We Got It!

A Follow-Up from the blog post:  Because of the TV

We got a cool 40" flat screen TV. It's a Samsung LED. It was so light. Our old TV was probably twice as heavy and twice as small.

Matthew originally purchased a Toshiba 40" LED at Costco. But Matthew's brother surprised us with this Samsung one he got for him as a surprise birthday gift for him. (Thanks Dai! We love it!)

Matthew was so excited to watch his favorite TV show on Sunday (check out what that was below).

So all our new furniture is all set in the house.

Next to tackle...closet organizers for all the closets!

Busy Backyard

A Follow-Up to my blog post:  My Bird Keeper

Emily got some more feeders for her birthday, one of which was a hummingbird feeder from Matthew's sister's family. I never saw a hummingbird up close and in person before until this feeder was hung up. It's right in front of our kitchen window so it's amazing to see them fly to the feeder and take long sips of sugar water. They are beautiful birds!

Emily tells me that the males have red on their necks while the females are all green, so they can easily camouflage themselves to their surroundings. The males have the red to attract females to their 'handsomeness".

They love Emily's feeder so much that whenever she takes it down to clean and refill they get impatient and eat out of the ant guard!

Matthew added a tray for the finch sock because they are very messy eaters and a ton of seed fall on to the ground. Did not want to waste that expensive seed!

Some like to sit on the tray to eat the seed when the sock is empty. It takes only 6-7 days for the sock to be emptied.

We also have a gathering of mourning doves that come and sit on the lattice or fence.
Emily also told me that they puff up their feathers when they are cold.

She got two more feeders (one squirrel proof one that can hold 6 lbs of seed from her grandparents) and this beautiful lantern one from my brother and his wife.





Annoyingly, the most colorful bird is the most irritating one also.. the scrub jay is a loud bossy bird who swoops into the backyard and squawks at all the other birds to go away..

 and if you yell at it.. it gives you a dirty look before it flies away.

The last thing Emily got was her seed containers, seal-tight ones, that usually hold pet food. Matthew cleared out half of his shed to accommodate all of her bird supplies.

She also noticed that with all the seed that falls onto the grass.. it's been sprouting!

Emily went out to pull the sprouts out and found a praying mantis! Can you see it?

Great Reads

"The more you read, the better reader, writer and speller you will become!" This quote is written on top of Hannah's reading log assignment every week. I'm not sure about the spelling part (thank goodness for spell check) but reading definitely helps me write better and it increases my vocabulary.

I am an avid reader. I always have been since I could read.  I loved going to the bookstores (they are pretty non-existent in my town now but remember B. Dalton?) and to the library. As a child, I wanted to be a librarian. I love the smell of new books. Old books.. I could go without. I actually have two friends that are librarians. One of which is a children's librarian at our neighborhood library.

But I am not reading now. I am stuck in a reading rut. I have plenty of books piled high to be read but do not have the urge to pick up any of them. Ever since I started blogging in June, I want to write not read.

But when I do read, I read until I'm done with the book. Sometimes I finish a novel in one day. It's that good of a read.

I read mainly secular and christian fiction, sci-fi (Star Trek only), and teen (as a teacher I try to keep up with what they are reading).

When I find an author I really like, I try to read all of his/her books. And there are quite a few that I love to follow.

I absolutely love Christian fiction, but there are some secular writers that I follow that write as if they are Christian. Bottom line, there is no foul-language in the books. That's a big turn off for me. Although I may make an exception or two if the story is really enticing and well written.

Here are some of my Recommendations:

I'll start with the Secular Fiction:

Nicholas Sparks: (all of his books are great reads)
Some of his books were made into a movie such as The Notebook and The Last Song. The books were way better in my opinion.  He's a very young author (46 yrs old with his 17th book published this year). His writing is down to earth and his characters are always relateable. He writes as if he is a believer but his books are never promoted as Christian books. A Walk to Remember is one of my favorites.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; The Girl who Played with Fire; The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest Trilogy by Steig Larsson
These books have language and violence in them. No doubt about it but they are such an incredible story you cannot put the book down after you start. When I first started with Book #1, the first 75 pages are dry dry dry... basically he's introducing the characters and the background. I almost gave up on the book but I stuck it out and it was a quick read after the problem was introduced.

The Shack by Wm. Paul Young
Same with this book: fast forward to Chapter 5 where the great conversations between Mac and God start. But don't skip the first five chapters. It sets you up on why the book is called The Shack.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
So eye opening and engaging on what it was like for black ladies' as maids in the early 1960's. Excellently written. And yes, they made a movie out of this book also.

Teen:
The Twilight Saga: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Absolutely loved these books; I'm a sucker for a good love story and I'm not afraid of vampires. (Loved watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Loved the movies also but I digress..

I'm planning to read The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. This is becoming a movie also.

Science Fiction:
I loved watching Star Trek: TNG. It was my favorite out of all of the ST series. I enjoy reading cross-over stories that bring in the captains and crews from all the different series into one big storyline.

Star Trek: Tales From the Captain's Table by various authors

Nine captains share about their adventures when they come together at a bar to hang out.

Star Trek: Destiny Trilogy by David Mack

Gods of Night (Book 1),  Mere Mortals (Book 2), and  Lost Souls (Book 3)

This trilogy takes place a year after the fall of Practor Shinzon. There's an ancient mystery which three star fleet captains get involved to solve through space and time. 

STNG: Imzadi & Imzadi II by Peter David

I loved Troi and Riker so it was fitting to read their back stories in these two novels.

Star Trek Titan Series

At the end of the STNG movie, Riker married Troi and eventually got his own ship: the USS Titan. This series focuses on their adventures. Different authors write these books and some are good and some are just okay. It's interesting to see where they go from here. I guess if they could make another TV series this would be the logical choice.

Didn't realize how long this post was getting. I'll continue on my favorite Christian reads in a future post.

A Beautifying Brunch

I love to eat.
I love to eat homemade food.
I love to eat homemade food that I did not make.

So I loved going over to my dear friend, Grace's, home for a delicious brunch. She enticed Susana and myself with a huge pot of peach tea...

... delicious buckwheat soba noodle salad...

... yummy cranberry buttermilk scones...

... and apricot scones...

... to go with the piece de resistance... lemon curd! They were soooo yummy!!

I always felt that the best times of reconnecting and deep conversation was over a meal or a cup of tea. I don't get to see these two friends enough and when we get together we try not to talk over one another (because there is just so much to catch us up on). We listen, laugh, eat, listen, respond, respond and laugh and eat some more.

It is those times that I feel that this is what friendship is. Connecting, listening, responding, encouraging and loving each other.

I also loved the drive down to Grace's house. Mind you I don't like to drive and I don't like to drive in traffic to a city that I'm not too familiar with. (It took us almost an hour to get there with traffic.) But I really enjoyed talking to Sus about what's been happening in our lives. Catching up with one another one-on-one with no interruptions. I told Matthew that it was real precious time for me with her.

Other than eating, Grace also pampered us with her new interest: beautifying ourselves.

Yes, we are at the stage of needing to use 'anti-aging' products. Actually, I was told that you need to start using 'anti-aging' products when you're in your 30's. When the wrinkles and age spots come, it's kind of too late to do anything significant about it. Oh well.. better late than never.

No, we are not using Oil of Olay but Grace showed us some of what she was using and recommending to her friends: Mary Kay products.

She showed us a lotion and scrub for our hands that helped soften our cuticles. Our hands get a beating with all the things we do with them.

We got to clean and beautify our faces with moisturizer, mineral powder, eye shadow, blush and lipstick. I'm not big on makeup.. less is more for me, but I loved the powder brush.

I personally am using Arbonne anti-aging skin care products and am happy with it but it's interesting to see what other lines have to offer. 

The big thing I came away with is the need for eye cream (I have some but keep forgetting to put it on) and taking better care of our hands.

If you are interested in any products from Mary Kay, Grace would love to beautify you. Just contact her.

B.F.F.L.

In elementary school, my best friend was named Michele (with one 'L') and she was also my next door neighbor.  She had a ton of animals in her house and was part of the Four H club etc.. But my mom never let me go to her house (even though she was literally two houses down from us) probably because of all the 'dangerous' animals roaming around in and out of her home (bunnies, chickens, guinea pigs, dog, cat).

Then we moved and in middle school, my best friend was Andrea (pronounced An-dray-a). She was very nice but she was shy and I was shy so we just stuck together.. two shy girls.

In high school, I didn't have one 'best' friend. I didn't hang around Andrea anymore.. went with a different crowd. I 'thought' I had some best friends until they told me that they didn't want me hanging around them anymore. Yah.. that was a painful freshman/sophomore year. I can't remember who I hung around with during those years. I guess I just wandered aimlessly. High school was rough those two years.

My last two years of high school got better. I was 'let-back-in' with those gals and we became good friends. Some of whom I still keep in touch with today. BUT making friendships with girls was harder for me since that 'incident'. I didn't trust them. What if they turned on me again? Now boys were different. They didn't have all that drama and the majority of them were cool to hang out with. Many of whom I also still keep in touch with. I had more guy friends than gals in college also.

It wasn't until I graduated college and got involved in a church and their Career Fellowship group that I truly built BFFL's. These gals showed me what true lifelong friends are like. I am so blessed to know and be loved by them. I always think of them first when I have great news to share or when I have a big problem to solve.


Rachel has been Emily's friend pretty much since birth. Her parents are very close friends of ours. Rachel is eight months younger than Emily. She has been to every birthday party of hers.

I couldn't find pictures of Birthdays 1 & 2 (but her parents were there.. so she must have been somewhere).

3rd Birthday at Sulfur Creek Nature Center

4th Birthday at Build-A-Bear

5th Birthday Princess Tea Party at the house

6th Birthday Stamping party at the house

7th Birthday at Pacific West Gymnastics

8th Birthday at Silliman Swim Center

9th Birthday at Cloverleaf Bowl

10th Birthday at The Tech Museum of Innovation

11th Birthday at Coyote Hills Regional Park

When they were little, her mom and I would dress them alike. They were so cute. Rachel would be so much shorter than Emily but eventually she caught up with her. After awhile, they didn't think it was that cute anymore.

They were raised at FCC and attended Sunday School together but never went to the same school. Emily has always been at KHA and Rachel went to a different Christian school and now is at her neighborhood public school. Both of them are in the 5th grade. Rachel is the baby of four and Emily is the oldest of two.

They took swim lessons every year together until one year Rachel just zipped past Emily and pretty soon she was two levels above Emily. (I think she having a pool at her house helped... a lot!) Rachel excelled so well that she joined the neighborhood swim team; got a ton of ribbons; and was named all around MVP last year!

Rachel is also a part of AWANA and was in her school's musical play. But overall her personality is mellow and shy like Emily. But she will assert herself when necessary.

Emily has only slept over at Rachel's house and we only had Rachel come over to sleep over at ours (besides family members). They have a love for Webkinz and collecting other stuffed animals.

Emily calls her her Best Friend For Life because she (and I quote my daughter) "...because I like her a lot and I see her a lot but not in school and we like the same stuff and if we don't, she's okay with it."

Personally, I hope they stay good friends for life too. They will eventually attend the same high school. Rachel will be the last graduating child of the Y. family; Emily will be the first graduating child for our family.

I hope Emily doesn't go through what I went through in finding good friends. I am so happy that she has a good friend now.. at age 11.  I know that these girls will change and grow and may go their separate ways in the future but it is my hope and prayer that they will remain good friends for life.

My question to you:   Do you have a BFF? (other than your spouse)

PJ Day at a neighborhood restaurant (kids eat free with PJ's)

It's At It Again

Bad Bad Squirrels. We put up a baffle on one of Emily's bird feeders. It's 'supposed' to prevent squirrels from getting to the seed.

Apparently it is not as effective as it states on the package, as you can see here.

I am baffled by the fact we cannot get rid of these crazy hungry squirrels!! What to do what to do..

So I yelled out the kitchen window to scare it away. It just ran up the tree. I went out and sprayed PAM all over the baffle so hopefully when it's on it, it'll slip off and also get some oily residue on it's fur.

It hasn't gotten on it again.. maybe it worked.