Bittersweet Week

My long weekend started off with a day full of things to do on Friday. I took the day off to run important errans. Of which not all were completed. I woke up early to drop off Gaby at school then headed to Cutler Ridge to get Oreo snipped snipped. Waited for about an hour and watched as the doctors got to working on the doggies. I have been sacred for LIFE! I then headed to the Social Security office to change my last name. Of which I couldn't do. That will have to wait. Then headed home to take a well deserved nap. Of course my lover was home ready for me to drop him off at work. (only slept for about an hour) Dropped him off and headed to BJ's for my shopping spree for the birthday boys BBQ on Sunday. Got the major items, order the finger foods and picked up Gaby from school. Then headed to Walmart to finish my shopping. Ran home before it started to POOR and unloaded sped to Cutler Ridge again to pick up Mr. Oreo. Headed back home and was DEAD tired! PHEW.

On Saturday was Mario's 25th birthday. He was lucky and got out of work early to spend the rest of the afternoon with his girls. We decided to head to my mother in-laws house to spend a couple of hours there. Later in the night we were invited to a bbq at a friends house nearby. The food was delish! Nothing better then burgers, hot dogs, chicken, steak and a convict (who was in jail for 8 hours and learned how to play spades!- my kind of guy ;) So Fabulous.

Sunday rolled around (too quickly) and off to the BBQ we were! I prayed to the Gods above for no rain just sunny skies and nice winds. We got just that, a little sprinkle here but after that the day was gorgeous. I can show you my back to prove my point! I was given the task of being Chef for the day and quite an experience that is! I thought my eyebrows were going to lite on fire, but luckily the wind was my friend. Everyone loved my burgers and hot dogs (which thank God they did) It was my first time being Chef and hosting a BBQ. I give myself an A++ :) My mom, sister and even dad showed up to the festivities. That felt sooo fabulous. Everyone had a great time, Mario was on a GREAT buzz and I got a Lobster sun burn! I will post Videos and Pictures tonight.

Here come the bitter part of my post.....

On Monday night I received a voice mail from my mom telling me to please call her and gave me the worst news. The second voice mail again from my mom telling me my cousin, my uncle's son had passed away. I hung up the phone without hearing the rest of the message, of course no one answered. I called my sister who was with her and I ask her to please tell me what's going on. Turns out my 25- year old cousin had passed away earlier in the day. I will not go into detail about the situation b/c it's very personal and private. I will end this section with the following: When ever you feel down in the dumps don't think no one will hear you out b/c there is always someone around you to listen to you. Even if it's about a hair you found on your chin to your deepest thoughts. Next time you see or talk to someone you love tell them "I'm here for you" Today is the viewing of my cousin, I'm dreading on going b/c it will bring back memories of my brother who passed away 3 years ago. I don't want to relive that but I know it's something I must do and accept even if I don't like it.

Best wishes to you and your loved ones.

money, money, moneyyy

It's been a while since I have updated our crazy blog. Here is a recap of many blessings we have gotten since my last post. I got a new car, from a former bride of ours, we received our tax money (hence the name of the post), I got a brand new camera, and Mario got a brand new I Pod Nano.

For the BIG news we are now thinking of adding to our growing family, not another animal, but a baby. We've noticed Gaby playing alone when she gets home from school or even when we go to the park and especially on our family days. Of course this breaks our hearts and I think after much thought and going back and forth on the idea we finally made up our minds and think it's time for another baby Aleman.

I think this time around we are much more mature, financially ready and mentally prepared. When we first had Gaby we were young, no stable job, no home to call our own. But this time around everything is different and we are both ready for the next step. We are very excited, I think I'm much more excited than Mario.

Confession: I actually picked out the stroller and Crib we liked for the baby! We are still deciding on names. But I think I'm way to ahead of the game for now. Maybe I should get pregnant first then think about the rest.


I hope all the moms had a fabulous Mothers Day. Ours was very very nice. We started the morning with smiles and giggles from Gaby. Then we all got ready and headed to Dolphin Mall to eat at TGI Fridays, then we went to see Made of Honor, followed by a mini shopping spree of 3 pairs of shoes! What more can a mother need or want? Oh yeah maybe a day off?

At last we have Internet and Cable in our home.

The Aleman's
Mario, Brigitte, Gaby, Cookie and Oreo

Yes, I know how silly is this. But we've been going through some rough times and finally are able to connect internet and cable in our home. It only took us about 7 months, but who is counting???

Things are finally coming along with the Aleman clan.

Mario received a promotion in this current job at Interval International, only after 3 months within the company. Gaby is going to school like always and enjoying the days of beating up other kids. And I'm just doing the same old thing, working, working, working. I'm actually doing a side job with a good friend of mine Justine, she is the founder and owner of Fabulous Fetes and Events by Justine Rojas. We work together on coordinating weddings and preparing everything for the day of the event. Things are going great. I need to get my ass to church and thank God for all his good doings for us.

I can finally add more updated pictures of our lives as we live in this crazy world.

Gaby got her first Library Card!

On Easter Weekend we went to the Zoo.

Gaby with daddy.

The new addition to the Aleman Clan- Oreo

After a bit of research on Petfiner.com we wanted to add a new addition to our family. We finally decided to go head and adopt another doggy this time from Friends Forever Rescue. Originally I wanted a Pug but the one I wanted to adopt, Hugsly, had already been adopted, so we decided to go head and adopt another breed.

On Saturday, Mario, Gaby and I went to the PetSmart by The Falls and saw 3 doggies together in one cage. Of course one of the puppies was very calm, sleeping and curled up. The other two were going crazy jumping, crying, barking- the works. Finally, Mario and I spoke about searching for other places that carried Pugs, but I wanted a puppy that day! It took me about 15 minutes to convince Mario about adopting Jack- the calm puppy.

I finally got the "Okay, fine fine this is going to be your Valentine's Day, Birthday, Anniversary, Christmas, New Years gift." Before he could change his mind I filled out the adoption application and got interviewed. Which let me mention I was SUPER nervous, the lady kept asking me questions and looking at my answers. At one point I thought she wasn't going to approve us, finally she said "Okay I don't see anything wrong". Those were the longest 10 minutes of my life! (I think I gave birth to Gaby faster than the time it took to interview us).

Gaby and Oreo
Right after we adopted Oreo- we were shopping for his food!

We went home with our little Jack and noticed we didn't like the name too much. Mario then decided to change his name to Oreo. Which is super cute since our other fur-baby is named Cookie!

The first night with Oreo was super rough, I felt like I had just come home from the hospital with a new baby. Oreo has adjusted very well to his new family and sister. He is very calm, loves to sleep, snoop around and doesn't like to chew on shoes. Which is a major PLUS!

We were told Oreo is a 3 month old mix between a Rat Terrier and a Miniature Pinscher, he is mostly black with white areas around his tiny tiny body.

Oreo's First Ride to his new home

Wedding Pictures

I can't believe it's going to be 3 months since Mario and I got married! It seems like it was yesterday. Last week I finally met up with my fabulous photographer Carmen from Studio by Carmen and saw the pictures with my mom ,dad (who wasn't able to make it to the wedding- health reasons) and Gaby. The pictures made me re-live my day all over again. Carmen and her hubby Favio captured moments that I forgot or I wasn't paying attention to.

In this post I would also like to give a BIG shout out to my good friend who took charge of all the details, from flowers, to linens, the cake, the decor, the center pieces. Ale and her hubby Carlos made everything possible. I don't think I can ever thank them enough for everything they did to make the day happen.

I also want to thank Justine from Fabulous Fetes for helping on the day of the wedding. Justine also made the menus, invitations and RSVP cards for us, which turned out beautifully. We actually became friends on TheKnot, then became gym buddies, now neighbors and finally I'm her second coordinator of her business! I love it! I know she is going to do great in her Wedding and Event Planning business. One word: FABULOUS!

Here are some pictures by Studio by Carmen:

The Aleman's

Est. 11.3.07

*A special shout out to a lovely friend with the big chi chi's, a chubby husband and an ugly doggie! *

HAPPY 2008!!!

I can't believe we are starting a NEW year!

How crazy was 2007? I got married to my high school sweet heart of 10 years, we moved into our new place, and we have made it through A LOT of storms. We only expect great things for 2008. We wish you all the best this year, may many of you have babies, start great jobs, travel to fabulous places, party hard and make tons of memories!

We actually went to Orlando with my mom, dad & our dog Cookie to spend some time with my older sister. It was great to see the kids play, argue, sing, dance and have a ball! It was a quite a trip! Barley making it to Downtown Disney to see the fireworks with only 15 minutes left until the new year! Note to self: Travel alone!

Yesterday- The clan actually went to Dolphin Mall and watched National Treasure (Good Movie) and Gaby got a brand new stroller in a hip new color and bad ass name! Then while taking a stroll in the Marshalls Home goods store we came across the section of picture frames and decor. You will never guess what we found! Not only have I NEVER seen such an item for sale but I had to share our new findings with you all! I must confess I did get super excited and this is the reason why I love pictures, taking pictures, random moments and my camera phone!!!!!!!!! Many of you might have read or have been told about a great story about a cool keyboard that for some reason or another has a sunflower on it.

(Note: I've been checking E-bay and no luck finding a Sunflower image on any keyboard)

Drum roll please..................... my new admiration for A-GIRASOL (A-Sunflower)

My First Post!

Welcome to the cRaZy world of the Aleman's where everyday seems to be an episode of
"Que Pasa U.S.A".

Where Dad: Mario struggles to make it to the top and open his own bar/ pool hall,
Mom: Brigitte works in the legal department for a french engineering firm for 3 years, drives 80 miles a day and tries not to kill her co-worker with his famous sunflower keyboard,
Daughter and Diva: Gaby goes to school to learn the ABC's and the 123's along with getting away with murder from her parents and yet still has the time to look fabulous!
We hope you enjoy our version of "Que Pasa cRaZy Aleman's"
Mom- Brigitte