happy birthday jonathan!

the birthday boy just left to go celebrate his 35th/new years with luke and kenny (neighbors) at a local bar. i'm at home with the girls (as in taylor and bailey-kenny and laura's daughter) having a sleepover (tay's first with a friend!). don't know how successful falling asleep will be. after listening to 3 stories, they're both in taylor's princess tent talking with each other with only the nightlight on. oooh, reminds me of when i used to have sleepovers...so fun! of course staying up past your bedtime is part of it, so i won't be as strict of an enforcer of the bedtime. since tay first came over to bailey's house, both girls have been squealing with the delight of each other's company...too cute!!!

you likes?

with the incoming new year, thought i'd change my template again...added a few things, switched some things around. have to say, lovin' the black!!!

*currently rockin' out to: jonathan blasting his *10-song* long itunes list!!! yeah, okay...i'll give him a break...he only started downloading wednesday night (i gave him an ipod nano for christmas). he's fast becoming an addict too. he keeps stretching to look in my office rather excitedly to ask if i have the song he's playing. after about 5 "yeses", i can tell he's intent on finding a song i don't own. and finally he has (thank god because he's been drowning out my own music). a song i think could be on grey's anatomy. he's celebrating right now...boasting that "he knows how to pick 'em", strutting and smiling...might as well be flexing! geez...{smiling, sighing and shaking head} as you can tell, good times at the domaleskis right now...good times! :)


btw, how do you make a "yes" plural? i added es but it doesn't look right. julie, didn't we cover plural rules in our language arts text a few weeks back?! ah-anyways....

christmas pics

yay-success this year!!! we did not cry when we went to see santa. *lots* of preparation talks with tay the week before going to see him. it worked wonderfully!!!

tay put out her little people nativity set for the first time this year. we talked about joseph, mary, the 3 kings and baby jesus. this set was a gift from nona & noni (meredith's parents) last christmas.

tay helping daddy with the lights the night we decorated our "special ed" tree :)

tay *really* got into putting ornaments on the tree!

and...introducing...THE DISNEY PRINCESS CHRISTMAS!!!

the talking vanity santa brought

can't be a princess without the bling!

ariel backpack from grandma jess in hawaii

her favorite princess, aurora. to be admired forever on dvd!!!

her princess tent. she loves this thing. has been sleeping (naps too) in it since christmas!!!

ariel remote control car. this became an idea when we saw that she was all over our neighbor harrison's remote control hellicopter at his birthday party.

keyboard from grammy and grampy in pennsylvania

striking a pose with the ladybug wings aunty jenny and uncle stacy sent her from las vegas

it's christmas for *everybody* @ the domaleskis!!!

one of jonathan's gifts to me...he did great this year! {applause}

tay's christmas gift to her daddy. it was sooooo cute! when i took her "christmas shopping for daddy" i asked her in the car, "tay, what do you wanna get daddy for christmas?" she instantly replied, "yoda. daddy likes yoda". such a smart girl!!! here's what she picked out herself. she definitely knows her daddy!!!

*currently rockin' out to: stir it up-bob marley

buzz....

hey my peeps! yeah, yeah...like most of you, been away from the computer celebrating the holidays with family, friends and neighbors. been buzzing around the house the last couple of days. tackling some projects that i've had on my to do list for FOREVER and doing research on flights/hotel info for the disneyworld trip we're taking with my brother stacy and his girlfriend jenny in march. (soooo excited!!!) have some really cute pictures on my camera that i need to upload, hopefully i'll get to that this weekend. jonathan's bday is on sunday...haven't decided on the final plans, but we'll be celebrating his 35th bday. he's dreading it...says now people will "round up" to the big four-o...yikes! anyways, hope everyone had a great christmas. we sure did...love being cozy with my favorite 2 people and canine in our house! :)

tis the season!

holiday shopping

Jenny, my brother's girlfriend, emailed me this video. It had Jonathan and me laughing hysterically! For those of you still doing Christmas shopping, take deep breaths...it could be worse, like this...

skills

ok, so before i go into my real post...i have to just have to give myself some serious "props" (grandma: that means compliments)!!!...girl's got skills!!! :) successfully transferred the video from the camcorder onto my computer and then uploaded it to google video and posted it on here to share with you all. {grinning, winking and extending my arms outward} gotta love the internet!!! ok....

tay's school had their annual christmas program on saturday. since tay's now old enough, she was able to participate in the show with her classmates. jonathan and i were sitting there grinning from ear to ear! watch for tay's air electric guitar on the "run rudolph" video, it's soooo funny! enjoy!!!

christmas program: rudolph

christmas program: run rudolph

what to do?

been meaning to post this since last sunday, but holiday stuff has been so out of control these past 2 weeks...preachin' to the choir, eh? anyways...so my loyalties were split for last saturday's football game...osu or uh? it was great to see aloha stadium, all the local people with their ti leaves, and the familiar warrior mascot! totally brought me back to sitting in that student section, hearing the band play hawaii 5-o live in between plays! :)

then, my beloved osu beavs...trying to prove they've got the stuff coming off of that civil war win...and you know what? they do. beating the #24 ranked uh rainbow warriors @ their home field with their heisman trophy candidate qb. still...there's lotsa love for both teams! :)

giving thanks

so we hosted thanksgiving dinner at our house. it was wonderful-uncle steve (my dad's brother), aunty suki and jonathan (yes, his son's name is jonathan too) came over for turkey. the turkey and 8, yes, 8 side dishes came out great. we tried the brown paper bag turkey recipe and boy did it make the turkey juicy! ate *lots* of food and finished the meal with pumpkin pie....mmmmmm...

got to relax on friday and saturday. nothin' like actually feeling like you can relax because the house is clean, laundry's done and there's no school work to do. so much of the time there's always something that needs to be done and i don't feel like i can truly relax because i know it's there, waiting to be "tackled". so what'd i do? i caught up on downloading grey's anatomy songs from itunes, ordered some new christmas lights to decorate our roof line, watched some of my tivo'd shows from like 2 weeks ago and started on a project. can't tell ya' what it is because some people who read this blog will get it for christmas. :)

can't believe it's already sunday...back to school tomorrow. 4 more weeks until winter break. i'm sure it will fly by as it always does. in a way i have mixed feelings about monday approaching. i feel both anticipation and a bit hesitance (because i like the calm right now). like we're right on the verge of it all just coming lose. monday means that the christmas season is really underway (for me anyways. i know that a lot of people kicked their christmas season off by going shopping this weekend. i opted to stay home this year.). the holiday rush is beginning: getting the christmas decorations out, seeing about the firefighters (mmmm-hmmm) coming to put the lights up, going to breakfast with santa, working on orders for gifts that need to be placed in advance so that it'll be ready for christmas, getting the perfect christmas gifts, getting the christmas tree, etc. jonathan will tell you that i *really* get into it for christmas. i'm usually the one outside hanging the lights on the roof, not him! :) and, i will get into it this year as i always do. i think i just like the lull of the leisurely days after thanksgiving, after having prepared for the family gathering on thursday. so nice to just lounge around in pjs!

did anyone go shopping over the weekend? wanna hear how it went. just because i didn't go shopping, doesn't mean i don't like to hear others' victories among the crowds! :)

love it!

check out the civil war video highlights...

thanksgiving eve

still workin' away. been to 3 grocery stores today. cleaned house. did *all* of the laundry. decorated. i am pooped (as in tired). excited for tomorrow though...getting ready to fire up that the lord of the rings dvd, watch the cowboys' game and hang with the fam!!! happy thanksgiving! :)

*way* too much time on our hands...

found myself laughing at this (and seriously needed to laugh after a day like today)...if you need some fun, play it. this one's for big h, whose 2nd birthday party is tomorrow! julie, this is the song from the pinocchio play on our field trip, when the kids were in fun town.

random november thoughts

been meaning to say i've reached my 1 year blog birthday!!! :) YAY! my thoughts on blogging? love it. get to share my thoughts, pics of my family and friends and let my far away peeps know what's goin' on in "big D". thanks to those who have posted comments during my first year, it's cool to read your thoughts on what i write.

so i don't know what's going on in hawaii, oregon, cali, nevada, pennsylvania and all you other states but texas is starting to *freakin* tick me off. all the christmas stuff is starting to blow up everywhere. our subdivision's christmas wreaths and lights were being put up last weekend. a house on the next street has their candy canes and lighted deer in their front yard...candy canes and deer, people!!! starbucks, my beloved starbucks...looks as if either a stocking or santa's red sack exploded with all the red and white decor. do you not like christmas?, you wonder...no, i *love* christmas. just not before my newly 2nd favorite holiday-thanksgiving. yep...you remember my thanksgiving post last year (if not, go back and read it...good stuff :D). thanksgiving's not getting any r-e-s-p-e-c-t around here and i'm getting irritated.

on nov 1st i told jonathan "oooh...{squeals & rubs hands together} thanksgiving is coming!" {eyes wide open and grinning}

thanksgiving is...

family
wheat & bronze turkey candle holders on the table
turkey
grandma powell's sausage stuffing
cranberry sauce
gravy :)
candied yams with the marshmallows on top
green bean casserole
macaroni salad
jonathan's mom's cucumber and tomato salad and baked beans recipe
pumpkin crunch dessert
crisp, cold day
fire in the fireplace
football
jonathan shouting at the tv during the football game
lord of the rings (any of the 3 dvds)
more eating
turkey coma
10 lbs. gained
kai getting a little turkey herself :)

and of course,
reflecting and appreciating my family and friends and all the blessings in my life...

what's your thanksgiving?

firepit season premiere

after much coaxing and giving jonathan crap about the coldness, the firepit was finally brought out (jonathan has been apprehensive about the city's burn ban). it was pretty windy on friday night...but the fire was nice. in anticipation for the fire, i had to buy the stuff to make s'mores and boy was it yummy! cori and i rolled in @ 1am, the guys @ 2. jonathan had a rough saturday morning, but not as rough as jason! jason admitted to falling into his tub and hitting his head as he was on his way to pray to the porcelain god when the guys went in! thank goodness he wasn't seriously hurt.

wit-chay!

tay messin' around with the halloween decorations. she has the hat to the witch decoration that we hang on our door (crashing witch). just a perfect example of how all of a sudden, outta nowhere...she cracks me up!!!

Grey's Anatomy Promo

this totally cracked me up & can't wait for thursday! double click on the picture to watch.

smokin' the singer

so if you've read my nov 1 post, you saw the halloween party pic. yeah, it was an 80's themed party and jonathan and i took awhile to decide what to be (mostly because things were so darn hectic for us both professionally and personally). the "duh" moment we experienced together came when we both entertained the thought of dressing up as 2 characters from {plug in jonathan's overly enthused voice here} "only the greatest film that started it all..." if you know my husband, even if just for a brief moment, you know of course we're talking about star wars. i mean, this is the guy who excitedly told my pal julie (whom hadn't yet seen star wars: episode 2 vs. the umpteenth times he's seen it) "oh man, i wish i were you right now" as the opening preface started to roll accompanied by that infamous tune. yes, we are *passionate* about star wars. anyways...

so we basically decided on han solo and leia less than a week until the party. halloween costume stores were slim pickins and ordering online was pushing a timely delivery as well as laying down some serious cash. so i came across this website that showed how to make leia's white dress. i thought to myself, "hmph, doesn't seem that hard. i think i'll just sew it!" that sunday we took a trip to joann's and boy what a learning experience that was. found the pattern (which was 40% off-cool) and all the supplies noted on the back of the pattern envelope. on the drive home i studied the picture of the dress. suddenly i started feeling nervous. what if this was way more complex than i was telling myself? have i bitten off more than i can chew? jonathan reassured me and said that he thought i could pull it off. glad one of us was confident about it. so i'm reading directions and man are they complicated. i mean, there were sewing words that i had *no idea* what they meant. i had to look stuff up online. i felt like such a bumbler, but just like the turtle in the race was known for...slow and steady always wins, right? :) i immediately gave "mental props" to both my sister and mom for being the master sewers they are. 6 nights of cutting, pinning and sewing later, my leia costume was finished. the singer sewing machine passed on to me from jonathan's mom sure got the shock of its life since joining our house. i'm sure it was thinking, "holy crap, is she really using me to make something other than a simple curtain for her classroom or scrapbook page? i think my motor might start smokin' from the sudden intense use."

all kidding aside, i was pretty pleased with the way it came out. i even added my own touches to the belt! :) jonathan told me it came out awesome. when i put it on and got my "cinnamon buns" made, he got "that look" on his face. as i told one of my teacher friends (whose husband is also a star wars freak), i don't normally indulge jonathan's obsession with star wars to this extent but when jonathan saw me fully made up, i instantly felt like we were on the verge of one of his fantasies being played out (ever see the episode of friends where rachael wears leia's gold bikini?). he kept going after my cinnamon buns, which i immediately told him were off limits at the party. but then, i digress...

i got a lot of compliments on my costume at the party, which was cool to hear after accomplishing such a feat. so, the lesson learned is (yes, there must be a lesson damn it, i'm not only chinese but a teacher as well)... "she who puts her mind to it can conquer the most ambitious endeavor."

miscellaneous

jonathan has this expression to describe people (one of many), "miscellaneous". i remember when i first heard him use it-i laughed my ass off. he was describing a coworker who was so far out in left field and random. come on, you know *those* people, right? for example at your workplace, they're the ones who are doin' their own thing while the rest of you are working in a similar manner toward the common goal. and i don't mean like they're not a team player, i mean that they are just "out there", goin' about things in their unique way, clueless about how *out there* they really are. i work with some *seriously* miscellaneous people. they do things that make me shake my head and wonder, did they really say/do that? miscellaneous.

well, this post will be miscellaneous. just feelin' random i guess.

for one, it's friday bay-bee! you know what that means...josh duhamel drool fest at 8pm. mmmmm-mmm!


i love strawberry margaritas. jonathan says if i get on santa's good girl list i could get a margarita machine for christmas. could you imagine? you might never see me! :) heh, heh...

friends make me happy. {do ya' feel the warm fuzzy?} i have all kinds of friends...teacher friends, neighbor friends, hawaii friends, college friends, etc...so fortunate to have people i can laugh & have fun with. hope you're havin' a great friday...with your friends! :)

*currently rockin' out to: so excited-janet (jackson) & khia

back in action

it's november 1st...thank god. october was not fun, hence my hiatus. could have posted last weekend, but i wanted to shake the bad kharma goin' on in october before i blogged again. yes, i know i'm being dramatic, but you see...that's my thing.

ok. so no BS, october was crazy. a major reason was that the bilingual teacher on my team past away. he was only 38 and had been in the hospital (icu) for pneumonia for 2 weeks. although it was serious, i guess we all thought he'd pull through. needless to say, we (the rest of the 3rd grade team and other staff members at school) had a lot to deal with emotionally ourselves and with the students. it was hard going back to school that monday (he died on a saturday), seeing his classroom and the sign outside his door with his name on it...knowing he was never coming back. i was overcome with the grief as soon as i entered our hall. it was a hard day. i was so thankful that my principal offered to come to our classrooms to explain what happened to jorge. he did an exceptional job explaining it on their level. the kids were so sympathetic and asked really thoughtful questions. we had several counselors from surrounding schools come to help with the students. one student was so upset that she was not fully operational until 1:30 that afternoon. jorge really touched their lives...and mine. i'll never forget how we joked and laughed about teacher-type things, how we'd have our sarcastic rants on really trying days and how he'd come by my classroom to get advice in his "i hope i'm not inconveniencing you" kind of way. i will miss seeing his smiling face and hearing his polite and gentle voice.

there were some other things going on that made october hectic, but i really don't want relive it. so, my plan is to look forward and put that momentum behind me. thankfully with the start of a new month, i think my pendulum is swinging in the other direction. but, before i leave october, thought i'd at least post some pics from some of the things we were up to:

taylor dressed up as princess aurora for halloween

my pretty princess tay

trick or treat!

tay @ the pumpkin patch

all the neighbors @ the flower mound pumpkin patch

festive halloween lights

bounce house fun at the fall fest

part of the gang at an 80's themed halloween party
(han solo, princess leia, al bundy, a rubix cube, egon from ghost busters)

mcsteamy's back!!!!

so all my fellow grey's anatomy fanatics out there...could you believe it? he's back!!! :) my pal meredith and i shrieked with shock and extreme joy when he came out of the bathroom followed by the shower steam. (nice touch grey's!) i just read somewhere that with fans' overwhelming reaction to this character that grey's execs have signed on eric dane to become part of the cast the way that kate walsh was added. no official announcement, but i'm anxiously awaiting to see if i'll be treated to his fine, fine body every thursday. for those of you who missed the last 2 minutes of the episode, here's a glimpse of the *awesomeness* known as mcsteamy:

5 years ago on the 29th

happy anniversary honey!

the yellow vacuum that could

once upon a time there was a yellow vacuum that could....kick ass in sucking up crap from the carpet! :) the infamous dyson cyclone vacuum joined our family this past friday. could barely keep myself contained as i drove up and i saw the box on our doorstep when tay and i got home from school. now before i purchased this, i did a lot of research and what i found was that there are a lot of mixed reviews about this vacuum. from overpriced and "eehh" to emphatically awesome! after thoroughly testing this baby out, here's what we found:

1. it is very light compared to the bagless hoover we have (oh, i mean HAD) ;)
2. it makes very defined track marks in the carpet (which jonathan *loves*)
3. it picks up little bits/strings/dust/fur *extremely* well on the "first pass"
4. it is quieter than the hoover we HAD
5. there are futuristic features in its look
6. there is a handy release hatch when emptying the canister
7. the tool attachments don't seem to sit right in its holder and keep falling out when you're vacuuming the floor (it could be that jonathan and i are just "tumors" and haven't figured out how they're supposed to stay in there)
8. the drastic height incline of the brushbar section prevents it from going under the bed and coffee table
9. using the tool attachments require a little more effort than with most other vacuums because you have to pull out the 2 foot wand from the hose in order to attach the tools.
10. picks

it's not even close...

so i've been learning lots of "internet lingo" as i've been blogging and visiting other people's blogs. saw this and thought it was pretty cool. when someone wants to express the greatness of one idea, or person, or thing over another — say, for example, the hotness factor of josh duhamel versus jerry o'connell– they will type something like “josh duhamel >>>> jerry o'connell … and it’s not even close.” thus, in just a few short words you have summed up your position on the matter — no need to debate or expound any further. in fact, you’ve shut down any arguments already – look, you said “it’s not even close” – basically, don’t bother me with any of your petty rebuttals! so here's my list for today:

*nonfat vanilla latte >>>> cappucino
*fast moving traffic >>>> standstill traffic right after a wreck
*lobster >>>> fish
*students that "click" >>>> students that "space-out"
*going out for an impromptu lunch @ subway w/ julie today >>>> eating school cafeteria food
*diet coke >>>> diet pepsi
*getting a picture of my brother's dog in a batman costume on my cell phone >>>> telemarketer calling
*mastiffs >>>> chihuahuas
*watching tv >>>> grading papers
*grey's anatomy >>>> house, md
*going to the movies >>>> renting movies
*creme brulee >>>> flan
*jonathan expressing himself >>>> jonathan sending me telepathic messages :)
*being able to see the ocean >>>> being surrounded by endless land
*ipod nano >>>> other mp3 players
*the way taylor said mama when i went to get her up this morning >>>> the alarm clock
*taylor >>>> any other kid

...and it's not even close

what's yours?

*currently rockin' out to: slow dancing in a burning room-john mayer

unforgettable conversation

okay, so the school year's underway...just finished out our 4th week. have to admit that i feel like it's been 4 months instead of 4 weeks. this year's bunch seems to take longer to get work completed and there's a substantial increase from last year in the "needing extra help to grasp the concept" category. long and grueling story short: i've definitely got my work cut out for me this year. {winces}

the kids and i are very much still getting to know each other...them about my personal life, my expectations and personality. me about their work habits, capabilities and personalities as well. so, it's not uncommon for a teacher to find out about kids' family members. thought i'd share a conversation i had with a kid yesterday. we were working on our compositions on a special person and this student picked her mom to write about:

me: wow, you picked your mom! {smiling} don't forget to include something that she does well.

student: {thoughtful, looking up} hmmm, she's a good dancer. she does it for work.

me: cool...is she a teacher at a school (studio)?

student: {matter of factly} no, she's a stripper.

me: {trying to conceal ANY reaction} pause. oh, ok. well let's just write that she's a good dancer. {nodding head encouragingly}


and you thought all we talked about were addition facts and nouns!!!


*currently rockin' out to: drop it like it's hot-snoop dogg

tay's big girl room

finally...the pictures i said i'd post. i tried doing this last week but blogger was down and i couldn't get the pictures to upload. anyways, 'nuff whining-time to comment: the delivery guy's laughing because i was promising him that i wasn't trying to document any negligent behavior, just that it was my daughter's first big girl bed and that i'm a scrapbooker and like to record events like these. he was a really good sport and VERY fast putting the bed together. i mean, one blink and BAM! it was done. from box to bed in 15 minutes! as you can probaby tell by the size of tay's smiles, she was pretty darn excited that day...and still is a month and a half later!




thought the last two pics were CUTE. a shot capturing tay's bliss and kai-doggie's new chin rest when guarding the house. this has become kai's favorite spot when checking out the noises she hears from "activity" in the front. we have affectionately dubbed this behavior "kai-doggie on patrol".

*currently rockin' out to: the rock show-blink 182