| January 2004 | ||||
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Friday, January 30, 2004 10:08pm Design Conscious I've always been a huge believer in hands-on practical experience. I suppose that's why I chose the work-study program when I was in college. A semester in the classroom and the next being a suit in the world of nine-to-five in the heart of Toronto's financial district! And got paid to boot. Not too shabby! I'm the kinda gal that wants to be left to my own devices. Tell me once and I'll take it from there - do not hover over my shoulder because that makes me nervous and incredibly self-conscious. When I need help, I'll call you, but don't call me. Hee! It is in that same spirit that I've learned how to get thus far in creating my very own website. "Jaayyyy, why am I getting an error? Why can't I see my guestlog?" But it's not quite where I want it to be and all Dan's talk about RSS is making me want to expand my horizons. I'm ready to take this baby to the next level - bring it on! In other design tidbits, I finally got Jessica's birthday party invitations done today after many revisions. I had to revise the first few designs to a more cost-efficient layout. Then after I did that, I discovered that the printer I chose to run my job doesn't support Quark 5.0 files, so I had to bring it down to a 4.0. Live and learn...and remember to read the notes that I took in that lecture. So the invites are done and I'm really quite pleased at how they turned out. Pause for this public service announcement: For Hire! Will work for coffee and web shout-outs! I'm off to stuff envelopes and lick stamps - my personal assistant took a sick day. Hmph! Wednesday, January 28, 2004 5:45pm Don't Believe the Hype So 'twas another Snow Day over here. Turns out that the media overhyped the weather situation again. Leave it to American media to exaggerate everything huh! Oh sure we got the snow accumulation they were predicting, but it was hardly treacherous driving conditions this morning. Heck I went out and ran all sorts of errands today and the roads were dry. In effect, Jessica had another day off from school and Jay's office had a delayed opening which usually means that only the consultants will be in. Two words - billable hours! Tuesday, January 27, 2004 10:50pm Make it Stop! Enough is enough! I just can't take it anymore. Aargh! Here it comes again - the white powdery stuff that makes for a winter storm watch and that has already closed schools and most businesses tomorrow. You'd think I'd have iron-clad endurance to get through another east coast winter because its not like I was born and raised on some tropical island. But give me a break - I'd just as soon live near a faultline than have to endure any more of this. On a more positive note, there's a new circuit training class in town. And whoa the heartrate! It does the body good! But ask me again in the morning and I'll tell you if I still feel the same way. Hee! 11:39am Conspiracy Theory It's a conspiracy I tell ya! They're scheming and plotting and taking photos at my known favorite places then emailing them to me - dangling them like a carrot in front of the donkey. I am defenseless because they know that I am weary of this east coast cold snap (except that its now hardly a snap because its been hanging around for weeks on end). They're trying to break this girl down to enter a credit card number and hit submit for that one-way ticket westbound. There is strength in numbers and its them against me! They are evil! *wink* Monday, January 26, 2004 12:33am Let Them Eat Cake I've just been informed that some cardamom cake made its way to a certain household in a town that will remain unnamed but may or may not rhyme with San Ramon. *ahem smile* Don't make me have to fly on over there girl! Hee! Miss you all too - trust me! Sunday, January 25, 2004 4:05pm Breath of Fresh Air Finally I'm feeling more like myself and left the confines of these four walls today. For the most part, I've been inside since Tuesday night. I don't think chauffeuring Jessica to school and back or walking the handful of steps it takes to get to the clubhouse to watch the boys play ball last night qualifies as "going out". Although my trip past the gated entrance of our complex was by no means anything to write home about - unless of course you consider a trip to BJ's Wholesale to stock up on groceries scintillating. Then dude you have bigger problems than I did last week. Ha! I can tell I'm feeling a whole lot better when my body suddenly craves a burrito *detour to Baja Fresh* and chicken soup, herbal tea and Popsicles lose any kind of appeal. And while we're on the topic of food - Em, any of that cardamom cake left? Send it over! *grin* Thursday, January 22, 2004 10:18pm Defeat So Old Man Winter and one nasty nasty virus have finally brought me to my knees. They've gotten the best of me and I've been feeling pretty lousy since Tuesday night when a sore throat hit me from out of nowhere. It hurts to eat, swallow and talk - just sucks to be me right now. Thank goodness for the flu shot I got last month or else I'm sure this would be worse than it already is. I've been quite unproductive and have watched a disgustingly insane amount of trash TV in the past two days. It's frustrating considering I have a fairly long to-do list that screams for my attention. I owe a few people a phone call and I promise I will get right on it when I'm feeling better. Darn this cold winter - I wish it would just go away already! I'm off to bed because even the site of my own blog is making me nauseous right now. Tuesday, January 20, 2004 6:00pm California Package And to further prove the theory that Em and Dan are in fact alive and well, we received a wonderful "California-ish package" in the mail today from our favorite San Franciscan's. Jessica is quite excited about her "Finding Nemo" game and I'm even more excited about the pretty bag chock full of California goodies.
Their creative efforts at enticing us back out there are registering a 10 on the richter scale! Thanks guys - I'm in bliss! Monday, January 19, 2004 1:24pm Parental Consent Jessica in a discussion we were having about her upcoming trip to California with her grandparents: "Mom, why don't you ask your parents if you can come too?" So perhaps my parents will allow me to join them on their vacation if I get their signatures on the permission slip. Hee! 10:08am Weekend Blur Oh geez, is it Monday already! I must've blinked and the weekend passed me by. It was a busy one! It was the Adventurer's Club Family Blessing Day at church on Saturday. The day showcased the many talents of our children. Jessica had a speaking part in the morning program. She got a very rare case of stage fright and forgot her lines so I got to jump into my role as script prompter. Oh the joys of being a stage mom. A heartwarming video compilation of the parents offering words of love and encouragement to their children evoked some giggles and certainly tugged at many heartstrings. In other very very small pinoy world news, I discovered that Auntie Fely at church went to college with my aunt. Upon learning my maiden name, she excitedly told me that she knows my Dad's sister and that they recently saw each other at a college reunion in Vegas. She went on to tell me that she also saw Susan Jimeno. Susan had sent her an invitation to the wedding of her son this past August but unfortunately could not attend because she was out of town. I put two and two together and told her "well...that was also the wedding of my sister. Susan Jimeno's son is married to my sister." *say AY TALAGA out loud to get the effect* Hee! Next week we're sharing photos. Small world! I think it would be fun to wear a t-shirt with "my name is Judy Cardona, eldest daughter of Juanito Cardona and Eldie Dario" emblazoned on it, to see what other family connections come out of the woodwork. Ha! Yesterday we decided to brave the sleet and made a trip into NYC to visit my aunt. We made it to the Holland Tunnel toll plaza and through the tunnel in record time - definitely a first in our short history of weekend trips to Manhattan. Guess everyone decided to stay home so traffic was very light! Oh and good news, Em and Dan are alive! *smile* Dan hasn't posted in his blog since circa 1999...ok so that's a bit of an exaggeration. Nice to catch up with you guys in your two very recent entries. I live vicariously through danrochman.com Great to hear from you last week Em! Hope you're feeling much better these days. Friday, January 16, 2004 6:06pm Brrr! The northeastern cold snap continues! It did get a little warmer today - high of 31 degrees F. *groan* This weather leaves me unmotivated to go outdoors and perhaps a little irritable. The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. - Mark Twain *cough* Apparently he's never been to Jersey. I've decided to play Photo Friday. In keeping with this week's motion theme, I submitted a photo of the fountain (with Jessica in it) at San Ramon Central Park taken when we used to live in the SF Bay Area. All the neighborhood kids would agree that the fountain was the coolest thing at the playground. The photo reminds me of a warmer day in a warmer place. Goodness knows I need the reminder...big time! Thursday, January 15, 2004 9:55am Frozen Mother Nature decided to dump another load of snow on the northeast. I woke up this morning to see a blanket of white. The news reports say that we got 6 inches of the powdery stuff last night. And the temperatures will be hovering around the 14 degree F. mark at its high today. The sun is shining brightly so it's a little deceptive. I haven't ventured out yet to check. Since Jessica's school is closed due to the weather, I'm sure she will beg, plead and bat her eyelashes to get me to take her sledding today. The vision of coming inside to a nice mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream just might get me away from this keyboard and into my warm ski gear. Update: I've added Marissa's blog on my links page. She's a blogaholic friend from church whose site I read on a daily basis. She was also my inspiration to try my hand at the 26 Things Photographic Scavenger Hunt. Wednesday, January 14, 2004 12:44pm Simple Pleasures I'm really quite excited about stumbling upon a Cold Stone Creamery last night. I was at Menlo Park Mall with every intention of just popping into Pottery Barn real quick. On a sidenote, my husband rolls his eyes when I say "real quick" because it usually means a good hour or two. Then suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw that old familiar signage and thought that certainly I was dreaming...or hallucinating, whichever way you want to look at it. Alas I was not - there really is a Cold Stone at Menlo Park. And in spite of the freezing temperatures, I just had to have one of their sinful ice cream concoctions - the Mud Pie Mojo! Yummy! For some reason I am very behind schedule today. Jessica woke up late and I didn't get her to school until way past start time. So I was half an hour late for Pilates and managed to get in on the last 15 minutes of the session. I figure 15 minutes is better than nothing at all. I feel like I'm rushing - and to where? I'm not really sure! I hate it when that happens! Edit: Jessica's account of her friend getting sick at school today - "they measured her head to see how hot she was because she wasn't feeling very well". *stifling a giggle* Sunday, January 11, 2004 11:09pm Swoosh! After an hour and a half drive outside of Jersey, we found ourselves swooshing down the slopes at Big Boulder, Poconos Mountains in Pennsylvania. We haven't had a snowfall since early December so it was machine packed powder ski conditions in the biting cold. Jessica did her first ski lesson today. She learned how to walk in her ski boots (a daunting task even for the seasoned skier), put on and remove her equipment, glide on a short decline, and do a "pizza wedge" stop. She even got a glowing report card of her progress and a cool coloring book at the end of the 3 hour ski instruction. She loved it and is quite determined that I take her up on the ski lift next trip. With Jessica in ski school, it gave Jay and I a few solid hours to check out the various ski runs. Its been years since I last put on a pair of skis, but after a couple runs down the small hill, I discovered that it was much like riding a bike. It all comes back! After doing a few warm-up runs on the Little Boulder trail, Jay and I ventured over to the terrain park trail, Tannenbaum. It had an assortment of ramps and rails for the boarders to do all their fancy tricks on. I figured that it was better to come down looking semi-graceful on the less than difficult hills than to look like a complete fool flailing down the more challenging ones. Hee! Then Jay decided that he wanted to get all professional and venture off to the Black Diamond trail. I let him do that...without me. I don't have a deathwish. Bunny's Elbow was about as daring as I got today and I did all that without bitin' any powder...at least not until AFTER I proudly announced to one of the guys that I had NOT fallen all day! Knock on wood! Then as luck would have it, I fell - not on the slopes, but rather, on level ground when the back of my blades managed to get entangled. Now that would be a classic "Judy move"! Grrr! After sunset, we took on a few hours of night skiing! Had a great time skiing a better part of the day with Jay, Ulysses and Lauris! But I think those guys are trying out for the U.S. Ski Team or something because we were the last ones to leave the resort. Famous last words for the evening "just one more run, I promise!" Whew...that was one serious workout. I think I have a pretty good idea on what body parts will be hurtin' tomorrow morning! Good night all! I'm psyched for our next trip in February. Friday, January 9, 2004 3:15pm Imelda Marcos-ism's She who has the most shoes wins! - Unknown Give a girl a good shoe and she'll conquer the world! - Bette Midler Thursday, January 8, 2004 10:14pm Bon Voyage Shabana's flight leaves in less than an hour - whisking her back to her home in London, England. It was so nice to spend the holidays with you. You definitely bring new meaning to the phrases "power shopping" and "purse fetish" - brilliant, totally brilliant! *wink* Hope to visit you in London one day soon! After a two-week hiatus from any form of exercise outside of the kind that involved lifting fork to mouth, it was back into the gym and to my Pilates session this week. Had the luxury of getting one-on-one Pilates instruction again. My muscles ache in a deliciously painful way. I'm quite looking forward to beginning circuit training on Tuesday nights. I like to think that spring is just around the corner and soon I won't have to pile on the warm layers. It's all a girl can do to get through the frigid temps we've been getting as of late. Brrr! And speaking of warm layers, I am psyched for our ski trip this Sunday - Jessica's first! She's never skied before so she'll be taking the lesson and looking cute as a button in her pink ski suit on that beginner slope. Ha! Leave it to me to blog about the apparel! Update: I've added Sharmaine's blog to my link page. She's a fellow blogger who has promised to help me update my web look as soon as she returns from vacation. Yay! Tuesday, January 6, 2004 8:58am Jesse Today marks the 6th year anniversary since my brother's passing. I still miss Jesse. I don't think a sister can ever really stop missing the only brother she had and loved dearly. Jesse was an amazing young man! And those of you who knew him are most probably nodding your heads in agreement as you read these words. He was funny as all heck with his sarcastic one-liners used most effectively in places where it would not have been appropriate to laugh out loud. I got pretty good at stifling my giggles, but the tears welling up in my eyes always gave it away. He was so many things to so many people! He was also a perfect gentleman, a damn good tennis player, a man with great style who always knew where the best restaurants in town were, and a brother who would drop whatever he was doing to save his sisters' behinds. *grin* I think Jesse would have been a doting uncle to his little namesake, Jessica - we named her after him. I wish that he could've met her. I know someday soon he will and they will totally hit it off. After I got married and moved out of the house, Jesse and I spoke on the phone often. He never said "bye" at the end of our conversations. Rather he would always say "talk to you later" and hang up. This is for you...because of you...because I miss you...because I miss your jokes and laughing until my sides hurt...because I still love you and always will. Talk to you later brother! Jesse Dario Cardona June 15,1969 - January 6, 1998 Sunday, January 4, 2004 11:15pm Destined to Eat It seems that there is no end in sight to this marathon eating even now that the holidays are over. But eating also equates good times with friends and family so I suppose I'm not really all that upset after all. *smile* It was nice to have another opportunity to meet up with Jane, Paul and the family for Sunday Brunch. The added bonus was that we also got to see Jane and Paul's families again and to finally meet Jane's parents. After brunch, we were invited back to the home of Jane's family to watch the "bideo" of her sister's law school graduation celebration. It's all about the high heels and the BCBG couture! So apparently there is a wild-side to Jane that I knew nothing about prior to today. Rowr girl! Yay! There is much truth in the saying "You learn something new everyday!" It's interesting how much one can learn about a friends roots in one short visit to their parent's home. Childhood photos are dead giveaways and usually evidence of past funky haircuts and fashion styles. *wink* Great times! Let's do this all again sometime soon! We'll miss you! Hope you caught your flight back to the west coast on time! Happy 15th Birthday to my cousin Lizelle! It was more eating at the birthday celebration held in Lizelle's honor at Carmine's. More yummy food and sinful dessert in monster portions! Big hugs on your special day! Whew! I think I'll have to hit the gym double time and get in an extra session of Pilates for the rest of my able-bodied life. *sigh* Friday, January 2, 2004 11:31pm It's a Girl! Congratulations to my best friends, Blythe and Rommel in Toronto, on the birth of their first child - a beautiful baby girl! Rachel Bethany entered our world on Monday, December 29, 2003 at 7.4 lbs. and 19.5 in. long. I am so excited for you and your new little miracle! Can't wait to meet the new princess of the household! *blows a kiss* Friday, January 2, 2004 2:25am Happy New Year Can you see the ball? You can see its reflection on the side of that building. Is it midnight yet? Oh shoot...it's 2 minutes past...Happy New Year!...kiss kiss hug hug...quick let's catch a cab back! So there's the play-by-play from our post in front of Bryant Park, as close as anyone could get to the New Year's Eve festivities in Times Square at 11:45pm. Most of January 1, 2004 was spent sleeping and eating again of course. Then we headed back to the burbs to spend the first evening of 2004 with good friends visiting these eastern parts from our old NorCal neighborhood. It was wonderful to see Paul, Jane, Danny and Brianna again! And also nice to meet Jane's brother, Eric, who lives here on this coast. The little soulmates, Brianna and Jessica, were happy to see each other again. I miss my time with Jane! We're so on the same wavelength...and she never turns down a second helping of dessert and is blessed such that she never has to stress about going to the gym to burn off chocolate calories. I don't hate! *wink* Hoping that our next visit will be in the not-so-distant future! |
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