Best Friend and Bestest Friend

Whaaaat? October already?

2010-10-01T00:06:00.000-07:00

It can't be. Really?!? Well, the weather earlier this week sure didn't feel like Fall.

Here's what we've been up to since our last post...

August-Headed to Alameda again for the Antiques and Collectibles Faire on the first Sunday. The following week...Girls Night Out with Jennifer and Cindy. Loved it! Love them :) We watched Salt and Inception. A wonderful late dinner at Himawari. yum.yum.yum. Thank you, Cindy, for introducing me to this place. Saturday 8/14 was Fellowship Day with the Giants at AT&T Park. They played the Padres and WON!!! The Giants and The Salvation Army partnered to have this special event. Those who purchased the special event ticket received a Fellowship Day themed hat. This is the 10th year they've had Fellowship day at the park. After the game everyone was invited to Sections 122-124 to hear testimonies from Giants and Padres players. Over 300 people from our church attended this event. We were so blessed to hear how the Lord is working in each of their lives.

W 3-2

Jeremy Affeldt, Travis Ishikawa, Nick Hundley, Adrian Gonzalez, Chase Headley, and Heath Bell

September-I started Women's Bible Study (WBS) on the 15th and France started Men's Fraternity the following day. This year's WBS topic is on Godly Leadership--a study of the books of Ezra,Nehemiah and Esther. Men's Frat is going through the book The Man in the Mirror by Patrick Morley. Even though it just started, we're excited to dig deeper into the Word. We also look forward to getting to know those at our tables.

October 3rd is CPCs annual Outdoor Service...Come and join us at 11am at Leo Ryan Park in Foster City!

Happy Fall, Family and Friends!

I sorry...

2010-07-10T00:45:00.000-07:00

really, I am. It's been forever and a day since the last post. Yes, the excuse for not posting would be that we're busy, just plain 'ol busy. We've been fixing up the first floor of our house since we came home to a flood. If you don't know about it, you can read it here. Hubby and I changed the paint on some walls and he added wainscoting to the dining room. Hubby's been great at the whole renovating thing, it's awesome. Baseboards are up, too. Crown molding, up next. Pictures to follow. As for me, I've been busy with work and school. Don't get me wrong, Hubby's been busy, too, working on the house and working working. I finished an online course called Exceptional Learners and I've learned so much from it. Even though I'm not a fan of summertime, I'm actually excited about what's in store this year, especially with Summer Events at CPC Foster City and Millbrae.

Let me try to get you all up to speed...

February-The Prokopets told us about the Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Faire that's held every 1st Sunday of the month. I had so much fun walking the aisles with Candace and Cheryl. I couldn't stop laughing. They have a system when browsing...so be prepared. I got a small tin sign for our kitchen that says EAT, still trying to figure out where we want to put it. France and Vitaliy went on their own and stopped at every stall. Afterwards, we headed to Dan and Sara's place for a Super Bowl get-together. We met new friends and ended the night with a game of Apples to Apples. On February 15th, our niece Sophia Midori Oue DeGuzman was born.

March-We headed back to Alameda with more people, Cindy, Soo, and Santosh. France got a Kodak Brownie Camera (SIX-20) which will be on display once we figure out the new set-up of our first floor. I think everyone walked away with a little something. We ended our day with dinner at Everett and Jones at Jack London Square. On March 28th, both Foster City and Millbrae CPC campuses cancelled worship services. We headed out to the community to serve through LOVE WORKS. To see people in action, click here

April-I attended CPC's Women's Retreat at Mount Hermon. It was a wonderful weekend filled with the gospel. I got to room with Cindy and Jennifer. Best roomies EVER!!!

May-Joy Prom. It was such a blessing to be a part of this wonderful event.

June-Full of fun, family, and friends. We started out by going to the Foster City Arts and Wine Festival. We beat the heat and crowds by heading there around 10am. Later that week, hubby got his birthday gift, a Canon 7D...woot-woot. And, on Saturday, hubby and I attended a couple of free workshops at Calumet. A few days later we're at a Twinkie Tasting Party. Our friend was inspired by a post my hubby put on FB. Thanks for having us, Abby! Then, on the 19th, James and Geraldine tied the knot! The next day we celebrated Father's Day and Hubby's birthday by watching Wicked with his parents. Hubby's birthday was the 22nd but we both had to work. We decided to have a mini celebration and had dinner at Isobune in Burlingame. The following week we took a couple of days off and celebrated his birthday...well, in our house we celebrate the birth month. We met up for brunch at Goodbites Cafe with Soo and Tosh (aka Sootosh) and their new bundle of joy, Jana. The next day we headed to the de Young Museum (pictures to follow).

July-We used to head over to Leo J Ryan Park to watch the fireworks but with other cities not having their own fireworks show, we had a feeling Foster City would be packed. Hubby and I decided to stay home. You can actually see the fireworks from one of the bedrooms. It's not as jaw-dropping as it is up close, but we got some great shots. Just a couple of nights ago we had dinner with Candace and Vitaliy at Mana in San Mateo. Today, we're attending my co-worker's wedding in Half Moon Bay (Congratulations Maryann and Josh).

Happy Summer...

Alex and her baby sister Sophia

Love Works

James and Geraldine

Baby Jana...cuteness
(I know, I want to squeeze those cheeks, too)

Valentine’s Day: Engagement Giveaway

2010-01-25T23:59:00.000-08:00

Valentine’s Day: Engagement Giveaway

PLEASE pray for...

2010-01-20T14:38:00.000-08:00

Jamie. She is Ryan's sister, Lailah's sister-in-law. Ryan and Lailah are our friends from church. Jamie has been serving in the Peace Corps for a couple years in Kazakhstan. A couple of days ago her family received a phone call that their Jamie was in a really bad car accident and is in a coma. The family flew out of San Francisco yesterday to be with her.

We ask that you take a moment and say a prayer or shout out some well wishes or encouraging words.

Lailah has been updating her blog. Please click here to see the updates and prayer requests.

Happy 2010

2010-01-10T21:07:00.000-08:00

First ouchie incident of 2010, stubbed toenail. I banged my pinkie toe against the bed post, I turned too early. I now have a itty-bitty black toenail...gross, I know. Sorry. Anyway, after holding and staring at my pinkie for the longest time, it was time to go. Hubby and I decided to hit up the Gilroy Outlets to check out the Calphalon store, Gap, Coach, and a bunch of other stores, too. Instead of roaming around each section, we had a plan. We printed out the map of stores and highlighted the ones we wanted to visit. Le Creuset was on the list, too. I'm not much of a cook, more of a baker, but I heard great things about their dutch ovens aka french ovens. For one, their pricey, but they're good for slow cooking. Anyway, before jumping into the car, Hubby suggested I check the prices online to see if I would really save anything by getting one at the outlet. I did...yipee!!! I got the round 4 1/2 dutch oven like this one. For Christmas, Hubby bought me The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl since I was always on her website, thanks to Candace who became a fan on FB. I was curious, who is this Pioneer Woman? Last weekend, I tried two of the recipes, meatloaf and twice-baked potatoes. Nope, didn't use the dutch oven for either of the recipes. I did, however, find a recipe on the Williams-Sonoma website that called for a dutch oven. It's called Chicken with Saffron Rice aka Arroz con pollo. I'm actually having fun cooking.

Last Post for 2009

2009-12-31T20:16:00.001-08:00

Hi Family and Friends-

My attempts of updating this blog throughout the year...failed. I hope to be better at it in 2010, but no promises. We've been a bit busy in the past few months. Early in October, Hubby and I were invited by Vitaliy & Candace (Prokopets Studio) to check out the Calaveras Grape Stomp in Murphys, CA. Cheryl M., Kristi, Jennifer, and Marty joined us, too. We all had a blast watching teams stomp to win. After, we headed to Oakland for dinner and dessert at Fentons, yummy! The following day was our church's Outdoor Service and I was so blessed by the cardboard testimonials and the number of people who were baptized. A week later, Hubby surprised me with an early birthday party. Hubby and one of my BFFs, Jennifer, did such a great job planning the surprise...I had no clue whatsoever. Great fun was had by all at Color Me Mine and dinner at PF Changs. Thank you to those who were able to be a part of it. You really surprised me, I couldn't stop shaking after seeing you all jump out from behind the counter. A couple of days later Hubby and I hopped on to a plane for Disneyland. We spent a week at the happiest place on earth with our 2 year old niece, her parents, and my in-laws. It was such a delight to see her greet Mickey Mouse with a big hug and a smile. It was also great to see my mother and father in-law enjoy the sights and sounds of Disneyland and California Adventure...they really enjoyed the Soarin Over California attraction, they enjoyed it so much that they rode it again using the 'Single Passenger' line. After a week at Disneyland and California Adventure we returned to a flooded first floor. Sometime during the week, the water tank of our downstairs bathroom cracked and water made its way throughout the first floor, about 90+ gallons. We praise and thank our Heavenly Father that it was the first floor. On Halloween, CPC Millbrae had a photo booth in the Kohl's parking lot as an outreach to the Millbrae Community. Tons of families stopped by the booth to have their complimentary photo taken by professional photographers: John Meyer and Vitaliy & Candace Prokopets.

In November, Debbie (Jennifer's sister), Cheryl S, Mandy, and I threw a baby shower for our dear friends, Jennifer and Marty. It was a monkey-themed event with hints of orange and green. We had lots of food and games. Debbie and her mom prepared some delicious finger foods and sweet treats. Mandy created a beautiful scrapbook that guests signed and did a wonderful job rallying guests for games. Cheryl created monkey cupcake toppers, trees, games, and signs that were oh-so cute. Lailah baked some awesome cupcakes...sooo good. I attempted my first candy bar set-up which became favors. Guests filled up their take-out containers with candy, cookies, and rice krispy treats. A week later we celebrated Jennifer's birthday!

This month, the Women's Ministry of CPC held their annual Women's Dessert at the Crowne Plaza in Foster City on 12/16/09. Three of my co-workers were able to join me and my friends at our table. According to Adena, Cheryl, & Nelly, they enjoyed the evening and plan on attending the event next year. Two weeks later, Jennifer and Marty had their baby girl!!! Yay!!! Baby Mariella Grace was born on Tuesday 12/29/09.

To end 2009, I'll share some pictures of events from the past few months. France (Hubby) and I wish you and your loved ones a blessed and fun-filled 2010.

Family Session Giveaway!

2009-09-01T22:53:00.000-07:00

Please visit our friends' website--Prokopets Studio http://www.prokopetsstudio.com/blog/ and find out how you or someone you know can receive a free family portrait session and prints.

Yes, we're still here!

2009-09-01T22:33:00.000-07:00

Let's start with a cookie recipe I was supposed to share...

Thin, Crispy, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies...

Prep and Cook Time: about 35 minutes. Store these cookies airtight for up to 2 days.

1/2 Cup (1/4 lb) butter, melted and cooled to room temp

1/2 Cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/3 Cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 Cup all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz.)

1/2 Cup chopped pecans (optional)

1. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until well blended. Beat in 3 tbsp water and the vanilla until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed

2. In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir or beat into butter mixture until well incorporated. Stir in chips and pecans, if using.

3. Drop dough in 1-tbsp portions, 2 inches apart, onto buttered 12 by 15 inch baking sheets

4. Bake in 300 degree oven until edges of cookies are browned, but an area about 1-inch wide in the center is still pale, about 14 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking

5. With a wide spatula, transfer cookies to racks to cool. If hot cookies start to break, slide thin spatula under them to release; let stand on pan to firm up, 2 to 5 minutes, then transfer to rackes to cool completely.

Makes ~32 cookies

My last post was back in February...sorry. At least France posted something in May. Since then a lot has changed for me. I transitioned from being a Lead Teacher in a Younger Preschool (ages 2-3) room to a Program Coordinator. In May, I moved from 2nd Generation-Allerton back 2nd Generation-Gateway. I thank the Lord each and every day for blessing me with such a fulfilling job. I've been with Bright Horizons Family Solutions since 2001 and I've learned so much through the years. It is so great to be a part of an infant's life, seeing them grow and develop into a curious toddler to a confident preschooler.
I am also grateful for France who stood by my side through all the changes. He faithfully prayed with me and for me as I faced some difficulties. I love you, babe! Thank you for being my best friend and the love of my life!

It's now September and Fall is just around the corner...my favorite season. I guess it's my favorite season because of the colors. Even though my favorite color is navy blue, the different shades of brown, yellow, and orange are so beautiful. It's also my favorite season because my birthday and wedding anniversary are in October. Soon after, it's Thanksgiving then Christmas. This October I'm off to Disneyland with my hubby and the in-laws...six adults and one 2-year old are off to "The Happiest Place on Earth." In November a few girls and I will be hosting a co-ed baby shower for a dear couple who are expecting a baby girl in January 2010.

Ta-ta-for-now! Take care, blog readers! God Bless You!

Poem

2009-05-22T15:53:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Francis T. for posting this poem on facebook today:

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'."
I'm whispering "I was lost, now I'm found and forgiven.

"When I say... "I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches so I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow!

Look Ma, I'm Blogging! I'm Blogging!

2009-02-03T11:15:00.000-08:00

So I'll guest blog every now and then since this blog belongs to Trisha, afterall.

I don't write very well and I don't follow a particular "style", so please excuse any syntactical (is this even a word? I like making up words.), grammatical, and/or spelling errors...wait I just saw this little "ABC checkmark" icon...BAM! We're golden! Disregard the spelling mistakes and presume the spell check just wasn't clicked or obviously overlooked my correctly-spelled mis-spelled word (you know what I mean)...haha!

As for topics, if you ask anyone they'll tell you that I'm totally random, so you can expect my topics to be random, too.

If you ask me, I don't really care for blogging with words (i.e. "typing"). I'd much prefer to blog with photos because, like most males, I'm visually-oriented...wait, what a GREAT idea! I think I'll start that with this post! For you word-readers (did I mention I like making up words?), I'll also blog with song lyrics, too. So you can expect those as well. Music plays a big part in my life and, as you'll read in future posts, even saved my life.

Let's start:

First off, I'll have to keep the image sizes down to stay within blogspot's space limitations, sorry. If you like any of these pix, please let me know and I'll be more than happy to provide you with larger versions.

As Trisha mentioned in one of her previous posts, I've recently hijacked her camera (aka my birthday present to her a few years ago).
Trisha's the one with photo experience, but I just started getting into it recently because I was inspired by this picture in a Costco magazine. Go ahead, click on the link. It'll be worth your time. I'll wait...

Yes, that IS a photograph! I know what you're thinking...it looks like a painting, right? Well, I was very impressed, so I checked it out and saw that it was done via HDR photography. The process involves combining several pictures of the same subject taken at different exposures. I had some time to kill, so I checked Trisha's camera and saw that it was capable of Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB)...bingo! Those of you who have seen my FB albums have an idea of what HDR photos I've already done.

Okay, back to the pic above: Shooting around with the stock lenses that we had didn't produce the same crispy sharpness I saw in other people's photos, so I wondered if it was me, the camera's auto focus, or the lens. Turns out, it was a combination of things. Luckily, I found a place that rents high-quality camera equipment nearby, so I decided to rent a lens for the three-day MLK Holiday weekend. This picture was taken at a store in downtown Half Moon Bay during that weekend. I wanted the viewer to feel like they were taking a peek into someone's vast collection of starfish. Converting the photo to a sepia and adding a strong vignette made it look like there was an infinite number of starfish both below, behind, and to either side of the point of reference. This also leads the viewer to wonder whether the starfish are underwater or not. The vignetting also adds a "spotlight" effect similar to one of my favorite videos. The main thing about this pic is the crispiness of the starfish "fingers" and crispy starfish fingers make me happy. It was a great lens that I hope to own...some day. Until then, I look forward to renting other lenses and evaluating them before plunking down the crazy mad money. Care to contribute to my lens fund? Thanks! Alright, I'm ending it here. Talk AT you later.

Catching up...

2009-02-01T21:48:00.000-08:00

Time for an update. Let's start with our church. France and I attend Central Peninsula Church (CPC) in Foster City. On January 11th, the CPC Millbrae Campus had their Grand Opening...woo-hoo!!! While driving on 101 North that morning, we hit traffic, a major accident occurred just a couple of exits before Millbrae. We were stuck in the #1 lane for quite some time, barely moving. We thought we were going to be late. I then thought about other people who were making their way to CPC Millbrae, hoping they weren't going to give up and turn around because of the traffic. We prayed and asked that the Lord be with those people in the accident. Not a minute later, an ambulance was making its way through the #1 lane forcing cars to merge to the right. As we made our way to the next lane, then the next, our exit was right there...perfect timing. Praise God! We made it to the Mills High School Auditorium just in time. I love how God works.
Hey, if you're someone in and around Millbrae looking for a church, or know someone looking for a church closer to home, check out CPC Millbrae at http://www.cpcmillbrae.org/. Oh, and here's a link to an article from the San Mateo County Times about CPC's expansion. http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/ci_11454896

So, on Friday night, January 16th, The Filipino Community Group that France and I are a part of, had a get-together for Pastor Mark Mitchell, Dale Heer, and Manuel Roces. These 3 men are off to the Philippines, I think they're there already, to train and disciple 30 pastors sponsored by Servants Channel of Cares International (SCCI) of the Philippines. It was a great time of fellowship, as well as Q & A's. Most of you readers might have seen some pictures posted on FB. We do ask that you pray for everyone involved in this, especially the 30 pastors, that they may be able to take what they will learn and share it with their church and communities. We also ask that you pray for Mark, Dale, and Manuel and their families while they are away one another. Thanks!

What else have we been up to? Oh yeah, France has been interested in photography for some time now. He's been taking shots of lots of people, places, and things. I think his favorite part of it is editing the photos. Check out our FB accounts to see more of these cool shots. The funny thing is he's using the camera (Canon 10D) he gave me as a gift. I'm glad it's being used. I took a semester of Black & White Photography in college and had lots of fun. The bad thing is that I don't remember everything I learned. I had more fun working in the darkroom making prints. As for me, I've been baking something almost every weekend. France and I are both trying to eat less sugar so I'm baking away...getting rid of most of the sweet stuff in the kitchen and giving them out. My recent concoction is thin, crispy, and chewy chocolate chip cookies. Yup, you read that right, thin, crispy, AND chewy. It's possible. I'll post the recipe soon.

Wow, it's already February. Amazing how time flies. We hope and pray that the rest of your 2009 is filled with lots of love and joy. If there's anything we can pray for, drop us a line and we'd be more than happy to include you in our prayers.

What we did...

2009-01-02T21:09:00.000-08:00

We headed towards the City and had linner (lunch/dinner) at The Beach Chalet. We were planning to eat somewhere around Haight-Ashbury but parking was crazy. France then mentioned The Beach Chalet, which is just on the other end of Golden Gate Park. In 2007, my friends and I had dinner there and I raved about it but never got the chance to bring France over for our own dinner. Today was a good day. Even though it started out dark and rainy, it cleared up and the view from the Beach Chalet was beautiful. The sun was shining bright and the ocean was so blue. Here's what we ordered: for appetizers we had the Ahi Tuna Tar-Tar as well as the Wild Dungeness Crab Cake...both so gooood! and for lunch, France ordered the Seafood Linguini Provencal and I had Pan Roasted Chicken.

We were planning to walk around Golden Gate Park after linner but decided to head to the Legion of Honor, a place both France and I have not yet visited. Shocking?!? I know. We got there around 4:30 and the museum closes at 5:15. We weren't planning to go into the museum but I was freezing. While France was taking pictures in the Court of Honor, I decided to stay indoors to keep warm. While checking out the ticket prices I overheard one of the guards tell a couple to just walk right in and check out the museum...for free. I ran outside and got France and told him about it. We were able to see most of the museum in 30 minutes except the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit, there was a separate admission for that one. I enjoyed seeing the Rodin sculptures and will post most of our pictures on Facebook. "The Hand of God" was one of my favorite Rodin pieces.

What to do...

2009-01-02T13:13:00.000-08:00

France has to work for a few of hours so I'm hanging out at his office and thinking of where we can go for the rest of the afternoon. We'll probably head up to the City, walk in the rain, and maybe go shopping, maybe.

I'm also thinking of where to take a friend and his wife out for dinner tomorrow night. France and I haven't seen Jon in years...like 10 or 11 years. Jon and I used to attend the same church back in Southern California. Just a few weeks ago we reconnected through Facebook...yay for FB!!! They'll be in San Jose tomorrow for some meetings then we get to hang out and catch up. Jon and his wife, Joni (who we have yet to meet), went on a missions trip to the Philippines not too long ago and we can't wait to hear their stories.

Welcome..

2009-01-01T23:12:00.000-08:00

Happy 2009!!!

I've been wanting to start a blog for quite some time now but wasn't sure what to focus on. Since it's January 1, 2009 I figured why not start the blog now. It'll be a mix of things and I hope you'll enjoy it. I will add more in the next few days so please come back and see what's new.