Gain the World and Lose My Soul

I heard this song and I cannot explain how it has spoken to my heart. Listen and think about it, how great if we all felt like this?

I know, I know. Not everyone is a Catholic, a Christian, a Mormon, a Jew or a Muslim. We don't all believe in a higher being but I don't think it matters. Why does "soul" have to always have a spiritual meaning? We are all human beings, we all have feelings and we should always want to do right by each other - regardless of our belief system.

I remember one day talking to my dad about God. As a bratty teenager, I kept coming up with 100's of "What If" questions. Finally, the conversation ended something like this. My dad said to me, "All right, Laura, so what if there is no God? There is no Heaven? Would it have really hurt you to be nice to everyone, to not lie or steal, to feed people you know are hungry? Huh, hon?"

Med school will be over before we know it and I am pretty sure Residency will pass just as quickly. And then what? Harold and I will have close to $250k in school debt but will still be able to start scratching off our dream list of things we want to buy. Things we will not only need but want. I'm scared of that day as much as I am excited. I'm scared we'll become different people and lose sight of what we know and believe is important. Maybe I'm just not giving myself enough credit. 

I just don't want to gain the world and lose my soul.

Maybe I Am Doing Something Right

Lucia bit Isabella this morning. 

This was what was left along with her spit on Isabella's pjs. Yup. She bit her thru the shirt. Ughhh. I thought we were past this phase. As I sat and held Isabella, listening to both girls cry (one on my lap, the other in time out), I thought... what am I doing wrong? I really couldn't think too long and hard about it because Lucia's time-outs only last 2 min.

Isabella calmed down from crying to sniffles so I called Lucia out of time out. Made her kiss Isabella's side and apologize.

Lucia: I sorry, Bella.

Isabella: It's ok, I forgive you. (sniff, sniff) I always forgive you.

As they hugged it out, I thought... hmmm, maybe I am doing something right.

Even Maya Feels Our Economic Pain

Maya really needed a haircut. I shopped around and found a reasonable place that would take care of all her needs... haircut, nail trim, teeth & ear cleaning. But after much debate over how broke we are (I hate med school!!!), it was decided by Harold that he could take care of it. After all, he hasn't paid for a haircut in 5 years!

So this was the end result - from sheepdog to chihuahua?

Who's the Bigger Criminal?

So Harold and I had the privilege of going out to eat with a friend of his that came in from Dallas. Very smart girl. A lil rude. Kinda racist. In my opinion.

I find it rude to come visit someone and then proceed to say how you understand why no one left for Katrina because N.O. is full of unintelligent people.  Hmmm. Turns out her future-baby-daddy is a vendor and they were in for one of those shows at the convention center. The ones where you can buy knock-off jewelry, clothes, purses, etc. I guess her clients were not very smart and while it may or may not be true, just rude to even mention it.

But this is what got me the most. After making a comment or two about how FEMA money was used lavishly and welfare money misused, she began to tell us about her new job in upstate NY. Basically, she is a lab supervisor that clocks in at 7:30pm. Her immediate boss leaves at 11pm. So they came up with a plan where he will clock her in at 7:30pm but she does NOT need to arrive til 9:30pm. The boss will then leave at that time but she will clock him out at 11pm. Hello???!!!  That's FOUR hrs a day that are being stolen from the hospital!!!

So my question is, who's the bigger criminal? My guess is that this lil stunt costs the hospital approx. $40,000 a year. Lab technologist's get paid well especially if they work evenings. I've applied for welfare before (food stamps, but that'll be another post) and trust me, no one offered me $40k worth of food! 

Smart people can be so stupid. In my opinion.

Birthdays, Parties and Circus... Oh, My!!

So much for keeping up with this new blog of mine.... the past month has been a whirlwind of activities. Following are pic recaps of what the Jimenez's have been up to. Enjoy!

I turned 32 on Sept. 29th!!!
My bday celebration began on Sunday and included breakfast at LeMadeleine's, where Lucia and Isabella had their first taste of coffee. Lucia wanted seconds but not Isabella! In fact, she blocked her mouth with our wooden table weight (J for Jimenez, of course!). By far one of the highlights of my day, it was hilarious!!





A day at the Zoo (putting our membership to work),



a bouquet of flowers from the men in my life (brother Henry and husband Harold), 


a dinner date at Byblos and the most delicious cake EVER!!! Doesn't it look amazing? Have to admit that Harold and I ate half of it all by ourselves, all the girls really did was lick the icing. We just used forks, no plates or napkins needed!




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Isabella turns F-O-U-R!!!!
Seriously, where did the time go? Feels like yesterday was her first bday at our temp-home in Dallas thanks to Katrina. :(  The big day included a make-your-own-pizza dinner, cupcakes and a Leapster. Isabella was in heaven. We sang Happy Birthday but did NOT eat the cupcakes til we got back from dinner. At the time, sounded like a good idea but now thinking back on it maybe it was a lil cruel, huh? Oops! :)

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Birthday x 2!
We had a joint party for the girls this year and it will be hard not to keep this tradition going even if I can already picture the future fights. Isabella's bday party was a lil late and Lucia's a lil early but no one cared. We had a Dalmation party at Gymrompers and I even made the cake (thanks, Amie!). Check out the chip bowls. How cute is that? My Uncle Bill thought it was subconsciously keeping people from eating and decided to kept an eye on what bowl was eaten out of the most. I think the red one won. haha.









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Circus under the Big Top
The circus came in town too so of course we had to attend. I got to meet a clown from Peru (I guess I'm not the only one in the area! haha), we had cotton candy and thought of Aunt Carmen - she LOVES the stuff! Isabella and Lucia were a lil scared by the loud noises so we didn't even think of pushing the elephant ride. Which worked out great since it was $8 a ride!! Those darn clowns! Grrrr. I really wanted to climb on. Maybe next time since I'm pretty sure I could have convinced Lucia to come along. :)