The Incredible Couch. Merry Christmas to Me!

At long last, my new furniture has arrived! After a week long delay due to the snow storm and terrible road conditions, the furniture made its way. My new dining table came right before Christmas and my new couch came yesterday! I'm so excited. My house is finally feeling more like a home. Now, I know the couch is quite large. I became aware of this as the delivery men were putting it together, and I ALMOST thought it might be too big for my place. . . until I sat in it. It's soooo comfortable, and I can't let it go. Al and Shawna stayed the night last night, and all 3 of us slept on the couch, WITH ROOM TO SPARE!

I LOVE MY HOME! Come over and hang out!

My new couch and dining table.
(Excuse the extra clutter.)

The view of the living room from the front door.
It really is a massive sectional, and I adore it.

Tin picked out the throw pillows. They look great.
I'm still waiting for my new ottoman, so those two end table won't be staying.

Shawna and Al waking up from a comfy slumber in the new couch.
They give the new couch 10 thousand thumbs up. They say it's a keeper for sure.

The Snow Brings City Lights and New Recipes

For the last couple of days, Seattle has been covered in ice. Automobiles have been skidding through intersections, people have been falling on the sidewalks, small businesses around South Lake Union are closing at earlier hours, and many folks have decided to just stay home. Auntie Lita and Mel are in town for the holidays, and I couldn't even drive down to my parents' house and see them! To add to the horrible outdoor conditions, it began to snow yet again today in the early afternoon. And the snow still falls as I blog at 10pm. Looking out my window over 9th Ave, I see that what was a super slick road this morning is now a crunchy white path.

As Ardon and I just sat at home, we watched the snow fall and fall and fall and fall. We were getting cabin fever, and we weren't going to let the snow get in the way of fun. We thought it would be fun to bundle up, grab the cameras and face what news reporters are calling the December Freeze. So, that is exactly what we did, and it was all so beautiful. The snow was falling, the ground was covered in white and hardly uninterrupted by tire tracks, the streets were lined with lighted trees, and it really felt like Ardon and I were the only people left in Seattle. Sometimes you couldn't even tell where the sidewalk ended and the road began because the snow had piled on so thick. After about a half hour of walking around the area in the frigid cold, we headed home. If we had stayed out any longer, our noses would have frozen off of our faces. We had pretty much frozen our bodies out there, and we instantly began to thaw as soon as we entered the warm condo. It was a perfect moment for comfort food, so I got out some recipes and filled the condo with sweet and savory aromas. So, while the snow storm put the city's hustle and bustle to a screeching hault, I managed to have a lovely day.

9th Ave directly in front of the condo.
Ardon stood in the middle of the road and jumped for the camera.
Usually at 5pm on a Saturday, this would be a much busier road.

The snow, lit by the street lamp, falling on Ardon.

Westlake Ave. Not a car in the road--a complete rarity. The lights were pretty.

The Space Needle from 9th Ave and Harrison.

After coming home, I baked some of my special Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies.

And I cooked Tinola for the very first time!
It was a success. The warm soupy broth with the chicken, baby bokchoy, and papaya over warm rice was so good on a cold day. It's truly my idea of comfort food.

Seattle Snow: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The snow accumulation on my deck measured about an inch and a half at around noon. And the snow is still falling, but even harder now! If downtown is this bad, I could only imagine how much worse it is in the surrounding areas.

9th and Harrison.
Cars have been skidding through this intersection all morning. This guy's tires spun a little after the light turned green.

The parking lot across the street. Notice the Audi having a bit of fun as he exits the lot.

The tracks that the Audi left in the parking lot. Donut galore.

The Good (Actually, the GREAT):
My work load this week has been. . .

• Monday - 2 hour delay

• Tuesday - 2 hour delay

• Wednesday - School Closed. A flake of snow did not even fall, and I got a lot of my Christmas shopping done--finally.
  

• Thursday (Today) - School Closed. I get to catch up on the deep cleaning of my condo that I've been meaning to get done.

• Tomorrow - Who knows? I'm keeping my fingers crossed for closures, and then Winter Break starts! I don't have to go back until January 5th.
  

I love my job this week!!!

The Bad: Roads are really awful today and I can't finish my shopping. The furniture that I'm expecting to be delivered to my condo are no longer going to come due to the bad road conditions. So, here I live in a rather empty home, which will remain empty until the weather improves. This is unfortunate because the relatives are coming to visit this weekend and there is nowhere to sit or nothing to show. Welcome to my home with some area rug, a TV, and a Christmas tree!

The Ugly: West Seattle is ugly right now. The snow is thicker than downtown and the roads are turning into ice skating rinks. I would say that of all Seattle, West Seattle has been hit the hardest by the storm so far. Because of this, I can't get to school to feed my poor fish! This could get really ugly.

Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other is GOLD!

Our new Golden Chinese Algae Eater. The children named him Junior.

While Sharmin will forever be remembered as the OGAE (Original Gangster Algae Eater) of the tank, we must welcome our new addition to the crew. After a devastating loss, and a thick accumulation of algae, another family from our classroom gave us a wonderful new friend to help keep the tank nice and clean.

Each day after the loss of Sharmin, the tank got a little greener. After about a week, one of my students's moms approached me one morning and said, "I think I'm gonna go to PetCo down the street and get us something to clean up all that algae." I thought that was a swell idea. That afternoon, when she came to pick up her child, she had a new algae eater in tow. Looking at in the plastic baggie, it looked TINY compared to the hefty Sharmin, so I wasn't even sure if it was even an algae eater. Furthermore, I wasn't sure if it was going to survive in a tank with Sparkles, who can be quite aggressive at times.

I gathered the children together to introduce them to the new alleged algae eater. I warned them about what could happen, and to not be surprised if we find him floating or if we don't see any remains at all when we come in the next morning. We also needed to decide on a name for the new fish. After gathering all their ideas and voting on one name, we ended up with the name JUNIOR, as suggested by my student Lance. Junior actually kind of looks like Sparkles' mini-me, so I think the name suits him well.

It's been a little over a week, and he's still alive and really sucking down that algae! Our tank is getting clearer and clearer by the day, which is quite impressive considering how small he is! He and Sparkles are getting acquainted beautifully. The children love to watch them chase each other around in the tank, or they love to look for Junior because he's so small.

I'm glad that the children and Sparkles are enjoying Junior. All is well in the world again.

R.I.P. Sharmin =(

The late Sharmin, a Siamese Algae Eater

I just experienced my first major pet loss today. Sharmin, my Siamese Algae Eater was found floating at the top of the fish tank when I walked into my classroom. He has been with me for a little more than 3 years. I adopted him from one of my former students' family about 3 years ago, and we've been together ever since.

He was an addition to the fish tank after my first fish (Sparkles, who is still alive) was swimming in murky water. He remained nameless for a day, and I left it up to my students to name him. Before we decided on a name, I explained to them that he's an algae eater and that he keeps our tank clean, and all the green stuff that they see will be gone because he eats it. And then I said that he needed a name, and they suggested Tony or Rudy, which are the names of our school janitors. I suppose they wanted to name it after somebody who kept things clean. Then one student suggested Sharmin (Yes, like the toilet paper), and the rest of the group loved the name, so we went with that. The tank has been squeaky clean since he's lived in it. That summer, I didn't want to leave the tank in the classroom because the fish would not be looked after, so I moved the tank into my apartment.

When I moved out of my old apartment last month, I transferred the fish tank back into the classroom. Fast forward to today. Ardon and I stopped by my classroom today just to grab something. As soon as I walked in, I noticed that the fish tank looked a tad murky. I went over to feed the fish, and noticed a discolored Sharmin floating next to the filter. Sometimes he would float around like that, but when I'd put food into the tank, he'd move around. But this time, after I had put food into the tank, he didn't even move a fin. I knew we had lost him. I called Ardon over to come and scoop him out with the net (Ardon was across the room smuggling snacks out of the cupboard). As tears welled up in my eyes, Ardon was so great and graciously put him in a plastic bag, we brought him outside, and buried him under a tree. I'll miss the little vacuum fish. Now I have to get a new one because the algae is accumulating fast!

I don't know how to break the news to the kids. Wish me luck.

The Big 2-7

Oh, yes. It's that time of the year again. . . My birthday. I turn 27 tomorrow, which means I am officially in my late 20s. I had a fabulous birthday weekend. I got to spend it with all the people that I love--mom, dad, Mar, Tin, Vince, Michael, Isaac, Mia, and of course Ardon. On Friday night, Tin and Michael came over, and we went out to dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. After dinner we stopped by my parents' condo just across the street from the restaurant, where Isaac was also staying. Boy, did he keep us entertained. The next morning, Ardon and I went back to the condo for a hearty breakfast cooked up by Mom, and then we all took a stroll at the Sculpture Park. Later that night, Ardon and I went to a friend's house warming party on Capitol Hill. On Sunday morning, Ardon and I met my parents at the 10am mass at St. James Cathedral, and then we all had brunch together. That evening, the whole family--Mar, Mia, Isaac, Vince, Ardon, Michael, tin, Dad, and Mom--met up for dinner in Bellevue. I didn't need a big party. As long as I had them with me, I was fine. Creating wonderful moments with my family over the whole weekend was much better.

Man, I'm 27. In the grand scheme of things, I'm still pretty young. However, it's the oldest I've ever been, so I don't know any different. How do I feel about it? Eh. I still feel like I'm 24, so I guess I'm ok. Life's really great, and I have absolutely nothing to complain about. I have wonderful family and friends, a great career, and an awesome boyfriend who got me a shiny new coffee maker that I can program to make me coffee every morning. He says I need to save money. What more could I ask for?

I Like to Move it, Move it!

I had the day off on Tuesday (yesterday) because of Veterans Day. (Which meant Monday felt like another Friday and today felt like another Monday. Such a LONG week!) Ardon and I decided to take advantage of my day off and have a little movie date. We went to the new Landing Regal Cinemas in Renton. (I highly recommend this theater if you live in that area. They have huge screens and extremely comfortable seats.) We caught the matinee of Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa. YOU HAVE TO WATCH IT! We laughed the entire time!

First of all, because it was Veterans Day, school was out and all the kids had the day off too. I swear every single child in Renton came to watch this movie at this theater. As soon as we walked into the theater, you can hear all the kids talking. I felt like I was at work anyway. As we walked through the theater to find a seat, we noticed all the little squirrelly kids who couldn't stay seated, eating their popcorn, and playing with the fold-up seats and the fold-up elbow rests. The movie began and "a hush came over the crowd." The first funny thing in the movie, the kids burst into laughter. It was like that the whole movie--hush and laughter, hush and laughter. Ardon and I laughed too because the movie was absolutely hilarious AND because the reaction of the children was equally as funny.

We had such a good time. The movie was great, and we highly recommend it. The voice-over cast is awesome, including Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Cedric the Entertainer, Sascha Baren Cohen, Will.i.am, and Alec Baldwin, just to name a few. There is a lot of adult humor and tons of action for the children too. The animation in the movie is amazing. It's definitely a must-see. 4 thumbs-up from Ardon and me.

First Graders Can Vote Too

Needless to say, this was a monumental moment in American history. The school was abuzz with election fever, and there was talk about voting everywhere I turned. So, in the spirit of the election, I decided to transform our classroom into a voting community. In the classroom, right next to the door, I set up a sign-in table, and the children were to find their name on our class roster and sign next to their names before they went into the hallway to cast their ballots. Two students were sitting at the table to help the other children find their names. One student helped kids with first names starting with A-M, and the other student helped kids with names starting with N-Z. I set up 2 private voting booths in the hallway, complete with drapes to ensure privacy. At each booth was a strip of paper, a pen, and a piece of paper with the names of the presidential candidates written on it to help the children spell the candidates' names correctly. Right outside of each booth, I delegated a student helper, so if any voter needs help writing a name, they can peek their head out and ask their helper for assistance. After they've written their name on their strip, they put it in the ballot box right outside of our door. I also delegated a student ballot guard to make sure nobody tampers with the ballots. Then they were to come back into the classroom and continue their math. I had one student count the ballots and write down the results, which I transferred onto a graph to the give the children a visual. Here were our results.

Trick or Treat!

And Happy Birthday to Daddy Caesar! My father's birthday is on Halloween, so Tin invited all of us to her and Michael's home in Issaquah to celebrate my dad's birthday and Halloween. Issaquah is a very family friendly community, and a hot spot for children to go trick or treating. We all thought it would be a great time for Isaac and Mia to suit up and partake in the door to door candy hunt while showing off their great costumes. Mia wasn't feeling well, so she stayed in with the ladies while her big brother went hunting and gathering for candy with the men. Word on the street is that Isaac was a hit! I certainly would have given him the awards for best boy costume and for cutest peacock in the world. And for sure, Mia would have gotten best girl costume and most adorable mermaid. . . But, I'm biased. You can decide.

Trick or Treat! Isaac the Peacock and Mia the Mermaid. (This is my favorite picture. I love Mia's little face.)

We had one happy peacock on our hands. He was so excited. Oh, poor Mia wasn't feeling well.

Mermaid Mia and Grandma Sonia the Clown.

Mr. Peacock from the side. His tail is quite dashing.
It was such a task to get him into the costume. He was kicking and resisting, but after Auntie Tin told him how handsome he would be if he were to wear it, he slowly eased his body into it.

He got a little more comfortable as a peacock.

Then he couldn't get enough of it. Here he is laughing, jumping, and patting his peacock tummy.
Where is my basket, Mommy? I'm ready to go Trick or Treating!

Welcome Home!

Here are a few photos of my new home. I am slowly but surely feeling more and more cozy as I settle in, and my brain is going a million miles a minute with ideas for new furniture and home decor. I'm so excited. Feel free to stop by!

By the way. . . Anybody want this set? $300 for all 3 pieces. OBO.

As you enter, this is what you see.

Here's a closer look at the dining are and the view in relation to the rest of the room.


Here's the view from the other end of the room.

The kitchen.

You can see my bedroom from the kitchen and the living room. Here's a peek into my bedroom from the kitchen.

My bedroom. . . and my unmade bed. Oops.

The bathroom.

And finally, the view of my closet/laundry room as I stand at the bathroom door.

The Legacy of Mary Kay Letourneau Lives On

Ok, maybe it's an extreme title, but I didn't know what else to call it. I teach first grade, and at that age they're still very naive and loving. One of my boy students came up to me today, closed his eyes, puckered up, and tried to give me a kiss. I tried dodging it by turning my head and giving him a cheek. He said, "Wait." He tried again, and I leaned back and gave him the other cheek. He said, "But Miss Picardal, I want to give you a kiss on the lips." Bless his heart, right? I said, "You know, I can't give you a kiss because it's not appropriate for teachers to give their students kisses. However, I can give one heck of a hug!"

Boy, did that devastate him! Not only that, but it sure did open a huge can of worms! This child is autistic and he is very rules-oriented. He wants to know why rules are the way they are, and if he does not agree with the rule, he will melt down and let you know how awful that rule is. So, he replied to my comment with "Why?" I answered him with, "Because kissing is something that you do at home and not at school, especially with teachers because the teachers and the students will get in big trouble. I wouldn't be a teacher anymore." He, again, followed up with another "Why?" This discussion went on and on, and he continued to ask "Why?" I finally just answered, "Because it's the law."

He walked away in tears and didn't even want to give me a hug.

While I was out

In the midst of my stressful move, I thought to myself, "There's no way I can go to work and get all this done by the end of the week." With that in mind, I decided to take Monday and Tuesday off to do some really hard work and then take it easy throughout the remainder of the week until Saturday morning.

Well, today was my first day back. The first thing I did in the morning was look around the room, and it was in great condition. No damage was done and the fish were still alive, so that was a good sign. I walked over to my desk and noticed the notes from my substitute teacher. She noted that the two days went smoothly and that she had lots of fun in my classroom. And then she proceeds to mention one exception: Two girls wrestled each other! She named the two girls who were involved and I couldn't believe it! Actually, one of the girls (Girl A) I can believe, but the other one (Girl B), there was no way. Girl A must have really pushed some buttons. I suppose I'm glad that I wasn't there.

Then it got me thinking. If she were to have mentioned 2 boys wrestling, I would have thought nothing of it. Hearing that it was 2 girls, I was shocked. Maybe I need to tighten up on "using words." My classroom is slowly turning into a zoo!

Movin' On Up!

At long last, I am packing and moving! Since 2006, I've been looking forward to moving into my new condo. When I first invested, they expected that I'd be able to move in by July of '08. Then they said August, then September, and then they said mid-October. Well, mid-October is now here and it's time to go!

For the last couple of weeks, I've been really overwhelmed with the homebuying process. I finally hit the tail end of the grueling process and signed all the final paperwork on Friday. I get to pick up my keys tomorrow! Movers come on Saturday to help move all the big stuff and that will be it. It has been a huge learning experience for me. The paperwork, the money, all the different parties involved--title company, real estate, lenders, banking, and my mother--have all taught me a lot about the process and all the work and communication that goes into it. It's all I've been able to think about for the last month or two, and now that I've only got a couple of days to go, I can't believe the time is finally here! Good thing I took a couple of days off to finish packing.

I really am so excited to move into a new home that I will actually own now. However, my time renting on Roy Street has been so much fun. I would have to say that the greatest time of my life has been the last 3 years that I have lived in this apartment. I love my location, my view, my apartment, and all that it has to offer. I think my friends and family would agree that Roy Street was quite the headquarters for a good time.

Well, I suppose the headquarters is just relocating. Rest assured that life and times will only get better after next weekend. Good bye, Roy Street. Hello Veer Lofts!

My apartment is in CHAOS (Can't Have Anybody Over Syndrome)

Friday afternoon, I went downtown to sign for my new place. Mom Sonia came with me and took a picture. It was a quite a monumental moment!

Reunited and it Feels So Good!

Top: Sherwin, Jason, Norea, Ervin, and Paul
Bottom: Lorial, LJ, and Maricel (my roommate in the Philippines)
I'm randomly in between top and bottom

Back in 2003 at the University of Washington, I went to class one morning and my Filipino professor (Dr. Bonus, who is totally awesome) began class with an announcement. He announced that there was a new study abroad program offered to students throughout the USA, that would run throughout the summer at the University of the Philippines. My ears immediately perked up, and I was instantly interested. So, that summer, I packed up and went to the Philippines to study along with 31 other college student from everywhere in the US. We were the guinea pigs of this new program, so we all kind of struggled together, and had so much fun doing it.

My time in the Philippines that summer was one of the most enriching experiences of my entire life. I learned a lot about my own heritage, and most importantly, I met some really great people who will be my friends for the rest of my life. We were all part of something so great, and this group of people mean a great deal to me. Though I was not super close to all of them, we all had a lot of respect for each other, and when we were all together, it was such a good time. You would think that 31 college-aged young adults with very different personalities would create drama, but we had nothing but a good time together. I kept in touch closely with some, who also kept in touch with others, who kept in touch with others, so we're all still connected somehow.

Last weekend, some friends from the program flew in to Seattle from New Jersey, New York, Chicago, LA, Santa Cruz, and Alaska for a mini-reunion and it was so great to see them all. We truly picked up where we left off, even after 5 years. It was nice to see that everyone is doing wonderful things in their lives. The weekend came and went all too quickly. I can't wait to see them all again.

I've been tagged. . . (by Mar)

Ten years ago I . . .

1. I was a sophomore in high school.
   
2. was Sophomore Class President
   
3. was on the cheer squad
   
4. had my driver's permit
   
5. lived with my parents and my bedroom was just across the hallway from theirs.
   

5 things on today’s to-do list . . .

1. Pack up my apartment
   
2. Prepare lessons for class tomorrow
   
3. Send loan papers to Countrywide
   
4. Call Honda
   
5. Finish newsletter for class
   

5 snacks I enjoy . . .

1. Pirate's Booty
   
2. Nectarines
3. Sugar Snap Peas
   
4. Chips and Salsa
   
5. White Cheddar Cheez-Its
   

5 things I would do if I were a millionnaire . . .

1. Buy a house on the top of Queen Anne overlooking Seattle
   
2. Travel the world
   
3. Open up my own school
   
4. Hire a chef
   
5. Share it with my family.
   

5 places I have lived . . .

1. Lakewood, WA
   
2. University of Washington
   
3. Quezon City, Philippines (for 2 months)
   
4. Queen Anne, Seattle
   
5. South Lake Union, Seattle (in about 2 weeks!)
   

5 jobs I have had . . .

1. baby sitter
   
2. back up singer
   
3. kindergarten teacher
   
4. first grade teacher
5. full-time daydreamer
   

I tag . . . Steph!

The End of an Era. . .

Sad news, ladies and gentlemen. My beloved active student who I've mentioned in my last few posts has transfered to another school. It was a decision made by her whole family, which will make their lives much easier since her new school is closer to home. Her final day with us was on Thursday, and that afternoon we had a good-bye party for her, complete with cupcakes, dancing, and a friendship circle in which all the children had to mention something that they'll miss about her. Things mentioned were, "I'll miss how she lets me cut her in line," "I'll miss playing games with her in math, " and "I don't know."

I wish the young lady well in her new school. . . and I will pray for her new teacher.

Now my classroom is down to 16 students, 2 of whom were absent on Friday. Man, was it a good Friday!

Inspector Catty and Daddy

So, I had the total case of the "Mondays" today. . . until about 3:30pm.

• I woke up sick this morning. Egh.
• The kids were crazy. They had a case of the "Mondays" too.
• My check engine light is on AGAIN after weeks of dealing with the dealership, the insurance, the autobody shop, and rental car people.

However, there was a great part of the day. Actually, it was so awesome. I had my first inspection for my new condo earlier today at 3:30, and I instantly forgot all of my Monday woes. As soon as the bell rang, I left school and met my dad at the condo, and arriving there was all so wonderful! We looked around the the unit and found just a couple of knicks and scratches here and there, but nothing that a painter can't fix. Then I got back to my current apartment, and as soon as I walked in, I thought, "Man, get me out of this craphole!"

Here are a couple of pictures of my new home, and I can't wait for you all to see it in person. (Please excuse the quality. These were taken on my phone. I forgot my actual camera.) I should have taken more pictures. These pics do the new place no justice.


(The woman in the photos is the Veer Lofts representative, Deanna. She had a really sharp eye for things that my dad and I didn't see.)

TGIF!

Today we had a walking field trip to a P-Patch a couple of blocks away from our school. The children brought clipboards and a pencil so they can make observation drawings of the plants that were at the P-Patch. They've been so hyped about this field trip all week, and they were so fascinated by all the plants and creatures there. The entire trip took up 2 hours of our morning, and we were back in time for lunch.

When they got back from lunch, they were so grumpy! I think the field trip had exhausted them all, and there was constant arguing and tears, whining and tattling. They were all so tired that they just couldn't even handle the day anymore, and I had ended up having to put out so many fires.

I was consoling a child who was crying because he didn't have enough time to play on the monkey bars, and we were talking about the situation. He was crying hard enough to not be able to talk because of the stuttering inhale. I reached and gave him a prolonged hug, and as I was releasing from the hug, he dug his head into my stomach and wiped his nose on my sweatshirt! I looked down and took a deep breath, thinking to myself, "Oh HELL no! Are you kidding me?!"

It really was one of those "Calgon, take me away!" moments. I hope they all get good rest over the weekend.

Repeat Offender. . .

So, the same girl who tried to agree with me that she'd be good every OTHER day found herself having another discussion with Miss Picardal today. (I've actually had discussions with her every single day, but this one was particularly funny.)

During math time, the children use little mini white boards and dry erase markers for quick mental math problems. Each table has their own bin of white boards that they bring to their table during that time, and put away after we're done with mental math. Well, we had just finished the last mental math question and I instructed for everyone to put their white boards and their markers into the bins and one person from each table put the bin away.

So, she was in charge of putting her bin away for her table, and she was waiting on one person to put his materials in the bin. And so, in a robot voice, she kept asking the one person and just kept repeating, "Put it in the bin. Put it in the bin. Put it in the bin. Put it in the bin. Put it in the bin. . ." Over and over and over again, and it was driving me absolutely up the wall. I said, "Excuse me (name), please stop saying that. When you keep saying it over and over again like that, it gets very annoying to the rest of us. You just need to ask once, and if he doesn't hear you, you can ask again."

She said, "Ok, like this? Put it in the bin."

I said, "Yes. Just like that."

She said, "Or how about like this? Put it in the bin." (She said it in a normal voice.)

I said, "Yes, that's fine too."

She said, "What about this? Put it in the bin." (In a robot voice again.)

I said, "Sure. . . "

She said, "Or maybe this? Put it in the bin." (In a happy voice.)

I said, "Ok."

She said, "Or what about this?. . ."

I said, "Now, you're repeating yourself again."

Let's make a deal.

So, the summer is over. Yes, it was great. I had family time, friends time, me time. I couldn't ask for more. I was so not looking forward to work again, mainly because I had to change classrooms (which any teacher knows is a complete pain in the you know what) and I switched teams too. To me, they were both changes that I really didn't want to happen, but I did it for the good of the school. (Yay me, right?)

We've finished 2 weeks of school. First week was the honeymoon phase--the children were just getting to know each other and me, so there was a lot of hesitation to be "their true selves." Now that we're starting to catch onto the routine and getting more comfortable in our surroundings, the personalities are starting to come out. This means, I'm starting to see the good, the bad, and the ugly. (No, it's really not that bad, but you know what I mean.)

There's this one girl in particular, who is just in her own little world and very social. My mom would tell me that I was this student when I was younger. You can tell she's always thinking of something else other than what she should be focusing on because she will, in the middle of a lesson, get up out of her seat and go to her backpack, or at any given moment bust out in song, or walk over to her friend and ask her a question, ask a question completely irrelevant to the topic, etc. Well, just the other day, I had to "redirect" her about 7 times in 10 minutes, which is truly not an exaggeration. So, during recess, we sat and talked about the importance of listening and how it effects her learning and the learning of the rest of the class, yada yada yada. Here is her response:

"Ok, Miss Picardal. I'll be good every other day."

As if it was negotiable. I would go on with what I said, but I thought that would be a good ending.

Rollin'

As part of my "trying to work it out" kick, I went for a run yesterday. My Auntie Lita, my Manong Mark and his family, Tin, Michael and my parents were coming to visit me and I wanted to get a quick run in to start my day. I had the day all planned out. I would wake up early, go for a run along Lake Union, go to the store and get some fresh fruit to serve, clean up my apartment, get myself showered and ready, the guests would arrive, and then I'd go with them to sight-see around Seattle. That was the plan.

I felt good about my plan. I even woke up earlier than scheduled and got a head start on my day. I put my workout clothes on, grabbed my iPod and I hit the ground running. I was on my way down Mercer Street about 5 minutes into my run, when all of a sudden my right foot hit a patch of crooked concrete and my ankle rolled. . . HARD. (I'd rolled my ankle before, but it had never hurt this bad.) So, I had to stop because at the time, the pain was quite excruciating. Then I realized that my only way back home was to walk. I didn't have my cell phone with me, so I couldn't call anybody to pick me up. I could have stopped in QFC and asked to use a telephone, but I don't remember any numbers of friends who live close by. After about 5 minutes of squatting on the sidewalk and holding my ankle in pain, I got up and started limping back home. . . in tears (because I'm a big baby).

The tears were a result of physical pain and mental frustration. My thoughts were, My ankle is in serious pain and I have to walk all the way home on it? . . . and DAMN! I won't be able to do all the things I planned to do today. . . and I just want my mom! The pain had intensified and my ankle started to swell pretty bad, so when I got home I sat on the couch and put ice on it. I called my parents, told them what happened, and cried to them about how my ankle hurt and how I was frustrated. Then Tin called and she and Michael suggested to wrap it. I told them that I didn't have any Ace Bandage-like wraps, so Michael said pajama pants would do. After looking through my drawers, I found some leggings. They were stretchy and more Ace Bandage-ish, so I opted for the leggings (Ghetto, I know, but desperate times call for desperate measures). I sat on the couch for about an hour and half with my ankle wrapped and iced. It started to feel better, so I limped around to do a little tidying up and then got showered and ready for the guests to arrive.

When they arrived the ankle was topic of conversation. After consulting with 2 doctors (Auntie Lita and Manong Mark) and an athlete (Michael), I was diagnosed with a sprained ankle, so I'm out of commission for about 1-2 weeks (All my work out hopes and dreams are shattered). I knew I wouldn't be able to go around the city with everyone, but I really wanted to spend time with them. So, while my mom, Auntie Lita, Manong Mark and his family started walking to the Seattle Center, my dad drove Tin, Michael and me to Bartell's to buy an Ace Bandage and then he drove us to the Seattle Center to meet up with the rest of them for lunch. After lunch, I sat on a bench and watched Tin and Michael dominate the carnival games and win like 1000 prizes while the rest of them went up to the top of the Space Needle.

Although I didn't get to do the rest of the city tour with everyone, I was really thankful that they were willing to accommodate my gimp ankle. It was so nice to see everyone and hang out with them, even for just a short while.

Today my ankle feels different. There's not as much constant throbbing as there was yesterday, but it hurts more to walk on it. I'd put post a picture, but that requires me getting up and limping around to get my camera and the computer hook-ups, so pictures will have to come another time. . . Maybe in 1-2 weeks.

A Baby Story

My sister Mar put my nanny services to use this week. From 7am Monday morning to 8:30pm Wednesday evening, I was a live-in nanny at her and her husband's house to help her with Isaac and Mia while Vince was at work. Needless to say, there was never a dull moment. Much props to Mar and Vince for doing it every single day and night. You go!

Over the last 3 days I've learned that teaching a classroom full of 6 and 7 year old children is easier than raising 2 of my own. I've also learned to take advantage of their nap time because you are on the go every single second that their eyes are open. I've helped her out before, but not for any longer than 8 hours, so this was definitely a learning experience for me. Nevertheless, I had a ton of fun. I always have fun with those kiddos.

Yesterday we went to the University Village to play, eat, and shop a little. When we arrived there, Mar stayed in the car as she fed Mia and I took Isaac straight to the playground area. I almost had a heart attack at one point because I thought he was going to fall from the top of the big toy all the way to the ground. Luckily, he got to the top and turned right back around to backtrack his way down. After feeding, Mar and Mia met us at the playground. It was time for the rest of us to eat too, so we went to a pasta restaurant in he village to get Isaac some of his favorite dish--Mac and Cheese! We all ate until Isaac got full, which didn't take long at all. He started to get antsy, so we decided to look around the stores. Our first and only stop was Pottery Barn Kids. Isaac had a blast because of the basketballs and the basketball hoop. Even more fun for him was the pink kid-sized baby stroller, with which he managed to run over some strangers' toes. Because he was such a threat to shoppers, I had to take the stroller away from him and return it back to the corner where it belonged. As I was putting it back, Mar was trying to talk to me, and mid-sentence Mar stops and says, "Isaac?" and no reply. She says it again, and still no reply. We start looking around the store a little, and no Isaac. Finally, Mar looks outside and there he is walking away from the store. Yikes! We decided it was time to start heading back home.

We start making our way to the car, and I'm pushing Mia's stroller without Mia in it. So, behind me is Mar holding Mia in the Baby Bjorn and holding Isaac's hand at the same time. We pass through the courtyard where people are eating at little bistro tables, and there's music playing. All of a sudden I hear Isaac fussing and Mar saying, "C'mon, Isaac, let's go," and then I hear her laughing. I look back and Isaac had stopped in the middle of the courtyard to dance to the music ("Just Another Day" by John Secada. LOL), and everyone is watching. He danced for maybe a good 3 or 4 minutes, keeping the diners and other passers by quite entertained. In the middle of his show, Mar told me to get him, so I walked over there and reached for his hand and he pushed me away and continued dancing. I you can't beat them, join them, so I took a step back and started dancing with him and he pushed me away again! He totally loved being in the spotlight! All the while, Mia was peacefully sleeping in her Baby Bjorn. It was the cutest thing. This was most certainly one of the highlights of my last 3 days.

I recorded some of Isaac's impromptu performance on my phone. Enjoy the show!

Trying to Work it Out!

So, within the last year I have really been slacking on eating healthy and being active. Before that, I hardly ate any white rice, pasta, potatoes, or white bread. I ate much more wheat based pastas and breads, lots of fruits, veggies, and proteins, and I made sure to take a walk around the city or go for a run. I even joined 24 Hour Fitness and got a trainer for a couple of months. Last summer, I was in the best shape of my life. I could run forever, do at least 20 real push-ups, and I just felt really good inside and out. September came and it seemed like I just could not find any time or anymore energy to even put my workout clothes on. My students wore me out! I think I've actually run maybe 5 or 6 times within all these months. I just kept telling myself, "You've gone to work and the gym in the same day many many many times. It's possible! You have no excuses." But I felt so drained by the end of the day that I just couldn't do it. Now my clothes are a little more snug, some I don't even wear anymore, and I look at pictures of myself from this time last year and think, "I want to look like that again!"

Well, school is out and weather is gorgeous, so I've been making an effort to start running and working out again to get back into shape. Man, has it been really hard! Last summer, I was running for at least 45 minutes straight, sometimes twice or 3 times around Greenlake. I know I'm not going to run 45 minutes straight anytime this week, and it'll be a while building up to that, but I have to start somewhere. Right now I'm starting at 20 minutes, with intervals of different speeds to avoid monotony. As far as diet. . . Well, I'm still working on that. My diet could be much better than it is right now, but I find myself eating socially quite often. I yet have to cook a meal at home on my own since school has been out.

It's really just an energy cycle. When I work out and eat right, I have more energy and motivation to do it again the next day. When I don't work out and eat like crap, I have less energy and less or no motivation to get up and do anything. I'm not feeling super great about my condition quite yet because I know I have a ways to go, but I'm excited that I'm a day closer to getting back into shape and being healthier again. I'm definitely motivated to being a better and healthier me.

Just Shootin' the Breeze

Yesterday I took a road trip and a ferry boat ride to Herron Island. Every year for the school auction, each team of teachers must come up with an auction prize. In the past, some of the auction prizes included a day on the beach with your teachers, baking cookies with your teachers, a baseball game with your teachers, or a soccer clinic with your teachers. This year Donna, Mason and I thought it would be fun idea for our prize to be a day on Herron Island with the Team 2 teachers. The student that won the auction was allowed to invite 2 of his friends from the team, so in all we invited 3 children and their families. Knowing the students who were coming and their families, Donna, Mason and I were really excited to spend the day on the island.

Herron Island is a small private island in the Puget Sound. It's about 3 miles around, and the houses there are owned by retirees or by people who want to own a getaway home. Donna bought a place there about 6 or 7 years ago, and just this year she and her husband Mark have been renovating it. They finished this spring, just in time to host our auction prize.

I had an early morning because I had to catch the 9am ferry, and it would take about an hour and a half to get there. So, I got up at 6, got myself ready, and was out of the house by 7. I needed to actually get to the dock earlier than 9 in order to get on the ferry because the ferry is so small. It only fits up to 9 compact cars, so I needed to make sure I was at the front of the line. I arrived there at about 8:45 with about 12 cars in front of me. Luckily Mason had a super early start and was 2nd in the line of cars, so I parked my car, hopped in his and we made the 9am ferry. We were welcomed by Mark at the other dock, and he led he way from the dock to their house.

All the other families arrived in the ferry ride behind Mason and me, which gave us just enough time to help Donna put breakfast on the table. So our students Jackson, Lucas, and Marlee all arrived with their families and we had breakfast together. We all chatted over coffee, popovers, croissants, and fruit. After breakfast, we headed to the beach. Right off the beach is also a boat dock, where Mark put down a couple of crab traps. Jackson's parents brought over some kayaks, Marlee's parents brought down a cooler of beer and snacks, and Lucas' parents brought over some good wine, as did Jackson's parents, so there was a lot to do for all the adults and the children. None of us communicated with each other about bringing anything, but everyone just brought something different on their own, and it was great. While the children ran around the beach and up and down the dock checking the crab trap, the adults sat and talked, laughing and drinking. After a while, the ladies stayed behind while the men and the children took Mark's motor boat over to another part of the coast and dug for clams. They were gone for probably an hour, and they came back with a large bucketful of clams! Stewart, Jackson's dad, has a clam digging license, so don't worry. . . it' was totally legal.

By the time we left the beach and headed back to the Donna's place, it was already time to start preparing for dinner. As Donna and Mark prepared dinner, the children and Dana (Jackson's mom) started tie-dying some t-shirts, while the rest of us sat around some more and told more stories. Dinner was absolutely delicious. We had bugers, hotdogs, Mark's tasty potato salad and even tastier baked beans. The most delicious of all were the clams. They were so good and fresh. And for dessert we had s'mores. By 6pm it seemed the eventful day began to wind down. We helped Donna and Mark start to put things away and the families began packing up their cars. We headed to the dock by about 6:20 and got onto the 6:30 ferry back.

I had a lot of fun on the island with everyone. I got to know some great families I wouldn't have really gotten to know otherwise. I know Marlee's family, but I have only chit chatted with Jackson and Lucas' parents in passing, but we hadn't sat down and talked to each other before. To spend a day with them was really enriching. I'm sad I won't have them on the team next year again, since they're children are moving on to 2nd grade. Neverthless, I'm so glad I got to know them.

On my way home, I visited Stephanie at home since I passed it by on my way home to Seattle. She and Carson were chillin' at home. He had just gotten his bath and was ready for dinner. Steph and I just hung out and watched Carson and laughed at anything he did. That kid is so funny.

I had a good day just shootin' the breeze with great company wherever I went.

Adventures in the NW and Father's Day.

My dad has 6 brothers and sisters, all of whom live in the Puget Sound area with the exception of one of his sisters, my Auntie Lea. She lives in San Jose with her family--my Uncle Roger and my 2 cousins Mark and Leanne. They came up to Tacoma to visit last week for Father's Day weekend and to celebrate Auntie Lea's 50th birthday. It's always exciting to hang out with my out-of-town cousins. Mark comes to Washington at least once a year, and out of his family, he's the one we see most often. He has come to visit almost every summer since he was young, and for the last couple of years the cousins have made it our "thing" to do something adventurous when he's here. The other year it was going to Family Fun Center (as a teen it's adventurous, I guess), last year we went kayaking, and this year we topped it all, but it wasn't just one thing. It felt like a week of adventures and that's what made it so great.


The Thursday before Father's Day, G, Tan, and Mark came up to Seattle to visit me after work,
and David stopped by too. We all decided we were hungry, so I thought we could eat at The 5 Spot on top of Queen Anne Hill. It was a gorgeous evening, so we stopped at Kerry Park, also at the top of the hill, to see the view. I'm not exactly sure if Tan or G had ever seen the view from the park, but I knew Mark hadn't seen it, so I thought it would be nice for all of us to see the city skyline and take pictures. After a quick photo shoot, we proceeded to dinner. Food at The 5 Spot was really delicious and the servings were quite generous, so we were content. We all ordered something totally different, but Tan and Mark ended up finishing everything. They were our garbage disposals. After dinner, we took a night ride to Fremont to see the Fremont Troll underneath the Aurora Bridge. I remember seeing the troll during the day and feeling a little creeped out, so for sure I was a little scared at 9 o'clock at night. It was a fun night. Any time spent with the family on a weekday is always a pleasure. It makes my work week feel less monotonous. Any time spent with the family on any given day is always a pleasure!

Two days later on Saturday, we rented scooters for the whole day and scooted our way throughout every inch of Seattle. It was so awesome! A couple of weeks ago Ardon and I were driving down Mercer Street and we drove by a scooter rental called Scoot About. Ardon thought it would be fun to rent scooters, so when we got back to my place he did some research on rates, which weren't bad at all. One thing that caught his eye was that if we could get 5 or more people together, we would get a group rate with a 10% discount. I mentioned that Mark was coming into town for Father's Day weekend, and that my other cousins would love to do it, so we planned for then. I rallied the troops--Tan, Mark, and David--and we were good to go. A couple of days before the scooter adventure I was a little apprehensive because I wasn't sure how I'd fit on a scooter since I'm so short. I didn't even know if I'd be able to get my own scooter or if I'd have ride behind somebody. And even if I did get my own scooter, what if I rev up when I'm supposed to brake and crash?! To ease my anxiety, Ardon called in ahead of time and told them that he's got somebody who is 4'9" and wants to ride, and they said that I could ride the Honda Metropolitan since it's lowest to the ground. It did make me feel a little better knowing that they had something for me. Saturday morning comes along and Mark, Tan, David, and Ardon arrive at my place around 9:30 so we could be at the scooter place by 10am and scoot around from 10-6, since that's the time frame that you can get a group discount with. We get to Scoot About and we get all the paperwork done, and then they bring us out to the vast parking lot to introduce us to our scooters. Mark, Tan, David and Ardon have bright yellow bad-ass looking scooters and I have a cream colored little scooter with pink accents. It was love at first sight for me. They give us the whole run down of what all the buttons are for, how to fill up the gas tank, etc. Then, it's judgment time. I get on my scooter and I FIT! I could sit on it and still touch the ground. They have us do a trial run around the parking lot, and I must admit, my trial run made me even more nervous than I already was. I pretty much sucked. . . but I knew I could do it. I was determined to scoot! I did more trial runs than anyone else in the group just to get more comfortable, and after a little while, I was ready to hit the road, and that's what we did. Our first stop was Fremont, we passed the Troll and then stopped to eat. Then we went to Gasworks, through the U-District, through Laurelhurst, up to Capitol Hill, back to Queen Anne, then down south to the Seward Park area. After about half an hour on the road, I got so used to it and scooted around with ease. (I'm actually considering investing in one. It's such a gas saver, which is a bonus, especially with the insane gas prices these days.) It was an amazingly fun time. I told the boys they look like delinquents because they all had black hoodies, jeans, tennis shoes, and the same yellow scooter, and then there's little old me on my little pink scooter. When we were on our way to Seward Park, I remember overhearing a lady on the side of the street say, "Oh, and there's a lady too!" I can't even describe how much fun I had that day. Great company, great weather, and great scooters. Such a wonderful way to start my summer, and definitely a day I'll never forget.


The next day was Father's Day and Auntie Lea's birthday. We had a family celebration at Auntie Venus's house. Needless to say there was a kitchenfull of an endless supply of food and lots of laughter. It was the first time in a long while that the entire Picardal clan was all together, with the exception of Christian and Tan because they had to work. We all saw it as a great opportunity to take a Picardal family photo.


School finally ended on Tuesday the 17th. I was dead tired and Ardon was really sweet and brought me some take-out from McMenamin's and we watched the Celtics beat the Lakers for the NBA championship. The next day we went for a hike at Snoqualmie Falls. Earlier that morning, the weather was still pretty cloudy and we weren't sure if we should go because it looked like it could start to rain, but we decided that since both of us were on vacation, we should go. I'm glad be decided to do it because the weather cleared and it turned out to be another beautiful day.

So, in the last 2 months . . .

I completely acknowledge that I have not been stellar at keeping up with my blog within the last couple of months. In all this time, I just kept thinking "There's nothing exciting to write about." As I look back at the time that my blog has been idle, I have to admit that I was so totally wrong! I've had a lot of exciting things happen, I guess I've just been too lazy to blog about it. Now that school is out, I've got all the time in the world! In this post, I will do my best to reflect on the really cool things that I've experienced in the past 2 months. Beware. It's gonna be a long one! . . .

May 5 (Cinco de Mayo): My new niece Mia was born! All 6 pounds and 7 ounces of her came crying quite loudly into the world. None of my family made it to the hospital in time to see it because she came out so quickly. Now Isaac has a little sister, and it's so exciting to see the 2 of them grow. My aunties think she looks a lot like me, so I say she's going to grow up to be really hot. She is quite the looker!Baby Mia.

Vince, Isaac, Mia, and Mar. Their first family photo.

May 9: The weather was really pretty for a while. (Operative word "WAS." What's up with the weather these days?) It just so happens that the school that I teach at, Gatewood Elementary, is located very closely to Lowman beach, so when my teammates and I got too lazy to plan any lessons, we decided to take a walking field trip to Lowman Beach. We're so fortunate to have the option to just get up and go. Well, what about permission slips, you ask? Have no fear. In the beginning of the year, we had all the parents/guardians fill out a general walking field trip permission slip which is valid for any walking field trips throughout the year, so we were good to go. The children had so much fun. They were so fascinated by all the creatures, objects, and plants that live at the beach. The baby crabs and smooth rocks were the most commonly collected creatures and objects. They could have spent the entire day there. The teachers enjoyed the time at the beach as well. It's really refreshing for everyone to step out of the classroom for a while. The following week, we took another walking field trip to Lincoln Park.

Walking down to Lowman Beach. Stay on the path!

The kids found so many crawly critters.

May 16: I finally got to watch Ardon perform!!! I was super excited because word on the street is that he's pretty awesome at scratching, so as soon as I found out that he was going to perform, I made sure to free up the night so I could go watch. So, Ardon has been scratching since he was 13 or 14 or so, he has toured around the country and won a number of competitions scratching. Scratching and music is his love. He has put his music on hold for the last 2 years because he chose to go back to school and finish college at the University of Washington, something that I'm really proud of him for. He and I have been together for less than a year, so I had not seen him perform. I was excited to be in the audience, and he was even more excited to be on stage again. He performed with his buddy, Ced and they did about 15 minutes of scratching to beats that Ardon made, which were pretty dope. It was so great to watch Ardon in his element. I could tell he was really hyped to be up there again and he was awesome. I'm a big fan.

Ced and Ardon scratching.

May 19: Tin and Michael visited my classroom for the first time. It was a Monday afternoon and they had just spent that weekend in Michigan. Tin called me earlier that day and said that she and Michael were on their way home from the airport, and had nothing else to do, so they wanted to come visit me in the classroom with my kids. I was so excited to have them come and watch me teach. Tin had not seen me in action before, so not only was I excited but, a little nervous because she's a teacher too. She's also my sister, so I knew she would be totally honest with her opinions on my teaching style. I had just finished teaching the lesson and the children began their individual work time as Tin and Michael walked in. I thought the group was a little loud and some were off task, and it felt a little chaotic to me, so I was expecting Tin and Michael to agree with my own observations. To my surprise, they had nothing but really great things to say about my class. They told me how good the kids were, and how patient they were with teaching Michael how to make paper claws. They said that when they walked in, they were impressed with how well the kids were working, and even the kids who weren't really working, weren't disrupting the class. Their observations made me realize what a great group I have and how picky I am as a teacher. After that day, I truly felt better about my class and about myself as a teacher.

Michael, the children, and paper claws!

May 30: Ardon is the concert coordinator the for the University of Washington. Basically he and his crew put their heads together to find acts to book on campus at the UW, and it's their job to put the shows together. It's quite a perk dating somebody who works in "show biz" because I've got to meet a number of up and coming comedians, bands, and singers. His final big show of the year was the "Concert on the Lawn" where a number of bands played throughout the afternoon and the evening. There were some really great bands that played, and they brought out Judah Friedlander to host the show. You might know him as "Frank" from the NBC comedy "30 Rock." Concert on the Lawn was a lot of fun. The weather was beautiful that afternoon and even more gorgeous in the evening. I had the opportunity to sit and chat with Trevor (Ardon's boss) and his wife Sandy, and I really enjoyed their company. Sandy teaches high school history, so she and I had a lot talk about, but even deeper than that, she and Trevor are just really good people. We all really just talked and laughed for hours. It was a really nice evening spent.

Backstage with Ardon and Judah Friedlander.
Looking down at their shirtswithout making a face.

June 11: It's Team 2 Camp Time!!! Wow, do the children look forward to this every year! At the end of each school year, we have camp. We don't go off to a camp site, we don't stay overnight. We simply just put all the desks, chairs, and shelves aside, bring in our sleeping bags, and pitch a tent. We have it during regular school hours--the children come to school in the morning, we cook breakfast in the classroom, we have camp, and they go home in the afternoon. Every year, I try to make a camp theme in the classroom that is special to the group. Last year, I made a big tree in the middle of the classroom and put a treehouse in the tree because we read through the entire series of "The Magic Treehouse." Needless to say, the children loved it. This year, I didn't read through a series, so it was a little more difficult to come up with a theme. I was shopping through Target and came upon a tent in the shape of a giraffe, and it was PERFECT! We had studied about being "giraffes" and sticking our necks out to help other people, so there was my theme! I also got a huge rustic looking flower pot, stuck it in the middle of the classroom, filled it with books, and we called it the "Watering Hole." Just like water nourishes the animals, books nourish our brains. Cheesy, I know, but I had to come up with something, so I went with it. I put tables in the corners of each classroom and they used the tables as their tents. I had so many things planned for the children to do during camp, but all they wanted to do was chill in their sleeping bags. Man, was it quiet all week! Bust out the sleeping bags, and it will quiet those kids down. It's so calming for them to be confined to a cozy sleeping bag. Let the kids go into their sleeping bags with a book, pop in a nature CD, and it's quiet for at least an hour. Even better, we called the giraffe the "Gentle Giraffe" and the children that are managing themselves in their table tents will have the privilege to go into the gentle giraffe and do whatever they want to do all by themselves so long as they are being gentle in the giraffe. Camp is so much fun for the teachers and the kids. I'm definitely looking forward to it again.

Team 2 Camp: Gentle Giraffe, The Watering Hole, and table tents!

These are the highlights of my life the last couple of months. This summer will be full of even more highlights, and I won't be too lazy to blog about it!