Trick or Treatin'

Trick or treat! Last year we didn't take Mateo out for Halloween.  He wouldn't have known what was going on yet, and he surely didn't need to candy.  Fast forward one year and he needs candy even less, but knew the object of the game was to get as much candy as possible in his bucket.  A couple houses had bowls of candy sitting out on the porch and instead of taking one he took a handful [or two].
Definitely something I would've done/did do as a kid.

It took him several houses to warm up, but he got the hang of it and was marching up on porches all by himself.

Unfortunately he would not keep the hood up in his monkey suit.  Oh, you couldn't tell he was a monkey?  No one else could either.  To his credit, it was quite warm out and he was working up a sweat in that thing Im sure.
He wasn't into saying "trick or treat," but he was quick to say "gracias" to everyone.  So cute.

There was a group of 12 of us.  Mateo's neighbor friend Gavin was in a vintage clown outfit.  I wish I had better/non blurry pics of these little guys in their costumes, but they were moving too fast for my iphone 4s.  (Neto is getting the new iphone next week, which has a better camera yeah!)

We walked around Cabbagetown (right next to Grant Park) and the houses are pretty close together.  There were a lot of other people out and hardly any cars driving on the streets. 

I didn't dress up.  I know. Lame.  Like every year, I thought of some good costumes right before needing one.  Next year I will get it together I swear.  I didn't like Ernesto's mask.  It is a redneck clown, right?  I did make me [and others] laugh though and that is always good.  

Halloween morning Ernesto introduced the redneck clown to Mateo.  Good stuff.

Candy basket has been hidden and luckily Mateo hasn't missed it.  Ernesto, Brrrian and I have picked out all the good stuff.  Mateo has been extra CRAZY the last few days.  Can a couple chocolate bars be the culprit?  I don't really think so, but dont want to chance it.  

Weekend Pumpkin Patch Trip!

Happy Monday! What did you guys do this weekend?  Ernesto and I took Mateo to the Zoo Saturday morning.  (Marcelo went too, but he slept the whole time in the baby carrier)  There was a 'new member' party, complete with a DJ, coffee and donuts and FREE TRAIN RIDES! Oh my!

Ernesto went golfing later so by the time the kids were in bed (7:30p) I had to get out of the house.
A quick trip to TJMaxx and Whole Foods was just enough.

Sunday we made our weekly stroll to the Grant Park Farmer Market.  I can't go without my apricot & ginger scone from The Little Tart Bakeshop!!  We made a quick stop at the playground so Mateo could wear himself out and by noon we set out for our little day trip to Burt's Pumpkin Patch Farm in Dawsonville, GA.   Although it is 1.5 hours away, it was worth it.  Both boys passed out 10 minutes into the trip, so it was a relaxing ride for all of us.

We learned about Burt's on Good Day Atlanta, but had no idea how huge a deal this place was.

Last year we stayed "in town" for pumpkins at  Brookhaven Christian Church.  They had a nice selection and I surprised myself by wanting so many pumpkins.  This year was no different, in fact, it was worse.  Once I saw all of the beautiful pumpkins, I wanted them all. With all the colors, shapes and sizes I was having a hard time deciding.

I especially liked the gray/robin's egg blue and bright bright orange pumpkins.

But what really gets me are the little ones...so cute!

This guy was overwhelmed too.  With all the people and pumpkins, it took him a while to even get out of the stroller.

With a selection this big, and pumpkins this big, it's best to grab one of the many wheelbarrows  on the grounds.

Wheelbarrows and tractors, this little mexi-can had a good time.

Next up!  The hay-ride...this is what we traveled 90 miles to do!  Adults $5 and kids $4, it was a 20 minute ride and the line was long, but moved fast.  They had one tractor ride after another.

The ride went through the actual pumpkin patch, which was pretty cool, but then there were some cheese-ball decorations for the kids.  Mateo was pretty quiet and mesmerized by the tractor. 

 My little pumpkin stayed behind with papi.

Sure!  We will sit on your haystacks and give you some publicity too.  Why not?

In the end, Ernesto put a limit on the pumpkins, which was probably a good idea.  The more I looked the more I thought "I think this one looks better."  We drove away with these:

...and I can't wait to carve the two bigger ones!

Burt's Farm is just 1/4 mile down the road from Amicalola Falls State Park.  As the name implies, there is a waterfall in the park.  Brrrian, Neto and I went hiking there back in 2010, and it is beautiful.
Yesterday though, we weren't planning on a hike.  Still, we pushed the stroller as far as the trail goes and the steep stairs start.  (so glad we have a BOB)

Ernesto and Mateo continued on up to the viewing deck while I waited with Marcelo.  We snapped this shot at the bottom.

We will have to plan another trip to this park.  This time with hiking shoes instead of flip flops.  I noticed they even have cabins you can rent at the top of the falls.  Another NewYears Eve in the mountains sounds good!

Every day is Halloween!

Halloween is such a fun holiday. It seems I am never fully prepared for it though. This year I tried harder to plan out a costume. Back in July when we were in San Diego, I found a pink fringe dress at H & M on clearance for $7. Yes! This is an easy flapper costume for Halloween I thought.
When it came time for the Critical Mass Halloween ride, it was a little chilly and I didn't feel like wearing a short fringe dress on a bike, so I did the face paint and that was fun.

Little 5 Points has a big Halloween parade every year, (one week early this year) and OOH the people watching!  There were a lot of costumes on the sidelines and I was wishing I had worn my flapper dress that day to the festivities.  As you can see the sidewalks were jammed with people waiting for the parade to come by.

Here are some of the other pics I took.  This is not your "normal" parade and if you've ever been to Little 5 Points you would expect nothing less.  Perfect example right here:

This is my favorite picture:

These cartoon character costumes made out of cardboard were really cool too.

Always interesting in Little 5.

On Halloween night we wanted to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters.  It was a beautiful Fall day and we had gone on a little walk  in the woods [at Kennesaw Mountain] with Lucy and Sean, and decided to cookout at their house and wait for the rush of kids. 

Lucy bought her beautiful dog a bumble bee outfit and although she looked adorable I couldn't help but think the dog felt like she was wearing a dunce cap.  It was something I saw in her eyes.  You're not dumb little Aphi, as a matter of fact you are one of the smartest, most well behaved dogs I have met.  Not to mention the shiniest.

We were prepared with 5 lbs of candy.  I am sorry to say that the expected rush of trick-or-treaters never came and we were left with many pounds of left over candy.   (None of which I brought home with me)   We did see some cute kids in costume and no one was more excited than Lucy.  She jumped out of her chair whenever she heard little voices coming.

Lucy said she was going to be Princess Lea, and then bailed.  Ernesto and I thought it would be fun to dress up too. Really I just wanted to wear the awesome dress that I bought at Goodwill on Saturday.  It reminds me of a Mexican Katrina and it goes perfectly with the paper mache mask that Ernesto made and wore last year. 

Isn't it awesome? I keep thinking about when and where I will wear it!  $9!! LOVE.

Im not sure what Ernesto's mask is supposed to be, but he got it just so he could scare the kids.  He had a great plan to sit on the front porch very very still with the bowl, of candy.  Then when the kids come close he would scare them. 

Unfortunately he sat there for 15 minutes and no more kids came to the door.   Great idea though mi amor!  He had another great one too, he brought one of his Bliss Lights and pointed it on the house and tree.  Isn't that cool how one spotlight can cover so much space?  We had the coolest spot on the street. You can get one of these lights, just call us or go to the Christmas Light Pros

This is Halloween related and I just had to share.

My bother Bill and his wife Barbie went to a Halloween party and took "Cat Poop Cookies"
Take a look at how these no-bake cookies are served...on a bed of Grape Nuts  This is genius!

Cat Poop Cookie Recipe
Ingredients :
1 3/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
3 cups quick-cooking oats (Grind so Powder like)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in peanut butter, oats, and vanilla. Let cool a little.

Put in Ziploc bag. Cut end so you can squeeze "poop" onto wax paper- put in freezer to solidify.
Drop into a bed of Grapenuts and use a brand new kitty litter scooper.

Fit Fridays: Critical Mass Halloween Ride

It was just last month that I learned about the monthly Critical Mass bike rides. There were a couple hundred people on that ride and I thought it was so fun! Riding in such a large group and stopping traffic on busy Atlanta streets was so cool. On last Fridays' Critical Mass, over 430 people showed up for the Halloween ride and most of them were wearing costumes.

Smita had already had her costume on from work that day (iphone app: plants vs zombies) and Ernesto and I painted our faces like Day of the Dead.

It turned out being a very frustrating evening as I got separated from the group and ended up riding the busy Atlanta streets on my own (wearing all black no less).  How did I get separated from a group of 400 people you ask? No, Im not a slow rider!  I had to stop and try to coordinate [by phone] with two other lost riders (Grrrrr....Smitter and Nester!) and by the time I did that, the riders were out of site. 

I still probably rode around 10 miles that night, but the group went 20 and I.....Ugh!  I don't want to talk about it anymore.

Here are a few pics at the begining of the ride.  Happier times.

After the ride we ended up hanging out and the Elmyr in Little 5 for a little bit.  Everyone [but me] was tired from the long ride... grrrrr...

Oh well, lesson learned:  Don't use a cell phone or worry about lost people when you are riding your bike.

PS. FIT FRIDAYS was not posted the last week, but you didn't miss much.  Only I did. There were a few short runs over the last couple weeks. One Crossfit.  So Sad!

Last year at this time [xmas lighting season] I didn't workout much, because Ernesto didn't workout at all.  This is why I will be trying the 60 day challenge of INSANITY on my own.  My neice, sister, brother and sis-in-law are doing it and although I prefer to work out outside, this should fit into my schedule and there is no weather barriers to consider. 
I am starting this on Monday Nov1, along with no sweets [til Thanksgiving] and trying to drink a gallon of water every day!  Somethin' different!

Día de los Muertos

Día de los Muertos (or Day of the Dead) is an annual holiday in Mexico celebrated on November 1st and 2d. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It celebrates the dead with joy and humor rather than mourning. It coincides with the Catholic All Saints Day. Family graves are cleaned and decorated, and home altars are embellished with offerings like candles, photos, foods, flowers. Special holiday breads and sugar skulls are baked, and charmingly colorful folk-art skeletons engaged in a variety of activities.

I still have not been able to experience this tradition while in Mexico, and who knows when I would be able to since this time of year is prime time for The Christmas Light Pros

We saw the Day of the Dead stuff everywhere in Mexico. The Skeletons that are dressed up [fancy] were so cool. Ernesto were on the hunt to bring one home with us. However, the best one we saw would have been a little hard to transport. It was made of paper and stood about 4ft tall. Usually the males are wearing a tux and the women have fancy dresses. This particular one wore a blue dress, feather boa, and huge hat. Ernesto was really inspired by these katrinas, as they are called in Mexico, so he decided to make his own mask and wear it for Halloween. I was so impressed by his creativity. I always knew he was good at drawing, but he just doesn't do it very often. He started a few weeks ago with a balloon. He did paper mache over it, and then painted a traditional design on it. So cool!

When he put on the mask, along with the tux [I bought him at a consignment shop] it was one of the best costumes I have ever seen. Here he is standing with Cleopatra.

Smita gets great outfits every year; she loves Halloween. She takes time to think of what she wants to be, and I like to not think too much about it. That is why I wore her Cleopatra outfit from last year. She was a geisha this year and her outfit was great. In addition to the kimono and face paint, she added the accessories, which really made it authentic. (sandals with socks, paper umbrella, and fan.

We were invited to a party Friday night and it was so fun. There was a DJ outside and we danced the whole night. It felt exciting to dance with this new mysterious man.

Halloween and a Hike!

It was more out of laziness than lack of creativity. The longer I waited the more I was locked in to being......A BEE for halloween. I kept saying I didnt want to be a bee, but the other girls..... Worker Bee, Bat Bee, Queen Bee, Bling Bling Bee (thats me) and Cheerleader Bee? We all had our wings on, and I have to say we turned out quite cute, don't you think?

Here we are all around the flower. Here the Arabs wanted a pic with the American Girls, and the American running mates McCain and Palin

Here a closer pic of our gosh-darn couple. Lauren was a great Palin, she had all the lingo and the SNL skits down.Che was there too

Saturday I slept in until 10 am...WOW! But really for me, that is very late! I know you are sick of my Saturday story....Pavas market for pupusas, internet cafe, and gelato. Sorry but this is what I do on weekends that I stay in the city. One day was enough though, and by Sunday I wanted to do somethin' different. Kate was going to Cataratas Toro Amarillo (yellow bull) with her friend Laura so Maureen, Lauren, and I tagged along. What we thought was a 40 minute drive out of San Jose turned out to be 2.5 HOURS. It was an ugly day, but in the mountain it was rainy and foggy. We even debated doing the hike because it was so ugly out. Rain, rain go away! Luckily we all had rain ponchos...........The waterfall is 400 feet high. It takes 510 stairs to get to the bottom. It sounds like a lot, but took us less than 3 minutes. It was still raining and I had to pull out my camera really quickly to avoid it getting wet...but you can still see the drops on the lense.It was a good test for my Gortex hiking shoes. They did really well (The North Face. TJMaxx of course) Here you can see really how foggy it was. Lauren was enjoying all the humming birds flying around ...notice the one so close to her head.

Even though the weather was so shitty, it was a nice little hike, and we got to warm up in a little roadside restaurant where we ate chorreadas (corn pancakes) and gallo pinto, sweet plantains, and coffee!