behold the handmaid of the Lord

be it done to me according to your will...

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
-Ephesians 4:1-6

let's do this.

off the screen

does anyone know how to post videos on blogger?!?! i humbly implore your help as i have quite THE VIDEO to show.

wave hi to the camera!

oh man, i'm dying of laughter...

dude, my dad has a blog.



in other news, i started fixing up my classroom today!!! there's lots to do and so much to clean and organize! some of my future students were at school helping out so i got to meet them. already some interesting comments came about:

- "so...you wear dunks? cool. got the fantastic 4's?"

- "hollister...cool."

- "you're not gonna leave are you? all the young teacher's we ever get leave eventually."

- "how old are you?"

- "you gotta watch out for all the gossip around here. it get's bad sometimes."

- "you're cool."

and my ultimate favorite:

- "see! i told you her name was ms. haw!!! you know, like 'haw, haw, haw'!!!" (ugh, flashbacks to gradeschool. perhaps i should stick with ms. h?)

i was there for about 5 hours and made just a small dent in what i have to do. i'm trying to figure out a way to paint the walls without having to move everything. AND i'm having a hard time deciding what colors to use!!! oh well...perhaps i'll peruse through the new ikea catalog to get some ideas.

i'm really excited for our visitors to come up here!!! i hope we do sf justice and that you guys won't be bored. bring jackets...it's a bit chilly!

thoughts running around in the mind of dee:

- i love sushi
- planning units takes a lot of time
- 26 days until i start teaching
- 3 days till i get to play
- 5 days till my sissy comes home! :)
- mother teresa and jpII are my homies
- i miss you, lola
- "myspace is the foreground for virtual bopperness," said my brother.
- "our house is too small," I said. "at least you have a house," replied my mom.
- did you know that you can take a regular #2 pencil and make a line 35 miles long before it runs out of lead? thank you, cranium.
- lay off the crack, david
- www.catholicsforthecommongood.org
- "do as i say, not as i did..."
- sometimes i get sad and/or feel regretful about things i did and/or went through when i was a kid. and i feel like i want to shield my younger cousins from those kinds of experiences. my brother called me a pioneer. didn't feel so bad after that...
- i want to go to europe
- i had a day out with two nuns a few weeks ago. what an experience...
- is it smart to go on a retreat the weekend before i start teaching?
- singing...oh how i miss thee.
- i also miss reg and em.
- i am addicted to iced caramel machiatto's
- @ a starbucks down south: "hi, may i have a grande iced caramel machiatto, blended, please?" said me. "you're from up north, aren't you?" said the barista.
- my little cousin, stephanie, is starting to "talk" to this guy she likes and my bro and other cousin (her kuya) are continually interrogating her. usually, the investigations go something like this:
my brother: "what kind of shoes does he wear?"
steph: "i don't know! i don't look at his shoes!!!"
steph's kuya: "STOP LOOKING AT HIS FACE!!!"
...the consequence of having overprotective family members.
- yesterday i had a bubble in my eye
- can't wait for Philippines 2007
- sometimes i get scared that i won't be the teacher He wants me to be
- wanna go to BS
- my family is really into having picnics @ rinconada right now
- drama usually isn't fun, but sometimes it really is
- there are babies everywhere!!! hurray for little miracles!!!
- finally got to running 5 miles without stopping...long way to go till 13.1
- i'm really broke right now
- Ephesians 4:1-6
- malachi and micah...i think they'll work, david
- ilovedavid
- lots of friends that are about to go off and do lots of big things...i'm so very proud of you guys

***

the dioneda gangsta golfers

- oh yeah, langston hughes = awesome.

unto us a child is born...

and SHE shall be called

Baby Mik-Mik!!!

congratulations

Mike & Reen

and

welcome to the WORLD

baby girl mik-mik

may your life be blessed with much faith, hope, and LOVE

can't wait to meet you...

wanna hang?

arriving at 6:45pm. having dinner with the guru. available to play till noon on friday.

call me!!! :)

4th of july FUN.

had a nice picnic...

lost to the boys in volleyball. the consequence? line up and get hit by water balloons...execution style.

before the firing began the girls tried to talk their way out of it...

didn't work. and apparently 3 out of the 4 boys had a plan to just hit ME with the balloons, but this is what happened:

boys: yeah, we tried to hit you, like, 3 times but the balloons kept bouncing off your a**!

me: well, sorry i have a body of steel...

boys: uh, actually if you had a body of steel, the steel would have ripped those water balloons up.

me: oh, yeah. nevermind.

so we got wet and had a water fight. 'twas FUN...

watched fireworks over the water. by far the closest i've ever been to fireworks in my life...david even got hit in the eye with one of the sparks. naw, just kidding. but he almost did...

to my dancing partner...

*edit* ;)




i think my first memories of you were when i simply thought of you as the guy from nubes who always followed joe around. then remember that night when i ran out of my apartment and you chased after me and talked to me 'till around five o'clock in the morning? our relationship changed then! nowadays you have become less of a friend....and more of a brother. i mean it when i say that i am proud of who you've become. i think sometimes i don't give you enough credit for how great of a leader you really are. there were days when i know you never thought of yourself as one, but if you look at the people around you now i know that each one of them can atest to how you've touched their lives. as for me, your presence in my life is a constant reminder of the type of friend and sister i aspire to be to others.

happy birthday, gian...go fly into the blue.


p.s. did you know that you have the same name as my hero, giovanni paulo II? coincidence? i think not...

oh, how i miss thee!

i miss the old krew, too.

* older and fatter, yet still HOT! ...kinda.

taking over

so today was my first official day of student teaching. at first i was a bit annoyed that i had to do student teaching still because that's pretty much what i did all school year last year but they couldn't count it because it was a "job" or whatever. but i'm trying hard to look at it with new eyes and just be grateful i'm getting more experience in the classroom. after this summer, i will have actually had experience teaching a bit in every single grade except 4th and 8th! i'm in a 2nd/3rd grade combo class right now and my master teaching had this emergency thing she had to take care of smack in the middle of class so i actually led the class for the rest of the afternoon. talk about just throwing you in there!!! luckily, i survived. we'll see how the rest of the time goes...

* * *

franny: moving to so cal? hmm....maybe one day! so is the alchemist appropriate for middle school? maybe 7th or 8th? i've never read it. i think august is perfect...let me know.

guru G: hi. i miss you, too. i really like that picture as well...so much, in fact, that i put it in my scrapbook. wanna come visit my class? you can teach music!!!

gian: hello gian. it's ok for not calling me back...you made up for it last night. and it's ok about the happiest race on earth...though, you better be there to cheer me on. unless you are gone by then. which, in that case, mabye i'll send you my medal. maybe. see you up here soon!

kirsten: hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!! i know i miss you already, too! did you get my text a few weeks ago? every time i see the new MAC collection (you know the one that's in teal cases) i think of you....SO your style! i better see you up here soon!

just because they're CUTE.

happy anniversary, mommy and daddy! we ate dinner at black angus...it was nice.










cousin time. this summer has been all about the cousin time. we spend a lot of eat playing sequence and eating snow cones at the park. i love.







jei didn't want to take this picture because he didn't wanna look like tourists. oh well! we had a good time with jei as OUR tour guide...good eats at tempura house. fun times.








these were taken at their preschool...they had a multicultural day so the cousins + david went and performed filipino folk dances and hula/ori tahiti for everyone. i was the emcee and afterwards people came up to my cousin and asked, "is she a teacher?" go figure.

ah...they're growing up so fast. but they're interacting a lot more with me now so it's nice. can't wait to see what kind of people they grow up to be.






AWESOME times at the giants v. a's game last sunday...even though we lost. we played sucky, too. memento from the game: a burnt nose and forehead. ouch.

upon you rests my favor.

i guess it's about time for me to blog.

since my last entry which was like, lightyears ago, lots has happened and lots more is going on! i can sum it all up in three words: life is good.

lola's 40th day death anniversary. we celebrated mass and all went well. i even put on my old choir director hat and led my dad, uncle, and cousins in song! it was a good experience and i'm so proud to say that i have a very dedicated and talented family. my bro even accompanyed us on the piano and david was on the guitar. the priest sang along, so i guess that was a good sign. anyways, lola is now finally at rest with the Lord and the air surrounding her death is peaceful.

vegas2006. you know, vegas (like san diego) never fails me. i had a blast. the perfect mixture of old and new...dancing, toasting, shopping, gambling, family time and being one with nature. i'd post more pictures but i'm afraid i'd get in trouble. ah what the heck...here are the clean (and not so clean) versions:

graduating class of 2006. the youngest member of the immediate dioneda clan has graduated from 8th grade. what a milestone! i look back at old pictures and can't believe how much she's grown into a young hollister-wearing pinay bopper. just kidding. she's not a bopper. but she does wear hollister. her 8th grade class president speech made me cry. i'm so proud of her...she got soooo many awards that i ran out of tape on my video camera. wow.

UCI graduating class of 2006. sorry i couldn't be there. but i prayed for y'all. how exciting it is to begin your journey into adulthood! watch out, it sucks...only at first. then, it turns out to be not so bad. but enjoy your non-working status while you can. trust me.

spiritual journey. took a seminar class entitled the catholic school teacher's spiritual journey. didn't exect it to be so wonderful. i was in a room full of catholic school principals and administrators, and one of the things that stuck out to me was FAITH. lack of faith, full of faith, a faith renewed. i wonder how many people actually stop to ponder about where they are in their faith...where they are in terms of their relationship with Jesus. at the end of the class we were asked to bless each other with a gift we would like each to receive. i blessed them all with the gift of faith.

dwtlLA. answered prayers & little miracles. i love.

teaching. i got a job!!! i actually found out a month or so ago but it hasn't really sunk in yet. i'll be teaching at a k-8 catholic school less than 10 minutes away from my house and i'll be in middle school! yikes! i have 6th grade homeroom, 6-7-8 english and literature. wowmomwow. i'm excited, yet nervous at the same time. the principal of the school is a sister of st. paul from the philippines! i'm hoping this fact will aid in my request to take a few days off in april so i can go back to the philippines. we will see! i'm just beginning to plan my curriculum...anyone have any good suggestions for literature units?

up north. (when) are you guys coming?

1/2 marathon. i haven't been training as much as i should. the farthest i've gone is 5 miles and the race is 13 miles...i have a long way to go. i probably would be more motivated if i knew that SOME PEOPLE were going to join me but i guess that's not happening. oh well. c'est la vie. grrr....

on another note...my spirituality class talked about being holy and something that was said really stuck with me. this is the place where you and i are supposed to be holy...right now. not down the road after i've been a catholic teacher for ten years...not when i get married and become a wife and mother...right now. spirituality is about who you are in the present moment.

who YOU are is already holy...blessed.

think about that.

SoCAL

...here i come! =D

time won't flow, everyone knows
when the pain fades away
and dreams won't die
with tears in our eyes
you've got to hold your head up high

bawal umihi dito

so i'm in an internet cafe in bicol right now and over the sound system i here "COME....now is the time to woooooooorship!" i just had to blog after that! there are so many things here that remind me of people and places back home. sometimes it makes me want to go home already...the time here goes sooooo slow!!! it's weird! but we still have a few more days to go.

by the way, HAPPY EASTER!

one of the biggest differences i've noticed over here is that people are ALWAYS TOGETHER. (did i blog about this already?) like my lola's house here, the door never closes and people are always in and out -- family and friends alike! you go to one house and eat...then you go to another house and hour later and eat again. and you feed ANYONE who comes through the door, regardless of whether or not you are related. and when we go places, we always take people with us...everyone goes along with what everyone else is doing. it's cool cuz you're never alone, and you develop a closeness because you're always together. on the other hand, at times i feel like i need to get away and breathe a little. for example, during holy thursday, good friday, and holy saturday i wanted to get away and reflect by myself for a little bit but i couldn't because someone always wants to come with you! i don't mind really, but it's just different. in america people are separated -- distant, even. you do your thing and i'll do mine. perhaps that's why "community" is hard to come by in the american culture...to some, there is no such thing.

here, it's the only thing.

1 peso per minute...CHEAP!!!

greetings from the philippines! =)

i'm here in an internet cafe in manila and i just wanted to write a quick THANK YOU to everyone who sent texts, emails, and messages my way in regards to my lola's passing. it was too hard for me to call/write everyone back and my trip to the PI was extremely rushed and i didn't have time to contact everyone. BUT, please know that i am grateful for all of your thoughts and prayers...this time has been hard for all of us but with your support we are surviving. being in the PI is a culture shock (though it's my culture!!!), but i feel closer to my lola more than ever before. thanks, again, and prayers go out to everyone that's also going through difficult times.

basta kayo.

let me be overwhelmed by the beauty of Jesus...

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

it's interesting how life changes.

i have always been someone who never welcomed change. i remember the girls and i would talk about it all the time -- how we were afraid of change and leaving the comfort that "sameness" can bring into our lives. when we are comfortable and happy in a certain place at a certain time, it's hard to get up and just leave. it does take strength...especially when you are unsure of what lies ahead.

the issue for me was never not wanting to come back home...i guess it was more of not wanting to leave. i miss it. i miss the weather, the shopping, the adventure. i miss the spontaneity and the faces. i miss the talks and the singing and dancing and laughing. i miss the community...the family. i miss seeing people. i miss the kids and i miss seeing them grow. i miss carne asada and pesto pasta...and boy do i miss the mizithra. i miss mass. i miss directing. i miss roommates. i miss...

* * *


on a slightly different note, i was reading a friend's blog today and i was really feeling her thoughts on needing to censor (is that the right word?) her blogs and the hesitancy felt when it came to writing down certain thoughts. i don't know what it is either, but i totally feel the same way. i'm not sure why. then again, maybe i do know why. it's hard to let the words flow freely when in the back of your mind you know you will have an audience who will read your words and have some sort of opinion about what you wrote. sometimes, you just want to write for yourself...for whatever reason...without anyone responding back. and sometimes, you want people to respond...you want to know that your friends care about what you're going through and you desire to know what others think. sometimes i think people cater to their audiences when they write...and others don't and get in trouble for it and will then have to remove their blog from the public eye due to anonymous comments written in anger, frustration, hurt...confusion. (imagine if we wrote down our every honest thought about everything and anything for the whole world to see...hmmm.) i don't mean to sound like i think blogs are a bad idea...i love having a creative space to work with and i love reading other people's blogs if only for the mere fact that that's the only way i know what's going on in their lives. (and, NO, i don't just look for my name...contrary to what others may think/say!!!) i don't know where i'm going with this and i think somewhere along the line i may have missed my point. =/ ANYWAY, i don't know if my friend feels the same way i do but i thank her and appreciate her thoughts for they always seem to inspire me in ways that go beyond words.

as an attempt to put off tonights homework i sit here looking through blogs, searching on myspace, and organizing old pictures to soon (hopefully) be put into scrapbooks...


i suddenly feel the need to breathe.

bittersweet goodbye.

in five minutes the best show on tv (at this moment) is about to begin its last episode:

The Bachelor.

i looooooooooove this show. it's such a good season, and it reminds me of the days i used to live with the girlies and when we would get together and watch the show and screeeeam our heads off! oh how sad i will be after tonight...

how i will miss thee, bachelor!




i'm so excited!!!!!