We have a very active social life. This blog post is going to be long and a recollection of activities with our family. The first photo is another box full of winter clothes from Target that my mom sent for the boys. They wear everything she sends because they like the clothes. Thank you Mami.
- Milo organized a movie night on a Monday at 7:30pm to see Five Nights at Freddie's. Some of the parents and Jared were not happy because it was a school night (a Monday); I really don't mind. These are the cute memories they will have when they are older. I am proud of him for having the initiative to make time for friends and social life.
- We went to the Love Loud concert to raise money for the LGBT+ folks. We saw David Archuleta and Imagine Dragon's lead singer performed a primary song edited to be more inclusive. It was pretty nice.
- I had a late birthday Relief Society brunch at Susie Hindley's house.
- Jared kissing me
- Taking Mario and Milo to their dentist. A never ending journey.
- I often go on walks with my French friend Catherine Thorpe. She likes that I work out a lot and she always asks me to keep her engaged in her exercise journey. We went on a rainy walk. I tried to cancel and she was like "We are European, rain is not a big deal for us"
- I volunteered one day to take the photos for the kids participating in Milo's school play Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Milo got a small part: he will be Franklin, one of the kids who didn't get a ticket. He'll also be part of the Oompa Loompa ensemble.
- I went out to celebrate my birthday and two others friends. We went to a Mexican restaurant in 15th and 15th.
- Francisca Ruiz took me out to brunch. Love my Chilenita friend.
- A few photos of me working out and Mario.
I called my mom for Thanksgiving. We both were wearing chunky gold earrings. She looks good for very natural 70 year old woman.
Milo was disappointed with us because we didn't have turkey. Jared bought him a tiny chicken to make for his Thanksgiving dinner. We didn't want to have left overs. I was leaving that same night for my trip to the Dominican Republic. Jared and the boys were going to be traveling a few days after me but to California. I am not into roller coasters and I am kind of done for the moment with Disney and Universal Studios. I took a vacation for myself which is amazing.
I arrived the next day in the Dominican Republic. I stayed with my friend Leslie during the first part of my trip and stayed with my brother during the last part. The first night, I went to see my dad at his place. He lives in Santo Domingo West, in Las Caobas. I brought him some ribs from Puerco Centro which was dry and flavorless. I was annoyed and disappointed.
The same night we went dancing at El Jalao. I invited my dad and other friends too. Papi didn't show up. My brother showed up with his friend Nisser who looks like a brown Schwarzenegger. Nisser is 52 years old. That meat head doesn't age lol. I had a blast dancing and partying with my brother. I don't think I have ever done that with my brother. We are 10 years apart and we have never overlapped in anything until now. After El Jalao closed at 1 am, we went dancing at the Museum of Rum that is open until 3 am. I had a great time and my relationship with my brother Julio is going well.
I went to China Town for the first time! It was exciting and the food was good. I kept drinking Passion Fruit boba tea and who knows what else. The food was awesome. It wasn't very Chinese. Everything tasted with a hint of Dominican seasoning. My dad also didn't show up to our date to China Town and later after seeing the photos wanted to go. I just want to thank my dad's personal assistant Carla for keeping me in the loop with him. She gave me access to his location, so I could show up whenever and wherever.
My dad is a lawyer and he never has time for anything. He cancels on me all the time. I wasn't taking no for an answer. I showed up with my friends. Oh, I forgot to tell you that my bestie Leslie and Schwarzenegger used to date back in the day. Small world. They reconnected, he drove us around for a few days, but it didn't work out. I took my dad to an Italian restaurant called La Locanda. We had risotto, salmon salad, grilled vegetables, an eggplant parmesan, ravioli, and steak.
I was staying in Downtown Santo Domingo and it was so easy to meet old friends. This is Rafael Alberto Basora; I was best friends with his sister. We used to hang out all the time in Apec when I was taking English lessons after school. He is currently the chair of ethics and integrity in government for the Dominican Republic. It was awesome catching up with him.
After that I met Ashanty, which is another of Leslie's friends. We went to another restaurant El Conuco for drinks and appetizers.
We met with my friend Manolo and he took us to see our old elementary school. The first photo was my elementary school, and the second was my Catholic middle school. After that, we went and had lunch with my dad at the mall where he loves to eat at. I didn't care very much for the food there, so afterward we headed to eat Dominican sushi. Sushi with sweet plantains was actually pretty good.
Santo Domingo Oeste (west)
Downtown Santo Domingo
Leslies's birthday is December 2nd.
- Jared called her and play the guitar for her.
- I went to get her some balloons and cake. When I was out having lunch at the Monarch restaurant, I saw this guy. His name is Tony and he is the father of rock, punk, and metal in Dominican Republic. He is the lead singer for Toque Profundo. When I was 13 years old, I was going through a stage where I was "punk" or "metal". My mom was mad; she thought I was into Satanism or some weird thing.
- We had a late birthday party for Leslie. I invited my brother and we had a great time visiting.
- I was excited to wear a club dress. I don't remember the last time I wore something like that. I know that I wear garments, but we were in the Caribbean and it was 95 degrees. My favorite part was to wear that dress with sneakers. It looks great.
Too many candles!
Leslies works for the university. The UASD is the first university on this side of the world. I don't know if that is true but let's go with it. The UASD was my first college. I did three semesters of pre-med before I got married.
We went to see Leslie's dad who is the dean of the school of architecture. Don Sergio's personality reminds me so much to Jared.
I don't ever remember my body looking this good. Here is my thrist trap shot.
This is what I wanted to be doing everyday. I don't really care to be in the city too much. I took Leslie and Manolo to Mie's Beach Club next to my brother's beach apartment. We spent the whole day pretty much eating and talking.
We hung out at his apartment. We went back to the city that night.
I went to a beauty salon. Leslie took me for a walk to Las Praderas park. I honestly didn't know that place existed.
I stayed with my brother and he made me breakfast. My nephew Junior showed up from Florida unannounced. It was an awesome surprise.
Every morning I would wake up and go for a very long walk. It was beautiful and calming. On my way back, I would stop by The Boat House to eat breakfast. They had the best deal for breakfast and the best wifi.
This is my amorcito Junior. He is my first nephew ever! I was 15 years old when he was born. The other photos are of friends that would drive to the apartment to visit with me.
My last night, my dad came to visit me. He came with his assistant Carlita and Carlita's daughter. I love having dinner next to the ocean. I love spending time one on one with my original family. I really miss that. I really wish to have my parents and siblings all together. Just us. No kids, no spouses. Just us. I would love that.
Meanwhile, Jared and the boys were having a blast at Magic Mountain and Universal.
San Francisco
After I got home from Santo Domingo, we took another flight the next day to San Francisco. We stayed at the beautiful Fairmont hotel and I saw a really life size gingerbread house. It was a whimsical trip. We met many people from Jared's job. I played roulette and craps. They gave us 500 dollars to spend and I did!
Jared’s parents come to SLC
Jared's parents came for a work conference and visited with us. We went to eat sushi, went Christmas caroling with the neighbors, and we did an escape room with them. We also had breakfast at Bartolo's.
Sunday's selfie
The boys got haircuts.
We went to a Christmas party at the church.
Adrian Dawes came to clean my yard for the season.
I finally have my Christmas tree up.
