On Sunday, Casper finally met his cousin from his father's side, Bentley. Bentley is a beautiful, friendly, gentle-natured Beagle. They seemed to hit it off right away and are now best butt-ies.
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Puppy Playdate
This afternoon Brittany and Preston stopped to have dinner with Casper and me. The 4 of us had a great time...however, the girls were not too excited about having another canine in the house!
If it smells like my cousin then it must be my cousin!
Notice Crystal observing from the window
If it smells like my cousin then it must be my cousin!
Notice Crystal observing from the window
It's a g-r-r-reat day to play!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Food filled weekend
Jacob waiting for our main course to cook (Melting Pot)
This weekend was packed with delicious food!
It started on Friday when we ate a Rome's onion and black olive pizza. It was so delicious that we finished the whole pizza. Normally we save at least 2 slices for lunch the next day but we hadn't eaten a Rome's pizza in so long that we were unstoppable.
It started on Friday when we ate a Rome's onion and black olive pizza. It was so delicious that we finished the whole pizza. Normally we save at least 2 slices for lunch the next day but we hadn't eaten a Rome's pizza in so long that we were unstoppable.
Then on Saturday we went to Rio Mambo with Jacob's family. Jacob had 3 brisket tacos and I had 3 crispy picadillo tacos. Everything was delicious and again, we didn't have any left-overs.
Jen enjoying the cheese fondue (Melting Pot)
Finally, on Sunday, in celebration of our 6th anniversary we (over-) indulged ourselves with a 4 course meal at the Melting Pot. First, we had the Boston Lager Cheddar Cheese Fondue with veggies, breads, and apples. Next, we both had Southwester Cobb salads. Third, we had our main course cooked Coq au Vin with veggies, salmon, filet mignon, chicken, pork tenderloin, shrimp, spinach artichoke ravioli, and lobster tail. Then, we finished off our meal with Cookies-n-Cream Marshmallow Dream chocolate fondue with strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, rice krispy treats, marshmallows, brownies, and pound cake (we even had seconds on the bananas and strawberries). The food was spectacular and we were surprisingly stuffed when we left. We'll definitely visit the Melting Pot again but to save money we think we'll only focus on the cheese, salad, and chocolate the next time around.
Jacob enjoying the chocolate fondue (Melting Pot)
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Friday Fun
On Friday (1-2-09), my sister, my brother, Michelle and I went out to shop for bridesmaid dresses. Before our shoping began, my sister treated us to a refreshing snack at Orange Cup. It's a lighter and healthier alternative to Marble Slab. :)
We explored phase II of La Cantera, picked up glasses for my brother, then headed to the dress shop. We tried on several dresses in many different colors. Michelle is armed with information to coordinate with her sisters and decide on final colors.
Next, we headed to Kona Grill for another snack. We split tacos, pizza, and sushi (I didn't have any sushi).
It was a fun Friday!
ps
It turns out that my sister really is a good driver (most of the time).
:-)
Brittany
Manuel & Michelle
We explored phase II of La Cantera, picked up glasses for my brother, then headed to the dress shop. We tried on several dresses in many different colors. Michelle is armed with information to coordinate with her sisters and decide on final colors.
Next, we headed to Kona Grill for another snack. We split tacos, pizza, and sushi (I didn't have any sushi).
It was a fun Friday!
ps
It turns out that my sister really is a good driver (most of the time).
:-)
Thursday, January 1, 2009
M&M Visit
Today I was finally well enough to see my brother and Michelle (a.k.a., M&M).
This evening we went to my mom's house for dinner and games with M&M. It was nice to see both of them and to hear about how their wedding plans were coming along. We enjoyed dinner; however, it did get a little tense when I asked my brother about his visit with my dad and my dad's family...I know it's a sensitive subject but they are still my family and yes, I'm just plain nosy at times.
After dinner we played the game "Hear Me Out" which my mom and my sister had given us 3-4 Christmases ago. This was the first time we actually played the game and when my brother informed us that it was a drinking game we finally realized why the game didn't make much sense the last time we tried reading the instructions. So, with bottles of water, cups of cocoa, and glasses of tea in hand, we started playing the game. It is quite a fun game (even when alcohol is not involved) and we're looking forward to playing it again sometime.
This evening we went to my mom's house for dinner and games with M&M. It was nice to see both of them and to hear about how their wedding plans were coming along. We enjoyed dinner; however, it did get a little tense when I asked my brother about his visit with my dad and my dad's family...I know it's a sensitive subject but they are still my family and yes, I'm just plain nosy at times.
After dinner we played the game "Hear Me Out" which my mom and my sister had given us 3-4 Christmases ago. This was the first time we actually played the game and when my brother informed us that it was a drinking game we finally realized why the game didn't make much sense the last time we tried reading the instructions. So, with bottles of water, cups of cocoa, and glasses of tea in hand, we started playing the game. It is quite a fun game (even when alcohol is not involved) and we're looking forward to playing it again sometime.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Holiday Rounds
As usual, our holiday rounds began on Christmas Eve at Jacob's aunt Christina's house. We enjoyed rice, beans, deviled eggs, dips (including Jacob's world famous 7-layer dip), cheese, crackers, meats and sweets. I even brought some seasoned crackers which were a huge hit. The food was delicious! Oh yeah, there were also tamales for the tamale eaters. While we waited for midnight to strike, we attempted to play a game of Cranium. I say "attempted" because we had to modify the rules because we quickly learned that playing with 19 people can be very challenging. At midnight we opened gifts and we finally headed home around 2:30 am. (Yes, this was well past my bedtime).
On Christmas day we planned to go to 10am mass. We knew this meant that we would need to be awake by 8am so we could be ready to leave by 9am. However, since we had gone to sleep at 3:30am, I convinced Jacob that we should sleep a little more and go to the 12pm mass instead. He agreed. We woke up around 9:30am, got ready for church (wearing wrinkle free clothes because our iron stopped working that morning), and then as we headed out the door, Jacob wanted to make sure mass was truly at 12pm and not at 12:30pm. Yes, fortunately mass was at 12pm but unfortunately, 12pm mass was in Spanish! I thought it would still be worth attending but then Jacob pointed out that we wouldn't understand anything that would be going on. So, after researching a few other church options, we realized that based on our timing, along with our wrinkle free outfits (a.k.a., jeans) we probably wouldn't have made it to another mass in time and we would have really stood out as being under-dressed.
Later that day, we went to Jacob's aunt Martha's house. Normally, we don't have enough time to eat at Martha's house because we usually only have enough time to stop by to say hello before we rush off to my mom's house but because game night at my aunt and uncle's was postponed until the next day, my mom started her dinner later this year which gave us plenty of time to grab a plate of delicious food. We had rice, beans, ham, potato salad, and Jacob even had more tamales! We even had enough time to watch Roger Mason hit a game winning 3pt shot against the Suns. Go Spurs Go!
Next we headed to my mom's house where we had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, sweet potato casserole, cranberries, rolls, fruit salad, and chocolate cheesecake. We opened gifts then my mom, my sister and my grandma teamed up against Jacob and me in a game of Mad Gab. It was a tied game and then my mom and I went head to head in the tie breaker match. Their team won with the saying "Me Tarzan, You Jane." I never would have gotten it, who speaks like that anyway?
On Friday we went to Mimi's to use my $10 off coupon for a late lunch (they're grilled cheese is exceptional but I was dying for some veggies mid-way through my sandwich; thank goodness Jacob let me eat some of his walnut and cranberry salad.)
After Mimi's we went to my aunt Rose and uncle Cesar's house for game night. We started the night by opening gifts and enjoying some munchies. We had pigs in a blanket, spinach and artichoke dip, chips, dips, veggies, cheese, crackers, and sweets. I had brought my seasoned crackers as a gift for my uncle and he (along with everyone else) really enjoyed them. Plus, Jacob even had some more tamales! I think he had a really good share of tamales this year! Then after everyone had arrived, the men vs. women showdown began. We started off by playing Partini. This was a new game for us and was great because it helped the women take the lead: 1-0. Next we played Cranium Wow. It was a head to head battle but the men came out ahead. The score was then 1:1. Sadly, we lost a few players but the tie needed to be broken. Using Pictionary as the tie breaker, the women blew the men away in landslide win! Yay! The women had finally broken the dynasty of the men and then we headed home. Side note: Jacob claims that the men only lost because they lost 40% of their team.
On Christmas day we planned to go to 10am mass. We knew this meant that we would need to be awake by 8am so we could be ready to leave by 9am. However, since we had gone to sleep at 3:30am, I convinced Jacob that we should sleep a little more and go to the 12pm mass instead. He agreed. We woke up around 9:30am, got ready for church (wearing wrinkle free clothes because our iron stopped working that morning), and then as we headed out the door, Jacob wanted to make sure mass was truly at 12pm and not at 12:30pm. Yes, fortunately mass was at 12pm but unfortunately, 12pm mass was in Spanish! I thought it would still be worth attending but then Jacob pointed out that we wouldn't understand anything that would be going on. So, after researching a few other church options, we realized that based on our timing, along with our wrinkle free outfits (a.k.a., jeans) we probably wouldn't have made it to another mass in time and we would have really stood out as being under-dressed.
Later that day, we went to Jacob's aunt Martha's house. Normally, we don't have enough time to eat at Martha's house because we usually only have enough time to stop by to say hello before we rush off to my mom's house but because game night at my aunt and uncle's was postponed until the next day, my mom started her dinner later this year which gave us plenty of time to grab a plate of delicious food. We had rice, beans, ham, potato salad, and Jacob even had more tamales! We even had enough time to watch Roger Mason hit a game winning 3pt shot against the Suns. Go Spurs Go!
Next we headed to my mom's house where we had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, sweet potato casserole, cranberries, rolls, fruit salad, and chocolate cheesecake. We opened gifts then my mom, my sister and my grandma teamed up against Jacob and me in a game of Mad Gab. It was a tied game and then my mom and I went head to head in the tie breaker match. Their team won with the saying "Me Tarzan, You Jane." I never would have gotten it, who speaks like that anyway?
On Friday we went to Mimi's to use my $10 off coupon for a late lunch (they're grilled cheese is exceptional but I was dying for some veggies mid-way through my sandwich; thank goodness Jacob let me eat some of his walnut and cranberry salad.)
After Mimi's we went to my aunt Rose and uncle Cesar's house for game night. We started the night by opening gifts and enjoying some munchies. We had pigs in a blanket, spinach and artichoke dip, chips, dips, veggies, cheese, crackers, and sweets. I had brought my seasoned crackers as a gift for my uncle and he (along with everyone else) really enjoyed them. Plus, Jacob even had some more tamales! I think he had a really good share of tamales this year! Then after everyone had arrived, the men vs. women showdown began. We started off by playing Partini. This was a new game for us and was great because it helped the women take the lead: 1-0. Next we played Cranium Wow. It was a head to head battle but the men came out ahead. The score was then 1:1. Sadly, we lost a few players but the tie needed to be broken. Using Pictionary as the tie breaker, the women blew the men away in landslide win! Yay! The women had finally broken the dynasty of the men and then we headed home. Side note: Jacob claims that the men only lost because they lost 40% of their team.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Busy Weekend
This weekend was packed with events.
Friday night (12/19):
We ate dinner at Saltgrass Steakhouse on the riverwalk and exchanged gag gifts during our annual holiday dinner/gag gift exchange with a few close friends from work. We had some really good laughs (especially from John) and we also learned a few new things about some of our other friends (one, in particular).
Angie, Jessica, John, (Jacob behind John), Jen, Judy, Bruno, Dianna, Randy, Jenn, Scott & Tiffany
Saturday night (12/20):
Saturday night (12/20):
We ate dinner at Rio Mambo with Jacob's family to celebrate Beto's 27th birthday. The food was delicious and affordable.
Beto & his tres leches cake
Next we headed to Christina's (Jacob's aunt's) 40th b-day bash at The Stockyards. The place was really loud but the drinks were cheap and we got to meet a celebrity! Gabe Garcia was celebrating his birthday also! He even sang 2 songs while we were there. He seems like a really nice guy because he was willing to take pictures with anyone who asked. After a few drinks Monica and I even went over to ask him for a picture (unfortunately, my eyes look really weird; I had already had a few drinks and I couldn't contain my excitement. I'd like to blame my weird expression on the alcohol that was definitely settling in).
Next we headed to Christina's (Jacob's aunt's) 40th b-day bash at The Stockyards. The place was really loud but the drinks were cheap and we got to meet a celebrity! Gabe Garcia was celebrating his birthday also! He even sang 2 songs while we were there. He seems like a really nice guy because he was willing to take pictures with anyone who asked. After a few drinks Monica and I even went over to ask him for a picture (unfortunately, my eyes look really weird; I had already had a few drinks and I couldn't contain my excitement. I'd like to blame my weird expression on the alcohol that was definitely settling in).
Us
Gabe & Beto
Monica, Gabe, and Me
Sunday (12/21):
Sunday (12/21):
We went to SeaWorld for the holiday celebration. Jacob had been wanting to go on a cold day and it was definitely cold when we went. We were both bundled up in sweatshirts and jackets. I even had a scarf and gloves. It was nice being at the park when it was practically empty. We saw the Polar Express 4-d show; we fed the sea lions; we visited the sharks, clydesdales, and penguins; we listened to carollers; we saw the Clyde and Seamore show (Clyde wasn't cooperating); we rode the steel eel (our faces were practically frozen stiff); and we had some delicious hot cocoa! Unfortunately, we didn't last until the Shamu show but we're hoping to return for an evening within the next 2 weeks to catch the show before the season is over.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Thanksgiving
Three years ago, I negotiated an agreement with Jacob for us to host Thanksgiving. Negotiating Thanksgiving back then was quite a challenge because I had to convince Jacob that it was woth it to him to host Thanksgiving even though it meant he would need to do most of the work. This was because I was in grad school and most of my time was spent studying or meeting with groups. Thanks to Dr. Plowman's negotiations class, I was able to negotiate and draft a contact that both of us agreed on (plus I was able to use my Thanksgiving negotiation as my final project, on which I earned an A).
Based on the success of that initial Thanksgiving at our house, Jacob has easily agreed to host Thanksgiving ever since. Thus, for the 3rd year in a row, we hosted Thanksgiving. Each year seems to run a little smoother than the previous year and we received a lot of positive feedback from our families suggesting that this year was the best year yet! I was especially glad about this because now that our families are growing (i.e., through marriages) we know that we might not be able to host Thanksgiving the same way, much longer. For instance, now that my cousin Cesar is married, his family now spends Thanksgiving game night with him, so you can see that we are slowly losing our attendees.
The details:
Our families arrived around at our house between 2-2:30 pm; we ate dinner a little after 3 pm (we had good variety of food, plus we had 3 sweetpotato dishes and 2 cranberry dishes); the football lovers watched football (which gave me some time to clean up a little), and the non-football lovers engaged in conversations with each other and helped me pick up the kitchen by packing up to-go plates for Jacob's grandfather (who wasn't able to make it to our house); we enjoyed delicious desserts, cocoa and coffee (my favorite part); and we played Turbo Cranium (my mom was a great puppeteer, Monica was a great puppet, and Jacob's dad was a great sensosketcher). After the game, we sat back and relaxed in the living room to wind down from the day. It was a great Thanksgiving!
Based on the success of that initial Thanksgiving at our house, Jacob has easily agreed to host Thanksgiving ever since. Thus, for the 3rd year in a row, we hosted Thanksgiving. Each year seems to run a little smoother than the previous year and we received a lot of positive feedback from our families suggesting that this year was the best year yet! I was especially glad about this because now that our families are growing (i.e., through marriages) we know that we might not be able to host Thanksgiving the same way, much longer. For instance, now that my cousin Cesar is married, his family now spends Thanksgiving game night with him, so you can see that we are slowly losing our attendees.
The details:
Our families arrived around at our house between 2-2:30 pm; we ate dinner a little after 3 pm (we had good variety of food, plus we had 3 sweetpotato dishes and 2 cranberry dishes); the football lovers watched football (which gave me some time to clean up a little), and the non-football lovers engaged in conversations with each other and helped me pick up the kitchen by packing up to-go plates for Jacob's grandfather (who wasn't able to make it to our house); we enjoyed delicious desserts, cocoa and coffee (my favorite part); and we played Turbo Cranium (my mom was a great puppeteer, Monica was a great puppet, and Jacob's dad was a great sensosketcher). After the game, we sat back and relaxed in the living room to wind down from the day. It was a great Thanksgiving!
My mom, Jacob's mom, and me trying to guess the song that Monica was humming.
Matthew and Jacob trying to guess what Jacob's dad was sculpting.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Mom's b-day
On Thursday, we celebrated my mom's birthday at Saltgrass Steakhouse.
It was nice to get together with her, my grandma, and my sister. We had a nice dinner and the food was delicious!
Happy Birthday, Mom!
It was nice to get together with her, my grandma, and my sister. We had a nice dinner and the food was delicious!
Happy Birthday, Mom!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Celeste's b-day
On Oct 18th we celebrated Jacob's cousin's (Celeste) 9th birthday at a neighborhood park. The theme was Rock-n-Roll. She had rock-n-roll music playing in the background and her cake was in the shape of a record. The fun activities included making personalized journals (where were these when I was a kid?) and a pinata.
Celeste & the pinata
Celeste & her Grandpa
As the main course, she had hot dogs and hamburgers with every topping you could possibly want: chili, cheese, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, and relish! Yum! It was nice to spend time with Jacob's family and a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
Jacob's mom, aunt Liz, sister Monica, & cousin Jessica
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Sea World with Mom
On Sunday (10/11/08), Jacob and I took my mom to Sea World. We had a blast! We saw all of the shows (or at least all of the shows we wanted to see) and we visited the sharks, penguins, sea lions, and otters.
We enjoyed lunch at the park. Jacob and my mom ordered burgers and yes, I ordered a huge chili cheese dog!
We even convinced my mom to ride Atlantis. I was so proud of her for getting on the ride. After all, she's not quite as young as she used to be and rides make her a little more nauseous than she used to feel several years ago. All in all, we enjoyed riding the ride with her. She even made us laugh with her facial expressions! But I must confess that I did feel a little guilty about not telling her about the part where you go backwards!
After the Atlantis, we had planned to dry off by riding the Steel Eel (mom had enough rides by then so she agreed to watch our stuff). Sadly, the ride was stuck on the lower part of the incline (we were thankful it got stuck before we got on). As an alternative, we relocated my mom and our stuff to the Great White, but the line was so long that we decided we weren't meant to ride a coaster after all.
Later we enjoyed an afternoon snack. Jacob had a candy apple and I had cotton candy. My mom didn't want a snack but thankfully she helped me with my cotton candy.
Zombie (can you see the worms crawling out of him?)
Next, we headed off to wait in line for the haunted forest. I noticed that waiting in line flies by when you're with 2 other people because the conversation never seems to die. It was great. Not to mention that we enjoyed watching the warewolves and zombies spook people. Then as we approached the entrance, Jacob commented about how he hated haunted houses because he always ended up at the end of the line...and sure enough that's where we ended up. As soon as Jacob realized this, he frantically pushed my mom and me aside so that we would be last instead of him...it felt like we were part of a Seinfeld episode. So, hand in hand, Jacob led me and I led my mom into the forest. It was spooky and fun! The beginning definitely address my slight claustrophobia...and then the rest was suspensefully frightening. I'm so glad we went through it and again I was proud of both Jacob and my mom for coping with their fears and enjoying the experience with me.
Making friends with a zombie
We ended the day with the Shamu show and then headed to Subway for a light dinner that included some much needed veggies!
Mom & me waiting to see Shamu
We enjoyed lunch at the park. Jacob and my mom ordered burgers and yes, I ordered a huge chili cheese dog!
We even convinced my mom to ride Atlantis. I was so proud of her for getting on the ride. After all, she's not quite as young as she used to be and rides make her a little more nauseous than she used to feel several years ago. All in all, we enjoyed riding the ride with her. She even made us laugh with her facial expressions! But I must confess that I did feel a little guilty about not telling her about the part where you go backwards!
After the Atlantis, we had planned to dry off by riding the Steel Eel (mom had enough rides by then so she agreed to watch our stuff). Sadly, the ride was stuck on the lower part of the incline (we were thankful it got stuck before we got on). As an alternative, we relocated my mom and our stuff to the Great White, but the line was so long that we decided we weren't meant to ride a coaster after all.
Later we enjoyed an afternoon snack. Jacob had a candy apple and I had cotton candy. My mom didn't want a snack but thankfully she helped me with my cotton candy.
Zombie (can you see the worms crawling out of him?)Next, we headed off to wait in line for the haunted forest. I noticed that waiting in line flies by when you're with 2 other people because the conversation never seems to die. It was great. Not to mention that we enjoyed watching the warewolves and zombies spook people. Then as we approached the entrance, Jacob commented about how he hated haunted houses because he always ended up at the end of the line...and sure enough that's where we ended up. As soon as Jacob realized this, he frantically pushed my mom and me aside so that we would be last instead of him...it felt like we were part of a Seinfeld episode. So, hand in hand, Jacob led me and I led my mom into the forest. It was spooky and fun! The beginning definitely address my slight claustrophobia...and then the rest was suspensefully frightening. I'm so glad we went through it and again I was proud of both Jacob and my mom for coping with their fears and enjoying the experience with me.
Making friends with a zombieWe ended the day with the Shamu show and then headed to Subway for a light dinner that included some much needed veggies!
Mom & me waiting to see Shamu
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Cesar & Kara's Wedding
Cesar & Kara's 1st dance
On Saturday (10/11/08), we attended my cousin Cesar's wedding. It was beautiful! The ceremony was held in the Gazebo area at the SW School of Art & Craft. After the ceremony, they encouraged us to mingle and enjoy refreshing drinks and delicious appetizers, while they took picures. Then, we headed to the chapel for the reception. The reception area was gorgeous! The dimmed lighting and magnificent interior design created an elegant dinner setting, not to mention that the food was spectacular!
Aunt Rose & Cesar (Mother/Son Dance)
Brittany (sister) & Niki (Cousin) 
GrandmaAfter dinner the dancing began. It was a lot of fun to watch Cesar and his friends "challenge" each other on the dance floor. The DJ was great and played a lot of good hits (Daniel, they even played "Ice Ice Baby"!)
Mom & Britt 
UsCesar & Kara: Thank you for sharing your day with us! We wish you the best as you venture into the new chapter of your lives together!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Jacob's 30!
Jacob turned 30 this past weekend (Sept. 20th). It was a little sad for him to be leaving his 20s, but overall he enjoyed his birthday. Although I had wanted to celebrate his b-day with a big bash full of family and friends, I knew he's really not into big b-day celebrations, so we kept it low key by having dinner with family at La Hacienda de Los Barrios and dessert at our house.
For dessert, the plan was to have a Cookies-n-Cream ice cream cake. He had his heart set on a spectacularly delicious all ice cream cake that had a crumbly cookie crust. Unfortunately, after coordinating with the HEB bakery for several days, I eventually discovered that his first choice would not be available. As a result, I researched the ice cream cake options available at Cold Stone, Marble Slab, and Baskin Robbins. In the end I selected a Cookies-n-Cream Ice Cream Cake from Baskin Robbins. It was delicious! And surprisingly, it was Jacob's very first BR Ice Cream Cake! Can you believe that in all his 30 years of life, he had NEVER tasted a BR ice cream cake!
After the cake he opened presents. He had requested that no one bring presents, but his family ignored his requests, which I was especially thankful for when he opened the gift from his sister which contained oatmeal raisin cookies. They were the most delicious oatmeal raisin cookies we had ever eaten.
All in all, Jacob's birthday turned out well. He enjoyed saying farewell to his 20s by relaxing, eating, and spending time with our families.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Will they ever get along?
Every now and then we have hope that Crystal (our youngest cat) and Casper (our dog) will one day be friends but then...
This afternoon, while I was brushing Casper, Crystal plopped herself down right next to me and glared at Casper.
Then out of nowhere, I saw Crystal reach out a paw and slap Casper's front paws and then his face. Casper jumped up in shock. After I calmed the 2 of them down, everything seemed okay but then all of a sudden, Crystal slowly reached out another paw and slapped Casper again! I couldn't believe it! Maybe they'll be friends one day, but probably not today.
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