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December 25, 2006: To all our friends and families near and far, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your kindness and generosity. We appreciate all your warm holiday greetings and Christmas cards and wonderful gifts and phone calls and e-mails this holiday season. Despite the distance, you will always be very close to our hearts. Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
December 11, 2006: Well, this is a perplexing mystery.... The doorbell rings and the UPS lady drops off a package at the front porch. I noticed the package is addressed to yours truly. "Yay, I have a package!" I exclaimed in school-girlish glee. Then I thought to myself, "Gosh, I wonder who sent this to me?" I opened up the little envelope attached to the box and I read the note that came along with the package. It said, "To: Amy, From: Santa Claus." Hm, apparently I have a "Secret Santa" somewhere out there sending me a box of yummy chocolate goodies. I am at a total lost to whom this might be. Inquiring minds want to know. So, I decided to do some cyber-sleuthing of my own to figure out who sent this to me. I typed in the tracking number on the package at www.ups.com and found out that the package had originated in Delaware. Hm, I don't have any friends living in Delaware, at least I don't think I do. I actually thought I was getting somewhere but then I realized that the _chocolate company_ was located in Delaware. D'oh! I noticed that the order was an E-web order and so I'm assuming this was an online purchase. Ok, plan 2. I tried to track the mysterious Secret Santa using the order number @ www.godiva.com but to no avail. Another dead end. And so the mystery deepens. I have one more ace up my sleeve but I'll have to wait until the following morning. I haven't even gotten past the envelope yet but this has got to be one of the neatest X-mas gifts so far. I don't even know what kind of chocolate goodies are inside the package but I'm enjoying this immensely. So, to whomever you are, Mr/Ms Secret Santa, I want to thank you very, very much for your generosity & kindness... now tell me who you are! :-)
December 3, 2006: Argh.... my cold came back with a vengeance. I've been sneezing non-stop and my nose is so congested. I just wanna crawl back into bed. Hopefully, I'll feel better tomorrow. I actually took tomorrow off from work. Since the kids have no school tomorrow (teacher in-service day) I decided to take the day off, too. It's a good thing cause last week was a long week and my muscles are so achy and sore. There's a cool Star Wars exhibit show down at OMSI that the kids have been wanting to see for the longest time. I think there's a full-size replica of the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, too. I promise to take pics. This special exhibit will only be around till the end of this month and so tomorrow will probably be the only opportunity for me to take the kids to the museum when it's not too crowded with crazy kids. They don't know I'll be taking them there, and so it'll be a real treat!
November 26, 2006: Happy Birthday Uncle Allen! Hope it's a good one! We're also watching the Pats vs Bears games right now... The score's 10-3, and Asante Samuel just intercepted a pass in the 3rd w/ 2 minutes remaining!!! Ooooh, it's an exciting game so far... we wish we could be hangin' out @ Jade Pacific and watching the game with you guys. Hope everyone's working off their Thanksgiving feast... ;-) Oh, and get better soon, Auntie Lisa! *HUGS* November 23, 2006:
November 15, 2006: The kids had a mini-cough/cold last week. Patrick had that barky kind of cough and Jarod's nose was all runny and stuff. They're all better this week but guess who has it now? hehe. I woke up Monday morning feeling like crap. My throat was sore, my sinuses were congested and I swear, I must have sneezed like 20 times in a row. I literally lost count how many times I must have sneezed. I didn't sleep well the night before and I was all tired and achy. All I wanted to do was crawl back into bed. But I couldn't. I had to go to work or so I thought but it turns out the client canceled so I didn't have any clients for that Monday, which was a good thing because I shouldn't be working when I'm contagious and stuff. I knew I had a full work week so I decided to try the conventional meds like Sudafed and Robitussin DM *ick* but I didn't feel better. Then I remembered my friend telling me about taking mega-doses of zinc to stave off the severity of cold symptoms. So, for the past 2 days, I've been sucking on zinc lozenges every couple of hours. I've also been making my Airborne drinks (it mixes well with my Vitamin water) and consuming those fizzy drinks 3-4 x/day. Well, guess what? I'm 99% better. I still feel tired and run-down but I don't feel that achy, icky, yucky feeling anymore. I'm a true proponent of naturopathic remedies. I feel they really work and I don't have to worry about all those nasty side effects from over-the-counter meds. I get so groggy with conventional cold medicine. Now that I'm feeling better, I'm going to tackle the laundry, do the dishes, scoop the kitty litter, take out the trash and recycling, bring in the mail, check over the kids' homework, sew-up my black pants for work tomorrow, wipe down the dining room table and counters, feed the cats (all FOUR of 'em.... we've got Boston, Sera, Bob and now Stinky) AND treat myself to a big bowl of ice cream when I'm done. Hm, it'll be close to midnight before I can finally eat my ice cream. Darn. That's no good. I don't want a cold tummy when I go to bed at night. So, maybe, I should eat my ice cream FIRST and then tackle the laundry, do the dishes, etc. hehe... ;-)
November 2, 2006: Sheesh, it's November. The days go by so fast nowadays. If you blink, you just might miss it. Things are traveling at an exponential rate and it's like I'm watching a movie of myself while people are speeding up all around me. Indulge me, if you will, in my ranting insanity. For the past month or so, I've tried my best to acclimate myself to the life of a working mom. I have to give due credit to all the working moms out there trying to juggle home/work/kids/life, etc. It's not easy. I feel like I need two of me just to keep up with the pace of life right now. I love my job. I love being a mom. I just don't like feeling so stressed out all the time. I'm pretty good at multi-tasking but I don't like the feeling of being overwhelmed with chores/errands/household stuff. Right now, I have piles of laundry sitting, unfolded, in my bedroom. We're talking a mountain of laundry that needs to be put away. (I feel guilty updating my website when I should be upstairs putting all the clothes away.) I'm hoping that things will settle down a bit once I get the hang of things. I have tons to write about--- Halloween stuff, pumpkin patch stuff, playdate stuff, dentist appt stuff, took the boys to see Open Season @ the theaters, Parent-teacher conferences, fall festival stuff, and the list goes on. I just keep telling myself to take things one day at a time, and eventually things will get done. I mean, the kids haven't run out of clean underwear yet... if only I can say the same thing about clean socks. Hm, hehe, oops. More later...
October 11, 2006: I've worked 9 consecutive days in a row. Either I really, really, really like my job or I'm an occupational masochist. Heheh. Not only do I love my job, I'm getting pretty good at it. I look forward to work everyday. I wake up in the morning, get the kids ready for school, pack their lunches and kiss them goodbye. Then I take my shower and I'm out the door as well. It's been a busy couple of weeks for me (I can't believe it's only been 2 weeks!) and I'm still trying my best to juggle everything. I'm averaging 3-4 massage clients a day and I've been working non-stop. Unfortunately, due to my over-zealousness, my forearms are killing me. They're tight and sore and achy. I've been using the Tiger Balm stuff to alleviate the muscle pain. This stuff works well enough but I stink like a geriatric Chinese person's medicine cabinet. Hee-hee. I have to start pacing myself before I burn out. Other news, I got together with my friend Carole for a coffee date. She is such a sweetie. She's starting up her own massage business in the trendy 23rd area of Portland and she's so stressed out. It was good to "talk shop" with someone else who's going thru the same thing as I am. She has a little preschooler at home and she doesn't know how she's going to juggle home life and work and taking care of her son. She's got a heart of gold and a good head on her shoulders so I know she'll do just fine. Oh, and today, I only had one client in the morning and so I took the rest of the day off. (Actually, I was on-call but it was a slow day. If I don't have any clients, I don't have to stay at work, I can just leave and do errands or go grocery shopping. I LOVE the flexibility this job offers!) I went to the mall to pick up some new shirts for the boys to wear tomorrow for Picture Day. Afterwards, I stopped by their school and had lunch with Jarod and Patrick. It was pretty cool to have lunch with them in the cafeteria. They like the attention they get from the other classmates, almost like they're bragging that their mom is having lunch with them. I'm sure there'll come a day when they're going to be too embarrassed to be seen with their mother but for now, I'm enjoying every single moment of it. :-) I know there's a bunch of other things I wanted to write about but I'm going to bed. I'm so tired. Nite-nite.
October 2, 2006: Last week was my first week of work. I worked a total of 4 days and I had a total of 13 clients. So far, I'm averaging about 3 clients a day. Saturday was the killer though. I massaged 5 clients that day and my arms paid the price. The following day (Sunday) my arms were killing me. I really could have used a massage myself, hehe. I think the consensus among my friends and other people that I've talked to is to gradually build up to working on 4-5 clients per day. I shouldn't be pushing myself so hard during the first week at the massage clinic. I guess there's a part of me that feels like I have something to prove. I want to make a difference in the world. I want to make people feel better about themselves. Another part of me just wants to make a good impression on others. Luckily I was on-call today and I ended up not having any clients today. It gave my arms a chance to rest up a little bit more. I've been doing lots of stretches and stripping down the arm muscles with deep tissue strokes. It seems to do the trick and I feel a lot better today. We'll see how things go tomorrow... :)
September 26, 2006: The past week has been a whirlwind of epic proportions! Ok, I'm exaggerating but for someone like me who has been a stay-at-home mom for the past 9 1/2 years, (yes, almost a DECADE devoted to loving and caring for my chibbles and cherishing every single minute of it, except for the time that Patrick was 1 1/2 yrs old and spilled my Calligraphy India Ink all over the Master bedroom carpet, permanent ink, mind you, argh, or when Jarod was 2 yrs old and turned our kitchen into Christmas in July by dumping an industrial size canister of glitter all over the floor in gleeful revelry, but I digress, hehe...) anyhoo, after doing stay-at-home Mom duty for 10 years, I will now be re-classified as a "Working Mom". Hehe, it felt funny typing it. Yes, folks, I am now officially employed as a Licensed Massage Therapist!!! Woo-hoo! Go Me! It's a fairly new massage clinic out in Beaverton OR and it just opened last December 2005. There are about 7 LMT's working there right now and I'll be working the 9-3pm morning/afternoon shift. It's been so crazy! I found out about the position on Tuesday. I applied to the job on Wednesday. I got a call on Thursday (while I was picking up Tina at the airport, oh, she went for a 3 week vacation to Italy, so wicked cool!) and on Friday I went for an informal interview meeting and fill out a job application. I get a call that same day saying that they want to do a formal interview on Monday which includes performing four 15 minute test massages on other LMTs as well as regular clients. By Monday afternoon, I was offered the job. On Tuesday morning (today) I accepted the job offer. And I start my official 1st day of work tomorrow. ----WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2006.---- I'm still trying to hammer out the final details right now but everything looks too good to be true. I get to pick and choose my own hours, days and weekends, too. I can also customize my work schedule to fit into the kids' school schedules (holidays, teacher in-service days, parent-teacher conferences, etc). This was the #1 priority when I was looking at different job offers. They say third time's a charm and this 3rd place seems so perfect for me. I really like my co-workers and the whole work environment. Everyone is super friendly, relaxed, easy-going and very professional. I think I'm going to like working here. I have three massage clients tomorrow, so wish me luck!!! :-)
September 20, 2006: I went on my second job interview today. This particular salon had a few negative reviews on this massage newsgroup that I frequent. Not to be deterred by other's opinions, I decided to go ahead and interview anyway. Bottom line, I wasn't too impressed with their company work policy and job ethics. Apparently, they require all licensed massage therapists to sign a no compete clause agreement (a fancy way of saying, hey, don't steal my clients when you leave/quit/resign). I can understand that but then they also say that you are not allowed to work anywhere within a 3 mile radius of their other locations for 18 months or face breach of contract and other legal mumbo-jumbo. The woman who interviewed me was pleasant enough. (off-topic: when I shook her hand, she had _the_ coldest, boniest skeleton hands I've ever touched...almost like a cadaver. kinda. ick.) Her questions were very predictable. It was almost like she was reading off this mental check-list in her head. Apparently, I passed most of her inquiries. When the interview progressed to a discussion of time availability I told her that at this time I am available mornings and early afternoons (when the boys were in school) as well as one weekend day (Sat or Sun). You could tell instantly that she wasn't too pleased with my response. She said, "Hm, I see." <pause> Then she goes on to tell me that she requires all her LMT's to work both morning and evening shifts. No negotiations on this point. And so, that was pretty much the end of the interview. I thanked her for her time and she gave me her business card in case my schedule opens up. Then I left. Oh well. My initial gut feeling upon entering this salon was correct. It was a over-priced, pretentious "high-end" salon that caters to upper-crusty people. I honestly can't see myself working here. At any rate, it was a good experience nonetheless. I got a chance to practice my interviewing skills and I received some nice feedback on the massage industry in general. Plus, it helped me narrow my job/work preferences to more holistic/health related places like health clubs and wellness centers. Also I should be hearing back from a couple of other places soon. Anyhoo, more later...
September 14, 2006: It's raining cat's n dogs right now. So much for the sunny week we just had. Kinda depressing. No more sunny days, just months of rain to look forward to... bah. Green Day's "September" song is stuck in my head now...
September 5, 2006: The first day of school for Jarod and Patrick! Woo-hoo!!! :-) It's gonna be a good year!!!
September 1, 2006: The boys have their annual check-ups and physicals this week right before the start of school. It's gonna be another exciting school year for them. Jarod will be starting 4th grade and Patrick will be starting 3rd grade. Patrick will be "looping" up with his 2nd grade teacher and so the transition to 3rd will be seamless for him. As for Jarod, he will be starting the year with a new teacher. Jarod's been with the same teacher for the past two years (he also did the "looping" thing from 2nd to 3rd.) When I was a kid, I did the looping thing from 2nd to 3rd as well @ Browne School, eons ago. It was great 'cuz you already know all your classmates and your teacher already knows all your academic strengths and weaknesses. Hopefully, they'll have a great year! What else? Oh, we might be going up to Action Park this weekend. It'll be our last final adventure before the end of summer. I can't believe how fast the summer flew by. While the kids are in school, I'm going to update my resume and start looking for a job as a LMT. I'm still kinda bummed that the position at "my" spa was filled last weekend. I wanted it so bad. Oh, well. Onward and upward. :)
August 29, 2006: I did it. I'm done. My Oregon Practical Board Exam was yesterday and I think I passed with flying colors. I should get the results of my exam within a few weeks. I'm sooooo exhausted though. In fact, it's 4:00pm in the afternoon and I'm still in my pajamas. (It's the cute blue moon/smiley face PJ's that Lisa bought for me in SF. heheh.) I was out of the house by 5:50am Monday morning to drive down to Salem (capital of Oregon for you non-geography folks, hehe) to take the exam. It was definitely a challenging exam because you basically had to demonstrate muscles origins/insertions/actions as well as muscle shortening/lengthing techniques to a group of massage therapists while they grade you on performance, knowledge and communication, and etc. I get performance anxiety and I hate having to talk to groups of people, especially when I'm being graded for it. I was done in a couple of hours and I walked out of the place feeling pretty confident. Oh, and as a special treat for myself, I bought a dozen DUNKIN DONUTS and Munchkins to bring home and share with the family. It's a big deal 'cuz the one and only DD in all of Oregon is alllll the way down in Salem. As much as I love DD's, I'm not crazy enough to drive two hours there and back just for donuts. So when I found out that the exam was being held in Salem, the first thing I did was google the addy of DD so I can pick up some on the way home. You know, cuz I'm cool like that. In any event, once my license number has been issued to me, I can officially work as a licensed massage therapist. I never knew it was such an intense and involved process but in the end, I'm looking forward to working again. ***Update*** So I called that spa place that I interviewed with last month and I just found out that they hired someone for the last and final position _this past Saturday_. There were tons of openings for LMT's at this brand new spa and I was hoping that there would be a few positions still available for me as soon as I was licensed. I just missed it by a couple of days. I'm kinda bummed now. *Sigh* Well, I know this is only a minor set-back and after taking a few days to decompress, I'll be scouring the job postings next week once the boys are in school. Oh, yes, the boys will be starting school September 5th. It's already marked on my calendar, heheh. We'll be going school shopping this week to make sure they're stylin' for the 1st day of school. :-)
August 25, 2006: Happy Birthday Annie! Wish I could be in Boston to help you celebrate your bday! Hope you crazy kids have an awesome weekend! :-)
August 17, 2006: Sorry for the lack of updates... it's been a busy couple of weeks. We took the boys camping again but this time we went and camped at Hood View near Mt. Hood. It was so beautiful up there with all the trees, mountains, lakes and fresh air. We're definitely coming back to this campground. (We've already scouted out campsite #37 for next year...) Here's a picture of the boys dangling their feet off a dock, overlooking Timothy Lake. Can you see Mt. Hood off in the distance?
Oh, and another thing, we celebrated Patrick's 8th birthday last Saturday! He's officially 8 years old! My little HuggyBear is getting so old! *sigh* We all had a great time at his birthday party and everything went off without a hitch. Thanks to all who emailed, called and sent cards and stuff. You guys made a little boy very happy! This year, Patrick decided that he wanted to get a cookie-cake instead of the typical birthday cake. The cookie-cake was a surprise hit with all the guests!
And lastly other news... I passed my National Massage Exam! Yay! One down, one more exam to go. My Practical Board Exam is scheduled for the 28th of Aug. I have about a week or so to study my butt off for this test. When I pass this exam, I can be officially licensed as a massage therapist. Go me! Hopefully I'll have good news about a prospective job thingie next month. *fingers-crossed*
August 8, 2006: This is a picture of my cousin Lisa's "baby", Pennyroo. She is sooooo adorable! I made that little red pillow for Lisa when she and I went down to San Francisco for a Girl's Only Weekend. We had such a great time in SF! Ahhh, memories! :-) I'm so glad to see that she still has that little pillow. I had made three pillows- a blue one for Patrick, a green one for Jarod and a red one for Lisa. Every night, the boys stuck a little red sticker heart on their pillow *bedtime kiss from Mom* to count down the days until I returned from that trip. It was the first trip I took sans chibbles. Even though I had a blast, I missed them so much that I couldn't wait to get back home to them. Now that they're older, I am so looking forward to my next Girl's Only Trip. Suggestions, anyone???
August 4, 2006:
July 31, 2006: Yes, I'm _really_ slow when it comes to the pics... I promise to get to it soon... Even though it's summer time and the kids and I are both out of school, we're still busy doing fun "summer stuff". Today was the first day of swimming lessons for the boys. I'm hoping that by the end of summer, the boys will be able to swim the width of the pool, unassisted. Right now, they're _so_ close to learning how to swim. It's just a matter of time before they get their breathing and arm strokes down. Today's lesson: Always check the kids backpack to make sure they have all their swimming paraphernalia. Case in point, we arrive @ the swim center only to find out that they both left their towels back home. Argh. A little inconvenient but no big deal. There isn't time to go back home to get it so while they start their swim lessons, I jaunt over to the mall (5 mins away) to buy a couple of beach towels. I go into the store and I was met with ignorant people left and right! They send me up to the 2nd floor in kids' dept but the towels weren't there. Then I was sent back downstairs to swim apparel but they didn't have them there either. Argh. Tick, tick, tick. Finally I just said, screw it, and went back up to bath dept on the 2nd floor and bought a couple of big bath towels instead. But get this, when the cashier rang up the merchandise, she _insisted_ that she read the entire freakin' receipt w/coupon VERBATIM! I coulda hit her over the head with a stupid stick. Argh. This wasn't how I expected my Monday morning to go. At this point, I was a tad bit annoyed, but I gritted my teeth and smiled and told her to... have a nice day. heh. I get back to the swim center just as the lessons ended. We're home now, lunch in bellies, Mom's school is done and they're happily playing Scrabble in the play room. I, on the other hand, NEED to start studying. I have a couple of weeks to cram for my National and Practical Exams. So, my job interview went very well last week. I applied for a licensed massage therapist position at the Bethany Athletic Club. It is just TWO minutes from my house! I think it's the perfect opportunity for me! It is so convenient and they have all brand-new, state-of-the-art equipment, restaurant/lounge/dining area, exercise classes, swimming pools, etc. I believe they just opened up some time last month and they've been hiring staff all summer long. The person I interviewed with said I would be a great "fit" with their spa. (I'll be working @ the Pointe Day Spa, within the athletic complex.) I love all the cool amenities that come along with the job position like facials, manicures, pedicures, body wraps, discounted beauty products, free gym membership, free access to the pool and hot tub, etc. Right now, the only prob is that I'm not _technically_ licensed yet. I can't work until I have my license. Argh. So...after my interview, the director of the spa gave me her card and told me to contact her as soon as I get my license. I'm hopeful that I'll get my license by next month. *fingers-crossed* Until then, I'm studying and waiting to hear back from the Massage Board. *sigh* In other news, I'm also planning Patrick's 8th birthday party. Yes, he's gonna be eight years old. It's scary how fast they're growing up. They're as tall as my shoulders now. I think by next year, they're gonna be as tall as me. yikes. Anyhoo, the party's going to be held at Laserport. He wants to play lasertag with his friends for his birthday. Right now, I need to call all the people that haven't rsvp'ed yet. I'm hoping for a small group of kids for his bday this year 'cause it's getting pretty pricey to plan his party. For about $17/child, the kiddies will get 2 slices of pizza, unlimited soda, and play 2 games of lasertag. To compare, Jarod's rock-climbing party was only around $10/child and he invited around 12 guests. Yup, these kids have it good... :-) Oh, I just remembered, I gotta bring the kids to the library to return library books. I hate getting overdue fines. :-P More later...
July 26, 2006: We're back from Seattle! The Red Sox lost! Boo-hoo! It was an amazing game nonetheless! We had a great time! We even got a chance to walk around Pike Place Market for a bit. (oh, and while we were there, I scored an awesome 2007 calendar of Angelina Jolie, sweet!) I'll get to the pics soon enough but I've been busy... getting ready for my first _job_ interview!!! Argh! Details to come...
July 21, 2006: Yup, someone nicely pointed out that I haven't updated my website in about three weeks. heheh. My bad. We've been having a pretty fun summer so far... I've been taking the boys on outings every day but only after they do their workbooks, yes, I'm a slave-driver!!! During the summer time I do "Mom School" w/ the boys so their brains don't turn into mush over summer vacation. We've gone bowling every week, (free passes!), Free Movie Tuesdays @ Regal Cinemas, the Oregon Zoo, etc. (I'll post pics soon!) Oh, and on one particular Friday afternoon, we even went into Downtown Portland to see the World's Longest Hotdog! Yes, folks, I got the pictures to prove it. (I'll post pics soon!) Oh-oh, and this past weekend, we went on our annual camping trip up to Mt. Hood National Forest. We stayed at the same camp site that we did last year @ Clear Lake. Luckily for us, the lake didn't dry up like it did last summer. We had TONS of fun, making smores by the campfire, going rafting, having a picnic in the middle of the lake, biking, splashing in the water, etc. It was a great weekend! (Yes, yes, yes, I promise to post pics soon!) Right now, I'm in the middle of packing (again) because we're going to drive up to Seattle for the weekend. We've got tickets to see the Red Sox/Mariners game on Sunday! It's gonna be a scorcher of a weekend in Seattle, low 90's, but in Ptld, it's going to be over 100F!!! Crazy! Anyhoo, gonna finish packing.... (I promise to post pics when I get back. hehe.) July 4, 2006:
Happy Fourth of July!!! We're going over to my friend Tina's house for a small get together and BBQ party. We'll be watching the fireworks display over at the Washington Country Fair Complex. It'll be a fun time for the kiddies but I'm sure it'll pale in comparison to the 4th of July fireworks display they'll have in Boston tonight. We did take the kiddies back to Boston one year (2002) to watch the fireworks from the esplanade. Ahh, memories... :-)
July 3, 2006: This was one crazy weekend! We had a BBQ/graduation/summer party at our house this Saturday and we had over 40+ people show up! The guests started arriving around 11am and the last guest didn't leave until 8pm!!! We had TONS of food, booze and refreshments for our friends and guests (and TONS of leftovers, too!). Grill-master DJ extraordinaire was @ the grill, flipping mad burgers and hotdogs like his hero, Spongebob @ the KrustyKrab. heheh... I made baked teriyaki chicken and grilled asparagus with orange wasabi dressing, and it was wicked good! We had two cakes, one from Beaverton Bakery (the "fruit basket" cake that Lisa loves...wish you were here, sweetie!) and another chocolate cake for the kiddies. Since the weather forecast for the day was hot and sunny, I made sure that there were lots of water games to help the kiddies (young and old) cool off in the summer sun. While the kiddies played outside, the adults staged their own version of American Idol right in our living room. Too bad I don't have footage of the adults singing karaoke... it was pretty funny! Lastly, we ended the days making ice cream sundaes with four flavors of ice cream to choose from and 5 kinds of toppings and whipped cream and chocolate syrup. It was a great way to start off the summer and I just want to thank everyone for coming! :-)
June 29, 2006: From the Breslin Annals of "Kids Say the Darnest Things":
June 28, 2006: Now that I'm done with school, I have more time to indulge in my creative endeavors, namely tending to my Chinese veggie garden. When I went back to Boston this past March/April, my mom gave me some seeds from her _own_ veggie garden. It's kinda cool that I have the same Chinese veggies growing in my backyard as my mom. Check them out:
June 25, 2006: Last night, I went out drinkin' and celebratin' with a couple of girly friends. We had such a blast barhopping and people watching! We went to a total of three different places and I had a different drink at each of those places. (trust me folks, for me that's a lot!) The first place we went to was called Oba's Restaurant for appetizers and cocktails. (Latin Nuevo cuisine, whatever that means...) I had a White Cosmo there, very tasty. (it was very similar to a regular Cosmo but they used white cranberry juice instead, plus they floated a couple of candied cranberries, too.) Oh, and we shared a plate of fried calamari appetizers. So delicious! Next, we headed over to a place called Andina's for dinner. (this is a super cool Peruvian tapas restaurant.) I ordered a Pina Colada there, and guess what, the drink comes with sweetened coconut shavings on top. How cool is that!?! We shared a plate of fresh greens, smoked fish, baked parmesan scallops and homemade bread (that came with three different dipping sauces!) For dessert, we had passion fruit & mango mousse. It was such an amazing meal! Then it was off to Doug Fir for some late night cocktails. My cocktail of choice was a Vanilla Drop, very similar to a lemon drop but they use Stoli Vanilla instead of Absolut Citron, I think. We hung out there for a bit and chatted for a while. There were tons of people dressed up as Nursery Rhyme/Fairy Tale characters. They told us it was some gorilla masquerade thing (don't ask, cuz I don't know) and the most bizarre person of the night was a 6'2" guy dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Very weird but it made for fun people-watching that night. :-)
June 22, 2006: I'M DONE!!! I'M DONE WITH MASSAGE SCHOOL!!! AFTER ALMOST TWO YEARS OF BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS, I'M HAPPY, RELIEVED, EXCITED, ECSTATIC TO BE FINALLY DONE! :-) *doing a happy Amy dance*
May 10, 2006: I've just back-posted a quick entry for the month of April. I told myself when I re-vamped this website eons ago that I would do my best to update at least one a week. Heheh, you fools! I'm lucky if I post an update at least once a month! There has been tons of reasons/excuses for not updating, um, yeah, for example, we took a trip back to Boston to surprise Grandma/Liz & Eddy for their 5th year anniversary. I couldn't post about it for weeks and it was killing me trying to keep it off the website so everyone would be surprised. We had such a blast! If I have some spare time, I'll write a separate post about it. (Don't hold your breath though...heheh) I've started my last semester of classes this term and hopefully I'll be graduating by the end of June. It's been really, really stressful juggling everything and honestly, I almost burst into tears last night just from sheer exhaustion and fatigue. The kids' after school activities (piano lessons, art classes, baseball practice and games) take up most of my free time and when I'm not dealing with kiddie stuff, I'm trying my best to get my homework assignments done and study for my tests. In fact, I have two midterms coming up next Tuesday that I desperately need to study for. Actually I have a test TOMORROW that I really, _really_ have to study for. I have a foreboding feeling that this semester will ruin my 4.0 average. Yeah, I'm a nerd. Oh, yeah, and also something happened to the hard drive on my computer. It a'sploded. No kiddin'! It really did. It crashed. I didn't do it. Ask DJ. My computer's in pieces in two different rooms right now. I couldn't update my website because I was using the laptop and FrontPage isn't installed on it I think. I'm currently on DJ's precious computer right now updating my website. Heheh. Anyhoo, I'm back and I'll do a better job keeping my hordes of internet fans apprised of my daily life stuff. :-)
April 1 - 30, 2006 Heheh, hey folks, I'm back! There was too much stuff going on during the month of April and so I'll just leave you guys with a pictorial summary of this month cause I'm too busy right now to adequately describe everything that happened in April. Enjoy!
March 16, 2006: Patrick's sick, too. It's been a very icky week for all of us... hopefully they'll get better soon.
March 15, 2006: Jarod's sick. He's sickity-sick-cough-hack-puke-cough-puke sick. He can't cough without puking up a lung. In fact, his sputum is tinged with bloody streaks, yeah, I know, kinda gross. <fast-forward 6 hrs> He's feeling a little better. Motrin helped a lot. He's eating chicken soup and reading Harry Potter. (So much for studying for my finals. heh.) I'm just glad my Bunny's feeling better. I feel bad when they're sick and stuff. All I wanna do is make them better. Oh, and not to make light of his illness, but Jarod says the cutest things in his state of lethargy and delirium. Earlier when I asked him if his throat still hurts, he said, "It feels like there's a hole in my esophagus." Then later when I asked how he was feeling he responded, "I think gravity is going the wrong way." (his way of describing dizziness...) Onto other news, Patrick's 1st baseball practice is this Saturday. Hurray for Little League Season! The next couple of weeks will be nuts... Jarod is still in art class once a week, Patrick's gonna have practice at least once a week followed by games on Saturdays, they're both still taking piano lessons on Thursdays, and I have three finals I NEED to study for. Oh, and I believe Patrick's been invited to his friend's birthday party this weekend and we have to go by a present and stuff. D'oh, and I almost forgot, we have plans to go swimming with our friends on Friday (pending Jarod's state of health, I might cancel this instead so he can rest up a bit.) Then there's a bunch of other activities that I need to plan for during Spring Break that I keep putting off... lots to do. Oh, one thing I'm looking forward to is this Saturday night. My friend Molly invited me over for a girl's nite out thingie this weekend. Should be pretty fun! More later...
March 8, 2006: My friend forwarded this to me... it's pretty darn funny... *giggle* :-P
HOW TO SPEAK ABOUT MEN AND BE POLITICALLY CORRECT He does not have a BEER GUT; he has developed a LIQUID GRAIN STORAGE FACILITY. He is not a BAD DANCER; he is OVERLY CAUCASIAN. He does not GET LOST ALL THE TIME; he INVESTIGATES ALTERNATIVE DESTINATIONS. He is not BALDING; he is in FOLLICLE REGRESSION. He is not a CRADLE ROBBER; he prefers GENERATIONAL DIFFERENTIAL RELATIONSHIPS. He does not get FALLING-DOWN DRUNK; he becomes ACCIDENTALLY HORIZONTAL. He is not a MALE CHAUVINIST PIG; he has SWINE EMPATHY. He is not afraid of COMMITMENT; he is MONOGAMOUSLY CHALLENGED. He is not QUIET; he is a CONVERSATIONAL MINIMALIST. He is not STUPID; he suffers from MINIMAL CRANIAL DEVELOPMENT. He is not SHORT; he is ANATOMICALLY COMPACT. He does not CONSTANTLY TALK ABOUT CARS; he has a VEHICULAR ADDICTION. He is not UNSOPHISTICATED; he is SOCIALLY MALFORMED. He does not EAT LIKE A PIG; he suffers from REVERSE BULIMIA. He does not HOG THE BLANKETS; he is THERMALLY UNAPPRECIATIVE. He doesn't have a DIRTY MIND; he has INTROSPECTIVE PORNOGRAPHIC MOMENTS. And Lastly.... "He does not act like a TOTAL ASS; he's developed a case of RECTAL-CRANIAL INVERSION."
March 7, 2006: The chibbles' section has been updated with a few recent pics from their playdate last month... Go check it out, HERE.
March 3, 2006: I've been very, very bad about updating the website. Sorry. I did, however, add a last minute entry for the month of February. (with close-up picture goodness...hehe) February came and went crazy fast! The boys had a play date over their friend's house and then I returned the favor and invited all three of the boys over to our house for a play date. The boys (five in all) had tons of fun making and decorating cupcakes, watching a movie while eating freshly popped popcorn, and wreaking havoc on the house. All in all, it was a good night. My friend and her hubby went on a "double-date" with their friends at a German restaurant called Gustav's. Then for dessert they went over to The Cheesecake Factory. She even brought me back a slice of Kahlua Cocoa Coffee Cheesecake. It was very goooood. :)
February 28, 2006: Guess what folks?!?! Patrick lost his FIRST tooth! It took a bit of wiggling and jiggling (and a crazy sadistic mom that gave the stubborn tooth a little twist n' tug...heh) and then Patrick finally pulled out his tooth with a *pop*. He suddenly looks so much older with a gap in his smile, but what a smile! :D If you want to see a close-up of his pearly whites, click HERE for the before n' after pics...
February 14, 2006: Yup, it's been a while since I've updated... busy, busy, busy! The boys had a playdate with their friends last weekend which gave me and DJ a chance hang out sans chibbles. We watched Wedding Crashers and ordered Chinese food from P. F. Chang's. It was a pretty funny movie and I highly recommend it. I've been studying like crazy for the past week or so... I have midterms all this week. I feel like my brain is fried, ugh. There's a lot of reading to do and memorizing terminology, etc. I have just four more months to go before I graduate in June. It's been a challenging two years but I think I can see the light at the end of this tunnel. DJ can't wait till I get a job so he can quit and be a stay-at-home dad. heheh. Just call him, Mr. Mom. ;-) Oh, and, before I forget, I just wanna wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!
January 29, 2006: Gong Hai Fat Choy!!!
January 28, 2006: It's my birthday!!! Yay!!! ***doing a little 'happy birthday' dance*** Thanks to everyone for making my day so super special! The boys took me out for a lovely birthday dinner at Olive Garden and I had my all-time favorite shrimp and crab stuffed raviolis. Yum! I also took the boys to see a lion dance today. (Today happens to be Chinese New Year's EVE as well.) Oh, and it's also Auntie Lisa's Chinese birthday today. See, we're actually twins, heheh. Tomorrow's Chinese New Year's DAY and so I'm trying my best to make some traditional New Year's dishes to celebrate the coming new year. Busy, Busy, Busy!
January 25, 2006:
Happy Birthday to Auntie Lisa!!! We had such a wonderful weekend together! I wish you could have stayed longer! Miss you already... <sniff, sniff> I hope you had a fun time here in Portland, OR!!!
January 18, 2006: Happy Birthday to my brother, Al! Hope you have a good one!!!
January 17, 2006: Holy crap, it's been a while... hm, I suppose a re-cap's in order:
It's been really challenging trying to juggle the kids, house stuff, classes, homework, and volunteering at the boys' school. The morning commute to my school kinda blows. I'm out of the house @ 6:55am for my morning classes and it takes me about an _hour_ to get to school for my 8am class. DJ's being really helpful getting the boys ready for school on the days I have classes. So far, so good. I just took my first quiz for the semester and I aced it. woo-hoo, go me. :-D I have three quizzes coming up next Tuesday which I should start studying for but I'll probably cram the night before. Oh, oh, I almost forgot! This is gonna be a pretty exciting weekend because my cousin LISA is coming out from Boston to visit us!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!! Coincidentally, it's her birthday weekend and next weekend will be my birthday weekend, so we're gonna have to "live it up" a little while she's here. heheh. I'm definitely up for a little fun before the crazy madness sets in. I'm not gonna have a lot of free time any more which mean I'll be stuck at level 22 on WOW for a little while. Bummer. I was just getting into the game, too. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to play a little this week and level up... apparently my character can fish now, thanks to a "certain someone". My knight elf's got mad skillz now... heheh. January 1, 2006: The holidays are officially over! Yay! <sigh> Happy New Year to Everyone!!! I hope everyone had a fun New Year's Eve last night. We had a nice and quiet celebration at home with the kids. We watched the Times Square ball drop on tv at 9 o'clock and wished the boys a Happy New Year, EST. Heheh... Then it was off to bed for the kiddies while the adults break out the bubbly. Actually, we hopped online and played WOW until midnight pausing just for a moment to wish each other a Happy New Year by toasting one other with our online characters. (They had refillable mugs of beer in Stormwind, ooh.) DJ's turning me into a computer geek-nerd. Heh-heh. Actually, earlier in the day we got together with my friend Tina, her bf and her bf's daughter for some delicious sushi @ Mio Sushi. We got a chance to catch up on our lives, exchange some gifts and eat some pretty good sushi. The boys picked out the Hawaiian rolls (crab, cucumber and rice) while I opted for the sushi platter sampler. Later on, we picked up some pumpkin torte for dessert. Yum. Oh, and lastly, I just want to extend a heartfelt "thank-you" to all our families and friends for the wonderful Christmas cards and gifts. You guys are the best! Even though we couldn't be in Boston for the holidays, you guys will always be in our hearts. :-)
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Acceptance
