everything too! Niki has a rather large wooden play kitchen she was gifted @ Christmas when she was 2. She has played and played with it and nothing has ever broken on it. The boys have been playing with it for about a year and they have pulled one of the doors from the hinges and part of the oven is coming apart! I am told boys are generally much harder on toys hence the metal cars and bulldozers, man those things are fun to play with!
Good night!

Sunday, April 6, 2008

7 Random Facts About Me

I have was tagged by Tanya-That Breese Family so here are 7 Random Facts about me.

1) I enjoy posting about myself. I try to post about the kids and family mostly. I know that they are my thoughts and often I post random crap that has nothing to do with the kids learning, but I am learning so much I feel as thought I want to have a chronography of my own learning as well. I think it will just go to show you never stop learning and you do not have to be in school to learn.
2) I have a fetish for Samari Sword Fighting and fencing which I hope to one day take up as a hobby.
3) A beloved family friend passed away Friday morning. Our vet helped our horse Lucky go to that big pasture in the sky after 34 years here in our pastures. We had a graveside service for him Saturday with family picnic after. We took pictures and read a poem and sprinkled some oats in his grave. Thanks to our vet and thanks to Frank for the gentle burial service.
4) I wanted to play music @ Lucky's funeral but my family thought it was morbid.
5) I am learning how to roller blade. I have not fallen once!
6) I love to read blogs that have nothing to do with anything in my life. They are an inspiration for me to start something new or @ least read about something new.
7) I love internet friends. People you don't see, but exist. People you can either be completely real with and tell them everything about yourself or people you can describe yourself to as the person you hope to become and just tell them the qualities you wish to have.

That wasn't too hard and hopefully that was random enough.

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