Nesting Ground

Adventures in Zen Gardening

2012-01-08T20:56:00.000-08:00

Not that I'm doing any Zen gardening, mind you. I refer simply to the fact that last week I taught some 4th graders an art lesson about Japanese Zen gardens. This required much rooting around for supplies. First on the list: shoebox tops to serve as garden containers. Where the heck, thought I, am I going to find 30 shoebox tops? I considered emailing the parents and asking them each to send

Oh, Hello.

2011-12-19T18:33:00.000-08:00

Are you good at maintaining your car? Rotating your tires, making sure your windshield wiper fluid thing is filled up, and whatnot? I am horrible at this. However, I can only go so long—let's say 6 weeks—before the fire-engine red "CHECK ENGINE OIL LEVEL" light wears me down. Which is how I ended up at Jiffy Lube today with a $450 bill. But that's not the point! The point is that in the Jiffy

The Final Days of November Post

2011-11-28T22:00:00.000-08:00

Today Lea was singing along to Adele's Chasing Pavements, her voice as rich as her 9-year-old body could muster. Full of emotion, she crooned, "Should I give up/or should I just keep chasing cavemen..." Oh, the hilarity.Also today: my husband pulled up to our house in a cab, jumped out, opened the front door, and kissed me hello. Then he tilted his head to the side. "You look beautiful," he said.

Let's Just Start Typing

2011-11-08T11:02:00.000-08:00

Let's see what happens.Maybe I'll write about how I hate my printer because regardless of the fact that all ink is fully loaded, it will only print in blue.Maybe I'll write about how I rue the day we gave the twins their phones because now all they ever do is text and download free apps. I've attempted all sorts of remedies including taking the phones for large blocks of time, normal conversation

Report from FilBook Fest 2011

2011-10-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

Let us begin at the beginning: last Thursday evening at Eastwind Books of Berkeley for a FilBook Fest pre-event, "The Places We Call Home." Because birthday girl Rashaan has such a nice recap at her blog, I'll just add some of my personal highlights:A few weeks back, Dean Alfar was kind enough to send me several copies of Philippine Speculative Fiction 5 (I'm sending a care package of books in

And Also..Hot Off the Press @ FilBook Fest!

2011-09-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

WHAT: Hot Off the Press: 10 Readers @ 8 Minutes EachWHERE: Koret Auditorium / Lower Level SF Main Library / 100 Larkin St.WHEN: Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 - 1:30Saturday's Lineup (in order of appearance)Moderator: Veronica MontesTony Robles - Lakas and the Manilatown Fish, Lakas and the Makibaka Hotel (will be reading poetry)Almia de los Santos - Journey to the Beginning - A True Story

Eastwind Books, September 29th, 7:00

2011-09-02T11:32:00.000-07:00

You know what's coming up? Events are coming up! You should totally come because I haven't seen you in FOREVER (whoever you are)! Plus, I love this line-up; it's going to be a beautiful evening. The Places We Call Home September 29th, 7:00 pmEastwind Books of Berkeley2066 University Ave. A literary event in celebration of the upcoming Filipino American International Book Festival Oscar Bermeo was

#IShouldBeWritingForReal

2011-08-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

A newsletter came through my e-mail inbox the other day, and because the newsletter was pleasing to my eye, I read it (though I cannot remember what it was called or who sent it). It contained a single article which took as its premise the fact that expressing ourselves via Facebook status updates or 140-character Tweets has a benumbing effect on our attempts at longer, more circumspect writing.

Camp Makes Me Sad

2011-08-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

My older girls are about to start their second consecutive week of sleepaway camp at a working organic farm. Just typing that makes me laugh; the list of things they can do that I've never done and will likely never do, grows more lengthy by the day. I'm talking about:• mudding a pig• milking a cow• grabbing chickens• archery• feeding goats• real gardeningAnd while I'm at it:• base stealing• base

Keeping Myself Company

2011-07-12T23:36:00.000-07:00

The other day, at 11:00 in the morning, I went and saw a movie all by myself. It's possibly the first time I've done any type of solo spur-of-the-moment activity in years, and it produced a giddiness not at all commensurate with the actual deed. I'm going to the movies by myself I said to no one. Oh my GOD, I'm going to the movies by myself!!Seriously. What a dork.Anyways, my movie of choice was

Getting To Yes

2011-06-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

My default answer is, "No." It doesn't matter, really, what the question might be. "Mom, can we ride our bikes around the block?""No.""Mom, it's super hot. Can we get a frozen yogurt?""No."Mom, my Van's have a hole. Can I get a new pair?""No.""Mom, I'm done with my homework. Can I go online for awhile?""No.""Mom, can I wear your t-shirt? You know, that one with the thing?""No."No, no, no, no,

In the Mornings

2011-05-31T18:54:00.000-07:00

This morning I returned home from dropping the girls off at school. On the dining room table, I found the following:• 1 furry pink bunny slipper, existence inexplicable• 1 copy, Pippi Longstocking, illustrations by Lauren Child• 7 elastic headbands, black• 6 ponytail elastics, black• 1 ponytail elastic, fuschia, origin unknown• 1 sillyband, rainbow colors, shape indeterminateIn front of the

At the LA Times Festival of Books

2011-05-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago, I had one of those experiences that re-energizes the writer in me. Books—the kind you can touch—are supposed to be on life support, but you'd never know it from the crowds at the LA Times Festival of Books. "It's like Disneyland for books!" said Zack Linmark, author of the new and fantastic novel Leche (this is a link to an interview about how Leche came to be. Cheeeek it out!

Making Awesomeness

2011-04-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

I miss being here. I miss my blog. I sometimes justify my absence (to myself, I mean) by noting how the pace of life seems to have quickened and I have no time to sit in this meditative state (because that's the state I'm in when I'm typing into this little box on my screen) for whatever it is—fifteen minutes, thirty minutes—writing mostly about nothing at all. But then I think: how could the

Kids Books & French Gangster Films

2011-03-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

Last night I read Lea the story "The Giant and the Mite" from The Little Bookroom. The other two characters besides the giant and the mite are the Angel in the Sky and the Angel Below the Earth. These two angels aren't pitted against each other in the same-as-it-ever-was good vs. evil trope. Instead, they work together to keep everything that exists between them, i.e. the earth and all its

The Post Where I Mostly State the Obvious

2011-03-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

This is no news to anyone at all, but...catastrophes are occurring at an increasingly alarming rate, as if the earth is a giant gameboard and someone has lost his temper and flipped the whole thing over. I almost always start to blog about these various disasters, but then the posts go unpublished because this has just never seemed like the right place to write about such things. On the contrary,

Welcome to the Jungle

2011-02-28T21:04:00.000-08:00

So...I went to a middle school orientation last week. I should have been thinking about my twins: how they would adjust come next year, what they would love, what would give them pause. But of course I didn't manage to do what I was supposed to do, for I am too self-absorbed! It must always be about me! Me! ME! And that is how I fell down the memory well and directly into my own junior high

Writing, Neatness, and Idol Robbery

2011-02-19T11:29:00.000-08:00

You know that writing tip about keeping a notebook by your bed and trying to write stuff in it before you're fully awake? I wanted to report that this advice is a load of hollyhocks (what are hollyhocks?), a load of rotting durian, a load of fast food shrimp poppers (what?), a load of dirty kleenex, but...it's not! This totally works, particularly for someone like me whose plots (such as they are

E-diction Free. For Now.

2011-02-10T19:32:00.000-08:00

During a disorienting flurry of putting on jackets, throwing out trays of garbage, and gently elbowing our way through an obscenely crowded In 'N' Out Burger, I lost my 16-month-old iPhone.Of course I raced back to the restaurant, and of course no one had turned in my phone (Why? Why? Why are people like that? Dude, I would never steal your phone; why would you steal mine?). I returned home

My Mom's Cookbook

2011-01-26T21:02:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed that people rarely feel neutral about their mom's cooking? Your mom is/was either the best cook ever OR she was sweetly and hilariously awful. I'm sure it comes as little surprise to anyone out there that I place my own mom squarely in the first category; I've written as much before. Her pesky and evil multiple sclerosis prevents her from cooking now, but of course I still go to

Birds, Bees, and Wisdom From the Count of Connotation

2011-01-11T09:47:00.000-08:00

The twins have turned eleven years old. Over the past year, I've been wondering how to broach the subject of what I believe schools refer to as "family life." Certainly, the various topics within the larger context have popped up during the course of everyday conversation, and so going into this, their eleventh year, they did have some general knowledge. While holiday shopping, I found what

An Apology to My Family

2010-12-31T16:53:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading Lord of the Rings last night, and I feel I owe my family an apology for several things related to said reading. Like, for example, disappearing for hours at a time. Or not making it to the grocery store. Or not wrapping gifts as prettily as I might have were I not anxious to get back to the book. And also for referring to my children as "Risa, Vida, and Lea of the Shire."

Bad Start, Strong Finish

2010-12-17T20:11:00.000-08:00

After a morning and early afternoon of unrelenting mayhem (buy 30 bagels! buy 6 cookie sandwiches and a giftcard at Teacake! buy 2 gallons of milk! now use the milk to make a vat of homemade cocoa! cut out a few more corrugated cardboard circles! transfer cocoa to thermos carafe thingies! pack chocolates, cookies, and...well...everything! bring it all to school, but make sure none of it gets wet!

The Post in Which I Start with Lord of the Rings and then Veer Off Course

2010-12-13T11:29:00.000-08:00

For reasons unfathomable, I picked up a copy of Lord of the Rings, pondered briefly, purchased it, and now cannot stop reading it. I don't know why I've never read it before, though I have a vague memory of thinking that it must be exceedingly dorky. Now I don't care if I'm dorky. Frodo rulez!On the same day, I found a new, hardcover copy of The Dictionary of Imaginary Places (which I have wanted

An Overabundance of Harmless Musings

2010-11-24T08:27:00.000-08:00

I like this time of year. I wrap myself up in a sweater, throw on jeans, manipulate myself into my boots (I have challenging calves, okay? Okay!), pin my hair up into a messy bun with randomly placed bobby pins, and make my way out into the world.***I'm all for music in the schools, but maybe not so much for my kids. They've brought home a trumpet and a flute, and they are to practice for 20

Getting Things Sort Of Done

2010-11-09T12:19:00.000-08:00

On the one hand, I am ever-grateful to the inventor(s) of Daylight Savings, for it has meant the end of this Fall's relentless march of soccer and baseball practices and, in fact, the end of the "Fall Ball" season entirely. On the other hand, my sleep is completely wrecked: I can neither fall asleep nor wake up. I'm in a perennial state of half-wakedness which, thank God, has nothing to do with

The Post Where I Recommend Two Stories, Announce an Event, and Explain My Non-Participation in NaNoWriMo

2010-11-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

First of all: did you vote? Because it's important to offset the crazy.Now, back to the regular stuff:It's the beginning of November, so that means that I've spent the last four days or something like that pretending to myself that I'll participate in NanoWriMo. But of course I never do. I'm not someone who can write with a water pistol pointed at her face; life is already too much of a do it! Do

The Sleepy-But-I-Can't-Sleep-Post

2010-10-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

I had the world's best break in my scintillating routine of soccer practice, soccer games, softball practice, softball games, homework, dance class, homework, dinner, lunches, breakfast, homework EVER, and it came in the shape of a reading at Eastwind Books in Berkeley. My full report is posted at the Re: Angelica's Daughters blog, so do click over if you haven't read it yet.I'm often guilty of

The Wonders of Self-Googling

2010-10-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

I don't generally receive objective, third party feedback on the stories I write. Every once in awhile, though, a voice rings out from cyberspace, and then I feel kinda naked and vulnerable, actually. The other day on Facebook, Cecilia Brainard posted a review of Growing Up Filipino II from Cha: An Asian Literary Journal. The reviewer has a strange aversion to the cover of the anthology, as well

Angelica's Daughters In the Manila Bulletin

2010-09-24T22:23:00.001-07:00

Did I tell you we are blogging about our dugtungan novel at Re: Angelica's Daughters? Well, we are! And the current post has the full text of an article that was published in The Manila Bulletin yesterday. In it, Nadine and Susan spill the haricot verts on our writing process.

Invisibility: What Is Acceptable, And What Is Not

2010-09-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

As a woman growing older, I feel increasingly invisible. I'm getting used to it or—maybe this is more accurate—growing into it. It doesn't have to be a bad thing. I'll figure it out. And I'm pretty much invisible as a writer, but that's okay, too. It certainly doesn't prevent me from writing, and it's 100% commensurate with what I have or haven't done so far.Occasionally, I am invisible in my

The Post In Which I Share Exciting News

2010-09-09T10:31:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I spend inordinate amounts of time doing things and checking them off some list, mental or otherwise. I do and do and do, but nothing gets done because these things aren't really Things; they're just tasks. And tasks never end. Making lunches, running errands, grocery shopping, sending this e-mail or that e-mail, dialing the phone to make an appointment, etc. It's so

The Post In Which Three Disparate Topics Are, In Fact, Not Disparate But Rather Related Via the Theme of Time and Its Passing

2010-09-01T16:38:00.001-07:00

I think the first day of school is a lot like New Year's Day. At least for stay-at-home parents of younger, school-age, out-schooled children. It's the day we think things like now I'll start working out regularly again, now I'll get the house in order, empty every laundry basket I see, have lunch with my friend, make an appointment for a haircut, get the oil changed, call the refrigerator guy. I

Mothering and Writing and What-Not

2010-08-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

Remember when John Travolta was on Welcome Back, Kotter, and his character used to describe his activities as "Rockin and rollin' and whatnot?" Yes, I am old. Leave me aloneI am feeling like quite the on-top-of-it wunderkind mother. Of course all of this will fall to pieces in a couple of weeks, but for now I can sit gingerly on my laurels having......brought everyone for their summer teeth

The Post Wherein I Advise You Not To Look For Sesame Seeds at the Grocery Store in the Mountains

2010-08-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

I am freshly returned from the mountains, and I carry the extra poundage to prove it. For what else is there to do in the mountains but find a comfy place to sit and...sit there? And eat fried foods (french fries, sweet potato fries, fried shrimp, fried fish)? And eat ice cream (the supremely evil Chips Galore chocolate chip and vanilla ice cream sandwich!)? Ack, the shame. But I think the view

Some Summer Reading

2010-07-19T22:29:00.000-07:00

What's everyone reading this summer? As usual, I've committed to reading a classic during these warm months, namely In Search of Lost Time. Unfortunately, I brought it to the lake over the 4th of July weekend, and even though I know it returned safely to our home, I can't find it anywhere. So I am, in fact, in search of In Search of Lost Time. Maybe it's just as well because the more pages I

All By Myself. Don't Wanna Be. All By...

2010-07-08T19:15:00.000-07:00

I'm all by myself. It's weird. The SU and Risa are in San Diego for the Cal-State/Junior Olympic Games, where Risa will be swinging her bat and playing first base for her softball team. Vida is on day 4 of sleepaway camp (Risa was there, too, but we had to pull her out early for the San Diego jaunt), and Lea is at an overnight at her camp, as well. I will spare you an overwrought description of

Doing Food Penance

2010-06-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

I am trying with all my Nesting Ground Mistress might to correct the terribly wrong nutritional turn our lives have taken. It's been weeks now since I became utterly overwhelmed and gave up on any attempt to bring at least SOME healthy food to the ballpark. Good-bye to fruits and carrots, and whassup to nachos, burgers, fries, polish sausage, etc. etc. ad nauseum. It's mortifying, really, to

Good Day, Mini Rant, 500 Books, and Softball

2010-06-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my definition of a pretty much perfect Summer day. Behold:1) Slept in slightly, awoke, made chocolate chip pancakes, ate one too many2) Pilates. Ouch.3) Drove to Menlo Park with the kids, singing Journey songs super-loud while enjoying the scenic 280 route4) Ate a shrimp melt on sourdough for lunch5) Moseyed over to Kepler's Books, where we browsed for well over an hour. Purchased

The Post About Keeping Secrets, Nonsensical Cheering, and Random Photos

2010-06-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

I have in my fevered possession some book galleys to look over, but...oh, gee, I can't tell you because the whole thing is a big huge secret. Sorry.I have in my fevered possession some architectural drawings to peruse, but...oh, gee, I can't tell you because the whole thing is a big huge secret. Sorry.I bear the very great burden of burning secrets, it's true. I am a bee trapped in honey, a bird

Shame Is My Middle Name

2010-05-21T08:31:00.000-07:00

(Actually, VERONICA is my middle name. Prizes for those who know my first name! To enter this imaginary contest, you must not be related to your Nesting Ground Mistress)I'm experiencing Blogger Shame. Why? Because I haven't posted since the beginning of the month.I'm also experiencing Softball Mother Shame. Why? Because I'd like the season to be over immediately, thank you. Now that I've voiced

Humor Me.

2010-05-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

It is Mother's Day, and I decree that I shall blog! And I further decree that in this post I shall exercise any and all maternal bragging rights. You might want to make sure your seatbelt is tight and, of course, have your discreet vomit bag at the ready.1) Vida—along with twelve other classmates—qualified to represent their school at the National Math Bee in Indianapolis. Ours was one of only 3

Solo

2010-04-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

A strange silence. The spousal unit, in a heroic back-to-nature attempt, has taken our children to Yosemite for the weeekend. They left at about 12:30. It is now 7:14, and here is what I have done so far:1) watched the Madonna episode of Glee on hulu. 2) answered a bunch of e-mails.3) checked in on FB and typed a response to my brother's posted photo of an A & W, where we used to eat ten cent

Tilting at (Non-Imaginary) Windmills

2010-04-29T09:07:00.000-07:00

You know what's depressing? The "achievement gap" is depressing. It's the kind of thing that makes me want to put my chin on the table and just...sigh. But instead—in one of your Nesting Ground Mistress' typical Don Quixote moments—I decided I would recruit friends to help teach our Spanish-speaking Kindergarten parents (many of whom are not literate in any language) letter sounds, beginning and

Sure Is Quiet Around Here

2010-04-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

I'm alone in my house for the first time in I don't know how long. Just me and the clanking of a sweatshirt zipper as the dryer spins 'round and 'round. This is quite a change for me, as your Nesting Ground Mistress has endured and/or enjoyed several weeks of pure lunacy. Highlights are as follows:1) Our acacia tree tried to kill me, but it only succeeded in causing debilitating allergies that

Rocking In My Rocking Chair & Staring Into the Distance

2010-04-03T13:43:00.001-07:00

Remember when we used to blog a lot, and we used to comment on each other's blogs rather than commenting on each other's Facebook pages? At the risk of sounding like the old guys who used to "walk to school barefoot in the snow while being chased by wolves," I miss those halcyon days. Last week while cleaning up after some sort of spambot that was leaving a trail of pornographic messages in its

Not So Stinky No More

2010-03-25T10:23:00.000-07:00

Since I was so quick to out my 4th grade writers when they were being the Stinkiest Stinkers ever, I should be just as quick to praise them when they are the Loveliest Lovelies who ever sat writing in a little room. Since their Stinky episode, they have joyously tried their hand at writing a 12-line pantoum. In fact, most of them wrote several. One kid said, "Wow, almost no matter what you do,

So Close, And Yet...

2010-03-12T19:28:00.000-08:00

The other night the Spousal Unit and I somehow ended up watching a show on the Discovery Channel that recounted several instances in which people, via absolutely ZERO work or dedication to craft, became suddenly "rich." A meteorite shower in a small Illinois town resulted in several neighbors picking meteorites up off their grass, and then selling them to a museum for anything from $2,000 to

A Letter from Me to Five 4th Graders

2010-03-05T09:25:00.000-08:00

Dear little stinkers in my 4th grade writing workshop,You are all stinky stinkers. I brought to you the loveliest of lessons yesterday, all about Sei Shonagun and her pillow book and palace intrigue and how it's so amazing that we can read the diary of a woman who lived a thousand years ago, etc. etc. And I told you all about her 164 lists, and I showed you a painting of her, and I told you how

A Letter from Vida to the School Principal

2010-02-25T22:56:00.000-08:00

I made a copy of this letter because it's just so Vida. Dear Mr. A________,First of all I would like to inform you that if you take this letter as a friendly suggestion rather than a demand, it will sound much better, so please do. Secondly, I would like to say that this is not a classroom assinment [sic], but just a thing that has come to my attention on the school yard. That "thing" is Mrs. C__

Soup & Sentences & Stories

2010-02-15T10:34:00.000-08:00

The upside of having your desk in the kitchen is that you can blog while making a pot of soup. Which is exactly what I'm doing now. Judging from the past few days, it seems that Winter is on the wane, and so I wanted to make this Caldo Verde one more time. The first time was very good (especially on the second day), but this time around I'm making Nesting Ground Mistress adjustments: more chorizo

Hearts A-Bursting @ Nesting Ground

2010-02-09T18:35:00.000-08:00

There are half-finished Valentine cards scattered all over the place. Vida is making her own, Lea chose these, and Risa is custom-coloring these. The latter has requested (in a whisper) an additional Valentine for a "special boy." I am fine with this, as he always greets me with a cheerful, "Hi Ms. Montes!" and his hair is impeccable, and he listens intently when I teach art. He only makes it to

The Post With Two Links and a Question

2010-01-24T12:19:00.001-08:00

Hey, here's is Rashaan's write-up of the Growing Up Filipino II book launch. She covers a key topic of that afternoon, one which Marianne Villanueva hilariously expounded upon. Namely: why are Filipinos so cool? Why, indeed? Read it to find out. Or, if you happen to be Filipino, simply glance in the mirror and wink at yourself. NAKS!In other blogging news, our own Tony Robles has started one here

Growing Up Filipino II Book Launch Report

2010-01-16T19:57:00.000-08:00

The silence here at Nesting Ground has been deafening, but not as deafening as the rain on my windows in the middle of the night. The endless gloom is causing me to shriek ridiculous things like, "I come from island people!" or "My kingdom for a golf umbrella!" But with all that's going on in the world, I am quick to bite my ridiculous tongue.It's always hard to get going after a week-long

Cold Like That

2010-01-11T16:56:00.001-08:00

Don't you love it when bloggers write things like, "I'm so bored!" It's almost as good as, "It was such a fun day." Unfortunately, all I have to say today is: I'm cold. But I beg you: don't give up on me! In an effort to avoid being thrown in the box labeled "Tedious Bloggers Who Tediously Waste Time with Tediousness," I will now elucidate all the ways in which I—or any persona that may emerge—am

Ten Days Late!

2010-01-09T23:59:00.001-08:00

I am wracked with guilt (I'm overstating! Me! Overstating!) because I have failed to take part in an age-old blog tradition: the obligatory new year post. The fact is I was too overwhelmed by one thought: I have been a parent for a decade. I have been a parent for a decade. A decade.A decade. Also, I was:• fighting off the flu with my weakened arms and tiny fists of fury.• watching the girls use

Growing Up Filipino II: Thoughts Inspired by Rebecca

2009-12-28T12:46:00.000-08:00

Rebecca has some sweet thoughts about being published for the first time in an actual hold-it-in-your-hands book with a front cover and a back cover and some 250 pages in between: Growing Up Filipino II. Bec and I have something in common when it comes to Cecilia Brainard. Though I had been published in a handful of small journals before, Cecilia was the first editor to accept one of my stories

Stocking Stuffers & Funhouse Mirrors

2009-12-22T18:53:00.000-08:00

What sort of mother forgets about stocking stuffers? THIS kind of mother. *points at self*In fact, I forgot about a bunch of stuff, the net result of which is I will be running around tomorrow like a woman on fire. And that won't be easy to do, considering the fact that the traffic has tripled these past few days. I've spent an inordinate amount of time stuck in driver's limbo, dramatically

Betting My Bottom Dollar

2009-12-11T15:08:00.000-08:00

Friday, post-3:00 pm, could not be more welcome. Let us deduce why:Monday: Tylenol PM hangover in effect for most of the day. Attempted to counteract with four aspirin and several boosts of caffeine, but to no avail. Prone to nodding off, answering questions that had not been asked, and asking questions that had no answers.Tuesday: Worst fears realized when forced to break solemn vow to NEVER,

The Post Where I Start Off One Way and End Another

2009-11-29T09:15:00.001-08:00

Why does everyone have their lights and trees up already? I do not understand. I'm still adjusting to daylight savings, for crickets' sake. I'm still getting into awesome boots mode. I'm still shocked to hear the furnace clicking on. I'm still wondering where back-to-school went. What's the rush? Moving along...though my days of early motherhood are but a distant and fatigue-causing memory, I've

Flipping The Bird

2009-11-26T14:25:00.000-08:00

I have to flip my turkey now. It's not a simple task, you know, to flip a 17.29 lb. turkey on its side after it's been roasting for 45 minutes, but that's what I'm supposed to do. I've flipped it one wing-side up already, where it's been roasting for 20 minutes, and now I need to flip it the other wing-side up. After 20 minutes, I flip it one last time: breast up. I'm using wads of paper towel to

Dishwasher, Story, Smelly Shoes

2009-11-16T14:27:00.000-08:00

All I've been doing since last I blogged is emptying the dishwasher, filling it, emptying it, filling it, etc. etc. Or at least that's what it feels like I've been doing since last I blogged. But the thing about being one with my dishwasher is that performing an empty or fill task provides the optimal amount of time needed to mull something over: a problem, an idea, a solution. I often stop

Stuff I'm Doing

2009-11-07T22:17:00.001-08:00

I am eager for soccer season to end, for I can take it no more. Much to my surprise and horror, I am far too attached to outcomes, when what I should really be concerned about is whether or not my girls are enjoying themselves. My idiot-ness is compounded by the fact that R & V's team has only lost one game this season, while I think L's team has only WON one. I need off the emotional

Good Reading

2009-11-03T22:36:00.001-08:00

I was just speeding blissfully through the pages of Amitav Ghosh's Sea of Poppies when I realized that if I didn't slow down, it would be over too soon. But then I remembered that it's only the first of the Ibis trilogy, and I worked back up to a regular reading pace. It's one of those novels that truly creates an entire world, one that's populated with the most unlikely but believable characters

Hallowhiny

2009-10-30T17:32:00.000-07:00

I'm officially exhausted by Halloween and all its attendant duties. Shame on the soccer powers-that-be who decided that it would be a good idea for the under 10 girls to play TWO games on the day-of! Risa and Vida play at 9:00 and 4:45, which will leave them exhausted by the time they don, respectively, their pirate and harlequin costumes. They will be a Miss Pissed Pirate and Miss Holy Hell

Messy Nest

2009-10-23T17:58:00.000-07:00

I could, if it were my nature, spend the entire day picking up after my children: shoes under the table, cardboard bits from class project, library book on the mantle, party favors, backpacks, lip balms, change purses, socks, shin guards, ponytail holders, hats, colored pencils, gluestick, homework folder. But it is not my nature. I do, however, shuffle the most offending items (backpack under

The Day that Came Out of Left Field

2009-10-15T12:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was weird. First of all, I actually submitted a story, an occurrence which happens about as often as a solar eclipse. Here's my modus operandi: I get ready to submit, and then I read over the piece, and then—for a variety of reasons, some ridiculous and some not so ridiculous—I demur. I repeat this many times as the deadline looms ever and ever closer. And then nine times out of ten I

I Want to Eat a Tootie in My Tootooooon

2009-10-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

Today, in support of Jumpstart's "Read for the Record" campaign, a bunch of parents invaded the Preschool and Kindergarten classes to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to small groups of kids. In the opinion of your Nesting Ground Mistress, there are few activities more joyous. Plus, courtesy of one of our mom's generous employers, every kid received a brand new, shiny copy of the book. I'm sure

The Post In Which I Reveal the Reason Why I'm Once Again Engaged In a Scorching Love Affair with Writing

2009-10-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that I've never taken a class at Kearny Street Workshop, but there you go: I've never taken a class at Kearny Street Workshop. Until this weekend, that is. And it is SO good. Which leaves me to wonder, of course, if it's ALWAYS so good. I already know that the answer, though, is no. Because there are too many variables at play. First, the instructor must be wonderful (

From Helpless to Helpful

2009-09-30T17:16:00.001-07:00

Well, September '09 has ended in a disconcerting flurry of island disasters, and they are all heartbreaking. It's easy to fall into despair, what with all the videos, photographs, ostensible government indifference and/or ineptitude, and individual stories of devastation. But why loll about in the quicksand Pit of Despair when you are perfectly capable of doing something? Send money? Sure! Send a

The Post In Which I Use A Bad Word. Twice.

2009-09-23T23:49:00.000-07:00

You know which day I have enjoyed most in the past few days? Saturday. We had to wake up early for Lea's 8:00 soccer game, but never mind! The child scored three goals—three! her first ever!—an occurrence we probably could have predicted, considering she is a whole head taller than most of the other players. But never mind! Why must I place caveats everywhere?The big girls' game wasn't until much

The Post In Which I Weigh In On Weighing In

2009-09-18T17:16:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I was enjoying my weekly magazine flip-fest at a nearby bookstore, when I happened upon an article in a women's magazine (I think it was Allure), that displayed side-by-side, passport-style photos of female twins. Out of each pair, there was one twin who looked much younger than the other. Regardless of whether the twins were in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s or 60s, the older-looking

The Post In Which I Somehow End Up Referencing Firefighters

2009-09-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

Now that the school auction is over, I've turned my attention back to hearth and home just in time to prevent the five-foot-high pile of laundry from toppling over and injuring one of the children. It's been like this every year for the past six years and it's comforting, in a way, to know ahead of time that this portion of September will be spent rescuing my house from itself and re-calibrating

A List Written While Watching Anderson Cooper

2009-09-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

In the time since I last updated my blog, the following things have occurred:1) Gray hair popped up all over my head. I have had no time to correct this grave mistake of Mother Nature, but I have managed to waste several minutes musing on the fact that post-40 personal upkeep is annoying, time-consuming, and expensive. *waves fists at the heavens*2) Some joker in Congress called our President a

See Ya, Summer

2009-09-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

We're in the middle of back-to-school week, and the going has been refreshingly smooth. Of course, with all the preparation we did, I wouldn't have expected less. There was, first of all, The Great Sprinkles Event:During this event, we consumed pricey, calorie-laden cupcakes and stuck the famous Sprinkles polka dots on the tips of our noses. Like so:Treat gorging was quickly followed by The

At Least There Won't Be a Quiz

2009-08-24T23:07:00.000-07:00

I'm 200 pages into From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present by the late Jacques Barzun (he was born in 1907, so I assume he is no longer with us, but who knows? Perhaps he is sitting in a recliner somewhere with a wool blanket over his legs writing a thousand more pages that I will feel compelled to purchase), but I may as well be two pages in because as soon as I finish a page I immediately

I Wish & I Fish

2009-08-20T21:27:00.000-07:00

I've come to think of summer as a sort of standing-in-line for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, with Mr. Toad's Wild Ride being—of course—school. Here are some things I wish:I wish I could, in good conscience, let my kids eat their school's hot lunch offerings, but since I cannot, I wish someone would invent a Rube Goldberg-inspired sandwich-making machine.I wish the powers-that-be would stop

Trip to Nowhere

2009-08-12T21:41:00.000-07:00

Every year I reference an albino deer sighting, and every year < exaggerate > hordes and hordes < /exaggerate > of you cry out, "Nay, Nesting Ground Mistress, this cannot be so! Mistress, it cannot be so!" But at last I possess the visual proof to supra-contradict those who would doubt me:* strikes the hands-on-hips-I-told-you-so pose *In other (semi)remarkable news, our recent trip afforded the

What Do I Google?

2009-08-10T22:30:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to think of the name of a deceased artist whose last name begins with a "B." Or possibly an "M." ***Am I a person who lives her convictions or, alternately, am I just a pain in the ass?***The spousal unit hid his watch in the house, and we haven't been able to find it for 2 years. ***Season 3 of Mad Men begins on Sunday, but I take issue with that and would like it to start whenever I

Suddenly...

2009-08-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

...I would like to be in 4th grade again. But in Japan. And with this guy as my teacher.PART 1PART 2PART 3PART 4PART 5Did you watch it? Wasn't that something?We're headed up to the lake for frolicking with the SU's extremely frolick-y family. See you back here in a bit.

Droplets

2009-07-29T18:39:00.000-07:00

What follows is a jumbled up mess of things that are—for me—like little droplets of joy rain:There's nothing funnier than watching my kids dance when they don't know I'm watching. They make faces that can only be described as the kind of face they THINK they should make. I can't believe I'm going to put a photo of Ben Stiller on my blog, but it can't be helped. This is the face they make:***I

Blues of the Overnight Variety

2009-07-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

I've been looking forward to today for a long time because it's the day/night of the optional sleepover at the girls' camp (known now and forever more as The Best Camp EVER). Would they do it? And if they did, what would WE do? After all, we haven't been in the house overnight without the kids since the day we brought the twins home from the hospital. A strange prospect.By the end of the first

Camp Nesting Ground

2009-07-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

I just looked briefly at my archives, and I cannot believe I've been blogging here for almost six years. And...that's all I have to say about that.I am feeling good, lovely people. I am feeling good and healthy and happy and thankful for all that my body does for me when it is those things. I wanted to spend my frenetic energy on personal stuff, but that hardly seemed fair to my neglected

Two Readings

2009-07-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

First I attended a reading of little writers:And some of them were so, so good. My favorite was a kid named Sam, who looked like a 4'8" version of Sean Penn. "Hey," he said to the audience. "I'm Sam, and this is my poem." But there was another one, too, who read a fractured fairytale that transported Little Red Riding Hood (here, Little Black Hood) into an urban neighborhood, where she headed to

Netflix Pins Me Down

2009-07-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

I was just taking a moment to put some DVDs in my Netflix queue, which is a process I find generally annoying because navigating the site is—for me—so, so, so anti-intuitive. As I bumbled along, I noticed they'd added yet another unhelpful navigation feature. This one suggested films based on my previous choices, and then broke the films down into hilariously-named categories. Ready? I am,

Indie Fan

2009-07-08T23:01:00.000-07:00

My older girls have been attending the Bay Area Writing Project's Young Writer's Camp for the past three weeks. Lucky little ducks. They write every day from 9 'til 12, and then they jump in the car jabbering away about metaphors, collaborative writing, meter, description, story, etc. etc., and then they come home and turn cartwheels in the backyard. It's good to be nine years old. Tomorrow night

Wanted: Dirt

2009-07-02T15:24:00.001-07:00

My little world is static at the moment. I wake up, do what I can do, take a nap, wake up, do what I can do. My kids are all sorts of peeved—Vida, in particular, thinks this is all a ruse—and I can't blame them, especially since I go for long stretches of the day feeling okay. Then I suddenly need to fall asleep, and they're all "Wha?!!!" I feel so guilty. Summer is supposed to be all about ice

Occurrences

2009-06-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

In the throes of my continuing and miserable illness—it's mono, did you know that?—the following things have occurred:1) Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett died on the same day. Somehow, this made perfect sense to me. 2) Iran turned into a different country.3) My friends forced me to go to the doctor, made me chicken soup and drove my kids back and forth to their camps every day.4) I

Bitter Betty Throws a Pity Party

2009-06-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

The summer is off to a most ridiculous start. All my fine writing and reading plans have fallen by the wayside like crumbs from moldy bread. This proves, of course, that I was on track with my first pre-summer post, i.e. I should not have made any plans because plans are always waylaid.In short, I have been sick for more than a week, and it's not just any sick. It's an illness that features, nay

The Blog Post in Which I Realize I Will Never Learn to Play the Flute

2009-06-11T22:13:00.001-07:00

I just read that Montaigne's father had a servant play the flute every morning to gently wake his son. He raised a genius, so who am I to turn up my nose? This being the case, I suppose I should stop waking the twins by standing at the bottom of the stairs and screaming, "Get up! Get up! It's time to get up! Let's go, let's go!"The beautiful thing is that for the next ten days or so I won't have

Revised Summer No-Plans, Plus Some Books, Plus Hello to the Market Manila-ers

2009-06-06T09:57:00.000-07:00

I would be remiss if I failed to greet any and all of the lovely Market Manila folks who have been dropping by, especially bettyq, natie, and sanojmd! My first thought was to kick this post off with some pictures of my dad (aka SillyLolo), in full Silly Lolo mode, but since he fancies himself an International Man of Internet Mystery, I will refrain. A few posts ago, I claimed that this would be a

Journeys

2009-06-02T22:05:00.000-07:00

Weekend before last, we piled into the car and headed to Lompoc for my Auntie and Uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. Classic Delfino hijinx ensued, of course, thanks to the uncanny number of dancers, singers, and musicians in the family. Still, my eyes were constantly drawn to the celebrants, and as I watched them sitting or dancing together, the following words ran through my head: holey

The Post In Which I Realize I Should Blog More

2009-05-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

I should. Because I love my blog. But maybe I shouldn't be blogging right now because what I should be doing right now is working on a little schpiel I have to give at tonight's PTA meeting. As you may remember, I am in an almost constant state of fretfulness over the plight of struggling readers. When I see a kid who can't read, I want to throttle someone. Seriously. It wrenches the heart all

Summer No-Plans, Plus Some Books

2009-05-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

There is a canyon-like divide between the things I would like to do and the things I am doing. But I have a good feeling about the summer. The secret for me, I think, is not to bother with personal goals or plans because they are inevitably waylaid. This isn't so much a complaint as a simple fact and a reminder not to plan, essentially, for frustration. No, lovely readers, this will be the Summer

Call For Submissions: Philippine Speculative Fiction V

2009-05-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

Ready your pencils, people:Editors Nikki Alfar and Vin Simbulan are now accepting submissions of short fiction pieces for consideration for the anthology "PHILIPPINE SPECULATIVE FICTION V".Speculative fiction is the literature of wonder that spans the genres of fantasy, science fiction, horror and magic realism or falls into the cracks in-between.1. Only works of speculative fiction will be

Making Friends

2009-05-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

I know I vowed to blog incessantly, but shit happens. It happens over and over again. It's astonishing, really. Pipes explode, children require extreme levels of parenting, children cut their feet and bleed all over the place, the top pops off the vacuum, teachers must be appreciated (for it is Teacher Appreciation Week), there are appointments to keep and to make, events to attend, and trips to

The Intrepid Traveler

2009-04-30T21:47:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of our trip was the day we escaped the heat of the city and headed up, up, up to Tagaytay, specifically to Tagaytay Highlands. My uncle was one of the architects for this project, and I think it gave him full access to everything. At least I think that's what happened since we...had full access to everything. There were a dizzying number of options: badminton, anyone?

What's In A Name?

2009-04-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

There are only so many places to eat on Boracay, and we quickly found a very good one that suited all our palates. For me: crispy tadyang (I was obsessed with this dish throughout our trip; in fact, you should just call me Crispy Tadyang from now on), grilled prawns, etc. For the kids: ribs! For the spousal unit: chicken, calamari, etc. An establishment with a knack for unifying disparate tastes

The Thing Is...

2009-04-25T00:53:00.000-07:00

...our trip was SO not conducive to blogging. That's not the way I thought it was going to be. I thought we'd go about our business every day, and each night I would dutifully report the goings-on. Instead, we went about our business every day, and each night I'd do some reading and fall dead asleep. The only communication I could muster was the occasional Facebook status update. How did this

Nesting Ground: The Manila Edition

2009-04-13T05:14:00.000-07:00

I'm lounging in bed, pillows piled high, as Makati goes about its fevered business fifteen stories below me. We did our part earlier today, dragging our overheated children all over Greenbelt for lunch and shopping and ice cream. It could be my imagination, but I feel we draw a disproportionate number of stares from passers-by; I can't tell if they are friendly stares, curious stares, or