I got my ring! Or, should I say rings.....

Trang and Shirley's Day of Fun!

- had lunch at Cheesecake Factory

- found a cute dress for Jess's wedding

- bought some perfume

- shopped around Target

- got some Starbuck's



I'm amazed at how long Shirley lasted on her gimpy leg! It was fun.

The tables have turned

Ray already picked out and purchased his wedding ring....and I haven't. What's wrong with this world?? ;-P

.....and so it ends

Sunday:

We actually slept in (as in 10 a.m.), lounged around the house for most of the day. The day really began when we went to the Concepcion's around 6 p.m. Got an electric wok out of it. (score!) Then it was off to my cousin's at 10:30 p.m. Got home at 1 a.m. So tired!



Monday:

Lounged around again. Enjoyed my gift from Ray that came in a nice little blue box (can anyone guess?). Then it was off to future sister-in law's for dinner. And that's where it ends. Whew!

So begins the madness

Friday:

3:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m. was spent baking 12 mini bundt cakes, 1 regular-sized bundt cakes, 16 cupcakes (from the leftover batter), and 1 chicken tettrazini.



6:30 p.m.-12:00 a.m. was spent at Rob and Cindy's for the Crew's holiday dinner. We enjoyed jambalaya, roasted veggies, "Olive Garden" soup, our tettrazini, and cupcakes. Yum!





Saturday:

1:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. was spent at the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center for Mya's 2nd birthday. We got to see a little live shark and enjoyed yummy pancit, lumpia, and other unknown yummy dishes. Mya got the Dora the Explorer Toddler Helmet and Knee Pads set. Good thing I was her mom's secret santa so I knew what they wanted for Mya! After the party finally died down Lorraine, Joanne, Vangie, Cheryl, Arlene, and I exchanged our Secret Santa gifts. I got Joanne a Coach and Babies R Us GC (what she asked for). Lorraine was my S.S. so I got the Desparate Housewives Season 2 DVD (whee!!!), a program that puts your picture on postage stamps (coolio!), doggie treats and a reflective night jacket for Herc (so nice!), and an engagement gift (whoa!) It was a large version of an engagement ring that can be used as a key ring. It was so pretty and so sweet of her to do that! I also got a bday gift from Arlene. Very sweet!



7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. we dropped Herc off at the grandparents and headed down to Gilroy for Justin and Faye's holiday party. They live in this huge house that just makes you simply jealous! They had an abundance of food. There was turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and so many other things. They even had baby carrots and green beans wrapped in bacon! The guys played poker after dinner while the ladies hung out in the kitchen and living room area. We did a White Elephant. We got stuck with an electric toothbrush but I'm slowly accepting it.

Love That Gin didn't pull through for me

Spent part of the morning and afternoon on Sunday betting on horses with good friends. It was a very enjoyable experience. Aside from the cold weather (which hot drinks helped) it was quite fun. It's a great social activity since each race is 30 minutes apart. You spend that time checking out the upcoming horses, placing your bets, and hanging out. You can bet as low as $3 so you're not out too much if you lose. I did well in the first 2 races but betting on Love That Gin was a baaaad mistake! That horse couldn't even place! I ended my betting after that. Maybe next time I'll be a bit more daring and bet quinella!

Feeling helpless

You're going through so much pain and I don't know what to do. Will words make it better? Will thoughtful gestures push the pain away? At times like these I fear I may not be a good enough friend for you. And not because I don't care but because I don't know what I can do to show I do care.

Cheese is my enemy but it's soooooo good!

One more day.......

We had our holiday show this week. The kids looked supercute in their costumes and they performed fairly well. I was a bit disappointed that 90% of my parents had committed to having their kid come to the show and not even half of that showed up. Luckily it was a group performance with the other class. It was a bit annoying that a kid showed up 25 minutes late. They acknowledged that the show started at 6 and yet they were a bit confused as to why our part was already over. I kept trying to explain that the show started at 6 and they were suppose to meet at 5:45. I'm sorry but this is a school event. We don't work on asian time! Be on time!

45 seconds.....

....that's how long each workout interval is at Contours. 45 seconds seems extremely long when you're trying to get a GOOD 45 seconds out of that one station.

Unfortunately getting back into a workout regime takes longer than 45 seconds!

Stop the bitching

I'm sorry but don't bitch to me about how your spanish-speaking parents don't understand the things you send home (in English) when you refuse to translate it. Don't bitch to me about it and use multiple excuses for why you refuse to translate it.

Excuse #1: The internet translation isn't completely accurate
Excuse #2: Supposedly the law is everything is suppose to be in English
Excuse #3: They need to find someone to translate English into Spanish if they can't read it
Excuse #4: It's discriminatory towards the other parents who speak another language

Even though you admit that those other parents have resources that can translate for them, but obviously the spanish-speaking parents don't have those resources and yet you're still not willing to help them out.

The reality is that things aren't going to change overnight. These parents will not or may never improve their English by the end of this school year. Accept that reality and try to accommodate unless you want slow results.

Almost there......

.....6 days until vacation........