Saturday, February 28, 2004

11:45pm  Things that Boys and Girls Do

Firstly, congratulations to Hazel on the official launch of Event Designs.  Hope your Launch Party went well and that the boys behaved during the bellydancing performance.  Here's to your continued event planning success.  

On the eastern side of the nation, the boys managed to convince Jay to play some ball tonight.  Jay had planned to give his legs a break tonight because we're skiing all day tomorrow.  But being the diehard that he is, he just couldn't resist, so play ball they did.  It was a tad bit warm in the gym tonight so I hope you all didn't forget your SPF 30.  

Jessica entertained Ate Marissa and Ate Row with a fairly detailed account *ahem* of a recent dream that she had.  I sat in wide-eyed amazement, or perhaps it was fear, as I listened to the conversation.   Then there were rollercoaster rides and Who Wants to be a Millionaire-esque things happening.  Weeeeee!  So welcome to my world ladies!  Does that offer on babysitting still stand?  Hee!  

Thursday, February 26, 2004

10:20pm  Girl Relationships

The relationship my daughter has with her aunt still always amazes me and really warms my heart.  As far as Jessica is concerned, her Auntie Cindy is an angel - mind you there isn't much competition since she is my only sister and Jay  has one brother.  

I was reading Jessica's nightly bedtime story to her when my cell rang.  It was my sister calling from the car on her way home from work.  Of course Jessica kept poking at me and trying to grab my phone because she wanted to talk to "her Auntie Cindy".  So finally I gave up the phone and told Jessica to quickly say goodnight because it was getting late.  The two chatted for a few minutes and then Jessica said her goodbyes and I love you's.  I took the phone again and we chatted for a few more minutes and before we could hang up Jessica was out like a light.  So I'm thinking that perhaps a nightly call to her Auntie Cindy in place of a bedtime story and the accompanying 3 glasses of water and complaints that her blanket is crooked and that her teddy bear is missing, will be a better technique to get her in bed.  *grin* 

And in other girl relationships, there's nothing like an uninterrupted 90 minute phone conversation with Jane to catch up, vent, laugh and scheme summer plans!  It does the spirit good!   

 Wednesday, February 25, 2004

10:34am  Got Milk? 

I spent most of yesterday in bed trying to combat the nausea.  I had some bad milk in my coffee Monday night.  I'm feeling better today but just a little dizzy from not having eaten anything all day yesterday.  Gatorade is not a food group.  

I've been following all the reports on the new controversial Mel Gibson film "The Passion of the Christ" which releases today.  Judging from watching the behind the scenes clips I think it will be a very powerful movie and I'm dying to watch it.  I just need to get my hands on a babysitter because I don't think it'll be something I can take a 5 year old to watch.  Any volunteers?  Ahem!   

Monday, February 23, 2004  

5:50pm  Kindergarten and other Big Decisions

Jessica had her Kindergarten Interview at Bayberry Elementary School in Watchung today.  Imagine a 5 year old in an interview!  You would think I was trying to get her into Berkeley or Princeton or something.  She and a group of other Bayberry-hopeful's were interviewed by the Child Study Team and one of the Kindergarten teachers for a little over an hour.  We were told that this process would help the staff determine the child's readiness for Kindergarten this coming September.  I have a pretty good feeling that Jessica passed that with flying colors.  She declared to the teacher "I'm smart!"  

The mother's were taken into a separate room to fill out registration forms and to listen to a presentation by the school principal.  I'm really quite impressed by the curriculum.  So now its just a matter of deciding on whether to send her to Bayberry or back to Lake Nelson next year.  It's proving to be a much bigger decision than I had bargained for. 

2:30pm  Pancit Parties 

So another busy weekend is over.  There is simply no rest for the weary.  The guys came out for their weekly game of ball on Saturday night.  Bernie and Lauris came out to join the regulars this time around.  Another resident was hosting a very loud surprise party in the Great Room - so the ladies, with children and one husband in tow, moved our conversation to our place so that we could actually hear one another without having to yell above the music.  Ahem apparently some of the guys got personal invitations to this party after their game.  Hee!

Jay's been enjoying his ball time with the boys and its turned out to be quite the social event for the ladies and the kids too.  

The twins celebrated their 1st birthday yesterday afternoon.  I still can't tell them apart but they are equally cute!  Jessica had a great time with the other kids jumping on the Moonwalk contraption.  Not to be left out, one of the mom's and the church pastor jumped right on in and had their turn at the bouncing action.  And what's a Filipino party without karaoke, pancit and shanghai lumpia!  Ya know!   

Friday, February 20, 2004

8:32pm  Long Time No Blog

It's been a busy week and my blog screams for attention!  The excitement of having family in town for Jessica's birthday celebration has come to an end.  My sister and brother-in-law flew back to California early Tuesday morning.  After the begging and pleading of a certain only granddaughter, my parents extended their trip by a few days and left this morning.  

Jessica's 5th Birthday Party held last Sunday, February 15 was a huge success!  We had a group of approximately 70 adults and 20 children at the clubhouse.  Many thanks to my Auntie Charee, Auntie Glo, Mom and Dad, Ninong Boy in Toronto who did all the food prep.  And thanks to Cindy and Norman for providing the kid's favor bags, the Hello Kitty piñata and for supervising the activities.  That was one heck of a piñata attack.  Luckily no one lost an eye, although that stick came awfully close to my head several times.  

Jay and the guys had an intense game of ball in the indoor court until the clubhouse officially closed at 11pm.  

The party continued with Jessica's gift-opening at the apartment with the family and Tita Nenita, Tito Sonny and Eric Esoy, family of my NorCal best friend Jane.  More laughs and fun times.  It was like my family has known the Esoy's for years, I tell ya!  

We got to sleep in late Monday morning and then hit up Short Hills for some President's Day bargains.  Cindy and I did really well in the shoe department at Bloomie's.  Yay!

It was great times with the family!  Thanks to all our dear friends who came out to share the occasion with us.  The phone calls to Jessica on her birthday from Jane and Brianna in the SF Bay Area, Uncle Edward in Southern California, Shabana in London, Uncle Jon and Grandma Jocy in Toronto meant so much.  Jessica also loved her surprises from Em and Dan and Grandpa Eli and Grandma Rexy!  

We certainly feel the love!  Hugs!

Update:  Pics of our run-in with celebrity and Jamba Juice are now up in the Family Gallery!  

Saturday, February 14, 2004

12:54am  Birthday Fun

We had an enjoyable day in the city with the family to celebrate Jessica's birthday.  After a yummy lunch at Auntie Charee's place, we did some shopping and then went to take pictures at the Trump Towers (none of Donald Trump's Apprentices were hanging around).  

We checked out the new and upscale Shops at Columbus Circle in the Time Warner Center and made two very exciting discoveries.  The girls stopped to "powder our noses" and my cousin Lizelle was waiting for us by the sinks.  Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that she was talking to a lady wearing a pair of hot red boots.  The lady finished washing her hands and left.  My cousin excitedly turned to me and announced that the lady she had been talking to was "Anna" from "The O.C." - yes the secret is out I do follow that show.  So Liz, my sister and Jessica rushed out of the restroom to try and catch up with the actress.  My sister managed to get a shot of Liz, "Anna" and Jessica which I will post soon.  

As I was about to follow them out, I noticed a woman come into the restroom with a Jamba Juice!  *gasp*  I'm apparently not as starstruck as I thought because that totally distracted me and I had to ask her where in the world she got it!   

There is a Jamba Juice...and a Whole Foods Market... at The Shops at Columbus Circle!  I am hugely excited!  We made a beeline and you can be sure that I ordered my Cranberry Craze smoothie with femme boost.  A Jamba Juice, Whole Foods Market, Borders, Godiva and Sephora all under the the same roof.  Does it get any better than that!  

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!  

Friday, February 13, 2004

12:24pm  Little Princess

Happy 5th Birthday Jessica!  You are my little princess and I love you this much!  Hugs and kisses sweetheart!

Wednesday, February 11, 2004

11:53pm  Family Fun

So the flurry of activity to get Jessica's birthday party details together are well underway.  My parents arrived into town safely earlier this evening.  They came bearing gifts and yummy Filipino desserts - the kind that is made entirely of eggs and sugar (translation:  arterial blockage waiting to happen)  - and 200 pieces of Ninong Boy's homemade pecan tarts.  The New York relatives came over for a late night coffee.

It'll be a 5-day stretch of late nights, disturbingly high calorie intake, loud conversation and laughter to match that - the makings of a true Filipino family get-together.  *grin*

Tuesday, February 10, 2004

9:17am  Birthday Surprises

Jessica is so thrilled with the birthday surprises she received in the mail yesterday from Em and Dan!  Thank you both so much - that was really sweet!  She's going to hold me to my promise to call you so that she can thank you herself when she gets home from school later.  *hugs* 

Monday, February 9, 2004

11:05pm  Art of Expression

I enjoy writing!  This is fairly obvious from the frequency of my entries in this online journal.  I've always found something quite liberating in the art of written expression. Putting pen to paper always allowed me the freedom to say exactly what I was thinking.  And now in this age of technology, sometimes my fingers can't race across the keyboard fast enough to keep pace with my thoughts.  

I aspire to be good at it!  And I like to tell myself that this is part of the reason many of you return to this site on a regular basis.  Unless of course, you're only here to look at the pictures, in which case I am hugely delusional.  Hee!  

In my younger years, I may have broken up with a boy or two in the form of a letter...on college ruled three hole punch paper, the kind that you buy at Staples.  Sorry dude!  But on the otherhand, I think my flowery proclamations of love are also part of the reason Jay married me.  And if this isn't true then at least the notion of it sounds romantic.  Ha!

Last month, I taught a class on "Reporting" for Jessica's  Adventurer Club.  I'm far from being Barbara Walters (although I was jokingly referred to as Connie Chung for weeks on end by my professor after an Operations Management class group presentation in my senior year of university)!  I talked about the importance of learning how to express yourself - written and verbal.  If you learn nothing else in school, these are two skills that will carry you through anything in life.  

As part of the class requirements, each child was asked to do a short delivery in which they shared their name, age and favorite color...in front of the entire group and a video camera.  They were each given some time to practice and then they were on.  We had quite a few naturals in the room. 

The other requirement is to maintain a journal for 2 months.  It has been interesting, and quite entertaining, to go through the kid's journals each week.  Perhaps one day I'll have the pleasure of seeing one of these talented children anchor a news broadcast or to read an editorial or weekly column in some highly acclaimed publication.  In the meantime, we'll just keep journaling!    

12:34am  Party Prep Time

Ahhh for some quiet blog time to wind down from another busy weekend.  After a full-day of activities at church on Saturday, spent a nice evening chatting with the gals - Rowena and Mags - at the clubhouse while our guys played a few solid hours of ball.  I'm hoping that these Saturday night hoop sessions for the guys will also become a habit for their significant others - some quality girl time.  

Sunday was a blur of errands as we ventured off to Jersey City in search of the Philippine Bread House to order Jessica's birthday cake and then into Manhattan for my hair appointment and a visit with my aunts and cousins.  We're all excited about the upcoming celebration and family time.

Another busy weekend has gone by - a precursor to what will be a very busy week in party prep for Jessica's 5th birthday celebration and a houseful of out-of-town guests.  I'm hoping that the weather will hold out for my parents who will be driving in from Toronto and for my sister and brother-in-law who are flying in from their warm southern California climate to share this time with us.  

Friday, February 6, 2004

11:34am  False Security 

I got an adrenalin rush...before my morning coffee today!  This morning as I was throwing in a load of laundry, I heard fumbling at our door.  Odd!  I had just spoken with Jay and he was stuck in freeway traffic on his way to the office.  When the fumbling did not go away, I instinctively ran over to the door, turned the second deadbolt and peeked through the peephole, but saw no one at my door.  And there was no one standing at our neighbor's door across the hall.  I yelled out "Excuse me!" sternly and then I heard shuffling down the stairwell directly to the left of our door.  In hindsight, I'm not really sure why I said "Excuse me!" instead of "Who are you and why the heck are you at my door!"  - chalk it up for maintaining a level of politeness even when I'm slightly freaked out.  

I called the leasing office to let them know that someone had been fumbling at my door.  I was not expecting visitors and security had certainly not buzzed anyone through.  They sent security over and they found nothing out of sorts.  Perhaps it had been another resident thinking that he was in front of his own door by mistake.  It happens I guess.   

So I'm thinking that there's a false sense of security sometimes - in spite of the guard at the gatehouse, the keyless building entry, the deadbolts and the in-suite security alarms and motion sensors.  Ah well!  My heart rate has returned to normal resting - thank you very much!

Wednesday, February 4, 2004

9:10am  Bad Hair Day

Say it isn't so!  My 4 year old, soon to be 5, is officially concerned about how her hair looks!  Aaaargh!  It was quite the ruckus as I tried to fix Jessica's hair this morning before school.  "No Mom - not like that!  I want it like this!" she said as she did the motions on top of her head.  I struggled to capture her vision and proceeded to gather the sides of her hair up into a top knot.  "Nooooo Mom - not like that!"  So I tried again and started to pull all her hair into one high ponytail but was met again with major protest.  Apparently I still wasn't catching it.  Finally in her frustration, Jessica jumped off her stepstool and ran into her bedroom "Where's my Bratz folder?  I want my hair to be blonde!"   *gasp*  

It was an instant deja-vu to my L'Oreal days when all the hair models wanted to be blonde!  I struggled to explain that I couldn't just simply comb her hair to blonde...and I think I said something about her being too young to color her hair.  Thank goodness I managed to convince her that her ponytails looked very cool!  *sigh of relief*  

Tuesday, February 3, 2004

11:23pm  The Good Life

On Tuesday mornings, my sister and I enjoy the luxury of having long, uninterrupted phone conversations.  My husband still shakes his head in amazement at how we girls can speak the night before and still have that much to talk about the following morning.  For crying out loud, what other things can possibly happen in the middle of the night when the world is supposed to be sleeping!    

Today was no different!  No we didn't speak last night, but come to think about it we spoke at least 4 different times on Sunday.  But hey alot can happen in a day!  Thank goodness for mobile to mobile and free evenings and weekends!  

We talked about the house and their upcoming trip to visit us.  We critiqued the new Rex Navarette DVD "Hella Pinoy" which she recently sent to me.  We talked about certain wardrobe difficulties and killed ourselves laughing.  Ahem!  By the way Norm, we live in Jersey, not in the Arctic - so don't sweat it man!  Practice runs are unnecessary!  Hee! 

It's great how my sister and I can have so much fun together, despite the fact that an entire nation lies between us.  

Still on a high after my hilarious conversation with Cindy, I read Dan's blog entry for today and discovered that he was rushing to Ft. Lauderdale to be with his parents after his father was hospitalized early this morning.  His closing paragraph was particularly poignant:  Anyhow, it sounds really stupid and it's said fairly often, but try to remember to call the people you care about. Life is precious, health is precious, and friends and family are precious. Keep your priorities straight, and don't take the big things for granted.

Thanks for the reminder Dan!  Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.  We love you guys!  

In spite of the fact that I've spent the last month of blog time complaining about the weather, I do have a good life and many wonderful people that share it with me.  *sigh of content*

And speaking of life, congratulations to Ced and Sunny who have just announced that they are expecting!  That'll be one stylish baby!  

Alrightey then, I have to get off my tush and call Em now!  It's about bloody time!  

Monday, February 2, 2004  

10:19pm  Malfunctions

So outside of having to hear and read about Janet Jackson's boob and the alleged wardrobe malfunction all day  - we actually got some warmer weather today.  It was 41 degrees - yes above freezing - by late afternoon.  But that is the calm before the storm, literally.  This county is under another winter storm watch and we're expecting 3-5 inches of snow tomorrow.  Now THAT is a malfunction!  

9:30am  Spring Forecast

Happy Groundhog Day!  The sun is shining brightly and the little critter saw his shadow when he popped out of his hole this morning.  Guess  that means we'll be getting six more weeks of this miserable cold weather...if you believe in that stuff!  I don't, but I just thought it would make for an interesting opening paragraph for today's entry. A little trivia never hurt anyone.  

So apparently pink and chocolate brown are all the rage for  spring!  It's everywhere!  On the runways, in cosmetics...in the hottest home design looks.  Ahem!  Black and white is over!  At the risk of looking so last season...I'm blogging in pink and chocolate today.  

Sunday, February 1, 2004 

7:22pm  Indian Techno

Last night we attended the wedding reception of one of Jay's colleagues who got married in India over the Christmas holidays.  This reception was one of the four that they have already had - mostly for their local friends, relatives and colleagues.  Goodness that's one heck of an extended wedding celebration.  

It was nice to finally meet some of the people Jay works with.  Coincidentally enough, half our table was Canadian and now living in this state because of a corporate transfer or the TN visa.  

The Indian fare was absolutely delicious.  The music was...how you say...interesting!  Indian music remixed with techno beats and whoa those dudes were jumpin' up to that groove, throwing in some traditional Indian dance moves with some of that old school popping action!  That music will be ringing in my ears for the rest of the week!  Hee!

The groom thanked the "esteemed guests" for celebrating the occasion with he and his new bride at least five different times over the course of the evening.  He definitely had a few beverages!  I'm almost positive that he will be the butt of a few jokes around the watercooler come Monday morning.  

Well, it's Superbowl Sunday!  Call me a party pooper because I don't really care who wins! I'll tune in for the half-time show...maybe.  And as far as my brother-in-law Norm is concerned he's sportin' his 9ers jersey today!  Right Norm!  Ha!  *wink*    

Edit:  Congratulations to my sister for finally getting a new cellphone.  Now we can talk for at least an entire 3 minutes without your battery cutting out mid-sentence. Thank goodness!  Be sure to program your banner so that it reads "Neopolitan Goddess"!  *Ha - inside joke*