Staying Connected

I haven't been to the Philippines in 4 years--a record for me. I've gone at least once a year from 1993-2006. Every so often Ardon will ask about the Philippines, and we'll talk about it for a little bit. Today he asked me about the indigenous people of the Philippines. I told him about the Igorot people and that they live in the mountains. He asked to see pictures, so I did a little research online and showed him some pictures. I stumbled upon a couple of cool things. I found a photo blog of the Philippines that captures the small parts of the everyday lives of Filipinos. I think it's a fun way to keep up with the Philippines (without having to watch TFC). I also learned interesting factoids about Igorots.

Made out of pine wood, nails, bearings, and hinges, this scooters is powered by gravity and inertia and can travel up to 80 km/hour on a downhill ride. I want one! Unfortunately, they're not available online.

Batek (tribal tattoos) are a symbol of beauty for women and a symbol of strength for men. Some women would walk away from the tattoo process because the pain is excruciating and the swelling would take 2 weeks to heal. Those who chose to not decorate their bodies were considered weak and a bad omen for the community. Over the years, Batek has become a lost art.

Lucky Us

My students and I are so fortunate to be at a school that is located so close to the Puget Sound. Just a couple of blocks west of Gatewood is nestled a little wonderful place called Lowman Beach. At the beginning of the year, the students submit their walking field trip permission slips which is good for the whole year. So we are free to walk to the beach whenever we want. We took a little stroll down to the shore at the end of the school day in celebration of a successful first full week of school... And an introduction to our ecosystems science unit that starts on Monday. Maybe we'll just spend the whole science unit at the beach!...
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I Gave In

Ever since I started teaching, I made a vow to myself to not bring my work home with me. Work is work. Home is home. Well, for the first time since my first days as a teacher, I brought my work home. It's a Sunday evening and I'm sitting at my dining table reading over tomorrow's lessons, grading papers, and making labels. It had to be done. I will not let this become a habit. Oh, if only teachers got paid for overtime...
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Mic Test One Two.

Testing out the new mobile blogger method. Maybe this will help me to update this more often.
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In a Year and Four Months. . .

I know it's been quite some time since my last post--a year and 4 months to be exact. Lots has happened since that post. I'll do my best to cover all the highlights in chronological order, and I'll do my even better to keep up with this blog more often.

• Tin and Michael got pregnant and had a boy named Xavier who is now 7 months old. He's such a chill baby and so easy for anyone to babysit because he NEVER cries! Click here if you want to meet him!
  

• Mar and Vince got pregnant and had a boy named Roman who is now 3 months old. He's my little peanut. He is Mar and Vince's chill one so far. Isaac is almost 4 now and Mia is 2. Click here if you want to catch up with their growing family.
  

• Mom was diagnosed with Parkinson's and we're all doing the best we can to help her keep her spirits high and keep her moving and healthy. Being around the grandchildren is a great remedy.

• The cousins brought camping back in the summer of 09 after almost a 10 year hiatus. We set up camp at Twin Harbors along the Pacific coast right here in WA. So much fun!

• Mom, Dad, Mar, Tin, all the children, significant others, Ardon, and I all took a trip to Seaside, OR. It was fabulous. We hadn't taken a road trip, just us, in a long time. Nor had we been to Seaside in a while. It was a great little getaway. Ardon and I got a little glimpse of some of the woes of parenting--waking up in the middle of the night to hungry babies, and rising super early to the pitter-patter of little feet.
  

• Teaching has been a whirlwind. During the 2009-2010 school year, I switched back to teaming with Donna and Mason. I taught straight first grade, and my students were my golden group. Best group I've ever had.
  

• My college friends and I started a monthly Happy Hour. There are 4 of us that meet up every month, and each of us takes turns in picking a place to meet each month. All the places we've been to so far have been pretty awesome. Seattle is filled with great food.

• At the end of '09-'10 school year, the principal emailed the staff and asked if anyone was interested in teaching 4th and 5th grade multi-aged. I replied and expressed interest. I didn't hear anything back. A month later, went to a staff meeting and saw my name on the 4th/5th grade roster. It was official.
  

• Ardon and I traveled to Palm Springs for Cousin Cathy's wedding weekend. He met the Gacad side for the first time and we had so much fun.

• The summer of 2010 was full of life-changing events--all so bittersweet.

• In June, I packed up my first grade classroom for the last time.

• In July, I took my last road trip with Mario before he moved to Guam. We packed up, hopped in the car, and grabbed G. We went down to Cali. San Jose first to hang out with Al. Then over to Yuba City to visit Mario's family and pick up Cousin Bobby. Then to Vegas where it was 114 degrees. Then up to San Francisco, and then home to Seattle with Bobby in tow.

• Also in July, Tan left home to begin his adventures serving the country as a private in the US Army. The brother I never had is all grown up now.

• In August, Mario moved to Guam. We've been great friends since first grade and have always been within 10 minutes of each other, from first grade and into adulthood. It's quite the change for both of us.

• In August, my parents sold the Oakbrook house. The house that I was born into. The house I grew up in. The house that EVERYONE knew. The house that was synonymous with Picardal. The house full of so many memories. They bought a one-level house in Bothell, which is really exciting for my parents and the rest of us. They will be close to their grandchildren and Mom can be more independent in navigating her way around the house.

• In August, Grandpa Perfecto had a massive stroke and passed away almost 2 weeks later. It was such a shock, and we were all devastated, but we all felt a little more at peace knowing that he's with Grandma Nory again.
  

• Now, I'm in my first year of teaching 4th/5th grade, and I feel like it's my first year of teaching all over again. So far, so good. Then again, it has only been 3 days.
  

There you have it. Stay tuned for more.

Memorial Day Weekend with the Cousins

I spent Memorial Day weekend here in Seattle. I really didn't have any plans, and just thought I'd go with the flow day by day. It would be a very relaxing 3 days off. Well, the weekend played out even better than I expected. Friday night I spent with my family at my parents' condo here in Belltown. I'm so glad they're so close and I can hang out with them whenever they're here. Saturday morning, I went back to my parents' condo for breakfast, hung out at the park with Ardon, and then had a fabulous dinner and perused the city on a beautiful Seattle night with more family again! Yesterday (Sunday), my cousins, Tin, Michael and I went out to Lake Union for a kayaking excursion. The weather has been so beautiful all weekend, so the combination of amazing Seattle weather and such a great family made my Memorial Day weekend memorable. I guess today will be my day to relax. Not bad.

David and Tan.
The last time we went kayaking, Tan flipped. He managed to stay afloat this time!

Tin and Michael.
The rowing for their adventure measured out about 10% Tin and 90% Michael.
It was pretty hilarious to watch.

G and me.
We don't know what makes us row so slow.
We were, by far, the first ones to head back to the docks, and the last ones, by far, to arrive. It's all good. We got our tans!

May Days

It's pretty wild to think that little Mia is already a year old! Mar and Vince invited the whole family to the Mexican restaurant Azteca to celebrate the little princess's birthday, which was pretty festive for a Cinco de Mayo birthday. Since Cinco de Mayo landed on a Tuesday this year, we all got together for the celebration the Sunday before. Filling a restaurant with the whole family is always a lot of fun.

Sometime during the celebration Nishi and Gemma came up with the swell idea of having a cousin dinner at my place. I walked up to their table, and immediately hear, "So, we're going to come over to your place for dinner next time." I say, "Oh, that sounds good! When should we have it?" Gemma chimes in, "Tomorrow!" And surely I agree! It's always fun to break up the work week with something different and fun, so I was all for it. What better company than my cousins? So, needless to say that Sunday and Monday were filled with family fun.

Birthday princess Mia, blowing out her first birthday candle!
She already dove into her cake. You can tell by the little chocolate soul patch on her little chin.

The Picardal-Villa family and friends gathered for the special birthday at Azteca in Tukwila. Feliz Cumpleanos, Mia!

The next day, we moved the party to my place.
This is the busiest my kitchen has ever been!
We had a very diverse menu, including Italian, Southwestern, Indian, and Filipino food.

Michael, Tin, Macoo, Gemma, Sander, Matt, and Mar enjoying the food.

Josh, Tan, G, David, Andrea, Nishi, Raya, and Ty also enjoying the potluck dinner.
I knew my big couch would come in handy!

The little princess and Daddy Vince hanging out.
Poor Mia had her 1 year old shots and was feeling pretty under the weather.

Isaac always up to something. . .