GNO and BGG

Friday was a night out with the girls while all the men folk played poker. Moe, Debbie, Liz, Lisa, Jen, and myself headed out to CPK at Fashion Island for dinner. We enjoyed a great meal and a nice time gabbing.

Then it was over to the other side of the mall and into the movie theatre to catch P.S. I Love You. It was a cute and enjoyable movie. I have heard it makes people cry and tear up, I myself did not have that problem during the movie but I did when I was reading the book. There were quite a few differences between the movie and the book and the more I think about it the more I come up with. I wish that I had seen the movie first because I liked the movie but I loved the book. Anyways. The 6 of us had a very pleasnt evening together.

After the movie Moe and I said goodnight to everyone else and headed over to the Toy Boat to meet up with Morgan for dessert. The three of us decided on Cheesecake Factory. Our waiter was interesting to say the least and a bit TMI with his sharing of his life with us. Once we finished dessert we decided to take a "couple" photos.

Christmas Day

After brunch at the Robinson's Mom and I headed home to open up our gifts for each other and relax for a bit. I thought for a moment my stocking got mixed up with TK's as everything was wrapped in Tinkerbell wrapping paper. Paul and I got Mom a GPS navigation system so that she wouldn't have to make so many U-turns (that is unless the GPS tells her to). We made sure to tell her not to drive her car into a lake like on The Office.

Then I headed over to the Zabrosky home to see their family for a bit and give the kids some Cars stuff I had picked up. Beth and I had a good time talking and Kristi was there too! I haven't seen her probably since our wedding. The kids had fun playing with some new toys. All to soon it was time for me to hit the road and head home for dinner.

Mom and I had a delicious ham dinner and then went out to look at Christmas lights. There is a house in T-town that has two autistic sons who with the help of their dad created the coolest Christmas display I have ever seen. They even have their own website about it. Click here.

Along the way we saw this Elf sign so of course I tried to have my mom get a photo of me in it, but it was too cold and too dark to really get it done.

Crack

Bradley was disappointed when I did not show up with a snack/desert that I usually bring to the Christmas Eve festivities. So I said that on New Years Eve I would bring some... so tonight I headed out to pick up the ingredients and readyed my kitchen. A half hour later we have two batches of Crack. I made it with rice Chex this year, usually I use corn Chex so we will see how it turned out.

Christmas Brunch

Tradition has been for some time that on Christmas my mom and I go over to the Robinson's to have a delicious brunch with their family and some neighborhood friends. Once again Lynn made a delicious casserole. Everyone sat around talking and catching up on what we've been up too. It was a wonderful way to spend the morning. We also had the pleasure of meeting Michelle and Glenn's little guy, Ethan.

We were never in orchestra, but as music lovers this is hilarious...

You might want to rethink your mission statement a bit there....

Welcome!

At the San Francisco Zoo, it's our mission to connect people with wildlife, inspire caring for nature and advance conservation action.


(taken from the S.F. Zoo's website, next to the tribute to the man mauled by their tiger)

Lyrics quiz answers...

1. "Right now, she's probably up singing
some white-trash version of Shania karaoke."
"Before He Cheats" -- Carrie Underwood

2. "She had a million dollars worth of nickels and dimes.
She sat around and counted them all a million times"
"Minnie the Moocher" -- Cab Calloway

3. "You wrung me out
too too too many times"
"Hang Me Up to Dry" -- Cold War Kids

4. "You're so 1990,
And it's 1994.
Leave this world behind me
'Cause you don't want me anymore."
"Shoebox" -- Barenaked Ladies

5. "You and me have seen everything to see
From Bangkok to Calgary
And the soles of your shoes are all worn down"
"I Will Follow You Into the Dark" -- Death Cab for Cutie

6. "Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way"
"Time" -- Pink Floyd

7. "If you think holding hands is all in the fingers
Grab hold of the soul where the memory lingers and
Make sure to never do it with the singer
'Cause he'll tell everyone in the world"
"The Denial Twist" -- The White Stripes

8. "What you wanna ball with the kid?
watch your step you might fall
trying to do what I did"
"Gettin Jiggy With It" -- Will Smith

9. "I'll wait here,
You're crazy,
Those viscious streets are filled with strays..."
"Lost in Hollywood" -- System of a Down

10. "We turn the key and slowly unlock the door
As a man breathes into his saxophone
And through the walls you hear the city groan.
Outside, is America"
"Bullet the Blue Sky" --U2

Kwanzaa Day 1

I got off to a slow start today with my Kwanzaa celebration.  Day 1 is "Unity".  I started the day off by listening to "Unity" by Operation Ivy.  I suppose it might have been a bit more meaningful if anyone in the band was black, but oh well.  When I got to work, I looked for opportunities to celebrate there as well.  I wasn't having much luck for a while.  I couldn't get the kids to agree on what to cook for dinner or what rec activity to do.  Finally at 8pm, it happened.  World's Wildest Police Chases:  Caught on Tape! came on.  All the boys settled down quietly to watch it for the whole hour.  It truly was a Kwanzaa miracle if ever I saw one!

like a kid in the candy store

can't. contain. excitement.

the Eve before Christmas

As per tradition we spent the evening with Paul's family. It was a small crowd this year as Robbie & Paul stayed in TN, and Chip & Tootie were sick. This is what the tree looked like this year along with two ceramic penguins that I made for my MIL as she has a thing for penguins. I think they look a bit like Mumble and Gloria from Happy Feet.

The boys waiting patiently for dinner by watching and checking football scores.

After dinner we sit around and enjoy each others company while having coffee & cookies.

We are excited, it is time to open presents and we didn't end up with the last number.

Robbie & Paul sent this lovely outfit for the dog... but we decided to try it on the kitty too.

When Paul and I made it home we decided to open our Christmas stocking since we wouldn't be together on Christmas morning. The boy is having fun in his new SF pants driving with the SF steering wheel cover.

because it is Christmas Eve

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
wrapping paper

2. Real tree or artificial?
100% real!

3. When do you put up the tree?
about two weeks or so before Christmas

4. When do you take the tree down?
usually a week or week and a half after Christmas

5. Do you like eggnog?
yes... but has to many calories

6. What about Fruitcake?
not sure i have ever had any. but it doesnt look very tasty

7. Favorite gift received as a child?
thats tough i got so pretty cool things like a hamster, trumpet and of course my tractor when i was 5.


8. Do you have a nativity scene?
no, the family nativity scene lives at my moms house

9. Hardest person to buy for?
grandparents

10. Easiest person to buy for?
TK, SIL, FIL

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
i can't think of anything...

12. Mail or email Christmas cards?
mail

13. Favorite Christmas Movie?
elf, the Christmas story, rodolph the red nose reindeer

14. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
day after Thanksgiving

15. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
for white elephant gifts

16. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
my favorite holiday item is yams

17. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
depends on the year, i am liking white more and more though

18. Favorite Christmas song?
traditional over comercial songs

19. Travel for Christmas or stay at home?
a little of both

20. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
yes, thats easy

21. Angel on the tree top or a star?
always been an angel

22. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas eve with pauls family and Christmas morning with mine

23. What is the one present you want most this year?
wii and disneyland passes are pretty equal on my list

24. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
people saying "Happy Holidays". it's Christmas people. Chanukah ended over a week ago. does ANYONE know ANYONE who celebrates Kwanza? just say Merry Christmas.

25. What I love most about Christmas?
spending time with family and friends

The best way to spread Christmas Cheer, is singing loud for all to hear!

This evening I was invited to go to a potluck and out for Christmas caroling by Julie Wheeler. It was so wonderful to see all of my old friends from the Bible study that I use to go to in the OC. I had a great time reconnecting with all of the ladies including Tricia, Jen Meloni, Jenny Hoffman, and of course Julie. It has been so long since I last saw all of them. Julie made some delicious slow cooked beef and pork for sandwiches, there were also a selection of veggies, salads and deserts. After we all chatted and had dinner there was a birthday cake and all the kids sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. So dang adorable. Then while the kids enjoyed the cake Julie's daughter read a story to the kids about the birth of Jesus. Once the kids were all sugared up we headed outside to knock on doors and sing for the neighbors. We were greeted by many smiling faces at the majority of the houses we went to, a few came all the way outside to sing along with us. And at two houses the kids were treated to a cookie and a candy cane.

P&C's day out

I slept in! This was a wonderful thing. We got up around 10am and started our day with some hot oatmeal. Then we hung out for a bit got dressed and headed out for a movie day. We saw Walk Hard and Juno. Even after seeing Juno for a second time I would go see it again. I really like the characters, the language and the feel of the movie.

After our movies we headed up to CEC to hang out with some friends for a bit and then headed out to dinner. After which we headed to Fountain Valley where a huge group of streets had almost every house decorated. We switched on the Christmas music and had a good time ooooing and ahhhing at all the lights. It was great to see so many families out enjoying the evening.

Free at Last, Free at Last

Today I said Merry Christmas and don't get into too much trouble over break as I gleefully walked my students out the front gate. This seemed like the longest week ever! I am very much looking forward to 16 days off. I will enjoy dinner and events with friends and family, movies, craft and puzzle making, reading, playing Sims, and much more I am sure.

To kick off vacation Paul and I hung out tonight and walked around the block, met up with friends for dinner and desert and then finished up some last minute shopping. It was a pleasant evening. The only sad part is that my clock says 9pm but my body feels as if it is about to collapse into bed.

MS Walk 2008

It is that time once again. For the 2nd year I have signed up to raise money and awareness for MS. Our team will take to the streets of San Diego and complete a walk for MS. Everyone is welcome to join me. Anyone who is interested in joining the team please visit Join Our Team.

If you cannot complete the walk please think about donating to this cause. I will be selling the Hope wristband for $2. I have both child and adult sizes.

If you do not wish to purchase this item but would still like to make a donation you can visit my donation webpage by clicking here.

Then all you need to do is type in the donation amount and click the continue button. It will take you to a secure page where you can fill out all of your information.

Quiz time!

We'll start off this first of an occasional series of trivia questions with some lyrics from songs my ipod threw at me on my way home from work today.  We're looking for artist and song title....or half a point for each.  I'm hoping to have various categories so you'll have a chance even if music isn't your thing.

1.  "Right now, she's probably up singing
some white-trash version of Shania karaoke."

2.  "She had a million dollars worth of nickels and dimes.  
She sat around and counted them all a million times"

3.  "You wrung me out
too too too many times"

4.  "You're so 1990,
And it's 1994.
Leave this world behind me
'Cause you don't want me anymore."

5.  "You and me have seen everything to see
From Bangkok to Calgary
And the soles of your shoes are all worn down"

6. "Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way"

7. "If you think holding hands is all in the fingers
Grab hold of the soul where the memory lingers and
Make sure to never do it with the singer
'Cause he'll tell everyone in the world"

8. "What you wanna ball with the kid?
watch your step you might fall
trying to do what I did"

9.  "I'll wait here,
You're crazy,
Those viscious streets are filled with strays..."

10.  "We turn the key and slowly unlock the door
As a man breathes into his saxophone
And through the walls you hear the city groan.
Outside, is America"


Good luck kids!

E-ROCK

I would just like to give a shoutout to my girl Erin, long time reader no time commenter. But she emailed me tonight to say "your blog cracks me up...sorry about the garage smashing fingers incident, sounds crazy." I am glad to be contributing to the laughter in the world. Have a great week Erin!

Happy Holidays

Go Elf Yourself!

or

Go Scrooge Youreslf!

Thanks for sending this to me Mel, it gave me a good laugh!

Breaking and Entering

Just one more service we offer here at the Apollo Apartments

SERIOUSLY?

While I was out I remembered that I needed one more box See's for some relatives who cannot buy any in their state. So many da-gone people up in there! But something happened that I was like I have to tell Squishy about... there was a 40's-ish woman in front of me in line and while one of the workers came around offering a sample saying it was a coffee chocolate something or other this lady in front of me turned to me and said "Latte or cappuccino, whats the difference? Its all coffee. Who cares... I don't do that whole Starbucks thing." with this gosh how dare they offer me a chocolate with coffee in it.

All I could think was dude you don't know me maybe I am a Starbucks vigilantly. The rest of our wait in line she kept turning around and giving me this smile like aren't I so funny.

quick errands turn into 3 hours

It all started when I needed to make a few more copies of the Christmas letter. Then I found myself driving to store after store to finish up the shopping for the season. I feel as if we haven't gotten anything done even though we got almost all of our shopping done the day after Thanksgiving. The problem is we didn't get anything done for the outtatowners! OY. I need to recheck the list but I think I only have one thing left to do for the whole shopping thing. Then hopefully I can get everything in the mail... it may be a bit late this year. I apologize in advance!

You stay classy Survivor!

"This isn't some kind of welfare. I mean she shouldn't win just because she sucks at life."

--Courtney, talking about voting out Denise on Survivor tonight.

End of year dinner...

Last Wednesday night my department went out for our Christmas dinner. We went to a place in Pasadena called Villa Sorriso. It was more expensive than I'm used to, so it's a good thing I was on the clock while I was there. Everyone at work wanted to be internet stars so here goes.

Sunisa, Robert, and Stephen

Don, Tennille, and Mesha

Sindye and Sylvia

In a tribute to Bradley's friend Jim, I present my Penne alla Vodka with chicken.

We did a gift exchange (I got a shirt) and a white elephant exchange where I traded 8 boxes of colored chalk for 2 Bruce Lee DVDs. Sunisa also gave everyone Target giftcards.

So soon?

Apparently Christmas came and went, and we missed it.  Someone in our apartment complex threw out their tree last night.  Seems like kind of a waste to buy a big tree only to get rid of it on December 14.  

This week in black entertainment...

When I'm at work, if the kids have the tv on, I get to watch whatever they want to watch.  Lately this has been one of the best shows ever on BET:  Hell Date!  It's like the show Blind Date except one of the daters is an actor who has some odd thing about them to freak out the person they're on the date with.  Their behavior gets stranger and stranger throughout the date until the end when a midget in a devil costume runs out and starts poking the dater with a pitchfork to let them know it's all a joke.  It isn't even the same midget every time either.  Apparently they put a lot of black midgets to work.

Umm, your hair is moving?!?

Everyday is an adventure in my classroom. Today while a monitor was working with a student one on one he noticed something moving in her hair. He sent her to the nurse and it was confirmed...

So the student was sent home and then two by two the rest of my students were sent to the nurse to be checked as well. I was given the thumbs up, horray I don't have bugs in my head.

is it supposed to feel like that?

So after school today I booked it down to SD because I had a temporary crown put on before Thanksgiving and it was time to put on the permanent. From the moment they said there would be no numbing of my mouth I was very skeptical of this whole event. But since I didn't have a choice I gripped the arms of the chair and waited for the worst. I survived, thank goodness. It was not a pleasant experience and there was quite a bit of filing down my teeth so they would fit properly together. Something still feels a bit off, but I said I would give it a week or so and see if I didn't notice a difference. My mouth is sore but no where near what it was when I had the first appointment and I was surprised I could eat Thanksgiving dinner. Hopefully it will feel better in the morning.

The Beast

3:10pm - I make the mistake of pulling into the garage

3:11 - Try to push the button to close the garage, it fails to close

3:12 to 3:15 - I repeatedly push the button to try & get it to close there is no response from the beast

3:16 - A thought to manually close the garage pops in my head. I pull the lever, and the beast releases

3:16 and 10 seconds - I realize that yes the garage may close that way but can I get it back open…

3:16 and 11 seconds - My hand sticks out to grab the door before it shuts all the way

3:16 and 12 seconds - My ring finger and middle finger get closed in the door.

3:18 - There has been much crying about the pain in my fingers, I run inside to get an ice pack

3:19 - I knock on the managers door, but of course no one is home

3:23 - I call Paul to see how close to home he is, sadly it will be another hour

3:30 - After trying some more to get the wires reconnected I give up

3:35 - I roll down the windows in my car and turn on the computer hoping our wireless reaches to the garage, it doesn’t. L So I decide to try and grade some papers while I wait

3:45 - Garage Buddy comes home, I explain the situation to her and her daughter
I am now missing the reception for Mike Long that I was on my way to…

3:48 - Our Garage Buddy goes inside to try and contact the owner of the place

3:55 - I am still holding on, no one has been back out for quite awhile. My fingers are swollen and becoming quite red, they are beginning to tingle and throb

3:57 - The top of my middle finger feels numb to the touch, I do not think this is a good sign

4:02 – I call my mommy for “poor babies”

4:10 - The owner shows up and fixes the door... thank goodness.

10:02 - There is still a weird numbness in my fingers, I hope it will go away soon

December 10

Today I join ranks with the King's Highway, Greg Maddux, Reggie Miller, Baskin Robbins, and Jeff Burton.

Yea Right

Whoever said that teachers are paid enough for the hours they work (ie having summers off and working 6 hours during the school year) doesn't have a clue. I woke at 9am this morning took a shower. At 10:20am I picked up my photos from Costco. I was back home around 10:40 and ever since I have been planning lessons, creating packets, photocoping etc. and it is now 5:30pm and I am still not done. Thats right 7 hours of work today and I haven't finished planning for the week or correcting last Friday's work.

Saturday

Today we mostly hung out around the apartment. We both slept in...me until past October. After eating, we cleaned up the place a bit. I did some dishes, and the dining area was completely cleaned. We think we have room for a tabletop Christmas tree now so we'll have to find the ornaments. Later on we headed up to Alhambra for dinner with the family at Applebees. Unlike Ricky Bobby, we couldn't manage to get ourselves kicked out. After dinner we walked down to an Asian yogurt place that Bradley is a regular at. It was tangy, not sweet. Not quite right, but edible. Tomorrow I work early and Cyndi has lesson planning to take care of so it's off to bed for now.

While at the 99¢ store tonight...

Me:  Hey cool!  Can I get a cactus?  They're only 99¢.
Cyndi:  No, you already had a cactus that you killed.
Late 20's woman in store:  You killed a cactus?  Bwhahaha!

Me:  I did ok.  It lived for like a whole year.  At least it wasn't a puppy.

Pushy Pushy

My fortune cookie said "Read a novel- and learn more about life"

That sounds more like a demand than a here's whats going to happen in your future.

Wha?

"Erik was over there at the park last night"
"What Erik?"
"You know Erik!"
"Erik Erik?"
"Yea, Erik Erik."
"Oh"

(name changed of course)

This is a typical conversation that happens in my class at least two or three times a week. I do not understand how they go from not knowing who the student is to knowing exactly who it is with no additional information being given.

Back to business...

I made it back to California. It took us a little longer than expected due to our flight from Syracuse to Newark being cancelled due to snow/high winds. I have lots of pictures to post later. I'm glad I got a chance to go back and reconnect with my dad's side of the family even though it was under sad circumstances. Lots of tears and laughs as we remembered my grandpa. I learned a lot about him this week. I still have our post-Thanksgiving shopping recap to do. I wasn't in the mood last week with everything going on, but I'll work on getting that up too. Thanks for the prayers, notes, and calls of support. They were much appreciated.

Check

Awhile back I e-mailed the "blogger people" and asked if it was possible to get email notification when someone commented to a comment you made on a post like some other journal sites have. I am happy that blogger has now added this feature. Of course you have to click the little box on every post you comment on but it is still a great thing to have available.

I love blogger

I don't know what she typed in to find the blog maybe Florida Sucks! but a good friend of mine from H.S. found me. Thank goodness the internet is now on computers. It has been about 5 years since we talked. This is so crazy! I'm lovin' it.

Shutout

7th grade volleyball was basically a warm up but then the 8th graders brought it all three games. However the staff prevailed winning all 6 games. I am so going to be sore tomorrow.

Home Stretch

I think it is always nice to come home to a house that is better off than when you left. So I have been doing some things around the apartment while Paul has been in NY.

Thursday: Wrapped the Christmas presents we've bought so far

Friday: I fixed the fish tank. The filter wasn't working right and the lights haven't worked for quite some time. I put in a new filter, cleaned out the contraption, and fixed the lights.

Saturday: I cleaned up the garage a bit. Put some stuff away, gathered all the cans to take to the recyclers.

Sunday: Took out ALL of the trash. Addressed envelopes for the Christmas cards.

Monday: Took cans to be recycled.

Blizzard

Starting to get in the mood. I'm watching Blizzard (2003) on TV.

One question I have for all of you is:

Why can't all the reindeer's get along?

23 days

...and my list just keeps getting longer. The to-do's are starting to look daunting. As fast as I am crossing things off the list more are being added. I am doing my best to look more like Santa Kitty and less like the Reindeer Pup.

Nutsy

People go crazy for the Costco gas. It is like an auto dealership whenever I go up to get gas. I am not sure what the fascination is because there is a gas station across the street with the same price but no one in line over there. Everyone has crammed into the Costco station. Maybe the people did it simply so that I could whip out my camera and get a photo off all the cars.