Sunday, August 31, 2008

illprepared

1) i worked with r today. in the past, he's demonstrated aversive behaviors associated with fine motor tasks, including tracing. behaviors such as dropping his body to the floor, throwing crayons across the room, defiantly scribbling on the worksheet...he traced his name beautifully today! without frustration or reluctance. i was quite taken back.
2) ry and i joke about creating a dictionary of our inside phrases and meanings. "frogs" refers to an unlady like behavior which i perform quite frequently.
3) i'm a fast food junkie, i'll admit that i am. with my job, and my lack of planning skills, i lived in and out of drive-thru restaurant windows for consecutive weeks at a time. to minimize my fat intake (and guilt), i would order the kid's meal. i got this happy meal toy a few months back but just opened it this past weekend to see if it would interest any of my kids. if you push the microphone up to the figure's mouth it plays a little beat. more of a novelty item for ry and i. the song's been stuck in my head all day!
4) what my kids snack on typically generate my cravings. last year, i favored gluten free pretzels from whole foods. this month, it's calbee's snapea crisps. these crispy bites originate from sun-dried peas and are baked which gives them their light and airy quality. very addicting...
5) in many ways, i am very female...i'm sensitive and emotional, i nurture my students, i love a good cosmo. in many ways, i am very non-female in that i do not accessorize. i don't wear much jewelry save a meaningful necklace. i have only one pair of sunglasses. i wear scarves functionally and not so much for fashion. and, i purchased my first belt this year! when i went down to san diego in june, i wore my favorite pair of citizens jeans with a tube top. my ensemble seemed to be missing something, so i grabbed cindy's brown woven belt. it was the perfect accessory and i've been on a mission to find one that is just as flattering on my hips!
6) although i still value a good cheeseburger or plate of carne asada chips, ry has influenced my thoughts on fine dining. for the first time, i watched a full episode of check please, bay area on pbs today. the program sends out three people to the same restaurant and discusses their opinions about the dishes on the show. stimulating debate among the diners which, in turn, causes the viewers to formulate a final answer by tasting the food themselves.
7) so after all those mock drafts yesterday, i still wasn't ready for my espn draft. i didn't care much for the application used for the live draft. it didn't list out all the picks that were chosen and what each team looked like. i'm such a visual learner, that these missing components threw me off. it was my first online draft so that in itself was pretty exciting. i'll be ready for tomorrow!
8) i fell in love with the west highland white terrier during the oscars last february when a cesar's dog food commercial aired. i saw a second commercial for the product this afternoon. this dog is adorable - it has so much personality and animation!
9) as much as i love to give my thighs and legs a golden tan, i love long boardshorts. this is a pair of billabong teacher's pet boardshorts. an eye-catching color scheme and a classic madras plaid print...wish i had these while we were milling around maui.
10) most of the names in my cell phone are coded. it worries me that if i ever lost my phone, a complete stranger would have access to all the names and numbers listed. ryan's name is saved under "boyscout"...he is always prepared. i constantly tease that he is. i like not always preparing for things and wait for them to happen, but i am also grateful that in those moments where being prepared is essential, i have my boyscout with me.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

are you ready for some football?

1) the nfl kicks off on thursday, september 4th! i'm in two fantasy football leagues - one with the family and one with ry's friends because they were struggling to get ten teams to join. i was hooked on mock drafts on fantasyfootballcalculator.com all day today! literally, hours of entertainment.
2) san miguel beer is the leading beer in the philippine and hong kong markets. in general, this beer is on the lighter side. with college football starting today, ry and i kept up the tradition of beer and football. the san miguel light beers, purchased at trader joe's, came in handy this afternoon.
3) labor day is meant to celebrate the millions of men and women in the nation's work force. in 1894, president cleveland made a campaign promise to enact the holiday to win votes and he followed through with his promise. it is celebrated on the first monday in september. ironically, i will be working that day but with an agreeable and voluntary attitude!
4) my kids finished their first week of school. i was surprised with how well all of them adjusted to being back at school - most of them with new teachers and aides in unfamiliar classrooms. nonetheless, they managed to get through the week with minimal disruptive behaviors.
5) candles instantly change the mood of a room. ry's aunt and uncle bought me this jo malone candle last christmas. it has been put to good use, to say the least! it has been used for ambiance purposes, to mask odors around the house and even to wax ryan's snowboard!
6) this school year, i anticipate that i will need to use a calendar more than i've needed to in the past five years. seeing that i have 9 cases in 6 different school districts, i have been consistently updating my schedule on my ical application.
7) have i mentioned that football season is upon us? being a lakers fan for nearly two deacades, i am accustomed to close call, buzzer beater, blood pressure rising games! as dominating of a force that sc football is, games don't usually play out this way. when the score is 35-0 by the second half, more than likely it is usc's band that keeps me amused.
8) every labor day weekend in reno, competitive chefs vie for the best in the west title in the rib cook off. i went several years back with ron. imagine a huge outdoor party dedicated to cooking and eating ribs! jill and kevin went this year. we were supposed to join them but our plates were full - pardon the pun!
9) i came across this website dayswithmyfather.com. philip toledano documents what daily life is like with his 98-year old father after his mother passed away. the photographs are simple but powerful, depicting moments of struggle, somber and sheer joy. the descriptions of the photos are equally moving. should none of those reasons persuade you to check out the website and/or you possess no soul at all, the navigation on the site is worth exploring.
10) the great vince lombardi said, "football is like life, it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority." couldn't agree more.

Friday, August 29, 2008

hot child in the city

1) playing legos with y this afternoon.
2) with temperatures reaching the 90s, so thankful for air conditioning in the car and apartment.
3) kimi got ry tickets to a preseason nfl game for his birthday. we watched the niners vs. the chargers tonight.
4) my white pair of chuck taylors...timeless.
5) since tanning on the beaches of maui, i happened to pick up too much sun in certain areas. nothing a little aloe vera won't fix.
6) since moving into our apartment, i've been looking for ways to decorate our walls but capture a bit of my personality. this panda/flower wall decal seems to sum it up!
7) a sincere compliment, regardless of it coming from a creepy pervert, is a compliment nonetheless.
8) i have the tendency to fall off the fastfood wagon several times a year, leaving the drive thru with a feeling of guilt. however, on hot days like today, an orange hi-c from mcdonald's leaves me with zero remorse.
9) perry como's papa loves mambo reminds me of niko dancing in the living room in our 1595 house. some of my best saturday mornings.
10) i don't ever remember it being "too hot" in the summer as a child. perhaps we're so engaged with fascinating, carefree activities that rising temperatures go unnoticed.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

feeling weary

1) t-shirt with the asl symbol for "fly".
2) shaun tollerton's web design of london at night.
3) coach's newest line of bags named zoe and peyton.
4) dangling earrings.
5) today's clip of unnecessary knowledge.
6) everybody's changing from keane.
7) a canvas bag with a mustache.
8) "and boom goes the dynamite"...words uttered by news reporter, brian collins.
9) human version of a sunday on la grande jatte by georges seurat.
10) "the truth is more important than the facts." - frank lloyd wright

Sunday, August 24, 2008

the french laundry

1) lunch at the french laundry to celebrate ryan's 30th birthday.
2) the signature french laundry clothespin clipped to each perfectly pressed white napkin.
3) some type of fish atop a bed of seasonal vegetables.
4) wagyu beef that tasted more like meatloaf to me. i ended up giving half to ry.
5) a "deconstructed blt" i believe was my exact description of this dish.
6) passionfruit sorbet with crisped rice as a palate cleanser.
7) a special dessert for a special birthday.
8) an item on fl's secret menu, ry was clever enough to order the coffee and doughnuts at the beginning of our meal.
9) the french laundry garden in yountville.
10) despite my horrendous culinary vernacular and leaving the restaurant $800 poorer and my dress unzipped halfway down my back, this was the best meal that ry and myself have experienced.