Feeling Much Better

John and I went to Kumori and to run a few other errands on Wednesday. We both decided we’d try something new and he ended up getting the Kani Ika roll, which had lots of flavors, including chopped octopus on top, but it was good. Mine on the other hand, the Ridge Roll, was covered in mozzarella cheese! I imagined it just had a bit of shredded cheese on top but nope. The whole thing was cheese. You couldn’t even taste the salmon or anything inside. And the sauce was way too tart.

Yes. So weird and unappetizing I had to post a pic LOL.

I wanted to visit Aide at the hospital because she’d had their little boy, Ezael, that day! She had a quick 5-hour labor and he weighed 5 lbs. 13 oz.! Aww :). I didn’t get to, though, because by the time we got out of Kumori it was time to pick up the boys from school.

The boys had Taekwondo practice that evening. I made dinner quickly, ate a teensy bit and then took the boys. It was overcast and windy; the perfect weather for me. The boys went out to the mat and I realized I left my cell at home. It started thundering right at that moment and Eenan almost yelped and braced himself LOL. His teacher even laughed. I told them I’d be right back, to which Eenan, in a panic, said, “WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!” I told him to calm down, I was just going to pick up my phone and go back. He was fine when I got back, but it didn’t help that during class the lights went out twice and the thunder and lightning were in full swing.

I served all the kiddos and Mom food then jumped in the shower. Yes. I take a shower before and after class, heh. I grabbed an apple and started munching so my sugar would be ok and got my water bottle. It was pouring bad and I almost decided not to go at all, but it’s only a 2-3 minute drive so I figured I’d be alright.

My darn umbrella wouldn’t open when I got there, figures, but I parked close enough that I could run in. The younger kids were still in class so I got to see them practicing for a bit before my class started. I guess the rain kept a lot of my classmates home; there were only 3 of us in total there. We had stations going on at one point; doing pi-chagi kicks at the standing bag, running through a little course where we’re not supposed to touch the targets and then practicing 1-on-1 with Luis, our teacher. We started with the form, then kicks, then those reverse-crunch things. I’m getting better at them! I don’t get as tired easily and I do them a lot faster.

As we were warming down at the end he started telling us about the belts. He told me and another guy, who’s a year older than me, to quit saying we’re old. He shared a story about our main instructor, Ernesto, and how he started Taekwondo & competing at the age of 24. He said if I kept up with it I could get my black belt by the age of 31!

I dropped the boys off in the morning yesterday so I stayed up and made Mario’s breakfast. He didn’t like my tacos :(. I bought turkey bacon, since it’s healthier, but he said it’s too salty and gross. Fine. Back to regular bacon it is.

I took a nap because I’d been up since 5am and it threw me off completely. I even got a headache. Still, I’d promised Mom I’d take her to Dollar Tree so we went. On the way over there I get a call from Elvira telling me about how they’re still having lots of problems with the programs because my old boss left and didn’t leave instructions or anything to make the new assistant’s job easier. I hate to say this, but I’m glad I left when I did. Imagine if I’d stayed, or gone back after I’d had Emily? Everything would be on my shoulders! And I’d probably be expected to do everything since I knew both systems really well and knew how to check out the equipment and so on. I shudder just thinking about it. Anyway, Elvira asked if I could go in at least for a little while and I said sure, I’d try and volunteer a few hours just to get them on track. I don’t know how effective it’ll be though, since they don’t even have lots of teachers’ rosters yet. What a headache!

We shopped, got McDonald’s on the way home and picked up the boys. We took the evening easy and when Mario got home he, Emily and myself went to see Aide, Adan and Ezael at their house (boys were with Mary, Alaethia with Mom). Ezael’s so cute and small! Aide had a pretty easy labor, too, so that’s great :).

I dropped the boys off again today and did the same thing; made Mario breakfast and then took a nap with the girls who were still sleeping. I got so mad; he tells me he didn’t want breakfast, he wanted to eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I saved the eggs overeasy in the fridge and went to sleep. I’m about to just stop cooking entirely!

When I woke up I fed the girls (well, Emily, Alaethia was having one of her I-just-want-milk moments).

I got laundry started and then John came over. We had an idea to open up a bottle of Moscato wine Pete & Sally had given me on my birthday since Mom bought me wine glasses yesterday. It took us a damn eternity to open it! They made it look so easy on youtube! We eventually had to try the screw/hammer method since the corkscrew nor wall-smacking methods didn’t work.

It was okay. Kinda smelled like beer but once you got over the smell it tasted sweet. It’s a dessert wine so I need to figure out what to make that’ll go well with it. Dorks that John and I are, we had it with cheddar cheese and Fig Newtons since there was nothing else LOL!

John left and I served us lunch. Picked up the boys, took a shower and made a quick dinner and off we went to the boys Taekwondo class. All the white and yellow belts were together so the class was huge. It was a bit of a refresher course, which is always good.

We got home, I ate really quick and fed Alaethia and squished a few green beans for Emily and then I got ready. Norma wasn’t going again and I wondered how many people would be in class tonight because of the football games. There were only 3 of us again: 2 high school boys and myself. I felt weird. Even moreso because we’d be taught by the older instructor tonight. I’d never practiced with him before.

He started us off by warming up, jogging and then me and the other white belt practiced our forms and basics with him. I can’t believe after just a week of not going to class (when I was sick) I was already forgetting stuff. But the teacher was helping me and I caught on pretty quick. I felt good because he kept saying, “Yes!” “You got it!” “Excellent”. Even adults need words of praise :D.

My self-esteem went up a few notches when the boy who was helping me practice asked me what school I went to. Like, high school! I smiled and told him, “I’m 27.” He seriously didn’t believe me at first LOL.

We practiced our one-step sparring (which still confuses me sometimes. I sometimes forget to step when I’m the one attacking!) and then our teacher taught me a few self defense techniques. It was pretty darn cool. Really basic stuff, but very effective. Lots of grabbing and closeness though. THAT’S why I take a shower before LOL!

The boy (I didn’t get his name) helped me with my kicks. Luis, the younger teacher, showed up and gave me tips on my kicks. Apparently I wasn’t kicking with me knee first for the up-chagi (kick to the chin) and was making it look like a chito-chagi (straight up-and-down kick to the head). It’s hard sometimes to not get them to all look the same. After all the practice, though, I got everything down, I think. Ernesto asked if I was taking the test tomorrow and I said yes. I’m ready!

I went to Chris and Nancy’s right after class ’cause Mario was there (it’s down the street from the dojo). I was so embarrassed; Jorge & Billy were there, too and they saw me in my uniform! Darn boys started joking around about my cooking (I don’t even remember how it go to that subject) and I really don’t know how much they were joking about! Made me mad.

Anyway, I went in to chat with Nancy, who showed me her sonogram pictures. They’re having a boy! I came home to relieve Mom from the girls and got them ready to go back to Chris and Nancy’s. We just sat inside talking about everything and around 11am I came home. Nancy has to work tomorrow so I didn’t want to keep her from sleeping.

I chilled out with the girls in bed, watching Food Network for a bit. Emily’s trying to crawl, it’s the cutest thing. She kind of makes pushes her bootie into the air and pushes herself forward LOL.

I need to go to bed already if I want to wake up and get Mario’s breakfast and lunch ready. Then I’ve got to practice, practice, practice!