The Little Things in Life..

New Blog

2011-07-03T14:41:00.000-07:00

I've moved this blog over to a new web address...

http://www.chongfam5.blogspot.com/

Good days & Bad Days

2011-07-02T07:33:00.000-07:00

I haven't been here in a while.

Life got busy.

I stopped writing.

I didn't have time.

I'd wanted to start writing again after Nathan was born because I wanted to keep track of his progress, but again, I didn't have the time because I wanted to spend every minute I could with him at the hospital.

I think that with everything that has happened, I really should come here to write down my feelings, both good and bad. And if I write about the good, it will be here for me on the bad days and I can come and read it to help me....

I'm Taking the CBEST Tomorrow...

2010-02-05T08:51:00.000-08:00

(It's been so long that I think I almost forgot how to blog.)

I'm taking the CBEST tomorrow so I've been studying like crazy this past week. (CBEST is an acronym for California Basic Education Skills Test.) It basically tests your reading, writing, and math skills. Anyone who wants to get into a credential program or be a substitute teacher in the state of California needs to pass this test.
(Since I am undecided about whether I want to get into a credential program, I'm taking the CBEST in order to get a substitute teaching permit. For now...)

I really should have taken it a long time ago and some people even take it right after high school, but I have this intense fear of math, and the last time I had a math class was 9 years ago.

I only had to take 1 math class my whole college career and I was happy about that.
When my major was Liberal Studies, I was going to have to take 3 upper division math classes, but after I changed my major to English, I found out that I had already completed my math requirements.
(Wheeew I dodged that bullet...)

So here I am with my test prep book, trying to solve algebraic equations, find the distance from point A to point B, and trying to remember what prime numbers are; all while Michael is trying to steal my pen and scribble in my book.

My mantra for the day: I will not get stressed out. I will not get stressed out...

It's Been Too Long & Some Hilariously Stupid Misspelled Tattoos

2010-02-04T18:55:00.000-08:00

It's been a looooooooooooong time. Two months since my last post, but not to worry, I'm still alive. I came across something today that was just too good not to share. I hope you are as amused as I was:

Misspelled Tattoos: Permanent and Hilarious

Dear Blog...

2009-11-19T11:21:00.000-08:00

Dear Blog,

I miss you. Seriously. We should really get together more often. I know you've been jealous of all the time I've been spending with Farmville, but that's going to change. Please don't look at me like that, Blog. You know you're my number one.

Your Neglectful Owner,

Jolene

My Letter of Recommendation

2009-10-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

When I was still in school, I had the pleasure of taking a couple classes with this really great professor. She was the type of teacher who genuinely cared for her students, and we could tell. She regularly went beyond her duties as an English professor to make sure her students were successful not just in her class, but also in life. While I was in her class, she had said that if any one of us ever needed a letter of recommendation, she would be glad to help us.

After I graduated last June, I remembered this professor's offer, so I sent her an email and asked if she could write a letter of recommendation for me. She emailed me back that night and said that she wasn't able to do it right then because she had just left to Japan for a few months (to join her husband, who teaches there) and she didn't have access to her grade books. She did say that she would be able to write it for me when she got back at the end of September.

So a couple weeks ago, I looked around and realized that it was already the end of September and I remembered my professor's offer. I emailed her and asked if she would still be willing to write a letter of recommendation for me. She immediately emailed me back and said that she would be happy to write it for me.

Yesterday I went to campus to pick up the letter she wrote for me. She left them outside her office door on her bulletin board. She also made 3 additional signed copies for me, just in case I needed extra. I'm telling you, this professor is so nice and thoughtful.

After I got to my car, curiosity had gotten the best of me, so I opened one of the letters to read it.

And WOOOOOOOOOOOW!

What do you know?

The letter was filled with nothing but nice things about ME!

I think that letter boosted my self-esteem by 10 points, maybe even 11.

But seriously though, I'm hoping my professor's letter will aid me in my job search. I already have 2 letters of recommendation that were written for me by my 2 former supervisors, so I thought that it could be good to add another one to my files.

Or maybe I just might frame it, and look at it every morning when I wake up.

Picture Day Princess

2009-10-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my first baby will be turning 7 this weekend. It seems like only yesterday...

Time for Another Edition of Nerdy Humor

2009-09-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

So my washer broke some time last month. My front-loading, barely 5 years old washer that we bought when we moved to this apartment is broken. It first started making a horribly loud noise when it was spinning and then it sounded like something was banging around in there. So I checked inside the washer to discover that the drum was loose and just swinging around inside the washer.

After doing a little research on the good old internet, I came across several people who had the same washer as me, with the same exact problem. From what I gathered, most likely the problem is the spider and brackets (which hold the drum in place) got corroded and broke, and the washer manufacturer doesn't sell these parts separately. You have to buy a whole new drum with the spider and brackets already in place. Sounds expensive, right? Yup, you guessed it.

We bought the 5 year warranty for the washer when we purchased it, but when the 5 years was up, I decided not to renew it for another year. We didn't have any problems with it up until then and I remember my parent's washer lasting over 10 years, so I didn't think we needed to renew the warranty. But I guess I was very wrong.

So lately I've been washing over at my mom's or going to the laundromat and washing a few loads and then bringing them home to my (still functioning) dryer.

----------------------
If you've been around here long enough, then you'll know that it amuses me to no end when I see a misspelled word that has been published or is on a sign somewhere.

While I was at the laundromat last week, I spotted this lovely gem of a sign posted up on the wall.

It has not just one, but 2 spelling offenses in the word beverage, or should I say 'bevrge.'

As I was waiting for my loads to finish, I began to wonder, who would be taking liquor in there anyway? It's not like the laundromat is Party Central...

But as I thought about it some more, I realized that laundromats are not very fun places to be, especially if they are hot, crowded, and full of people with staring problems and/or no sense of personal space.

So maybe people take their alcoholic bevrge to the laundromat and use it as a coping mechanism to get through their dreaded time there.

hmm..maybe I might try that sometime. Oh wait, but then I'd have to drive myself home afterwards.

Eh, I could call myself a taxi....

What I've Been Up To...

2009-09-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

I still haven't found a job after 3 months of (half-hearted) job searching. I say 'half-hearted' because I'm not sure I'm ready to leave my kids and be gone full-time just yet, and also because I know the job market is less than ideal for recent college graduates right now. But like I've said before, I believe I'll find the right job when the time is right.

And although I am currently unemployed, that doesn't mean I've been sitting around all day watching Soap Net because with Elizabeth back in school now, Michael has been keeping me pretty busy. Running after him all day is a full-time job. So maybe I'm not really unemployed after all.

Michael has recently developed a fascination with water, more specifically the water dispenser in our kitchen; crayons; and my makeup (but please don't tell his dad about the last one).

One evening during Eliz's first week of school, I had to go over all of the usual new school year paperwork with her: the school rules, library agreement, homework policy, etc... Since I was otherwise occupied with his big sister, Michael saw it as the perfect opportunity to get my makeup bag off the bathroom counter and examine its contents.

Once I noticed that he was being a little too quiet, it was too late. He had gotten into 3 of my mascaras, and painted on quite an impressive beard.

Exhibit A: Sneaky Bearded Baby

I'm glad I don't use waterproof mascara...

The next thing that has been keeping me very busy is Michael's use of crayons. He just recently became interested in crayons after watching his sister doing homework at the kitchen table everyday. I bought him his very own pack of large crayons and a couple coloring books.

He loves to scribble in the books for a while, but then he'll get up from the table and move his artistic expression to our walls. If I'm lucky, I'll confiscate his crayons before he leaves the table. But if I'm not so lucky, he'll escape with a crayon or two in hand and mark up our walls.

Exhibit B: Vandalism in Progress

Since I've had to constantly be cleaning crayon off the wall, Mr. Clean magic erasers have become my new best friend...

Our First Camping Trip

2009-09-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

We went camping to Lake Perris this past Labor Day weekend. As a child, I went camping with my family a lot, but I hadn't been camping recently. I think the last time I went camping was a couple years before Eliz was born. So it's been a long time.

We had planned to stay for two nights but we only stood one night because Michael just wasn't into the whole sleeping in a tent thing. We got there on Saturday afternoon, and set up our tent and everything else. We went with some friends who also have 2 children, so Michael and Eliz had fun playing with them. By the evening, Michael was worn out, so he fell asleep in Mig's arms. Later in the night though, at about 10:00, Michael woke up in the dark tent and he was just crying and crying. He would not lie back down and he didn't fall back asleep until about 4:00 a.m. It was a verrrrrrrrrrrrrry long and exhausting night for all of us.

We think Michael was probably a little scared and confused as to why he was out in the wilderness, asleep in a dark tent instead of being at home in his comfy little bed, so that's why he had such a rough night. In turn, our night was also really rough from the lack of sleep. But there's nothing like hearing a wild animal (of some sort) walking around outside your tent to really wake you up in the morning. That, and some strong coffee of course.

So on Sunday evening, we decided to pack up and go home rather than subjecting Michael to another night of tent sleeping. The drive home wasn't very long, only about 1 hour, and once all of us got to bed, it was the best sleep we'd ever had...

I think we might need to wait a while before we attempt to go camping again, at least until Michael can understand that we will only be staying in the tent for a couple nights and not indefinitely (which is probably what his little brain was thinking.)

I don't have any pictures of our weekend because I can't find my camera charger and the battery died last week... = (

My Hired Help

2009-09-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

The housework and chores around here have been getting so overwhelming, so I recently hired some help.

Now I can just sit around and eat bon-bons all day...

Elizabeth Is Officially a 2nd Grader

2009-09-01T08:49:00.001-07:00

Elizabeth started second grade today, and she was so excited. She had her new backpack packed with all her new school supplies since last week. She woke up, brushed her teeth, and got dressed all without any prompting or reminding from me. I hope her excitement and self-sufficiency lasts longer than one day.

As we walked into her classroom, Eliz scanned the room for friends and familiar faces and she was able to spot a few. Although there was one little "friend" of Elizabeth's that I kind of wished was in a different class. For the third year in a row, Elizabeth's nemesis, 'Violet,' is in the same class as her.

The word, friend is in quotations because 'Violet' is hardly Elizabeth's friend. It all started when they were in kindergarten and Violet scratched Eliz's neck. Eliz told their teacher. Their teacher made phone calls to both sets of parents and Violet got in trouble. So from then on, they've had problems (of the passive-agressive variety. No other scratching incidents have happened.)

Throughout first grade, Eliz would come home and say that Violet was being nice to her and she wanted to be her friend. Then the next day, Eliz would say that Violet didn't want to be her friend, and that Violet told another girl not to be Eliz's friend as well.

Or Eliz would tell me that Violet said she couldn't play with her and some other girls because Eliz wasn't wearing pink or Eliz wasn't wearing a dress, or some other stupid reason. Violet seems to be a Mean Girl in the making....

So you can understand my disappointment at seeing Violet this morning in Eliz's class. I'm hoping we don't have another school year of the same thing. I'm hoping that this past summer has helped to mature both of the girls a little bit so that Violet won't be as mean and if she is, then Eliz won't care so much...

Not So Wordless Wednesday - Do Not Feed the M&Ms

2009-08-26T20:28:00.000-07:00

Is it still Wednesday? Yeah I think I have a few hours left...

We went to Vegas last month and I never posted any of the pics, but I'll just share these greatest hits with you.

When you go to the zoo, there are usually warning signs up about not feeding the animals, but at the M&Ms World in Vegas, they should have a warning sign up about not giving the M&Ms any beer because they can turn a little wild...

Here is Mig sharing a little Budweiser with Red.

And about one minute later, here is Red giving my cousin Tatiana and her boyfriend, Edgar a not-so-friendly hand gesture.

Cold Brewed Coffee

2009-08-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

I posted this recipe almost a year ago, but it is just so good that I have to post it again especially since it has been so hot lately.
When I first read about cold brewed coffee, I had no idea what cold brewing was or that it could even be done. From my understanding, because the coffee grinds do not come into contact with hot water, less oils and acids are released so it turns out less acidic and very smooth.

This recipe from a New York Times article makes enough for 2 drinks, but I like to make a double or triple batch to keep in a glass carafe in the fridge:

1/3 cup of ground coffee

1 1/2 cups water

1. In a jar or pitcher, stir together the coffee grinds and water. Cover and let rest at room temperature overnight or 12 hours.
2. Strain twice (once if you're lazy or you just can't wait for your caffeine fix) through a coffee filter, a fine-mesh sieve or a sieve lined with cheesecloth into another jar or pitcher.

The resulting coffee will be pretty strong, so I like to make my iced coffee with 3 parts cold milk and ice and 1 part of the cold brewed coffee and some sugar of course.

You know you want some...

My Strong-Willed, Picky Toddler

2009-08-07T09:19:00.001-07:00

Michael's eating habits lately have been making it very hard to parent him with a smile.

Take yesterday, for example:

I made blueberry pancakes for breakfast and he wanted absolutely nothing to do with them. Who doesn’t like blueberry pancakes?

For lunch, I made him a peanut butter sandwich, and thankfully he ate it.

For dinner, I made chicken cacciatore. Now, I know that he’ll eat spaghetti, but all I had was linguine so that’s what I made. Well I guess Michael is not a big fan of linguine because he just looked at his dinner and dumped his plate over without even taking a bite first.

(Note to self: NEVER buy linguine again.)

And this morning again, he wanted nothing to do with the bowl of cereal that I put in front of him. I finally gave up and just let him eat a banana.

I know that toddlers his age don’t have very big appetites, and on the plus side, Michael does like to snack on fruit throughout the day.

So I should try not to get stressed out about his current eating habits because I can feel 3 new white hairs sprouting from my scalp as we speak.

It Looks Like There Might Be a Change of Plans / My Mom Might Be Psychic

2009-08-06T17:06:00.001-07:00

The past month or so has been pretty uneventful for us. I mean, other than the life-altering decision we made a couple weeks ago to move in with my mom, things have been pretty quiet, dare I even say boring….?

No, definitely not boring. I don’t think life with 2 kids can ever be boring. They won’t allow it. There’s always some kind of noise to be made, something to break, or some mess that needs to be made…

So I guess we’ll just say that things have been uneventful. We’ve just been going on, day by day, and doing everything that needs to be done. Nothing too exciting.

However, the past 2 days have been anything but uneventful.

On Tuesday, Mig learned that his employer will be hiring back 3 guys that have been on layoff status, and Mig is one of them! He will officially be back next Monday! (For those of you that may not know, my husband has been laid off since last November, but his company did not completely let him go. He has been on-call since then and working when they need him.)

Yesterday, (Wednesday) started off with our 7th wedding anniversary. I suppose the day ended with it still being our anniversary, but everything that happened in between left me feeling dizzy and with my stomach in a nervous knot.

A couple hours after Mig left to work, I got a surprising phone call, one I’d lost hope of ever receiving.

It was a woman who works for the community development department of the city we live in, regarding their down payment assistance program that Mig and I applied for last year.

(Basically the down payment program offers a loan <that will be forgiven after a certain number of years> to families who qualify in order to help them purchase their first home. The loan is a significant amount of money that would definitely help someone purchase a home and drastically lower their monthly mortgage payment.)

Mig and I had been approved for the program last year, but funds had run out so we were put on a waiting list.

A little over a month ago, someone for the city called and asked if we were still interested in the program since we were still on the waiting list. They also said that the city council would be meeting the next week to see if they would be able to fund this program for another year, and if funds were approved then we would hear back from them the next week.

No one ever called me back so I figured with the huge budget crisis that California is facing right now, there was no way that the program would be funded for another year.

So we just forgot about it, and we made plans to move in with my mom.

Well the phone call I got yesterday was the lady from the city saying that although it took longer than expected, funds for the program had been approved and that our application was the first on their waiting list!

Right after I got off the phone with her, I went to get my cell phone from the charger in my bedroom. The whole time I was thinking, I can’t wait to tell Mig, but wait, what about my mom? This definitely changes our plans to move in with her. What am I going to tell her?

As I grabbed my phone I noticed that my mom had just left me a text message that said,

“If you’re having 2nd thoughts, doubts, or you guys would just like to have your own home, I would totally understand.. xoxo Mom”

So weird. I don’t know what would make my mom even bring that up. I’ve always thought that she was a bit psychic when it comes to matters concerning her kids and I think her telepathic text might have just confirmed it. When I asked her about it, she said that she just sensed the need to tell me that.

I know this isn’t the best timing for all of this but it would be a great opportunity for us to be able to buy a home. It’s something that we’ve been dreaming about and saving for since we first got married, 7 years ago.

The only thing that might hinder our chances of getting a final approval for the program now is the issue of Mig not having completely stable employment over the past few months. We are worried that the bank might not think favorably of our situation even though Mig will now be off of layoff status.

So we have to turn in some updated documents to the city and to the bank on Monday and then wait and see if we get a final approval based on our situation.

I’m a big believer in all things happening for a reason. So if this is meant to happen, then it’s meant to happen. But if not, then that's ok too. Until then, I guess we’ll just have to wait.

The Perks of Being a Grown-up

2009-08-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

Earlier as we were watching an episode of Everyday Italian in which Giada was making chocolate pudding for a party, Elizabeth asked me:

"Mom, when you're a grown-up, can you decide what you want to eat first for dinner, like if you want to eat pudding first?"

So I said, "If you're a grown-up, yeah I guess you can."

Then she said, "COOL!! I can't wait to be a grown-up!!"
------------------------------

Sure being an adult comes with many responsibilities, but at least we can all decide if we want to eat pudding first before we eat dinner...

He Literally Gets Into Everything

2009-08-05T10:29:00.001-07:00

I can't leave my lipgloss on the table for a second...

My Weekend

2009-08-03T10:17:00.001-07:00

Being featured on SITS last week was amazing! My inbox was about to overflow with all the comment love that I received.
So thank you to everyone who visited me, and a big WELCOME to all my new FRIENDS!

This weekend was busy again as we are preparing for our move. We spent most of the weekend at my mom's.
Mig painted the kid's room (my old room) and I had the distinct pleasure of cleaning my brother's old bathroom, which will now be our bathroom.
I really should have taken some before and after pictures of the shower tiles and the shower doors but then again, some of you might be eating as you read this...

I guess my brother was not very big on cleaning because there was a baked-on layer of soap scum on the whole shower that would not budge, no matter how hard I scrubbed.

There were a few times that I just felt like quitting, but then I stopped to take a break, had a Starbucks intervention, reminded myself that scrubbing burns calories, and I went straight back to work. (Oh yeah, and my sister-in-law also rescued me by bringing some Lime-Away cleaner, which works like magic. It just dissolves soap scum. I highly recommend it.)

So that was pretty much how my weekend went. Hope all of you had a good one.

It's My SITS Day!

2009-07-29T23:07:00.000-07:00

Welcome, welcome! Coffee, anyone?

Today is a very special day because it is my turn to be featured on SITS!

If you don't know what SITS is, it is a network of women bloggers who support one another through comments.
I've met so many great people who have become my bloggy friends through SITS, and now I am so excited that it is my day!

So what can I tell you about myself?....

My name is Jolene and I've been married to Miguel for almost 7 years now. We have 2 kids. Elizabeth is 6 and Michael is 1.

I just graduated last month with a B.A. in English and since then I have been halfheartedly searching for a job. I say halfheartedly because although I am really trying to find a job, I am also enjoying distraction free time with my kids since I am no longer worrying about getting school work done. That, and there really aren't many jobs right now. So although I have been discouraged, I am hopeful that the right job will come along at the right time.

We are a family that loves to have fun and to laugh, all while enjoying the little things in life.

Thanks for stopping by!

Big Changes Ahead

2009-07-29T11:25:00.000-07:00

There are some big things going on for us right now and that's why I haven't been around as much over the past couple weeks. We have been busy and I am exhausted, but it's all for a good reason because,

WE ARE MOVING!!!

We are going to be moving in with my mom to the house I grew up in.

(After my parents got divorced several years ago, my mom kept the house and my brother stood there living with my mom up until a few months ago when he moved out.)

So for the past few months, my mom has been there all by her lonesome. Mig and I talked to my mom and we all decided that it could be good for all of us to live together.
(Among the benefits: The kids will now have a yard to run and play in. We will have more living space. We will be able to save money. And the best part: we will be ditching our noisy and inconsiderate apartment neighbors...see ya!)
So we have been very busy preparing for our move.

Mig (with help from his friend Ian, who lets us pay him with food) has been painting the living room and family room because it hadn't been painted in a very long time.

I've also been helping my mom clean out my old bedroom (which will now be the kid's room) because since I moved out about 7 years ago, it has been used as a storage room. A very full storage room.

Our home improvement projects are not done yet, and then we get to look forward to the dreaded packing, but good things are in store for us....

Michael is 18 Months Old Today!

2009-07-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

I took a look at the calendar this morning and I realized that Michael is exactly 18 months old today.

Where has the time gone?

It seems like only yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital and wondering what our new baby boy would be like.

These days, Michael's nickname should really be

Hurricane Michael.

He is full of energy, he runs around the house quickly, and he leaves destruction in his path.

He loves to take things from where they belong and place them somewhere else. Case in point: we haven't been able to find our tv remote control in a couple weeks, so we have to turn the tv on and off and adjust the volume by getting our lazy behinds up off the couch and using the buttons on the tv. (Horrible right?)

Michael seems to be allergic to tidyness and order. I don't know how many times I've folded stacks of laundry and gone to put one stack away, only to come back and discover that Michael has knocked my other piles of laundry over. Then he'll take a shirt and run away while he giggles. (It's hard to get mad at that little giggle.)

Michael also seems to be developing a funny little sense of humor. Yesterday morning, Eliz and Michael climbed into bed with me. We were all lying down, and it was very quiet. Then out of nowhere, Michael farted!!! (lol) Elizabeth immediately started saying, "EWW Michael!" and we all laughed. Even Michael was laughing. Then we quieted down and about a minute later, Michael farted again! We couldn't stop laughing this time. I thought Michael was a little too young to understand potty humor but I guess boys can never be too young for that kind of thing.

But Michael's sweet side completely makes up for his mischievous side. Every so often he gets in a cuddly mood and likes to give me hugs and kisses. I wish I could say he does the same to his sister, but he doesn't. He loves to pull Eliz's hair and run away with her Barbies when she is busy playing with them. But I know that Eliz loves her little brother and I know Michael loves his big sister.

Yesterday right after Hurricane Michael had destroyed some folded laundry and smacked Eliz right in the face, I asked Eliz what she thought about having Michael as a little brother and without hesitation, she said, "I love him! He's my little brother."

So I guess we're keeping him...

The Time I Almost Murdered My Best Friend - Writer's Workshop

2009-07-15T22:49:00.000-07:00

It's Writer's Workshop time again over at Mama Kat's:

The prompt I choose this week is:

4.) Which appliance in your home would you most miss living without if you had to live without.
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If you know anything about me, you know that I need my coffee. Seriously, I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed coffee. I know I'm addicted, and I'm pretty much fine with it. (I mean, everyone has their vice. Well, mine happens to be coffee. It could be worse right?)

I have a 2-3 hour window from the time I wake up to my caffeine ingestion deadline, and if I don't have any coffee within my 2-3 hour window, bad things will happen.

So the appliance I would most miss if I had to live without it definitely has to be my coffee-maker. I was going to say I'd miss my washer but compared to my coffee-maker, I think I could do without it since I need my coffee-maker for my health and for the safety and well-being of those around me.

This reminds me of a time last year when I spent the weekend with my best friend, Maria. (Mig was away for the weekend too at a coaches' football camp at Fresno State). So the kids and I spent the night at Maria's house.

The next morning when I woke up it was coffee time so I asked her where her coffee-maker was. She said she didn't drink coffee, so she didn't have one. I knew that she didn't drink coffee, but I thought that maybe she might have had a coffee maker lying around. I began to panic. I asked if she had any instant coffee since I was that desperate, but she said she didn't have any instant coffee either.

What? I couldn't believe it. First of all, what kind of person doesn't like coffee? And second, what kind of person doesn't have a coffee-maker in their house for the normal coffee-drinking-people that come to visit? What was I going to do?

No coffee? Someone was about to get hurt...

I began to sweat and get a little shaky and then Maria kindly reminded me that there were both a Starbucks and a McDonalds in close proximity and that she would be happy to run over to either one to get some coffee for her (normal-coffee-drinking) house guest.

Ahh, what a good friend...

My Basketball Player

2009-07-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

We signed Elizabeth up to play in the Summer Basketball League for 5 - 8 year olds a couple weeks ago so she could stay busy during the summer.

This is her first time playing basketball so I wasn't sure if she would like it or not, especially since there are mostly boys on each team. (Each team has 1 to 2 girls, and Eliz is the only girl on her team.)

But so far she loves it!

The main purpose of the league is to teach kids the fundamentals of the game. They do not keep score, and everyone gets a chance to play.

She had her first game today and she even made a basket! Miguel must have been the proudest dad in the gym.

Things Just Get Busier

2009-07-09T12:02:00.000-07:00

It seems like the weeks are just flying by this summer and I hardly get the chance to blog anymore. I think it's weird that I used to have more time to blog while I was still going to school. But I suppose it only seemed like I had more time before because I used to set aside time to do my homework, so I was already on the computer.
But now, Elizabeth is off of school for the summer and Michael is getting to the point where his morning nap is now becoming his afternoon nap. Pretty soon, I think he is going to give up his 2 naps a day and just consolidate them into 1 nap.
So I barely have any 'alone time' these days. Some days I barely even get on the computer.
Not to worry though, I am enjoying my time at home with my kiddies because I know my days as a stay-at-home mom are limited. Sooner or later (probably much, much later with this economy) I will land myself a job and then I won't be able to be home with them all day.

So what have we been up to?

Speaking of getting a job, "Bill," the lawyer from my interview last week has not called me. I'm still holding on to the hope that he will call me back and offer me a million dollars.
We went to the beach last Saturday on the 4th of July and although the day started out warm, it then got very cold and windy in the late afternoon so we pretty much freezed our butts off.
Eliz started basketball this week and she is doing pretty good! We will find out what team she is on tonight at practice.
Mig and I are going to Vegas tomorrow for the weekend and it will be the first time we are both away from the kids. =..(
Michael, being the ~~monster~~ delightful toddler that he is, has learned how to say, "NO." So yesterday at the market, he kept trying to stand up in the basket and climb out and every time I sat him back down he would scream, "NOO, NOO, NOOOOOO!" So naturally, all the people around me had to stare. Wonderful, right?

Until next time...

Maybe They Were Just Starving?

2009-07-06T17:30:00.001-07:00

My kids never cease to surprise me.
A little while ago I decided to make myself a little before-dinner snack using a jar of Sundried Tomato Bruschetta that I picked up from Trader Joe's with some whole wheat toast.
I love sundried tomatoes. I could eat them straight out of the jar (and sometimes I do.)

So I made myself some toast and bruschetta and as I was enjoying it, Eliz walked by and wanted a bite. I didn't think she'd like it but I gave her a bite anyway. Then Michael saw his sister eating some so he wanted a bite too. So I let them each have a bite and I never would have imagined this, but they liked it!

Then they wanted more, so I made them each a slice of toast and topped it with the bruschetta and cut it into little triangles and they finished every last bite.

Who knew that my extremely picky kids would like Sundried Tomato Bruschetta? I guess this means I'm going to have to share the rest of the jar with them...

Incredibly Short Books - Writing Workshop

2009-07-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't participated in Mama Kat's weekly writer's workshop in a while. June was a slow posting month for me as I was busy at first with the end of the school quarter. Then after my graduation, I got a serious case of the lazies as I just enjoyed having to do absolutely nothing besides read the last 3 books of the Twilight series (and take care of my kiddies of course.)

The prompt I choose this week is:

2.) Write five "Incredibly Short Books". Some examples:

"Chemical Contraception Choices for Catholic Couples"
"Teenage U.S. Presidents"
"The Book of Female Popes"
"The 2008 Book of General Motors Profits"

The point is that the book is of zero size since the title is a contradiction with reality.

-------------------------------------
Here are my Incredibly Short Books:

"Super Easy Ways for New Graduates to Get a High-Paying Job"
(Only in a dream world.)

"The Healthy Get-Your-Kids-to-Lick-Their-Plate-Clean Cookbook"
(Like that could ever happen.)

"Ways to Stand Up and Not Give In to Your Toddler's Tantrums"
(Throwing tantrums is one of Michael's favorite hobbies right now.)

"My Nice and Very Considerate Neighbors: Apartment Living Is Such a Joy"
(There might be one person in this book, but that's it!)

And the last book's companion:
"The Nice and Well-Behaved Children In My Neighborhood"

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

I like to call this picture "Using Your Resources."
Michael takes his little blue step stool all over the house when he wants a better look at something or he wants to reach something. But apparently this day, the blue step stool was not high enough so he used it in conjunction with the 5 gallon water bottle to get a better look at the microwave. And he was about to use the shelves to climb even higher when I caught him.

I don't know whether to be proud of his problem-solving abilities or to scold him for this dangerous climbing scheme.

I Had An Impromptu Job Interview Yesterday

2009-06-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, I emailed my resume to a law office in response to a job posting they had created on Craigslist.

The position was for a Legal Secretary, and although I have no legal experience, the posting said that they would consider a candidate with non-legal experience if they typed 60+ words per minute.

Well I happen to type about 63 words per minute, so I emailed my resume in. No one from the law office ever contacted me, so I just forgot about it.

Well yesterday morning, I got a phone call from a lawyer from the law office. He seemed very nice and he introduced himself by his first name, "Bill." He said he had my resume that I had emailed in and he would like to meet with me.

(Wow, exciting, especially since I've emailed my resume all over the place and this is the first time anyone had called me back.)

This lawyer, Bill asked if I could meet him that afternoon and if I could bring in some of my writing samples and references. So I spent the rest of the morning getting everything together and trying to figure out what to wear.

I was very nervous because I haven't had a job interview in over 5 years, so I thought I'd be a little rusty. But at the same time, Bill had seemed so friendly and informal so that eased some of my worries.

I got there about 15 minutes before our appointment, and as I waited in the small waiting room, I began to get very nervous. I kept thinking, what is he going to ask me? Maybe I should have prepared a little more before coming in..

Bill opened the door and showed me to his office which had a big desk and a couch and numerous piles of paper on the desk, floor, and couch.

And then the interview began...

As soon as I sat down, I wasn't as nervous as I had been before. Bill made me feel very comfortable. The interview actually felt like 2 people just having a conversation rather than a very formal question and answer interview.

Bill was an older man, and he started by telling me that he had been practicing law for over 35 years. He told me that he was in practice by himself. He had no partners. His office was busy at times, but most of the time it was pretty quiet. He said that although I had no legal experience, he thought I could learn the job quickly. He then told me about all the job duties the position would entail: typing up his correspondence, creating drafts of letters and other legal documents. He said that he mostly recorded what his letters should say and that I would be transcribing his recordings. I would also be helping him maintain his rental properties and typing up correspondence for his tenants as needed.

So far, so good...

Then he looked over my resume and asked me about the previous position I held at an elementary school. So I told him all about it. While I was talking, he asked me basic questions about the social skills program I used to work for and if I ever saw results with the kids I worked with. (The answer to that is yes, but I explained it more in depth.)

He looked over some of my writing samples and one of them was about the mass deportations of Mexican-Americans during the Depression Era. Then Bill started talking about a movie made during the 50s with Charleston Heston which was about that.

Again, it felt just like we were having a conversation, not an interview because we were very casually talking about a movie. I kept thinking to myself that Bill seems like a very nice guy to work with. I also kept thinking that I had been so nervous, but it was actually going pretty well.

Then Bill and I talked some more and he said that some afternoons there was a lot of dead time, so I could probably even bring in a book or something to read during those times.

By this point, I was sold. I wanted to scream "HIRE ME, HIRE ME!"

He then asked if I would be willing to take a little typing/computer skills test in which I would use the Microsoft Word program to type out a 2 page letter (which was already printed out, so basically I was just copying it) but I had to copy it exactly, all the margins, formatting, indentations, everything. It wasn't that hard to do, I finished it in about 15-20 minutes. I looked it over to make sure everything was correct, no misspellings, no typos. (You know how meticulous I am.)

Bill then had me print it out and he looked it over and said that it was perfect. (Thankyouverymuch) He also said that he had interviewed someone else that morning who didn't quite know their way around the computer.

So by this point I was thinking that the interview had gone just about perfect. I liked him. He seemed to like me...

But there was one last issue to discuss, one I'd been dreading: salary.

I've never been in a position to negotiate salary before. With my previous job, I knew how much the position paid before I even applied, so it wasn't an issue. But having to name my price, so to speak is a very stressful subject for me. What if I say a number that's too high and they laugh, or what if I aim too low and I could have gotten more?

So I tried to side step this question when Bill asked me, and I told him that since I had never actually been a legal secretary, I wasn't sure what to expect as far as salary.

So then Bill threw out a number for me to consider.

And this was the point that the perfect interview turned south, very, very quickly...

I'm not going to say how much Bill offered me, but let me say that the number he said is actually $2.00 less per hour than what my old job paid, and I did mention this to him and he said he would make a note of it.

So I'll just have to wait for Bill to call me back.

But if I don't get the job, or if Bill is not willing to raise his offer then at least I got some experience in interviewing, if nothing else.

Leisurely Reading & Weird Dreams

2009-06-25T20:38:00.000-07:00

I started reading the rest of the books in the Twilight series last week. I finished New Moon and Eclipse (which I think is my favorite so far) and I am halfway through Breaking Dawn right now. I forgot how much I enjoyed leisurely reading.
Reading just to read. I would read all day if I could. Darn responsibilities.

All of this leisurely reading has been causing me to have some restless nights of sleep though, and for more reasons than one.

First, I have been reading at night after the kids go to bed. Once I start reading, I usually can't stop. I'll read a few chapters and then think, ok one more chapter and then I have to go to bed. After I'm done with that chapter, I'll say ok, just one more chapter again. This will continue until I realize that it is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay past my bedtime.

Once I do make it to bed, I have a hard time falling asleep even though it is very late.

And then when I fall asleep, the weird dreams come...

Just last night I had a dream that I was at a family party when this weird lavender-colored German Shepard type-dog (it was probably more like a wolf) with bright red eyes wandered into the party and scared everyone. And even though the dog/wolf spoke perfect English, I didn't stick around long enough to ask it what it wanted because I was so scared.

I know, I know. Very weird, right?

These Twilight books do not make great nighttime reading material.
But even though I'm tired and I haven't been sleeping very well, I can't help myself. I just have to keep reading to find out what happens, as disturbing as it may be. (If you've read the 4th book then you probably have an idea of what I'm talking about.)

I'm off to read (and to probably induce more weird dreams)...

Wordless Wednesday - Not a Fan of Blogging

2009-06-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

We Are Now Binky-Free!

2009-06-23T11:20:00.000-07:00

Something miraculous happened over this past week. Michael gave up his binky--cold turkey.

We weaned Michael from his beloved bottles a few months ago, but I just couldn't let him give up his binky just yet. I was dreading the day when we would have to sever Michael's attachment to his binky.
Binkys are just so useful when it comes to comforting Michael in the middle of the night. He tends to wake up at least once or twice. So when he wakes up, I wake up. When his binky was still around, I would just pop it back in Michael's mouth and everyone could go back to sleep.

Binkys are also very useful for those times when Michael decides to scream bloody murder when we are at a store. I don't know why people stare at screaming babies (and the seeming failure of a parent the baby is with) as if they've never seen a crying baby before. I use to keep an emergency binky in Michael's diaper bag strictly for this purpose.
See, Michael's use of his binky was a win-win situation for both of us.

However, my mom didn't quite feel the same way. Every time my mom would come over and see Michael with a binky, she would say that Michael was getting too old to have one. She would also frequently say that if we didn't give up his binky now, then he could end up being a 4-year-old, riding his bike down the street with a binky in his mouth. (Just picturing that makes me laugh)

My mom would also kindly remind me that when we were babies (my 2 brothers and me) we didn't use a pacifier past the age of 3 months. She also claims that we were all potty-trained, speaking in full sentences, and reciting Shakespeare from memory by the time we were 2 years old. (Ok, I made up that last part about reciting Shakespeare, but my mom has probably said something close to that over the years.)

Now, my mom has a tendency to exaggerate, but she did have a point regarding Michael's binky use. She made me realize that I was using Michael's binky as a crutch and I was allowing him to do the same. So last Sunday I decided it was time to do something about it.

We had been at my mom's house all day after my graduation, so Michael had been exhausted by the time we got home that night. He fell asleep in his bed and he didn't wake up the whole night.
In the morning, I realized that he hadn't used his binky at all the night before, so I decided to put all his binkys away, with the hope that Michael would just forget about them.
We kept him busy and distracted that day and the next night, he fell asleep again without his binky.
Since we were doing so well, I took all of Michael's binkys and put them away, out of his sight. We didn't even say the word 'binky' around Michael. We kept the binky strike going for the next few days and it went pretty smoothly.

A couple times though, Michael dragged out his diaper bag and started pulling everything out. I think he knew that his emergency binky would most likely be in there, but it wasn't, so he eventually lost interest.

I am happy to say we have been binky-free 9 days and counting and it wasn't as painful as I thought it was going to be...

My Graduation Weekend

2009-06-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

My graduation weekend was awesome. There's really no other way to describe it.

Last Friday night, we went out to celebrate with some of my closest family and friends. We went to a local bar and spent most of the night in the karaoke room. It was so fun!

The highlight of our night was this guy here. I don't know who he is, but his mere presence made our night so much better.

We'll call him the Motivational Karaoke Dancer. He would get up and dance for just about every karaoke singer. He also sang a few songs too, including a very angry rendition of Dramarama's 'Anything, Anything.' He was yelling into the microphone so loud, I thought he might pop a blood vessel. But he didn't. He just kept dancing and dancing throughout the night. In this picture here, he is doing his air guitar dance. Good times.

Other highlights of our night:
-My cousin Anita was the first one to go up and sing Bobby Brown's 'My Prerogative,' and the Motivational Karaoke Dancer Guy went right up and started dancing.

-Our friend Mark sang Radiohead's 'Creep.' He even hit the high notes at the end.

-My mom was supposed to sing The Rolling Stones, 'Beast of Burden,' but she was in the bathroom when they called her name, so my aunt (her sister) went up instead to sing it. My mom ended up running out of the bathroom and up to the stage just as the song was ending and after my aunt had already stolen her thunder.

-Two of my best friends, Baby and Lety went up and sang Sir Mix-A-Lot's 'Baby Got Back' and this time, as we were cheering them on, Motivational Karaoke Dancer Guy came up to our table and started shaking his behind.

Like I said, good times. We had so much fun.

Sunday was the actual day of my graduation. My grandparents and my mom got there very early and saved 2 whole rows of seats for everyone who came to share in this wonderful day with me. I must have had the proudest family there. It was great.

Michael thought the graduation was boring, so he fell asleep.

Ahoy There Mateys!!

2009-06-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth lost her first front tooth earlier this week. Very pirate chic, don't you think?

Because of You..I Am Graduating Tomorrow

2009-06-13T00:02:00.000-07:00

People have told me before that they don't know how I've done it. Going to school, having two kids and a husband, and working (I worked right up until Michael was born.) It's been hard, but I cannot take all the credit for this big accomplishment.

I've only been able to make it this far because of the help and support of those around me. If it wasn't for these people, I never would have been able to complete my degree and reach this goal that I've wanted to achieve since I was a kid.
As I graduate tomorrow, I will undoubtedly be thinking about all the people who have helped me to get here. I am so grateful for these people and for the undying support and love they have given me. To merely say 'thank you' to these people isn't even enough, because they deserve so much more, but I'll try my best...

{This is probably going to be a long post, and I may even cry as I type this, so I better get a box of tissues now.}

To my Dad: You have been such a source of motivation for me, you probably don't even know how much. My first thoughts about going to college came when I was a kid and you told me that I could be the first person in my family to graduate from college someday. You told me without any hesitation that you knew I would do it, and now I finally have. (Now, I may not be the first person in our family to graduate, since there have now been a couple, but still, I did it.)
I don't think I have been fully deserving of the unwavering faith you have in me, but I've tried my best. And even though I may have hit a few bumps in the road, you've never stopped telling me how proud you are of me, and I love you for that.

Thank you for all of the advice you've given me over the years, especially during the phone call I made to you when I was thinking about changing my major from Liberal Studies to English.
I told you that I had just realized that majoring in English was something I felt I should do, but I was unsure about it because I didn't want to feel like I had just wasted my time taking classes that I wouldn't need if I was going to change my major.
Then you told me, "Education is never a waste." And just like that, all of the doubts I had about which direction my life should take were gone. Thank you for helping me to realize that education is never a waste and it should never be taken for granted. (I will be graduating with about 35 extra units, but my time at school has been well spent, right Dad?) I can only hope that my own children will have the same values about education that you have helped to instill in me...

To my Mom: Your constant support has really helped me in all aspects of my life. You're my mom and my friend, and you're one of the best listeners that I know. I really wouldn't be here without your help. You have sacrificed countless hours of your life watching Eliz (and then later Michael) for us so that I could attend classes, and you've done it with a smile. For the first few years of Elizabeth's life, I would take evening classes, and you'd come over right after work to take care of her. There have been times when you've been tired or even busy with other things, but you've always been here for me and for your grandkids.

I remember last quarter when I was so stressed out because I was working on a paper that was due the next day, you came to pick up the kids so that I could have a few hours to work without any interruptions. I didn't even ask you to, you just offered. I remember thinking about how lucky I was to have a mom like you that would just drop everything to help her daughter out. Your selflessness and love truly amazes me. I don't think I could ever repay you for everything you have done for us. Thank you Mom.

To Tati and Edgar: don't think I've forgotten about that semester a few years ago when you guys came over every Friday afternoon to watch Eliz while I took a class that wasn't offered any other time of the day/week. I really appreciated your help and Eliz did too! If you ever need me to return the favor, I can watch your, uh, cats for you. (But only the nice cats, not the neurotic one.)

To Elizabeth: You keep telling everyone (strangers included) that your mom is going to graduate this Sunday and I can tell that you are proud of me. I hope that never changes. Even when you're a teenager and I might embarrass you, I hope that you are still proud of your mom, because I try so hard to be someone that you and your brother can look up to. And I am just as proud of you and the caring, thoughtful, and funny person you are becoming. I love you sweetie.

To Miguel: It's been a long road Baby, but you've been by my side throughout the whole thing and I couldn't have done it without you. You have been my best friend and my biggest supporter. The sacrifices you have made are immeasurable. You've helped me so much, I couldn't even explain all the ways that I am grateful for everything you've done.

You took on the financial responsibility of our family so that I could concentrate on school.

There have been mornings when you've rushed home after working the night shift so that you could watch Michael while I went to school.

There have been many days on the weekend where I needed to work on a paper and you'd take the kids out for the day so that I could get my work done.

There have been times when the laundry pile grew taller than me and you ran out of socks, but instead of complaining about it, you learned how to work the washer and dryer and now you're an expert.

There have been nights when you've happily eaten a grilled-cheese sandwich for dinner because I was too busy to prepare anything else.

Or the other times when you decided to make dinner yourself, and we discovered that you actually are a pretty good cook.

And the many times that I've been overwhelmed by all my school work, you've always known just the right things to say to help me feel better.

A couple years ago, when I changed my major, you knew that it would cause some delays in my progress, but you still encouraged me to do what would make me happy.

And yet, you've never complained about any of it and that astonishes me. I am one lucky girl.
You are an amazing husband and an incredible father. Half of this degree really belongs to you Hun. Thank you for everything.

It's The End of an ERA!

2009-06-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

So last night, I emailed my final paper to my professor. The culmination of my entire college career occurred with the single click of a button as I hit 'Send.'

It was actually kind of anticlimactic if you ask me. I sent in my paper, got up from my computer, and my day just continued on as it normally does.

I don't know what I was expecting to happen. I mean, I don't feel any different now that I'm done with school.

I guess I've been going to school for so long, that to finally be done feels a bit surreal to me. No more registering for classes? No more insane amounts of reading to do? No more papers to complete over Thanksgiving weekend?
Whoa.
I think it's going to take a while for all that to sink in for me.

But I'm DONE. Finished.
It's the end of an era! lol

Wordless Wednesday - Spaghetti Head

2009-06-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

A Double Graduation

2009-06-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

On Friday evening I attended the graduation of two very special family members. My cousin, Tatiana and her mom (my mom's sister) both graduated with an A.A. degree that night at the same school.
How cool is that?
We were all so proud of them.

Tati will now be transferring to UCLA in the fall.

I'm so proud of you, Tati. You really are my hero! =..)

{This amazing 11 year old kid graduated that night too!}

Memorable Gifts

2009-06-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

I'm totally late for Mama Kat's weekly Writer's Workshop. I was going to say I have an excuse, but I can't think of a good one right now. Oh wait, yes I can: I've been spending every free moment trying to keep Michael from opening the refrigerator and climbing the shelves.
It's a full-time job.

The prompt I choose this week is:
3.) Describe a memorable gift. Why was it important to you?
-----------------------------------
I'm not very sentimental when it comes to material things. I think the memories you hold in your heart are more valuable then things. (Ok, that was enough cheesy for today.)

But I do have a few things that mean a lot and are very important to me:

1. The engagement ring and wedding rings that Mig gave to me obviously mean a great deal to me.

2. Some diamond solitaire earrings that Mig and Eliz bought for me for Mother's Day a few years ago. I never take them off.

3. The Nelle and Lizzy ring that Mig gave me for Mother's Day last year. It has Elizabeth and Michael's name engraved on it, and it's beautiful.

4. Lastly, I have this Winnie the Pooh bookmark from when I was in elementary school. It's older than old, but it is still in good shape. I don't know why I've kept it for so long. I think maybe I've kept it because my mom bought it for me from the Scholastic book order and since my mom is the one who nurtured my love of reading, I think the bookmark represents all of those things for me.

Now everyone say it with me: "Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww."

Done With My Last Day of Classes

2009-06-04T15:32:00.001-07:00

I'm sitting here eating a celebratory chocolate bar (Cadbury Fruit and Nut, in case you're curious) because I just got home from my last day of classes.....ever. I had an exam earlier for my Structure of Language class. I turned in my short story and my complete journal for my Adolescent Literature class.

And I am done!

Well I do have one last paper to do this weekend and then I have to email it to my professor by Tuesday.
Next week is finals week, but I don't have any finals. Very nice.
Well actually I do have a Structure of Lang. final but it is optional. We can take it and replace one of our lowest exam grades. But I don't want to take a final that is optional. Do you want to take an optional final?
I don't think so.

My Handful of Dilemmas

2009-06-03T09:01:00.000-07:00

This is my last week of classes, and you'd think I'd be super excited about that and that I'd be hurrying to finish up the rest of my work but instead I caught myself a bad case of senioritis (aka: too-lazy-to-do-your-schoolworkitis). I'm just not feeling very inspired. This could be due to a variety of reasons:

1. I have a lot of school work, studying, and one last paper to do, but I feel like I don't even know where to start. On one hand, I want to just do it and get it over with, but on the other hand, I don't really feel like doing it. (I'll get to it though, don't worry.)

2. I also have been job searching (not very successfully though). The job postings I've been looking at all want their applicant to have experience. But the dilemma here is: how can I get experience if I can't get a job because I need experience? (Wrap your mind around that one.)

3. Yesterday, while I was driving to school on the freeway, I saw up ahead that there was a bunch of stuff in the lanes. (I'm sure a truck dropped it or something.) It looked like a few huge sheets of white paper. I couldn't change lanes or swerve out of the way because there were cars on both sides of me. Anywho {sigh}, the car in front of me ran one over and it flew right up, and into the front of my truck, and from the sound it made, it was definitely not paper. And paper definitely wouldn't have left a dent on the hood of my truck. {sigh} I swear I'm like a magnet for this kind of stuff.

4. My last dilemma: I need to buy a new ink cartridge for my printer because I need to turn in my short story tomorrow. I was planning on going to CVS to buy it because they emailed me a coupon, but I can't print out the coupon because I need ink. What to do, what to do...

Twilight was...

2009-05-31T14:49:00.001-07:00

So I started reading Twilight on Wednesday night and I finished it by Thursday morning. You know a book is good when you just have to keep reading to find out what happens but then as you are nearing the end, you don't want the book to finish yet. That's what reading Twilight was like for me.

When we talked about the book in my Adolescent Literature class, I must say that I was surprised by everyone's reaction to it. The class was divided into half: those who loved the book and those who absolutely haaaaaaaaaaaaated it.

The people that loved the book (myself included) loved it for obvious reasons of course. It was a good story, an easy read, and we loved the forbidden romance between Edward and Bella.

The various reasons that some of the people hated it were because Meyer didn't follow traditional vampire lore in her story, because the writing was not that great, and because they thought the story was totally misogynistic.
(I don't know about any of that, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.)

I can't wait to start reading the next book in the series but I have to finish up the rest of my work for this quarter. This is my last week of classes and then I'm done!

Car Insurance Woes

2009-05-29T16:25:00.000-07:00

While I was driving my truck last October, I hit a stupid post. It scraped the back door and part of the truck bed. Yes, I hit a bright white, inanimate object. Oh, did I mention I was in a parking lot? Stupid blind spot. If you'd like to take a moment to laugh at me, go ahead.
Don't worry I'll wait.....

After we reported it to our insurance so that we could get it fixed, I received a letter saying that I was "100% at fault." Nice. As if I didn't feel dumb enough already. I'd like to think that the stupid white post was at least 50% at fault, but I guess things don't work that way.

Since the accident was obviously my fault, I was very worried about our insurance rates going up. But when I received our renewed 6 month policy in December, our rates were the same. Nothing had changed.

I was relieved, but also a little leery. I called my insurance agent just to make sure that it was correct because I didn't want to get a surprise letter later on. She said that my claim was probably not closed yet, so my rates would stay the same until this policy ended. She said that in 6 months when I renewed my policy again, then perhaps my rates would go up at that time. But she wasn't certain if my rates would even go up at all.

So I had to wait and see..

This week I got my answer when our 6 month policy renewal came in the mail. Because of my at fault accident, my rates will be almost $70 more a month. Ouch.

I may have been able to get myself out of a parking ticket, but it looks like I couldn't evade those insurance underwriters...

10 Things That Make Me Happy - Writer's Workshop

2009-05-27T22:44:00.000-07:00

I haven't participated in Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop for a couple weeks because I've been busy with all the school work that comes with the quarter coming to an end, but I'm back this week. The prompt I choose this week is: List ten things that make you HAPPY.

Here we go:

10 Things That Make Me Happy:

1. Spending time with Mig and the kids of course.

2. Going a whole day without Michael bumping his head. (This is rare.)

3. When I get home from school to discover that Mig has cleaned the house (picked up the living room, vaccuumed, and cleaned the kitchen. This doesn't happen that often, but when it does, it is verrrry nice.)

4. The sense of accomplishment that comes from having finished a big paper or project or being done with everything at the end of the quarter. (I'm about to experience the ultimate sense of accomplishment in 2 weeks when my last quarter ever is done.)

5. Coffee (pretty simple)

6. Free Coffee (which is even better)

7. Reading a good book (I just finished Twilight. I think I am hooked or should I say bitten? ha.)

8. Being able to read that good book undisturbed (Mig took the kids to the park today while I stood home and read Twilight)

9. When I see how Michael and Eliz interact and play together. It's amazing how they just love each other automatically.

10. When I realize that after almost 7 years of marriage, my husband can still make me laugh the same way he did when we were first together

The Time Has Come...

2009-05-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

I am about to start reading Twilight for my Adolescent Literature class and I am so excited. It is the last book we are reading, so I have been waiting all quarter to read it.

I had never heard of the Twilight series until last year, (a couple months before the movie came out in theatres) when this girl in one of my classes at school was wearing a shirt that said, "My heart belongs to my husband, but my neck belongs to Edward."

I read her shirt and I was like, whaaaaaat? Who is this Edward guy? I thought maybe he was on a tv show that I didn't watch or something. Then I heard that girl talking with another girl about this 4th novel (of a series that I had never heard of). Had I been living under a rock or something? Apparently I had...

So I'm off to start reading. Yay.

Blogger Problems?

2009-05-26T08:46:00.001-07:00

Is anyone else still having problems with their Followers widget? If I have mine up, my page won't load...

Birthday Kisses

2009-05-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

The birthday party that we went to on Saturday was really nice. The kids got to run and jump and climb and squirt each other with water guns.

Here are a couple pictures of Michael wishing the birthday girl (his cousin) a Happy 2nd Birthday!

Happy Memorial Day to you all!

Six Word Saturday

2009-05-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

It's my first time participating in Six Word Saturday, where you describe your life (or something) in just six words. Sounds easy enough right? Ok, here we go:

Birthday party at the park today!

The Ant Battle Begins...

2009-05-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

Every year right when the weather starts to warm up, I get some unwanted guests in my home.

ANTS!!!!!!

It usually starts with a couple ants showing up to snoop around the kitchen. They wait for the right moment (usually when a stray crumb is left on the counter) so they can then signal their other little friends to come and join the ant party. From then on, their pesky little presence is a permanent part of my life until the weather cools down again.

I am so sick of them already. Even when I clean up the kitchen for the night and make sure that there is nothing for the ants to snack on, I'll still wake up and find ants in the sink or on the counter, congregating around an invisible crumb or drop of juice.

They are driving me crazy, and I don't know how to get rid of them. When they first started showing up, I tried to find some non-poisonous ways to keep them away. (I can't be spraying Raid all over the kitchen, since humans and food tend to hang out in there).

I read somewhere that ants have an aversion to spices like cayenne pepper and cinnamon, so I decided to try it out. I was about to sprinkle cayenne pepper on the edges of the counter, but I changed my mind because I didn't want anyone to inadvertently touch the cayenne and then their eye.

So I sprinkled some cinnamon instead. It didn't work. The ants just laughed.

And let me tell you, if you inadvertently touch cinnamon and then you touch your eye---it really, really hurts, probably just as much as cayenne would. I had to find that out the hard way. I think the ants laughed again.

So then I remembered reading something saying that ants will not cross a white powdered line. So I got some of Michael's baby powder and went crazy with it. I sprinkled it all over the counter and went to bed.

When I woke up, there were no ants. It worked! And the powder even provided a nice scent for the kitchen: freshly-diapered-bottom scent.

Since it worked, I left the powder there for a couple days, until Mig finally asked if the powder was going to stay there forever. So I cleaned it up. Big mistake. The ants have been showing up with more and more of their friends, and I'm about to lose my mind.

We've sprayed outside around the perimeter of the house, but even that hasn't helped.
Anyone have any better ideas on how to deal with the ants?

My New Favorite Website

2009-05-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

There will be no Wordless Wednesday today. I'm still working on my short story and I haven't had a chance to upload any pictures lately. But don't worry, to make up for it, I am directing you toward this site here for your viewing (and laughing) pleasure. You will not be disappointed. I spent quite a while on here yesterday while I was taking a writing break, and I have not laughed so much in a long time. I think it's my new favorite website...

Writing Is Not So Easy

2009-05-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a short story for my Adolescent Literature class and it has basically been consuming my every waking thought. I don't have to officially turn in the story for a couple weeks, but we are having a draft workshop on Thursday where my group members from class will read it and give me their feedback.

Let me tell you, I think creative writing is way harder than any other academic writing that I've done in college so far. When you're writing an essay, you at least have a focused topic that you write about. You have more direction, and when you're done proving your point, then you finish your paper. Done.

I think writing a story takes so much more creativity. You can basically make up a story and write anything you want. Your plot can go anywhere you choose. Your characters can do anything you want them to do. They can say anything you want them to say (there are just infinite possibilities) but your plot also has to make sense and there are things that need explanation. And I've been having a hard time trying to decide what I want my main character to do or say because I wonder how she might come across to her readers.

I need to finish up my draft by tomorrow because then I have to email it to my group from class. Back to writing...

I Am Awe-Summmmmm Times 2!!

2009-05-15T16:23:00.000-07:00

Over the past week I received this same award from two different people:
Shortmama over at Family of Shorts and

Stephanie from Confessions of a Student Nurse
have both honored me with this awe-summm award!

Wow, not just one, but 2 people think I am awesome. I am touched.

Now the rules for this award:
List 7 things that make you Awe-Summ and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers you love. Make sure to tag your recipients and let them know they have won! Also link back to the Queen that tagged you.

Let's see, 7 things that make me awe-summ:

1. I am the mom of two awe-summ kids.

2. By this time next month, I will be the new owner of a nice and shiny Bachelor's Degree.

3. I love to read, and reading is definitely awe-summ because it makes you all kinds of smart.

4. I have an awe-summ husband who is also my best friend. (So I am no longer taking best friend applications. I'm sorry but the position has been filled.)

5. I just learned how to make a cake called "Better Than Sex Cake" so if your birthday is coming up, call me and I'll bring some over. (I might even give you a piece.)

6. I am the Proofreader Extraordinaire.

7. I have awe-summ friends and family who I love. (If you're reading this, that means YOU.)

Ok, now to pass this on:

1.Kati from County Girl, City Life

2. Meg from I Buy Cheap Toilet Paper
3. Roxane from It really is, all about me
4. John Deere Mom
5. Tanielle from The Polka Dot Daisy
6. Michelle from Live, Laugh, Love, & Learn
7. Patrice from Williams Family Blog

Thank you again Shortmama and Stephanie!

The Playground Insults That Never Get Old...

2009-05-14T18:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when I picked up Eliz from school, I asked her how her day was and she said that it had been a terrible day. I asked her what happened and she said that no one wanted to play with her at recess.

This is a fairly common occurrence with Eliz. Every couple weeks or so, she will say that people don't want to be her friend or that they don't want to play with her. I don't know if that's what truly happens each time she tells me or if she's just being overdramatic (which is definitely a personality trait that Eliz has).

So I've tried to be practical in coaching Eliz about what to say in these situations. I've told her that if someone is trying to hurt her feelings that she should just be nonchalant about it and pretend like it's not bothering her. If someone doesn't want to be her friend, she should just say, "Ok, that's nice. I'll just go play with someone else" and then she should walk away.

So yesterday as we were driving home from school, I started to repeat my advice to Eliz about what to say to kids who are being mean.

But then she told me that some boys were calling her "fat" too and that's why her day was so bad.

This was the first time that anyone has called Eliz such a hurtful name at school.
I immediately began to get angry and defensive for my daughter's sake.

If they were at recess, then I'm sure their teacher wasn't around, so I prepared to call Eliz's teacher to let her know what happened.

I asked Eliz who these rotten boys were, and she told me the names of 2 boys in her class. But then she said that she had already told her teacher and that the boys had to change their behavior cards to red (which would require a note being sent home to their parents to notify them about what caused them to change their card to red.)

So since Eliz's teacher knew about this little incident, I decided not to call her after all. But I said that if it happened again, then I would definitely call her.

Later when Mig asked Eliz how her day was, she began to tell him about her terrible day and about how the 2 boys called her "fat" at recess.

Mig cut Eliz off before she had a chance to finish and asked, "What did I tell you to tell those boys if they called you that again?"

So apparently this had happened before, but I didn't know about it.

Eliz stayed quiet for a moment, but then she said, "But Dad, I can't say that. It's a bad word."

And Mig replied, "It's not a bad word. You just tell them: YOUR MOM IS FAT!"

Even though this was a serious matter, I couldn't contain my laughter. I hadn't heard a 'your mom' insult in quite a while. But then I said, "Miguel, do not tell your daughter to say that. What's wrong with you?"

And he said, "What? She has to defend herself."

Yup. And I guess that would be the way to do it.

(This post was not intended to offend anyone...or their mom.)

Wordless Wednesday - This isn't my license, but it could be

2009-05-13T11:42:00.000-07:00

The Problem With Googling Medical Issues

2009-05-12T08:38:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had some type of medical issue or malady that you Googled in an attempt to diagnose yourself or even to rule some type of condition out? I'm sure you have, we've all done it.

Have you noticed though that when you Google some type of skin issue, the only pictures that turn up are horrible-looking, haven't-seen-a-doctor-in-years pictures? Pictures so bad that you can only imagine that when the doctor saw it, he/she said, "Oh my God! I've never seen anything like this! I have to get a picture of it!"

...............
On Sunday night when Eliz was getting ready for bed, she said she had a bump on her foot. She showed me a little pinkish bump on the side of her heel and she said that it hurt a little.

I tried to think of what it could be. She had been running around all day, and she was wearing flip-flops, so maybe she bumped her foot or something.

Or maybe...just maybe it could be a plantar wart!!! Ahh, what if it is??!!
I got on the computer to do a little research.

I needed to find some actual pictures of plantarwarts to compare it to the bump that Eliz had on her foot. But all I managed to find were horrible, vomit-inducing pictures of the worst cases possible of plantar warts. (Yuck, I know. Sorry if you're eating or about to eat.)

Eliz's little bump looked nothing like the pictures. She had a tiny bump, not an advanced case. Why couldn't there be at least one picture showing a mild case?
So the pictures didn't really help, and it made me think that I don't really see the point in websites showing only the gruesome, advanced cases of medical issues because if my foot looked even slightly like anything in those pictures, you better believe I'd be at the doctor and not at home trying to find information about what I had. I'm just saying...

If you'd like to see the horrible, appetite suppressing pictures I mentioned,
click here Seriously though, you won't be hungry for at least a few hours. (You've been warned.)

It Really Is the Thought That Counts...

2009-05-11T10:31:00.000-07:00

I hope all of you had a Happy Mother's Day yesterday. My day was really nice.

Elizabeth gave me the Mother's Day gift that she made at school, which was a cute little flower pot with her picture in the middle of the flower, a little early, like last Wednesday early. (She can never keep secrets or surprises to herself. She just gets too excited.)
So yesterday morning, I was in the kitchen and I could hear Elizabeth in the bedroom with her dad, and she was asking him what he bought for me for Mother's Day.

(I made Miguel promise last week that he would not buy me anything, especially flowers. I don't need anything, and there isn't anything that I want right now, so I told him to just save the money he would have otherwise spent on some flowers for me. I'm not really a flowers type of girl anyway. And besides, last year for Mother's Day, Mig bought me a beautiful Nelle and Lizzy ring with Michael and Elizabeth's name engraved on it, and I wear that ring everyday. So last year's gift will last me a lifetime...)

So back to the conversation with Elizabeth and Miguel. I heard Elizabeth say, "What?! You didn't buy her anything? What are we going to give her? My gift!?...but I already gave it to her!"

By this point I was already laughing a little to myself. Eliz is so sweet and thoughtful. She really wanted to be able to give me something for Mother's Day.

So then Eliz comes out of the bedroom and into the kitchen and very calmly says, "Uh mom, I think I was supposed to give you that flower pot today instead of the other day."

I assured her that it was alright that she had given it to me already, but she insisted on knowing where it was.

So she got the little flower pot and went to her room. A couple minutes later, she returned to the kitchen and very inconspicuously retrieved some tape from the kitchen drawer and went back to her room.

A few minutes after that, she returned to the kitchen holding the bag her gift had originally been in, but this time it was all taped up, "Here Mom!! Happy Mother's Day!!!"

So I opened it, and.........you guessed it, the little flower pot was in there. Eliz wanted to make sure that I at least had something to open for Mother's Day.
She's a sweet kid I tell ya...

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

This one is from Easter. Michael found yet another way to antagonize his big sister by dumping all her eggs out during the Easter Egg Hunt.

May and June = Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-05-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

These past few days have been really busy for us. Every year, Miguel's birthday on the last day of April kicks off our annual Festival of Birthdays and Other Various Holidays that occur in May and June. It seems like 85% of my family's and friend's birthdays are either in May or June for some reason.

Here is what's going on for us in May: my brother's birthday, Mother's Day, my mom's birthday, the anniversary of Mig and I becoming a couple (It will be nine years...wow. Time flies when you're having ~~kids~~ fun), Mig's cousin's daughter's birthday (did you follow that one?), one of my best friend Edna's birthday.

And then in June, there are even more birthdays: my grandpa's birthday, Mig's best friend Mark's birthday (this is Edna's husband), my dad's birthday, Mig's sister's birthday, my uncle's birthday and his son's birthday, my grandma's birthday, Edna and Mark's daughter's birthday, Father's Day, my graduation (woo hoo).

I hope I didn't leave anyone out, but you get the idea. May and June are popular months to give birth, haven't you heard?

Today I Will... - Writer's Workshop

2009-04-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

This week's writing prompts, brought to you by Mama Kat are as follows:

1.) Who really helped you get over something? Write about that person.
2.) Is plastic surgery an option? Without being vulgar, write about the body part still attached to you that you would most like to dis-attach and replace with a better one.
3.) Share an interesting email exchange you've had with someone lately.
4.) Have you thought about shutting down your blog? Why haven't you and what would cause you to make that decision final?
5.) Today I will...
.......................................
I choose #5

Today I will be going to school. We are in the 4th week of our 10 week quarter. (My last quarter!!)

Today I will wish Miguel a very happy 27th birthday! You old fart. lol (I can call him this because I am 7 months younger than him.)

Today I will be making Mig his annual chocolate fudge, mini-M&M birthday cake, for the 9th year in a row.

Today I will think back to the first kiss I ever gave Mig, which was a sweet kiss on the cheek exactly 9 years ago, when I wished him a happy 18th birthday. (We were only friends at the time, but that kiss changed his life forever...)

Today I will thank God for blessing me with such a wonderful husband, who is an equally wonderful father to his children. (As I type this, I can hear him in the living room, reading the kids one of Eliz's favorite Junie B. Jones books, and he is even doing all the voices.) Am I lucky or what?

Happy Birthday Hun!!!!

Wordless Wednesday - Baby Batman

2009-04-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

The Highlights (& Low) of Our Trip to Mexico

2009-04-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

It's already been 2 weeks since we got home from our mini-vacation, and I still haven't posted anything about it. I must say though, that I'm glad our trip to Mexico was before this swine flu outbreak.....scary.

The drive there was about 5 hours.

When we got there, our hotel was right near the beach.

Elizabeth spent every available moment either in the pool or in the water at the beach. Right when we got to the hotel, as we were unloading our bags from the car, Eliz was already in the hotel room, half-nude, digging through her bag for her swimsuit. She's quite the little fish.

Here's Mig and Eliz on the sand dunes.

I had to throw this picture in. I don't even know what this is...a 4-wheeling bus? lol

The last day we were there, Eliz found a crab at the beach in the morning and had her grandpa (Mig's dad) put it in her bucket, but before we left, my dad (who also went with us) took her back to the beach so she could let the crab go. In this picture, you can see the little crab next to her shovel.

Overall, we had a really nice time, but then Michael got sick, so we were worried about him. We also had a very interesting experience with the Mexican health care system while we were there...

We got there on a Thursday, and the next morning when we woke up, I noticed that Michael felt a little warm, and throughout the day he developed a slight fever. By Saturday, his fever was higher and he didn't really want to eat or drink anything, so we decided that we should take him to the doctor.

As we got ready to leave, I wondered about what it would cost to see a doctor and pay in cash. (I know you're cringing, just thinking about going to the doctor and paying cash right?)

Before we left, Mig told me to go back to the hotel room and get some extra money, just in case we needed it, since we had no idea how much our trip to the doctor would be, not to mention the possibility that Michael might need medicine that we'd have to pay cash for too.

We drove around with Mig's dad for a few minutes until we spotted a pharmacy. So we went in and asked them if they knew where the nearest clinic/hospital was. As it turned out, the pharm techs there said that they usually have a doctor on-site who gives free consultations to patients, but the doctor had just left, and they didn't expect her back for a few hours.

They did, however direct us to a nearby emergency clinic. We drove up to the clinic and walked in, but it was pretty empty, except for an older man with some sort of nose ailment sitting in the waiting room chair. (This guy had gauze taped under his nose, which appeared to be very swollen and the gauze was bloody, but hey, I didn't ask why he was there.) The man waiting there told us to knock on the door in the corner, so we did, and this doctor opened the door with what looked like a bloody pair of pliers in one hand. (Yikes!)

The doctor told us to have a seat and that we might have to wait a little while since the older man was ahead of us.

We all sat down, and Mig and I just kinda looked at each other, still a little uneasy about the pliers that the doctor had.

The older man started talking to Mig and his dad (Btw, all of these conversations were spoken in Spanish. I don't know Spanish very well, but Mig and his dad do, so I could only make out some of what they were saying.) The man said that there was a Cruz Roja (or Red Cross) just down the street and that they usually weren't very busy, so we could try going there.

And he didn't have to tell us twice....We got the heck out of there and drove up the street about a mile until we found the Cruz Roja. As I walked in, I was nervous about how this place would be. What if it was worse than the emergency clinic? But in any case, I had no choice. My poor baby was sick and we needed to have him looked at by a doctor to see what was wrong.

So we walked in the Cruz Roja, and it was actually really nice and clean in a totally nonscary way. The secretary at the front took us right in to an exam room and a very nice doctor came in and took a look at Michael and discovered that he had a throat infection. (And we realized why Michael hadn't wanted to eat or drink anything because his throat hurt, poor thing.)

The doctor gave Miguel instructions (in Spanish) about medicine for Michael and then she left the room momentarily and came back with a bottle of antibiotics. She filled out a little form, that said she had provided us with a consultation and the antibiotics and told us to give it to the secretary at the front so we could pay her. It was the moment of truth. Just how much would our unexpected trip to the doctor set us back?

We gave the secretary the form. I got my wallet out, and I waited for her to tell us that our visit would cost ----(drumroll please)---- 100 pesos, which comes out to: about $9.00! Wow, I almost couldn't believe it. $9.00 to visit the doctor and for the medication? That was nice.

Michael then started feeling much better that night, just in time for us to make the drive home the next day, and has since made a complete recovery. But I don't think we'll be visiting Mexico again anytime soon, no matter how inexpensive their medical care is...

This Song is About What? - Writer's Workshop

2009-04-23T17:10:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late this week with MamaKat's writer's workshop. I had an exam today that I needed to study for like a madwoman. (Phonetics...fun stuff I tell ya)

So here are the prompts:

1.) Book review!
2.) When is it okay not to listen to the words? Explain about a song you really love that has lame lyrcis or lyrics you simply don't understand.
(writingfix.com)
3.) Why won't you forget? List six true sentences that begin with the words 'I'll never forget...' Then use all six of your sentences in a paragraph, poem, or longer descriptive piece.
(writingfix.com)
4.) Write about an interaction you had with a salesman.
5.) What's for dinner? I'm starving.
................................................
I'll choose #2...

The other day I heard a song on the radio that I hadn't heard in a very long time: "Best I Ever Had" by Vertical Herizon. I used to like this song when it first came out. I was probably still in high school at the time. I like the music and the poignant lyrics (which I thought were) about the sadness the singer is feeling about a recent breakup.
So I came home and added it to the playlist we have here on our computer.
A couple days later I was working on the computer and I turned the song on. Michael was here next to me and he started swaying and dancing to the music.

A minute later, Miguel walked in and said to me,
"You know what this song is about, don't you?"
"About a breakup, right?"
"Come on, he's talking about the best he ever had. The first line says that she left in the 'gray-skied morning.' You don't get it? She left early the next morning, and she was the best he ever had.....like, in bed. Just think about it."

So I did think about it. It had never even occurred to me that the song could be about that, but he did have a point.

I still don't know whether I accept Mig's interpretation of the song or not. It's such a nice song that I'd rather believe it is about a heartbroken guy who misses his girlfriend....

I guess you can decide for yourself.

If the kiddos are around, they should put their earmuffs on, with the (possible) profanity in the song and all...

Wordless Wednesday - Kiss Your Dino

2009-04-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

Sign me up for the Hannah Montana Fan Club

2009-04-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit this, but I'm a closet Hannah Montana fan. (Ok, well not anymore.) Have you ever seen her show? It's actually pretty funny. Well, I think so anyway.

So last week since Eliz was on Spring Break, I took her to see the Hannah Montana movie. Just us two. I think I enjoyed it as much as she did.

At the movies, there was this guy with a couple kids, who was sitting in the same row with us, and whenever there was a joke or funny moment in the movie, this guy would just laugh and laugh so loud, I mean, he would really bust up. When he would laugh, it would actually make me laugh a little, so I thought that was pretty funny. I think maybe that guy was an even bigger Hannah Montana fan than me and Eliz put together...

Eliz had to wear her Hannah Montana shirt!

We had popcorn!

We had Icees!

I'm here to see the Hannah Montana movie only because my daughter dragged me here blah blah blah....

A Birthday Bash Giveaway

2009-04-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

Kati, from Country Girl, City Life is turning 21 this week, so in honor of her birthday, she is having some awesome giveaways! Check it out:

>

When Daddy Watches the Kids...

2009-04-16T16:53:00.000-07:00

...this is what I come home to:
a marked-up, written-all-over Baby..

Mischievious (but Cute)

My Hero - Writer's Workshop

2009-04-16T07:45:00.000-07:00

This week's writing prompts, brought to you by Mama Kat are as follows:

The Prompts:
1.) If I sent you four hundred dollars today what is ONE thing you would spend it on and why. ps I want my change.
2.) What are your kids talking about?
3.) Tell us about a local news story that's all the buzz right now in your neck of the woods.
4.) Share some blogging advice.
5.) Tell us about that time at the playground when that thing happened.

................................................................................
I'm going to choose #5:

My cousin, Tatiana is about 2 years younger than me. (Maybe you guys might remember her from when she did a guest post for me a couple months ago.) Well we are very close. You could even say we are like sisters. When we were kids, Tatiana (or Tati for short) always spent the night with us on the weekends and she would practically spend all of summer vacation with us too.

One summer, we went to a nearby park and were playing on the playground. I must have been about 8 years old, so Tati must have been about 6 years old. I had just sat down on a swing when this boy, who was a neighbor of mine, sat down on one of the swings too and started teasing me.

I don't remember what he was teasing me about because I got teased pretty frequently for being shorter than most kids my age. (But don't all kids get teased anyway?)
So the names I usually got called were things like: shorty, shrimp, shrimpy, midget, dwarf. (Aren't kids just lovely to each other?)

Since I just accepted teasing as a part of childhood, (and probably since I was very timid) I just ignored this boy.

But Tati didn't.....
She went up to him, grabbed a fistful of sand, and threw it right in his mean little face!

Naturally, the boy stopped teasing me and instead, stood there for a few minutes rubbing the sand out of his poor, burning little eyes (ha!) and then he ran away.

I couldn't believe Tati had just done that. She was my hero: brave enough to do something that I never could have done myself, and she did it all in my defense.

Now, I'm not encouraging or condoning this kind of kid-on-kid violence, but sometimes, things like this just have to be done, and some kids just need to be taught a lesson. I can't remember that boy ever bothering me anymore after this incident, maybe because he learned that if he called me a name in front of Tati, he would be eating sand for lunch. (ha!)

And come to think of it, maybe I just figured out who Elizabeth gets her sand-throwing abilities from...

It's Time for More Nerdy Humor

2009-04-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

I was at Big Lots yesterday and I came across this framed picture here with an inspirational saying.

I thought it was nice and thought-provoking and all until I took a second look at the last word... and I just had to laugh.

Call me a nerd, but I think stuff like this is hilarious.

Don't Worry, I'm Still Here

2009-04-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

..although I have been recovering from vacation hangover. It's amazing how much work goes into what is supposed to be a relaxing vacation. You have to plan, prepare, and pack in the days before you leave. Then when you get home, there is so much to be done too. Since I missed school last Thursday, I had to catch up with reading, journal entries, online quizzes and everything else. Not to mention all the unpacking and laundry to be done around here. I'm still not quite finished.

And I haven't had a chance (i.e. I'm too lazy) to upload all the pictures from this weekend. My dad also went with us, and he got way better pictures than I did. We started calling him paparrazzi because he had his camera out pretty much the whole time. So I need to get his SD card from him to upload his pictures to my computer. You're probably thinking that I should just ask him to email the pics to me, which would be faster and easier, but he has no idea how to email period (let alone email pictures). I was once on the phone with him for over half an hour trying to explain how to email pictures, but he just couldn't figure it out.

I'm leaving now to take Eliz to see the Hannah Montana movie since she is on Spring Break. It should be fun!

Happy To Be Home...

2009-04-12T21:39:00.001-07:00

We got home hours ago, but I just had the best nap of my life (naps are not very easy for me to come by.) I was so tired.
We had the best of times and we had the worst of times (which involves Michael getting sick and then a very adventurous trip to a Mexican doctor) on our little vacay, but I'm happy to be home in my own comfy bed. I'll have to post the details soon.
Hope everyone had a great weekend.

On Vacay!

2009-04-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

I'm here in San Felipe at a little cafe near our hotel that has about 6 computers to use if you pay....
The price? 16 pesos for an hour, which translates to about $1.50! Not bad, not bad.

Be back Sunday!

Packing and More Packing

2009-04-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

We are leaving very early tomorrow morning, and driving to San Felipe, Baja California, MX for a little weekend get-away. My husband's family usually goes every year, and this will be the first time we will be joining them. I've never been there before, but I hear the beaches and water are beautiful. We will also be taking our quad bike that we bought a few years ago, and since Mig never gets the opportunity to use it very much, he is excited!

This is the first trip that we will be taking Michael on, so I've been packing all day for 3 people! I hate packing because I tend to think hypothetically when I pack. Like, what if the weather changes? Should I take some long-sleeved shirts with me? How many pairs of jeans and shoes? What if I need 10 pairs of underwear?
(Hey, you never know....)

I just realized earlier too that Elizabeth needs a new pair of earplugs that are connected with a string, because the ones she had last summer got really old, so I threw them away. (Eliz has ear tubes, so she must wear earplugs when she is in the water, even to take a bath.) So I sent Mig to pick up a pair from the pharmacy.

I better get back to packing while Michael is taking a nap. I hope all of you have a great (rest of the) week and Happy Easter!

My Daughter Thinks I'm a Golddigging Nerd

2009-04-07T18:00:00.000-07:00

I saw this interview-your-kid prompt around the blogosphere a while back, and I just barely had the chance to interview Eliz. I couldn't exactly interview Michael, because the only words he can actually say are Mom, Dad, and 'mo' (more).

I guess you don't know what your kids actually think of you until you ask them...

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Clean up your room and do your HOMEWORK!!!

2.What makes mom happy?
When I pick up all my toys, when I read books, and behave at school.

3.What makes mom sad?
When I move my card at school.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
When you do your face with the scary/creepy/cuckoo eyes. (This is a face I make with my eyes wide-open. It makes Michael laugh too, for some reason. And the correct name I've given this face is actually the CRAZY EYESSSSSSS! lol)

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Always reading and going to school.

6.How old is your mom?
How old are you? 65! lol

7.How tall is your mom?
40 feet long

8.What is her favorite thing to do?
Reading books...ummmmmm that's it!

9.What does your mom do when you're not around?
Oh this is a tricky one...watch tv, feed Michael.

10.If your mom becomes famous, what will be for?
Because you're cool.

11.What is your mom really good at?
School, reading.

12.What is your mom not very good at?
Dressing up for Halloween, jump roping.

13.What does your mom do for a job?
You feed us.

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
Tacos, salad, chicken, Mexican food

15.What makes you proud of your mom?
Passing kindergarten and high school.

16.If your mom was a cartoon character, who would she be?
Arthur (Isn't he that nerdy aardvark with the glasses? lol)

17.What do you and your mom do together?
We make food, we play together, she helps me do my homework.

18.How are you and your mom the same?
Our hair and our eyes.

19.How are you and your mom different?
I don't have earrings. She's taller than me.

20.How do you know your mom loves you?
Because you're happy when I come home from school.

21.What does your mom like most about your dad?
Because he gets money, he cooks for us, he's smart, and he's nice.

22.Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
The coffee place, uh....Starcash. (I think she meant Starbucks! lol)

My Devoted Fan

2009-04-07T17:42:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling extra busy these past few days with the new quarter starting and also getting ready for a mini-vacation that we are taking later this week, so I've had a minor bloggy drought. Nothing serious. I mean, I didn't even notice that my posts have been M.I.A. until my absence forced one of my blog lurkers out of hiding.
My little bil, Louie has been reading my blog for months, and has never left a comment until last night when he wrote that he has been waiting and checking in for another blog post so much, that he feels like he is addicted...lol I'm flattered Louie, really.

And since I don't want you to go into withdrawals or anything, and since I know you've been waiting for me to mention your name in my blog, but you've never given me any good material until now, Louie, here you go.

Since Words Are My Life...

2009-04-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered Unwords, the online dictionary full of words for all those hard-to-name, hard-to-describe things you come across. I don't know if I'll actually use any of these words in my everyday life, but still, I think all the things that can be done with the English language are pretty funny.

Some of my favorites are:

-accumulotion (ə-kyüm'yə-lō'shən)
a. (n.) The uncomfortably grotesque layer of slime that adorns the opening of a lotion dispenser.

-cabnicreep (kăb'nə-krĕp)
a. (n.) The structural condition in which the closing of one kitchen cabinet causes another to open.

-caffeinatic (kă'fē'năt'ĭk)
a. (n.) Someone who is a fanatic regarding their caffeine consumption.

-geekgasm (gēk'găz'əm)
a. (n.) A feeling of intense pleasure that occurs as a result of a nerdy experience.

Example: He had a geekgasm after receiving new software.
b. (v.) To experience a geekgasm.

Example: Eric geekgasmed after seeing Star Wars.

-mandals (măn'dls)
a. (n.pl.) Open-toe sandals worn by men.

-peemiss (pē-mĭs)
a. (v.) The act of peeing all over the the toilet seat instead of into the bowl.
b. (v.) pē-mĭs. A dificiency affecting primarily men, specifically concerning those with aiming problems.
c. (v.) pē-mĭs. If your a woman and this describes your condition, you have problems, and you might consider gender-awareness counseling.

-redonculous (rĭ-dŏng'kyü'ləs)
a. (adj.) Excessively ridiculous; Head-smacking ridiculous.

Example: John smacked his head as he exclaimed, "That's redonculous!"

Now, if this isn't hilarious, I don't know what is...

Dumbest April Fools Joke Ever

2009-04-01T23:36:00.000-07:00

I've never been a big participator in the whole April Fools Day thing. For one, I can never really think of any good jokes to play on anyone. And two, even if I do come up with a good joke, I can never keep a straight face long enough to make the joke worthwhile.

For example, there was this one time when I was younger, I woke up my older brother early on April Fools Day and told him that his car doors and trunk were open, and maybe someone had broken into his car the night before. I was all ready for him to jump up and run outside in his underwear, which would have been hilarious. He did jump up, but he only made it to the door before I couldn't contain myself and I burst out laughing. I thought it was funny, but he didn't.

Mig doesn't really like cruel jokes at his expense (and who does?) and he can always tell if I'm trying to pull a joke on him so I kinda gave up on any April Fools jokes.
----------------------------------------

Earlier, we were all out running errands and we were hungry, so we stopped at Pickup Stix for some Chinese. Mig had placed Michael's diaper bag on a chair across from me that was pushed into the table the whole time. So when we got up to leave, I didn't see the bag and I assumed that it was still in the car.

We got all the way home when I started to look for the bag and Mig remembered that we left it at the restaurant. I called the restaurant. They said they found it, and would hold it for us. So Mig got back in the car and headed back over there.

On Mig's way home, he called me and asked about what had been in Michael's diaper bag because it was completely empty.
"Empty???" I asked.
"Yes, it's completely empty. The girl at the counter said that's how she found it. What was in here before?" Mig said.
"So everything is gone? The diapers, his cup, his change of clothes?" I asked.
"Yup. Everything is gone," Mig said.
"OK. That is so weird. So you're telling me that Michael has been robbed of some diapers and juice, but they left his Pottery Barn Kids bag? Who would do that? Oh well, I guess they must have been desperate. I don't think Michael will be too upset that some of his diapers are gone."

Then that's when Mig said "April Fools!"

And then we both agreed that that must have been the cheapest April Fools joke ever.

Guilty....but with an explanation

2009-04-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth's school year started out a little rough, behavior-wise...
She just has so much energy and she loves to talk, talk, talk so she was a little unprepared for all the seriousness that is 1st grade these days.

Her class has this behavior card system where everyone starts the day with a green card. Then should any behavior problems arise, they change their card to yellow, and then if needed, to red.

Within the first two weeks of school, Eliz had changed her card to yellow almost everyday and once even to red !
She hadn't told us about this moving-her-card-almost-everyday business until I received her class newsletter which outlined this behavior policy and stated that any student in the class whose card remained green the whole week would receive a behavior reward on Friday. So since Eliz's behavior rewards seemed to be M.I.A. she fessed up about all her yellow cards.

But she's improved so much throughout the year and has only changed her card to yellow a few times since then.

-------------------------------------
Last night, Eliz was behaving a little unusual. By unusual, I mean she was actually listening to me so I didn't have to ask her to do something 5 times. She got ready for bed all by herself without trying to negotiate with me or stall. She was just being too compliant so I knew something was up, but I let it go.

She went to bed and since Mig and Michael had already turned in early for the night, I went to bed too.
About 20 minutes later, Elizabeth's dark, shadowy figure appeared by my bedside.

Me: "Elizabeth? You're supposed to be asleep already..."
Eliz: Silence.
Me: "Elizabeth, what do you need sweetie?"
Eliz: "I moved my card today."
Me: "You did? Why didn't you tell me earlier? What did you do?"
Eliz: "Well, see...uh..I was playing during recess with the sand and making ghost sand..."
(I don't know what 'making ghost sand' is, but apparently it involves throwing sand up in the air as you will soon see....)
"...and then some wind came and the wind blew sand into some kid's eyes, and so I had to move my card to yellow."

(Wow, I was impressed with the way she had both personified and projected blame onto the wind. Very sophisticated.)

Me: "That's ok Elizabeth. Just go to back to bed."

But she didn't move. She just stood there.

Eliz: "I have to tell Dad."
Me: "No, that's ok. He's asleep. Just go to bed."
Eliz: "But I have to tell Dad."

I knew that her poor little guilty conscience had probably prevented her from falling asleep before this so I finally said, "Ok. Tell Dad then."
So she woke him up and told him the whole story about making the ghost sand (which I still don't fully understand) and how the wind just came and blew the sand into this kid's eyes.

So Mig told her, "It's ok, we'll talk about it tomorrow."

So with the guilt removed from Eliz's little conscience, she went back to bed and fell right asleep...

Back to Business and Some Updates

2009-03-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

What's going on with me:

Spring Quarter (my last quarter woo hoo) started today but my class schedule will now be Tuesdays and Thursdays so I didn't have any classes today.

And tomorrow is a Cesar Chavez Holiday (si se puede! Did I spell that right?) so technically, my new classes don't start until Thursday.

What's going on with Mig:

Mig is still laid off, and they haven't been calling him to go in to work very often. In fact, the past couple weeks, he's only gotten called about once or twice a week on average. We are trying to stay positive though. Since Mig has been home more often, and since I was on Spring Break from school last week, we joked around and said that we were both on hiatus...lol

And even though our budget is getting tighter and tighter, I know that God is watching out for us, because when we got our income tax return a couple weeks ago, we ended up getting more than we had expected due to a mathematical error on our form. (I wasn't exactly happy that the woman who did our taxes for us made a subtraction error, but I was more than glad to be getting extra money, especially at a time when we need it most.)

What's going on with Eliz:

Eliz lost yet another tooth on the bottom last week for a total of 3 teeth lost on the bottom and 0 on top. She put her tooth under her pillow that night in anticipation of the 6 dollars that the tooth fairy would bring her (I told her that the tooth fairy gives you 1 dollar for every year in your age). When I went to make the 'exchange' that night after she had fallen asleep, I could not, for the life of me find the tooth under her pillow. She has a very high loft bed, so I had to stand on a chair while I searched and searched for her tooth, until I finally just gave up and left the money there, and I hoped that Eliz wouldn't notice. In the morning when she woke up, she was very excited to find the money, but then she wanted to know why the tooth fairy didn't take her tooth. Uh oh..........
So I had to tell her that maybe the tooth fairy didn't take her tooth because she needed to brush her teeth better. And there were no more questions after that...

What's going on with Michael:

Sometime last week, Michael completed his transformation into a little monkey and now climbs everything in sight: the chairs in the kitchen, the kitchen table, his highchair, my dresser, the toilet seat (thank goodness we are all trained to leave the seat down). I almost had a heart attack when I walked past the kid's room and saw Michael climbing up the ladder of the above mentioned very high loft bed.
He was already at the top step of the ladder. I need to keep an eye on my little monkey even more now.

Writer's Workshop

2009-03-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

This week's writing prompts, brought to you by Mama Kat are as follows:

1.) Somebody I'm praying for....

2.) I don't believe in prayer because...

3.) What are you putting off right now?

4.) You can go back to your childhood for one day. What day and age do you choose?

5.) Your friend tells you he can pick up any girl at the bar, no matter what he says. You bet him $100 he can't. Create the world's worst pick up line and send your friend off into the crowd. What happens?
--------------------------------------------------------------
I'll choose #1:

Have you ever had a moment where you've felt like God just slapped you on the back of the head because you should know better? (Or at least that He's trying to tell you something or show you something that needs to be brought to your attention?)

I had a moment like this about a month ago.......
It was the very day that I found out we would no longer have health insurance. I was feeling really down about it, and having a little pity party for myself (but I was the only person there at the party so it sucked really bad.)
I was so absorbed in my thoughts about the world and life in general just not being fair.
And I was thinking, 'how are we ever going to manage without insurance?'

And then....
somehow, I came across the Williams Family Blog and I started reading all about this sweet baby boy named Jonah who had just been born with a skin disorder called Epidermolysis Bullosa.
This baby's story and his parent's strength and unwavering faith so deeply touched my heart that I began to feel ashamed of the way I had been feeling only moments before this.

There I was, feeling bad and worrying about this minor obstacle that has been placed before me that I had forgotten to have faith and to just trust in God.

So since I needed a wake-up call, God essentially slapped me on the back of the head and made me realize that He has blessed me with so much already.
So we don't have insurance...so what?
God has blessed us with good health and He is providing for all of our needs, and for that I am truly thankful.

So ever since I found out about baby Jonah, I have been praying for him and following his daily progress. He's about a month old now and he has had some good days and some bad days since he was born, but I pray that baby Jonah has nothing but good days in his future. If you'd like to pray for him too, I'm sure he and his parents could use all the prayers they can get....

Wordless Wednesday - Who does this kid belong to?

2009-03-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

So Close...

2009-03-24T18:47:00.001-07:00

...and yet so far!
I got my grades last night:
19th Century American Literature: A-
Shakespeare: A-

So my cumulative GPA is now: 3.45, and I will not be graduating with honors. But it's ok, really.

Like I said, it would have been nice to graduate with honors and to have it designated on my degree, but oh well.
I allowed myself to be bummed about it for about 2 minutes, and then I let it go.

I wanted to thank everyone who left me such nice and encouraging comments yesterday as I waited for my grades to be posted, because you all really helped me to put things into perspective...
Especially my cousin, Anita:
Thank you for explaining how I could calculate my GPA using hypothetical grades. You really explained it beautifully, but I gotta tell you, you lost me halfway into the second sentence. Me and numbers do not mix. I can't even do simple subtraction in my head. lol My brain just shuts down when it comes anywhere near numbers. But thank you also for the reality check about how GPAs don't even really matter in the real world. I needed to hear that. (And thank you for sharing the story about Edwin, because dang, how could I feel bad about myself when Edwin missed the honors mark twice? Ouch! lol)

So for the rest of the week, I am just going to enjoy what's left of my Spring Break and recharge my battery for the new quarter that starts next week.

Waiting For My Grades

2009-03-23T08:48:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here waiting for my Winter grades to be posted and I'm trying not to feel anxious or even a bit disappointed.

I know I did well in the 2 classes that I took this past quarter, but the reason I am anxious is because depending on what grades I receive, I will be able to graduate with honors (or not) in June.

My cumulative GPA right now is a 3.44, and I would need at least a 3.5 in order to graduate cum laude.
I think both of my grades would need to be As in order to raise my GPA to what it needs to be.
But then again, I'm not very good at math, so who knows if the 3.5 is totally out of reach for me at this point, even if I got some A+s.

To be honest, I don't think both of my grades will be As. (I think I was teetering around the B+/A- point for both classes.)
So although I have high hopes, I'm also trying to be realistic about it.

It would be nice to graduate with honors, because making it this far has definitely been an uphill battle for me and also for my family these past few (or 7) years.

Nothing has been easy about it...
I've constantly had reading and due dates and deadlines on my mind, preventing me from thoroughly enjoying holidays and time spent with my family.
Elizabeth has had to learn to keep herself occupied while I'm reading or doing my homework. (Michael, on the other hand, refuses to respect my reading or homework time :)
Miguel has had most of the financial responsibility of our family on his shoulders since we've been married, and in addition to that, Mig has had to pick up the slack around here when I've been too busy with my schoolwork to keep up with all the housework.
And yet, he's never complained about any of it. Even when I changed my major a couple years ago, and it meant that my graduation would be delayed even more, he still encouraged me to do what would make me happy.

So I'm very happy that I will finally be graduating soon and that in itself is an accomplishment to be proud of, but wouldn't it be a little sad if I didn't graduate with honors because I missed the mark by a few tenths of a point?

I was talking with my mom about this yesterday and about how I wish I would have tried harder at some of the classes I've taken along the way.
I've only gotten 2 Cs during my entire college career (and it was during the same semester in Political Science & a short-term Art History class), but I think they were enough to drag down my GPA.

I suppose if I knew then, what I know now (that I would be sitting here, desperately hoping that by some miracle, my GPA will magically become 3.5) I would have tried harder.

My mom agreed that it would be kinda disappointing to just barely miss the GPA mark, but then she said (in an effort to make me feel better I guess) that I did the best I could at the time, which is also probably right.

So I guess I'm going to try to stop being anxious and disappointed...
If I get to graduate with honors, great. It will just be the icing on the cake that has taken me years and years to finally complete. And if I don't get to graduate with honors, well then, I think I'll take my cake without the icing.... (It's too sweet anyway).

Fabulous!

2009-03-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

Michelle at Live, Laugh, Love, & Learn awarded me with this Fabulous Blog Award! She gave it to me last week, and I am just barely posting about it now because I had been swamped with studying for finals. Then after finals were done, I was so busy enjoying my time off (and trying to give Michael extra attention since he was missing his old friend, Bottle). I've also had a hard time deciding who to give it to since I've made some wonderful new bloggy friends lately, in addition to my wonderful old bloggy friends.
I could hardly decide. I wish I could give it to you all:

London at London's Calling

Stephanie RN BSN (to be!) at Confessions of a Student Nurse

Shortmama at Family of Shorts

Stephanie E at My Star & Wish

Yaya at Yaya Stuff

Thanks again Michelle!

No More Bottles for Michael

2009-03-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

This has been a transitional (i.e. grumpy) week for Michael.

He is now almost 14 months old, so I thought that it was time for Michael to say goodbye to his bottles, since I would be home all this week and next week during Spring Break.

We didn't wean Elizabeth from the bottle until she was 18 months old. I think she was old enough to understand a little more at that age that we were putting her bottles away because she wasn't a baby anymore. She even helped me put all her bottles away so that we could give them to some other babies that needed them more than she did. (Well that's what I told her anyway.)

Michael is a little more, uh what's the word....stubborn than Eliz was. So I thought that if we waited any longer to wean him, we just might end up like Leah Remini and her daughter.

Michael has been using a sippy cup for months to drink water or juice, but not milk. So I decided I would help Michael kick his bottle habit....cold turkey.
(I thought out of sight, out of mind would probably be the better way to go here.)

On Tuesday morning, Michael woke up and it was milk-time but all his bottles had disappeared.
So I lovingly handed him a sippy cup with milk in it, and he acted like I had lost my mind. He took the cup from me, took a drink, then dropped it on the floor and continued to follow me around for a good portion of the morning.
There was one point where he even threw himself on the floor and was crying. I came very close to just taking a bottle out and just giving it to him because I felt horrible.
It's heartbreaking to know that your child is unhappy and you know just what will make them feel better. (But I also know that being consistent early on will prevent more unhappiness later, so I stuck it out.)
I think Tuesday was the hardest. Wednesday was not that bad because Michael was a little more accepting of his milk in a cup.
By this morning, Michael just took his cup, and although he wasn't exactly estatic about it, he drank it anyway. So it wasn't so bad after all.
He still uses a binky though. I thought we should lose one thing at a time...

Winter Quarter is DONE!!!

2009-03-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

I had both of my finals yesterday. For my 19th Century Lit. class, I had to do 2 in-class essays. (not very fun)
For my Shakespeare class, everyone acted out their scenes, so that was much more fun than the 2-essay exam.
My scene went great.
I'm so happy to be done though. One quarter to go!

Michael Signs "Bath"

2009-03-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

Michael has continued to learn new signs after initially signing 'milk' at about 10 months old. He loves to take a bath, so I think 'bath' is one of his favorite signs. I've been trying to catch him signing on camera but he is constantly on the go, so I never get a good shot of him.

This is what the sign for 'bath' looks like:

The other day, Eliz was taking a bath and Michael walked into the bathroom and started eagerly signing 'bath' so that he could take one too. I caught him on camera for a second, but then he punched Eliz in the face so I had to turn it off. Don't worry, she wasn't hurt...lol

The Pictionary Beast

2009-03-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

I was just introduced to the weekly Writer's Workshop over at Mama's Losing It.

She gives a few writing prompts each week, and then you get to choose which one you write about.
The prompt I chose is:
1.) Discuss an intense game of Pictionary that you spent most of Saturday night arguing with your family about, only to log in to your email account two days later to find 35 emails between said family regarding aformentioned game and rules.

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I've been apart of many an intense game of Pictionary here at our house, but I don't think there has been any emails involved afterwards. (Not that I know of anyway.)
There was a time when Mig and I would play Pictionary regularly with visitors to our house, cousins, friends, family, etc.

If Mig and I were on the same team, we were unstoppable.
But if we weren't on the same team, things would get ugly. I think it's because Mig knows just what to say to push my buttons, especially if my team is losing and his team is winning.

For instance, if we are playing 'guys against girls,' (which I refuse to do anymore) and the guys are winning, Mig would purposely say, "The girls suck and the guys are better!"

I know its childish, but still, it really pisses me off. Everyone knows that girls are really smarter than boys right? How dare he....

This once escalated into me throwing a marker at Mig's head. I missed because I don't have a very good aim, but still, I don't know what came over me. (Not my proudest moment, I assure you.)

And to add to my annoyance when we are playing, Mig's cousin (I will not mention any names) will always start gesturing to his team when he is supposed to be drawing. And no matter how many times I remind him (or yell at him) that we are playing PICTIONARY and not CHARADES, he will still conveniently forget and start gesturing again!

I'm mean, I'm usually a very calm person, but Pictionary just brings out this rage in me...lol

So naturally I got this reputation of being a ruthless, defensive, marker-throwing Pictionary player, and that's not a very flattering picture of myself. (no pun intended..ha)

So I gave up playing Pictionary for a while, and the angry Pictionary beast inside me has laid dormant.

We recently played Pictionary again a couple months ago, after not playing for probably over a year.
Some of my cousins, brother-in-law, and my mom had been over for Michael's birthday, and someone suggested that we play...

Oh no, I thought. What if the Pictionary Beast is unleashed?
No, no..I'm not like that anymore. I planned that I would be calm and just have fun, because that's what it's all about anyway right?

So we played. And I kept it together.

Even when Mig's team was winning, and he noticed that everyone on my team was either in college or had graduated from college, and that everyone on his team wasn't college educated, and yet they were still winning.
Even when he named my team "The Dumb-Dumbs" and his team "The Intelligents." (very original)

He even rubbed it in that his team was one man down because my mom had fallen asleep on the couch behind us (it was a very late game) and yet, his team was stilllllllllllllll winning.

But still, I just laughed, and I kept it together, and it actually turned out to be more fun because I wasn't so worried about winning and I wasn't yelling at perfectly nice people who were visiting my home.

Spring Fling Giveaway Winner!

2009-03-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

The winner of the Pillsbury Slow Cooker Recipes Cookbook is:
Jackie!!!!

Congratulations to Jackie, and thank you to everyone who entered. I hope all you wonderful new followers will stick around while I share about the little things in my life...

Wordless Wednesday (From the Archives) Summer is Coming!

2009-03-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

Spring Fling Giveaway

2009-03-10T15:20:00.000-07:00

SITS is having their annual Spring Fling. And although I'm a bit late, I want to join in on all the fun giveaways.

So if you'd like to enter to win a copy of Pillbury's Slow Cooker Recipes, all you have to do is:

1. Leave me a comment.

2. For 3 bonus entries, become a follower of my blog and leave me a second comment to let me know.

Good luck!

(I will randomly choose the winner tomorrow night. US only.)

Is it just me...

2009-03-09T16:33:00.001-07:00

Or does anyone else feel like they've been robbed of a precious hour of sleep?

This morning as I dropped Eliz off at school, there was a long line of kids coming out of the office door who were late and needed tardy slips. And yes, that means Eliz herself was among the tardy.

And then I got home from school a little while ago and I realized that I completely forgot to make coffee this morning so I hadn't had any coffee alllllllll day. How could I forget that? A day without coffee is like a day without oxygen.....

I think it's gonna take me a couple days to get used to this time change.

COBRA Health Coverage

2009-03-07T10:17:00.001-08:00

I know that President Obama has been working very hard on healthcare reform and change really couldn't come any sooner....

Since we no longer have health insurance through Mig's employer as of March 1, because of the layoff, we got a letter yesterday offering us the chance to continue our health coverage through COBRA.

As I opened the letter, I breathed a sigh of relief, because at least now, we could continue to have health insurance. I knew that we'd probably have to pay a lot more than we are used to....

But I was not prepared for how much it would actually cost.
If we want to continue our health coverage through COBRA, we are supposed to cough up {cough, cough, hack, hack} almost $900 a month! Whether we want all 4 of us covered, or even just 1 of us, the price stays the same.
This is just about impossible.

COBRA was created so that families would still be covered even though they lost their health benefits, most likely due to a job loss.
But what I don't understand is, how are families who are dealing with unemployment or underemployment (which is the case with Mig) supposed to have an extra $900 just lying around? How does that even make sense?

I hope it doesn't sound like I'm complaining. I feel blessed to have all of us in good health. And even though Mig has not been officially called back to work full-time, he is still on-call, so we are fortunate in that sense.

It's Time for Another Edition of Nerdy Humor

2009-03-06T13:55:00.000-08:00

This is a Trader Joe's bag.

This is a Trader Joe's bag with an unmistakable misspelling.

If you found it, give yourself 1 point.

The Fat Smash Diet

2009-03-05T09:30:00.000-08:00

Mig and I started a diet on Tuesday called 'The Fat Smash Diet.' The first 9 days of this diet is called Phase I or the Detox Phase. So during this time, our diet consists of unlimited amounts of fruits, vegetables, and beans/lentils, with limited amounts of brown rice, egg whites, oatmeal, yogurt, or milk.

It might sound a little restrictive, but I tend to have this "Life is short, so you shouldn't deprive yourself" attitude about food. So if I want some chocolate, I'll have some chocolate. If I feel like drinking a coke, I'll drink a coke.

So I really need to change this attitude. Plus, I don't like to exercise. So these 2 things combined have done me no favors in the weight department and I am still carrying around year-old baby weight when I should have tried to get rid of it a long time ago.

And actually this diet is not restrictive at all if you compare it to another diet we tried...
A couple years ago, Mig and I decided to do this diet called 'The Master Cleanse.' But let me start off by saying that this diet is solely for the purposes of detoxing your body and not for weight loss, even though you may lose a little weight from NOT EATING FOR 10 WHOLE DAYS!!!!!
Yes, that's right, it is a completely liquid/fasting diet. And don't get me wrong, the whole 10 day experience was enlightening (to say the least) as you discover so much about yourself and how much of your life actually revolves around food. Such as:
What should I buy at the grocery store?
What should I make for dinner?
Where should we go out to eat?
and my personal favorite:
I'm not even hungry, but I'm just bored so I think I'll have a snack...

So let's compare shall we?

Fruits & Veggies OR liquid???

I think I'll go with the fruits and veggies.

Turning Lemons into Lemonade Since 1982

2009-03-03T16:29:00.000-08:00

I don't know what I did to deserve this, but I received The Lemonade Award from 3 Bay B Chicks!

Here are the rules for this award:
1) Put the logo on your blog or post.
2) Nominate at least 10 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude.
3) Link to your nominees within your post.
4) Let the nominees know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5) Share the love and link to the person from who you received your award.

I will pass this award on to:

1) Amber S. at Four Guys and a Gal
2) Stacy at Stacy's Random Thoughts
3) Roxane at It Really is, All About Me
4) Mammatalk
5) CareBear at Two Under Two. Whew!
6) Smores for Breakfast
7) Shalyse at Life, isn't it Great
8) Houston Mommy 101
9) Sweetsue
10) Tanielle at The Polka Dot Daisy

2 Classes Left

2009-03-02T21:40:00.000-08:00

Last week I registered for the last two classes I need to complete my Bachelor's degree. I've been going to school for so long, that to actually only have 2 classes left seems kind of surreal to me. But I'm so happy and relieved to finally have the end in sight.
Of the 2 classes I had to register for, one needed to be an upper division English elective, (I saved it for last) and the other class I needed is not even being offered for Spring Quarter, so I talked to the English Department Head (who also happens to be my advisor) about this, and she said that I could just fill out a petition to substitute any other English class for the one I actually needed.
So basically I got to register for any 2 classes that I wanted, within the English department.
I chose:
Structure of Language
&
Adolescent Literature
I already looked at the book list for Adolescent Lit. and we are going to be reading Twilight, and I have never read it before, so I'm excited!

June is just a few months away!

It Doesn't Hurt to Try...

2009-02-26T20:30:00.000-08:00

Today I received some good news in the mail, rather than the usual bills and such.
--------------------------------------
A couple weeks ago, I got a parking ticket in front of my house.
This wasn't the first time.
On the Monday that it happened, Elizabeth didn't have school on that day in honor of President Lincoln's birthday. So since I didn't have to take her to school in the morning, I never moved my car. I also thought that since it was a holiday, there probably wouldn't even be street sweeping, but I was wrong. When I left to school later that day, there was a nice little envelope waiting for me on my windshield.
Great.
I hate having to give money away for no good reason. I mean, who does right? Unless you're Bill Gates or something.
When I took my stinkin' parking ticket out of the envelope and started to read it, I noticed that there were instructions written in teeny tiny print on the back of the ticket about how to contest your citation, if you so felt the need to.
So then I thought, it doesn't hurt to try right? The worst they could say was no.
(Or actually, they could laugh at my ridiculous request to contest my citation and tell me to pay up.) But even if I didn't contest it, I would still have to pay the ticket anyway, so I decided to write a nice little letter to the City of ***** last week, explaining how the sign posted on our street says the day and time in which parking is not allowed, but at the bottom, it states, "Except on Holidays."
And since all schools in our city were closed on that day, due to the President Lincoln's birthday holiday, I believed that there would not be street sweeping.

Today I received a letter back from my city saying that my parking ticket was dismissed due to "Holiday Confusion" !! Yay! I almost couldn't believe it, but hey, maybe I still have holiday confusion.

End of the Quarter Business

2009-02-26T08:24:00.000-08:00

I have about 2 more weeks left of school craziness before the quarter ends. I have two 10+ page papers to do and then finals.. One of my finals will again require me to act out a scene from a Shakespeare play.
The play that I will be doing with my group is Antony & Cleopatra, and I will be doing Cleopatra's part.
The scene we will be performing is the one where Cleopatra has sent her messenger to get a look at Octavia, Antony's new wife, (i.e. her competition.)
The messenger then comes back with a report about how Octavia looks, and one of the very first questions Cleopatra asks is, "Is she as tall as me?"
This will probably make for a funny/ironic moment during our performance as I am only 4'11" which could hardly be considered tall.
But it should be fun!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-02-25T07:25:00.001-08:00

Migraines & Mondays

2009-02-23T18:54:00.000-08:00

Today I had one of the worst migraines I've had in a very long time. Even after taking my medication, I still felt the pain for hours afterwards. I even threw up a few times today and was nauseated for most of the day too. (I haven't experienced this delightful symptom that comes along with my migraines in quite a while) I almost wasn't going to go to school, but I dragged myself over there because I don't like to miss.

I don't know if maybe I ate something with a whole lot of MSG yesterday while I was at an Oscar Party (which was very fun) OR if the stress from realizing that our health benefits will finally be no more (because of Mig's layoff) come March 1st is getting to me.

But let's stay positive here. Positive. Positive. Positive.