Gratitude IMHO

As the year comes to a close, I want to have a positive outlook on life so being thankful is a huge way of thinking positive. There are many things I am thankful for but here are five that I'd like to share for this year..

1. Service Dogs

Paddy (left) and Gilda (right)

These dogs are not only cute and loving but they have a seriously big job to do too. Paddy is a 3-yr old grey standard poodle and she is a 'peanut dog'. Her job is to sniff out peanuts anywhere. She keeps her owner, 11-yr-old Nathan, safe because he is highly allergic to peanuts. She goes almost everywhere with him: school. church, playdates, vacations. You might think this is highly odd but let me tell you, I wish I had Paddy with me a few weeks ago. But I am getting ahead of myself (see #4 in this post)

(left) Anatoli-from Gilda's 2nd litter this past April and (right) Darth from her 3rd litter this past October

Gilda is a part lab/golden retriever and she is a breeder dog for the non-profit assistance dog organization, Canine Companions for Independence. All her puppies become assistance dogs all over the country. She is three years old and has had three litters of puppies for a total of 31 puppies to date. Our friends, Amos and Laura, care for Gilda and volunteer for CCI. We watch their puppy-cam and see the puppies grow up right before out eyes before they are given to the agency to start their training, placement and work. We are honored and privileged to know and love these dogs and I think the girls get more excited to see them than their human families! LOL!

2. Books

This is Emily's current To-Read stack.

I cannot do without my books. And I'm happy that my firstborn agrees with me. I didn't get to read as much as last year but I am thankful that I do have the time to squeeze in and do what relaxes me the most other than sleeping!

3. Movies and Family

Watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens with my extended family

When I was growing up, we would watch movies on the weekends at my aunt's house. My cousins especially love watching horror movies which to this day I abhor! And I'll tell you why. My cousin Andy scared me to death one late night when we were watching either Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street. But I do like action movies. When we were all in college, my siblings and cousins would all go see a movie on Thanksgiving or Christmas. So while our parents were cooking dinner, we all went out to see a movie. We saw the Star Wars trilogy, Indiana Jones, Mission Impossible and even Mosquito Coast. That was over 20 years ago.

Now many of us are married with families of our own and when I heard that Star Wars Episode 7 was coming out,  I knew we had to see this all together as a family. We all bought tickets online back in October and came out two hrs before the show started to get seats for all 18 of us. This was an early 8:30am Saturday morning! It was a great movie and great fun to see it all together.

4. Kaiser Permanente

Hannah getting strapped in and transported by ambulance to Kaiser SC; settling in her new room in the PICU

Earlier this month, Hannah had a severe allergic reaction to eating a dumpling at a Chinese restaurant. Unbeknownst to anyone, it must have had some residual peanut something because she immediately had swollen lips, a stomachache and a tight throat. We already know she is allergic to peanuts but she always felt better after I gave her benedryl. It didn't work this time. After consulting with our friend Patrick (Paddy's owners dad), I took her into Kaiser's ER. They immediately zipped her right into a room and gave her an epi-pen, breathing treatment with albuteral and doses of benedryl, steroids and zantac through an IV. The swelling on her face decreased and I hoped she was on the road to recovery.

I was instructed to stay for 8 hours to make sure the allergen is out of her body and that she doesn't have another reaction. I brought a book and was ready to settle in. An hour later Hannah complained about being itchy all over her body. We noticed that her legs were getting red and hives were bubbling up. Then she vomited. So she got another epi-pen dosage, and another set of IV meds. She got over 100 ml of benedryl in her little body. So if you get two epi-pens it means she needed to stay overnight for observation. Since our Kaiser did not have a Pediatric ICU we were transported to Kaiser in SC by ambulance along with a doctor (we got the director of the PICU), a nurse and a respiratory specialist. The care she received from Kaiser was top notch. I am very thankful for all the doctors and nurses who cared for her.

5. The Power of Prayer

You'd think I would just freak out from this hospital visit for Hannah. But I didn't. I was calm throughout the whole time. How? I totally think that it was through prayer that I was so calm. Lots of people were praying for me and Hannah. Our request was even shared at the pulpit by one of our pastors at church on Sunday. I know that anything health or medical related I would worry about because it was something that was out of my control. I couldn't fix it. I knew that I had to depend on someone bigger than me or the doctors to help. Ask for prayer because it's literally the best gift anyone can give you. Prayer never hurts. It always helps.

Well 2015 has zipped by so quickly. I look forward to the new memories 2016 will bring!

Gratitude IMHO

I'd like to end the year 2014 on a positive uplifting note. No matter how bad things can be in our lives, and it can get pretty hard sometimes, there are always things we can be thankful for. Gratitude is the best attitude to bring us through difficulties.

This may not be a fancy picture but it simply shows what I am so thankful for this past year.

1. Our Public Library:
Yes I cannot say enough of how awesome my public library is. I saved hundreds of dollars plus bookshelf space at home by borrowing books from the library.  I borrowed 155 books just this year alone. Which leads me to..

1.5. Kindle:
The rest of the books I read were Kindle ebooks on my iPad.What a wonderful space saver- so handy when I'm traveling.

2.  Starbucks:
Did you know that when you get those free rewards on your gold card that you can get a drink, pastry OR sandwich for free?!?! I did NOT know that! And here I am ordering a "venti" hot chocolate because I wanted to spend the most money on an item. So I ordered the new turkey stuffing panini and it was not bad.. not bad at all.. for free that is!

3. Lemon Bars and Chocolate Chip cookies:
Homemade dessert pastries.. I have no will power over them. My friend, Diane, made these lemon bars "at the last minute, on a whim" for a school bake sale and I just loved them so much that I bought 7 pieces. That's 7 bucks baby! And my sister's homemade chocolate chip cookies are to die for. Just the right amount of chocolate chewy gewy goodness. Oh so heavenly!

4. My KHA Students:

Out of this graduating class, I had taught 12 of these students five years ago

I think it's the mother in me that I have a love for my former students. To remember how they were when I taught them and who they have become now. It's bittersweet to see my former third graders as graduating 8th graders this year. I am proud to see how they have grown up to be beautiful and handsome young men and women, who are continually respectful (at least in front of me). I'm proud of their accomplishments academically, athletically and spiritually. I've been enjoying teaching Yearbook class this year, teaching three of these former students.

5. Friends:
I don't know about you but I don't like to ask for help much.  Funny that I love to help others but I just don't like asking for help for some reason. But when I'm in pain.. desperate excruciating debilitating pain.. I swallowed my desire to take care of myself and called for help. You see, I had sprained my muscles in my back, right next to the L5-S1 discs. I was in excruciating pain from every minor movement I made. So much pain that I got dizzy, my vision was blurring and I was in cold sweat holding my screams inside. I called my bff Helen and begged her to take me to the ER. I was that desperate. And she quickly came with back up. My friend Tony (also Emily's band teacher and our school's music teacher) came with Helen. He prayed over me and all of a sudden, I'm not kidding you, I was able to walk to the phone to call the advice nurse. The power of prayer is awesome! Well to make a long story short .. the news of me being hurt spread throughout the school and I received many texts and emails throughout the day with encouragement and prayers. I truly felt so loved and cared for from afar. I was in such a horrible state and wanted to die from the pain. Actually I really wanted an epidural! Praise God that Helen stayed with me, took me to the doctors, and made sure I was settled at home before she went back to work. She even did my dishes for me. True friends do your chores for you!

Another amazing friend is our friend Stanley. He is what I call a "God-given" friend. I first met Stanley back when I was attending church in Oakland when I was in my 20's. And Matthew met Stanley through me when we were dating. Little did we know that Stanley "knew" Matthew way back when he was nine years old! You see, during Sunday School class, Stanley and his classmates each drew a picture of a missionary family that the church was supporting. They posted the picture on their missionary wall and prayed for this family during that the school year. Guess who Stanley's missionary family was? It was Matthew's family, who were missionaries in the Philippines at that time. Little did each of them know that they would eventually meet and become friends. Almost 40 years after Stanley drew this picture, his former Sunday School teacher gave it to him last month and he in turn gives it to us this week. What a small small world! God had His hand on our friendship starting at the very young age of 9, even though we didn't meet until several decades later!
 (It's like that story in the news of the little boy who wrote a letter and sent an Operation Christmas Child Box to a child in the Philippines and 15 years later he connects with the little girl (now a young woman) that received his box and now they are married! Who knew?!?!)

There is nothing left to chance in life. Everything happens for a reason. I am thankful that we have a God that loves us so much that He places these very special people in my life.

As we look forward to a brand new year, my prayer for you is that you see many blessings, that you stop and 'smell the roses' and know that He loves you.

Happy 2015!

Graditude IMHO

Lastly something new to end this year ... my Gratitude List of the Year.. something I always wanted to post on a regular basis but never get to because I forget what I was supposed to write..

 I am thankful for:

• The Public Library:

I would have spent an arm and a leg on books if not for this place.  And I don't even need to hunt for books anymore. I just find it on their online catalog, place a request on it and if it's available, it'll be sent to the branch of my choice, an email is sent to me telling me to pick it up. Then I go to the Holds shelf and grab the book with the tag that has my name on it. Eazy Peazy! (UPDATE: My total number of books read this year has been revised to 90! The most current one was The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks.)

 • Health Insurance:

Photos of my meniscus torn and then sliced off

My knee post surgery removal of stitches

I have to say, $20 copay for my knee surgery is a pretty good deal! AND it included crutches! Four doctors/nurses who were a part of my surgery followed up with a personal phone call a day or two after. So kind and conscientious! Kaiser is great! Thank you to Dr. Bui and his excellent staff for caring for me so well!

• DMV:

This temporary handicap placard was a lifesaver. I had to endure almost a two hour wait ...and that was WITH an appointment! I hobbled in with my crutches and all to get it because you have to go there in person to pick it up! (That is the DMV for you). But to have it during the crazy holiday shopping season was a blessing! Thank you to Angela who took me to the DMV and Helen who drove me home!

• 85 C ° Bakery:

The Portuguese egg tarts with mochi are just as good as the ones at Lord Stow's Bakery in Macau. The first time I tasted this 'little piece of heaven' was in LA. Now, they opened a store just a few minutes from my home but the line is atrocious! Waiting for an hour for bread and pastries is not my ideal of a good use of time. I will wait until the 'craziness' dies down. In the meantime, my sister-in-law went herself and graciously appeased by tummy with a few of these egg tarts! Thank you Matthea!

• Almond Milk Tea with Egg Pudding:

My new favorite drink(with egg pudding not boba/pearls as shown in this picture)

My youngest daughter loves going to get boba drinks. She isn't a yogurt, ice cream or Jamba Juice kind of gal. She is a boba gal... specifically Passion Fruit Green Tea with extra bobas! The thing is with these 'bobas' or tapioca pearls is that if you refrigerate them they get hard and not chewy anymore. Since I like to 'nurse' my drinks.. you can always find a half finished Starbucks drink or soda or another drink in the fridge that is mine.. I prefer getting pudding in my milk tea. Pudding is pudding, It doesn't harden in the fridge and the drink tastes the same as the day before. Thank you to Tapioca Express for having three locations for me to go to to get this drink!

• Dwarf Bunnies:

Rachel's new bunnies: Coconut & Cocoa

I was never an animal person due to my OCD clean-freak upbringing but taking care of BunnYee this past year was a highlight and joy. When she passed away we thought we won't be able to pet-sit again. But we were wrong! Rachel missed BunnYee so much that she went ahead and adopted two new baby dwarf bunnies, called Coconut and Cocoa who are sisters.  We hope to bunny-sit them sometime soon! Thank you to Rachel for getting more bunnies!

• Family:
Life is too short to have any misgivings with family members. That is why I don't have any.

Matthew's immediate family

My immediate family

My extended family (at Cousin Cheryl's home) which includes lots and lots of cousins

I am thankful that my family continues to grow. This coming new year I get a new cousin-in-law and a baby second cousin. Congratulations to my cousin Henry's engagement to Josephine and my cousin Stefanie and her husband Pete who are expecting Baby #2!

• Friends:

AACF CAL Reunion at Don & Cheryl's (28 in attendance)

CIBC Reunion Gang (also 28 in attendance...and my living room is half the size of Cheryl's!)

I am thankful that I still keep in touch with my college friends (and even high school friends...my  30th reunion is next year!) and although we may not see each other that often I still call them my close friends, those who know me well and have significantly impacted my life... my spiritual life and that I am eternally grateful to them. And thank you to YOU my dear readers (and I hope some of you may see yourself in these pictures.)

I actually can go on and on and on about many more things that I am thankful for in my life.

Having the attitude of gratitude really changes your whole perspective of life. It gives you a life full of joy. Joyful people are thankful people. Their perspective is positive, on what is good, with a cup half full not half empty.

I want to have an attitude of gratitude. I hope you do too! Many blessings to you in 2014!