For Cathie

Cathie made a 30 Second video of my Celia. Enjoy

It's been a year... I think.

Well, I feel like I started this blog a few months ago, but looking back I realize now that it has been more than a year. Hmm. Time does fly.

And at the moment I'm dealing with the butterflies in a big way. Every time I think about Celia going to Kindergarden and leaving us without her for more than 5 hours a day it makes me feel knots in my tummy. Ugg. But I'm sure she'll be fine, and maybe I'll be like my neighbor who said that once she stopped the initial crying after her kids started school, she got home and jumped for joy cuz she finally had free time. Ha. I wouldn't doubt it, but either way, I'm a little sadness more than anything because my baby isn't a baby anymore.

Summer sure has escaped us... or at least it's trying to, and I feel like I haven't seen anyone besides Becky, the Marinos, Luis, and Cathie. Everyone else has been hiding I guess, and the Q's haven't had enough parties.

But even though I haven't seen everyone... since we got back from GDL we've been acting like true Californians. We made it to the Aquarium, a Dodger Game, a Spark's game at Staples, the Zoo twice, and to the Hollywood Bowl. And remember last year when I wrote about UB40? Well, this year was just as good. You may not know Toots and the Maytals - but I do, and they played the Reggae show at the Bowl the other day, and once again, being in the crowd of thousands, listening to a singer whose voice only got better in last 30 years is too much fun. I'm glad I got to hang with my friends and listen to some beautiful music with my Alejandro too.

I feel like the funny has gone from the blog - but don't worry- it'll come back -but I can't get over my kids every day when they do things that crack me up. (I just can't remember the funny things at the end of the day!) Effie's face alone is the cutest thing in the world, and she makes me melt numerous times a day. She tays da tooest tings in da world. Like: I wants more tookies. I wants to sits on yours laps. Wares my sisters? Lela, tan I peese have yours chotate milks? She's so cute. At least she's still a baby, and I can keep her in my grasp for a couple more years.

I'll still keep you kids posted on the funnies. I'm too busy right now. I have some extra classes going on, and I'm working on a NEW BLOG - so don't abandon sara the sub, but bookmark the other cuz I'll be working on that too. And YES I'm GOING TO SEE PEE WEE HERMAN ON NOVEMBER 29th. This will make up for the life experience missed by not going to Michael Jackson's funeral. After having talked to MJ in my dream, I'm able to move on - and my other favorite person in the world - Paul Reubens, is making my dreams come true. I can't WAIT! Buy tickets and Join us - 5pm Nov. 29th at the Henry Fonda theatre. I heard it's gonna be PG-13.

Take care friends.

A Little Easier

So we're still settling in I think. And for some reason everything seems a bit easier. Maybe it's that my house was cleaned for me while I was gone. Or maybe because being a music teacher isn't as hard as it was last month. Who knows. But either way. We're back. We're safe. And thank God nobody got a stomach bug or the swine flu.

And it's midnight, and even though the house was clean, and kind of still is, I'm still working on the laundry, listening to Whitney Houston, and picking stickers off the ground.

We found the jackpot of garage sales the other day and ended up with brand new princess costumes for nothing practically, and guess who has been wearing a Minnie dress, with Minnie gloves, and Minnie sparkly shoes, and Minnie ears for a couple days now? hmmm.

The guy selling them was like my twin brother but about 75 years old, and from Mexico City. He's a photographer/music teacher/piano player/singer/sell your junk vendor. It was perty funny. The guy threw in a nice pair of maracas for me for going back to buy the last bigger Minnie dress... just in case Effie is still infatuated in a year, or if the other one ends up in the dryer too long.

And Mexico was amazing. I'm so glad we decided to go, and Celia was in tears in the parking lot of Target yesterday cuz she missed Guadalajara and Mama Celia. For the first couple days Effie kept asking to go home, by car, not airplane, but by the time it was time to go, neither of them wanted to go. Celia said we should just go back in 2 weeks.

Celia's fish Ce-lia pronounced "See-ya" died the day we left. Alayna if you are reading... we need a new beta fish. And Celia saw the fish bowl outside and I did the bad mom thing of lying to her and saying she was asleep. (It was a boy fish, but she always insisted it was a girl). Anyhowz. I told her yesterday she was dead, and all she said was "Do we still have the fishbowl?" So that was easy. I thought she'd be sad on the airplane if I told her before the trip, but I guess she gets it.

Here are some funny things that child said in mexico. And more.

When a Michael Jackson video was on while her great-grandma was watching tv, Celia was eating at the table and whispered to me: "I didn't know my Mama Celia liked Michael Jackson".

She said people in Mexico must love Jesus more cuz they have more churches.

Effie wore a Minnie Mouse Bathing suit 4 days out of 11 on the trip. With little Yellow Snow White shoes. Too Cute.

Celia learned to say "whatever". It's weird.

Someone pointed out that Celia is just as pigeon-toed as I am. I'm sure other people have noticed but have not wanted to openly make fun of us. ha.

Effie can down a whole bottle of Mexican Coke as fast as any expert beer drinker can down a bottle of Pacifico.

Where's Becky??

Well... lots happened, and it was so much fun, and yet so so tiring carrying Effie around all over the place. We got to go to kid's music classes, and buy leather sandals and tons of plastic masks, and best of all..........

I hit the jackpot of bootleg Michael Jackson DVDs. Captain EO. Moonwalker. History. Live in Japan 1987. I am so super excited about these and they actually work, and have spanish subtitles. Mexican piracy has its good-side.

Oh - and that reminds me - I had the weirdest dreams in mexico. One was that I found the husband of my dreams and had to break the news to Alex, but when I realized I was married, I decided to not get a divorce. hahahahhaah. Alex thought it was funny too. hahahaha.. but here's the best one.

My first night there I had a dream I was lying on a bed with Michael Jackson. Now stop it. It wasn't gross. We were clothed. It was like kids hanging out. We were just chilling watching TV, and then I looked straight at the guy and he was wearing sunglasses and a hat, and I told him how lucky I felt to finally have the chance to tell him how much his music meant to me, and then we were singing songs together, and I told him the jams I was never fond of, and it was one of those dreams where you wake up, think it's real, then go back to sleep, and it still goes on, so in the end, I had to break the news to him and tell him he was going to die, and I was all sad, and I woke up and thought that was perty funny too. I can't remember the other ones except the one before the trip about Effie being about 1-inch tall, and me being happy that I could carry her in my pocket.

Ok. This is enough nonsense.. so I'll spare you anymore. It's 12:33am and I have a lot to do still. So good night, I'll see you around, and take it breezy.

quick and dirty

hi. excuse the no caps or bad grammar, but i´m in mexico and they only use pc´s here, and it bugs the crap out of me but i can´t find the at sign, or caps, or shift, or whatever. so deal! cool. i found the exclamation point.

so, we got here fine after a great but long plane ride. celia loved listening to rock and roll on her headphones, and ate the adult pasta meal, saying how delicious it was, and then fell asleep at the end after hours of coloring and bobbing her head to rod stewart probably, and effie was asleep the first hour, and then happy just looking out the window. so that... was great.

and we have been here in guadalajara, walking a lot lot lot, carrying effie way tooo much, eating a lot, eating churros, tortas ahogadas, posole, carne asada, birotes, fresh everything, the works, and paletas de agua de limon, tamarino, guayaba, and chocolate everyday so far, and the girls are eating well, even though the first day effie almost starved herself saying she wanted to wait to eat at home.

and they are chillin watching backyardagans in spanish while alex and i are at the internet cafe thing, with no cafe. and the funniest story to me so far was that we spent our first day on alex´s cousin´s farm, and they have a small home, 2 kids, one 3 years old who played with celia and effie, and a baby who´s 1 who was a dream of a baby, just super chill, and anyway, they have pigs. smelly, and lots of them, and some are huge, like the size of a hippo, i swear. so, about 10 of them are in all seriousness the size of small hippos, about 500 pounds i´d say no joke, and anyway, effie ate a banana and she didn´t finish it, so i asked his cousin, what should i do with the peel and remains ? and she said throw it to the pigs, so i threw it to a big monster pig who freaked and trembled the ground when he jumped for it. scary.

so... a few hours later, after both my kids had napped and blah blah blah, his cousin came and asked me ... sorry about no quotation marks

which one did you feed it to? The BIG one' Well, i think she said a different word, but i thought she said big, and i said yeah. then she said, it´s dead.

oh my god. i thought........ i killed a pig. this is what they eat with. this is thier living. she said.. don´t say a word. i think he choked on the peel. it´s my fault, and don´t say anything. so, i just was sitting there, worried, and sad that i murdered a humongous pig, and she called her dad, and it was just a little wierd. anyway, a little later it turns out, to make this long story short, the pig i fed was still alive and well, cuz dummy me never went to go see which one was dead, and the one who actually died was the only male pig they have who had been good for nothing cuz he hadnt impregnanted a girl pig in a long time, and that morning the male pig actually did his business for the first time in months and months, and died after having relations. hahhahahaha.. the dad who is a vet , knew which one had died, cuz he said he was sick and a good for nothing man, so in the end i was very happy that on my first day in mexico i did not kill a zillion pound oinkster.

i have to go cuz the laundry waits. i miss you all, and will see ya soon!

sara

Mexico or Korea?

So many Korean things happened to me today.

1st. I began my morning by delivering a borrowed camera to a girl I borrowed it from. She was Korean.

2nd. I went with Alex to the HK market - which is Korean.

3rd. My Friend Skot called and came by. He's half Korean.

4th. We ate dumplings and bulgogi for lunch. Korean.

5th. My sister said that in Remo Williams one of the guys says that Korean is the master race. Korean.

6th. I went to Korea town for Dinner. Korean!

7th. I ate Korean BBQ for dinner with for my friends Birthday. Once again Korean!

Wow... what a day - so cultural right! And tomorrow it'll be Mexico's turn to captivate me!

Ok, enough of that nonsense. I just thought I'd share. But once again, I'm postponing what I should really be doing - Cleaning up and Packing - but it'll happen. Some how or another everything gets done right? Right.

And since I'll be gone - for the next 11 days I wanted to say goodbye. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers that we all have a safe fun trip, cuz that's all I want. And I'm super excited about leaving LA! Yeahoo! For the past 2 years we made over 6 trips to LAX to pick up or drop off different people, and every time we went I was always a little bitter that it wasn't me who was gonna get to go on an airplane - but now it's our turn! Yippy!

And to top it all off - this past week of summer went well - and after a lot of swimming, working, lazying around, playing, seeing family, and so on, there's more fun to be had elsewhere.

See you all when we get back - and I may not be posting images - but I will definitely try to blog while I'm in Guadalajara to make a list of all the things we will be doing in the rain.

Till next time.
Sara

Post 76

There are a million things I'd be better off doing but I won't - for your sake.

But I can't help but want to procrastinate so I can mention a few things that I should not share but I will.

1. I never ever ever put the house phone back on the charger.
2. Every time I walk in the kitchen I notice that there are cabinet doors open. It erks me to pieces.
(I'm the one who doesn't close them)
3. There are various children's shoes all over the house.
4. I never seem to be able to fold laundry straight outta the dryer. Ever.
5. The dishes are NOT done. Because they are NEVER done!
6. There is a chair on my front porch that belongs to Effie that I was supposed to bring in the house 2 weeks ago, and there it is. Along with Giraffe boots.
7. We have a green and hot pink carousel horse mounted in rocks on the front lawn. We must be the most interesting people on the block.
8. It would be nice to be organized. So nice. It's my dream. The dream of the future. Pray that I will make this a reality.
9. There are legos next to the gas pedal of my car. They have been there for 2 weeks as well. Why are they still there?
10. I hate dust. I think it is my worst enemy. That and dishes.
11. You know what stinks? When you make a fancy meal for your kids and they don't touch it. Hmff. All that time working while the kids veg out on tv for nothin.
12. My zucchini plant don't look so hot. hmf.
13. I had a new pair of Gold LA gear jazz shoes that I wore to death for 4 whole days and they are already dead. I'm so mad.
14. My flip flops are dead too.
15. I lost my other slip on shoes.
16. Now I have to spend wasteful time tying shoes. What ever happened to velcro? I need me some nice velcro kicks. Or new flip flops. Or Flojos. Anyone have some?
17. Celia cut Effie's hair in a big way today. I mean, half of the length on the right side of her head is gone. Now she's extra rock and roll.
18. Celia always seems "too tired". I think it runs in the family.
19. When I finally get time to do things... I like to sit and think about what it is I should be doing when I already know what to do.
20. This list of "whatevers" has 20 things, so I better stop now.

No! Never! More lists! I like lists! They make me feel organized! So let me now list some lovely things.

1. Effie drew a lovely drawing on our easel in Orange Permanent marker.
2. Celia then said - "Oh no. She used 'permative' marker mom."
3. Summer is lovely. Summer is lazy. Summer is swimmy.
4. Celia really likes to write letters. Send her a letter with her name on the envelope and she'll write you back. I promise.
5. We planted new flowers.
6. We like going to the magical gardens. Care to join us? (Descanso Gardens)
7. Got tickets to Mexico. I'm So so so so so so so so so excited. I won't have to do MY dishes at least. Other peoples dishes are never as bad!
8. We've discovered coloring pages printed online. When all else fails, print out a minnie coloring sheet from the internet.
9. Play-dough really does make children happy.
10. I've been able to live without napkins in my house for 2 months. (Lucena may understand - because she too grew up with the communal toallita) (translation - little towel)

Ok kids. Time to get to work. Just thought I'd distract myself for a moment. I love summer, and hate that it goes by so quickly. There's so much to do, and I can't seem to get any of it done, but I try. Please distract me, and come over, and help me clean the girls room if you're bored, or lets have a picnic, or steal my children whenever you'd like. Have a great day. I love you.

Wups.

Sorry this has taken me so long, and either way I am in no position to write. There are way too many other things I should be doing right now at 11:36pm, I have no real funny stories that I can think of, and I have no idea what portraits I have not posted.

Anyway, either way, I am going to write and see what the heck comes through these fingers with freshly cut nails.

Well, we got snail mail today from Alyssa. That was cool. Of course the regular letters come from "ME" (mr. h) which are always well received as well. The girls love our mailman "Arsenio", and I can't help but want to bark "Hoo Hoo Hoo" while swaying my punching fist every time he brings the Penny Saver.

And these past few weeks have been overly busy, and moments of clarity have sprinkled through my life as the summer has become more pronounced. I love summer. Especially summer nights, and I'm so glad they are here, but wish I could enjoy them a little bit more.

On a side note- we threw some of our caterpillars in a jar a few weeks ago, and metamorphisis ....well.... actually happened without killing the poor creatures. Last year the girls were a little obsessed with naming each caterpillar and taking it on a walk with us, and this year - they like giving them away to people in jars with some extra leaves to eat. If you wanna see some - there are about 15 of them on display or already in a cocoon at the Glendale Central library children's department.

So, the computer is going back in the house - so I may actually write more. Walking out in the cold, or dodging skunks and raccoons, or rain, or lightning, or black widows has not made it easy for me to blog. Now that I'll have a computer within reach - you just may be hearing from me a bit more often.

And because I JUST HAD TO BECAUSE IT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN MOST ANYTHING:

I had to mention a few things.

1. I love Michael Jackson.
2. Vicky and I used to listen to "BAD" without end in my 1992 4-toned Ford Escort, and even busted my speakers listening to "Liberian Girl" way too loud down Ventura Blvd. You can just imagine the amounts of men drooling over 2 strange girls blasting Michael Jackson as if it were 1985 in 1997.
3. I think hearing of the death of MJ was harder on me than finding out Captain EO was pulled outta Disneyland.
4. Mary has the MJ lifesize cut out. Enjoy him forever.
5. I still have 5 MJ t-shirts.
6. It's a shame, but MJ dying has meant almost non-stop MJ music on the radio. I used to say that any day I heard an MJ song on the radio would be a good one, so I can tell it'll be a good summer. (just too bad he had to die for this to happen. Ugk.)
7. If you are ever in a sad, bad, mood Michael can help. I promise. Just listen, or watch.
8. Yeah, I think I'm a little too obsessed, but please let me know if you are coming with me to the funeral. I'm going. For sure.
9. If it weren't for MJ, I wouldn't be the Sara I am today. No way. LIstening to the Jackson 5 in high school forever changed my music taste. Little MJ is my hero. (and Celia's too these days)
10. Dang. Liberian Girl is SUCH a good song.
Thank you Michael Jackson, for making my life so happy. You really really really did make a difference to me.

(Do you think he will read my blog from heaven? hmmm. I wonder.)

And on to other things:

I'm teaching A LOT more - music that is, and by the end of the summer I'll be teaching 5 days a week. (Not full time obviously) So, if you are interested in knowing more about what I'm doing - just email me - and you can join a class or refer someone.

And- we found out the fate of our little almost 5 year old. She'll be going to Kindergarten in September and not at her home school, but South of us a ways, as she'll be in a Spanish Immersion program. Kindergarten will be 90% in Spanish - so let's see how that goes! We're excited for her.

Ok, This will have to stay brief, cuz I have to go. Again, the new computer location will change everything. Talk to you later.