pastry chefs

yesterday kelli and i watched seth and lexie to give my aunt a little time off. kelli made them spaghetti for lunch (no, that is not a typo-kelli really did make lunch) and then they watched a movie. after that, they wanted to make cinnamon rolls, so i assisted them with that. while i was getting a cookie sheet, kelli took pictures of them in their "cooking attire."

there are no pictures of the baking process. i was helping them, and kelli was on the internet. and there are no pictures of the cinnamon rolls. they disappeared almost as soon as they came out of the oven.

sorry.

be impressed. be very impressed.

i am not very big on breakfast. many times i can take it or leave it, but there is one thing that my mom makes that i absolutely love.

biscuits. not those grand, pillsbury, store-bought ones. no siree. i like the biscuits where you roll out the dough, use a biscuit cutter, and brush some melted butter on the finished product. yum! so whenever my mom makes them, i eat a whole lot of them.

well, like i knew it would, my mom felt like i should start making them myself if i wanted them (i'm so hurt). so yesterday when kelli and i went to the store, i got the pioneer baking mix to make my own biscuits. this morning, i got up, made coffee, and began rolling out the dough.

ok, at this point, i have to say that making the biscuits is super easy. i mixed two things together. that's it. ok, back to the story.

anyway, there were some hilarious moments, like realizing that i needed a ton more flour than i had (can anyone say sticky fingers?). and of course, roddick was by my side at all times in case something edible fell from the counter. then when i took the biscuits from the oven, they looked more like cookies than biscuits. yes, i know...i rolled the dough out too thin. oh well, now i know for next time.

the good thing is that they tasted as good as i remember. yay!!!! now i can add biscuits to my growing list of things i can make.

christmas 2008

christmas this year was just amazing. we had a christmas eve service at church then went to my wita's house for dinner and to open presents. for as long as i can remember, we have opened presents at wita's house. now it's fun watching lexie and seth get excited about their presents.

christmas day we got up and drove to la grange to see my other grandparents. when we got there, the fence was closed. jo and sam, my grandparents' dogs, came up to the fence to make sure we were not suspicious people. i took advantage of the extra time to take pictures. unfortunately, i only got three pictures the whole trip.

anyway, i've compiled the pictures that i (and my dad) took during christmas into a slideshow.

warning: although i didn't include every picture i took, the slideshow is still 35 pictures long. you might want to grab a snack to eat while you watch!

lexie the chef

seth the cowboy

a little r & r

this has been such a relaxing day. i got up early because we were leaving town to come see my grandparents. the trip itself was not bad, considering i slept most of the way. i tried listening to two sermons on my dad's ipod (one by my godfather, steve coronado, and the other one by mark batterson-love him) but i kept falling asleep. and no, it wasn't because they were sermons.

anyway, when we got here we had lunch, opened presents, and then my day really got better. did anyone else see the most amazing end of the spurs and suns game?! roger mason made a three at the buzzer to beat the suns by one point. it was AMAZING! that totally made my day. after the game was over, i decided to take a nap. apparently i was tired because i slept for 3 hours straight. in fact, when my mom came in to wake me up for supper, it still took me a long time to get out of bed. man, that was some gooooood sleepin'.

mom just made some super yummy chocolate cookies (to appease the chocolate craving i suddenly had) and those with dr. pepper is just about the best snack ever.

i have lots of pictures from our christmas celebrations, but i'll put them up when i get home. hope your day was as equally relaxing!

siblings

i just wanted to share one of my favorite pictures of the night.

merry christmas!

i hope you have a wonderful christmas filled with family, fun, friends, and lots of food!

oh my goodness

i just came across these old but super cute pictures of seth. i don't remember how old he is here, but isn't he just adorable?!

what's up?

not much...

early christmas present

i just came home, and my sister was bustin' at the seams to give me my christmas present. at first i wanted to wait until we could open all our presents as a family (my immediate family opens gifts before the christmas eve service).

that feeling only lasted a few seconds.

she reeeeeeeally wanted me to open the gift now, and i reeeeeeally wanted to open the gift now so opened it.

guess what it was?

a pink patent purse!!!! i have been wanting one for a long time, and kelli remembered and got it for me. (ok, the only reason she remembered was because i kept reminding her.)
i love my purse =)

the car

before i start with the pictures, i need to say that my car is a huge blessing from God. i needed a car, and wanted a certain kind. God provided both. i wanted a car like my last one: a honda accord leather interior, 6 disc changer, and sunroof. i know, sounds selfish and something that i can't really afford. my mom kept reminding me that they got a great deal on my old car and not to expect the same thing to happen twice. but i didn't think that praying could hurt, especially since He had already answered a rather large prayer request just the week before. i had about a week and a half to look for a car, and i was going to be in florida for a week, which left me with very few days to buy a car. two days before i had to be at inservice for school, i bought my car. there were so many little things that came together and i don't want to bore you with the details, but i do want to share with you my favorite detail.

when it became apparent that i would need a new car, i told my dad exactly what i could afford. i quoted a price that i wanted to pay a month. when we sat down with the finance guy (two weeks after the conversation with my dad), he showed me what my monthly payments would be: $.45 more than the price i quoted my dad. i almost cried; instead i whooped for joy! i turned to my dad and exclaimed, "DAD! THAT'S WHAT I TOLD YOU! THAT'S WHAT I TOLD YOU!" poor finance guy. he didn't know what to make of me.

so i bought a car. oh, and did i tell you? it's a honda accord with leather interior, 6 disc changer, sunroof, AND satellite radio. isn't God good?

i got it!!!!

thanks to a unexpected, generous check, today i was able to buy the camera that i've been wanting. i picked this camera out in october, but i couldn't afford it then.

dad, kelli, joey, ryan and i went to store after store looking for this camera. unfortunately, it was sold out at best buy and target, and i couldn't find it at office max or sears. we decided that our last two stops would be office depot and wal-mart, even though i didn't hold out much hope for either one. when we got to office depot, my dad asked the guy if they had the camera that i wanted. he looked, and lo and behold-they had it! not only that, i got it for $30 less than i would have gotten it at target, best buy, or wal-mart! i'm excited about that kind of a deal. so i went to wal-mart and got a camera case and a memory card (the camera came with one but the memory wasn't big enough). i'm super excited about my purchase, so expect more picture posts. we'll start with one that i have been promising for quite a while now: my not-so-new-anymore car.

enjoy!

vacation has started

at 9:34 a.m. that's what i time i woke up this morning! woo hoo! after the fabulous christmas program last night, we went out to eat with some friends. while we were getting ready to eat, sarah invited us to watch a movie at her house. for the first time since school started, i said yes! of course i was tired and even fell asleep during a small part of the movie, but i think it was the principle of the matter: i stayed up late and slept in.

so now today i have a lot to do, but i'm glad i started my day off right =)

freedom!

that's right, people: i'm free! well, for the next two weeks at least.

i had an incredibly busy morning, but it was fun. i had to finish wrapping my students' gifts, but i couldn't find clear cellophane ANYWHERE. but my mom had the genius idea of using saran wrap, and voila-it worked! actually, my superhero, can-do-anything aide did it for me since i was entertaining six year olds and their parents. i love her. anyway, i totally hit the jackpot today. i got great gifts and it was so much fun opening them up in front of the kids. i got jewelry, chocolate, stuff for my house and nativity sets.

and of course, this comes with a story: when i opened one of my nativity sets, i said "oh this is beautiful! i'm going to put this in my house!" one boy looked puzzled and asked, "you have a house?" when i said yes, a girl put her two cents in: "i thought you lived with your mom."

i couldn't stop laughing. poor kids. they probably always think i'm laughing at them.

actually, i am. but i do it in love.

anyway, joey and i went to lunch at red lobster (yum, yum!) and then i came home and slept for two glorious hours. it was heaven! now i'm getting ready for our church christmas banquet, which i'm sure will be fabulous. enjoy your weekend!

p.s. one of my gifts was a huge fleece blanket with coyotes on them. they look like our old dog, spunky, which makes me love blanket even more. i even took a nap with it today. so i love it. ok, bye.

stuff

i have about five things i want to post about, but alas, i have no time. i guess i could have last night, but i was too tired. i do have a post coming soon about ryan though. among other things. gotta go, bye!

rejected photo

but i still love this picture. roddick looks like he's trying to get away from kelli. which might actually be the case!

red lobster

i love red lobster. i love their shrimp scampi, which is just about the yummiest shrimp ever. and today when went for lunch, i saw that they added a pretty much amazing lunch menu. you see, back in the day my favorite meal from there was the dockside shrimp and chicken: grilled chicken over a bed of pilaf rice and shrimp scampi. oh man, it was delicious. suddenly my favorite meal went away...just like that. i was very bummed.

then, miracle of miracles...it is on the lunch menu! i had shrimp scampi and wood-grilled chicken over a bed of rice. that just made my day! (obviously, since i'm blogging about it.) anyway, the rest of the day was just as great. i got to take my usual long nap, and then after church the six of us went to eat and then went to see the lights. fun, fun!

it's a great start to the week. have a great week!

the apple doesn't fall far from the tree

i couldn't resist putting this on here.

remember the remote control that mom took with her to the basketball game?

kelli did the exact same thing when we went to miles yesterday! because some of the same people that were at the game on monday were there yesterday, we all had a good laugh. yet another reason my mom and kelli are so much alike.

good times, good times.

fun with friends

i just have to say that this is the best day that i have had in a long time. i got to sleep in which was so nice. and by sleep in, i mean wake up, eat breakfast, and then go back to sleep. when i finally decided to roll out of bed (kelli was yelling at me), we went to the park so i could take pictures of kelli and roddick for christmas cards. i did a lot of laughing, but i also realized that i am not a photographer. and roddick isn't photogenic. not a good combination.

anyway, later we drove to miles for ryan's basketball game. um.....well....here's the deal: some little boy was pushing ryan around (more like down) and the refs weren't doing anything about it. about the third time, i was really angry and even his laid back coach was yelling at the ref. it made me wonder that if i got that mad about someone pushing my brother around, then i wouldn't be a pretty sight when my own kids played basketball. i realize that basketball is a physical sport, but what happened today was just downright ridiculous. oh well, the game is over and ryan is still alive.

i got to eat dinner with my friends and then we went to see the lights on the river. there were so many hilarious moments that i can't really pick just one. or two. let's just say that i love hanging out with my girls.

now i am exhausted with no clue why i'm still up. ya'll have a great sunday!

school, music, and craziness

first of all, i would just like to say that i agree with kylah. kylah, you have validated everything i have felt for the last two days! you know it's bad when the teacher next door told says, "i'm sorry you're having such a rough time." um...yeah. even my aide has noticed how crazy things have gotten. but this too shall pass; we only have 6 school days left. hallelujah! and the christmas concert tonight put me in a better mood.

i told my mom that seeing my students stand on stage and sing their little hearts out made me fall in love with them all over again. as they stood with their beautiful dresses and cute little christmas ties, it was hard to imagine that these were the same kids who were driving me crazy just hours before. but they're my students and i love them. i love them so very much. i told them today that they were my favorite first grade class and they were NOT impressed. "miss hernandez, we're your only first grade class!" they exclaimed. how did they get so smart? and who is their teacher?!

and yes, i realize that i haven't yet told you of my recent decisions. i know you're hanging on the edge of your seat waiting for the recent revelations of bethany's life. but my parents just walked in with dinner, so i'm outta here.

c-ya! (how's that for a throwback to junior high?!)

"i'll give a dollar to whoever can find the remote"

i cannot even begin to tell you how many times we heard my dad say this when we were growing up. but if someone was looking for it last night, they weren't going to find it.

as i said earlier, we took a trip to midland last night. when i got to my parent's house to pick them up, my mom was watching t.v. right before we left, my mom's phone rang so she was on the phone while she got ready to leave. while we were in the car, mom was looking through her purse for something when she came across something that didn't belong in there.

the remote.

apparently she was distracted while getting ready to leave, so when she turned the t.v. off she just stuck the remote in her purse. but she forgot to take it out of her purse when we got home, so it went to school with her today too.

dad, do i get a dollar?

when did it get this stinkin' cold?!

did anyone else see this coming?! obviously i don't check the weather often enough. however, am taking advantage of the opportunity this weather has afforded me.

i'm in bed.

ok, not in bed for the night. but i had to get under the covers because i was so cold.

sorry for the whiny-ness...

i almost forgot

i have made some recent decisions lately. (did anyone else hear "i have decided to follow Jesus" after you read that sentence? i did. i'm such a nerd.) and these are actually serious ones, not like growing my hair out. although, as far as decisions go, that one was pretty life-altering.

no, one of these in particular has the power to change the rest of my life. i think. if all goes according to plan. which, as we all know, can change in a heartbeat. but who knows.

do you like my choppy sentences?

but due to the state of my exhausted mind (like you couldn't tell) i will have to blog about it later. plus, i think 3 posts in one hour is more than enough. but i will tell you that three are somewhat related (ok, a lot related), and another one is something i've thought about off and on. PLUS i have a funny story about my mom. i can't remember the last time i wrote a funny story about her, so it's past due.

g'night, ya'll!

move over, mister

have you met my cousin? if not, you're about to! my crazy cousin cheli and her fiance (fiancee? i don't know) have started a blog to chronicle their love together.

oh boy.

but let me tell you, you're going to like hearing about my family from a different perspective (i think). she's the funny one in our family (kinda hard to imagine, huh?) so i'm sure she'll have you laughing. and anything mean she says about me is a lie.

which reminds me...cheli, you're deadmeat for that comment earlier. love you!

whoooeeee

what a day! we just got in from midland where ryan had a basketball game. i've decided that i could be a ref. i could just make up some calls and decide the rules as i go. sounds easy, huh? all "ref-ing" issues aside, we had a great time, and loved the dinner afterward! for those of you who played on the same volleyball and basketball team with me (like in jr. high...stretch those memories!), we ate at michael's. oh the good times we had there.

i've got an early and full day tomorrow, but here i am checking blogs. it's just the way i roll.

oh no. kelli's making roddick mad by messing with him while he tries to sleep. gotta go intervene.

because my printer is really slow...

i now have extra time to blog about school.

i have cute kids. you know that. i know that. the rest of the world knows that. i'm already amazed at the improvement that they've shown since the beginning of the year. it's pretty major.

but then we have days like tuesday, where all their genius seems to be more of a fleeting moment.

we were reading a story in reading group about how a little girl was upset that it was raining and she couldn't go outside and play. her mom comforted her by telling that she could have sunshine on the inside. so the girl spends her day helping around the house and finds out that helping others brings her happiness-thus, "sunshine on the inside." after the story was over, i asked how the little girl made sunshine on the inside. one of my super-smart girls looked at me like i was so dumb for not getting it and calmly stated,

"she turned on the light."

poor, dumb miss hernandez.

decisions, decisions

there has been a decision to be made in my life. it's been hanging over my head for over 6 months now. i've thought about it, stressed about it, prayed about. people gave their opinion as if i wanted it.

like a rock in my shoe, this issue has been my constant companion. i made a list of pros and cons. i did some research on the internet. i went back and forth in my mind as to what the right decision was. and tonight the decision has been made. there is no looking back. i am at peace. i have decided that....

i'm growing my hair out.

whew, it feels so good to get that off my chest.

hmmm....

waiting until december 4 and the first real cold snap at the year is not the time to find out that you have no winter clothes.

finally finished

i just finished reading a really good book, in a pit with a lion on a snowy day. not gonna lie, this book challenged me immensely. go read it. now.

windbreakers

"miss hernandez, this is my windbreaker. it's called a windbreaker because it breaks wind."

i couldn't help it. i laughed. hard.

i love my kids.

monday, monday

can you believe it's already december?! holy cow, this year has gone by fast.

we just got in from abilene where ryan had a game. there are games tomorrow as well and i'm just pumped. i love me some basketball, especially when it's my little brother that's playing (like i have a big brother).

i was glad to see my kids today. i didn't think i missed them, but when they walked through the door i realized that i had. they're just so stinkin' cute. i love them. they said some funny stuff today but i'm too tired to blog about it. just take my word for it.

gotta go to bed...have a great tuesday!