A New Day Every Day

We bought eachother the same Johnny Cash CD! Chloe sure thinks Marila is funny!! Poor Juannie got sick on Christmas night! Priscilla under the tree

I may be grumpy about my last two days, but at least I'm not doing this! P.S. It's actually maternity leave, but it's unpaid, so I guess I'll be eating my share of top ramen and won't be using the heater any time soon.

1. I know I'm ready for my job to end (it ends this Friday!) because I'm starting to get irritated when people ask me to do my job. I feel put out, like "geeeez, FINE. Guess you want me to do EVERYTHING," when it's really just my job. 2. The prenatals ended last night and, despite all my complaning, I was actually kind of sad. 3. I had to write an essay on "The Role of the Community College and the Nature of Its Students" and I used lots of big words and fancy syntax to distract from the fact that I have really nothing to say. An example: "The sheer diversity of students must naturally mandate a wide breadth of curriculum." And I think "wide breadth" might be redundant. 4. Last night we had to change a diaper on a doll, but it doesn't feel like real practice because the whole time I was doing it Juan was squeezing its head together to make its eyes bug out like a fish. 5. I've been having a hard time lately with my "its...

1) Grillz. When I see one I do a doubletake, and my first reaction is to say, "You've got something on your teeth... ALL your teeth" and then I realize that it's purposeful, and that sometimes it even spells things-- like PLAYA or RICH. And I'm one of those weird people who don't like to do their reading while staring into someone's mouth. Amendment: People who have grillz that are temporary, in which the person can slip it off like a retainer and toss it around on their tongue should be especially punished. 2. Creepy mini beauty pageant girls. There are so many things wrong with the picture below I don't know where to start: The crowns, first of all, look as if they could kill someone if launched at the right angle, the dresses look like they are made from papier-mache, and worst of all... why are these little girls holding piles of cash? Do they actually win MONEY for being the prettiest? 3. Kids who mouth off to their parents, and parents who don...

Working at a community college in Woodland, most of my time is spent painstakingly going over second language learner's papers. It can be rough sometimes, mostly because I now find myself fixing grammar and puncutation in my dreams, which makes me feel like a huge dork. But, nevertheless, it can be quite entertaining, too. Today, for example, I just proofread two papers by Indian students who have been here less than a year; the first is an ode to Wal-Mart, the second is an ode to Chili's. Why do I find this interesting? Because so rarely are the praises of mass consumerism and commercialism sung that I find such rigorous defense on the part of huge corporations a nice change of pace. My years at UC Davis (and in California in general) taught me one thing-- chain bad, local good! So even though I give my small amounts into the Wal-Mart and Chili's coffers, there's a certain amount of shame that is accompanied by it. How refreshing to see two people sing the praises of s...

I may be giving away my secret obessession with celebrity going-ons, but Paris Hilton just announced that she would like "to have four kids" by the time she's thirty. (She's 26, so I guess math isn't her strong suit!) I quote, "I look after my animals, so I'd have a lot to give my kids." Apparently this is all a product of her new friendship with Britney, who's certainly a runner-up for the next Mother of the Year Award, given that she's partying with Paris Hilton and not wearing underwear. I mentioned earlier that we should be required to apply for licenses to be mothers-- I think I'm serious, people! Granted, any spawn of Paris's will have juicy couture sweat suits and Prada diaper bags, but do we need more Paris Hiltons running around? Even more alarming, it seems that the baby has replaced the Chihuahuah as the accessory of choice in Hollywood. And most ironic of all, it's people like ME who feed these fires by paying atten...

Okay, so we went for half of the class. We left because my tummy started to hurt. I don't know if it was the class or the pizza rolls I had for lunch. But we did practice our breathing: he he he hoo. he he he hoo. I was practicing it at home on the couch and Juan told me to be quiet, he couldn't hear the game! Quite the man I married!! P.S. Not that the game was worth hearing! I'm getting sick of all this LOSING. I promised the Kings that if they won a championship I'd name my first born son Michael Bibby Valdes. (Juan doesn't know about this). Funny thing is, it doesn't seem like they care, cause they LOSE anyway. Doesn't a promise mean anything anymore?

Four weeks ago, I plunked down $65 of Juan's hard earned money (I'd say it was MY hard earned money, but I'm at work doing this, so that right away takes away any right I have to say that it's hard-earned) in order to take 6 prenatal classes. We were promised: breathing techniques, relaxation techniques, information on pain-killing drugs (gimmee! gimmee!) and all sorts of useful information. So far, the only things I've gleaned are: A) the teacher has an agenda, and B) people sometimes forget to bring snacks on their assigned weeks which makes me grr... angry! And here's the kicker: the class is from 6:30-9:00. Well that runs right into dinner and bedtime! So now I'm stuck. Do I skip? Six years of college has bred in me a fear of the random skip day--what if there's a quiz? What if this is THE lecture that the whole final paper turns on? I find that I'm getting more information about childbirth by drilling Shana and anyone else who has ever h...

I haven't posted in awhile, and I still have no pictures to share, but I thought I'd put a few words down anyway. (Let me take that back, I have pictures to share, but I'm not the in-love-with-my-pregnant-body type, so any picture you see of me will be from the neck up.) Last night we took Christmas photos at my parent's house for their Christmas cards. (Again, I was seen only from the neck up:) ) It was so much fun. I forget how much fun my family has when we're all together. Jimmy took it upon himself to set the room up like a photography studio, even though Mom was just taking the picture with her tripod and self timer. Mom made delicious chili and corn bread and we all sat around and basically showered Chloe with attention. Juan and I had to leave early because he's sick (sinus infection) so I had to get home and baby him. I told him it was pretty funny that his 7 mos. pregnant wife was hauling herself off the couch to get him his little face warmy t...

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving! I'm off work tomorrow so I don't know if I'll have a chance to post. (I'll be having too much fun doing... um... nothing!) Actually, I'm planning on baking cookies and sneaking little (or big) pieces of dough. So for all of you, have a very happy turkey day and eat to your heart's content! Don't let anyone tell you not to!

1. There's nothing like feeling a baby move inside you. You can be totally alone and quiet and all of a sudden you feel a kick or a roll and it reminds you that you're not alone. I'm sure it's something I'll miss once other people have access to this baby, not just me! 2. I love the rain, and if the sky opened up right now and just dumped buckets down on us there wouldn't be a happier girl in Northern CA!! 3. Thinking of rain makes me crave Campell's potato brocolli soup. 4. Sometimes at work I like to poke around in the supply closet. Not to steal anything, but just because I love school supplies. I like to take out the colored markers and write my name in fancy loopy circles. 5. One more essay you should read if you a) have a daughter or b) are a daughter. So basically everybody! It's called "Four Generations" by Joyce Maynard (it's only about 8 paragraphs long) and it's so sweet yet sad. 6. Why do girls show their thongs? It's re...

For those essay aficionados, I am currently reading The Seagull Reader ( which has to be a direct ripoff of The Penguin Reader, but what can you expect from Norton?) Nevertheless, it has tons of great, thought-provoking essays. Some of my favorites include: 1. "Graduation" by Maya Angelou. You may have read this in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings , but it's worth reading again. It's very poignant and makes you question our own (sometimes low) expectations that we quite often unknowingly place on others. 2. "Why Don't We Complain Anymore?" by William F. Buckley Jr. Although it was written on a train in 1961, it's just as true today: people are afraid to complain. He writes of the train being 85 degrees and yet not a single person wants to complain to the conductor, so they all just sit there, sweating and sticking their heads out of the window. He says, "We are all increasingly anxious in America to be unobtrusive," which I think is an incr...

(Which is probably why we're given nine months to get used to the idea) 1. We cleaned out our fridge on Sunday and the only things edible were slices of american cheese, half a tomato and diet coke. 2. I am so behind on the laundry I had to buy new underwear! 3. My cat sleeps at my feet and scratches at them if I shift around during the night. Therefore, I'm a little scared of her. 4. At Target, I zoom right past the boring bottles and pacifier sections and instead am only interested in the clothes. 5. Our baby has no name, and it doesn't look like she'll ever have one!! 6. I stopped reading the pregnancy books because they got boring, and am now reading smut again. 7. I had to keep myself from alternating between laughing and cringing while watching the birthing video at our prenatal class. 8. I am more interested in the snacks and the other people at the prenatal class than what we're being taught. SHOULDN'T YOU HAVE TO APPLY FOR A LICENSE TO HAVE A BABY????

This past weekend Juan and I took a spontaneous trip up to Alpine County, which is a few hours south of Tahoe and absolutely gorgeous! We left on Friday, on a beautiful Fall day. We had a picnic at Lake Alpine and read books by a roaring fire. It was every cliched movie you've ever seen. Saturday morning, however, we woke up to an amazing, thick blanket of snow. We're valley kids, so we still run around and squeal when we see snow. We almost got snowed in, but we braved it and our trusty Jeep took us back down to safety! (And boringness! Is that a word? I should know, I'm an English teacher, for crying out loud!)

My best friend Kira got married this month and I was a bridesmaid. I almost grew out of my bridesmaid dress but I made it! YES!!

Here are some pictures from our summer trip to Guatemala. We had a great time, but I was very happy to reach the first world again!

Hi Guys! So I'm officially blogging. I resisted this for a long time (don't ask me why, cause I've been on myspace for over a year... it's not like I have standards) but here I am, setting up a blog for our little family. I'm at work (don't ask me why I'm not working, knowing me should be enough of an answer for that!) so there won't be any pictures this time around, although they should come soon. So here's an update on our lives: In May, we moved from Davis back to Elk Grove, and it's really nice to be near my family and friends again. Davis certainly wasn't the moon, but it was far enough way to miss out on all the spontaneous get togethers and game nights! Juan is teaching 7th and 8th grade English at California Middle School in Land Park, and he's been recently made the Leadership teacher, which makes him busier, but I think he has fun, too. I'm working at Woodland Community College as an instructional assistant, which means I ho...