CAMBRIA

I didn't want to wait till next year to write about Cambria .http://www.seecambria.com/

M and I drove along Hwy 101 on Sunday Dec 21. It was a beautiful but cool day. We wanted to stop in Pismo Beach for lunch, but missed the turn. Instead we went to Solvang, which is a lovely town Danish style, we ahd some yummy Danish pastries too!

We arrived at our Inn at around 3PM http://www.cambriashores.com/ . Our room was really nice and comfortable, with a fireplace, king size bed, ocean view, and a spa bathroom. One nice thing about the room, there was a leather bound book which had notes, drawings and thoughts about previous guests. Of course I wrote on it as well. The guests that had left the day before were a couple from Sweden. They really loved the room and their stay in Cambria as well.

The Inn offered breakfast in the morning at the room, appetizers in the afternoon and freshly baked brownies at night :) After resting for a while, we went for a walk on the beach, it was very enjoyable. Later we went to town for dinner. We stopped at Mustache Pete's and had a very good dinner, canelloni for me, and chicken Marsala for M. After that we did a little window shopping, the streets had many Christmas decorations and everything looked very festive.

Next day, after breakfast, we went back to walking on the beach walk across the Inn, it rained the night before and everything was looking bright and blue. We went back to town for lunch, to a charming restaurant called Robin's, http://www.robinsrestaurant.com/ I had a great sandwich and M had salmon bisque and chicken curry, we also had some yummy dessert (mine was a sinful Godiva chocolate shot with whipped cream). After that we went to one of my favorite places in all of Cambria, it's called Heart's Ease Herb & Garden. It's a really quaint store that I would love to own. It has a beautiful herb garden in the back. In a gazebo, there were wind chimes hanging and they made wonderful sounds. M loved the chimes, and he got one for Christmas :)

Later we drove by Hearst Castle, and Lighthouse Point to see the elephant seals. It was quite amazing. There were so many of them laying in the sun, and they are so massive!!! It was fun looking at them and the ocean.

We went back to the Inn on time for the sunset which was gorgeous. After having some brownies we went back to town for dinner, we had calamari and pizza at Mustache Pete's again. Then we walked around some more , It rained again that night.

After breakfast and another walk on the beach, we headed back home. We really enjoyed the trip. We again stopped in Solvang and also at the Ostrich and Emu farm. M had to get an emu egg and got some ostrich patties for his brother.

All in all, we had a wonderful time in one of my favorite towns in California. (I'm adding more Cambria photos to my Facebook album)

Ostriches and emus

On our way to Cambria, we stopped at an ostrich and emu farm close to Solvang. M wanted to buy an ostrich egg but we were told they only lay in the Spring, so he settled for a freshly laid emu egg. He wanted to make scrambled egg with it for Christmas breakfast but our daughter L vetoed it lol. So the egg is laying on its nest for now.

It's a beautiful green color. My brother in law thought it was a large avocado when he saw it. Even when it had a sign next to it lol

Feliz Navidad!

I will write later about our Cambria vacation, which was excellent.

For now I hope everybody is having a wonderful Christmas Day.

We celebrated Christmas Eve with L and Han, and M's side of the family. M fixed most of the snacks and also the dinner served buffet style, it was very yummy, everybody seemed to enjoy it. Then we exchanged gifts.

B's grandchild was there, he's a very active almost 3 years old, he was all over the place. We all enjoyed his antics.

Christmas morning L and Han came back and we had breakfast and then opened our gifts. Another enjoyable morning :)

We missed our Utah family, but S called and told us about the big snowstorm in Pocatello, Idaho!

Here it is raining.

M is taking a nap, he had 2 mimosas and he's not so used to them. I am cooking Spanish soup for our Christmas meal.

BON NADAL!

Happy Birthday to me!

Well today I am officially a senior citizen, imagine that!

I took the day off from work, it was raining and it felt good to sleep late. When I woke up, M surprised me with a nice card, some body and hand lotions, and...a gorgeous beautiful gold and diamonds bracelets!!! The giving of the bracelet had a little drama, because he thought he had lost the jewelry box, luckily it was found and opened and admired!!!

All day it rained and it was nice and cozy at home, we set up our little Christmas tree and rearranged the living room, I think it looks nice.

We went out to dinner at the Black Angus Restaurant, I had a nice dinner of soup, rib steak, bake potato and veggies, and for dessert at home, a made in the USA Swedish post cake, delicious!

My daughters and grandson, my friends J and N, they all called and sang Happy Birthday. And I got a nice mail from my sister M. All in all, it was a very good day :)

Full Moon

Did you look up at the sky tonight? There was a totally gorgeous bright full moon. I had to go to the jacuzzi to enjoy the water and the moonlight, and it was almost like daylight, enough light to read a book. Awesome!

The weatherman said we are going to have some rain by tomorrow and much colder weather. But today it was really beautiful.

Oh Christmas Lights

Out next door neighbors love to decorate their house and front lawn for Christmas in a very eclectic way. There's a Nativity set, many different versions of Santa, Frosty, a Christmas train, reindeers, snowmen, and much much more, there's a Santa with his sleigh and reindeers on the roof, and of course, lots and lots of lights!
Our neighbors in the other side, also decorate with reindeers and lights. So we had to put some lights on our house too!
My friend N came to help put the lights on, he and M worked happily side by side, and spent some time discussing what kind of car would be best for me. After they were done, we all went to Acapulco for dinner. N and I had shrimp, chicken and steak fajitas, M had pork carnitas. I also had a pineapple coconut Margarita, for some reason the waiter brought 2 instead. Not to worry, I happily drank them both .
When we got home, the lights were lit and so was I :)

Just another day :)

I still have no idea what kind of car to buy, I want a Lamborghini Gallardo unfortunately is too expensive lol. I keep on changing my mind...Honda Civic? Chevy Malibu? they all look the same to me after I see millions of photos online. I think I'll have to buckle down and go see a dealer one of these days...no hurry.
I just read my sis blog, talking about buying presents. Some people are really good at getting thoughtful, lovely presents for family and friends, my daughters for instance, and of course the hubby. But me? I'm Mrs. Indecisive. And on top of it you all know my feelings about shopping. So when I see Christmas approaching I go into pre shopping shock. A total blank on what to buy and when to buy. So far I have bought absolutely nothing, nor I have any ideas...lists anybody?

Last Day of November

My car, which is a 1997 model, is showing its age...the driver's door is starting to come unglued or something. I am not a huge car person that needs a new model every other year. I enjoy our other vehicles, the SSR and the Dodge pickup, but I think the time has come for a car for me.


Right now I am looking at a 2009 red Ford Mustang, or a 2009 red Ford Edge, I like the Mustang and is very well priced, but only sits 2. The Edge might be more practical. We'll see. The whole act of shopping for a car aggravates me, I wish I could just write a check and have it delivered at my door, without having to go through car dealerships and salesmen.

Whew! I made it, I didn't miss a single day!!!! :)

I'll keep you posted!

A nice day

I woke up early, and went back to sleep, then the phone woke me up, it was Verizon so I didn't answer but I didn't go back to sleep either. Had some breakfast and was working on some PSP when M asked me if I wanted to drive down to the beach for lunch. Of course I said yes.

We drove the SSR to Seal Beach and to a restaurant by the Alamitos Bay called Schooner or Later (featured in Drive ins, dives, etc) I had gone there with N for breakfast before, but this time it was not quite as crowded. We enjoyed a breakfast type lunch (The Mess which is the restaurant's specialty).

When we got home, I made a reservation for next month to a lovely beach front hotel in Cambria, we got a king size bedroom with fireplace and ocean view :) I hope the weather will be nice.

Black Friday

Maybe it is because I don't like to shop, but I cannot understand how seemingly normal people will go to a store at midnight and wait for a few hours in the cold, along with many other people, until the store opens. And then they trample into the store with total disregard for anybody else in search of a few bargains!

Of course, I didn't go to a single store today. I spent some time getting my report cards started, and just hanging around and catching up. Instead of leftovers, M opted for the traditional Friday fare of Taco Bell for lunch and In'n'Out for dinner. Delish.

And so it goes....

Happy Thanksgiving :)

It was just the two of us, but we did cook a turkey and trimmings and had a really nice meal. It was a quiet day of cooking, eating and watching TV, and we ended the day with a nice relaxing time in the Jacuzzi.

We give thanks for our daughters and grandson, and all our family and friends.

As my favorite Spanish saying goes....Salud, amor y dinero, y tiempo para gozarlo...which translates to..Health, Love, and Money, and time to enjoy it. This is what I wish for all of you who read my blog :)

Cleaning frenzy

I woke up with a mindset, cleaning up the pantry. A few days ago I emptied the refrigerator and gave it a good cleaning, today was pantry time!
It was surprising to me how many cans and boxes were there with a long past expiration date. So out they went. Now there's a lot more space, and looks better too.
M and I went out to Olive Garden for a late lunch. I guess the economy is not as bad as they are saying...2:00PM on a Wednesday afternoon and we still had to wait 30 minutes for a table!

Vacation time!

Today was a busy busy day, we had a K party, complete with Pilgrims and Indians, friendship mix, watching "Bambi", Student of the Month Assembly, and then all the K team got together to do lesson plans for December. By the time I got home, I was tired.

In the plus side, one of my girls gave me a gorgeous bouquet of fall flowers, beautiful. see picture.

And now, the reward, 5 days off :)

It's raining quite a bit outside, so maybe it's a good thing we couldn't find a room in Cambria. It's no fun to just sit in a hotel and not being able to enjoy the ocean and the sunset.

Finding friends and family

I have been hearing about Facebook from S and M and others, I never really felt like joining because I was already busy enough in the Internet, didn't need anymore places to go. But then I decided to join, and it's pretty cool .
I don't think I'll be looking to add friends I don't know just for the sake of having friends, but one nice thing is I got a request to be a friend of my sister's oldest grandaughter in Spain. I was surprised because I didn't even know she had Internet at home (she doesn't, she signed in from a friend's house). She's a goth girl, self described as "different", she's 16 years old.
So now I am in touch with both my niece and my other niece's daughter. Also in touch with my two Swedish nephews, how cool is that!

Lazy Sunday

... and on the 7th day, I rested :)

Just the 2 of us

Today we took S and T to the Long Beach Airport. Then when we got home, L and DK left to San Diego. It was so nice to have them all here even for a short while, and I will surely miss T!!!!

We took a looong nap, then I went to a couple stores and came back home with nothing, y'all know how I love shopping.

M and I were thinking of something fun to do for Thanksgiving since it seems it will be just the 2 of us. He suggested going someplace by the beach for a couple of days. I thought of Cambria, I have always liked that town, has some nice restaurants, and beautiful beaches, close to Hearst Castle. After over an hour online, I realized the US economy is not as bad as they say, because there were no available rooms anywhere! I checked some other areas and same thing...I guess if one wants to get away on holidays one must make a reservation weeks earlier!

Now we are thinking of maybe going December 22 & 23, sort of birthday and pre Christmas get away, we'll see...

Watching movies

I just finished watching "Love actually" and of course I cried at the end, I think I mentioned I cry reading books, watching movies, etc etc. Even comedies, is kind of sad lol
T called from Disneyland saying they will be late because they are staying to watch the fireworks. I am sure it will be awesome!
In a way I wish I had gone too, but I know I would be soooooo tired, I'd probably would have been ready to leave hours ago.
M and I went out to dinner at El Torito Grill in Brea. The hills behind the restaurant had burned down in last week's fire, but the Restaurant was OK, is a good thing because we enjoy eating there.
T just called again, they are ready to leave the park, it's 11:15PM. Fun!

La familia

Tonight my husband, grandson, 2 daughters, L's bf and his daughter are all here, only missing is S's husband. It will be like a mini Thanksgiving, but without the food.

It's a nice feeling having everybody here, since we all live in different places is not very often we can all get together.

Tomorrow they will go to Disneyland :)

Love you all !

Happy Birthday !

Have a most wonderful day!

You are a great daughter, sister, aunt, best friend. partner,

lover, poet, writer, manager, worker, agent

....and so much more!

I love you!

Just a Kinder song :)

Albuquerque Turkey(to the tune of "Clementine")

Albuquerque is a turkey

And he's feathered and he's fine

And he wobbles and he gobbles

And he's absolutely mine.

He's the best pet that you can get...

Better than a dog or cat.

He's my Albuquerque turkey

And I'm awfully proud of that.

He once told me, very frankly

He preferred to be my pet,

Not the main course at my dinner,

And I told him not to fret.

And my Albuquerque turkey

Is so happy in his bed,'

Cause for our Thanksgiving dinner...

We had egg foo young instead.

Monday

Today has been a quiet day, the fires seem to be under control, but still we couldn't go outside for recess in school because of poor air quality. Spent the day testing testing testing.
Got home and it was quiet also, M cooked roasted chicken, very yummy with stuffing. T was busy with the computer and watching 2 and a half men, he really enjoys the show.
I am looking forward to seeing my girls this week, but I feel sad that T is going to be leaving this week. We really love to have him here and he enjoys it too :)

OMG

I had nothing much to write about today, we spent the day inside because the air was bad to breathe and the TV gave warnings to stay home. The Orange County fire is still burning and is 0% contained :(
We just went out for dinner at Daphne's Greek Cafe. T ate with gusto!
After watching Survivor on TV, I came to the computer to write my blog, but first I read L's (glad you are having a nice trip), and my sister's (have fun in your Cinderella cruise), and then S's, that's when I called T and asked him, hey guess who this is?
"OMG OMG OMG please let me faint now, are you sure that's my mom?", was his answer, of course referring to the new picture in the blog!
You look great! :)

California fires

WOW this is the closest we've ever been to a fire breakout. We woke up to a gorgeous warm Southern California day, but by noon time, the air was rarefied with smoke and the smoke covered the sun making it burn bright red. There was a big fire in Yorba Linda, by evening time it had spread to Brea, which is about 10 miles east of La Mirada. Watching TV, the enormity of the fire and its impact was mind boggling. 23,000 people evacuated in Yorba Linda and many many houses and businesses destroyed.

M's sister and husband came over by 3 and stayed for dinner. They just left. They live closer to the other big fire in Newhall Pass.

Let's hope the firemen and the helicpoters and planes dropping flame retardant get the best of the fire. They really deserve a lot of credit.

This is a picture taken from our front porch at around 1:00 PM

The Weekend

This has been a short week because of my 2 days off Monday and Tuesday, but for some reason I am super tired, so i will write af ew lines before bed, yes bedtime at 10:30!!!
Tomorrow M's sister and her husband, and maybe their son and dil and grandson will come to visit. T said he can't wait to show them what he can do with his heelys.
Adn that's about it for today, my eyes are closing....Bona nit!

By the light of the silvery moon

Full moon tonight, a gorgeous bright full moon (same one as in Sweden) , so after Survivor, T and I hit the Jacuzzi and spent some blissful time soaking, relaxing and enjoying the warmth of the water and the clearness of the night.

Ranting

Our principal gave us, the Kindergarten team, a package of testing we have to do before December 5. It consists of Language Arts: letter and sound recognition, beginning sounds, high frequency words, DRA level reading, and 5 pages of writing. Then comes the Math...number recognition to 50, writing to 50, counting to 50. Recognizing shapes, doing graphs, beginning addition, and patterning.

Of course, every single thing has to be done individually, which means times 20 children.

Just for fun tomorrow we have an earthquake drill, Friday we have teacher collaboration and then Thanksgiving vacation, so in total we 10 days for testing, scoring and scanning it to the computer.

Oh and of course when we are testing a kid, we need to have something ready to have the other 19 children occupied lol.

Now you know why i love being a kindergarten teacher!

Beach time!

T and I went to Huntington Beach today. It was a beatiful mild day. N was feeling better and enjoyed helping T keep his balance, he's really coming along well! N thought T needed a helmet so we drove to a bike store where he bought him a nice helmet, then we went to the HB pier. T enjoyed running up and down the pier and then we went to eat at Ruby's.

We had a nice day, very enjoyable and fun :)

Thai

T and I were going to HB today but my friend N was not feeling well, so we stayed home and will go tomorrow. T is practicing his Heelys all day long, he falls sometimes but is improving :)
Tonight we went out to eat a Ranu Nekorn, supposed to be one of the top Thai restaurants in the US and is just 4 miles from home.
T said he would only have lemonade, but kept on eating all the chicken and pork I put in his plate. We had pork satay, pineapple fried rice with chicken and cashews, lemon chicken Thai style, and flat noodles with chicken . It was really yummy!

My childhood

After reading M's blog, I was just thinking how different our childhoods were. I was born in a big city, and at the time of my birth, my parents were very well to do. We had a nanny, a chauffeur a last model car, and a cook, and we lived in a really nice 2 story house in one of the best avenues in Barcelona. I lived with my mom and dad and my sister N who is 2 years older than I am, and also my paternal granmother, yaya. It was a great childhood.

What is interesting is, that at age 6 M's life changed by moving from OK to CA, seeking a better life. At age 6 my life changed as well, but not for the best. We went from riches to poorer, goodbye house, chauffeur, nanny, cook. What changed? my father went to America (South and North) when I was 4 to start an import export business with a friend. He left a good job and a good life and ended up losing all his money :(

While my dad was away, we went to live with yaya's sister Matilde and nephew Joaquin in an area known as La Taxonera, where there were still gypsies living in caves carved from the mountainside. We lived in a small house reminiscent of the one M was talking about in OK, complete with outhouse. We lived there for a year. After my father got back from his travels, we moved to a new apartment in Roca i Batlle, where I lived until I got married.

3 in a row

First there was L, then it was S, and today for the third week in a row, I went shopping with T. Unbelievable. I wanted to get T some shoes, but none of the ones he tried seemed to fit him, we tried different sizes and he said he needed a wider size? so we were ready to go when he said "I want those". Those were Heelies, the ones with lil wheels attached, he said he always wanted some, he tried them and like Cinderella, they fit just right!
He will try practicing tomorrow, after we watch a video on how to use them.
It was a gorgeous day today, just perfect weather, clear and blue skies, high 70's, nice breeze.

Panda Inn was good and we all enjoyed it.

Yeah!!!!

For reasons unknown, our school district decided to give us an extra day off for Veteran's Day, which means I have a 4-day weekend!
I told the kids they have 4 days to drive their mothers crazy while I rest!
So far no plans other than sleep late. T told me as soon as I got home that tomorrow he'd like to go to Panda Inn for dinner. He loves that place and so do we, so Panda Inn it'll be.
Four day weekends make me happy :)

Make Over

I just watched Tim Gunn's guide to style, and my opinion is I need some advice. I need a make over, a new hairdo, a new wardrobe and a new attitude.

#1 -I will check my closet to find 10 pieces I can't live without and throw away the rest
#2 - I need to be fit with a bra that fits my voluptuous figure better.
#3 - New hairdo, extensions?
#4 - Botox, liposuction, face lift!


Yeah, right! ;)

Just another day

Have nothing much to say today, it was a nice day, M cooked tacos for dinner but T wanted me to make him a quesadilla, which I did, and he said that was really good!

Wednesday is minimum day at school, which means the kids left at 1:30 yeah!

Random..Susan Lucci finally got kicked off from Dancing with the Stars, she's 61, but her face is like weird, so tight and shiny lol Viva Botox. And even though she was not a very good dancer, I still wish I could do some of her moves.

T just decided to use my bed as an arena for his action figures, so here's a random photo :)

Teacher, teacher

Today I took T to my school. The children asked if he was my son (don't you love 5 year old)? T brought his book and hid in the "library playhouse" to read. Pretty soon he came out of hiding and read to the children the classroom rules. Then we all , T included, danced and sang the Tooty Tah! He also read them a book.

At recess time, he helped pass out the snacks and went outside, where he raced around the playground followed by about 80 kindergartners. After recess, we went to library, and T got a few books. "

On the way back to the classroom, T told me, "Now I know why you come home tired" lol. M came to get him at 11:30 to take him to lunch. He happily waved bye to the kids and to me.

I think he will not be a kindergarten teacher when he grows up!

Loopty Loo

When I got home from work, every muscle in my body was aching. T asked me if I wanted to play basketball one on one, I said maybe in a little while. I went to my room and I swear I could hear my bones creaking. My first impression was, I might be catching another cold, but then it came to me! It was the Loopty Loo!!!!

This year, our principal told us we have to have 20 minutes P.E. every day as per California standards. We are being evaluated on it too. Today we did the Loopty Loo, a newfangled version of the old favorite. 30 minutes of non stop jumping, clapping, bending, stretching...well you get my drift. The kids loved it and were having fun, I got into it too (after all I have to model), and now, my out of shape body is telling me I should proceed slowly next time :)

Let's see...I think tomorrow we'll do the Tooty Tah.

Shopping

I am not crazy about going shopping. Basically, I only go shopping when I have to buy something specific. But for the last 2 weeks, I had the pleasure of shopping with my daughters :)
Last week L and I went shopping, she got some pants, tops and shoes. This week it was S and I, we went to the same store and she got some tops and shoes. It was fun shopping with my daughters, and seeing them trying things and finding something they liked (I found nothing for myself in either trip lol). I miss doing things like that with them more often, but we all live in different places and is hard to coincide, that's why it's always such a treat when I see them, especially if we do something together. Next week it will be shopping with T, he's going to stay with us while his school is off track.

Today is All Saint's Day in Spain. People go to the cemetery and adorn graves and basically party with the dead, like a holiday. There's special sweets called "panellets" usually made with pinenuts, yum. Say a prayer for your departed loved ones.

Tomorrow is back to work. Happily, parent teacher conferences are over!

Me too!

Well, OK, I didn't write anything in October, but because is nablopomo month, I guess I will try to write a little each day :)

Just got back home after a trip to Altadena to watch Berkley Hart. Awesome show. I really enjoyed it, especially because we were all there, M, girls, and T.

It's starting to look like fall... a little rain, cooler days, and also DST ends. Remember to turn your clocks back one hour tomorrow.

I'm way behind!

I haven't written yet about our visit to Burley, Idaho. I will soon.

I will try to do much better at writing in October.

September 24, 1964

This was the day M and I met in Barcelona. September 24 dia de la Merce, the patron saint of Barcelona.
It is the biggest annual festival in Barcelona http://www.bcn.cat/merce/en/merce-actual.shtml
M surprised me and gave me a beautiful white gold bracelet :) later on the day, we went out to dinner at El Torito Grill, my treat.
But the nicest thing was the beautiful letter he wrote me along with the bracelet. It made me cry.
I told him he should send it to the girls, so they could read about how their parents met. Maybe he will do so.
It was 44 years ago.

Idaho

And so, we moved to Idaho, because of M's work. First stop was Jerome. Now that was a smaller town than Dixon, and waaaaay farther away from the beach. We bought a cute 3 bedroom house with half an acre. We raised vegetables, and also bought a pony for S. Our second daughter was born there :)


That was my first time living in the cold snowy weather. One of my memories of Jerome, was waking up one morning and looking outside my window and seeing our pony's face looking back at me, somehow he got loose and was happily running around in the middle of a heavy snowstorm. M had already left for work, rain or shine there was always work to do. And I went outside, on my pajamas, with boots on and ran after the horse like a mad woman, until finally I caught his bridle and led him to his stable. Did I mention I was pregnant at the time? I also remember our first cat, a siamese that was evil incarnate. We didn't live in Jerome too long, just
from 1970 to 1973.


Jerome has grown some, it has more businesses, but the town itself is still the same, the downtown area has not changed, but the street where we lived looks different. It used to be in the country, with few houses around. Now there's many houses and trees. But again, I am glad I don't live there anymore.


By the way, we drove all around Twin Falls, and I could hardly remember anything about it, but M did, he was surprised I had forgotten many of the places in the town.

You can't go "home" again...

This July, I went on a memory trip to Northern California and Idaho. I wanted to see all the places I had lived in since I came to the US.

First stop was Dixon, California.

1965-1970 - That's the first town I lived in when I came to the US, a far cry from the big city of Barcelona. Dixon is a small town south of Sacramento, it has not grown much from the time I lived there .The very first place I lived in was a small house with 2 bedrooms, a backyard porch and a nice garden. After that, we lived in a one bedroom duplex. Our 3rd place was a duplex with 2 bedrooms (my mother was coming for the birth of my first daughter and we needed the extra room). After my mother left, we moved in with my in-laws. I didn't know how to drive and I was feeling very sad living there, so as soon as we could we moved to a 2 story apartment that was really cute. Some of my best memories of Dixon was living there. My English neighbors were members of the Peace Corps and we had parties which were fun. At that time I also started working at the Milk Farm. The last place I lived in Dixon, was a cute house with a great backyard. After that, we moved to Idaho.

The places I lived in have not aged well. The first 2 places are in what now is "the Mexican side of town". the only place that still looks OK is the last house we lived in.

All in all, I am happy I don't live there anymore. Although there were many good memories like having my first baby, and making some good friends, there were also memories of being lonely, away from my family, and away from the city I loved.

Next time I will write about Idaho :)

On a roll !

CHAMPIONS!!!

Just braggin a little about Spain winning the EURO2008 with a 1-0 win over Germany.

This is a big deal in Europe where soccer is king :)

My meme

Since school is out, I have time in my hands... :)

Ayyy I did not keep the remarks of each image !

The "D" word!

It seems like both Gray and Red want to improve their physical appearance, and I like that is not so much for vanity but for health reasons, to feel better, although looking better is a bonus as well.

So count me in. I have wanted to get in some kind of exercise routine, but I procrastinate sooo much. Maybe now is the time. And we can support and encourage each other. So Bracvo Red on losing already 8 lbs.

It is a true fact that the older you get the harder it is to lose weight. I just want to be more fit and get rid of a couple of spare tires. And be healthier, and maybe be able to stop taking some meds for diabetes and high blood pressure. I became a diabetic strictly by being heavy, it does not run in my side of the family as far as I know.

I remember my mother and my sister, always harping on my weight everytime I went back to Spain, and how hurtful it was. But in a way they were right, they only went about it the wrong way. My mother was concerned about my health, my sister just thought I looked older than my age. Both of them never had any weight problems. But they also took better care of themselves.

Which brings me to the "D" word. DIET. Red has joined Weight Watchers. I remember years ago I joined a group called TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly). We had a weigh in every week, if you gained weight, you had to take a big plastic pig and display it in your front yard (here lives a pig I guess was the motivation)! At the end of the month we all went out to dinner and whoever lost the most weight that month got their dinner free. It was fun while it lasted.

I am not much of a joiner of groups, I did join a gym when we moved to Southern California, but it was very short lived. I also don't have the strong will to give up things I love to eat.

So here's my plan. I will try to follow my mother's advice. Yes, sometimes mothers know best!

1. She always said you can eat whatever you want, in moderation, and in smaller portions ( a downfall in the US, they serve humongous portions in restaurants). A solution, eat reasonably and have the rest to go, then you can have the leftovers for lunch the next day.

2. Do some exercise at least 3-4 times a week. Start slowly and build up. I will use my exercise bike, it will work for my heart, stomach and (bat) arms. I will also not get upset if I cannot park really close to a store, walking is a good thing!

3. Cut down on the snacking.

4. Last but not least. Ease up on my guilty pleasure...chocolate!!!!!!

So girls...here we go!

Of lists, planners, etc.

Both Red and Gray and M are planners. They map their course.
I make lists sometimes, then forget where I put them.
And I very seldom plan.
Planning would make my work easier. There's so many things to do before the end of the school, report cards, cumulative reports, class inventory, promotion performance, end of year picnic. It would be helpful to make lists and prioritize.
Yes, maybe next year :)
Don't get me wrong. I totally see the wisdom of planning, I am just not good at following plans, or making them.
I am organizationally challenged.

Mother Goose

Friday night we had our Kindergarten Nursery RhymeS performance. It went well and we had fun, the children performed like pros and the parents enjoyed the whole thing! I must say I was a hit as Mother Goose, I wore a long dress with an apron and a little bonnet. Many parents wanted their kids to have their pictures taken with me, whether they were from my classroom or not. My room mother presented me with a beautiful bouquet of roses.
My two coworkers were a little stressed but J came and helped out. After the performance, J and I went to our usual after performance dinner at Acapulco, afterwards I took her to the train station.
Saturday and Sunday, I slept late, I soaked in the Jacuzzi, planted some flowers, cleaned my closet, sorted my shoes, bought 2 cute tops, went to Trader Joe's, cooked and just plain rested.
Just 14 more days of school !!!! it's time for report cards, promotion to 1st grade performance, end of year picnic. Lots of work and then...VACATION TIME!!!!!!! :)

Taking my grandson to work

T has been telling me he wants to help me at my school. So on Monday, M brought him to school at 11. There was no way he would wake up at 6:30, he said it was vacation time!

When they came in we were rehearsing our Nursery Rhymes play. Then it was my lunch time, he had a late breakfast and didn't eat. In the teacher's lounge I introduced him to some teachers then went to visit my friend Jennifer in 2nd grade. T thought 2nd grade was way better than Kinder. I beg to disagree, so did Jennifer :)

When my students came to my room, they thought T was my son (I love those kids lol). T helped correct their work, he told me he understand the work teachers do better now, he said correcting work takes time and effort. He decided he would not want to be a Kindergarten teacher because the kids are too talkative and immature. Then he decided teaching was not for him and went outside to play. After the kids finished their work I let them go outside too, and pretty soon T was the leader of the pack, with all the kids running after him (shades of Hamelin)? Afterwards, he read them a book and it was time to go home. The next day we were going on a field trip and the kids asked him if he would come along. T's answer NO, asked my not, he replied I got enough of you today!!!

I think he has a little more respect for my work now, he said he understands if I come home tired.

Conversely, my sister M had said she was going to come help me at school some days during her stay in California. She came to help me one day, she helped clean up the room for Open House and did a good job, but she asked me if the kids were always so noisy (I have a super energized class this year). She didn't come back lol.

May 4, 2008

I have not written for about a month. The reason being my sister has been visiting from Sweden. Today we went to the airport to bid her goodbye and wish her a safe trip back home.

It was fun having her here, but because I did not have vacation time, it was a bit hard for me to juggle work and leisure. We spent the day yesterday shopping and shopping lol (my favorite thing to do, not)! She left with an extra suitcase again.

I hope she enjoyed her stay here, she went to San Diego, Sea World, and Universal Studios. Went to Santa Monica and Huntington Beach, and we ate at many different restaurants. Friday night she took us to Duke's in Huntington Beach, to have dinner with a view of the sunset. We didn't know they had a Beach Volleyball Invitational and instead of the Ocean, we saw volleyball nets and the sponsors banners! But we enjoyed the evening anyway.

Now we have T for a couple more weeks, we really enjoy having him here :)

I am attaching one of our "fun" pictures from our San Diego dinner in Old Town...now who was that man? lol

Spring Break

We spent my Spring Break in Utah. It was so nice to see Red and T and MT. It was fun picking T up in school and just hanging out with him :)

We had a few days of nice weather, then came the snow! and when we left, it was snowing again. The mountains and trees looked so beautiful, and cold.

Utah was fun, Red and I went to have a haircut, mine looked great, I wish I could take care of it so it looked as nice now. We also had a manicure. And we had a great time at the Utah Jazz game, in the awesome suite with great food and drink, so fun! only way to go. We also went to see a movie, "Definitely Maybe", it was cute.

It was a relaxed time, which I needed. Red did most of the cooking during the week, we had ham and Mormon potatoes -I like this name better-, we had lasagna, we had sole, and chocolate croissant bread pudding, among other things. Red is quite a cook!!!

We left on Sunday and spent the night in Whiskey Pete's. In the desert, the Joshua trees were blooming.

Wildflowers

It has been raining so much this winter, that everybody said the California wildflowers were in full bloom and gorgeous. M and I decided to go for a drive on Saturday to see the flowers. Our original idea was to go to Anza-Borrego State Park, but I read in the Internet that there were a lot of people going there on weekends, and there were no rooms available in any area motels. So we decided to stay closer to home and go to Chino Hills SP . We took the SSR and went on our way. The Park is right next to a house development, but once you start driving on the unpaved road, is like being in a totally different place. It was beautiful! We saw quite a few hikers but not many cars. When we arrived to the end of the road, it had a spectacular view of hills and flowers.

Afterward we drove to Lake Elsinore, to see the California poppies. We stopped for lunch at the "famous" Tom's Farms http://www.tomsfarms.com/

All in all we had a very pleasant day looking at some beautiful California flora.

Back to jobs :)

After my musical adventure, my next job was working at a Travel Agency. It was close to my High School, so it was very convenient. I worked there after school and on weekends. I loved it! My best friend Isabel also applied for work there, so we spent a lot of time together. My job was to make "forfaits" . Travel Agencies from Europe and the US would write asking for hotel reservations and transfers for clients. I would make the hotel reservations and the transfers from the airport (or train station, or harbor, to the hotel) I also would make reservations to the bullfights, city tours etc. It was fun and I learned a lot (I also dated one of the travel agents, one of my very few Spanish boyfriends). After I graduated from High School and before I started college, I went looking for another job, preferably in another Travel Agency, where I could work longer hours.
I was sorry to leave that job, but I found another one in a Travel Agency that was run by a friend of my father. It was a bigger agency, in a great location, and I was the only girl there! I was 17 years old, and I worked there until I got married. 4 of the most fun years of my life!!!!

Hodgepodge

I just finished reading a book, that makes 5 for February. I like "chick lit" it's fun, enjoyable and easy to read, I also like thrillers :)
Here's the ones I read, and my ratings *good, **very good ***great
Liza Palmer: Seeing Me Naked. **
James Patterson: Step on a Crack **
Lisa Norato: I only want to be with you
Julie Buxbaum: The Opposite of Love ** (I cried lol)
Carole Matthews: The Chocolate Lovers' Club *

Old time favorites I want to reread: We, the Living by Ayn Rand
Battle Cry by Leon Uris (no lit chick these ones)!

TV shows I am watching~~~I am into reality shows, I find it hard to sit still for a 1 hour drama show where i have to follow the plot! Reality shows are fun because you can miss some of it and it doesn't really matter.
My favorites playing at the time are...American Idol, of course. There's a young man from Murray Utah that sings great. Operation Runway, love it!!!!
Color Splash with David Bromstard, I totally love him! Make Me a Super Model it's quite fun, and still a favorite..Saturday Night Live.

MUSIC...(Berkley Hart and HEAT excepted)
Landon Pigg: Coffee Shop
Yael Naim: New Soul
I'm from Barcelona: We are from Barcelona (Swedish group lol)

O Berkley, Where Hart Thou?

This past weekend, M and I trekked down to Encinitas. L had called a few days ago asking if we'd like to go see the above titled show. We saw it once 2 years ago and throughly enjoyed it, so we were looking forward to seeing it again.

It was a gorgeous California day. We stayed at the Howard Johnson Inn in Encinitas which was very pleasant. M and I enjoyed a nice lunch at "Las Olas" a little Mexican shack next to the beach with yummy Margaritas and a great ocean view http://www.lasolasmex.com/

The show started at 8:00 PM, but people started lining up by 7:00. As usual, L reserved prime seats for us.

The show started promptly at 8:00. Berkley Hart were the stars of the show, as were the 7th Day Buskers. Other performers were Gregory Page, Lisa Sanders, Barbara Nesbitt, Eve Selis, Cathryn Beeks, and Han's daughter DK singing a duet with her father (Hart's daughter sang a duet with her father as well)

It was a fantastic show, with great music and a great turnout. The audience was really into it and everybody was having a wonderful time. The whole event was organized by L. She did an extraordinary job, and was rightfully recognized by Berkley Hart with a lovely bouquet of flowers and some very nice words of thanks and appreciation. I know it meant a lot to her and she was very surprised by it.

The next day Sunday, we drove down to San Diego to go see the new house L & Han were going to rent. It is a very nice house, with lots of possibilities. Afterwards, we had a nice chat with them at their gazebo.

It was a lovely weekend!

Back to winter

It has been raining for a few days now, we needed it! just now we had a tornado warning!!! it's supposed to be in Long Beach started as a water spout and is coming north, hopefully it will not touch down.
It's been snowing heavily in the mountains around Los Angeles, even the Grapevine is closed, the wind is pretty cold, for Southern California.
All this rain means no recess time in kindergarten, which makes the kids go crazy with no place to vent their energy. It's funny, some of my kindergarten kids don't even remember having seen this much rain.
I think I also need a vacation :)

Summer in Winter

Today was a gorgeous day! I went to Huntington Beach and met my friend N. The surf was high, 8-10 feet waves, and the weather was great, 28C, 86F, really summer weather. I got my feet wet! We could see the snowy mountains on our back and the waves and Catalina Island ahead of us. We walked on the beach, went to Seal Beach, Sunset Beach, Long Beach and Newport Beach. Had lunch at a great little fish restaurant called Jimmy's and had tasty clam chowder and yummy fish. Later on, as the sun was setting over the ocean in a state park close to Laguna beach, we ate some delicious pastries and called it a day.

Such a beautiful day ended in a crappy note :(

As I was driving home in Beach Boulevard, a policeman behind me put the lights on and I had to stop. I wondered if maybe my tail light were off. But when he came to my window and I asked him why he made me stop. He said it was because I WAS DRIVING WITHOUT A SEAT BELT!!!!! now that was an outright lie as i always have my seat belt on. Regardless of my claims that I had it on -he said, yes you put it on after you saw me- and he wrote me a ticket which I am planning on contesting!!!!

New Year's Resolutions

This is my first post of 2008. So I will write about some resolutions.

How long will my resolutions last? time will tell. I guess the first resolution should be to stop procrastinating, but knowing me, I think it will be a short lived one. But let's go on...

Get more organized, both at home and at school. Which means getting rid of a lot of non essential stuff. I started by cleaning my closets at home, and giving away a ton of clothes that don't fit anymore. I also put away some stuff in "space bags" a great invention!!!

Monday is back to school time, and I will dedicate some time everyday to streamline my classroom.

I liked Red's "Be good to myself" resolution, so I will adopt it too. I started by having my hair trimmed today, and tomorrow I will have a manicure :)

Oh...and learn to make a website, and exercise, and...