Las Mañanitas

Birthday Weekend
This year I turned the whopping age of 27. Of course, as we slowly increase the numerical value of our own age, our standard of age also increases. Now that I am nearing 30, it doesn't seems as old as it used to. One good thing-- one of Josh's subs guessed I was 22 this week. As long as I look 22, who has to admit to being close to 30??

Breakfast in Bed
Continuing a long-honored Johnson tradition, Josh snuck out of the bed to put together a lovely breakfast in bed including cinammon rolls. The tantalizing smell almost lured me out of bed, only the whole "breakfast IN bed" idea kept me between the sheets. I opened my presents from Josh & my parents. The rest of the morning was relaxing and slow -- except for the time Josh and I spent staring at the amount we owe the federal government, just willing it to decrease to something more to our liking. To quote Dick Button in a completely different context, "Not a happy scene."

Salmon & Strawberries
Although we TRY to pretend that we had fun times before Lydia came around, she seems to prove us wrong every time we get together. She just wouldn't stop being cute on Saturday evening, so I had to share my "glory" with another. She spent some real quality time buns in air with two of her favorite men -- Grandpa and Uncle Josh. You all should see her crawl. It is so cute due to its robotic quality. She's definitely picking up speed; it's incredible to see what practice, practice, practice will do for you. The dinner was so delicious-- salmon, wild rice, spinach salad. And for dessert, my favorite: fruit! I was so excited with all of my presents and life in general that I forgot to make a wish. I've got everything I need and much, much more to be thankful for!

The Olympics
Ever since I was a girl, and the only television we ever had was the one we rented during the Olympics and World Series, I have loved watching the Olympics. In fact, it was in the front bedroom of our house in McAllen that my freshly pierced earring fell through my ear -- all as I was watching the Olympics! As usual, I am glued to the screen and have been following everything they are playing during prime time. The half pipe has been some of the most phenomenal eye-candy. It's unbelievable! The women competed tonight and performed some amazing "tricks." My favorite is that the announcers use weird language like "Shaun White puts down a fakey fakey" with their completely cool newscaster voice. California Dude Language spoken in an American Standard "accent." Other notes: I'm very disappointed that Michelle Kwan had to leave the Olympics due to injury. What a shame! I can't help feeling that figure skating in general is going through a slump. Several years ago, it seemed like the power house skating countries had such a deep bench. Now, it's a struggle to see a clean program skated. Yipee for the Combined Alpine -- go USA!

Valentine's Day
Tomorrow is my Spanish student's favorite Day perhaps. Well, perhaps their favorite day is the day they get to prepare their cartas para el Dia de Amor y Amistad. They address each other with terms of love and affection such as they can never get away with in English. There's also the playful and random phrases like, "tu eres el ojo del tigre" like one of my former students wrote several years back. Oh there's nothing quite like Valentine's Day at GCA. We're mixing it up a bit tomorrow by having a full-blown Valentine's Party including a menu of lasagna, bread, and delicious dessert. No goodie bags here! UPDATE: Valentine's Day was GREAT! The party at school was really nice! Somewhat because of that, my day was really long, so the meal that I had planned on crafting never happened. We ordered pizza from our local pizzeria and just relaxed. I did get surprised by a LOVELY Valentine's gift from Josh. He always keeps me guessing. I'll give you a few hints: they come in a pair and they are very sparkly.

Hope everyone enjoys their festivities!