TADAville

Trying to Make Cents of it All

2010-07-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

Okay People ... I admit, I'm not very good at staying up to date on my blog ... but, I think, I am slowly making some progress - slowly! :)

Usually our loose change finds a home in one of the following containers: an old car piggy bank (that Doug painted when he was a child), a small keepsake memory/jewelry box type thing, old barrels of monkeys barrels (we have two of these), or a bailey's irish creme tin. I'm really not sure where any of these containers came from, but as long as we have been married, those containers have been the homes of our loose change. Every once in awhile, we'll empty them, roll them, and turn them into the bank. The last time we used our loose change was probably a year or two ago - when Doug accidentally washed our iPod in the washing machine. We used the change to replace it. :)

Well, last week I decided to roll up all of our change - yet again.

This time, we have no particular plan with the money. I have a couple of ideas ... to go away on a small overnight trip with my hubby, to buy new running shoes and the Nike + Sportband, to save it up for our 6th anniversary, or .... the possibilities seem endless. I'd like to see how far I can make the money go ... I consider it my cents challenge! :) As of right now our cents total is .... (drum roll please) ... ??? .... here's a hint ... one of the digits is an 8. (Afterall, my blog theme is 8 ... so of course there has to be an 8 in the total). :)

Yosemite ... Here We Come

2010-04-28T05:30:00.000-07:00

Today is the 28th ... and I'm blogging ... look at that! :) It's only been 8 days since my last entry ... I'm impressed. :)

Well, in 24 hours we will be taking off to our second home ... Yosemite. This year we are taking about 40 other people with us - about half are returnees and the other half are newbies! The perfect combination. It's going to be an absolute blast! Doug and I look forward to this trip every year! It truly is our joy to take friends and fellow brothers and sisters camping in Yosemite! :)

Believe it or not ... the trailer is already packed and tied down. (The earliest that has ever happened!) The only thing left is all the food - which is also packed (minus the cold stuff). All the food will go in the bed of the truck this afternoon. :) The Lord has been so good to us ... we had plenty of time last weekend to get ahead start on our packing - since we're both working we've had to plan, shop, and pack a little differently this year. :) I actually feel ahead of the game - which is nice ... since we usually run into a hiccup here or there! :)

If you think about it ... please pray for us - pray for safety in travel, pray for good weather (there is a 20% chance of snow/rain tomorrow on our travel day), pray for awesome fellowship, and pray that God will be honored in all we do! Thank you ... look for my next post (probably on the 8th) with pics and stories from our trip! :)

8: My Blog Theme Number

2010-04-20T21:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, my apologies ... it's been FOREVER since my last blog! I really need to be more faithful at keeping it up to date - I won't make any promises, but I will certainly try! :) As most of you know, (who really know me), know that I LOVE numbers ... so I thought if I made a number theme with my blog, that maybe - just maybe - that would motivate me to blog more ... so I came up with my blog theme number: 8.

Why 8 you ask? Well ... I've got 8 good reasons ...
1. My maiden name, Alderman, is 8 letters long.
2. My first soccer jersey number was 8.
3. My first soccer team, Snuggles, was 8 letters long.
4. I was born in August, the 8th month of the year.
5. Doug, my husband, was also born in the 8th month of the year.
6. I originally started this blog in '08.
7. Up until this entry, I only had 8 blog posts.
8. The product of the two digits of my classroom room number, 24, is 8.

And to stay with the 8-theme ... I thought I would post my top 8 pics since my last blog. Here they are ...

September 9, 2008 - My first nephew, Daniel Nathan Reyes, was born.

April 29, 2009 - A camel was randomly spotted outside my classroom window. We ran out to see it!

June 17, 2009 - Our annual Yosemite trip! As always, we had an absolute blast!

October 10, 2009 - Our first college football game. We were blessed with free tickets from a dear friend, and we had a lot of fun cheering for the Oregon Ducks.

November 30, 2009 - My niece turned 4 and I made her an apron, hair piece, and oven-mits (all with my mom's help and guidance.)

January 8, 2010 - Over Winter Break we went to Illinois to visit the Tobins! We loved the ALL of the snow! Doug really is part Polar Bear! :)

January 8, 2010 - Lake Michigan at night. This is the first and only time I've been so close to the Great Lakes ... so I just had to take a picture.

January 26, 2010 - My second nephew, Jakob Adler Luciano, was born. He's my little ninja!

Now, my goal is to try and blog on dates that end with 8. Depending on my resource of time, sometimes my blogs might just be a short tidbit, whereas, other times, they might be novels. But, I will try, I will definitely try to keep my blog more up to date. :) Thanks for reading about my 8s.

Summer Comes to a Surpriseful End!

2008-08-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

Well, school is back into full swing ... two weeks done, 38 more to go! :) The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful class. This year I have a 2/3 combination ... which means I am responsible for teaching two grades (instead of just one.) It's more work on my end, however, I also get a great bunch of students. The school days seem to fly by, for I am constantly busy ... teaching one grade or the other. :) Plus, the kids are great. I have one little guy who thanks me daily for teaching him. :) And another little guy who is reading the Bible non-stop because it's my favorite book. They are too cute! I love my class!!! :)

My summer ended wonderfully! Doug kidnapped me! It was a Sunday and we were on our way to Sunday School, so I thought. :) But instead of driving to Sunday School, Doug turned the other way and told me he was kidnapping me. I had no idea! My first thought was "fun, a day away with my hubby, maybe we're going to the beach, or somewhere else close by." But as we continued to drive, he told me that he had everything packed in the back of the car, and that we would not be back until Tuesday. I then started to make guesses of where we were going. We ended up in Lake Arrowhead/Big Bear. ;) It was wonderful. The weather was only in the 70s (our favorite summer weather), and we even encountered a thunderstorm while we were there. We had a relaxful time! It was the perfect weekend getaway and the perfect way to end the summer. Doug sure knows how to spoil me! :)

The picture above is us in front of Lake Arrowhead. :)

It's August ...

2008-08-01T08:01:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is the first of August! August is one of my favorite months. Why? Because both of our birthdays fall in August ... and they are both fun to say: Doug's bday is 8/8 and mine is 8/28. :) But this year, August is extraly FUN because of the summer Olympics ... they start on 8/8/08! (and those of you who know me, know that I LOVE numbers!) :) So it'll be a special day in TADAville. :)

August is also a bitter-sweet month. For me, it means summer is over and school is right around the corner. I enjoy getting my classroom ready and getting ready for the new school year (organizing, decorating, and planning), it's just once the first day of school comes, summer is officially done! :( and :)

The Lord has been so good to us this summer! He tried us in a way we were not expecting. Doug and I thought it would be a good idea to use the summer for me to take a few classes (to help move me over on the pay-scale.) We just didn't expect how much time it would take. I spent most of my summer days working on the 10 grad units. Which in a sense, was a bummer, because Doug knows how much I work during the school year, that he likes my summers to be light. But taking the courses during the summer was much better than trying to juggle them while teaching. :) God grew us in new ways ... especially realizing that things are not always as we wish. The Lord taught me to rely on Him more. There were times when I tried to get my school work done on my own, however, during those times my school work became a trial because I was relying on my own strength, instead of His. And when I relied on God, my course work was a joy and went much smoother. :) He is amazing that way! Our God is a great God!

The above pic was taken at the end of June. I had just gotten my hair cut. It's now a little longer and in need of being cut again. (Maybe before school starts.) :)

Well, I guess that's the latest and greatest from TADAville. I will try to keep up-to-date on the blog! I love hearing how all my friends are doing through their blogs, that I'm sure (at least) some of you would like to hear how we're doing. I'll do my best! Many hugs to you all!

Red, White, and Blue

2008-06-30T11:43:00.000-07:00

It's summer and for any teacher that means ... FREEDOM! :) My dear co-worker and friend, Gina, gave me a gift certificate to Nails Forum for my 30th birthday ... however, I finally got around to using it this past weekend. While waiting for my turn, I decided to have a little fun with my digits and have them painted with the classic red, white, and blue for the 4th of July.

Tam's Top 5 on 5/5

2008-05-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

This is for my dear, Illinois friend - Arianna! :)

Top 5 Things I can't Live Without Under $5
1. Cold Stone Cheesecake Ice Cream with chocolate chips and graham crakers
2. A&W Root Beer
3. developing pictures through Costco
4. getting the newspaper (for the coupons and ads)
5. half vanilla/half mocha ice blended (no whip) from Coffee Bean

Top 5 Favorite Movies
1. Remember the Titans
2. Italian Job
3. Cars
4. Back to the Future
5. Cutting Edge

Top 5 Baby Names I'll Never Use
1. Tyler
2. Connor
3. Sarah
4. William
5. Shelby

Top 5 Baby Names I Would Use
(I added this one) :)
1. Emerson May
2. Teneya Bri
3. Morgan Marie
4. Aubrey Jean
5. Jackson James

Top 5 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over Again
1. In Christ Alone
2. Better is One Day
3. Declariation of Dependence
4. Black Horse and the Cherry Tree
5. I'm Already There (by Rascal Flatts)
(I'm sure there are plenty of others ... but these are the first five that come to mind.)

Top 5 People Who Have Influenced Me in a Positive Way
1. God/Christ/Holy Spirit
2. Douglas John
3. Sister (Sandra Jean)
4. Connie
5. Dee

Top 5 Items in my Purse at All Times
1. a notepad/post-its
2. writing utencils (pen/highlighter/pencil)
3. my glasses/sunglasses
4. wallet
5. gift cards

Top 5 Events that have Changed my Life Forever
1. the Lord saving me (05/30/02)
2. our wedding in my parent's backyard (10/09/04)
3. Bri Bri, my little neicey, being born (11/30/05)
4. slicing my fingers on a paper cutter at school (06/07/07)
5. Dougger winning two awards at a recent art show (04/25/08)

Top 5 Current Obsessions
1. learning new things about Yosemite
2. blogging/emailing/staying in touch with friends nation-wide
3. finding new and better ways to teach
4. organizing anything and everything
5. researching online (colleges/cars/places to live)

Top 5 Places I'd Like To Go
1. Yosemite
2. Australia
3. Alaskan Cruise
4. Road Trip Across the States
5. Europe (a place Doug would love to take me)

Top 5 People I'd Like To See Their Top 5
0. Arianna (but she has already completed hers)
1. Shilo
2. Celeste
3. Meg
4. Meghan
5. Sharla
6. (everyone else ... I don't like picking just 5 for this catagory ... if you don't blog, you can email.)

Yosemite '08

2008-05-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

We just got back from another successful Yosemite camping trip! We absolutely love it up there! And we thoroughly enjoy taking up as many friends as possible! This year, we had 22 friends with us. :)

Our first full day was devoted to our traditional bike tour of Yosemite Valley - stopping at Mirror Lake for the "rock challenge", and walking up to the base of Yosemite Falls.

Another day was Glacier Point/hike day. The whole gang headed up to Glacier Point for the spectacular view - 9 people drove the cars back down to camp and enjoyed a restful afternoon at camp. While the rest of us hiked back down to camp. We hiked down on the Panorama Trail (or atleast I think that was the name of the trail.) It was amazing ... it was a 9-10 mile hike with a 3,200 ft. elevation change ... and it was just amazing! We hiked in all sorts of variety of terrain - snow, pine needles, rocks, mud, creeks, and the usual - dirt. It even rained/hailed/sleeted on us, while we were at the top of Nevada Falls. Plus, on the hike, we were able to see Yosemite from a whole different point of view. It was definitely my favorite part of our trip!

Every night was great with fellowship time around the campfire. We had great conversations and delicious s'mores every night! :) Plus, those who have been with us before, know we were well feed with yummy meals planned by TADA!

God truly blesses us each and every time we're up there - with great weather, great friends, great safety, and of course, the beauty of being in the midst of His creation.

We are already planning Yosemite '09 - let us know if you are interested in tagging along! :)

Friday Foto Frenzy

2008-04-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have known, (or not have known ... since the process happened so quickly), Doug's photos were selected to be in the show/gallery at CSUN. He submitted three works together as one piece, titled, Forgotten Landscapes. We thought it was great that his pics were selected by the jury to be in the art show. There were 370 art pieces submitted, and only 99 were selected for the show. (Doug's being one of them!) :) So the fam - Doug's fam and my mom - went down friday night for the opening night of the show! It was fun to see all the different pieces of art work, and most importantly, to see my hubby's work being displayed! :) While we were there, it was time for the award ceremony ... totally not expecting Doug's name to be called, but at the same time we thought, "hey, if his name is called, we better be there" - so, we all headed back into the gallery to see/hear the awards.

At the award ceremony, the big wigs gave a brief history of the show, (an annual event at CSUN since 1958), the process of the pieces being selected, (a jury selects the work based on their criteria - all types of art are accepted - paintings, graphics, ceramics, photos, etc.), and finally they explained the awards ... 4 honorable mentions, third place, second place, first place, and best of show. They also went on to explain that this would be the first year of a new award, titled, Dean's Purchase - where the Dean of the Art's Program will buy one piece, display it in the his office for one year, and then, after that, it will be displayed in other locations on the CSUN campus. So for the awards ...

... just to remind you ... Doug and I were just happy that his art work was selected to be in the show ... the two of us were thrilled with just that accomplishment ... this was first time Doug submitted work for a show, and the first time his work was selected ... we're already thinking that was great ... but then the awards come ... and God blesses us (and surprises us) with even more than we ever expected ...

Doug took the First Place Award!

WHAT?!? :)

Doug took FIRST Place! When they were reading the names, (from honoarable mention to the best of show), I was expecting to hear names that I did not know, so when they said Doug Adrian, in my head I thought, "hey I know that name ... that's my hubby!" so I cheered really loud! And Doug was completely shocked and speechless. But it doesn't end there ...

Doug also received the Dean's Purchase Award too!
(that means the school bought his photos!) :)

God really, truly blessed us with this! After the award ceremony, a number of people were waiting for him, to talk to him about his pics, to take his pic next to his pics, to interview him, etc. It was truly an amazing night ... I just stood back and watched him talk to all the fancy people in suits! :) and thought in my head, that's my hubby everyone wants to talk to, thank You God for this small victory and shock to us all! ;)

After the last few months, being discouraged with his work situation, the long haul for school, not knowing if this is really the path God wants us to take, etc. ... after Friday night, we were encouraged and feel like this is truly the path God wants us on (for the meantime, anyway). ;) Doug could not have won those awards on his own, it was God Who directed him to take those pics, to submit them, etc. God deserves all the glory in this excitement in our lives! ;)

Doug is currently working on getting his pics together for the Master's program. The critique is Friday, the 9th (I believe), so he has to select his work, and get it down to the printers all by Tuesday. We are thoroughly excited, and we look forward to seeing how God uses this event in our lives.

I just wanted to share our joy with you. :)

(Our deepest apologies to any one that feels left out because you we're invited to the opening night of his first gallery ... but we really didn't think it was a big deal (until his name was called.) :) We do have pics ... on his mom's phone ... so we'll need one of our techy friends to help us download them to the computer. I know, I know ... he's a photographer at an event, with no camera ... craziness ... but, hey, at least there are now phones with cameras in them! ;)

Remembering the Good Ol' Days ...

2008-04-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day of spring break! Yippee! So, what did I do? I headed down to LMU (Loyola Marymount University) with Gina. (Gina, also an LMU grad, is my next door neighbor at school.) So, we decided a field trip was a must. We headed down, walked the campus, and bought new LMU apparel. It's amazing to see how much it has changed ... even in the few years we've been gone. It was fun to walk down memory lane and remember the good ol' days. I even was able to see Myers and Jess for a quick visit and catch-up time. Ah, the fun days of college ... when the biggest worries were papers, tests, projects, and most importantly ... Friday and Saturday night plans. :) College ... now, a closed chapter in my life, however, definitely one fond memory! :) Ahhh ... LMU! :)

Ace of Cakes ... You Be the Judge!

2008-03-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

Lately, our favorite TV station has been the Food Network, (well, that is, only when there is no March Madness on.) Amazing enough, the shows on the Food Network are clean! (Maybe it's because they are all about food, how to cook, bake, grill, decorate, etc.) One of our favorites is a show titled "Ace of Cakes". We are amazed with what Duff and his crew can do with frosting and fondent. After watching many shows, and getting a mini flower cake pan, (as an Easter gift from a co-worker and dear friend), I thought I would take on the challenge and try to out-decorate "Ace of Cakes". Above is a picture of the dozen flowers I created with chocolate cake, frosting, and colored sugars. Do you think I could compete against the cake artists at Charm City Cakes (aka Ace of Cakes)? You be the judge!!