Me Exercise?

August 29, 2017 was my one year anniversary to dedicated exercise!! 177 classes (55 min each) for the year! What a huge achievement for me! Why? I absolutely abhor exercise! I hated PE when I was growing up. I never participated in sports. I dislike walking, running, biking, basically anything that made me sweat! I don't know how to swim. I tore my meniscus when I took my first ski lesson at the age of 40. I joined 24 Hr Fitness and Curves which just took my money. It was only after a decade had passed and I really needed to take care of my body. Weak knees, bad back! I needed to focus on strengthening my core. So thanks to my friend Diane she introduced me to IMX Pilates! 

A new studio opened up near our houses and she loved it and wanted me to try it. I jumped into a regular class (bypassed the Intro class) and I have to say, my body was suffering for the first few classes. Muscles I didn't even know I had in places hurt. But I kept at it and went 3x/week and soon upped it now 5x/week. And I absolutely love it! It's low impact, strengthening and my flexibility has never been better! 

Kudos go to the instructors who make each class fun challenging and new! Each class is never the same. Jen (Pilates Emperous), the owner, created a wonderful studio that caters to women and men of all ages and all physical levels; her awesome daughters, Jaina (Stretch Queen) and Jalene (Boot Camp Queen) are some of the best instructors you can get along with Katie (Barre Queen and Foam Torturer) who's teaching me moves I would have never gotten my body to do before! I am truly blessed by this studio and if you haven't checked out IMX Pilates (with the reformer machines) you should!!

And if you don't know what it is below is a short clip of what we do in class:

Seventeen

Happy 17th Birthday to my first born! 

She is a truly a gift from God! It was an unforgettable memory! It was January 2000. I was feeling tired and rundown for awhile so I went in for a blood test and told my doctor that I probably had the flu, was anemic or had a thyroid problem since it does run in my family. Little did I know that it was because I was pregnant! A phone call came through into my classroom phone after school (I was not one of the privileged who had a cell phone) and she told me I wasn't sick .. I was pregnant!! It was an answer to prayer since we had been trying to add to our family for two years. It was only until I decided that it may have been the stress of working and teaching full time that was preventing me to conceive. So I decided to quit teaching at the end of that school year and surrendered my desire to have a child to God. In His time; not mine. And when I relinquished my desire to control my life, He blessed us with Emily Ka-Yen when I did not expect it! #HE>i #godisgoodallthetime #beingamotheristhebest #mybabyisalmostanadult😵

Friends since the womb! Literally! We were having dinner with her family at Chevys when one of the older Yee siblings came up to me and asked 'Ms. Cezanne, I think we need the bassinet back.' Now we've only been using it for like a month or two and I didn't know why it was such a rush for them to want it back! Well Rachel was a big surprise for them! And now they attend school together with the last two years having almost identical class schedules. Thank you Rachel for being Emily's forever friend, sharing your love of bunnies with her and coming by today to wish her a happy birthday!! #friendsforlife❤️

To Be Pretty

I've never been into makeup as a teen and only started to wear it when I was in college. My cousin was the one that taught me how to use it and what I should use. I never really got into painting my face too much. But now I want more on my face not to enhance but to cover up! 😝I wanted to learn how to use concealer to cover all the years my face has grown into!

This was the first time my girls had makeup on their faces!

So one of the things on my bucket list was to have a professional to teach me how to do just that! And to teach my girls how to put makeup on too since I couldn't teach them. Just in case they have an occasion to 'enhance' their beautiful faces! So the three of us saw AJ @muaaj and he not only made us pretty but taught us how to do it! It was great fun! 

You're never too old to learn something new!

Starring Isaac B

We always knew that Isaac would be a star one day! Isaac is the son of our good friends, Tony & Teresa Bolivar. He loves music and playing the guitar.  It's as if he was born with the guitar in his hand! Of course, it may help that his parents are gifted musicians! The apple does not fall far from the tree!

Extremely proud parents!

He's been touring and playing various gigs all over the world but hit it big recently when he toured with Seal a few years ago.

Performing with Seal in Livermore

They came to the Bay Area to perform recently and the Bolivar's gifted Matthew and I tickets to see them live!

Was able to catch him right before he hit the stage!

 What an honor to see him doing what he does best!

Isaac is currently touring with Banks.

I have no idea who Banks is but she was at Coachella so I guess she's good! Isaac is playing right behind her.

Summer Camp

Emily went to Hume Lake Christian Camp again this summer and had a grand time!

16 students, 5 counselors!

Here is a summary by Emily, in her own words:
This year’s camp experience was pretty similar to last year’s. It had the same schedule, with the same food, activities, and band. The camp theme for this year was called Forsaken, a medieval theme, about Saul and David in 1 Samuel. We had 11 girls crammed into a 10-bed cabin, and the cabin we got this year was a lot smaller and older then last years. Last year we only had 7 girls in a very nice and new cabin that was very clean and spacious. So our room was extremely messy the entire week. Free time was usually spent with a lot of volleyball and cards. We usually played Kemps and sometimes Egyptian War, BS, and Spoons. This year I did the high ropes course, which is up in the trees. Planks and blocks of wood are tied by ropes and we have to try and get across. I though that this was really fun, there was even a zipline at the end. We also explored the lake, going upstream during the last day. The water is cold at first, but then you get used to it so it was a good temperature. On Thursday, we had church time instead of regular chapel, so all the churches would get together to do their own thing. So our counselors David, Richard, Danika, and Jacquelyn washed the students feet in the lake, just as Jesus washed his disciples feet in John 13. When we get back to our cabins at night, there is usually a lot of bugs, even mosquitos. There’s no AC so we usually open up the windows or door, but then all the bugs would come in to the light. Since there was only ten beds, one counselor had to sleep on an air mattress to fit all 11 of us. Overall, I had a really nice time with good friends.

11 girls roomed in a 10-bed cabin with one shower and one toilet!

 A highlight was one of the students, Courtney, got baptized by our new youth pastor, David Dang!

Can you find the photographer?

Heaven on Earth

Hawaii has always been one of my favorite places to visit. This summer we took Matthew's side of the family to Oahu.

At the Disney Au'lani Resort..a dream come true to stay at... one day!

We stayed at our friend's vacation home on the west side of the island.

Not staying at a hotel resort, changes the experience a little. The downside is that there is no pool and we have to drive to the beach and lug all our beach accessories: towels, chairs, umbrella, water, snacks etc.. But the upside side is we have a spacious 4 bedroom home for 9, full kitchen to cook our meals and a washer and dryer (to wash all our towels) to use at anytime.

These lovebirds would just fly onto your finger, shoulder, head to eat the birdseed filled sticks.

Now you know that wherever I go, I have to plan activities for us to experience. Even though we've been to Oahu before, I always try to find something new to explore or experience.  This time we ventured to SeaLife Park, a small sea animal park that incorporates hands-on and interactive activities for the guests. We got to feed birds and freshwater fish by hand! It was so awesome!

These fish eat lettuce!

We got to feed lovebirds and freshwater fish by hand!

We also went on a Waikiki catamaran ride around the island. Even though it was very bumpy and windy, it was probably the most relaxing part of the trip for me!

For snorkeling, you can't get to see more fish than at Hanauma Bay. Of course the last time we were here was 15 years ago. And boy has it changed! It's more crowded (parking lot was full at 7:45am!); more expensive, but it's still has a lot of fish!

Of course one of the biggest reasons we go to Hawaii is for the food! And we ate very very well!

Elim Korean BBQ - so delicious we came here ... TWICE!

Spam fries at Shirokiya Japan Village Walk  @ Ala Moana Mall! What a great and yummy concept!

Marukame Udon - cheapest and freshest bowl of udon I ever had!

Matsumoto used to be a shack/hole in the wall establishment. Now it's part of a new shopping mall!

Reevaluating College

My cousin, Cheryl and I took an afternoon to walk down memory lane... Back to our old Alma mater..

The Campanile

It still looks the same.. just with some new additions and refurbishing of very old buildings.

Sproul Plaza; surprisingly the fountain was working!

My old apartment still looks the same! (It's the front one on the bottom level). There's now a lock on the front door entering the building but Cheryl and I circumvented the lock and went through the back door which was wide open. Visitors would pound on the glass window before they come into the building just to let me know someone's here! It's still pretty run down but it was super close to campus and for only $200/month rent it was a steal! (Of course, tuition was only $1,500/year)

My apartment on 'heart attack hill'.

It's been 28 years since I graduated from CAL.

I've always wondered how I got into this prestigious university in the first place. I wasn't the top of my class; I didn't have a super high GPA. I didn't even take any AP/Honors classes. My SAT score was exactly 1000 out of 1600. I didn't have any extracurricular activities that made me a well-balanced student either. I am convinced that they accepted me due to affirmative action!

I graduated with a BA in Social Sciences with an emphasis in Advertising.

Of course, if I had to apply to UCB now, I would not have been accepted.

Upon deeper reflection, I do not think I received a great education there. I certainly did not retain any academic knowledge that I had learned to be used in any way in my life. (Forgot everything I learned.) The school was too big; didn't get the classes I wanted on the first try; and everyone was super competitive. I actually learned the most at Cal State, Hayward where I received my teaching credential.

My cuz Cheryl at my graduation party.

But that's the point... you may or may not use your undergrad degree in your future profession. It's only after you graduate and maybe work a few years, you figure out what you really want to do with your life. I actually worked five years in advertising (which I loved) before I changed my profession to teaching.

But what I did learn at CAL was to how to take care of myself, how to advocate for myself,  push my self academically and significantly grew in my Christian faith. I met some incredible people and built life long friendships and had great community. So those benefits were priceless.

Matthew actually snuck into my graduation illegally posing as a graduating student in a cap & gown! He was a freshman at the time!

I even met my husband at CAL, who I have known for 29 years: friends for 1, dated for 5, engaged for 1; married for 22. Now that story is for a different post!

As I look back on my college life and look forward to help my daughter's future college path, I do see a significant shift in choosing which schools to apply to. My parents said I had to get into CAL. I had no other options and my cousin was there. (And thankfully I got in!)

It's not about the 'name' anymore but what college fits your child's personality, lifestyle and desires.  It's a place where you think your child will thrive in and learn/grow the most, academically, socially, spiritually and emotionally. It isn't just about the UCs now and days.  It may be a smaller private university. There are so many to chose from!

So the college hunt begins... but I'm smarter now than 33 years ago when I applied!

Fight MS!

I am very sentimental in regards to my former students. This one in particular is one of my favorites not only because she was a good kid but her heart is so pure, generous, kind and loving. I had the privilege of praying with her as she recommitted her life to Christ in Jan 2010. She is thriving at her school in color guard, band and honors classes. I have been blessed knowing her and her family and know that we will continue to make memories together! 

This year, we joined on her annual Walkathon for Multiple Sclerosis. MS is an upredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and body. (www.nationalmssociety.org)

Shawna has been diagnosed with MS six years ago and even though she does not exhibit any symptoms she is well aware of what the disease can do to her body.

Our hope and prayer is to find a cure to eradicate this disease forever!

Tulip Heaven

One of my favorite flowers is the tulip. They're so colorful and no thorns! I have always wanted to go to Holland just to see fields of tulips. But I didn't know there were some on our continent!

Abbotsford, Canada

For one month out of the year, The Abbotsford Bloom Tulip Festival is open for visitors to come purchase and take pictures of fields and fields of colorful tulips.

When we visited, the Festival was only open for nine days and it was still pretty rainy and overcast. Some of the flowers were in bloom but many more were still waiting for the sun to come out!

The fields were very muddy and these shoe protectors did not do it's job as well as we hoped. Hannah and I ended up throwing out our boots when we got back home to the States.

But it was such a beautiful sight!

 I'm looking forward to the next time I can come back to enjoy God's handiwork!