May 20, 2012

       

To My Mama

To My Mama,

I love this pic of my mom. She's so cute.

Thank you for being my mom. Or, as I actually call you, “Ma”. Although now you live in Oklahoma and never cook me camarones al mojo de ajo (hint, hint), you will always be my mommy.

When I hear Juan Gabriel, I think of you. When I see babies and think of their feet as empanadas, I think of you. When I laugh really hard and a little too loud, and I sound just like you, I think of you. When I’m sick and wish I had some albondigas with lots of salsa Guacamaya, I think of you. When I’m at the department store and go by the perfume counter; when its Thanksgiving and the table doesn’t seem complete without enchiladas on it too; when I see the color fuchsia; when any one of a hundred funny Mexican expressions go through my head; when there is a sale on shoes, I think of you.

Ma, I think of you always. Tomorrow, on Dia de las Madres, I will remember to call you and tell you I’m thinking of you, but even on those days when I don’t remember to tell you, I still think of you.

Thank you for being you: a strong, intelligent, crazy, fuchsia-wearing, hard-working, hilarious mom.

I think of you often and love you always,
Tannya

A patriot at heart

Last night I was driving home from the baseball game when Jeff called me to tell me the news: Osama Bin Laden is dead. I didn’t quite know how to react. Relief? Happiness? Fear?

On the one hand, I am happy to know that the leader of the terrorist organization that struck the heart of America in 2001 is no longer in power. He is gone. Forever. That is undoubtedly a good thing, and I share our country’s joy at that.

On the other hand, I guess I’m afraid. I can’t help but feel that there will be retributions. Osama Bin Laden was a man — a powerful man, no doubt — but still just one man. Let’s not fool ourselves into believing that Al Qaeda is finished. Another person will come forward to fill Bin Laden’s shoes. Others will rise to avenge him. And that scares me.

I am also torn in a different way. Its hard for me to rejoice at the death of another human being, no matter how evil and malicious that person may have been. Am I delighted to know that he will never hurt us again? Of course! But I would have rather seen him arrested and tried, so that our justice system — in which I have so much faith — could have worked its type of uniquely American magic. This could have been an opportunity to show the world how our impartial, apolitical justice system contributes to what makes the USA so unique, what makes us that beacon of light on the hill.

Regardless, this success is an example of the amazing work done by the American military forces. Just because Bin Laden is dead does not mean our troops are home. Please make sure you continue to support our troops and their families. A new initiative by First Lady Obama and Dr. Biden called Joining Forces asks us all to support our military families. Today, when your heart is full of gratitude for our troops, consider getting involved. http://www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces/

With love, and continuing faith in the American way,
Tannya

Easter: The Cutest Holiday

We all know how I feel about Valentine’s Day and no, I don’t celebrate Easter either. I don’t celebrate Easter because I don’t have kids (and because I’m not Christian), but believe me, as soon as I have a few of those little suckers I’m going to go Easter crazy. Why? Because Easter is the cutestholiday. It’s kittens-playing-with-yarn cute. It’s brand-new-puppies cute.

[picture deleted]

Easter ranks right up there with Halloween on the Cute Holiday ranking. Although Easter might be cuter. I mean, you get your kids, you dress them up in little suits and little hats, you give them a ridiculous basket, and then you send them to go hunt for eggs? It’s over the top. As someone who is very susceptible to unbearable cuteness, it is just the best.

Go get 'em!

My favorite Easter event, for sheer cuteness, is the White House egg roll. For some reason they won’t let me shamelessly steal the pix off the official White House website to show to you here, so I highly recommend that

Little girls in sweater sets rolling eggs. Sweater sets!??! Too cute.

you go check them out. The set up is this: kids, dressed to the nines, with spoons, racing to roll eggs. And the President is in there somewhere too. Check it out.

For one final dose of Easter cuteness, I give you my little bro Xavier, who was inexplicably dressed as a yellow crayon on Easter.

The cutie in the middle is my little bro

Have a good week!
Wishing you love and unbearable cuteness,
Tannya

An Arizona Life on the Beach

People always assume that because you’re from Arizona you don’t know what life is like on the beach. Please, people. Just because our state is landlocked and we have no natural bodies of water here (Lake Sahuarita does not count) doesn’t mean we can’t find our way around a bonfire, a bikini, and some beach volleyball. With Rocky Point only three hours away, and Kino and San Carlos only slightly farther, there are few of us who don’t take advantage of the water.

Magda, Me, and Adrian at Kino

As a kid growing up in Tucson never seemed like growing up away from the beach. At every opportunity, my parents would throw us in the back of the car, load up the tents, and drive south. I give you Exhibit A: A trio of salty-haired kids with tans.

For the Gaxiolas, the beach weekend is a way of life. I give you Exhibit B: Gaxiolas stacked to the sky.

From bottom to top: Fernando, Samuel, Eloisa

Normally, Easter weekend or semana santa is a perfect beach-going time. Unfortunately, this Easter I will miss out on the beach. There is just too much craziness going on at QuikHelp and at home. Such is the life of the entrepreneur.

BUT, I am looking forward to some serious beach time come Memorial Day weekend. All I have to do is somehow survive the rest of April and most of May. Bring it on!

Already at the beach in spirit,
Tannya

I’m not taking the blame for this one

This weekend, I broke my working out streak. Only five days into my 33 day workout plan, I missed working out on Saturday and Sunday, but I’m not taking the blame for this one. I blame Jeff. While my plan was to use our staycation to work out and be lazy, Jeff apparently had other plans. He asked me to marry him instead. I said yes.

This week my blog is dedicated to Jeff. I like to think that I’m easy to love, but I know I’m not easy to live with. Thanks, honey, for wanting to put up with me for a bit longer.

With love,
Tannya

p.s. This morning I was back in the gym!

New habits are hard to make

Oh Tucson, you quirky little town

I went for a run this morning. Today is day two of my plan to run for thirty-three days in a row. Why thirty-three? Because someone told me it takes 66 days to create a habit, but I figure I’m a fast learner so thirty-three oughta do it. Plus, Kino is less than 66 days away, so that number would be useless if my goal is to get in shape for Kino. The logic works, trust me.

This morning, my run (ahem! fast walk) took me to the top of a little hill by my house overlooking Tucson from north of River. It was so pretty up there. Lots of birds and cacti and bunnies. It reminded me of where we used to live when I was a kid — way out southwest, past Cardinal and Valencia. This was before there was a casino and the insane amount of development that has happened out there. My bro and I used to hop on our little BMX bikes and go cruise around the desert. It was awesome.

What's not to love?? (Picture borrowed from the A Fanciful Twist website. Check it out.)

When I was a kid, I also had particular soft spot in my heart for the horny toads. I can’t have been the only kid who was obsessed with those unfortunate little guys. But how could I not love them? They are like little tiny dinosaurs. Little tiny dinosaurs that you can take home and keep in a bucket with gravel in your bedroom until one day they mysteriously “disappear” (I’m looking at you, Mom) and you are forced to go find another one. (I miss horny toads. Now I have turtles and that is just as good. Even better, my mom can’t get rid of them.)

This is just weird.

So today, in addition to my 33-day plan to create an exercise habit for myself, I am starting work on making a new habit. My new habit will not be to go kidnap horny toads and keep them in a bucket, no. My new habit will be to take a little time, every day, to admire the singular beauty that we have in Tucson. Even if it just means appreciating the sunset as I drive up the freeway. Even if it just means taking a moment to admire the weird and wacky colors on the building in South Tucson. I encourage you to do the same.*

With love,
Tannya

*Also, I encourage you to recycle more, consume less, and conserve energy. Tucson can only stay beautiful if we actively sacrifice today to keep it that way for the future.

I believe the children are the future…

This was my first record ever

This morning I’m floating around feeling idealistic and hopeful for the future. Working with kids will do that to you. I’ve got that Whitney Houston song going through my head, “I believe the children are the future…”

I taught my first Junior Achievement class this morning and it was amazing. I was assigned to a sixth grade class at Wakefield Middle School. Sixth grade… Remember sixth grade? I was in Mr. Olbin’s sixth grade class at Lineweaver Elementary. I remember there were some kids in my class that I thought were so grown up.

Wowza.

They acted so cool and dressed so cool and, well, did everything so cool. And I was so not. I volunteered at the snack bar during lunch and sold pickles. Definitely not cool.

Meeting all those kids this morning, I was struck by how young they are. I sure didn’t feel that young when I was in sixth grade. I had stress and worries. There were issues in my life. Real issues. Like how exactly I was going to get the puff-paint I needed to paint sneakers for our Mini Society project. Issues!

Yeah, that's about right

I’m sure the kids this morning had their issues too, but all I could see was how young and curious and wide open they are. They were so excited and happy just to be there. It was like a shot of caffeine to be in the room with them. I’m sure they learned something from me, but I think I got a lot more from them. Every once in a while we all need a reminder that its good — really good — just to wake up and be surrounded by our friends and loved ones every day.

I hope you all have a wonderful Monday. I know I will!

With love,
Tannya

The road to Kino

My lil' bro Xavier at Kino

Well its definitely spring. You can tell because the Gaxiolas have all started their diets, dusted off their bikes, and begun making hotel reservation. Our annual family reunion in Kino is on the horizon and everyone is getting ready.

This weekend I went to the Hispanic Leadership Institute’s weekend retreat that was all about Latino culture and leadership. One of the questions that was posed to us was “what do you like about being a Latina”? And my answer: our sense of family.

The family reunion in Kino Bay, Mexico every year is such a beautiful example of what it means to be a Gaxiola. As many as eighty (sometimes more!) of us come together on the beach for a weekend of sun, sand, good music and good food. It all kicks off with a bike race — a little friendly competition to get the juices flowing. By the time the riders get to the finish line, the rest of us have spent an entire morning hugging and kissing, and catching up on the past year’s news. There are new babies, new husbands and wives, and lots of good gossip hear.

Cheering for the racers at the awards ceremony

This morning I went to the gym for the first time in ages. It’s time to get back into shape for the beach! But going to Kino is less about the great weather and great food, and more about spending a weekend enjoying and loving my family. The new diet and workout plan have started today and the countdown to Kino has begun! Viva la familia Gaxiola!

Trompas de cochi to all my Gaxiolas and hugs and kisses to the rest of you,

Xavier with his cousin, Jesus Manuel


Tannya

Japan

I was in the shower when I heard about the earthquake in Japan. It was another blurb among so many headlines on NPR. “8.9 quake this morning in Japan.” Nothing more. It is amazing how little insight we have to the future, isn’t it? What was seemingly another quake, like any other, in a country that is so amazingly prepared for quakes has turned into a devastating disaster that seems to never end. Earthquake, then tsunami, and now the threat of a nuclear meltdown.

Cars at a Nissan Plant in Japan

This morning I’m a little more reflective than usual. My mind and heart go out to our brothers and sisters in Japan. And in Libya. And in Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti. In so many places around the globe, and here at home, there are people who are suffering, really suffering, even as we go about getting our coffee and gripe about Mondays.

This morning, I’m taking a moment of silence to think about our friends across the globe that are suffering and I encourage you to do the same. When a tragedy hits we are not American or Japanese, we are human beings and we need each other. Below is a link to CBS News’ list of agencies that are receiving funds for the relief effort. Please help.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/29/world/main663720.shtml

With love,
Tannya

Little silver sparkles of joy

Yeah, that's about what I felt like

Blech… I’ve been all itchy and sneezy and achy for a week now.  A whole week.  Bleh.  The worst part about being a business owner is that when you’re sick and you lie there, all comatose and delirious, the only thing you can think about is your business.  So there I was on Monday and Tuesday, lying on the couch under a big ol’ pile of blankies, half-drunk on Nyquil, with no voice, kleenex in hand, wondering what was going on at QuikHelp.

Lucky for me I have Peter and Maribel, and now our intern Vanessa.  Every day I send little silver sparkles of joy into the world in gratitude for the QuikHelp team.  So even though the flu took me down, it didn’t take QuikHelp down.

The best part of being an entrepreneur is when you hear from the outside world that you’re doing something right.  I know our clients need us.  I know we do good work and we give our clients the best customer service possible.  I know these things, but the hardest part of my job and Peter’s job is to make sure other people know it too.

Ooooh, sparkly!

So, on Wednesday when I came back from my Nyquil-induced three-day coma, I was elated to hear some great feedback we had received.  The first was from a client who called to say that he had won the law suit he was fighting in court.  It was a small claims case.  He felt that what he was being accused of was unjust and he wanted to fight it but he just didn’t know how to.  He came to QuikHelp and we help him put his thoughts on paper and walked him through the process, and he won!  Victory!  Sure, its not our victory, its his, but when he called to say that he couldn’t have done it without us, that felt damn good.

The other feedback came from a divorce client.  She went to have her final divorce decree signed by the judge, and the judge stopped in the middle of the hearing to ask her who had prepared her paperwork.  She told them it was QuikHelp.  The judge told her it was the most well-done paperwork she had seen in a long time and to make sure that the client told us we were doing a great job.  Of course, the client called and told us.  And of course we jumped around and hugged and celebrated!  (Yay!)

Am I bragging a little here?  Yes.  But you know, we work our behinds off everyday and we really give it our all.  Peter works on QuikHelp fifteen hours a day and after that I’m sure he does it in his sleep, too.  And Mari can be found at the courthouse after hours making sure the clients’ paperwork is filed correctly, even though she doesn’t have to.  So today I’m giving off more little silver sparkles of joy than usual because the best part of being an entrepreneur is when you know that you’re making a difference in your little piece of the world because the world told you so.

I'm going to have to get these shoes to match my other silver sparkles


Have a good week everyone!

Tannya