Showing posts with label Minnesota Twins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Minnesota Twins. Show all posts

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Gratitude: January 2012

The warm winter from 2011 continued on till 2012. We had temps reaching 50's (F) on Thursday (5th), which I played football (catch & throw) and basketball at work during my noon break. I then played more basketball with a client of my mine at my other (part-time) job out in a nearby playground on Saturday (7th). That same weekend on the following day, I went to play baseball at the nearby campus with my friend/renter/housemate (Kazu). I can't remember ever playing baseball outdoors in this time of the season! Later in the evening on Sunday, I went to the see an inspirational film that's been talked about at my local church. I was glad I saw it (with a friend from Pakistan) as it really challenged me to be a better "man"...



"ABOUT COURAGEOUS, THE FILM AND THE SONG The Film: Courageous, the new action-packed movie from the creators of Fireproof, is a powerful reminder of the impact fathers have on their kids"¦and the legacy they will leave for future generations. Courageous:"


I'm also attending a weekly "men's bible study" (Spanish-speaking) with the newly local "Spanish-speaking" church (Morris E-Free Church's Iglesia de Nueva Vida->Church of New Life).

Our 1st two weeks of ESL/GED classes we just had one party after another! The first Wednesday we got back, two of our students (from China) made some dumplings (fish, pork, and beef). It was basically my supper that evening! Then the second week, a GED student brought a blueberry pie and some other "goodies". Then the 4th week, we celebrated "Chinese New Year", which we didn't have Chinese theme food (I brought some "mexican" theme snacks as a "last minute" thing and Ice Cream bars).

I"m taking advantage of the "somewhat" cold winter season by doing my basement remodeling project. I worked on ceiling tiles, floor tiles (wooden and ceramic), and putting a vent for my "hood vent" (oven). I cool "God-timing" story happened on Saturday, January 21st when I was getting more supplies at Menards in Alexandria. My friend (Chris) and I drove in my small Toyota to pick-up some "elongated" ceiling tile part, which I would had to maneuver and fit in my "dinky" small car. Well, my neighbor(Craig) happened to be there with his friend. I then "last minute" asked if he could put this "elongated" material in his pick-up truck..wow, huh? God is watching!

On Monday, January 16th was Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. After work, I participated in the campus-community march...





We then walked to the Morris Senior Center for a warm "home-cooked" meal for the monthly Community Meal (usually the 4th Monday of each month).

The nice "warm" winter came to an end for a short several days or so (18th to 20th) as we had 17 below zero (with wind chills reaching close to 40 below zero) Thursday morning when I got up for my monthly (3rd Thursdays) "Stevens Forward" meeting.

On Thursday, January 26th -I had the opportunity to take some clients from my workplace to the annual "Minnesota Twins Caravan". This year, it was held at Pizza Ranch.

We finally had enough snow to go snowboarding on the last Saturday (28th) of the month. It's been snowing off and on, but it would melt off and on. It wasn't the best amount of snow (some grassy areas-see video down below, but probably the best I can go snowboarding all winter so far behind the Morris water tower.



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The same day I went snowboarding, I was featured in the local paper (see Sal Monteagudo, Community Activist: Mentoring across cultures By: Judy Riley, Special to the Sun Tribune, Morris Sun Tribune Published January 28, 2012, 05:00 AM morrissuntribune.com) for my community involvement, which I would like to say I'm thankful for my "Extraordinary" God (Heavenly Father). I "try" to serve Him in everything I do, which I pray I continue to give Him the glory.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Gratitude: November 2011

I took the same guys that were over at my house for Halloween to a tour of Alexandria. We checked out some "tourist spots" (e.g. Kensington Runestone original location, Carlos Creek Winery, etc..). It's always fun taking "new" people around West-Central Minnesota!

On Tuesday, November 8th , I went bowling with some friends at the local bowling alley. While bowling, I accidentally slipped but was able to get some pins down. This would've been a great "funniest video"!

The following day, the group home (Driftwood) I've been newly scheduled at did a "Staff Appreciation" meal at Buddies Bar & Grill (Hancock, Minnesota). I started working at this particular P.C.S group home (developmentally challenged)last month when they needed a "last-minute" fill-in. Due to some "financial challenges", I decided to accept the invitation to be on the "regular schedule" (God's financial provision!). I also want to take this time to give all my co-workers (both my pt-ft job) my personal appreciation to work this "common cause" (see Caregiver Appreciation Month).

The day after, I went to my first swim meet with Hafiz. My niece (7yrs. old) has been taking lessons too, so I've been enjoying watching her "progress" since the summer since I started watching her lessons when I come to the cities. The weekend (following) I went to the cities this month was actually her last swimming lesson (at my old high school). She is far ahead when I was at her age!!

On Sunday, November 13th-my local church in Morris had their every other month potluck. I love cooking, but there are others better than me. I brought some snacks (e.g. chips) and a drink as my contribution, but I contributed more by helping with the clean-up afterwards.

The once a month "Community Meal" was on the 2nd Monday instead of the 4th of the month due to the Thanksgiving holiday. As "active" participant of the Tuesday night Jane Adams Project (see Espanol Services), we volunteered some shifts for 2 days in preparing, helping at, and cleaning after this monthly meal. I helped out with the cleaning part, which working as a "team" made it very successful.

I'm very blessed to have some "paid-vacation" time, so I used 2 days of it during the 3rd weekend of the month. I drove to the cities on Thursday (November 17th) morning and immediately played soccer-football with my 4 yr. old nephew outside. It was pretty cold, so I had him wear my winter gloves. I then had more Mexican food for the week at a restaurant called Pineda Tacos in West St. Paul with a former housemate of mine. I love keeping in touch with my friends (e.g. housemates), which this one was a special get-together as I had a unique "prophetic" dream about him and his family.

The following day, I joined my brother's family to go "window shopping" at Maplewood Mall in Maplewood, Minnesota. It was the first "significant" snowfall of the winter season, which it was very slippery...

1st Significant Snow Fall of the Season (11'-12') on Sat. Nov 19th 2011



On my last day in the cities, I hung out with my sister and her boyfriend (early birthday present) at Target Field for a tour...



On Tuesday, November 22nd-we had our annual Thanksgiving dinner at my workplace. I would interview several or more of my co-workers (clients) asking what they are thankful to God for. I was then blessed with the extra "leftovers" (e.g. green bean casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, etc..) to bless my friends I'll be hanging out this Thanksgiving weekend since I wasn't going to St. Paul since I had to work my 2nd job. It was a week of eating as the same day, the weekly Jane Adams (see Espanol Services) sponsored the 1st community potluck (at the Morris Public Library), which I brought my famous "Filipino Chicken Adobo" to share with the others. Then the following day, "we" continued to eat as we had a "Thanksgiving" theme party (along with a student's b-day and a farewell for a student from Brazil leaving for another training project in Wisconsin) for our weekly (ESL-GED) classes.

On Thanksgiving Day, I had to work the "overnight" (sleep) earlier and started cooking my small "oven roasted" (mini-size that takes only 3 hours) turkey for my housemate (Kazu from Japan) and his friend/former UMM Int'l student of mine last year. I then warmed up the extra leftovers from work and cooked a yummy ("my favorite") blueberry pie for dessert. We ate so much , so we would eat the pie after our short nap. It was so nice outside (50's) to stay inside rest of the day, so I invited the guys to play outside (e.g. playground, baseball with a tennis ball, basketball, etc..). I would continue using the "leftover" 4 days later as I hosted another friend as we (my housemate also) ate ham-roast beef (substitute of turkey).

The Thanksgiving weekend was just a small sample of what I do this in this blog as I celebrate "what I'm thankful" are year round!



more coming...

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Gratitude: Minnesota Twins AL Champs-Thankful on October 6th 2009

Woo..hoo! I'm thankful that my Minnesota Twins won the American League Central Division title today!! They beat the Detroit Tigers 6-5 in extra innings (#12)!! I was listening to it on the radio as I was able to do some computer projects. When they interviewed outfielder-Denard Span, he shared how he's thankful to God too! I wasn't surprised as he shared his faith at this annual event at the Metrodome during the summer...

Denard Span talking about his faith



"MN Twins outfielder Denard Span talking about his faith at KTIS '09 Faith and Family Night "


Praise God..Halleluah! Way to give credit to the Creator-Heavenly Father!! May God bless him and the rest of his team in the up-coming AL Wild Card playoffs. Wow, I was wondering when that game was going to end! Great job! Next..the Yankees!

Q: You may not be a "celebrity" or "sports star", but how do you give glory to your God-Heavenly Father-Creator in your everyday work-lifestyle?


more..
http://twinsbaseball.goodnewsminnesota.info/2009.html

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Gratitude: Many Blessings-What I'm thankful for on Wednesday, September 16th of 2009

I spend the last 1+ hour trying to catch-up on the blogs the past several days. I'm thankful today that the Minnesota Twins (Major League Baseball team) won their 4th straight game to keep close behind the first place (Central Division-American League) Detroit Tigers. Unfortunately, the Tigers defeated the Kansas City Royals 4-3, to keep the 4 1/2 game lead.

I'm also thankful for another beautiful sunny warm (80's) day. Unfortunately, I had to spend the "later" part of the day indoors. However, it was for a "good cause"-teaching GED to the large number (around 8) of students. I'm blessed to have 2 great volunteers (Chris G. & Jen )to help with the busy evening!

I had the opportunity to chat with my cousin online on Facebook unexpectedly! She's all the way from the Philippines, which I didn't really have the opportunity to see her when I was last there in October of 2001. At the same time I was chatting with her, my older sister called about her too! Talking about perfect timing!

Lastly, I'm thankful for a great "girl-friend" (Ry L.) from California as she has been a blessing in many ways (e.g. prayer partner, giving me good advice, etc...)!

Ok, it's past 1am and I need to go to bed! May you all have a good night sleep and don't forget to count your blessings.



Q: Have you counted your blessing for today? What are they?

more...
http://bless.goodnewseverybody.com/thanksgiving.html