"Come January we're frozen inside making new resolutions a hundred times..."

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

This Christmas was pretty fun, if I do say so myself. Due to the violence in Mexico, our family was unable to travel there. However, my cousin and her family, and her husband's family, came to visit us in Houston. We had a great time going to San Antonio and running around to different museums in Houston.

Columbus, TX
En route to San Antonio

Because they only eat humans...

FINALLY made it to San Antonio. A reunion ensues...

Mimi and Aunt Cindy at dinner
These two are on Daddy's side of the family.
I love them so :)

Mommy and Daddy enjoying a walk together

The next two photos are of the lovely Stacy Loo getting into some deep trouble. Daddy and I were home with the Craftsman and I left to get my hair cut. I assumed Daddy was watching Stacy, but no. She was so accustomed to coming inside that day because all the doors were open, that she decided to help herself to some food out of the pantry.

 

After a few hours at the hair salon, I come home to find that Mommy is now home and Stacy is in BIG trouble...

Me: Look! I got my hair cut. You like it?

Mommy: Stacy ate the bread!

Me: What?

Mommy: Stacy came in, went to the pantry, grabbed the loaf of bread, tore through the plastic wrapping, and ate the crusts off of several slices of bread. That was NEW bread!

Daddy: She expects the best quality.

Mommy: This isn't funny!

Admittedly, it was KINDA funny.

 We spent two days in San Antonio before returning home. We left the relatives there and they journeyed on to Austin and did some more sightseeing before coming back, as well. My cousin and her family stayed with us, while her husband's family stayed at a hotel nearby. The kids greatly enjoyed themselves and spent the time playing Wii and watching Marmaduke a respectable 5 times.

On the 24th, we went to Midnight Mass at the nearby church. When we left, the tree was empty and barren of gifts. Upon our return, it was quite evident that Santa had dropped by, and with a load of toys to boot!

Excitement and lots of gift unwrapping followed...

After gifts, we ate a plethora of snacks and drank to our hearts content. My cousin's nephew made mojitos and it seemed as though everyone (except me, mommy, and the children) enjoyed them. I'm not one for fancy alcoholic drinks. I'm content with just some beer and wine. Anything else that requires preparation, I'd rather not go through the trouble...

The following day, the 25th (so it was later on after gift wrapping), we prepared a meal of turkey and other meats, and I cooked up some mashed potatoes courtesy of Williams-Sonoma and my favorite asparagus dish. I think the dinner was a success.

The Foodie Bible

 Following dinner, we went out into the bitter cold and braved a walk at Memorial Park. It was probably the dumbest idea ever because we were all freezing, but fun was had.

Following our walk, we caravanned throughout Houston and looked at all the beautiful lights.

The 26th was a fun day because it was my 22nd Birthday! We spent the day at the Aquarium and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. The aquarium downtown was pretty and it had been a long while since I had last visited, so it was fun to spend the morning there. We saw all kinds of fish and eels and snakes and spiders, and I took too many photos to share. We did get the opportunity to see the White Tigers, but despite all the hype, they were nothing more than some lazy-ass cats. My cousin's nephew, Rodrigo, was a little disappointed with them because one was napping and the other was hiding in a corner, just staring at the people. However, hilarity ensued when we found the giant tiger you could pose with.

High five, buddy!

NO! DON'T EAT HIM!

JESUS! A TIGER!!! GET IN THE CAR!!!!!

Following our tiger-rific adventure at the aquarium, we drove off to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. We saw all kinds of art from the East, but I was most excited about the modern art. There were works by Gorky, Gottlieb, Rothko, Lichtenstein, Pollock, Oldenberg (GIANT SOFT FAN, FTW!), among others. I was so excited because I had recently taken a modern art class at school, so the moment I walked in, I saw paintings I recognized and had, until then, only seen on a Power Point presentation. Mind = BLOWN.

Not everyone was excited about the modern art...

Finally in person...

 Upon arriving home, I saw that my parents had constructed a little birthday party for me. It was quite thoughtful. I received two $25 gift certificates to Olive Garden and IHOP. I am so happy :)

We decided to go out and get ingredients for cookies, and while at the store, we decided to purchase a game of pin the tail on the donkey. Again, hilarity.

Even Daddy got in on the fun!

Mommy's turn!

No! Where did you go, Mommy?
She actually went down the hall and
almost into the bedroom. Silly, Mommy.

Cookies!

My personal favorite cookies ;)

 After everyone had left, all that remained were my cousin, her husband, and their kids. We took them out shopping and went to this AWESOME store called Phoenecia. It's got lots of exotic foods from around the world, mostly mediterranean places, but behold, the children found the NUTELLA.

Well, that pretty much rounds out our holiday. Later on I will post the pictures from our last day together at Galveston. That was a fun time, as well. Dinner time!

Ally

Christmas 2010 Post...

...COMING SOON!!!

Ally

"All you people can't you see? Can't you see? NKOTBSB!"

Earlier this year, I was excited to see a YouTube video of a New Kids on the Block concert where the Backstreet Boys made a guest appearance and sang with them. I was so excited and I thought: wouldn't it be awesome if they went on tour? Well, ladies and gentlemen:

A dream come true... and Daddy's worst nightmare.

About a month or two ago, it was confirmed that NKOTB and BSB would tour together. I immediately contacted my cousins to form a coalition of the willing to ambush Mommy with requests to go see them. I may now confirm that yesterday at 10:00 cst, I got on Ticketmaster.com and purchased 4 tickets to see them LIVE in Houston!!! This is going to be the best Summer ever. Mommy said that these tickets were my birthday present... in short:

21, I'm really glad I'm you, and I'mma let you finish in about 14 days,

but 22 will be the best birthday of all time.

OF ALL TIME!

How could I resist? :)

Well, back to Immunology. Ch.11, here I come. Watch out.
And a big 'Thank You' to Mommy and Daddy for my tickets :)

Ally

"I drink a boost for breakfast, and ensure for dizzert..."

"...Somebody order pancakes, I just sip the sizzurp."

This is my post bitching about things because I'm grumpy. I'm just stressed with finals. I have both Environmental Science and Immunology tomorrow, and Gen Bio 1 on Wednesday. Last night we went to the Town Center for dinner and Christmas festivities and my friend Claire ordered a focaccia and it was delicious, except that my teeth hurt badly when I tried to bite into the crust. Needless to say, I had to give up eating that last piece. It was sad. In case you're unaware, I am currently undergoing Invisalign treatments. Right now, I've got set 11 in. 11 out of 16. I'm pretty happy to be almost there... almost done!

That being said, time to get back to studying. But for now, how's about some music to express how I feel sometimes with these damn braces:



That one's for you, Beeksies. She just loves her some Kanye :)
Chorus sound familiar? See the post below!

Ally

"Through the fire, to the limit, to the wall. For a chance to be with you, I'd gladly risk it all..."

Tomorrow I've got a Chemistry exam and I'm working problems out of my Chemistry For Dummies book. Great stuff in there. As I go along, I feel more confident, but there is still room for improvement. As my Uncle Robert says: "If you think you've mastered a topic, convince yourself you haven't. Then study it more." A little depressing, but it's sound advice. I've still got a long night ahead of me, so I'm listening to motivational music. Now, one might hear motivational music and think along the lines of "Eye of the Tiger" or something else like that. As for me, I am getting my Chemistry on to the sounds of Chaka Kahn's "Through The Fire". I think it sums up how I'll feel this coming week: FINALS WEEK. I pretty much have 3 tests to get through then I can go home! I'm excited...



Now we can all be motivated. We can do it!

Ally

"Step Into Christmas! Let's Join Together! We Can Watch The Snow Fall Forever and Ever..."

Good day today. Plenty of fun and work. A good balance, I should say. The best part of today was going to Barnes and Noble to buy the new Christmas album by The Puppini Sisters:

It's amazing. You probably wouldn't guess their musical genre by just looking at them, but they're actually a big-band-style group. Think music you'd hear at the USO Dance before sending your high school sweetheart overseas. This album is a must-have for those who plan on busting a move on Christmas. The first time I heard them was when their music was featured as a free download on iTunes. It was a big-band version of the song "Walk Like An Egyptian" by The Bangles. I fell in love. Good times.

Speaking of Barnes and Noble...
One day, as we drove into Dallas, Daddy asked to be dropped off at the bookstore while Mommy and I went shopping for things for my dorm room. It was a pretty amazing moment:

Daddy: Just drop me off at Bárnes y Nóble.
Me: Barnes and Noble?
Daddy: Isn't that what I said?
Me: Nooooo. Far from it.

It was a pretty funny moment.

Bet 'cha didn't know I liked big-band music? There are a few things people would be surprised to see on my iTunes. I've got every genre: Classical, Metal, Emo, Rock, Rap, Pop, etc. I'd like to thank my cousins and my parents for my musical tastes. My cousins are responsible for the hours upon hours of Backtreet Boys and Britney Spears on my iTunes. My parents are responsible for the Beatles, Dean Martin, Janis Joplin, and Louis Armstrong. Do you ever think about your parents as teenagers? I'd like to think Mommy was desperately infected with Beatlemania. I credit them for helping me learn English as a child. Mommy was quite influential in my love of the Beatles. Every time we see any stock footage from the 1960s of concerts, I like to point out Mommy in the audience, despite her obvious absence.

Jeez, Mommy. Cool it, will you?
You're making the other fans nervous.

Yeah, I think that's where I get the freak-out-at-Backstreet-Boys-concerts gene from. Hilarious...
Daddy is another story. I can't really imagine him as a teenager. I think he just skipped that time. Like Jesus. 12 to 30 in the turn of a page. Was that blasphemous? Are comparisons blasphemous or are only straight up assertions blasphemous? Meh, it's late. Actually, it's 10:05 on a Saturday and I'm in bed. Not at the dance, not at the party across the street, not with friends, just here. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I like it, actually. I need alone time every now and then. Doesn't everyone? I hope so. I was starting to think it was just only-child syndrome. I'm having writer's block tonight. Nothing too important to write about. If I think of other things, I'll get back to y'all. If not, goodnight :)

Ally