top 10 signs summer is ending...

10. fall clothes are displayed in stores

9. the cousins start a mad reading dash in order to finish their summer reading

8. you start to see commercials for the beginnings of new seasons for your favorite shows

7. the fog starts to roll in earlier and leave later (in daly city, of course)

6. there are less good movies being shown in theatres

5. your principal starts emailing like crazy

4. you start to train yourself to sleep by a normal hour, instead of 3 or 4 in the morning

3. the family just now starts talking about taking a summer trip. this summer

2. no more friends are planning to visit the bay area

1. you start having nightmares about the next school year

last night i had a bad dream. it was the first day of school, and when i walked into my classroom i saw the same students from last year sitting in shiny desks. there was one new addition to the class, a boy that i knew from high school who used to be so mean and sarcastic to the students and teachers back then. i ran downstairs with my "resignation" paper in hand, desperately searching for the principal. when i finally find him and hand him the paper, he refuses to accept it and i am forced to go back upstairs and face my new "old" class. instead, i try to run out of the school, but can't escape.

i seriously woke up sweating.

***

once again, i had a great, adventurous weekend. more to come later!

114 days until....

i can't wait!

come and follow me, i will bring you home

a couple days ago i posted about meeting with my parish's young adult group. well, we met today and it was quite interesting! see, when the lady from the church contacted me, i assumed she simply wanted to point me in the direction of the YA group so that i could be a member. after further conversations and emails, i got the feeling that she wanted to be more than a member. boy, was i right.

i came to the meeting not knowing what to expect, but i told god in my prayers that i would be open to wherever he wanted to take me, as long as he would be there to help. the lady introduced me to the core group of YA's, and we all had a mini faith sharing about where we came from, who we are, and where our relationship with god was. towards the end of the meeting, she proposed that i be the "leader" or advisor to the group. i was truly taken aback! she had no idea who i was...she only knew that i had a bit of "experience" with YA's, yet she trusted me enough to be an advisor?!

after she left the meeting and i was alone with the core group, i confessed to them that all i wanted to do was join and be a member. however, if they needed me to be more than that, i would definitely be open to it. i told them that i would do whatever they wanted me to do, because all i wanted was to serve. i had a flashback to last sunday when father mentioned in his homily that we should all take life as it comes. deal with what god gives you, and have faith that all will turn out ok. i tried to keep this in mind during our conversations, because i really started to get scared. i am afraid to take on so much responsibility so fast...i'm afraid to have these people depend on me to lead them. i guess it's that fear that helped me realized i was doing the right thing. when i was chosen to be a leader in liwanag, i was afraid. the person who chose me told me that if i wasn't afraid, then it wasn't meant to be.

since i've moved back i've always been searching for a way back to the church. i've been wanting to be more than just a sunday church goer. i always felt like he was calling me toward something, but i didn't know what. i'm not entirely sure if this is it, but i'm rolling with it.

i'm going to have to dig up the binders and email my resources (ahem, kirs and fran and angie) to help me remember all the stuff we used to do. i even mentioned to them my affiliations with log, audience, and dwtl, and they already want to do a socal trip to get ideas and more inspiration! i really hope my socal peeps would be willing to help me out on this one.... ;) they also have had no exposure to praise music! (i know! what a tragedy!) i'm hoping to especially help out in this department.

in liwanag, we'd always tell our members that our mission was to spread light to those in darkness. how easily we sometimes forget about this mission when we graduate and move on in our lives. i know i forgot...and quickly. maybe i wasn't ready to do it all again a couple years ago. who knows if i'm ready now? i certainly am not sure...but what i am sure of is that i trust god. if this is what he wants from me, i'll do my best to oblige.

so right now i'd like to ask you all for prayers -- prayers for the group and prayers for myself, that we do what is right in the eyes of God, and that we take our inspiration from the Holy Spirit. i've gotten through many difficult and challenging times due largely in part to the prayers of those i love, and i hope this time is no different.

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

forbes.com rated san francisco #8 on its top 10 best cities to buy a home list. just thought all of you who have ever considered moving up here should know. remember the cul de sac, people!?! anyway, we need more friends up here, so think about it! :)

prayers are needed...

for friend that is very close to my heart. she's one of my oldest friends and she's going through some tough and uncertain times. please help me in praying for her. thank you.

fading fast

a couple days ago i realized that i only have ONE MORE MONTH of summer left. can you feel my heart breaking? i'm so not ready to do anything more than sit at home watching tv and surfing the web. pitiful, i know, but oh so true.

don't get me wrong, i do try and get a daily dose of exercise in and go to the gym. i've been really into taking classes -- mostly cardio, some dance and the ocassional pilates session. most of the instructors use certain types of music to get people all hyped up, and sometimes they'll throw in a hip-hop song that i really like. when this happens, i totally sing along (well, more like lip-sync) and in turn will miss a step or totally do the wrong thing because i'm really just listening to the song and not the instructor. people look at me like i don't have rhythm, but really, it's because i'm so into the song.

i've been working out pretty regularly now and haven't seen too much of a difference physically. i figured out (with the help of my bro) that it's because i still am not eating as healthy as possible. i stay away from fast food most of the time (except when david insists on getting it!) and i totally cut soda out of my diet. but aside from that i'm not counting calories or anything. i hate dieting! i wish you could just work out and not have to control your diet and still lost weight. grrr...

so there a a couple new things that are going to take place in my life in the next few weeks. if you're interested, read on:

1. i'm joining my bro, sis, and cousins in dancing for their halau. my bro and sis have been dancing hula/tahitian for a long time, and my cousin, pj, just joined. i've been wanting to join for a long time but was either too busy or lazy. i'm so excited!


2. i'm meeting up with my church's young adult group! many, many months ago they passed out a survey where parishoners were to write down what they think the church could improve on. i made the comment that i hadn't seen the young adults active in the church, and that while the youth group was strong, the young adults were nowhere to be found. someone from the church contacted me and is coordinating a meeting with some other young adults and myself. we'll see what comes about from all of this. i definitely feel God's hand working...i wonder what he has planned!
   
3. i'm going on a cruise! to mexico!


4. i'm moving in with david. (more regarding this to follow later...)
   

so there you have it. life around these parts is never boring. oh, on a side note, check this out for your viewing pleasure! my david has invested in a very, very expensive camera and has been working on his personal portfolio. he's getting better and better every day at taking shots, and i'm really proud of how he's progressed.

here are just a few random photos from my good ol' point and shoot cannon!

the newest addition to the dioneda clan...noah douglass! he was a day old in this pic, which was taken about a month ago. the number of guys in our family are increasing!

my cousins and i at the most recent cotillion

mi familia...with all the s.o.'s included. this was at billy and pj's bday celebration at horizons in the city. my friends told me to hold my arm away from my body so it won't look fat...then they laughed when they saw this pic. suuuper posed.

and the following pics were from a night in downtown fullerton. that weekend was one of the best weekends i've had all summer. i'd almost forgotten how much i missed being around all my old friends...it's always good times with these people!

starting off sloooow...

you know how much we looove to dance!

i love this pic. except i don't like how derrick's hair looks. oops, i mean...i looooooove derrick's bangs in this pic. they look hot.

goodbye, fullerton. until we meet again...

help, i'm trapped!

last night i stayed at david's place while he was working the night shift at the hospital. he came home this morning, and after checking his email and finding out that his camera package was shipped out to my house today, left so that he could be over there to answer the door. i was still sleeping, so i stayed behind...

only to be woken up by a louder than life, piercing fire alarm. i figured it was a test (david says they do that periodically in the morning time), but it didn't turn off right away and it was starting to hurt my head! so i tried to quickly gather my stuff to leave...but the door would not open. the lock was stuck -- this had happened once before so i knew what the problem was, but that time david was on the other side of the door and was able to get in.

i tried desperately for 20 min. to try and get it open, but to no avail. that was at 8:45am. i've been wandering aimlessly on the internet since then, while formulating a plan in my head to escape should there really be a fire. i wanted to call david right away to rescue me, but i decided to let him sleep for a bit before i make him get up.

on another note...

i looooooooooove. love. love. summer! :) (um, don't ALL teachers?!) i randomly see families from school at the grocery store/mall/gym and they all ask me, "so....what are you doing nowadays?" in a tone that suggests i must be bored out of my mind. i am the complete opposite of bored. i stay up really late at night, wake up early/late depending on the errands i have to run that day, hang out with the family, go out on the weekends, visit malls with david and window shop. i'm not really doing anything super productive, except for wedding planning, and i'm loving it.

this weekend we're going to sunny southern california yet again for the dayz picnic. i've missed dayz so much and was excited to find that i'm available this weekend to attend the function. it'll be nice to catch up with old friends again.

did you know...?

i was tagged by my good friend *reen* to give 6 random factoids about myself. here they are, in no particular order:

1. i harmonize to songs i hear on the radio. just typing that sentence made me laugh. whenever a song comes on that i like, i randomly try to harmonize with the melody. sometimes i can pick out the harmony if i listen real closely, but most other times i fail. miserably. in fact, i think this random habit of mine has made my singing worse. and, if my harmony is really bad, i can practically hear joyce laughing at me in side my head.

2. i hate doing laundry. so much so that when i run out of stuff to wear, i go shopping. yup, i'd rather spend money to buy new clothes than wash the ones i already have. i think my old roomies can attest to this. actually, it's not only laundry that i hate doing -- it's any kind of housework -- dishes, cleaning, cooking. man, i am so NOT the homemaker.

3. while living in irvine, i visited a dance studio 3 times with the intention of taking a class. i chickened out all 3 times. the first time i just drove by and didn't get out of my car. the second time i made it to the clear glass window that looks inside one of the rooms and became a spectator for an hour. the third time was the same as the second...pitiful. my old roommate melissa even offered to come with me after i told her the story. alas, i think the opportunity of my career as a dancer has long passed.

4. i (secretly) wish i could be the mother of multiples. twins, triplets...sextuplets, maybe? see, i've been really into watching jon & kate plus 8 on TLC. i practically watch it anytime it's on! everytime i watch the show, i get this overwhelming desire to have kids. i realize that it's a reality show and that they probably make it seem more fun than it really is, but i guess i just loooove the idea of a big family. i always have. now, all this is coming from a woman with no kids yet. we'll just have to see if the desire remains the same after i have a couple.

5. i am very much an introvert AND extrovert. i love to be social, meet new people, be in the spotlight, and hang out with friends. i like hanging out in big groups, as well as small ones. at the same time, i need my moments alone. there are days (weeks even!) where i am perfectly fine staying at home or not talking to anyone. that's why whenever anyone asks me to describe myself i never know what to say, because i am so much the walking contradiction.

6. i love playing board games with my family. we first got into playing cranium a few christmas' ago. i introduced it to my family after playing it in irvine. then we became addicted to taboo. david and i also had a period in time when we would play sequence multiple times a night. (i was introduced to sequence by the very person who tagged me to write this post!) catch phrase made its way into our family parties -- and we have had some pretty funny catch phrase sessions. this summer, the name of the game is monops! 4 hour monopoly sessions are not uncommon in our household!

YOU'RE IT!:
1. david
2. franchu
3. regina
4. emely
5. derrick
6. gian (again!)
7. angie
8. kirsten
9. kathee
10. wing

let's see who responds FIRST!!!

whirlwind

the past few weeks have been somewhat of a whirlwind for me, and i think i am just now beginning to let my feet come back to earth.

the first major thing that took place was graduation. i survived my first 8th grade graduation with minimal setbacks and almost no drama. did everything turn out well? absolutely. was it perfect? absolutely not, but i will work on nearing perfection in the years to come. did i accomplish everything i set out do do this school year? no, but my main goal was to simply survive, and that i did. they say that a class like the one i had this past year only comes along once in a blue moon. well, in all humbleness i would like to say that i paid my dues and i deserve a break for at least 5 years until my next challenging class walks through my door. ok, maybe 3 years...but still. at least i know next year's class coming up will be somewhat a breath of fresh air for me. i've already had them for one period this past year and know them pretty well. they're a lot calmer, more respectful, but albeit kind of nerdy. and, i mean that in the most endearing way. we'll see if they stay the same once the school year starts.

what other things have consumed my life these past few weeks? well, my cousin had a baby! we have a new baby boy in our family (pictures to come!) and everyone is excited. the cousins, david, and i have been into playing monops (our term for monopoly, of course) and rock band until 5 in the morning. i'm trying to get into the habit of working out and am thoroughly enjoying the workout classes at the gym. and, perhaps the most apparent thing taking up my time nowadays is the wedding. oh, this summer is turning out to AWESOME!

some things to look forward to in the next few weeks:

• visits from socal friends
• visits to socal friends
• birthday's galore
• girlfriend cruise to mexico
• getting ready for next school year
• ...and more wedding stuff

stay tuned for my next blog entry: random factoids about me! i was tagged by one of my dear friends....I MISS YOU, GIRL! chrystal said she saw you at the gary v concert...just singing away to his songs! i totally could picture you in my mind!!!

words

"Careless words stab like a sword, but wise words bring healing." Proverbs 12:18

Words are important: they can hurt or heal. Words can uplift us or discourage us, and reckless words, spoken in haste, cannot be erased. Today seek to encourage all who cross your path. Measure your words carefully. Speak wisely, not impulsively. Use words of kindness and praise, not words of anger or derision. Remember that you have the power to heal other or to injure them, to lift others up or to hold them back. When you lift them up, your wisdom will bring healing and comfort to a world that needs both.

-Criswell Freeman's Purpose for Everyday Living

* thanks, reg, for the words of inspiration. miss you...

* to my friend across the miles, it was nice talking to you today. keep your head up and be proud of the beautiful person you are.

an early start...

to summer '08!

what's on the (tentative) itinerary for this weekend? well, let's see!

• thursday evening - drive down to southern california. one white truck. 5 squished passengers. 2 flying into lax. ETA: 2am.


• friday - disneyland, baby. haven't seen you for about 3 years...oh, how i've missed thee!


• saturday - visit mesa court and tour the area. drive around irvine and get my cousin acquainted with the usual eateries and hang-out spots.


• saturday afternoon/evening - sprit rally!


• saturday evening - *secret*


• sunday - mass at the 'faith. drive back up to northern california. ETA: 8pm.

in case you didn't know, my cousin, stephanie, got accepted into UCI! :) she's planning on entering the school of engineering as a civil engineer. last weekend she flew down with my sis and took a day trip to uci during wayzgoose. she loved it and came home very excited. i'm hoping to gently push her into liwanag and get her in early -- you know, before all the others. hey, she's free to make her own decisions, but it may help to steer her in the right direction. :D i'd feel so much better about her being so far away if she was in the right hands.

anyway, the plan is for her sib's to come along with us. my sister and her bf will meet us there since they have travel benefits and can basically fly wherever they want. should be a fun road trip if everything works out.

anyone else going to rally?

oh, the joys (and tears) of television

as much as i hate to admit it, i love to watch tv when i have the time. i think at the end of a long day at work, it's my only stress reliever when i come home. besides the usual grey's anatomy (april 24th!!!) and desperate housewives, i have my regular dose of reality tv...the hills, the bachelor (this season sucks, though), american idol, and survivor: micronesia. which brings me to my next point...

goodbye, ozzy.

this guy is/was like the king of survivor. i think he was born in the jungle in another life. i sort of don't even want to watch anymore because he's gone. everyone else is so blah.

and wasn't the don't stop the music performance on idol the best or what? i loved it so much that i downloaded it on itunes. i know, what a loser-y move. i cannot wait for so you think you can dance! everytime i see dance numbers like that i get the urge to quit teaching and become a full-time dancer. haha! oh, pipe dreams...



oh, and what about the idols' rendition of shout to the lord?! it was a little weird at first but nice to see, really.

speaking of shouting to the lord, the pope is here! i've been following his journey somewhat on tv with my students. in order to be one with the festivities, i took out my vatican flag and waved it around as if i was watching him arrive at the airport. my students didn't even know what the flag was. =/ but it's ok -- i enlightened them.

wow. this post makes me sound like a tv fanatic.

Happy 28th Birthday,

David!

breakthrough

and here goes another teaching story...

student: if someone makes fun of me i'm just going to make fun of them back. i've tried everything to stop making fun of people and losing my temper. i tried hitting the wall, i've tried screaming into my pillow, i've tried ignoring the person, i've tried it all and nothing works.

teacher: have you tried prayer?

our principal gave my class a talk today about the bullying that has been going on among the students, especially this week since we've been back. i was totally fed up with what was going on, nothing was working, and things seemed to be getting worse. after the principal left the room, i shut the door to my classroom and opened the floor for students to make comments about the bullying -- no holds barred. i explained (demanded, rather) that all of us were going to lay it out on the table right then and there, addressing each other directly by name.

and, that they did. specific people were called out for being bullies, being pushovers, starting rumors, being mean, and everything else. the ones being bullied confessed their intimidation and fears of speaking up in class. the ones doing the bullying accused others of trying to be "perfect" and gave warnings that high school would be 10 times worse. we've all been bullied somehow. are we just supposed to take it? if we don't dish it out, someone else will just walk over us. why are some people such big babies about it? why don't you stop when you see it hurts me? why do you roll your eyes everytime i open my mouth in class? why did you start that rumor? why? soon thereafter, the tears started to flow from a couple people. then, the teacher aide in my classroom bravely told the class about her experience of actually being a bully in 8th grade. she shared a pretty deep story. by the end of it all, there was not a dry eye in my classroom, and i was biting my lip in order to hold my composure.

my kids continued to share stories like you wouldn't believe. everyone had a chance to speak, and they spoke from the heart. the comments that some of my students made allowed me to understand them so much better than i did before. i was literally shaking to my core the entire time -- that and praying that God would inspire me with words that would help my students deepen their faith and their relationship with others. we ended our conversation in prayer, and everyone went around and prayed for at least one other person in the class. most of my students issued their apologies to whom they have hurt.

when we broke off for recess, one of the yard duty people came to me and said, "what the heck did you do to those kids?" i looked at her, smiled, and asked, "why?" she the told me that all my students -- all 38 of them -- were playing in one big group, hugging each other and just hanging out. the boys weren't playing basketball, the girls weren't practicing their cheerleading, they were just hanging out as one.

i'm realistic enough to know that this euphoric sensation will probably wear off before we even get through our spelling test tomorrow morning. however, i think that more than a few of them are changed for good. and i think all of them now realize that they can change, that they have the power to stop the cycle, and that prayer really does work miracles.

i don't think their classroom behavior will get much better. they're still going to be talkative, they're still going to fool around and try to get away with anything they can. but their behavior towards each other had taken an upward turn. and i'll take that over anything else.

he brings me my favorite lunch...

buys me coffee in the early morning...

grades my papers when i have too many...

takes care of my family in so many ways...

and then some.

what more could one ask for?

(ok, you can stop gagging now!)

welcome back to reality

we arrived back from the philippines friday evening, and would you believe i'm still jetlagged? how long does it take to shake this thing?!

we all had a splendid time! while the country itself is an interesting place to be in, i always tell people that the reason i have so much fun in the philippines, year after year, is because of my family that resides there. we only get to bond once a year, and it's always such good quality time. because my pinsans are quite shy, it always takes them a day or so to get warmed up. they are absolutely terrified at speaking english, and i can't very well speak tagalog save for one word exclamations (i.e. galing! social! ay nako!), so most of our conversations are in broken english and one word tagalog translations. it's funny that although language sometimes creates a barrier, the actions that take place between us speak loud and clear.

i have a few stories about our biyahe, but for now i leave you with one that was quite amusing.

while waiting to see my uncle who is the mayor of sorsogon (those are my pinsans you see in the beginning of the video), david and i happend to engage in a short conversation with one of the secretaries in the office at the municipal building. this is how it went:

male secretary: so, are you guys, like, from the states?
d&d: yes.
male secretary: like, born and raised?
d&d: yes.
male secretary: so, you guys are like, american?
d&d: umm, yes.
male secretary: wow, that's great!
d&d: (smiling)
male secretary: well, i really hope that when you get back to the states, you will vote for ramielle malubay. we're all voting here for the next american idol to be a filipina! (huge smile on his face.)
d&d: oh, yes, of course! (trying to hold in our laughter...)

it was really funny. i don't mean to poke fun at him, because in actuality it was rather cute that he would take the time to ask us to vote for a fellow filipino. talk about filipino pride!

i miss them already...

there's something about jason...

i don't know what it is, but i really like this guy. i haven't been following american idol too closely this season, but there's just something about the way he sings that i really love. i wonder what the stylists do with his hair every week, though. i mean, how many ways are there to style dreads, really?

one week to go...

'til i get to visit the motherland!!! although i am very excited, i can't help keeping my excitement at bay until the day we leave. see, it's the end of the 3rd quarter at school, and you know what that means! report cards. ugh. i despise them. i dislike anything that has to do with grading. i just want to teach, you know?! forget about the grades, the percentages, the tests to administer and calculate...just let me enlighten their minds with the activities! oh, how i wish it was that easy. alas, it comes with the territory.

it's going to be quite the busy week for me. i'm going to try and pack my things this weekend so that i don't have to worry about them, but seeing as though i have an academic decathlon to attend to and playoff games to cheer on for my boys, not to mention it's david's weekend off, i'm not sure if packing will find its way into the schedule.

we're actually spending a lot more time in bicol this year -- 1.5 weeks instead of the usual 1 week. not sure if this is such a good idea as days in the province tend to move extreeeeemly slow. we're only spending a few days in manila before we depart back home, but i never really liked/enjoyed manila too much anyway. it's crowded and stuffy and the only thing to do is shop, which can get monotonous after just one floor of mega mall or mall of asia.

trying to see if we can watch mymp, hale, or kamikazee. doesn't look good so far, but i think we may be able to visit mymp at a cafe they're playing at a few days before we are scheduled to leave. too bad we can't see hale...it's david and my favorite band. on our many roadtrips from the bay to socal or the other way around, we would both sing to their songs, especially this one:



and this song was really popular the first time i went to the philippines and i absolutely love it! there's a punk version and an acoustic version -- a lot of other bands perform this song as a cover but i think kamikazee's the original. i never knew what they were saying until i saw it on tv while over there and they put the lyrics at the bottom of the screen. gotta love that karaoke.

just because...

just love these boys. these photos were taken by david on the boys' 6th birthday last november. i haven't seen them since christmas but i bet they've already grown since then.