what will YOU be for Halloween!?

Halloween 2010

Halloween is a mere week away and as I prepare for this year's annual bash (decorating the house, prepping the cemetery, last minute costume details, practice makeup run, etc), I can't help but get excited for the best holiday ever (yes! It's a holiday in my world). I live for Halloween and get so giddy anticipating all the haunting goodness. So what are you going to be for Halloween this year!?

P.S. I'm dressing up as Cleopatra!!

Feliz Cumple, Lourdes

Momma momma, also Lala,
I learned your tricks bien y mala.
Your blood born in Venezuela,
Jerry makes the best arepa.

You always take good care of me,
y mi hermano loco Crossby.
And now we add the number three,
Vennie, Crossby and Andy.

Even though I'm on my own,
with all the love that you have shown,
there's blessings in the noon sun rays,
wishing you the best birthday.

Oh, How I Miss San Diego

One of the many reasons I miss San Diego...

Strangers to the rescue

Despite all of the grim national and international news that dominates today's headlines, it's comforting to know that people, complete strangers, will come to the rescue. Check out the shocking video of a young man trapped under a burning car being rescued by a group of bystanders...it's pretty incredible.

Casey Anthony: Murderer or Victim?

“Justice: the quality of being just…guided by truth, reason and fairness” (Collins English Dictionary). The Casey Anthony trial, a case that has intrigued the nation since 2-year old Caylee Anthony went missing in 2008, came to a close today after a six-week stint in court. After deliberating for less than eleven hours, the seven women and five men jury found Casey Anthony not guilty on first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter. Within minutes of the verdict announcement, my Facebook news feed read as follows:

“Really? Not guilty?”

“Unbelievable! Not guilty.”

“What really happened? No justice for Caylee.”

“It’s nice to know you can still get away with murder in America…”

Now, I didn’t follow the trial very closely, but I am familiar with the evidence: Casey’s chloroform-soaked trunk, Caylee’s skeletal remains found with duct tape attached to her skull, and a web of lies to local law enforcement regarding Caylee’s disappearance and Casey’s whereabouts for a mysterious 31-day period. This evidence and 400-plus more pieces of evidence left the jurors pondering whether the bizarre life Casey Anthony led and the “dysfunctional” family life she lived was just that: bizarre and dysfunctional or murderous?

Based on my background in anthropology and osteology and my little experience with forensic evidence, I’d like to say that I’d find Casey Anthony guilty any day. But the way the United States justice system is set up, you get the prosecution, the defense, 12 jurors and then you trust that the rest will lead to justice. The point is this, unless you’re one of those 12 jurors, you’ll never know what went on behind closed doors, what was going through their heads. Maybe a mom who sympathized and pitied Casey? A daughter who also felt abused and neglected by her family? A father who would do anything for his daughter?

Caylee is still gone but never forgotten, and her murderer is still out there…where is the justice in that?

Win, Place, SHOW!!

In honor of today's Belmont Stakes (I'm rooting for the orange horse #7 Monzon), I just wanted to share with everyone my team's third place win at Geeks Who Drink this week!! Wednesday nights at O'Niell's Irish Pub is trivia night and this Wednesday there were about 14 of us celebrating our friend Corey's birthday (he's the creature on the far left. In case you were curious about the other creature on the far right, that's Tony!). I'd like to say that I contributed to our win, but with title rounds like 'firesongs', 'album titles that could double as porn titles' and 'medieval times', my contribution was minimal, at best!! I did write all the answers down and turn in our sheets, does that count!? Since teams can only be made of up 6 players, were split up into two teams: my team, Happy Birthday, Corey and Ash Wednesday: The Return (many of you know that Arizona is burning and the winds have brought all the smoke and ash into our lovely city. Evenings are the worst!). Ash Wednesday pulled off second place (only because we gave them some of the answers!). You can check out pics of the other teams and read the complete wrap up here. It was a great night filled with many laughs, good food, tasty drinks and useless knowledge!!

PS. my sports bra tan is going to be around FOREVER!

Wear your sunscreen, kids!!

For those of you who know me, I've always been a fan of sun-tanning (laying beachside/poolside in a tiny polka-dot bikini soaking up the sun's rays) and have long appreciated my brown skin (thanks to my black and Venezuelan heritage). As such, I have long believed that I was impervious to sunburns, assuming I am able to produce more melanin which ultimately protects against sunburns. As I reside in the high desert known as Albuquerque (Land of Enchantment to beloved residents like me), the cold and sometimes snow-filled (at least in the eyes of a San Diegan!) winters have contributed to a rather lame basetan. Now, as summer quickly approaches and the hot sun and thin air grace us, I've decided it's the perfect opportunity to get some much needed Vitamin D and color. The result (after 2.5 hrs of gardening) is this:



Don't forget to wear your sunscreen, kids!!