I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Despite a minor setback, ours was nice.
On Thursday, on Christmas eve, my mom lost some money (this was not the setback). I gave her some cash in the morning, but by the evening it was gone. We searched everywhere, she turned her pockets inside out looking for it, but we just could not find the missing money. It was gone. But it couldn't have been lost outside of the house - it was definitely somewhere nearby. I offered to give my mom my last $20, but she wouldn't take it. Despite the missing money, she still had enough to buy gas for her car and hang onto some change.
Today, the day after Christmas, my mom's birthday - the day that she and my aunties decided to celebrate her birthday with a ladies night out - my mom found her missing money. It was very odd.
Our water delivery guy pulled up to the house and started bringing the 5-gallon bottles to our doorstep. I only had a $20, my last $20, to pay for the water. In need of cash, my mom ran upstairs to get her checkbook so she could write a check for the water so that I could give her my last $20. I took out the twenty dollar bill and put it on the dining table in front of my sister. About a minute later my mom walked down the stairs and paid the water guy. She turned to us and said, "see, I'm putting this money right here in my pocket", as she opened the velcro of the utility pocket on her pants and stuffed the money inside. My mom pulled out a chair to sit at the table with us and while I turned to speak to my sister, I noticed the $20 that I put on the table for my mom. So I looked at her and asked, "where did you get the money that's in your pocket?"
"You just gave it to me", she insisted.
"No, I didn't. Here is the money I was going to give you", I picked up my last $20.
She couldn't figure out where the money came from. She was sure I handed it to her when she came down the stairs. But my sister was my witness to the fact that I didn't even get up from my chair. So what happened? It was the missing money. She probably put it in her checkbook and she pulled it out when she wrote the check for the water guy. But she didn't remember putting the money in her checkbook and she didn't remember taking it out.
Moral of the story? I don't know. No wait! I do know. If she had that money in hand the other day, she most likely would have spent it on gifts for other people. Gifts that other people didn't need and weren't expecting. She found the money on her birthday, just in time to be able to spend it during her night out with my aunties.
We should be thankful for the good things in life as well as the not so good - for the obvious blessings and also the not so obvious. Because out of something bad, so much good can come.
Even without the extra money on Christmas eve and Christmas day, my mom was still able to give gifts to the people she had intended to, she still had enough money to go out and celebrate on her birthday, and I still have $20 in my wallet. Which is a good thing because we're out of juice.
May God shower you with blessings! Blessings that you recognize and blessings that take you by surprise. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays my friends!
December 26, 2009
December 23, 2009
Closing the loop.
Isn't it amazing how things come full circle?
I started my career in education 14 years ago. (Yes, I am in my twenties. No, I am not lying.) My first job in higher education was 14 years ago when I was a student assistant at the Student Activities Office at NMC. I went on to hold various student positions at Cal Poly Pomona, which is where I realized that I loved higher ed. In 2004, I returned to NMC, only this time I was a professional. I left NMC for three years and gained valuable financial knowledge and experience elsewhere. Six months ago, I started working at NMC again - oh, how I missed higher ed. And now I have my own student assistant. I hope I can inspire her and provide her with the same kind of guidance and support that I received for so many years.
~~~
Check out what I've been making at Ayorátá. And if you haven't subscribed to it yet (which you probably haven't because I only have like two readers over there, including myself), you should subscribe, because I'm going to work on updating it more often and I also want to hold some contests there, but you won't know if you don't read it.
I started my career in education 14 years ago. (Yes, I am in my twenties. No, I am not lying.) My first job in higher education was 14 years ago when I was a student assistant at the Student Activities Office at NMC. I went on to hold various student positions at Cal Poly Pomona, which is where I realized that I loved higher ed. In 2004, I returned to NMC, only this time I was a professional. I left NMC for three years and gained valuable financial knowledge and experience elsewhere. Six months ago, I started working at NMC again - oh, how I missed higher ed. And now I have my own student assistant. I hope I can inspire her and provide her with the same kind of guidance and support that I received for so many years.
~~~
Check out what I've been making at Ayorátá. And if you haven't subscribed to it yet (which you probably haven't because I only have like two readers over there, including myself), you should subscribe, because I'm going to work on updating it more often and I also want to hold some contests there, but you won't know if you don't read it.
Wednesday What Is It? Results
The results of the last Wednesday What Is It?
A Two Hole Puncher!
5 points to Plumeria Girl!2 points to SharShine.
December 19, 2009
December 17, 2009
Something amazing happened!
Actually two amazing things happened: 1) we took our kids to the movie theater for the time ever and we didn't have to leave in the middle of the movie! and 2) I decorated our Christmas tree!
James and I took the kids to the theater to watch The Princess and the Frog on Sunday. It was the first time for either of our kids to go to the theater. And just as we suspected, Katelyn did great - even while filling up on root beer and being somewhat distracted knowing three of her classmates were sitting four rows up from us. And Jacob? He did almost great. Definitely good enough. He sat in his seat for most of the movie while enjoying his bag of popcorn that was the same size as his torso. That popcorn was the only thing keeping my son still and silent. Without it, surely he would have been standing on his seat pointing out the gender of all our fellow movie goers. "Mommy's a girl and Katelyn's a girl and I'm a boy and daddy's a boy and he's a boy and that girl is a girl and that boy is a boy...." Toward the end of the movie, however, I'm pretty sure the whole theater heard him declare that he wanted to go to Raffy's.
We all enjoyed the movie. Katelyn's favorite part was "when the guy was changing and his butt got big". It's not at all what you think. I was really looking forward to watching this movie. The first time I watched The Little Mermaid was in the theater and I immediately fell in love with it. And with Disney's return to 2D with The Princess and the Frog, maybe on some level, I wanted the same kind of experience for Katelyn - but I'm not sure this is the movie to do it. I loved how it was more of a realistic movie than Disney's other princess movies - I said "more of a realistic movie", not that it is realistic. But can I tell you something? Just after the movie began, I was sad. I was sad about the portrayal of classes. They didn't do a bad job of it. It just made me sad. And I didn't like all the voodoo and making deals with "the other side". I was starting to get pretty irritated with how much voodoo was being shown and it didn't seem to be shown in a way that kids would understand that it is wrong. But, of course, just when it needed to happen, the portrayal of voodoo and magic and dealing with the other side started to change. I just had to keep in mind that the way the kids see the movie at 2 and 4 years old is much different from how I see the movie. And also? It was set in New Orleans mid last century, so there you go.
That was a lot more than I was planning to write about on The Princess and the Frog. So I might as well write this too:
Terminator Salvation - You know what? I liked it! I haven't watched a Terminator movie since T2 - I may have watched the original Terminator, but at this point I really don't remember. I wasn't interested in seeing any other Terminators so I didn't think I'd care for this one. But I did. It was entertaining. But if I hadn't have seen T2 and known a little background, some of this would have been a bit confusing.
The Maiden Heist - Funny little movie. The acting was great - as would be expected with this great cast.
OK, enough with the movies. So the other amazing thing that happened recently is that I got to choose how to decorate our tree this year! Yeah, some of you are wondering what's the big deal. I'll tell you. Ever since I was born I have not been able to decorate a Christmas tree in a manner of my choosing - I have never had my very own Christmas tree.
James and I took the kids to the theater to watch The Princess and the Frog on Sunday. It was the first time for either of our kids to go to the theater. And just as we suspected, Katelyn did great - even while filling up on root beer and being somewhat distracted knowing three of her classmates were sitting four rows up from us. And Jacob? He did almost great. Definitely good enough. He sat in his seat for most of the movie while enjoying his bag of popcorn that was the same size as his torso. That popcorn was the only thing keeping my son still and silent. Without it, surely he would have been standing on his seat pointing out the gender of all our fellow movie goers. "Mommy's a girl and Katelyn's a girl and I'm a boy and daddy's a boy and he's a boy and that girl is a girl and that boy is a boy...." Toward the end of the movie, however, I'm pretty sure the whole theater heard him declare that he wanted to go to Raffy's.
We all enjoyed the movie. Katelyn's favorite part was "when the guy was changing and his butt got big". It's not at all what you think. I was really looking forward to watching this movie. The first time I watched The Little Mermaid was in the theater and I immediately fell in love with it. And with Disney's return to 2D with The Princess and the Frog, maybe on some level, I wanted the same kind of experience for Katelyn - but I'm not sure this is the movie to do it. I loved how it was more of a realistic movie than Disney's other princess movies - I said "more of a realistic movie", not that it is realistic. But can I tell you something? Just after the movie began, I was sad. I was sad about the portrayal of classes. They didn't do a bad job of it. It just made me sad. And I didn't like all the voodoo and making deals with "the other side". I was starting to get pretty irritated with how much voodoo was being shown and it didn't seem to be shown in a way that kids would understand that it is wrong. But, of course, just when it needed to happen, the portrayal of voodoo and magic and dealing with the other side started to change. I just had to keep in mind that the way the kids see the movie at 2 and 4 years old is much different from how I see the movie. And also? It was set in New Orleans mid last century, so there you go.
That was a lot more than I was planning to write about on The Princess and the Frog. So I might as well write this too:
Terminator Salvation - You know what? I liked it! I haven't watched a Terminator movie since T2 - I may have watched the original Terminator, but at this point I really don't remember. I wasn't interested in seeing any other Terminators so I didn't think I'd care for this one. But I did. It was entertaining. But if I hadn't have seen T2 and known a little background, some of this would have been a bit confusing.
The Maiden Heist - Funny little movie. The acting was great - as would be expected with this great cast.
OK, enough with the movies. So the other amazing thing that happened recently is that I got to choose how to decorate our tree this year! Yeah, some of you are wondering what's the big deal. I'll tell you. Ever since I was born I have not been able to decorate a Christmas tree in a manner of my choosing - I have never had my very own Christmas tree.
Until now! Booyah!
December 10, 2009
A Royal Fail
Have you ever tried to do something and it didn't go quite as planned? Like when you tried to make royal icing for the first time ever and you didn't use quite enough powdered sugar and you probably didn't whip it long enough so it never really hardened on your cookies, even though you let it dry over night?
Two batches of cookies, five portions of dyed icing in flimsy plastic pastry bags, a four year old, a two year old, and a carpet. I say, go big or go home. But if you're already home, just go big!
No, they're not burnt! They're. . . they're. . . crispy!
Did you know that if colored icing shoots out of your flimsy zip-lock-turned-pastry-bag and lands in nice foot-long streaks on your carpet, it can't be dabbed out neatly? Nope, I had to break out the chemicals for those bad boys.
We ended up spreading the icing instead of squirting.
When I realized that the icing wasn't going to harden properly, we called it a night and ate some undressed cookies. There were a lot of cookies.
Two batches of cookies, five portions of dyed icing in flimsy plastic pastry bags, a four year old, a two year old, and a carpet. I say, go big or go home. But if you're already home, just go big!
There was more than this, but this is what was left after snacking and giving a bag to my Aunt.
No, they're not burnt! They're. . . they're. . . crispy!
Did you know that if colored icing shoots out of your flimsy zip-lock-turned-pastry-bag and lands in nice foot-long streaks on your carpet, it can't be dabbed out neatly? Nope, I had to break out the chemicals for those bad boys.
We ended up spreading the icing instead of squirting.
When I realized that the icing wasn't going to harden properly, we called it a night and ate some undressed cookies. There were a lot of cookies.
December 07, 2009
Before
One year ago, I got a new camera, I was totally grossed out, I did not make croissants, James and James were at Shirley's and the lights went out at the Paseo, I showed my scars, and we celebrated Christmas!
That's me. Before.
All of December 2008.
That's me. Before.
All of December 2008.
December 02, 2009
Wednesday What Is It? Results
The results of the last Wednesday What Is It?
5 points to Drea!
2 points each to SharShine, Bon, Bigsoxfan, and Plumeria.
A Clothes Pin!
5 points to Drea!
2 points each to SharShine, Bon, Bigsoxfan, and Plumeria.
December 01, 2009
Fun with Felt: Christmas Crafts 2009
Our house has no theme. No color scheme. No real sense of decor. But at this time of year we usually break out the Christmas decorations that have been collected throughout the years. Sadly, this year, they are no more. And we have no extra money to spend on new decorations. So this year, I'm having the kids create most of the decorations.
I cut out the felt circles ahead of time so they'd be ready for the girls. (Read: I cut them out a year ago, but I never got around to doing anything with them until this year. Yes, that is my son taking a nap on the futon.)
We tried to glue the circles together with regular school glue, but the glue was quickly absorbed into the felt and nothing stuck. So I had to break out the glue gun. We cut out hats, eyes, buttons, and mouths from black felt. Katelyn glued a strip of glitter onto the hats of her snowmen, while Mele glued on ribbons instead. They used fabric markers to draw arms and whatnot on the snowmen and I helped them hot glue on ribbons for scarves. (If you don't have felt, this could easily be done with construction paper.)
I wish I had bought paste instead of school glue, I really would have liked for the girls to do more of the actual assembly and not just the decorations. I think paste would have worked fine.
We used a glue stick on some felt later on and it seemed to stick pretty well, but it was a little difficult to use - we were getting pasty lint balls at the top of the glue sticks.
Next, on to the Christmas tree. I free-handed a tree on a piece of felt, cut it out, and used it as a template to cut out more pieces. Each tree is made from three of the cut-outs. I sewed them together along the edges so they stand like a pyramid.
Once again, I cut and sewed these up last December. And since they were stored flat for a year, one of the sides has a crease down the middle, which gives the trees a tendency to fold in. So they might look a little weird in some of these photos, but we corrected the problem by stuffing the center of the trees with toilet paper. Ah, good old TP.
(Oh, and uh, please ignore our messy house in the background of all these pictures - you can tell our house is truly lived in.)
As you can see, the felt tree is very versatile, if you are invited to a Christmas party, you can get all fancy and use it as a hat! Or wear it as a part of your costume when you reenact the talent show in Grease 2 (that one's for you, Bon).
The girls cut out little ornaments from red, pink, and white felt and glued them onto their trees.
The challenging part of this activity was that Mele is 8 and Katelyn is 4. Mele had a lot of ideas for decorating and techniques to use. Another thing Mele had? Patience. Katelyn quickly grew bored of gluesticking on ornaments and turned to glitter to help speed up the decorating process. So one side of Katelyn's tree has ornaments, the other two, glitter. And once her tree was all glittered up she proceeded to pour out about a third of a cup's worth of glue onto a pile of ribbon and felt scraps and squish it with her hands. She said she was making spaghetti.
The final touch: sparkly gift wrap ribbon.
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