Cassandra’s Christmas List

In case you were wondering :)

• Gift cards: Joann’s, Gap, Banana Republic, Target, Ann Taylor, Bath & Body Works, Borders, Barnes & Nobles, Nordstrom, Victoria’s Secret
• Calendar for desk
• Compartment for scrapbooking & sewing
• Diamond hoops & studs
• Movie tickets
• Cold, hard cash!
• Digital Camera (w/red eye reducer)
(Fujifilm Finepix 8.2 MP Digital Camera or Casio Exilim EX-Z80 8.1 MP )
• Premier Collectors Edition Clue & Monopoly ($159 each)

Clue

One of my favorite games to play as a kid was Clue.
Restoration hardware has the premier game set for sale.
Looks pretty cool, huh?
Early Christmas gift maybe...

Attention BOYS!

Male and female need to watch this!
(Tina's Tuesday blog)

Really!?

Prop 8

I must have done something right

I love these words:
(how could you not!?)

We should get jerseys cause we make a great team
But yours would look better than mine, cause you're outta my league
And I know that it's so cliche to tell you that everyday
I spend with you is the new best day of my life
Everyone watching us just turns away with disgust
It's Jealously, they can see that we've got it going on


And I'm racking my brain for a new improved way
To let you know your more to me than what I know how to say
You're OK with the way this is going to be
This is going to be the best thing we've ever seen


If anyone can make me a better person you could
All I gotta say is I musta done something good
I came along one day and you rearranged my life
All I gotta say is I musta done something right
I musta done something right


Maybe I'm just lucky cause it's hard to believe
Believe that somebody like you'd end up with someone like me
And I know that it's so cliche to talk about you this way
But I'll push all my inhibitions aside
It's so very obvious to everyone watching us
That we have got something real good going on


And I'm racking my brain for a new improved way
To let you know your more to me than what I know how to say
You're OK with the way this is going to be
This is going to be the best thing we've ever seen


If anyone can make me a better person you could
All I gotta say is I musta done something good
I came along one day and you rearranged my life
All I gotta say is I musta done something right
I musta done something right


-Relient K

SURPRISE!!!

Jason's surprise party was such a success!
The highlight was his friends from college who could make the occasion. People he hasn't seen in months, maybe years.
I'm so glad he enjoyed the night!
He said it was the best party he has ever had.

RAIN!!!!

I absolutely love the rain! The thunder and lightening this morning kept me from falling back asleep and how could I with the sky all lit up!

The one thing I do not like about the rain is the effect is has on my hair...

Good Morning sunshine.

First of all, I love you.
Second, I love you.
Third, I love you.


I love my Jason.

I love...

raspberries, blueberries and blackberries.

Oh and the ever popular strawberries!

Did you know....

I wanted to be a backup dancer for music artists in music videos and concerts?

Cup Noodles

What can you buy for less than $1 at the grocery store?

Not much.

That's why Cup Noodles is the best! It serves its purpose on a cold morning after swim practice, such as today.

Insert water to line, cover for 3 minutes, then enjoy!

And boy am I!!

There is just enough to last me til lunch.

They now have a mac & cheese flavor! That I may save til tomorrow...

CSET

I passed!

I passed Mathematics Subtest II: Geometry, Probability and Statistics! This is the 3 or 4th time I've taken this test. I have studied for it since the beginning of the year. I told God I'd take this whole year to study and take the 2 tests for Mathematics.

One down one to go!

My next test, I signed up for today, is November 1.

Pray for me to pass subtest I:Algebra and Number Theory.

Facebook

I now have a Facebook account!

Since MySpace is so last season I decided to open a Facebook account. Friends, a few, said I needed to have one and they also invited me to join. I added a few friends and "decorated" my page with pieces of flair. I even made a piece of flair!

Sorry to those I didn't ask to be my friend. I still like you.

So true for me

Dodging Cars

I almost got hit today! And I was walking across the cross walk! no joke

OK, here is the whole story..

I decided to walk to work this morning. (Two perks: I was saving gas and getting exercise, since I didn't set me alarm for swim this morning) I crossed at Normandale, instead of crossing at El Toro and Portola, thinking I'd have a better chance of NOT getting hit by crossing earlier in my whole walking experience. I push the cross button, wait, then see the green walk "person" come on so I look in all directions before my foot hits the pavement.
Now the cars turning left, into my direction, have to wait for me, or at least acknowledge that I am crossing, and slowly turn until I am clear out of their driving path. The first car doesn't see me til he is turning in front of me. "OK," I'm thinking, "close call". The second car, a truck driven by a young 20-something girl, doesn't even see me and I have to stop IN the middle of the crosswalk so she can keep driving and make her left turn! I thought, "Am I dead?! Why the heck didn't she see me?! Did anyone else see this or am I dreaming?"

People, the light stays on until the red stop hand stops flashing so you shouldn't be freaked out about not making the light and if you are in the middle of the intersection drivers will let you turn even if the red light comes on because you are in their way.

Bottom line was, they were not paying attention. No cell phones, that I saw, were involved. I'm alive.

Wedding

I did cry at the last part of Father of the Bride. When George Banks sits down in the pew and says he'll never see Anne when he comes home and "something inside of me started to hurt" then he squeezes his wife's hand...so sad....

Its fun to talk about weddings and the future.

I'm talking about with my girlfriends (who have significant others), coworkers and mom. Yes they are all in on it. They give ideas, what works, what was the worst they saw, and they love to ask when is the big day!

I'm not even engaged. But when I am EVERYONE will know.

Marriage is a great responsibility. Its exciting. Its also scary. Living with someone you think you know yet learning so much more....
I can't wait!

Funny swimming pics

my morning

I woke up this morning to my alarm at 5:35am. Rolled around in the sheets then jumped out of bed. Changed into my swimsuit. Lathered on the sunscreen. Got into my car and drove to 6am practice. I arrived to find the 5am crew getting out of the dive pool area. Walked to the 50 meter pool and saw young adults swimming. Hmmm, they started early. I didn't see a familiar coach.

Did I get out of bed to come to a practice that isn't happening today?!

Shoot.

So I decide to get my car washed.

Hot Chocolate

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: "Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us. God makes the hot chocolate, man chooses the cups.The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly... And enjoy your hot chocolate.

New job

So....I'm looking for a new job. One with teaching in it. Anyone have any leads? Or any openings at my current job in a different department and with full-time status?

The best thing...

...about sitting at a desk where there is no one around you is watching The Princess Bride on iTunes. :)

God in the Post Office

I received this e-mail from my boss yesterday. I was so touched I had to share it.


***************************************************************************

There is a God in the Post Office.  This is one of the kindest things I've ever experienced.. I have no way to know who sent it, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter office of the US postal service.

Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my
4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.

I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her. You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love, Meredith.

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, `To Meredith,' in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it.
Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies.' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:


Dear Meredith,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven.

Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.

Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.

I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.

By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

Love,
God
 

Have a laugh today

The cutest thing i saw today was this

Old people are weird.

There is one volunteer at Volunteer Central who comes into the cafe who is not friendly or kind to mom (yes I work with my mother and I like it) but is friendly to me.

Is this because I am friendly to him and talk to him? It's not that my mother doesn't, but he seems to like me more than her....

Is he the type of person who wants others to be friendly to him then he will open up and be friendly as well or is he picky and choosy about the people he wants to be friendly with? Isn't there a word for that? Prejudice? Stuck up?

Old people are weird.

I love...

blowing bubbles in my drinks.

looking at the rain from my bedroom window.

dinner with my family.

watching romantic comedies in my pajamas.

reading books outside in the sun on the front porch bench.

singing in the shower cause (I hope) no one can hear me.

giving gifts to people.

having parties at my house.

my hair, smile, and short toes.

My lunch date

I had a lunch date, unexpected but great, with my baby sister! Ok, she isn't a baby, but she is younger than me, 11 months to be exact.

I called her to say mom would like you to come by the Ministry Offices to eat with her at Sandals. I meet her in the lobby 1 1/2 hours later and we walked to the lunchroom. Mom was ecstatic to see her and I decided to take a lunch break so my sister wasn't sitting alone at the table.

I love my sister! We giggled, laughed, made fun of our mom, made comments about people, etc, etc. She showed me the personality test results from her Woman and Careers class at Saddleback, we talked about our boys and her future job. I had a great lunch with my sister. We try and hang out whenever we are at the house together but its hard with work, activities, and boyfriends.

Dodgers vs. Padres

Tonight Jas and I are heading to a Padres/Dodgers game at Petco Park. He has never seen the stadium and I've been once last year with my best friends Candice, Monica and Aaron. The stadium looks like a shopping mall from the outside.

Tonight there will be a lot of trash talking.
And I'm not talking about the fans in the stadium. I'm talking about the two fans who will drive from Lake Forest to San Diego.

Even before we bought tickets we started. Of course he thinks his team will win and I know my boys will. I tried to tell him nicely it will not happen but he doesn't seem to get it. This is the first game of the 3 game series and they play each together next week at Dodger Stadium. Haven't been there since the remodel. Maybe we will go in September when they play at Dodger Stadium.

My new office job

So...I have an office job. First one ever! Sitting behind a desk typing, answering the phone, setting up locations and room bookings.

Its super!

I like this EMS stuff. Monday and Tuesday I was looking for stuff to do. Today and Wednesday I have a work load!

I'm not adjusted to sitting in a chair all day and I sometimes want to lie on the floor. (I almost brought a blanket to lie under my desk to sleep/read/hide) I have to walk around the office to get my legs going.

Since everyone else is doing it I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon.
The bold are ones I've seen.
The italicized ones are my favorites.
Before I die I'd like to see every film.
(Jason and I will be in house a lot.)
1. Citizen Kane, 1941
2. The Godfather, 1972
3. Casablanca, 1942
4. Raging Bull, 1980
5. Singin' in the Rain, 1952
6. Gone With the Wind, 1939
7. Lawrence of Arabia, 1962
8. Schindler's List, 1993
9. Vertigo, 1958
10. The Wizard of Oz, 1939
11. City Lights, 1931
12. The Searchers, 1956
13. Star Wars, 1977
14. Psycho, 1960
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968
16. Sunset Blvd., 1950
17. The Graduate, 1967
18. The General, 1927
19. On the Waterfront, 1954
20. It's a Wonderful Life, 1946
21. Chinatown, 1974
22. Some Like It Hot, 1959
23. The Grapes of Wrath, 1940
24. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 1982
25. To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962
26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, 1939
27. High Noon, 1952
28. All About Eve, 1950
29. Double Indemnity, 1944
30. Apocalypse Now, 1979
31. The Maltese Falcon, 1941
32. The Godfather Part II, 1974
33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, 1975
34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937
35. Annie Hall, 1977
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai, 1957
37. The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946
38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1948
39. Dr. Strangelove, 1964
40. The Sound of Music, 1965
41. King Kong, 1933
42. Bonnie and Clyde, 1967
43. Midnight Cowboy, 1969
44. The Philadelphia Story, 1940
45. Shane, 1953
46. It Happened One Night, 1934
47. A Streetcar Named Desire, 1951
48. Rear Window, 1954
49. Intolerance, 1916
50. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001
51. West Side Story, 1961
52. Taxi Driver, 1976
53. The Deer Hunter, 1978
54. M-A-S-H, 1970
55. North by Northwest, 1959
56. Jaws, 1975
57. Rocky, 1976
58. The Gold Rush, 1925
59. Nashville, 1975
60. Duck Soup, 1933
61. Sullivan's Travels, 1941
62. American Graffiti, 1973
63. Cabaret, 1972
64. Network, 1976
65. The African Queen, 1951
66. Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, 1966
68. Unforgiven, 1992
69. Tootsie, 1982
70. A Clockwork Orange, 1971
71. Saving Private Ryan, 1998
72. The Shawshank Redemption, 1994
73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969
74. The Silence of the Lambs, 1991
75. In the Heat of the Night, 1967
76. Forrest Gump, 1994
77. All the President's Men, 1976
78. Modern Times, 1936
79. The Wild Bunch, 1969
80. The Apartment, 1960
81. Spartacus, 1960
82. Sunrise, 1927
83. Titanic, 1997
84. Easy Rider, 1969
85. A Night at the Opera, 1935
86. Platoon, 1986
87. 12 Angry Men, 1957
88. Bringing Up Baby, 1938
89. The Sixth Sense, 1999
90. Swing Time, 1936
91. Sophie's Choice, 1982
92. Goodfellas, 1990
93. The French Connection, 1971
94. Pulp Fiction, 1994
95. The Last Picture Show, 1971
96. Do the Right Thing, 1989
97. Blade Runner, 1982
98. Yankee Doodle Dandy, 1942
99. Toy Story, 1995
100. Ben-Hur, 1959

Anything with Paul Newman or directed by Hitchcock I love!

Tulips

are my FAVORITE flower.
Can't you see why?
Looking at them makes me smile.
They've helped me though my sick days this past week.
Thank you tulips.

My fortune cookie

Yesterday the family (yes all 5 of us Ortega's) went to Pei Wei (Greg's request) to celebrate Greg's admission into Long Beach! Yeah brother! It is his number one choice so now the decision is live on campus or commute? Hmmmmm.... well its his decision, lets get to me! At Pei Wei they have a bin of fortune cookies and instead of having the staff give you a fortune cookie you get to do it yourself. I'm interested in the enjoyment of the random says, "Tomorrow your day will be brighter", "Success is only a question away", stuff like that. Lets just say my fortunes were... eye opening.
The first cookie I cracked open read "Children's laughter, so beautiful to hear, soon will be a chance to have them very near." WTF!?!? I read it again making sure it said what it said and yes folks I was shocked. Mom took it from me and she was shocked then started laughing. Dad took it from her and said "Why is this shocking? She's going to be a teacher, right? Children's laughter near?" Oh Ok. Good. I'm not pregnant. ;-)
Later I reached for a second cookie as a joke to see how ridiculous this one was. It read "Someone with blue eyes admires you" How funny! The first person that came to mind was, you got it, Jason. Mom calls him blue eyes cause one time his eyes were blue, granted he was wearing a blue shirt, but they are mostly green. They do change though...
So that was my Pei Wei experince. It made my night. Good times. Good times.

Personality test results

I was looking at blogs and I love learning about myself from ridiculous tests so I decided to try this one out.

Global Personality Test Results

Stability (30%) low which suggests you are very worrying, insecure, emotional, and anxious. Orderliness (50%) medium which suggests you are moderately organized, hard working, and reliable while still remaining flexible, efficient, and fun. Extraversion (43%) moderately low which suggests you are reclusive, quiet, unassertive, and secretive.

Take Free Global Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

This is the second test I took:

ISFP - "Artist". Interested in the fine arts. Expression primarily through action or art form. The senses are keener than in other types. 8.8% of total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)

Your type is: ISFP

Introverted (I) 70.59% Extroverted (E) 29.41%
Sensing (S) 51.22% Intuitive (N) 48.78%
Feeling (F) 78.79% Thinking (T) 21.21%
Perceiving (P) 53.85% Judging (J) 46.15%

ISFP Description:

disorganized, timid, prone to discouragement, socially uncomfortable, does not like leadership, suggestible, not self confident, not aggressive, lower energy, fearful, anxious, easily distracted, prone to discontentment, guarded, not confrontational, prone to longing for a stabilizing relationship, can be overwhelmed by unpleasant feelings, easily disturbed, fears drawing attention to self, prone to confusion, private, second guesses self, prone to quitting, underachiever, fears rejection in relationships, emotionally moody, prone to sadness, dislikes change, indecisive, modest, doubting, prone to laziness


I have to say it was right on....

January 12

They might kill me once they see this but I really love my mom and sister. They put up with so much of my crap for 26 years. Aren't they beautiful!?


This was taken on the 1 year anniversary of my Nana's death. Most of the Loera ladies (minus two families) got together for the day and oh was it fun ! Imagine 7 Mexicans in an Avalanche! (OK, stop with the jokes) Two in the front seat and 5 in the back. We ate, laughed, joked, reminisced, ate, went to the beach, shopped and ate again. You could tell we were coming a mile away just from our voices. I love my family, most people can't say that but I love my family.

This was Mom and Candice's silly picture:

Candice is sharing her Smoothie Skittles. (not recommended)


This is my cousin Steph:

Jason & Ethan Riley

My desk

This is what my desk currently looks like. I'm so embarrased but its true....