Steak Dinner 34/365

Roger is a great BBQer! Look at him! He looks relaxed, smoking a pipe and tending to three steaks! What more can a man want? The steaks turned out great, as usual, and we enjoyed them with baked potatoes. Having a steak really makes it a weekend! Happy Eating!

Dishtowels 33/365

I need more dishtowels. My old ones are tattered and torn.

My friend taught me how to knit, but I'm not too good at it. I can only knit squares and rectangles - thus I only knit dishtowels and scarves. I have a lot of scarves!!

Joanne's was having a sale on yarn, the kind that I like to use for dishtowels. So I bought five balls of fun colors. I'll start with the orange, yellow and white one. It looks happy.

SLE Award 32/365

This week is Catholic Schools Week. As part of the celebrations, each class nominates four classmates to receive a Schoolwide Learning Expectation (SLE) Award. Danny's classmates nominated him for the Effective Life-Long Learner Award -- Danny demonstrates a curiosity, desire, and enthusiam for learning. His teacher stated that many of the teacher depend on him to help them with computer troubles (which we do!!) and that he is an outstanding student. I am so proud of Danny and his acheivments.

Stuff 31/365

We like to read. A lot. This is is just a portion of all the books Roger and I have. I have more books in boxes and closets. If you need a book to read, just ask! I probably have it!!

Being Filipino 30/365

Every Filipino family has a rice cooker. As a child I had rice every day. When I left home at 18, I told myself that I would never have rice again! But you know what? It is great to have rice! We don't have it every day, but it is a good go-to. My mom gave us this big (10 cup!)rice cooker a few years ago. It has served us very well.

Friends 29/365

I love these boys. Austin, Alexi, and Danny have been friends since kindergarten. They are the only original boys left from their kindergarten class. It has been great seeing them grow up from little cutie pies to young men. This picture was taken at a school skate party.

Learning

My dear husband, Roger, also has a blog. His last post is so funny and sweet. I wanted to share a link to his post for you to check it out. It is about what our 13 year old son has learned in life so far. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do! Roger's Post - Learning

A Little Behind 28/365

This is what happens when I get sick. I fall behind. (still no voice!) I am spending this evening finishing up lesson plans for the week, as well as catching up with grading. If you can't find me in a couple of hours, please send out reinforcements!

Sick Day 27/365

So, I've been sick since Wednesday.... Went home sick half day that day. Lost my voice on Thursday - teaching was very interesting!! Still had no voice on Friday and had to go to a class on Friday night. Yuck! I had class on Saturday, too. Still no voice. Felt yucky all day. So on Saturday, I laid on the couch to nap. My sweet husband, he really is, took my picture while I was zonked out on the couch. He knew I needed a picture of the day still. But lo and behold! The SD card was not in my camera! It was still in the card reader from when I downloaded my last batch of pic. So, on this day, there is no picture. :(

Frustration 26/365

I was so looking forward to this evening. I got the e-mail a few days ago saying that my Project 365 kit was coming!! I was tracking the package on the internet - I get obsessive. It was going to be delivered today, on time. But no....... It did not come. The only thing that was in my package was the "Love Your Handwriting" book by Heidi Swapp. I was happy to get the book, but was soooooo disappointed not to get the kit. What makes me frustrated is that the kit is listed on the packing slip. Now I have to wait until Monday morning to call customer service. When I did call customer service last week, they said that it would be shipped to me and that I was not on the backorder list....My credit card has been charged for both items....I feel my blood pressure rising.

I'm Lost! 25/365

Okay, this is going to sound ridiculous! We never were on the "Lost" bandwagon when it first aired a few years ago. Everyone was watching this except for us. People told us about it, but we just never got around to watching it. Then... this past September or October, the Sci-Fi channel started airing the series from the beginning. We decided to try it out. We got hooked!! Our DVR recorded 4 episodes each week. And we watched each one! Can you believe it? We got through 4 SEASONS in just as many months! The 5th season premier was actually last night, but we were still watching the end of season 4, so we watched the season premier tonight. We're so hooked!!

Good Night! 24/265

Today I left work early because I wasn't feeling well. I slept for most of the afternoon. Then I slept into the evening. I missed the bedtime routine. :( Roger and Danny were playing around and Rog took this shot. Danny is so goofy!! :) Just wish he were this happy when he wakes up. hehe

Inauguration Day 23/365

Last October, my class learned A LOT about the election - process, issues, the candidate. One of the things I tried to emphasize to the students is that it is not a good enough reason to choose one candidate over the other just because of the color of his skin. Good leadership should not depend on skin color, but on character and values.

Regardless of your political views, it cannot be denied that today is such a historic day because our country now has its first African-American president. And because it is such a historic event, I could not pick just one picture. First picture: a farewell to the Bushes. Thank you for your service. Second and Third pictures: Promises made. I hope they are kept. I love that his kids are with him. Lastly: I love Aretha Franklin.

May God Bless America!!

LACMA 22/365

So today we went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The weather was perfect (74 degrees). The price was great - Thanks to a program by Target (my favorite store!!) We enjoyed many different exhibits, which included several paintings by the Masters, bronzes by Rodin, ancient Grecian artifacts, and many pieces of carved wooden furniture. (I don't quite get contemporary art, though.) Roger and I enjoyed each of the exhibits, and poor Danny, enjoyed it, but got tired.

My picture of the day is part of the exhibit Francis Alys: Fabiola. Francis Alys is (was?) a Belgin artist who created a collection of over 300 paintings of St. Fabiola. The orginal painting was lost, and all the paintings in the collection were created by different artists trying to copy the original. Most of the paintings were, of course, paintings, but others were created by needlework, beadwork and other mediums. Just imagine three large walls covered with this image. It was quite impressive.

Succulent 21/365

So, yesterday was Danny's telephoto shot. Today are my macro shots. These are buds and blooms from a succulent plant in our backyard. Tripod was set up about 3 feet from plant. The bloom I was focusing on is not as clear as I had hoped, but I'm still learning... But I do like how the surrounding images are blurry. The liquid amber tree was about 35-40 feet away and shot was using the telephoto lens. I am having fun learning about this lens.

P.S. I forgot to mention yesterday, between Danny and I, we took about 75 shots of his chess set to get that pretty good one!!

Check Mate 20.365

I'm so excited that I just got a telephoto lens for my camera. A bonus is that also has macro capabilities. I don't know how to use the macro settings yet, and am having fun trying to figure out the lens. Telephoto is going well (with the tripod!) Danny wanted to try it out and took plenty of pics of his chess set. For this pic, we set the camera on a tripod. Dan zoomed in onto the pieces that he wanted to highlight. He is having fun playing around with my camera - I think he wants one for himself. I hope that throughout the year, our photos will get better. I can't wait to share them with you.

Mutley Dog 19.365

Okay, here is another picture of Clifford... This dog just cracks us up! Here is is "laughing"at something Danny was doing. When I first saw this picture, it reminded me of the cartoon dog Mutley - some of you may be old enough to remember him...

Extraordinary 18/365

I am not posting the picture for today because it is of one of my students. I have a student with Asperger's syndrome - a form of autism. When I became first aware of this student, he was in 1st grade and lacked all social skills. His 2nd grade year was not much better - he had many breakdowns and did not listen to the teachers.

I was very nervous about teaching him during his 3rd grade year. At the beginning of the year, he was not very social and did not respond to me. Time goes on and he starts to open up to me and to his classmates.

Fast forward to this week. My class was leading the school Mass. As I am assigning parts, he insists that he wants to be an altar server. My aide said that she had seen him serve as an altar server at a different parish and that he did a great job. So, I got an okay from the priest. When I told him, he smiled from ear to ear!! Well, he did a fantastic job! He was very reverent and took each task very seriously. I think that he made quite an impact on the entire student body. I was so proud of him, so much that I had to hold back the tears. I have come to see him as a gift and blessing to me. I have learned so much from him.

For me, Project 365 is to celebrate the ordinary in my life. I must say, however, he is not ordinary but extraordinary.

20 Years 17/365

I can't believe we've been married for 20 years!! It's been a great trip so far!! Rog and I have been blessed with a good life, a good son and we are not wanting. Life has not always been easy, as with all marriages. The rough patches makes us truly appreciate the good parts. What makes it even better is that I am married to my best friend.

We celebrated by going to dinner (sans child) to Jean's, a French restaurant.

Ti amo troppo!!

Progress Reports 16/365

It's that time of the school year again. Progress reports are due on Thursday and here it is Tuesday night. I won't have time to finish them tomorrow night, so I need to finish them sooooonnnn!!! Our printer at home is not working right now, so I had to print the reports at school, bring them home and handwrite the comments. I have two words: writers cramp!!

Bunco!!! 15/365

I look forward to the 2nd Monday each month! Food, friends, talking, laughing, and of course, dice!! Tonight I played Bunco with a group from work. It is so nice to socialize with these women outside of work. I didn't win anything but that doesn't matter. I laughed so much, had great tacos (thanks Tammy!!) and rolled a couple of Buncos. Can't wait until next month.

42 14/365

Okay, I couldn't just pick one picture for today!!! So I took the four pics that I liked the most and using photoshop, put them onto one "picture". Then, when I print them out for my album, I'll have all four in one space!!

1. Yes, the cake says "Happy Earthday". This morning Danny was wishing his dad a happy birthday, but Danny wasn't quite awake yet. So it came out Happy Earthday. Hehehe.

2. This is his gift from Danny and me. A Radice (pronounced ra-dee-chee) pipe.

3. Blowing out his cake. I wanted to put all candles necessary for his age, but they wouldn't fit on the cake!!

4. The birthday boy enjoying his gift!

Happy Earthday to my beloved! Te amo troppo!

The Shack

This book was recommended to me by a couple of co-workers. I finally got around to reading it and just finished today.

I don't want to give away anything that happens in the story, therefore it is difficult for me to talk about the book. Let me say that this is a wonderful, moving book that gives you a look into the nature of God. I know that all of us have had moments (even days or years) when we feel as if God has forgotten us. If this is the case, please find the time to get this book and read it.

It is not a difficult book to read by any means. After you have read it, let me know. I would love to chat with you about your thoughts and feelings after reading this book. You can contact me by viewing my profile. I hope to hear from you soon!!

Oranges 13/365

Today's pic is courtesy of Danny. He took the camera out to the backyard and took a multitude of pics of the dog. Then there was this one of the orange "tree" - it's more of a shrub. He wanted me to make the photo into a "painted" one similar to the one I did of him and Clifford using photoshop. (To see the pic, read post Exercise in Photoshop). For whatever reason, I couldn't get the same effect. But while trying I got this stained glass window look. Thanks Danny for the great pic!!!

Tastebud Treat 12/365

I didn't think I had a photo opportunity today. But then I remembered something so sweet!! Last year I had an Egyptian student. Her grandmother made a wonderful Egyptian dessert for me, called Kataiffi. I kept hinting that she should make more fore me. :) Today was the day! this treat is truly heaven on the tastebuds! It is made with a shredded wheat type pastry, honey, sugar, and some sort of custardy cream. The calories of this delight do not count because it is truly from heaven!!MMM MMM good!!!

Groovin' and Chillin' 11/365

This pic just cracks me up!! Dan was doing his homework with his headphones on. He then put them on Clifford! When I took the picture, Danny moved. But it looks like he's singing and the dog is just chillin'. These two guys are two peas in a pod!!

Homework Time 10/365

Danny is busy working on his homework. Right before I took this picture, he had his headphones on, most likely listening to Big Band. But then he saw that I was taking pictures, he took them off and told me not to take pictures. As you can see, I didn't pay attention!

End of the Day 9/365

I love sunsets. The colors captivate and mezmerize me. The past few days, the sunsets have been stunning. I kept saying that I wished that I had my camera with me. So tonight I took my camera and tripod and went chasing the sunset. This was taken at around 5:25p.m. today at the top of Citrus Estates in Highland.

New Year's Resolution

Now this is a good resolution to have!!

Back to Work 8/365

I took a picture of my classroom with the students in it. I did not publish it because there are students in the photo. It will definitely be in my scrapbook.

So, here we are, back to work from a very relaxing, doing nothing Christmas vacation. I hit the road running! Kids were chatty, but that is to be expected. We got lots of work done. It is good to be back.

We Three Kings 7/265

We Three Kings of Orient are. Bearing gifts we traverse afar. Today is the Epiphany- Little Christmas for some. The day the Church celebrates the Three Wise Men visiting and paying homage to the Baby Jesus.

We are all from different places - geographically and places in our lives. We start our journey the day we are born and continue throughout our lives. Are we traveling to or away from God? The Kings were lead by the Star of Bethlehem. Who leads you? Is it "things" or is it the Truth and the Light? We have all been given gifts from the Lord. Sometimes it is difficult to know what our talents are, but we do have them. It is up to us to use these gifts in our own way to pay homage to our Lord.

This is the beginning of a new year. Perhaps this would be a good time reflect on our journey and our gifts. Where are we going and how are we using our gifts?

Olympic II 6/365

Danny and his Grandpa finished their latest plane the other day. It is an Olympic II. The plane has a wingspan of 100 inches!! These two guys build their planes from scratch! They start with plans that look similar to blueprints, then they get balsa wood and start cutting, sanding, attaching, glueing and other things that I don't know about. It took them about 4-5 months to build it. Today was to be their maiden flight, but do to some technical difficulties, they were unable to do so. They spent the afternoon working out the glitches and plan to fly her next weekend.

Now, you need to know that this (and all their other planes) are sail planes. They do not have motors on them. They do have controls on them to adjust the spoilers (that makes them go up - or is it down??). To launch the plane, they attach it to a huge device, kind of like a sling shot, that has loooooonnnnngggg surgical tubing on it. They stretch it far, then throw it into the sky! It is truely amazing what they do!!!

Thank goodness Danny does not read my blog, because he would be rolling his eyes, big time!, with the way I have described his hobby. If you are reading this Danny, I'm sorry about the lack of technical words... I'm very proud of what you do!

An Exercise in Photoshop 5/365

We didn't do much today... Danny did play outside with Clifford. Here they are playing tug-o-war with an old torn up rope toy. Clifford gets smart and lays down to gain the advantage. Smart dog!

I also played around with photoshop to create a dry brush look to the picture. Looks kinda like it was painted. If you double click on the picture, you can get a larger image and then you can see the effect. Thought I'd give it a try...

Happy Friday!

Brand New Day Brand New Year 4/365

I usually sleep in a little late on New Year's Day. I try to be awake by 8:00 to watch the Rose Parade. Today I wanted to be awake early so I could be up early enough to turn on my computer, log onto the internet and be ready to buy Project 365.


I did get up early enough. Clifford wanted out, so I was the one to let him out and feed him. I was greeted outside by the beautiful sunrise lighting up the liquid amber trees in our backyard. A new day, a new year.

I spent a frustrating couple of hours trying and retrying, backing and refreshing, to purchase the Project 365 from Creative Keepsakes website. I think all scrapbookers throughout the world had the same idea. Fortunately for me, I was able to get one. I feel bad for the ones who tried and tried but were unable to get it. According to the website, they sold out in a few hours! So I continue to take pictures and journal until my kit arrives.

Anyway, it is now 2009!! My wish is for all of you to have a wonderful new year, that everyone loses the magical amount of pounds, the house miraculously stays clean every day, the savings account always has enough money, and the credit card debt disappears.

May 2009 be filled with many blessings.