Robert's Blog

Archive Page 3

Dec

Goodbye to 2008

Categories: General

December 29, 2008 8:43 PM

Christmas is now over. Mom went home yesterday. We went to Patio Filipino in San Bruno for lunch before dropping her and her husband off at the airport. Patio Filipino is my favorite Filipino restaurant. They have several different types of Sisig and Bagoong flavored dishes.

Christmas was fun, as it was the kids first Christmas. They received a lot of toys and clothing. Baby Einstein was fairly popular. They also received some hand puppets from Uncle Vince!

Well, 2008 was a great year for the family. Chloe and Sebastian were born this year. My brother got married, and everyone is healthy.

In 2009, hopefully the economy will pick up, but I think we won’t see any real recovery until 2010. The bright is that 2009 will be another year of firsts for the kids. There are also some great movies in 2009. I’m looking forward to Transformers 2. Hopefully, Annie and I will be able to see it in the theater.

Well, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. We wish you a Happy New Year!

~rb

Dec

Christmas is coming!!!

By rnbarrios Leave a Comment

Categories: General

December 22, 2008 9:58 PM

Christmas is just a few days away. We are excited about Chloe and Sebastian’s first Christmas! Family is flying in to celebrate at home with us. Annie has done a lot of work to prepare for the upcoming party. We’re both looking forward to everyone being here at home with us.

I’ll write back after the holidays to hopefully do some tech looks.

Happy Holidays everyone!

~rb

Dec

A great weekend…. And the new Breville Single Serve Coffee Maker!!!

By rnbarrios Leave a Comment

Categories: General and Tech

December 2, 2008 9:24 PM

This weekend was awesome. My brother’s wedding was a blast and I saw a bunch of people I haven’t seen in a while. It was a great reunion, as I haven’t seen some of the people for over 3 years. These same people were with kids of their own, ranging from 1 year to 8 years old.

The kids were great and enjoyed the many people holding them. A couple of times, we lost track of who had them, but we easily located them since our cousins were ensuring that they passed on to a known relative.

We made it home from Santa Barbara yesterday (Monday) after doing some shopping and relaxing on Sunday.

Well…. hmm… I BOUGHT A NEW COFFEE MAKER!!!

Introducing the Breville Gourmet Single-Cup Coffee Maker ☺

Well, we were bouncing around the beautiful Santa Barbara outdoor mall on Sunday, when we entered La Sur La Table… I have been looking for a new hot water kettle for making cocoa and tea at night. During the search, I run into this nice little gadget! (http://www.brevilleusa.com/products/bkc600xl/index.jsp?sku=bkc600xl&cID=238&pID=33&pvID=33).

This little machine is great. Not only does it look good, but it does everything I’ve been looking for. I’ve wanted a single or dual serve coffee maker that can fill my travel mug within 2 minutes, and this machine satisfies that need. With a auto power on, I’ve set the unit to turn on and heat the water for me. When I’m ready to go, it’s as simple as plugging in a K-cup, and hitting the brew button.

The unit makes great coffee by using either K-cups or your own grind. K-cups are more expensive, but a lot easier to clean up.

I’ve used the unit for my morning coffee and evening tea/cocoa. So far so good! Probably strange to be so excited about a coffee maker, but it’s probably because it’s my newest gadget in a long time.

~rb

Nov

Thanksgiving!

By rnbarrios Leave a Comment

Categories: General

November 28, 2008 1:34 PM

We had Thanksgiving away from home for the first time in over 5 years. We’re in Santa Barbara for the weekend. My brother is getting married tomorrow, and this is a very special occasion, worth breaking the tradition of home.

We had a great Thanksgiving dinner out last night. The food and company were great as we were with close family. Sebastian and Chloe enjoyed themselves, being around grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Today is Black Friday, and I’m avoiding the crowds by staying at the hotel with the kids. Tomorrow will be an action packed day and an opportunity to catch up with people I haven’t seen for over 3 years. I’m looking forward to the gathering.

Stay tuned for an update.

~rb

Nov

Weekend Fishing

By rnbarrios Leave a Comment

Categories: General

I went fishing this weekend down in So Cal. It was a great weekend where I got to see friends and family for the first time in years. The occasion was my brother’s bachelor party.

It was a good time. The weather was perfect. The sea was pretty much flat and there was a perfect breeze in the air. The sky was clear and sunny. Last, but not least, the fish were biting!!! My cousin Joe won the boat jackpot for biggest fish. Everyone had a great time. I think I’m gonna try to make this an annual thing.

Nov

My first political blog…

By rnbarrios Leave a Comment

Categories: General

November 23, 2008 8:46 AM

Ok. I told myself that I would never do this but….

Our national deficit is terrible. Interest expense is the 3rd largest expense in the federal budget. Social spending and defence are the only 2 expenditures higher than interest.

We need a long term plan to get interest expense under control. This is money that is being thrown away with no value. Also, the expenditures made with these loans aren’t revenue generating…

Also, what’s up with the auto makers??? They’ve just screwed up. Here are some factoids…

Toyota: Profit of 5 Billion a year. CEO makes 1 million a year
Ford: Lost 2.7 Billion, CEO makes 20 million a year
GM: Lost 38.7 billion, CEO makes 15 million a year

I don’t know how much is salary versus bonus, but hell, there should be no bonuses paid out if you have any loss….

Just makes you wonder what these people are thinking…

~rb

Nov

A month of firsts!!!

By rnbarrios Leave a Comment

Categories: General

November 15, 2008 9:43 PM

Today, Chloe and Sebastian had several firsts! They are now 4 months old, and are quickly experiencing new things.

Both of them tried solid food for the first time today. Auntie Christine was around to witness Chloe and Sebastian trying out banana oatmeal. Sebastian kind of let it dissolve in his mouth, but he did eat it. Chloe took to it very quickly and swallowed normally. They both seemed to enjoy the experience.

Chloe also is almost sitting up on her own. She was able to hold herself up for around 4 seconds, using her hands to help her stay up.

Sebastian began to hold his own bottle. He was so adorable. Annie and I were wondering what his “praying” gestures with his hands were for. Now we know that he can use it to hold his bottle. He held his bottle for almost his whole feeding.

Sebastian is very close to rolling over on his own. He already does it while sleeping in his swaddle, but we have yet to witness it while he’s awake.

Nothing else new is going on. Just work stuff. We’ll be off to Santa Barbara for Thanksgiving, where Vincent and Amelia will get married. We’re looking forward to that trip.

~rb

Nov

Happy Halloween!!!

By rnbarrios Leave a Comment

Categories: General

November 2, 2008 10:24 PM

This weekend was fun. We dressed up the kids as 2 pea pods. They looked great and fell asleep in their cozy costumes. Saturday, we were cooped up in the house, but this gave us the chance to play with the kids and take some well deserved naps. I went grocery shopping today and made chili for dinner.

Off to another week of work tomorrow.

Oct

Pumpkin patch and colds

By rnbarrios Leave a Comment

Categories: General

October 20, 2008 8:15 PM

We wend to the pumpkin patch with the kids on Saturday. It was a good time, then we went to the filipino district in Union City. Had Palabok and Diniguan with Puto… Mmmmm. We also took home 2 dozen pan de sal from Valerios, freshly baked.

The kids ended up being sick on Sunday. Chloe had a fever. Annie ended up catching the cold too and was out today.

~rb

Oct

Baptism and Family

By rnbarrios Leave a Comment

Categories: General

October 12, 2008 10:12 PM

Today was the babies Baptism. We had family from all around travel into town to be with us on this special occasion. We have wonderful friends and family who have travelled long and far to spend today with us. It was a great day with people we love, good food, and lasting memories.