A must-see video--so creative!

The process of shopping for a wedding dress...

... is hard!

On Saturday I went with my mom, cousin (MOH), and aunt to begin shopping for wedding dresses. I had done some research and really did not expect to find anything at the places we were going to go to, but still wanted to get as educated as possible.

The main problem is that EVERYTHING is strapless, with very, very few exceptions. I don't do strapless. I don't do sleeveless. What to do?

A few days ago I was doing research and kept Googling different versions of "modest wedding dresses," "modest bridal gowns," "LDS wedding dresses." Even that was frustrating because I kept finding places that were either online site where you order your dress based on a little pictures, or found that there were actual locations you could walk into, but they were all in Utah.

My mom and I have even considered taking a road trip to Utah...

Then, a break in the gloom. I found this site called adressyoccasion.com.

This is a boutique run by a lady out of her home in Orange County. Yes, it will still be quite a drive, but I'd rather drive 50-60 miles than 350-700 miles.

Now that we have spent the last 2 days seeing what is out there, we have an idea of what looks good and what doesn't. which fabrics are more flattering, which waistbands, lace vs. beads, etc. It really is a learning experience.

A few days ago I made an appointment with the lady who runs A Dressy Occasion, but I made it for February 20th--2 weeks from now! After our experiences these last few days, I decided to give a try and see if she was available today, which I have off as a school holiday. YES! She was available. We're driving out this afternoon. I'm praying that I find my dress today!!

Wonderful News!

I'm engaged to be married!! I'm so happy!

Who I Am...

OK, I'm not really into the Jonas Brothers and some of those other young teeny-bop singers, but this video was on MySpace and I thought it was pretty powerful. A new song by Jonas Brother #3, Nick. It's pretty good...

The message? There is a lot more to people than what you see on the surface.


Nick Jonas and the Administration - Who I Am

Nick Jonas | MySpace Music Videos

Cathy, Kevin, and the "Haiti 80"

This is an article featuring a good friend of mine, Cathy Decker Downes, who has been trying to adopt little Benjamin (Benici0) from Haiti for 3 years. They are finally together as a family! That is them in the picture, even though the caption says "father." This is from the LA Times. I really admire Cathy and her husband for doing this! We've known each other since kindergarten.

• 
  After days of trauma, sleeplessness and anxious plans, father and son Kevin and Benicio Downes rest for a few moments in the Miami airport. Layne Downes, xx

Reporting from Los Angeles and Atlanta — A harrowing effort to evacuate dozens of Haitian orphans to the United States started with some unexpectedly good news in those first terrible hours after the massive earthquake.

Somehow God's Littlest Angels orphanage in the mountains above Port-au-Prince had survived the destructive shaking intact and all 150 of its charges were safe.

Over the next 10 days, U.S. families who were already in the process of adopting 83 of the children organized a frantic effort to bring them to Miami, reaching out to politicians, humanitarian aid workers and the news media.

On Friday, a jetliner delivered the U.S.-bound orphans to the city's international airport, uniting the children, ranging from newborns to 6-year-olds, with their adoptive families.

"I'm excited and overjoyed," said Christopher Morrow, who was watching Benicio, 21 months, until his adoptive mother's plane landed. "He leaked all over me when I changed his diaper! It's been a good day."

The so-called Haiti 80 have been issued temporary visas that will allow them to stay in the United States as their new families work out the final details of their adoptions.

They are among a number of unions of adopting U.S. families and Haitian orphans this week helped by a new policy of the State Department and Department of Homeland Security that permits expedited entry for children already in the adoption pipeline.

Several hundred Americans were in various stages of adopting Haitian children when the earthquake struck, said Michele T. Bond, the State Department's deputy assistant secretary for overseas citizens services.

Many of them are "frantic with worry about the children's welfare and they want to know how to expedite adoption so the children can be brought safely home to the United States," Bond said.

Megan Mattson, a State Department spokeswoman, said a special temporary visa, called a "humanitarian parole," already had been granted to 400 children, who had either made their way or would soon come to the United States. In comparison, 330 children were adopted from Haiti in fiscal 2009.

"Given the circumstances, that's quite an impressive number," Mattson said.

David Hubner, 36, and wife Christie, 34, traveled to Miami from their home in Frederick, Md., ready to meet their daughter Friday for the first time.

Ila, a 3-year-old, had been promised to them three years ago. If it wasn't for the earthquake in Haiti, David Hubner figured, they might have had to wait three more years.

On Wednesday, the Hubners received even more good news in the form of a call from their agency, One World Adoption Services: They would pick up Ila in Florida.

"As a Christian, I really believe the Lord did not cause this," David Hubner said, speaking of the earthquake. "But blessings really do come out of tragedies."

Other countries have chartered planes to airlift children out of Haiti. More than 100 young children were sent to the Netherlands this week, about 37 of them from the God's Littlest Angels orphanage.

Offers to adopt children whose parents were killed in the quake have been pouring in from around the globe, international adoption agencies report. But for now, new applications have been put on hold, they say.

The crisis has prompted the U.S. and Haitian governments to work on streamlining the adoption process.

But Mattson said that work remains in progress, and she could not provide details of what a streamlined system would look like.

Some of those awaiting adoption will face new headaches: Essential paperwork has been lost in the quake and courts have been destroyed. In addition, families are separated, and in some cases it is difficult to ascertain whether missing parents are dead. These factors will complicate matters when hundreds, maybe thousands, of children are identified as earthquake orphans.

In comments about the unfolding disaster this week, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton suggested that the United States will take a cautious approach.

"We will not let red tape stand in the way of helping those in need, but we will ensure that international adoption procedures to protect children and families are followed," Clinton said Wednesday at a news briefing in Washington.

After the earthquake struck, Kevin and Catherine Downes were frantic about Benicio, the 21-month-old Haitian boy they were close to adopting.

From their home in Visalia, Calif., they used the Internet and telephone lines to begin a campaign to bring the boy and other Haitian adoptees to U.S. soil as soon as possible, Kevin Downes said.

By Wednesday, Catherine Downes had been notified by phone that temporary visas had been granted to the orphans and that the children would be arriving early Friday in Miami.

She and her husband, both 38 and Christian filmmakers, have been trying to adopt a Haitian child for three years, she said. During the process, she got pregnant with their first biological child, Nathaniel, now 9 months old.

After her plane was diverted twice because of bad weather, Catherine Downes finally set eyes on Benicio on Friday afternoon.

Exhausted, she felt "overwhelming relief," she said.

"He was in my husband's arms and sound asleep," she said from Miami.

"This little boy that we got pictures of every month is now in my arms forever."

Robby, Robby, Robby...so funny!!

We were so happy to have my cousin, Robby, and his wife, Christina with us this Christmas Eve! We haven't seen them in a year. He is the youngest of the 1st cousins and tons of fun. And, boy, what a ham!!

Here he is making us laugh and laugh with his Elmo impression...



Btw, Robby is a very accomplished young man! An Eagle Scout and a graduate of the Air Force Academy! We wish we could see him more often!

Another Christmas now in the past...

Did everyone have a nice Christmas? Ours was very good. I have to say, I'm so grateful that I am in a family where everyone really makes an effort to be together. We're far from perfect, to be sure, but we love each other and work hard to stay united and try to get together about once a month.

After working my patootie off on Wednesday and Thursday, the family started arriving around 5pm on Christmas Eve. That is something else I'm grateful for--that, aside from those in the military, we all live within 45 minutes of each other. And now that my brother and his wife have bought a house only half a mile away, even better!

Here are some pictures:


After all of the food had been eaten and the gifts had been opened, things started to wind down. We relaxed for a while, half the families went home, and I started to survey the huge clean up job that was ahead of me. I didn't care, it was worth it! We had a great time!

My mom and her sister's family decided to go to midnight mass at the Catholic church around the corner. At one time, everyone in our family was Catholic. Over the years different relatives have gone to different churches, but everyone still feels very connected with the Catholic church, and we know that my grandpa would've been happy. Early bird that I am, I stayed behind and worked furiously for 2 hours cleaning, cleaning cleaning. I got to bed around 1am, everyone who had gone to mass came back around 1:45am. I never even heard them!

On Christmas Day our little immediate family gathering wasn't until 5:30pm so that my brother could go to his in-laws and my nephew could get a good nap. But then we did our little gift exchange at my mom's and had a "breakfast" around 7pm. Hey, it's tradition! And it gave me a chance during the day to clean the house up from the previous night. Since I don't have a dishwasher and my mom has a new one, I made at least 20 trips back and forth across the street carrying dishes.

Today the house finally is taking shape and looking like normal again after the family Christmas tornado. Good thing too! Because my friend, Eric, is arriving on Monday morning for an 11 day visit! I can't wait!

Coming up on the next post....2 videos I took of my cousin Robby and his hilarious Elmo impression...SO FUNNY!!!

Christmas Tables...

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! My family will be here in little over an hour. We'll be 17 people tonight feasting on turkey, lots of side dishes, and pie. What are you going to be doing?

Yesterday I spent about 3 hours setting the tables. I've learned that a really good rule of thumb is to set them a day ahead of time.

Here are the results. Click on each picture to see the larger image:

The big table:
Little table #1:
Little table #2:

Yay! I love having pretty tables for all of my guests!

Today's Goal is DONE

It feels so good to set little goals for each day of vacation and to accomplish them. Today's goals were to finish wrapping presents, send 2 of them off to my cousin in Mississippi, and get lights up on the house. All done! Yay! And I even went and saw the Twilight New Moon movie. Yeah, it was just OK.


And, here is a before and after shot of my couch, which got a facelift last week. I wanted something as similar as possible to the original color and design. I'm thrilled with the results! Expensive, but very necessary and worth it!

Before:
After:

Day 3 of vacation...

It is wonderful to be able to plan my day around things I want to do and not around work--yay! Vacation is finally here.

I'm not as burned out as I have been in years past--I have a fairly good group of kids this year--but I'm still tired. And, as usual, a little cold and sniffles has crept up at the beginning of vacation. And, as usual, my body is still determined to keep "school hours" for the time being. (Wiped out by 10:30, awake by 5:30.) That last part I don't really mind so much. I like being a morning person. Always have been one.

One of the great things about being on vacation is that instead of cramming several things into a 2-day weekend, I can set one project per day. Yesterday I was determined to wrap presents. I really scaled back on my Christmas shopping this year. All but 2 are wrapped.

Today I need to get to the post office and mail the gifts for my cousin whose name I drew in the family gift exchange. They have to get all the to Mississippi (she's in the Air Force.) I would also still like to get some twinkle lights up outside of the house on the bushes.

If I feeling really ambitious I may bring down some of the Lenox Christmas dishes from the the top shelf of my linen closet and take inventory on what I've got. Maybe wash some tablecloths too...or maybe that last part will be tomorrow's project.

This week will be all about preparing for the family gathering at my house on Christmas Eve. Next week will be all about my friend, Eric, coming for a visit. 11 days, yay! We've got all sorts of things planned before I have to go back to work. I'm excited!

One FULL Saturday!

I'm still in awe by how busy yesterday was, and the steady rain throughout the day didn't help.

Morning person that I am (it's 6:45 on a Sunday and I've already been up for an hour,) I was up early and moving furniture out of my sunroom to prepare for the carpet cleaner guy. He came at 9am, did a great job and stayed for an hour.

After that I ran to Macy's (we have a beautiful Macy's in Pasadena that is not attached to a mall that I really enjoy going to) and bought a few small Christmas gifts and some pajamas for me.

Between each errand I would come home and give Bailey a "potty opportunity" since he was cooped up in the house all day...

I was hungry for some lunch, so I decided to return to the Heirloom Bakery & Cafe' in South Pasadena that I went to last Saturday for a little elementary school reunion. It was darn chilly, but I sat outside and ordered the same thing as last week. It is on a corner with lots of cute shops and antique stores and you feel like you're in a small town. It is probably the most I relaxed all day until the evening.

From there I decided to drive the 15-20 miles to Covina to a wonderful store for teachers and parents called Thematic Attic. I get there about 1-2 times a year and right now I have 3 purchase orders from school that I need to use by Friday. If I don't use them, I lose them, so I had to go. Of the 3 places I need to get to, Thematic Attic is the farthest, so I wanted to get it over with. And, wow, for about 10 minutes while I was one the freeway it was raining SO hard I thought people were on the side of the road throwing buckets of water at my windows. And then, suddenly, it got lighter and lighter until it cleared completely. Once there, I found some great books and puzzles for my kids and drove home without incident.

By that time, I was pretty tired and decided to stay home for a while but still wanted to be productive. Throughout the day I had been working on cleaning out the drawers in my dresser and re-washing the things I was going to keep and bagging the things I wasn't. I was also washing and ironing the curtains in my bedroom. My house has A LOT of windows, so I have a lot of curtains, and since I spend more time in my bedroom than any other room, they get the most use.

Around 5pm when I was ironing I got a phone call. My mom was calling to say that my pregant sister-in-law and little nephew had been in a car accident but she didn't know the details. They seemed to be OK, but we needed to go to them. My brother was working until 7pm.

They were down a long street that has lights at every block, so it was a frustrating drive just getting to them, especially in the rain, but I did. They were OK. My mom was already there and a policeman was taking statements from the 3 parties involved. A 19-year-old girl was at fault, turning left when others had the right of way. She plowed into my sister-in-law's car and smashed up the front. Another car was also hit. The airbag even deployed and did its job well. And the baby car seat passed the test--Xander was fine, just a little shaken. He was a lot better by the time I got there, but apparently he had been screaming when it first happened and then went silent, like he was in a little bit of shock. An ambulance had checked everyone out, but there were no serious injuries, although Quyen's blood pressure did spike a bit at first. She also had a pot of soup in the car that her mother had given her to take home that had spilled everywhere.

Quyen talked to the policeman, I held Xander and tried to keep his hands warm, and my mom called AAA to tow the car. We were out in the nighttime rainy cold for a good hour at least. I drove Quyen and Xander back to their house (good thing they live so close! I think they are already realizing the benefits of being only half a mile away!) My mom met the AAA tow truck there. Then I went to a Vietnamese restaurant that we all like and picked up dinner for everyone. When I got back to their house, Quyen told me that my mom had to go and rescue my brother because he had 2 blowouts on his bike on the way home (he rides his bike to/from work daily.)

My mom and Jonathan came home and the dust from the day settled. We left Jonathan, Quyen, and Xander to be together as a family and my mom and I came back to my house to enjoy some yummy Vietnamese soup and rice noodle California rolls. By that time it was about 8:30pm. And the sad thing is that my mom had planned to take Xander to the church Christmas party so he could see Santa. Those plans got completely dashed.

But the important thing is that everyone was OK and safe and healthy after that scary incident. It really could've been so much worse.

By 9 I was in bed, pretty tired, and talking on the phone to my friend, Eric, as we often do. By 9:45 I was too sleepy to do anything but just crash.

Yep, it was a full day!

New washer and dryer---put to the test!

Well, here they are...click on any image to see a larger version...

My new washer and dryer were finally delivered today! 5 days later than what I was told last week, but 2 days before the "best-case scenario" I was told when I ordered them 2 weekends ago. It all works out, and the slight delay gave me a chance to learn more about them and become more adjusted to the "idea of the change.

They were delivered and hooked up and ready to use by 3:30 this afternoon. 4 hours later and I'm on my 5th load on laundry. So far, they seem to be working just fine. Yay! And I purposely have done different kinds of loads of different sizes: a medium sized load of towels (one was a "work towel" that was VERY soiled and it came out spotless,) a medium load of light colors, a bigger load of dark colors, two blankets, and right now I'm washing my heavy jacket.

Everything has come out looking great, no unusual smells, the machines are quiet and don't dance across the room, and I'm using 1/2 the detergent because they are water-savers.

All of my worry about this big change and ordering such fancy models and I have a good feeling that everything will work just fine. Whew!

P.S. I did discover the downside of doing so many loads in one afternoon though--I have to put them all away!

Kristie & Eric's Singing Duet Debut...

Now that MySpace Karaoke is allowing duets, people are really getting creative. But the one person I really wanted to do a duet with was my friend, Eric. His voice is so awesome. (And he can sing Elvis songs to make you croon...)

Last night we were on the phone and he told me that he had been practicing the guy's half of a song I had tried on my own a few weeks ago. Did I want to try singing it together and make a duet? Heck yes!

I'm really happy with the final result! He adjusted his microphone volume to compliment mine and did the most incredible harmonies. Yay! I can't wait for the next one!

The song is called Always and you can click HERE to listen to it.

P.S. I thought it would be fun to show pictures of us with some of our favorite kids: Eric with his nephew, Ashton, and me with my cousin, Cassidy. And, yes, we are the best of friends.

OK, feeling better about my choice...

This morning I heard from my salesman, Rudy, at Lowe's about my new washer and dryer.

The good news is that they will be delivered next weekend!

I explained my concerns with some of the reviews I read online last night and he was very honest that, yes, previous generations of these models had had some of those issues, but that they have been dealt with. The model I bought is on its 3rd generation and has only been out for 3 months.

I feel better! Still, I'm glad that I opted to buy the extended warranty--which I usually shy away from--just because it is a relatively new machine and I want to be covered for those 5 years.

I do think everything's going to work out OK.

I hope I don't regret my decision!

After months of feeling frustrated with my 2nd-hand washer and dryer (bought for $30 each at a moving sale 4.5 years ago when I was moving into my house,) I bought a new washer and dryer set today. My current dryer (a GE) oftentimes leaves the clothes damp after 45 minutes of "drying," and my current washer (a Maytag) frequently dances across the room after being "repaired" twice to deal with its constant balance issues.

Here are the ones I purchased:
Lowe's is having a really good deal on this Whirlpool set. The washer is the WTW6340WW and the dryer is the WGD6200SW. They're really pretty and kind of a happy medium between those really fancy front-loading machines that are the big thing nowadays and the older, traditional style with the dials.

The set is currently on back order and probably won't be in for about 2 weeks. I'm actually kind of glad, because it will give me a chance to change my mind if necessary. I am a little freaked though, because I came home and read the reviews for them online at different sites. People all like the dryer just fine, but the washer has not been getting good reviews. Some people say they have had leaks and some say it has ripped their clothes. OY... Now, granted, I'm just a household of 1 person, not a big family with huge volumes of laundry, but, still, when you buy new stuff you want it to work.

AND...the machines I bought have only been on the market for 3 months, so I think that the reviews I'm read are for some older models. Yes, this is me, trying to be optimistic. So, I'm a little bit disheartened by some of the things I read, but still thinking that I need to see for myself. No matter what, things like this are always a big decision and a lot of times you just don't know until the appliances are in your house and adjusting to the way you use them.

Keeping my fingers crossed. But, they're still pretty!

God Bless Us Everyone...

I have some standard favorite Christmas CDs that I grew up on, like Elvis, The Carpenters, John Denver, and Andy Williams. But recently some of our current popular artists have released some great holiday albums.

Here are some samples of my favorites from some of them:

Celine Dion
Album: These Are Special Times
Song: God Bless Us Everyone


Josh Groban
Album: Noel
Song: Thankful


Michael Ball
Album: Christmas
Song: As Long As There's Christmas (duet w/ the fabulous Elaine Paige)
(THIS IS MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY CD IN MY COLLECTION)
Enjoy this cute Harry Potter-themed video


And last but not least, the wonderful group Celtic Woman, who I have had the chance to see twice in concert. Their Christmas album is gorgeous. I love this song called Christmas Pipes.

2 Days of Decorating...

So far, I have accomplished my Christmas decorating goals for this long Thanksgiving weekend. It was nice not to be rushed. All that is left is putting lights on the bushes outside.

Here are the fruits of my labors. You can click on any of the pictures to see a larger image.

I love having a pretty tree with a color theme. Mine is silver and white. I use a pre-lit artificial tree. No pretty tree smell, but so much easier! And I learned when I lived in my apartment years ago that a really great and inexpensive way to add a lot of decorations is by using two rolls of nice wired ribbon and 2 packages of pre-wired bows (one shiny set and one matte set.) Then I just had to supplement with about 6 boxes of silver and white ornaments. Everything goes back into their original boxes when the season is over.

My philosophy is that you can never have too many twinkle lights.

This is something that I recently inherited from my grandparents who both passed last year. They made this together to hold a Mexican nativity scene. My grandpa built this diorama from a picture frame and wood. My grandma painted the inside and added the stars and rays. There are holes for lights, although the current lights aren't working and this is the best place I could find for it--my entry hall--which doesn't have any outlets. But since this is the first time Christmas Eve will be at my house instead of at the grandparents', I was determined to find a place for this. I know it will mean a lot to my family when they see it.

And now, 2 more days of vacation. It is nice to know that the bulk of the decorating is all done!

The holidays are upon us...

Amazing, it's almost Thanksgiving! How did that happen? I think it feels extra strange because I completely missed Halloween (being down for the count with the flu that day.)

Today is my first of FIVE...DAYS...OFF. Lovely! I've decided to use the next few days to transition the house into a Christmas house. One day of indoor decorations. One day of outside lights, and one day to do the tree. They don't all take one whole day, but I want to pace myself. Last year I did everything in one day and was exhausted. And now I've got the time and don't plan on hitting the stores on Black Friday.

Actually, my family will be celebrating Thanksgiving ON Friday so that some of my cousins can attend who have to work tomorrow. The more the merrier. We'll be at my aunt and uncle's house this year.

Other than this current vacation, life is just rolling along. My mom is enjoying some new appliances, my brother and his family are enjoying living in their very own house, and I have a special visitor coming at the end of December. As my mom put it, "It seems like we're all at a crossroads right now." Perhaps that's true, but change is good. Sometimes you have to shake things up a little.

The other day I was listening to some of my CDs that I hadn't heard in a while. I have 3 by New Zealand teen singer Hayley Westenra, who sometimes sings with the Celtic Woman group. I love this particular song. It's a good one for this season. Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We have so much to be thankful for.



P.S. I am feeling A LOT better after that nasty flu. Believe me when I tell you that nearly a month later, I'm still not 100%. There's a cough that's been hanging on for a while, but I do not have pneumonia (got a chest x-ray) and at least I can go back to work. I used 9/10 of my sick days already!)

Yay! I can sing again!

I haven't done any singing in 2 whole weeks and I've missed it a lot. It is such a great stress reliever for me. But today while teaching I could really feel like my voice was stronger than it has been in several days and knew that it was time to give it a try when I got home.

Click on the song title to listen:

I COULD HAVE DANCED ALL NIGHT

HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS (It's not too early, is it? Well, maybe a little!)

WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN

Nine days later...

So here is the update on my illness. It's lasted for days and days and days.

On Thursday I went to the doctor, and after an interminable 3 hours at the office, I still don't know anything conclusive. It MIGHT be the H1N1. It MIGHT be pneumonia, because my breathing is raspy and I have a cough that I haven't been able to shake.

The doctor wanted to have a chest xray taken and I was supposed to call yesterday to get the results. I called and the doctor hasn't called me back. The whole doctor experience has been kind of frustrating because of the constant delay.

As far as work, I've missed 6 days just because of this illness, but I know that there was no way I could've gone. My job requires so much and it is nonstop all day. You just have to be 100%. I'll go back on Monday and I know I won't be 100% by then, but I'll be much better than last week. Plus, we get Wednesday off for Veteran's Day.

It's been a very slow recovery.

This morning I woke up and, even though I've still fighting this cough, I was determined to get up and out and enjoy this beautiful day. The weather is so gorgeous right now! I got half of my report cards done and ran a few errands. Next on the agenda is to walk around the block and check out the Christmas boutique at the church around the corner. They usually have cute things.

Christmas boutique? Yes, it is that time of year. I can't believe it. Yesterday I stopped at the mall for a quick bit and Macy's has their Christmas decorations up. On TV I saw the first ad with a Christmas theme. Incredible.

So that's what's been going on. I just hope to hear from the doctor soon, because if I am supposed to be on antibiotics, I want to get started...