farewell

after some thought, i've decided to say goodbye. having this blog has been many things: fun, therapeutic, relieving, honest and thoughtful. many days have gone in and out since i started in 2005. some days good, others not so good. i have appreciated the participation and comments, you have made this experience one i have enjoyed immensely. i wish you the best in your life and encourage you to stop every now and then, to appreciate the little things during your time on this earth.

santa

i made the trek to stonebriar so that tay could see the same santa she's always seen since her first christmas. however, as we approached santa's area we discovered that santa was NOT our usual santa. immediately taylor goes, "mama, how come santa's smaller this year?" i responded, "oh, he's not smaller tay...his chair got bigger." (pretty nice one, ay?) this seemed to satisfy my little observant mind's curiosity (thank god!) anyhow, she was very excited to tell santa her wish list (which was whittled down to 3 things because mama said not to say anymore than that because we did not want to seem greedy). she asked for art supplies, pixos and moon sand.

tay tay on a mission: see the intent in her stride?!

and before my peeps who know me too well ask, no...that's not a list of toys she wants for christmas (that would be soooo jonelle-like though, right?!). she drew santa a picture and wanted to give it to him.

clancy bear outside pottery barn kids. taylor thought she was "sooooo cute!" :)

the line

is drawn @ the request for a pink christmas tree. "we" were cool with posing next to it instead though:

merry christmas!

ode to obama

yes, i could.

*i could be done with SST referral paperwork...and i am. (julie's feelin me)

*i could be finally caught up with grading...and i am. (despite what all you non-educator people think, no...grading is NOT fun. in fact, it f*ing sucks)

*i could be looking forward to wednesday & the rest of the week...and i am. (thank you chucky)

*i could be in a much better "place" this thanksgiving than last...and i am. (reference last year's post...yikes. thanks to good 'ol time, love from family and friends and certain events)

*i could be missing taylor like crazy while she's in pennsylvania with her daddy for the thanksgiving holiday...and i am. (but i got the sweetest phone call from her yesterday. she opened with, "mama, i miss you. that's why i'm calling you because i am thinking of you." my daughter seriously ROCKS.)

*i could be loving my freshly groomed kai-doggie...and i am. (when i went to get her yesterday though, they brought her out and my mouth dropped open. upon seeing my beloved girlfriend, i thought, "oh no they DID-INT!!!" but yes...yes, they DID. they put a *blasted* christmas-looking bow on her collar...my poor kai. no longer sophisticated, but subjected to looking foo-foo. she ripped that thing off in the yard as soon as we got home...no joke.)

*i could be *still* laughing at the fact that kai put down the back window in the honda all by herself so she could do the dog thing & stick her head out to catch the wind...and i am. (i heard the window going down, looked back and saw her paw on the button! immediately called stac to tell him that kai "pulled a marley", then got into a conversation about him, and i quote, "going to the store to buy stuff" and giving advice on turkeys. can i just say that i love my bro?!)

*i could be stoked that OSU won their game against Arizona last night...and i am. (one more game...civil war....and if we win? ROSE BOWL, baby!)

*i could be procastinating in cleaning the house...and i am. tee hee! better get to it.

i love you peeps!!!

proud mama

tay had "jersey day" @ school on thursday. she requested to wear my becks shirt and i whole heartedly granted it:

oh yeah!!! :)

*had* to take a pic to save on my phone

trick-or-treat

getting ready to head out

checking out her loot

AHHH! CANDY!!! i *love* halloween!

trick-or-treating with tay this year was awesome. not that it isn't every year, but this year i got to see her personality shine through in such a natural way. we watched her approach the doors from the sidewalk. after getting warmed up (getting used to going to the door, saying trick-or-treat and opening her bag to receive candy), she did the cutest thing. she began wishing the home owners "happy halloween!" or complimenting them on their decorations with, "i really like your decorations" or "you have some scary decortations!". the home owner would smile or chuckle and either wish her a happy halloween back or thank her for complimenting them on their decorations. we were tickled at seeing tay be tay. so proud of her.

oh, and here's a humorous point in the evening...so her school was having red ribbon week (anti-drug program to encourage kids to refrain from taking drugs). we're walking from one house to the next and she says with a serious face and deliberate voice, "i don't drink alcohol because alcohol is a drug." jonathan and i looked at each other (knowing that it had been red ribbon week), smiled and stiffled our laughs. we then told her we were glad she did not drink alcohol and yes, she was right, it *was* a drug. and then she was off, up the driveway to the next house to get more candy. kids!

new chapter

feelin reflective this morning. still in my pjs, in my bed and thinking about the place i am in right now. things in your life can change so drastically without any kind of notice. good things, bad things, exciting things, tragic things...it can all just occur and you have to deal with it. and, your character is tested with that situation by the way you handle it. often it is so tempting to "press the easy button" and deal with the immediate instead of the underlying. so easy to push things under the carpet. so easy to withdraw. so easy to mask your pain by distracting yourself with other things. at one time or another, we have all taken the "easy" way out...but stopping to face the issue and look at yourself takes a lot of energy and honesty. for the most part, i have been proud of the way i have handled myself this last year and a half. there have been moments in which i have been "human" and let my emotional state guide my behavior instead of thinking about what was best. but, i find comfort in knowing that i have remained true to myself and my values about what is important in life and how i want to live mine out. my integrity is very important to me. at the end of the day when you strip away possessions and accomplishments, it's really all you have. that, and the love you feel for those close to you. don't get me wrong...there are many temptations in life that could knock you off maintaining your integrity at the level you'd like and we are all human to give into those temptations...i know i'm not perfect, nobody is...but it won't stop me from striving to be the best version of me i can be.

sleeping beauty, halloween style

tay's school has a contest this week...dressing up a pumpkin as a storybook character. of course she picks her all time fave princess EVER...aurora. this was hilarious! we had to go to the pumpkin patch on sunday to find the perfect pumpkin to fit her build-a-bear dress. and we found it all right! :) now we've got a naked bear with just shoes on around the house. ay, ay, ay....we're not *that* kind of a house! you must go to vegas for that!

perks

some people get suites @ the american airlines center for a mavs' game. some people get 50 yard line tickets to a cowboys' game. some get an expense account to "woo" clients. me? i get the pleasure of what kids will say given just the right circumstances. i've got a kid in my class who has seriously provided me with entertainment these last 2 weeks. here's a couple of his antics:

student: i gotta go to the nurse. {standing in a very tense & erect posture}
me: why, what's wrong?
student: {begins walking away from me with a penguin-like walk} my diarrhea slipped.


me: so, now that i've given you several examples of cause and effect, who can think of one to share?
{bunch of hands shoot up in the air}
student: my mom is pregnant, so she will get stretch marks.

in these moments....i love my job. :)

back from the depths...

hey peeps. i know, i know...where the *bleep* have i been, right? i've gotten several comments about this and i'm sorry about the absence. i think it's my longest one...just know things have been extremely hectic both personally and professionally. it's not that i've forgotten about you, seriously...when things happen i think, "oooh, i should blog about this" but then later i just didn't have the time to.

got a couple of minutes this morning though...before i continue on with digging myself out of my work-hole. i don't even wanna describe all that's been going on with that because i can start to feel my heartbeat quicken and today's sunday dammit, a day of rest. :) hahaha

having a few quiet moments to myself. my mind is going in all kinds of directions...things that happened, what-ifs and what-nows?

and there goes my few moments...taylor's wanting toast & hot chocolate for breakfast. nothing like reality snapping you out of reflection, eh?! :)

mia

(missing in action)

gomen, gomen... (grandma: informal "sorry" in japanese) i know i've been neglecting the blog. but if you were as jetlagged as i am, had a to-do list as long as i do and not enough time to do it in...i think you'd neglect the blog too. :) so i'm just making a quickie-post to prove i made it back to texas from hawaii:

this was taken yesterday in one of my teacher meetings. depended upon the red bull to help me deal with the overwhelming urge to go to sleep. yup, teachers are back this week, kiddos next week. how you like the tan?!??! :)

status

what up my non-facebook peeps! :) i am SUPPOSED to be in hawaii right now but instead i am sitting @ dfw waiting for my flight to begin boarding. they canceled the flight yesterday...so there i was, @ the airport with tay...and we had to turn around and go home. they couldn't find ANY flights to la to get me to my connecting to kona yesterday (they had to reroute the entire plane of people so my chances of finding something was slim). needless to say i felt many things...irritation, disappointment, and later thankful. yup, thankful. in true "jonelle fashion", i hadn't gotten much sleep the night before...2 hours to be exact. why you wonder? i dunno. it's just something i ALWAYS do the night before flying out-pull all-nighters to pack. did it in college and have continued the tradition ever since (my sis does it too). i was procrastinating way too much...calls back and forth with my sis and bro...emailing cousins and friends to set things up once i arrived...and, messing around on facebook. man it's addicting! anyhow...being told that we had to fly out the next day instead gave me a chance to get a proper night's rest before starting my vacation. :)

oh yeah!!! just looked behind me and the plane has arrived. good sign. almost time to board. better shut down the laptop. catch ya on the "WESS SIDE!" (grandma: west side)

oh pleeeeeze still be going to LA!!!!

YESSSSS! all systems go!!! it. is. on.

footie

so like last time, i've included a song that rocked on the stadium speakers during warm up. click play as you read the post so you feel as if you were there :)

during warm ups. there's not a lot of people in the stadium yet because it's still pretty early. we were just looking for a place with shade to keep from dying from the heat! it was 103 degrees!!!

ld (tay's man, landon donovan with the ball) and alan gordon coming out for warm up.

some of the boys (from right to left): pete, david, ante, alan and landon (with the ball) yup, i know them so well i can tell who's who by their profiles and even the back of their heads!

fcd forward kenny cooper (with hiked up shorts). he had a good game. 2 goals in 2 minutes?! it was so INSANE, the stadium exploded! he might be on his way to europe. there have been offers since last thursday.

the boys starting their stretches. we made MANY comments during the different positions. some were just so hard to keep quiet about. :) oh, and yup, the game was televised.

ruud (galaxy head coach) giving autographs & rockin the dressy-casual look for the scorcher of a night. when he went past us, monica thought for sure that he was going back to the locker room to change into cooler clothes. but, we were wrong. he kept on with his metrosexual self that evening & looked GOOD. :)

we nicknamed the staff dude tiny. and made up stories about him. hey, what else are we supposed to do during warm ups besides drool at the boys, drink beer and invent ways to get past security and onto the field?

yup, we were super close to the field!!! 2nd row...the closest so far! :) we chatted with these beckham dudes throughout & after the game (there were 3 of them). i fit right in with my beckham jersey as well!

here we are. totally sick of the score but managing to smile. the beer buzz and surrounding fellow galaxy fans helped us power through the ass-whipping the boys got.

game attendance: 21,000

no other man can ever make picking up trash look THIS GOOD.

landon was extremely quiet...it was a bit of a disappointment.

at one point in the game, david was right in front of us. i screamed out, "david, we love you!" and although he began to run off to go chase the ball, he flashed me a thumbs up!

for the ladies: here's your reward for visiting my blog today! is that a view or is that a VIEW?!??! {fanning self}

sick

i was still happy when this photo was taken from our 2nd row seats as the game started. the boys were TERRIBLE and lost to fcd tonight, 4-nil. kuddos to kc (kenny cooper) though, he scored 2 goals as he is deciding whether to answer europe's knock on the door. post more tomorrow. beer buzz still in effect. :)

countdown

*to the la galaxy/fc dallas game in frisco: 1 day
*to when i leave for home to see my family & friends: 6 days
*to when i will be @ a proper beach...with sand instead of pebbles like in sicily: 7 days

life. is. good.

syracuse, sicily

there was a constant battle over sicily (was sought after due to its strategic location). there was a strong presence of both the romans and the greeks in the sites that we visited.

roman presence...

another site for gladiatorial games

these huge stone boxes were for the wealthy people back in the day. this is where they would put them after they passed away, along with their jewels and other treasures. (the todd-ster and me "shooting" each other when we should have been listening to the guide...again.)

the greek influence? sicily used to be a greek colony. here's the greek ampitheatre, the heart of the city. it was the home of government and theatre.

other half of the ampitheatre

us in front of one of many caves at the top of the greek ampitheatre (where they would put dead bodies...ooooh, right up my alley!!!)

cave where prisoners were kept. it was unstable times back then...one day you could be a prominent greek man and the next you could be a slave.

one of the oldest temples in syracuse

piazza del duomo

the cathedral in piazza del duomo

inside the cathedral

check out the floors....amazing...

so what does one have for lunch after touring the historical sites of syracuse? fried calamari, of course!!! this meal was AWESOME.

"working" lunch

from last friday. we met to gab some more about our trip, compare notes about the jet lag and share wishes about being in italy right now. :)

capri

getting on the charter to take us to capri (correctly pronounced CAH-pree)

laura and me getting ready for the day's adventure

cool tile map

blue grotto. now you feelin' me on the blunt force trauma?!?!?! refer to my death list post.

although i joke about the death risk, it seriously was one of the best things we did on the trip.

after watching others go in & out for about 10 minutes, we were all pretty anxious for our turn. yup, that's me in the front of the boat...there's an awkward story about that. as we approached the opening of the cave, the man began maneuvering the boat through & urgently told us, "GET DOWN! LAY DOWN!" so, i started laying down, but then found myself in a *very* compromising position and it was too late to change it. let's just say i got to know our boatman *extremely* well as he practically laid on top of me. i must have turned 50 shades of red. good thing it was cool & dark inside of the blue grotto!

the girls about to go in!!!

inside the cave. once we got in and sat back up (and i rearranged my body to a more modest position) we made a loop around the cave. it was an awesome sight. all the boatmen (there were several other boats in the cave) began serenading us with an italian song.

we were in awe of the blue glow. it was sooooo beautiful.

these 2 men are the chair lift operators. they insisted on having me take their picture just prior to me getting on. one of em's antonio and i forget the other dude's name...

the chair lift. brought back memories of the ski lifts from my college days in oregon.

the view was magnificent from the chair. so quiet and peaceful.

and what's a trip to capri without a little shopping? on this path, it was one upscale store after the next.

making my purchase! it was *very* exciting!!!

the main square. our guide told us that paparazzi hang out here. it is quite common for celebrities to be spotted @ one of the tables.

my lunch...it was YUMMY!