A New Year ~ 2011

I find it interesting that a new year is once again upon us ~ so much has happened in this last year and I anticipate a busy year to come.

Work continues at its constant pace of new ideas, demands, and overload. Each new year brings me closer to retirement and this excites me. I am ready. Maybe not this next year but soon.

It has been one year and a half since my sister has passed away ~ life is not the same. I miss her terribly and I suppose I always will. My mom misses her so much. I cry when she cries. We made it through Christmas with the help of my husband and children. We had a wonderful time with our nephew and his partner, nieces, nephews, and other family members. My mom was able to spend it with us, too and I tried to keep her busy. We talked and laughed, we remembered and we were quiet in our thoughts. And we go on.

I reconnected with our cousins whom I love very much and actually spend time with them recently. My sister always tried to keep in touch with them and I merely stayed in the background, but now I want to be the one who keeps in touch. Love you cousins!

Our children are all in good stable relationships ~ we love them all dearly.

My goal for this year is to get control over my health. I'm feeling better and watching what I eat. It's not so bad. I think in the long run it will all be good for me. I did, however, crave chocolate cake today, but only for a minute ~ the thought of paying for it later overruled any craving I had.

In conclusion, I welcome 2011 and all it has to offer. I feel fortunate to still be here to enjoy each and every day. We are blessed. Thank you Lord.

My Tortillas!!!!!

Well, my long association with the freshly made, warm delicious tortilla has ended much to my dismay. My age has caught up with my health or my health with my age and I must rethink how I will scoop up that last little bit of tasty morsel on my plate. Damn it!!!!!

For the rest of my life, I will be forced to eat the corn tortillas set aside for the weekend menudo or taquitos or tacos. Now these will become my norm instead of the the flour tortillas that I had come to love as a staple. For the most part, I'll need to stay away from white flour items or anything with the same. I have developed a food allergy that will probably stay with me from here on out.

When I read of the things that I cannot not eat because they are not good for me, I am amazed at how much I used to eat. This might prove to be a positive thing. I can eat salads with lots of broccoli, spinach, celery, cucumbers, boiled eggs; I can eat fish, meat, & chicken; I can eat yogurt with fresh fruit; I can still have coffee (yay!); I can eat fruit! It's all good. I'll be on a healthy "diet."

But I'll still miss my tortillas!!!

Work, work, work....

Here I am needing to finish work for school and what am I doing ~ blogging! Already checked my FB, checked the old farm, restarted the Dell to use with my memory stick.

It was a long day today, testing once again. Tomorrow I need to meet with our principal regarding data. That is what I need to be doing, preparing the criteria that I will need to walk into her office with. Oh darn!

My husband and I took my mama to see family in Fillmore on Sunday. It was so nice to see everyone again. I didn't realize how much I had missed them. Years had gone by that I would see them occasionally, if even that. When we were young we were constant companions with our cousins. They are like brothers and sisters to me. My older sister kept more in touch with them, I'd follow along~ sometimes. Life had us occupied most of the time (not a good excuse ~ I'll never let that happen again). Seeing them touched my heart. We talked ~ I met many nieces and nephews, saw the ones I remember when they were little ~ they were all so kind and respectful. The highlight was seeing my "tia" who I had not seen in years. She remembered me (she is beginning to forget) and smiled whenever she saw me. I loved every minute of our visit.

Now I'd better get to work on the "data" ~ I feel so tired already. :)

I have to finish Christmas shopping!!!!!!! And Christmas cards!!!!!!

Data, data, data.....

Almost Christmas...

It's been a while since I've written on my blog... Work keeps me pretty busy especially now that we are so close to vacation ~ testing ~ again.

I'm learning how to Christmas shop online ~ something I have never done because I didn't know how to ~ but it's not too hard. In fact I think it will save us a lot of trouble. In all honesty, I don't like to shop. If I have to go grocery shopping once a week then that's enough! Ha!

My health has been up and down for a while, too ~ this is probably a huge factor in not wanting to shop because all I want to do is rest and sleep ~ get comfortable and "veg."

My mom is visiting from up north and I'm so excited about seeing her ~ sooooo I'd better start cleaning :) !!!!

Time to get off the couch!

Get Ready!!!

It's Tuesday!!! I have to go shopping for Thanksgiving!!!! Oh Shucks! Maybe later...

Today I am going to teach my daughter how to make an apron. So exciting!!

I attended school back in the 70's and Home Economics was a standard. Learning to make an apron was the first lesson in our sewing class. From there I learned how to make dresses, blouses, pants, shorts and just about anything that involved sewing. I learned how to make pies and other desserts ~ measure, cream, sift, and blend. In my senior year a class on child care was offered ~ this is where I opted out. We were going to learn how to change diapers, bathe a baby, hold a baby etc. Being second oldest of 12 children, I thought "You got to be kidding!" I became a library aide for that semester. :)

Now the reason my daughter never took Home Ec. was because in her time of school they offered so many more alternatives that our small town school never had. She attended a high school with a graduating class in the 400's compared to my graduating class of 30+. Home Ec. was offered, but she took classes like Field Hockey (champions) and AVID ~ a class that prepared them for college. She began her career as an 8th grade History teacher ~ and is now a full time AVID teacher for 7th and 8th grade students. We are so proud of her, beyond words :).

Therefore, today my daughter will make an apron with a USC print (doing her Masters at USC :) and I can't wait! We are going to have so much fun!!

I'd better get my sewing machine ready...

My Clutter Problem . . .

Cleaning my closet today of all the clutter ~ I don't know how it got there!! I don't know why my words are being underlined ~ I'm thinking because the picture has underlined words~who knows. Anyway, how do we accumulate so much? Empty shoe boxes, outdated, old purses; dry cleaning bags that I thought I would use again, old shoes, summer clothes, traveling bags, and dust, lots and lots of dust (and that's just the floor). Now I need to attack the shelves that go around the closet. It looks like a jumble up there ~ doesn't help that I can't see anything up there; therefore, needing a chair to get up there. Yikes!!!

I ~ hey!! What happened to the lines!!! Back to the clutter problem~ I need to get rid of stuff that I have not used in ages. Thank God for little vacations like these, otherwords I'd never attack my clutter problem. You should see the office -- OMG!! That is my next plan of attack ~ Ha!! Goodwill here we come :)!!!

The nice thing about all this beside my mini-vacation is that it is such a beautiful day today. We are so blessed.

Published post had no lines ~ silly computer! My draft shows lines, but not published post. Interesting ~ hmmmmm...... :)

Update:

Update on my new potato recipe
:
The potatoes were tasty!! I ate 3 little one-inch pieces. Not bad for the first time roasting potatoes. My husband and son really liked them. :)

Dinner . . .

When I'm on vacation, I like to try out new recipes. Tonight I'm going to make roasted potatoes. A little bit of EVOO (like Rachel says), basil, thyme, seasoned salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. I am not a big potato eater, in fact, I can eat about 1/8 inch of a slice and that's it. Just to taste it, but they don't appeal to me. They look good, my family likes them, but not me.

I grew up in Idaho, the land of the potato. License plates on cars carry the logo "Famous Potatoes." But for some reason I never learned to like them. I'll eat a french fry or two max. I do like a little mashed potatoes with turkey on Thanksgiving. I like a baked potato with steak at at a restaurant, I'll eat half of it with all the fixings (sour cream, chives, cheese, salt & pepper). But not crazy about just potatoes.

Time to put the casserole in the oven ~ heard my honey drive up on his motorcycle ~home from work :). Love that man!!!

My Birthday . . .

I celebrated my birthday this last weekend ~ one of the nicest birthdays I have ever had.

Years ago when my father-in-law lived with us, he used to get up on his birthday, shower and get all dressed-up. He would then sit outside in his chair and wait for his children to come see him. There were years that they came and years when they did not. During those times when they did not come for what ever reason life had put before them, my heart broke for him. I made sure we always celebrated with him. To this day we make a point of going to see him on his birthday.

I think about those days when it is my birthday. The highlight of my day is always to see my children. They are my gift. I feel so blessed because they are loving, caring children with their dad and I and with each other. We have such good kids :). Love them so.

Up above are the cupcakes my daughter made for me ~ can you imagine my surprise when I saw them? I'm such a Farmville player! It's crazy I know, but it is such a relaxing past time. My sons play video games on their x-boxes ~ I play Farmville :).

Yes, it was a wonderful birthday with my family. They made me feel so special. :)

A Sunday Morning Blog

Years ago when Science and Social Studies were held in the same standing or close to Math and Reading I loved teaching a unit on weather which included a detailed study on clouds. I loved teaching every aspect of this subject. We made the different clouds using cotton and labeled them discussing their definitions. When I would ask one of my students what the clouds in the sky were telling us about the weather they knew, but now we barely have time for a science read aloud. Science has gone by the wayside, sorry to say along with Social Studies. These two have long been my favorite subjects to teach. They were my favorite subjects in school, too. Nevertheless, I still love looking at clouds in the sky and try to remember what they mean. These clouds mean that rain is around the corner :). I took the picture last Wednesday outside my classroom.

Three more days until we have a little mini-vacation. So happy! I do have to go in for a series of blood tests since I got pretty sick this last week. My doctor wants to get down to the bottom of my problem (as to why I keep getting sick). That's ok. I've gotten to that age where I better take more care of my health.

Our youngest son spends less and less time with us and more and more time with his girlfriend's family. I think we are getting used to that now ~ it's quiet at home and nice to spend time with my husband once again. It's not as hard as I thought it would be without the children. For years they were the major "meaning" of my existence, but the transition to just us has been so smooth. We're good :). Miss my babies, but I have let them grow up with my husband's help.

Everyone have a blessed week :).

Happiness is Here . . .

Halloween is almost upon us - again. The candy is bought with the thought that if we don't get a lot of kiddies, then we can eat the candy that is left over. Bought the kind we like. :)

Work has been overwhelming as usual. I'm still trying to catch up on checking over work done by the children, especially their homework. But grades are entered and report cards ready to go. I'm so happy about that accomplishment ~ always such a relief.

I looked at our school calendar and we only have about two weeks left after this one before we go on a mini-break. Boy! We definitely need it!!!! And now to get ready for the holidays and family. Our nephew called and asked if he could spend Christmas with us. He will definitely be a nice addition to our festivities.

I'm thinking ~ turkey for Thanksgiving, tamales for Christmas, and darn it! I will learn how to make "pozole" for New Year's! Happy, happy, Joy, joy!! :)

Raining . . .

It is raining right now and occasionally we are getting an "Emergency Alert System" flashing on the t.v.. It's a good night for cuddling on the couch and watching mindless t.v.

It's been a good couple of days, sad on one hand, but happy on another. My husband's uncle passed away last week and we buried him today. The services were nice and the rain held off until everything was done.

Family is so important and priceless. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful extended family. Love them all.

We'll be alright . . .

Today is Tuesday and time has brought more changes. We haven't stopped. Do we ever? Probably not.

We love each other ~ that hasn't changed and I think that is what is important at times like this ~ we have each other to fall back on.

Prayer... always.

WEEKEND!!

Yay! It's the weekend ~~ I've been waiting for today!!! As usual it was a long week of continuous changes and tweaking of those changes. We got it!! We got it!!! (I say this sarcastically!) No, it's all good. I think it's all helping me become a better teacher. I just have to keep remembering what I've learned and not get nervous when the principal walks through. Ha!!

Have a good weekend everybody and have a drink on me :).

For My Sister...

Yesterday was my sister's birthday...
I thought about her a lot. I wanted to call her. I called my mom's phone and she must have left it in her room because the answering machine came on and I heard my sister's voice. I called it again. She would have been 58. I miss her so much.

These flowers are for you, Sister, for your birthday. I love you.

Grade? What????

I'm procrastinating today :). I have a small mountain of papers to correct and it's almost 3:00 and I haven't done any of it. But I've done a lot of other things...

• I had coffee with toast while reading the last book of the Twilight series "Breaking Dawn" ~So hard to put down.
  
• Made a nice breakfast for the family.
• Did two loads of laundry and put away.
• Mopped kitchen.
• Washed dishes by hand instead of using dishwasher (love my new sink).
• Had a bowl of ice cream with strawberries.
• Went on Facebook (twice) ~checked my farm (Farmville).
  
• Wrote on my blog :).
• Talked to my daughter and mama on the phone.
  
• Made a nice lunch.
• Vacuumed.
• Cleaned our bedroom.
  
• Read my book again.
• Spend time with my husband watching a show on prohibition "Boardwalk."
• Took papers out of my rolling cart in an attempt to start grading.
  

You know what would really be perfect about now? A piece of chocolate cake. YUM!

I think I'll make a chocolate cake!

Happy Fall Saturday everyone!!

Love, Love, Love

I love my new kitchen!!! It is so functional! Feeling very blessed. This is the first time in the almost 35 years of marriage that we have a new kitchen ~ beautiful on top of that.

The expression "Cocinar con carino" has definitely become the norm in this sweet place. We love it.

Happiness on the homefront. :)

BUT at work ~ darn it!! I am feeling so overwhelmed with all that our principal is requiring of us. She seems to add more and more to our plate as each week goes by or maybe I should say as each day goes by. I dread opening the e-mails in the morning. Ok, I'll play the game ~ no problem, but don't expect me to be happy about it. We are beginning to steer clear of the office. Hmmmm.....does she notice???

Sometimes I think I'm just getting too old for this job. Time to leave it to the young ones with more stamina and patience. I tell myself to hold on for at least three more years ~ then I'll cruise through life with my Honey. :)

The Cabinets Are Here!!!!

Our cabinets are finally here!!!! OMG!! They are beautiful!! I love them! :)

Our kitchen is starting to take shape into a most beautiful, functional, peaceful, and gorgeous space. I feel so happy and blessed. My husband is such a sweetheart. Thank you, Honey, I know it has been a long road and we are finally seeing the finished product. :) It will be a beautiful kitchen!

Yellow? No!!!

I had a little (big?) predicament about the color of the paint in our kitchen renovation. At first I thought a pretty "Tuscany" yellow would be cool, but then when it was up on the wall -- I didn't like it much. I felt like it was yelling at me!!! It made me feel sad and irritable. But my family seemed to like it.

After much contemplation and a chat for advice from a close friend about my age, I decided to change it. Whew!!! My friend told me that her mama always said, "Tenemos que cocinar con carino. -- We need to cook with love." That was my answer -- the answer I had been looking for to finally convince me to change the screaming yellow color. I came home and told my husband " Honey, I need to change the color because "Tenemos que cocinar con carino." After some laughter on his part, we drove straight to Home Depot and I chose a delicious "Cappucino" color. Now when I walk into my kitchen, I sigh with contentment and I feel peaceful.

Dear family, the yellow was pretty, but dad and I decided that it belonged in a young couple's kitchen (daughter?) -- we are more sedate and relaxed. :) Love you all for your input! I'll have to get a cappuccino machine to make you all a hot yummy cup!! Woo-Hoo!!!

We Go On . . .

I've been here before ~

Missing my sister ~ I don't think that will ever stop.

My mom will be moving up north during the Labor Day weekend ~ already I feel sad about not have her nearby, at the same time feeling happy for her because she will be surrounded by family. I feel sad for her, also, because it was never suppose to be like this. She had a big house with many beautiful and memorable things and now she has boxes with labels. She's given away so very much. She feels sad, I feel sad. She asked me what I wanted from her belongings when my sister was still alive. I asked for a pink flower bracelet and earrings she had worn many times when she was young. My dad had given these to her. I told her she did not need to give them to me now, but that I would really like them someday. She gave them to me.

One of my younger brothers who is diabetic, developed gangrene in his toe ~ it looks like it is healing. Medicine has come so far since my dad had the same situation many years back. My dad was not able to survive it. My brother needs to take better care of himself. This is a wake-up call ~ for him, for us.

After school, teachers stand outside their classrooms to keep an eye on their students, remind other students not to run and overall, be noticeable. A little girl on a bike was riding on the blacktop. I informed mom that she could only walk her bike at the same time I heard her tell a sibling, "She just got out of chemo." I realize rules are rules, but I could have turned the other way and not said anything. Where do we draw the line?

I then walked one of my students up to the office because no one had come for her. I asked who would be coming, mom or dad? She said not dad because "Mom doesn't love him anymore." And she began to get weepy. I hugged her.

My little student who doesn't behave, missed all recesses today. I told him I would no longer raise my voice to him, but that if he broke the rules of the classroom he would need to write his name on the board and if misbehavior continued he would have to put a check-mark by his name. Didn't help, he persisted on misbehaving.

There was a spider in our bathroom tonight. I HATE spiders!!!!! My husband came to the rescue :).

I'm exhausted.

On the upside ... tomorrow is my little sister's birthday. Happy Birthday, little sister. I love you. :)

A Busy Weekend!

We had a very full weekend ~ busy, busy, busy. After attending a meeting for the whole day on Friday (too much), I returned to my work site to see how my little ones behaved for the sub. I read her note saying that all had behaved except for my little one who doesn't behave for me either. Ok, not a surprise. Came home about 5:00. My husband suggested that we go have dinner at a new restaurant in the neighboring town being opened by our very own caterer-we were so excited for them. Upon arriving we realized that they were not opened yet. She gave us a tour of the restaurant and it's going to be beautiful. Can't wait. We wished them well and promised to come back when they are ready. We then went to have dinner at "McDonald's" of all places, but I sure do like their $ menu double-double. It was just right!

After dinner we drove to a place downtown called "Courtstreet" to listen to a well known Latino band called "Latin Society." I love this band - it's so old-school Mexican music. Lots of "cumbias." We danced and enjoyed the music until closing time.

On Saturday, we went shopping for things necessary -- I don't like to shop and really needed to make sure we had everything for the week. I want to be able to come straight home and relax - don't want to deal with parking, and other people who are just getting off from work - we are all too tired. We then attended a baby shower for the daughter of a dear friend. We had dinner, visited for a little while, gave our congratulations and thank you's and then gave up our seats for others to sit and went on our way -- back to Courtstreet to listen to another band.

Then today, I helped my husband clean out the garage - at least my side. :) He built a pantry in the garage and we organized a lot! I found things that I'd forgotten that I had bought - an electric fry pan was a surprise! I'm so excited for my new kitchen! It will be great when it is done.

I finally was able to grade school work and organized that aspect of my life. Now it's time to call it a weekend. Hmmmm....

The only thing I missed was not being able to see my good friend, Maria, at the shower. We missed each other probably by minutes. Another time...

Tired

Tired.... my bed is calling me...

A Long Day . . .

New school year began today. Looks like this will be the year of my challenge - not that I haven't had them before, but I have a feeling it will be trying. I had to redo my seating chart already. I thought I could wait until the end of the day tomorrow to move them, but nope - I'll have to move them first thing in the morning other words, they will drive me crazy with their constant talking.

I have a little guy who I feel will need some extra continuous reminders of why he's at school, but what the heck, it was only the first day. It's bound to get better. I'll give them a month to leave their kinder behaviors and join the ranks of being first graders. Then we'll be fine, I hope. Remind me why I got into this profession again?

I got to get some sleep...

Never mind about "Bringing it on!" Spoke too soon -- yawn....

A New School Year!!

Can you tell that I am back to work :)... Today was my first day back and I definitely felt that I was juggling a hundred and one things. I would do this and start that and come back to this and go back to that!!! So many little loose ends to tie up tomorrow before the children begin their first day on Thursday.

I think the best part of the day was seeing my friends again and chatting with them. I have so many good friends at this school and feel blessed. I have a feeling that it will be a very good school year - I'm excited at the possibilities and look forward to meeting my new little ones.

Ok, new school year -- Bring It On!!!

A Little Break . . .

Taking a break again . . . it must be my summer vacation time . . . :).

This weekend we took a quick trip to Fountain Valley which is near Irvine to see my niece from Sacramento play in a softball tournament. It was such a pleasant experience. My children and my brothers were there also. We had a very nice time and then to make the day even better, we had dinner together talking, sharing, and laughing. I love times like this.

Today I started reading "Eclipse." I love these books! They are such good, easy-to-read books. I enjoy this style of writing.

Your Birthday

Today is my husband's birthday :).
Happy Birthday, Honey!

We are so blessed...

A Little Bit of Hollywood. . .

Stopped to eat lunch at Sitton's North Hollywood Diner with my mom today. It was a pretty eclectic sort of place with movie star pictures hanging everywhere, stain glass windows covering the front wall, and chef and waiter statues here and there. My mom and I sat at a booth and ordered our lunch. They were so nice because my mom ordered a meal that came with a vegetable soup thick with vegetables and thick broth. I tasted it and it was sooooo good! As I scooted over by my mom to share, the waitress brought me a smaller bowl free of charge. How nice!! By the time we were done with our soups, we were full! We brought most of our main meal home.

I had such a nice time with my mom. We talked and talked about everything, but mostly about her move north with my brother. I hope all goes well with her. It must be hard to move around like she is. She feels obligated, she feels sad, she feels hopeful -- so many mixed feelings. I try to help her to see the positive, but after living with my sister for over 20 years or so, I imagine it will be another difficult change for her.

I wish my sister was still here. Miss you and love you.

Scrapbooking . . .

I've been scrapping with my daughter for the last three days!!! My gosh! It is time consuming!! BUT rewarding! Up until this last week, I hadn't touched my photos since the year 1995. I am now to the year 2000 and taking a break :) My poor house has been neglected, I haven't been on the computer much, and my next book "Eclipse" sits waiting to be opened and read. But life is good...

I've enjoyed spending time with my daughter, this has been the plus :). Love that child!!
We laughed, we chatted, we watched her "Animal Planet" shows which were crazy in themselves. We spend one day watching some guy trying to become part of a lion pride. By the time he was done (forgot how many weeks he was out there) he looked liked Grizzly Adam's cousin. He was definitely crazy!

And now I need to put 2000 year in the album. Rewarding :). Now my youngest son can see pictures of himself after his 5th birthday-ha!!

A Movie . . .

Today has been a lazy kick-back kind of day. Started early with a cup of coffee and toast. That in itself was very nice. Cleaned the main rooms from yesterday's 4th of July gathering and than sat down to watch a movie with my husband. It was an old Bruce Willis movie called "Fifth Element" or something like that. It was very interesting. I hadn't sat down to watch a movie such as this in quite a while, but any movie would look great on a flat screen t.v. WHAT? Yes! We bought ourselves a flat screen t.v. -- our last t.v. which we had for 15 years or so finally quit on us - just went black. It was a heavy "son-of-a-gun!" (like my honey says :), one of those ancient big old sets with a big backside. This one is so stream-lined and beautiful. God willing, it will last us for another 15 years plus.

I hope everyone had a nice holiday. Back to work tomorrow. For me I have about 3 more weeks until I return to work --- ahhhhh. . . nice . . . more movies .... :)

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy 4th of July!!! Especially to all our soldiers who are courageously fighting to keep our country free and safe.

Reading!!

Ok, I got hooked!! I had been hearing much too much about these books from friends on Facebook, and the commercials on t.v. that my interest was piqued. The day we went in search of my "rice pan" I came upon the first book, "Twilight" in a bin close to the checkout counter at half price. I can always read the first couple of pages to know if a book will be of interest to me and sure enough I was intrigued. The writing style was easy to follow and introduced the character, Bella, using the first person. I liked that very much. It made it personal like I was seeing and experiencing everything through her eyes. Silly, huh? But then I'm the type of person who really gets into a movie. Forget taking me to a theater, I'm the one who screams or laughs out loud at the screen. Oops! In otherwords, I get involved in the plot :).

I read "Twilight" in less than a week. It was excellent! Went to Target and they had the next two books on sale (paperback) and the best part was that if I bought one (on sale) then I got the other one at half price. LUCKY!!! Ha! Every chance I get, I'm reading - a third of the way done with the second book. I think I liked the first one better. Maybe because I'm more of an "Edward" fan than a "Jacob" fan. I'll see how the story develops.

It's been a nice little vacation already ~ we had a wonderful memorial jam with loving friends and family, my house is CLEAN!!, I'm reading great books, and we are so blessed with all that is good in life. :)

Dear Dave . . .

The "Memorial Jam" went beautifully. Lots of family and good friends came together to celebrate the memory of our good friend and brother.

Rest in peace dear Dave. We miss you and we love you. Our hearts broke to see this empty chair knowing that you should have been sitting with the band playing your music. Maria said some beautiful words about you ~ I know you heard them.

You will be forever in our hearts ~ give my sister a hug for me.

The Stage is Set . . .

It has begun -the stage is built, the tables and chairs are here. Tomorrow is the day for our memorial jam for our dear friend, Dave. His mama and family will be here - I'm thinking flowers in a vase for her table.

I think of everyone who will be here to play in his honor. It will be sad because he won't be here. We do it for his family. It will be nice to see old friends and family and miss the ones who are no longer with us.

Until tomorrow.

Happy Birthday to My Mama!

Today is my mama's birthday!! My daughter and I met her at the Ontario Mills, a big shopping mall, on the quest of finding nice dress shoes that would go with the dress she will be wearing for our niece's wedding in July. When we didn't find any there, we drove over to Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga. She had never been there and was amazed at how big it was. We didn't find the shoes, but we will keep looking :).

After shopping, we stopped to have lunch at Famous Dave's. We had a very nice time talking, reminiscing, and laughing. I love my mama. She is a very strong woman. My heart hurts for her because of the sadness she carries with her constantly, but again, she is strong and makes it through each day with God's help.

Happy Birthday, Mama ~ love you!

My Son's Room!

I ventured into my son's room today to see how I could straighten it out a just a little bit~put away the socks-check! Put away the undershirts-check! And then I saw the dust, the papers strewn about, the empty water bottles under the bed, and the final straw were the board games that had tumbled out of the closet!!! No!!!!! Grabbed the dust rags, the vacuum cleaner and began working.

Our youngest son is 19 years old. He has been away from home for about two weeks attending a video game convention and visiting with his girlfriend's family in the Los Angeles area. Before he left I said, "Son, clean your room before you leave." He replied, "It's clean, mom. Besides, I'll close the door for the "party" on the 26th - no one needs to come into my room." "Ok, son." And he was gone. :)

This morning I opened the door and shook my head... ARGHHHH!!!!!.

Let me tell you about my son. He is our youngest and I'm sure we spoil him to a degree. He is very respectful to us, rarely gets mad, and loves talking with his brother, his sister and brother-in-law. He has written for a video game website since he was a junior in high school. He is an excellent writer - amazes me. In return the website sends him to Comic Con in San Diego on a press pass and recently send him to the E-3 convention in Los Angeles. He attends college (received all A's and B's his first year). Has a part time job as a math tutor at a junior high during the school year and budgets carefully. He is a good son, like his brother and sister. He really looks up to them.

BUT he can not keep his room clean! The least of my worries. :)

Back to work!! (His girlfriend is very tidy, there is hope :)

Happy Father's Day!

We had a very nice Father's Day celebration yesterday with our children. We spend the weekend (mostly my husband) working on the yard in preparation for a memorial jam we will be hosting this next weekend. The yard looks very nice. :) We were thinking of grilling, but then I remembered the brand new rotisserie still sitting in the box in the garage. On Saturday night, I asked my husband if he could put it together for me. "Sure, I can." What a sweetheart. He brought out this big box from the garage and we carefully took it out and voila! It was already put together! HA! It had been sitting in our garage for about a year because we hadn't had time "to put it together" - so funny. I made a rub with different spices for the chickens and let them sit in the fridge over night and we "rotisseried" them for two hours - OMG! they were delicious. We ate every little bit. What a success :). Thanks son for a great present (He was happy to see that we had finally used it :). I love my family ~ I am so blessed.

Ummmm. . . rice

We went out early today in search of the perfect pan to make my rice in. My old pan is getting too old and I'm almost embarrassed to use it. My mom commented on how old it was and she's right - I need to get a new one. We stopped at Ross on our way to Denny's for breakfast. Had a nice breakfast with my sister-in-law (love her!).Then we made a few other stops, test drove a Sonota (nice car :), stopped at Marshall's - too pricey, stopped at A.J. Wright - nothing, so we came home. Ahhhhhh ...nice to be home. But now looking at the picture of the rice up above, I want to make rice! A taco of rice with a little bit of salsa -- I'd be in heaven -- yum! I need a new pan!! (I'll keep using my old one till I find one).

My first day of vacation -- loved it! Thanks honey :).

Summer Vacation Is Almost Here!!

You can tell I have time on my hands when I can blog daily :). Ha! Two more days of school and I'm so excited at all I'll be able to do during my break. I want to clean my house thoroughly, help my honey with his flowers and plants, catch up on my photo albums, visit with my mama and take her shopping, sleep!, read a good book or two, blog :), watch shows I missed on the "On Demand" channel, AND train our parrot to talk!! Right now he's staring at me wondering why I'm looking at him :). I'm trying to teach him how to say "Hungry!" or "Hello" or anything really. I think he is beginning to say "Hello." I will say hello to him and he responds with a sound that sounds like "hel-lo."

He's beginning to squawk loudly during certain times of the day, especially when he hears my voice. Talk to me, Bird!!!! Don't just squawk!!

So my hands are full this summer -- I have a lot to do.

And so I begin by saying "Hello" to our parrot ~ "Hello!" and he remains quiet ~ for now. :)

Our Beloved Parents

My Rememberer

My forgetter's getting better
But my rememberer is broke
To you that may seem funny
But, to me, that is no joke

For when I'm "here" I'm wondering
If I really should be "there"
And, when I try to think it through,
I haven't got a prayer!

Often times I walk into a room,
Say "what am I here for?"
I wrack my brain, but all in vain
A zero, is my score.

There was a time when our parents were very much alert and ready for anything. We went to them for advise and friendly conversation. Time has taken much of these qualities away from them and the sadness is left behind. Confusion reigns. I am perplexed at the outcome of a life which was once so full. All I can do is reassure and comfort. I am left to wonder if someday I will be there, also. My hope is that I will not ~ I will try to keep my mind busy and ready. Although the poem up above is somewhat humorous, it gets the point across.

My mind is tired now. Sleep.

Two more days of school left with my little ones -- I sure am going to miss this group. They have been a joy to have.

On a down note, however, a child who had been placed in my room for discipline problems was send home today for slapping another child, also in my classroom, during recess when I could not monitor him. He almost made it. DARN!! I was disappointed to say the least. I feel bad for him because he is just a child. The psychologist has said he doesn't stop to think of what he is doing. Kind of hard to explain that to the other child's parents. Too sad.

BUT -- we are almost on vacation -- WOO-HOO!!! So excited to know I'll be able to sleep in at least for the first couple of days, then I'm hitting the gym and walking as much as I can. Time to lose all this excess weight :). Wish me luck!! And I'm going to read ... I have my books lined up. And I'm going to enjoy life... yes.

A Year Gone By ...

I think about a year that has come to an end and wonder where has it gone? Many a day I have driven home in tears missing the sound of my sister's voice calling me to ask if I was on my way home from work. A little chit-chat ~ enough to touch bases with each other ~ nothing major, but sufficient.

Today we gathered in her memory to look at pictures, to talk of her life, and to hug each other. We miss her dearly and we realize she is in a good place now with our Lord. Our lives are not the same anymore and never will be, but we are good, continue to heal, have our moments, but we move on with life. I finally feel a peacefulness if only for a moment, but a peacefulness just the same. She loved me, this I know and I loved her ~ dearly.

I think I will begin to look at life in a different way now ~ I will look everyday for something to make me smile and be happy ~ again.

I miss you, Sister, and always will. God bless us all.

A Nice Memorial Day. . .

Wishing everyone a nice Memorial Day :).

I love this picture because even though our sadness is with us constantly, happiness is also there. We spend a very nice Sunday afternoon with my mama, my sister and her family, my niece and her fiancee, and our children and their sweethearts. It was a very nice day. The food was delicious, especially the roasted corn. (Honey, you outdid yourself :).

We laughed a lot, got a little weepy, and I loved the family-ness of it all. My sister would have loved it, too.

I felt so blessed.

Have a lot of work to do for work -- so onward and forward!

Shiny, Red Streamers. . .

My sister used to hang shiny streamers from their fruit trees to keep the birds away. Last year she asked my brother to hang them and after he was done, we sat outside to watch as the breeze swayed them back and forth ~ shiny,red foiled streamers. They looked pretty and I wondered why I had never noticed them before.

I miss my sister. I miss her calling me. I miss hugging her.

I know she is in a good place and no longer suffering, but I sure do miss her.

I love you, sister.

A Wonderful Day . . .

Today is our 34th wedding anniversary and it's been a wonderful day . . .

We accompanied our daughter and her husband as she became Godmother to one of her students. The service was beautiful. Lots of pictures after the service. Then my husband and I went to have lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant in Ontario ~ The Panda Inn ~ beautiful restaurant. We toasted our anniversary with two little tea cups :).

Then this evening we went to the reception for our daughter's God-daughter and they had the taco cart going ~ OMG!!! I ate again! They had tacos de lengua, pastor, and carne asada -- all so DELICIOUS!! Rice, beans, and nopales con chile. For all my English speaking readers -- it was all soooo good!! The music was great. The company even better :). And now we are home and I have so much correcting to do.

The picture up above, I took when we went to Flagstaff, AZ recently. I really liked the saying above the mural ~ a good reminder.

Contemplation . . .

Just when I think I have a handle on things, I don't. Total happiness alludes me and I think it will for a time.

A teacher friend asked me how I spend my Mother's Day, did I have a good day. My reply to him was "yes," because I did. My husband and I took a weekend trip to Phoenix, AZ to see my little sister and her family. We returned in time to spend Sunday afternoon with our kids. It was a wonderful weekend. I was so happy to see my sister ~ she is precious. It felt good to be with her ~ I told him I got my "sister fix." :)

Every day I miss my older sister. It will be a year that she passed away - June. I don't know how I will handle that day.

Work on the other hand is still in disarray. A good teacher friend of mine - in fact, she was my mentor teacher when I first began teaching- has been moved to kinder. I don't think she is happy with that decision. I feel so sad for her because she is sad. She'll be working with two - three very good kinder teachers so I think it will be good for her. But I know she did not want this.
Sometimes I just don't get it. Decisions, decisions!

This weekend our daughter will be a Godmother. We are excited for her and look forward to joining her and her husband at the church and reception after.

Yes, life goes on ~ I go with the flow ~ bobbing up and down. :)

Meeting??

Went to a meeting today for work where I was totally bored. Although the information was good, we've been implementing our reading program for about 7 years now and I don't see that we learned anything exceptionally new. We just learned a different or added way of doing what we already do. Maybe the ideas would work in an ideal classroom of some fantasy school that doesn't have to test every other day and follow lesson plans that are dictated by the district. But in the real world of teaching, we do the best we can with the time we have.

The coffee and lemon pound cake were good, lunch was good, the company was very good, therefore, I suppose it wasn't too bad, but I would have preferred to be with my little ones.

Stopped by to see my sister's old co-workers and to thank them for coming to her memorial almost a year ago. I wasn't sure I could do it, but we needed to say thank you. My sister cared for them very much. It was a little hard to walk into the building. Once I was inside, I introduced myself, but they knew who I was. I thanked them and filled them in on the direction my mom's life has gone. They invited me to come again in the near future after they move into their new building. I said I would visit, but I know I will not go again because my sister is not there.

On a lighter note, tomorrow I will see my little sister. I'm so excited and pleased to be able to spend some time with her.

We continue moving forward . . .

Looking Forward . . .

Good news at work, the district rescinded all the pink slips, therefore our teachers are safe!! Woo-hoo!! We were so very happy when we heard the news. Now to see what else they will throw at us. Hmmmm...., but at least we keep our teachers!

I realized yesterday that we only have six weeks left of this school year. Six weeks with my little ones. I've had such a good class this year - I will definitely miss them when they move up to second grade.

Mother's Day is next weekend so I need to hustle and get a gift going for them to make for their mommy's. Time is passing by too fast. Take a breath and move forward - at top speed. :)

Life

Today we handed out information about our teachers who are getting laid off. We stood on the outer perimeters of our school with our black clothes and our soon-to-be laid off teachers in pink to go along with their dreaded pink slips. The information was in English and Spanish which I thought was a good strategy on the part of our union. We are close to 100% Latino population. It is odd to see a blond child at our school and when we do, this child definitely stands out.

Our students are I'm sure taken a back to see us, their teachers, away from the classroom handing out papers. The first question they asked today was, "Teacher, what were you doing?" My response is, "Let your parents read it and explain it to you." I feel sad for my fellow teachers who were pink slipped. They carry a worry with them that I would not want. Many of them are young and barely beginning their lives in the teaching world. I love my job, sometimes it doesn't seem like a job at all because of what I do. I love spending time with my students and teaching them new things. I try to make it exciting for them. Today one of my students said, "Mrs. L., Math is like a puzzle and we figured it out." I was so happy to hear that from her. "Yes, it's like a puzzle, isn't it exciting?"I have such a good time with them.

I wish my young teacher friends good luck tomorrow as they meet with the union to see what they can do next and what to expect.

Life~forever changing.

A Lazy Afternoon . . .

Such a nice, comfortable Sunday afternoon. My honey is planning a "jam" memorial for our dear friend, Dave, who passed away a little while back and met with friends to make the final arrangements. Sounds like it will be a major event. I only worry about the food and hope that there will be enough. I enjoy music a lot, especially if it's live. I just hope all goes well. I expressed my concerns and I hope they take them into account. I've been correcting papers and getting things ready for work tomorrow.

I look at our calendar for next month and the next few months and they are packed with things happening with our families and friends. It's going to be busy.

Sad to hear about the new law Arizona passed this last week against Mexicans -- well, alright, anyone who is undocumented, but come on, AZ is on the border of Mexico and it doesn't take much to see that this bill is aimed at the Mexican. There will definitely be racial profiling going on. We're planning a graduation trip this next month, sad to say, it may be out last trip out that way for quite a long while. I'd get so mad if they stopped us to ask for documentation. What was that governor thinking??? There has to be a better way to figure out this "problem."

Last week a mom brought me "tacos de lengua" -- oh my gosh!!! they were so delicious!!!!! For my English speaking readers, "tacos de lengua" are tacos with beef tongue :). So, so goood!!!

As a thank you I am going to make them chocolate chip cookies - won't compare to such a delicacy, but I hope they like them :). Here's wishing everyone a good week. I can't believe it's already the last week of April.

Life Goes On. . .

. . . And life goes on . . .

A Wonderful Housewarming!!

Went to a very nice housewarming party today for a sweet young teacher friend of mine. It was so nice to see old friends and visit with new ones. Her home was beautiful and comfortable. She is so blessed.

As I was getting ready, I thought about where I was at her age, certainly not buying a house :). We rented for so long. I think we had been married almost ten years before we bought a house. I'm amazed at what young people can do nowadays with a good education behind them.

Nevertheless, I had such a nice time chatting with friends especially a young teacher friend who used to teach 1st grade with me a long time ago. It was good to see her. We talk on Facebook all the time, but it doesn't compare to actually seeing her in person. She doesn't change. Love her!

I can't believe April is almost done. May is upon us and a busy month it looks like it will be :).

A Nice Day . . .

There is always so much to do everyday ~ at work, at home...

Parents want so much for their children ~ I was there once. I had a mother ask me yesterday if I was still going to tutor after school. My answer was "no." I am done with tutoring for this school year, however, a neighbor teacher graciously offered an opening in her tutoring class. This mom jumped at the offer since her child definitely could benefit from more reading instruction. She got the spot. She was elated. I felt bad for a little while because I was no longer tutoring, but then I was happy for her and her son, my student.

Life is interesting.

Today Starbucks was offering coffee for free so long as you took your own mug. I had a wonderful morning with my Starbuck's coffee and rasberry muffin. :) This was a nice "tax day."