Belarde Vegas Reunion 2008

Alright peoples we want to plan a reunion

May 17 or 18 2008 in Vegas.

Please let me know if you can make it.

LETS MAKE IT HAPPEN

fire update

Here are a couple of pictures that I took on day one. They were taken about 2 hours after the start of the fire. We went to take some more the other night, but the smoke was too think; we couldn't breathe and went back home. We are pretty much in the clear now. The fire has moved into the forest, but is headed for Riverside County, via unaccessable forest land. The air all over Orange County sucks and Derek puts a shirt over his face when we go outside.

To give you an idea of where we are located, here is a link to a burn map. Our house is located on the corner of Trabuco and El Toro (El Toro is highway 18). Just click the map south a little bit and you will see the intersection to find that we are no longer in any danger (fingers crossed... no more wind). You will see a blue teardrop marker, which marks a high school evacuation center. The schools is 4 blocks from our house.

http://www.ocregister.com/article/map-santiago-fire-1902193-orange-county

"Rock Rock, Body Rock"

At the pumpkim patch

Check out Derek at the pumpkin patch running a muck.

Day 1 of he Orange County Fire

When the OC fire broke out, I stopped my car and took this videoo. This is about 12 miles from our house. I will upload photos of later that night. By the next morning, it was burning at the doorstep of the town next to us, Foothill Ranch - 3 miles away. The fire has not come to close to our house, but it is definitely in our backyard. It burned around the Oakley Headquarters last night and I went to watch it at about 2 am last night because I could see the flames as I drove up El Toro Blvd. I wanted to get a feel of how the winds were blowing. Thankfully, the winds have been blowing in our favor, but unfortunately it has devastated some families.

New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge 2007

This weekend, Mark and I participated in the 8th Annual New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge.

The challenge is to visit all of New Jersey's 11 land-based lighthouses. At each lighthouse, you receive a token. At your last lighthouse, you present all your tokens and receive your Challenge souvenir. It was a lot of driving, but fun and informative. It gave us the opportunity of exploring our own state, which we often are too busy to do. After the lighthouse in Absecon, we got our eats on at the Waterfront Buffet in Harrah's Casino. Needless to say, we were all food-comatosed afterwards and went straight to sleep. A good night's sleep and a great continental breakfast at the Fairfield Inn Marriott gave us the energy to complete the rest of the challenge. Maryland and Long Island also sponsors lighthouse challenges during the year. Maybe we'll check those out next time. An awesome trip!



More pix here

Halloween Pics

Halloween is right around the corner...can't wait to see all of the pics (children and adults)!

The Old Neighborhood

One of my good friends' sister just moved to Windson Terrace. I sent her my address so she could take a look at the old place...wonder what it is like over there now. Remember Joe's pizzeria? How about the bakery and the candy store...all of the stores on Prospect Ave. I can't remember some of the names but I can sure remember the stores. Good times!

Speaking of Pencils...

Does anyone remember the pencil eraser that got stuck in Mark's ear??? He told us about it and we kind of just brushed it off. Then a few weeks later, the pediatrician found it. Talk about an ear full!!!

for all you East Coast ocean goers. - JAWS IS ALIVE!!!

JAWS IS ALIVE

....or was alive

RANDOM.......remeber pencil fighting?

Do you guys remember pencil fighting? lol.....What a game.....I"ll take anyone of you mothers on anytime. I got my pinched off ereaser end waiting.

I'm IN !!!!

Hi guys, i finally figured it out. It so great we can keep in touch!! Good idea Nimp!!

Photo Credit on Brooklyn Met Fan

Another photo of mine got credited on Brooklyn Met Fan

It's under October 11, 2007: the picture of Paul Lo Duca.

A previous photo was credited under July 25, 2007: Photo at Home Plate.

So cool!

Vegas Reunion

One of Mark's comments said something aobut a Vegas Reunion next year. What do you guys think?

There's a ghost in our house

Background story: We moved into our house about 4 years ago. 1 year after moving in, Mark and I noticed that something fell from the mantle over our fireplace. It was a mass card that you get at a wake, for a woman who died on that exact date a few years earlier... A woman neither of us knew.... Mind you, we have been living in the house for a year and we had cleaned the house. We were a bit freaked out, but we decided to not be afraid. We said "Hello!" to the lady and put the mass card on our fireplace.

Two nights ago: The remote control disappeared.

Last night: The search for the remote control continues... under the bed, behind the bed, in the sheets, blankets, clothes.. in the other bedroom... Nada!

This morning: Mark wakes me up to say goodbye. When I decide to get up, I sit up in bed and right next to my knee is....the remote control! I thought Mark had found it and put it next to me. I come into work and IM with Mark:

(09:57:48) pinairose: where was the remote?
(09:57:59) MLabajo: I have no clue
(09:58:08) pinairose: where'd you find it?
(09:58:15) MLabajo: I didn't find it
(09:58:19) pinairose: yeah right
(09:58:22) MLabajo: really
(09:58:24) pinairose: it was on my leg this morning
(09:58:30) MLabajo: no way
(09:58:45) pinairose: yes, when i woke up. it was by my knee

So, the 4 year anniversary of us living in our house is this week. Also, this is around the time that the woman died. I will have to find the mass card when I get home.

Maybe we'll call the ghost busters!

something to share from a few months back.

I'm at work and this story came to mind.

I was working out one morning and noticed that one of the guys in the weight room looked like Frank. Not identical, of course, but something about him reminded me of Frank. After a couple of weeks, I ended up spotting him for something. After he thanked me, I introduced myself to him and learned that his name waaaaasss...............Francisco. I'm not sure what I looked like at that momment, but he must have thought that I was gay because I do remember just pausing to stare at him... LOL ...Frank's watching over us in many ways and this is one of them.

PRANGKAY!!

Brooklyn and Derek dancing

I found this video of Derek and Brooklyn dancing at a friend's wedding. Just thought I'd share it.

Kamakaze shirt for my kamakaze manuever

don't try this at home

Complete Potty Training

Hi everyone. We've been trying to get Derek to use his potty training toilet. A part of his trainig is that I leave the door unlocked for him to visit me while I go to the potty (sorry a little graphic). And he gives me praise,"good job daddy", just like we give him. The training is going well and we have just discovered that the training has taken on an new element.

A few days ago, I took Derek to the potty and stepped out for a quick second, when I came back, I watched him grab a magazine and pretend like he was reading, just like daddy. It was so cute that I had to snap this photo. As you can see in the photo, the advertisement with a little dog was his favorite article. Talk about "complete" potty training!

miss you all =D

how's everyone doing?

TRUE CHAMPION

Whenever this guy showed up, "SHOWTIME" was always full of MAGIC.

And just remember who Michael Jordan had to go through to get the throne.

Just send them these...

You don't earn 6 championships from just showing up!

Yo Yo Yo

Yo, Yo, Yo you might have to be from philly, but if you can't get up after watching this then you shouldn't be in the game!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EADM_Ak3GTg

THE Motivational Speaker for Mark's Bball Team

Mark, I just attened a very inspirational seminar with this guy. You will feel like you are going to win the NBA championship after hearing him speak. Good Luck!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KBgA4mIslU

Getting pumped up for the big game!!!!

My basketball team (THE BRIDGE) made the playoffs and I'm trying to get them all pumped up so we can all be on the same page. I sent an email (below) this morning:

How do you get yourself/team pumped up?
Just wanted to get your views on the subject

OK BRIDGE IT'S TIME TO GET DOWN AND DIRTY

THE PLAYOFFS ARE HERE, NEED I SAY MORE!!!!


HARD WORK THIS SUNDAY 10am
TRAIN HARD PLAY HARDER

"Lose Yourself"

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted-One moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime

Joke

My co-worker just told me a good joke. Well I thought it was funny.. hera ya go

"Where do all the girls with tight pants hang out in Brooklyn"???????

!!!!!!!!!!! FLATBUSH !!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheese Puff Taste Test

So, after the Mets threw away any chance of making the Play Offs, I was in need of some comfort food. "Cheese Doodles, Cheese Puffs, Cheesy Poofs!", my head told me.

My friend, Michelle, and I went on a trip to the store (actually two stores) and stocked up on whatever Cheese Puffs we can find.

And the consensus?


Cheese Doodles are soft, but not much flavor.
















Hot Cheese Curls: the hotness creeps up on you!















Cheese Curls: not as soft as Cheez Doodles, but packed with flavor! Thumbs Up!













Oh, and.... Let's Go Giants!