What do you mean what do I mean?

First Day of Kids

2011-09-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

I wasn't quite prepared to hit the floor running...but I had to since today marks the first day of the second full week of school. Last week, I spent my time organizing the room (it reminded me of my first week at my first job; tons of materials just dumped in the room), attending a gang of meetings, preparing and attending Back-To-School-Night, scheduling, reading IEPs and 40+ page reports.

It used to not take me long to look up goals and services, but apparently, there are a good number of IEPs that are unsigned...Big sign that I have my work cut out for me. Hopefully, I can stand my ground.

I felt pretty good about jumping in and doing my thing with the autism kiddos today. The individual sessions went well. The second group I did...not so well. It was really poor planning on my part; I thought we could work in the classroom (while my assistant worked in the Speech Room), but when we got there, one of the other kiddos was having an episode (aggression, property destruction) so we were shoo'd out. We ended up in the lunch area with major distractions, and it took me a while to get one kid into a groove, while the other kid's behaviorists basically did my job...

On a positive note, I thought I'd be more stressed out about my new job, but I haven't really been that stressed. I feel the typical beginning of the year pressure to get my program up and running stat, so that's nothing out of the ordinary.

It's different for me to work for the district though. I keep hearing my old boss nag me about eating in the lunch room to make new friends, but I'm so asocial that I don't want to! I'm trying, though.

I'm liking it here so far. Although there isn't a beach for me to walk to at lunch, there is a beautiful lake with ducks that's even closer than my 2nd year working in Manhattan Beach.

And you can't beat working 7 minutes away from work! The only thing that sucks about my short commute is that there isn't a Starbucks or Coffee Bean along the way!

New Home and New Job

2011-09-05T22:18:00.000-07:00

Say what? It's been over a year since I last posted?

I can't even begin to recount everything that has happened in the last year, but maybe I can start blogging again as I start another new chapter in my life.

In short, we just made our move to OC on 9/1/11, and I start my new job tomorrow! I'll be a working Mommy again. :)... :(

Hopefully, more to come in the days ahead!

Is it really over?

2010-08-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

I must be in denial...it just donned on me that today is Thursday, a.k.a. the last day of my summer vacation (and extended maternity leave)!

I am so sad!

On the other hand, this has been the BEST summer ever! I have had the best time with my husband and baby boy!

Always With Me

2010-07-29T14:32:00.001-07:00

I love that when I close my eyes to go to sleep, I see funny and cute pictures of our baby boy. I had this one on my mind last night:

...and when I open my eyes, I see him sleeping peacefully next to me. It's the best.

We discovered a new game this morning that drew out some of his first laughs! We were at the mirror, looking at each other, when I started to go up and down with him (emphasizing the "up" and "down"), and he loved it! He was all smiles and in the beginning stages of laughing! So cute!

Turning 2 Months

2010-07-07T17:20:00.000-07:00

Baby XA got his first round of vaccinations today! It's a big day for me because this means Mommy can start bringing Baby out, like to the park! Yay! :)

Baby was soOOOooo brave. I knew he would be fine with the shots, but I was still impressed and proud afterward! He received 3 shots (and an oral dosage), and he wailed a cry of pain at the peak of a long cry and then cried a regular cry for about half a minute to a minute before he settled down. We were so impressed with how well he took the shots! Much braver than his Mommy and Daddy!

Now, he's got a cute Garfield band-aid on one leg and a Sesame street band-aid on the other.
He has definitely put on weight. He's now at the 50th percentile for weight (up from 25th), 25th for length and head circumference (up from 10th).

He is so much fun. :) Do I really have to go back to work next month? :(

7 Weeks

2010-07-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

Look at that smile! :)

A Time to Play

2010-06-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

Last night, Baby Christian and I didn't get much sleep. We woke up quite a lot and had a hard time falling back asleep.

Around 6 AM, we nursed and then I tried to rock him to sleep for almost 1.5 hours. For some time, he was fidgeting a bit so at one point, I switched positions from having his head over my shoulder to a cradle position. I wasn't sure how that would work since the night before, I swung him in the cradle position and he started flailing his little arms as if he really was in his swing! It was so funny.

Well, instead of falling asleep, the little guy wanted to talk and play! His big eyes (or I guess normal size, but "big" in comparison to my eyes) stared back at me, and he cooed nonstop -- I couldn't even get a word in edgewise! I told Baby Christian that it was too early to talk and that we had to sleep some more, but he protested. Finally, I had to be the not-so-fun Mommy and put him back over my chest and shoulder so that our conversation ended. :(

Needless to say, we are both really tired now, and he is currently napping on me, but Mommy will be ready for another engaging conversation once he wakes up. :)

Our Budding Bud

2010-06-19T12:59:00.000-07:00

Family life is wonderful. :)

Although Husband is recovering at a good rate from his knee surgery, he continues to experience some pain and needs reminders to take it easy. It's not easy for him to stay off of his feet, especially when he sees Baby Chatian and wants to pick him up and play with him. It will still take a few more weeks before he is completely well.

I had a check-up yesterday with my OB/GYN, and he said I have healed well, too. I was a little off pragmatically b/c I responded with, "thanks," as if I had anything to do with the surgical procedure. He also gave me permission to resume working out...which is the last thing on my mind when there's a little one at home who is growing by the second!

Baby Chatian is doing well. We wake up a few times during the night for feedings and diaper changes, but he usually falls back asleep very easily afterward. We get up around 10 AM, have breakfast (him first then Mommy), and spend some time awake before his next nap. During that time, we say good morning to Daddy who is already at his desk working, and we might do some of the following: tummy time, listen to music, listen to Mommy read while Baby eats, listen to Mommy tell him the day's schedule (especially when there are visitors coming), and visit the turtle. He generally gets a nice relaxing bath every other night, which he loves (the sound of running water calms him down). Baby is starting to drool so sometimes we find little wet spots on our shirts, but we don't mind; it's just another indicator that he's a healthy little boy. His hands and arms are getting really strong, too. He now grasps our shirts and holds on tight.

Lately, we see his independent side emerging. Rather than always wanting to be held, there are many times when he resists and would rather be in his swing or more recently, laying on his back and "exercising" his arms and legs. He smiles and coos even more frequently now to communicate with us, and he is starting to notice when Mommy or Daddy leave the room. He watches us and then when we disappear, he cries. Baby boy loves to smile, especially at Daddy because Daddy is so much fun! He loves it when Daddy picks him up under his arms and helps him to "walk." He is also starting to communicate through different cries. Lately, he does a short cry as if to say, "Hey! I'm still here! Don't forget about me!" But how could we ever forget that we have a beautiful perfect boy in our lives? He brings us so much joy and laughter every day.

Happy 1-Month Birthday (again)!

2010-06-11T18:07:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm not really sure if Tuesday was Baby Cha-Tian's 1-month birthday (exactly 4 weeks after birth) or today, one calendar month. In any case, celebrating twice is perfectly fine with us!

Baby Cha-Tian received his first e-card. It was from Lolo and Lola! So cute of them to be so excited! They wrote:

OUR DEAR CHA-TIAN,

HAPPY WISHES AND HAPPY KISSES. GOD BLESS YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU ARE. HAPPY ONE MONTH DAY OLD CELEBRATION..

WARM SWEET KISSES,
LOLA & LOLO

Mommy also gave Baby C his first bath...alone! Daddy underwent minor knee surgery yesterday and is out of commission for a few days. Thankfully, Baby LOVES bath time so there were no power struggles. Daddy is now bottle feeding Baby as we continue to try this new night time routine. All is well with us all, including Daddy's knee.

Baby continues to grow right before our eyes. He has made tremendous progress in gaining control of his arm and neck muscles, he grasps at us/our clothes and holds on, and is showing signs of intentional smiling.

Birthdays

2010-06-08T23:59:00.000-07:00

Happy 33rd birthday to my dearest Husband and happy 1-month birthday to our baby boy!

We celebrated by first giving Baby Cha-tian his first haircut (compliments of Daddy). Daddy wanted to to give Baby a haircut as a gift to himself. :) We originally discussed shaving all of Baby's hair off as an Asian 1-month old tradition, but Husband knew I was really conflicted about it...I just love rubbing his head of hair when I'm nursing him (and other times). So Xtn gave him a fade all around and left his hair on top untouched...so he's got his faux hawk again.

(The profile view of his fade. :)

(Yawn! I had such a busy day!)

For lunch, Vonny and Mason came over, and we had Islands burgers at home. Before the winning Lakers game, I rushed to Costco to buy a Red Velvet (birthday) cake.

As mellow as it was, Husband really enjoyed his birthday. He kept saying he had the greatest gifts -- a baby boy and wife. And to toot, he had his favorite cake and the Lakers and Dodgers won.

3 Weeks

2010-06-01T17:46:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's only/already been three weeks! Baby C is literally growing everyday. Over the past few days, we have noticed a sudden increase in vocalizations, more wakeful "quiet alert" states, and strong grasps (to our clothes).

Time keeps passing so fast, too. I only notice that when I look at the e-mails I haven't responded to and Gmail says how many days it has been since I received the e-mail. The past week has been more challenging than usual. It's as if that wack pediatrician jinxed us! 1/2 j/k I think the first two weeks were like a honeymoon period, and then as Baby C continued to grow, he said (cried) to us, "Okay, it's time to get serious since we're going to be together for a long time."

In the midst of everything, we were fortunate to have a photo shoot on Sunday. Unfortunately, Baby C was asleep for most of it (actually, Kuya Ron, father of 3, said that's a good thing). I was hoping for him to be awake so that we could capture his big, beautiful eyes.* In any case, I am really happy that we got these photos since I declined the expensive photo opportunity at the hospital. Husband made a special collage for me. :)

*The funny thing about his eyes -- that is the first thing that my relatives notice and comment on. I find myself jealous of his big eyes and long lashes (and thankful that he got them from his Daddy).

This past week, we have also had to get used to "marathon feedings," where we cycle through nonstop feedings, burpings, and diaper changes for 2-3 hours straight. Last night, we started earlier, and it went on for only 1.5 so that's drastic improvement.

Another parenting milestone for me is that I'm actually wearing him in a sling! For now, it seems like he doesn't like the cradle hold, but he is okay with the snuggle hold (or maybe b/c he doesn't know he's in the sling since I slipped him in it while he was asleep). We have been thinking that our baby is different in that he doesn't really like to be swaddled (sometimes, he gets really angry, but he does okay when Daddy lets him have an arm out) nor does he like to be worn ("like an accessory," said his Dad.) I'm not so concerned about the swaddling since he sleeps alright through the night (and wakes up every 2-3 hours for feedings and changes). I am hoping that I can wear him, though, as I really believe in all the benefits. And I really believe that he wants and needs to be near us. Even when we lay him down, it's as if he'll sneak a peek to see if we are nearby...and if we're not close enough, he cries for us.

But why does all the literature say that newborns should go through 8-12 diapers in a day? Yesterday, the little dude went through 21 diapers in 24 hours! Sometimes, he pees right after I change him, even though I tried to get him to pee during the change (I have not been successful yet). Lately, he somehow pees on himself at least 1 out of 10 changes with Mommy and I have no idea how! I cover him with a washcloth and in the few seconds I take to throw his diaper away, he magically has a few drops on his onesie...and sometimes even on his face! Then I feel soOoOOOOOo bad... I am very tempted to get the Sozo Weeblock Absorbent Sponge...

I never thought I'd be counting the weeks our baby has been with us, but here I am, telling him "happy birthday" with every passing week. Next week, his one month birthday falls on his Daddy's birthday! How special!

2 Weeks

2010-05-26T21:02:00.000-07:00

It's official -- this is a Mommy blog! :)

Last Friday, we brought Baby C to his first pediatrician appointment. He weighed in at 6 pounds 2 ounces, down 9 ounces from birth. Since we aren't planning on bringing him back to this pediatrician, we were on a mission to make sure he gained his weight back by his two-week birthday.

Yesterday was Baby C's two-week birthday so we weighed him at home...and he came in at a whopping 7 pounds 10 ounces! Did he really gain 1.5 pounds in 4 days?? Husband thinks the pediatrician's janky scale was off to begin with. It's hard to say since babies lose between 5-10% of their birth weight in the first two weeks so he was "typical." Since Friday, he's been feeding like crazy so it's not surprising that he has gained all this weight.

We also gave him his first "real" bath last night! His umbilical cord fell off in the middle of the night so we decided to give him a real bath -- no more chaotic sponge baths. Contrary to what you might think based on the picture, he really enjoys real baths...just not the end process of being lifted out of the water to dry off and clothed.

Why does his hair stick straight up after each wash but magically goes down by the next morning?

Labor & Delivery

2010-05-25T11:28:00.001-07:00

What a better way to celebrate Baby C's 2-week birthday than to recount an abridged (and censored) version of our labor and delivery!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Today was my first (pre-) Mother's Day. I feel like Grandma where it's like an additional birthday of the year! For the past few days, Husband's been asking what I want to do, where I want to eat, and if there is anything that I want. I don't know if pregnancy hormones have anything to do with this but I have been the most frustratingly indecisive person ever these past few months so of course I couldn't make any decisions. As I took a relaxing lavender-vanilla-oatmeal bath (to stave off the pregnancy hives), Husband slipped a sweet Mother(-to-be)'s Day card under the door. I was so touched. :)

We celebrated Mother's Day by going over to Aunty Dina's to celebrate with all the mothers there. On our way, we stopped by Target and JCPenney to exchange and purchase a few more items for Baby C. We also picked up some items to BBQ and a Boston Cream Pie for dessert. A wonderful late lunch commenced and bets were placed on when Baby C would arrive.

May 10 was his estimated due date. Shelley put her (fake) money on May 10. Aunty Dina said May 14 (the New Moon). Bro and FBIL said May 13 for Mom's birthday. I just guessed sometime this week.

Little did I know that by the middle of the night, I would KNOW that Baby C would come before May 13...

Monday, May 10, 2010

I started what I thought were false contractions on Monday around 2:30 AM. The positive thing was that I no longer woke up from the insane itch of the hives; now I was waking up on the half hour to an hour from crazy menstrual-like pains magnified about 3-fold. I finally got up around 6 AM on Monday, and the pains came more frequently ranging from 3 - 15 minutes and lasting 30-60 sec duration. I still thought they were false labor b/c I could walk them off. I even went to Costco to "walk around" (and to do a last run "just in case"). When I got home, Husband had already brought our hospital overnight bags (i.e., carry-on luggage) to the door to put in our car, and he was showered and ready to go! Haha. I told him, don't be disappointed if we don't go today. He said, "but I want to go now! I want the baby boy to come now!" ;)

Around 8 or 9 PM, the contractions got harder to manage/walk off. By the time we were hopping into bed around 12 AM, Husband knew I was in lots of pain, and I really didn't think I could make it through the night. I had been pacing back and forth in our little place all evening long. He started timing my contractions b/c he didn't believe my wide range of 2 - 10 minutes with 50-75 seconds in duration. He timed me for almost an excruciating hour, and they ranged from 2 - 6 minutes with 50-60 s average duration. He finally called the Dr. around 1 AM, who said we could go to the hospital but they'll turn us away if I'm not dilated 3 cm. How in the world would I know? We were told that we wouldn't know dilation until someone (i.e., nurse) examines me. After about 10 minutes, I told him that I wanted to go to the hospital and take the chance. I was sure I had to be at least 3 cm with all the pain I was enduring.

We got to the UCLA-Santa Monica Medical Center around 2 AM. When we got there, they checked us in and after doing the initial procedural stuff, Nurse 1 checked me and said my contractions were coming strong every 3 - 7 minutes...but I was "only dilated 1...maybe 2 cm." I was like, for reals?? How much harder could they hit?? I would come to find out that there is no proportional scale between the pain/duration/interresponse time of contractions and dilation.

Nurse 1 called the Dr., who said I should go home, but to her better judgment, she ran a test and discovered I was dehydrated so she told me to drink a pitcher of water, wait it out, and then decide whether I should go home or not. For that, I am so grateful to her. From 3 - 4 AM, Husband kept forcing me to drink water and cheering me on ("only half a pitcher left!"), and then my contractions went to 10 minutes apart on average. At that point, the Dr. made it my decision to stay. I looked at the sad little fold out recliner that Husband would be sleeping on and felt bad for him, but of course he was a sweetheart and left the decision up to me. I told him I wanted to stay b/c if we went home, I wouldn't know when to come back. I just felt so much more secure and comfortable staying at the hospital, even if it meant we could be spending an extra day. One of the nurses said that on average, it takes an hour to dilate a cm...which meant it could still be 8 more hours of excruciating pain (i.e., labor) before I delivered.

Nurse 1 left to assist a C-section, and Nurse 2 took over. At around 5 A.M., I asked Nurse 2 when we could talk about pain relief. She said, I could get the epidural any time. I asked her to examine me because I was sure I had to be at least 3 or 4 cm by now (old-skool/conservative point to get an epidural). She said I was still barely 2 cm dilated! At around 6:30 AM, Nurse 2 said the Dr. wanted to start the pitocin to help labor progress. Totally fine with me as I had requested that in my Birth Plan. The not so fine part was that 1) I could tell she wasn't as experienced as Nurse 1 and 2) when she tried to stick me for the IV, she fished around and still couldn't stick me. This made me think of BSILF's poor little Muffin Man and how awfully painful his blood draws must have been!!! I only had to endure one unsuccessful stick before she called an experienced nurse in to re-do it successfully. They put me on the lowest dosage and right away, the contractions became closer in time and after a half hour, I asked for an epidural.

Dr. Anesthesiologist came in to administer the epidural a half hour after the pitocin was administered. He took some time to set up, and Nurse 2 stayed with me to help me get the epidural. I had to sit up, hunch over like an arched cat, and keep reminding myself to relax my shoulders. I guess I did a really "good job" b/c both of them kept saying with huge smiles that I took it so well, and the Dr. couldn't have been any more proud of his work. He came in several times to check on me. Husband was pretty asleep for most of the process (which was fine with me b/c he can't stand the sight of me and needles/shots and I wanted him to be alert for the actual delivery), but he did hear prior to the stick that both Dr. Roberts and Lisa were saying that I am really healthy (my platelet count was really good).

I think I was still only 2 cm dilated when I asked for the epidural, but by the time I was done getting the epidural around 7:30 AM (a half hour later), I was dilated at 7-8 cm. In an hour, I went from 2 cm to 7-8 cm!!! Nurse 2 called the Dr. so he came by around 8 AM and in that half hour of waiting for him, I dilated to 8-9 per Dr. He told me to get some rest because I would start pushing at 10 A.M.

At 10 A.M., Nurse 3 came in and started prepping me. She was very pleased with how things were progressing. She had me give her 3 rounds of pushing and then she said, "Okay, hold on, I have to call Dr. --- b/c your baby is coming." I looked at Husband both in excitement, anxiety, and bewilderment. This is it! Our son was about to be born!

Dr. came around 10:25 - 10:30 AM, and we gave 20-25 mins of pushing. When people ask me how my labor and delivery went, I tell them, "everyone tells me I had an easy one," because that is really what every staff member told me during my stay. One even told me that I should lie if other mothers ask me because they will be so jealous. I guess that is what I have to thank my mother for. Although my mother couldn't remember her labor and delivery with my brother and me, Grandma and other relatives remembered that my mom delivered in a jiffy.

The unfortunate and unexpected thing happened when we were almost at the finish line. The Dr. said, "I know you want avoid an episiotomy, but your baby's heart rate is dropping a little bit" (fetal distress) and at that point, a whole gang of NICU staff came in (staff and students). I think I was really naive b/c for some reason, I thought the NICU staff was coming in to do the newborn clean up and procedures, but in retrospect, they came in b/c of the potential for fetal distress. Plus, when Baby C was delivered, we overheard something about a cord wrapped around him, but then it ended up being "another cord" and was of no concern (what the heck does that mean? We still don't know.).

I was like, do what you have to do (b/c b/t this and a C-section, I'd rather this as the lesser of 2 evils). When Baby C was crowning, Nurse 3 exclaimed, "wow, he has a lot of hair!" I opened my eyes during the last push, just in time to see the back of Baby C's beautiful head of hair. It was love at first (hind) sight. Beautiful Baby C popped out at 10:54 A.M. at 6 pounds, 11 ounces! I couldn't help but cry uncontrollably at that point. How can I not when we just experienced such a miraculous event?

As the NICU nurses whisked our baby boy away, one nurse said to Husband, "He's looking at you, Daddy." That's when Husband broke down in tears of love, joy, and excitement. The NICU nurses took him a few feet away to clean him up for a few minutes. I couldn't see him, but I did see his feet and how he fanned them out! That made me laugh. Husband and I held hands and just reveled in the moment.

I waited for them to clean Baby C up a little before he was placed on my chest. The sad thing is that we missed the photo op of them weighing him in. Why in the world did we not have our camera out before delivery? (This is how cheesy and "new Millenium" we are/I am; I said to Husband, "well, just take a pix with your iPhone!" He was probably too embarrassed to do that.)

Once the commotion was all over, we were left alone for the "Golden Hour" of bonding b/t the 3 of us. Baby C's uncles were kept waiting outside until after 12 PM. They finally got to come in while Nurse 3 and her student intern were finishing up measuring our little guy and doing all the newborn stuff.

The first time Daddy got to hold his baby boy was when his uncles came in. I could easily see that Baby C instantly stole Daddy C's heart. I couldn't believe such a beautiful little angel came out of me. Nine months of anticipating what our little guy will be like and what he will look like finally came! I commented about the "next time" we have a baby, and Nurse 3 laughed and said, "usually, no new mothers talk about the next birth so soon, but you're already talking about your next one!" I responded that with the epidural made all the difference.

New Uncle Ben was so excited to meet his little nephew.

(This is him saying Baby C has Mommy's "bird lips.")

Two hours postpartum, I was wheeled into a recovery room. A few hours later, we had a surprise visitor -- my mom! When she got to the hospital, she told my bro to meet her at the gift shop. She bought a cute little surgeon's outfit layette for our baby, a winnie the pooh and tigger balloon (Tigger for year of the tiger), and a cute card.

Grandma/Mom stayed for several hours. :) Baby C also had two other special visitors -- Kathy and Vonny (who co-threw Baby C's baby shower).

Late that night, around 11:45 PM, after Husband fell asleep, I brought Baby C to the nursery for his first bath. Oh my goodness, he cried so much! But he got a cute faux-hawk after his hair wash. :)

(Look at those chubby cheeks! Definitely from his Mommy!)

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

On Wednesday, Mom wasn't able to come although she really wanted to. We didn't do much except continually marvel at our little one. I constantly got checked on by the nurses so getting rest was a bit challenging. Husband went home briefly to pick up a few things and feed our turtle. My bro and FBIL stopped by that evening for a little bit and brought a mini-rose plant.

That night, the male nurse (murse?) did the newborn hearing screening and pricked Baby C's foot for PKU testing. Our baby was so brave! He was asleep and when he was pricked, all he did was wince a little and that was it! (He passed the newborn hearing screening and the nurse said, "Congratulations! He can hear you!") (I was soOOOoOo glad that by the time we had the male nurse, I no longer needed routine check-ups of my private regions! He simply asked how I was doing, rated my pain, and gave me Motrin every 4 hours without me asking -- which was perfect!)

Thursday, May 13, 2010

We got up early for breakfast, and our pediatrician's colleague came to check on me and Baby C. He thought that Baby Boy looked a little yellow so he ordered a lab test for jaundice; funny thing is that I had asked Husband the night before if he looked a little yellow. We waited until about 10 AM for results while the nurses kept coming by to hustle us out for discharge. The results came out negative. The nurse said that usually, they compare the newborn's complexion to Mom's palm as a quick-and-dirty screening...but it turns out that Baby C is the color of his Daddy's palm. Heehee. We didn't leave until about 11:45 A.M. b/c of the parking hassle that Husband had to go through. The hospital was awesome in giving us tons of things to bring home -- a goody bag filled with samples, tons of gauzes, vaseline, circumcision care, pads, Dermaplast, etc.

(First car ride home!)

When we got home, we were exhausted, but in awe of our little one. We laid him in his crib for the first time and just watched him sleep angelically. We kept giddily saying, "we made him!" and "I love him!" He is so perfect!

It was also Mom's birthday, and I didn't know she was going to come over until bro called and said, "uh, Mom's already on her way! She's in downtown!" LOL It was so nice b/c the 6 of us celebrated Mom's birthday. I don't know when was the last time my bro and I celebrated her birthday with her and on her birthday. And Mom was such an awesome Mom. She came with like 6 bags of stuff to make sure I was taken care of.

The first night at home was rough. I kept feeding and feeding and every time I put him down to sleep, he started crying! I thought I had finally put him down to sleep and went to the bathroom around 4:30 AM but then he started crying so Husband got up and took over. He told me to go to sleep and not to worry. I was so lucky to get almost 4 hours of sleep that really, really helped.

Husband has been awesome. I know my family thinks it's weird or laugh when I say Husband is going to be the stay-at-home parent, but in all honesty, he is probably so much more capable than I am! He is such a natural! And I am so grateful that he wants so much to be involved.

We are a family. :)

Priorities

2010-05-19T11:47:00.001-07:00

I just came to the realization that my priorities have totally changed.

The first thing I did this morning when I got on my laptop was NOT to check my 3 - 5 e-mail accounts. It was to start looking at nursing bras and pumping accessories.

Details to come on the birth of our beautiful baby boy whom we are soOoOOOooo unfathomably in love with!

He's Ready

2010-04-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

I really appreciate my Husband's characteristics. At times, we are truly opposites...I can be such a procrastinator when he is such an efficient planner/time-manager.

Yesterday, he said that we should pack our hospital bags today. I've been studying since I woke up (and my to-do list keeps growing longer as I continue to procrastinate!). When he woke up, he asked me if I have already written our Birth Plan. Uh, no, not yet...but I'll get to it this week.

After his coffee, he pulled out 2 carry-on luggages, and I heard him in the bedroom, opening dresser drawers and closet doors.

Just now, he walked out with his little suitcase, put it by the door, and said, "I'm packed! Let's go have the baby now! I'm ready!"

I can't help but laugh.... :)

On the other hand, he may be ready, but I'm not! =X

First Outfits

2010-04-06T22:16:00.000-07:00

I meant to do a lot more studying and working out today, but since Husband had a whole afternoon to spare, we went out to run errands after I got my car back from service. We ended up going to Wal-Mart, Target, and Babies R Us...and we found our first outfit for our baby!

It's a 3-piece set with two kimono-style tops. We've been looking for kimono tops since we've read and heard that they are the best for newborns (instead of pulling tops over our baby's head), and we also wanted long sleeves with mittens to prevent scratching.

Above practicality, I appreciate the significance. We have already received a number of adorable outfits from our loving friends, but I really wanted to pick an outfit out with Husband to bring our little guy home in.

When we got home, Husband took it out of the bag and laid it on the sofa in the nursery. Just looking at it gets me all giddy. :)

~33 more days!

Happy First Anniversary to Us!

2010-04-05T18:36:00.001-07:00

Today, we celebrated our first anniversary! :)

We originally had plans to go down to where we got married and walk the grounds, but when we woke up, we heard the rain pitter-pattering! So we spent the morning deciding what we wanted to do and where we wanted to eat.

By the time we headed out for a late lunch, the skies had cleared up into a beautiful day, but we decided to just stay local to play it safe. We enjoyed a nice meal at Houston's in Manhattan Beach, and then Husband suggested I get my hair done today (instead of tomorrow). So as he boxed at his gym nearby, I got my hair and brows done. That was a very nice pampering session since I love Vicara/Aveda salons.

In reflecting on this past year that we have been married, all I think about is how much more I love my husband (even though I didn't think it was possible).

And there is no better first anniversary gift to give each other than a baby. :)

Tonight, we're going to try some of our wedding cake from a year ago! Hope that goes well! =P

Update:
Husband and Bro's Partner were not willing to partake in the tradition, but Bro and I sure did! It wasn't bad at all!

However, in retrospect, I should have just had the top layer of our cake served at our wedding last year (and maybe save a slice for our 1st year anniversary)...because now I'm stuck eating a whole 6-8" cake by myself! Well, I guess we can say that Baby-Boy-to-be is helping me eat it, too! :)

Overheard

2010-04-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm 34 - 35 weeks! Since I am noticeably rounder, I am constantly stopped and asked how much longer...and then I get funny comments.

So far, I've received:

"You're on the last stretch!" (Like it's a marathon?)
"Happy Labor Day!" (My favorite)
"Wow, it's getting serious!" (Just plain comical to me...it's been serious from the get-go!)

And when I leave for the weekends, I usually get a comment like, "Have a great weekend...don't go having your baby yet!"

Slurpees

2010-03-26T18:25:00.001-07:00

I guess you could say I have some cravings for Slurpees. There's something refreshing about them, never mind how un-nutritious they are.

I've only indulged in two since I've been pregnant. After lunch, I was heading back to work for what was sure to be an intense IEP, and I pictured myself sitting at the conference table with my Slurpee. Why not? People bring coffee to meetings. Why not Slurpees?

Unfortunately, I stuck with my jug of water. Boring. :(

On another note, Husband says I totally have senioritis. He's right. For the past few weeks/months, the routine has been for me to kiss him good-bye in the mornings, tell him I love him, whine about how I don't want to go to work, hear him say "I know," and then I leave. Work isn't bad at all, but I just don't want to work any more. =P I only have 2 more whole weeks of work, but I still have so much work to do, especially as I prepare to have another SLP take over my entire caseload.

Dang, if I had known that I'd have 3 IEPs to hold, have to train my replacement the whole week, and have another SLP come observe me (or I train him for a day), I would have requested to start my maternity leave right after Spring Break!

30 Weeks

2010-03-02T17:22:00.000-08:00

10 more weeks! Well, that's assuming we give birth around our expected due date.

This is my latest picture (at 29 Weeks and 5 days).

This is our turtle at 5 years and 2 months:

And Max when I had a date with him last Friday while Husband and FBIL had a movie date out:

(He recently got a haircut and Bro doesn't want any pictures of him with his haircut, but I thought this was a cute angle.)

Parents-To-Be

2010-02-27T16:31:00.000-08:00

I just realized that not a day goes by that Husband and I don't talk about future parenting methodologies and stuff. Heck, I sometimes present him hypothetical scenarios to see how he'd handle a particular situation, since he will be Mr. Mom. I definitely have complete confidence in his overall parenting skills, but when it comes to some behavioral stuff, I want to be sure he'd handle it the way I would like (said the BCBA candidate) (e.g., what do you do if our son throws a major tantrum in a store? How do you prevent that?) We typically agree for the most part. (I hear that what we discuss/agree on can be different once baby is actually here, but it is reassuring for now to know that we agree.)

Our discussions have ranged from night-time feedings in the first months to schooling to what-ifs (what if our son wants to be a rapper? I said, Uh, I might have to nip that one in the bud... What if our kids want to dress a certain way to portray an image that we may not like? As long as our kids have their ethics, morals...and grades in check, we are okay. Although we will not consent to a sexualized piercing, like in middle school...which I often see at my work and it still shocks me.) Today, after our re-discussion about teaching our kids to be sure to say "please" and "thank you," I said, please also make sure that our kids learn to always push in their chairs. For some reason, it bugs me when people/kids don't push their chairs in.

Sometimes I wonder if my worries of what our kid(s) will be like when they're in middle school and high school are warranted or exaggerated. I work in a low-performing school...where kids care so much more about their reputation, image, and romantic relationships than their grades/future. Now, I know in middle school, it is a typical time to start individuating, but when I see kids coming with lots of make-up, hoochie tops with cleavage cracks bare, lip and tongue piercings, etc., it's hard for me not to worry about what my kids will end up looking like for the sake of their teenage image. Yesterday, when I was leaving work, I saw a group of about 5 girls surrounding 2 girls. One was loudly cussing at the other girl about disrespecting her, how she better come real, etc. The other girl stood with her arms crossed simply saying, "whatever." I thought, what a show just for the other 5 girls.

I know I could have easily yelled, "Hey! Break it up!" but sadly, I could care less. The last thing I want is some middle school girl shoving me over while I'm pregnant (I'm serious; I am doing high-risk maneuvers when I happen to be caught in the hallways during passing periods. These kids bump into me, not saying excuse me or sorry, and just laugh it off in front of their peers like it was cool for them to accidentally side-swipe a 7.5 month pregnant lady.)

I think I'm totally going on a tangent. =P Even though I have these worries (that I think might be typical), I also feel really confident in Husband and my soon-to-be-learned-parenting skills. We have great parents who have instilled in us important characteristics and qualities. We have great new parent friends that we certainly learn a lot from, too. We also bring our own life-experiences to the table. Besides, we also subscribe to some stellar parenting magazines and if all else fails, we have the world wide web to consult. ;)

One thing's for sure -- I am very thankful that Husband and I are partners-in-crime for life.

Baby-To-Be's Uncles (and "Cousin")

2010-02-24T10:50:00.000-08:00

Last night, we got to pet-sit Max for a few hours. I stopped by Bro and Brian's after work, and they asked if I'd like to bring Max home for a few hours while they went out to dinner (since Bro left for his DC conference this morning; he comes back on Saturday). How could I turn that down? :)

So Max was with us from about 5:30 - 10 PM. I was really tired since I hadn't slept much the night before so I lazily hung out with Max for the majority of the time. I must have petted him for at least 3 hours of the time he was with us.

I happened to be wearing a shirt that now keeps riding up now that Baby has grown bigger so at one point, Max kissed our baby (i.e., he licked my baby bump twice). Heehee! I think he is beginning to sense that his "cousin" is in his Aunty's womb. (This time that he visited, he was more careful about not stepping all over my baby bump.)

Since yesterday, I've also noticed that B2B's movements have become softer. They feel like the soft flutters in the very beginning, when I first started feeling him about 10 weeks ago (holy snikeys, time flies!). It's expected since there is less room for him to do his gymnastic moves. I think Husband likes these soft movements more because they are less "Aliens"-like.

B2B has also always hung low in my belly. Sometimes, it's either his head or his butt that's next to my belly button (it gets super hard in that area). The other night, Husband felt his head/butt and said, "if he's down here," (gesturing to the area around and below my belly button), "then what's up here?" (pointing to the inflated area above my belly button). I just said, "stuff." Truthfully, I don't have a good anatomical grasp of what's going on inside my body. Bro has a solid grasp, though, since he's taking all those classes on anatomy, embryology, etc. (Sadly, I had to ask him what the difference was between the umbilical cord and placenta.)

Bro and Brian also booked their vacation to Greece yesterday. I'm really excited at the idea of Max staying with us for 10 days! But then Bro said, "Dearest, you also need to make arrangements for Max while we're gone...b/c what if you give birth while we're gone?" When Bro sent me their itinerary, he added, "I hope you have your baby after we get back!!!!! :)" Well, that is definitely the plan!

29 Weeks and 2 Days

2010-02-23T11:19:00.000-08:00

My co-workers were just asking me how many weeks I am. I said 29 weeks and one of them said, "wow, only 11 more weeks!" Holy snikeys! Only 11 more weeks!

Baby and Mommy keep growing and growing. We feel him moving all the time. :) Since his movements are so prominent, Daddy has been able to feel him, too. However, Daddy often gets freaked out...because he has admittedly watched too many "Aliens" movies. Daddy gets especially skeeved out when Baby moves a few inches across in a wave-like motion (vs. a kick).

I can't believe we're already in our 3rd trimester! My pregnancy has been a very blissful time (long forgotten are the first trimester woes of queasiness and fatigue). I haven't slept so much since maybe middle or high school (until this past week). And people weren't kidding when they said that "the baby will suck you dry!" I'm an eating machine 24/7. Just in the past 3 days, I've woken up in the middle of the night to feed us a light snack.

Early on, with all the sleeping I was doing, mothers encouragingly said, "That means your baby will sleep well through the night." But when I say that I'm hungry all the time (like every 1.5 - 2 hours), they hesitatingly say, "that means your baby will be hungry every 1.5 - 2 hours..." I guess we'll know in ~ 11 weeks what's true and what's not!

Predictions:

Baby boy will wake up around 1 and 4 AM for feedings (I generally wake up around those times and baby has been quite active).
Baby boy will start off with Mommy's straight hair and then have Daddy's curly/wavy hair when he's older.
Baby boy will love to eat vegetables and fruits (unlike his Daddy, but like his Mommy).
Baby boy will be active (the past two doctor's visits, different nurses measuring fetal BPM said in astonishment, "he moves around a lot!"
Baby boy will talk a lot...because Mommy and Daddy talk a lot!

Career Day

2010-02-19T13:41:00.000-08:00

The M.S. I work at is planning a career day, and they are in need of speakers. I thought it would be kind of neat if Husband spoke about being a graphic designer...but I knew he wouldn't really go for it. Even so, I jokingly brought it up again last night. He asked, "What would I talk about?"

I said, "Talk about how you're a graphic designer, and you get to design stuff for cool companies like Playboy. Then my students will be like, 'Whoa! [My speech teacher's] husband is soooo cool! That must mean she's cool, too!"

Of course I was kidding and of course Husband called me crazy anyways. Gees, it's not like he has to disclose all of his clients...

New Home!

2010-02-06T22:43:00.000-08:00

We have officially moved into our new home!

After several days of packing and moving, we are finally spending our first night here. It was sad to spend our last night at our old place last night. We had so many great memories from living their for the past 5 years. Yet, we are also looking forward to spending the next few years at our new place, where our baby boy will spend the first few years of his life.

Our place is coming together very nicely. In between unpacking, I also went to Vons really quick to pick up a few drinks. When I checked out, the cashier asked me if I needed assistance out. For the first time, I said yes (even though I was sure I had been carrying much heavier items over the past 4 days than the just-purchased groceries). The cashier told the bag lady, "go ahead." That's when I felt really bad. The lady was older...and when she started walking with me, she heavily relied on a cane. I felt really embarrassed about asking her to help me. But I also felt embarrassed and guilty for thinking about how she probably needs more help than me. :(

I came home, and we unpacked and organized some more. I did our first load of laundry in our new, fancy washer and dryer. We were so mesmerized that we sat there, staring at the wash cycle for a few minutes, before Husband said, "We can't sit here for 13 minutes watching the cycle."

So I went to set up our new iHome, our Christmas gift from my bro and his partner. It is awesome!

Tomorrow, we go back to our old place to clean up and sadly, say good-bye. Pictures to come!

Cooper, et al. Done!

2009-12-29T19:06:00.000-08:00

I finished my textbook! And I finished it before 12/31/09! Yeah! At the moment, I'm printing out 5 chapters of notes...close to 80 pages. Quite a feeling of fulfillment. (However, I don't even think the rest of these notes will fit in my big binder.)

But I am still stressed. I need to write my Functional Behavioral Assessment paper ASAP to send to my supervisor before I send it to the psych and program specialist before I send it to the parent by Monday 4 PM, who may send it to their attorney on Monday in preparation for the big IEP on Friday.

We are in the midst of cleaning out and renovating Mommy's condo, too.

I'm so thankful for these school vacations...but they hardly ever seem like a vacation!

Brandon from Angel Tree

2009-12-20T14:55:00.001-08:00

I have been wanting to participate in church activities for a long time, but I have come up with one excuse after another, ever since I started going regularly a few years ago. More than anything, I really want to join in the Children's Ministry, which is a mix of baby-sitting and teaching about the Bible during the morning session. However, I just haven't been able to commit to the time requirements, even though I really have no reason not to, except wanting my sleep.

So a few weeks ago, as I walked out of church, there was a table set up for the Salvation Army Angel Tree Ministries. I can't remember how long our church has done this, but they join with the Salvation Army each year to "sponsor" children whose parents are incarcerated and cannot provide gifts for their children. I picked up a tag for a five-year old boy named Brandon. On his wish list were toy cars, shoes, and clothes.

With our tight budget this year, I opted to provide little Brandon a mix of fun and necessity with the budget of $20. Fortunately, I got to participate in the South Bay Target's shopping day for individuals with disabilities which meant that I got to join my autism class to shop around and receive $5 off of spending $25. In addition to providing therapy with my kids, I also shopped for Brandon. I ended up getting him a pair of shoes (necessity) and a set of 5 Hot Wheels cars (fun -- which looked really cool).

Merry Christmas, Brandon! I wish you and your family the best. May your hearts be filled with peace, joy, and God's love. I will be thinking and praying for you this Christmas.

Lil F's 5th Birthday

2009-12-17T23:59:00.000-08:00

Call us silly or crazy, but Husband and I still "celebrate" our turtle's birthday. We have been counting down all week ("4 more days until your birthday, Turtle!"). Husband said that she was especially active and lively today. We concurred that she must "know" that it's her birthday. :)

We cannot believe she is already 5 years old! A month ago, we had some confusion. We lost track of whether she is turning 4 or 5, but Husband cleared it up when he said he brought her home (or as I like to say, he "rescued" her) two months after we moved into this condo. I remembered that we moved here in 2004.

To celebrate her birthday, we bought her 5 rosy red minnows. Since Husband didn't want to let her chase them in her tank (because they inevitably get stuck under the tile), he put her in her feeding tub and dumped all 5 fish in. She ate them all in less than a minute! We were so impressed with how fast her reflexes still are! Subsequently, we fed her a huge meal of Reptomin and lettuce, which she finished all of.

Happy 5th birthday, Turtle!

Board Games

2009-12-16T10:56:00.000-08:00

It's really embarrassing when I I let my students choose any activity (rather than giving then a forced choice), and I have no clue how to play it. What's worse is having a student with a language disorder try to explain the directions.

What takes the cake is when I still don't get it after the student explains and I have read the instructions!

Stupid 20 Questions for Kids.

19 Full Weeks

2009-12-14T20:22:00.001-08:00

Max sniffing and wondering, "Hey...What's cooking in the oven?"

"Ooof...A big bun in the oven!"

Rising by the minute!

Lil F is turning 5 years old this Thursday, and she is about 8 inches and 3 pounds (see her in the corner of the tank around baby-t0-be?). This week, our baby-to-be's approximated length is 5-6 inches. Soon s/he will be longer than Lil F!

A Nice Rainy Saturday

2009-12-12T14:40:00.001-08:00

I am sitting at our dining table, listening to soothing classical piano music, watching and hearing the pitter-patter of the rain, occasionally staring at this cute single glitter poinsettia plant I got at Trader Joe's (originally to give to my brother, Brian, and Max but Husband wanted to keep it so I bought another one), and studying.

For some reason, the rainy weather and piano music makes a nice Saturday for studying. Only 7 more chapters to go...and then I can start the 200+ practice modules!

My Robe

2009-12-04T22:08:00.000-08:00

I have bugged Husband for a boxing robe for a really long time now. I think my desire for one may have started as early as when "Million Dollar Baby" came out in 2004. Although he cannot understand why I want one (nor can I explain it), the day has finally arrived. Husband finally ordered me one! It just came today, and I have been wearing it since then. He even ceremoniously put it on me (after my shower).

Don't hate. It is pure awesomeness.

Since it's a Men's Medium, it has plenty of room for me and baby-t0-be to grow and to keep us warm over the next few months. My favorite part about it? The hoodie that is so big that it covers over my eyes and shrouds me in mystery.

I love it!

16 Weeks and 4 Days

2009-12-03T16:30:00.000-08:00

My first baby bump pictures...and what prompted this photo shoot? I was just at Jack in the Box, and a crazy lady walked by me (the crazy kind that is by themselves and talks nonsense to themselves) to go to the soda fountain. After a few more minutes, she walked past me again to leave and she jibber-jabbered somewhat indiscreetly and almost monotonously, "oooo, somebody's going to have a baby. Someone's swallowed the seed..." and that was the last I heard before she walked out.

I was like, Wow, is it really that obvious now? Actually, I feel like I'm showing, but many people gasp, "You're not even showing!" so I take it I just look like I ate two buffets and then some. Just this morning, while I was at the school nurse's office, she said the same thing.

(Unfortunately, I have caught a cold. It is my first time being sick in over 2.5 years! Husband was concerned that I left for work with a fever so he made me go to the school nurse's office to check my temperature before he called the doctor's office for me. No temperature, just a runny and stuffy nose.)

Even though husband was starving when I got home, I made him take pictures of me and our baby pronto. Ladies and gentlemen, our first baby bump photos...!

Okay...now I see our baby in the last photo:

Any predictions on if baby will be a boy or a girl? And guesses for names?

Dog Crazy

2009-12-02T20:17:00.000-08:00

I know I am crazy about dogs. Yesterday, I left a voicemail for my brother asking how Max was doing (b/c he's had some stomach problems lately). I also added that I am totally obsessed with Max because I think about him all the time. When I think about him, he makes me crack up. I even admitted through e-mail the other day that I go on my brother's Facebook page just to look at pictures of Max when I'm feeling down, missing Max, or need a good laugh just because.

Today, after my training, I stopped by the local pet store to pick up some (free with coupon) toys for him and return a conditioner I got him. (Yes, I'm proud to say that this is Max's vacation home. He even has shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, food and water bowls, quite an impressive selection of dog food, and his own blanket. Just not a real dog bed...unless you call Husband's bed/our sofa his bed. He likes to sleep on it and the other day, he actually "fluffed" it.)

Digression: I got him some fancy shampoo that has a coconut scent and fancy conditioner with a pink lilac scent. Separately, they smell great. Together, it smells like one of the scents that I hate the most -- musky, stale hairspray on women. For some reason, I really, really cannot stand that smell! It ranks right up there with manure, dog poop, and trash. So I had to return it, especially with my hypersensitive smell these days.

As I was making my return, I saw across the way that a guy had a really cute puppy. I couldn't tell what kind of dog it was; kind of looked like a boxer. When he was done checking out, the puppy moved ahead and an adult Great Dane followed him! I got soOoOOOo excited! It is so rare to see this ginormous dog. A few weeks ago, I told Husband that if we have a huge house/yard someday, I'd totally want a Great Dane. (Of course he said no way.) I was even more giddy b/c I got to pet the adult Great Dane. The owner mentioned that the adorable puppy is a Great Dane puppy that is 10 weeks old and the adult female is 7 years old.

I drove away all giddy and thinking, "I actually saw a Great Dane and a puppy!" On my way home, I told baby-t0-be, "One day, you'll get to see these great doggies, too, and hopefully, you'll love your uncles' doggy as much as I do...then the 3 of us can go on walks together!"

Pre-Thanksgiving Thoughts

2009-11-24T07:25:00.000-08:00

When we were young and spent Thanksgiving dinners at Pastor Aunty's Monterey Road House in San Marino, I remember she had us sit in the living room after dinner and go around and share what we were thankful for. I wish I remember what cheesy things I said.

We don't do that any more, but I think it would be a great tradition to have in the future. (Unfortunately, these memories were recalled by the latest episode of "Dexter," which I hesitatingly watch now that I effortfully avoid gory, gloomy, and maladaptive shows.)

I have been daydreaming about our Thanksgiving dinner for probably a month now. First of all, I am really excited because it is Husband's first family gathering. Our family gatherings usually start off with half of the adults in funky moods but by the time we all gather around to pray and thank the good Lord for everything, everyone's fine by the "Amen." Good food is gathered on plates and we separate to our respective "adult" and "children's" tables (never mind that the youngest of my generation is now 20 or 19? How young are you, Andrew?). I'm really looking forward to Husband experiencing the fun of our family gatherings.

The thought of eating delicious home-cooked entrees has also taken over my mind, especially this past week. Husband asked me if we usually have a traditional meal (i.e., American) or Chinese. I told him it's always a mix of both, and the percentage is unpredictable. Sometimes it's 50/50; other times, it's 70 (Chinese)/30 (American), but we always have a turkey. This year, I'm hoping for more American -- mashed potatoes, corn, mac & cheese, candied yams...mmmm...but since we're not supposed to bring anything, Husband and I are planning on sneaking in Patti LaBelle's Over the Rainbow mac & cheese recipe and Marie Callendar's cornbread (well, baked from their mix). I'd also make mashed potatoes but dude, I'm on a much-needed break so that just sounds like too much work. ;)

MmmMmm...I'm hungry! Two more days!

Moving Mommy's Stuff

2009-11-21T23:59:00.000-08:00

This morning, Bro and I headed out to Mom's condo to start moving her stuff. It's crazy b/c it's a lifetime of possessions...that she no longer needs nor wants to/can keep. We went a few weeks ago and that was the first time I had stepped foot into her place since 9 or 10 years ago. We gathered bits and pieces of reminders of our childhood -- mainly pictures that we had never seen both of when we were young and also before my parents had us. I didn't take much to keep except a sewing basket (not that I am a seamstress, but I always wanted one b/c of Gramma), a Little Twin Star and Hello Kitty washcloth that we used to use, and Mom's apron.

Today, my job was to go through Mom's closet and drawers and pack up her clothes to donate. It's weird because I don't remember Mommy wearing any of those clothes that I saw, save a few pairs of pajama sets and maybe a white dress that she wore for my high school graduation (only remember from pictures). Mom said I could look through and keep what I'd like. I found a beautiful traditional Chinese Qipau top in aqua blue and a beautiful, black traditional something outfit (bro and I couldn't figure out what country -- India? Thai?). I felt like I totally scored when I found Mommy's Hello Kitty mug in the dishwasher.

But the best keepsake was finding my Hello Kitty sticker diary from 1986-1987. It's pretty funny to see how I used to write and the progression in just a year. Obviously, I still lacked creative writing skills -- I'd choose a sticker from the front of the book and use it as a writing prompt.

Date: November 4, 1986
Sticker: I've got a secret!

I've got a secret place were my mother lives it's a nice place there to live in. And I love it and in my mothers place theres no bugs and whenever Ben don't come with me then I get to sleep with my mom. She is realy nice thats why I love her.

Date: September 29, 1987
Sticker: Fun with friends!

Today i'm going to talk about the first day of school. I got to be with my friends Some of them are new. Well today I went to the dentist witch is my Aunty Joyce. She is having a baby tonight she had to go to the hospital. And my brother got a instrument for a band he entered. He got a clarinet. Today was a fun day four more days then my birthday!

(That baby ended up being cousin Nathan. :)
(How I ended up with decent grammar, spelling, and language is amazing.)

We still have more work to do at Mom's but hopefully, we'll wrap it up in the next few weeks and then rent her place out. We made a huge donation to Good Will (clothes, furniture, and other stuff) and then headed to Little Tokyo for dinner, since I was craving Ramen.

We ended up having dinner at Orochon Ramen, a place that Husband and I had seen on Man Vs. Food. Much to our disappointment, it wasn't worth the hype. Our ramen ended up being too salty, the service was maybe a 3.5 out of 10, and my brother's ramen had so little in it (little soup, noodles, and barely any vegetables).

We redeemed our dinner by going back to my brother's, emptying both cars, and then having McDonald's sundaes and apple pie with Brian and Max. :)

Through it all, I am sooooooo thankful I have a week off for Thanksgiving!!!

Starbucks

2009-11-19T07:23:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that I get really excited when I see the read Starbucks holiday season coffee cups. It's another happy reminder that Thanksgiving and Christmas is near!

This morning, I went to Starbucks for a decaf nonfat White Chocolate Mocha with a dollop of whipped cream...and it is heavenly. So good that I have to blog about it, (after weeks of nothing blogworthy).

You see, I've been a coffee-fiend for well over ten years. The fact that I haven't had any coffee since August is a record, since I first started imbibing in such sweet delights. Yes, I am breaking my rule (rule: no point in getting Starbucks if it's decaf), but it's worth it.

My coffee this morning is better than I anticipated.

Sigh...So delicious. A great way to start the second to the last day before my one week Thanksgiving Break! Yahoo!!!

"Fashion" Comeback

2009-10-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

Since when did raver bead bracelets come back in "fashion"? This week especially, I've seen so many middle school students donning up to half a dozen on each arm, including many of my own students.

Um, please don't tell me that they are going to raves. Ironically, this is also Red Ribbon Week. Let's hope The Future of America is saying no to drugs!

Jolly Rancher Square Lollipops

2009-10-17T19:36:00.000-07:00

This is what I do when I am procrastinating reading/studying...I do things like searching online (and in stores) for the original Jolly Rancher square lollipops, and then I contact Hershey's, the maker of Jolly Rancher candies, to say this:

Hello, I have been looking wherever I can (supermarkets, drug stores, candy stores) for the original Jolly Rancher lollipops, which are the square-shaped. I have been disappointed in my search and apparently, others who have shopped online at Amazon.com have come across the same disappointment. Do you still make the square lollipops (without fruit-center chews)? Those of us who love the originals swear they taste different - and better - than the fruity-chewy-center ones now (and the original hard candies). If they are discontinued, why were they and will you ever bring them back?

I know I sound desperate...but it's b/c I am! I just want to satisfy my 3-week long and counting craving. :( They're just not the same as the small, individually wrapped pieces either! I hope they respond. Like by sending a huge box of the original lollipops. Maybe they won't b/c I had the audacity to point out/remind them that the original lollipops are the square-shaped ones, as if they didn't know.

Back to studying, until I think of another harebrained idea to "research."

The Great California Shakeout

2009-10-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

Today, our school participated in the Great California Shakeout, a state-wide earthquake drill. In preparation, I spoke to my students beforehand. First of all, I don't know what to think about this -- so many of my students remember a big earthquake from last year....why can't I?? It wasn't during school hours so I can imagine what probably happened at home: I'm sitting at the dining table at my laptop with my back to the turtle's tank. Husband is sitting at his computer or on the sofa. The ground shakes and we hear what sounds like thunder rolling and we look at each other and say, "earthquake!" and both get up and hold onto the turtle's tank. It ends and we stare at the turtle to see if she's spazzing out. Life returns to normal within minutes.

For my kids, it's something different. They clearly remember what happened and what they were doing. One student said he ran outside with his friend, but his friend had the wherewithall to grab his laptop before going outside. I was pretty impressed. He was cracking up saying how lots of people ran outside...in their pajamas. That got me to ask them what one possession they would grab if they had the time/chance. One said his money. Another said his money and a bat. The last one said shoes, clothes, money, and food. The first one (that said money only) then added his iPod. (So much for ONE possession...)

Ever since I was little, I always tried to think about what I would grab if a devastating natural disaster hit. I can't say much has changed -- I'd still grab my Hello Kitty. Just don't tell my students...

30 is the New 20, Right?

2009-10-04T23:59:00.000-07:00

On Friday, I celebrated by 30th birthday by doing what I wanted to do...relaxing and eating well!

I took the day from work since our original plans were for us to spend two nights in Anaheim and go to Disneyland on my birthday. Plans were then changed a few weeks ago but for a very good reason.

So Friday morning, I went to watch Husband's boxing lessons and took a pleasant leisurely walk around the huge park (2.2 miles). Afterward, I visited Mom. She really wanted me to visit b/c she just got back from Taiwan and visited my oldest aunt on her side. Together, they bought me an adorable blingy Hello Kitty watch! It's so crazy but I love it! It's totally fun and cute for those days that I am feeling a bit adventurous and wanting to wear a "novelty" watch. :)

So what if I'm 30 and still love Hello Kitty?

After that, I drove back home and then we ate a light snack while we waited to meet up for dinner. I ended up taking a nap since I wasn't feeling so well. Dinner was at Porterhouse Bistro, one of our favorite restaurants. Sadly, 33% of our company couldn't make it! (FBIL and his mom.) We had a yummy dinner with Bro and Lynn. Dinner was interesting since I tried new dishes. I had their soup of the day which was a butternut squash puree. I also had their Porterhouse steak and hands down the best french fries around. Dinner* was of course the signature chocolate lava cake. Yummy goodness!

[*I actually meant "dessert"! Thank you BSILF for pointing that out! Although really, these days, dessert could very well be my dinner! I eat my lunch for breakfast. My meals are all haywire!]

I was pretty sleepy by the end of the meal so we came home and I pretty much went straight to bed.

On Saturday morning, our plans changed a bit, too. Our original plans were to go to the Jewelry Exchange, have lunch at Trump National Golf Course, and then end the afternoon with a pleasant walk around Lake Shrine. Well, hitting 1/3 of our plans wasn't too bad. We went to the Jewelry Exchange to fix my engagement ring and I got a lot of my other jewelry cleaned. (When I got my wedding set back, I put it on and cheesily said, "I've missed wearing these!" It has been a few weeks since I knocked my centerpiece loose. I have no clue how!) We didn't see anything that I really wanted for my birthday, though, so we left.

Afterwards, we stopped by our Chen cousins and went out to a delicious Italian lunch (Roma D'Italia in Tustin/Irvine). It was soOoOo delicious! Husband and I haven't had Italian food since our European honeymoon so it sure brought back nostalgic memories. I ordered a delicious spinach ravioli in alfredo sauce and had some salad and bread with a lot of mozzarella cheese melted in the center. Yummy!

So, we didn't make it to Trump but that's okay b/c I think it would be a lot more "appropriate" for our anniversary. We also didn't make it to Lake Shrine since we would have gotten there when it closed if we did. Plus, I was just so tired by the afternoon. When we got home, I had a special package from BSILF waiting to be opened. BSILF had sent all the way from NY a very special gift for me -- a beautiful, soft, black shawl! I can't wait to wear it! Lately, when I leave for work in the mornings, I breathe in the cold, crisp air and tell myself how I can't wait for Winter to come. I love bundling up for outside and then coming in to warm, cozy places.

All in all, my birthday weekend was really nice and mellow. It's funny how it turned out. A few years ago, when my bro, Husband, FBIL, and others were celebrating their 30th, it was a big event so I imagined mine would be something along those lines, but in the end, it was super chill and mellow with wonderful company, delicious food, and lots of R&R. Not much more I would ask for!

Bitter-Sweet Compliments

2009-09-30T21:09:00.000-07:00

Today, I got really nice compliments.

There is a student with severe autism with very aggressive behaviors. I have been extremely fortunate that he has not "attacked" me (although he has come close). I'll admit that if he's standing in the doorway and I need to scurry past him, my heart probably skips a beat.

The "good" news is that he has been doing extremely well in his individual speech/language therapy sessions with me. I say "good" in quotes b/c it's a bit like a double-edged sword. I will most likely need to be taken off his case for safety reasons in a few months; however, if my boss knows that I'm working out well with him (i.e., he's making progress and not attacking me), then I'm not sure if she'll be convinced that I should be taken off this case.

Anywho, he has an NPA behavioral aide and a County aide who both accompany us in the sessions mainly for my protection (doesn't this sound crazy??). At the end of today's session, his NPA, who has been collecting data on him for the past few months, said to me, "He does so well with you. I never knew that he knew so much and could say so much."

Later on, I was working with another student and she happened to be sitting in the room for a break and at the end, she said, too, "I barely hear him talk. I didn't know he could talk so much, too, but he did really well with you."

I was really appreciative of her observations and compliments. :) But then I thought about it later and realized that it's bitter-sweet. Sure I might be doing a great job with the students individually, but what good is it if it is not carrying over and generalizing across settings with other individuals? I know that generalization and maintenance is generally the most difficult phase with learners with autism, but it just serves to remind me that my job will never be complete. Maybe this is what Yahoo and Monsterjob articles mean when they talk about SLPs having job security. 1/2 j/k

On the real, that's what so great about this field. There is always something new, challenging, and intriguing. It's constantly evolving...and it's just plain fun. At the end of a group therapy session, another aide said to me, "You look like you really enjoy what you do."

I broke out into a huge smile and said, "Yes, I LOVE it." :)

Vegas Wins

2009-09-29T19:31:00.000-07:00

Dude, how awesome is it that I won in Vegas without even going?

Husband went to Vegas from Saturday to Monday to visit the in-laws/his parents and since I wasn't able to go, I gave him a C-note to gamble. I had very explicit instructions: $50 on dollar slots, $25 on quarter slots, and $25 on penny slots.

Yesterday, I had an IEP after work, but I left early to pick Husband up from the airport. After our hellos, he said, "You won a little money. Guess how much?" "$50?" "No, but close." "$40?" "No, keep guessing." "$60?" "You won $350."

"WHAAAAAAATT?!?! High-five to that!...Wait, is that why you said I'm treating for dinner?" (How is $50 "close" to $350?)

Husband has this theory that women at a special time in their life should go to Vegas and gamble. Last time his cousin did, and she won like thousands. I thought it was pretty sweet that I didn't even have to go to win. :)

The low-down went like this: Husband/I didn't win anything on penny nor quarter slots, but with the dollar slots, he bet big -- like max bets of $5!!! Crazy! (What is with me being able to have him bet big for me but if I were actually there and/or betting, I wouldn't be even near the dollar slots?) Anywho, he got 2 free spins and banked about $375 and played down to $350 before cashing out.

Sweet!

First Full Week of the School Year

2009-09-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

This was only the second week of school, but I almost feel like I'm back in the full swing of things. The first few weeks are always hectic. We're under the gun to schedule our students and begin seeing them ASAP, but there are so many difficulties with scheduling -- track schedules, minimum days on Thursdays, alternating block schedules on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and to top it off, I found out after I scheduled my SDC/Learning Center kids (which is about half of my caseload), their schedule will be changing who knows when since they just took a reading placement test...so it's back to the drawing board again. Somehow between all that, I need to fit in my autism kids.

With that being said, I had a really fun week seeing some kids I had when they were sixth graders (who are now eighth graders towering over me!!) and some new kids. It was also tiring since I was practically running between the Autism class and our Speech Room to see both caseloads.

As for the general middle schoolers, they are so funny! At the end of each day, no matter how tired I was, I left work with a huge smile, thanking God that I love my job (and I really enjoy the students I work with). Yesterday was a day with huge variety. I saw an eighth grader who I had when he was in sixth grade. I felt kind of bad b/c he seemed to be so shy about all his acne...and I didn't want to bring more attention to it by telling him, "Don't touch it!" (Not just because of scarring...but it's just gross hygiene to pick!)

Later on, I had two new kids. One is the younger brother of a kid I had who is now in high school. D, the brother in high school, was one of my more entertaining kids. He is so unique. D is high-functioning autism, and he used to perseverate on comic characters that he came up with and drew. By the end of his 7th grade, he had 120 characters and when I asked him who his favorite character was, he flipped through the 150 pages and found the exact one and said, "Super Sweaty Armpits Guy because the smell from his armpits kills the bad guys" as he pointed to a character with wavy lines (i.e., fumes) coming out from under its pits.

Anywho, I am delighted to have his younger brother (typically developing, in speech for a mild lisp). I asked how D is and he said he's now on the football team! I was so happy to hear that (with respect to his challenges in social interactions). This younger brother, A, and I carried on a really fun conversation that went from talking about school to careers (now that I'm writing that, it doesn't sound like you can have a fun conversation about school and careers, but we did). I prompted him to ask me a question and so he did.

A: Did you used to have a speech problem like us and did you grow out of it?"
Me: No, but why do you ask?
(Obviously I knew why, but I'm leading the conversation on.)
A: Well, some people used to have speech problems and they grow out of it and so they want to help others grow out of it, too.
Me: I think what you're trying to ask is, how did I become a speech-language pathologist (which is our fancy title) or speech teacher.
A: Yeah.

So I explained to him in brief and also mentioned that my job isn't just working on artic but sometimes, students have difficulty in other areas like forming their sentences with correct grammar, coming up with the right words to say, and understanding what others are saying.

A: So did you have to go to college and get a Bachelor's degree?
Me: Yes, but I also had to go to grad school.
A: WHOA! So you had to get like a Masters degree?
Me: Yup.
A: WHAT! You must be smarter than the principal!!!!

LOVED IT!!! Haha! (Well, there are a lot of reasons that I found this hilarious, but I can't go into the politics.)

But no, I didn't let him leave thinking that I'm smarter than the principal. I told him that we have different degrees (heck, she makes about twice as much as me). I said that she has to have what's called an Administrative Credential and that her job is very challenging. I work with up to 4 students at a time, but she is not only in charge of all 40+ teachers, but the 1,200 students at this school.

Still, that's awesome. He thinks/thought I was smarter than the principal. :)

I also had a great session with one of my autism kids. On the first day that I did snack, I was the antecedent to a major meltdown...and this kid's crazy meltdown set off 5 out of 6 of the other kids! During my first individual session with him, his non-public agency (NPA) aide sat with us and took data. At the end, I said, okay, we're done and she said, "Okay, let's see, so that was uh 13 minutes..." and jotted it down. I justified, "Well, I want to see his level of functioning and don't want to push him too much." I can't set myself up for future failure by pairing myself with such an adversive task this early on...especially since the NPA told me that he HATED speech (at his previous school). He used to throw the biggest tantrums and scream bloody murder so the other SLP barely worked with him. So yesterday, I saw him again -- this time for the full 30 minutes. The NPA was so impressed. She said at the very end, "He has NEVER sat through 30 minutes of speech! He didn't even scream [when I asked him to give me his water] and he answered so well! He didn't even need that many redirections!" That made me feel really proud (hey man, it's a lot of pressure to redeem the negative SLP image that many NPAs have). I think it really helped b/c 1) there were a lot of mini-breaks built in (he could ask for cookies or water at any time) and 2) we had a visual reward system going that the aide paced well. The big difference that I noticed was that when I would break off a piece of cookie for him, he didn't try to grab the whole cookie (which was what caused the major meltdown on Day 1). That was HUGE in my book.

Later on, I serviced another kid that I think is my most challenging one. She is probably the only high-profile case and by a landslide. I talked with my colleague and shared my personal opinion. For me, I find students with Asperger's and high-functioning autism (HFA) to be my most challenging. (Yes, I actually find the kids with severe autism to be "easier" to work with.) It's because they are so aware...yet not. I think it takes a special skill and art to work with Asperger's and HFA...one that I have certainly not honed yet but I hope to gain a lot of practice and knowledge in my years working.

A little more history. I only got to work with her for 1 month last year before my assignment was switched. We worked on pragmatics, since she perseverates on topics which I think makes her interrupt conversations to ask questions on the topic still on her mind. My colleague (that I share this assignment with) had her over the summer, and she gladly had me take this case because over the summer, C threatened my colleague and said crazy things like, "I'm going to take this pen and stab you in your old ugly heart and kill you." I was shocked that 1) her NPA didn't stop her from saying that and 2) she was even saying that!

So when C came in, I said we were just going to talk. (This girl is VERY smart but needs to work on social skills.) I asked her how her summer was and she said she did nothing except watch an action-drama about 14 campers.

Me: Okay, tell me more.
C: Well, there were 14 campers and they all died.
Me: Wait a minute. First you told me there were 14 campers and suddenly they all died. We're missing a lot of details in between! What happened?
C: They were poisoned.

So the conversation goes on...and before I know it, she was perseverating on poison and death and had me drawn deep into the discussion. So I had to give both of us a reality check. I flat out said, "I noticed you like to talk about violence and death. Why is that?"
C: I don't know.
Me: I ask this because it's not very normal for girls your age to talk about these things. What do girls your age like to talk about?
C: I don't know...make-up, boy bands, magazines.
Me: Exactly! So when you go out to recess and lunch and talk with other girls, do you think they want to hear you talk about poison and death?
C: No...
Me: Right, they want to talk about make-up and all those things you mentioned.
(I was so proud of myself for that one...even though you might think it's so logical to say that!)

I noticed that she also liked to ask questions that she already knew the answer to (like where does poison come from? She thought of poisonous puffer fish, poisonous snakes, etc.). So we talked about that. In retrospect analysis, I think that's her way of initiating the topic she wants to talk about. Clever! But still, not okay if it's about topics that "typical" kids don't talk about.

The last thing I noticed is that she doesn't like to tell the truth. She showed me a millefiori heart she had in her hand. (I had a mini-flashback of Husband and my honeymoon, when we went to the glass factory and learned how milliefiori/mosaic glass pieces are made. Quite thrilled about this unique teachable moment.)

Me: Where did you get that?
C: I made it.
Okay, please girl, you think I was born yesterday? (Even though I just learned about this profess a month ago?)
Me: Really? Tell me how YOU made it.
C: Um, I don't remember.
Me: I'll tell you how it's made.
And I had her count how many different pieces there were (7) and explained that each design she saw was cut from a piece of glass and then they were all laid out and melted together and cut into the form of the heart.

Then my closing statement: I want to talk to you about something. When I asked you about this, you told me you made it, but I know that you can not make that. That means you are lying to me, and I don't appreciate that. I tell you the truth so I expect the same respect from you. Can we agree on that?

She didn't answer but asked another question.

So I said, I'll answer your question after you answer mine. Can we agree to not lie to each other? She acquiesced and we were cool. (Later on, she asked me a question that I didn't know the answer to so I said, "I honestly don't know. If I knew the answer, I'd tell you." Just to reaffirm what I was trying to get across.)

In retrospect, I feel like working with these types of social skills challenges is a lot of stepping out of my comfort zone. I'm not used to being so blunt, but what I've learned (from fabulous experts) is that we do these kids a disservice if we don't speak forthright with them, and we play into their perseverations and off-topic comments, questions, and discussions. It's just that as adults, we have been trained socially to not say certain things. We now intuitively now what communication lines/topics to not cross...but with kids with AS or HFA, our job as therapists is to continue to bridge that gap.

When she left, my colleague, who could hear the whole session, said, "Wow, I can't believe she responded to you that way. She would see me and start with the threats and not even give me the time of day."

Believe me, it was no easy task for me. Even though I had a "great day of therapy," I know there will be days where sessions don't go so successfully, but what is always comforting to know is that in the grand scheme of things, I'm helping others and I love what I do.

Last Minute Dates

2009-09-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

Brian called me around 8:30 AM and said he wasn't going to work today. I thought that was all he was going to tell me (meaning I wouldn't be pet-sitting Max today), but much to my pleasant surprise, he asked if I wanted to go on a morning walk at the beach with him. I was thrilled! We didn't bring Max since, per Brian, we needed some "adult time." Ha! Besides, Max already had his morning walk and our beach date meant walking almost 2 hours at a fast pace.

We did the usual route of starting from Santa Monica Place, walked to Venice, and went to the end of the Washington Pier where we watched a fisherman reel in a fish. It was time well spent as we caught up and talked about many things under the sun. I am always up for a beach walk with Brian (and my brother).

After my date ended, the Husband came home. It wasn't long after that he was going on a "man date" with Brian. Haha. They went out to watch "District 9" while I had a date with Max. :)

My last few days of summer vacation have been soOoOOOooOo relaxing....aaaaahhhh....

Last Week of Summer Vacation

2009-09-02T08:45:00.000-07:00

Summer vacation this year has been awesome, so I am sad to see it coming to an end. I begin work next Tuesday, but I have plenty to look forward to this academic year.

This summer, I worked Extended School Year (ESY) with middle and high school students with moderate to severe disabilities. I had a total blast. Two weeks after ESY, the Husband and I went on our honeymoon-vacation to Europe for 10 days, something that I felt so blessed to do. For the rest of summer vacation, I have been doing nothing much except relaxing, catching up on long-neglected tasks, and spending time with the family.

The Husband's been asking me if I'm excited about going back to work. Although I am not hyped about the idea of working again, I am excited about what this year brings (and getting regular paychecks again). I am looking forward to returning to my original assignment of working full-time at the middle school, serving both the District Special Education caseload and the County SDC-Autism program. A few nights ago, I thought of another aspect I am anticipating -- I will not be supervising nor training anyone this year! I am only accountable for me, myself, and I! That will be a nice load off. Hopefully, I will be driven enough to use my "extra" time to finish up my BCBA studies. I am also looking forward to a drama-free year...or one that pales in comparison to last year (translation: much less stress).

I am a little bit anxious about the adjustment period though. The first month will be busy as I get back into the groove of things, adjusting to new situations and students. But I know that it's going to be alright.

Pet-Sitting Reward

2009-09-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

Brian dropped Max off around 9 AM and mentioned that Max was really tired since they had gone for a walk. He wasn't kidding!

When he wasn't napping, he was lazily sprawled out like this for most of the time. Except for the one time he snuck into the bedroom and almost chomped on my lamb stuffed animal. I had strategically placed all of my stuffed animals in the middle of my bed but left Lamb Chops on my chair. He thought I wasn't watching him so he got on his hind legs and was about to chomp down when I caught him in the act. It must be so hard for him to resist the temptations. He LOVES stuffed animals...especially the ones that squeak. The dog goes bonkers with squeakers.

Yesterday, Max didn't take any naps, which was unusual. I think it was b/c he probably slept through most of the hot morning until I picked him up around 1:30 PM so he was all energized while he was with Hubby and me.

He must have had sympathy pains for me today. I only got about 3 hours of unrestful sleep last night thanks to some poor decision-making -- I had caffeine late in the day, had an intense and long workout late in the day, and going to bed hungry (even though I ate a late dinner). So I got up around 3 AM, tossed and turned for a while, ate a snack (which is reminiscent of my Dad! He used to do this mid-night snacking all the time!), and started reading The Verbal Behavior Approach by Mary Lynch Barbera. By 6:30 AM, I was halfway through! I was so proud of myself! I don't know what it is, but I just don't read books. I joke that I have undiagnosed ADD, but truthfully, I'd rather surf the internet than read a book. I also meant to read this book before I start work next week so high five to myself because it looks like it's going to happen!

Anywho, there were two best parts of pet-sitting Max today. First, I got to nap with Max for the first time! Hubby let me take a nap with Max on our sofa. :) He's the perfect size, not too big and not too little. He had his head resting on the pillow, too, while I held him and we napped for half an hour.

The other best part? FBIL came to pick Max up earlier than I expected, and he had a huge box of ridonkulously delicious treats from Angel Maid Bakery for us!

I felt like I was back in Rome when I was double-fisting the cookie and ice-cream cone. After dinner, I walked out of the kitchen with a cream puff in one hand and the tiramisu in the other hand. MmMMmMmMMMMm! Thanks Brian!

Love the Hello Kitty cookie! I'll probably save it for last because it's almost too cute to eat!

Max meets Rose, Mango, and 2 sea otters

2009-08-31T21:23:00.000-07:00

As Bro soaks up the rays under the sweet Hawaiian sun with Dr. Cousin and Attorney Cousin, I started pet-sitting Max today.

Unfortunately, I picked him up a little late today. Thankfully, he didn't experience heat-stroke or anything. I brought him back to our place and this time, he didn't take any naps (that was a first). With every visit, he gets more and more comfortable.

Today, he crept into our bedroom several times. Unfortunately, our bedroom door doesn't stay tightly shut so with a little nudge from a moist nose, he can mosey on in. Earlier, I caught him staring at my Hello Kitty for like 2 minutes before I broke his focus. Another time, he got within a few inches of my sea turtle, Mango, before I caught him. The last time, he got to the other side of our bed and was about to pounce on my sea otters!

I guess it doesn't help that our mattress is on the floor right now so my stuffed animals are within his eye-level...(Note: I'm planning to buy a platform bed frame for our new mattress when I get my first paycheck in a few weeks!)

Before he left, he sat in my lap while I sat in a dining chair, and he stared at my turtle for practically 5 minutes. He was so intent on figuring out what she was that a few times, he almost fell out of my lap. My turtle was asleep so she didn't move at all. A few moments later, I got up so he was on the floor. Lil F started moving in her tank and Max kept getting on his hindlegs and scratching the tank stand to catch a glimpse of my 3-pound green mass.

We'll see what adventures he gets into tomorrow...!

Happy birthday, Kristin!

2009-08-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

“The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.”

When I was (much) younger, this quote was forwarded to me. For whatever sentimental reason, I have kept it ever since and think of it often when I meet someone who is that “best kind of friend.”

I know I am blessed to have Kristin as this “best kind of friend.” Sometimes I think I am a broken record when I say this, but it just goes to show that I really mean it. She has always been and continues to be an inspiration to me. Today, I thought about how much has transpired since her last birthday, and I am again amazed by her strength, tenacity, wisdom, maturity, and genuine joie de vivre.

The best way that I can sum up how I feel about her is simply that I love her.

Happy birthday, BSILF. I wish you all the best.

Home Sweet Home from Europe

2009-08-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

Throughout our entire trip, I have been paranoid about waking up late so every night before I went to bed, I checked my iPhone alarm obsessive-compulsively, counting and recounting the time difference to make sure that my alarm at 8:30 PM really meant I was waking up at 5:30 AM. (I am so glad I brought my iPhone because there were no alarm clocks in any of the hotels that we stayed at.)

Of course on the last day, I totally slacked off. Hubby woke up around 4 AM and couldn’t sleep but I dozed back asleep. Next thing I know, Hubby says, “Hunny, it’s 5:50! Weren’t you supposed to wake up at 5:30?” Good thing he woke up to wake me up otherwise we would have missed our shuttle and flight home!

We rushed to get ready and were downstairs by 6:30, waiting for our shuttle. I was really relieved because not only did we get to the lobby in time, I even had time to run into the breakfast room to grab a big slice of the delicious marble pound cake.

Our shuttle ride was about 20 minutes to the Rome Fiumicino Airport. Since we were about an hour and a half early, we walked around and checked out the duty-free shops. Since we all boarded a little late, our flight took off a little later than scheduled. We didn’t sweat it since we had a 2.5 hour layover in New York. However, we were anxious to get our 9 hour flight going.

The flight from Rome to New York wasn’t as bad as Los Angeles to London, but it was still bad enough for me to have to get up a few times to stretch out before my legs cramped up. We had our last taste of Italy for our meals – pasta and pizza.

We landed at JFK and immediately went through customs. When we got to the area, we saw a long line and both groaned. That's when we saw that the long line was for the first-class and business-class passengers...and the line for us regular passengers was super short! Customs was a breeze; it took between 5 - 10 minutes (waiting and being cleared). The bummer was that when we landed in JFK, we immediately found out that our flight home was delayed an hour and a half, so we now had about 3.5 hours to kill. Not enough time for us to head out and explore but too much time to sit around in an airport. We killed off almost an hour just making phone calls but after that we sat for a little bit. That's when we had this conversation:

Hubby: What snacks do you have?
Me: Toblerone, cookies, and this orange.
Hubby: Um...Where did you get that orange?
Me: At breakfast this morning...
Hubby: What? At the hotel?

(As in, the hotel in Rome?)

Me: Yup...[gasp] Oh no! I smuggled fruit in from a foreign country??
Hubby: Yes, you douche!
Me: What should I do? Can I eat it right now?
Hubby: No! Go throw it away right now!

So I sadly did.

We were supposed to board at 4:20 PM to depart at 5 PM. We literally stood by the gate for more than an hour before they finally let us get on at 5:40 PM! By then, the majority of us passengers were in a real funk. Poor Hubby had to sit in the middle seat for both flights (he always gives me the aisle or window seat, even before he knew that I sometimes get claustrophobic). Instead of getting home at 7:15, we got home close to 10 PM.

We were especially excited to be greeted not just by my brother, but FBIL and Max, too! As a welcome home meal, we stopped by In-N-Out.

All in all, we had a wonderful trip but we were definitely glad to be home sweet home…with our turtle! 

Europe: Rome (Non-Tour Day)

2009-08-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

Since our tour is officially over today, I told Hubby several times yesterday that 1) I was going to sleep in (for the first time on our trip) and 2) I was going to have a hearty continental buffet breakfast. I woke up earlier than Hubby so I quickly got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast to ensure I had enough time to enjoy my breakfast.

I didn’t want to wake Hubby but was secretly hoping he would join me for breakfast. He ended finding me in the middle of breakfast and said, "Gees, I went looking all over for you and then I remembered that you would probably still be eating. Next time, you have to leave me a note or something!" The thing is, he doesn't read my notes anyways and really, where else would I be when there is free yummy continental breakfast buffet?

(The marble cake on the top right of my plate got my favorite vote.)

Afterward, we went back upstairs to start packing and organizing our luggage before heading out to explore. All the stores that we were interested in visiting were still closed for Ferragosto. Since Hubby had been eyeing the McDonald's on the corner, we stopped in there. It was so crowded because it was lunchtime, so we walked next door to the gelateria that the funny Canadian couple had recommended (3 scoops for 2.5 Euros!). Right when we got there, the people were saying that it was closed and would re-open at 7 PM. Richard had told us that in Europe, places close down in the middle of the day because they can for no apparent rhyme or reason (to the public).

We went across the street to the patisserie that I had been eyeing, where I got a delicious cookie “sandwich” that had nutella or some chocolatey-goodness in the middle and dipped on the bottom of the top cookie.

(Top right corner, second cookie from the right on the top shelf.)

We went back to McDonald’s for lunch around noon or so. Christian ordered from the take-out window and got a Big Mac, criss-cut fries, and a Coca-Cola with the special Collector's Edition glass.

"Give me the #1 please...No curly fries right now? Okay, criss-cut fries."

I also got an ice-cream cone. I couldn’t help but laugh at myself while I alternated between eating my delicious cookie in my left hand and licking my refreshing ice-cream in my right hand, as we walked across busy intersections back to the hotel. I felt like a 5 year-old. A very happy 5 year-old.

When we got back to the hotel, we ate outside on their benches and walked to the end of the parking lot where there was a trail but decided that it was too warm/hot so we went inside, and I e-mailed our family some updates. After that, we went upstairs and took a nap.

For dinner, we ate at il Chiostro in the hotel, since we had 10% off the bill and two welcome drinks. We both ordered two pints of Kronen beer. Hubby ordered Pizza Margherita (tomato and mozzarella cheese pizza), I ordered, Ravioli ai Quattro Formaggi (ravioli with cheese sauce), and we shared Caprese Salad (tomatoes with mozzarella cheese and basil). Hubby's pizza had the most tomato sauce out of all the pizzas we have eaten. Afterward, we went back to the gelateria to get 3 scoops in a waffle cone each. The mint chocolate chip was delicious! Hubby's favorite was something called Skoky. We had no idea what it was when we ordered it, but it turned out to be something like vanilla, peanut butter, and fudge.

By then, I was full beyond comfort. We ended up going back to the hotel, e-mailing some more, and then turning in early since we were being picked up between 6:30 – 6:45 AM. All in all, we had a relaxing, peaceful last full day in Rome.

As they say, leave on a high note, right?

Europe: Rome (Ostia Antica, St. Peter's Basilica, & the Colosseum)

2009-08-15T23:59:00.000-07:00

We started off the morning with a huge breakfast spread in the Ballroom of Palazzo Carpegna. Before we left for our morning tour, we asked to upgrade to the Superior Room for an additional 30 Euros per night. We figured, why not splurge for our last leg? (Not that we haven’t spent enough additional cash). The benefits are: a bigger room, extensive vanity kit stuff (lotion! No European hotel that we have been to offered lotion; some didn’t even give hair conditioner. In addition: shaver, toothbrush, nail file, Kenju spa collection shampoo and conditioner), free wifi, two welcome drink vouchers, and 10% off eating at the hotel restaurant.

We met up around 8 AM with our local tour guide, Amelia, to go to Ostia Antica, an optional tour that wasn’t on our original optional schedule. Richard put this tour together mainly because today is Ferragosto, an Italian holiday where everything is closed and Italians get some serious R&R. We really didn’t have much of a choice, unless we wanted to sleep in. We chose to go on it because Hubby is so fascinated by history and ancient ruins.

It’s ridiculous how quickly it heated up. We got to Ostia Antica around 8:30 AM and began our tour. We walked on cobblestones laid centuries ago. I was impressed that our tour guide, a lady probably in her 60s, led us through the 100 degree weather in 2.5 inch wedge sandals. Although the heat was brutal, it was neat to see the ancient ruins and just how advanced the Romans were centuries ago. We saw where saunas and bath houses were first created. We saw where business stores used to be and how they were distinguished. How you recognize what the store's specialty was by looking at the mosaics on the floor (that are still apparent today).

One mosaic we saw was of a whale...which meant that the business owner was in charge of the imports that came through the docks. It was both awe-inspiring yet surreal to imagine what took place right in front of us – bath houses, stores, condos, saunas, and even restrooms. We also walked onto the theatre stage for a brief minute before we had to walk “off stage” and go around (there was a concert that was being set up there so we had to move).

(Left top clockwise: ruins, mosaic "map," Hubby climbing the "seats" of the theatre, ancient restrooms, ancient sauna, the theatre stage.)

Our tour ended around 10 AM at the coffee shop, where there were also two doggies, but we weren’t allowed to touch them. Of course some of our tour mates didn't see the sign and tried to pet them anyways. Hubby, ever the rule-abider, made sure I wasn't even within a three yards of them, lest my self-control be recklessly uninhibited. (Hence my distant shot of one of them.)

After that, we went back to the hotel to pick up the rest of the group to continue on our regularly scheduled tour. We went to St. Peter’s Basilica, but before we went in, we had 45 minutes to shop and eat. Hubby went right to business shopping for rosaries in Savelli Mosaic Art Gallery. The really cool thing is that they were all “generally blessed,” but since we left them there to be delivered to our hotel, they were personally blessed by the Pope. While he was shopping, I went up to the second level to buy postage. The four postage stamps were of the Vatican (City). Although the Vatican City is its own city-state/nation, not all the other countries recognize it as its own country, so I had to be sure I mail it within Rome or else it would be null.

After lunch, we stood in the sweltering sun for about 20 minutes to get into St. Peters Basilica. I thought I was going to pass out since I was wearing jeans to cover my knees. We were told that people usually wait like 2 hours or more to get in so 20 minutes was really nothing. But for me, it was painful. I should have bought a fan and parasol days ago!

When we got inside, Mass was taking place. Service is sectioned off so that we could continue our tour without interrupting Mass.

(Left column: the Holy Doors; Michelangelo's Pieta
Middle: the Altar with Bernini's baldacchino
Right column: St. Peter by Cambio; tomb of Pope Alexander VII by Bernini)

We also saw Pope John Paul XXIII's preserved body. He has a white wax mask to cover his face.

While we toured, Hubby's Spidey-skills were on high-alert. He noticed that a guy seemed to be following our group. Of course I dismissed it and thought that Hubby was just being paranoid, but he later rationalized that 1) we were forewarned that pick-pocketers would dress like tourists to blend in and 2) the guy followed us from one corner to another and another and had a huge camera hanging around his neck...but took zero photos. Our group had been well-prepared for pick-pocketers so throughout our entire trip, no one lost anything. I was still pretty paranoid though.

After that, we went to the Colosseum...while the sun was still scorching. Poor Hubby was really looking to seeing the Colosseum but was disappointed. He said it was because he watched too many History Channel specials on it so when we got there, it was a bit anticlimactic for him. We ascended to the second level via lift and later climbed down the stairs. Again, it was hard for me to take in that we were standing in the Colosseum, where violent acts (for the purpose of entertainment) took place centuries ago. It’s surreal.

(See me wearing my Armani "underwear"?)

On our way there and when we left, we also passed by Circus Maximus, where the chariot races used to be held. All in all, our tours were really fascinating...just unbearably hot. All the history behind these ancient ruins was amazing. We got back to our hotel in the late afternoon to wash up and rest...in our upgraded room. Yayayay!

We also wrote thank you letters to both Gennaro and Richard and prepared tips since it was our last evening with the tour group. Our farewell dinner was at Casa Nova. We sat with our new friends.

We sat with Millie and Ray from North Carolina who have been married for 51.5 years. They were champions through the whole tour. They went on almost every optional tour and dusted younger people! They said that two months before this trip, they walked on the treadmill everyday to prepare. We were so impressed, especially as they climbed up and down stairs with us. We also sat with Burt and Nancy from Arizona, a very sweet, nice, and lively couple. They have only been married for 7 years...but were dating for 16 years before then! Burt used to come out to Marina del Rey all the time, which is just a mile or two away from where we live. Small world! They were probably the only ones that didn't think the heat was a struggle. ;)

During dinner, there was an opera duet accompanied by a pianist...and seriously, the male opera singer looked like Pau Gasol. The singing was beautiful and really set the ambiance. Dinner consisted of antipasta, veal with what Hubby said is Dijon mustard, coconut milk, and meat gravy, and we ended with a delicious three-berry tart. I also ordered a Fanta for the first time, which turned out to be quite tasty.

Around 7:30 PM, we departed for our last excursion, which was to the Spanish steps. Amelia, our local guide for Ostia Antica, guided us again. We walked about 1.5 hours total (stop and go) so we were beat from all the walking we did today. When we arrived at the top of the Spanish steps, it was magnificent looking down and seeing how crowded it was. Amelia said that this is where all famous models pose for pictures.

(Many of us, including me, were so fascinated by the Louis Vuitton store on via Condotti; the LCD image of the hot air balloon is on a staircase. If you search Youtube "Louis Vuitton stairs Spanish steps," there are several videos, like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-2QY-85Xqc.)

When we were going down the famous Spanish steps, a man passed gas really loud right in front of us, and Hubby was sort of behind me and behind him. (I say he passed gas in front of Hubby but Hubby says vice-versa. Actually, Hubby embellishes and says that the man passed gas on me.) Hubby immediately said, “Oof! Move right, move right!” I was practically holding by breath for at least half a minute, making sure I didn’t laugh out loud. I know I can be so immature sometimes...and ever since I rendered Nacho Libre as a favorite movie, Hubby swears that I am always laughing at fart-jokes. I hope that's not true...only 10 year old boys laugh about that! After a few minutes, Hubby quietly said, “I’m so proud of you. You didn’t laugh at the joke.” That’s when I started laughing hysterically and had to wipe tears away.

We walked around that area, which is equivalent to Rodeo Drive – expensive stores: Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Valentino, etc. The “flower pimps” were all over the place! They are so sneaky. They go right up to women and hold out a beautiful rose and say, "take it, go ahead, take it," sometimes saying that it won't cost the women anything. Well, once the woman takes it, they hustle their man for money!

Our tour ended at Bar Tre Scalini, where Richard handed each of us a decadent tartufo. It was so rich and dreamy. Definitely can't find anything even close to this in the States.

When we got back to the hotel around 10 PM, we said good-bye to Richard, Gennaro, and our tour mates. All in all, we had a wonderful time with the group.

I don't think Hubby expected me to do a fake candid shot to correspond with his:

Finally, a real one!

Europe: Florence to Rome

2009-08-14T23:59:00.000-07:00

We started off with the same wake-up/luggage/breakfast schedule again. The most spectacular thing about breakfast was that they had Nutella! It was my first time tasting it, and it was delicious. Why I haven’t had this before is beyond me. Then again, isn’t it like chocolate Yanyan? I put it on my croissant that had a tinge of orange marmalade flavoring.

At 7:30 AM, we went to Michelangelo Square to take a big group photo with the beautiful city of Florence as our backdrop. There was also a bronze copy of Michelangelo’s David so we got a few shots of that.

(Bottom right corner is us with our tour guide, Richard.)

From 9 – 11 AM, we were back where we were yesterday but we had a little free time for shopping. We started off at the Gold Factory, where the lady described how gold came into use in Florentine jewelry. She also showed us interesting pieces of jewelry such as a bracelet that an engineer designed for his mother. It can be worn two ways. One way was as straight strands. Once you let it go, it bunches up into clusters. Although the engineer designed it specifically for his mother, someone liked it so much that it was brought to some place and won four awards and produced for the general public. (Obviously, I can’t recall all the details/names/organizations.) Another designer created a necklace that is gold on one side and white gold on the other. We also saw gold “belts” to be worn as a lariat, necklace, or even a belt…and cost a fortune. All were so beautiful but none within our taste nor budget.

After the gold store, we went to Peruzzi, a leather factory. We saw a quick demonstration on how gold is embossed on a trash can. The craftsman took a ribbon of gold and used a tool with the leaf design that Florence is famous for, heated the tool up, and used the weight of his body to press down on the tool to transfer the gold. We looked around and I ended up getting an Armani “underwear” shirt to wear for the Vatican/Sistine Chapel tomorrow, since I ran out of t-shirts (I didn’t plan well because I didn’t know until it was too late). It came out to about $70. It has got to be the most expensive “underwear” I have ever owned. I kept telling Hubby that I was perfectly fine wearing an “I [heart] Italia” t-shirt, but he wasn’t hearing any of it.

Before we hopped on the bus, I got two scoops of gelato: one chocolate chip and one caramel. Both were delicious!

At 11 AM, we took off from Florence for Rome. We stopped at Autogrill again for lunch. We got to the Vatican Museum by 3 PM and met up with our local guide, Donatella. We walked for about two hours, looking at all kinds of sculptures/statues, frescoes, and mosaics. It was soOooOoO hot and unbearable due to the weather (hot and humid) and body heat.

After about an hour, we walked into the Sistine Chapel. It was absolutely breathtaking, surreal, and overwhelming. There is something so magical and holy about that place. I was practically moved to tears. Even though it was packed with hundreds of people (and guards shushing people every few seconds since we were not allowed to talk in there), it still felt like such a personal experience between me and God and His message through Michelangelo as His ambassador.

We were told of the history behind the Pope commissioning famous artists of the time to paint frescoes in the Sistine Chapel: Ghirlandaio, Botticelli, Perugino, and Roselli. In 1508, Michelangelo was commissioned to paint the ceiling. For four years, he painted frescoes every single day that began with Genesis' Adam and Eve and their Fall all the way to the famous Last Judgment. We were not allowed to take any pictures because all of the work in the Chapel is copyrighted. Of course people still did, but security was quick to run over to the person and rush him/her out. (Donatella said that it depends on the guards’ moods; sometimes, they are more relaxed and allow pictures without flash.)

Around 5 PM, we got picked up to go check in at Grand Hotel Palazzo Carpegna. We are in a standard double which was kind of small but nice. It is the nicest hotel we have stayed in.

Our optional dinner and tour began at 7:30 PM at Mangrovia. It was a 5-course meal! Our first dish was Caprese Salad with eggplant (fresh mozzarella on sliced tomatoes with a dab of olive oil, basil, and eggplant on the side). Our next dish was ravioli with ricotta and spinach. After that, we had fettucini alfredo. For our main entrée, we were given a choice between veal, sea bass, and chicken parmigiana. I originally ordered the sea bass and Hubby requested the chicken parmigiana, but we ended up switching because the sea bass was too fishy (and bland) for me. We were also served a side salad with our entrée. In the end, the chicken parmigiana was too salty for me, too. :( Our dessert was strawberry gelato on fresh fruit (orange, plum, kiwi). Yummy!

The drinks came literally nonstop and even before we were half finished with our current one! Hubby got started with 2 beers and then the waiter kept bringing the beers in twos. I just had Sprite. I also tried the red and white wine and spumanti. When dessert came, the little 9-year-old next to me got 5 scoops of gelato! I was so jealous!

During dinner, there were two musicians who entertained us (one guitarist and one flutist). Our head waiter was extremely entertaining, too. When he was serving the fettucini, he didn’t serve one person at each table (one older lady and then one father). He specially presented the dishes to a lady at each table– a red rose and “bocha”(?) (he kissed the ladies on the cheek and neck a few times). For the very last guest, it was a father from Hawaii. Ha! He made a big dramatic act by placing a blond, dreadlock wig on the father and pretending to kiss him.

At the end of dinner, all ladies received a rose and a kiss from the waiter. When it was my turn, I was so embarrassed. It was funny because the waiter looked at Hubby beforehand and said, “Don’t kill! Don’t kill, just one kiss.” Haha! When it was the little girl's turn, he didn’t kiss her, but he handed her a rose…and then another and another until she had half a dozen! That was cute.

Afterward, we took a nightly tour/walk to the Trevi Fountain. This was another highlight of mine. It was a little bit hectic because there were hundreds of people, all trying to get to the fountain to sit on the edge of the fountain to make a wish. Richard told us that in all its history, it has always been naturally powered. I’m not sure if we were supposed to throw one or three coins over our left shoulder, but Hubby and I both made a wish and threw a coin. Later on, xtn asked me what I wished for (just like when we were under the Sully bridge), but I didn’t tell him.

We also watched Richard stand, make a wish, and toss a coin over his left shoulder. He shared with us two that he has been doing this ever since 1950 something, when he was a little boy and went there for his first time. I think he was a bit embarrassed because he said, "It's a bit ridiculous that I have been doing this ever since I was a little boy, but I still do it every time I come to this fountain." I didn't think it was ridiculous at all. I did appreciate that he shared this personal statement with us.

Self-taken candid camera shot...

Since Hubby didn't want to look at the camera and smile, I went along with him, too.

Europe: Venice to Florence

2009-08-13T23:59:00.000-07:00

Last night was probably the best sleep I have had yet, but I still woke up at 3 AM and was up for maybe 40-45 minutes, including a half hour of drafting an email update to Guh on my iPhone. I got up at 5:30 AM and we were down for breakfast by 6:45 AM. Breakfast consisted of more ham and cheese, marmalade-filled croissants, canned peaches, and deliciously bold coffee. It was the best coffee we have had yet (the same as last night’s post-dinner cup).

This morning, we departed at 7:30 AM for our excursion. Around 8 AM, we rode the Ducale water taxi back to where we were yesterday in Venice. When we ported, we went to our glass blowing factory demonstration at Vecia Murano.

(The green horse is made completely out of glass and is the factory's most expensive piece of work. They didn't mention the price but we definitely weren't allowed to touch it.)

We crammed into the furnace room and watched an expert take a bulb of heated glass, shape it, blow into it a few times to shape a pitcher, and then “cut” hot glass to delicately form two unique handles. Afterward, he dipped it in water and then shattered it (all dramatically…enough to draw a gasp from the crowd) so that it could be melted again to re-shape (for the next demonstration). In the next room, our local guide described what makes Murano Venetian glass so unique. Every piece is hand-crafted and they are never exported. Hence, every piece is unique…and the ones sold outside in the piazza for a fraction of the price are wholesale manufactured, therefore not authentic Murano glass.

He also described how they create colored glass. In general, they melt specific mineral compounds and add it into the glass. Red glass (from melted copper) and cranberry glass (from gold) are the most expensive. Blue glass is made cobalt, etc. Shortly after, the factory guide explained how the millefiori technique (“mosaic”) is done. This, too, is an extremely expensive process because each small piece of glass ranging in sizes (from a pen cap to about a 1 cent franc) is individually cut from thin glass canes and then all of the pieces are melted together to form a unique mosaic.

We weren’t allowed to take any pictures for fear of what would be considered copyright infringement. Afterward, Hubby and I looked around the shop rooms for an hour. We had decided yesterday that if we saw a turtle, we would get one. He spotted a mosaic (millefiori) turtle so I held onto it the whole time. It was 59 Euros so we figured if we didn’t see anything else, we would at least get it. We looked around at all the beautiful pieces of glassware but we couldn’t bring ourselves to spend like $50 for one shot glass (or $500 for a set of wine goblets). All the while, about 3 store people approached me (or hustled me?) about having the turtle wrapped. Hubby really liked the mosaic shell for the pure craftsmanship and uniqueness. I started eyeing a beautiful necklace and Hubby must have sensed how much I adored it. By the time we were ready to leave, he decided to get it for me…and then asked for a matching bracelet and earrings! I insisted I didn’t need a whole set; however, one of Hubby’s pet peeves is having incomplete sets or unmatching things – jewelry, clothes, food. When we go out, he even makes sure that we match in our outfits.

In the end, we got the millefiori turtle. I was about to put it back when Hubby said, “I kind of like it…We have a jade turtle from China so we should get a Murano turtle from Europe to add to our collection.” Our growing collection of two now. Besides, this millefiori turtle is truly unique; one of the floor guys said it must be new because he hasn’t seen it before, and it was the only mosaic one on the shelf, alongside 6 other turtles. This is also when we agreed that we should collect turtles as our souvenirs for when we travel abroad.

On our way back, we shopped some more. We got 5 silk ties for 8 Euros each from Trevizan (no discount; I tried but when the cashier turned to the store owner who promptly said no. Humph.). Hubby chose a black and red one for himself and a purple and blue one for Bro and FBIL. I found a dark gray one that he really liked so we ended up getting it, too. Before our meeting point, we stopped by a cart vendor, and he got a Duff t-shirt for 12 Euros and the guy threw in the 2 post cards that I chose (40 Euro cents each). I think the guy ripped Hubby off b/c a sign said 8 Euros for t-shirts. I didn’t know that xtn paid 12 Euros until we were on the bus. Oh well, he really wanted it and was so excited when he got it. The funny thing is that we ended up seeing many people wearing it through Italy, but not on black. (We saw people wearing red t-shirts.)

We left via water taxi again, got on our bus, and stopped by a pit stop again for lunch. Nothing looked appetizing to us so we snacked on baguette chips (pizza flavored), caramel popcorn, and Coca-Cola, and juice. Mmm, the lunch of champions. Come to find out later that the Italian food actually was delicious.

We arrived in Florence around 4 PM and our local tour guide, Louisa, took us through Saint Marcos’ Square. We did a walking tour of Florence that lasted for about 1.5 hours. We started at Santa Croce Cathedral. Since I was wearing shorts and a wifebeater, they gave me a blue gauze robe to cover up.

(Left corner: Michelangelo's memorial
Middle: Santa Croce Cathedral

Right top corner: Galileo's memorial
Bottom right corner: Galileo's Tomb)

Inside, there were memorials for Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo, and Dante (which was covered up). On Galileo's memorial, there were two ladies beneath them. It is said that they represent Science and Math. On Michelangelo’s memorial, the three ladies represent sculpture, architecture, and painting. In a piazza (square), there was also a replica of da Vinci’s David. In the cathedral were also many tombs. It was truly an amazing place. Santa Croce was another one of my favorite visits.

We walked through many squares and heard lots of history behind buildings, famous family homes, sculptures, and churches. One of the most impressive sites was what used to be the largest church with the unfinished dome, Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. We heard about the amazing history behind Brunelleschi and his bold statement of finishing the dome. When the Basilica was completed, the only thing remaining was the dome. It was to be the largest dome in history at that time, even larger than the Pantheon's. However, no dome had ever been created at such a large scale and all the architects had no idea how to do it without glaring supports (which was a prerequisite). Brunelleschi boldly stated that he could build the dome without any supports. As an architect and brilliant mathematician, he calculated precise measurements and formulas and was the first to use the "fish-bone" structure so that no supports were needed. It is said that before he passed away, he burned all of his papers with the mathematical calculations so to this day, mathematicians and architects are still baffled by how he completed his dome.

(Brunelleschi's Dome)

This Basilica is still considered the third largest church, after the Vatican and St. Paul’s Basilica. We heard lots of history that was so interesting, but it was so hot! We walked by a lot more interesting and famous statues.

(Perseus with Medusa's head by Cellini)

("Rape of the Sabine Women" by Giambologna. Giambologna was one of Michelangelo's apprentices. This work is considered a Florentine masterpiece because of the composition of intertwining three bodies; nothing like that had been done at that time and with such emotion and action. No one thought he could do it so he bought the huge slab of marble with his own commission and went about creating this piece.)

We also saw some scary beggar gypsies. They were dressed completely in white with white paint on their faces and holding red roses that looked so crimson next to their whiteness. They didn't say anything (like, "do you speak English?") but made loud kissing sounds and got right up in men’s faces. So creepy that I couldn't bear to look at them...and neither could the men in our group!

We got to Hotel Raffaello around dinnertime. We started with delicious tortellini but the main course was disappointing, despite it being veal. One thing we noticed is that potatoes are really popular in Italy, but at every meal, they are way too salty. Dessert was a frozen ice-cream cup with black cherry sauce. The hardest part about eating these meals at the hotel dining establishments is that I never know how much of my antipasta to eat. If it's really yummy, I risk eating it all and being too full for what could be a delicious entree. I usually took the risk, let my unfinished antipasta be taken away, and was rather disappointed with the main course. The funny thing about this meal is that I sat next to Rich, an Italian who said the tortellini wasn't very good...but then he later admitted that when he was growing up, his family didn't eat tortellini very often. (Rich and his wife Christina are from Canada. They were such a funny couple. Rich often left his wife behind...like once or twice, our bus started taking off and Richard would start counting heads to make sure everyone was on board. He'd get to Rich and the empty seat next to him and be like, "um, where's your wife?" Gennaro would quickly stop the bus and soon after, we'd see Christina running for us.)

Afterward, xtn and I hung out on the patio of the hotel for a few minutes. As he had his after-dinner nicotine fix, I sat on the swing (not pictured). We went for a walk down the street in search of any open clothing store and cigarettes but didn’t find anything (open). (Our tour guide didn't tell us until yesterday that we would need to cover up for two days, instead of one...and I already ran through my t-shirts!)

Despite everyone's forewarnings of overpacking, I regret underpacking instead of overpacking!

Europe: Lucerne to Venice

2009-08-12T23:59:00.000-07:00

Breakfast today was a real treat. I had yogurt like Yoplait and the most delicious mini-baguette rolls!

By 7:30 AM, we were on the bus for our optional excursion to see the Swiss Alps. After about half an hour, we arrived at Mount Stanserhorn. We rode two different cable cars up. The first one was made out of wood.

Our ride was about 20 minutes and we passed by so many cows, each one wearing cow bells ranging in size. One cow wore one that looked like the size of a baby's head. It was huge and loud!

For the second cable ride, 30-40 of us crammed into it and had to stand for about 7 minutes. I held onto Hubby since there were no rails for me to hold onto.

When we got out, it was really cold and cloudy so we couldn’t see anything…like the Alps.

Where Hubby is standing, we were supposed to see each Swiss mountain. Clearly the fog was so dense and it was completely overcast. That was a real bummer.

We lounged around outside for a little bit and then we went into the gift shop so we missed Richard’s guide up to see the marmonts. Hubby saw this and insisted that I get it since he is really into getting me stuffed animals when we/he travels and also because I love dogs. (It's a small St. Bernard.)

Afterward, we ventured out on the trails on our own. I was so disgusted by these slugs…yet so fascinated by how long they were.

When we got back to the common area, we actually saw a real St. Bernard! I got to take a pix with the dog’s butt (he was camera shy). See how small my St. Bernard is compared to the real one? The dog is huge! I was excited because it was my first time seeing one in real life.

We met up again at 9:30 AM and descended down. While we waited to go down, we goofed off a little bit.

Down at street-level was a fountain where we filled up our water bottles with the freshest cold water.

We eventually arrived in Venice in the late afternoon. We stopped before our destination to use the restroom for one euro; definitely wasn't even close to the pointwc in the Louvre. At 5 PM, we arrived at Venice port (or beach?) and went on our gondola ride. We had to break up into groups so we got lucky and sat with Burt and Nancy, the couple from Arizona. We also got lucky because our group was broken up into 2 fleets of 6 gondolas and our gondola was the only one with musicians on board! The other gondolas around us had to get near enough for the live entertainment. We opened up a delicious bottle of champagne and celebrated health, wealth, and happiness as we rode through the Grand Canal, listening to songs in Italian accompanied by an accordion.

After our half hour ride, we did our walking tour of Saint Marcus’ Square (San Marco Piazza). On the way, we saw the St. Mark’s Basilica, monuments, and shops. Prior to our walking tour, Richard told us about Venice and how he believes that Venice won’t be around forever. The salt water is naturally eroding the sand-base that these beautiful buildings are built on. Some of the many bell towers are already leaning from the erosion (like the one below).

There are many cathedrals because each parish had their own and when the Black Plague hit, all of these churches were built to thank God for those that survived. Currently, no one has the money to maintain these ancient buildings any more, though. When the government can afford it, they will restore it, but they have to prioritize. They try to get corporations to sponsor the restorations. It’s weird to think that this city may not be around any more in our lifetime. To say that we were once here is amazing.

(If you look closely, the bottom half of this building is a facade/billboard to cover up the renovation taking place behind.)

For an hour, Hubby and I window shopped. We both had to use the wash room so we spent 1.50 Euro each! The hour passed by so quickly so we didn’t get anything. We passed many high-end stores: Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel, etc. The only thing I got was tiramisu ice-cream for 1.50 Euro. It was delicious! Richard recommended us having fresh bellini (fresh peaches with champagne). It sounded delicious but I knew I couldn’t handle it, especially after the gondola champagne. We eventually met the group and got on a private water taxi...where we subsequently saw this:

When we got on the bus, we realized that the couple that sits behind us (that jacked the mother-daughter's seats) were missing. Richard had us leave for the Antony Hotel first and go straight to dinner. At dinner, we sat with the couple from Anaheim, Nancy and Burt, and Pat and Mary, the two ladies from Maryland. Bread was passed around and then we had a pasta dish. We wolfed it down so fast, but when the waiters came to pick up the dishes, they had us keep our knives. Next thing we know, we’re being served the real entrée! We were laughing so hard; some were admitting they eat 2 huge rolls to fill up. That’s when I realized that the rigatoni with red sauce…was our “antipasta.” Our entrée was two slices of veal, green beans, and potatoes. I only ate half since I was already full. Dessert was tiramisu (finally!) and I had a sip of very bold coffee. Best coffee we had on our entire trip. I was expecting nothing less considering Italy is known for their espresso consumption and aficionados.

The couple made it back on their own after our antipasta…but we didn’t know that they hadn’t contacted Richard so when Richard got back, he was not the happiest camper. I overheard him saying he was checking with the police, hospitals, etc. That especially sucked for Richard since everyday, he reminds us to keep his cell phone number on us just in case.

After, we finally checked into our room. We are staying at Antony Hotel, the biggest room yet and with A/C. (Maybe it's big b/c they gave us a room with two doubles.)

Our day was amazing, going from Stanserhorn to Venice Canal (20 degree weather to 90 degrees). Two beautiful cities so rich with culture and history yet so different. If we come back to Venice, I definitely want to do the gondola ride again, have a fresh bellini, and indulge in a gourmet cup of coffee at a cafe overlooking the Venice Canal.

Europe: Paris to Lucerne

2009-08-11T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today, we left Paris to head to Lucerne (Switzerland). We totally scored and got the front row with panoramic view both ahead and to our side, thanks to the rotation system. We also experienced a blessing in disguise; a couple jacked the seats behind us from the talkative mother and her quiet daughter so we didn’t have to sit in front of that lady for the 4-5 hour drive! (Although I was pleased to sit behind a quiet couple, I did feel that it was wrong for the couple to purposely sit in the wrong place. The daughter passive-aggressively confronted them and the wife simply said, "Oh, it was too crowded back there so we decided to sit up here" -- okay! The bus is completely full so whether you sit in the front or back, it's the same. The only difference is that they were now sitting in the second row, rather than the rear of the bus.)

We passed by some vineyards and then headed into Besancon. We had been heading South and then started East. We had a quick lunch break at a pit stop (again). It was not good, and it was expensive. I chose ham and veggies, and it was 10 Euros. Hubby decided not to eat anything...but then went to the little shop and came back with Twix, Lays, and a Coke. I felt betrayed! I would have much rather indulged in a lunch of candy bars and chips than what I had! Since I was so disappointed with lunch, we went back to the shop and got me Sweet BBQ Doritos...since I love Doritos and BBQ flavored chips.
Afterward, we continued our drive and saw the Black Forest, German mountains, and so much greenery. In the late afternoon, we arrived in Lucerne and went to see the beautiful Lion Monument. I really liked it, but we only got a glimpse of it for a few minutes. The lion lays on top of a shield with the fleur de lis, which I have recently become obsessed with prior to our European vacation.

After that, we went to a nearby shopping area. I loved that around different corners, there were musicians. Not just amateur performers, but a harpist and several stringed quartets. We looked for Swiss Army knives but they were really expensive. I did see the cow bells that Ama once had and the cuckoo clock that Daddy bought me. The only things we got were milk chocolate and white chocolate Toblerone bars from Confiserie Bachmann. I really wanted a truffle but couldn’t figure out if I could only buy one vs. a whole box, so I ended up not getting any. I figured that even though Toblerones are sold in the U.S., these would still taste different since everything else tastes different (Lays, Coca-cola, Twix). They were extremely delicious; since they were actually produced in Switzerland, they tasted exquisitely creamy and all around yummy.

Before dinner, we checked into Grand Hotel Europe Lucerne. The entire place from outside-in is beautiful, quaint, and cozy. (Our rooms were a little bit plain…and warm; no A/C.) We had dinner with our group at the hotel restaurant. It consisted of a yummy spring salad and the main entrée was fish.

After dinner, we walked across the street to walk by Lake Lucerne. We didn’t walk too far since Hubby'’s thighs are really sore from yesterday’s climb down the Eiffel Tower. My calves are extremely sore, too. We sat by the lake for about 10 minutes or so before heading back to the hotel. On our way up, Hubby grabbed a beer from the cute bar.

I can see why people love Switzerland. Lucerne is so beautiful, quaint, and serene. The hotel we are staying at is so cute. It is also the oldest hotel in the city, but well kept. Everywhere you turn you see lush greenery. It’s wonderful here.

And here is another one of those shots that we took ourselves with Hubby "posing":

And here is one where I'm starting to get into the fake candid shots, too:

Europe: I [heart] Paris

2009-08-10T23:59:00.000-07:00

I couldn’t sleep again so I got up around 3:30 AM, tossed and turned for more than an hour before dozing off, and then got up again for breakfast at 6:30 A.M. Our new "friends," Millie and Ray, asked to join us. (Millie and Ray are from North Carolina; they've been married 51.5 years!) Breakfast was light and delicious. We had the best croissants (ever!) and a nice big cup of coffee along with fruit cocktail (I guess Del Monte fruit cocktail is ubiquitous) and other European staples (i.e., ham and cheese).

Breakfast began at 6:30 AM so we were practically the first ones there. We were so early that I managed to go for seconds.

We left for our morning excursion around 8 AM. Today, we had a local tour guide. We drove by several sights: the Orsay Museum (museum of famous Impressionists' masterpieces), the Louvre, palaces, and monuments while cruising along the Seine River again.

Unfortunately, we sat in front of an extremely talkative lady. I consider myself a relatively easy-going person, but this lady was getting on both Hubby and my nerves. Hubby was actually good about not making any snide remarks, but I heard him sigh really loud. When we got off the bus, I couldn't resist saying quietly to him, "How about a cup of shut the h--- up!" He busted up laughing since he's usually the one making those comments...not me... We were concerned because today is when we chose our "permanent" seats (as in whomever is sitting in front of us and behind us would stay the same except that our rows would rotate every day; we would move three rows up so that we all fairly got to move around the bus).

Our first stop was to get a nice distant shot of the Eiffel Tower.

Next thing you know, we’re at the Eiffel Tower (after a 3 minutes bus ride).

We got there around 9:15 or so and it was already really crowded with loooooong lines. Since we ordered group tickets in advance, we didn't have to wait long. We just went through security and ascended to the second level by lift. I couldn't believe we were actually on the Eiffel Tower! We walked around a few circles, taking plenty of shots, and then ascended to the level directly above.

We also visited the souvenir shops inside. Hubby was so fascinated by the laser image thingy that he called me over. One other couple from our tour was there, and they thought Hubby was calling me over because the piece in the window display looked like me.

At first, I thought Hubby thought the same, too, because he was agreeing with them so I played along, "Yeah, it kind of does look like me." I mean, heck, he even took the picture above (I was in charge of photography for about 95% of the trip). After they walked away, he said what he really thought, "Do they really think all Asians look alike? That doesn't look like you!"

After about an hour, we had to leave. We ran into the nice couple from Arizona, Burt and Nancy, who also decided on descending via stairs. We climbed down together...and it took almost 15 minutes.

When we got outside, three gypsies approached us, asking if we speak English. We were instructed by our tour guide to say “no” and walk away (lest they pick-pocket us), but Hubby got all creative/silly and said in Chinese, “bu yao, tso kai.” (I don't want it, go away). They immediately left us alone.

(When we went to China in '07, I taught Hubby to say that so that the street vendors would leave him alone. Why he didn't just say something in Tagolog is beyond me. Oh yeah, it's because he swears he can speak Mandarin.)

After the Eiffel Tower, we passed by the Notre Dame Cathedral, saw a glimpse of the back of The Thinker (Hubby wouldn't let me take a pix b/c it would have just been The Thinker's back side including butt-crack), went by Napoleon’s Palace/Tomb, and arrived at the Louvre. I really wanted 20 post cards for one Euro from a street vendor, but Hubby wouldn’t let me haggle. Suddenly, I turned around, and he was trying to haggle for one euro! It was funny because 1) he was adamant about me not doing any transactions with the vendors; 2) he hates haggling; 3) I have never seen him bargain! That is love. Haha. Unfortunately, the guy said no but came back and Hubby tried again and then the guy left us alone.

Our first stop in the Louvre was the inverted pyramid, which was to be our universal meeting point.

We ate lunch in the food court area and then we used what was supposedly the most expensive bathroom in the world, Pointwc (it cost each person a euro). It was super fancy! I totally scored and got to use the handicapped bathroom. Ha!

Hubby didn't know whether to be impressed or embarrassed that I actually took pictures. (We later come to find out that for one euro, that was a really good deal. In Rome, we paid up to 1.50 Euros to use really raunchy public restrooms.)

After lunch, we started our two-hour guided tour. We saw many sculptures including one of Michelangelo’s. After, we went to see prints and drawings mainly by Delacoux. The rooms were so hot and after climbing the stairs, I thought I was going to faint and drinking room temperature water didn't seem to help. Fortunately, the next room was the Mona Lisa exhibit! Just rounding the corner and seeing the mass crowd was overwhelming. I asked Burt to take a picture for me since Hubby wouldn’t let me push a little closer to the front. (Burt is really tall.)

We also saw 5 of Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings, which is apparently a vast collection since he destroyed many of his works as he let his perfectionism get the best of him. My last shots were of the Venus de Milo before my camera battery died (again).

Our last visit was down to the Medieval Louvre, the lower ground that was “recently” discovered. We were standing in what used to be the moat of the castle before it became a palace and then a museum. Our tour ended around 2 PM but others went to see the Napoleon exhibit. I was the only one that hung back and Hubby actually went ahead and said I could go hang out at Sephora, which I did to freshen up. ;) (Hubby typically does not let me out of his sight; we are usually holding hands or linking arms everywhere we go because he is constantly worried that something will happen to me.) I stopped by one of the museum gift shops but didn’t see much. I guess I’m really not much of a souvenir shopper. It’s nice to just have photos...or memories when my camera fails me.

After the Louvre, we came back to the Pullman hotel and took a nap. Since we were on our own for dinner, we walked around the rear of the hotel and ended up in a piazza with several restaurants. We ate at an Italian restaurant, where we both had Margherita pizza (cheese only) and shared a coca-cola...since we didn't understand the French menu. (I wanted to order one with a topping and take my chances, but Hubby insisted on going with cheese only.) I almost finished all of mine. I probably could have if I wanted to, but Hubby had already finished his 15 minutes prior so I left about 1/6.

(From top left clockwise: my big pizza; our hotel in between 2 high rises; Arc de Defense; more high rises; a gigantic thumb; courtyard where we ate; McDonald's ad...with a couple kissing behind Darth Vader.)

We walked around a little more and snapped more photos. I especially liked walking up to the foot of the Arc de Defense. For whatever unknown reason, I realized that I'm really fascinated by arches. I must get it from my Dad, who is really fascinated by bridges.

We really enjoyed our time in Paris. Hubby was hoping that we could go to the Orsay Museum, but it was closed. The only thing I didn't like is that I couldn’t connect to wifi. Hubby loved Paris also because of all the unique typography. He is right though; everywhere you turn, each store has its own style with corresponding typography. It must be a designer’s dream to come to Paris and be so inspired.

Below is Hubby's favorite picture that I took. I was doing some more drive-by shooting...of the Eiffel Tower. Do you see it?

Hey, that takes talent to get such precision!

Europe: London through Dover to Paris

2009-08-09T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today, we both woke up around 2 AM and couldn’t sleep for about an hour. I woke up around 4:15 AM to start getting ready. Next thing I know, the wake-up call at 4:50 came, and we got ready fast since our luggage had to be out by 5:20 AM. We were downstairs for breakfast by 5:30 AM. This time, I had a bit healthier of a breakfast. I had a few slices of Swiss cheese with tomatoes and cucumbers, some fruit, and a few bites of pastries. We boarded our pimp* tour bus at 6:15 AM and met our tour guide Richard and bus driver Gennaro. (*Our Mercedez-Benz tour bus is so luxurious!)

We headed through several parts of London, seeing some of the wealthiest parts as well as the dirty outskirts before driving through lots of fields and pastures. After about an hour, we got to Dover for our ferry crossing across the English Channel. While we were waiting, we got out and took some pictures with the white Dover cliffs in the background.

Our English Channel crossing was about an hour so we managed to get a hearty breakfast in and explore the ferry, too. On our way to Paris, we stopped by the Vimy Memorial, a French memorial to the Canadians for their alliance in WWI.

We arrived at the Pullman Hotel Paris La Defense in the late afternoon, where we were immediately greeted in a small café room with a welcome drink of sangria. Our hotel is located in the business district so we are surrounded by beautiful high rise buildings. I imagine it’s like staying at the Millenium Biltmore in downtown LA. The city is quiet because most Parisians are on vacation plus it is a Sunday so the area is very still.

We both showered and got re-dressed to meet downstairs for our optional dinner excursion. We rode along Champs Elysees and caught our first real glimpse of the Eiffel Tower, but wouldn’t you know, my camera battery died! I was so upset! Hubby at first teased me and then said it’s okay, we’ll just have to enjoy it through our memories. That's easy for the husband with the photographic memory to say to his wife with short-term memory challenges. We made our way to the Latin Square to have dinner at Au Bistrot de la Montagne, a very festive and fun restaurant.

(The picture is from their website b/c remember? My camera battery was dead. :( We sat at the table in the bottom right corner of this pix.)

While we were being seated, musicians were already entertaining patrons. We were immediately given a tasty variant of mimosa upon being seated. We chose from a prix fixe menu so I ordered “lawyer” shrimp cocktail (bay shrimps, avocados, peas, carrots, in a sweet, creamy, orange sauce), “Gambas outbreaks cognac” (prawns in cognac sauce with rice and vegetable medley), and peaches melba. Hubby chose lox on a salad, beef in peppercorn sauce (with potatoes and mushrooms), and apple tart. Hubby requested a beer for a drink. He asked in Spanish since our waiter spoke both French and Spanish. I think the waiter got so excited about a Spanish-speaker b/c he brought out a huge bottle of French beer (with a German name) that was quite tasty. It was probably a 40 oz. After our main course, another waiter came around with a platter of cheeses to choose from. We sampled brie, pimento, and gouda. I especially liked the gouda. We were also served the traditional end-of-dinner shot of a black currant liqueur that was so strong. I only tasted it.

After dinner, we quickly rushed out to the bus to drive a few blocks to get on our River Seine Cruise. We took off around 9:30 PM and enjoyed the beautiful city lights, bridges, architecture, monuments, and landmarks. I saw the Eiffel Tower lit up at night, and it was magical. (When we got close, Hubby said, “It’s smaller than I thought,” but soon after, it was towering over us in its lit glory and he said, “Whoa, it is pretty big.”) On the way back, the tour guide said it is tradition to make a wish as we pass under Sully Bridge and kiss our neighbor to make the wish come true. :)

The hour long cruise was wonderful, definitely a highlight for me. It was serene, romantic, beautiful, and relaxing. We must have passed under close to 20 bridges, all that were so unique in architecture and history. I can see how people fall in love with Paris, move here, or want to live here. We got back on our bus around 10:30 PM and drove down Champs Elysees and circled by the Arc de Triomphe again.

We both rather enjoyed this evening.

Highlights for me:

Arc de Triomphe
Going up and down Champs Elysees during the day and night
Dinner
River Seine cruise

Regrets: Not charging my camera battery nor bringing an extra one!

Europe: Sight-seeing in London

2009-08-08T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today, we woke up around 3 AM due to jet lag so we got up and had breakfast buffet right when it opened at 6:30 AM.

We began our tour with a local tour guide with a mixture of Trafalgar tour groups. We passed by so many palaces, parks, memorials, halls, bridges, etc. Jet-lagged or not, it was really hard to keep track of what was what but the architecture and history behind each site was very interesting. (I just wish I could recall it all.)

One thing that this city has a lot of is Prince Albert’s statues/memorials. Although he had many great achievements, he personally considered holding the first Exhibition as his greatest work. Since we had tons of photo ops with him, hubby took one of me (outside of the park).

Some other sites that we saw were:

British Airways London Eye – the large ferris wheel by the River Thames
Nightingale Nursing School in St. Thomas’ Hospital
Winston Churchill Memorial
Mayfair
Piccadilly Arcade
Buckingham Palace
Trafalgar Square
St. James’s Park
Hyde Park
Kensington Garden
Big Ben
Parliament
Westminster Abbey

What was disappointing was that we did not get to see the changing of the guards. It was in our itinerary but since they only do it every other day now, we were visiting on an off-day so we missed it.

Our tour ended at 11:45 AM and that’s when the adventure really began. We got dropped off at a bus station to find our way back to the hotel -- I mean, we had the rest of the day to explore, as our itinerary said. Hubby and I wanted to head back so we first had to find a place to exchange our euros for pounds so that we could buy a bus pass through coin-operated ticket vending machines. We totally got jacked exchanging inside the bus station at a currency exchange booth. They charged a 2.50 processing fee. Our bus passes were about 2 GBP each. We got two different directions on how to find our bus stop so we got lost for a few minutes. Then we couldn’t agree which bus route to take (to get dropped off in front of the hotel). Well, the 148 double-decker came and passed. We must have waited at least 20 minutes for the C1 to finally come and when it did, we had to stand all the way in the back in the aisle. Our whole bus ride was about 50 minutes and consisted of being crammed in like sardines. A few times, I got to sit down and when hubby finally got to sit, he stood up to let some ladies sit and a dude stole the seat and wouldn’t move over. That was weird enough for even the ladies around to blatantly make a comment about it.

Hubby was actually quite a good sport about it, considering it was hot and cramped. We got dropped off at Westfield Mall so we walked back to our hotel to freshen up and decide what to eat. We really wanted fish and chips since it was our last evening in London so he asked the front desk where to go.

We ended up eating at Belushis. We both ordered fish and chips which came with peas. Hubby said that when he ordered at the bar, the girl totally gave him attitude. He gave her the benefit of the doubt and thought maybe she was just like that but then she saw her totally chummy and sweet with other customers. Service aside, the food was REALLY good. We sat in the back in a booth that was so high that when I stood up, it looked like I was sitting. Since there was free wifi, I e-mailed our family members.

We went back to the hotel and fell asleep soon after, since we had to wake up at 4:30 AM the next morning to begin our real tour through Europe.

Verdict: London is great for free wifi and fish and chips.

P.S. Hubby hates taking pixs, especially when we take it ourselves...this will become more apparent through the next few days.

Europe: Arriving in London

2009-08-07T23:59:00.001-07:00

Our first day of true vacationing consisted of lots and lots of flying. I thought that we would be okay. After all, we brought a few things to keep us entertained: books, laptop with DVDs, crossword puzzles, pillow...But we there was no way we could prepare for the really uncomfortable seats on our long flight!

My brother and Maxwell Benjamin (bro's doggy) dropped us off at LAX for our 4-5 hour flight to DFW. Our flight took off late so we didn't have much of a layover. We rode the tram all the way around the airport and then speed-walked to our gate to catch our 9-hour flight to London. During our second drink run, hubby asked if he could have a cocktail. I said, of course! We're on vacation. :)

(This flight is when it was first established that hubby actually likes cranapple juice.)

By the time we landed, it was about 11 AM in London, but 3 AM PST. When we got outside, I told hubby, "Dang, I feel like we were just after-partying all night and just got out of the club at 6 AM closing time." Seriously felt cracked out. I'm sure having coffee didn't help our bodies at 3AM. We waited a little while until our scheduled shuttle picked us up and dropped us at Hilton Kensington Hotel London. We checked in and decided to venture out. I had read that there was a Westfield mall nearby so we walked a few minutes to get over there.

I was quite impressed with the Mall. It was huge! We laughed about some of the stores that might be considered old-fashioned according to our snobby American taste...like Esprit and Swatch. We walked around for maybe almost an hour to look at what stores there were. Hubby said that when I told the concierge my American nationality (to get a VIP pass), she cringed. I didn't catch it and thought he was maybe exaggerating.

As we kept walking, I saw a guy wearing a Hollister t-shirt that said Redondo Beach. For whatever lame reason, I thought it was funny to travel all the way to London and see a local wearing a shirt representing a beach just a few miles away from our home. That became a theme; as we continued our walk, we saw a few dudes wearing South Bay beach city t-shirts! When we walked by the Hollister store, there was actually a line waiting outside to get in. Apparently, Hollister is huge in London?

As we walked around, I connected to free wifi and e-mailed the family before going into Byron to eat. Hubby ordered a cheeseburger, “chips” (thicker fries), and a Coca-Cola that came in the old school glass bottle.
Me being the stereotypical tourist couldn't resist taking a picture of the bottle since it's such a rarity in the US of A. I had a chicken fillet burger (corn fed chicken fillet, baby spinach, red onion, tomato, mayo, and secret sauce).

It was all very yummy. It came out to 19.90 GBP. I caved under pressure for tipping more since the guy was standing there waiting. The guy was so appreciative. He must have said thank you at least 5 times and bid us well 3 times in a minute. Come to find out after that 1) he was only standing there b/c they utilize a fancy new hand-held device that lets them print your receipt as they stand by your table and 2) we totally over-tipped b/c we messed up on the conversion rate. Oh well; we chocked it up to over-tipping for good karma; a Vegas thing that hubby does.

All in all, my first few hours in a different country was filled with mixed emotions. I couldn’t help but be hypersensitive to the fact that we were considered foreigners. When we got back to the hotel, Hubby asked one of the employees, “Are you Filipino?” He said, “No, I’m too handsome to be Filipino…” Uh, okay. That was really awkward, especially since 10 seconds later, he asked Hubby if he is Filipino.

Teenage BFFs

2009-07-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

Despite my meeting my social quota for the year, there was no way that I was going to miss my intimate reunion with my two childhood best friends!

Christine, Euri, and I have known each other since junior high...those awkward tweenage years (for me). Tonight, we started off trying to figure out when was the last time I had seen the both of them. I was fortunate to reconnect with Euri a few months before our wedding (through the wonders of Facebook)...and honored to have her floral design business, Fleuretica, create our beautiful arrangements.

We first met up at a bridal show that Fleuretica was showcasing at, and then we met once before the wedding to catch up briefly and discuss floral details. I was really touched that she (and her crew) came out to Wayfarer's to personally deliver the arrangements on our wedding day.
I knew that that wasn't the last that I wanted to see of her...especially since I had let too much time pass by. So I resorted to Facebook again and crashed she and Christine's date. =P

Tonight, our reunion was just as sweet because the three of us met up! We met at Susina's Bakery, a cozy shoppe with endless yummy desserts. For a few fun and sentimental hours, we caught up over coffee, apple pie, tiramisu, and Americano cake. We talked and laughed about all the silly things we used to do. All the crazy letter writing (pre-text messaging, cell phone, and Facebook days). Sadly, they pointed out that some things never change. I had to call Gramma part way through and was on the phone for a while. After the call, the girls said, "I remember when you were in HS. You were always in trouble. You didn't even do anything and you were in trouble!" Seriously...

It must have been at least a decade since the three of us were last hanging out...and so much has happened. I couldn't be more happy for them and their accomplishments. Christine is now a proud mommy of a 15 month old, wife of a pastor, and an attorney. Euri, who has always had that ridiculously awesome creative streak, is now a successful floral designer. (And I guess I should say it again for Christine, I am a Speech-Language Pathologist. ;)

It was so good to see them and to pick up without skipping a beat after all this time. I can't wait to see them again next month.

Going Away Party for BSILF

2009-07-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

For the past four years that BSILF and I have known each other, I never imagined that this day would really come. She is leaving me!!

I am deeply saddened for selfish reasons. I will miss her so much. I will miss her hugs. I will miss hanging out with her and laughing nonstop. I will miss seeing her contagious smile. I will miss her husband, the one that my husband genuinely enjoys hanging out with (this is a very huge deal!). I will miss their sweet baby boy who exudes all the love and well-being that their parents share with all those that are lucky enough to know them.

On the other hand, I am happy for them for their move back home to New York. This opportunity could not have come at a better time and for a wonderful reason. BSILF's husband accepted a teaching position at an private university well-known for several programs directly related to his specialties. They will be closer to family and living in a house at a price that us Angelenos cannot even fathom.

Today, we met up at Kim's house to send them off properly. We chatted, laughed, and ate for several hours, reminiscing about the grad school days...before many of us were married and any of us had a baby and/or was pregnant...all the way to honeymoon updates. It's crazy to think that four years has already passed since they first moved out here to take both of their careers to the next level. We were blessed to have them with us the past few years, but New York is even luckier to have them back. ;)

May God bless them on their journey back home and the new adventures ahead.

Baby Sitting

2009-07-24T23:59:00.000-07:00

I baby sat (non-family members) for the first time in my life. This must be what early intervention therapy is like...only I didn't walk away with $2-300.

Hubby and I had dinner with Pastor Aunty, Gramma, and cousin Lani at a tofu house on Las Tunas. The meal was delicious -- Korean BBQ chicken and beef, tofu pots, and all the yummy side dishes. Afterward, the two of us headed a few blocks down to CBNR's house. Right when we got there, CBNR rushed outside and said, "you two need to stay here and watch the boys. [Wifey's] car broke down. I'll be back quick...like 15 minutes." Husband looked at me and said, "You stay here; I gotta go with him in case he needs help." Say whaaaaaat??? Before I could protest, CBNR said to his boys, "You both better be good to Aunty Cheryl. No punching her in the balls..." (He meant it b/c the 3 year-old actually does that to his Dad!) Next thing I know, the grown men were gone and two little boys were in the entry way screaming, "Hello!!!" Well, at least I got a nice, warm greeting.

For the next 2.5 hours, we moved back and forth from the 5 year-old's room (where all the toys are) to the family room (to sing to Wii High School Musical) to the kitchen area for snacks and drinks. I can't say that the 2.5 hours felt like the 15 minutes that CBNR had said, but we were definitely entertained! I am not accustomed to being around such little kids so it was really a fun and neat experience. First of all, the boys have energy off the charts. Secondly, they were vying for my attention every other second, pulling me in different directions (literally). But above all, these boys know how to act around adults (that are not their parents). At one point, Hubby's Godson said, "I have to pee! Wait...do you have to pee? Because you can go first." How thoughtful. Haha!

When they finally returned, we rushed over to bro's house to feed poor Max, who had been outside the entire sweltering day. We spent an hour with him, too, before finally getting home around midnight.

As we settled in, it donned on me that today was the first time that I have ever baby-sat (alone). I almost felt proud...except that I'm turning 3 decades this year. I've entered baby-bearing age, not baby-sitting age...

I'm Free!

2009-07-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day of ESY. Woohoo! Vacation is finally here!

I've slowly been transitioning into summer vacation since last week. Since one of my caseloads ended summer school last Friday, I've been galavanting more and more.

Last Friday night was Gramma's 83rd Chinese birthday, so we celebrated with dinner at Full House Seafood restaurant. It was a little more intimate since half of our family was MIA, but it was still very cozy, delicious, and festive. After dinner, we went to Dentist Aunty's for cake.

(Chinese bakery cakes are sooOooOOo delicious!)

We were fortunate to have Pastor Aunty with us to celebrate. She loved the necklace I gave Gramma...so much that she put it on and had me take a picture (to send to her daughters to find for her).

Pastor Aunty is so cute. She had me take 5 pictures before she okay'd the one above.

On Saturday, I went to a co-worker's retirement party in Redondo Beach. It's bittersweet for me since we became good friends during my first year of work but then I missed out on working with her last year b/c of the dramatic assignment change. Now that I'm returning to my original assignment in the Fall, she won't be there! I am happy for her, though, and wish her the very best.

On Sunday, I finally got to see celebrity Aunty from New york and meet her husband and baby boy. I was pleasantly surprised to see my Mom's best friend there, too!

I certainly enjoyed the company and amazingly humongous spread. I ate and talked and ate and talked. My aunts and Gramma were there, too, which led to interesting family history being revealed. (Turns out the rich lady doctor that wanted to adopt me when I was born was actually yoldest aunt's husband's medical colleague.) After they left, I chatted some more and followed Aunty Jeany around while she chased her handsome (and cute) baby boy. Their baby boy is already almost two years old!

It was a real fun-filled weekend. Well worth the exhaustion. ;)

Hyperventilating

2009-07-10T17:36:00.001-07:00

ESY has been fun and surprisingly relaxing. Although, I'm sure anything compared to this past academic year is a walk in the park.

This summer, I'm working with a high school class of Trainable Mentally Handicapped students, a middle school SDC autism class, and my usual MS SDC autism class.

Yesterday, I got a good laugh. It was the second time I was working with a particular student so I wasn't too familiar with him. He kept yawning but was working fine when suddenly, he clutched his chest with both hands and yelled in a strained voice, "I CAN'T BREATHE! [Gasp] I CAN'T BREATHE!" In retrospect, I'm really baffled by my behavior because I didn't even flinch. I didn't panic and look for his aide nor did I think I had to perform CPR.

I just looked him square in the eye and said in a calm voice, "You're okay. Just take a deep breath like this..." and we audibly breathed together like we were doing respiration therapy or something. He was immediately (visibly) fine, and we kept going with therapy. I really had to stifle my laugh b/c I didn't want to positively reinforce that type of behavior so in my mind's eye, I was laughing hysterically and thinking, what the heck just happened? Is this kid for real? I think I'm baffled by my own behavior b/c I didn't react like it was a medical emergency. Hey, at least I quickly assesses the situation before responding -- he didn't just do vigorous movement so he wasn't having an asthma attack. He didn't just eat so he wasn't experiencing a severe allergic reaction to anything. So I just went about it from a behavioral perspective. =P

After a few moments, I heard his aide from across the room ask where he was and then she noticed that he was with me. I turned away from him and tried past him so he couldn't hear and asked his aide if he occasionally goes into an "I can't breathe!" thing. She said, "yeah, from time to time; he's a real drama queen."

Of course he overheard me asking her b/c next thing I know, he's clutching his chest again and yelling, "I CAN'T BREATHE!!"

Hilarious.

Brian's 32nd Birthday

2009-06-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today, we celebrated FBIL's 32nd birthday by firing up the grill for some carne asada, pollo fajita, home-made Spanish rice, 7-layer dip...everything you can think of for Brian's Quinceanera x 2 + 2!

Hubby and I got there two hours earlier to prepare and decorate (a la ghetto) a little bit.

I blew up about 30 balloons while Hubby put the festive streamers up.

The party got really wild when it became a dog park. At one point, we had 4 doggies! Max, Baxter, Buddy, and Mosey.

Van brought Mosey...and this pimped out bottle of Absolut. I LOVE mirrorballs and vodka encased in mirrorball quality.

When it was cake time, we went crazy with the candles...and cakes.

And alas, the family portrait. :)

..

Visiting Max

2009-06-22T18:22:00.000-07:00

Hubby keeps teasing me, saying that I don't have to make excuses to go to my brother's to see Max. Brother is now onto me, too. On Saturday, Bro said, "You can stop by tomorrow to see Max." I said, "Gosh, I don't only come over just to see Max. What if I just want to see you?" He said, "Liar!"

=X

Today, I had a very legitimate excuse. I had to drop off some Filipino spaghetti that Hubby made and pick-up half of a J.J.'s Bakery neapolitan cake. :)

Not that an excuse was needed. Brother left to go camping yesterday, and since Max would be alone all day with FBIL working long hours, I stopped by after work to check on him. I managed to catch a few candid shots of the pound puppy.

I <3 Max!

First Home-Cooked Meal from Husband

2009-06-19T23:59:00.000-07:00

Since we've been married, this is the first time that Hubby has cooked for us. :)

We've been making quite an effort to not eat out as much for a few weeks now. As the "Thank God, the school year is finally over!" celebration continues, Hubby cooked what he swears is my favorite meal of his culinary repertoire...Filipino spaghetti! Well, it is pretty damn good, especially since this time, he made it as close to Lola's recipe as possible.

Last Day of 2008-09

2009-06-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that many times this year, I couldn't see this day coming...but we made it! The last day of the academic year!

I say "we" because Hubby has been by my side day in and day out as my loyal therapist, companion, guidance counselor, and friend who always knows how to help me through the rough times and celebrate the mini-victories (even if it's a persnickety, "I told you so" from him).

Last night, Hubby still had to give me a pep talk for my last and final day in MB. He also said, "I'm really proud of you. Not once did you say you wanted to quit." That really caught my attention, and I kind of surprised myself when I said, "Oh no, I would never say that." It's interesting because there have only been a few times that I have said I wanted to quit at something. Actually, I can't remember any other time except during my hospital externship at Cedars-Sinai. True, I learned the most from that time...things that I still employ as a professional even while I work with kids. But for reals, I never want to go through that again.

This year was especially challenging in so many ways, but in retrospect, I've been able to see the major positive outcomes. I have tremendously grown in my profession, and I have established new friendships. I see that no matter what, the same still rings true: God will not give me more than I can handle, and He is always with me. (Oh, and I have really strengthened my faith this year...probably through all the prayers out of despair and desperation.)

My last day was a little anti-climactic but alright considering there was drama all week and not too much today, so this day was relatively easy. I got to work early and finished up my last IEP paperwork, completed end of the year procedures, packed the room, and checked out with my administrator and the District. There was a minor hiccup when at noon, a parent called for an IEP that my co-worker had asked me to hold at 1 PM, but we never got confirmation. I was sitting there, sweating in my jeans and long sleeve shirt, thinking, wow, really?? Thankfully, it didn't happen.

At 2:30 P.M., I left the room for the last time. I'm horrible at saying good-byes so I pretty much snuck out since most of the staff expect me back next year. Parents have been more keen and asking me if I'll be back. The most I do is smile and say, "nothing is for certain."

As I drove home, I was hit with a wave of exhaustion. It's been a monumental year of stress and I couldn't believe it was finally over.

Around 4 PM, Hubby and I went to celebrate with happy hour at Enterprise Fish Co. It was so nice, just sitting on the patio and relaxing. At one point, Hubby said, "I have a little surprise for you. Since I can't get you a dog right now, I thought that I'd bring the next best thing..." and in through the patio gate came my bro, FBIL, and Max! I was so giddy that I caught myself tearing up! It was a total surprise that all three showed up! I had left my bro a voicemail an hour before to see if he could join us, and I assumed FBIL was working late. Lastly, I had no idea that guests could being their dogs into the patio dining area. Sweet.

(Throughout our dinner, I realized a sad truth -- Maxwell totally likes Hubby more than me! Boo!)

Our celebration went on for a few more rounds and yummy appetizers, and then hubby went home to finish up a project while I went lolligagging at the dog park with bro, FBIL, and Max. It was my first time at a doggy park, and it was pretty cool, especially since there were some friendly labs. Our last stop was to CeFiore for frozen yogurt before we headed home.

Oh wait, just kidding. My last stop was Yoku Yoku...when I went back out to get hubby frozen yogurt since his wifey kind of forgot to bring CeFiore home for him. Oops!

Last Team Day

2009-06-16T21:56:00.000-07:00

I am still anxiously counting down the days until this academic year of craziness ends. Today was my last day with the Team, and it was so anticlimactic and aggravating for a plethora of reasons. I texted Hubby at 9 AM with an obscene message relaying how aggravated I was. I had to put my game face on b/c we were "partying" all day with the kids -- we baked cupcakes and the kids got to decorate them.

Actually, our first guest was a kid I saw individually. I recently held his IEP and was like, great, both parents are attorneys and wouldn't you know, the mother's sister is an SLP in a nearby school district. The IEP actually went really well. In fact, his parents even shared that he loves working with me. That was a shining moment for me. When I got ready this morning for work, I was a little bit sad to think that I couldn't really say good-bye to these kids b/c I can't let anyone know that I won't be back next year (politics). Well, he was the first one that came in and wouldn't you know, he's allergic to nuts. And everything we had was processed on equipment/plants that processed nuts. He seriously looked like he was going to cry. I read every label twice but didn't want to chance the cupcakes, lest the flour be contaminated. This kid tells me to go to Target (down the street) to buy a mix to read the box. Seriously. As I frantically tried to think of something, he reminded me of Crane from "Kung Fu Panda." He looks at me with his huge, sad eyes and said, "this sucks...this is turning out to be really disappointing." I know! His teacher has been telling me since last week that he was so excited about this party!

Suddenly, I remembered that just last week, I bought a 3 pound bag of gummy bears from Target! I ran to my car to get it and scored! He was a happy camper, putting cupcake icing and sprinkles on and making me eat one (or two :). Then he asked for lemonade and so super-paranoid me said, "Wait, I have to read the label." This second grader shows me up and says, "Gees, it's not like you're pouring me peanut juice! It's lemonade!!" I said, "Has anyone ever called you a smart aleck?" He said, "So are you, but that's okay because you're a teacher." This is one kid I will miss.

On my way home, husband mentioned that he did something at home that was a surprise (and that if I don't figure out what he did, he was going to be "so mad").

When I got home, I looked around and then instantly noticed that Lil F's aquarium water level was higher than this morning (for the past few mornings, I've been telling myself I need to add more. Per husband, I've been neglecting my poor turtle this year). What the fuzzy? Hubby had cleaned her tank!! It gets even better. He did four loads of laundry...and FOLDED IT ALL!

And he listened to me vent for a while and didn't even stop me from cursing b/c he knew how upset I was.

What a great one I've got!

...But after accruing all these brownie points, one was taken away when he said I couldn't make myself a drink. I guess I have to hold out until Thursday for the real celebration.

Tomorrow will be my last day with two of my students with severe autism. I'm really sad so I gladly baked another batch of cupcakes to bring tomorrow. The lame thing is that I didn't have a muffin tin...nor aluminum baking cups...so blobs came out of the oven. I ended up cutting them into heart shapes. :) If I remember, I'll take pictures tomorrow and post them. That's if they don't get frosting everywhere...!

Middle School Crushes

2009-06-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

What comes along with the territory of working with middle schoolers is dealing with pubescent teenagers. Throw that into the severe autism arena and you get a bunch of boys who don't respond to their hormones appropriately.

The staff has been teasing me all year about how J320 (one of my favorite students!) has a crush on me. Several times through the year, he has gallop-sprinted over to me and gotten a few inches away from my face but I always manage to block him. Yesterday morning, we were all trailing onto campus and he followed me through the school gate. I had my hands full of bags and my coffee. Normally, I'll ask the kids to hold onto something for me, but knowing him, he'd chug my coffee in a heartbeat. He was following me to the classroom, but before I could put my stuff down for me to grab my keys to unlock the door, he sprinted to me and kissed me on the cheek. (Although I RARELY ever scream) I totally screamed and pushed him away while dropping all of my stuff. Dude! Thank goodness it was just on the cheeks!

About two hours later, the kids were lining up to go to the bathroom and I had my side to them while I was on my computer. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw T320 coming towards me. It was like slow motion -- he slowly hobbled over and came up behind me and slapped my butt! I started tripping on his aide, thinking he set T320 up to it b/c his aide saw the whole thing go down and didn't even stop the kid! But I guess T320 did it all out of his own delight.

Gees...I felt violated...twice.

Life-Changing Chicken

2009-06-01T23:59:00.000-07:00

Hubby went to hang out with his rapper cousin on Sunday night. Since he was coming home much later than expected, rapper cousin decided to send home to me a small edible gift. The message he wanted to get across about it was, "This chicken is life-changing."

We had our doubts...but when Hubby decided to give me first taste, I was blown away.n We had no regrets about snarfling down a dozen deep fried wings at 11 PM. It was worth it.

Anytime you're in K-town, you gotta try the soy sauce garlic chicken wings from KyoChon Chicken. It is so good...that it is life-changing.

The High and Lows of the Week

2009-05-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

This week was stressful in a low-key sort of way. Some weird, tense situations came up that put me in a perpetual funk until the work week officially endedat 2:30 P.M. yesterday.

For one, I re-learned a very important professional skill -- defend your statement by giving as little information as possible. I participated in one of my most intense IEPs a few weeks ago, and the mother kept repeating the fact that her son has a mild hearing impairment as if it was having a devastating effect on his language. I argued that it wasn't as evidenced in his verbal responses and as documented through his progress in therapy and his academic work. He has been compensating just fine; actually, I did not know he had a hearing impairment until I recently reviewed his IEP again.

That was the big bone of contention. I truly said that in a positive way as in he was compensating just fine, but parents twisted it to criticize me for not doing my job right. Apparently, after I left the IEP, she said aloud, "I can't believe that SLP didn't know my son has a hearing loss." Talk about passive-aggressive and not saying that to me during the meeting. Not that I necessarily would have had a good comeback. Subsequently, the parents refused to sign until it was stated in the IEP that I didn't know he has a hearing loss amongst other details worked out with the other specialists. I'm sorry if I can't remember every single detail of 67 students. When I was traumatically removed from my original assignment back in October to do major damage control here, I reviewed goals and services from each IEP and not every single page of these 15-30 page IEPs.

The good news is that they finally signed after the case carrier wrote on a "supplemental team notes" page, "SLP mentioned she did not know about student's hearing loss."

So that and other criticism received and being caught in the middle of drama at work that was unrelated to me were the downers for the week. I know in the grand scheme of things, they're not major fiascos, but I still felt like a dummy. You're hardly ever recognized for your good work but 50 people will know about your mistakes in a day.

On that note, I did have a huge upper this week. In April, I did an assessment at a private school. Saving a lot of background information, this case was unique to me because 1) it was my first assessment at a private school; 2) it was my first IEP facing an advocate; 3) I didn't know the student nor parents since we don't service private schools but judging from parents' interactions with other specialists, they didn't seem that easy to get along with; 4) student has a diagnosis of autism and a slew of private services.

After I presented at the IEP, the parents looked at each other and said, "We don't know what our private SLP is working on." I was floored! If anyone could have read my mind, they would have heard me shouting, "Pay me $150/hr to work with your kid and not let you in on what I'm doing!"

But the professional part of me actually told them to look over my report and goals and if they have any questions after they discuss with So-&-So and Associates, they can contact me. (The parents kept name-dropping and asking if I knew these people and that people.) So mother and I have been playing phone tag, and we finally spoke on Wednesday. She politely asked if I would talk to the private SLP (if this is allowed) to discuss my findings, recommendations, and therapy ideas b/c she shared my report with the private SLP. She also asked if there is any way that we could cut the Inclusion Specialist's 10 hours of consultation to 5 hours and then have me consult the other 5 hours. I was like, whoawhoawhoa...b/c the I.S. is really good at what she does (working on inclusion, i.e., behaviors). I was flattered that she would want me to take half of that consultation time (of course for legit reasons of working on pragmatics in a group setting, etc.).

At the end of our conversation, I said, "Thank you for talking with me," and she said, "No, thank YOU. I mean it, I really appreciate you taking the time to diligently call me back and just from the IEP meeting and your report, we were all really impressed with how thorough you were and how you really knew your stuff." She elaborated on "we" as in her husband and her, their hoity-toity name-dropping advocate, private SLP, and two private behavioral agency representatives.

I was like, wow! That was really, really awesome to hear. I guess it's b/c that's the first time any parent has ever said that to me. I know I am not in this profession for the glory...but there are times, when we as SLPs can't help but feel underappreciated, especially when working with learners with autism. I feel like I put in so much work with the severe kids, but it is never enough and any progress (in communication) is not because of any work that I have done. It's just nice to hear a compliment and feel somewhat competent, after a week of hearing how incompetent I appear to be.

Rough crowd, man. I've been a relatively good sport about it, though. Although I was previously counting down the months until the end of this assignment, I am proud to say I haven't counted down the days. I will say that I've counted down how many more sessions with the student who is the bane of my current existence...5 more!

Thank God for weekends.

Dog Walker

2009-05-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

I called my bro up around lunch time to see how he was doing. Unfortunately, he's been really sick since yesterday so I asked if he needed anything since I was stopping by the market. He asked me to pick up some stuff...and to come by to play with Max since he hasn't been able to all day.

When I got to my bro's, Max and Ella, their downstair neighbor's adorable doggy, greeted me in the backyard. All 3 of us when upstairs to find my bro sprawled on the couch in his PJs. Poor guy! He was so sick so I just made sparse conversation, played with Maxwell, and then washed their dishes despite my brother telling me like 5 times that I don't need to. (For some reason, a sinkful of dishes drive me nuts. I think it's largely due to my Gramma's upbringing.) By the time I finished, my bro had fallen asleep again so I took Maxwell on my first walk alone with him. We didn't get too far b/c I started getting paranoid (since I was heading south on Hauser instead of north, towards the "safer" area). We got about halfway down the long block when Max did his business. Good thing I had brought two baggies...and folks, there we have it -- my first pooper scooper experience. To top it off, Max does this kicking thing after he pees and poops so he started kicking his poop everywhere! I had to jump to get out of the way! Gross!

Aside from that incident, Max is so cute. Hubby bought Max a mallard doggy toy that he can't wait to get his paws on. (Bro didn't want me to give it to him today b/c he has "too many" toys...like two.) I love Max.

Home Improvement

2009-05-25T11:26:00.001-07:00

I am not particularly fond of home improvement projects...but considering this is the second time our bathroom has flooded since we've been living here (and who knows how many times prior), our carpet was disgustingly wet and in danger of molding. (Not to mention the countless times our turtle has had accidents on the carpet, too...)

On Saturday, we were practically on our way out to my co-worker's "BBQ" (with no BBQing) at the beach (which I supposedly neglected to tell hubby who hates the beach), when I flushed and the water kept rising and rising and rising...and then spilling over as I frantically yelled, "HELP!! HELP!!! HELP!!!!" Hubby rushed in and guided me to turn off the pipes and plunge (after the obligatory, "Why do you break everything?!"). Too bad 1/3 of the bathroom carpet was already soaking wet. We spent another hour trying to remedy the situation before we left for the "BBQ."

I don't know if this comes with the marriage territory, but I'm really surprised that Hubby still came with me to the beach, despite his alleged claim that I did not inform him of the location of this "BBQ." In the past, he wouldn't have come with me, ESPECIALLY if he found out the morning of that a friend of mine that he has never met was throwing a gathering at the beach. He was a good sport, though. We got to Playa del Rey Beach around 3 and dropped off peanut-butter brownies and chocolate chip cookies. After about half 45 minutes, we took off for Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Target to look for a steam vacuum cleaner. We ended up purchasing one at Target, whereby using our first wedding gift card. (Aww, our first home appliance/purchase together. :)

On our way home, we stopped by a new Mexican joint on Jefferson for a delicious dinner of carne asada burrito and nachos. We came home, ate, put together the steam vacuum (rather, Hubby did while I continued eating), and then Hubby steam vacuumed the bathroom. By the time we settled down, it was close to 11:30 P.M. and we were tired.

Yesterday morning, our bathroom floor was still pretty wet. When I got home from church, I walked in and was overcome by a funky smell...not a good sign. So Hubby vacuumed again (to try to suck out more water) while I moved furniture around and stuff off the floor so that he could steam vacuum the rest of our place. As tiring as that was, I'm glad he did because he has stopped smoking inside (woohoo!), but our place still wreaks of stale smoke.

After steam vacuuming the bathroom a third time, we decided to tear up the carpet b/c we weren't getting anywhere. We've always known there is linoleum underneath the poorly-installed carpeting so with this second plumbing fiasco and our fear of the floor molding, we went about tearing the carpet up with reckless abandon (rather, Hubby did while I held the trash bag open, showed signs of disgust, and then took it downstairs to the dumpster). After several hours of pulling nails, sanding down rough parts, my independent journey to the hardware store, installing "carpet jams," and all sorts of other big and little tasks, we finished around 5 P.M. All the while, I had flashbacks of helping my bro and his partner with their place...oooh, how much I don't like home improvement tasks! At least our bathroom is fixed and improved. Nothing's worse than plumbing problems, that's for sure.

When we finally finished, we quickly showered and got ready to have dinner with Hubby's BGF. Since she didn't want Chinese food and wanted something unique to the Westside, we brought her to Enterprise Fish Co., where I had a delicious glazed sea bass with string beans and a crunchy risotto cake, creme brulee, and a hard-earned Newcastle.

Thank goodness I have today off. This weekend has been spent cleaning up our place (dusting, vacuuming, washing, organizing my junk/piles). Unfortunately, the last house chore for this weekend is cleaning Lil F's tank...

3 Sneezes

2009-05-22T19:50:00.001-07:00

Hubby says that whenever I sneeze, I always sneeze at least three times. Today, I was assessing a student that I just met for the first time when I sneezed three times. Immediately after, the student said, "make a wish!" Apparently, when you sneeze three times in a row, you're supposed to make a wish.

I wonder how many 100s of wishes I've missed out on!

Visiting the In-Laws

2009-05-19T23:12:00.000-07:00

It sounds so official to say that. :) I must admit that I get all dorky-giddy when my husband and brother refer to each other as "brother-in-law."

On Saturday morning, Maxwell and Bro dropped Husband and me at LAX to fly out to Vegas to visit the in-laws. We haven't seen them since our wedding so we were looking forward to it...also because it meant a mini-vacation. We arrived and met up with in-laws at Mandalay Bay, our usual meeting spot, and then went to have lunch at a Filipino restaurant. It was soOOOo delicious...but so much red meat!

Afterward, we went to in-laws and rested a bit before meeting up with MIL's best friend at Red Rock. We played (i.e., gambled) for two hours and then headed home to have more delicious Filipino food for dinner. Hubby and I turned in early that evening.

On Sunday, we slept in and then headed back to Red Rock where I checked in to the Spa for a deep tissue massage treatment. It was my first deep tissue massage, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially at 30% off! My masseuse was very interesting, too; she is from Hawaii, where she was previously a social worker who received speech therapy when she was little. After my treatment, I alternated between the steam room (with eucalyptus aroma), hot and cold jacuzzi, and lounge area. When I got bored, I left and ran into Hubby. We checked into our room (with VIP elevator access -- perhaps compensation for rooming us 250+ feet away from the elevator lobby?) and got ready for dinner.

Dinner was another enjoyable event. We had reservations at T-Bones to celebrate Father-in-Law's birthday and parents-in-laws 38th wedding anniversary. Hubby and I went overboard, ordering all sorts of dishes (at 25% off!). I started with lobster chowder and then had a few slices of my petite filet mignon with a side of spinach and cheese on roasted tomatoes. The awesomest part is that we received a delicious slice of carrot cake and creme brulee, both compliments of the house. We were stuffed...and thought that the best way to work it off was to gamble a bit.

The pinnacle of our slot-playing experience was when Hubby and I walked past some $1 slots. We looked at each other and said, "why not?" Hubby put in $15 and kept hitting the button to bet more lines. Before I could stop him, he had placed a max bet...of $5! With full commitment, he hit play...and won $10! We couldn't resist...intermittent reinforcement is powerful. In a matter of minutes, Hubby reaped in over $150 in three $5 hands! Gotta play to win!

We turned in pretty early and woke up the next morning to meet in-laws for a brunch buffet. A few hours later, we were on our way back to LAX.

I have to say that it was great to be vacationing on a Monday...that is usually spent in M.B.

Max's Turtle

2009-05-11T17:10:00.001-07:00

So here's Max "posing." Bro says that every time he knows his picture is being taken, he instantaneously goes from happy to sad, "puppy eyes." Since he's not very photogenic, I tried to trick him by using my iPhone camera instead. Didn't quite work...

Here's Max with his new toy turtle. I got an e-mail today from bro that said, "Yesterday, he kept looking for a place to bury his turtle...I think he loves it so much he wants to hide it. He took it outside and dug a hole and put it in it. I had to hurry and get it out and wash it. chrrr."

:)

I love Max updates!

Happy Mommy's Day!

2009-05-10T21:48:00.001-07:00

I wish all of the mothers in my life a very happy one. This year, Mother's Day has been a little bit different for me...I've been a lot more sentimental in a somewhat global way.

Mother's Day usually prompts me to reflect on my Mommy, Aunties, and Grandma and all of their loving qualities. This year, I know so many more mommies and their amazing accomplishments -- mommies with infants, babies, teenagers, and even quarter-life kids. And of course the mommies-to-be (BGF is going to deliver any day now!). In talking (and informally interviewing for personal purposes) so many mommies this past year, my respect and admiration for mommies is so much deeper.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and mothers-to-be in my life!

Pampered Max

2009-05-10T15:50:00.000-07:00

Maxwell is getting quite comfortable in his new home. Bro's been getting him situated nicely, including finding the right bed for him. This is actually his second bed, which seems to be the one. Max goes through a routine of "fluffing" his bed for a minute or two (i.e., scratching the entire area that he will flop down on) before kerplunking down. On Tuesday, Max went to Petco to get a $75 haircut + conditioning. I almost went to pick him up because I was so anxious to see his new do. He is so handsome and cute!

Maxwell has also really taken to his new toy that I got him. Of course I got him a turtle stuffed animal! When I gave it to him, he seriously had it in his mouth for a really long time and didn't want to let it go (maybe almost 10 minutes?). Bro noticed that he's really gentle with the turtle...as opposed to that pink thing (see above picture).

Max is actually really camera shy, so this is a great head shot. :)

Friday R & R

2009-05-08T23:59:00.000-07:00

Since Hubby went to visit his friends this afternoon, I went to Manhattan Beach after work to transition smoothly into the weekend. :)

MB is probably one of the nicest beaches around (vs. Venice and even Santa Monica). I've gone there on several occasions during my lunches, just to get away and momentarily de-stress. It definitely has a different feel for several reasons. One thing's for sure; it's quite an upscale area. I am so in awe of the beach front houses; each one with its own style and personality. I would take pictures, but I don't want anyone suing me...There is one beach front house in particular where the downstairs room facing the beach is literally like a show room. There's a treadmill, plasma TV, work desk with several flat monitor screens, lounge area...and a nice, shiny red Harley Davidson right in front of the window. It's like straight out of a magazine or something.

Anywho, I walked for an hour along the boardwalk, amongst a ton of mommys and babies and owners with their adorable doggies. Afterward, I headed off to Bro's to visit them and play with Maxwell. I gave him his new toy and he loved it! Since Bro and FBIL were enjoying a lazy afternoon with libations, I joined the party and imbibed with a Stella. Afterward, we went for a quick walk to bring Maxwell out. We enjoyed a salad for dinner...and then donuts for dessert before I headed back home.

Great way to kick off the weekend, might I add.

Welcome Home, Max!

2009-05-05T23:59:00.000-07:00

On Monday, Bro and FBIL brought home a new addition to the family. Introducing Maxwell/Maximilian Benjamin Liang-Navarro!

"Hi! I'm Max!"

Well, we call him Max for short. Mr. Handsome Max went to a grooming appointment earlier today so he will look a lot different the next time I post pictures. I hear that the groomers got rid of his nappy fur...They wanted to shave him down to 1/8 of an inch but Bro said, absolutely not! So they left it at 1/2 an inch. I was hoping to pet-sit tonight, but plans didn't follow through.

We don't quite know Max's history/story, but my bro and FBIL picked him up from an animal shelter on Overland and Venice on Monday afternoon. I met him Monday night and saw how he instantly fell in love with his new parents and home. He was recently named Benjamin but we decided that Maxwell was a more fitting name (although I'm kinda liking Maximilian). Poor baby is a bit emaciated, but in good time, he will be healthy and well.

Yay, Max! Welcome home!

Record Week

2009-05-01T23:59:00.000-07:00

This week was a record week of 7 IEPs in 4 days. My last IEP started at 2 PM today. Thankfully, it ended around 3:30; I was anticipating it ending around 6, like last year. It's still such a foreign idea that my speech-only IEPs could be so much more stressful than my ones for severe autism. You would think it would be the other way around...

In reflecting back on this week, I've realized a lot. Sometimes I forget that there will be many times/cases when I need to humbly accept that my work will go unrecognized, and it's okay.

I also continue to realize that it's so wonderful to be married. After today's meeting, Mr. B. (SDC Teacher-friend) asked me again, "So, how's married life?" And my whole composure completely changed. My face suddenly lit up with the goofiest smile, and I said, "It's been such a stressful and exhausting week...but the best part of everyday was going home to my husband." No matter how stressful our work hours are, at the end of the day, being with each other and making each other laugh is restorative therapy that prepares us for the next day.

Still, thank God it's the weekend!

34 more days and counting

2009-04-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

It wasn't me that counted down the exact days...it was our janitor lady.

34 more days until this assignment is over.

I'm exhausted from this week, even though it's not yet over. My IEP marathon (record total of 7 in 4 days) ends late tomorrow. Thank goodness because I've been suffering from insomnia despite exhaustion, getting stress hives, and succumbing to unhealthy vices. A big "lesson" I've learned/executive decision I've established for myself this week is that I do not want to hold any more IEPs for students that I did not assess.

I had my BCBA supervision meeting this afternoon and my associates analyzed my behavior re: my co-worker and I. This is what was discussed and determined:

The function of my behavior is hypothesized to be control, but since that is a mentalistic viewpoint, that cannot possibly be it.
Therefore, the function of my behavior is hypothesized to be for me to avoid a bad reputation (I just want to do a good job).
I negatively reinforce my co-worker's escape/avoidance of work. By doing "her" work, I decrease the amount of complaining I hear from her.
However, she is positively reinforced to continue avoiding work b/c I keep doing her work; she keeps getting away with not doing work.
I am positively reinforced when I do her job because I receive praise from District and County people.
Failed antecedent interventions: 1) I created checklists to minimize my interactions with her and for the Team to stay organized and minimize mistakes. It failed b/c she doesn't use them and commented behind my back, "next year, [when I'm gone] there won't be so many damn checklists." My response behind her back: there wouldn't be so many "damn" checklists if you were doing your job right. 2) Offer to co-hold IEPs with her, but she refused.
More potential antecedent interventions: 1) have administrator remind the Team that whomever completes an assessment must hold the IEP; 2) give District staff a list of students I case-manage so that when a problem comes up, staff doesn't always come to me when it involves her; 3) have both of us attend scheduling meetings.
By avoiding going to that side tomorrow (and avoiding seeing her), I am giving myself a "time-out."

Gotta love this ABA stuff.

But what would be a Functionally Equivalent Replacement Behavior for me??

Counting Down

2009-04-29T22:47:00.000-07:00

Seven more weeks until summer vacation! Thankfully, the seven weeks will be broken up with a weekend trip to Vegas and Memorial Day holiday(which falls on a weekday that I'm usually in MB). Hubby and I will go to Vegas to visit his parents in 3 weeks. I am already dreaming about our mini-vacation -- sleeping in a very plushy bed, eating a huge mound of cocktail shrimps at Red Rock buffet, and having coffee just to indulge (not just to keep me awake).

Seven more weeks until June 18. My co-worker and I have been planning a "last day in MB celebration" for some time now. It will likely be a late lunch with endless french fries -- our favorite comfort food. No happy hour with libations b/c: 1) she does not imbibe and 2) I have my last BCBA supervision class that afternoon.

I really am trying not to complain so much. I know I've learned a lot this year, and through it all, I've been really blessed in countless ways. The big obvious blessing is that my job is secure. Yesterday, I was at my other site and there was a substitute teacher from Nigeria. This statement is not meant to be misconstrued in any way, but I have noticed that a lot of subsitute SDC (autism) teachers are from Nigeria. Yesterday, the teacher asked me about being an SLP. I asked if he was pursuing a Masters in Education or striving to be a permanent teacher here. He quickly said, "no way..." He elaborated on the budget crisis and how it doesn't make sense to him how teachers are getting pink-slipped. He shared that in Nigeria, teachers are highly respected. They are the first educators of those who grow up to become doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and all other highly-successful professionals. As obvious as that might be, I never thought of it like that. When people argue that educators don't get paid enough for what they do, I always thought of it in terms of like...all the crap we put up with! Ridiculous parents, mounds of paperwork, preparation time (from home), purchasing own supplies, etc. Maybe the overall thing is that educators just don't get enough recognition.

Or maybe I'm back to griping b/c it's been a hard, un-awesome week for me. Today's first IEP totally sucked for many reasons; I refuse to hold any more IEPs for someone else. All things considered, I'm hanging in well though...despite my typical psychosomatic stress symptoms of insomnia, stress hives/eczema, anxiety attacks, and stress-eating. I have to say that Hubby's been keeping me sane.

Everyday, I look forward to coming home and getting good laughs. Today, I came home with two Twinkies that I got from work that kind of got smooshed in my purse. He said, "I'm going to have my smashed Twinkie now..." After a slight pause, he asked, "Did you steal these from [favorite student with severe autism who doesn't care when other students steal his food]?" I couldn't believe he asked me that!

Just now, he told me he loves me. He said, "I read on Yahoo that I have to tell you I love you everyday. I love you." I thought that was so cute and funny that he read that on Yahoo. I got all excited and exclaimed, "You read those Yahoo [relationship tips] articles, too?" He said, "yes...And I love you tomorrow and all day tomorrow..." Before I could say, "how sweet," he said, "...so I don't have to say it again tomorrow." That's cheating...!

Not Senioritis

2009-04-27T23:01:00.000-07:00

...Someone inadvertently reminded me that it's called Spring Fever. It's when us public educators and health care professionals in the public schools are all burnt out and the kids feel our pain -- they are just as ready for Summer Break, too.

I can't say I have much time this week to kick back, though. By the end of this week, I will have participated/held 7 IEPs in 4 days. Thank goodness I had a really awesome weekend that kicked off this week.

On Saturday, my brother and FBIL hosted a party at their place to announce our getting married/semi-elopement. Many wonderful friends came by -- including those whom we hardly see! The Reunion Award went out to our fabulous friends, John and Kasra -- my bro and I haven't seen them since we first met in 2003! Some of my grad school classmates showed up, including one I met from post-bacc who now has an adorable baby girl. Dear BSILF and Lukey made a fabulous guest appearance, as well. It was sOoOOoO much fun to hang out with our friends.

Unfortunately, we didn't take pictures. The featured item was a bar that Bro picked up for $10 and Lulu dressed up real chic. To complete it, Hubby bartended the whole time. It was awesome! Amongst other cocktails, Hubby made some delicious Surfer on Acid of which I had 2 of and didn't get all woozy. We had quite a yummy BBQ and spread, including Death Dogs! That was our big featured menu item. Ironically, Hubby and I didn't even partake in any after all our hype.

By night-time, I was so exhausted! Earlier in the week, I asked Hubby how old he felt and he said 27. He asked me in return and I said, "I feel like I'm 25." I might have to say I actually feel like 49...It was only like 10 PM or something when I crashed on the sofa while our last two guests, Double D, chatted it up with Hubby!

Old Speech Teacher

2009-04-22T16:08:00.000-07:00

In the middle of one of my autism therapy sessions, my favorite general ed students from last year, C & D, stopped in the doorway and bellowed, "Hey old speech teacher!" I was so excited that they stopped by that it took a couple seconds to register what they called me. Ha! I used to get on them all the time about not knowing my name. Oh well.

Seeing them really made my day as I've really missed them. The last time I saw DA, he pretty much pretended he didn't see me and ignored me. I was sooo crushed. Hubby hypothesized that DA probably had issues with abandonment so when I "left" their school to go to MB, he went through detachment...which may be his coping mechanism considering his personal life. That made me even sadder to think that because I didn't want to "leave" him...but work is work and we can get moved at the flip of a dime.

So when I saw him today, I asked how he's been and whether he had his Tri-IEP and tested out. He said no he didn't have his IEP (which made me cringe inside for various reasons)...and then he paused and said that his parents weren't contacted, but come to think of it, both were in jail at the time (which goes back to Hubby's hypothesis about attachment/abandonment issues). He also shared that he was moving after graduation and attending a different high school. I asked how he felt about that and he said, "I'm excited." "You are?" "Yeah, cuz there'll be more girls!" I laughed and said, "Of course!" b/c that's the same ol' DA I know.

As for CV, he's still holding it over my head that I "left" them with the "crazy speech lady." Everytime I see him, he sizes me up and gives me a hard time about that no matter how often I tell him that I didn't want to leave.

I know it's corny, but it really makes me sad when my old kiddos will act like they don't know me and walk right past me. On the flipside, it makes my day when they actually greet me. Talk about detachment issues!

How Do We Look?

2009-04-21T18:10:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've received a lot of comments like, "You look married!" It's been funny trying to figure out what it means. Today, the SDC-teacher-friend who has been married for ~8 years asked, "How does it feel to be married? Does it feel the same?"

Truth be told, I didn't know what to expect post-marriage since Hubby and I have been together for 7 years and living together for 6 before tying the knot. I guess I didn't expect it to change much since we've already worked out the idiosyncrasies and been through the highs and lows together that have culminated into a stable, secure relationship...But somehow, it feels different.

So I said in response, "I love being married! It feels different though... I really don't know how to explain it, but it feels different --- in a good way."

My teacher friend said, "It's love."

:)

Senioritis

2009-04-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

Husband recently "diagnosed" me with senioritis again. On Saturday, we visited Bro's. As Bro and Husband started building a grill that us newlyweds gave as a "thank you for being the best brothers(-in-law)" gift, FBIL and I went to the market to pick up some fixin's for the new grill. When we got back, their neighbor was with them, and I asked her how school was going. We got to talking about graduate school and then Husband contributed with, "Yeah, she always gets senioritis in the last stretch."

Last night, I totally didn't want to work on reports and IEPs. Husband said, "You totally have senioritis." He's probably right. It's the last stretch of time before I'm done with this assignment...and even though almost all of the tough cases have past, I'm finding it so hard to stay amped for the final run.

I think it's totally psychological though. I.e., this morning, I went to my SDC-Autism site because we had an IEP. The teacher totally blanked on the IEP meeting so during the half hour before, I helped him by cranking out 3 academic goals and finishing both of mine. Okay, so why is it so hard for me to come up with goals for my own kids?? I've been sitting here for like an hour, fretting over what to propose.

Actually, I realized what the problem is with this case. I really don't know the student and how high-profile the case is. It's the unknown that makes this assignment so difficult. For this case, I didn't get enough time to assess the kid who is attending a private school, so the goals that I propose really put my professional assessment skills to the test. Ugh. I'm too tired and lazy to put my skills to the test....senioritis.

Introducing Myself: The New Mrs.!

2009-04-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, April 5, 2009, H2B and I tied the knot!

I am still in wedding bliss and getting giddy whenever I refer to H2B as "my husband." I've been practicing and calling him "husband" when I'm talking to him, too (b/c I'm dorky like that!). I still get teary-eyed thinking about our special day. Our Best Man said, "you guys even act like a married couple." Not sure what that meant, but somehow, we took it as a compliment.

Happy one-week (and a day) anniversary to us!

More detailed posts with pictures to come! :)

Clean Floors

2009-03-21T22:35:00.000-07:00

(Just taking a break from the IEPs...)

Today, I was at another Saturday training. Don't ask why I signed up...The nice thing is that my friend was there, too. The lame thing is that we had to split up into random groups pretty early on so I got stuck with lame groups both times. The ironic thing is that I'm an SLP and both times, my different group mates were SDC teachers yet I ended up coming up with ideas on how to adapt core curriculum material. The cool thing is knowing that I do have that creativity within me to think outside the box and on the fly...b/c really, I always say/think I'm not creative nor spontaneous.

The really funny thing is that I called H2B when I got out and he said, "Your dad stopped by." I was like, what?? I actually thought it was pretty cool and funny that they'd be fine without me home! It was Dad's first time coming over (to drop his new laptop off for H2B to do his magic on). The even more hilarious thing is that when my dad arrived, H2B was in the middle of cleaning up a kitchen flood. Apparently, our washing machine overflowed! That has never happened before!

So funny...just imagining H2B trying to clean it up and my dad trying to help... :)

Back to the grind...

Big Girl School

2009-03-15T09:00:00.001-07:00

Friends, I am going back to school again... (cue: melodramatic sigh).

Actually, it's not "real" school. Last year, I completed my BCBA coursework, but I need to finish up my 1500 clinical hours...and I am barely halfway there. It has been on quite a hiatus since I started working in Manhattan Beach. So I persuaded my awesome classmate to take an intensive supervision curriculum course with me so that we can clock at least 700 hours by September. My goal is to begin studying for the Board exam over the summer, complete my hours before December, and take the exam next March or whenever it's offered.

In the meantime, I am realizing how valuable it is to be both an SLP and BCBA.

First of all, there are so few BCBAs out there that districts are willing to pay serious dollars. Secondly, there are even fewer SLP-BCBAs around these parts.
Going through the coursework has really honed my skills especially when working with the kids with severe autism.

My SDC class recently admitted a new kid with MAJORLY aggressive behaviors. This little terror (not even 5 feet, whereas the rest of his classmates tower over me) bites, pulls hair, scratches, digs his nails into your arm to the point of bruising, kicks, pinches, makes himself throw up, and...drum roll...grabs men and women's private parts.

Last Tuesday was my first day with him and it was interesting to say the least. The student is actually not on my caseload; he is supposed to be served by that SLP that caused this whole Manhattan Beach injustice with me. However, I can't help but intervene when I feel that it's necessary. Early on in the morning, the student snuck up on me (as he is known to do prior to attacking you), and he lightly set his nails onto my forearm as if ready to dig in. I just looked at him, smiled, and said hello. He looked at me and said, "hug?" I said, "no hug," and went back to typing.

Later on, all of the students went out for P.E. and I continued working on IEPs. The teacher came storming in with J and I knew right away that the kid must have done something wrong. The teacher tried to have him sit on the "x" on the floor (time-out) and the kid kept flopping over or trying to grab/attack the teacher. I asked the teacher to let me try (realizing that there was a high percentage this kid was going to attack me).

First, I got him to sit in a chair (which the teacher didn't think I/he could). I think that's really important b/c that gives me so much more control. I can prevent him from kicking, have him sitting up (vs. flopping over and laying down on the floor), and redirect his hands all at the same time. After I gained control, we worked on quiet sitting with me redirecting his hands every time he tried to reach out/grab/scratch, etc. I showered tons of positive reinforcement every few seconds ("Good quiet sitting!") as well as time-out from reinforcement when he did something bad (I turned or moved away). I also worked on perspective-taking. The kid kept touching his huge bruises and saying, "it hurts." Just about broke my heart when he looked at me and bawled with puppy dog eyes, "it hurts!" I turned it into a teachable moment and said, "You see how Mr. ___ has bruises from you? It hurts him, too. When you grab or pinch Mr. ___, it hurts him, too. When we play nicely and gently, nobody gets hurt and everyone is happy..." (I'm sure my verbal social story wasn't THAT well-versed but you get the idea.)

FYI: don't worry, a report to DCFS has already been made. I was semi-excited and semi-anxious about the idea of making my first DCFS call as a mandated reporter for serious concerns. At the same time, I was relieved to know that a call has already been made so I don't have to.

I remember on my drive home, I was talking to H2B about what a good day I had. It started with me holding a meeting with the SLP Team in MB and doing a quick training, and then rolling into a good day of work in my SDC class. I told H2B that I haven't had a day like this in a long time where I really felt rewarded as a consummate professional. Since I've been in MB, my professional confidence has definitely built up 3-fold, but I don't realize it b/c I am constantly put down and hearing about my mistakes 4-fold.

The last thing I remember from that day is looking into J's eyes as he looked into mine for what must have been at least half a minute of calm and pure silence, and I thought, "This is my calling. This is what I'm meant to do." It felt good to know that God is always with me and I have a place in this world.

*******

P.S. This is not to say that I am totally awesome at what I do. The next morning, we got a call from the aide riding on the bus with J who said, "he made himself throw up all over his clothes and the bus." So we met them outside and again, I worked with him while the teacher cleaned the bus. That was kool and the gang.

Later on, though, he walked right up to me and grabbed my boob. I was so stunned! I told the aide to enforce a time-out (from reinforcement) for 5 minutes. I was even more upset when I found out the aide didn't. No wonder this kid gets away with everything short of murder...

171

2009-02-24T22:33:00.000-08:00

Incoming nerdy news!

I haven't had an annual exam since 2006, when I was still in grad school (and lab tests were like $12). I was pretty concerned about my health considering my cholesterol was borderline high (205) and my kidneys were supposedly functioning below typical norms. I got my lab test results back and everything came back normal! My cholesterol is 171!

Pretty amazing considering I must have consumed at least a few pounds of seafood and potato chips the two weeks before my blood drawing. On the other hand, I've been maintaining a relatively healthy status since I graduated from grad school. Hooray for me and my cholesterol!

February Re-Cap

2009-02-21T19:42:00.000-08:00

Sadly, my blogging has taken the backseat for some time now. I find myself just wanting to veg and surf the internet than dwell on my thoughts or experiences...not because they've been weird or bad, but more likely out of laziness. In my periodic weak attempt to re-cap events, here goes nothing!

On Wednesday, February 4, 2009, Future Father-in-Law experienced a "mild" heart attack. That was probably the pinnacle of my 4-week long string of horrendous stress. Up until that point, I was seriously experiencing anxiety attacks, praying for God's renewal and strength constantly throughout the day, and asking "why me?" over stupid things (like the 4th flat tire in 3 months). When FMIL called Wednesday night, all my silly stressing and whining came to a screeching halt.

The following morning, H2B flew out to be with his parents. I almost bummed a ride with a co-worker on Friday to be with them, but at the last second, FMIL and H2B said perhaps it was better I stayed home to take care of a couple things and also because they had many relatives driving in from all over on Saturday and we would be visiting the following weekend as originally planned back in December.

That weekend, I was a total hermit (with the exception of constant calls from H2B, helping him make arrangements and whatnot). Bro called a few times and asked what I was doing and I said, "I keep doing the same things: eat, work-out, get on my computer, watch TV, eat, work-out, get on my computer..." He said, "you're like a hamster...so busy." Later on, H2B called and asked what I was doing and I told him the same. Then he asked, "what is the turtle doing?" "Oh, she keeps doing the same thing: sleep, move rocks, swim, bask, sleep, move rocks, swim, bask." I guess we are creatures of habit and routines.

On Sunday, February 8, at 8 AM, FFIL underwent open heart surgery for a quadruple bypass. Thankfully, all went well and he has since been recovering well. I picked H2B up after work on Monday.

On Friday, February 13, H2B again flew out. The following morning, Valentine's Day, FBIL, my bro, and I drove to Vegas. We left around 9 AM and drove straight to Caesar's Palace with one pit stop. After a minor kink in hotel registration, Bro drove me over to Future-in-Laws home, where he met them for the first time. Other relatives had already arrived so H2B and I left shortly after to run errands. When we got back, H2B and I prepared our first delicious, low-sodium, diabetic meal for the 4 of us. I thought it was actually an impressive spread. We steamed salmon, sauteed corn and zucchini, steamed vegetables, and sauteed bell peppers with ginormous shrimp (mainly for me). It was sweet to "double-date" over a home-cooked meal with his parents.

On Sunday morning, H2B and I ran more errands, rushed back to cook lunch for them, and then H2B dropped me off at Red Rock Casino's Spa. That was the highlight of my weekend and totally what I've been anticipating for months! I received a 50-minute Swedish massage that pratically put me to sleep out of pure relaxation. After 3 hours of pampering, I met H2B and we checked in to Red Rock for the night.

We had dinner reservations with Bro and FBIL for 7:30 at Sedona Restaurant and Lounge, but unfortunately, H2B had gotten seriously ill with food poisoning so he stayed back. I courageously drove myself to the restaurant (and of course got lost). Although our meal was undeniably goumet and delicious, service was soOOOoOOoo bad. Still, we enjoyed each other's company over good entrees. After, I went back to the hotel and turned in early.

On Monday, my second highlight took place. H2B and I played slots for an hour before the 4 of us met for a brunch buffet at Red Rock. I love buffets! The line was crazy long and while we were waiting, a pregnant lady in front of us fainted and fell to the floor. We helped her out (as I am an expert at fainting and recovering). In reflecting, I thought it was great how responsible it was that everyone in my party immediately took action...while everyone else standing in line just stared. The lady behind us even commented after, "how embarrassing."

We indulged in a yummy 2-for-1 brunch buffet and then gambled a little after. H2B and I made one last visit to his parents before meeting my bro and FBIL to head back to L.A. Our drive back wasn't too bad, despite crazy rain. We stopped by Yardhouse in Victoria Garden for dinner and then continued all the way home.

It was really a nice, productive mini-vacation. :)

M.A., CCC-SLP

2009-02-09T20:21:00.000-08:00

I'm finally officially licensed as a speech-language pathologist!

I am not really going to comment about the fraud I've been committing pretending to practice as a licensed SLP. Although, I don't think anyone really knows that...I mean, even though I've been signing my name, M.A., CCC-SLP, that's not a lie -- I do have my CCC's and M.A.

Too bad when I told H2B, "I'm finally licensed!" he asked, "You got your BCBA?!" No, I'm not even close! :( One thing at a time...

25 Random Things

2009-02-02T22:20:00.000-08:00

Once in a blue moon, I humor friends and fill out meme thingamajiggys. This one in particular is fun b/c I am such a random person. I mean, I often say, think, and do random things. So this is totally me.

25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about me:

“Dude” and “seriously” are my most frequently used words. “What the fuzzy?” (or the offensive version) is ranking up as of late.
I occasionally try to bring back old skool words and phrases like, “totally rad.” I usually fail and look like a lame-o.
I was almost given up for adoption at birth to a “single, rich doctor lady who really wanted a daughter.”
I chipped my front tooth when I was 9. My cousins had the brilliant idea of pushing Eric’s Lincoln down Virginia Ave. just “for fun.” Pre-permit Jen was steering while Nadine, Ben, and I were pushing from behind. We got to the stop sign at Monterey Rd., and law-abiding Jen jammed on the breaks…and I totally ate the trunk. A fire engine happened to drive by. We lied about the car running out of gas and having to push it home half a block away. The last I remember is me sitting in the front seat with a fireman checking my bloody, chipped tooth out.
I still sleep with my 26 year-old Hello Kitty.
I was cast as an extra for “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.” Bro said, “Do it just to say you did it!” BF/H2B said, “Hell fawkin’ no you ain’t doing it!” Although it was shot in Downtown and I was still working in Downtown at that time, I passed up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The first time H2B held my hand was when I was getting a tattoo by his best friend in ’01. (We weren’t dating/together at that point…unless you call that a date.)
I get claustrophobic in the walkways to board airplanes and in narrow store aisles that tower high above me.
I am paranoid about losing my keys and being locked out of home and car. If I put my keys in my purse a few seconds before I leave, I have to take them out and have them in hand before I close the locked door.
I was born in Belvedere (East L.A.) and found that out less than a year ago.
As a kid, I was terrified of being trapped in an elevator alone or with a stranger. Must’ve been a premonition. When I was 21, I was mugged in an elevator at gunpoint.
I am the slowest eater you will ever know. I usually take 1.5 - 2 hours at a buffet. But give me chocolate, coffee, or ice-cream, and I’ll go to town on it like it’s going outta style.
The word “douchebag” cracks me up every time.
Used to have a belly piercing (and wish I still did).
I can’t leave home without chapstick. I will literally turn my car around or buy a new one to get me through the day. At any given time, I have at least 3 open (currently 4).
The best freebie I have ever received was my turtle, Lil Focker. H2B was at a holiday party 4 years ago, and he got a DVD player while playing White Elephant but gave it up. He figured someone would take the player from him, and he had a hunch that I might want her. Little did he know that he was opening up a new obsession for me! On her first birthday, we actually threw a birthday party...b/c he didn't think she would live. (I am very adept at breaking and killing things.)
Chanel is my pseudonym...for those times that I just don’t want a weirdo to know my real name.
I moved more than 10 times before I graduated from SMHS…but attended S.M. from K – 12. The only time I was ever a real SM resident was when I was a year old.
I love “Nacho Libre”! It’s the best “worst” movie ever.
I often wonder what my kiddos with severe autism and communication disorders will say to me in Heaven. Sometimes, I swear they're looking at me like I'm seriously crazy, but they just don't have the verbal capacity to express it.
I usually carry my Spyderco Scorpius because of #11 and 24.
I really do not like any type of shopping…unless it’s at Costco. I go to Costco for “shopping” therapy and feel better even if I walk out with nothing.
My dream is to swim with sea turtles in Hawaii, Mexico, and/or Costa Rica.
Random event: a few years ago, I was on my lunch break in Downtown L.A., when a shady man rode his bike past me while asking, “how’s your pu$$y today?” My bro reminds me of that story every so often.
I express a lot of random thoughts at random times, but I typically verbally preface it with, “This is random but…” (...but I do not have Asperger’s Syndrome!)

Third Week's the Charm

2009-01-24T13:12:00.000-08:00

Aside from my crazy insomnia, this past work week has been the least stressful since I got moved in October. I attribute a lot to my change in prayers (and attitude). It donned on me how my morning prayers during my drive to work (while I "bump" my church music, as H2B likes to tease) have literally doubled, if not tripled in length .

I mean, I'm doing the whole 9. For the first several minutes, I pray my usual ones of blessings over me and my loved ones...but then I added the Serenity Prayer back in December (or the Alcoholics Anonymous prayer, as H2B likes to refer to it):

(I stole this image off of the World Wide Web and still have it as my iPhone wallpaper.)

Recently, I added the Lord's Prayer. I'm just saying that I could use all the help I can get, ya know??

Awesome things about this past week:

No work on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! (Mondays are one of my full days in MB.) This was probably the biggest tip-off for a good week...that meant I wasn't in MB until Wednesday at 1 PM!
Got to watch the Presidential Inauguration with my favorite kiddos/class
Co-workers, parents, and staff weren't so bloodthirsty this week.
High-profile student with severe autism was handed to the woman who created this outrageous change in my assignment in the first place!
Went to BCBA Supervision meeting and got to see my hilarious GF that I totally miss -- and that meant I didn't have supervision alone.
Held 3 easy-peasy IEPs -- I LOVE it when parents are easy-going, and let me be the professional in my areas of expertise.
Nerdy moment: realized that next Friday's annual SLP conference features an awesome speaker/expert in Asperger's Syndrome, Timothy Kowalski. (Heard him and Michelle Garcia-Winner in Chicago back in November).
I won't be in MB next Friday b/c of the conference!
My MB kiddos are finally starting to take to me, now that I'm getting to see them more often. One cutie-patootie was walking by me and said, "hi!" and then I heard her say behind me to her friend, "Oh, I was just saying hello to my Speech Teacher."
Got to wake up most mornings to H2B being awake. One morning, he came into the bedroom and laid with me and said, "I love you like a 10." Continually thinking about that made me smile throughout the rest of the day.
Ended the work week with happy hour at Daily Grill with H2B.

First Work Week of 2009

2009-01-10T22:05:00.000-08:00

It was soOoOoOo rough, stressful, and busy.

The worst was that I knew that Friday would be the busiest. Yesterday was crazy what with office politics as well as my most intense IEP (yet).

By the time I got home around 5:30 P.M., I was soOOo out of it and exhausted. I was secretly hoping that H2B and I could go out for a nice, relaxing to dinner. I was thrilled when H2B suggested it. We headed out around 6:30 PM...and while I was putting my shoes on, I told H2B that I wasn't feeling right/well. He didn't hear me and asked me to drive so I grabbed my keys and we walked out.

I realized too late that I had grabbed the wrong set of keys and we were locked out! I was so upset. All I wanted was a stress-free evening to start the weekend. We headed out anyways and had dinner at Yokohama, our local sushi joint (best scallop rolls!). Afterward, we called a 24-hour locksmith. While we waited for half an hour, I went onto the roof to assess whether I could hop down from the roof onto our balcony McGyver-style or rapel down with rope I didn't have. H2B thought I had absolutely lost it by then. The good news is that it was too high up for me to do either (unless I wanted to break both legs), and I was able to dispel any paranois about crazy people breaking into our place by jumping down from the roof while I'm alone and/or asleep.

The locksmith got to our place around 9:30 and charged a fortune ($100) to tell us that he couldn't unlock our door and had to bust the knob. So he did. After about 15 minutes of "yay, we're home!," we headed back out to Home Depot to get a new door knob and deadbolt for $50.

By the time our whole ordeal was over, it was 11:30 P.M., we were out $150, and we were exhausted. I couldn't wait to go to bed and "end" the week.

The lame thing is that one of my biggest paranoias is losing my keys/locking myself out of my home or car. I'm so paranoid that if I put my keys in my purse as I walk out, I refuse to close the locked door unless I pull my keys out and have them in my hand.

Ugly Shoes

2009-01-08T22:52:00.000-08:00

H2B got us an eliptical machine...and it arrived today! Yay! I tried the new rig out with a new pair of Adidas...that I vow to never wear outside b/c they are so heinous looking.

I recently ordered 3 pairs of Adidas -- all Ozweegos. I now have 6 in different color combos...and seriously? These 3 are by far the ugliest. I went from a really cool, black and white pair to 2 pairs of 70s-meet-red-light-district (yellows and silvers with white fish-net stocking-type material) to these 3 that range in dark, silvery gray combos...the ugliest being one with turquoise (my Home Gym Pair). I got this pair purely for the sale price.

I got these b/c I thought these were pretty cool:
And thought these were the coolest of the 3:
But really? There must be something wrong with either the pictures or my monitor b/c all 3 are really ugly in reality. So ugly they crack me up! I don't really care b/c I love Ozweegos and besides, I never wear shorts when I work out.

The problem lies wherein my choice of foot apparell when I'm at work...I usually wear my athletic shoes! (I only break out the heels for meetings.)

Work Funk

2009-01-07T22:24:00.000-08:00

It's only the first week back from break and it's been a busy, crazy roller-coaster ride. Monday was alright, with a little kink that I'm finally over. Yesterday was alright b/c I was with my Autism class and managed to shuffle my way to a BCBA supervision and accrue yet another hour of individual observation hour. Sadly, I've only completed 1/3 of my total clinical hours. Only literally 1,053 more hours to go...and at least 22+ more individual observation hours.

*Side-story: I always end up being the only one to show up at the supervision meetings, ever since summer. My friend/classmate always teases me about that. So yesterday, she texted me while I was there. My supervisor was searching an ABA video on YouTube to show me, so I took a quick moment to read what she texted: "aww. Just told [other friend/classmate] I'd go tomorrow! I miss you! Have fun making out with [BCBA supervisor]." GROSS! I was totally fighting myself not to LOL though when I read that, as I looked up to see my BCBA supervisor looking at me while telling me something serious. That girl cracks me up every time. :)

Fast-forward to today. I spent the morning with my Autism class and then headed to MB. I called my bro up to whine about how I was feeling down today and really did NOT want to go to MB. He said, "maybe you're feeling down because of MB." When I got to MB, I sat in my parked car for 5 minutes, whining to H2B about the same thing. He said, "Maybe you should get back on your Regulators. You've been sOoOOOoOo moody and down ever since you got off them."

The rest of my day went alright since I got out of a meeting to complete a special assessment...that ended at 3:45. Sucked for me but sucked even more for the poor kid. My boss left me a VM close to 4. I called her back right away, eager to hear any good news. She told me about some more staffing changes and throughout it all, my heart was pounding hard...not sure if it was stress, anxiety, frustration, or what.

It's supposed to be "good" news for me that she is replacing the SLPA with a VTW...for me to supervise and train! I am so tired of supervising and training, never mind the endless case managing and paperwork. What's worst is having to explain all over again to the parents and staff about yet another major change.

To top it all off, she implied that I may have to stay at MB next year. If after I tell her no thank you and she still places me at MB next year, I will seriously look for another job where there isn't a ridiculous amount of additional, unnecessary stress.

Oh, but the funny thing in all of this? My boss called my home number before she called my cell. She NEVER does that. Was she checking to see if I was home already?? Hmm...! (I get paid an hour of straight overtime every workday...although I totally work more than 5 hours of OT a week for this site.) I hope H2B told her that I was still in MB doing a special assessment and that I should get paid more OT and that he should get paid as an outside agent for having to be my therapist and counselor!