Monthly Archives: May 2007
Aveda Institute
| May 27, 2007 | Posted by Angela under Random, The Arts, Film, Music, Fashion |
My sister and I had appointments at the Aveda Institute on Saturday morning. I have never used Aveda products but have heard good things about them. We heard about the Institute located at the Pearl Stable downtown and wanted to check it out. The benefits of going to an Institute rather than a salon is obviously the prices are less expensive, by at least 25%. The downside is that you do have a student working on you so they don’t have much experience and might need help from an instructor. This is why I don’t do hair at Institutes, although I saw many ladies getting their hair done.
So we got a facial, pedicure and manicure. I was thoroughly impressed. I had excellent students that worked on me. My first treatment was a facial. All treatments are done in the back room where it is dark and quite. When you go past the entrance doors, you walk through a long hallway and either side of you are rooms lined up each with long white curtains for privacy. It seemed very big. They have very peaceful music playing and you can smell the aroma. I felt like I was at a real salon. They start you off with a foot bath for “grounding.” They then allow you to choose your aroma by providing three different scents that you can smell while your eyes are closed. The products were wonderful and the student was extremely professional.
I had a new student that did my pedicure and manicure. She was also very good. For the manicure, they wrap your hands in warm towels and allow them to sit and soak. They do the same with your feet for the pedicure. This was very nice. The pedicure was very different in that they don’t put your feet in a bath. They actually scrub you and rinse with towels. I like it because it felt more sanitary.
After each treatment, you fill out a sheet that asks you how your experience was and turn it into the instructor.
I was very fortunate to get very good students that did an excellent job. Now, I did see one lady getting her hair colored and as she had the foil in her hair, I saw the student go get an instructor for help. If I were the lady with the foil in my hair, I would have been freaking out because the student just seemed so lost and she needed help from the instructor. This is why I don’t do hair at schools.
It was overall a good experience and I definitely recommend it to others. There is also a cafe at the school that serves very fresh foods. This is convenient if you have someone with you that is waiting or if you need something to eat before or after your appointment.
San Antonio Walk with Us to Cure Lupus 2007
| May 9, 2007 | Posted by Angela under Family Stuff, Health & Fitness |
My aunt, RoseAnn, was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) when she was just 14 years old. She battled the disease for 10 years before she passed away at only 27 years old. She was such a happy person that you would have never known that she was suffering, but she was. SLE is an autoimmune disease, which causes the body to attack its own tissue and organs.
There is still not a known cause of Lupus which makes it difficult to treat. All the drugs used to fight the disease usually make the individual extremely sick. Even though Lupus affects 1 million Americans, the average amount a patient receives in research funding is only $21 compared to $10,000 per patient in other disease research. Thousands of Americans die from Lupus ever year. The scary thing is that it is extremely difficult to diagnose because it mimics other illnesses.
The Alliance for Lupus Research needs donations to further their research in discovering the cause of this disease and finding more effective forms of treatment.
My other Aunt, Ruby (RoseAnn’s sister) is forming a team to raise money and support ALR. There will be Walk with Us to Cure Lupus this coming Saturday, May 12th at McCallister Park. Her team goal is $1000. Please donate and support our cause at http://walk.lupusresearch.org/site/TR?fr_id=1580&pg=teamlist. Our team name is Running Ramirezes.
We appreciate the support!
Native San Antonian talks Neuroscience
| May 7, 2007 | Posted by Angela under Business & Technology, Community Involvement, Health & Fitness, Local Places & Events, Why I like San Antonio |
Melissa Saenz, Ph.D. is an active researcher on Computation & Ne
ural Systems at California Institute of Technology. She is part of the distinguished speaker series for the MindScience Foundation. This series stopped in her very own hometown San Antonio at the historic Pearl Brewery. I attended the series and it was a very informative, enlightening presentation. Majority of the audience were not scientists so she had to present in a way that would relate to her audience. I understood so she definitely did a good job! Her discussion covered Seeing With Sound: Human Blindness and Sight Recovery. I am not going to begin to explain what she discussed because I will mess it all up but you can check out her site to learn more. She is a graduate of Clark High School and her parents are close friends of our family which is how we found out about this discussion. She also had a write up in The Current and I believe other prints.
It is so great to see San Antonio natives make a difference in the world just as Melissa is actively doing.
Spurs/Suns bloodier than DeLaHoya/Mayweather
| May 7, 2007 | Posted by Angela under Random |
Did you watch the fight on Saturday night? What was that all about? Come on man, give us a fight. I mean all the hype, all the money thrown into this fight and it turns out to be a “bouncing around” each other type of match. The Spurs/Suns game was a
better fight. Nash and Parker collided pretty bad. Nash’s nose went right into Parker’s forehead. Nash was bursting blood all over the place while Parker’s forehead just swelled up. Nash was at fault for the collision but his nose looked really bad. I was surprised the ref let him play for a little while with blood all over his nose. It was the 4th quarter so it was a crucial time. Nash ended up sitting out the last minutes of the game to get the blood in control. What a great game. Spurs won and are on their way to the Western Conference Finals. Ok, yes, it’s just one game but it was an important game to win, being the 1st of the round and being an away game.
So DeLaHoya and Mayweather? Seriously, what kind of “fight” was that? I didn’t see any blood!
The low-down on Fiesta 2007
| May 1, 2007 | Posted by Angela under Family Stuff |
Fiesta is an important time of the year for me. So what did I do this year? Let me give you the low-down:
Monticello Park Fiesta Home Tour
Monticello Park is a historic neighborhood full of beautiful historic homes. Each year, the neighborhood association gets 6 homeowners to open their home for a full day so people can walk through and appreciate the homes. My home was on the tour this year! We are actually also putting it up for sale. Take a look at inside410.com, it is the red and yellow brick house. Our house was built in 1927 and it has all wood floors, working fire place and original crown molding and tile.
So we had about 400-500 people walk through our home. What a day! It was the perfect way to start off the Fiesta Week. It was beautiful outside and everyone coming through were true Fiesta goers.
Texas Cavaliers River Parade
The River Parade is run by the Texas Cavaliers. It is held on Monday evening at the beginning of the Fiesta period. The parade features river barges all decked out running down the beautiful River Walk. My fiance works at the Weston Center in downtown San Antonio located right on the River, where the parade comes through. So each year, the Weston Center throws an amazing Fiesta party for all the tenants right before and during the River parade. They have catering by Fresh Horizons, who always do an amazing job with food and decor, very creative! They have an open bar and 2 bands. It is truly an amazing Fiesta party and you can walk a few feet to sit directly on the River and watch the parade. We had a good time!
NIOSA-Wednesday Night
NIOSA (Night in Old San Antonio) starts on Tuesday but we started on Wednesday
this year. NIOSA is a party held in La Villita in downtown San Antonio from Tuesday through Friday, 5pm-10:30pm. There are different areas that feature different foods and bands such as the Irish Pub, Clown Alley, Frontier Town, French Quarters, China Town…just to name a few. NIOSA gets extremely crowded so if you do not like crowds, it is not a place for you. If you can relax, have a few drinks, eat some good food and not have a care in the world (even if someone spills beer on you) you are will be fine at NIOSA.
NIOSA-Friday Night (My Birthday too!)
We went to NIOSA on Friday night, the last night of NIOSA. My birthday ends up in the middle of Fiesta Week every year, how convenient is that? Whenever someone asks me what I am doing for my birthday, I just say that the city of San Antonio is throwing me a party. Usually, the last night of NIOSA, I go crazy on the food. I eat everything! Just because I won’t be able to eat until the next year. My favorite are the fried mushrooms; they are huge, not too bready and have the perfect spice. Yum! I also like the Maria’s Tortilllas. They have these ladies making homemade tortillas and they put some cheese and salsa in that warm tortilla and the cheese melts nicely and… you get the idea. The meat on the stick is good too. So this year, I spent my birthday with my whole family. We all went to NIOSA together and I had such a good time!
King William Fair
The King William Neighborhood is a historic neighborhood located South of downtown San Antonio. They feature old Victorian homes, most of which are mansions. Absolutely gorgeous homes and great location too. So each year, there is a Fair that is held right in the middle of the King William area. This Fair is a good event to bring children as it is a good family affair. There is food and drinks but most importantly, there are vendors selling jewelry, art, clothing and other cool items. You are allowed to b
ring chairs and and ice chest. There is a big grassy area in the middle of the Fair where the gazebo is located and this is where we park our chairs and ice chests and kick back and listen to the band that is playing. King William is one of my favorite Fiesta Events. I ate so much but the most memorable was the Turkey Leg and the gordita that I spent an hour in line waiting for! It was well worth it. My dad spent an hour in line for a turkey leg for my little brother and definitely tore it up!
Fiesta Flambeau Parade
There is a Battle of Flowers Parade held on Friday during the day and the following
evening on Saturday, the Night Parade (Fiesta Flambeau) is held. Although my family attended the day parade, I only attended the night parade. It is the largest parade in the nation. This year, my uncle reserved a parking slot on Broadway, one of the main streets the parade comes through. He had a huge trailer parked with a platform built on top and canopy. All my little cousins were able to sit down and have a good view of the parade. It was a really cool set up. The parade was really cool and it opened up with the University of Texas band. Following was the Grand Marshall with a special float for Mario Lopez (aka AC Slater). Since it is at night, all the floats and bands coming through have really cool lights to brighten things up. It is a really neat sight!
So Fiesta was good this year. There are 100 events to attend and I only did a few (I do have to work!). I had a great time though. One thing I did notice is that there were NO RECYCLING BINS at any of the events. All the beer bottles, plastic cups, paper items were being thrown away as trash, I couldn’t believe it. I am definitely going to have to get involved with the Fiesta Commission and see how I can some how change that next year. It’s just so unfortunate to waste all those items.
So that is a wrap for 2007 and I will make sure to post in 2008.
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