An Update

I realize that it's been awhile since I've posted, but there's not really not too much going on here. We survived the ice storm of the season, but I developed a pretty strong case of cabin fever by the time it was all over. At the first opportunity, Charlotte and I left our house and headed for the movies. Many may think that she's much too young to enjoy going to the movies, but Charlotte is unique. If the movie has music in it, she loves it! So, I took her to see Dreamgirls. All I can say is my daughter has good taste. She took a break from nursing to listen to Effie's song , "And I'm Telling You, I'm Not Going". I guess even the smallest of people have to stop and really listen to that one. Once the scene was over, she quietly went back to eating.

In other interesting news, I stumbled upon a wild animal orphanage in our neighborhood, right next to our church. I was testing a new route when I looked over to my left and saw a beautiful bengal tiger. At first I was a little scared, but then I noticed the tall, sturdy looking fence and was able to fully admire that beautiful animal. Since then, I've driven by several times and spotted a grizzly bear, chimps, and a group of cheetahs. I'd love to volunteer there, but at the very least, I'm going to take the guided tour of the facility. They charge a small fee for the tour, but all of it goes towards the mainenance of the animals.

And finally, last night we were able to spend a few hours with a friend of ours from New York who was here on business. Unfortunately the weather wasn't the greatest, but we were able to show him the highlights of San Antonio, which incidentaly didn't take long at all. We walked by the Alamo, admired the older architecture of downtown, took a stroll on the Riverwalk, and ended the evening by eating at possibly the most famous restaurant in San Antonio, Mi Tierra. The best part of the evening for us though was spending time with Kenny. It was so nice hearing about what is going on with him and his family, and about the church in Manhattan, which I still refer to as "our church". I really miss so many people there!

Well, that's about it. I'll leave you with a picture of Charlotte that was taken yesterday. She was in a stellar mood for most of the day.

Ice Days

We're entering day three of ice lockdown. All schools in the surrounding area are closed, and so are most businesses. Even the branch of Enterprise where Eric works is closed. The news has been covering the ice storm non-stop since Monday, which if you ask me is a bit of overkill. How many times can you warn people to stay home, tell the weather (which stays the same), and then show video of the streets? We get the picture, ok? San Antonio can't handle a bit of winter.

I have to say that I was right about the snow. Despite predictions of snow, it still hasn't snowed. It rarely does, and I'm not sure why that is. The temperature is cold enough, but all we get is rain and sleet. Growing up I always wanted it to snow, and I actually believed the weather man when he said it would snow, but mostly I was disappointed. I've learned my lesson now.

Still, it's been nice having Eric home for a few days during the week. We've stayed indoors and have had fun playing with Charlotte, who is loving it!

MLK Day

I wanted to attend the Martin Luther King Jr. Walk today with Charlotte, but two things kept us from going. First, Charlotte is just getting over a cold - her first. It has been very unpleasant around here for the last week. She has never experienced congestion like that, and it was easy to see how uncomfortable she was. The first night, she was waking up every half hour because she having a hard time breathing through her nose. Rather than keep Eric up with this, I decided to sleep with Charlotte in the guest room, but there was not much sleep to be had. She's finally getting better, although it's all settled in her chest and sounds actually worse. The good part is that she's more herself and is once again having fun playing and rolling around on the floor. She should be crawling soon.

The second thing that kept us from going to the walk this morning is the freakishly cold and wet weather down here. It's in the mid 30's right now, and the temperature is expected to drop to the 20's tonight. They say snow is in our forecast, but I'm not so sure. I grew up hearing plenty of predictions for snow, and only once did we actually see snow.

So, Charlotte and I will stay home today, and stay in our pajamas at that. Should be fun.
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My mom requested that I post more pictures of Charlotte from Christmas at their house. I'd post just about every picture I have of Charlotte if I could, but I've tried to restrain myself. But, since there has been a request, here are 2 more adorable pictures of my completely adorable child.

Our House

I was reminded last night by Jared that I have yet to post any pictures of our new house. I was waiting for things to be more in order, and then I just forgot. Things are pretty much the way they are going to be for a while, but we still have things we need/want to do to the house. So, here it goes.


The front of our house. I can't wait for the trees to grow! (there are 2 trees that I couldn't get in the shot)


The dining room is the first thing you see when you walk in (to the right). It opens up to the kitchen.


A view of our kitchen - I wish I could cook!


Breakfast nook with a door to the outside patio. Eric broke one of the chairs last weekend while installing a fan in the living room. He also hurt himself a bit, but is doing much better now.


Our backyard. It's big and bare, and again, I can't wait for the trees to grow!


Living room. We got the couch for $350 because it has a slight tear on one end. We decided we could live with that.



Upstairs is the master bedroom, which we love. Our bathroom has a beautiful garden tub and window.



There's also a gameroom upstairs, which is handy for storing Charlotte's growing collection of toys. The house also came with a built in tech center, which is where I happily blog away.


Down the hall is Charlotte's room. It's small, but cute.


And here's a shot of the guest bedroom, ready to accept anyone willing to travel down to San Antonio.

That's just about it. Does anyone watch "What You Get for the Money" on HGTV? If you don't, it's a show that travels across the county showing the kind of home a person could afford with the same amount of money. I feel like we lived an episode of that show. What we found is that for less than the cost of a one bedroom apartment in the Bronx, one could own a spacious home in San Antonio. Yipee!

Anniversary

Today marks 3 years since Eric and I got married. I remember it was a very cold day in New York, with a high of only 9 degrees. But, as a friend pointed out, our hearts were full of warmth. We've had a great time as husband and wife, and I couldn't ask to be with a more perfect life partner. He is a wonderful husband and father to Charlotte.

Almost a Millionaire - Twice

My grandmother was cheated out of a multi-million dollar family business long ago. My great-grandfather started a very successful chain of grocery stores in the valley called Valley Mart and left the business to the daughter and son he had with his second wife. My grandmother, and the two other siblings from his first marriage (to Dionides, my namesake) were left out. There is more to the story, but that's general idea.

I also just found out that my family was cheated out of another fortune - this one worth 13 billion. I remember hearing stories about the land my great-grandfather's family use to own in Texas and Mexico, but I had no idea the legal battle that had been going on for 40 years and just what was at stake. In the early 1900's land was being taken from Mexican ranchers, much like land was taken from the Native Americans. One day, some men came to my great-grandfather's property and told him to hand it over to them, threatening to kill his sons if he didn't. There were no papers saying it was his, so he gave the land over to save his family. That land was rich in oil - very rich in oil.

Fast forward to the 1960's. Many Mexican families began legal battles to regain their land and my family was one of them. Our case was taken by a very prominent lawyer named Luther Jones, who was also served as a lawyer for LBJ. When he took our case, my grandfather thought we would surely win. And we did - three times, but the case kept being appealed and Luther Jones seemed to give up - he didn't even bother to show up for the last appeal.

As recently as 10 years ago my dad went to court to sign some paperwork stating who the remaining heirs of the land were. He alone would receive 17 million if the case were reopened and won. But, even if the case were reopened, it would probably be appealed and appealed until some future generation decided to stop fighting it. So, we remain where we are - not poor, not rich, but content and happy with our life. It's not worth getting upset over.

That being said, if there are any lawyers out there who want to look into our case, you're welcome to it! :-)