photo time:

Here they are:

February 2007 Photos

baby loves disco?:

Manny was thinking of surprising me by taking us to Baby Loves Disco, which I'd never heard of. But then he said he read some reviews online about this one in particular, and basically it was just people partying with their kids running wild. Yeah, no thanks. Naomi would easily get lost in the shuffle, and neither Manny nor I drink much. I used to drink a little wine, but I've discovered in my "old age" that even a quarter glass makes me very sick. And you don't want to know what kind of sick. Manny just doesn't like the taste for the most part. That always reminds me of how we went wine-tasting up in Napa and outlet-shopping down in Gilroy with a couple of my girlfriends all in one day. He was so patient, driving us everywhere. And I laugh out loud recalling the image of him wobbling along, with his arms out, and our shopping bags hanging on his wrists like weights. And he was 55 lbs lighter back then. Hahaha. Oh, how I ramble when I haven't slept...um, and even when I have!

Anyway, they're opening up another BLD closer to here, and hopefully the reviews for that one won't be as bad. Every one is supposedly different, presumably because each one is mom-and-pop-run. I was always a homebody, but now with Miss Please-let-me-out-of-here Naomi, I've suddenly started looking into all kinds of places to hang out. This is my current resource.

Here's a video of a famous (in certain circles) locking duo from Japan just for kicks, no pun intended. If you want the YouTube version, it's here.




Yep, it's 3:00 a.m., we were just up with pobrecita Naomi again...now, back to sleep.

poor naomi:

Naomi has the flu. I'm carrying her in a backpack right now. She threw up this morning and hardly slept at all the last couple nights. It broke my heart to see her trying to be smiley and dance and draw for Manny last night while coughing and breathing heavily and running a fever. She reminds me a lot of Manny that way. She's cute when she draws something. Last night, she turned Manny's head towards her, pretended to draw him, held the picture at her chest proudly and presented it to him. She was in bad shape, though. And Manny had to go back to work till past 1 am. He couldn't go in early this morning because he had to watch Naomi for a bit while I went to the dentist. My crown fell out yesterday, so I couldn't reschedule. We really miss our old dentist, who moved on to bigger, better, more expensive things. I'm pretty sleepy, but I guess at least Naomi is less mobile when she's ill. But then again, she's nudging me for some more motion, so here I go...

happy birthday:

To my dear mom, Cynthia, and Winnie (+/- a few days). Much love to you.

family meal / the afterlife:

Yes, he's throwing her up that high!


Naomi's a total ham. She often makes me pull out the camera nowadays.

Naomi and I are coughing up a storm.

We had Bryan, Orawin, and Melissa over again for dinner Saturday night. I made some simple chicken fajitas (TJ's handmade tortillas--yum) with red/orange/yellow bell peppers and sopa (literally soup, but it's actually rice or sometimes short, thin noodles). I find I save time and money by purchasing instead of making dessert. We had Trader Joe's lemon tart and apple pie with Double Rainbow french vanilla ice cream. The best part about dinner is not the dinner, but conversation and fellowship with your guests. I never called it "entertaining" because, frankly, I'm not that entertaining...but Naomi is! Poor thing's been sleeping terribly. I mentioned it so we wouldn't expect too much from her. I don't want to pressure her to "perform," but she kind of does it on her own regardless of how she feels. Always center stage! What a diva! Haha! We did ask her which one was Uncle Bryan, Auntie Melissa, and Orawin and she pointed out the right people. Yes, we use our daughter to make people smile! At the end of the evening, we asked if she wanted to go home with Bryan, she said, "uh-huh," jumped into Bryan's arms, and said "bye bye" to me and Manny.

We had a lot of interesting discussions, some I can't mention here, one of which was whether or not babies or children automatically go to heaven if they die. (We had a copy of Safe in the Arms of God lying around) Some of us say yes, others say no. Even though there is support of the idea of "instant heaven" in the bible, there is no passage that explicitly states that all babies, born and unborn, go to heaven. Yes, that means that if Manny and I lost Naomi, there is the possibility we would never be reunited with her. We aren't all-knowing, God is. And He chooses to do what He wants, whether or not it appears "fair" to us. His ways are not our ways, and we cannot always understand His will, but we can trust that it's ultimately for good.

On Sunday, Naomi and I had to stay at home, but Manny mentioned that the sermon talked about how anger often stems from a sense of entitlement. In our society, we are so focused on what we think we are entitled to, what we think we deserve. When we don't get it, we often get angry (and it's not righteous anger either). We point fingers, we talk about fairness, rights, etc. I saw it happen in our church, and it was very discouraging. The situation is better now. Trials help us realize and focus on what is really important. In light of eternity, much of what makes us so "angry" today is very insignificant.

food and past post:

For tonight's potluck, I made chicken and zucchini enchiladas in chile cream sauce. It seems more American than Mexican, but it was putting to use what I already had in the fridge and pantry. I really am not a "stocker"--I like to use up what I have asap. Maybe it's habit from years of living in small spaces.

Speaking of which, when I was making them, I pulled out an old stainless steel spatula, and it dawned on me that I had used this same spatula when I was a kid, maybe 9, and I had to cook for me, my brother, and the dog (yes, I cooked for the dog--egg/ground beef mix that I poured on his dry dog food). My dad was not in our lives at the time, and my mom had to work evenings. Now I can just hop over to the store and buy whatever I need... Yet I remember swatting the flies off the food at Grocery Warehouse in Long Beach (now I was 10), and how the meat was sometimes brown/green but that was okay because we'd cook out the bacteria, and my mom and I would tie our plastic bags to the dolly and walk home. My feet always hurt so much after a shopping trip. And I remember constantly feeling like I was starving... And now I eat like a queen, regardless of whether or not we've had to cut back on eating out. Not that you want to dwell on the past, but I don't want to ever forget where I came from, where God has taken me.

On a lighter note, I like the sea salt grinder they sell at Costco. I think it's not a bad deal (I think $3+) for almost 13 oz. Our salt shaker broke anyway. I agree with the saying, "It's only money," but to be able to give more to your kids than what you had--I really am thankful for that.

We also bought some tortillas from Costco, but after we've had the truly handmade Trader Joe's (Jose's) tortillas, it's hard to switch back. So I'm just snacking on the Costco ones when I can (27 more to go), but I use the handmade ones for Manny and Naomi. They don't mind, but I want to give them the best.

And one more thing--with the Target gift card I got from my in-laws (love love love them), I went and bought a bunch of small kitchen gadgets. I love them--tomato shark with melon baller, new can opener (ours was falling apart), french fry cutter (Manny's pick), strainer, cheese slicer, and a silicone brush. Yay!

stuff:

last night's 'lost' was disappointing. the preview was better than the episode itself. too bad. supposedly the next bomb will drop in a couple weeks (whichever one deals with sayid).

i was very impatient with my mom on the phone yesterday. i get so stressed out at everything she asks of me. i need to pray and break subconscious links to the past.

more naomi cuteness. these didn't make the original cut, but i'm posting them for manny and family. like most kids her age, she loves bubbles, and she likes to say "bye" to eveything. it's still cute, though.





and here she is imitating manny again. she asked me to put on her tool belt when she saw him working on something. a bit dark, sorry.

naomi, 22 months old:

Just a couple more months and Naomi will be 2! Thanks to all of you who have been following along since she was given to us to change our lives in a wonderful way.

T.T.: She's as vivacious as ever. Her tantrums can get quite outrageous. The other night, I had to wash my hands instead of playing with her right away, and she ran into the bathroom to scream and bawl. When Manny went to check on her, she pushed him out with the door and said, "No!" and went back to her despair. Then once in a while (this was a long session), she'd open the door slightly and look out with one eye to see if we saw her. If we were looking, she went back to burying her face in her hands and crying out. Again, Manny went to her, and again she pushed him out. Oh boy, we have a teenage drama queen who isn't even 2. :) Finally when she was good and ready, she came out and cried, "Mommy" and gave me a hug. Whew. She hasn't bitten anyone else (lately), but she bites herself out of frustration which worries me a little.

Reflux: In the last month, Naomi's eating has improved a lot, especially that she is not constantly choking or vomiting anymore. Swallowing is still tough sometimes. I found that giving her a large portion rather than small portions helps. She likes to bite and then chew, as opposed to inhaling smaller pieces. It's one more thing I've found that is contrary to what I was told, but I'm just happy to have found a solution. She's still petite, but her appetite seems to have doubled in the past few weeks.

Words: She says a lot of words and some sentences, but it's still babbling half the time. She calls us Mami and Papi now. We never taught her that, but that's what she likes to say. She also likes to say "thank you" on her own (actually, she likes to do everything on her own, it seems). I didn't really enforce it because I figured she didn't understand the concept, but I think she got it just from watching us interact with each other. Example is more effective than direct command. Well, except when you're teaching them to talk--you have to talk directly to your kids. Example is more important, I guess I should say.

P.T.: Naomi has had a number of accidents. She shows a lot of willingness for potty training, but I think we need a break for a few months. She wants to go right next to the toilet and not in it, then tear and throw the toilet paper directly into the toilet (i.e., without wiping anything). Haha. I don't want to force the issue, and I am just grossed out by the clean-up, plus I hear that summer is the best time to do it.

Class: She did pretty well in the Sunday toddler class this past week. I think as long as I'm not teaching, she is okay. We almost didn't want to pick her up; she was laughing and touching her toes when we showed up. The class is for 2- and 3-year-olds, but she hasn't been able to hang out with the babies since several months ago.

Play: She's all about imaginative play right now. When I was young, and even in high school, a number of teachers and my parents said my imagination was too wild. I constantly stifled it, and now I sort of miss having that creativity. So if she wants the bath toy storage to be a food dispenser (see video) so be it! If she wants to pour tea for a rubber spider, more power to her! As long as there's supervision so she's not totally off base, I think it's great.


Loves soup (chicken broth, pasta, and broccoli, which she has to separate out on her tray) and Costco samples.

Loves to run back and forth or in circles while screaming and then slam into things, at all hours, but more so at night. I think this is a byproduct of colic.


A game she made up--the yummy or sometimes yucky food dispenser that is actually the back of her bath toy holder. I don't believe she's ever seen a dispenser. When it's yucky, she wipes her mouth and says, "blagch!"


This is a little long, but Naomi expressions are so funny (on the phone with Grandma).

anniversary weekend:

Happy Chinese New Year! Happy Lincoln and Washington's Birthdays! And happy 7-year anniversary to my dear husband Manny! Oh, and Naomi turns 22 months!

I thank God everyday for my husband, for how he sacrifices so much to provide for our family, for how he comes home to give the last of his energy to us without so much as a complaint, for how he embraces the charge to lead me wisely in the Lord, for his seemingly built-in smile, for his forgiving and humble heart, and for all the little things (how he always cracks me up and even laughs at my jokes, how excited he is about having a family, how he loves to do his research, and how he tells me about his thoughts). I really love what our marriage has blossomed and matured into, through the hills and valleys. And hopefully there will be many many more years to come! Edit: Forgot to mention how he is not just supportive he is of my interests, but enthusiastic about them!

Birthday, Valentine's, Anniversary, all in one month. I keep telling Manny it's fine by me to just celebrate once, but he insists on celebrating all three. So I got cheesecake for my birthday, Persian cuisine for v-day, and BJ Brewery's for our anniversary. And the craziest thing of all--Manny bought me a laptop! Wow! I was so surprised! We are on a tight budget. He said he wanted me to understand that he took my daily activities, particularly medical transcription practices, seriously. Yeah, I guess it takes quite a bit of time and concentration to understand and type out a mumbled phrase like "petroclival cerebellopontine angle presumed meningioma." The hardest part was actually being able to sit at the computer for any length of time. (P.S. I've completed my remedial work at last) So as soon as I transfer some files and install some software, and Manny sets up the wireless network between the two computers, I should be able to finally gain some much-needed time! So happy! What a husband!


At Chelokababi having Persian lamb kabobs, filet mignon kabobs, and rose-flavored dessert.


Naomi hamming it up at BJ's.

larissa:

Naomi trying to imitate Larissa. Later, she kept telling Larissa to lie back down.


At Max's (is it now Maxim's?) for lunch. I had the chicken muffaletta (yummy), and Larissa had the albacore tuna salad sandwich (double yummy).


Naomi reclining and enjoying her raisin bread. Naomi was pretty well-behaved throughout our lunch and our day. Wow!

a lost chance:

Larissa and I were talking about how this past Wednesday's 'Lost' was the best of the season (and, quite honestly, the best of the last two seasons), but the ratings were the poorest for the show ever. Too bad, I hope 'Heroes' takesa cue, but that show seems to be slowing down as well...

the love continues:

Larissa flew in this morning. We had a great time just hanging out at home and then having lunch at Max's. Unfortunately, my temporary crown cracked last night, so I had to take her to my dentist this afternoon. And we had planned for her to watch Naomi because Manny had work. I'm such a lame host, taking her to the dentist! But Naomi usually naps 45 minutes and it happened to be the time I was at the dentist. Thank you, God! Then we took Naomi to the park before heading back for dessert and more chat-chat. Camera's downstairs; pictures next time.

I received birthday cards from my best friend and my in-laws on Thursday. There was so much love inside those cards, I really felt special. What a nice suprise. And my in-laws got me a gift card for Target (my fave place to shop). :) They got me a gift card at Christmas, but I spent most of it on Naomi. It's hard not to buy things for her sometimes. Especially when she's old enough to throw things in the cart. :) Nah, she's not spoiled.

I made some heart-shaped cookies and purchased some clothes for Manny. I've never been a very creative romantic. Or even just a romantic. Good thing he's romantic enough for the both of us. :) Do you know that I'm actually the one that has to think for a minute about how long we've been married? Well, it'll be 7 years on Monday. Woo-hoo!

template upgrade:

Well, I wasn't going to do it any time soon (mainly because I'd lose Haloscan capabilities), but some of the comments are going to Haloscan and others to Blogger, so I'm upgrading the whole thing. Now it should be easier to navigate. You can find older posts at the bottom, labels and a more organized archive to the right. :)

chuck e. cheesy love day:

Thank you, cyn, for the lovely hedgie valentine!


Grandma sent a Valentine's outfit for Naomi. She wore it to church to wish Josiah everyone a happy love day. She also went to grab her Elmo valentine mailbox, also from Grandma, to complete her look. :)

We went out last night for Valentine's. It was a romantic dinner for three at...Chuck E. Cheese's! I'm not kidding. And it was so much fun. At first when Manny said we were going out, I was a bit stressed because we're getting over a cold, and it's tough to manage Naomi at a nice restaurant. I don't want to ruin anyone else's dining experience either. Then we pulled up to CEC's. Yes!

I didn't go to CEC at all as a kid (though, believe me, I did beg OFTEN). So it's a big deal to me now. They had a toddler zone, complete with a slide and play phone for Naomi. Also a small carousel. She waited a while at the animatronic Chuck for a greeting, but gave up. Maybe she realized there wouldn't be a hug involved like with Mickey. It was tough for her at first when it was time to go, but we got a small rubber spider with our 10 game tickets for her. She said, "zhi-zhu!" (spider in Mandarin) and was satisfied enough to go.













A Valentine's Day blizzard has struck the city where my friend Cecille is living. I can't wait til she comes home to Cali (possibly in May). I miss her lots. Please keep her and others affected bythe storm in your thoughts and prayers.

thank you, mare (again!):

Wow, I feel the love. Thanks to mare for the gift--it's a beautiful fancy paper kit with a mini album, ribbons, flowers, pretty paper and tags (in fashion colors), and a transparency. I saw it on her site and was coveting a bit as always, and now I have it in my possession. I always love scrappy gifts! Thank you for your kindness! Can't wait to start making cards...


Yay! I rarely make an appearance in my photos, but I'll come out of my cave to greet you with a thank you!


A photo ripped from mare's page.

quick tv and movie comments:

I can't believe I'm still going to give 'Lost' a chance after so much disappointment. What can I say? I'm too curious. And I'm lured in by the most recent episode, which made up for the previous useless six episodes. I have to record it, though. It's just on too late. But it's nice to be able to fast-forward. Finally they are answering questions now that they've lost so many viewers. Oh well.

Saw Invincible and W_rld Tr_de Center (trying not to lure those webcrawlers). Liked them both. I tend to like true stories, even loosely-based ones. Kind of off-season, but I guess if I'm okay with watching Christmas movies in the middle of summer, this isn't a stretch. The first movie was pretty clean, maybe to reflect the 70s. I think I only heard one "hell" in there, and that was it. I had honestly no idea about the story told in the second film (by the way, that marine was supposed to be black, not white). I was really glad I saw that.

baby shower:

Elizabeth's baby shower tea was on Saturday. I still had my cold, but I was asked to provide tea, so I decided to go. (Manny drove me, and it was pretty far away, and he took Naomi out--love him!) I tried to keep my germs to myself, especially with three expectant moms present. But then the game was a social one--you had to go around and find out who appeared in People magazine, who was a body builder in college, who was a gymnast, etc. I was surprised that I actually won! And I found out some interesting facts about ladies I've known for years! As usual, I was the one who brought the non-ooh-ahh gift. I like to get people what they registered for that is practical. Plus diapers or detergent or something. I feel so lame when my gift gets a blah reaction (why didn't I just do the group gift?!), but afterwards I'm alright about it, because I know they'll put it to use.

twenty+eleven:

Thanks so much for the birthday wishes! It means more to me than you know. I am actually super happy today, despite the rain (which means sensitive-to-stimuli Naomi doesn't sleep much and neither do we) and coming down with a cold. Manny had Naomi present me with roses. And he got me yummy Cheesecake Factory cheesecake last night, since he figured on Taiwan time I turned 31 at 5pm yesterday. :) Nice surprise for me.



My mom called as well, and I really enjoyed talking to her. My dad has no idea when my birthday is or how old I am. Actually my mom didn't know my age either. A birthday was just something our family didn't celebrate. When I became a Christian, I began sending birthday cards to my family. I had a new perspective on showing love, I guess.

So I've often forgotten my birthday. I got an email a couple days ago with the subject "upcoming birthday" and thought it was about Naomi's birthday. Haha. But you guys didn't let me forget this year. I love you, man. *sniff*

I totally love the idea of throwing birthday parties for my kids. Naomi's birthday is in two months. I've already picked out a theme (bubble party). I just love seeing that smile on her face! And boy, do bubbles make her smile.

birthday surprise:

So I got a package and card in the mail from dear jaycine for my birthday. I opened it a couple days early (well, actually, just one day early if you consider the fact that I was born in another country). So much generosity and thought went into this. It was also exactly what I was hoping for, even though I was trying to not get my hopes up. The play-by-play:

Wow! What's in the big box?!


Yaaaaayyyyy! Score! Just what I wanted! An original jaycine Chinese brush painting!


Uh-oh, I turned my back on Naomi to go hang up the artwork...


Will make a nice conversation piece in the dining room.


I feel so lame that I don't have much tangible talent or money to return the favor. Not to group you together, but webbie friends have been far too generous to us. All I can do is read sites and comment/email. But my gratitude is through the roof! Thanks so much, cyn! Hugs and kisses!!

gettin old:

So I've been trying to dance at home, but my back and my knees bother me a lot now. The outer flesh is indeed decaying. I guess I need to work out and get some strength. In the meantime, more dance for you, but it's Mari Martin and not me. Yes, she's pinay and almost 10 years younger than me...you will not see any videos of me anytime soon.



San Francisco workshops are just too hard for me to get to, even before I had Naomi. But one of the few times I made it up there was to meet and jam with Don Campbell, the man who created locking, my favorite dance style:



I guess I've seen him dance in his 50s, so I shouldn't give up. I know some of you didn't know I was so into dance. If I was better at it, maybe you would. haha. As long as I don't try to live it through my daughter...

nice weekend:

On Saturday, we were at Naomi's boyfriend's birthday fiesta from 11am to 3pm--Naomi definitely had some major play time. She napped and got up just in time for me to get ready to head out to Battlefest with my friend Christina. Naomi and Manny had a special evening together. She didn't fuss or cry for me at all. Whew! Sunday, I taught the toddlers about the 10 lepers and thankfulness, and we also went to the tail end of Damien & Janean's Superbowl party. Wow, we were wipped out. And we spent 2.5 hours at Josiah's again yesterday morning for another playdate plus I had a lot of errands to run. As I said, I work up quite a sweat taking Naomi anywhere these days. So now I've got a sore throat. Yuck.

Josiah 2nd Birthday Photos

Battlefest Video: lol My back is in this video (I'm wearing black--check 0:08). A few frames of this video are PG, not too bad--don't want to cause stumbling. The bigger lol is that we agreed to record ourselves for the DVD shouting, "We're here for Battlefest 360--woohoo!" Man, I'm a dork.

Battlefest experience--I liked it a little better than when Manny and I went four years ago, 1) because in 360 view you can't count on ginormous elaborate backdrops, and you have to focus more on pure dance, and 2) because locking, popping, and boogaloo (funk styles) are making their way back into the mainstream. Of course I really missed Manny and Naomi. Maybe in a few years...

Battlefest 360 Photos (these were through the Myspace page--great shots)


Christina and me with Ceech, in costume for his group's performance.


The venue.

Naomi also received a Valentine's package from the grandparents Hernandez. I loved the clothes, and she loved the cookies in an Elmo Valentine mailbox!

photo time:

Here are the January photos. Funny that I have more photos from February already than I did in January.

January 2007

who's on youtube:

Are any of you getting famous on YouTube? Let me know. Would love to see.

I've been helping my friend Larissa out a little with her website, Myspace, and other network pages (there seem to be a zillion out there). Show some love! Take a listen, or maybe even buy her latest album on Amazon or iTunes. She's a very talented singer/songwriter/TV personality, a gifted businesswoman, and an even better friend. Here's a live performance vid:



Here's a home video of buddy "DocLock" that made a list of ABC World News' most popular YouTube vids. He's not actually locking here as the title says. To see some locking, check his group's site under "videos." Yeah, he is actually old enough to be my dad--and no way I can pop or wave like that. Trust me, it's harder than it looks.



And last but not least is Ceech, who is going into the Battlefest Hall of Fame this weekend. I'm still trying to find someone to go with, at least to see him and his group, the DS Players. Manny and I went many moons ago. Might post a vid later if someone records their performance.

Oh, and there is a video involving me on YouTube, at least for a couple seconds (check white bandanna at 43 sec haha). Blink and miss. Turn down the volume if the music lyrics might bother you. And as Cynthia always says, no need to click on any of those referral vids at the end...

2006 scrapbook:

this one was much simpler. i got some cheap but pretty layout paper, cropped some photos, and slapped them on. took me just a few weeks to finish this one. the hardest part was having to omit certain events and pictures. 12x12 album from a 3-album set (9.99 at joann's). it's funny how scrapbooks can dress up one event and downplay another. either way, they're cool cuz they make it seem like you have a life. haha.

2006 Scrapbook