ten cents

It's pretty much what you want to put in your tank. When I first got my brand new car now whomty back in 2001 I wanted to give it the best that I could. I was making good money at a great job that i regret leaving but that's another story. I would always put the most expensive gas in my vehicle. Unlike others I never gave my car a name. Just called it my sandy colored car. When recession took its toll I couldn't support my cars habit of nice smelling glamours gas. I dealt with it. To this day I feel bad that the car that has made it to Cuernava, Mexico to the states as far as Kansas every other weekend to transporting my moms mother from Mexico to having my little nieces and nephews riding in it, to sometimes taking me to where the road ends hasn't gotten the best.

My car may not be glamours or a fancy expensive car but it was new and bought with my hard earned money.

The other day I was like regular at the gas pump and the regular was blocked off on all the pumps to tell us that they ran out. That's okay I'll try the mid grade. I go and try to pump gas and nothing comes out so I say okay something isn't right. I walk inside and tell the clerk "is there something wrong with the pumps". He responds and tells me that they ran out of regular and mid grade. I look confused and say but you only have regular blocked off. It's then that it clicks in my brain and i say "wait are you telling me that......" he stops me and finishes by saying yes. I realized that both regular and mid grade share the same underground tank and both come out to represent differently. I was in shock. I then put the super premium gas and went on my way but I could not shake the fact that I payed 10 cents cheaper all this time when others pay mid grade and get the same gas as me. People are getting ripped off to expect a certain quality. All this time I felt bad for not treating my whompty sandy colored car when I just saved 10 cents from getting ripped of all these years.

I still could not believe that this was going on. Went back and told heather and my parents. Now I'm telling you. I'm not saying that every gas station does this because that fact is I don't know.
I did witness it happen and just a thought that there has to be more gas stations that do this.

To all the high rollers have you been ripped off?
I for one don't feel that way anymore.

small brick toys

something tells me it's the on off of 75

I've never really thought much about legos. They are popular amongst kids and maybe one or two adults. I remember awhile back Heather was bugging me about getting her some legos. I wondered why she wanted to play with legos. Turns out there was a whole other side of just playing with them. You can connect to make art. It's when I understood her.

I kept seeing these articles about Dallas CityScape in the paper. Legos turned into Dallas Landmarks. I was interested. You see I didn't really care for the lego part but the fact that they were used to replicate buildings in Dallas well that I wanted to see. Time kept flying by and was wondering if we were going to get to check it out.

The exhibit costs five dollars. It benefits the East Dallas Community Schools. It was actually funny to see people walk in with their expensive shopping but were not willing to spend five dollars so they walked right back out.

Old Red Courthouse

They wanted us to play an I Spy Game. An I Spy list contained lego things or legoithians (lego people) through the exhibit. Over two point five million legos are used to make the Dallas CityScape. My favorite was the Half Price Book Store Lego Land. Others are The American Airlines Center and Victory Park, The Nasher Sculpture Center, Union Station, Old Red Courthouse, The Museum of Nature and Science, Dee and Charles Wyly Theater, Trammell Crow Tower, and The Hyatt Regency Hotel and Reunion Tower. I know it sounds like a kids place right, but I think it goes half and half. The kids get to play at the set ups of legos. There is even a toy speedway which Heather and I played and she won. The adults get to enjoy the landmarks.

legoithians

I loved the idea of combining little brick toys into something bigger.
If you get a chance go and swing by see what you make of it. They are very friendly and you even get a toy on the way out. I got a car with a bull on it and Heather got a car with a wolf on it.

If we don't stop every once in a while to enjoy the little things in life they wouldn't exist.

ends September 3, 2012
Galleria Dallas
Level I near Tiffany & Co.
13350 Dallas Parkway
I-635 at North Dallas Tollway
Dallas, TX 75240

ghost tours of dallas

Just in case you didn't already know, I'm going to tell you anyway.

Did you know that the Dallas West End was and is haunted today. Learn about downtown Dallas that you didn't know happened. I love history. History changes and you find yourself thinking this really happened. It was a special treat for me combining history with a haunt. You buy your tickets in advance. They give daily tours. You are lucky if its a small group. The tours are new but the haunts have always been there. I was so excited to know that I didn't have to wait till October (scary season) for something like this.

something happened from one of these windows

Our tour (ghost tours of Dallas) started around 8:00 pm. a total of 15 people. The tour is for all ages willing to believe but I don't recommend it towards the end. We had two young kids and they were racing to get out that our tour guide had to wrap it up. I would like to tell you more about it but then that takes the fun out of having your own experience. I do recommend that you give it a try. There is some walking involved, he takes you down the West End of Downtown Dallas. Where comfortable shoes. Don't worry you won't break a sweat unless you have to run because you saw something.

I was so thrilled about this that we will be going back, soon I hope. We couldn't stop talking about it for days. You will learn and possibly feel something literally touch you. You won't believe that where you are standing bodies are still buried. When they were asked how many ghosts haunt the west end, he said hundreds. There is even talk of a haunted hotel......... who steals the towels? What happened many years ago at the Red Court Museum? You won't believe what you are hearing. You know they always save the best for last.



the basement of the west end

The West End is opened yearly now only for Halloween season. Why? because it is actually haunted. Have you ever been to a haunted house and got the bejebus scared out of you well this place tops it because it's not make believe. Call it lucky or not if by the end of the tour something someone actually touches you. NO JOKE.

We were so intrigued that when it was over Heather and I walked the tour again by ourselves.



what ever you do don't stand by this door.

Take your cameras they encourage it. What will you capture?

There was a time that I could watch scary movies by myself then something happened and I missed out on a lot of haunts. Guess what I'm back. Back to get spooked or carry an extra pair of undies.

I don't know what causes us to get scared of the make believe when that should be the least of our problems. What we should actually be scared about is the real world. The shooting while sitting on the porch, the car accident that left a person in a coma, the wars fought daily for freedom.

So come on it's okay to get a little scared every once in a while it helps our insides want to jump out.

Give ghosttoursofdallas.com a try it will leave you saying "i have got to do this again, don't know if i missed something"



look closely and what do you see? in the court yard of the Red Court Museum.

WE WILL BE GOING BACK. CAN NOT WAIT TO FEEL GOOSEBUMPS.

july grown

I'll be turning a year older this week. Not looking forward to it. I stopped keeping count of how old I am. I really do forget. Went out for a drink Friday night and got IDed. I took it as will I keep looking young.

I am hitting an age where I should actually look old but the first thing that comes to my mind is that the reason that I probably don't is that I haven't been a mom. Mothers always seem to have a look of being older. Well at least the real mothers out there. My biological clock is put away forever now so on to the next step. We have came close to twice having a little one run around the floors of our home but no luck. That doesn't mean we're giving up. As long as there is still an option.  Until then I will continue to show my ID when I ask for a drink.

Birthdays to me have never really been that special. A realization that I'm getting closer to the side of wondering if my knees will crinkle when I get up. Wondering how if any vitamins I should take today. Wondering what amount of respect do I get when I'm in the same room with teenagers. Yes I celebrate the happiness of God giving me another year. The question is how important is it?

As I get older I realize the things like what my first birthday might have been? What I was doing at age fifteen? Did I remember when I hit 21? How my first birthday with Heather was like. That I will never forget. How I managed to reach 30 and let time go by so fast? I love that I'm a Leo. Leo is what helps make me.  All I can think about on the month of July is how my mother must have gone through to have me at the hottest month of the year. Then the week of the big birthday comes and I get happy, I get sad, I get excited, I get depressed.  Then I wonder if I'm the only one that feels this way?

Soon it will come and go and the process starts all over again this time next year. As I get older memories begin to fade. That's when pictures come in place. This week will be filled with surprises and I know I will enjoy them. I will capture memories and go on to the 26th like a regular day.

this is my first shool picture
the years of innocence
the who are they now

This is me Gabriela born on the 25 of a hot month some even years ago.

Some don't get this far and I am grateful that I have.

Keep loving life and the rough edges it brings.

H+G=LOVE

This window holds a piece of evidence that can be erased but hasn't. It has rained but hasn't been washed away. People have passed by it and it's still there. Now that I'm going to reveal the secret it probably will disappear. Eventually it will.

On March 13, 2012 we went to see the exhibit at the Dallas Holocaust Museum "Every Child Has A Name". This place is a sad reminder of what happened. It is also a learning center to teach us what we may not know. If you have a heart you will leave the museum with sadness and wonder how could this have happened for so many years? We've been here before but on this particular visit we did something out of the norm. We started walking when we spotted a window across the street and went to it. We noticed people had left a smear mark on the glass so we decided to do the same. Heather initialled our letters on the glass.

How many of you have left your fingerprints or tag on something? We tend to do it when we are younger. When we are crazy in love. When you grow older you stop doing things like this. Why? Is it because you fell out of love? Is it because you still love but have been loved for a long time? You think well maybe it's childish or silly. Why, because you are older? Heather and I tend to do things out of the norm. When we do things like this it makes us feel young and in love. We've been together for over ten years now and little things like this is what keeps us in love. I love her today even more than before. We met in the summer of 2001 and have never looked back.

We passed by this window this past Saturday to see if  our initials were still there, they were. It's been there almost four months. I glanced over at her and said, how long do you think it will stay there? she replied, i don't know? We both had this stupidly smile on our face. I took a picture so if it ever did come off the window we'll have that reminder of when it was there.
Have you ever left your mark? Do you remember what you were doing? If not try and pick a spot who knows what story will come from it or how it came about.

In actuality we don't need to put our initials anywhere to prove how much we love each other. I just love the little things that set us apart from knowing that she was the one for me.

  

postcards

Yesterday we had what we call a free Saturday. Free Saturday- a day that we don't have to be anywhere in the day time so we look up the paper and see where the estate sales are happening. As you guys know we love to search for treasures. We found quite a few treasures but the ones I love the most are the ones that have a story.
On our third house we came upon a guy that was selling three boxes of postcards. I love the ones that actually have writing on them. He was selling them cheap so we decided to take a box to a corner and go through it. Picture the boxes the size of shoe boxes filled end to end with post cards some blank and some with a note. We were going to go through all the boxes but gave up on just that first one. It took us quite a while but we came home with a few. Some dated back far as 1906 to 1970.

visiting china town san francisco 1949

People rarely write postcards anymore. They just send a text or a picture message. I don't know about you but a letter I felt always cheers anyone up. I love history and what was before today's time. So postcards are always a good find. My favorite is what seems to be a marriage license. How did this pieces of treasure slip out of someones hand and is now in a shoe box? Some are Christmas postcards, some Easter. How many of you even get a Christmas letter in the mail?
Writing letters in the mail are becoming a thing of the past. One postcard was even in keyboard type. I still remember when I was a kid I in the summer would write letters to friends on a typewriter. Brings back memories. When I lived in Kansas for awhile my sisters would write me letters and that was always something to look forward to.

christmas postcard

When was the last time you wrote a note?
Will someone remember you in handwriting?
Postcards what are they?

the fourth

I missed the Irving parade this year.They have the best patriotic Fourth of July parade in the area. Remember I work in a crazy place so I will have to work on certain holidays. Since I missed the parade heather decided that we go see some fireworks to make up for it. In actuality people always say it's just safe to stay home they might be right but it's only once a year that America celebrates her birthday, so why not see fireworks.
She googled and came up with hearing the symphony play some sounds at Fair Park. It was no ordinary symphony but the Grammy nominated Dallas Wind Symphony. The plus was watching the firecrackers over the Cotton Bowl. We arrived in time to grab a blanket and sit to hear the music. There were so many people. To start they played the Star Spangled Banner. Every time I hear this song be it at a game, at a graduation I always tear up. It's an emotional song. I wasn't able to be in the military but had I, I would have chosen the army.
As the people passed by us while the symphony was playing I began to look (I'm a people watcher) I noticed all the different ethnic people there. I was wondering were they there for the fire in the sky show or because they were also glad to be celebrating America's birthday? I just kept thinking WOW. How so many different countries are now in America? So many people want to be here in this land of the free. I don't blame them. It's a great country. We may not like each other as people but we come together in need.

As the last score played they wanted for our military people to stand. When they reached to the air force one man in a wheel chair stood up with the help of a man sitting next to him and that was what I meant when I said we come together.
We walked over to see the fountain dance to the rhythm of music waiting for the fireworks.
As the fireworks went off over the Cotton Bowl one song played "Proud To Be An American" we can only be so lucky. All eyes were on the sky. All ages some for the first time. How this could have felt for a refugee new to America made us feel so proud to have such a great country to be envied.

Think about the people that must wonder what it's like to see the red white and blue fires in the sky.