So, my little sister is engaged! Her fiance proposed to her on Christmas morning, by giving her a gift from under the tree with an engagement ring and asking her to marry him!
No wedding date set, yet, but his daughter, Lexi, (my soon to be step-niece!), who is 6, suggested next Tuesday. Tammy mentioned that it would take a bit longest then that to plan, s Lexi reconsidered and suggested the following Sunday, instead!
Congrats Tammy and Dave - I am so happy for you guys!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
43 things / 43 places
Well, it is the end of the year - people review last year and think about next year...
resolution time...
I think I've blogged about this in the past, but I love the website 43 things... on it, you can list 43 things you'd like to do... you can look at them as goals, short term goals, long term goals, resolutions, or just things to check off your "things to do in your life" list. It can be as simple as "Watch the movie "Rent"" to "Climb Mount Everest" or anything in between.
It is fun, a neat way to track progress... (for each thing, you can leave messages or log entries tracking your progress, if you wish. You can also find others who are working on similar goals, or who have succeeded in meeting doing that "thing" and read their entries or ask the for ideas. You can also opt to have the website email you to remind you that it is something you want to do... currently I have 18 things on my list, and I get emailed about 4 of them once a week.)
It has a sister site - 43 places, where you can make a list of 43 places you want to go.
So, if you're thinking about making a resolution this year, give yourself a break and head over to 43 things. Make a list, set some goals, big and small, achievable tomorrow or in 20 years... And resolve to try and tackle at least one of those things in the next year...
After all, I did learn to solve a rubik's cube.
resolution time...
I think I've blogged about this in the past, but I love the website 43 things... on it, you can list 43 things you'd like to do... you can look at them as goals, short term goals, long term goals, resolutions, or just things to check off your "things to do in your life" list. It can be as simple as "Watch the movie "Rent"" to "Climb Mount Everest" or anything in between.
It is fun, a neat way to track progress... (for each thing, you can leave messages or log entries tracking your progress, if you wish. You can also find others who are working on similar goals, or who have succeeded in meeting doing that "thing" and read their entries or ask the for ideas. You can also opt to have the website email you to remind you that it is something you want to do... currently I have 18 things on my list, and I get emailed about 4 of them once a week.)
It has a sister site - 43 places, where you can make a list of 43 places you want to go.
So, if you're thinking about making a resolution this year, give yourself a break and head over to 43 things. Make a list, set some goals, big and small, achievable tomorrow or in 20 years... And resolve to try and tackle at least one of those things in the next year...
After all, I did learn to solve a rubik's cube.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Corteo - Cirque du Soleil
Last Night, Grant and I went on a date.
We had dinner at Bella Terra at the Japanese restaraunt and then had pink berry for dessert. (Pinkberry is okay - I am not a huge fan of frozen yogurt, and it is expensive...but it was tasty.)
Then we saw Corteo at the OC fairgrounds. It was AWESOME! The musicians and singers were stellar, and the acrobatic acts were amazing! Some of the standout acts were the trapeze act - except there was no trapeze, the acrobats swung each other - a human trapeze! Very cool! They also had a gymnastic - bars at that I particularly enjoyed, as well as a cute scene with "children" bouncing on trampoline "beds."
A fantastic show!
We had dinner at Bella Terra at the Japanese restaraunt and then had pink berry for dessert. (Pinkberry is okay - I am not a huge fan of frozen yogurt, and it is expensive...but it was tasty.)
Then we saw Corteo at the OC fairgrounds. It was AWESOME! The musicians and singers were stellar, and the acrobatic acts were amazing! Some of the standout acts were the trapeze act - except there was no trapeze, the acrobats swung each other - a human trapeze! Very cool! They also had a gymnastic - bars at that I particularly enjoyed, as well as a cute scene with "children" bouncing on trampoline "beds."
A fantastic show!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Radio City Rockettes
Last night, Grant and I got to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular - performing in Orange County! It was SUCH a fantastic show! It was so neat to see it live - you know - it is one of those things you hear about growing up but living out here on the west coast, you really don't think you'd ever get to see it. It is really cool - like seriously - the American version of "Lord of the Dance."
Really puts you in the holiday mood!
Really puts you in the holiday mood!
The Von Trapp Children
On Saturday, Grant and I went to the new concert hall at the OC Performing Arts Center, and saw the Pacific Symphony Orchestra's Christmas Pops concert. The guest singers were the Von Trapp Children, the great grandchildren of Captain Von Trapp, and the grandchildren of Werner Von Trapp, the 2nd eldest son (portrayed as "Kurt" in the movie.
The concert was fantastic - and the Von Trapp children are REALLY good. They can really sing. It was so neat to heat them!
Here is a youtube clip if you'd like to hear them - but as good as they sound here, they sound SO MUCH BETTER live!
The concert was fantastic - and the Von Trapp children are REALLY good. They can really sing. It was so neat to heat them!
Here is a youtube clip if you'd like to hear them - but as good as they sound here, they sound SO MUCH BETTER live!
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Dad
So my dad went to the hospital with severe stomach pain last night and it was appendicitis. He had an laparoscopic appendectomy, because it hadn't burst yet, so he should heal more quickly.
It was all over so fast. I was at the hospital at 8, they took him in at 8:30, they were done by 9:30 and he was out of recovery at 10:30. Just amazing.
I am sure he had a crappy night at the hospital, but hopefully he will be home today where he can sleep and heal.
It was weird seeing dad like that, though - he's one of the guys, you know, who's never sick and has a very high tolerance for pain.
Typical dad. He goes to work even though he's in pain. Decides to come home early becasue it hurts so bad, but decides to swing by Costco to pick up a Christmas present and then swing by Target to pick up another one. Then he goes home, lays down for a minute, decides the pain is too bad, and then heads to the doctor. :::roll my eyes and sigh::: that's my dad!
It was all over so fast. I was at the hospital at 8, they took him in at 8:30, they were done by 9:30 and he was out of recovery at 10:30. Just amazing.
I am sure he had a crappy night at the hospital, but hopefully he will be home today where he can sleep and heal.
It was weird seeing dad like that, though - he's one of the guys, you know, who's never sick and has a very high tolerance for pain.
Typical dad. He goes to work even though he's in pain. Decides to come home early becasue it hurts so bad, but decides to swing by Costco to pick up a Christmas present and then swing by Target to pick up another one. Then he goes home, lays down for a minute, decides the pain is too bad, and then heads to the doctor. :::roll my eyes and sigh::: that's my dad!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Against God's Plan
I don't know if I can convey the hilarity of this moment to you.
But I will try.
SO, last night I was at a party, and one of the girl's brings a friend. This guy is loud, exuberant, and needless to say my gay-dar alarm was going off, full blast. (As it turned out, I sort of "knew" this guy from someplace else, which made the story all the more hilarious when I came home and described this to Grant - because he sort of had an idea of who this guy was, and how gay this guy was.)
A few hours later, I heard the girl who brought this guy introduce him as her fiancee. What? Just about everyone's jaw hit the floor. Seriously and I kid you not. We we're all in shock. I mean, it was so against any prediction we could have possibly made.
So, I am talking to another friend of mine who happens to be gay, Brad, and he sits down next to me and another friend. We kind of glance over at the gay-guy-who is engaged-to-a-girl and Brad is like I know, IKNOW. So we just keep shooting each other these looks whenever he does something that elevates our gay-dar alert. Honestly, this guy wasn't just "maybe-gay." We were honestly confused. At one point, he leans in and kisses his fiancee, which was shocking -
and a scene from "My Best Friend's Wedding" popped into my head. Let me take you back... Julienne (Julia Roberts) has this best guy friend, Michael (Dermot Mulroney), who is getting married to (Kimmy)Cameron Diaz. Julia's character decides she is madly in love with this guy and decides to crash the wedding. In desperation, she calls her other best friends, George (Rupert Everett), who is very gay. However, Julienne introduces him as HER fiancee, to try to make Michael jealous. When Sammi finds out she comes squealing up the aisle in excitement, "This is so great so wonderful, it just makes everything so perfect..." And George, very gay, and very exuberant, has his arm around Julienne - so obviously where it doesn't belong, and Kimmi says "This is just, so... so...." and George jumps in and says, "Against God's Plan?"
And that line just jumped in my head... to see this guy at the party that seemed so unbelievably, desperately gay...and not just in a "poor sap he's clueless" kind of way, but in a "he is so exuberant in his word choices and song dedications and movements that he is out and proud" kind of way... to see him kiss this girl... it just seemed so... against god's plan.
So I am looking at Brad and he's looking at me, and he's like, "oh that is just so wrong." So I say, "I know... I KNOW ... Brad says, "It would be like if I kissed...." (sigh of utter disgust) "....you!"
So my friend and I are cracking up and Brad puckers his lips with a look of utter terror on his face, as if he is about to kiss a cockroach. So I lean in and kiss him and we both jump apart as if it were... well... against god's plan. hee hee.
So he jumps up and runs outside shivering like... "That was so wrong..." and I can't stop laughing about the whole thing. Brad pulls out a cigarette and lays on the driveway fanning himself... it was so funny... it was just so freakin' hilarious. The look on Brad's face...
Sigh... just one of those moments that hits so perfectly... I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time!
But I will try.
SO, last night I was at a party, and one of the girl's brings a friend. This guy is loud, exuberant, and needless to say my gay-dar alarm was going off, full blast. (As it turned out, I sort of "knew" this guy from someplace else, which made the story all the more hilarious when I came home and described this to Grant - because he sort of had an idea of who this guy was, and how gay this guy was.)
A few hours later, I heard the girl who brought this guy introduce him as her fiancee. What? Just about everyone's jaw hit the floor. Seriously and I kid you not. We we're all in shock. I mean, it was so against any prediction we could have possibly made.
So, I am talking to another friend of mine who happens to be gay, Brad, and he sits down next to me and another friend. We kind of glance over at the gay-guy-who is engaged-to-a-girl and Brad is like I know, IKNOW. So we just keep shooting each other these looks whenever he does something that elevates our gay-dar alert. Honestly, this guy wasn't just "maybe-gay." We were honestly confused. At one point, he leans in and kisses his fiancee, which was shocking -
and a scene from "My Best Friend's Wedding" popped into my head. Let me take you back... Julienne (Julia Roberts) has this best guy friend, Michael (Dermot Mulroney), who is getting married to (Kimmy)Cameron Diaz. Julia's character decides she is madly in love with this guy and decides to crash the wedding. In desperation, she calls her other best friends, George (Rupert Everett), who is very gay. However, Julienne introduces him as HER fiancee, to try to make Michael jealous. When Sammi finds out she comes squealing up the aisle in excitement, "This is so great so wonderful, it just makes everything so perfect..." And George, very gay, and very exuberant, has his arm around Julienne - so obviously where it doesn't belong, and Kimmi says "This is just, so... so...." and George jumps in and says, "Against God's Plan?"
And that line just jumped in my head... to see this guy at the party that seemed so unbelievably, desperately gay...and not just in a "poor sap he's clueless" kind of way, but in a "he is so exuberant in his word choices and song dedications and movements that he is out and proud" kind of way... to see him kiss this girl... it just seemed so... against god's plan.
So I am looking at Brad and he's looking at me, and he's like, "oh that is just so wrong." So I say, "I know... I KNOW ... Brad says, "It would be like if I kissed...." (sigh of utter disgust) "....you!"
So my friend and I are cracking up and Brad puckers his lips with a look of utter terror on his face, as if he is about to kiss a cockroach. So I lean in and kiss him and we both jump apart as if it were... well... against god's plan. hee hee.
So he jumps up and runs outside shivering like... "That was so wrong..." and I can't stop laughing about the whole thing. Brad pulls out a cigarette and lays on the driveway fanning himself... it was so funny... it was just so freakin' hilarious. The look on Brad's face...
Sigh... just one of those moments that hits so perfectly... I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Spanglish
***possible spoilers***
I really liked this movie. I wasn't satisfied with the ending, but I think it has a lot to do with how you look at the movie. It was sort of like "Little Children..." movies that go for the more realistic ending rather than the expected/romantic ending.
I really liked Adam Sandler in this role. I love when he plays the more serious roles with the hint of comedy.
The problem is when you try to look at the story from too many angles. I mean, you want to look at the story from Cristina and Flor's perspective, but you only see their lives in relation to the Clasky's, with very few references to their home life. Who were Flor's friends in America? What about Cristina's friends? cousins? We were rooting for John and Flor because that was all that we saw of Flor's life?
On the other hand, ug... when you look at John's story - well, he's got great kids, a great staff and a great job, but a neurotic wife - who is AWFUL for him and their daughter. I feel badly for him. He deserved better. But really, it wasn't his story.
All in all though, I thought it was a good movie... thought provoking, for sure.
I really liked this movie. I wasn't satisfied with the ending, but I think it has a lot to do with how you look at the movie. It was sort of like "Little Children..." movies that go for the more realistic ending rather than the expected/romantic ending.
I really liked Adam Sandler in this role. I love when he plays the more serious roles with the hint of comedy.
The problem is when you try to look at the story from too many angles. I mean, you want to look at the story from Cristina and Flor's perspective, but you only see their lives in relation to the Clasky's, with very few references to their home life. Who were Flor's friends in America? What about Cristina's friends? cousins? We were rooting for John and Flor because that was all that we saw of Flor's life?
On the other hand, ug... when you look at John's story - well, he's got great kids, a great staff and a great job, but a neurotic wife - who is AWFUL for him and their daughter. I feel badly for him. He deserved better. But really, it wasn't his story.
All in all though, I thought it was a good movie... thought provoking, for sure.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
LegoLand
Grant and I went to Legoland yesterday with Angie and Drew and Cori. OH MY GOSH! What fun! Yes, Legoland is for the kids, definitely, but still, it so so cute and creative! The rides are just okay, but the landscaping is lush and beautiful, and the opportunities for kids to use their imagination are abundant!
My favorite part was the driving school (and I couldn't even participate!) We took Cori to a driving school for 3 - 5 year olds. They press a peddle, turn the steering wheel, and get to go around an oval track. So cute.
Then we met up with Andrew who was at the driving school for 6 - 13 year olds. SO CUTE!!!! It is like a whole series of streets - one section is like a city, with intersections that have stop lights and stop signs. Another section is like a park with trees. Each car has a gas and brake peddle, and the kids get to practice driving ion the left side, stopping at stop lights and red lights at intersections, etc. So cute and so cool!
There were some free floating boats that you could drive through a course at skipper school. Just lots of neat things for kids to do. Of course, the miniland - where there are lego models of San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, etc. are really cool, too.
Just an all around neat place for kids and families!
My favorite part was the driving school (and I couldn't even participate!) We took Cori to a driving school for 3 - 5 year olds. They press a peddle, turn the steering wheel, and get to go around an oval track. So cute.
Then we met up with Andrew who was at the driving school for 6 - 13 year olds. SO CUTE!!!! It is like a whole series of streets - one section is like a city, with intersections that have stop lights and stop signs. Another section is like a park with trees. Each car has a gas and brake peddle, and the kids get to practice driving ion the left side, stopping at stop lights and red lights at intersections, etc. So cute and so cool!
There were some free floating boats that you could drive through a course at skipper school. Just lots of neat things for kids to do. Of course, the miniland - where there are lego models of San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, etc. are really cool, too.
Just an all around neat place for kids and families!
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Presenting
So, I have been thinking that I'd be interested in presenting - to other GATE teachers, etc. So I mentioned it to Nanci... and well, last week she said - "Ok, on Thursday night, we're presenting to the parents and you're helping...."
So tonight, we presented to parents of GATE students in our district. Nanci did most of the presentation, but I did a little. That is just the way I like it. baby steps. I might do this presentation later in the year by myself, and I totally think I could do it.
The hardest thing for me, though, was to speak slowly, because everything I said was being translated. So I couldn't go too fast... which is very different from my presentation style, which is to talk, ramble, and repeat myself.
I think it went very well, though!
Yeah for me!
So tonight, we presented to parents of GATE students in our district. Nanci did most of the presentation, but I did a little. That is just the way I like it. baby steps. I might do this presentation later in the year by myself, and I totally think I could do it.
The hardest thing for me, though, was to speak slowly, because everything I said was being translated. So I couldn't go too fast... which is very different from my presentation style, which is to talk, ramble, and repeat myself.
I think it went very well, though!
Yeah for me!
24 Season 6
Grant and I are starting it and watching it on dvd before season 7 comes out on tv... although I just don't know if I could actually watch 24 live - and wait a WHOLE WEEK between episodes.
Gawd... I do love the show, but I HATE torture... and there has been far too much of it on the first 3 episodes.
OH - and let me get this straight... there is a price that the Chinese Government is will ing to take to give Jack back to the US, and no one bothers to do it until they need to turn him over and sacrifice him to a terrorist... wha? That so pisses me off. I mean, sure I am sure they explained the situation and the Chinese figured, "well, sure, if you're just going to kill him..." but still PISSES ME OFF that Jack did SO MUCH for the country and they are so willing to just throw him away. Anyway - we just finished ep 3.
Gawd... I do love the show, but I HATE torture... and there has been far too much of it on the first 3 episodes.
OH - and let me get this straight... there is a price that the Chinese Government is will ing to take to give Jack back to the US, and no one bothers to do it until they need to turn him over and sacrifice him to a terrorist... wha? That so pisses me off. I mean, sure I am sure they explained the situation and the Chinese figured, "well, sure, if you're just going to kill him..." but still PISSES ME OFF that Jack did SO MUCH for the country and they are so willing to just throw him away. Anyway - we just finished ep 3.