A Lonely Picture

I was driving around town and I saw this man sleeping outside a building. It's not something I see everyday. Yes, I see homeless men and women around town, but sleeping on the ground like this? It's rare.

I wish him well.

Graduation

Congratulations, Class of 2010! May the future be kind to you, and may you continue learning everyday of your lives.

What a hoot!

First of all,  it's by baby brother's birthday and I wanted to say Happy Birthday, little brother!

Secondly, it's the last day of work! Yay! Well, it's a short break because I'm working this summer. I hope  it goes fast but I also hope I get to enjoy those days I do have off. This picture was taken in the parking lot at work. It looks like an owl, but it makes screeching noises, so I don't know what it is. I do know that it's pretty!

Saying Goodbye

One of the toughest parts of being an educator is that you form a bond with these kiddos for about 9 months and then you say goodbye. Some of them come back and bug you lovingly, but others you never see again, and all you can do is wish them the best. There will be those that will come back and tell you they're doing great. There are those you see on tv, getting arrested or with a mugshot. There are those who pass away and you wonder what would have become of them if they were still around.

This year's kiddos are especially dear to me. I have to admit, even though they gave me a hard time, as all kids do, this bunch was absolutely amazing. I'm really going to miss them very much. If I happen to leave town, theirs is one graduation I would fly back to see.

Thanks for the memories, kiddos!

Dark Skies

Pretty sky!

Dust Storm

The clouds rolled into town today, after I had just told my mom that it would not rain at all. First of all, it had been 108 degrees outside, then the clouds roll in and it starts to rain. To make things worse, the winds picked up and we had dust devils. By the time I got the camera out and to a safe location, they were dissipating.

Bright light!

Again, light. I love seeing the electricity in the bulb. Isn't it amazing?

Cascade of Light

I like light. That sounds odd coming from someone who likes darkness, but sometimes, in the dark, a single ray of light is beautiful.

I need to keep this short. I have a lot of work to do! C-ya!

Light at Night

I tried to take a picture of lightning. One day I will. It is my goal. Unfortunately, it didn't happen tonight. I just took pictures of the flash of light behind the clouds. Nonetheless, it's pretty.

Simple Art

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted, but I'm starting to get swamped with work and end-of-year things, I don't know how many times I'll be able to post. However, I'm going to keep trying.

Here's a picture my hubby made out of confetti. Isn't it awesome? He did others, but this one was by far the best. He's talented in so many ways. Here's confetti boy!

Happy Mother's Day

Today's entry may be a somber one, but while we celebrate the women we have in our lives today, I also celebrated the women I lost in my life. At this local cemetery, my grandma, my godmother,  and my aunt are buried. I have a ritual I do all the time I go down to visit. I paint my grandma's grave and I sing to her and my aunt, who is next to her. I also took advantage of my trip down there to sing to my Munchkin and my other aunt. I missed my uncle, but I still have a hard time finding his grave.

While I reflected, the cemetery became packed with people. Along with my singing, there was a man with a trumpet going from family grave to family grave playing "Over the Rainbow" and a few people took their radios and started playing "Las Mañanitas." I left my flowers, sang my songs, left behind my tears, and left.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in the world with us today and to those we have lost. Happy Mother's Day, mommy!

Man and the trumpet guy

My mommy and me

Breaking the Law

What's wrong with this picture?

As of May 1st, the people of this fine city are not allowed to talk and drive without a hands-off device. The guy in the SUV in front of me did not have a hands-off device. And yes, I can tell you he was swerving a little. I had been dying to catch someone in the act, but I usually miss them. I got this guy, and he was talking on the phone the whole time we were behind him.

My Own Little Monsters

One of my classes drew on my board and someone (i know who) wrote the beginning to Lady Gaga's "Telephone." I didn't see it until he was gone. He loves Gaga and I don't blame him. I love Gaga too. I found this drawing hilarious.

A New Day

Well, technically I should have called it a new evening but still, the point is that today was a brand new day and it went well. The evening was so peaceful. Times like these I wish I had a balcony to take pictures. I would get on the roof but I'm scared of falling.

By the way, that's not a shooting star, but it would have been awesome if it was.

My Day

It was a great day. Happy 30th to me! A few days ago, I bought a bracelet to guide my way as I entered this new decade. It's a lotus flower, which represents one's progress in our lives (primarily our soul's progress), and a pearl, which represents guidance and focus. On the back of the lotus flower, it says "a new beginning." That's what this decade is. It's a new beginning for myself. A clean slate.

Everyday is a new chance to right the wrongs we did the day before. Turning 30 is no different. When I turned 20, I didn't think that I would have a difficult 5 years toward the end of my 20's. I hope 30 isn't as harsh as my 20's.

My special day has passed and I will wait a whole year before it returns, but the truth of the matter is, every day is a special day. Have a great day, cookie!

I Don't Wanna Grow Up

On the day before my 30th birthday, I had a meeting. It was a nerve-wrecking experience. I honestly thought I was in serious trouble. In fact, I even lost my wallet for a moment, but things cleared up and everything was fine. That's when I decided to go to the only place I don't have to be a kid physically to enjoy myself. I went to the one place I will always love: Toys R Us. I got myself another stuffed animal purse and a stuffed cheshire cat. It was a good end to my 29th year.

Tomorrow, I will be 30 and while everyone says it's not a big deal, there are things I wish I was doing at this point in my life that I'm not. But it's ok. Come what may. For now, I will live my life to the fullest, day by day. May god and the universe grant me peace, happiness, and patience and may my loved ones experience the same love that I have for them.

Happy Birthday to me! And thank you, mom and dad. Love you.

Taller than Me!

A simple reminder that things are out there bigger than me. We're reading Antigone in class and while I'm teaching the kiddos about pride and losing track about what's important, I am reminded that I too tend to forget that life is now and I need to step back a few seconds to remember that I'm not the center of the universe. I do not have that kind of power. I am simply someone who lives.

And sometimes, a giant is looking down at you.

Birthday Dinner #2

It was my mini Twilight birthday dinner! I had the cake, and favors and everything. It was fun. We sat and chatted and laughed. I really had a blast. My birthday is until Wednesday. I have a huge test on Tuesday. If all goes well, I will be celebrating my 30th birthday with a smile on Wednesday.

Here is my awesome cake!

And the party favors!

And the cake on Edward's face!

Yay for my Twilight Birthday! Now I need to start planning my husband's birthday and my birthday for next year!

Birthday Dinner #1

I went out with my friends to celebrate my birthday early and I knew they were going to tell the waiter, so here is my awesome birthday ice cream and song. The guy, Simon, was a trip and he was really cool. I'm glad I went out with my dear friends and I had a great time!

Friday Night

I've seen pics like this one taken before, mostly from my very creative photographer brother, but I was glad to have captured this one. Finally, it's Friday, and while I should be happy that fact, I am not. Yes, I get to celebrate my birthday this weekend (since my birthday lands on a Wednesday) but on the last day of my 29th year, I have to face a jury and that scares me. No, nothing serious, I hope. Yes, I'm using a metaphor. It's not a real jury.

Anyway, I took this pic while I was a restaurant and I have to admit I was terribly sleepy. I might just go straight to bed as soon as I post this.

Right, the storm...

So there was a storm a-coming today and sure enough, it came. We were bombarded with wind and sand and clouds. If you have allergies, you surely suffered. So here again, another cloud pic.

Make Your Mark

So the kiddos were watching movies today while others tested and it gave me time to think about making my mark on life. I'm about to be thirty next week and I feel like I haven't done enough. That's when I saw this...I don't know what it is. A wood chip? A rock? I didn't touch it. I just snapped it and I'm glad I did because then all the ideas about making one's mark started whirling in my head and well, I wrote this blog.

The point is that I feel that I haven't made my mark yet and even though I'm not seeking to make it, I feel that one day, people will remember me and say "Yes! I knew her and she was cool..." or "Yes, I remember her and while I couldn't stand her, I know she meant well.

And my rings will show, just like the ones on this...uh, whatever it is!

More clouds

This one seems a bit different. I think it's the density of the clouds. Anyway, it's been a busy day at work and I'm tired. Of standing around and watching the kiddos test. Fun, huh? Anyway, happy clouding I hear it's going to get worse later this week.

Bow wow

This dog is such a baby. He's our neighbor's dog and whenever he sees my dog outside, it whimpers. However, when he sees us out there, he won't stop barking. I saw him in the garage today and he looked so cute staring at me. He's a big baby.

Better than....

I LOVE this salad. Man, I wish I got paid for advertising restaurants, but I don't. However, I will say this: If you go to Macaroni Grill, you have to eat the warm spinach salad. It is absolutely amazing. Try it!! It's spinach leaves with garlic, olive oil, lemon, prosciutto, parmesan cheese, and toasted goat cheese. Amazing. Heavenly. Delicious.

Lost Dog

This dog scared the crap out of me. It was lost and confused and it was about to walk into traffic. Well, not walk, limp. It was so sad. I hope it's somewhere safe tonight.

Bird!

I really like this pic. I was trying to get bird pictures and this one was one I managed to catch. It was so cool. I'll keep trying for a better picture, though.

Lone Tree

I can't believe this tree is on the side of the freeway. In honor of Earth Day, here's a picture of a tree. I hope it gets really big and get in the way of the cars! Haha!

Food Pic Time

Ah, here's my food picture of the moment. Arby's Cheddar Melt.  And... that's all I have to say, pretty much.  Oh, update on the whole 4-20 thing. I had several kids come up to me today and say "Hey, Ms, you were right."

"What do you mean?"

"It was Hitler's birthday yesterday."

"You thought I was lying to you??"

"Well, it seemed a little far-fetched."

Blink, blink. "What?!"

"But you were right!"

Stare. "Have a seat!"

It was funny.

You're Celebrating What?!?

Ah, it's the infamous "zomg, it's 4-20!" day. Being an educator, all I can do is direct the conversations away from that and roll my eyes, but I figured I would do something a little different. When the kiddos came up to me and told me, "Do you know what today is?!" I would reply, "It's Hitler's birthday." I got so many students to stop and wonder if I was lying. "No, Ms! It's the day we get to smo--"

"No, it's Hitler's birthday. Frankly, I don't know why that's so exciting for you today."
"No! Ms! It's weed da--"
"Hitler's birthday. Now, if you want to celebrate Hitler's birthday, then I suggest you get out of my face."
"Wait, Ms! That's not what today is!"
"Oh, I'm pretty sure it us. I can look it up online and prove it."
Blank stare. I win.

It was great!

For the record, I have never in my life smoked the stuff and I don't ever want to, thank you.

Oh, right, the picture of the day. A food truck. Take it as you will. Laters, cookie!

We're Being Watched!

Alright, so that's paranoia, but can you imagine what spaceships could possibly hide behind that cloud? I mean, we could be taken over by giant panda bears who want to eat our brains for dinner, as a side dish to their bamboo main entree. After they eat our brains, they use will use us as sleds and ride down the Rocky Mountains, which they will use to launch themselves back up to their spaceships and ride away, counting down the days before they return for more side dishes!

Or, it could just be a cloud...

...Are Falling On My Head!

Ok, I'm cheating a little. I took this yesterday, but I already had a pic. This is so nice though. It was raining, first time this spring, and I had to take a picture. It was beautiful.

I See A ...

Dragon. Yeah, that's what I see when I look at this cloud picture.

Anyway, after today's extremely sluggish day, I'm hoping that tomorrow is better.

Out of Business

There are times when we find a great thing, such as a restaurant or a food at the store. When we decide that we love this item or place, we intend on going out to find more of or it or provide more money for the location. Then we find out that the place or item is out of commission. My hubs calls it my curse. I call it coincidence.

For example, I loved a certain snack cake from Italy that Target was selling. Loved it so much, I bought several boxes of these cakes. Before I knew it, they were on clearance and we never saw them again. The same went with a certain salad dressing and chips. It seems that the more I like something, the more others don't and they take it off the market. Either that, or I love the experimental.

So we go to this restaurant, El Rehilete. At first, we thought that we've had enough with mexican food restaurants. We're the ones who believe that in a predominantly hispanic city, the best mexican food is at home. However, these restuarants continue to flourish. So we went to this place, which, by the way, used to be an italian restaurant, and we are greeted with quesadillas. Ok, not bad. The food was okay. The bill was ok.

Six months later, this place closes down. Oh well, rest in peace, Rehilete.

 ps. The building used to bright yellow, like the entrance.

Sad Combination

Nature and Technology. One decreases and one advances. We as humans claim that we're advancing, but the more we "advance," the more we miss out on the beauty of nature.

Tree!

With Earth Day around the corner, I want to try and post pictures that show nature or the effects we're having on nature, so, naturally (pun intended) I knew a tree would be great! This follows my "Clouds!" pic and if you notice, there's a bird on top of this tree! Beautiful shot.

Clouds!

I can't get enough of these cloud shots! I think I have too many but they're just beautiful! I think I can take pictures of clouds all the time. I need this serenity, especially these last few weeks. These are the hardest weeks of a teacher's life. I don't care what others say. These last few weeks are the weeks we need to give it our all and at the same time, start winding down.

But man, these clouds!

Passing Storm

My classroom looked darker than usual when I turned the lights off. I looked out the window and saw a giant black cloud over our heads. That was unexpected because I hadn't seen rain in the forecast. Well, either I hadn't, or I didn't pay attention. Either way, as I walked out of the building, the beautiful smell of wet dirt hit me and I wanted to float away. I must have looked ridiculous breathing deeply as I passed the  plaza but it just smelled so delicious, I wanted to become one with the smell.

 I took several shots as I drove (no cell phones, but no one said anything about no cameras! ... I'm kidding) and after saying hi to my hubs, we went out and I noticed the clouds had moved. So I grabbed my camera while he was driving and as we made our left turn, I grabbed this shot. I love how you can see a little bit of sky blue on the right side of the screen versus the ominous dark cloud on the left.

The storm passed. Don't worry, it's still mid-April. They will return once more.

Bunny!...huh?

I got home the other day and saw that the counter was a mess. Dirty dishes, napkins everywhere, and a collection of cups. I roared at my husband and he pointed at the lid.

"Bunny!"

I was astounded that even with my rage, he was still able to be adorable. Yes, baby, it look like a bunny. Although the counter is now clean, the bunny remains. I can't get myself to throw it out! Well, I guess I'll throw it out after I post this.

Beautiful

Notice how I hardly write anything on Saturdays? I'm usually just chillin' on the weekend, so I just post my pic and go. Here's a shot of my dragon charm (from my cell phone) with the sunset in the background. Just beautiful.

Finally!

I did it! I got a tattoo! I had been wanting one for the longest time and I kept going from idea to idea. My hubs said it was subconscious and I was iffy about getting it, but today, I did it. My munchkin inspired me to get it.

Two weeks before he passed away, according to my aunt, his friends and he drew on the wall and depicted each other as animals. My cousin drew a panda. The day he passed away, I saw it and took a picture of the wall. I knew I wanted something with that. After trying to figure it out, I got the idea of using the panda and adding a little collar with the word "munchkin" in  the collar.

I like the way it came out. It's not too big and it's pretty close to the real pic.

Ladies and gentlemen, my first tattoo.

Look, Ma!

I remember when I was younger, I told people I wanted to study English in college. Everyone asked me, "What for? You want to be a teacher?" I replied, "HELL NO!" I'm seven weeks away from the end of my 6th year as a teacher. These past few years, I have grumbled and whined, complained and have sworn I was done teaching! I was never coming back! But I do come back. And when I do leave this place, I will continue to come back to a classroom, where teenage minds are ready to be opened up and absorb literature and how books are a mirror to our society.

I had a student tell me today, "Miss, you get so dramatic when you read these stories." Yes, I do, because a boring book bores me and I will not read it. I have to over-exaggerate what I'm reading to enjoy it. That's the beauty of reading. I can go anywhere and do anything through reading. That's what I love about reading. Not only that, but I can see what the world was like when the writing took place.

I hope that one day, I too can create a book that people can read and over-exaggerate when they're reading to others. Nothing would please me more than to be the trigger that made a young mind or young at heart mind fill up with impossible possibilities!

I will one day. My name will be on the cover of a book. And it will be grand!

In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy teaching literature. But, don't tell anyone I said that. They'll think I like my job. I have a reputation to uphold, teehee.

Down A Difficult Road

It has been five months. Five months that I have been working hard on numbing the pain. This past Saturday, I cried since November. Sometimes I wonder what he would be doing right now if he was alive. I wonder what I would tell him since he was always with his friends in his own world and he rarely came out to see his family. I wonder what he would say if I told him that the story idea I had in 2003, the one he helped me get inspired with his pictures, is still a go and I'm using it as a college application. I wonder what he would look like. The last time I saw him, he was losing weight but he was still a bit husky. When he passed away, he was skinny.

I wonder if we would celebrate another birthday together.

Five months after the loss of my Munchkin, I travelled down the road he last rode on. I saw the monument his friends placed for him. I saw the stretch of road where cars were driving 70 mph instead of the posted 60. For the first time in five months, I was finally on the road that took my cousin's life. I drove around it or avoided it all the time. Today was the day I managed to muster up the courage to face that cruel road.

Slowly, the pain will go away and I will let the grief pass, but for now, I simply cannot. It's been five years since my grandma has passed away and I'm still grieving. My munchkin's loss will be so much harder than that. Twenty years may have to pass. In the meantime, I will continue to live on and reach my dreams and celebrate, just as I would have if my dearest cousin was still around.

I miss you, Munchkin.

Trapped

So I was trapped at work today for parent-teacher conferences. Twelve hour day. It was horrible. This shot is from the second floor. It was a beautiful sunset as I sat behind my desk waiting for parents to arrive.

Dinner...Wut?

So... this was dinner. Gross, huh? But I was so tired from work, I didn't want to cook or eat anything healthy. I'm odd, I know.