Who AM I?

Mr. Almo,
I was born in Los Angeles, California. I lived there with my father, mother and my older brother Mark until the company my father worked for moved to Walnut, CA. We then moved to Pomona a near by city which is where I lived for most of my life. Despite the sibling rivalry my brother and I are very close. At the age of seven I got a sister but due to the age difference I never felt as close to her as I did to my brother. At the age of fifteen my parents divorced. My father and brother moved to Arizona while I stayed behind with my mother and sister.

When I was sixteen I moved in with my boyfriend and dropped out of high school. At seventeen I had my first child Joseph. My life revolved around my baby boy. A month before my twenty-first birthday I had my daughter Julie. Six months later I married their father. I had my youngest son Angel in 2004. I was a stay at home mom until I would get bored and either start working or go back to school, sometimes both. I received my GED and took some other courses like Teacher’s Aid, Microsoft office and my favorite Health Care Interpreting at Mt. San Antonio College and did my externship in St. Joseph’s Hospital in CA in 2006. That same year I got a divorce and moved to Phoenix, AZ with my children. At that time most of my family had followed my father to AZ so it was the perfect place to start a new beginning while being surrounded by family.

We have been in AZ for three years now. Raising my children on my own has been the most difficult thing I have ever had to do but it is also very rewarding. I am happier and have no regrets. The kids have continued to excel and are constantly on the honor roll list. That reassures that I made the right decision. I want to set a good example for them especially when it comes to education. My goal is to earn a degree in business and or photography. I am excited about this English class and look forward to the writing assignments.


Sincerely,

Nydia Clarissa

To Do List & Wish List

It’s mid year it’s getting harder to make ends meet. Always does around this time. Tax refund mula is all used up. Time to start looking for a part time job. I signed up to go back to school as if I didn’t’ have enough on my plate with a full time job and my kids but a mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do. I’m already dreaming of my next tax return. I usually buy me something and this coming year I have a list! I want a Nikon D90 or similar model. I want that ipod Nike thing and a good pair of Nikes. Also want a heart rate monitor or a Body Bugg or a Gowearfit. I’m going to have to do some research before I pick one. I can scratch the ipod itself of my list ‘cause I got in early July but I have that with inspirational speakers. I’m hoping I’ll learn something. I’m using my MP3 at the gym and it’s probably because of it that I’m loving the treadmill lately. I just uploaded Lady Ga Ga’s Love Game song. I gotta get more though. Especially fast beat music that’ll keep me going on the treadmill. I usually run 25-30 minutes straight. I remember when a running 1 minute was too much. I can also scratch running an official 5k of my To-Do list. I accomplished that on May 23rd, 2009. Other things on my To-Do list are:
Go to Vegas… never been… yes I know 0.o
Ride a mechanical bull… no comment
Get a degree… associates for starters.
Shoot a gun… I don’t know about this one… maybe because at one point in my life I wanted to be a cop. I don’t want to kill anything I just want to go to a shooting range and shoot a target or something. Maybe I should be setting deadlines so umm… Vegas no later than 2010. Getting a degree is going to be tough since I can only go part time but I’m going to aim for 2012. Wow shooting a gun and riding a bull (not at the same time) I just thought it would happen… I don’t know how. Well I know that The Saddle Ranch at West Gate has a bull but I have to meet my goal weight in order to do that. No way am I gonna hop on that thing looking like this! I’ve watched Urban Cowboy one to many times. So I guess first I have to meet my goal weight of 140lbs. That’s approximately 30lbs if I lose 1.5lbs a week it take approx. 20 weeks to hit my goal. I think that’s reasonable and realistic. Then I’ll ride the bull :) It’s time for me to start keeping track of my calorie deficit’s again. As for the gun I say I have to do it some time in 2010 also. Well not very specific target dates but it’s something better than nothing and it give me something to work towards.

What Happened to the 1st half of 2009?

How time flies... that means I'm having fun right? My babies are doing great. Thank God! Joseph, my oldest has just been promoted to high school. He is in an honors program for the summer. He will be awarded credit therefore giving him a head start in high school. I will continue to encourage him to look into and take dual classes as soon as possible. My Julie is going to 5th grade! She was Student of the Month and received a blue ribbon on June 2nd. She's still so tiny. I think her little brother Angel will out grow her in no time. I love that Julie loves vegetables. She'll probably be a vegetarian when she grows up. Angel has been in a Christian preschool for a few months now. He is doing great. Thanks to the school he will be attending Kindergarden this year. His 5th birthday (Sept. 7th) will land on Labor Day this year. In order for him to attend kinder at a public school he would have to be 5 by Sept. 1st. We missed it by days! I figured if I have to pay for daycare I might as well pay for a private school that will allow him to go to kinder. He's smart enough and is absorbing everything like a sponge. Sushi my pug-mutt aka Chug (Chihuahua-Pug) was given to me on April of 2006 approximately. So she is just over 3 years old. She's such a good doggie. She loves the kids and wont leave their side. Every now and then she lays with me. She seems to sense when they're feeling sick and is especially clingy to them as if she were watching over them... knowing. In one picture she is holding Angel's hand while he lays asleep unaware of her concern for him. It upsets me when the kids neglect her and don't walk or feed her on schedule because she's such a good dog.

I just renewed my lease and will be in our little two bedroom apartment for another year. I hope this is the last one. I would like to rent a house but times are tough. The facility where I work will be closing down and everybody will be split up to two other facilities here in AZ. I'm not sure if I will be going because those two already have a Human Resources rep. I'd love to go back to school. My goal is to earn a degree along with my usual weight loss goal. I've done well recently. I ran my 1st official 5K on May 23rd, 2009! A great accomplishment! Goal met!