First Day of School

Today is Bree's first day as a 3rd grader. She woke up at 5:30 am, and couldn't go back to sleep because she was too excited. We were in school around 7:20am (first bell for flag salute is at 7:45). She played with her friends, and i was chika-chika with Stacy and Brenda, gossipping (sp?) about teachers. Who's in, who's out, who got transferred, who got pregnant, etc.

There are some not-so-good changes at school this year. Instead of the 7:45am to 2:45pm schedule from Mondays thru Thursdays, they adjusted it to 7:40 to 3:00. Why kaya? We really need those 5 extra minutes in the morning. Bree and I are always photo-finish when going to school. I wish they'd give me back the extra 5 minutes.

And then the Friday schedule is so upsetting. Before, on Fridays, their dismissal is at 12:30pm. This year, Friday dismissal is at 2pm. It's almost a whole day affair. Bummer!

Tuition fees went up again. So what else is new.

Child at Heart

Clay and I were talking about how big Bree is now. And hoping that Bree would outgrow us both.

This made me think, when i was 8 yrs old, i was just 3'11. Bree is 4'3".

I wore size 1.5 shoes then, Bree wears size 3.5 now.

She has blond highlites on her hair. Mine was plain black, apple-cut style.

However, Bree is still very much a little kid. Today, she had a girl scout activity at the Johnny Carson Park in Burbank. When i picked her up at 12pm, all the other girls were going to their cars where their moms were waiting. But not Bree. She said in a begging voice, "Mom, can i play in the playground for 5 minutes?" She was using her genuine begging voice, so i said yes. She ran, or rather, skipped towards the swing/slide/monkeybar combination playset. She was playing alone, but was very happy. That's when i realized she is still a child.

BSA or QA

I am in a crossroad in my life with regards to my career. I am currently a Business Systems Analyst in the IT Dept. But have also dabbled in QA'ing software development, mostly VB applications. Actually, i have accepted this QA position about a year ago, but our BSA dept is shorthanded, so they could not just let me go.

But now, we have a new Network Manager, who would be my boss if i were truly in the QA dept. This guys has big plans for our network, primarily converting to Windows 2003. I had a meeting with him on Friday and he said he needs a solid QA dept for that undertaking, and he wanted to know if i'm "in or out." (we currently have just one QA person, i would be the second one).

I think i want to be "in" on this project. I did tell him that earlier today. Now, he's gonna have to convince our CIO to release me from the Analysis dept, so i can fully focus on Quality Assurance validation and migration.

Now, i have to check www.salary.com and see how much i could make.

BFF

Kristina is Bree's best friend in school. They are both Girl Scout brownies. They're pretty much inseparable during brownie activities - same tent at camping, same boothing at girl scout cookie events, always partners during brownie games and always hanging out together during breaks in school.

Stacy dropped off Kristina at our house around 9am. She said Kristina soooo wanted to play with Sabrina. So, i said no problem, she can stay with us until all day. I really had no plans but to stay home and just clean and fix up my new closet.

Bree is not a very good hostess. Sometimes i see her doing one thing and Kristina doing a totally different thing. Sometimes, they would be in 2 different locations in the house. But they had some good times, too - they played outside in the swing, they played tea party and a little bit of Bop It!.

I asked them what they want for lunch, and they opted for McDo happy meals, instead of pizza. So, i picked up their happy meals and told the server that i want girl toys. But she probably wasn't paying attention because the happy meal bags had boy toys in it. Oh well. Kristina was picked up by her dad around 3pm.

TGIF!

Clay picked Bree up from Lori's house this afternoon. Then, Dana's mom called and asked if Bree could play with Dana at their house today. So, Clay then dropped her off there.

Then i got a call from Stacy, her daughter Kristina wanted to play with Bree. She wanted to know what our plans are for tomorrow. Told her no plans so far. She said Kristina has been asking for a play-date with Bree. So, we'll probably hook up with them tomorrow. Stacy said she'll call me around 8:30am to confirm our plans.

Can i just take this opportunity to say, as a mom, i am so happy that my Bree is so popular. Actually, she really is popular in her class. The cool girls in school are her friends, and they look up to her. They always want to sit next to her, play with her, etc. I'm so happy for her, because i wasn't popular at all. I remember in grade school, my sisters were both popular. Esp Pau, anong pinakain mo sa kanila? I remember her friends would always follow her around, and want to sit next to her. Why kaya???

Diet

Today was a good day for me === diet-wise.
Breakfast: halfcup oatmeal (2 pts), coffee with sweet 'n low and lowcal cream (0)
Lunch: 3/4 cup brown rice (3), ham deli slices (3), jello fruit cup (2), diet coke (0)
Snack: diet pepsi (0)
Dinner: lean cuisine steak dijon (6), skinny cow (2)
TOTAL: 18 points! I was such a good girl today.

Actually, on my way home (after some bathroom accessories shopping at The Great Indoors and Target), i was thinking of where to go for dinner. I wanted something bad, like the six-dollar burger at Carl's Jr, or maybe a double double at In N Out. Or i said, maybe i can be semi-good and go to Subway for a BMT on wheat bread - footlong. However, my "angel" side convinced me to be a good girl. I said to myself, "Self, tomorrow is Friday, you know you're gonna have a donut," ok and maybe 1 bagel (free donuts and bagels at work, all you can eat). And would probably have a caesar salad with pita bread for lunch. Dinner? Who knows? Sabrina might want to go out for dinner, probably Macaroni Grill or Elephant Bar.

So, i opted to be good.

A Day at Work

Let's see, what happened at work today. I came in at around 8:40am. Got my coffee and oatmeal. Checked emails and replied to some. Migrated a file from Dev to Prod for one of the VB applications.
Today was somewhat different from my typical workday because we (analysts and developers) had a meeting with the new prez of our company. We went around the room, introduced ourselves, said a few words about our position. Nice guy, seems open and not very prez-like (for now anyways).
Let's see what else happened today? I trained one of our legal guys on CQ. Took 15 minutes. Hopefully, he got it.
Then, had a back-end meeting with my fellow back-end analysts. It was a good session. Kinda productive for me and educational.
Went home at around 5:35pm. Some traffic. Picked up Clay from the house then went to Home Depot for some bathroom renovation items.
Finally home at 9pm.
Not a typical day, but close enough. One big thing missing is Bree. I miss my baby princess.

Aaaahhhhh!

Another physical therapy session. This time, my therapist started me out on the treadmill. 10 minutes. Did not even break a sweat. Then came 20 minutes of stretching exercises. Very simple stretches while lying on my back. Then came the moment i've been waiting for... my 30 minute massage. Aaaaahhhhh! My upper back and shoulder area are sooo sore right now, after 2 consecutive days of deep massage. But oh so worth it.
My next appointment is not until Monday next week. Maybe i could squeeze in another session this week. Hmmm, maybe Thursday.
I talked to my Mom today, via VOIP. She said my nephew and godson, Miko, opted to stay home and not go to school. He has a tummy ache daw. Poor Miko, i hope he feels better soon.
Tomorrow is Wednesday, hump day. I expect to have a busy day at work tomorrow, with 3 meetings to attend.

Therapy anyone?

My primary care physician gave me a prescription for Physical Therapy (after i convinced her that i really need it). What i actually need are massage sessions that my insurance will cover. Today was my first visit with the physical therapist. He was in the Washington Mutual Building in Burbank, right next to Elephant Bar.
My therapist turns out to be a parent at SRB school also. He has a 2nd grader and an incoming kindergartner.
Anyway, after a 30-minute evaluation of my posture, muscle problems, etc, he was able to give me a half-hour massage. It felt really great. I am coming back tomorrow for more.

Oh and by the way, Bree is spending the next few days at Lori's house (Lori is Bree's best cousin). She was so excited. She packed so many clothes that could last her 10 days. I miss her already.

Build-A-Bear and Sisig

So, Emily (Bree's precious teddy bear) needs a new wardrobe. Bree and I left the house at 10:55 am this morning. Off to Northridge Fashion Center - Build A Bear Workshop. Bree said Emily needs regular going-out clothes. She means No costumes, No party clothes, just normal cool clothes. After about 15 minutes of looking around the workshop, Bree decided on a hot pink top with denim short pleated skirt. Sorta like what Heather and Frankie would wear. We were on our way to the cashier, when Bree decided Emily needed panties and sandals. Bree got her pink printed panties and denim sandals. Emily has a whole new outfit.

After Build A Bear, Bree got a pretzel from Auntie Anne's. She only likes the original kind, not the gourmet ones (like cheese, cinnamon, etc).

After the Northridge Mall, it was around 12pm, i was thinking of what to buy for lunch. Our usual taco truck parked on Nordhoff is surprisingly not there. So, we went to Toto's Lechon and got one lechon manok, and one large order of sisig. They were both good, very good in fact. Of course, not as good and as authentic as those you order in the actual Philippine Islands. But good enough for USA. Oh and BTW, the sisig here in the states is actually called Sisig ala Los Angeles, because it's not really authentic. It's just a spinoff of the real sisig in Manila.

Blue Agave

We are in the finishing touches of our master bath renovation. Little paint touch ups needed. Need to clean tub/shower, pedestal sink (very pretty), build high cabinet we bought from Ikea last night.

Speaking of last night, after work, i met up with Clay and Bree at Ikea. Bought some bathroom stuff (towel holders, etc) and a high but narrow cabinet to be set-up next to our pedestal sink. Pedestal sinks are very neat, however, you lose the storage functionality of a regular under-sink cabinet.

After Ikea, we ate at Chevy's. Bree wanted to eat at Elephant Bar, but the wait was too long. No wait at Chevy's. We saw Yvonne Rivas, Amanda's mom. Amanda is one of Bree's best friends from SRB school.

I love the color of paint that i chose for the master bath. Blue Agave. Can you say tequila? Blue Agave, one of my favorite cacti in the world. It works good as bathroom color. Blue Agave.

Today, Saturday, Bree would like to go to Build A Bear to buy some clothes for Emily. Whenever i would tell Bree that Emily doesn't need new clothes, she's not even real, she would say, "To me she's very real!"

We'll probably go to the one at Northridge mall. But maybe we could go to Hollywood and Highland. Have a touristy kind of day. Eat at Mel's diner?

Welcome

Sabrina is our one and only princess. The center of our universe.
Hope you can read on to our future blogs, focusing on Life With Bree.