Halloweenie

Another fabulous time was had by all at Bianca & Jay's 4th Annual Halloween Party this past Saturday night. The costumes get more creative with every party. This year, there was a contest and hostess Bianca took the grand prize. She always has an awesome costume, while I, on the other hand, tend to go with something requiring little thought and effort.


Napoleon Dynamite & Pedro

If Joey and William had only found someone to play Kip, Lafawnduh, Deb, Uncle Rico and Summer, we would have had the whole cast! There was another Napoleon at the party who had the reddish wig, but he didn't have Joey's boots.


Princess Gabrielle


Amish John and Mentally Challenged Batman

Yes, John's costume is a recycle from year 1 of Bianca's party. Someone asked if he was supposed to be Amish or Jewish. Hmmmm.... a costume idea for next year using the same outfit!!!


Madonna and Devilish T


George Michael takes on Mr. T

Dave always comes in the best costumes! He even changed back into his Rick James costume from last year during the party! Make sure you check out the Moreno Family Site for more pictures from the party. Bianca also has an album set up too!

The Flip Cup table was super busy, the jello shots extra yummy and the Soul Train line had us all laughing till our guts hurt. Thanks, Bianca and Jay, for another awesome evening!

Woo Hoo, Chumados!

A true Chumado! Someone pass Bianca a mug!

The Chumados had their second playoff game tonight at 6:15 PM and lost to the Strays. Had they won, they would have played a second game later on at 8:15. It was another awesome season though. The team has gotten so much better than years past and hopefully, next spring, they'll go all the way!

My new job has gotten in the way of my blogging, so I apologize for the lack of updates. Actually, it's been a busy week with birthday celebrations and such. Monday was Michelle's birthday. Joey and William hosted a little dinner in her honor. Make sure you wish her a Happy Belated if you see her... she's celebrating her birthday through the end of this week, if not into next week too!


Michelle loves ice cream cake!

Wednesday, we celebrated my mom's 75th at Bonefish Grill in Gaithersburg. It was quite yummy! My parents' 2 guests from Thailand are going back Saturday, so hopefully things will slow down a little next week.

Saturday, John and I are headed out to Bianca & Jay's 4th annual Halloween Party. I pretty much have my costume done. John is still throwing around a couple ideas. I expect to see a few Napoleon Dynamite characters there. If you haven't seen this movie, give it a chance. It really does grow on you! I first heard about Napoleon from Bianca and Jay last year when we were at Jackie's in Silver Spring. They were all reciting lines from the movie and laughing hysterically. Lines from the movie have become a regular part of our conversations and everyone has their favorite scenes/characters. We need to find Freddy a Lafawnduh of his own.

So, Happy Friday, everyone and check back for pictures of the Halloween Party!

Finally, some SUN!

What a miserable, cold, rainy week it was! OK... maybe it didn't rain everyday, but it seemed like it.

John made some flight and hotel reservations for us to go to Vegas for the upcoming holiday weekend. William, Freddy, Jake and Lena will be going too. Irene and Sal will be joining us from CA. I'm really looking forward to it! The guys have gone to Vegas for various birthday celebrations (Robert's 50th, someone's 40th...) and have always come back with great stories. It will be a short trip (leaving Thursday night and coming back on a Saturday night red-eye) but hopefully we'll pack in all kinds of fun and adventure.

Last Thursday, the Chumados won their first fall season playoff game against "Mamma Lucia" and will face the "Strays" next week. The Strays won their first playoff game 29-2. The Chumados beat the Strays (their only loss of the season, I think) in the final regular season game, so this should be a really good one!

Saturday night was a big surprise birthday party for Alison at Matt and Alison's home in DC. See, M&A host an annual Pumpkin Carving Contest/Party every year and Alison sent out invites for a Sunday evening event. Matt decided to turn it into a surprise party for Alison on Saturday night and sent e-mails to everyone telling them to go ahead and respond YES to the pumpkin party but come to their house by 6:30 on Saturday night. Alison was definitely surprised to find folks in her house when she and Matt came home from the movies. A good time was had by all, although we did our normal non-mingling thing. Not that we didn't mingle at all when we go to a party where we don't know everyne... just that we mostly chatted amongst ourselves and caught up with one another. We haven't really been hanging out as much with John and I having all the family and wedding things to do these past few weeks.

My final ranting thought of the weekend is, "Why didn't my parents buy a minivan???" A few years ago, my folks were in the market for a new car and bought a really nice Toyota Camry ("LEM"). My aunt and I strongly suggested they buy a mini van, as whenever they have guests in town, they can't all go together. They either cram someone in the way-back of my Rodeo (not a good place to be) or have multiple vehicles going to their destination. This was OK when it was just my parents, my aunt, and an out-of-town visitor or two. But now, they've got multiple visitors in the house (two from Thailand and another aunt) for 3 weeks or so. This takes the normal Dallas Avenue household count up to 6 and LEM only holds 5 adults. When they all want to go somewhere together, someone else (namely ME!) has to play chauffer to the ones who can't fit into LEM, as my mom and aunt don't drive much anymore and never on a highway.

Somehow, my parents always insist on going places that are way out in Gaithersburg or beyond. Can't they eat in Silver Spring or Bethesda??? Don't get me wrong, these places serve delicious food, but there are all kinds of yummy places near their house! When we do something during the week with my family, I have my hour drive home from work, then we have to go from Laurel to SS (30 minutes, depending on traffic) to pick up some people and then another 45 minutes or so to the restaurant. So you wonder why I'm bit cranky by the time we're at the restaurant after being in a car/traffic for two and a half hours.

Last week, they all went up to Atlantic City and rented a minivan. Hmmm.... wouldn't it have been convenient if my parents had their own minivan all along???

Happy Birthday, William!

Who you callin' "Stom"????

If you see William on the street today, wish him a very happy 43rd!

Wedding Part IV

Dad & Mom, Mike, Jim, Ann, Diane, Mom Becky

I swear this is the last "official" wedding celebration! Do you think four is a little over the top? It's like my never-ending birthday from 2004.

October 16th, 4:00 PM, Thai Farm Restaurant in Rockville, Maryland. It was cool to see friends of my parents whom I hadn't seen in years. And they had a blast, so I'm glad. I think all our friends enjoyed the ceremony (something different, anyway). I was sad I couldn't invite all the folks I wanted.

I don't have a lot to comment on the day except that I'm really glad we did it. Eloping was the sweetest day, our impromptu wedding officiated by Father/Rabbi Freddy was fun, the picnic was awesome... this was just like a big sigh of contentment. And relief everything went smoothly - all thanks to my family and the folks at the restaurant. I was surprised they closed down the whole place for us. It's cool to have an "in" with the owners!

My dress was handmade in Thailand of silk. My aunt sent my measurements and a sample fitted shirt to her friend, who took it to a tailor. Surprisingly, the skirt was a little loose, given that my aunt had taken off an inch or two in the skirt measurements and told me to lose a few pounds in 2 months. The jacket was a good fit too, but the back was a bit balloony, so my aunt took it in. She's so talented!

So, I leave you with some pics... unfortunately, I don't have one of the cake right now, but I can update later. My cousin did the best she could with my camera. Thanks, Kara!!!


Jules, Kara and Geneva


Aurora and Wirajit


Ackra and Heather


Marge, George, Jeanne and Rod





Ron & Karen


The Dowerys and the Mitchells


Fred "G"


High Point Crew


Melissa, Rex, Kelly and Gwen


Beautiful Centerpiece


Fancy, huh?

This One's for the Queen

The QUEEN of Pittsburgh got on my case last week for not keeping my blog updated as often as before. My new job (actually, the commute) wipes me out! When I get home, I eat dinner, maybe watch a little TV or write out some Thank You notes for wedding gifts and by 9:00 pm, I'm dead to the world!

Actually, I don't feel so bad 'cuz the folks I read daily haven't kept theirs updated as often either (ahem... Crusher, bjciii and Moreno Bee! hee hee).


Hey, DJ... play my song!

So, this past weekend, Robert & Pokey had their annual album party. I believe this was the 5th one. In the prior 2 years, this party was held in August, and somehow on the hottest day of the year. This year, it was the rainiest day of the year, but a good time was had by all. It seemed as though more folks brought albums than last year. Nate, John, Roger, MP, Marie, William and Freddy took control of the turntable. And of course, Pokey cooked up a storm with her famous potatoes and Robert grilled up every kind of meat you could want. YUM! Thanks for having us over, Robert & Pokes!


Freddy, William, Mariana, Kevin, Pokes on the Soul Train line

OK... yes, I know this picture looks like it was through the eyes of someone who was ruffied. The camera on my phone doesn't do so great in low light and I forgot to bring my digital (NUTS!). But this is kinda cool in an abstract way, isn't it?

Sunday, John put up a new microwave over the stove. That freed up lots of space on the countertop! It's a really nice one too... all kinds of features and a little more powerful than the other one. Although the old microwave was pretty cool 'cuz it was also a toaster oven and broiler. They don't make 'em like that anymore!

We watched a bit of the Redskins game over at Williams. I promptly fell asleep after eating a couple wings and slices of Ledo's pizza, which was our queue to head home. I've been craving pizza and pasta lately. NO... it's not what you're thinking!!! PMS, my friends. So, THANKS, William, for the yummy grub!

Well, hope everyone has a good week and I'm hoping to be able to blog again before the week is out. Holla!

Back to Work

I completed one week at my new job and am on my second one, but this week in a new location another 20 minutes further in my commute. John and I contemplated getting a vehicle that wasn't as much a gas guzzler as the Jackass, but we'd be trading gas for another car payment, so we'll just have to wait and see how things go.

A former co-worker started today too. It's nice to be working with familiar folks. I hear things are not going so well at my old company -- lots of people (150-200) are due to get the axe and managers are taking pay cuts. I hope some of my former co-workers are saved from the mass firings and such. I am almost not surprised the company has hit hard times. It seemed to me they tried to expand into territories where my new company has a strong presence, but they didn't do anything to get the amount of business required to make a difference. All I know is I'm excited to be working again and hopefully getting my first paycheck in over 4 months this Friday.

So... not much going on since the big GO7 party. Wednesday, we celebrated Val's birthday at Maggiano's (YUM!). This past weekend, John and I were in southern MD. John and his brother took Friday off to have a new furnace installed down there and also to take care of miscellaneous household things. Sadly, we missed the Maryland-Virgina game (GO TERPS!), a party at Nate and Linda's in honor of John, Heather and baby Kaelan who were visiting from Colorado, and a football party at Freddy's where the goal was to cook up and eat all the leftover meat from the GO7 party (not enough people showed up to make a dent in getting rid of the food, apparently).

That's all the news I've got. Hope everyone has a good week and keep in touch!