a day well spent

Today felt like a whirlwind mix of emotions. My sister and I visited my grandparents in Palm Desert and my aunt was also in from Oregon. I just got news a few days ago that my grandma (who I thought was in great health) was actually in the hospital with off and on debilitating back pain. After several hospital visits, it was found that my grandma has a staph infection in her spine. The risk is that the infection could spread to her heart if not properly and quickly treated. She has been put on antibiotics and from what I hear, the pain is lessening little by little as the days go on, though she is still in tremendous discomfort. We are all hoping that the antibiotics will get rid of the infection, but also that the pain may be gone sooner than later. Though it was heartbreaking to see her so uncomfortable, I am SO glad that Kristen and I were able to visit.

[Driving to Palm Desert in BEAUTIFUL weather; The flowers we bought for Grandma]

We were only in Palm Desert for 3.5 hours, since my grandma needed lots of rest. So, sister and I started driving back and decided to pull off at the Desert Hills Premium Outlets in Cabazon. Shopping!

When we got there, it was super cold. And THEN this happened:

As much as I would still love to believe it was snow, a friend kindly informed me that it was probably hail. But even so, I've lived in California almost all my life and can't remember ever being in a hailstorm. We loved it. And it was even better that most everyone was as excited as we were. People had their cameras and phones out, taking pictures and recording the craziness.

As Kristen and I were walking to my car, the hail started coming down much heavier and for several minutes, there was also thunder and lightning. It was crazy because you could still see patches of the blue sky and the sun as it was setting. Also, it was really fun when the hail smacked you in the face.

  [Braving the pain to get a picture with the hail. I know, we Californians are ridiculously dramatic; My poor car getting battered by the weather]
 

Thankfully, I made it back to Chino with nothing else eventful to report.

If I might ask, prayers for my grandma would be so appreciated. Firstly, that the doctors would have the wisdom and ability to figure out what is going on and that the antibiotics would cure the infection. Secondly, that she would be taken out of her discomfort. I know I often take prayer for granted and don't understand the power of it, but God sure loves to hear from us. I thank my sister for reminding me how God can use us to witness and love and pray for other people. Sister, thank you for your boldnes today.  

man, oh man

I was SO sick last night. I had been feeling bad all day during work, but around 600pm, it just hit me. I could barely walk, my body ached all over and I felt like I was going to pass out. So, I called off sick at 630pm and told everyone I would be on-call if they needed me. I ended up sleeping from 7pm - 650am, when I had to wake up this morning. My body was clearly exhausted. And even this morning, I didn't feel fully rested.

On another note, as I was driving to pick up some food today, I saw a man on his bike. He was looking a little bit disheveled and on the front of his bike, he had a [I think, laminated] white piece of paper that said: LA Fitness RULES, 24Hour DROOLS. Haha, I wonder what caused that.

Also, another ridiculous thing that actually kinda made me mad happened at the gas station tonight. I was walking out and heard somebody blasting their car horn. I looked around and noticed a child in a car, maybe by himself, I couldn't tell. Some man noticed this child too and was lingering to see where the heck his mom or dad was. Then I saw the man run over to the driver's side door, so I followed him to see what was going on. I looked in the car and there were freaking TWO little boys that had to be 2 years old or younger. All alone in the car. The man said that the boys had unlocked the car and almost fell out, which is why he had rushed over. We stood there for a second wondering what irresonsible adult left these two toddlers alone in the car, when we see their mother coming out of the gas station. REALLY? So, so, so, SO completely unsafe and brainless to do something like that. I'm not even a mom, but it pissed me off. I don't think the conveniency of having your children stay in the car alone while you stop at a gas station is worth the risk of having them get kidnapped, or run off by themselves, or die because no one is supervising them. Ugh, people, come on!

two whole years

Wow. I am proud / surprised to say that I have been working at Hillview for two years today. TWO YEARS. I can't believe it. Looking back, it feels like the time has gone by so fast, but I know that in those seasons of stress and disappointment and frustration, time was dragging its feet. It's funny because one of my biggest fears in taking this job was the commitment of 1.5 years. I was scared of feeling trapped and having no freedom.

And yet, here I am, two years later (6 months more than my commitment!) and I did it...I'm doing it. To say I survived isn't accurate because although this job has been incredibly challenging, I have grown. Perhaps it's not the method with which I would choose to experience growth, but that's not the point. Whenever I leave this first "real-world job" of mine, I'll be proud to know that I left as a stronger, more independent, and confident person.

I love lists. So here is a very brief list of some things I have learned thanks to Hillview.

[one]
Illness travels v e r y quickly when you live/work so closely with other people. My body is proof of that right now.

[two]
I enjoy/connect with/prefer working with the girls rather than the boys and that surprises me.

[three]
Humor is sometimes the only way to get through a hard day, however inappropriate it may be at the time.

[four]
I tried meatloaf for the first time at this group home and it was, surprisingly, not as bad as I expected it to be.

[five]
SpongeBob. The cartoon that never goes away.

[six]
Eating comforts me. When I was up until midnight or later, supervising children who were running around like crazy people, I was constantly eating a lot of sugar-filled snacks because 1) it was available and 2) it was convenient. Now that I'm aware of this bad habit, my stress eating is more under control.

[seven]
Get along with your co-workers. Especially at a job like this, it is so important to communicate, understand, and compromise with your co-workers.

[eight]
I've learned to find things that I enjoy doing. Before, it was reading. Recently, it has been scrapbooking. When I'm not being ridiculously unhealthy, working out is a great stress reliever that I enjoy.

[nine]
I really, REALLY value my alone time. Sometimes too much. I have to be careful not to completely isolate myself because then it turns into self-inflicted loneliness and that is not a bueno feeling.

[ten]
Having thick skin is necessary, especially when you're being called all sorts of names and having insults thrown at you from angry adolescent children. Don't be UNaffected, but you can't let all that nastiness get to your head because that's what they want.

[eleven]
I feel old working with pre-teen/teenage kids and they make sure to let us know that THEY think we're old. I've had a child ask me what a cassette tape is and that same child also made the comment, "can you imagine what it would be like to have to get out of your car at the bank?" as I was driving through the ATM. It makes us houseparents sad to think that they can't appreciate GOOD childhood shows like Rugrats or The Flintstones or Care Bears. These children have ridiculous shows like iCarly and SpongeBob and Hannah Montana. Blech.

[twelve]
Expecting my frustrations and anxiety to be understood by people outside this job only sets myself up for disappointment. It's not necessarily their fault. They just don't get it.

[thirteen]
Jeans = dressing up.

oh, by the way

PS: I had several videos from when I went to Washington and instead of uploading them all separately, I combined them all into one. For your viewing pleasure and conveniency. Also known as: I like making videos :)

play time

Yesterday, Kristen and I went to Universal Studios. It was something we had wanted to do for a while and in between all the rainy days in LA recently, we had the perfect day in Hollywood.

The first ride we went on was the studio tour. It was a 45-minute tour that took us behind-the-scenes of movies and tv shows that have been produced at Universal.

[Wearing our stylish 3-D glasses for the King Kong show; Reflections as we drove by the studios; Haha, this is our picture on the Simpsons ride. It was a simulator ride that uses computer generated 3-D animation (aka technology is crazy). During the ride, a light flashed as if our pictures was being taken, but little did we know that the REAL picture was taken right after the ride ended. So now there is a nice photo of me scratching my ear; The Jurassic Park ride was probably my favorite and we made sure not to get soaked.]

I don't put these pictures up because they are flattering. We were so tired at the end of the day...and freezing.

[After eating Dippin Dots (why??) while freezing and sitting next to the outdoor heaters; Back in Chino at Red Robin...spaaaacing out. Oh, and stressing about how much schoolwork she put off to go to Universal Studios. Aaah, college.]

remembering

A couple days ago, I was feeling really nostalgic. I decided to go through my memory box that I made back in high school (maybe junior high, I can't remember). My step-mom suggested that I do it and I'm glad I did. It contains schoolwork, journals, pictures, notes, trinkets...starting all the way from when I was in elementary school. I haven't added to it in years, but I have loved looking through it and re-living past memories. I have especially loved my journals. Everyone should have a journal.

[My wonderfully decorated memory box. I don't really understand the bird and the worm, but I'm sure it made sense in my junior high brain. On the right is my rockin' diary from when I was around 12 years old and then my 2006 custom-designed journal.] 

[It was really entertaining to read the letters I wrote and the notes I received. On the left is a letter I wrote in school...my favorite part: I'm thankfull for America. And on the right is a precious letter from my sister (I have kept several of these). She even gave me a fancy little illustration at the end.]

I'm glad I saved these memories. It's always good to remember where you've been and to see how you've pushed through.

Right now, I'm looking forward to some good changes within the next couple months. God has been leading me to certain things and has really transformed my (what I thought were) unshakeable ideas of what these particular changes would look like. I am excited.

pleasantly surprised

Today, Dell saved my life. Shocking, right?

I was at Barnes&Noble yesterday afternoon and online, looking up jobs and whatnot, when ALL the sudden my computer started going nut-so on me. I kept getting pop-ups saying that my computer was under attack and that I had a virus. The only online page I could reach was an anti-virus software that the virus was offering. Hmm, I chose to NOT download that particular software.

I had to go back to work in the afternoon, so I wasn't able to resolve the issue right away and that stressed me out. I know how awful a computer virus can be. I wasn't supposed to be off today, but was offered to take the day off and jumped at the chance [yesterday afternoon was kind of an emotional few hours for me anyway, so time to myself was welcome]. ANYWHO, I called Dell today and it only took a minute to get connected to a real, live human being. I was shocked.

And then, I was pleasantly surprised to find out how easy this fix was going to be. All I had to do was plug in some web address and the agent took over my computer, fixing it from his end. I was expecting to be on the phone while he walked me step-by-step through everything. But let me tell you, this was SO easy! I was on the phone for 2 hours, but most of it was speaker-phone while he was working on my computer, giving me free time to do laundry/clean/eat [he even told me to grab a cup of coffee or something while I waited].

So. Yes, I paid about $300, but that included the fix, a renewed subscription to anti-virus software (which I already needed), and maintenance software. I was very pleased with the service and the conveniency. Thanks, Dell.

Also, today I am very grateful for my bff. I met with her for coffee at Starbucks and we talked for over an hour and a half. I left feeling refreshed, encouraged and loved. Thanks Airbair [haha, no, you'll never live that one down].

happy [?] v-day

Well, Valentine's Day was a bust. It's a bummer because it could have been a great day, buuuuuut I shouldn't have such expectations when I am with the children. We were lucky to have a woman donate tickets to Disneyland and since the boys had Valentine's Day off, we decided to go then. The morning started off great and everyone was excited, but as soon as we arrived, there was whining, bickering, threatening. Aaaah, fun times. We stayed in the park only 5 hours and most of it was spent walking around, waiting in lines and breaking up petty arguments. I suppose it could have been worse?

Anyway, onto a happier subject...my trip to Washington!

The first day, Steph and I spent around 8 hours in Seattle since that was our only day in the city. There is a LOT of good shopping in Seattle! Finding parking was a beast (and way too expensive), but it was so fun to walk around AND we lucked out with sunshine!

The second day, Steph had to nanny. So we brought along a cute little baby on our adventures. Scheduling around his eating times and nap time, we went to Point Defiance Park and took a fun "hike" under the shade of all the pretty trees. Stephanie was a trooper, carrying Gabriel on her back for the 2-mile walk. By the way, HOW cute is he?

The third day, we took Gabriel and walked around Tacoma. It was cool to see the local stores and to look at the houses as we walked through neighborhoods. We also stopped briefly at a small conservatory. Oh, and we also got yelled at by a homeless man who was shouting obscenities to us about the baby. We picked up the pace after that.

i'm back

I'm baaaaaack. My trip to Washington was fun and went by too fast (as usual). I want to have some pictures up here soon...I'll probably have some time later tonight to do that. For now, check out my new "about me" section.

hmm, that's odd

While waiting in the checkout line at Kohl's, I saw a sign:
Saving is my style!!

And accompanying this slogan was a very happy man, preppy-dressed with a huge smile on his face. Hmm, cheesy much? Also, I don't understand the phrase: The more you know, the more you Kohl's. It doesn't make sense, right? You can't just modify the English language (which makes so much sense in the first place) and change the name of a place into a verb. I personally hate it. But I guess "the more you know, the more you shop at Kohl's" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

I was browsing in Target today and overheard an energetic conversation between three workers:

Sarah: Ooooh my gosh, will you please go to the club with us?
Mary: Sorry, I don't go to 18 and older clubs.
Sarah: C'mon, pleeeease! Just suck it up and hang out with us!
Mary: Nope, ever since I turned 21, I don't go to 18 and older clubs.

[blah blah blah...this went on for a little while]

Sarah: Oh, my gosh, so when I was at the club, this guy kept coming up and bothering me.
Cody: Dude, you should have let me know because I would've talked to him.
Sarah: Yeah, it's like, as soon as you mess with one Target person, you mess with all of us.
*[names have been made up according to what it looks like their names should be.]

As I was driving, I noticed a license plate that read: ♥erdoll
Then I saw her license plate frame and it read:

If you're gonna be on my ass, at least pull my hair
[what a classy lady]

Thank you random public.

time well spent

On my break today, I decided to go to Starbucks (so unpredictable, I know). I was looking for my flip-flops, but I couldn't find them fast enough and my warm, comfortable slippers were calling my name. Dare I wear those out in public? Against my better judgement and socially acceptable attire, I did.

But don't worry, I went through the drive through.



I also wore my hair "naturally" curly for the first time in a while. Worth noting.



I already feel better about life.


[we're so in love]

Also, here is what I did for two hours last night with a child.

cute

I love it when the boys use their imagination to play. I love the innocence of it. As this particular 12 year old was building a lego kingdom for his little plastic green snake, he said, "The kingdom is very rich because of its rich economy and trade." Haha, if you knew him, you would laugh too.

oh yeah

I did it! I completed day 2 of working out. It might not sound like that much of an achievement, but it is for me. I'm taking it day by day and hopefully that will turn into weeks and months of consistent exercise. It has really helped me to add variety to my workouts. AND working out with a friend helps to have a much more intense workout. Erin and I recently decided to meet every Wednesday at a 24 Hour Fitness and work out together. Today was the second Wednesday we met up and it was so good. Get a workout buddy!

This evening at work, we took the boys to Bass Pro Shop. Have you been to that place before? It's insane! HUGE. Two stories of camping stuff, boats, clothes, fishing equipment, hunting gear...all sorts of things. They even had maps because the place was so incredibly big. We had a good time.

[looking at all the huge, scary fish]


[we had fun sitting in all the boats and wishing we had $30,000 to drop on one of them]


Also, while we were driving on the 15N to get to Bass Pro Shop, there were ridiculous winds. The van I was driving was swaying back and forth. I had visions of the wind flipping the van over (I hate how my mind goes to these scary "worst-case scenarios"). So, I'm driving cautiously on the freeway and then I see a semi-truck on its side on the shoulder. Then there were was another knocked over semi on the right side of the freeway...and then ANOTHER! There were three trucks laying on their side and all within half a mile of each other. That freaked me out. Luckily, we survived.