Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Long Time No Blog!

Blech. I hate leaving wide gaps in my sort-of-daily postings. I usually refer to my blog mainly for scrapbooking purposes: when I scrap something, I look up the details on my blog so I can journal about it. But with this HUUUUUUUUUGE gap, I have a feeling I'm going to be in trouble!

Oh well. I guess I'll have to go back and put in details when and where I can....if I can still remember! :) I'm sure there'll be some sketchy details, but every little bit will help at this point!

I'm at the hospital right now, with Dad. Excellent news: Dad is officially going to be discharged tomorrow morning!!! Whoohoohooohooo!!!!! He gets to be home for the new year! Yeah! I've just put him to bed, after sessions of physical and occupational therapies. And he did really well during his sessions, looking and feeling strong and good! He was lifting his legs, yes, even his right one! AND moving both his arms, yes, also his right! Hehehe. Can you feel how excited I am?!? This is just awesome news and even more awesome to SEE with my own eyes the huge improvements that Dad has undergone from when I saw him last month, when we pretty much dropped everything to go see him here in the States!

Ok, I just need to clean up here, wash my hands under the faucets, and do the kids' reviewers for their exams. Yes, real life will soon intrude on their blissfully unaware (as of yet) little lives as they float on vacation time :)

Thursday, December 25, 2008

My Christmas Poem

Yeah, well, Boydee came up with this idea that everyone in the family sit down and scribble at least 8 lines on paper and deliver it in front of the entire family (plus some!) before Christmas dinner. Ooookay.

Not one to shirk from a challenge, here's one I came up with:

Christmas is Family

C - is for the Christ,
whose birthday we celebrate today.
We try to be like Him
each and everyday.

H - is for the Home
where we all gather.
Doesn't matter where it is,
just as long as we're together.

R - is for the relationships
we have with each other.
The closeness, the love,
the way we care for one another.

I - is for the Inspiration
that Mom and Dad give us all.
Their love, their faith, their marriage,
enduring everything big and small.

S - is for us Siblings
who come together and unite,
always looking for an excuse
to feed our incredible appetite!

T - is for Team,
which perfectly describes our family:
bonded, close, helping all members,
dedicating everything we do for the Almighty.

M - is for the Miracles
that we have witnessed through Dad;
living proof that prayer works
especially in this season of Feliz Navidad.

A - is for the Angels
who watch, guide and bless,
keeping us sane and patient
through all the holiday stress.

S - is for our Savior
who we always ask to be in our midst.
For His presence completes our Family
and we know we will always be blessed.

Not bad for a few hours' work eh? Hehehehe.

I've asked the rest of the family to submit their poems to me and I'll post them as I get them.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Chuck E Cheese

We finally celebrated Bric's birthday! We all trooped to Chuck E Cheese to party, hehehe. Mom relieved me at the hospital for a few hours so I could be a kid again, hahahahaha! There was pizza galore, along with tokens for all the kids (big AND small kids of course!) and we all had a blast! The kids were running all over the place, putting in tokens here and there and grabbing their tickets.

I put the previous tickets in the gobbling machine and came out with a little bit over 1,200 tickets from a couple years ago! I have NO idea how many tickets the kids accumulated today alone, but they'll be doing plenty of "shopping" at the Chuck E Cheese counter before this trip ends for sure!

And with the amount of pizza slices I stuffed inside of me, all I can say is thank goodness I have my diet pills with me! Maybe not as powerful as Fentraphen, but hey, every little bit helps is what I say! And that yummy moist chocolate cake the Bric had was very divine...considering it was bought at the pizza parlor! :) Ahhhhhh!

After a fun-filled lunch, it was back to the hospital for me to spend the day with Dad.

{A Kind Soul}

At the Chuck E Cheese parking lot, Tita B apparently let drop an envelope with a huge wad of cash. Close to $1,000 worth! Sheesh! If it weren't for a kind soul who picked up the envelope and kept it for safekeeping until he actually saw people (us) go into the van and were apparently searching the van inside and out for that missing envelope, Tita B wouldn't have had a very merry Christmas at all! As it was, this guy came out and asked Rod and Zhar if they were missing something. They said yes, called Tita B for some details, which the guy verified. And he gave back the envelope WITH everything in it!!!!

Something like this doesn't happen quite often. It's definitely refreshing ---and humbling--- to know that there are STILL good, kind, honest souls at in this world of ours. I mean, really, it would have been soooo easy to just pick up that envelope and take everything in it and look at it as a godsend, right? Especially in these hard economic times!

But this guy put my faith back in people for sure by giving the money back. So to whoever it is (we had Zhar ask for the name and address), thank you not only for giving back Tita Belen's money, but for cementing the fact that we still live in a world where good people's actions make up for all the bad going on.

Friday, December 12, 2008

12 Days of Christmas at Scrap Orchard Kicks Off....

with Matahati Designs!!!

This is a HUGE deal, especially for Zakirah's awesome work! Click on the above image to go to her store.

Also, Z is giving away this mini album absolutely free!!!


How to get it? Just click on the image to be brought to Z's blog.

Have fun, and while downloading the mini album, go browse Z's store! :)

Monday, December 01, 2008

Cyber Monday and A Painting Job

If it was Black Friday the day after Thanksgiving, it's Cyber Monday today. A relatively new term, it simply signifies that people here in the States still go to work after their long weekend, but still shop.....ONLINE.....while at work. Or something like that.

No matter what the definition of Cyber Monday is, but there have been tons of online sales going on! No, I didn't quite give in, as for the most part I was in the hospital with Dad....and there's no wi-fi there, PHOOEY! Hmp!

I did order crocs online. Again. I know, I know. But the kids (and moi!) really really need crocs! It's almost always on our feet every single day. Except Rogan now, since I forbade him to wear crocs to school; he plays soccer in them, without socks to boot! The result? Crocs that are totally torn in the middle, there's no way they can be worn again! Grrr. Only Rogan. I should take a photo and send it to crocs or something. Sheesh! *roll eyes here*

Anyhoo, things are going great with Dad. The doctors seem to think he is ready to be transferred to a rehab hospital, much closer to home. Apparently, this is a place where the therapists teach their patients to care for themselves, so much so that when they go home, they are pretty much independent and can do things for themselves most of the time! Cool!

Anyway, Mom spent the day with Dad today while I moseyed on over to the Van Gogh house to finally get a chance to do my room. Stella and I partnered to do my room while Dic, Randy and Aguila worked together to finish up Dic's room.

I taped the edges of the room, prepping it to be painted. Stella did the caulking; she's a pro by now, hehehehe! She also lined the carpet with plastic liners to prevent paint from spilling onto the carpet. By the time we were ready to paint (and Stella to caulk), the room was looking nice and spiffy....quite NEAT actually! Compare that to the room the boys were doing---bed parts all over the floor, and old comforters and sheets strewn all over the place! Hehehehe.

Anyway, I started painting the edging of one wall. There was only time for one wall (edging) because it was sundown and we could barely see anything anymore. Stupid power hadn't been connected! Grrrr! Such a waste of time! And we totally could have finished the whole room tonight if only we had had some light!

The boys didn't finish their room either since they ran out of paint. Oh, I learned something new today! You shouldn't wash your paintbrush with water because it will harden. The trick is to put the paintbrush (with some leftover paint on it, yes) in a plastic bag and stick it in the refrigerator until you're ready to use again. Randy and Stella said (they learned it from Alex) that when you're ready to use the paintbrush again, it is still soft and maleable and can be dipped into the paintbucket! Is that a cool fact to learn or what?!!! You sure learn something new everyday! :)

I did these pages yesterday (didn't get around to posting them since the intermittent connection here is driving me crazy!!!!):

RANGER & PINECONES



Here's one that I forgot to post:

CHRISTMAS DRESSES 2007

Ok, gotta sleep....I want to be at the Van Gogh house bright and early....just in case the power won't be connected tomorrow (or it will at a later time), I want to maximize the sunlight and finish painting the room!!!

Wish me luck! :)