Simple thoughts...

2011-02-02T15:03:00.001-07:00

Evan will be 4 months in 5 days! Where does the time go?? Life with baby has been much more manageable. Evan has been going to bed every night around 7pm for the last two months. I hope this doesn't change! Naps are still a work in progress, but we're getting there!

Let's see what you're up to little guy!

You are:
*Probably between 14-15 lbs and over 23 inches long
*Eating 5-6 oz. of milk/formula 5 times a day
*Sleeping in your crib about 10-12 hours a night
*Reaching for things while on your back
*Reaching for your toes while lying down
*Wearing 3-6 month clothing
*Rolling from tummy to back (but not very consistently)
*VERY vocal! We hear lots of babbling, ooh's and ahh's, and gaaahhs
*Laughing and smiling at strangers and people who make funny faces at you!

We love you sweet boy and thank you so much for all the happiness you have brought to your Daddy and I. We are soaking up every second and trying to hold every moment of watching you grow close to our hearts. We thank God for you every day!

2010-12-31T09:41:00.001-07:00

Good-bye 2010, Hello 2011! 2010 has been a great year. It's hard to believe that just a little over a year ago, we packed up our stuff and trekked out to CO to start a new life. Along with owning a home and having a baby, we've officially entered the next chapter in life. In 2011, I'll continue to juggle time management with working from home (the company I used to work for in CA re-hired me as a contractor) and being a stay-at-home mom. I'll also be training for the Ft. Collins Half Marathon...we'll see how far I'll get with this. Ha! I'll also be witnessing when Evan reaches milestones...by this time next year, my 'lil boy will be running around on his two stubby legs. :)

2010-11-12T16:03:00.001-07:00

Feed, burp, change diaper, sleep, rinse and repeat.

This is what motherhood looks like the first few months. Everyone says it's hard work. Everyone tells you that you won't be able to get much sleep, but there is really no way to prepare for it until it happens. Motherhood is not easy, but it has been so rewarding. Evan is eating like a champ and growing like crazy. We went in for his 1-month check-up and he's gained 2 lbs and 14 oz! Unfortunately, my lil pumpkin seems to be super gassy after each feeding which leads to no sleep for baby or mom. O_o We tried putting gas drops in his formula today and it worked like a charm! He was able to go down peacefully this afternoon.

Score!

2010-10-22T14:11:00.000-06:00

Why, hello lil' pumpkin!

Long story short, my water broke at 9pm. I was admitted to the hospital around 10pm and those cRaZy contractions started not too long after. 2 hours later I was at 9cm and begging for the epidural. Epidural was administered and a few minutes later I was in heaven. By 12:30am I was fully dilated and ready to push. Pushing sucked. After a few hours and no progress, the doc came in and helped Evan out with forceps. Um yeah, I'm so glad I had that epidural! At 4:08am on Oct. 9, Evan Micah Cooper was born measuring 6lbs 1 oz, 19 inches long.

Recovery was tough the first few days, but it's been manageable thanks to pain meds and ice. Life at home with the baby has been one of the biggest learning curves ever. I think we've been pretty lucky considering that he's not a fussy baby and only cries when he's hungry or gassy. He just started smiling this week (not sure if they're due to gas or if it's a real smile) and it's so darn cute!! I have yet to catch his smile on camera.

I'm thankful that Jeff took care of all the diapers and bottles in the beginning so all I had to do was focus on breastfeeding. I'm thankful that my mom came for 2 weeks and fed us, showed me how to burp Evan and put him down for a good nights sleep. I thank God every day for giving us such a healthy son and giving me strength so I can finally hold him in my arms.

2010-09-27T11:59:00.000-06:00

I'm so sad that September is almost over. Where did this month go?! Jeff and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary on Thursday. It was super low key and wonderful. We ate at the Canyon Chop House in Old Town. I wish I had a camera so I could of taken pictures of the food! It was fabulous. All the ingredients used are locally grown and fresh. This place even managed to make onion rings and mashed potatoes look fancy on a plate. ;) It's a great place for celebrating special occasions.

It's beginning to feel more like Autumn here. The leaves are starting to change color -- mostly golds and yellows. It's really beautiful this time of year. We drove to the Rocky Mt. National Park with our friends, the Millers, on Saturday to see the elk bugling. It was a spectacular sight. I don't know why they call it bugling because it doesn't sound like a bugle at all. It sounded more like a high-pitched whistle.

I'll be 38 weeks along this week...I can't believe it. They say that the last month feels really long, but I feel that it's going by too fast! Only 2 more weeks until my due date!

How Far Along: 38 weeks

Total Weight Gain : I've lost count...

Maternity Clothes: Same 'ol maternity clothes that still fit. I LOVE my gaucho pants...they've been a life saver.

Stretch Marks: none!

Best Moment this Week : Celebrating our anniversary, going to RMNP, and getting THIS for my bday!

Movement : Lots of stretching and hiccuping

Food Cravings : None

Labor Signs : None other than BH contractions.

Belly Button Innie or Outtie : Innie :)

What are You Looking Forward to this Week : Possibly finding a way to feel more comfortable? hahaha. I honestly don't know if there is anything else to look forward to other than having this little guy come out. I'm so swollen, tired, and cranky. I'm so over feeling like a turtle on its back when I have to get up to pee every night. :P

2010-09-08T16:05:00.000-06:00

One of the things I really miss about California are the farmer's markets. We have farmer's markets here but the variety of produce are pretty slim year round. HOWEVER, I have to say that CO peaches are probably the best peaches I have ever tasted (Sorry, CA). I was also pleasantly surprised by a vegetable stand that sold pretty much every veggie needed. They also let you stuff a plastic bag full of whatever veggies you wanted for just $7! Score!

We're in the first week of September and the weather has been wonderful. I'm can't wait for Autumn to arrive. I'm so ready for pumpkin pies, colorful leaves, and the crisp, cool air.

2010-09-04T12:16:00.002-06:00

As you can see from the comparison pic, the baby has grown a lot! Only 5 more weeks left!

How Far Along: 35 weeks

Total Weight Gain : A lot...

Maternity Clothes: Whatever I can find that still fits. Bottoms are all maternity and I'm scrounging for tops that aren't too short. I can't wait for the weather to cool so that I can just throw on some sweats and a baggy sweatshirt!

Stretch Marks: none, but I noticed some bursted blood vessels on the left side of my belly. :-/

Best Moment this Week : I've had a burst of energy -- enough to go walking 3-4 times this week!

Movement : Lots of rolling around and hiccuping.

Food Cravings : Not so much this week.

Labor Signs : Braxon Hicks are getting much more intense. Every time I contract, I can feel my uterus pushing against my rib cage and down near my pelvic area. It makes it hard to breathe. It's quite uncomfortable.

Belly Button Innie or Outtie : Innie :)

What are You Looking Forward to this Week : The weather cooling... :) I'm getting tired of these 90-degree days!

2010-08-29T14:19:00.003-06:00

The month of August has been a busy one! We had a handful of visitors stay with us over the last few weeks. My brother and sister came to visit, Jeff's friend also came out for the weekend, and Jeff's dad, step-mom and stepbrother were just here this past week. Having visitors means lots of site-seeing and eating out. Two things I love. I don't have any pics from when my brother and sister were here... I know, I'm lame. But I have a few to share from Jeff's family (photos courtesy of Jeff's dad). :)

16th St. Mall, Downtown Denver


Jeff and me walking down 16th St. Mall in Downtown Denver

Coors Field

Jeff's dad and stepbrother


Poudre Canyon

The Coopers @ Poudre Canyon


Jeff standing near one of the major rapids

Jeff's dad and Cathy at Horsetooth Reservoir

Pearl St. in Boulder

Starting tomorrow, Jeff will have to go back to work and it'll be back to real life *boo*. We have 6 weeks left to prepare for the baby and I don't have a single "nesting" bone in my body. Hopefully it'll kick in as time grows closer.

2010-08-09T13:52:00.005-06:00

Jeff and I left on Friday afternoon for Mt. Rushmore. We stayed in Custer, SD. It's a cute 'lil town surrounded by pine trees. We happened to go on the same weekend as the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. I've never seen so many bikers in my life! Here are some pics of the trip.

Hmm...not much to see in the north part of CO...

First time in Wyoming!

This was the storm that we ended up driving into 20 minutes later....

...and we couldn't see a thing! I have never driven through a storm this big. We kept driving in and out of storms for the remainder of the drive. Every time we'd get out of one storm, our GPS would have us make a turn that lead us straight to another storm. It wasn't fun driving through all the hard rain and hail, but it made time go by fast since there were bucket loads of lightening to look at. :)

Oh. My. God. OHMYGOD! It's a DOUBLE RAINBOW!!!!! What does it mean?!?!?!?! *starts crying*

Dinner stop at a town called "Lusk." Good 'ol Subway to the rescue. :)

Our hotel in Custer.

All ready to go!

Entering Custer State Park....lots of roaming buffalo :)

Is that a DONKEY?!

Hello there! These guys pretty much knew how to get food. If a car window was open, they'd get fed. If not, they'd just walk on by to the next car.

Lookie -- our bellies match!

This is a shot of Wildlife Loop. It kind of reminded me of the rolling hills in CA...minus the haystacks and Western-themed campgrounds. ;)

We stopped back in Custer for lunch. Here's Jeff waiting for his food.

You can't pass an ice cream & pie shop that looks likes this and not go in. I got cinnamon-apple ice cream and it was SO good. I ate it all before remembering to take a pic of it. :P After ice cream we headed back to Custer State Park to see the scenery on Needles Hwy and Iron Mt. Road.

There are all sorts of rock formations on Needles Hwy. This particular rock is where the name came from.

Tunnel carved in the mountain...

This photo is one of the pigtail bridges on Iron Mt. Road.

Mt. Rushmore!

Sculpture has always been fascinating to me. I really can't wrap my mind around the process of creating something from a block of stone. It amazes me that someone could design and engineer a 60-ft tall sculpture on the side of a massive mountain. We've all seen this monument in books and in movies but it really is a site to see in person.

We walked the "Presidential Trail," which would of been nice if 1) I wasn't pregnant and had to lug around extra weight. 2) If it weren't so darn HOT. The sun was not my friend that day. 3) If I could breathe a bit better. Seriously, my lungs are slowly running out of room and I feel like I can't get enough air. Climbing up these stairs made me feel like I was suffocating. Not fun. 4) I didn't have the third-trimester sleepies. I felt really jet-lagged and tired.

Afterwards, we headed into Keystone for dinner (not recommended during the Sturgis Rally). Bikers...everywhere. Jeff and I felt really out of place. I think we were the only ones in town that didn't own a bike. The restaurants were overpriced and sketchy. We ended up driving to Rapid City for dinner. After dinner, we drove back to Mt. Rushmore to see the lighting ceremony.

I have to admit, the lighting ceremony was a little anti-climatic. It took a few minutes to sloooowwwly light up the mountain. And that was it. The presenter chatted for a good 15 minutes, giving us all sorts of presidential trivia. I really needed to brush up on my U.S. History.

The next day we headed out to Jewel Cave National Monument. We opted out of going on the 1 hr. 20 min. tour mainly because there were no bathroom breaks on the tour. Damn you, bladder!!! It really bummed me out. Instead we took the "Discovery Tour" which essentially is the kiddie tour in my opinion. We went down an elevator, stood in a room while the guide told us a little bit about the cave for 20 minutes, and then returned back up. I guess it was a good thing we did the 20-min tour cuz Jeff forgot to bring a jacket and it was 49 degrees F down there. He would of froze if we went on the longer tour.

And that concludes our trip. We headed back home after visiting the cave. I would love to go back and visit the Black Hills area again (maybe when the kiddo is older). I'd love to hike a few trails and do more exploring in the caves. It's a good thing that it's only 5 hours away. :)

Oh, I forgot to mention this random bit. On our way to Custer, we saw someone pull over and take a picture of the city limit sign for Lost Springs. We thought it was a little odd that someone would take a photo of it, but later on we found out why. It said:

2010-07-31T15:42:00.000-06:00

More nursery pics for your enjoyment. :)

2010-07-29T10:30:00.001-06:00

The nursery is almost done! Hooray! We had all the furniture delivered a few weeks ago and there was no hesitation with getting the room set up. We still have a few things to get (like a mattress for the crib) and still need to put up more wall art, but it's pretty much complete. I went in for my 28-week appointment and the Dr. wanted us to get another u/s to check on how things were progressing.

It's pretty amazing to see how much he's filled out since our last ultrasound. The kicks and rolls have gotten stronger each week. He also hiccups quite a few times a day. He's had his foot wedged into my side for weeks now. Sometimes I can see it stick out and I have to admit, it kind of freaks me out. haha.

Other news... Jeff and I are going on a roadtrip to Mt. Rushmore next weekend! We found out that it's only 5 hours away so we're taking the opportunity to explore. Hope my bladder holds out long enough to make the drive bearable for Jeff. ;)

2010-07-12T11:19:00.000-06:00

Holy cow.

Only 3 more months left before our little one arrives (93 days!) I'm finally at a point where people notice that I'm pregnant and don't have to question whether or not I have a really big gut. :P 2nd trimester has definitely been a "honeymoon" period of pregnancy. No sickness, energy levels are back, appetite is back to normal and no food aversions! Hooray!

How Far Along: 27 weeks!

Total Weight Gain : So far it's around 13-14 lbs. I've been consistently gaining about 1 lb a week, which is ideal, but not fun when I try on clothes week after week and realize that I can't wear them anymore! My wardrobe is getting smaller and smaller by the week!

Maternity Clothes: bottoms are all maternity and skirts and tops are all still pre-pregnancy.

Stretch Marks: none so far...

Best Moment this Week : Getting new carpet installed so we can finally buy all our baby furniture and get the nursery set up.

Movement : Lots! I felt him do some type of somersault move this morning and saw my stomach warping. So weird. He loves to kick and move around 3-5am (which isn't fun if I'm trying to fall back asleep) and is really active at night. I haven't had the pleasure of feeling him kick my ribs or kick me down really low and I hope it stays that way!

Food Cravings : Fresh fruit (if that even counts as a craving, ha!)

Labor Signs : My braxton hicks contractions are picking up a bit but, they are still under the 6/ hour threshold which is good. They're getting more frequent as the weeks go by.

Belly Button Innie or Outtie : Still very much an innie. I don't think it's going to pop any time soon...or at all!

What are You Looking Forward to this Week : Getting the carpet in!

2010-05-26T20:32:00.001-06:00

We're having a BOY! I could post a sonogram of his boy parts, but I'm sure the little dood wouldn't appreciate me showing his privates to the entire world. He was wiggling away like crazy. Touching his toes, swallowing, putting his feet over his head (see pic below), etc.

It was so adorable. We were able to see the 4 chambers of his heart, all parts of his brain, his spine, kidneys, stomach and his tiny little bladder. What a blessing!

2010-04-26T20:11:00.003-06:00

I've noticed a few weeks ago that most of my pants were getting a little snug, so I went and got a BeBand. It's basically a huge elastic band that holds up your unbuttoned pants. It's supposed to be a good transition when someone is too small to wear maternity pants and has outgrown pre-pregnancy pants. Why did I not get one of these before? I could of used one every time I'd go to Fresh Choice or Sweet Tomatoes. Baby or no baby. :) Seriously, I'm keeping this thing post-pregnancy. Greatest. Invention. Ever.

In addition to getting a BeBand, we've ordered a pregnancy pillow called a "Snoogle." It's probably the most ridiculous looking pillow I've ever seen but pregnant woman swear by it, so hopefully it'll help with the comfort of sleeping on my side. But really, knowing me, I'll probably pull something trying to get in it. =P

I've also been sleeping 10-12 hours a night on top of multiple naps throughout the day. Sometimes I feel like I outsleep the cat! I never thought getting too much sleep would be a bad thing, but I can't go out and do anything without dozing off. There are also some days when I'm too tired to get up and eat, but if I wait too long I get nauseous. The combination of feeling drugged and feeling sick is a little poopy. :( I just have to remind myself that all this is due to a healthy, growing baby.

Oh, the joys of pregnancy... :)

2010-04-19T11:06:00.001-06:00

So, we are officially homeowners...with a never-ending list of "to dos." (And it's slowly chipping away at our savings, at that!)

1. ~~Get all 3 showers/bathtubs re-caulked/grouted~~. Check!

2. Get parts of the root fixed -- our roof is actually in pretty good condition, but we had a roof guy come out and he suggested fixing some potential problem areas.

3. Get leak in the guest bathroom fixed.

4. ~~Air-conditioning/heater serviced~~ Check!

5. Need to re-grout kitchen tiles and granite countertops.

6. Re-caulk the siding of the house and cracks in the pavement.

7. NEW CARPET -- The carpet is rough and shaggy and hasn't been changed in 8 years. Plus the previous family had 2 dogs, so I find unwanted dog hair everywhere.

Also, our cat had a little trouble adjusting to the new home. The first night we had placed the litterbox in the laundry room, but the washing machine freaked her out and she ended up doing her business in one of the empty bedrooms. So we moved her litterbox in the bathroom, which has worked out pretty well... until last night. For some reason she's been plowing through her daily amt. of food and was already begging for more around dinner time. We ignored her pleas and in turn she decided to cop an attitude and peed right in front of Jeff in the same empty bedroom. PUNK! So, I figure I rather have a fat cat than a stinky house. We don't plan on leaving her bowl empty. Ever.

8. Re-paint the porch before HOA has a fit.

9. Buy a lawnmower and gardening gear. Also need a book on how to keep green things alive... :P

10. Furniture.

A table for the dining room...

...and sofa for the living room

We also have 2 empty bedrooms upstairs but one of the rooms will be turned into a nursery; that's a project won't start for another few months.

On the plus side, our neighbors are SUPER friendly. Within the first few days of moving in, we were invited to the weekly block fire-pit. It was a lot of fun. There were about 6-7 families there (and a ton of kids). We brought our camp chairs, circled around the fire pit and roasted s'mores. Unfortunately, I accidentally inhaled some smoke, which caused me to cough and it triggered the "morning sickness." I puked all over myself and on our neighbor's driveway. Smooth, Amy...real smooth. What a way to meet the neighbors. Lucky for me, everyone was really understanding and sweet about it. We have another fire pit night on Friday. I'm bringing a barf bag with me this time. :P

But all in all, it's finally nice to be in a neighborhood and have neighbors who actually TALK to you. Yay for friendly people! :)

2010-04-02T12:04:00.000-06:00

Yup, there is a little baby Cooper on the way! We got back from our 12 week ultrasound and saw the baby wiggling and kicking his/her little feet. It is amazing how much develops over a few weeks! Hearing the heartbeat has become my new favorite sound.

Being pregnant hasn't been all puppies and rainbows. Between the morning sickness, insomnia, constant eating, and massive headaches, it's a miracle that I'm still sane. Hormones are scary. They can turn you into a crazy person. However, it's a very exciting time for the both of us and we've been extremely blessed.

2010-03-17T14:35:00.000-06:00

Jeff and I are closing on our first home 2 weeks from today (pics will come soon)! It's a lovely 4 bdrm home, painted light blue with white trim. :) It seems like forever since we've made our offer. Dear March 31, please come quickly! Thanks, Amy.

2010-01-19T11:37:00.031-07:00

I did not want to wake up this morning. As a result of drinking 2 cups of low-caffeinated tea last night, my mind was flung into a space of words and images keeping me up til 3 a.m. Amazing how my brain can be so sneaky. It tells me that I should sleep, yet it spits out random melodies and images. They play like a broken record...repeating over and over again...

However, I am thankful that there is sunshine filtering through my windows, keeping the apartment warm. There is nothing like a little sun to brighten your day. My spirits are already lifted.

I hope you are also keeping warm and dry through this Winter Season.

2010-01-18T23:28:00.001-07:00

Reunited love.

Hello, Mr. Sketchbook. It's been a while... :)

2010-01-18T20:30:00.012-07:00

I am not the great “I am,” but by the grace of God, I am what I am.

-- Exod. 3:14; John 8:24, 28, 58; 1 Cor. 15:10

2010-01-02T14:12:00.001-07:00

Today was a typical lazy Saturday. I woke up, watched a few re-runs of 90210, did a sudoku puzzle, and walked over to the grocery store to get some ingredients to make some chinese scallion pancakes for lunch. They turned out really good. It brought me back to eating at hole-in-the-wall dumpling places in Calif. I served them with a soy-vinegar-chili sauce. Mmmm...thank you William-Somona cookbook. What a great way to start the new year. :)

2009-12-16T15:41:00.001-07:00

We've been in Ft. Collins for 3 1/2 weeks now and life is good. So far my life has revolved around weekly trips to the library and checking out every Jodi Picoult book, watching hours and hours of korean soap operas (have to say that i am truly amazed how those actresses can shed tears every episode and not have red eyes or a puffy nose), making home-cooked meals (thanks to martha stewart), and baking lots and lots of cookies.

Job hunting continues but doesn't look promising. However, I will not lose faith. Whether it be working at a bookshop, volunteering, painting -- the possibilities are endless. But for now, I will curl up on the couch and enjoy this moment to read a good book. :)

2009-09-08T15:01:00.001-06:00

**** News Flash ****
We're moving to Fort Collins, CO!

Hopefully I'll make more use of this blog now that I'll be away. *sniff sniff* Stay tuned.

2009-04-28T11:27:00.001-06:00

2009-03-31T10:03:00.000-06:00

Did you know?

2009-03-24T11:13:00.000-06:00

http://villageofjoy.com/50-strange-buildings-of-the-world/

2009-02-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

Week 6: Winter scenes

Week 5: Cast shadows - hum.. not much of a cast shadow on my candy since we had natural light and the classroom lights in the room, but it was good practice for painting wrappers :)

2009-02-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

Out of all the places to sit, my cat decides to do so on a top of a 5" wide scratching post.

2009-02-05T20:55:00.001-07:00

I never thought I'd have so much fun painting flowers. All the layers and shading make it a bit challenging, but i think that's what makes it so much fun. :)

2009-02-04T10:59:00.001-07:00

I just bought my very first anti-aging wrinkle cream... *sigh* I hate getting old. >:(

2009-01-30T22:30:00.001-07:00

Watercolor is interesting. It forces me to be patient because I have to wait for each layer to dry before applying another (and because of this, I am truly thankful for blow dyers. :) ) It also forces me to plan my whole composition ahead of time ... something that I am not used to – I tend to be spontaneous – so at times it can be quite frustrating. But it's slowly growing on me...the more time I spend painting, the more I'm enjoying these paints. I'm still not completely happy with what I've created so far, but then again, when are artists ever happy with their end piece? Isn't that why we start a new painting? Anywhos, here's a glimps of what I've been learning so far...

Week 1: Landscapes

Week 2: Trees

Um.. that's it so far. :) We're learning how to paint flowers next week. Stay tuned...

2009-01-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year!! :) I cannot believe January is almost over. It has been a busy, busy start to the new year and I hope it'll slow down soon so I can breathe. So let's catch up on what's been happening in the world of Amy...

I decided it'd be fun to take some art classes so I signed up for a watercolor class... I am loving it! I forget how it feels like to be a student... meeting new people and learning new things. I've always been fascinated with how watercolor paintings look, especially the colors. I miss creating tangible art, like feeling the paper, holding the paintbrushes, etc. It makes me want to be an art student forever. hehe.

Another item that has been filling up time has been house hunting. Jeff and I decided last year that we would start looking for a home to settle into...needless to say... it's been tiring and a bit depressing. Granted we've only been searching for 3 weeks, I guess the impatient part of me tends to take over. So we've been scouting out the homes in the area -- some were nice, some needed a ton of love and care. hehe. Just recently we've decided to put the hunt on hold...until we get a better idea of our job security. We'll see how things go as time passes...

It's been a crazy month...

2008-11-10T10:19:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I spent the weekend in Monterey to run the Big Sur half marathon. This is my 3rd year running this race and I feel like it gets harder and harder each year. It's probably because of the proper training that lessens as each year goes by. The good news is, I think my body has finally adjusted to the endurance because recovery only takes about a day now, instead of a week..and I no longer have post-race headaches. ;) We drove down on Saturday afternoon to go to the Expo to pick up my packet. Expos are always fun because I get to see all the other enthusiastic runners and there is always free "goodies" being handed out. Not to mention all the vendors selling about every running gear you can imagine. It's like a kid in a toy store for runners. From the hi-tech running watches and ergonomic shoes to the "heart-healthy teas" and high-performance energy bars. It took a lot of willpower for me to walk away from it all. ;)

Unfortunately, the weather didn't look promising. It rained and poured all day Saturday. Jeff and I got up at 6 am Sunday morning. I looked out the window to see the sky was dark and gloomy. I got dressed, grabbed my ipod, watch, and jacket and headed out to the start line. It started raining the minute the gun went off. Luckily, it only lasted a few minutes. The race started out slow. I never remembered the race being so crowded! It was difficult to get by all the runners without rudely cutting them off. By mile 1, my time was 10:45. Not good. This meant I was already almost 2 minutes behind schedule. I had a lot of catching up to do. The course had some slight hills. We ran through downtown Monterey, to Cannery Row, to downtown Pacific Grove, and finally, along the coast. The stretch along the coast is my favorite part of the race. By mile 5, I could hear the other races cheering and I saw the Kenyan racers on the other side of the road, already close to finishing. It is amazing to see how fast they run. While most of us aren't even half way done, they're already almost at the finish line. By mile 7 I was at 1:00:00. Not bad, I was able to catch up to average 8.5min/mi. I was feeling pretty good at that point, my legs were relaxed and my breathing was consistent. By mile 11, I could feel my legs tightening and I was loosing support in my left ankle. I wanted so bad to stop and walk but I knew if I stopped I wouldn't be able to start up again. Only 2.1 miles to go. The rest of the race was kind of a blur. All I could focus on was the finish line. My time was 1:48:44. 3 minutes away from my PR. My body felt beaten and my legs were fatigued and I was so thankful that it was over.

We met my sister and her friends at Cannery Row. I treated myself to my post-run coffee. We headed down to Cannery Row for some window shopping and had lunch at Bubba Gump. :) After lunch, Jeff and I hit the road and headed home. This is my last race of the year. woohoo! It feels good to finish. :)

2008-11-04T23:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!!!

2008-08-28T14:03:00.000-06:00

I woke up with a start to the dreadful sound of my alarm clock thinking "it can't possibly be 5 am already". We arrived at Toulumne Meadows close to midnight the night before - exhausted and tired from the drive up. Unfortunately, for most of us, a restful sleep never camel; it often takes a while to adjust to the air and surroundings the first night. It also didn't help that the campsite next to us didn't get in til around 2 am. Before we knew it, it was time to get up and we a 2 hour drive down to Yosemite Valley to start our adventurous hike. The sky was still dark as we stumbled around getting ready. By the time it was 5:30, we could see the sun peak from the mountains and the sky began to lighten. We left the campsite at 6:00 am and got our first view of Yosemite's majestic mountains. The view was magnificent.

We started at the trailhead at Happy Isles by 8:00 am. The air was relatively cool, but when the sun came out it was certain that the cool weather wasn't going to stick around...

We could see Half Dome within the first mile of our hike. We took the John Muir trail (the "easy" longer route). Within the first 3 miles, we found ourselves fighting gravity and taking in as much air as possible as we trekked uphill.
We got a great view of Vernal Falls on the way up. Luckily there trail was shaded, and the trail ended up flattening out as we reached Little Yosemite campground. We trudged along the dusty, sandy trails and continued to climb upward. I wish I had a giant leaf blower to blast all the sand away from the trails. It was a grueling hike on the way up, but the sand turned out to be nice cushion for our knees on our way back down.

At mile 6 we approached an area where we could see Half Dome and the tiny ant trail of people climbing the cables (you can see Half Dome in the background). The air was getting thin and it was getting hard to breathe. The trail was also getting significantly steeper. We had been hiking for 3 hours. We were almost there! Only 2 miles to go...

We encountered the last bit of the hike: the awful rock climb. It took about every ounce of energy to climb each step... and the it felt like we'd never reach the top. I stopped to rest midway and took a picture of the top...We were only about half a mile away from the base of the cables. Others around me were huffing, puffing, and swearing at each step of the way.

Here's a view looking down from the climb.

As we approached the the base, we could see what waited ahead of us - a 400 ft climb to the top.

Pile of gloves left by previous climbers.

Up we go!
I've read from previous hikers to avoid the cable lines, but in my case, I was thankful that there were people there with me. Had it not been for the encouragement from guy in front of me and Jenn behind me, I probably would of turned around and gone back down. Half way through I made the mistake of looking up and the distance loomed before me. A wave of fear went through me as my mind was saying "No way, you're arms can't possibly have enough strength to pull you through this." I don't know if it was some type of survivor instinct that kicked in, but I shook the thoughts away and blindly scrambled up the cables as quickly as I could before my mind could convince me to do otherwise.

It took about 45 minutes to get up to the top, but the view was well worth it.

Here's a shot of the crazies sitting on the edge. After about 20 minutes of taking in the view and resting, we decided to head back down. The descent was much easier. It helped that a little redhead tweener was in front of me, yakking nonstop - which made me temporarily forget about tumbling to my death. I also noticed that she had Chuck Taylors on... which made me think, okay, if this girl can do this wearing a pair of Converse, I might have a shot getting down with my trusty hiking boots. Using my weight, I simply slid down the cables with my gloves and was down at the base within 15 minutes. I nearly kissed the ground.

As we were resting, we heard a rustling sound nearby. Someone had left their backpack under the rocks and a lucky squirrel was having a field day. It was in there for a good 45 minutes before the owner returned and found the bottom of her pack full of holes and the remains of trail mix spilling out. Those Yosemite squirrels are crazy!

The 7 mile descent was much easier than climbing up, but it still had its challenges. We were running low on water. We started the hike with close to 8 liters and we were down to 1 liter by the time we started our descent. The descent was also extremely hard on the knees. We decided to take the steep Mist Trail back, and in retrospect, I'm thankful we didn't decide to take that trail on the way up! We reached the car around 8:30 pm and looked forward to the meal waiting for us at the campsite. The car ride back seemed like eternity. We finally reached the campsite at 10:30, starving, fatigued, and exhausted. After a quick meal, we changed into warm clothes, climbed into our sleeping bags for a well deserved good nights sleep.

In the end, I'm thankful for the experience. I can't promise this will be something I will venture again. Despite the psychical hardship, I was able to witness some of God's incredible creation and will be something I will never forget.

2008-08-25T17:26:00.000-06:00

I participated in the "Jungle Run" half marathon a few months ago (haha sorry, i know I'm behind on posting). The race started bright and early at 7 am. I dozed off around 3:30 am the night before and slept through my alarm. I woke up at 6:40 and went directly into panic mode. I made a record speed of getting dressed and driving to downtown Los Gatos in 20 minutes *not bad, eh?*. I heard the gun go off as I weaved my way through the crowd to get to the start line. I'm not sure why they call this the "Jungle Run," as there aren't really any areas of the race that represent a jungle, aside from the people dressed up as Tarzan (there was a woman wearing a leopard print top and a grass skirt and carried palm frawns as she ran). The race went pretty smooth and was over before I knew it. We started from Los Gatos High School and ran down Winchester, looped around to Los Gatos Creek Trail and ended back at the school. With only 3 hours of sleep I had to give myself a pat on the back for finishing. I took this race at a relatively easy pace (avg 9 min/mi). My time was 1:56:42. I hope to improve by the time San Jose Half rolls around, but we'll see how motivated I get. :)

2008-08-25T16:45:00.000-06:00

Aug. 16, 2008
Congratulations to Jenn and Kevin!
Much love to you both :)

2008-06-05T14:06:00.000-06:00

I survived my first festival!! For those of you who don't know, my company puts on two annual 3-day Christian festivals each year (one in Del Mar and the other in Monterey). It was great to witness the festival come together after all the months of preparation. It was quite rewarding. :) When we first stepped foot on-site, we saw the crew set up the grand stand stage, exhibitor tents and food stands. They had deep fried twinkies, chicken, frog legs, snickers...you name it. Gotta love carnival food...hehe. Things were pretty hectic throughout the festival. Trying to make things run smoothly and making sure everyone had what they needed. We were able to get the following 2 days off to recover and it was well spent! Here are some of the highlights:

1. "Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf" coffee runs. I don't know what I'd do with out my latte every morning. I heart Coffee Bean. :D

2. Meeting one of the band members from Switchfoot. So my job is to run Guest Services at the festival. This means I have the guest list of all the artists', comp tickets, etc. On the third day, a guy comes up to the table and I'm thinking, "wow, he looks really familiar". He gives his name and it's not on the list. So I tell him that he looks familiar but I don't see his name and he tells me that his band has played at this venue a few times before. So I ask him what band he's in, and he says "Switchfoot". We also happened to have their poster lying on our table. No wonder he looked so familiar!!! I felt a little dumb. Makes me feel like I need to brush up on band members. :P

3. Getting to be part of the photo shoot for Kutless and BarlowGirl - that was SO COOL!

4. I got tons of positive feedback on my t-shirt design! I had the privilege to design the festival t-shirts/sweatshirts this year. They were a huge hit.

5. Getting to finally meet all the people I've been corresponding with over the last 6 months.

All in all, I feel that I've gained a better understanding of why and how things run and I feel more prepared for the Monterey festival, which is coming up in the next few months. I did run into a few bumps at Del Mar, but nothing is ever perfect. I can certainly take lessons from it all. I hope to post some photos soon. Stay tuned...

2008-04-23T15:32:00.001-06:00

Just to update ya'll... I went to the eye doc 2 Saturdays ago and got myself a pair of glasses... AND THEY LOOK SO COOL!!! Still getting used to them and I'm starting to get indents on the semi-bridge of my nose... The appointment went okay. I hate getting eye drops or having someone stick a probe up to my eyeball but I won't need to go back for a while. I'll post pics soon. (once I get a decent picture).

2008-04-17T14:27:00.000-06:00

I spent Saturday morning running the Santa Cruz Half Marathon and I curse the people who described the race as "easy, fairly flat with minimal hills". The race actually consisted many moderate hills, very few flat areas and many clumps of horse poo which I miraculously managed to dodge without breaking my ankle. They also failed to mentioned that you had to run in the sand for the last 20 feet. But all in all I made good time (1:48:04) and I'm happy to announce that the soreness wore off after 1 day of recovery. =D On a positive note, the scenery was beautiful and weather was wonderful. My favorite part of the race is crossing the finish line and seeing what goodies they have waiting for me. They had baskets of the best strawberries I've ever tasted, juicy pears, bananas, grapes, and bagels with cream cheese. YUM! It was probably the best "after the race food" I've had. After cleaning up and checking out of the hotel, Jeff and I headed to downtown Santa Cruz. It was really nice walking down the strip. I haven't been there in a while, so it was nice visiting all the shops I haven't seen in a while. We stopped by the Pacific Cookie Company for cookies and then I popped into Bad Ass Coffee for some hawiian coffee. (it was soo good!!). After browsing in a few shops we hopped in the car and headed home.

Next up is the Jungle run in mid July! woohoo!

2008-01-16T10:22:00.001-07:00

I know I'm a few weeks late, but I wanted to shout out "Happy New Year!" to everyone :) Let's hope this year will be a happy one. So I've set a fewpersonal goals for myself and decided to put 'em on here so you people can keep me accountable! :D Here they are...

1. Lower my "lousy" cholesterol. I'm not all that surprised that it's higher than "normal" even if I'm a runner. For every run I completed, I rewarded myself with doughnut or a pound of candy last year :P Things definitely need to change this year.

2. Read the bible daily - this will probably be the most difficult... but I'm "starving" and need to be re-energized.

3. Stop loosing my keys - this will change one I get myself a key hook. :D

4. 2008 Nike marathon - okay, it's a long shot...we'll see how I feel about this when summer hits.

Um... that's all I can think of for now. :)

2007-12-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas everyone!!

2007-11-12T11:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I ran the Big Sur Half Marathon and I have to be thankful that the race turned out well. Every year I wait until the month of to reserve a hotel room, and all the closer hotels are already booked and we end up having to drive to the race and scramble to find parking. Next year, I'm making it my goal to reserve one walking distance to the race! The morning started at 5:45 am with the horrible ring of Jeff's cell phone, yelling at us to wake up. Jeff was really good and got up immediately to take a shower and I laid there for a good 20 minutes having mental battle to get myself up. I finally dragged myself out of bed and look outside the window. The sun wasn't even up yet. The sky was dark and dreary and the winds were blowing so hard that the trees looked as if they were going to blow over. My heart sank at the thought of having to run in the freezing, gloomy weather, but I quickly reminded myself that I wasn't going to be doing this alone.

By the time we headed over to the started line, it was already light outside and the streets were quickly filled with other racers. At 7:00 am, the gun went off, and the race had begun. I have not been training as vigorously as I did last year, so I was a little anxious about how long my endurance would last. At mile 4, the winds decided to give us a challenge, but the sun began to break through the clouds, and made the whole coastline glow. The race was much more hilly that I remembered and at mile 6, my legs were starting to cramp. Not a good sign considering that I wasn't even half way into the race! With the help of 3 GU's and many water stops, I was able to finish the race in 1:48:05, only 2 minutes shy of last year's record. Woohoo! With the help of Advil, a recovery drink, and a nice long soak in epson salt, I'm feeling pretty good right now. :) It was much more challenging this year, but I had a blast. See you again next year, Monterey!

2007-11-05T09:59:00.001-07:00

Happy Belated Halloween, Everyone!

2007-11-01T17:39:00.001-06:00

Yay, we did it! (again) :) It's kind of crazy to think that in less than 2 weeks I'm going to be at it again. The race went nicer than I expected, considering all the crazy festivities that has been going on in my life. I was grateful I was able to run with someone this year. Jay was able to keep me from running my legs off, so I wasn't as sore later that day. If you'd like to read more about it, click here. Note: That pic was taken BEFORE the race, there was probably a reason why we didn't take one AFTER. ;)

2007-10-12T11:27:00.000-06:00

My, my...where to start?? So, for some odd reason, all these changes in my life happened all in the same month. God really does have a sense of humor...

1. I got a new job! Yes, I no longer have to make a 3 hour daily commute anymore! Woohoo! I get to work in a mere 20 minutes. Ah, life is bliss...and with any new job, it's been challenging but I'm learning a lot. Plus, since I work for a concert promoter, I get to go to free concerts and events. I think I'm getting old tho, cuz the other day my boss asked if I wanted to go to a concert on a Tuesday night in San Francisco, and I had to think about whether I really wanted to stay up late on a week night. :P I know, I'm sad. I have no right to complain though, free concerts, free cds, and I finally get to work in the print industry!

2. I got married! Yay! After 10 months of planning, the day finally came on September 23rd. I'm a little sad that the planning is over because, for some odd reason, it was really fun for me. Married life is funny. I used to imagine Jeff and I being the perfect couple and we'd have dinner together every night and talk about intellectual topics. That dream was shattered the day we got back from our honeymoon. I quickly realized that cooking isn't so fun when you have to clean up afterwards, and after working all day, who wants to slave over a stove and then scrub and clean for the rest of the night? So yeah... so now we're back to Amy eating whatever she can find the pantry and Jeff bringing home Subway almost every night. :P hehe.

So there ya go... my life in a nutshell for the past month or so. I'll be posting honeymoon pics soon. :)

2007-09-05T16:59:00.000-06:00

*sigh* It's so beautiful that I'm at loss for words, and the best part is, IT'S ALL MINE!!!

2007-08-07T17:50:00.001-06:00

Mr. and Mrs. Ramirez!
August 28, 2007
Much love to you both.

2007-08-05T15:40:00.000-06:00

Congratulations Lilia and Michelle!

or should I say DR. Lilia & Dr. Michelle ;)

You guys are incredible and I'm so proud of both of you.

May 2007

Alli and I took a trip out to New Jersey to see Lilia and Michelle graduate. It was really exciting for everyone. Click here to see the rest of the photos :)

2007-06-27T12:12:00.000-06:00

Ah, Paris...who doesn't love Paris? I woke up Monday morning and decided to be adventurous and go for a run along the Seine. Shanta and Marc had to work all week so I had plenty of time to explore the city. By the time I stepped out, the cobblestone streets were bustling with people rushing to work. The air was cold and damp and the sky was gloomy, but the city still looked beautiful. I started my jog and ran past the jardins de Tuillerie, Palais Royal, and the Eiffel Tower. I couldn't really complain about the scenery of my route. ;)

Here is a shot of my jogging path (aka Seine)

To the left is the Palais Royal and the famous Diamond Pyramid from "The Davinci Code". Okay, I feel like a total scum for saying this, but I didn't even know that the diamond pyramid existed until I saw that movie. What? Movies can teach you a lot, ya know ;) From there courtyard, I wandered down the wide path to the jardin. I was immediately stopped by a girl who was holding a sign that read "Do you speak English?" I thought to myself "Why...yes, I do!" (Okay, you have to understand that at this point, I was craving for something I could finally understand) She gave me a piece of cardboard to read. Turns out that the girl was begging for money to feed her family. I quickly found out that this is how many of the people beg. I have to admit, I give them props for their cleverness at targeting clueless tourists. I quickly gave her a few euros and moved on before the other lady with the same cardboard could come up to me. I was taught my first lesson: Don't get suckered into people holding signs that read English. A few days later I was in the Latin district and learned my second lesson. I was walking down the streets, admiring all the shops and a lady was handing out free newsletters. So I grabbed one when I was passing. She turned around and started yelling at me in French saying that I had to pay 20 cents for it. *oops* So I gave her 20 cents and then she asked for MORE MONEY. She started gesturing how she needed to feed her baby and how her family was poor, etc. At this point I was thinking "Dammit! Why did I take the freakin' paper?! I can't even read French!" So I panicked, gave her 20 more cents, shoved the cursed newsletter back at her, apologized and ran outta there. Lesson 2: Beggars also take free newspapers and try to sell them.

Anyway, I digress. I reached the middle of the jardin and saw the Arc de Triomphe. I got super excited and started snapping away. I remember Shanta commenting about how the view from the top was spectacular. I looked up and thought "wow, it's kind of smaller than I thought and there is no way of getting up there! People would get stabbed by the statues at the top"...Well, I later found out that the REAL Arc de Triomphe was about a mile away. This was just a mini one. OOPS. So I got excited for no reason...not to mention I felt incredibly dumb since I've actually learned about this in art history and couldn't even distinguish the difference, but that's a different story. Below are some photos of the jardin:

From here, I went straight and ended up on Champs Elysees. It was not at all what I pictured. It felt like NY only prettier and cleaner. There were a ton of designer stores and posh restaurants and cafes. I had pictured small cobblestone pathways, antique shops and boutiques.
When I reached the end of the street, I saw this:
TA DA! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's the Arc de Triomph in it's full glory. I got all excited again and made my way over.
Do you remember what I said about the stairs in this city? These are the stairs to the top of the arc. They were evil. When I finally reached the top I was practically ready to pass out. As I was huffing and puffing, I spotted a sign for "ELEVATOR". WTH?! They need to make these signs more prominent! But to be fair, the stairs made a great photo! :)

Afterwards, I called it a day and headed back. The next day I visited the Rodin Museum, Picasso Museum, and Notre Dame.

Above is the Rodin Museum

Notre Dame - Definitely a masterpiece!

Later that night Shanta took me to have dinner with her co-workers. It was so much fun. We ate, wined, and dined. Before we knew it, it was already 2 am. One of Shanta's coworkers was a wine expert and ordered enough wine to buy out a vineyard. It was great. :D

My next trip was to Versailles. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't really cooperating. It started snowing lightly when I got off the train. *brrrr!* The palace was amazing. Every room, every wall was saturated in portraits, sculptures, gold, ornate wallpaper, carvings, and tapestries. I found out that Marie Antoinette's estate was about a mile walk. I braced myself for the cold, sharp air and walked through her gardens to see her home. Most of the foliage in the gardens were dead but I can imagine that it must be breathtaking when everything is in bloom. Just another reason to come back ;)

Later that day I visited Sacre Coeur. I rode the metro and wandered the windy streets with my trusty map. It definitely had a different feel from the rest of Paris I visited. There were street markets everywhere. The buildings were more run down, which gave the neighborhood some character.

I finally found my way to the Sacre Coeur was stopped by this:
Gaah! More stairs!

Isn't it beautiful???

Above is the modern art museum: Centre Pompidou. I loved the collection they had at this museum. Here are a few for you to enjoy!

The last day I was there I FINALLY got my picture of the Eiffel Tower.

I also visted my favorite museum, the Musée d'Orsay. It used to be a train station and they turned it into a museum. Most of the artwork includes impressionism, art nouveau, romantism, classism, neo-classism, etc.

I was glad I brought a good pair of walking shoes with me and I'm sure my feet are thankful. :) Did you notice that I have not mentioned any SHOPPING yet? Here you thought I was being good. HAHA! I withheld all my shopping urges and saved it for the day before I was leaving. (Plus, I wanted to share my shopping experience with Shanta ;) ......... ok... secretly, I have to admit, I was really intimidated to go into a store by myself :P Yes, I was chicken and needed some suport) One time I walked into a flower shop and asked the guy working there in french if he spoke English and he replied "No." and proceded to ignore me until I left. Soo yeah, not the greatest experience but most of the people there are really friendly and if they see that you're at least trying, they'll be kind. So Saturday rolled by and Shanta took me to a well known tea shop to have brunch.Shanta with her berry tart. Yum!

Enjoying our tea and tarts. =)

We spent the rest of the rainy afternoon running from one store to another. I fell in love with Zara and KooKai. :) We also went to La Maison du Chocolat and got "real" hot chocolate. You know what I'm talking about, not that watery crap that we have here. Have you ever watched how hot chocolate made in the movie, "Chocolat"? Yea, it's that stuff. The GOOD stuff. Oh geez, I'm drooling... Again, another reason to return to Paris!

My last night there, Shanta and Marc took me to a famous restaurant that looks over the train station. It's called "Le Train Bleu". The restaurant looked like they took a room from the Palace of Versailles. It was covered in beautiful wallpaper, gold gildings, and paintings. They were so nice that they even gave me thier menu! (I have no idea what I'm going to do with a giant 2 foot menu, but still) It was my last French meal in Paris and I wanted to make it really good. I recall the last time I was in Napa I tried the tar taras an apetizer... yeah, you heard that right. I ate raw ground beef. It was mixed with all these spices and served on peices of toast. This was my only experience with tar tar. So, I thought to myself, since I'm in Paris, this would be the best place to order it. I decided to share this with Shanta and Marc and I could see both of their eyebrows rise. They both thought I was insane, but I kept insisting that it was really good. As we waited for our food I kept dreaming of little slices of buttered toast with a dallop of meat. I waited with anticipation. As our food came, I got this:
Dude...WHERE ARE MY LITTLE PIECES OF TOAST?! :*( I blinked and stared. I think they slaughtered a whole cow and served it to me. (oh yeah, in the upper left corner you can see they served fries on a silver plater! hehehe...) This was not what I was expecting. It was just a huge pile of raw meat, like what you would have if you made burgers. I was horrifie. To make matters worse, it's pretty rude not to finish a meal in a restaurant. What was I to do?! I did what any polite person would do:

I ate it!Okay...I only was able to eat about 1/8 of it.

Mmm...Yummy...

Marc enjoying his fish

Shanta making her crawfish say "hello!"

This concludes my trip to Paris. I was on a plane the next morning to return to sunny California. My last night there was definately unforgettable. ;) Thank you Shanta and Marc for taking such good care of me! I love you guys both! Au revoir!

2007-06-23T10:58:00.000-06:00

Alright folks, I'm finally getting around to posting my first set of photos from Paris. (It's a miracle, I know) A million apologies for taking so long to get around to this. Some of these pics are of the events i mentioned in my earlier posts. Enjoy!

Shanta and Me on the train!

The oldest building in Angers. It looked like it was about to fall apart, but it was still neat to look at!

One of the castles in Angers

View of the river from the top of the castle

One of the best things about France are all the TEA SHOPS! We found this little tea shop and had tea time. We ordered yummy macaroons. They also served our teas in individual teapots. It was divine! :)

One of the cathedrals in Angers

Later that night we had dinner at a traditional French restaurant. I've learned that the French really LOVE meat! Unfortunately for Shanta and Marc, it was Lent so the options were limited. Here's Marc for starring down the "goose that supposedly was mocking him". ;)
Note: This was also the same restaurant where I was confused by the bathroom signs, mentioned in my earlier post. :P

Shanta trying to be a spy (as usual)

Marc, Me, and Shanta in front of the restaurant.

Now we've all heard that everything is smaller in Europe. This is me in the elevator of the inn we stayed at. It's a miracle that the three of us were all able to fit in there with all our luggage!

Our last sight to see was one of the gardens in the city. It was described to have "promiscuous sculptures" which got our attention. However, most of the statues looked liked they were just lying in agony. :P

This is the mushroom museum I mentioned earlier. :)

Mushrooms....

mushrooms...

and more mushrooms! :)

Sour cream with coffee, anyone?

The next day we rented a car and started our journey through the valley. We made our way to Anjou, Saumur, and Chinon, Blois, and Tours. The château on the left is in Saumur. As you can see, it was cold and gloomy, but the château still looked magnificent.

Here is a shot of the garden in the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud. It's the largest abbey in France.

Our next stop was at Château de Chenonceau. This was by far one of my favorite castles. They built it over a river!

This castle was used as inspiration for the castle in Disney's Sleeping Beauty.

Our last castle we visited was Château de Chambord. It's probably the grandest castle I've ever seen.

We stopped in Tours and stayed there for a day before we headed back to Paris. That night we dined at an awesome fondue place. Oddly enough (not maybe not that odd) the restaurant had an obsession with cows. Literally every inch of wall space was covered in photos and artwork of our moo moo friends :) We returned our rental car and hopped onto the train for Paris.

It's hard to imagine that these grand castles were once occupied by royalty. It definitely makes where I live seem like a shoebox in comparison. Sadly, this ends my adventure in Loire Valley. Coming up will be my adventures in Paris!

2007-06-22T12:12:00.001-06:00

Caitlin & Greg
June 9, 2007
Congrats to you both! I'm so happy for the both of you.
Wishing you guys the very best! Love you lots!

* Photo courtesy of Mike C. :) Thanks!

2007-04-18T16:50:00.000-06:00

Paris trip Part 2

Sorry guys, it's taken me a while to get around to finishing my post! My pictures from Paris are still on my camera...sad, i know... I promise I'll get them up soon.

Anyway, the next day we rented a car and started our little jouney back to Paris. Along the way we stopped by Saumur, where the largest abbey in France stands. In one of the rooms, there were murals with scenes of the last supper and cruxifiction...oddly enough, the nuns came along and decided to paint themselves in the murals! It's kind of funny seeing a scene with Jesus and his disciples and in the corner of the painting there is a little nun praying. Later on, we decided to go a mushroom museum. Our thoughts of seeing wild mushrooms growing abundatly in the caves were shattered when we saw mushrooms growing out of hundreds of moldy blocks. It was a waste of money to say the least. It's a miracle we made it out there alive with all the mold we breathed in. Definately not coming back.

To add to our little Saumur adventure, we stopped by a restaurant to have some lunch. Shanta and I both ordered fish soup, unfortunetly, it smelled and tasted like rotting fish. We ate it as "politely" as we could. (eg, 1. Eat a spoonful 2. Shove a ton of bread into mouth 3. Drink water 4. Rinse and Repeat) At the end of our meal I ordered a coffee with a side of cream. The server comes around and brings me my coffee and a small bowl of what looks like whip cream. I kept thinking "wow, this is really thick cream!" but I didn't really think anything of it and put a dollop of the stuff in my coffee. Then, Shanta reached over and tasted it, made a face, and exclaimed "Oh my God, it's crème fraîche!" So...for some odd reason, the server gave me SOUR CREAM to go with my coffee. Then, to make things more awkward, we confronted the server about this and asked her if they normally serve their customers sour cream with thier coffee, she replied "yes". Odd? I think so. It didn't help that we could hear snickering in the kitchen. Again, I don't think we'll be going to back to this restaurant or the town.

For the rest of the weekend, we hopped around from to town to town, admiring the great cathedrals and castles. We finally arrived in Paris and ended the weekend trip with a classic french meal, across the street from Shanta and Marc's apartment. It was there that I found my favorite french dish: Pot de Fleur. It's basically a light broth with lots of veggies and meat...okay, I know I'm making it sound bland, but I swear, I don't know what magical ingredients they put in it, but it tastes so good!! I highly recommend it!

As the week went by, I utilized my days with jogging to theTour de Eiffel, sightseeing, and eating. The first thing I did was to get my museum pass and went into the Louvre. OMG I'm standing in THE Louvre! Okay... so I was a little excited to be there. :P Unfortunetly, the excitment didn't last for long. As I made my way around the museum with my trusty map, I realized that I spent the first hour in one section, on one floor. I glanced at my map and realized that there were THREE sections, each one containing FOUR floors! I almost fainted... i kid you not. Each floor is lead by stairs...after stairs...after stairs. I swear my calves doubled in size by the time I stepped out of the museum :P I ended up having to split up the Louvre in two days and I still wasn't able to see everything. I have to say, it was neat to see all the paintings and sculptures listed in my artbooks, but at the same time, there were so many art pieces that eventually everything started looking the same. Seriously, how many paintings of fruit do we really need? :P

Okay, I think I should stop here and continue when I upload my photos. Seeing photos is much more fun that having me ramble, dontcha think? ;)

2007-03-27T11:23:00.000-06:00

I've returned from the land of glorious wines, cheeses, and chocolates! Paris is by far my favorite city. I love the culture, the food, the art, the SHOES! I can assure you that if you love shoes, you'll be in heaven! (or as my parisien friend calls it "you will have a shoe orgasim". ;)

I stepped off the plane on Friday at 6:30 am, stopped at Shanta & Marcs to drop off my things, and the three of us were off to the train station to Loire Valley. I can still remember the first time I saw the buildings when we got off the metro. It's amazing how detailed the designs on the buildings are. It really gives the word "beauty" a whole new meaning. Every ledge, every iron gate, every pillar, has a hint of Romanesque archetecture. It was as if every building was it's own masterpeice.

We arrived at Angers, a city known for the city of their flowers. We walked along the cobblestone alleys and admired the old style buildings, the cathedral, and the abbey. This was my first time seeing buildings more than just a few centuries old. To think that these buildings still stand over thousands and thousands of years is incredible. We stopped to grab lunch at a stand... unfortunetly for me, I ordered a chicken sandwich w/ mayo and ended up with a mayo sandwich with chicken. Not the best first meal in France to say the least. Luckily, dinner made up for lunch and the food absolutely amazing! So, you have to know that I am somewhat of a "light weight". I'm even fairly picky about wines due to the fact that well, I like sweet things, and wine..well, most of the time it's not so sweet. But then came along this wonderful little drink called Kir. I think it might of been made a mistake for Shanta and Marc to introduce me to this lovely concotion because now I'm addicted to it and heaven forbid, i might turn into a little alkie because of it. haha jk!! I did bring back a massive bottle of creme de cassis...party at Amy's anyone? ;)

Following the appetizers, we ordered a bottle of wine to pair with our main meal. At this point, I was pretty much toasted and had the need to go to the bathroom. I see 2 doors, both with pictures on them. I pay no attention to the pictures because I figure that they're just there for decoration. Little did I know that there is acutally a picture of a MALE or FEMALE on each door. As I'm exiting, I see see this guy walk in. He seems confused and says "pardon"and then starts laughing and says something to our waitress and points at me. At this point I'm really confused as to why he was laughing at me and then I realize that I've gone in the mens bathroom. To make matters worse, he comes back and happens to be at the table next to us and sits right next to me! Talk about total humiliation...

I'll have to continue this in a little bit. Photos are also on the way... à bientôt!

2007-01-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've seen a movie worth writing about, I feel that "Pan's Labyrinth" is definately worth mentioning. Though, it wasn't as magical as I hoped for, the cinematography and plot are well done. It's bloody and violent, but if you have a good stomach for these kind of scenes or do what I do, close my eyes, it's definatley a must see! :)

2006-12-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I are engaged!

So you guys probably want to know how it happened ;) Jeff had been wanting to to go Blue Rock Shoot so on Tuesday night we decided to go for some yummy hot chocolate. The cafe was completely empty (which ended working in Jeff's favor...haha) and we decided to sit in the back room. Once we sat down, he pulled out a Christmas card and handed it to me. I was a little puzzled because earlier that evening I had wanted to open Christmas presesnts and he told me that he had "forgotten" the card. So anyway, I opened it and started reading. The card started off with a generic Christmas greeting and near the end of the message it mentioned that the card wouldn't only remind me of christmas but of how i would be asked a question that showed how much he loved me. Then I saw him come around the table and kneel infront of me and he asked me to marry him. *GRIN* and I said yes. hehehehe. It was so perfect and I couldn't of picked a better place for this to happen.

Some more news going on my life: I'm going to Paris in March to see my friend, Shanta. WOOHOO! I can't believe I'm going to Europe and I get to spend it with one of my dearest friends. I'm so excited!!!

As of now, I'm bracing myself for 10 months of wedding planning. I'm praying that God will give us patience and perserverance and I'm trusting in Him that He will provide the very best for us. If you could keep us in your prayers as we prepare for the big day and ready ourselves in taking the next step in life, that would be awesome. =)

Happy New Year everyone!!!

2006-11-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

Life after the races...

I'm a little relieved and sad at the same time. I've been going on shorter runs during the week and noticing that my perfomance level has dropped significantly. I can't seem to figure out if it's because my body hasn't recovered fully yet or if it's due to taking a long break. I guess all that matters is that I still enjoy going on runs and that this whole experience hasn't completly turned me off from participating in other races. The idea of a full marathon has been bouncing around in my head. They say if you can a half marathon, you can run a marathon, but what if you're on the brink of passing out after 13 miles? The thought of running ADDITIONAL 13 miles seems a little crazy to me. (Doesn't it sound a little crazy to you?) I can already feel my legs giving out just thinking about it. Right... not going to venture into this idea until next year. ;)

I went to the dentist the other day after lacking a visit in 5 years. Yeah, that's right. FIVE YEARS. Shh...don't tell my parents. It's mainly due to fear of sharp drilling objects in my mouth. (well, that and not having insurance...and I did mention sharp prodding objects, right?) Anywhos, just to give you an idea of how it went, at this rate I'll basically have dentures by the time I'm 30. No joke. I've been plagued by inheriting horrible teeth and sugar-itis and it's biting me in the butt. I'm already getting flash backs from the my last dentist visit...the drilling, the excruciating painful shots, the sight of flying tooth bits spewing out of my mouth, THE BLOOD...ooohh..the blood... *shudder*

I don't want to end this post sobbing about the pain I'm about encounter in the next few weeks, so I'm going to my happy place and focus on the fact that Thanksgiving weekend is coming up. I only have 2 days of work this week and I can stuff myself with glorious food, well, that is if my teeth can handle it. ;)

2006-10-24T20:54:00.000-06:00

Two weekends ago Jeff and I went to a pumpkin patch and picked out three perfect pumpkins. We decided to carve them last weekend. Take a lookee!

Heehehe....the little one is my favorite :D

2006-10-14T20:51:00.000-06:00

Meet Sophie!

I'm pleased to present the newest addition to our family!

Breed: Doberman Pinscher.
Current loves: people, chewing on just about anything, & peeing on carpets
Current dislikes: Being left alone or locked up in her kennel

:)

2006-10-14T20:39:00.000-06:00

Yay! I did it! On Oct 8, 2006, I completed my first half marathon. It was a pretty challenging run and I'm still in shock that I acutally ran the whole thing. Woohoo! I went jogging for the first time today and it felt so good. My body has finally recovered and I'm ready to start training for my next race. Only 2 more weeks to go. Monterey, here I come!

2006-09-29T16:01:00.000-06:00

I decided to get away for the weekend and flew down to Catalina Island to spend some time with my college friends. The sun was shining and the water was blue. It was heaven. :) The best part of the whole island is that everyone travels not by car, but by golfcarts! We saw golfcarts up the wahzoo. I felt like I was in Mario Kart, zooming (or more like putting) along the curvy windy roads and trying to pass the other carts. (or more like trying to avoid being passed) Too bad I didn't have any bananas or turtle shells. :P

The next day we went on a glass bottom boat tour. Now, as fascinating as the fish were, I have to say that this was probably the most challenging part of the trip. Why you ask? It took all my energy to prevent myself from puking either on someone's lap or on the side of the boat. I sat there praying that God would grant me magical powers and I could fast foward through time. It was THE longest hour of my life. I practically kissed the ground when we reached the dock. Yes, I have to say I'm definately sticking to traveling on LAND. :)

The rest of the time was filled with lava flows, pina coladas, and margaritas. We swam, tanned, shopped, and explored the island in our little putt-putt cart. It was the perfect weekend getaway!

2006-09-14T12:34:00.000-06:00

Rolly

June 16, 1992 - Sept 13, 2006

I'm going to miss him so much :(

2006-09-11T10:16:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, Jeff and I drove to Pacific Grove to see cheer on a college friend who was participating in a triathlon. It was my first time seeing how these races actually happen...and I have to say that it's crazy. The racers have to begin the race by swimming in the frigid cold ocean, which is insane to begin with. Then they hop on a bike for 30 miles and then they finish off by running around 6 miles. I don't know about you, but my muscles would be jello by the end of the swim (that's assumming that i would make it without drowning) and I'd probably wouldn't even make it past the biking part because I'd fall right off the thing. :P

On Sunday we rented "March of the Penguins". For those of you who haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it. It is incredible to see what they go through to raise a thier babies and how they bond. All I have to say is that I am so glad that I'm not a penguin!!!

2006-08-30T14:39:00.000-06:00

I am sitting on a white sand beach, feeling the ocean breeze and warm sunlight...all of a sudden I hear a bunch of keyboards tapping away. wha?? *sigh* Yes, I have returned from my vacation and I'm so sad that it's over.

So Jeff and I arrived at the airport at an ungodly hour, 4:45 am on Wednesday, Aug 23rd. Here's a lovely picture of us early birds. We arrived in Hawaii around 11 a.m. and I couldn't wait to get out of the plane. After what seemed like eternity, we hopped into our rental car (Mustang Coupe... it was a massive car for an "economy size" car. I could barely see over the dashboard :P) and drove to Hilton Waikoloa Village. The hotel was absoultely beautiful. They had paintings and sculpture all along the walls of the hotel.

I felt like I was in a museum. The resort was pretty big so we had to take a monorail from the lobby over to our room. It was kind of a pain cuz we had to wait for it each time for it to come so we saved time and ended up walking to our room instead. That amounted to quite a bit of walking. :P

After settling in, we decided to grab something to eat at the cafe by our tower. After discovering that our measley lunch costs just as much as a dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, we decided to head over to the local grocery store and stock up on munchies. :) Later that evening we dined at a oh-so-good Itailian restaurant, Donatoni's. I also had the best glass of Reisling ever! The kind from Germany is the way to go ;) The next morning we headed over to the East side of the island for a lava-tube tour. On the drive there, the landscape was incredibly dry. All we could see on the side of the highway were mounds and mounds of dark brown/red lava rocks. As we reached the middle of the island, the landscape turned into rich, lush, greens. It was also swarming with mosquitoes. *shudder* Anywho, back to the lava tubes. We were 45ft underground and it's known to be the longest lava tube in the world. Pretty cool, eh? We saw "lavacicles" and "crusted over tube within a tubes" and man-eating cave spiders (ok, kidding on the last one, but there were spides except they were more like the size of a pencil tip)... oh yeah, and there was also a skelton of a moongoose. Apparently, it fell in the tube and bled to death. Poor thing. Afterward we ate our pb&j sandwiches and headed over to see the waterfalls.

After driving around and spotting more waterfalls, we grabbed dinner and headed back to the hotel.

The next morning we set out to go snorkeling at the "Place of Refuge". We found out from the hotel that it was one of the best places to go snorkeling because they had seaturtles there. Unfortunetly we didn't get to see any sea turtles *boo* but we saw tons of "itty bitty yellow tangs" that weren't so itty bitty and a few puffer fish. Afterwards we drove all the way down to the tip of the island called "South Point". Now I can say "I stood in the southest part of the U.S" cuz it is :) Here's a shot from South Point:

We decided to call it a day and headed back. I have to say, the drive wasn't so fun. Everything on the island is spread out so it takes a few hours to drive to each destination. We planned on going to the Volcano National Park but after all the driving we've already done, I wasn't too keen on spending another 6 hours in the car to melt to death on an active volcano. We decided to save that for another trip. :) On Saturday we set out to go hike to Kohala Bay. This was probably my favorite part of the trip. We hiked along the shore on black rocks and saw sea turtles basking and swimming in the sea. (there's a pic below, the turtle looks dead but I swear, it's not. I even have photo proof!) We reached the bay and swam around. There was a mixture of cold water (from the bay) and warm water (from the ocean). It was a weird sensation. Nonetheless, the view was breathtaking.
On Sunday we attended a luau...and it was open bar... amy had a bit too much to drink BEFORE the meal. Oops. To say the least, my stomach wasn't exactly very happy that night. The food (of what I remember) was delicious and the show was a lot of fun.

Monday was a sad day. It was our last day in Hawaii. We checked out of our hotel room at noon and realized we had about 8 hours to kill before our flight. Hmm... what to do?? You'd think there'd be plenty to do, but the weather was hot and humid. The idea of walking around in sweat and not being able to shower before boarding the plane was not very appealing. We drove to the northern part of the island and visited the Polulu Valley and then stopped for "the island's best ice cream" which really was the best ice cream ever. Here are some shots of the valley and ice cream :)

That only killed about 2 hours so we drove to Waimae and wandered around in a grocery store...yes, we were that bored. On the way back we browsed through a few gift shops and headed back to the resort for a last goodbye and then headed to the airport. The flight left at 10 pm and we arrived in chilly and gloomy San Jose at 8 a.m. That ends my trip and I'm so so so sad that it's over. Seeing that it took up 2 hours of my time at work to write this entry, I don't feel quite so bad anymore. haha. There are so many more photos I took. You can find them here: Hawaii Pictures

Aloha!

2006-08-30T10:29:00.000-06:00

As promised, here are a few pics from Yosemite :) Enjoy!

2006-08-21T11:49:00.000-06:00

Just got back from a weekend in Yosemite! I beginning to think that I have a love/hate relationship with camping. I love taking in the scenery, breathing fresh air (that is, if I can even breath in the high altitude), eating, the hikes, sitting around the campfire, and spending time with friends. However, I DO NOT enjoy having to get out of my cozy sleeping bag and stumble in the darkness to find the bathroom. By the time I get back to my sleeping bag, it's ice cold. I'm wide awake and I can hear every critter nearby. I begin to have nightmares that a bear will walk by and eat me.

Another thing I could do without are the million mosquitoes buzzing around. Can someone please tell me the reason why these horrid things exist?!?! Arrghh...

We decided to eat out the first night there. We went to a gas station/restaurant. It's combination of a gas station and a restaurant in one, hence the name "Mobile Restaurant". The whole idea is ingenious and a little comical. Who would of thought to have a gourmet meal of lobster and steak at a gas station?? To say the least, the food was phenomal and satistfying.

I'm glad to be back! A shower is a wonderful thing ;) It's trips like these that make me gratful for hot water and warm beds. On the other hand, it's also a reminder of how amazing creation is but for now I think I'll stick with our local state parks to get my dose of nature. Camping once a year is enough for me, and I will be looking foward to it again next summer. Photos to come.

2006-08-15T15:05:00.000-06:00

3 more days until I'm in Yosemite and 7 more days until I'm in Hawaii! WOOOOHOO!!! :)

2006-08-08T11:58:00.000-06:00

Congratulations Alli, Derek, & Mia!

One of the most beautiful wedding ceremonies I've attended. Simple, sweet, and intimate. I'm so happy for the three of you! :)

2006-07-17T11:13:00.000-06:00

I wish I lived on the coast so I wouldn't have to suffer in my 90 degree stuffy apartment. (note to self, make sure that the next place I live has air conditioning!) I think I'm more concerned about my pets than anything else. The last thing I want to see is my turtle boiling itself to death in his tank or having my cat pass out. *melting*

My weekends have been pretty relaxed. Last week Jeff and I went hiking at the Henry Cowells State Park. I love seeing the enormous redwood trees and nature's beauty. I'm always awed by God's magestic creation. On the flip side, I think I've caught video game fever and have been making great use out of my game cube . *grin*

I've also discovered that my work is less than a mile away from union square. I'm so excited! I have new places to explore while I'm on my lunch break and I have to make a mental note to leave my wallet behind or else I'll be in trouble =P

2006-06-14T16:21:00.000-06:00

This is Jeff when he turns into a full blown geek. =D

2006-05-23T10:52:00.000-06:00

I did it! I ran Bay To Breakers and was able to run the entire thing on 3 1/2 hours of sleep. =) I think next time I'm probably going to try to get more sleep and bring something to munch on afterwards. A banana and a few gulps of Gatorade isn't exactly the most fulfilling breakfast. =P We got up at 6 that morning (ugh, that's WAY too early for my brain to even function) and rode the bus from Berekely to San Francisco. When we arrived to the starting line, I saw people busting out with Bloody Marys and throwing tortillas everywhere. (dude, what's with the tortillas???) The combination of lack of sleep, motion sickness from the bus ride, and seeing a 70 year old man's wrinkely white butt almost made me want to hurl right on the street. Despite being temporarily blinded/traumatized by more than a few neon nasty buttcheeks, this is something that I'd want to try again next year and improve my time by 10 minutes. =) One race down, one more to go! Woohoo!

2006-04-17T15:28:00.000-06:00

Happy Easter!

2006-04-11T10:50:00.000-06:00

There are woman who are able to wear 3 inch heels and walk flawlessly down the street. And there are woman who wear heels and look like they're about to fall over in a second. I belong in the second category. Needless to say, I ended up spilling coffee all over myself because I can't hold a beverage and walk in heels at the same time. Now I probably have a huge dry cleaning bill and sore feet. Not a good way to start the day.

2006-04-03T10:36:00.000-06:00

Sleepy...

Day Light Savings blows for people who have to get up early for work. I wish my desk would turn into a huge pillow...

So with all this rain, I've decided to think positive. There are a few good sides to a cold rainy day. It's a perfect time to spend time cuddling on the couch, napping, and catching up on reading :) I'm currently reading "The Mists of Avalon" and I only have 200 more pages to go!!! Wooohoo! (it's like a 900 pg book) I'm usually not into "King Athur/Camelot" readings, but I have to admit, it's one of those "can't put down" books. I definately recommend it to anyone.

I signed up for my FIRST half marathon! Good bye junk food and laziness. *sniff sniff* Only 7 months to go! Wish me luck :)

2006-03-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

Sudoku has officially ruined my life. I addicted!

2006-02-28T15:11:00.000-07:00

Bad California Weather

With all the news on TV lately about the subzero weather and snow that the east coast and upstate NY areas are experiencing, we shouldn't forget that Southern California has it's share of devastating weather also. I've attached a photo illustrating the excessive damage caused to a home from a west coast storm that passed through the Los Angeles area a couple of days ago. It really makes you cherish what you have, and reminds us not to take life for granted!!!

Yep... leave it to us Californians to freak out over a little rain =P

2006-02-07T14:36:00.000-07:00

Four jobs I've had:

1. Ice cream scooper
2. Clerk
3. Checkout lady =)
4. Art gallery assistant

Four movies I can watch over and over:

1. Sliding Doors
2. Happy Gilmore
3. Cutting Edge
4.

Four places I've lived:

1. Omaha, NE
2. Saugerties, NY
3. San Dimas, CA
4. San Jose, CA

Four TV shows I love:

1. Food Network Challenge (er.. or anything on the foodnetwork)
2. 24
3. Desperate Housewives
4. The Office

Four places I've vacationed:

1. Taiwan
2. Toronto
3. Cape Cod
4. Lake Tahoe

Four of my favorite dishes:

1. Spinach Salad w/ cranberries, avacados, and bacon
2. Pancakes
3. Cereal
4. Salmon w/ dill and cous cous

Four sites I visit daily:

1. Yahoo Mail
2. Gmail
3. iStock Photos
4. MySpace

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. Outside (It's sunny!!)
2. Paris, exploring the shops and cafes
3. My bed, napping :-D
4. A bookstore, picking out a good book

Four bloggers I am tagging:
1. Pavstheway
2. Jenguin
3. Caliparisen
4. Things Untouched

2005-12-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

The holiday bussle is over and life is busy as ever. For some reason I wasn't able to grasp the "christmas spririt" this year. Perhaps it was due to how commercialized everything is or it could be the stress of trying to find the "perfect" present for everyone and still manage to stay within budget. Despite my lack of spirit this year, I hope everyone else's holiday is happy.

It's amazing that 2005 is almost over. It's been a crazy year and I look forward to what's in store next year. =)

2005-12-02T15:33:00.000-07:00

It's Google in Pig Latin! hehehe

http://www.google.com/intl/xx-piglatin/

2005-12-02T12:07:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is just around the corner. Where did this year go?? Thanksgiving was really nice. We had the typical tradition turkey with a flair of Chinese dishes :) Yum yum! Right after we stuffed ourselves, Jeff and I hopped into the car and drove down to Southern California. The drive was there was really nice. We saw friends and went to the overpriced, extremely crowded happiest place on earth. That's right, Disneyland. The whole weekend was a lot of fun up until we headed back home. Traffic was horrific and it took us 9 hours to get back. Boooo...

Anyway, this week was a bit tough. The first night it rained I didn't bring an umbrella so I ended up looking like a drowned rat by the time I got home. And then this morning I was walking to the train station this morning and realized that I left my wallet at home. *doh!* So I had to drive all the way back and then deal with the lovely traffic on the way there which made me an hour late to work. *sigh* It was a good way to test my patience and my sanity.

I want ice cream.

Anywhos, Happy Friday everyone!

2005-12-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

The New White Flight

In Silicon Valley, two high schools
with outstanding academic reputations
are losing white students
as Asian students move in. Why?

By SUEIN HWANG
November 19, 2005; Page A1

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- By most measures, Monta Vista High here and Lynbrook High, in nearby San Jose, are among the nation's top public high schools. Both boast stellar test scores, an array of advanced-placement classes and a track record of sending graduates from the affluent suburbs of Silicon Valley to prestigious colleges.

But locally, they're also known for something else: white flight. Over the past 10 years, the proportion of white students at Lynbrook has fallen by nearly half, to 25% of the student body. At Monta Vista, white students make up less than one-third of the population, down from 45% -- this in a town that's half white. Some white Cupertino parents are instead sending their children to private schools or moving them to other, whiter public schools. More commonly, young white families in Silicon Valley say they are avoiding Cupertino altogether.

White students are far outnumbered by Asians at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, Calif.

Whites aren't quitting the schools because the schools are failing academically. Quite the contrary: Many white parents say they're leaving because the schools are too academically driven and too narrowly invested in subjects such as math and science at the expense of liberal arts and extracurriculars like sports and other personal interests.

The two schools, put another way that parents rarely articulate so bluntly, are too Asian.

Cathy Gatley, co-president of Monta Vista High School's parent-teacher association, recently dissuaded a family with a young child from moving to Cupertino because there are so few young white kids left in the public schools. "This may not sound good," she confides, "but their child may be the only Caucasian kid in the class." All of Ms. Gatley's four children have attended or are currently attending Monta Vista. One son, Andrew, 17 years old, took the high-school exit exam last summer and left the school to avoid the academic pressure. He is currently working in a pet-supply store. Ms. Gatley, who is white, says she probably wouldn't have moved to Cupertino if she had anticipated how much it would change.

In the 1960s, the term "white flight" emerged to describe the rapid exodus of whites from big cities into the suburbs, a process that often resulted in the economic degradation of the remaining community. Back then, the phenomenon was mostly believed to be sparked by the growth in the population of African-Americans, and to a lesser degree Hispanics, in some major cities.

But this modern incarnation is different. Across the country, Asian-Americans have by and large been successful and accepted into middle- and upper-class communities. Silicon Valley has kept Cupertino's economy stable, and the town is almost indistinguishable from many of the suburbs around it. The shrinking number of white students hasn't hurt the academic standards of Cupertino's schools -- in fact the opposite is true.

This time the effect is more subtle: Some Asians believe that the resulting lack of diversity creates an atmosphere that is too sheltering for their children, leaving then unprepared for life in a country that is only 4% Asian overall. Moreover, many Asians share some of their white counterpart's concerns. Both groups finger newer Asian immigrants for the schools' intense competitiveness.

Some whites fear that by avoiding schools with large Asian populations parents are short-changing their own children, giving them the idea that they can't compete with Asian kids. "My parents never let me think that because I'm Caucasian, I'm not going to succeed," says Jessie Hogin, a white Monta Vista graduate.

The white exodus clearly involves race-based presumptions, not all of which are positive. One example: Asian parents are too competitive. That sounds like racism to many of Cupertino's Asian residents, who resent the fact that their growing numbers and success are causing many white families to boycott the town altogether.

"It's a stereotype of Asian parents," says Pei-Pei Yow, a Hewlett-Packard Co. manager and Chinese-American community leader who sent two kids to Monta Vista. It's like other familiar biases, she says: "You can't say everybody from the South is a redneck."

Jane Doherty, a retirement-community administrator, chose to send her two boys elsewhere. When her family moved to Cupertino from Indiana over a decade ago, Ms. Doherty says her top priority was moving into a good public-school district. She paid no heed to a real-estate agent who told her of the town's burgeoning Asian population.

She says she began to reconsider after her elder son, Matthew, entered Kennedy, the middle school that feeds Monta Vista. As he played soccer, Ms. Doherty watched a line of cars across the street deposit Asian kids for after-school study. She also attended a Monta Vista parents' night and came away worrying about the school's focus on test scores and the big-name colleges its graduates attend.

"My sense is that at Monta Vista you're competing against the child beside you," she says. Ms. Doherty says she believes the issue stems more from recent immigrants than Asians as a whole. "Obviously, the concentration of Asian students is really high, and it does flavor the school," she says.

When Matthew, now a student at Notre Dame, finished middle school eight years ago, Ms. Doherty decided to send him to Bellarmine College Preparatory, a Jesuit school that she says has a culture that "values the whole child." It's also 55% white and 24% Asian. Her younger son, Kevin, followed suit.

Kevin Doherty, 17, says he's happy his mother made the switch. Many of his old friends at Kennedy aren't happy at Monta Vista, he says. "Kids at Bellarmine have a lot of pressure to do well, too, but they want to learn and do something they want to do."

While California has seen the most pronounced cases of suburban segregation, some of the developments in Cupertino are also starting to surface in other parts of the U.S. At Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Md., known flippantly to some locals as "Won Ton," roughly 35% of students are of Asian descent. People who don't know the school tend to make assumptions about its academics, says Principal Michael Doran. "Certain stereotypes come to mind -- 'those people are good at math,' " he says.

In Tenafly, N.J., a well-to-do bedroom community near New York, the local high school says it expects Asian students to make up about 36% of its total in the next five years, compared with 27% today. The district still attracts families of all backgrounds, but Asians are particularly intent that their kids work hard and excel, says Anat Eisenberg, a local Coldwell Banker real-estate agent. "Everybody is caught into this process of driving their kids." Lawrence Mayer, Tenafly High's vice principal, says he's never heard such concerns.

Perched on the western end of the Santa Clara valley, Cupertino was for many years a primarily rural area known for its many fruit orchards. The beginnings of the tech industry brought suburbanization, and Cupertino then became a very white, quintessentially middle-class town of mostly modest ranch homes, populated by engineers and their families. Apple Computer Inc. planted its headquarters there.

As the high-tech industry prospered, so did Cupertino. Today, the orchards are a memory, replaced by numerous shopping malls and subdivisions that are home to Silicon Valley's prosperous upper-middle class. While the architecture in Cupertino is largely the same as in neighboring communities, the town of about 50,000 people now boasts Indian restaurants, tutoring centers and Asian grocers. Parents say Cupertino's top schools have become more academically intense over the past 10 years.

Asian immigrants have surged into the town, granting it a reputation -- particularly among recent Chinese and South Asian immigrants -- as a Bay Area locale of choice. Cupertino is now 41% Asian, up from 24% in 1998.

Students in the library at Lynbrook High School

Some students struggle in Cupertino's high schools who might not elsewhere. Monta Vista's Academic Performance Index, which compares the academic performance of California's schools, reached an all-time high of 924 out of 1,000 this year, making it one of the highest-scoring high schools in Northern California. Grades are so high that a 'B' average puts a student in the bottom third of a class.

"We have great students, which has a lot of upsides," says April Scott, Monta Vista's principal. "The downside is what the kids with a 3.0 GPA think of themselves."

Ms. Scott and her counterpart at Lynbrook know what's said about their schools being too competitive and dominated by Asians. "It's easy to buy into those kinds of comments because they're loaded and powerful," says Ms. Scott, who adds that they paint an inaccurate picture of Monta Vista. Ms. Scott says many athletic programs are thriving and points to the school's many extracurricular activities. She also points out that white students represented 20% of the school's 29 National Merit Semifinalists this year.

Judy Hogin, Jessie's mother and a Cupertino real-estate agent, believes the school was good for her daughter, who is now a freshman at the University of California at San Diego. "I know it's frustrating to some people who have moved away," says Ms. Hogin, who is white. Jessie, she says, "rose to the challenge."

On a recent autumn day at Lynbrook, crowds of students spilled out of classrooms for midmorning break. Against a sea of Asian faces, the few white students were easy to pick out. One boy sat on a wall, his lighter hair and skin making him stand out from dozens of others around him. In another corner, four white male students lounged at a picnic table.

At Cupertino's top schools, administrators, parents and students say white students end up in the stereotyped role often applied to other minority groups: the underachievers. In one 9th-grade algebra class, Lynbrook's lowest-level math class, the students are an eclectic mix of whites, Asians and other racial and ethnic groups.

"Take a good look," whispered Steve Rowley, superintendent of the Fremont Union High School District, which covers the city of Cupertino as well as portions of other neighboring cities. "This doesn't look like the other classes we're going to."

On the second floor, in advanced-placement chemistry, only a couple of the 32 students are white and the rest are Asian. Some white parents, and even some students, say they suspect teachers don't take white kids as seriously as Asians.

"Many of my Asian friends were convinced that if you were Asian, you had to confirm you were smart. If you were white, you had to prove it," says Arar Han, a Monta Vista graduate who recently co-edited "Asian American X," a book of coming-of-age essays by young Asian-Americans.

Ms. Gatley, the Monta Vista PTA president, is more blunt: "White kids are thought of as the dumb kids," she says.

Cupertino's administrators and faculty, the majority of whom are white, adamantly say there's no discrimination against whites. The administrators say students of all races get along well. In fact, there's little evidence of any overt racial tension between students or between their parents.

Mr. Rowley, the school superintendent, however, concedes that a perception exists that's sometimes called "the white-boy syndrome." He describes it as: "Kids who are white feel themselves a distinct minority against a majority culture."

Mr. Rowley, who is white, enrolled his only son, Eddie, at Lynbrook. When Eddie started freshman geometry, the boy was frustrated to learn that many of the Asian students in his class had already taken the course in summer school, Mr. Rowley recalls. That gave them a big leg up.

To many of Cupertino's Asians, some of the assumptions made by white parents -- that Asians are excessively competitive and single-minded -- play into stereotypes. Top schools in nearby, whiter Palo Alto, which also have very high test scores, also feature heavy course loads, long hours of homework and overly stressed students, says Denise Pope, director of Stressed Out Students, a Stanford University program that has worked with schools in both Palo Alto and Cupertino. But whites don't seem to be avoiding those institutions, or making the same negative generalizations, Asian families note, suggesting that it's not academic competition that makes white parents uncomfortable but academic competition with Asian-Americans.

Some of Cupertino's Asian residents say they don't blame white families for leaving. After all, many of the town's Asians are fretting about the same issues. While acknowledging that the term Asian embraces a wide diversity of countries, cultures and languages, they say there's some truth to the criticisms levied against new immigrant parents, particularly those from countries such as China and India, who often put a lot of academic pressure on their children.

Some parents and students say these various forces are creating an unhealthy cultural isolation in the schools. Monta Vista graduate Mark Seto says he wouldn't send his kids to his alma mater. "It was a sheltered little world that didn't bear a whole lot of resemblance to what the rest of the country is like," says Mr. Seto, a Chinese-American who recently graduated from Yale University. As a result, he says, "college wasn't an academic adjustment. It was a cultural adjustment."

Hung Wei, a Chinese-American living in Cupertino, has become an active campaigner in the community, encouraging Asian parents to be more aware of their children's emotional development. Ms. Wei, who is co-president of Monta Vista's PTA with Ms. Gatley, says her activism stems from the suicide of her daughter, Diana. Ms. Wei says life in Cupertino and at Monta Vista didn't prepare the young woman for life at New York University. Diana moved there in 2004 and jumped to her death from a Manhattan building two months later.

"We emphasize academics so much and protect our kids, I feel there's something lacking in our education," Ms. Wei says.

Cupertino schools are trying to address some of these issues. Monta Vista recently completed a series of seminars focused on such issues as helping parents communicate better with their kids, and Lynbrook last year revised its homework guidelines with the goal of eliminating excessive and unproductive assignments.

The moves haven't stemmed the flow of whites out of the schools. Four years ago, Lynn Rosener, a software consultant, transferred her elder son from Monta Vista to Homestead High, a Cupertino school with slightly lower test scores. At the new school, the white student body is declining at a slower rate than at Monta Vista and currently stands at 52% of the total. Friday-night football is a tradition, with big half-time shows and usually 1,000 people packing the stands. The school offers boys' volleyball, a sport at which Ms. Rosener's son was particularly talented. Monta Vista doesn't.

"It does help to have a lower Asian population," says Homestead PTA President Mary Anne Norling. "I don't think our parents are as uptight as if my kids went to Monta Vista."

2005-10-28T10:37:00.000-06:00

Why is it, when fall season starts, that the early morning air smells like onion? Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that? Maybe my nose is playing tricks on me...

Halloween is around the corner and I have to admit that it's not exactly my favorite time of year cuz 1. I hate being scared and 2. I REALLY hate being scared. On the bright side, I get to indulge in a plethora of candy and sweets *grins* Watch out cavities, here I come!

Jeff and I carved pumpkins last week. Pretty cool lookin' huh?

Happy Halloween everyone!

2005-10-18T14:49:00.000-06:00

Wow, I really stink at this blog thing. How long has it been since I've written?! TOO LONG! So let's catch up!

1. Happy Birthday shoutouts to Jackie, Beryl, my Sis, Longi, Adam, and Shanta! Hope ya'll have a good one =)

2. I have a place of my own!!! and now I'm in debt and my friends and family never want to put furniture together again. =P

3. Going to see Mxpx and Relient K next month. YAYAYAYAY!!!

2005-09-29T11:14:00.000-06:00

Thank you everyone for all the e-cards, messages, and gifts! It made me feel special. Birthdays are one of the only days I feel I can get away with anything and not feel super guilty *grins* What an eventful weekend! On Saturday I had lunch with my parents at a yummy japanese restaurant. It's one of those hole-in-the-wall places with to die for sushi! :) Later that night we group of us went out to San Francisco and at a wonderful Peruvian restaurant. I might have to add that to one of my top 5 fav. foods. Afterwards saw fireworks and it was the most amazing fireworks show I've ever seen. Sunday was another day of eating! YUM! I went to 2 BBQs. (prolly not going to do that again cuz I kind of overdid it and felt a little sick by the end of the day but the food was well worth it!)

Other things that happened this week:

- I went to bible study and FELL ALSEEP. They shouldn't feed you and then put you in a 45 minute meditation/relaxation period AND have pillows available and expect us to stay awake. It's just asking for a nap!

- I did more packing. My room is starting to smell like cardboard from all the boxes :oP I'm a few steps closer to being done! My whole apartment is almost furnished. I still need a coffee table, computer desk, and a bookshelf. Anyone know of ppl giving away these things? Let me know! :o)

2005-09-23T11:09:00.000-06:00

So I was surfing the web and came across this:

"If you go shopping with a Libran, best to plan some extra time! This sign can be terribly indecisive when it comes to purchasing. Balancing their money, however, is a snap for the Libran. Keeping a good balance between savings and spending money is a real talent for these folks. Their love of fashion and housewares can see them out and about in stores quite often. One of the Libran's favorite pastimes is to shop for someone special."

*ahem* I think they're right on about the "spending money" part but I seemed to miss the "Saving Talent" train. :-P

2005-09-08T16:26:00.000-06:00

Have you ever switched to a new laundry detergent and noticed that it smelled so good that you couldn't help but sniff your clothes every 2.5 seconds? My clothes smell so nice! *sniiiiifffff* I must look like a freak at work... either that or they think I'm checking for B.O. :oP~~

2005-09-02T11:34:00.000-06:00

So I'm sitting at work and my bosses are sitting together over in the next cubicle chattering in German. It's frustrating enough not being able to understand a word they're saying, but it's even more frustrating when you hear them drop thier voices down to a whisper. Like that makes a real difference since none of us can understand it anyway.

It's a conspiracy I tell you!

*sigh* I'm just happy it's Friday. YAY for a 3-day weekend!

2005-08-25T17:41:00.000-06:00

Yosemite here I come! WOOOOOOOO!

I'll have pics when I return :)

2005-08-23T23:49:00.000-06:00

Creating a budget blows. Not only is it depressing adding up all the bills and expenses for the month, but I end up having a panick attack thinking that I'll end up as a beggar on the streets of San Jose.

No fun.

To contribute to my excess spending, I recieved an outrageous bill for my health insurance (evil!). They couldn't have picked a better month to send the bill. Instead of billing month to month for the summer, they decided to clump three months together. *Argh!*

Anywhos, I'm going to sulk myself to sleep and dream that a money tree will grow in my room. :)

2005-08-17T14:40:00.000-06:00

So last night I had dinner with my small group and we chowed down on good 'ol greasy chinese take out. Everything was going dandy until I was chewing on something that didn't feel quite right. Turns out it was one of those tiny red hot peppers that are meant to be placed on the side of the plate and never to be eaten...EVER.

Holy moly.

I couldn't even feel my taste buds and I thought all of them got nuked by the evil pepper. I ended up downing a liter of milk before my tongue was back to normal. Needless to say, my tummy wasn't very happy.

2005-08-15T10:47:00.000-06:00

Jeff and I made a trip to Southern California this weekend and for the first time this summer I stepped foot on a beach! We arrived late Friday night (delirous and tired) and hit the beach Saturday afternoon. The skies were clear and the air was warm. It was perfect... until we started to head home and hit the worst traffic in history. To top it off, it was one of those traffic jams that existed for no reason. No car accident, no major merging, nothing! By the time we got back, I felt like a big puddle of "blah". Soon after we cleaned up and headed out to dinner. It was fun. Good food and lots of laughs :) Unfortunetly, we had to head back the next day and go back to the "real world". *sigh* Nonetheless, it was so good to see everyone. :o)

2005-08-02T10:17:00.000-06:00

Congratulations Marc and Shanta! :) I miss you guys. Come back soon!

2005-07-25T11:30:00.000-06:00

After weeks of planning, I'm happy to say that Shanta's bridal shower was loads of fun! Nothing can beat yummy sushi, cheesy shower games, and Leo in a wedding dress made of toliet paper. It was a classic moment.

Saturday night we celebrated Alli's birthday by taking her out to a superb Singaporian restaurant in downtown Mt. View. *yum!*

This week will be a bit eventful. I was walking to work this morning and almost got hit by a car. I think I lost about 47 hairs when that happened. Hopefully I can manage to stay alive for the wedding this weekend.

*Photo borrowed from Jen Bullock. Thank you! :)

2005-07-21T11:09:00.000-06:00

I think I've been a little bit lazy with my blog. *guilty look* So what's been going on? I've spent the last few weeks prepping for Shanta's bridal shower, eating, going to movies, getting addicting to coffee from lack of sleep (oops, that one slipped out) heh heh... Yes folks, I've officially caved in. I figure that a happy Amy is better than a grumpy one :-P

I accientally threw away my credit card in Jen's trash can the other day and Jen was brave enough to sift through her garbage to get it for me. (THANK YOU!) I've also managed to get attacked by fleas from my kitty. Myleft arm looks like it's been attacked by the red polkadot monster. Advantage to the rescue! Has anyone noticed all the summer sales going on in the mall?!?! *sigh* I think I'm a shopaholic in denial. You know it's bad when you spend your lunch break looking at clothes and shoes instead of eating... HELP! (Shanta, you're not allowed to help. j/k)

So besides being broke, I've been entertained by Alli's new kitty, Momo. Isn't he cute? The thing is a complete spazball. I've never seen a kitty do so many flips and jumps out of the blue. I'm starting to believe that he was an acrobat in his past life.

I admittedly have to say that I'm hooked on "24" thanks to Jeff. So if I happen to dissapear, you can blame him. ;-)

Okay, back to work...

2005-06-30T13:03:00.000-06:00

Okay, this whole no coffee thing is not working. I recieved a Starbucks gift certificate on Monday for taking a survey. I took it as a sign that the coffee gods were speaking to me and made a trip to Starbucks the next morning.

This week has been pretty crazy. I won't bore you all the little details but it's a combination of family/friend functions, working on invites, shopping (just a little... heh heh), yummy dinners, and more dead things that my cat dragged in.

Oh! I went to Tahoe with some of my good highschool friends last weekend. I'll post more about it when I get some photos up here.

Any plans for Fouth of July anyone?

2005-06-21T11:51:00.000-06:00

I'm not a coffee addict. I'm really not. So cutting it out as part of my daily intake will be no big deal... Okay, so far I've lasted 38 hours and 55 minutes. Not bad! I can do this. So you're probably wondering why I would torture myself like this. Reason: I DONT KNOW. Arrghhhh! Well, okay, the obvious reason is health ... Oh, and keeping my teeth from looking like wood. *sigh* It's going to be a long week...

P.S. Green Tea doesn't count, does it?

2005-06-12T16:46:00.000-06:00

Embarassing momment of the week:

I got off work and was walking across an empty alley when a mini van zipped right out infront of me and almost turned me into road kill. I thought the van was going to continue to move foward to get onto the main street so I kept walking, not paying any attention to anything and then *wham* I walked right into the back window of the van. I was holding my water bottle and it made a *crunch* sound. Um. Yeah. The driver probably thought I was crazy. Not to mention everyone else on the street probably saw me and thought the same. Seriously, when do you ever see someone smack into a moving car?! Arrghh.. I was completely mortified and kept on walking like nothing happened. *sigh*

2005-06-01T11:02:00.001-06:00

IMG_0539

What a weekend! A group of us went to Sonora to go backpacking for Memorial Day. Despite the lack of sleep, bruises, scratches, and cuts, the trip was well worth it. The nature was incredibly breathtaking (as always). This pic was taken on the 2nd day when we hiked to the top of the mountain. We even saw snow up there! It's definitely a once a year kind of trip yet I can't wait to do it again.

2005-06-01T10:38:00.000-06:00

IMG_0578

Misty's done it again! I walked into my room in time to see my cat toying with something and it turned out to be a completely traumatized baby bunny. I think we're going to keep it :) Hopefully this time we can keep it alive!

2005-05-23T10:28:00.000-06:00

I had one of those nights again. The "my brain won't shut up" nights. As a result, I only had 3 measly hours of sleep last night with the theme song of "Alvin and the Chipmunks" running over and over in my head. (yeah, just a tad bit annoying) I feel like the biggest crankster on the planet right now. I even tried drinking warm milk (which is the nastiest smelling thing ever and probably the dumbest thing to do since I'm a milk reject (aka lactose intolerant) and I ended up with a major stomach ache.

So during all my tossing and turning, I look over to see my cat sleeping soundly and was extremely irratated with the fact that she could sleep and I couldn't. So being the mature one that I am, I kept waking her up about every 10 minutes or so. I think she hates me now. Needless to say, the both of us were yawning our brains out this morning.