Welcome to
Alfonso & Silvia's Homepage

This place started out as just a quick-and-dirty website where I could inflict some of my pictures on the world.

Now it's spread almost out of control, as I document the most mundane events in the lives of my friends and family. Most recently I added pages for my Mom and Dad, which I had inexplicably neglected to do until 2008. Also, I removed a page for one of my siblings who felt offended at my fond and gentle ribbing and threatened to sue. Sigh.

Anyway, drop me a line sometime at delgranado@msn.com or write Silvia at silvia@delgranado.com

Alfonso

PS If you're hearing music, it's "Open Arms" by Journey, one of Silvia's favorite songs.

We got married November 16, 2000 (my friend Federico's birthday).

I'm not kidding about the fish. Silvia's fondest memories are waterholes and fishing lines. It's the only way you can drag her out of bed before noon on a weekend. We've had a number of romantic fishing getaways.

The main pic above was taken at the Bolivian Embassy on December 29, 2000. Silvia and I paid a quick unannounced visit to my cousin Marlene. She's a wonderful person, who, despite being overburdened by more than 20 guests, put us up -- and put up with us -- with her usual friendly warmth and grace.

We celebrated our first New Year (2001) at Chicago's Drake Hotel with my Mom, Francisco, and friends. We had a great time -- despite the dancing (hey, I got married so I wouldn't have to dance anymore).

Silvia and I borrowed Danny's bike recently and went on a midnight run with more than a thousand bikers. It was unbelievable! The police had all the intersections blocked off and the tollbooths open for us. Visit MidnightTour.com for details.

Silvia and I put our money where my mouth was, and went on a liquid diet (Optifast) at my work (Synchrony Health / Center for Weight Management of Oak Brook). We lost a combined 70 pounds in the first 8 weeks! Okay, I lost 50 and she lost 20, but Silvia didn't have that much to lose. She's in the transition phase, still losing a little every week. I'm still in the active phase, and I've lost another 20 pounds in weeks 9-12.

Click the following links to see our weight loss TV Commercials Synchrony Health, Tony & Susan, John & Tami, Jay, Dr. Ghani, our YouTube "Radio" Commercial, and our Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band (LAGB) Surgery Demonstration (aka LAPBAND & REALIZE).

I got the LAPBAND! After losing 70 pounds, I found a gallstone the size of a golf ball and decided to take the opportunity. Read my blog here.

Okay, this is too much. Silvia & I were cruising downtown when we got stopped in the street by more than a thousand naked bicyclists protesting oil.

Silvia was loving it, jumping up and down on the seat in the convertible. Several riders yelled to her to "take it off!" Her answer, "I can't -- my husband's here."

Meantime I had my arm up to avoid getting hit by various body parts flying by at 20mph, but one guy misunderstood and high-fived me. I don't think I've ever high-fived a naked guy on a bicycle before, and I was kind of hoping to go to my grave that way. Sigh.

Here's a link to YouTube videos of the Chicago Naked Bike Ride 2008.

Having spent most evenings apart for over a year because of work and school schedules, Silvia and I decided to spend a little time together in June 2010. We took a month of dance lessons at the Fred Astaire studio in Burr Ridge, learning Waltz, Foxtrot, Hustle, Merengue, Salsa, and Tango. Fun but exhausting!

This page was last updated on 08/22/10.

Updated pages: Family, Fede, and Vacation Trips.

Personal website of  Alfonso del Granado and Silvia del Granado (Alfonso F. del Granado and Silvia Moreno). If this paragraph seems weird, it's because it's intended to help web indexing site searches (such as Google and Yahoo!).