R.I.P. Lola

one of the hardest saddest day of my life - to lay my mother to rest. i probably have all the color "black" clothes in the world - pants, tops, dresses you name it. when i come home shopping for myself, byron asks me what i bought - its usually something black. and what do i wear today? - a black print fluid shirtdress i recently purchased from gap. i have a section in ariana's closet of black dresses. the casual dresses i have been trying to let her wear them on fridays to school, thus "black friday". the formal dressier ones were worn for joshua's symphony concerts. now that he graduated and working on his thesis, josh isnt playing in the symphony anymores. the last concert was last spring at the kennedy center in washington dc. not once did it ever cross my mind, that ariana would need one or to wear them at my mother's funeral one day. my mom had a stroke exactly one month before ariana was born, almost 7-1/2 years ago. this black chiffon rosette dress is from old navy. one of ariana dear classmate's mom, works at old navy and has 2 boys. she had told me she saw this beautiful cute dress and if she had a girl - she would buy it. i just never got around to make it to the store, that she ended up buying it after all for ariana. (thank you).

The Viewing

Grandchildren & Great Grandchildren

*top picture (l-r) : Marlon, Mae Gardina, Belinda Dronkers-Laureta, Delano
Joan Gottardi, Thelma Laureta-Morgan, Rowley

Obituary

Avelina Rayos del Sol Laureta
October 2, 1921 - February 20, 2013
Longtime Resident of Union City
Entered into rest on February 20, 2013 in Union City, CA at the age of 91. Beloved mother of Delano Laureta Sr. (Susan) of Twain Harte, Belinda Dronkers-Laureta (John) of Fremont, Mae Gardina (Gary) of San Jose, Marlon Laureta of Washington, Joan Gottardi (John) of Newark, Thelma Laureta-Morgan (Byron) of Union City, and Rowley Laureta (Lalita) of Union City. Grandmother "Lola" of 18, and great-grandmother of 7. Cherished sister of Claro, Dingin, Floro and Ligaya Rayos del Sol, all of the Philippines. Loving cousin to Isabel Loyola. Also survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins. Predeceased by her husband Marcelino S. Laureta in 1991, and son Avelino R. Laureta in 1947.
Born October 2, 1921 in Taytay, Rizal, Philippines. Avelina was a member of the Filipino Community of Alvarado, ATRA (Alliance for Taytay Residence in America), 4-H Club of Alameda County, and the Filipino American Evangelican Church of Fremont.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, February 27, from 5:00-8:00 pm with an Evening Service at 7:00 pm at Fremont Memorial Chapel, 3723 Peralta Blvd., Fremont, CA 94536. A Chapel Service will begin on Thursday, February 28, 10:00 am at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Cedar Lawn Memorial Park in Fremont, CA.
Online Obituary & guest book

Pink Cheetah

the bay area is on a warming trend - hoping to reach at least 65 degrees in the afternoon. unfortunately i still have to considered the 40 deg chill in the morning hours and the class prep is PE. ariana is wearing her "big girl" justice outfit that she wore in the winter concert dance number. her girlfriends loved the "flash" sequins on the skirt.

Brighton Houndstooth

Dare to Dream

disney on ice shows usually come to the bay area twice a year - now and sometime in the fall. we didnt have any intentions of going, but the advertisement doesnt help. ariana kept seeing the commercials and billboards, and telling dad "we have to go to see rapunzel and tiana". disney on ice presents  Dare to Dream where the story lines were dedicated to three beloved princesses and their big dreams: Tiana (The Princess and the Frog), Cinderella and Rapunzel (Tangled). altho ariana thought brave merida was going to be in it too, where she probably thought it was the "rockin ever after" show.

Good Bye Mom

R.I.P.  AVELINA RayosdelSol LAURETA

October 2, 1921 - February 20, 2013

Dance Team

after the nice weather all last week, the bay area is getting wind, rain and even hail today. ariana is wearing gymbo dance team cowl neck dress from 2010. we had this a couple years ago in a size 4. i was able to find a size 6 nwt (new with tag).
afterschool we stopped by at my mom's house. we had went there in the middle of the night on saturday. my niece from portland drove down. we didnt stay too long, as ariana has ballet tonight.

President Weekend

 dad doesnt get presidents day off, and basically slept the whole day coming off graveyard shift.
our first errand was to go to the dance store to buy all the ballet stuff. ariana has ballet lessons on tuesdays. she needed black leotards, pink tights and pink ballet shoes. $60
disney on ice production shows come to the bay area twice a year - one in the spring and then in the fall. i usually get advance tickets ahead of time. these went on sale around the holidays, and we have been trying to put it off of not going. its not helping with the commercials - now ariana is insisting that we HAVE to go since its about tangled rapunzel and tiana. "dare to dream" show will be at the HP pavilion in san jose this weekend, then oakland coliseum the next. byron gave the go ahead, and the only way to get good seats is via craigslist. i was able to get 3 tickets to saturday nights. $80
since i had to meet the guy at the great mall, i ended up taking care of my coach purse dilemma. it first started in december at the coach factory outlet. i thought with ariana being 7 years old, i could move onto a shoulder bag style purse. all i need to carry is my phone and wallet. boy was i wrong - i still have to carry stuff for her and sometimes byron asks me to carry things. i keep teasing josh that i'm going to buy him a "man purse". on february 12th coach.com had an online sale - 50% off with free shipping. i figured its the same as to not having to go to the store. i made a deal with byron to get a bigger handbag and return the shoulder bag, and went to the outlets last week. i had exchanged the shoulder bag and bought a little wristlet to match my new purse (eta delivery feb 19). fast forward - the stores are having a 50% during this president weekend. the purse i ordered online is one sale and $25 cheaper. coach doesnt do price adjustments and suggested for me to go to the store to buy the purse on sale. and then return the one i get in the mail. i dont know with gas being slightly over $4.00 gallon now - if i'm even saving any money in the long run.

joshua didnt come home this weekend. he had indoor trackmeets - one down in los angeles (concordia) and the other one in fresno " run for the dream". josh isnt jumping and on the 4 x 145 relay team. cal poly was in second throughout the whole race, then josh was the anchor and caught up and won the race. it was a photo finish by one second (1:07.26) against UCLA.

Homecoming

the bay area is expected to reach 70 degrees this afternoon. most of her red outfits are chrimassy winter ones. so to keep up with wearing red this week, i put ariana in gymbo homecoming kitty tartan plaid outfit. those are her new pair of navy maryjanes from "see kai run".  i havent had a chance to get her navy lamour shoes fixed - remember the soles came off.

Be Mine Valentines

the class celebrated valentines day early because they are going to have a sub tomorrow. instead of making the usual folder envelopes, the kids brought a decorated shoe box from home with a slot. i found ariana a mailbox at walmart. she passed out lalaloopsy cards with a pencil for the girls, and phineas&ferb for the boys. she wrote them all out over the weekend. ariana really wanted to "make" them. i have no idea where she got this in her head that a valentine should be homemade. I wasnt in the mood to put 30 cards together, so i promised her she could make the ones  for her girlfriends that aren't in her class. a quick trip to target for foam stickers and heart doilies did the trick. ariana is wearing gymbo valentine shirt from last year with a gap skirt. good thing her lelli kelly shoes (size 29) still fit.

L - O - V - E

this being valentines day week, my plan is to dress ariana in red. she is wearing the gymbo LOVE shirt from 2011 line, paired with pants from h&m. prep is PE and they are playing basketball out on the courts. kuya josh taught her how to shoot and dribble. she came home excited to tell him "i could dribble and run with the ball at the same time".

we decided to sign ariana up for ballet at the dance studio. this will be our (really mines) tuesday night commitment 5:45 pm. i didnt get a chance to buy her leotards and ballet shoes. so for tonight, her dance shoes and gap yoga pants will do. i had this gap pink ballet shrug that i got on sale, thinking one day she'll take lessons again.

Penguin Chalet Sweater

we had asked byron if it was cold outside this morning. i should've of known he was going to say "yes". thats the chicago in him. i put ariana in this gymbo sweater dress from penguin chalet line. the tights are from an old gymbo line "holiday friends" 2008. gap moto boots.

Twins

 

i am still under the weather, where i dont even remember what ariana wore to school today. there was a package in the mail and byron gave it to ariana. it ended up being the matching pajama nightgowns i ordered via zulily.com. count it as an early valentines day gift. right away ariana put the outfit on her american girl "jade" and had a purple headband from another dress. then ariana got ready for bed early and found a purple matching headband. so you tell me - is ariana beginning to look like the doll, or is the doll beginning to look like her?? this is an american doll off the shelf - medium skin, brown eyes, textured brown hair. it almost looks like i ordered a "my twin" one that they make exactly to look like your daughter.

Go Niners!!

last thursday i took ariana home from school with a fever. she was sick over the weekend. i had originally planned for her to wear the san francisco 49er shirt on friday. it was also national wear red day to fight heart disease in women. i got sick too - out of all days on superbowl sunday, barely awake to watch the baltimore ravens win 34-31 over the niners. both of us were still sick yesterday monday. we sent ariana to school today - with her hair in a nappy ponytail. i didnt have the energy to comb out her hair, and byron was busy taking care of us. after school i made ariana an appointment at the salon - wash, comb out, blow dry, straighten, and a trim. basically "the works". i even had to help out to untangle her hair - it was that bad.