Most of y'all were there, if even for a short time.
But for those of you that weren't, here's some pics from her birthday.
Oh, and if you were wondering why I put the words "FOR EVER" after every mention of her birthday (on the calendar or on the post for 'February's Birthdays') it's because that's what she says-- she ain't dying, she's gonna be around FOR EVER!
Hope you enjoy the pics!
Showing posts with label Gramma Connie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gramma Connie. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monday, November 26, 2007
The Day After
Though the moments with our Family are always memorable.....*cough*...... here are some of the good times I remember from the Friday of Thanksgiving Weekend 2007:
Good times, indeed.
- -Natalie’s boyfriend, Jason, was asked about someone playfully hitting him. All he heard was “…she was about to hit you…” to which Jason replied, “Who? Peggy?” I guess he has a warm relationship with his future mother-in-law. But he laughed too, so it must be all good.
- -We were kicking back on Monica’s patio, and there was a few seconds of silence. Bosco turned to Louie and asked, out of nowhere, “Have you ever been stabbed?” Not “How is your job?” or “What’s the last movie you saw?” I guess we all have our own version of ‘small talk’.
- -When Uncle Vic told us he was going to play his ‘Benny and the Jets’ video (where he performs and lip-syncs the Elton John classic on the piano) at Leah’s wedding, someone asked Leah if she was going to keep the mic away from him. Leah said, “He already told me that my wedding is not about me and my fiancé David.” I wonder if, when Leah said about her wedding “Dad, you’re paying” he thought she said, “Dad, you’re playing” and Uncle Vic started working on his performance.
- -7 months after I left UPS, Gramma Connie says she barely found out this weekend. When I told her I had quit, you should have seen what happened. She pulled a comal and a rolling pin out of her purse and started looking left to right, about to throw down some matriarchal whoop-ass with a look that said, “I brought you into this world…”—and you know the rest. Not quite what happened, but that’s pretty close to it. Call her up and tell her things, y’all. She doesn’t like surprises.
Good times, indeed.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
It's Official: Gramma's Lompoc House for Sale
So the papers have been signed and now Gramma's Lompoc Estate is on the market. In a few days, I'll have a link so people can see the details.
As I said before, Dolly's the Realtor on this one, so if you have questions, give her a call:
Teresa Arellanes
805-252-0347
- 505 North 1st, Lompoc Ca 93436
- Listed at $325,000
As I said before, Dolly's the Realtor on this one, so if you have questions, give her a call:
Teresa Arellanes
805-252-0347
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Danny Takes Care of Gramma
Danny takes care of Gramma Connie. He's already dressing her.
At least, I hope it was Danny. She didn't do that on her own, right?
RIGHT?!
At least, I hope it was Danny. She didn't do that on her own, right?
RIGHT?!
The Cleaners
I heard a few Aunties were going over to Gramma Connie's house to clean up yesterday. Though we continue to fight the stereotypes every day, we have to admit that Mexicans are good at cleaning house.
I'm not sure if they were working, or just having fun. But from the looks of it, I think hazard pay is in order-- either from the many views, or the stress.
At least Gramma looks like she was enjoying herself. And that cup of coffee. And checking her mail....
Here's the few pictures from that day.
Good times, y'all.
I'm not sure if they were working, or just having fun. But from the looks of it, I think hazard pay is in order-- either from the many views, or the stress.
At least Gramma looks like she was enjoying herself. And that cup of coffee. And checking her mail....
Here's the few pictures from that day.
Good times, y'all.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
How Lucky Are We
I was reminded by a comment Salene left in the 'Update on Ronny' post. She said:
"we are the luckiest family i know. very fortunate and protected."
That statement is, pardon the pun, dead-on.
We are truly the most fortunate family I know. There are over 100 of us, and we defy the percentages that say we should have been hit with tragedy at least dozens of times. The population of California, the US, and the world sees heartache more than we do-- by far.
Though we have lost loved ones, they left us with indelible marks of love, respect, and an assurance in their goodness. By whatever means-- Gramma Connie's prayers and God's protection, knowledge to take caution and care, or by pure chance and happenstance-- we have been proven fortunate.
Just in case you needed a story to accompany this, here's a little tidbit on one of us who happens to walk in the shadow of angels...
I'd say we're lucky. And some of us are more luck than others.
"we are the luckiest family i know. very fortunate and protected."
That statement is, pardon the pun, dead-on.
We are truly the most fortunate family I know. There are over 100 of us, and we defy the percentages that say we should have been hit with tragedy at least dozens of times. The population of California, the US, and the world sees heartache more than we do-- by far.
Though we have lost loved ones, they left us with indelible marks of love, respect, and an assurance in their goodness. By whatever means-- Gramma Connie's prayers and God's protection, knowledge to take caution and care, or by pure chance and happenstance-- we have been proven fortunate.
Just in case you needed a story to accompany this, here's a little tidbit on one of us who happens to walk in the shadow of angels...
- Ronny is more lucky than we realize.
- When he was an adult for nary a couple years, he drove to work at 3am from Lompoc to the UPS center in Goleta. One morning, Ronny, tired from the odd hours, dozed off and fell asleep at the wheel. Word is he woke up on a stretcher, after his car overturned, and with Ronny thrown from the car.
- A few years later, when Ronny was working for a tree-trimming company, a bad combination of chain-saws, branches, and height caused him to fall. As his brother Matt tells it, he fell from the tree, onto the roof of the house. And then from the roof of the two-story house onto the ground below.
- As we know, Ronny was stabbed three times in an unprovoked attack just a few weeks ago.
- After all this, he is otherwise healthy. No lost limbs, he walks, and there's not much left besides a few scars to serve as a reminder.
I'd say we're lucky. And some of us are more luck than others.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Business Weekly Spotlight: 501 N First St
This week we have news of a different kind. Previously we have highlighted a family member with a side business or someone who has ventured out on their own to make a living. The news today is about real estate.
The market for real estate has been in a bit of a lull over most of this year. No worries-- this is just thinning the herd. Too many people thought they could make a quick buck off of the surge in real estate values and the number of home sales. A great man once said, "Any idiot can make a dollar in a bull market."
So once this purge has weeded out the weak, there will be good things left for those who did things right.
How does this all figure to our family?
Gramma Connie will be selling her Lompoc property, currently occupied by uncle/brother Paul Hernandez, at 501 N First St (click for map). The listing price will likely be somewhere in the neighborhood of $325,000 to $350,000.
Not a bad price. The hope is that it can stay in the family, with one or more folks teaming up and buying the house as an investment or as a live in. Real Estate partnerships happen all the time, and it makes it easier for people to invest when they can pool their resources.
She's taking offers, so let Gramma Connie know. Better yet, let her Realtor know:
Teresa Arellanes
805-252-0347
tarellanes@century21ahart.com
The market for real estate has been in a bit of a lull over most of this year. No worries-- this is just thinning the herd. Too many people thought they could make a quick buck off of the surge in real estate values and the number of home sales. A great man once said, "Any idiot can make a dollar in a bull market."
So once this purge has weeded out the weak, there will be good things left for those who did things right.
How does this all figure to our family?
Gramma Connie will be selling her Lompoc property, currently occupied by uncle/brother Paul Hernandez, at 501 N First St (click for map). The listing price will likely be somewhere in the neighborhood of $325,000 to $350,000.
Not a bad price. The hope is that it can stay in the family, with one or more folks teaming up and buying the house as an investment or as a live in. Real Estate partnerships happen all the time, and it makes it easier for people to invest when they can pool their resources.
She's taking offers, so let Gramma Connie know. Better yet, let her Realtor know:
Teresa Arellanes
805-252-0347
tarellanes@century21ahart.com
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Exodus
I wrote this a while ago. Every time I think of it, I can't help but think of how great a story it is. I also can't help but think how lucky we are to be here, and how lucky we are to have such a great story as part of our own family history. I call this story, "Exodus". Tell me what you think....
Everyone knows the story of Moses. Not everyone, perhaps. But you get the point-- it's a well known story. There's one story in our own family's history that rings a bell just like that one from the Old Testament.
Gramma Connie comes from a town in Mexico, in the state of Michoacan to be exact. It’s a joke these days for Mexican immigrants, when asked where they are from, to respond "Michigan." Yeah, Michoacan and Michigan are the same name, just in different languages. Anyway, Gramma Connie as she is known to us, is an immigrant.
When she was about 6 years old, I believe, the entire family packed up and moved to the United States. They moved to Santa Paula, where there was lots of farm land, especially in the lemon orchards and the lemon packing warehouses. As far as I know, they lived there for a time, until Gramma Connie was about 10 or 12.
Then one of the older brothers came to pick them up in an old car, and brought them to the place we've all called home for all of our lives: Santa Barbara. Some call it Paradise.
When World War II broke out in Europe and the Pacific, just about every able bodied male between the ages of 18 and 28 was being drafted into service to fight the war. Unfortunately, that included Gramma Connie's older brother. Like most young men of the time, her brother was fully prepared to fight for his adopted country. Our Great-Gramma, however, feared for her son's life. She feared, as do the mothers of all soldiers, that she might outlive one of her own children. She did not want him to go.
Loving and respecting his mother more than his adopted country, he fled. You see, a hero would die for his country, but he'd much rather live for it. That young man, our great-uncle, went back to Mexico to live, and dodged the draft. According to the laws of the US, draft dodging is an offense punishable by prison time. So the man stayed. The war ended. And he stayed. Years went by, and he married, had children, began a career. And he stayed. His family here in the US asked for him to come back. The young man became the man, and he missed his mother and his family here in Paradise. But he stayed.
At the age of 43, not enough to have lived a full life, he was dead. When I heard the story for the first time, it was apparent to me that he died of a broken heart.
Moses was the baby who grew up to become the savior of his people, taking them from the clutches of servitude, through the desert, and into the Promised Land-- the land of milk and honey, and the Jews would call it home. But for all his good intentions, for his faith, for his loyalty and his love for his God and his people, Moses never got to see the land of Israel. Sure, he made it there. But he never got to see it. Because Moses had tapped the rock instead of speaking to it, God was angered and made Moses blind. This happened not long before Moses was to finally reach the Holy Land to see it for the first time-- but for his one transgression, he was never able to see the Paradise he brought others to see.
Just like Moses, Florencio brought Gramma Connie and the rest of the family to a land of promise-- to Santa Barbara, and the promise of the American Dream. But he could not stay here, for though he loved his country enough to die for it, that he disobeyed the laws one time landed him in unfavorable terms with this country. Though he made it here and brought his own people with him, his family, he could never see that promise made real. And he died of a broken heart before being allowed to come back.
It is a story of sadness and heartbreak. It is also a story that too few of our family have heard. We don't acknowledge Florencio and what he did-- that his actions alone made it possible for us to partake in this land of promise, this land of the American Dream. It is our own version of Exodus. One book in a volume of our own great stories.
Everyone knows the story of Moses. Not everyone, perhaps. But you get the point-- it's a well known story. There's one story in our own family's history that rings a bell just like that one from the Old Testament.
Gramma Connie comes from a town in Mexico, in the state of Michoacan to be exact. It’s a joke these days for Mexican immigrants, when asked where they are from, to respond "Michigan." Yeah, Michoacan and Michigan are the same name, just in different languages. Anyway, Gramma Connie as she is known to us, is an immigrant.
When she was about 6 years old, I believe, the entire family packed up and moved to the United States. They moved to Santa Paula, where there was lots of farm land, especially in the lemon orchards and the lemon packing warehouses. As far as I know, they lived there for a time, until Gramma Connie was about 10 or 12.
Then one of the older brothers came to pick them up in an old car, and brought them to the place we've all called home for all of our lives: Santa Barbara. Some call it Paradise.
When World War II broke out in Europe and the Pacific, just about every able bodied male between the ages of 18 and 28 was being drafted into service to fight the war. Unfortunately, that included Gramma Connie's older brother. Like most young men of the time, her brother was fully prepared to fight for his adopted country. Our Great-Gramma, however, feared for her son's life. She feared, as do the mothers of all soldiers, that she might outlive one of her own children. She did not want him to go.
Loving and respecting his mother more than his adopted country, he fled. You see, a hero would die for his country, but he'd much rather live for it. That young man, our great-uncle, went back to Mexico to live, and dodged the draft. According to the laws of the US, draft dodging is an offense punishable by prison time. So the man stayed. The war ended. And he stayed. Years went by, and he married, had children, began a career. And he stayed. His family here in the US asked for him to come back. The young man became the man, and he missed his mother and his family here in Paradise. But he stayed.
At the age of 43, not enough to have lived a full life, he was dead. When I heard the story for the first time, it was apparent to me that he died of a broken heart.
Moses was the baby who grew up to become the savior of his people, taking them from the clutches of servitude, through the desert, and into the Promised Land-- the land of milk and honey, and the Jews would call it home. But for all his good intentions, for his faith, for his loyalty and his love for his God and his people, Moses never got to see the land of Israel. Sure, he made it there. But he never got to see it. Because Moses had tapped the rock instead of speaking to it, God was angered and made Moses blind. This happened not long before Moses was to finally reach the Holy Land to see it for the first time-- but for his one transgression, he was never able to see the Paradise he brought others to see.
Just like Moses, Florencio brought Gramma Connie and the rest of the family to a land of promise-- to Santa Barbara, and the promise of the American Dream. But he could not stay here, for though he loved his country enough to die for it, that he disobeyed the laws one time landed him in unfavorable terms with this country. Though he made it here and brought his own people with him, his family, he could never see that promise made real. And he died of a broken heart before being allowed to come back.
It is a story of sadness and heartbreak. It is also a story that too few of our family have heard. We don't acknowledge Florencio and what he did-- that his actions alone made it possible for us to partake in this land of promise, this land of the American Dream. It is our own version of Exodus. One book in a volume of our own great stories.
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