A delicious surprise

Yesterday BFF and I planned to go shopping for a few essentials and splurges (see my previous post). When I got to her house to pick her up, she said she had a surprise for me.

She opened a box from Amazon.com and handed me the new Hungry Girl cookbook! How cool was that? I had been wanting to get it, and since I was the one who introduced her to the Hungry Girl website, she decided to get it for me.

I glanced at it quickly, and the recipes look really good. Of course, I didn’t spend too long at it, because it’s hard to look at delicious food when I’m on this fast. 🙂 I can’t wait to try some of the recipes once I’m done fasting.

The funny thing is, earlier in the day I was at Starbucks and thought about getting her The Art of Racing in the Rain, which is a book narrated by a dog, but I wasn’t sure if she really wanted it or not. She said she’d love to get it, but hadn’t yet. So, after our shopping expedition, we stopped at Starbucks and I got it for her.

The book looks really interesting:

The Art of Racing in the Rain Video Book Trailer (Extended)

It’s so fun to give (and get!) surprises like this.

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$hopping $pree

April and May have been L-O-N-G months. Mostly because I’ve been broke. No, I didn’t lose my job or get a reduction in pay or anything like that. I’ve just had a shitload of expenses, parties, gifts to buy, and bills to pay. But now, in June, I’m finally going to be able to catch up.

So, what’s the first thing I’m going to do on Friday? You got it!! I’m going to treat myself to some shopping fun. I’m way behind on some “rewards” that I’ve set up for myself for my weight loss, and after feeling dirt poor and scrimping the past two months, it’s about time.

I’m looking forward to going shopping so much that I actually made a spreadsheet of all of the things I plan to buy, including how much they cost. Obsessive, much? I did it more to make sure that I wouldn’t go too overboard in all of buying fun.

Most of the things on my list are beauty/make-up related, because I don’t want to spend any money on clothes right now, since I keep losing so much weight. The only clothes I’m going to buy (eventually) will be cheapo clothes, since I’ll only be wearing them (hopefully) for a month or so.

In case you’re interested, here’s the list:

• Bare Escentuals foundation and eyeliner, and maybe a lipgloss, if I’m feeling sassy
• DiorShow mascara – this is THE BEST mascara, in my opinion. Definitely worth the $25
• Clinique Colour Surge Butter Shine Lipstick in Delovely – this is one of my all time favorites
• Philosophy Skincare – I’m splurging and treating myself to some new (fancy) skin care: Purity, Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash, and Hope in a Jar moisturizer
• Books – right now I’m such a fan of Jen Lancaster that I just have to get her first two books: Bitter is the New Black and Bright Lights, Big Ass
• iTunes – Not sure exactly which songs/albums, but I’d like to get some new workout tunes

The only other thing I’d really like to get is the Wii Fit, but that’s a bit more expensive, so I may wait until I’ve hit another milestone in my weight loss.

The shopping spree is my little way of helping the economy (even thought I haven’t even gotten my stimulus check yet!!). Friday’s the day that the cash registers in my area are going to be singing, so if you’re at the mall and there’s a line forming, you’ll know it’s my fault. Sorry in advance!

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Best laid plans…

I didn’t do half of the things I thought I was going to do this weekend, for a variety of reasons:

• No Annie Lebowitz exhibit with CBCB because of my TOM & cramps (sometimes I HATE being a girl!)
• No Indiana Jones movie with my dad because the first theatre sold out and there was no parking to be found at the mall (2nd theatre). He and I will definitely try again next weekend.
• No grading (yet) – It was simply too nice a day for me to be stuck inside grading, but I do need to get busy with that now

I did get to quite a few things, including working out almost all of the days of the weekend, cleaning and organizing the house, and spending some time with my parents. So, while I didn’t do some of the things I had planned, I still accomplished quite a few things, and had a nice, relaxing weekend.

Oh, and I also finished Such a Pretty Fat and you can read my thoughts about it here. It is a book I highly recommend to everyone. The kind of book that you’re a bit sad has to end.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!!!

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3-Day Weekend Plans

Given that this weekend there are three whole days to catch up on housework, workout, go places, be with friends, and enjoy life, I’ve decided to get out there and do some of it.

Friday night

• work out with BFF (done)
• feed my Nip/Tuck obsession by watching the latest season 1 DVDs that have arrived from Netflix (1 down, 1 to go)

Saturday

• nail appt (done)
• laundry (in process)
• electric broom kitchen and bathroom floors (done)
• clean bathroom (done)
• tidy kitchen (done)
• run dishwasher (done)
• workout (done)

Sunday

• work out (decided to take the day off)
• more laundry (in process)
• grade 30 Grapes of Wrath essays (got too caught up in reading fun stuff, see below)
• get captivated in blogs and books instead of reading essays, see above
• watch mindless reality t.v. for an hour or two

Monday

• donate clothes that are too big to the local clothing charity (!!!!)
• workout
• Go to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with my dad (he and I always go to movies like this together, it’s our tradition). Sold out at the first theatre and no parking space to be found at the second one.  We’ll try again next weekend.
• Get down to business on the 30 essays, since nothing productive happened with them yesterday (in process)
• rest, relax, renew:
  • read for pleasure – Such a Pretty Fat and some of the mags that have been piling up (done)
  • take a long bubble bath, complete with soothing music and candles (did this one a day early)
  • talk to my sis and catch up on our lives (done)

Sounds like the makings of an excellent, very well-balanced weekend to me!

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I met Jen Lancaster!

Tonight I went to SF (two nights in a row!!) to go to Jen Lancaster‘s book signing for her new book, Such a Pretty Fat.

I was so excited to go to the Books Inc. in the Marina district of SF because it’s been over 2 years since I’ve gone to a book signing, and I love meeting authors and hearing them read from their newest books. Hearing the words spoken by the person who wrote them is like nothing else! Plus, I love hearing their thoughts on life and their interactions with the crowd.

And what a crowd! Lots of big girls who were all about girl-power, the typical SF-types who are overly politically correct, and a bunch of book lovers who couldn’t wait to hear one of their favorite authors speak. The room was buzzing in the minutes before Jen came out. Everyone seemed to know every detail of her life, and were regular readers of her blog.

I myself accidentally happened upon Jen’s blog through another blog I read. How glad I am that I discovered her, because she’s witty, sarcastic, a bit cynical, and struggling to lose weight — all the right ingredients to make a fun night and a great read.

CTLB joined me and told me that this was her first book signing ever! What a cool experience for us to share. Jen Lancaster has to be one of the funniest people I have ever heard. The whole crowd was laughing non-stop as she read from the new novel and answered questions from the audience afterwards. I couldn’t have asked for a better time.

Hearing Jen speak inspired me. I really hope that someday I’ll be able to write a book about some of the funny, touching, and intense things that have happened to me in my life. Why not?! This blog is a good starting place, and I’d really like to take some writing classes to hone the craft even further.

When it was finally my turn up at the signing table, Jen said, “Wow, you look just like every member of my family.” I asked her if she was Italian, and she said yes. “Well, half Sicilian.” And I said, “the best half. Or, at least, that’s what my mom would say!” She laughed and chatted a bit more with me. How cool is that? I told her I bet we were probably somehow related, as all Italians seem to be.

CTLB took some great pictures of the book signing, although it was hard to get good shots through the crowd of people who were there to hear Jen.

Here’s one of Jen signing the book for me. (Those eyebrows, black hair, and nose, wearing black? That’s me!! Nice cropping, huh? Gotta maintain the anonymity).

I thought it was cute that Jen was standing under a book called Smile, and a bunch of books from the ultra-princess-y Nancy series.

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Party Time!

Yesterday was one of the best afternoons/evenings of my life. I hosted a graduation party at my house to celebrate CTLB and I receiving our Masters degrees.

Whenever I have a party, I always go a little bit crazy beforehand making sure everything is ready: cleaning the house, shopping for food, getting decorations, and figuring out the right outfit to wear. Yesterday was no exception to the mania, in fact, there was a bit extra, just for good measure.

I have this old, wood table that used to be a workbench in the backyard. It was a bit dirty and dusty, but I figured that if I washed it off and covered it with a plastic tablecloth (that matched the cocktail napkins and appetizer plates I bought at Diddam’s, naturally), it would be fine. When my dad and I moved the table on Thursday night, we uncovered a water faucet that I didn’t realize was there. Mind you, I’ve lived here for a year and a half, and had never turned this faucet on. So, I got the bright idea to turn it on, fill my watering can with water, and wash off the table. Easy right? Not so much. I turned the faucet on, no problem, but when I went to turn it off, the spigot at the top of the faucet wouldn’t budge. The water was on almost full blast and wouldn’t turn off!! I freaked out for about 10 minutes, but then pulled myself together and called the management company so they could send the plumbers out to turn off the water. 3 hours and 2 crazed phone calls later, the plumber finally arrived to shut off the water. In the mean time, my backyard was practically flooded. A perfect setting for a party, don’t you think?

Luckily it was a really hot day yesterday (100 degrees in the shade), so the water quickly dried up and actually helped clean off the cement in the backyard. Crisis solved.

The rest of the day was spent running around mopping the floors, vacuuming the carpet, and getting the house ready for my guests. I also went to a couple of grocery stores for all the food, and got that all set up. The house looked great, the food was all ready, I looked nice (if I do say so myself), and then it was time for the guests to arrive.

Only all of my friends and family like to be fashionably late, so I sat around the house waiting for the party to start.  Soon enough people started showing up and the party was underway.  We all had a great time, and everyone really enjoyed themselves.  I kept thinking to myself, “I have such amazing friends and family.”  Each person at the party was truly thrilled for my achievement, and happy to partake in the celebration.

Flooding aside, the evening went off without a hitch, and it was one of the best times I’ve had in recent memory.

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Whoo HOOO!!!!

It’s finally over!!! I’ve graduated with a Masters degree in Educational Leadership! Whoooo HOOOOO!

Tonight CTLB and I gave our final exhibition presentation, which went wonderfully well. We got great feedback from our evaluator, as well as our peers.

Then during the graduation ceremony Glenn Singleton, one of our adjunct professors and a leading activist in anti-racism education and leadership, mentioned CTLB and me by name for our iMovie that we made involving our Professional Development for Equity Plan. What an honor!

Being the overly-emotional person that I am, as soon as he mentioned our names, my eyes welled up with tears. I was overcome with emotion because here was this great man mentioning our names in our graduation ceremony. It was so powerful.

As I reflect back on all of the work that I did with CTLB, I am so proud of all of our accomplishments. We went above and beyond expectations in everything we did, and people recognized that. We went beyond just learning the material — we made a difference in the lives of our students and colleagues. I’m amazed by everything we we’ve achieved.

I’m on cloud nine right now, and I think I finally see the sun shining down on me (even though it’s night time), and the angels are definitely singing.

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It’s almost here!

The day I’ve been thinking about for the last 2 years is almost here. All the money, all the papers, all the iMovies, all the surveys, all the planning, all the meetings, all the fieldwork, all the missed social engagements, all the reading, all the all-nighters.. have all been for this one day.

TOMORROW I GRADUATE WITH MY MASTERS DEGREE IN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!

I can’t believe it! I’m so excited that I wonder if I’ll sleep tonight. Of course, I have to, because I still have a full day of teaching ahead of me tomorrow, but still… how awesome is it that tomorrow night at this time I’ll have a masters degree?!!

In some ways it doesn’t seem real. I guess this must be sort of what it’s like the night before a wedding. All the preparation and planning comes down to one day that you’ve been anticipating for so long.

I never remember being this excited when I was about to graduate with my undergrad degree. I guess because this has been so much more challenging, and so much more rewarding, all at the same time.

Whatever will I do on Monday nights from 4:30 to 8:30? (I’m sure I can come up with something!!)

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Surprise, Surprise!

For the last month or so, CTLB’s mother and I have been exchanging emails.  She wanted to come out to CA from Connecticut to surprise CTLB for our upcoming graduation on Monday.  She suggested that I ask CTLB out for a celebratory drink, and she’d be able to walk into whichever bar we were at and surprise her daughter.

This is all easier said than done.  First of all, CTLB and I work 1 hour from her home in SF.  She and her fiance have 1 car, so she usually leaves around 3:30 or 4pm to go pick him up each afternoon.  There isn’t a lot of room for spontaneous suggestions of happy hour drinks.  Plus, how was I going to pick a place close enough to the airport for CTLB’s mom to arrive in a cab, yet not throw any suspicion about why we would be getting a drink so far off the beaten path?

I finally had to clue CBCB in on the surprise, to ask her for some suggestions.  She graciously offered to pick CTLB’s mom up from the airport and bring her to a pub that was closer to school, where we all often hang out.  Whew!  Problem solved.

Now all I had to do was make it through these last few weeks without somehow slipping up and mentioning the visit, offhandedly.  I was crossing my fingers that our devious plan would work and that CTLB would in fact be surprised by the visit.

Today she and I went to the pub and ordered drinks (yes, I broke the fast, but this was a very good reason, don’t you think?).  The entire time we were chit-chatting my heart was beating a mile a minute in anticipation of CTLB’s mom showing up to surprise her.

Then I saw her, coming down the street (we were sitting at a table on the outside patio, with CTLB strategically seated with her back to the entrance.  Pretty good planning, no?).  CTLB’s mom walked up next to her and said, “can I join you guys for a drink?!!”  The look on CTLB’s face was something like this:

It was a mixture of shock, confusion, joy, and WTF is going on around here?!!

The plan worked perfectly, CTLB was surprised, and her mom is going to have ball with her all weekend. I was so relieved that everything worked out and that the two of them were so happy.

Being sneaky for a good cause was really fun!  Maybe I have a future as an undercover agent?

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Encourage the Heart

On Monday night, my grad school class met at a local Mexican cantina to celebrate our upcoming graduation. Before everyone (but me) ate, the professors wanted to make a few speeches and offer a few “awards.”

Lots of these awards were sort of funny, like the “Rush Limbaugh Award” for the guy in class who always speaks his mind, even when the rest of us are rolling our eyes and wishing he’d just be quiet. And another award for the school team who has had to go through 3 principals in 2 years.

Then the professor said, “and this next award is the Kouzes/Posner Encourage the Heart Award for the _________ Team.” That’s us! CTLB and me!! This award is such an honor because the it refers to the book Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner. It’s an amazing book, and anyone who is interested in leadership on any level should definitely read it.

The Encourage the Heart chapter talks about:

Exemplary leaders understand this need to Recognize Contributions and are constantly engaged in these essentials:

• Focus on clear standards
• Expect the best
• Pay attention
• Personalize recognition

By putting these four essentials into practice and recognizing contributions, leaders stimulate and motivate the internal drive within each individual.

How cool is that? I was so touched to be recognized this way in front of my peers. CTLB and I were both so excited by this. What a nice way to end this grueling semester!

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A little sprucing up before the party

CTLB and I are having a graduation party at my house on May 16th to celebrate receiving our Masters degrees. I love having parties, but because I invited so many people, and most of them said yes, I decided it was time to spruce the place up a bit before everyone came over. You see, lots of the people that I’ve invited have never been to my house before, and I want them to have the best impression possible of it, because I’m always saying how much I love it here.

Today my dad and I spent 3 1/2 hours picking out and planting some flowers and plants for around the house.

We made some “colorpots” for the outside porch area. Just some plastic bowls that look like terracotta filled with impatiens, since it’s really shady in the front. (pics to come, but since it’s dark outside now, I can’t get a good picture of them).

I have a great flower box outside my front window, but the problem is that the three huge trees in the front of my house offer so much shade that nothing grows in them. Plus, I don’t think there is any sort of drainage, so the flowers and plants we planted last year didn’t do very well. I decided to “cheat” this year by buying some potted verbenas that I have in the sun in the backyard for now and I will place in the window box right before the party. Clever, no? (ditto pics).

Then I bought 2 kangaroo paw ferns and a spider plant that are hanging outside the back porch area. I like how they add warmth to the look of the back of the house, although I’m not thrilled with the white, plastic pots they’re in. But I didn’t want to spend a ton of money on containers for the back of the house, you know? (ditto pics)

I also bought two beautiful ivys to put inside my breakfast nook in this great ceramic, Mexican-inspired bowl that has beautiful yellow sunflowers painted on it. Again, the addition of the ivys makes the little room look so much more comfy and homey.

Close-up of the bowl.

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My mom knows that I have wanted to change my living room around since we hung these pictures up when I first moved in. I had this Diego Rivera print hanging up: I love this picture, but it was the very first thing I bought for my first apartment when I was 24. That was eh-hem, 12 years ago, and I’m just a bit tired of it. So instead, my mom gave me this gorgeous, black wrought-iron piece that she’s had in her living room for years. (She recently bought something else where this was hanging, and wanted it to be put to good use). I have always loved this wrought-iron piece, and was thrilled that she agreed to give it to me. I think the effect is gorgeous:

It’s so much fun to make a few little changes and have a whole new feel around the house!

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I can almost hear the angels singing…

I was joking with CTLB the other day and told her that after finishing our professional development plan and the last paper for class the other night, I expected angels to sing and the sun’s rays to break through the clouds. I was sort of disappointed with not feeling more relieved.

Now I know that some of this came because we still had a few things to do:

1. Get our action research project bound at Kinko’s
2. Create a powerpoint for our final exhibition presentation
3. Graduate!

Today we got one step closer to the singing angels, because we finished our powerpoint! And it only took us 4 1/2 hours. Considering it’s a 20 minute presentation full of information, this wasn’t bad at all. Especially since both CTLB and I are perfectionists. She’s the layout lady and I’m the copy queen.

I better get my sunglasses out, because I think those rays of sun are about to hit, and I can hear the angels warming up their vocal cords as I write this.

CTLB, this picture is for you!!!

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