Sadness Flies Away on the Wings of Time

Today my family and I honor Grandma Mary and bid her farewell. We will remember her for her grace, spunk, humor, and integrity, and her legacy will live on forever. The matriarch of our enormous family has joined all our loved ones in heaven.

Smuggling the Goods

Babysitting Xavier for the day, I showed him how to open and close his Lightning McQueen car. Later on, after I gave up on searching for my glasses, we went to play with Lightning McQueen again, I and found this. I'm pretty sure Lightning McQueen didn't take them... The little stinker!

Yes, my glasses are in pieces. Don't worry, they're supposed to do that because the temples are interchangeable. I purposely wear them when babysitting because I know this can happen. =)
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A Lil' Pick Me Up

When it rains, it pours. Within the last couple of months, I've experienced some of the most challenging times--one thing after another. Just when I think things are starting to come together, a force from above decides to throw another curve ball. Lately I've been searching for a sign, a little understanding and inspiration. Sometimes I come across little snippets that inspire me. Here are a couple of them that have stuck.

You will never find time for anything. If you want the time, you must make it.
- Charles Buxton

The word 'happiness' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.
- Carl Gustav Jung

In the end, everything will be OK. If it's not OK, it's not the end.
- John Lennon

Shared joy is double joy. Shared sorrow is half sorrow.
- Swedish Proverbs

Remember you will not always win. Some days, the most resourceful individual will taste defeat. But there is, in this case, always tomorrow - after you have done your best to achieve success today.
- Maxwell Maltz

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
- Thomas Alva Edison

As I re-read them all together, it looks like I've been down in the dumps these days. Au contraire, mes amis. Yes, there have been obstacles, but I like to think that I've just been getting stronger.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY XAVIER!

As they all say, "I can't believe how fast time goes by!" And true enough, it's amazing that he's already a year old. For his big birthday bash, Tin asked me to make a little cake for him--one that he can dig into and get super messy with. So, here's the big debut of my cake baking/decorating. It's chocolate cake with chocolate-buttercream filling, and lemon-buttercream frosting. And of course I had to put my "secret ingredient" somewhere in there too.
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Where's the Stage?

I haven't picked up a guitar in a long long time. I heard this song and fell in love with it, and then thought, "I wonder if I could play this on the guitar..." So, I picked up the guitar, and started strumming away. An hour later, I'm ready to hit the stage! Look out, Jason Mraz.

Home Sweet Home

I've just noticed that there are a couple of things that have become part of my evening routine for the last couple of weeks. I've developed a few little obsessions. I need my fix of each of these every day after I come home from work.


Reruns of Law and Order SVU on USA. Each episode is like a mini-movie. Detectives Benson, Stabler, and Tutuola are so bad-ass.


I love love love sugar snap peas as a little appetizer before dinner. I can eat them forever. They're sweet, and crunchy, and bite size.


My K.N wool socks that Mar got me for Christmas. As soon as I get home from work, I change into my sweats and put on my wool socks. They are uber cozy on my feet.

The Roof! The Roof!

The Roof is LEAKING! After all the snow and rain, our 102 year old school building is really starting to show its wear and tear. The roof in my office leaked, and I came in last Tuesday morning to find plaster and puddles covering the floor in my office. It was so bad that it also leaked all the way down to the basement below me. This Tuesday, I came into the classroom and found everything in my office spewing into my classroom and the whole office sealed off with plastic. Maintenance men have been in and out of the classroom, asking questions, tapping, pounding, blasting the fan during instruction, and pulling things apart. I've had teachers and principals come in and observe me, and I couldn't help but apologize to them for all the mess. Apparently, I've been really patient, and one of the maintenance men gave me a Starbucks gift card as a token of appreciation for my patience. I just think it's his way of saying, "Hang in there. I don't know when we'll have this done."