To DO...

I am having one of those days where I am constantly remembering things I need to do.. a mental to do list. The problem is that I have the short term memory of a.. stuffed animal? I want to organize the bookshelves, find someone to watch Ara during rehearsals next week, wedding on Sat. (probably going to need a ride and ara at the ceremony?), preparations for car dying and being stranded, practice, call Bill to have my flute fixed (the tape holding the solder on the foot joint is starting to feel ghetto). Is that how 'solder' is spelled? It doesn't look right but spell check let me slide.. Look at the dinner menu this week and figure out how to make the things I planned (haha)
What is it about recipes anyway.. they always assume I have some idea of what I am doing! I want to make stuffed bell peppers tomorrow night and the recipe says to mix all the ingredients together and stuff them in the peppers but I keep wondering if I am supposed to cook the meat first? And what about the rice? It seems weird to stuff things with raw meat and rice.. I have no idea, it doesn't say to cook it first so I guess I shouldn't?

The car is dying again. Well it has always been dying but it has some new symptoms lately. The transmission is broken now or something because the car slips out of gear on turns and stops now (automatic). Also one of the tires is low. So I need to put air in the tire and decide what to do with the damn car. I hate things that break.

I have aerobics tomorrow and I've already gotten a good head start on the house so now it's time to relax a little before bed. I promised myself no physics game..

What I do instead of sleeping...

This Contraption took me waaaay too long to tweak but it was fun!

Swept Away!

Fantastic Contraption: A fun online physics puzzle game

My ingenious contraption (by that I mean a random design that somehow worked)

It's a fun game but I'm stuck on a level with steps that is making me crazy!

Bday fun

Ara and George

Ara, Today, and my Book progress!

Ara is really picking up on the letters! She has been able to recognize the letters in her name (I know I know her name isn't supercalifragilistic or anything) for some time but now she is retaining several other letters. We have been trying to work alphabet lessons into everyday life as much as possible, before meals, while we color, driving, and anywhere there is an opportunity. I am feeling pressure to make sure that my "mommy school" does not fall short of daycare.

Today we visited with my Mom at her house and then had lunch with my grandparents and Steve (Mom's significant other). I have been wanting to thank Steve for the help he gave us when Ara was in the ER and since I always forget to bring a card I thanked him over lunch. I really wanted wanted him to know what it meant to me that he made it possible for both my Mom and A to be at the hospital with us. I would have broken down if not for them! He said it was nothing and I thought about how the small kindnesses we show others can mean so much more to them than we can know.


I finished the Da Vinvi Book last night.
I have been trying to watch the Da Vinci movie today but the longest I have been able to devote to it has probably been about 10 minutes. I am feeling annoyed with what I feel are far to many plot holes and lame writing tactics from the book. The movie so far is good although I find it kind of creepy that the two main characters are so far apart in age. In the book there is a 10 year difference, the actors they chose were more like 20 years apart and I keep thinking "she could be his daughter!" Don't get me wrong, I love Tom Hanks. I would see the movie just for him but still.. a tad creepy and hard to belive (for me anyway). I did like that books descriptions of the art though. I had never looked that closely at Da Vinci's work. To be honest I would look and think.. awkward! But after reading I did what probably everyone else did and I googled the images. I feel smarter already and also.. stupid. I have the other book on the reserve shelf and now I am having second thoughts. This book was starting to test my patience for lamo suspense tricks and plot holes I don't know if I need to read another Dan Brown so soon.. I will start it anyway since I am waiting for Eclipse.

I better start the battle to get Ara's hair washed or I will never get her out of the bath and into bed!

Ara requested a target trip..

...and I'm a sucker!

I'll admit I was amused that she has the same shopping impulses that I do. We went inside and she fell in love with this huge toy horse thing. She tried to pick it up and asked me in such a cute way if we could buy it. I was looking at her struggling to pick up this heavy toy and I fought the urge to buy! I told her that Momma didn't have enough money and she said, "we could get some from the bank!". She is my raptor (Jurassic park reference). I did end up buying a toy for the birthday party we are attending on Saturday and I found Sesame street flash cards for the alphabet. I was going to make my own flash cards but I thought these might be more durable. I am on my third cup of green tea in today and I am thinking faster than my fingers can type!

Last night I went to the chamber ensemble rehearsal for the flute club and played a train wreck of an audition (I still made it in). The director is an old professor of mine from the UA and I had a great time catching up and reminiscing with her. I'm glad I've decided to re-join the club I really am rusty after a summer off and I am enjoying seeing some old friends. Flutey friends! I need to get my flute to a repair man before the TCO season starts, the tape holding my foot joint together is starting to feel a little ghetto...

Peace Out? WTH was I thinking?

Afro aerobics yay! Ara didn't want to let me go so I ended up being 15 minutes late and missing the warm up but once I got going it didn't matter. I am going to show Ara the moves, she is really excited to do some momma dances! I think I will even see if I can download some of the music on itunes! I have a student coming any minute so.. Peace out Mofos!

A Glimpse Into a Distracted Mind.

I made chicken and dumplings tonight in the crock pot! I am so proud of my new found skill in crock potting! It seems I can cook as long as I use some gadget thing. I am a master foreman griller and now a great slow cooker-cooker! Tomorrow night is roast beef! The first time I tasted chicken and dumplings was in Germany and I remember thinking that it was delicious but being unable to identify the ingrediants in the dumplings I spent the meal wondering if it was something gross. I was really proud of my dumplings and Ara and I thought they were yum!

Ara is excited about Halloween and I am excited about her excitement for holidays! I just love this time of year when the weather changes (please.. soon.. need less HOT) and all the holidays are lined up ahead of you. I can't wait to start thinking of costumes for Ara. I've tried getting her involved but I don't think she has any idea what I am talking about. So far she has expressed interest in dressing up as... red. Not little red ridding hood or a red train, just red. I think I'll be purple. She is so refreshingly original, no "box" thinking for her!

There is a baby gecko in my house. I just saw the poor little guy scoot behind the entertainment... the TV ( couldn't think of what to call the thing the TV sits on) I hope he finds a door before my cat finds him.

I have afro aerobics tomorrow, I am thinking of doing my toenails because I have to be barefoot. How vain am I? What I should do is find a magic spring that will give me super powers to get through that class with some grace and energy! I am kind of dreading the soreness in my calves I remember from last week. That was insane.

I am starting to get desperate to read eclipse. I keep re-reading parts of Twilight and New Moon but it's not the same. I love being addicted to a new series, it reminds me of old times with Harry Potter. There have been a lot of comparisions between the two series. Mostly I guess because they are both fantasy and both wildly popular. And probably because the Twilight movie has been put into the old HP movie slot (so sad). I know I am only 2 books into the Twlight series but HP still shines in my mind. I am starting the Da Vinci Code tonight and it looks pretty beefy so I hope it can hold my attention until I can get my hands on eclipse.

Time for sleep. I hope this all made sense I have been hopelessly distracted and I have 7 tabs open so I can jump wherever my thoughts take me. I have internet attention disorder.

They will Bite YOU!

Ara has been so moody lately I feel like I am starting to wish I could turn off my ears at will. The fits.. oh the fits.

Tomorrow I have the whole morning filled up so that I can keep her busy until nap time. That's the plan.. diversionary tactics. YMCA and then the library. I am excited about the library because one of the books I have on reserve is in, Dan Brown the Davinci Code. I wish Eclipse was in I am DYING to continue the Twilight series but paying $20 for a book I will read in 2 days tops seems wasteful.

This weekend I came up with a strict budget plan and we have been trying to change our thinking and spending habits. So, borrowing the book from the library is in line with being thrifty. Unfortunately I am not a patient person by nature! Let's hope Dan Brown keeps me occupied for a bit. I am like #94 on the reserve list so it could be a while. I just had a thought while I paused to think.. how ironic. I have been trying to think of ways to remind myself to live green. I want to think about wasting less, recycling more, and being creative in reusing. So, while I paused to think I realized I could look to see if the library has a book on being green!

Oh, while I am on that subject... I was watching You Tube's National Geographic channel the other day and there was an episode about sharks. We have brought the entire species of sharks to the brink of extinction (as we do with all large predatory animals). The documentary blamed game fishing and commercial fishing for foods such as shark fin soup. Damn the Asians and their shark fin soup! I thought that sounded a tad strange.. I have never been offered shark fin soup and I'm Asian so I'm positive I have all the facts.. you know.. because I'm brown and stuff. Sorry I should filter my thoughts... Anyway I was sitting there watching this video feeling all righteous because for once I can say that I am not part of the problem. I don't eat seafood. But then I thought about how I eat meat in place of eating seafood and there are probably several species that have suffered so that meat farmers could clear land and raise meat. Then I thought about becoming a vegetarian so that I could clear my conscience... and of course I came full circle, thinking of the acres and acres of land cleared for agriculture. So what is the answer? Depopulation I guess.. how very bleak.

I'm done... but I still feel sad for the sharks. Apparently the perfect predator, the shark hasn't changed since before the dinosaurs were alive... that's right.. before I was alive! Harhar. So funny with the "I'm old" jokes right?

Shwiggy woo

Blogger Templates are Fun!

I was messing with templates tonight and then I my eye lids started to droop and this is the one I happened to be using at the time... I hate it. I chose it because it had the dimensions I wanted for my own picture banner and then only afterward did I realize the layout is so ick... I will fix it tomorrow.. or whenever the inspiration strikes me again! I will sleep now and worry later.

Ara with flowers

Feeding the birds at the park

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I can shake shake shake my booty!

Workout: Yay I made it to the afro aerobics class! The teacher is this perfect tall blond who is actually really sweet but is a jerk for having a reflection that makes my reflection look so crappy. I loved the music which had intricate drum beats and such energy. The moves were fun and although I looked horribly awkward it felt like dancing and was SOOO much better than the never ending monatony that is the elliptical. The teacher brought sarongs for us to wear and the whole class was barefoot haha. Sadly, I woke up sore this morning and after the class my soreness has doubled. I need a hot bath and a massage!

After the class Ara and I came home and ate a lunch of leftovers. They were good leftovers so I wasn't complaining. I am an excellent microwaver. I had to clean the house for my student and then I put the sleep resistant Ara to bed. She was silent for probably 45 minutes and I don't know if it was her active brain or the sound of power tools from next door (landlord AGAIN) but she was very awake when I went to get her. The student I saw today is making great progress, this is her first year in High School and her first year in a band of any kind. I think the whole expirience is helping her to push herself foward. I've been teaching her since she was 4 so it's hard for me to see her as a freshman! And... you know where that train of thought led me.. SOMEDAY ARA WILL BE 14!~ /dramaqueen off

Sunny Park!

Workout: 55 minutes (that's right I gave up 5 minutes short of an hour and I suck)

After the Y Ara and I ate our lunch at the park. The weather was incredible. It is lovely to be outside and not bake. Ara made lots of friends and I chit chatted with some Mom's which is unusual for me because I am usually too shy. We seem to have invited some of the bazillions of flies that live at the park to come home with us though... I hate bugs in the house! I put my PB&J down at the park for a second to stop Ara from doing something and when I looked back it was black with flies. Needless to say I shared Ara's sandwich and the birds finished off mine. I brought plenty of grapes so we had enough to eat but I mean.. eww flies.

I signed Ara up for Itty Bitty Sports today! It starts mid-October and she even gets a special shirt to wear like a real team. She will be learning 4 different sports and I am bubbling with the excitement, I just KNOW she is going to love this!

I also signed up for Afroaerobics for tomorrow, I hope there will be enough people for the instructor because I am looking forward to something other than an elliptical.

Monkey Monkey

Ara and I borrowed the Curious George movie from the library last week and she is very pro- "kurris George" now. I've been reading her Curious George stories for bedtime and her favorite story is one where George follows a duck to the park and finds a dump truck. He also sees a family sitting on a blanket in the park eating a picnic. So dump trucks and picnics have been her favorite topics lately! Tonight we took her to the park to have a picnic, she was ecstatic. The poor kid has recently grown and she can barley run 5 feet without tripping on nothing and sprawling head first into the grass. I'm so glad she inherited my ears and lack of grace... Ara doesn't let it slow her down though, she shakes it off and runs another 5 feet. She wasn't thrilled with the part of the "picnic" where she had to actually sit and eat though. It was like pure torture to her that we forced her to eat a bread stick before she ran off. She plays a little on the slides and enjoys throwing her red ball around a bit but mostly she just likes to run. She is pretty fast too, her little legs are a blur of motion as she sprints in one direction, falls, then as something else catches her eye she rushes off in another direction. She always gives off a feeling of pure joy as she plays though and it fills my heart up to watch her smile and laugh and even fall. Personally, I think she is pretty great even if she is impossible to take a picture of!

I don't know why I'm still awake, I feel like I have a flu or something and I need to close my eyes.

Red isn't just a suggestion

I ran a red light on a left turn arrow and the stop light took my picture and mailed me a $280 ticket. Only my second ticket ever so I'm bummed and a little paranoid now that the "man" is watching me! I don't even get to be righteously indignant because the pictures and video of me committing the act are pretty indisputable. Soo... it's off to traffic school for me, hopefully I will learn to be less of a danger on the road.

Ara's Eye

We had a hard day today. Ara scratched her eye with a juice box straw and then rubbed it frantically and managed to get all of her upper eyelashes stuck under her eye lid. She wouldn't let me near the eye to see what was wrong but by the way she was screaming I felt a trip to the ER was in order. Lots of feeling powerless while she cried hysterically and was held down by countless doctors trying to pry her eye open in sued. The first doctor kept yelling at her that she was 3 and she was old enough to know to open her eye. He tried twice, when he returned to the room the third time I wasn't going to let him touch her again but luckily he had decided the same thing and he sent us onto another part of the hospital.

The third time they tried to hold her down it took FIVE people.

She screamed for me.

Over and over.

"It hurts"
"Momma!"
"No thank you PLEASE"
You have never felt your heart break like it breaks when you are powerless to help your child.

She was terrified and traumatized. So the stupid resident comes back into the room while she is sobbing into my shoulder and says that I have to choose; either to sedate her or to let their child life specialist talk her into allowing them to do the procedure while she is awake. I'm sorry but why had no one called a child life specialist before they terrorized her 3 times? I was like.. "she is scared of you and everyone else wearing scrubs, that's not going to change because a lady with a smile and some toys comes to play with her". I chose to have them sedate her, I felt like it was the only choice. The resident didn't like it, he tried to talk me out of it by listing all of the dangers involved. He pointed out the machine they have for reviving her should her heart stop or should she stop breathing. I took a deep breath, said a prayer and repeated my wish. In the end they got it done, and she woke up a different girl. Since the eyelashes were out of her eye and they had put some numbing drops in she was finally out of pain (6 hours of pain and no food or drink would make anyone mad) Ara was like a different kid. All of the nurses loved her and they fed her Popsicles and let her waste their ace bandage stuff by making bracelets.

Cornia abrasions are particularly painful because the eye has so many nerve endings but they do heal very quickly. In a 3 year old they said to expect a full recovery in 2 days. We have some sort of goop that I get to "try" to put IN her eye 4 times a day to help ward off infection and motrin for the pain. Other than that she is as good as new. Oh yeah and I worked out today.

The end.

breaks suck

Workout: (fail) 30 minutes elliptical, 20 minutes strength

I had no energy.. but I blame my cat for spilling my cereal before I had a chance to eat any. When in doubt, blame your cat (he doesn't care!) I was so excited to finally take the afro aerobics class but I guess they didn't have enough people signed up before hand so the class was canceled. I was a sad panda! I guess I am just paying for being lazy about working out lately. I need to get back in the game, October is coming up fast and avoiding the treadmill won't help me much lol.

WOW ~> http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal. Someone take me please!!!!!!!!!!