Maui Day 4

Chillin in the hotel with the fam. Xavier is wearing Mia's sandals. Little Mia and Big Xavier.
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Maui Day 3

Mia and Isaac in Wailea.

Maui Day 2

Ardon is the coolest cat on the beach with his t-shirt and backpack. He can only introduce parts of his body at a time to the sun. Poor guy.

Maui, Baby!

ALOHA! Day 1

March Sadness

My Huskies lost today. It was a tough battle against UNC, and I would have loved to see them play in the Sweet 16, but we just couldn't pull it off. Between biased refs, our careless turnovers, and a controversial finish, we were simply out-played today. The Huskies had an incredible season this year, and gave U-Dub fans a reason to show purple pride. They have restored my hope in Seattle sports, and I can't wait until next year. Here's my tribute to my dawgs.

Back in Business

Before. January 2011

After. March 17, 2011

Back in December, the roof in my office leaked after the snow and the rain came pouring down. I walked into my classroom one morning and found debris and puddles on the floor in my office. Weeks later, district maintenance men shoved/dumped everything out of my office, and into my classroom, and sealed it all off. It was an absolute disaster and it continued to stay disastrous for months until yesterday, hoping that somebody will come in, fix it, and put it all back. Since they dumped everything, I hadn't been able to find anything I needed, I had no desk space, the children couldn't find books they wanted to read, and it seemed like they didn't care about a messy classroom. It was keeping me up at night. Earlier this week, I found out that we are now more uncertain about when it will be fixed. Apparently, the repair costs are higher than expected, so now they have to "bid it out." The good news is, the exterior is repaired, and the source of the leak has been addressed. Now the drywall in my office is the only thing left to fix. Chances are, it won't get done anytime this year because of budget cuts. Yesterday, I hit my breaking point. I'd had it! I wanted my classroom back! So, I got in the zone. I spent 3 hours after school last night, two hours before school this morning, and another 2 hours after school today sorting, organizing, purging, and just getting my classroom back together. And it feels good! I told my custodian that if he hears from them, please tell them to not come back until the summer. There's no way I'm going to go through this process again. I'm back in business and I'd like to stay that way.

Cold Blooded!

THIS is what college basketball is all about. Last Saturday, my alma mater beat the Arizona Wildcats for the Pac-10 championship. It was one of the most nail-biting, exciting, jumping out of my seat and all around my condo, best basketball games I have ever watched. University of Washington Huskies are Pac-10 champs! This clip gets me every time--perfection. I am so hyped to watch Isaiah Thomas and all of them play again on Friday against Georgia in the NCAA tournament (6:30pm on CBS). I'm wearing my purple and gold all week. GO DAWGS!

Ain't That the Truth?

希望 (Hope)

I hope and pray that the families that have been devastated by the earthquake and tsunami across Japan and the Pacific find the strength to overcome this tragedy. This morning, as a class we watched a bit of footage, and their reactions were so sincere. They had such empathy and their hearts really went out to those people who have been affected by the disaster. We took a moment of silence this morning to send good vibes their way. It was the very least we could do.

What's Cookin'?

I like to pride myself on my baking skills, especially my cookies. I also like to think I have a knack for cooking sometimes. I have established a few greatest hits. Notably my baked salmon, roasted veggies, special quesadillas, Tinola, and these days Adobo. Also to add to that list is a little Italian concoction I created a couple of years ago. I have no name or nickname for it. This dish remains nameless. However, folks that have gotten to taste it have given me rave reviews. It's one of Ardon's favorites. He has suggested that I blog it, and I thought that was a good idea. I hadn't made any for a long while, and made some for dinner tonight!

Ingredients Straight Out of the Bag: 6 large Crimini mushrooms (in the brown paper bag), a jar of your favorite red sauce, Farfalle (bowtie pasta), a package of sweet Italian sausage, 2 small zucchinis, flat leaf parsley, basil, garlic, and Peccorino Romano cheese

As the pasta (about 6 handfuls of dry Farfalle) is boiling in a pot, heat up a large skillet, coat the skillet with olive oil and throw in 3 cloves of minced garlic and all the mushrooms chopped. Let the mushrooms sweat a little then throw in all the zucchini chopped. Add salt and pepper. When the veggies have cooked a little bit, add the Italian sausage to the pan. Let all the sausage cook through. Add the red sauce, turn the heat to low, and mix it all around. When the pasta is done, use a spoon with holes in it to scoop out the pasta and add it directly to the skillet with the sauce and veggies. Mix everything together. Add a handful of parsley chopped and a handful of basil chopped. It should all look like this. . .



Plate some for you and your guests. Grate fresh Peccorino Romano over the top and serve.

Enjoy!

To Infinity and Beyond

Art by Isaac Villa, age 4

Gray Matter

I'm loving my new hairdo. I really enjoy how light it feels and how easy it is to maintain, and that I can wash and go and still leave home with confidence. Be that as it may, I just discovered an epic downside to my new locks... I can see my gray hair way more! In my bangs alone, there are 2 stark white hairs screaming, "HELLO! YOU'RE STRESSED AND AGING!" Even more devastating is that Ardon pointed them out to me.

We were walking around Target and he said, "Whoa, you have a white hair."

I was already aware that I had one in my bangs, and I said, "I know."

With wide eyes, he leaned in closer to me, ran his fingers through my hair and said, "Cat... Cat, don't hate me. Please don't hate me, but look." I turned around and looked in a mirror. He pointed out another white hair in my bangs! I stood there agape staring at myself in the mirror. In my head I was thinking, "I have two in my bangs, and about 5 others that I know of! Before I know it, I'll be salt and pepper all over."

A part of me really doesn't mind it because I think I'm aging gracefully. This is not to say that I'm old because I truly am a little youngin'. I'm barely 30 and I've my entire life ahead of me. I'm actually looking forward to turning 30 this year. Everyone I've spoken to has said that they became happier people when they hit the milestone. If that's true, bring it on!. Just don't let it show in my hair...

New 'Do!

No pair of scissors have touched my hair since last June. After butchering my hair back in 2009, I've been obsessed with growing my hair out (thanks to my bestest friend Mariano who, after I butchered my hair, continuously sent me pictures of me in high school and college when my hair was uber long, and reminded me of how luscious is can be, and has all the while been monitoring its progress by measuring the length of my ponytails), and I refused to trim even a single strand. I trimmed it once last June and that was it. Because I (and Mariano) had been focusing so much on length, I'd completely overlooked the whole style aspect, and finally realized.... Eh, I ain't lookin' too hot! Even Ardon said he was going to say something about it had I not gotten it done soon enough. If Ardon says something, then it must be pretty bad because he never gives his input on anything fashionable! It was really time. Ergo, the evolution and inspiration of the new 'do.

WAY BEFORE: September 2009. Short and sweet. I liked this look, but missed the long hair after about 2 months.

BEFORE: February 20, 2011. Seeing this picture was my turning point. After about a year and a half of growing it out, it was time for massive reshaping.

THE INSPIRATION: Actress Catherine Bell. I like her easy-breezy, trendy, face-framing bangs. Not too blunt and severe, but soft yet funky.

AFTER: February 25, 2011. Voila! Fresh from the salon, here I am! Hair done by Sarah B. at Vain in Belltown. It feels so much lighter now that I don't have so much dead weight on my head. And surprisingly enough, I think my hair looks LONGER! It's a win-win! (Please disregard the mess in the background. It's the laundry room/walk in closet.)