Work

This is my new cubicle at work. I moved from upstairs to the main floor. The main floor is really a warehouse with workspaces and some cubicles. I am not inside the maze (I got lost in it the first time) but outside of it. I got first choice on this location since I have tenure (I've only been there less than 6 months!) over others in our group who moved downstairs. Our group is called Core Product and I am part of Business Planning. With Core Product are Partnership Management and Product Management. Within Business Planning is forecasting and business analysis. The new business analyst starts on Monday & the 2 partner managers started around 2 weeks ago or so. Product Management have always been downstairs but they also have a new Sr. Product Manager who started last week. So far I'm liking being downstairs. I don't have to deal with the stairs anymore and I am so close to the kitchen (not good for my health!!!). Going back to the maze - the maze starts behind my cubicle. There is an entrance to the maze from the workspaces to my left and to my right. To my right is the corner kitchen and a workout room. What I don't like about being downstairs (so far) is the restroom. Since it services more people, the restroom cubicles are very small & it is messier.

I have several loads of laundry to do and I need to go to the store to get new pots to re-pot my strawberry and fuschia plants. The patio table holding my potted plants on the kitchen side toppled over last week with the strong Santa Ana winds. My red plumeria plant/stump was uprooted when the pot fell over so I stuck it in the dirt again. It broke the first time about a month or so ago. I hope it survives.

Kevin is working today (Saturday) as they have to have full staff available to prepare for Toy Fair. I don't miss toyfair at all.

Plumerias and Laie

My friend Denise gave me these 2 Plumeria cuttings early this Spring. We had a really nice one near the pond which came with the house but it died because Max & Cooper peed on it all the time. It would bloom sweet smelling white & yellow plumerias every year. We decided to plant them in pots this time so they won't get peed on. They are not hooked to any drip line so I have to hand water them - which I actually like doing since I get to inspect my flowers at the same time.

I moved to Laie to go to BYU from Manila when I was 17 and started as a Marquesas Villager at the Polynesian Cultural Center. I was 1 of 2 chosen from each village trained to take guided walking tours. Back then only tram and canoe tours were available. Tourists freely walked around to mingle with the villagers to learn about their culture. Each guided walking tour took anywhere from 1-1/2 to 2 hours and as foreign students, we were allowed 4 working hours a day. As walking tour guides we learned to do orientations where we would gather all tourists as they come in and give them the spiel about how we are all students from BYU and how the center started blah-blah-blah ending with how they can spend their time at the center. Between orientations and tours, we were also greeters. Thinking about it now, it sure was a fun job but you got to say and hear the same things over and over. My best friend back then was Elvee (who is now my step sister - my mom married her dad). Plumeria is kalachuchi in Tagalog and hibiscus is gumamela and they grew abundantly all around the center and Elvee used to call them by their Tagalog names in her tours (because she did not know the American names for them yet) when she started. I haven't been back to Hawaii since I graduated in 1979 & I sure would love to take Kevin there sometime. I digressed from my post. Look at my plumerias planted from cuttings!!!!

How is my garden?

I miss having so much time to myself!!! But I'm not complaining because we've been blessed with a second job that I enjoy doing. We've been having a great summer with family starting with a 2 week visit with Penny, Amanda & Heidi. Those girls are so precious!! We were spoiled with Penny's great meals and our home was filled with the happy sounds of young happy voices always eager to do something fun! We spent Father's Day with Doug and Jenny. The surprise came later in the evening with Bert showing up after his 8 day lifeguard training camp. He made it coming in number 16 from a group of 52. Next weekend, we will be having my family over when Jordan's soon-to-be bride, Rose will be over to meet our side of the family. Then we will have a housefull of boys with Kelly, Julia & their 4 sons visiting from Logan. Kevin is so looking forward to taking them to Magic Mountain and getting on those death-defying rides. I promise to post pictures later.

We are getting some hot weather this week (about time!). My flowers are blooming!!! The pink/blue hydrangeas in the front yard caps the luscious nasturtium flowers ranging from yellow to gold. I couldn't take a picture this morning (I'm still in pjs!!) but I took some from our backyard. I just learned to make a movie so here are some photos !! Hope it works!!!

Week 1

I've beem leaving home closer to 9am & am getting to work in 10-15 minutes. My cubicle is in the 2nd floor. There are 2 other marketing staff in addition to myself. We share the 2nd floor with Accounting. I got a 32" Vizio display monitor by Thursday and a new Dell notebook by Friday on my 1st week (I was using a loaner my 1st few days. They have several wireless networks available so people can work on their notebooks to meetings and I seem to be in meetings a good part of the day each day. So far everyone's been really nice & I am really enjoying my work & the company. I especially like my boss. He is very mellow and even keeled. I loved my previous boss but he was a little too hyperactive. My new boss seems really calm. To my amazement, very few execs have type A personalities and there is very little yelling/cussing. People also don't act important which was what I really disliked about people from my previous job.

Our irises are blooming like crazy!! I don't remember them being this beautiful! The fig tree and one of the wisterias are finally sprouting leaves!! I just love the snapdragons & bacopas. I think I will be planting those annuals more often/all over since they are just so lush, beautiful and easy to grow in the spring.

The weather was nice last Saturday (last weekend was HOT!) for us to plant in our front yard. We planted carnations, delphiniums & some groundcovers. The fruit trees in the front yard are not doing as well as those in the back but Kevin fixed the sprinklers so hopefully they'll catch up.

Kevin & I were called to be Ward Family History consultants. Kevin is especially excited about this calling. We missed church again last Sunday and also Rob's birthday dinner. Linda, Ryanne and her boys dropped by Saturday afternoon on their way home from visiting Jenn but Kevin wasn't home. He was out buying some stuff for the sprinklers or the pond or something. He stayed home again Monday but was feeling much better today so he went back to work.

End of my leisure days

We removed the rosemary (which I had earlier thinned to 1/4 its size) altogether. It was a direct view from my kitchen window so we decided to use the prime space for more flowers. We trellised the pink jasmines back against the wall (and planted a new one too) and added a Delphinium, Azalea and other flowering groundcovers. Here is my first mulching experience. I remulched a few days after this photo was taken because I read mulch should be 1 of more inches thick above the ground. We've also been spending a few early evenings weeding and working around the yard.



Denise gave me cuttings of her Chinese wisteria which I planted in the front yard. I hope for it to hang over the front fence. She also gave me cuttings of her plumeria and Arabian jasmine. I planted the plumerias in pots for now and the Arabian jasmine in front of the Pink jasmine. Arabian jasmine is sampaguita which is the national flower of the Philippines.

I've been doing several errands this week requiring me to leave Max & Cooper home (not something I've done while I've been home). After coming from one earlier this week, I found that Cooper has been doing a lot of digging in my newly planted garden beds. Cooper was a heavy digger when he first lived with us but he stopped after 6 months or so. I figured this is because he's feeling more secure about his place in our home. I think he is sensing I will be leaving them home alone again so the digging has started. I am torn between wanting to give them full access to the yard or just keeping them in the house while I'm at work. I think I am going to keep them in the house until he becomes more confident and then slowly give them outside access. I hate the thought of not having him around me all day. As a consolation, it is only a 10 minute drive from work to home so I plan to come home for lunch as much as possible.

I was shocked and disappointed at Michael Johns' elimination. I voted several times for Carly last Tuesday because I was afraid she was going to be next. I just love her version of "Here You Come Again". I think I will download it from iTunes. I should have put in a few votes for Michael but I was too lazy to punch in new numbers (it was easier to just hit redial). I was a big fan of David Archuleta especially after hearing his version of "Imagine" but he no longer interests me. I am turning into a major Duff Goldman fan!!! I love Ace of Cakes!!!!

We are closing on refinancing later today. We decided to do this to avail of lower rates and hopefully get our monthly mortgage down. To the contrary, we will be paying more because portions of the loan will have a much shorter term. The closing could not have come at a better time since I'll be getting a steady paycheck to help out with the payments. We are so blessed. We can feel the Lord's hand in everything that's recently transpired in our life as things just fall into place.

New Job

I got the job!!! I interviewed with a consumer electronics company selling HD and plasma TVs (you will find them at Costco & Walmart among other places & I know Terry Lisonbee just got one late last year. You might even already own one!!!) last August shortly after leaving Playmates. They put the position on hold. They called me last week Tuesday to find out if I was still available and on Thursday they called again to set up an interview with their Marketing VP who I met the following day Friday. They called me today and the offer letter is in the mail. They are only 8 miles away from me and the job is similar to a good fraction of my last job except on a bigger scale so I am so excited. I start on Monday, April 14. Thank you all for keeping me in your prayers!!!

Neglected

So what's occupying our time lately?

Kevin & I repainted our bathroom on Good Friday. Kevin said it was going to be a 4 hour job but it turned out to be a 2 day job. We got the bathroom together a few hours before driving to LAX to meet Sam & Sara who visited after their Cancun honeymoon. We had a blast getting to know the new Mrs. Steele. She is so COOL. Doug, Linda and Rob joined us for Easter dinner.

We've been spending our Saturdays gardening. Kevin put new drip lines and fixed the sprinklers on the kitchen side of our yard. We are enjoying our flowers and seeing more color in our yard.

We visited my mom and aunties in San Diego last Sunday. It's always fun seeing them because we get to eat home cooked Filipino food and Max/Cooper gets to run around the yard where there's more to sniff and dig. We also dropped by Doug & Linda's (Jenn and Rob & Rob's friend Elizabeth were there too) and got a glimpse of The Flower Fields which is near their home. We're going back there in a week or so when the flowers are in full bloom.

Cooper sleeping with his Lion and chillin' (like a cat!) with Max in the study.
The view from my kitchen window!! And the slope as it is now - the iceplants are blooming!!

Baby Blanket & Daisy Hat

Jack Faux was born this week so I finished his baby blanket on Friday. I also knitted an upside down daisy hat for his older sister, Lucy. It is so CUTE!! The pattern had 6 daisy petals but I decided to go with just 5. I am mailing them on Monday with Ticklet Me Elmo and Cookie Monster.

We missed church today (we also missed Sacrament meeting last week because we forgot to move our clock forward!) because Kevin stayed up late putting together our new DELL computer. It's loaded with bells & whistles (and freebies) so it should keep him occupied for awhile. Also we are going to my Auntie Nieva's home in Bonita (south of San Diego) for an early birthday celebration (I turn 51 tomorrow - yikes!) with my family.

Arbor

We got this wooden arbor from Big Lots today and Kevin put it up and planted 2 Wisteria plants on both sides. We also bought some plants to hang in our backyard. I have 6 more hanging plant project to go before I tackle the front yard. Can I really be a gardener?

It was another beautiful Saturday - breezy and cold at times but the sun is bright and the skies are blue and we enjoyed working in our yard this afternoon.

Beulah Klak Galore

Semi dwarf bareroot trees are on sale (50% off!!) at Lowes so my friend Denise and I went tree shopping. I bought the following bareroot trees: Blue Chinese Wisteria, Flame Seedless Table Grape, Florida Prince Peach, Babcock Peack and Snow Queen Nectarine. I also got 2 Night Blooming Jasmines. They are planted just outside the study window and outside our bedroom. I have very vivid memories of how these smell at night from living in Hong Kong and the Philippines so I was ecstatic to find them at the nursery. I also bought some indoor plants/herbs and this beautiful hanging plant which now hangs outside the study window. If anyone knows what this plant is, let me know.

I finally found the name of the above plant. It is a Dwarf Chenille plant. It is a perrenial and can be grown indoors.

The 3 new fruit trees were planted today in the front of the house. The wisteria/grape will have to wait until we figure out where to plant it.

Cooper's Lion

This is Cooper's lion and his current favorite toy. This was in bed with us last night and he is now on our study bed looking out the window. Cooper put him there. The first time I glanced at them, Cooper was right next to this lion with his head resting on the bolster facing the window as well - a really cute sight which I tried to capture on camera..but couldn't.

I drove San Diego last week to visit my mother who had a bad case of the common cold. I talked to her over the weekend and she is doing much better. Kevin and I went to the temple on Friday. He got jealous since I've recently been going without him - also because he wanted to put his sister's family in the prayer roll himself. We are also starting to plan our trip to Logan UT for the Harmon reunion the Saturday before Memorial Day. We are super excited!!

Apple of My Eye

It seems my blog has turned into a garden diary of sorts when I originally intended for it to be about Cooper and knitting!! How can you look at this cute doggie and not be mesmerized????? Here's Cooper in our study - by his mommy's feet in front of the computer. Even Max loves Cooper and takes good care of him. Max is the greatest brother a little dog can have.

I added music to my blog today. I wish I knew how to put my iTunes playlists instead but it doesn't seem like this is possible. If anyone out there knows how to do it, please let me know.

Bird Nest

Kevin had doctor and dentist appointments so he was home early for 3 days (he gets off at 1pm on Fridays) last week. It was a great week having him around a lot. He found this bird nest while picking lemons from our sideyard yesterday after church. It's really a small nest - maybe 3-4 inches in diameter - it's easy to miss since it blends so well with the branch. It looks to me like the egg is ready to pop. We will check on it again in a few days.

Here are my current knitting projects. The cranberry project is the back of my 1st sweater. (the bottom is assymetrical - it will have a V neck and I am still looking for some nice edging for the neck/sleeves). This has taken a backseat to a blue/green baby blanket I am knitting for my nephew Leland and his wife Catherine. Their baby is due later this month. The blanket has seed stitch edges with knit/purl blocks. I've used a similar pattern for a blanket I gave to Ryanne for Christmas. Her baby is due this month too.

Beautiful Day!!

I've been so thrilled about all the rain we've been having over the last few weeks. It's going to a beautiful spring in Southern California and I can't wait to see our flowers bloom!! Today's an exceptionally beautiful day so I took pictures of our slope & the little garden patch we planted 2 weeks ago. The apple/plum trees in the front are sprouting leaves!!!!

I went to an early session today with my friend/visiting teacher Betty. This is the 2nd month we've been going to the temple together. Earlier this year Betty came to my home to give me a private lesson on making cinnamon rolls. I've made it one more time on my own since and I think I did pretty good.

Kevin signed us up to do sealings last Saturday which was a great way to spend our 9th wedding anniversary. We also went to a nice dinner courtesy of Doug who gave us a Cheesecake Factory giftcard for Christmas. Rob also spent a few days with us last week. It's always a treat to have him not just because he makes us waffles for breakfast but because he's such a fun nephew.

Sunday After Church

Presenting...

This is what we accomplished this beautiful Saturday morning (through early afternoon). The tree to the left is the avocado & the leafless one in the middle is the fig. Kevin dug the trench across the back where we planted the gladiolas and allums. After they were buried in the ground, we planted the pink/red/white bellis between the irises, then the deep red sedum above/below it and the scotch moss at the top/bottom. The ranunculas were inserted above the irises - below (hopefully) the gladiolas & allums. We need another fruit tree at the right end but we haven't decided which one to get yet. Kevin dug/removed 2 large plants just outside our bedroom. It seemed like a very hard task. That's where he planted the lime tree. Since he worked so hard, he deserved to have his picture posted here.

More Trees!!

My friend Denise came by yesterday and we went to a couple of plant places. We got 3 new fruit trees: avocado, black fig and limes, 2 more water plants: Anemopsis Californica and Iris Black Gamecock, several perrenials: Gladiolas, Alliums, Ranunculus and Dahlias and some groundcovers: bright light green scotch moss and dark red bellis. We will be planting them in the backyard against the side wall where Sandy planted several irises the 1st year we moved to our home. I think I will plant the Alliums by the pond and the dahlias up the slope. I have 40 gladiola bulbs so maybe I'll plant some of those in the front yard as well. Kevin said he will dig the trench for me but I highly doubt I will actually end up planting all these (gloves and all!). Here's a photo of some of the flowers. I promise to take photos when these are planted and when they bloom so you can enjoy them with me!!

The highlight of our Saturday was a visit from my sister Christie and her husband Kurt. They live in Henderson NV. They took us to dinner at the Korea BBQ House in Irvine.

Bareroot Fruit Trees

We planted these fruit (apple and plum) trees in our front yard today. They are semi-dwarf and my friend Denise chose them so they will definitely bear fruit. She is going to help me spray them. I don't know what that entails. She said I don't have to worry about it. Denise is trying to turn me on to gardening. I'm not sure how she'll be able to accomplish that since I really hate getting my hands dirty. I look forward to posting photos of these trees with apples and plums - hopefully in a few months.

Here's one of the slope in our backyard. It's not as colorful as I would like it to be. The iceplants are once again covering the upper part so I'm hoping we will see color soon. When the flowers of the iceplants bloom, the slope is filled with deep reds and pinks. We planted 2 magnolia trees 2-3 years ago but they don't seem to be growing. At least they are not dead. We planted bouganvillas hoping to have them drape the fence but they've died.

Cattails and Lilies

Here's a picture of our pond this cold morning here in South Orange County. We have about 15 kois in the pond right now. They are all about a foot or more in size. I love the purple flowers in the back. I don't know what they're called but they've been there since we got our home. We planted cattails and more waterlilies (red this time) in the pond last week and I'm excited to see them bloom.

Malachi 3:10

You're probably wondering what my blog title has to do with this picture. If you are not familiar with this scripture, read it and be enlightened.

We've been living on one income since August when I quit my job and have been doing our best to live within a budget until Cooper got sick. My mom gave us $200 for Christmas so I thought I'd take it to pay for Cooper's vet visit. We left the vet with so much more than that in surgery and hospital bills and when we took Cooper home, there was a chance of another surgery should his pain persist (to remove the disc material the neurosurgeon failed to see). We also had a tithing settlement appointment on 12/31 and owed more than Cooper's bill to become full tithe payers. (When I took over the financials from Kevin late last year, I told him he had to continue being responsible for tithing because I relied on his faith completely as far as that was concerned.) We took Cooper home on 12/30 and skipped church the next day to watch over him except Kevin decided to go just before Priesthood ended. It was while Kevin was gone when I took Cooper out and for the first time, he landed on the ground without yelping and walked to the pond area slowly without wobbling. I watched him closely put his weak leg up to pee - to what seemed to me like forever - and I cried thinking he was going to be just fine. Kevin paid the rest of what we owed in tithe and we've been blessed instantly. Now back to the picture. We bought this brown area rug to keep Cooper from slipping/sliding when jumping on/off the furniture. I also got the really nice brown curtains (50% off from Pier 1!!) to put behind the bead curtains. It helps block the sun (making the living room dark which Kevin likes). Then Kevin bought an elliptical machine replacing the treadmill neither of us really used. Kevin seems really serious about losing weight and had heard so much about this machine from his sister Penny whose husband Dave apparently lost a lot of weight using it (and doing other things I'm sure). Kevin spent a lot of computer time researching which kind to buy and I'm just glad the ordeal of searching is over.

Finally, all yarns at Tall Mouse went on 30% off on Superbowl Sunday (yes, I went to the store on Sunday) and I got enough yarn (Cascade 220 Cranberry) for a sweater. I'm still researching which pattern to make. I currently have 2 knitting projects going - a throw for Kevin and this pink cabled scarf (my first cable project). I also have a matching multi-color skein for a nice brim hat to match (yes, a 3rd project to complete before I start on the sweater).

Elaine

My step-sister, Elaine, died today at 42 of cancer. Her father married my mother almost 7 years ago. We lost my father 21 years ago & they lost their mother almost 10 years ago. Our families have known each other from the Manila Branch in the mid 60s. Her oldest sister, Elvee, was my best friend in college & I knew the older kids from Primary. I never knew Elaine but my heart goes out to her family - to Ruben and his children. Mama is flying to Salt Lake tomorrow for the funeral on Tuesday. I decided to look at my mom's wedding photos as that would probably be the last time I saw Elaine. She is 4th from left in this family picture.

Felted Bags

The green/blue tote was the first felted project I completed last week. It took all but 10 minutes in the washer to do it. I wanted to make a tote to carry my scriptures, manual & hymn book for church. The 2nd project (pink/purple) is a better fit. The insides actually look good enough without lining but I'm adding the lining anyway on at least the pink one. Here's the pattern for the pink/purple purse. I used a pink Cascade 100% wool yarn and a Norio specialty yarn that is cotton blended. It took over 30 minutes to felt to the size I wanted.

Yes, it happened again

We took Cooper to the hospital the day after Christmas. We knew something was wrong for almost 2 weeks and when we finally took him, his head was low and he yelped a lot in pain. Cooper had a slipped disc in his neck area & had surgery on December 27, 2007 (another dog came in paralyzed so they had to push Cooper's surgery to the following morning). This time the stitches were down his throat. We had quite a scare because he was in more pain when we took him home. They pulled a nerve during surgery (complication) and there was a possibility not all the floating disc materials were removed. To our amazement, he stopped yelping and started walking to pee the next day and even managed to walk up his ramp to sleep on our bed the 2nd night. His bark sounds different (hoarse) which unfortunately still does not stop him from barking at the poolman & the gardener. We are hoping his bark will go back to normal in a few months (or we will get used to this new one!).

Here is the link to view details about the pet hospital http://petsurgery.com/. They are a GREAT group and we highly recommend them. His neurologist this time (the 1st time was Dr. Berry) was Dr. Stevenson (Dr. Berry was on vacation) who is a really sweet lady who obviously cares so much for Cooper.

Cooper's First Surgery

Cooper had disc disease. His first surgery (December 2, 2005) was on his back. When we took him to the neurologist, his hind legs were paralyzed and he had surgery the same day. Here are photos of our first visit at the hospital. Kevin had traffic school that day so I went by myself. Cooper was so drugged I don't know if he recognized me. He was in the hospital for 3 days and had 44 staples. A week or so after, he fell into our pond (his legs were still wobbly!). He was wandering around while Kevin was working on the pond. Fortunately, Kevin was nearby and was able to scoop Cooper out of the pond quickly.

Our Boys

Cooper is a dachshund/beagle/terrier mix. Here is his picture Kevin found on petfinder.com. We drove to an animal shelter in Ontario with Max to get him. I originally wanted a female cocker spaniel but when we put her in a kennel with Max, there was no match. When we put Cooper in with Max & within seconds, they were chasing after each other. The people watching said we found our dog. The lady from the shelter said there is a standard waiting period to adopt a pet but she felt good about us so she let us take Cooper home that day.



We got Max a year or so before Cooper. On our drive back from Idaho Falls to visit Kevin's family for Thanksgiving, we were so impressed with Chance, Penny & Dave's dog that we decided to get a dog for ourselves so we went to shelters in Las Vegas, Long Beach, Irvine and Mission Viejo. Of course, Kevin found Max first. Max is a spaniel/retriever mix & we got him from the Orange City Pound. We were 4th in a long waiting list to adopt him. When it came our time to pick him up, the family on the 3rd slot was behind us in line but since their time to pick him up had lapse & it was technically our time, we got him. Max enjoyed being the center of attraction for a year but we thought he needed someone to play with so we looked for Cooper & found him!