Here’s a simple challenge from Laura: Pick a photo.  Tell your story.

Pages are due on Saturday, September 18.  Send your pages to me at tginguyen at gmail dot com.

I can’t wait to see what you come up with!  Have fun.

She loves our new yard — especially the fruit trees.  She spent hours outside raking leaves, watering plants, removing scat, pruning plants and removing spoiled lemons and tangerines to prepare for the new crop.

She has a thing about me not reaching for stuff these days.  So when I grabbed hold of the citrus picker, she gave me the classic mom look and a piece of her mind.

I love you, ma.

The move took us a couple of days.  My ma, sister and a bunch of friends came over yesterday to help move all the boxes.  Together, they tackled the kitchen so we’re set to cook and eat at our new home.

This corner of the living room is currently the holding place for all of my scrapping supplies.  Jim is talking to a friend of ours about a custom built-in for my new scrap space.

This morning, the movers moved the furniture and appliances into the new house.  I’m so glad that part is over.

I imagine that we’ll be living out of boxes for the next several weeks.  And I’m okay with that.

Then the school year started.  My class size was out of control.  After a ton of schedule changes, I finally have a regular schedule and am getting into swing of things.  I’m super excited because my students are interested and totally curious about science.  It also helps to start the year off with fun demonstrations + a bit of fire + funny science stories.  I hope their enthusiasm continues throughout the course of the year.

I celebrated my 35th birthday.  Received lots of fun gifts, including a great journal from my gal pal Laura.  I can’t wait to fill it with stuff. And my friend Kara baked over 50 cupcakes (red velvet + carrot cake) + made homemade spaghetti sauce for me!  She’s a sweet gal with a big heart and sweet tooth.

I am 16 weeks, 4 days preggo today.  I am beginning to look pregnant — some of my students are beginning to ask questions.   I have no major cravings but my food aversion continues to be pineapple.  I am feeling much better but the nausea is still there.  I am trying to remain calm but work can be quite stressful at times.  My current mantra: Keep calm and carry on.

We got the keys to our new home last week.  We are excited to move and make this our home for a long time.

The lawn needs a lot of work.  We may have to hire a landscaper because I don’t think we could tackle it ourselves.

The interior also needs painting … I’m not crazy about the Cars themed room.

I’m not crazy about Tinkerbell either.

My favorite part of the house is the kitchen — its super spacious with a ton of storage!

My scrap studio will be in the living room.  I’m not sure what it will look like yet but we are talking about getting a built-in shelving/desk unit.  I’m looking forward to simplifying my space and keeping my supplies to a minimum. Ha!  We’ll see if this really happens ….

My dad parted this life on Wednesday, August 11. My loving dad was an intelligent man who could build wondrous things with this hands, a faithful husband, and model citizen.  His gentle spirit, kindness, devotion to his community, and profound faith will never be forgotten.  My dad left behind a remarkable legacy.

My dad’s love for all people led him to fight for our freedom.  He deeply believed that we will liberate Viet Nam and spent most of his life supporting the cause.  At his funeral on Sunday, August 15, over one hundred Viet Nam Freedom Fighters came from all over California to pay tribute to my father and his work.  Although I did not understand everything they said, I was touched by the stories they shared about my dad. It brought me much comfort to see such an overwhelming amount of love, respect and support the community had for my father.  Even though he is no longer with us, his work and contributions to the Vietnamese community will forever remain.

We are so proud of his accomplishments, his dignity and grace. His smile and kindness will always warm our hearts.

My mother shared a great life with him. He brought great joy to us all.

A di da phat.

While going through some old school files, I came across this poem I wrote sometime ago with my students. I am not a poet and really have no business teaching kids how to write poetry, but George Ella Lyon’s Where I’m From poem inspired me to learn more about where my students are from.  We embarked on the journey and in the process, we learned quite a bit about each other.

I’m from Café Du Monde with sweet condensed milk
From tumeric stained crepes and pho
I’m from a lone family photo
That holds the story of our adventure
I’m from the sidewalk outside a restaurant
Where I watched my sister sleep and play
From losing her slippers and getting yelled at for being careless
I’m from a little child
Who wanted no adult responsibilities.

I’m from the countryside and Mekong River,
Where we barely escaped imprisonment
I’m from numerous escapes for a better life
From a narrow plank where my mother and sister almost lost their lives,
To a ship that brought us safely to shore
I’m from the Big Apple
Where I got a glimpse of what is to come
From sunny California where we now call home.

I’m from hand-me-downs and mama-made clothes
From black grass jelly drinks that got me into fights
I’m from Fresh off the Boat
And only knowing “Hi” and “How are you?”
To a chatterbox that doesn’t have a mute button

I’m from a family of seven
Where family is cherished
I’m from my father’s stern look
And my mother’s loving touches on the clothes and food she prepares
From my older brother’s lectures
To his wish for us to be happy

I’m from “Be a good girl” and “Study hard”
From “You shouldn’t think about boys until you’re twenty-five”
I’m from “You have to be home by eight” and “no dances”
From being confined to my own home
Where friends were rarely allowed over
I’m from my parents’ strict household
Where I longed to break free

I am from those moments
Deeply rooted in my past
Continually growing and changing
Still trying to discover the real me.

Sick.  Cold.  Fatigued.

I posted this picture on Flickr last week and my friend David said, “Oh, man! This picture is the absolute picture of misery!  How can you continue to be this creative when you’re obviously feeling so under the weather?”

And he’s absolutely right!  I’ve been feeling miserable.  I have not been scrapping – at all.  And I am way behind in Project Life.

My feeling sick is not from a bad summer cold, but it has something to do with this …

This new chapter in my life began 13 weeks ago.  (The sonogram above was taken at 7 weeks.)  I am thrilled (and nervous and scared) to be a mom.  This journey has been exciting, but it is also somewhat overwhelming.  I am cutting out the caffeine (which hasn’t been as difficult as I imagined) and trying to eat healthy meals (I’m getting tired of eating salads.)  I am feeling all kinds of aches and pains in places that I did not know existed.  And the nausea and fatigue just kicks my butt!  Morning sickness happens sometime between mid-morning and lunch and does not go away until I fall asleep.  I run/walk 3-4 miles regularly but other than that, I’m not doing much except for eating and napping.

Currently, I have no major food cravings.  Things sound good one minute, but awful the next.  And I’m totally sick of crackers.  My major food aversions are pineapple and duck.  I love whip cream but it does a number on my stomach.

My mom keeps asking me if I have a baby bump yet.  No bump yet — just a fat stomach from eating 16+ pounds of cherries plus a fair amount of berries (pie) this summer.  Ha!

With our baby on the way, we’re starting to pack up and getting ready to move to our new home.

I know that this journey will be challenging and that my life will forever be changed but I am so excited for this new chapter in our lives.

Me : Again, I’m keeping it simple to focus on the words and photo.  This was a self-time photo taken in Hawaii.  Several people offered to take the photo for me, but I insisted on taking it myself.

Felicia : Love this color combination and clean white background.

Zarogina : What a sweet photo!

Mileage/Hours : 2 miles / 2.5 hours

Rating : Strenuous

Elevation Gain : 1,300 ft (Starting elevation 8,100 ft)

The trails are lined with wildflowers and alder trees.

The hike up was extremely slow (2.5 hours).  We stopped frequently to catch our breaths and monitor our heart rates.

This stretch was brutal – did not look like it would ever end.

After 2.5 hours, we met up with Julie and Karen who were at the top waiting for us.  They left us in the dust!

While Karen and Julie started the trek down the the mountain, Kaye and I spent a few minutes enjoying the spectacular view of the surrounding area and the occasional cool breeze.

Instead of hiking to the bottom of Bald Mountain, Kaye and I caught the Sterling lift down.

We stopped at the Royal Cafe for mint lemonade and sweet treats.  We found a nice spot in the shade and enjoyed our cold mint lemonade while waiting for our friends to reach the bottom.

Total miles logged so far this week : 15 miles