Busy, Busy, Busy Bee

Wow. It's been a minute since I last blogged. The weather outside reminds me of being up north. I miss fall and the rain. I'm thankful for whatever little pockets of fall weather I get to experience down here.

Everything is going well down here in SoCal. I left my teaching job in Huntington Beach. It turned out to be more corporate minded than non-profit. There was no sense of community. The families and the children were great, but the administration could have been better. A WHOLE LOT BETTER. I just didn't want to work in an environment where the employees hated coming to work and were just trying to get through the day.  The quality of the program is suffering because of the lack of direction and leadership from the administration. The children deserve better.

I have a great new teaching job that I'm starting tomorrow. It's a happy place where the teachers are excited to come to work every day. The children are great too. It's more like Sutterville Preschool and it's more community oriented.

I also ran the half marathon in San Francisco last weekend. I've been trying for three years to get into the NWM and I finally did! I also got my uber cool Tiffany's necklace.  Much love and thanks go out to Paul for driving me up and down the coast. You know your man loves you when he's willing to do a crazy 24 hour commute just to support your love of running and because he knows you're homesick and need to see your Moms.

Happy Happy Happy Birthday to one of my oldest and dearest besties, Larrah Feliciano! I miss you.

My next update probably won't be until Turkey Day when I go home. I'll have all three dogs with me, so we'll see how that goes.

Peace.


My roll doggs on the long and boring drive to NorCal on the 5.



I'm too short to reach my name on the wall.



I got my NWM finisher's shirt. Wheee.



The coveted prize.

Changing at Light Speed

"Now hang on to your fur...we're going to pop into light speed." --Han Solo

It's hella official. I got the teaching job in Huntington Beach. The first person I called was my Moms. As her youngest, I still get a kick out of her being excited over my grown-up developmental milestones. Hehe.

I'm in transition, every thing is developing and changing so fast. All in a good way, of course.  It's like ripping off a band-aid. No time for second thoughts or doubts.

I'm excited to start this new chapter in my life. I'm going to miss being away from my family, but I need this fresh start.

I flew into Sacramento last night and didn't realize how much I missed being home. My cat, The Sibbie, seemed perfectly happy to ignore me for being away from her for so long. Yet, she still curled by my legs when I went to sleep. I'm sad to leave her behind, but Paul is allergic to cats. I hope she forgives me.

I was so happy to wake up in my own room this morning surrounded by my own things. Everything was familliar, even the three cats staring at me from my book shelf. It is easy to get comfortable and stuck in a bubble, but change is necessary and constant. Anyone and everything has the ability to change.  The only difference are the paths and choices we make, and whether or not we change for good or for worse.

I am a creature of habit. I have my own routines that bring me comfort and keep me cozy. I guess you could say I'm definitely going through some culture shock, but adjusting quite nicely so far.

I'm still going to say HELLA because I am from Northern California. The community and people in SoMa will always be a big part of who I am and will always have a special place in my heart. I'm also thankful to my friends who have rallied behind me and given me the extra push in the tush to follow my heart and take a leap of faith. Most of all, I'm very thankful to my family for their unconditional love and support.

With that said, it's see you later Northern California. The next time I'll be up in the area will be for the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco.

 

Summertime in the LBC

The folks in SoCal make it more and more difficult for me to leave everytime. Thanks for the good times! I can't wait to see you all real soon.

Waiting for the fireworks to start at Sunset Beach.


Our new puppy, Achilles. Paul finally got his Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

Oh Snap. I Forgot I Have a Blog.

It's been way too long. I've neglected my blog. It happens. Between commuting to the Bay Area every weekend to hang out with Paul, teaching, nannying, trying to catch up on sleep, and worrying about how I have no health insurance, I guess you can say I've been a little busy.

I don't even remember what my last blog was about. I remember starting my other blog, but I kinda suck at updating that one too. I'm like the MacGyver of preschool teachers, so I promise I'll update and upload all the projects I did over the school year and share my ideas. This includes an awesome cardboard pirate ship, y'all.

So let's see if I can wrap up this update in a paragraph or so. I finished my teaching internship and will miss seeing most of the little buggers I taught for the past year. Mostly, I will miss working with my awesome group of co-teachers. Paul moved back to Long Beach, and I am to follow at the end of the year. For now, we're sharing custody of the doggies. Yeah. We're good parents. I signed up for the Nike Women's Marathon in October and need to run with legs more than I run my mouth. Hah. If only I could regulate my breathing to be able to do both at the same time. Lastly, Paul and I got another puppy. Cute pic overload to follow later, along with adorable pictures of the new pup. Hah.

Since it's summer, I'll make more of a conscious effort to update the blog more frequently. After all, reading my blog is part of a healthy nutritious breakfast. It's kid tested and my moms approved.

Taking Inventory

Another school year is ending, and I'm sad to only have a month left of teaching at the center. It's been a struggle to juggle two jobs and two advanced administrative courses.

This school year is different in the sense that Paul has made the decision to move back to SoCal, and so we won't have the luxury of seeing each other every weekend. Sacrifices have to be made for a little bit until the end of the year.  We have made some plans for our immediate future, but we're going to keep that under wraps for now. Secret. I love my boo. Thank you for making me laugh. It really is the best medicine and you make me happy.

It's been a while since I've blogged, but don't fret. It's only because I've been busy and having too much fun. I'll probably be posting more about running in the next couple of months. I got into the Nike Women's Marathon this year, but I decided to do the half based on the advice of some of my friends and cousin Jen, who have participated in the NWM. I'm looking forward to it. I'll also be doing a few other 5ks and 10ks along the way.  I'm still competitive with myself, but I dedcided to try a different approach with my training. I used to be so obsessed with my time, PR and pace. I still am to some degree, but not to the point where I'm discouraging myself and being too hard on myself.  I'm just taking it easy, and approaching each run as a unique and fun experience.  I run for different reasons everyday, mostly just to center myself and to destress.  I run to be happy. It's also my way of kicking Graves Disease to the curb. I am thankful for my health every day.

A shout out to my rolldawg Hella Glen. Laugh, pare, laugh. Take it from me. Laugh that ish off. Don't worry so much about bustas that ick your wow. Much love to ya, my brother-from-another-mother.

Everything is how it needs to be right now. 
I'm going to sign off for now. This is my feeble attempt to sleep early.

Peace and blessings.

It's not a New Year's Resolution...it's a New Year's Revolution.

Like many others, I always had a New Year's resolution. I would stick to to it for maybe about half the year, then I would get really busy and kinda put it on the back burner.

Looking back at this past year, I really don't have any issues or problems left unresolved. I welcomed all the changes that came my way, and that meant ending my relationships with some people I felt were hurtful to my over-all well-being and soul. Some people just change for the worse, and sometimes you just have to go with your instinct about people and take a different path. I'm just not down with people who put too much of an emphasis on being materialistic and superficial. I just can't stand people who can't keep it real. I just find it draining to deal with people who are in constant need of validation. New clothes are nice and temporary, but it's your self-esteem and self-confidence that make you shine (thank goodness I have plenty of both). Bottom line, I'm just getting too darn old to deal with people like that.

I feel a lot of changes coming my way, most of which have to do with my future with Paul. We had a nice long talk during our drive back up from SoCal, and my change of address in the near future is becoming more and more of a reality.

With that said, I have no resolutions because I have no regrets. This New Year will be a revolution of sorts for me. I will continue to strive for enlightenment and personal growth. After all, the only thing that is constant is change. I think I'll just keep going with the flow of this new path I have chosen, and be thankful for all the blessings along the way.

Happy New Year everyone!

I could really get used to seeing this all the time.

Winter WonderLAnd

I can't hardly wait until Christmas break! I'm looking forward to our annual pilgrimage down HWY 101 to SoCal.

It will be a great break from the standard norm of teaching, working, and going to class. I just want to let the doggies run on the beach. I just want to run on the beach. I want to spend some quality time with Paul where I don't have to drive back after the weekend is over.

Paul and I are starting to talk about our plans concerning our immediate future. By that, I mean our one-year plan. Looks like it will be my turn to relocate come next year. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to celebrating our two-year anniversary soon. Oh yay! Time flies when you're having fun and in love. Extra cheese with that please. Hah.

On to other updates for now. Boxing and soccer are going well. I've been busy with both jobs and school, but I'm also glad that I've had the opportunity to check-in with folks like Kim M., the Junsays and Larrah. My co-teachers are cool and we're all working really well together. I also made a new friend in my trainer Casey. She is mad cool and I can appreciate her passion and dedication to boxing. I can't wait to watch her fight this Friday!