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.