1.19.2010

2009 Holiday Season

Holiday decorations in our house

We don't have a mantle, so we hung our stockings here

We went to see George Lopez on December 18th

Us inside the Nokia Theater

Ian and Shelley arrived on December 20th, here is Shelley and her brother, Tim, who lives in Burbank

My cousin, Michael, hosted the Barbas for dinner. Here is my aunt Esther, my uncle, Jesse, and my little cousin Brianna

My little cousin, Jacob and my brother, Ian

My dad and my cousin, Michael


Setting up Bara Family Rockband


Beatles Rockband

The Christmas tree on Christmas Eve

My dad and my kitty by the tree

My extended family on Christmas night (missing Vincent--he'll be with us next year!)


My family

Martini Monday on December 28th with Christine and Amanda

Fernando at LAX before we departed to Vegas for NYE 2009

An hour later, we landed in Vegas

Us in front of Aria, our home for the night

Fireworks at midnight

Fernando taking in the show

My champagne

Me right after the fireworks

Fernando in the Sportsbook the next day. We lost our bet on Oregon, but had fun!

~LOVE~

Spring Semester at CLU (and Beyond!)

Starting on Thursday, this will be my schedule until May 14th.

MONDAY: Tutor Elizabeth 4-5pm in Newhall; Organization & Administration in College Student Personnel 7-9:50pm at main CLU campus in Thousand Oaks.

TUESDAY: Nanny Chelsea 6:10am-3:45pm in Castaic; Tutor Elizabeth 4-5pm in Newhall.

WEDNESDAY: Nanny Chelsea 6:10am-3:45pm in Castaic; Tutor Elizabeth 7-9pm in Stevenson Ranch.

THURSDAY: Microskills in Counseling 4-6:50pm at CLU Graduate Center in Woodland Hills; Lifespan Human Development 7-9:50pm at CLU Graduate Center in Woodland Hills

FRIDAY: Nanny Chelsea 6:15am-1:30pm in Castaic.

I'll have quite a busy schedule for the next four months. Three classes is "a lot" in my program, but I am determined to get these classes done this semester to keep me on track to start my Practicum in Fall 2010. The good news is that my Microskills class is Pass/Fail, and the following Lifespan Human Development class is a survey class. They are both taught by the same instructor, Valerie Wallace, who was my teacher last semester for Counseling Theory and Practice. I'm familiar with her teaching style and I know how to do well in her class. All of her assignments require writing, and that is my strength. (Did I mention that I got all 'A's last semester?) My Monday class should be interesting because it is specific to my program (as opposed to offered to both Pupil Personnel Services [k-12] students and College Student Personnel students). I'm excited to take this class with Dr. Juanita Hall because she is the Senior Director of CLU's Multicultural and International Programs, and she was also recently named the Assistant to the President for Diversity at CLU. She is coming from a background of doing what I really want to do, and I'm sure she'll have plenty of good information and advice for me.

I'll have to be diligent to get my reading, studying, and homework assignments done during my "free time" on Monday mornings, Tuesday evenings, Wednesday afternoons, Thursday mornings, Friday afternoons, and weekends. I'll also have to commit to getting to bed early on nights before watching Chelsea. I've been pretty bad at it since I started, and I have a terrible time getting ready in the mornings and I'm usually so tired by the end of the day that I require a nap. Of course, the naps cut into my "study" time and end up making it hard for me to fall asleep that night, which just perpetuates the cycle for the next day. Not cool.

My spring semester ends on May 14th, which also happens to be the day of Alma's graduation from USC with her Master's in Social Work. I've been editing Alma's papers since she started her MSW (actually, since she was doing her Bachelor's in Social Science at Cal Poly . . .), so she has asked me to be there at her graduation. I feel very honored that she asked me to attend. She was definitely one of my biggest cheerleaders when I was applying to grad school, so I am happy to see her complete her studies.

Just a week after Alma's graduation, on May 20th, Fernando will be walking in CSUN's graduation ceremony. My parents have graciously offered to throw Fernando a graduation party that weekend. I think we'll have it at my parents' house--in their backyard--so we can enjoy the good weather at that time of year. My parents suggested getting it catered by one of those "taco guys," and Fernando has mentioned wanting to have a bounce house. I guess I'll have to look into how much that might cost and that can be my gift to him (if he really is serious about a bounce house!).

I have a month long break between the end of CLU's spring semester and start of CLU's summer session. The summer session is only 6 weeks long, and I want to take two classes. Most classes meet twice a week, so there is a possibility I might have class 4 nights a week. I'm HOPING that both classes I want to take will be offered back-to-back on the same two nights (M/W or T/Th) so I can save money on the commute and still have time to tutor and watch Chelsea. My old boss at ATM contacted me asking me if I could work one day a week during my break. She is due to have her baby in early/mid May, so I could help her out around the office since she'll be working from home for the first few weeks after having her baby. I told her yes, because the money will be helpful, and I'll have nothing else to do during that break other than watch Chelsea three days a week and tutor Elizabeth 4 hours a week. We'll see how everything pans out.

Well, that's about all I can think of for now. I suppose I should at least create a photo update regarding my Christmas and New Years holiday adventures. That'll be my next post.

~LOVE~

1.09.2010

Quite a Blast From The Past

I wrote this list when I was in high school (July, 2001). I just found it, and I felt like posting it because I think it's quite funny. I called it "My Happy List"--things that currently made me smile.

The HAPPY list:

Jesus

Nestea iced tea

Edward Norton

sleepovers

Handi-Snax

Babies' shoes

Hot house tomatoes

Discounts

Long awaited phone calls

Polo shirts

Flavored lip gloss

Chris Kattan

Avocados

The Iron Chef

Sandals

Iced coffee

Free stuff

Glittery make-up

Blu Cantrell

Online diaries

Goldfish crackers

Receiving mail

The 40s

Destiny's Child

Mail-order catalogs

Ice cream

Homer Simpson


Growing up is fun.

~LOVE~