Childhood Favorite

As a child, this was one of my favorite movies. It also happens to by one of Ryan's favorite Christmas movies as well. I decided to show Babes in Toyland to my students for our Holiday Party on our last day of school. Of course, some of them did not enjoy it the way I do. One thing made it all worth it, though. One of my most energetic kiddos kept running back to where I was sitting to tell me in his broken English how much he LOVED the movie! To see the joy on his little face every time the cast broke into song and dance revived the childhood excitement this movie brought to me. What a privilege it is to watch children grow! My job is such a blessing!

Fresh and Easy!

I have a co-worker who is just the neatest lady. I absolutely love who she is in her heart and aspire to care for my students the way she does her own. Needless to say, when she raves about a new product/show/store/book in the staff lounge, I am eager to listen. She has recently been going on about a new grocery store, Fresh & Easy, in Chula Vista. It is her new favorite. Since I live in "wacky San Diego," we don't have one of these... yet. I was working one of those all-too-common 15 hour work days yesterday and decided to take a break and check out this store. I LOVE IT!! It is like Trader Joe's, but even better!! Literally, when I was describing the store to my hubby, I told him all the food is very fresh and they make the experience so easy!! Of course, as soon as I returned to my classroom, I looked it up online. Good news - this store is infiltrating Southern California!! If you live in any metropolitan area in SoCal, chances are there will soon be a Fresh & Easy near you. One is "Coming Soon" onto Trautwein in Riverside and also to Newberry Park for the Venturans. I've done your homework for you, now you can shop, shop, shop! I know you'll love it, as do Marijke and I!

Running for Sport

Back in September, I joined a running group to train for a half marathon. So far, I have upped my milage to 8.5 miles! I can't believe I can go that far! There are a few reasons I love running. First of all, the "runner's high" is an amazing feeling! I also love to run for a cause. Just this morning, I ran in the Silver Strand 5K. I finished in just over 30 minutes!! Thanksgiving morning, I'll be running a 4 miler in Santa Barbara. I know it will be worth it when I spend the rest of the day eating and watching football! I have 10 weeks of training left until my big race. I found a quote that I like to inspire me as the runs get more difficult: "Pain is weakness leaving the body." I must be pretty weak, because I have a lot of weakness leaving my body every long run!
I found a World Run Day. This organization wants to have the UN designate the second Sunday of every November as World Run Day. I think I'll take my part in this and maybe try to organize a run next year! Does that sound crazy? We'll see how it goes...

My Current Favorite

This picture is currently my favorite of our wedding pictures. Of course, every time I look at our pictures, a new one is my favorite. I love this one because I remember how magical it was to run down a corridor of light provided by our most loved ones! What a perfect day!

A Moment to Breathe...but not too deeply

So, you probably thought you wouldn't hear from the Lopez family until the next major school vacation. I thought so too. Life has been incredibly busy for us down here in San Diego. Between work and school, I have hardly had time to sit in front of my computer without doing some sort of research! (If you want to know about Aroma-chology or the Development of the Adolescent Brain, I can forward you the research!) As much as I love studying, I am glad to have a little break.

Well, the reason for my school break is not a good one. San Diego County is on fire. 300,000 people have been evacuated within the past day and a half. The Governator is here. The Prez is reportedly coming out soon. We are having a San Diego snow day. Ash is everywhere. Both Ryan and I have had work cancelled. Neither of us know when we will go back. The sooner, the better. In the midst of all this tragedy, our community proves to be amazing. So many people are coming together to volunteer. Gourmet buffets and massage therapists are abundant at Qualcomm, where over 7,500 evacuees are staying. Even evacuees are helping out at the shelters! San Diego truly is America's Finest City, even when it's burning.

The Joy of Changing Your Name

Getting married is such a beautiful event. Love, union, joy, two lives bound together for eternity. Then comes the legal stuff. Of course, only the wife has to do this pain-in-the-rear paperwork. I've been working on changing my name for the past 3 months. Slowly but surely it is getting done. Tonight, I hit a new potential snag. I have already changed my name with my oral surgeon, but my insurance paperwork has not yet processed. In two weeks, when I go in for surgery, I have FOUR prescriptions that Mrs. Lopez needs filled. Unfortunately, Miss Johnson is the name on the insurance! Cross your fingers for me and pray that my insurance papers get expedited by some act of God!

Ryan's Critters

My husband has an interesting hobby. He loves to take pictures of spiders. Some of them are very good! I am thankful, though, for our digital camera. I can't even imagine how much these pictures would cost us in film! If only we had two digital cameras, I'd take a picture of Ryan on his picture-taking expeditions. They can be pretty extreme! Here are some samples of his photography:
A close-up:
The web:

Thunderbolts and Lightning

It's a big day in the Lopez house. Chargers’ opening day! Our morning started off early, around 6:10, when God woke us up with a little earthquake! I know He must be as excited as we are and just couldn't sleep in today! It's funny that Monday through Friday, it's a big chore to drag ourselves out of bed, but this morning, there was no need for a snooze button! Ryan's first words this morning came out as a "WHOO HOO! GO CHARGERS!!" I immediately went to the closet to put on my jersey. Ryan, on the other hand, is a little superstitious. He knows his "last season" jersey is bad luck. I know we're off to a great season! Can't wait for 1:15!! Sorry Bears fans. Today is not your day! GO BOLTS!!

The Fun part of teaching!

Now that the government mandates what we teach, how long we spend teaching each subject, almost down to a script, the fun stuff we learned when credentialing seems to be just a myth. I found a loop hole, though. (Are you surprised?) There are 4 days for which we get paid before the year begins. These days are for meetings, staff development, grade level planning, and prep. Well, I have used that prep time to have FUN in my classroom! Look at my cute bulletin board! Now if only the next 10 months could be this fun!

Sea World Amazement!

This week, I went to Sea World twice. Both times I had amazing and unique experiences. On Tuesday, I went with some of my new family members.

We had the opportunity to go behind the scenes with one of the Shamu trainers. OH WOW!!

That was the most amazing time I've ever had at Sea World! I could not keep the smile off my face as I got to meet the orcas and learn about their unique personalities.

We even had the chance to feed one of the biggest orcas some snowballs! I will never forget that experience.

A couple of days later, I returned, this time with my husband. We went to my new favorite Sea World show: Cirque de la Mer. AMAZING!!

I highly recommend this show. Although there are no marine animals, the show is fantastic! Our unique experience, though, did not take place at Cirque de la Mer. It was actually at the Shamu show. Now, those of you who have been to Sea World have seen the Shamu show, I'm sure. It is a great show, but what happened during our specific show time was beyond the normal show. During "Splash Time," Shamu was doing his thing, swimming around the tank and splashing all those in the soak zone. All of a sudden, the beautiful blue tank turned a murky brown. Shamu pooped right then and there, but that did not stop him from splashing! The lucky guests sitting in the rows right in front of us got more than a splash! Whew!

A Day at the Racetrack

"Where the surf meets the turf down at old Del Mar... There is a smile on every face and a winner in each race." Bing Crosby's words still ring true. Yesterday, we went down to the races to enjoy one of those perfect San Diego Saturdays. Krista even won enough money to cover what was spent on admission and refreshments! The day ended with a concert by The Cult. One thing we love is good music, so the concert was a great way to cap off our Del Mar experience.

Blogging

So, I've never really been the journal-type. I don't really know what to say! Life's good! I'm in love and living in "Marriedville" as my mom says. I guess I'll write more as inspiration hits. We'll see...