The Sunny Side of Life

Well it's almost been a year since I have updated my blog, that is really sad! :) I'm going to try and update it more frequently, since I really like to look back at old posts.

Lets see whats been going on....first big change is I am back on Weight Watchers and have almost lost 50lbs in about 3 1/2 months. My first memory of Weight Watchers was back when I was in 6th grade, weight has always been a issue for me, I joined and so began my life long struggle to loose weight. :( I've joined many times and have lost some weight but never stuck it out.

This time it really feels like I'm going to reach my goal. I have a great leader, support of my friends/family and I REALLY want it. My reasons for wanting to loose weight have changed since 6th grade, then it was to fit into cute clothes, now it's more about being healthy. I guess that what happens as one gets older. LOL

Other than that I've been FINALLY finishing up at Chabot, I feel like I have been there FOREVER. I should be attending Cal State East Bay next fall. Hopefully it will go much faster than my time at Chabot.

Much to my dismay Samantha started 6th grade this year. I can't believe she is now in middle school. Last week she actually wore mascara to school, she is officially becoming a teenager. I don't want her to grow up but I know it's inevitable and it makes me sad. She really likes middle school though which makes me happy! :) Most of you know that she has gone through A LOT of stuff with her Mom and despite all that she has turned out to be the most loving, caring, sweet and happy kids I've ever known. Whenever I see her she is always happy and with a big smile on her face!

I promise to keep the updates more current!

I can't believe October is already here and that its already the 8th! Lets see last weekend was oh so FABULOUS! LOL Sam's Girl Scout troop went to Gilroy Gardens for an overnight. We stayed in the park Sat. night and then the girls go to do the park the next day. It was fun for the girls, I on the other hand am getting to old to sleep on the ground. LOL I was talking to a lady in one of the ride lines and she said that the temperature the night before was 40 degrees. WAY TO COLD! Not to mention it was very windy. But my motto is as long as the girl have fun it worth it. :)

Other than that I've been working and going to school. I've also been going by checking on Grandma. I take her to a doctor appt. tomorrow and hopefully she will get her cast off. :)

Nathan recently purchased Rockband 2 so our family has been spending many night rocking out!!! I'll have to take some pictures, it a funny sight to see.

The DRAMA at school with Sam has really calmed down. Lets just say the process of learning who your true friends are has been a painful lesson for her to learn.

Lets see... I think that is about it for now. Sam is selling nuts and candies so if you would like anything let me know. You can see what is for sale here.

:)

All I have to say is I'm ready for September to be O-V-E-R! (Warning long post)

Lets see first as my previous post talked about my girl started 5th grade. Well the first few weeks were great, she even said she loved school. Anyone who knows Sam, knows that is something I don't hear, ever. After the first couple of weeks the drama began. She had two little friends that she was hanging out with, one of them was her BFF last year. The other little girl is new to the school this year and Sam asked her hang out with them. BIG MISTAKE! LOL Her old BFF did not like the new girl and told Sam she was not going to hang out with her anymore. Sam said o.k. but did not want to be mean to the new girl. So two days later Sam's BFF tells new girl that Sam never liked her and was just pretending to be her friend. Sam told new girl she was lying but she did not believe her. Now the old BFF and then new girl have teamed up and their mission.... make Samantha's life as miserable as possible. They have turned other friends against her, tell her that her clothes are ugly, and continually whisper and give dirty looks during class.

My poor baby! I know girls can be mean and she is going to have to learn how to deal with it but honestly it breaks my heart. I've told her to just hang out with her other friends and try to ignore them, however I know that's easier said then done. If anyone reading this post and has any advice as to how to help her navigate through this difficult time, I'd greatly appreciate it. :) I've even ordered a few books off of Amazon about helping your kid deal with bullies, I'm desperate. LOL

Lets see what else. My grandma fell last week and broke her wrist. She is almost 90 years old, so breaking anything is a big deal. I've been working till 3, then going to her house to help her out, and then going to school at night. I'm so tired! I'm so tired that on my math test last week I totally skipped a whole question. We got them back tonight and I would have had a PERFECT score if I had finished that problem. I could not believe it!!!! Math does not come easy for me and a perfect score is something I rarely see. Oh well, what are you going to do.

So that's been my month so far. The only good thing is today is the first day of fall, my favorite time of year. Halloween is my favorite holiday and I can't wait to put out the decorations.

I hope all of you are having a better month than I am!!

Well its official...my girl started 5th grade today. I honestly cannot believe she is almost 10 years old. Next year she will be in middle school, that will really be a hard one for me. My brother and I walked in her in and right away she saw one of her BFFs from last year. That was is it, off she went. However I did manage to go in her class and get a picture of her at her desk. :)

She was really dreading starting school but once she got it was fine. Her two best friends are in her class and her teacher seems really nice. So in the end she had a great day!!

Below are a few pictures. Last week she got her hair cut and was so excited to show her friends.

So I'm writing this post from my new PINK Hp mini laptop. It is sooooo frickin cute! Its totally girly, complete with pink keyboard and all. I had told my Dad that I wanted one, so last week when we were up there for dinner he handed me a gift wrapped in Christmas paper. He said, "Merry Christmas." Inside was the little laptop I wanted. :) It came at a perfect time...I start back to school this week.

Other than that I'm back in the swing of working and school, I'm already tired. LOL Watching four girls all day and then school at night is exhausting. Keeping the girls entertained all day, till they start school, is a real challenge. Samantha is a great little helper and is going to make a great Mommy someday.

I believe in my last post I mentioned we were going to farm in Watsonville to go fruit picking. It was a great day. We hit the farm and then decided to head down to San Juan Bautista. My Dad took my brother and I there as kids so we were curious to see how it looks now. Well the city has become slightly run down but the Mission is still very nice. The view from the Mission was just beautiful! From there my dad and brother wanted to hit a few wineries, I told them only if we hit the Gilroy Outlets after. :) So thats what we did, but first we hit Garlic World. Its a huge store full of any and everything garlic. We took some hilarious pictures of us all as a heads of garlic. I'll post them below. On the drive home it was decided that we should end the day with a fabulous dinner at Fredricos. As always it was wonderful!! So that was my last trip of the summer. :( Next weekend Sam is having a sleepover with a few friends and that will officially end our summer fun!

Below are a few pictures. The ones of Sam in the black dress are from this weekend. Nathan's girlfriend took her to see the play Cats so of course she had to get all dolled up. I grabbed my camera because she just looked so grown up. She has the most beautiful smile and these pictures really captured it!

Well summer is winding down for me, I'm back to school Aug. 18th. :( So for my last few weeks I've been trying to squeeze tons of stuff in. LOL Last week Samantha and I went to the beach with Carla and her kids. It was tons of fun!!! Monday I took Samantha and one of her friends to the Hillsdale mall for some shopping and Build a Bear. Total Girl trip!!! I acutally made my own Build a Bear. It is the blue "peace" bear.

It hit me on the drive over that Samantha is becoming so grown up. She and her friend were looking through magazines, talking about clothes, their favorite stars, and what t.v. shows they love!! It kind of choked me up, it just seems like yesterday she was a baby and now she is almost a teenager. :( Where does the time go?

Thursday my family and I are going here. I read about it while we were at Mt. Hermon but we ran out of time, so we are making it a day trip. All the reviews I've read online say it is awesome and Samantha loves fruit so it should be fun!

Then Friday I'm taking Samantha and her friends to Sillman Center for some serious water fun. Her dad will pick her up from there and then Auntie is off for some ADULT time, scrapping at PMP. I am so SAD that my favorite scrap store is closing in a few weeks. Scrapping there on Friday nights with my friends was the highlight of my week!!!

Other than that it might be one more trip back to the beach and then I'm officially back to school and work. Fun, Fun.

I have made a video of our two weeks at Mt. Hermon. You can check it out here Below are some pics of the beach and Build a Bear. The Build a Bear pic were taken by Sam, she did a photo shoot with her and my bears. Enjoy!!!

So I have not updated whats been going on for a while. Last week my family and I went to Mt. Hermon. We had an awesome time, as usual!!! It is so great to get together with my dad, brother, niece, aunt, uncle and cousin. There were lots of great dinners, late night Wii tournaments, and just hangin out time!!! We did have a little drama though. David, my cousin, got up early Friday morning and was not feeling well. He was throwing up and having pain on his side. It got so bad that my uncle took him to the nearest hospital. It turned out he had an appendicitis and they scheduled surgery for later that night. My aunt and uncle were very nervous and stayed there all night. The surgery went fine and he was actually able to go home Saturday. Other than that we had a great week!!

I have lots of pictures but my dad has my card so I will post them soon. Believe it or not we are going back for another week, next week!! The cabin we rent had a cancellation, so the realtor gave my dad a great deal. So Sunday its back to Mt. Hermon for another fabulous week.

This week is Girl Scout camp. Monday and Tuesday were sooooo hot!!!! It was almost unbearable on Tuesday. Thankfully it really cooled down on Wednesday. I was really happy because I was assigned the cooking station, were I stood for six hours helping girls make pancakes and butter. Tomorrow is the last day and the girls stay overnight, noticed I said girls, I will not be staying overnight. I am there till 9 pm, after campfire and skits, I'm back home to sleep in my bed. LOL This week's camp has been fun and the girls have really enjoyed it. The theme is Renaissance, so tomorrow night there is a big Renaissance festival in the meadow, complete with an authentic feast.

Other than that not much has been going on. I'll post picutres soon.