FEBRUARY 10, 2004: Yeah, I know it's
been four months since I've last posted. My bad... I've
decided to re-vamp my website... slowing adding things and taking
things away, and giving my website a whole new look. Stay
tuned...
October 24, 2003:
Riddle me this, Batman...
"What's worst than having
one sick kid?"
Answer: Having TWO sick kids... argh... <more later>
October 21, 2003:
Man, I'm tired, I could use a nap right about now. Patrick's
not feeling well. He's got a fever, achy/sore and has a
headache. I've kept him home from school for the past couple
of days. Hopefully, he'll be better soon. I've been
trying to find time to make the boys' Halloween costumes but I
haven't been able to get around to that. This is also the
final week of soccer for the boys. There's gonna be a fun
soccer jamboree this weekend and a party to celebrate the soccer
season. I'll be sure to take some pics and post them for
everyone to see. ttfn...
October 16, 2003:
Dejected, disappointed, disbelief, depressed, devastated,
defeated... There really isn't any single word in the English
language to adequately convey the heart-wrenching emotions felt by
all loyal Red Sox fans out there tonight. The hopes and dreams
of all Beantown faithfuls came crashing down in the bottom of the
11th. What was meant to be, wasn't really meant to be.
So Sad. <sigh>
October 7, 2003:
Man, what I wouldn't give to be in Boston right about now!
I've spent the past weekend glued to the tv set watching the Sox vs
A's and last night I just about went nuts... OH MY GOD!
What a game! I wanted to scream and shout at the top of my
lungs but I had just put the kiddies to bed and the last thing I
wanted to do was wake 'em up. Coming back from an 0-2 deficit
and winning THREE games in a row was more than I could take. I
felt so bad for Johnny Damon because when he collided head-on with
Damian Jackson in the 7th inning, he was knocked completely
unconscious for a bit. Poor guy! Then Fox had to
play and re-play that scene over and over again. Each time I
saw it, I winced, OUCH. Tomorrow night is Game 1 of the ALCS
against those damn Yankees and I am totally
skipping out on my yoga class tomorrow so I can stay home and watch
the game on tv. argh. I really need those classes
to chill out though 'cause watching the Red Sox play this weekend
was the most thrilling yet agonizing/stressful/heart-wrenching thing
in the world. I swear, I'm gonna lose all bodily function if
the Sox win the first ALCS game against those Yanks. I think
it's about time they "cowboy up" (I LOVE THAT PHRASE! heh) and show
the world what they are truly capable of. YEAH! Go Sox!
Anyhoo, onto other news, Jarod started taking piano lessons a
couple weeks ago and he's having a real fun time of it. He's
learning the scales and finger placement and slowly reading music
notes. Patrick's showing a lot of interest as well and
hopefully when there's an opening, I'll sign him up as well.
Hm, what else? Oh, yeah, soccer's going really well for them
and they're having such a great time being teammates and playing
soccer together. It's so fun watching them play... too bad
soccer season will be over by month's end but they do get a soccer
party & trophies. :)
I can't believe how fast the holidays are
approaching... Halloween, Turkey Day and X-Mas seem just around the
corner. Believe it or not, but DJ and I are thinking of maybe going
Christmas shopping at KB Toys some time this week. Yikes!
The boys haven't even picked out their Halloween costumes yet and
we're already thinking of getting them x-mas presents. (I
haven't picked out my costume either, heh-heh!) Man, I'd better get
a move on! :-) TTFN!
Oh, p.s. if anyone wants to
comment on the Red Sox (or anything else), PLEASE do so in the
guestbook. It's feeling a bit neglected lately. hee-hee!
;)
September 12, 2003:
In Loving
Memory of Mickey
September 12,
2003
September 3, 2003:
Happy 1st day of School for the boys! Jarod and Patrick both
started school today, woo-hoo! :) They're in the big
leagues now! yippee! yay!!! It was an emotional
day to say the least but they were quite excited to be starting a
brand new school year. They both have wonderful teachers this
year and I'm so happy/excited/giddy for them. Here's a couple
pics of them going off to school and them coming home from school
today: (check out Patrick's grin!!!)
August 28, 2003:
This will probably be the last entry for the month of August.
There's just a lot of things going on and I would absolutely LOVE to
write about it but it will have to wait until
September. Plus, I'm seriously thinking of re-designing my
whole website. I think it's about time for a change I guess.... Oh btw, it was my cousin Anna's 24th birthday this
past Monday and the boys made her this sign:
August 13, 2003:
I just got back from a book signing. It was wicked cool cause
I've never been to a book signing before. The author was none
other than Star Trek's Wil Wheaton! He's the author of Dancing
Barefoot, a collection of stories from his life, past and
present. I happened to read in his blog
yesterday that he will be at the Powell's
book store in Beaverton tonite. It was a truly awesome
experience and I promise to give details tomorrow but for now,
here's a pic of me with Wil. :) Enjoy!
August 12, 2003:
Patrick is FIVE years old today! He's my big boy now.
Something about turning 5 yrs old seems like such a big milestone in
a kid's life. He'll be off to Kindergarten in a few weeks and
taking the bus with the big kids. He was my little baby and
now he's all grow'ed up. <sigh> Today's gonna be a very
busy day for all of us. We're gonna pick up the balloons and
head over to Sunset Golf Center to play mini-golf for his birthday
party. We'll be joined by 8 of his friends, some from his old
preschool and some from the neighborhood. Lunch, cake,
presents, balloons and goodie bags for all. What more could a
five year old want?! :) Then, as soon as I get back from
the bday party, I'll be baking a couple loaves of my famous banana
bread and some crab rangoon appetizers for a potluck lunch tomorrow
over my friend's house. It's more of a house-warming party but
without the gifts (she didn't want any.) As soon as I'm done
with the cooking and baking, I'll be helping the boys into their
soccer gear cause they're gonna have their first soccer practice of
the season this evening. AND THEN FINALLY, <whew,
must catch breath here> we're taking Patrick out for a nice
birthday dinner at any place of his choice, and I'm sure he's gonna
choose Sweet Tomatoes. He's been dying to go for the
longest time! The food's pretty good and pretty healthy, and
how can you go wrong with a restaurant that brings fresh-baked
cookies right to your table. Yum...
p.s.
I have something interesting coming up tomorrow evening but I'll
leave that for tomorrow's entry.... :D hee-hee!
August 8, 2003:
Soccer season starts up soon for the kiddies. Their first
practice is next Tuesday and they're anxious to start. I
haven't even bought them their soccer gear yet, must do that this
weekend. Oh, and both boys have shown such interest in
playing the piano/keyboard (must encourage their musical talents)
that I've gotten a list of local piano teachers to
"interview". Hopefully, they'll have a nice music
teacher in place before the start of the school year. Oh, and
guess what? Patrick's gonna turn 5 years old on the
12th. My baby's turning FIVE years old. I'm planning a
little birthday party for him with a bunch of his
school/neighborhood friends. I still need to buy some more
party supplies, order the cake (yikes, must do it soon!) and get the
balloons ordered and make the goodie bags. Hm, I have less
time than I thought. I still need to finish up my flower bed
in the front yard, too. It's just sittin' there waiting for
me, still plant-less <sigh>. Another thing I want to do
is revamp this site. It's feeling a bit
"old". I'm thinking of a whole new design.
Let's see how much I can get done from now till September. Oh,
and tonite, the kids and I are going swimming with a bunch of
friends and then tomorrow nite, the boys are going over their
friends' house for a sleepover. Maybe that'll give me a chance
to go out Sat nite and have a little fun. We'll
see...
August 2, 2003:
Wow, it's been a month since my last entry. We've spent the
past month in Boston, MA, visiting friends and family. We had
such a good time while we were there. I have lots to say but
I'm dead tired. The reason I'm tired is that the day after I
got back from our trip, I've been painting the boys'
bedrooms. The rooms are finally done but, man, it feels like I
need another vacation. I'm going to bed, nite!
July 4, 2003:
HAPPY 4th of JULY!!! Hope y'all are having a nice day of BBQ-ing,
sunning your buns, and enjoying the fireworks! We're planning
on having a nice lazy day at home, maybe BBQ-ing in the backyard and
visiting with friends. I'll probably have to spend some time
packing this weekend as well. 4 more days!!!
June 29, 2003: I'm
trying to teach myself how to play the piano. BAH!!! And
the only reason I'm doing it, is so that I can teach J & P how
to play it (their keyboard). My fingers are not wantin' to
cooperate with me. double-BAH!!! :P There
are a few online self-teach music sites, i.e. www.pianonanny.com,
and I'm actually learning some neat stuff there... stay tuned....
oh, btw, NINE more freakin' days, man!!!! :) Oh and I
also forgot to mention, WE GOT A NEW CAT!!! Sera's her name...
she's so nice and sweet and playful... :D
June 22, 2003: The
boys had a real fun time at Zoo camp last week! They learned
all sorts of stuff and made some nifty arts n' crafts. Too bad
it was just for one week... Oh and this weekend, we (along with 40
other houses in our neighborhood) had a huge garage sale and managed
to get rid of a lot of our junk. Now our house is a bit more
spacious and clutter-free, well, that is, until the boys tornado
thru once more. heh-heh... The next couple of weeks are
gonna fly by cause I have the boys signed up for swimming lessons
and bowling every day! Patrick is a natural at bowling (scores
90-100) and Jarod is like a fish in the water. It's cool
to see different strengths in each of them. It makes them a
little less competitive with one another. And then we'll
have the Fourth of July to look forward to, yay! That just
leaves me with 3 days to pack and get ready to leave for
Boston. I'm excited, I can't wait! It's gonna be so cool
to see everyone again. Anyhoo, TTFN!
:)
June 13, 2003:
Friday the 13th, ohhhhh! :P Anyhoo, it's been a very,
very busy crazy week of stuff! Jarod's birthday party was
fantastic! Lots of fun and laughter and he was a very happy 6
year old boy! We took him out to lunch on his real bday on Mon
to Chevy's, and they sang happy birthday to him. He got a free
mexican sundae and sombrero out of the deal. :) Then on
Wed, he finally graduated from kindergarten. He's officially a
1st grader! Woo-Hoo! And yesteday was the first morning
that I got a chance to sleep-in, ahhh, so nice! Oh, and last
nite, my friends and I treated ourselves to well-deserved pedicures
and a yummy dinner downtown at Papa Haydn's. The desserts are
to DIE for! So yummy... Tomorrow, the boys are invited
to my friend's house for an end-of-the-school-year summer party, and
I promised I would help out with the decorations and stuff.
I'll try to post some links and pics and stuff when I get around to
it. (Don't hold your breath, folks!) And finally three
weeks left before we're back in Boston, baby! There's still so
much to do and plus I also have the boys signed up for zoo camp,
swimming lessons, bowling, and this is all BEFORE we go back to
Boston. Plus, packing... oh, and I also have to help one of my
very good friends move. <sniff,sniif> luckily,
she's just gonna be a few miles down the road but our boys won't be
in the same school anymore, WAH!!! Ok, I'm done whining.... check
out my new pedicure!!! :D
June
9, 2003: Happy birthday Jarod! He is officially SIX
years old today. What a big boy he's become. He
had a super-cool birthday party with all his friends from school and
the neighborhood. Here's a link
to the birthday pics !!! Enjoy!
June 7, 2003: Super
cool fun day! I took the boys down to the Waterfront (downtown
Portland) to watch the Dragon Boat
Races today. My friend, Tina, was down there volunteering
in the command tent. (she keeps track of the race
times.) The boys got a kick out of the races and then when it
got too hot, we walked down to the water's edge and dipped our feet
in the Willamette River. Word of warning to you people, do NOT
stick your feet or any other body parts into the river. It has
a mega-stench! It's almost reminiscent of the Boston Harbor's
"odor" a decade ago. Anyhoo, we watched some cute
dogs catch frisbees for a little while. Afterwards, we then headed
to Chinatown and grabbed some yummy dim-sum to-go. It would
have been nice to throw down a blanket and have a picnic there but
it was just way too HOT for the chibbles. Now the boys have
invited two of their best buddies to come over and play for the
afternoon in the backyard. I'm gonna head out back with a nice
book and a cold glass of iced tea. Enjoy your weekend,
folks!
June 1, 2003:
Man, it's June 1st... I wish I could slow down time for a bit...
lots to do this month. I'm currently up to my eyeballs in
birthday planning, yep, Jarod's gonna turn 6 years old in EIGHT
days. My lil' boy... <sniff,sniff> We're gonna
have a big birthday party for him at the United
Sports Academy. I think there'll be about 15 kids coming
and I'm hoping I can get all last minute details done. Cake,
balloons, goodie bags, decorations, etc., tons to do. Will I
have enough time to do it? Stay tuned... In other news,
I still have to finish up my flower garden. It's been a month
since I started and it's yet to be completed. Gotta get me to
the nearest nursery and pick up some purty lil' flower
thingies... I'll keep y'all posted...
May 18, 2003:
The boys are getting better, but I'm still coughy, stuffy, and my
throat feels like there's a pricky cactus lodged in there.
Ugh. Anyhoo, I'm bored and so I added a few new links
in my link section. Go check 'em out. Later. :)
May 16, 2003: Happy
Mom's Day to my mom and to all the moms out there!!! My Mommy's Day came and went this past weekend and I had such a great
time! As a surprise, I got to go flying in a glider on
Saturday (see DJ's site for the pics...) Here's a link
to my glider plane experience. Super cool fun! And then on Sunday, I went to
three different wineries in Oregon's wine country to sample their
stuff. The first two places were nice--- Rex
Hill and Duck Pond.
I found their wines to be very similar in taste, but then again,
what do I know?!?! But despite my lack of knowledge in wines,
I did
find one yummy Pinot Gris/Chardonnay blend at Sokol
Blosser. Overall, a very good weekend for us. (but
then we spent the rest of this week recovering from our
"fun"... we all caught a cold/cough/allergies/etc
something... sniffly/sneezy all week.) And lastly, tonight, the
boys are going to a sleepover at their friend's house and DJ and I
are going out to the movies... Matrix
Reloaded. One
word: Keanu. heh-heh. Later folks! ttfn! p.s.
thanks to the ones who signed my guestbook... :)
May 2, 2003: For the
past week, I've been in the front yard working my butt off, putting
in a raised flower bed all by myself! It's been back-breaking
work and I'm happy to say that it's almost finished. I just
need to fill it in with some more dirt, compost, mulch, etc and then
plant some "purty things" in it. I want lots of
color in the front yard but I want it to coordinate with the
existing foliage and plants. I've been leaning towards getting
a Japanese Maple (they're so delicate and pretty) and lilac bushes
(fragrant lil' things) and a few other things. Once it's
completed, I'll post the before/after pics for y'all to see.
On other news, Patrick will be graduating from preschool in about
three weeks while Jarod will be graduating some time in early
June... time flies... ::sniff, sniff:: :)
April 24, 2003:
It's been a loooooooooooooong week... DJ was out of town on business
and I was busy juggling the household chores and kiddie
duties. I was gonna post my thoughts on the Bon Jovi concert
but instead, I'm just too mentally drained right now to think back
so far. Rather, I'm curious if anyone out there is ACTUALLY
reading my journal or visiting my website. So here's a request
to all you lurkers out there--- go sign my guestbook and leave me a
message. :) Go ahead and introduce yourself. Don't
worry, I won't bite... :-D
April 15, 2003:
April 14, 2003: I
SAW BON JOVI LIVE IN CONCERT TONITE!!!!! IT WAS SOOOOOOOO
AWESOME! DETAILS TO COME VERY SOON!!! AMAZING!!!
April 11, 2003:
It's been over a month since my last update. My bad.
Needless to say, I've been busy with tons of kiddie stuff! Here's a
quick re-cap of the past month: We've spent the past few weekends
working on our garden (mowing, weeding, etc), the boys had their 1ST
sleepover at their friend's house (the boys are growing up!) we've
gone to a ton of kid-oriented places like Skateworld,
Chuck E. Cheese's,
Sunset
bowling, the
USA gym, mini golfing, The
Oregon Zoo, and
McMenamin's
Dinner Theater. Most of these trips were during the boys'
Spring Break last month. And tomorrow, I will be taking the
boys to the Creativity
Fair at Patrick's preschool. Just imagine rooms full of
kids doing all sorts of fun arts and crafts activities. We've
been going for the past three years and each year it gets bigger and
better. The best part, it's FREE! Then tomorrow nite, I
will be hosting a Girls' Movie Nite at my house and I'll be inviting
a few of my girlfriends over for popcorn, movie, drinks and
guy-bashing. (heh-heh, j/k!) It should be pretty
fun! The movie of choice will be: Divine
Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. I'll let you know
how it goes! :) Oh, and one last thing, I went to the
eye doctor's this past week to update my eyeglasses prescription
because it seriously needed to be updated and I got me a new pair of
wicked stylin' glasses. I'll try to get a pic of me with my
new specks. :D Oh, and LASTLY, here are some random pics
I took of the boys and their friend @ the zoo!
March 3, 2003:
Happy March everyone! I just got back from the dentist and I'm
happy to report: NO CAVITIES! Yay! I love going to the
dentist! (yeah, I'm weird.) The boys will be going in later on
this week to get their teeth cleaned. Hopefully they'll also
get a clean bill of health. Hm, what's new? Let's see,
oh, last month we took the boys to see The
Wiggles, live in concert! For y'all out there that might
be unfamiliar with them, it's four grown men singing and dancing to
catchy kiddie tunes. As for myself, my yoga class is going
very well. I'm learning all sorts of stretching techniques,
different poses, and controlled breathing. I'm also trying to
hop on the treadmill 2-3/week to get my cardio workout done.
Yay, go me. :D Later!
February 17, 2003:
It's the middle of February. OY! Happy belated
Valentine's Day to everyone! It's been a very busy weekend for
all of us. The boys had their school Valentine's Day parties,
a friend's birthday party @ Chuck E. Cheese's, afternoon fun at
Bulwinkle's, and an assortment of play dates with their little
friends. I also managed to have a bit of fun this
weekend. My good friend invited me to a Chinese New Year
dinner banquet in downtown Portland. It was one of those
10-course sit-down meals that lasts for hours and hours. I ate
hot n' spicy jellyfish, fried jumbo shrimp, peking duck, mushrooms
on bok choy, beef with Chinese broccoli, bird's nest soup
(delicacy), sweet n' sour pork and other things I can't
remember. Yum!!! There was lots of entertainment
provided--- a lion dance, a Chinese fashion show, and lots of
singing and dancing by children from the International
school.
Then on Sunday, I went to see the movie, "Chicago".
It was so much fun! If you haven't seen it yet, you must go
see it! :) As for today, since the boys have a day off
from school, we're just putzing around the house (raining right now)
until their afternoon playdate with their friend, Jordan. Must
get ready... well, that's all for now... TTFN! :)
January 28, 2003:
Happy birthday to ME ! I'm officially 29 years old
today. Go me! Honestly, I really don't "feel"
29 yet, which is a good thing I suppose. Oh, since it's my
"special" day, I totally pigged out on powdered donuts for
breakfast, 'cause, well, I'm the b'day girl. hee-hee! I
sent the boys off to school and then went shopping. I got a
pair of wicked red shoes and I was looking for a red blouse to match
them but I ran out of time. After I picked up the boys from
school we met up with DJ at Chevy's
for my b'day lunch. I had a yummy grilled salmon steak with
mango salsa and some grilled veggies on the side. At the end
of the meal, the staff was kind enough to sing "happy
birthday" to me. Oh, in addition to the song I got a free
Chevy's sombrero and an Mexican ice cream sundae. Mmmm... When
we got home, the boys had gifts waiting for me. I got <drum
roll, please>... a brand new Easy
Bake Oven as well as a cotton
candy making machine. We "baked" a cake and the
boys sung to me again. How sweet of them! Later that
night, my friend came over to baby-sit the boys while DJ and I took
off to enjoy a fabulous birthday dinner at Ruth's
Chris Steak house. I had THE best steak there.
Pricey, but it was soooooooo good! All in all, a very good day
for me, thanks in part to everyone who emailed me/phoned me/sent me birthday
greetings and gifts. Thank you so very much for making me
feel super-special on my b'day. You guys rock ! !
! :)
January 21, 2003:
It's my cousin Lisa's b'day today, Happy Birthday Sweetie-Pie!
She's 29 years old today. Wish her a good one! :)
And in other news, we're taking the boys to see the Wiggles in
concert next month. Shhhhh, it's a surprise, don't tell 'em
yet. They are gonna be so excited! Speaking of concerts,
yours truly will be going to an awesome concert this coming
April. I don't want to jinx it, (remember how the Creed
concert bombed?) so
I'm not gonna say "who" it will be until that day gets
here. But, I'M SOOOOOOO EXCITED ! ! ! ! ! ! :)
<pant, pant, pant> :P Oh, one more thing,
I'll be starting up my yoga class tonight. Yippee for
me! It's about time I get off my lazy butt and start
exercising. I've been looking forward to learning yoga for the
longest time. Stay tuned, I'll let you know how it
goes... :)
January 18, 2003:
Today is my lil bro's birthday. He's 28 years old, just like
me. We are Irish twins, but we're not Irish.
heh-heh. I wonder who came up with that phrase. Anyhoo,
hope it's a good one, Al! We had such an amazing day
today. I dunno if I mentioned this before but I signed up for
a month long seminar course at The
Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. Today was the first
day of class and we focused on Chinese herbal medicines. It
was really neat and I learned a bunch of stuff. The class even
got a chance to sample various kinds of herbal remedies. They
were reminiscent of the concoctions that my mom would brew up for me
and my bros when we were kids. Afterwards, I met up with DJ
and the boys at The Olive
Garden for lunch. We stopped by the Chinese pastry shop
next door to buy some pineapple buns and egg tarts for
dessert. Yummy! On the way home, I decided to take a
detour to Commonwealth
Lake Park, a quiet little suburban neighborhood park. We
played all afternoon there on this gorgeous sunny day. It's
hard to believe that it's actually the middle of winter here in
Oregon. Well, that's all folks, ttfn!
January 3, 2003:
Happy New Year folks! We had a fun New Year's Day going to a
bowling-birthday party for one of Jarod and Patrick's friends from
the neighborhood. Hopefully DJ will get the pics up on the
website soon. Oh, and today, ah, today, despite all the
procrastinating and postponing, I _finally_ went in the the dentist
to get my wisdom teeth taken out. Read it here,
but I warn you, it's GRUESOME!!!!
Welcome to my World 
