Nakia Jordan TWO sweet

Is it possible to watch your baby go from speaking baby babble to singing the national anthem, or from depending on you to do everything to telling you, "No, I do it" in just two years?!  And that isn't even the half of it.  Our beautiful daughter turned TWO YEARS OLD today and I am a proud mommy.  

What BebePrincess is into now...

• Hello Kitty
• Princesses
• Doggie Doggies
• Kai Lan
• Einsteins
• Boots
• Doing everything on her own.  She refuses help.  "No, I do it," she says.  Love that she's being Miss Independent, but when Mommy's got things to do and places to be, well you can imagine my frustration.. haha.
• Bear hugs and kisses.  Niki is sweet and affectionate.

Nakia Jordan has grown so much in so many ways.  I must admit her development and intelligence far exceeded that of Kyan when he was two, but then again NJ does has her Kuya (older brother) to follow so she does have the advantage.  She also had the opportunity to start pre-school earlier than her Kuya.  Either way, we are blessed and look forward to the many years ahead of us.

Artform: Dance

Tonight, again, reminded me of how much I love dance.  What an artform.. really.  

Ever since I joined the Tall Flags and Dance Team in high school, I have wanted to be a dancer.  My favorite choreographer (then) was Paula Abdul.  On top of being phenomenal choreographer, she was a Lakers Girl as well.  And if you know me, that's a big deal!

Anyhow, I continue to watch any and all dance reality shows, competitions, movies, live shows every chance that I get.  I am truly inspired and I plan to make it a reality to dance once again.  I may not win Sytycd (So you think you can dance) or get any kind of exposure, but I know that I will feel content knowing that I made the effort to fulfill my dreams.

34 before 35

In no particular order...

1. Spiritually cleanse myself by going to confession.
2. Organize my clothes.
3. Eat more vegetables.
4. Get a massage.
5. Go to the spa.
6. Run (well maybe walk semi-fast) a 5k.
7. Plan a menu.
8. Give away a LOT of stuff.
9. Get a facial.
10. Plan a real vacation.
11. Date my husband.
12. Schedule chores.
13. Call and see my sweetest friends.
14. Dance again.
15. Scrapbook.
16. Start jumping more for photos.
17. 
    

Inspired by my friend Susan Yee.

Happy Happy Birthday Kyan Xander!!

Three years ago, I gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. His eyes were wide open on the first day. He was so observant of all his surroundings.

Today, he is very much the same way. Our Kyan Xander blows us away with his observations. Funny boy, he is.

He still loves his cars, fast action movies like Cars and Speed Racer. He also loves desserts like his mommy! But he does love his beef like his daddy, when he actually eats something.. hehe.. he's a snacker.

Thank you God for this wonderful boy. We look forward to many, many years of FUN!

What Hurts the Most

We truly take for granted the many blessings we have. And it takes someone you know, one heroic life, to be lost to realize that we should cherish every single moment.

On Friday, March 27th, I got some very terrible news. My friend, Florence Bacong Choe, was killed in Afghanistan. I wrote a blog about her last April 2008. I am devastated. I continue to ask why and can't stop crying out about how unfair this is. I still cannot believe that she is not coming back. I am in disbelief.

When death hits you unexpectedly, especially one as tragic as this, it takes a great toll on your heart. She actually just returned back to Afghanistan. Two weeks prior, she was on vacation with her husband and daughter in Hawaii. She was also able to spend some time with her family and my sister, who is best friends with Florence. I had some children's books for theUnited Through Reading program she started out there. I also had a bunch of candy to give her to take back with her, but I was unable to get any of it to her. I feel bad that I didn't initially mail it to her or make the effort to give it to her sooner.

I know that I can't live on worrying about my regrets, but if only I made a better effort to give things to her, it would have made her stay there better. I think of her when I hear Rascal Flatts' What Hurts the Most. She only had 4 months left in her deployment.

My colleague said it best. You can't keep asking why because she has obviously touched the hearts that needed her the most. She has made her beautiful place in this world and in our lives. And although her passing was unfortunate, we need to remember to celebrate the life she led.

Remove the Blanket

It makes me really sad when I hear about a troubled marriage or a divorce. Today I found out about friends who are going/went through both.

Mahal and I have our issues every now and then, I mean what healthy couple doesn't, but we have managed to communicate our concerns to one another, although it might take me longer. I'm the gal in NKOTB's "Two in the Morning" (if you haven't heard the song, listen to it).

Regardless, I honestly wish there was something I could do especially when there's children involved. I come from a home of divorced parents myself all due to poor communication and financial irresponsibility. I may have been in college at the time, but it wasn't something I ever wanted to deal with. I always told myself that I would never let what happened to my parents, happen to me. I just know that if they did not let their pride and lack of communication get to them, they'd still be together.

There are reasons why we choose to marry who we do. In stressful situations, it seems to blanket those very reasons. It's at those times that we need to step back and re-examine what's most important to us.

God bless those in these troubled times.

2009 Givens & Leisures

In random order, I hope to accomplish the following in 2009:

The givens...

1. pray more (for continued blessings and the less fortunate)
2. lose weight (ideally 30 lbs, realistically 15 lbs)
   
3. exercise more (I ran last week so I kinda started early!)
   
4. get my M.A.
   
5. have someone help me organize my life
6. give/donate a LOT of my things
7. even though I don't want to, do more chores
8. spend quality time with family
9. follow up on my health (dental included)
10. be more financially responsible

Now onto the leisures...

1. take a photography/photoshop class
2. take dance classes
3. start up yoga again
4. become either a eucharistic minister or lector
5. scrapbook more
6. gtg more often with friends
7. keep in touch more often

Last few years, I told myself I wasn't going to do them anymore because I wasn't following them.  We create resolutions so that we can better ourselves.  Well this time, I am going to make every effort to follow them.  I know that I can only be a better individual for me and family, just by doing so, especially the givens.

Grown Up Christmas Wishes 2008

"I still believe in Santa Claus,

maybe that's just because I'm still a child at heart,

and I still believe in old St. Nick,

but then again maybe that's the trick we need,

we need to retreat to a world of make believe.

Let's make this Christmas last forever,

shine a little love along the way for the sake of all children

let love show us the way.

I still....

This time of year is for the giving,

this time of year is for the joy.

May joy and happiness be with you always this day.

I still...." ~ NKOTB *winkwink*

With that said (in random order)...

1. Celine Dion's My Love Ultimate Essential Collection
2. Flash compact card for my Nikon D40x
3. 5* VIP pkg to NKOTB (that's if they even do that again for a rumored summer tour)
4. Chick-Fil-A
   
5. Sprinkles
   
6. Organizer (of pack rats like me.. and that's saying more than I really want to!)
7. Housekeeper (bc I can't stand cleaning!)
8. A trip anywhere outside of SD
9. Scented candles
10. Uggs tall and black (size 6)
11. Photography and photoshop class
12. Dance classes
13. Hooded wool coat
14. Chanel purse
15. Black Juicy Couture bag
16. Premium annual pass to Disneyland & CA
17. Old Spaghetti Factory
18. Spa mani/pedi
19. Massage
20. Olive Garden
21. Buca di Peppo
22. Gourmet bagger
23. Daphne's
24. Surf city squeeze
25. Winchell's French Vanilla Chilla

That's quite a list, although I know there's more.

Thank you in advance Santa Claus!

I long to be a Woman of Strength

A STRONG WOMAN VERSUS A WOMAN OF STRENGTH

A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape ... but a woman of strength looks deep inside to keep her soul in shape.

A strong woman isn't afraid of anything... but a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of her fear.

A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her... but a woman of strength gives the best of herself to everyone.

A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future... a woman of strength realizes life's mistakes can also be blessings and capitalizes on them.

A strong woman walks sure footedly... but a woman of strength knows when to ask for help.

A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face... but a woman of strength wears grace.

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the whole journey...
but a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong!

Chosen Scriptures of the day: "This is My beloved Son, hear Him." Luke 9.48                                                      

Word of the day: "Many times it is better to be kind, than  being right!"

food for thought; " When you limit yourself, you limit God; and when you limit God, you limit yourself !"

"This isn't it.  Fame is not the goal.  To look younger is not the goal.  Money is not the goal;  but to know how to get PEACE of mind; how to be HAPPY, how to be confident, is something you just don't stumble accross. . . . .   you've got to search for it and find it !"

Smiling <3 *Catherine

Literally Shopping til the break of Dawn

So she said, "You didn't hear it from me, but we're opening at 10p."  Then a thought popped into my head.  I'm going midnight shopping.  I assumed that I was going be there for just a couple of hours.  haha.. that was a joke.  Instead of go @ 10p, I decided to wait for my sister to get off work @ 11p.  

So I am going to share my interesting experience with my list of misconceptions of midnight shopping:

1. I was not the only one who decided to go.  haha.. what was I thinking?  Traffic was seriously bumper to bumper.  I had NO idea it was going to be this much traffic.  We parked in a dark lot across the shops.  Now talk about safe at midnight.
2. I just couldn't look at things.  I had to get in line to get IN the store before I could even look around and shop.  Then I had to get in another LINE to pay for it.  Wow, was I misled?
3. Parents swear we live in Alaska where they thought it was okay to bring their babies and children to midnight shopping.  It isn't winter solstice here in SD, it's two in the morning parents!
4. Food indulgence.  It was unbelievable to me seeing people eating at the food court.  I mean, we're talking full on meals.  Oh and they had to have FUNNEL CAKE!  I resisted the temptation when I realized it was 3a in the morning.
5. Patience is a virtue.. for some.  I heard about stories about black friday shopping going array, but I was fortunate enough to not encounter any of those.

With that said, I shall be shopping again.  Amidst the busy-ness, I still had a great time with my sister.  It made for a fun midnight shopping experience.  By the way, I didn't get home till 6a in the morning and I didn't spend over $300!

Have Hope

Today I had to get a smog check.  I figured I better do it now before I get penalized.  

Something happened today that made me think.  I met a man who opened a door to possible new adventures for us... 4 wheel off roading!  This man, Moose, goes off roading in Borrego Springs regularly.  There's a club/group of them that go together every now and then.  Moose got to talking and said that our Land Rover would be great on a run like this.  I actually thought this would be fun.  I'm just a lil hesitant though bc not sure how the kids would handle it, moreover how I'D handle it!  Haha

But Moose isn't really the purpose of this blog.  It's his coworker whose name I don't remember.  But let's call him Greg.  Moose was saying how Greg likes to go off roading,  Greg interjects saying he has a jeep and a bike but says he can't go on these fun runs because he can't afford it.  Moose continues to say, "Someday you will."  

"Now that we've got this guy as president, I'll never be able to.  I'm stuck in this deadbeat job as a mechanic."  He continues on to say that he can't go back to school.  He just continued on in such a fashion that really got me thinking.  He was very pessimistic.  He honestly felt that there was no hope for him.  

It made me think about how many others feel this way.  How many others truly feel that there is not much else they can do to improve their lifestyle?  That is just really sad to me.  I felt like whatever encouragement I gave, there was no solution to his problems.

I pray for all those people who feel they have no hope.  I hope they find that twinge of motivation to make things happen, make their dreams come true.    

Photostream LIVE

I know that I haven't posted a REAL blog lately. I have been going through some things. I'm better now so I will try to get back into the swing of things.

I do want to officially state that our photostream is LIVE (if you haven't already notice) and there you will find our updated and current photos of the fambam.

www.flickr.com/photos/blessedcatherine

You do have to be my friend to view most of them.. I think.. haha.. I forgot what my settings were on there.

Anyway, while I get my blogging back into business, go check us out on Flickr!

And if you aren't my friend on Facebook, be one. I hardly go on MySpace anymore.

Smiling <3 *Catherine

Tech Support

I received this in my inbox awhile ago.. Author unknown

Tech Support: Yes, how can I help you?

Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install Love.Can you guide me through the process?

Tech Support: Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?

Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What do I do first?

Tech Support: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart?

Customer: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are Running?

Tech Support: What programs are running?

Customer: Let's see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and Resentment running right now.

Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it will no longer Disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from Being properly installed. Can you turn those off?

Customer: I don't Know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?

Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have been completely erased.!

Customer: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?
Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.

Customer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, 'Error - Program not run on external components.' What should I do?

Tech Support: Don't worry. It means that the Love program is set up to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before you can Love others.

Customer: So, what should I do?

Tech Support: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files: Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge your Limitations. !

Customer: Okay, done.

Tech Support: Now, copy them to the 'My Heart' directory. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.

Customer: Got it. Hey! My heart is filling up with new files. Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is this normal?

Tech Support: Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventually everything gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running. One more thing before We hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with ! others and return some cool modules back to you.

Customer: Thank you, God.

Ill Babies

In the last two days, we have had to cater to two ill babies.  Does this come with the tuition to preschool?  

High fevers are scary.  Does this mean now they aren't going to get the flu later?  Should I take them to get flu shots anyway?  Hmmm.. it is no fun when your babies are lethargic.

I pray for better health in the morning.

Smiling because you're reading :D,

*Catherine

Fantasy

I love Fantasy!  Fantasy football, that is.  I'm one of those girls who dig watching good football.  I started a league with some of my Indies friends and I am in 2nd place.  However, I do have a 2nd team on there, but I am not paying to much mind to it because I realized how unfair it was for me to start another team in the same league.  My good reason is that I didn't want anyone to have a bye week because of the uneven number of teams.  But now I feel bad I did because DH says it's unfair.  I didn't realize that and now I think I should apologize to my league members.

Anyway, I love football and I love my Chargers.  I made a booboo last week and benched SD's defense.  What in the world was I thinking after last week's game?

Gosh I love FOOTBALL!!

Useless Facts

I borrowed this from www.anditisliz.com, Miss Liz Hernandez from Big Boy in the Morning Z90.3 (Power 106).

Useless facts that you can use to get the conversation going this weekend. Enjoy!

FACTS:
1. 40% of McDonald’s profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.
2. Chocolate can kill dogs; it directly affects their heart and nervous system.
3. American Airlines saved $40,000 by taking an olive from First Class salads.
4. The first CD pressed in the US was Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA.”
5. The name Wendy was made up for the book Peter Pan. There was never a recorded Wendy before it.
6. Bruce Lee was so fast that they had to slow the film down so you could see his moves.
7. It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than has in it to begin with.
8. Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.
9. China has more English speakers than the United States.
10. You share your birthday with at least 9 million other people in the world.

Royally PO'd

Before I indulge myself in Sprinkles cupcakes, I need to say how royally PO'd I am with today's unfairness of what they call referees!

It's worse for my brother, who was AT that game!

Dang refs, dang broncos.

A+!

I apologize for the major delay.

I just completed my 2nd graduate course.. Final paper A+, Course Grade A+!!  Whew those super late nights pay off!  But can I tell you that I am extremely exhausted right now.

I just had to come on here to say that I am going to Malibu tomorrow with the babes, my Mommy and my sis, who is the Malibu Triathlon on Saturday.

Oh and I adore Aga Muhlach.

K & N's Montessori

A little update on the babes and pre-school.. they're doing well!

Kai goes five days a week while Niki goes three days.  She only goes part time because Ms. Riffi (their teacher) doesn't have the capacity for her age group full time.

Mahal takes them in the morning (I prep their clothes for them) while I pick them up in the afternoon.  I love it when I get there because I wait until they've noticed that I've arrived.  And it is soooo awesome when you see that look, the element of surprise as they see someone they love.  Kyan's hilarious; he screams and runs right to me!  Nakia is shortly behind him.  I love it!  

I can't wait to actually see them bring some school work home.. hehe.  It'll probably be a bit, but I'm looking forward to it.

I know it costs a lot of money.  I mean, for Kai alone is over $10k in a year.  Nonetheless, I am very happy to have them there.  Riffi & Shermeen take good care of our bambinos and it shows.

Good and Not so Good

O m g . . . has it really been two weeks since I last posted?!

So sorry.. that was terrible of me. I have had many things going on. Good and not so good. I certainly need prayers for the not so good part, which in due time I will share. Btw, it has nothing to do with the other not so good, that yes I did not share. But I do appreciate all the thoughts and prayers.

So a few things that I will certainly elaborate on . . .

*First week of school
*First day of preschool for the bambinos!
*Not so good family news
*Almost done with 2nd graduate class
*Planning and coordinating three early spring 2009 weddings
*New hairstyle
*Events galore in the next 3mos... 4 to be exact!

Okay, well I certainly have work to do! I will post more often, I promise. I will leave you with this...

Pop Art Me thanks to my new MacBook Pro!!