Hello March

Hello March! I can't believe how fast this year is going! I seriously feel like I blinked and 1/4 of the year past! But Christmas break is long gone and I have survived this far...and I am so looking forward to Spring break in a week or so!

Work/School is going...going...going...well. I have finally gotten all the keiki where I wished that they could have been 2-4 weeks from the beginning of the school year. I think this is the first time I have worked with the younger 2..some starting on their birthday. And I have to say that it was rather difficult (with this age group) when a child started, since all they would do is cry, cry cry. And when I finally got that child settled, another child would start at a later date, and the whole crying process would start all over again. Which is what happened this year. I had children starting as late as November...and another one that started this past FEBRUARY! It was hard only because the whole dynamics changed in the class and I had to work real hard to get it back to where the children were wanting to learn, instead of trying to grasp to the newness of something...new. But wow, I made it...and I am still loving it, that's for sure! I love my keiki; I love what I do. I love getting to know each child individually and as a group. Each year is different...my goodness, each DAY is different and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Now to only try to get the children to stay home when they are sick! I feel like this is a constant battle among teachers...sick children coming to school...spreading their sickness...irritated parents from hearing other children sick and coughing in their child's face...and then having to deal with that as a teacher...who feels like she is now sick from all the sickness spreading around the school. I have never had this many children "allergic" to something. The "reason" why the children come to school with runny noses, coughing, drippy eyes, and a lethargic behavior. "They're not contagious- it's just allergies." But they are STILL leaving a trail of mucus and whatnot where ever they go! But what do I know? They probably do have allergies...

But enough with that. I love my keiki...and I love my class. I love the spontaneous aura I have in my class...the whole "no two days are a like" is so my class. Working with two-year olds is so rewarding because I have the privilege of seeing so much develop in such a short amount of time! A lot of my keiki started not talking...(or speaking in gibberish or "minion-talk"), and now we can talk story for days...and I actually can understand them! I love hearing their thought process, the why of life, and the reason for anything under the sun! I love watching their confidence and self-esteem grow stronger each day and I love seeing "my" little ones start developing ohana feelings for their classmates and for myself. Their attention span is improving...they all love art...and dancing is a must in my class. We have these wonderful impromptu dance/karaoke sessions in my class...and I tell the little ones that as long as they are singing "anything can be a music instrument." They are getting to know the rules to that though...PEOPLE are not drums...and neither are fish tanks. And their little voices singing is so endearing to me! I love how they are in a habit of singing most anything. I love hearing them make up their own lyrics and dancing to their own beat! And I am very impressed with their "clean-up" skills and how they are using their words. They are always game to trying out new things for artwork, exercise movement, activity, and/or circle time.

I was real impressed the other day when we talking about the alphabet. At this age, I don't normally try to teach them letters (we are a more social/behavioral school)...but since our topic for this month is music and literature, I try to introduce to them a letter a day and of course I started with the letter "A." I was telling them that "A" is for alligator and had plans to read the book "There's an Alligator Under My Bed" by Mercer Mayer, pretend we were alligators, had an alligator artwork ready for them...the whole she-bang. But as I drew the letter on the board and said "Okay my friends, "A" is for alligator"...I had a little boy speak up and say, "Aunty, "A" is for Aloha." And he couldn't have been more right! :) We do sing that song:

"A" is for Aloha ("A" is for Aloha)

"L" is for Love ("L" is for Love)

"O" is for Ohana

"H" is for Hawai'i

ALOHA, ALOHA

so, of course...it made my heart smile.



It has been cold, cold, cold lately and a few weeks ago it rained so hard, I thought I was going to get stuck! Where I live there is only one way out on a bridge. If the ocean rises enough from all the rain and floods the bridge (which I am told that it has happened!) Then I guess it's good that I'm so comfortable swimming in the ocean to get to the other side! *laughs* Nah, I have my friends who have boards and boats that could probably get me, OR I just stayed on my side of the bridge and did some artsy stuff while listening to the steady flow of the rain! And since rain doesn't bother me so much, I did walk down to the beach and sat at the shoreline for a bit. I love watching all the moods of the beautiful ocean. Right now it is saying that it is 68degrees. Cold, super cold for Hawai'i. But then then again where my sister lives, I feel like it is much colder than where I would normally be at this moment. At home.

Now, that is another long story. But for short...the heavy rains drove the critters out of their homes and so I have been finding a lot of RATS (which I first thought were mice, but was wrong!) INSIDE MY STUDIO. So until they cease to enter my place I have moved out of my beloved studio and have come to live with my sister for the time being. I do go back to my place every morning to get ready for work and after work I stop by before come here to my sister's only because my landlady is still there (for some reason the rats are finding their way into my studio, but apparently not here house) and I go there to check up on her and make sure she is okay and of course, my fish. I have 6 aquariums with my darling fish, and I have to feed them and make sure to do their water changes when needed. But is has been tiring to say the least. The whole back and forth, back and forth of it all. I am so grateful for my sister and her family for allowing me to stay with them, but I also really, really miss my own space and home. Plus, I feel like it's a LOT colder where my sister live...but it's always so good to be with family. :)

My family is growing...and I couldn't be more happy about that! In the past couple of months I have gained several nieces and nephews some whom I haven't yet met, but still love so very much! My best friend had her baby and I am so looking forward to seeing him in a couple months! All these babies are making me smile! I am so happy that I work at a preschool, because watching the new generation grow and develop is such an awesome feeling! I love being a part of a child's life, helping them learn the skills to get along in life...and just watching their personalities shape into who they are. But my family is everything to me; I love them. I love them all! :)



My family makes me feel blessed and loved. I feel like that there is no stronger bond (other than God's love for us!) than a family bond. I also feel like people can choose who is in their family...so I believe that friends can also be family to you.



I have always loved to paint. That doesn't mean that I am any good by far! But I am choosing to get better so I am doing it more. I love to paint with acrylics, but now I am venturing out of my comfort zone and trying to watercolor paint. So. Much. Different! Wow, it's so different! I like it though. I feel as if it's more soft and challenging. Don't get me wrong painting with acrylics is not an easy thing, but because I don't paint watercolor painting as much it's more of a challenge for me. Lately these "galaxy watercolor" paintings have catching my eye and so I wanted to try them out myself. They are so beautiful and so I tried my hand at it, and even though it looked easier enough to do, it was harder...well, more different than what I was used to. I am also loving all these creative quotes! I made a few of these round galaxy with quotes in them and I have given a few of them out to share. They are a lot of fun to made and look at !



Another thing I have been trying is the pointed pen. Wow, that is fun! I love writing with the pointed pen. I have to hold myself back from buying all the supplies for the pointed pen! I actually have a few material for the pointed pen but when I got the tools that I needed from a new subscription box that I subscribe to (The Inky Box-mini). My sister actually gifted me a 3-month subscription to this box and I couldn't be more happier with it! I might have to continue with this subscription because it introduces me to new ways to letter that I haven't even thought about it! With the pointed pen it's a lot different than the brush pen that I am used to. I like that pointed pen because it does force me to slow down and really thing about each stroke of the pen.



Every day I am trying to post something up on Instagram that makes up my life. Whether that be some lettering that I've done, some artwork that I've painted, my fish (I love to aquascape their homes!), some book I've read, a place that I visited/travelled to, a view that that made me smile, my current planner moment, one of my journal entries...something...anything. It's always fun to look back to see what I've done and it's also a fun way to meet people and get inspiration and tips and other things. (Feel free to follow me! @mylife_oceanstorm)



Before I forget, I wanted to mentioned that in the beginning of the year a celebration of life was held for Legend. I had so many emotions as I was a part of this amazing event. Saddness all around, but happiness and awe to see just how many peoples lives were touched by the 3 life-filled years of this young, precious boy. My friend was able to get this picture of while we were walking back to my place after the event. There were so many people who were brought together to support and encourage and grieve with Legend's parents and sisters. I consider myself blessed to have known this young boy who was taken from us too soon. Legend, my you rest in peace, little one. Can't wait to see you again one day!



Well, hopefully I can be more consistent with my blog entries.  I miss writing them...so I will try my best to find time to write. If not, I will be back...one day. :)

"I can't go back to yesterday because I was a

different person then."

-Lewis Carroll

Alice in Wonderland

Please check me out and follow me on IG: @mylife_oceanstorm

PlayDate with DollGirl.

Today, my DollGirl came home with me after school. I had planned that we were going to go to the beach, since she is a little girl after my own heart and loves the beach just as much, if not more, than I do! However, it was raining...and we got home later than I thought.

After school, I also have the job of cleaning the school (every extra bit of money helps when you are living in Hawai'i!)...and she so desperately wanted to help me clean. I had told her that if she stayed in my classroom and played while I cleaned, it would get done faster and we would have time to go to the beach...but she really wanted to help me and who am I to deny the help of child wanting to help me clean?! So I let her help me clean. And lets just say, that we did have a lot of fun cleaning...there were a lot of laughs, giggles, and teaching moments...but it also took an hour and fifteen minutes longer for me to finish cleaning. To be fair, I did clock out my normal cleaning time...and just had fun with cleaning with my DollGirl. She loves to clean...more like, she loves to be helpful in any way that she can. I mean, I did get her her own tool set and tool belt so that she can help her dad build and fix things! I also know that she likes being with people she loves and cares for and she loves to learn new things...and so I love that about her. One of the million things I love about her.

Her mom already told me that she was going to come by my house to pick her up at around 6:30ishy after giving the little brother a bath. DollGirl and I got to my house at 5:30. Her mom had sent Mac and Cheese for dinner...and we had to cook it and eat it fast since the little brother is severely allergic to cheese. She wanted to eat dinner at the beach...but I already knew that there was no way that we could have made it without rushing...and so I told her that while the mac and cheese was cooking, we could make berry/mango smoothies and drink it out on the roof top (another place that she enjoys going) as dessert...so we had to eat fast!

As the mac and cheese was cooking I had turned on the music...and I do have a microphone that I am guilty of dancing and lipsyncing to! And DollGirl and I danced and sang to "Five Little Monkeys" and "The Wheels on the Bus" and other kid songs! It was so fun and we laughed and laughed and laughed. While the smoothies were staying cool in the fridge awaiting for our excursion to the roof top, we ate the mac and cheese. I love having conversations with my DollGirl. She is so much fun to talk to. The memories that she remembers is amazing for someone who has only lived 4 years! She recalls so vividly!

On Monday, she had come with me to my favorite pet store and helped me pick out another Betta fish, since my BamBam Jr. died a month ago. I've had him for about 3 years and I was really sad to see him go...so I waited a month to get another one...but when I went to go out to get another one, DollGirl came with me and chose a 1/2 Moon Betta fish. Very gorgeous one...that we are still trying to pick a name for it! (When we decide on the name, he will have his own introducing post!) But she was telling me all the fish in detail that she saw at the fish store...and she was even able to point out the fish that I had!

But while we were eating our Mac and Cheese, she really wanted her smoothie too, and so I told her that if we drink it now, we couldn't go out on the rooftop to drink it...and she said that that was okay...and so we ate our mac and cheese and drank our smoothies...all the while laughing, talking, and singing to the music.

I love that girl, and I always have fun with her. I pray for her everyday. And I love her. I love her. I love her.

Painting and Yema.

Today was an early start for me. My landlady wanted to repaint my outside porch and since I like to paint (when my brother-in-law lets me!), it's therapeutic to me!, I offered my help and so since I wanted it to dry faster, I decided to start early this morning. I didn't take all that long...but I had to make sure that I was staying in for the rest of the day since I won't be able to walk on my porch with the wet paint!

I first painted going down the stairs...that took less than 10 minutes...but I did wait an hour or so to paint a second coat.

I had to move all my stuff down to the end of my porch and we're going to paint that section down there at a later date. This area literally took less that 25 minutes...it was quick. But like I mentioned earlier...a hour later I did paint a quick second coat since it started sprinkling rain when I was nearly 2/3 done!

 

I left the space directly in front of my door free, so that I can still go outside for just a little bit! *laughs* My landlady said that she would paint it when I am at work and so it won't bother me much. :) Not that it would have...but that's okay. :)

Since I was stuck in the house for the rest of the day, I had to find things to entertain myself...and I decided that I would make yema! I remember when I use to eat yema all the time when I was in the Philippines; it was one of my most favorite treat to have and Jyn and Joy taught me how to make it myself!

I know that there are several ways to make it...and since I didn't have any egg in the house, I decided to make it without eggs this time.

I melted the butter first...and it smelled like buttery goodness! :)

Then when the butter was all melted I poured the sweetened condense milk in...I had extra that I was saving the fridge that I also added...couldn't hurt, no?! If anything, more yema! Then I mixed the shit out of the thing F  O   R   E   V   E   R! I mean...it seemed like forever...! For nearly 30 minutes I had to stand there and mix, mix, mix, stir, stir, stir...over and over and over again and again and again...you get my point. I had forgotten how forever that can seem. You don't want the milk to get burned, so you have to constantly be moving that baby...so mix, stir, mix, stir for a L   O     N     G time.

When it was the right consistency, I dumped the blob of yumminess on a plate to cool. The smell brought back SO MUCH wonderful memories of me making this stuff in the Philippines with my two good friends Jyn and Joy. I can't think of yema without thinking of those two. I miss them so much...and we had such good times together. I miss them. 

As "the blob" was cooling down, I prepared a bowl of plain sugar and one with cinnamon and sugar.

And there is the finished product. Yes, they were absolutely as delicious as I remembered...yema balls. I rolled half in the sugar and the other have in the cinnamon/sugar...and which taste better?! Both...they both tasted yummy!

Pluviophile

Pluviophile- (n) a lover of rain; someone who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days.

Right now the rain is falling and the sound of it rivals the love I have of the sound of my beloved ocean waves. It's such a calming sound and I love it. I have a rain canal right outside my place and I can tell that it's slowly getting filled with rain water and the sound of the collected water bubbling down to the ocean adds to this tranquil moment. The raindrops splashing and falling from the trees completes this amazing, relaxing sound that I am in the middle of.  Wow, I love where I live, and I am so glad that I am able to call this place home. 

As I pulled my car into the garage, I sat in my car for a moment just to enjoy the sound of the rain and peaceful moment before entering my "little haven" to complete my checklist of "Things to do before I go to bed." As I am sitting there, I hear my landlady call my name and I look up to see her looking at me in concern as to why am I just sitting there. I just have to say, I have The Best landlady EVER! She is one of the sweetest person that I know...so thoughtful and so caring. She has a cute little dog named Snoopy, and I adore the fact that he knows the sound of my car and he gets all excited when I come home. She had come out to let Snoopy come and greet me. I love that little dog...and I love the fact that he gets so excited when I arrive home. One day, I want to have a dog again. One day when I have a little bit bigger place that will allow me to have a dog (and a cat.)

I love the fact that I am surrounded by amazing people. My Teacher's Assistant (TA) has become like a mom to me. She texted me over the weekend to tell me that she has a 60 gallon aquarium (FULL SET UP) that her son is willing to give to me! (She also offered me a custom built 100 gallon fish tank! I am SOOO tempted! :)) Just give it to me, just like that. How amazing is that! I currently have a 35 gallon aquarium and a 10 gallon aquarium...and I just don't have room for a 60 gallon just yet. She told me that she will keep it for as long as I needed her to. She told me that she believes in me and that I will be able to get a bigger place where I can have all the fish tanks that I want. :) Her son actually was the one who gave me the two that I have now. I love my fish. They are pretty awesome. :) I am trying to see if my sister will take the 60 gallon tank, but I don't want to force her because taking care of your fish and is big responsibility and if she doesn't even know if she would want to have fish, I think that a 60 gallon is a bit to big for a starter. But who knows, maybe...:) But for now, my amazing TA (and friend) will keep it at her place for me. :) No matter how long. She's awesome. :)

A few weeks ago my sister asked my sister-in-law and I if we knew any devotionals that we can recommend to her since she was in-between devotionals. I gave her my two cents, but Amanda told both of us about this Bible Study Journal by Darlene Schacht and it was very interesting and I wanted to give it a try. So I went and bought one for myself and my sister (Amanda bought one for herself and it was being delivered to her already). Mine and my sister's arrived a few days before we were to leave to California, so I decided to wait until after I got back to start it. 

Last week was one of the most tiring, exhausting week EVER! The week I was in CA was super busy (SUPER FUN, but SUPER busy), and then coming home to go straight to work with a classroom full of 2-3 year olds, that was NOT happening for me! I barely got to the weekend before crashing all day Saturday! But yesterday, I was so wide awake with SO much energy, so that was good. I knew I just needed at least one day to recover, and I finally feel as if I can survive life again. :)

Anyways, as I was saying, so Amanda introduced my sister and I to this journal and to be honest, I am pretty excited to start. I'll be starting it today day (at 9:PM actually :)) I still have the DR Journal that I do in the mornings, and so this one I will be doing in the evening. The layout is pretty simple actually and it's really straight forward.

So, all the pages are somewhat like this. I like how they have "3 things I'm thankful for." I think that it's a very good thing to reflect on; the things that you are thankful. When you are having a bad day, it's good to be able to look back and read what you wrote down. 

I honestly thought when I got it that it would be more of a study guide and have verses or what not to reflect on, but I like this too, so that way I can choose what I wanted to study. But in that way, that was a problem. I haven't read my bible in such a long time. I do do devotionals in the morning and I do read the verses that are in my devotionals, but I haven't read my bible Bible. So, I think that it's good that it's going to help me get in the habit of exploring the Bible. After researching and doing much thought, I have chosen the book of James that I would study. 

When I was in the Philippines as a missionary for those 6 months, I remember liking the verses that I read from there...and plus I saw this:

And so I decided to find a study guide/reading schedule of the book of James and I found this:

 

And this is the guideline that I will be following! I made a print friendly version for myself.

 

(and yes, I just realized that I spelled the source wrong :( I found it on Pinterest.com actually and it brought me to goodmorninggirls.org, so your should check that place out if you want to find where I got this reading schedule.)

So, that is my newest journal...and I'm excited! 

 

So now to answer the day 2 of my 30 days of Gratitude:

Day 2: What technology are you grateful for?

Hands down, my cell phone. Which is saying a lot, since I am always getting in "trouble" for not always having it with me! If I leave my phone home, I don't freak out, I just say "whatever" and move on and see whats up when I get home. :) For a long while I had wanted to not even have a cell phone. 

But then my parents became missionaries in a different country. Now my cell phone is the only way that I can get a hold of them. (Well, technically, my cell phone, computer, and/or iPad, BUT....) My cell phone has skype and facebook and can be with me where ever I go (that's if I don't forget it somewhere!) And those are the two methods that my parents try to get a hold of me.

To say that I was in an empty place when my parents left only brushes the surface of how I really felt. June 2010 was one of the most hardest times of my life...well, actually it WAS the most hardest thing that I had to go through (up-to-date). So many things were happening all at once and I felt like I would never stand on solid ground again, and when my parents left, it left me floundering in a whirlwind of chaotic emotions...and I felt like I was going into a dark place and I was scared that I wouldn't have been able to return. (That's where my wonderful sister came and helped me. :) Gosh, I love her!)

And that was when I started to really rely on my cell phone to keep me in touch with my parents. I don't have the most fanciest phone out there, but it is a piece of technology that I will never take for granted because it keeps me connected to my parents. The hard part is, I never know when they will reach out to me, coz I can't just call/message/text/skype them. I have to wait for them to be able to get in a place with service to be able to contact me. The last time I talked to them was more than 2 months ago. The wait to hear from them is killing me. But I have to trust that they are okay.

Another reason why I am grateful for it is, since I live alone now, it makes family seem closer. If I need to talk to my sister for whatever reason, I can call her. Same goes with my brother. Same goes with my best friend. Same goes for my cousin. I like how if I can't physically see them, I can still talk to them and that makes it feel like I'm not so alone in this world. 

So yes, the technology I am grateful for is my cell phone.

Tea Traveler.

I have a new "darling" who started today at the preschool...and I am so glad that I didn't really have much trouble helping him settle in. I am so proud of my kids, they really helped him feel welcomed and they did pretty well in modeling "correct behavior." I told them that he didn't yet know the rules of my classroom and of the school and so he was going to be watching them to know what to do...and  know that I have a classroom full of potential leaders, because they did a very good job in making sure that he knew what was going on. I am very proud of "my" kids. :)

It didn't rain today, but it was gray overcast the whole day. The sun was hiding behind all the grayness and in all honesty, it felt like the approaching of the holidays! Although, it LOOKED gloomy, it felt like home. And I was happy that it was like that because I have been feeling homesick lately. It's been awhile since I've been home, and so I think that I should make a trip out there soon before I go crazy.

I have a confession to make. I did something that I thought that I wouldn't do. I added "friends" on Facebook. I had deactivated my "old" account a few years ago and told myself that I was not going to be sucked into that place again, but every few days I would get a message, a friend request, a pop up on my wall of my past...and I got me really missing home and all my family and friends back there. The only reason why I had made this new account about a year ago now was because my sister was giving me so much grief about how I didn't have an account anymore. And then she said that she would send me pictures of DollGirl anymore and the only way that I can see the pictures is if I joined Facebook! What?! Who does that?! So for a long time I did have an account, but I literally only had 5 "friends" who were my family. My sister, brother-in-law, my daddy, Mandy, and DollGirl. But today I just went through all my friend request and added all those who were family and those who I am mostly still on contact with.

I have to remind myself to not get "addicted" to that place...but for the most part, I'm pretty good about it now. I don't really do anything on there, except to check out the pictures my sister posts up...but I can see the pro's about the place. It really does keep you connected with your family and friends when you are away from them. I have moved around so much that I have friends and family in all kine places...so I have decided to stop "hiding" from everyone and if they have asked me to be their friend and we actually know each other, then I will accept.

I miss home. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss my "comfort zone." But I got this. :)

Well, when I got home today, look what Mandy had put on my study desk!

Mandy was fortunate enough to have fall break and so she didn't have school on Monday and today and so she was able to get my package for me...and right away I knew what it was! And I was extremely excited to open it!

And I was right! I finally received my Tea Traveler! I am always drinking tea and so this is a good way to bring my tea with me. I like loose leaf tea too, so this will be good. And then to, when I finally start the Fit Tea I can use this. Ash wanted me to do it with her so I told her I will wait for her and she has been meaning to go and get a strainer for the tea, since it is loose leaf...but I just told her an hour or so ago that will just meet her after work and hook her up with one of mine since I have plenty. I'm telling you, I have a lot of different teas and accessories for tea, so I don't mind sharing with her.  

But I think that I am going to buy her one of these as well. If I order one tonight for her, it will be here next week and so I think I'm going to. I will get her that strainer though so we can start already. 

But I am excited for my new Tea Traveler! I love, love drinking tea (Irish Breakfast and Peach Ginger are my all-time favorite!)...and this is so that I can bring my tea with me! I am going to try to figure out how to make the microwave work in my classroom so that I can bring some tea to work and have my tea at work as well. :)

It rained!

Wow, time has flown for me. This month has been filled with a lot of different feelings. I have been at my new job place for nearly a month now...and I have to say that I love it. I really love my new job. Don't get me wrong, I still miss my darling keikis from my previous school, but I have a big enough heart to fit in the new ones that have come into my life. And I do not say that lightly. I love each one of my kids at my new place...whether or not they are in my class. They are all such sweethearts...and I love them.

Since today is the last day of the month, I have made it into a habit to take down all the kids artwork that have decorated my classroom for the month and send them home so that by tomorrow, the new month, my classroom looks "new" and ready to put the next month's classwork up. I have to say that my room likes pretty bare and I can't wait to fill it up again with the kids art work. But before I took their art work down, I wanted to take pictures of some of their work.

This board turned out to be a happy looking board with all the bright colors! I kids loved looking at their work and pointing out their work to their parents and friends. 

This is my circle time place. I think that it still needs a lot of work and I have a few ideas that I want to do with this area...but it has come a long ways and I can have circle time the way that I like to. And I know that the children like what I've done to it...and they have fun learning about the letters of the week and the games that we do with the letters...they love flipping over the new days number and I just like how it's coming along.

This is a place that I want to improve more. I did not like how there was not a place where the children can practice their writing, so I made one. I think that it can have more work to it, but for now the children love to write and draw in their very own journals, they have fun writing new words that are added in the "practice words" basket...and they are getting better writing their own name along with their classmates names! One thing I love about this bunch of kids is that they LOVE to use their imagination! They love to draw pictures and tell me what to write for them as they tell story after story of the pictures that they drew!

And I just had to show you this! I finally got myself a much wanted laminator! This new school does not have a laminator, and I like to laminate a lot of my things...and so I splurged a little and bought this laminator from Ben Franklin's today! I love it...! It is SO easy to use and I love the final product that it "spits" out!

Guess what?! It rained today! And I loved it! Because I could finally use my windshield wipers! And I absolutely loved the SILENCE as it swept away the rain from my windshield...yes, just like it should...but it was SILENT! Not a sound...and I loved it! Simply loved it. *laughs*

Stand in the Rain.

I was tired of looking at ugly nails...so I took the time to make my nails pretty again. :) It's been raining a lot lately...and although there was no thunder or lightning...I miss it. I decided to make some lightning on my nails. I used the same technique that I use when I do galaxy nails...

I absolutely love how they turned out! I really love the nail polish pen! It really made the lightning easy to do...and I love it! :)

"Stand in the rain, stand your ground, stand up when it's all crashing down."-SuperChick

Say Something.

Today was a very, very difficult day. I did go into the day with a smile and a positive thought, however it did not help that I am feeling "under the weather" and my throat hurts like a mofo! But hey, look at me! I survived...and you know what...?! I love my friends. I love my family. And I love the fact that God is there for me when I need Him, or even think that I don't need Him.

I rolled out of bed already feeling quite crummy. My throat was so painful and I couldn't breath properly...which meant that I probably slept with my mouth open (which I know that I don't normally do)...so my painful throat was dry and it hurt to swallow. But I thanked God that I was awake and I had a new day ahead of me. See, I told you! I was positive! :)

I got to school and my co-worker and friend put this on me:

Although it is quite obvious that I am NOT Irish...I still wore it! I wore my green shirt to school today too...and my nails are still green and I wore these really cute green earrings in honor of St. Patrick. Usually when I get to school, my keikis are coming down from the playground but since it was raining they were already in my classroom with two other classes. I am always excited to see my keikis after the weekend. I miss them. Today, I got hit with a surprise...I have a new child in my class. Lets just say that he is my new challenge...bring it on! :)

All day long my throat hurt so bad...but I got through with it. But what made my day super crummy was the bad news that I got. My friend, my dear, dear friend Ed was out wild boar hunting when the boar turned on him and his friend. I don't know the whole story...but please pray for him...because his friend was impaled through the chest with the boars tusk...and did not make it. Knowing Ed, he is probably playing "what if's" on repeat in his head. So this news has been breaking my heart since I heard it early this afternoon. 

It was a rough day...but I made it. But I sure hope this is not a foreshadow of what the rest of the week is like. 

This song has been a broken record in my head recently...and I adore Pentatonix's version of this song...although I do have to say A Great Big World & Christiana Aguilera did an amazing job as well, but Say Something is a song that can speak to a lot of us...so here it is for you to listen too.

"Sometimes it's not the song that makes you emotional. It's the people and things that come to your mind when you hear it."-anonymous

Saturday randoms.

I think that I had a pretty productive day. I was able to do some cleaning that I had been putting off...but today, I told myself that I had time to do some cleaning. Although, that presented a challenge in itself because what I had wanted to clean and reorganize was my closet. One of my closets at least...the one that holds most of my arts and crafts things. Now, can you see where the challenge is?! *laughs* I do get distracted pretty easily...and come on now...this is my arts and crafts closets...I might as well call it my "distraction filled closet!" *laughs* I told myself that I really wanted to get this done...so I just need to write down all the projects that pop in my mind as I reorganized my stuff...*laughs*

But we all know that didn't work. I knew I was already setting myself up for failure when I told myself I was not to do any craft related thing today. *laughs* So I didn't...I just told myself if I were to do something...it can NOT take all day. *laughs* I can get distracted that easily!

Well, as I was going through the things that I wanted to keep and the things that I wanted to bring to school I found my earring hooks and wire...then I found these really cute faux pearl beads...and I remembered that I had soooo wanted to make myself peacock feather earrings...but I just "never had the time to get to it..." I already knew that it wasn't going to take me that long to make them...

Plus, I had the peacock feathers for a while now...they were sitting near my earring holder that my brother-in-law made me, a daily reminder that hey, I still need to make them! I actually have several peacock feather earrings...but you can never have to much, right?! And I can always give them away too...(I love feather/wings earrings, so that's why I started making my own since it's more fun that way, cheaper...and I can custom make them how I want them!)...

It took me about 10 minutes or so to make these! I think they turned out cute...and I love how they are so easy and fast to make! Super basic earring making skills, I swear! :) Since I had to "peel" and remove the top part of the feather to make a place to me to wind the wire around the feather, I had some extra feather pieces left...and so I tried something...

I'm not too sure if I like them. They kind of look like jelly fish or something. *laughs* They looked cute when I tried them on...but I'm not really too hot about them...we'll see if I'll wear them sometime...or if I'll take it a part and try something else with it...I can already see what I can do with them! Hm...like remove the faux pearl bead thing and put a faux colored gem (maybe like turquoise, ocean blue, or even emerald/hunter green) and add bling-bling chains...we'll see...maybe they will grow on me like this...but yeah...These also took about 10 minutes to make...not that long at all...

And I went on to continue to clean my "distraction closet." :) But look what else I found in my closet!

I got this wonderful little box of suggestions on how to "add more joy to life" from my dear friend Agape Joy. I miss her. She lives in Australia...I met her in the Philippines and we were really close...and that's what makes me sad, because although we tried to stay in contact...life is like that. I know that I can still call her friend, although I have no idea when/if I'll ever see her again. Her and her sister VimVette...I miss them too...but she gave me this box...

...and I have no idea what it's doing in my closet, so I have taken it out and it is here next to me on my study desk...I want to share some of my favorite suggestions...

Laugh and say I love you...wow, powerful reminders. It's such a simple things, yet complex how these two things can create joy in your life! When I was going to school in the Philippines, in the Administration building there was a paper that someone had taped to the wall one day and no one had ever taken it down for as long as I was there...and it said, "A day without laughter is a day wasted." It was a good reminder to find something to laugh...or at least smile about. 

And letting those you love know that you love them will never get old. I think that it's good to be told that someone loves you...and I also think that it's also good to let those you love hear you say I love you...even though I am big on "actions speak louder than words"...it doesn't hurt to say it as well.

I love star-gazing! Oh my goodness, have you ever just laid down on the ground...and just looked up. The heavens is such a beautiful place...at all times. Seriously, there is not a time where nature has failed to give me a blessing whenever I looked up. Whenever I get home late from work...it sucks. I mean, I work at the preschool...and don't get me wrong, I love it! But at the end of that work day, I'm exhausted. Then I'll go to my other job...and yes, I'm tired...but you know, by the time I go home...the moon is amazing! Hawai'i has a lot of clear nights...and I'm telling you, the moon is gorgeous...and then the stars...wow, its gorgeous. The moon reminds me of "A"...and the stars is my reminder that "M" is thinking of me. He promised. And wishing on shooting stars is serious business! 

And we all know that I love receiving letters in the mail...so I write letters to get letters. And I do have a collection of postcards that I randomly send out to my friends and families around the world...for just a fun "pick-me-up" to those I love. :)

I think that human touch is a very important thing...and that is why hugs exist. I love what the Disney princess said about when you hug a child, always be the last one to let go because you never how much or even how long they need it. But I also think that that goes for all ages. I use to consider myself a very hugging person, but as the years go by, I realize how much I flinch away touch...but I am trying to work on myself to give out hugs. With children it's no problem...I love the hugs from my keikis...it's the best. And when my lil DollGirl gives me a hug...it not only makes me smile, but it also warms my soul. 

And I know that I really need to work on "letting go"...forgiveness I actually hard to do. And I do think of myself as a forgiving person, but I can hold a grudge, and I need to work on that...letting go and forgiving. A teacher once told me that if you pray for someone, you find out that you can't "hate" that person...and its true.

I think that everyone should do this on a daily, if not hourly basis! I have to admit, that I don't...but I realize that when I do, I am reminded that life is good. God is good. All the time. God is good. 

10.  Nail Polish: I walk into my room and see my nail polish and I do try to paint my nails at least once every two weeks (speaking of which I need to paint my nails soon!)

09.  Blankets&Pillows: I love sleeping in a "nest" of pillows and blankets...the best place to sleep (for right now, at least.

08.  Music: Ahh! What would I do with no music?! Slowly die maybe...

07.  Warm water: I should say HOT water...I love hot showers, hot baths...and even at the beach, I love the warm waters of Hawai'i.

06.  Living in Hawai'i:  I do not regret moving here. I love it here...it's home.

05.  Rain:  It rained a lot today. "Dance in the rain"

04.  Friends:  I'm not as "people person" as I was when I was younger...but I do value and cherish the friends that I do have now.

03.  Family:  I love my family. Simply and unconditionally love my family.

02.  DollGirl:  She is a reason to keep going. I love her SO much.

01.  Life:  Thank you, God, for giving me a second chance with every breath I take...help me to never take that for granted.

I would say that today was a pretty productive day. Finally a day to myself with no (pressing) obligations...pretty relaxing "me" day. I ended the day with an Acai bowl with granola and a pot of my favorite tea: Ginger Peach.

"Thank you God for giving us this day of rest...I sure needed it."

"When people walk away from you, let them go. Your destiny is never tied to someone who leaves you and it doesn't mean they are bad people, it just means that their part in your story is over."--anonymous