The husband- tagged

Taken after the wedding, 11/16/2003, Fernwood Gardens, Philippines

This week, Hubs and I started to be baduy..kasi anniversary na namin! It started last Nov. 10, hubs said, "Five years ago, ngayong araw na ito ako nanligaw sa yo!. After 3 days sinagot mo ako! After 3 days ulit & 1 year, ikinasal kami!! Yup, it is a whirlwind romance! I guess Meeya can relate to this..(she is also the source of this tag--what a great way to update)

Here are the rules…

This tag is simple. If you feel comfortable and your better half does too, you can post a picture of him in your blog (but if not a description will do). May it be a baby picture anything that you like with the following:

1. First name: if he doesn’t like his name plastered all over the internet, a pet name will do.
2. How and where did you meet?
3. Characteristics
4. Your plans 20 to 30 years from now.


Question 1. First name- Charlie. My name- Angel. In other words, I'm Charlie's Angel. I warned you baduy ito! (Pwede rin sigurong Angel Locsin- :))

Question 2. How and where did you meet? Our friends S and C set us up. I visited my friend S and then S & C introduced us to each other over dinner here at Panama City, Florida last Oct. 19, 2002. ( Ahhh..I can remember the date..kilig!!) It was love at first sight for him as he was smitten by my beauty! He kept on asking questions about me that night while I never asked anything about him. At that time, I was not really interested, not yet. The next day, he called me and invited me for lunch at Olive Garden. That was the time I started asking about him and I thought he was an interesting guy! His voice had a way of calming me! Two weeks after, he went to the Philippines and courted me and introduced me to his whole clan. He said I love you Nov 10. I said I love you back Nov 13. The day I said mag un na kami, he replied "Yes, mag aasawa na ako!" I said, "hello, mag boyfriend lang tayo noh." 3 days after, he went to Fernwood Gardens together with his parents and made a reservation for our wedding a year after! So we got married Nov 16, 2003.

Question 3. Characteristics --Too many to mention!! Joke..Seriously, he was the most God fearing man I have ever dated! His love for God and us, his family , is beyond doubt! He keeps his promises, makes me happy, pampers me and makes me feel so special! Feeling ko sexy ako kahit hindi na ako sexy! He is a very good father to Miguel. A hands on dad! A very good provider!!A handyman!! (Mahilig magkalat, mahilig magsimula ng project pero di tinatapos, kung saan saan iniiwan ang damit at medyas..ayyy..mali..) He would give out the corniest joke and yet I would still find it funny! He is a great cook!! In fact, he is my mentor when it comes to cooking! He knows how to balance his time between work and family!! He is also just in making decisions, a person worthy of high respect!!No wonder his mom and dad looks up to hime when it comes to decision making! (Ako lang ang di sumusunod sa gusto nya..heheh)

Question 4. Plans 20-30 years from now - Retire in the Philippines, maybe in Tagaytay or Batangas!! (I just hope our son will come with us although I know this is M's decision and I do not want to impose- really???)Plant veggies in our backyard, design our space so that it will reflect our style - maybe hire Candice of Divine Design for this matter) Be involved in medical mission or volunteer work that will serve the Filipino people. Continue to serve God in our own little way! And of course, reminisce our happy times together, keep on telling those corny jokes and love stories to our future grandkids!

Wow, I enjoyed doing this! Please feel free to tag yourself!!

I got an award!!

Last month I got this from Nice! :)


Thank you Nice for giving me this award!!As per rules, the Nice Matters award goes out to those who are just nice people, good blog friends, and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration! Those who care about others, who are there to lend support or those who are just a positive influence in the blogging world! (Hehe, Nice, ang tamad ko, ni copy paste ko na lang hehehe)

The award says: Dang of My Married Life (Ako po yun, ehem)

She writes well and her posts are optimistic and inspiring. I love reading about her married life and how she absolutely adores her son M.

Buti na lang walang "Late magreply award". Makukuha ko din yun!
I'm giving this award to ..tada...Weng and Meeya!!.

Weng - I love reading Weng's blog and I enjoy Abby's adventures. My, how I wish I have a baby girl whenever I see Abby's cute pictures (my fave pic at the moment is the snow princess pic taken last halloween). Weng's baking/cooking and kitchen expertise makes me want to cook a dish right now!!! Reading her views inspire me as well! I wish I could write like her.

Meeya - My day or week will not be complete without reading Meeya's blog, her travel to the different states and her stories on raising her charming, witty and smart toddler named Ninna! I chanced upon her blog in 2004 and got hooked. There were nights where hubs and I would read together her entries, laugh at her posts and be inspired by what she stands for. I may not be able to update my blog, but reading her blog is one habit I cannot break. (Ohh, I will add salivating on pretty purses too di ba Meeya;)..)

To you Weng and Meeya, if you had this award before, just add it to your roster! In that case, I might get another award- "Late magbigay ng award". (hehehe) Forgive me..
One more thing, do check out Nice's other site It is informative for moms, dads, and all those who are raising their kids!!!
Having babies and toddlers changes everything! Cliche..but very true!!

I got in!!!

Hello everyone, I am still alive!!Too much school stuff!!The good news is I got accepted in the Nursing program by God's grace!!I made it to the top 50 students who will be able to start the program this Spring and hopefully finish the course in two years time! Prayers, prayers!!!Kaya ni Lord yan!!
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I have never studied like this when I was in college!!I do not have the time to watch telenovela's anymore or the Buzz!!All I do is ask MIL whats the latest and she would just relay the recent episode of Pangarap na Bituin! Haaay..
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Since I'm under the foundation's scholarship, I decided to call their office and inform them that I will be starting my nursing program next year and if I could go to a full time scholarship. Previously, I was awarded a full time scholarship but I had to enroll to 4 subjects which I cannot do so I downgraded to a part time. The foundation agreed but that meant they will only pay half of the tuition costs. Now, I want to upgrade and they called me to their office yesterday. When I came in, I was directed to see the president of the foundation. Bigla akong ninerbyos. Baka kulangin ako sa baon kong Ingles! Good thing, Mr. M was so helpful and he said he will try to help me since it will involve a little paperwork but then he is not promising anything. Sayang kasi talaga. I didnt know that I will be able to start this January so nag pa downgrade ako last sem!! I just hope and pray they will approve my request!
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Ok, Ok..I have to go but I do hope to be back real soon! Marami pa akong utang na post (thanks nice and weng) I do hope to catch up!
(andami ko palang sinimulang posts pero puro draft lang..haaayy..)

Two's tagged by Joy

Hi Joy ! Sorry it took me forever to answer this tag! Pero eto na! Thank you for tagging!
2 things you always bring in your bag (aside from wallet)
- car keys and lipgloss
2 tv shows/telenovelas you love to watch
- A.S.A.P 07 and Divine Design and Barefoot Contessa (nyek 3 pala)
2 softdrinks you enjoyed drinking
- Sprite and Mountain Dew
2 magazines/books you love reading
- Parenting and Reader's Digest
2 places/countries you love visiting or would love to visit
- Philippines and Europe
2 hobbies you enjoyed
- Blogging and Scrapbooking
2 actors you would love to have a date
- Piolo Pascual and Piolo Pascual
2 websites you never failed to open everyday aside from email and your own blogs/site)
- Philstar.com and n@wie
2 fondest childhood memories
- Christmas gift giving at Batangas with the whole clan
- Long drive to province on special holidays and Sunday biking at Cultural. Sarap!
2 scary incident/accident/instance that you will never forget
- when i lost my mom on my graduation day
- when i lost my dad 2 weeks after my birthday (last year :(
If you haven't done this, please feel free to do it!
Thanks Joy. I had a reason to update!

The Cruise

This is a delayed post!
I had my birthday celebration two days earlier than my actual birthday! My husband had been planning for a special date (meaning no M, IL's- just us)as he said he will take me somewhere special on a Friday night! A day earlier, I got my birthday present, an LV bag which I have been eyeing sometime. I love it (but for the next 24 hours--I wanted to exchange it for another one- tsk.) Anyway, H said that I have to be home on Friday at 530 pm as he will pick me up around that time! I went to school early morning and at 4pm, I got a call from him begging me to iron his pants and his shirt! I am not good in ironing and the only time that I did iron his clothes was on the morning after our wedding --read "Honeymoon is over- Welcome to married life!" When we woke up that morning, his pants were wrinkled and he asked me to iron it. Then it hit me, so this is what being married means. Hehehe....After doing his wish that day, I gave him his still wrinkled pants with two or three pleated lines and with one look, he knew I did not know how to do it. Still, he wore the pants that day but he never ever asked me to iron his clothes again.. until today! He said he was running late.
He got home at 545pm instead! He said we got to hurry as his reservation might be cancelled if we do not get to be there on time! I was wondering where in the world are we going! I was thinking of a new restaurant in town but they could not be that strict right? Cancelling our reservation, on my birthday! Nope, I dont think so!
We left our son M with lola, kissed him goodbye and drove to Panama City beach. We parked our car right in front of the restaurant Capt. Anderson's. I told him, "So this is where we are having dinner tonight!" And he said "Nope, Take a look and see what's behind you." There was a big ship named
Lady Anderson! Huh, are we taking a cruise??! Wow..!! What a cool idea!! I saw a line filled with couples, a family with 2 kids, some elderly. There was one who was wearing a tuxedo, one was a wearing a cocktail dress, the other one was in shorts!! I thought was I dressed appropriately? Hmmm...What could be inside? I had so many thoughts but I was really happy and excited! This is something new. As always H was succesful in giving this surprise dinner date! (Chuckles, giggles, grins)
We lined up and when it was turn he said our names at the lady by the door of the ship and asked for a table by the window! The view was fantastic as we were able to watch a little sunset before the cruise started. It turns out this dining yacht had a band inside. A live band who can play the songs you've requested so you could dance the night away! Wow! The food they served was delectable too! It was a buffet type with vegetable lasagna, jumbo shrimps, prime rib steak, baked potatoes, etc etc..! Buffet!!!
Here's me before boarding!

Here's hubs and my fave bag neverfull(at the moment)!

A kind man offered to take our picture together! Bless his heart!

Me in our dinner table, it's almost sunset!

Hubs inside the ship!


After dinner, we went around the ship and decided to stay in the deck and watch the stars, feel the air in our skin and watch the waves! It got a little cold so H hugged me tight! (yihiii..) We were afraid to take pictures outside kasi mahangin sa labas! Plus the other couples were busy with each other as well! No hanky panky huh..Just plain romantic! We got to see the captain of the ship! H and I were wondering how can he calculate his maneuvering skills as it was dark and yet he was able to drive the ship (is that the right term?) Over all, it was really a sweet and giggly date and as always, my man delivered! I felt young and very much in love. We talked about us. Well, we talked about M of course! It was really sweet, refreshing! (Me commercial bang ganito? pahiram huh)It allowed me to forget my school, my exams and all the hustles and bustle of life!
Hmm...I am really happy to be married to the man of my dreams!! Thanks to all who left a greeting/message in my blog! I pray that God will bless you with His love always!! May we all be happy and contented!! Gusto ko na tuloy mag 35th birthday next year...hehehhehe..!

LV

I got this from Hubs as his birthday present! Hubs cannot wait anymore. It turns out he is so excited to give his present so he decided to give it to me even before my actual birthday! He asked me to go to my closet and there, I found this note!!!
Yeheyyy.. I jumped for joy! Bait talaga ni Lord! Bait talaga ng mister ko!!!
Pwede na akong di mag-aral!!! (Joke lang ;)

My lil boy

I can sense that M misses me and I am touched by it. Whenever I try to say goodbye in the morning, he would do his best child actor award winning cry.."waaaahhh, dont go to school mommy"..(i think it turns out to be a whine after a minute....)I would tell him Mom needs to go to school but I will be back this afternoon. I would try to plan my great escape but he would still cry whenever he realizes I am gone. Whenever I came home from school, he would give me this super sweet hugs and kisses as if he had not seen me for the longest time. Whenever I try to study, he would still sit on my lap and write on my notes. I would tell him, "Mom is reading her book." Then he would say out loudly the letters in my book..S P L E E N! I think he is a bright kid though! Who knows, maybe someday, he could become a doctor and fulfill his dad's biggest dream! :) Cool thought ey..!

Update

It's going to be an exam week for me as schedules for my 1st quizzes will be this Tuesday and Thursday! H has been helping me out label my lab manual. He has also been helping me with M as they sleep together while I get to sleep in the guest room! He has stopped working with his project so I can study on weekends. H is really supportive on my studies! I am so blessed to have him!
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S had her christening yesterday and birthday party as well. I was one of the godparents. My son M was so cute as he tried to blow the candle off S's cake. They had a crazy sprinkler but M was not so keen on the idea of getting wet yesterday. All he wanted was to blow the candle on the cake and eat it afterwards. They had a lechon and they got a good deal ($150). Now, H is contemplating that we should have lechon on my birthday (next week) though I am not in a mood to throw a party. He said he'll be the one to cook and plan. But then, I'll be having a lab exam on that day so I am really in no mood to party! :)
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My sis and I had been texting and talking. She was asking me everything from breastfeeding to colic to what have you. She had her baby, my only niece at the moment, last August 22. My baby sister having a baby was just too much for me to handle but then..well..Baby J is pretty in her pictures! I am thinking of going home to the Philippines but..I got school, which is one of the reasons why I should stop typing..err..
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Have a good week everyone!!

1st day of September

We all woke up rejuvenized after a busy week. I am happy because my camera is back! Thanks to all who left a message (Weng, Ela, Meeya and Nice.) Salamat talaga ke Lord! Last Thursday, my neighbor/friend A called me and informed me that her son R found the camera at the back of their car! I cannot remember when I rode their car. (Matanda na talaga ako eh heheh) When I got my digicam the next day, I checked it and the last picture taken was dated Aug. 12. What matters most is I have it with me, with my favorite precious pictures. Yipeeee.. :)
After eating our breakfast and to liven up our morning, we went to visit lola's garden in the backyard! To keep her busy aside from babysitting M, Hubs designated a part of the backyard as her vegetable garden. Lately, we have been harvesting sitaw and it feels great to eat fresh vegetables freshly picked from the backyard. Today was a lucky day as we got to harvest green bell peppers! Please click this photos to see the in-law and the hubs harvesting from the farm este garden!
As expected, for dinner we had stuffed green bell peppers and they were really yummy! Naubos agad namin! Even M loved it!
I don't know if the mango tree will bear fruit knowing winter is coming soon! Who knows, we never expected we'll have the green bell peppers but here we are enjoying the fruits of lola's labor!

Blessings

I haven't blogged that H had finally found a renter in our townhouse. They moved in last Aug.10 where they also paid the pro-rated rent and the security deposit. The rental payment is due every 1st of the month and surprise, surprise, H handed the check today Aug. 31. I hope the renter does this every month! They are a newly wedded couple and she works in H's nursing home. We prayed for the right renters and looks like we got one! Thanks be to God!
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Today H decided to trade in "Leaky", (because the radiator leaks :) our Acura car. I was buying milk at Sam's Club when I got a call from him. He asked me, "Guess where I am at?" I replied, "Here at Sam's Club." He said, "I'm here at Toyota and I found the right truck for us. Of course I'll need your approval but I know you'll love this truck!" I drove to Toyota and voila, I love the truck and just like that we traded in our car and drove home with "Thunder". He is white, seats us 3 (H, M, and me) and can load all the wood projects H could think of. We decided to christened him thunder from his original name Tundra. Baduy noh..
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I got an A in my college algebra 1st quiz! When my professor handed back my quiz, (she would call us out one by one so we come to her table to get our paper) she said "Very good! Good job!" And she only said those words to me and me alone. And I got a perfect score!! I pray that I will be able to get good grades, sana laging A! (wishful thinking)
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I also got bonus points for my Anatomy class! My professor, an eye doctor, just loves to teach and would hand out bonus points if you answered correctly his question. He keeps on motivating us to study and I think it is working as the whole class is participating in the recitation! I was able to answer 3 questions correctly so I get to have additional 3 points in our coming exam (inakupo..--scheduled on Sept 13). I hope I could still get some more points next class. (Pwede kayang 100 points para di na mag exam-heheh)
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I don't have a class this Monday!!Yipeee..it's labor day and it's a holiday! H has work though. Basta wala akong pasok. Yippeee..!!

Lost camera

I cannot find my digital camera..huhuuh...:(
I was eyeing a different birthday present (--ehem--a purse--Hi Meeya )but it looks like I might get a digital camera instead. (Depende pa sa verdict ni H ngayon) I got this camera as H's birthday present in 2004. It is a Sony DSC T-1 5 megapix and it works right for me. I am the sentimental type as I still have M's birth pics, our first wedding annivesary trip, our trip to Pinas, M's 1st & 2nd bday pics, etc etc..(I still keep my favorite pics in the memory stick kaya daming files) The pictures, well, I have downloaded it on my computer and I have a back up copy as well but I just cannot find the heart to erase those pictures. Please Lord help me! I have searched everywhere. I am positive I left it in the house as the last picture I took was H's project. But where?? I normally put my camera beside my computer. Now, it's gone..huhuhuhu...
Asan na kaya yun? :(

Estudyante blues

I have met my professors and my new classmates! Most of them are nice! At this time, I have to admit that my fave subject is college algebra! When I met Prof. P, I just knew that I love her course already. I was jumping for joy as I tried to factor the polynomials and trinomials. How I miss solving those problems! I think I showed too much eagerness as she just called my name to solve one equation! And I was the only one she called for the next 1 hour and 15 minutes; Buti na lang, nasagot ko! (On second thought, my name is on top of the list, alphabetically arranged --yan ang napapala ng letter a ang surname)
I told H how I love math! I asked him, "Pwede ba akong mag-shift ng course?" He frowned. I said, "Joke lang". If only..
I have my algebra homework to do and I am really excited. I got my a&p homework, my lab and my cat too, but this can wait. Let's solve this problem first!
4x-3x+2xy-y..
Nope, biro lang..Me exponent eh but I cannot type exponent here. Just like the musical note in my captioning..Oh well..
Oh..I just remembered posting the "Umbrella video". I found it nice so I decided to share it. I thought of putting a caption on it but I accidentaly erased it after typing a long story about it. Hmmm..!
Have fun everyone!!

Back to school

I cannot believe that my summer vacation is over! By Monday, I will have to go back to school and indulge myself with my anatomy books and feast on my cat's intestines. (Ooopps..sorry) Seriously, it makes me sad thinking that I will have to leave my son while I study. I truly miss him. Being a hands on mom has lots of perks as one gets to see how it is to really really raise a child! I know how MIL has tried to spoiled him but until this time, M just follows my orders and gets scared whenever I try to raise my voice when he did something unpleasant! And when his time-out is over, M would still hug me tight and say in his sweetest voice " Da-na " which meant sorry. In his blog, I have posted how he says different words and I am the only one in the world who could interpret it. One time, I had to leave him and M wanted a glass of water! He said to his lola. "Yoya, wowo.." Lola replies, "What?" M said, " Wowo, pis". Lola then asked "Ano???" M said, now almost on top of his voice, pasigaw na.." Cup!!!" It was only then that Lola understood him. He was trying to say. "Lola, water please!" Lola gave him a bag of popcorn which M almost finished. That was why he was trying to ask for a glass of water.
H commented that I look sad this past few days! Eh kasi nga, babalik na ako sa school! Mami-miss ko talaga ang anak ko! He was asking me, whatever happened to my motivation?
Ohmygulay!! I have to buy that ti84 calculator for my algebra! Buhay estudyante! Gotta go!!

S visits me!

Hello everyone!
It was my friend S's turn to visit us here. They came Friday night H and I were very busy trying to fit in S's family in our house. We had to put an airbed at M's playroom for S's mom and dad who are currently visiting and will be back in the Philippines next month. Then, we had to squeeze S and her hubs in M's full size bed (the crib now turned bed) and S's kids in a futon (aged 8, 4 & 3) right below their bed. Nagkasya naman sila!
I cooked pork barbecue and grilled shrimps for dinner. The L's brought roasted ribs while the M's gave a cheesecake for dessert. S came from Jacksonville, a 5 hour drive and they were so happy to see what was in the dining table. Yummy!! We slept past 12 midnight as we had to share all the stories in the world! Daldal!!
I woke up early Saturday morning to cook breakfast but MIL was already done! She cooked (what's in my ref) longganisa, eggs and hotdogs and fried rice! By lunch, we had grilled short ribs and grilled portabella mushrooms. Thank God we had dinner at M's house to celebrate their son J's first birthday! My son enjoyed this birthday party and loved J's room so much he does not want to get out. J's room had a train theme and cars theme. I can't wait to finish his toddler room! We had to postpone our carpentry project this week because of our guests. I hope we'll resume next week!
Sunday morning, MIL had cooked again breakfast (Aga nya talaga gumising eh) This time, we had corned beef, spam, hotdogs and fried eggs. By lunch time, I asked S's mom to teach me how to cook pinakbet (she is from Ilocos). I think mil did not like that. Well, this is just my opinion. For lunch, we had inihaw na liempo and pinakbet. H commented that naihaw daw sya ng husto this weekend. Poor H. I just marinated the pork belly with lemon, soy sauce, garlic and pepper and voila!! It was a hit as everyone had a full tummy afterwards!
This week we have to go on a fish diet! We've had so much food!!! Grabeee...
S left after lunch and she was so happy to have spent the weekend with us. Busog na busog daw sila! I'm so happy to hear that!!

Weekend

Hello weekend! Goodbye weekend!
I do know that weekend flies so fast! I wish it could be extended! H and I share this fantasy!
Our Saturday started with the dvd movie 300. I liked it although I missed watching some scenes. M would grab me in the middle of the movie and would insist that I play with him. We would go to his playroom and once he settled in, I would go back to watching the movie. At times, he would notice that I was not in his room anymore so he would go back to the living room and when he sees me, he would climb unto my lap and start playing with my hair, my eyebrows, etc. I finally got to settle him when I put his favorite "shamu rocks" show on his dvd player. He loves watching this show over and over again.
When M took his nap at 3pm, H and I decided to finish installing the vinyl blinds in the townhouse. There is one applicant for the townhouse (H's officemate) and I really like her. They are newlyweds (got married last July23). The lady who is H's officemate wants to move in right away the moment she saw our unit last week but her husband wanted to see the townhouse personally. They have not called me yet but they have filled out the application. I pray that they are the right renters for this unit! Otherwise, may God guide us to the right people.
We finished installing the blinds by 5pm. We were not able to install the blinds in the sliding door leading to the patio because said blinds lacked 2 inches. Bitin! It did not look good so we had to place a special order for said blinds! It was 109 inches long and we bought 107 inches only!
We then went to Home Depot to buy some more wood for M's cabinet.
The next day, Sunday, I woke up at 8am. MIL was craving for shrimps so we drove to the shrimp store and bought 5 pounds of shrimps. She wanted to go to Walmart but I begged off as I have a schedule in church. Today, I am the assigned closed captioner for the Sunday Mass. I volunteered last March as the ad for a closed captioner caught my eye when I read the church's bulletin. The requirement for a captioner was 60wpm and should be willing to undergo training. I know I can type fast but not like the required one but I want to serve in my own little way. The ad said one can reach out to the homebound people by typing the words at the mass. So I applied and went on training.
At the moment, being a captioner really brightens my Sundays. It is nice that I am able to give back something to our Dear God. The computer can be really smart at times or really dumb. (sorry lord) Inside the tv crew room, I am provided with a headset and a microphone. Whenever I say, "The word of the Lord", the computer would sometimes type "The word of the Board" or "praise the lord" it will type "racist Lord". So whenever I see it on the computer screen, I should be fast enough to erase it and type the correct word. I only have 2-3 seconds to correct it. Otherwise, the wrong words will appear on the tv screen and home bound people, mostly elderly, or those who cannot afford to go to the mass and just watch the mass at home in their television would be shocked upon reading those words. I got to be trained by C, B and A though C is my favorite trainor. She told me to just pray before I start the captioning and just have fun doing it. Sometimes the computer can have a mind of his own and would type words other than the ones I have said. Trainor B is a perfectionist. He would insist I type a comma or a period after a sentence. He wants the word of God to be precise. Of course nobody wants to have mispelled words shown on the tv but sometimes it is just inevitable.
This morning, in the middle of the gospel, my computer hanged. I would type and say the words but it just would not pick up what I typed or said. I was tensed for a while. Then on the tv screen ( I had a tv beside my computer so it is like watching two screens at the same time) I saw the characters.."&*&(*&T!(*)(*))..I opted to close the program and thought of rebooting the computer. It will take some time so I figured to close the "caption-maker" program and click it again to initialize. Praise God it worked!!! So I was out like for a minute and went back live again afterwards.
I am telling you, it can be stressful to type everything in the mass especially the sermon where you had to repeat every word the priest say. I also had to type all the songs, etc..EVERYTHING!!!
Which brings me to a question, how do i type a musical note? I know how to type the N - read as enye. (alt 164) --it does not work this time, sorry..Kaartehan lang, I want to type that musical note before a hymn or song.. Does anyone know? Please help me as I would truly appreciate it!

Kitchen backsplash

Due to Jen's request, here's some photos of our diy kitchen backsplash. We bought the backsplash at Home Depot but we studied and read Lowe's guide in doing said backsplash. (see this link )The people at Lowe's were kind to share their own experience and tips when you are making your own backsplash and we appreciated their help. We also asked our friends R and C who had done theirs. Infact, our choice of backsplash resembles somewhat of C's except for the lower portion where we opted for the matched tile instead.
Here's hubs about to start. We had to turn off the outlet in the kitchen so as to be sure we were safe.






We started early morning and little did we know that it will last till the next day. Oopps, I meant until next week. We had to make sure that the grout was dry before we applied the sealant.








We were able to finish it and we were very happy with the result! Now, if only we can do the same thing on the other side of the kitchen near the sink and fridge so it will be balanced. H said I should stop thinking of home improvements as he gets into trouble everytime I think of something. Pero dapat kasi parehong side eh..I still need to convince him. Maybe he will do it next time, maybe next year!! Teehehe...But I did bought the extra tiles just in case he changes his mind. ;)

Choco krinkles

Thanks to Meeya I saw this Krinkles and it made me crave for one. I followed her blog and I was prompted to Abby who shared the krinkles recipe (Maraming salamat sa pagsagot mo sa email ko) So I went to my kitchen and experimented..




Afterwards, here's one happy fellow!




Here's a pic though it was not as inviting as that of Abby's or Meeya's. But here's the good news, my mom in law asked for the recipe when she tried one (or two or three I think). I told her I'll print her one but she wanted to copy it in her little notebook. That little notebook had all her secret recipes. Hmmm...




I need to bake some more!

DIY

I married a carpenter!
As you know, H and I love to Do-It-Yourself. This summer, we did our kitchen's backsplash. (I will have to post that pic sometime). Then, I thought of converting M's crib into a full size bed (nagiging tambakan lang kasi ang crib nya ng kung ano ano..este anik anik) and transform his nursery room turned playroom into a toddler room. So I began to hunt for the perfect shelves for his toys and other stuff. And I found this..

(photo courtesy of land of nod)
I also found another one but I thought this one was easier than the other one. Little did I know, Hubs was challenged with what I assigned him. He prayed to God for this project. And so he began his journey to carpentry.






I assisted him with this project. I took pictures, handed him his tools, charged the batteries, and cleaned the mess afterwards. My son M was also cooperative as he stayed with his lola the whole day. In a day, we almost finished one shelf. We forgot we had to put the plyboard at the back. We also had to paint it white. Well, that will be done next week.
So, what do you think of this?

Scholar

Praise God!
I was granted the Gulf Coast's scholarship for the school year 2007-2008. God is really good. I will not have to worry for the tuition fees for the fall and spring semester. Yehey..I saw their ad at the campus and I applied sometime March as I wanted to help H in my own way. I have been getting good grades (thank you Lord) which made me qualified for the said scholarship. This month, I was approved provided I meet the required average and I continue to do my volunteer work etc. This is the reason why I joined the closed captioning at St. Dominic Catholic Church. Oh well, this is another story.
I am really so happy. God is awesome! Thank you po Lord!

CONT OF Seaworld

(to be continued)
Last July 8, H, M and I went to Seaworld Orlando and had a wonderful time with Shamu. We arrived from Jax at 10am and wanted to stay until 10pm for their fireworks. Seaworld had a new show called "Shamu Rocks" which was scheduled at 9pm. We were in the stadium at 8:30pm. We just took a walk in the nearby viewing station and after 2 minutes, the stadium was closed. H saw how my jaw dropped and he immediately hugged me and whispered "Dont worry, we'll come back tomorrow night." I said "It's fine, I've seen Shamu many times" (although this one is a new show as they always update their shows so visitors get something new everytime you go to Seaworld. H said "Plastic, basta babalik tayo bukas. I saw your face and I don't want that look." Isn't H adorable? So I smiled at di na nagpaka plastic. H will do anything to please me. Haay..
The next day, together with the A's, we went to Typhoon Lagoon , a water theme park by Disney. Since my son adored the waters, this place was heaven sent for him. I cannot believe that I had to be under the sun the whole day, even at 12noon. (Yaikks. Though H said di naman daw ako tinatalaban ng araw, hehehe) M did not want to get out of the surf pool. This place resembled the Shipwreck Island that we had in Panama City although this one is of course, HUGE! The surf/wave pool had a boom sound, like an alarm, which went on whenever they would release giant waves and M would run to his dad whenever he heard that. But still, we can't let him out of the waters even with that scary sound. He would just come back once the giant wave was gone. Anyhoo, di na kami makita sa dilim ngayon, hehehehe..






Then at night, at around 730pm, we excused ourselves from the A's and we went back to Seaworld. By 8pm, we were in the stadium even though the show will start at 915pm. Sigurista na kami.
The title "Shamu rocks" is an undestatement. I was really amazed at how they can train such killer whales. The lights and sounds that went with the show were truly amazing. I thank H that we did came back for this show. It was worth it.






We got to see the fireworks too at 10pm although it did not match the Disney's Magic Kingdom last New Year when we celebrated New Year at Disney. For me, I still love Disney's fireworks right at the famous castle. It always reminds me of my favorite show "The wonderful world of Disney." Hmm..am i revealing my age? THat was decades ago at channel 7. Heheheheh..
We had dinner at Chilis although the A's called us that they ordered chinese for dinner and they are waiting for us at their timeshare. We got home at 1130pm. Its a good thing the time share had a kingsize bed so the three of us could fit in and sleep at once.
The next morning we were supposed to go to Downtown Disney at 10am. For some reason, H wanted to go home already since it will take us about 6 hours to get home. So I kissed my good friend S and waved bye bye. I saw S surprised with that look - Bakit uuwi na kayo?" I explained that H wanted to go home early. Besides, we'll be seeing the A's again next month for J's 1st birthday. I wonder if they will sleep at their house since my IL is still with us. I only have 2 guestrooms available. Maybe, they'll sleep at C's house. Oh well..
That sums up our short but sweet vacation. I was thrilled that I got to spend time with H and M and my good friend S as well. It's nice that S and I have been friends since college days and oh no..its been more than a decade ago.!!!

Seaworld

1st week of July

I got inspired with Meeya's blog. She was able to tell everything that happened to her..in a nutshell. Gleng!! Here I am trying to update with what's the latest or rather what's the last..Whatever!
Last July 4, our friend B invited us at their new home. And boy oh boy, it was such a huge house and he's got his own pool and his own badminton/volleyball area right beside the pool. He's got a storage which is about the size of a guestroom. He's got 3 kids aged 4,3 and 2 and they all love to swim! B shared his story that even at 12 midnight, when he can't sleep, he would just take a dip at the pool and he swears it is the most relaxing thing that he does lately after a hard day's work. My H commented that if that would be him, he could probably sleep in the pool. Even our little buddy R said, even before we leave their house "Daddy,when are we coming back to this house?" That was such a cozy house they got. Kids and adults would love to hang out at their place.


We came at 3 pm and since it's potluck style, we brought lumpiang shanghai. B cooked his famous kare kare and spaghetti. The L's brought ice cream while the M's brought barbecue and hotdogs. At 4 pm, it started to rain so we all stayed inside the house and ate all the food. By 6 pm, the rain stopped so we all went outside and plunged ourselves in the pool. We all had a great time. The plan was to go to the Marina Civic Center by the beach to watch the fireworks but nobody wants to drive at 9pm. The host B was ready with his own fireworks and my son M got scared of the sparklers. It was really a fun evening.
The next day, July 5, I started packing for our trip to Jacksonville to attend M's 8th birthday. H says that packing our luggage for a weekend trip it is one thing that he hates. He is so grateful that I do all those stuff now which includes deciding for him what to wear. He cannot complain that I brought this clothes instead of the ones he would like to wear because he does not pack his stuff anymore. Besides, since we got married, I do all the shopping for him. I can pack for a trip in a minute and make sure that I bring all the toiletries that we need. I have a toiletry bag filled with soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc and refills this bag everytime we're done with a trip. That way, I do not forget anything.
Target time for departure on Friday was 9am. Thanks to H's work, we left the house at 2pm. My friend S has been calling me as she prepared lunch but sadly I had to tell her that we'll arrive at dinner time instead. Our other good friends/neighbors, the L's and the M's are all spending the weekend at S's house. Imagine 3 families with 2 babies each all spending the night at S's house..S has a 4br house so we all could fit in!
Early Saturday morning, I heldped S cooked breakfast. I cooked eggs, spam, corned beef in that order. Ubos agad ang breakfast then we started preparing for lunch. Parang wala kaming ginawa kundi kumain. M had a great birthday party with lots of presents to boot.


By 4pm, we headed to the pool again and H and I were really envious of their kiddie pools. Pambata talaga. My son was scared of the slide though. Here's a clip and we had another feast. As always, my son did not want to leave the pool when it was time to go home. Iyakan talaga muna..

We went back to S's house and this time, we had dinner. We had paella, spaghetti, chicken, lumpia, etc.
The next day, Sunday, we drove to Orlando to see Shamu. A fave word for M is "SHAMU, SHAMU". It was such a great day with H and M. We had lunch at Seaworld and dinner at TGIF afterwards. We headed to S's timeshare for a much deserved rest at 11pm. We were really dead tired by then.

(to be continued..)

4th of july fireworks

Miguel's lingo

M can recite the ABC's. He has been reading all the letters in my shirt, the stop sign, exit sign. He knows his body parts including heart. I taught him anatomy kasi.(Yeah right) ;) Kaaliw!
He calls me mimi, his dad, didi. Lola as wowa and my bil as nongnong for ninong. Ang jojo nya eh pronounced as joejoe..Slang ang dating. We talk to him in filipino because we want him to be able to express himself in filipino. He says "opo" when he means yes and kabog when he points to his heart.
He can say "iloveyou" in his sweetest voice. And "night" when he wants to go to sleep even in his afternoon naps. Then he will say, "nyt books, nyt..nyt.."
Tonight, we were in our bed when he tried to reach for his feet and put it on his nose. (parang baby eh laki na kaya nya) Then he said after smelling his feet, "Bahu".
Hala, who taught him that?

LO

Here's my first layout..i mean, my second. I did the first one last Father's day as my son's present to H ( a page entitled "Daddy's boy"). I should take a picture of that soon!
I wanted to do scrapbook for so long that I have compiled all of our pictures in my storage box. After this layout, I don't know what to do next. Maybe, my wedding picture? Oh, let me think. Maybe, I should do that birthing picture. It was
Pia (when we had a chat a year ago) who encouraged me that that picture deserves a scrapbook page. I think I should do that..
Meantime, I would like to call myself as as scrapbooker on a budget. I only buy items on sale. So far, here is what I have done.

I finished a book

It's summer and believe it or not, I found the time to read and actually finish this book in three days! Mommies will hopefully agree with me that raising their kid is the toughest job in this world so reading a book is such a treat for me. I cannot even take a shower for more than 15 minutes. Or take my shower without my son watching me thru the glass window. Tsk.. No privacy. (At least now, I have an audience when I sing in the shower and he claps his hands whenever I'm done.)
Last Monday, I borrowed "Shopaholic and Baby" at the library when I brought my son so he can have his playtime with the books. The library had building blocks, legos, mini tables and chairs where M could scribble and draw using his crayons and his imagination. Also, I borrowed some children's books since M is so into his books lately. I need to return these books after two weeks and get a new supply.
It turned out that this book that I borrowed is really hilarious!! I never got to read any of
S. Kinsella's book and yet I was able to relate to this one. Apparently, it is a series of books I think but still I enjoyed reading this. It is about Becky, a pregnant mom, who got her husband's ex as her ob-gyn! All those hormones all bottled up made her into an almost crazy mom to be and yet, her instincts were still right after all. That character is really funny. I do not know if I could still read Kinsella's other books. But this one drove me nuts! It is soooo funny!!!
Now, I have to read M his fave "Guess how much I love you" book. Now, this one is really my favorite. Good night!!

Investment

We prayed and saved! Finally, we had our closing today for the townhouse. It was supposed to be rented by a colleague at $850 a month for two years. Then we surveyed the market and it could go to $1300 a month. So we tried our luck and advertised it. We posted an ad for $1100 Monday morning. Until now, we haven't received an inquiry yet.
We hope we could get a renter the soonest time. It is close to the mall and unit is at 1600sqft, 3 br , hardwood floors with one car garage. It is a real nice place. You can see the link here. Browse the progress photos and you'll be amazed. I liked it very much.
We're keeping our fingers crossed that God will give us the right person the soonest time! Otherwise, no shopping galore for me!!!

Swimming

My son loves to swim! That's why we're dreaming of having our own pool. But as I add up all the expenses that will go with the pool, I scrape off the idea.
It is a good thing that the community pool is just a block away. It is also a good place to meet our neighbors. Last year, we go there almost everyday. This year, we go there on weekends..
After a day's work, H and I together with M went to the pool. M now wants to swim on his own and does not want to be held. Kala mo kaya na nya. I might enroll him in swimming class. I dont know yet. Bahala na si Batman!
I was trying to get him in the video but M is so fascinated seeing himself on the video. He would say "Swimming.." but he prefers to look in the camera na lang.
Here's a clip. It was almost 7pm when we went there so kami na lang ang tao sa pool! We thought it was better, para me privacy. Maybe, masarap nga may sariling pool!

Dream

I finally got an email from my sister. I still do not agree with her plans but what can I do? I suddenly realize I am ultra conservative. I pray that God will lead us to the right path especially my sister! I am still hurt by what is happening which explains why I havent talked to her. I tried to call her tonight but I cannot find in my heart the courage to tell her how I feel as I might offend her more.
=======================================
I dreamt of my dad last night! He was asking me "Bakit ngayon ka lang?" He was seated comfortably wearing white shirt and white shorts. Summer kasi eh heheh....Gosh, I miss him terribly! If only...

Shopping time

H asked me where I want to go and I said Let's go to Destin . I brought our swim clothes since we might be tempted to go in the beach too. Destin has a real nice beach with powdery sand. And the weather was perfect.
We drove for an hour. When we arrived at Destin, my son fell asleep and he was still sleeping when we put him in his stroller. He slept in the stroller for 2 straight hours. H and I enjoyed shopping and dressing up so we forego our plan of going to the beach and went straight to the outlet. He bought new pants and new shirts. I just cannot resist that tempting dress at my fave store Ann Taylor. They always carry my right size. H saw how I loved that dress and how I stopped myself from buying it because it was not on sale. I returned it on the rack but he got it and paid for it himself. I said he did not have to because I rarely wear dresses. He still bought it for me! I was really touched by that gesture. He has always been generous and kind and sweet and loving. He said "Im buying you that dress just because..." Later, I was tempted to get a new purse at Coach but I just got a new one recently so hanggang tingin na lang ako. H was telling me to buy one but I said no. Ngayon, nagsisisi ako. hehehhehe..
Then we had dinner at New Dragon restaurant, a buffet chinese restaurant who also served sushi and crab legs. On the way to the resto, I said "Love, delecho". H laughed. Naging intsik daw kasi ako dahil delecho instead of derecho. Still, M was so behaved that he just sat on the booster seat and ate his own meal. Is he over the terrible two's stage? H and I enjoyed our dinner to the fullest. How can I shed off those extra pounds?
We got home at 8pm. I tucked M at around 10pm. I called my brother who is now celerating his 30th birthday. We talked about my sister's plan which is still not good. Well, I am still praying that she makes the right decision. Then H and I slept late as we watched "Deadliest Catch." So many crabs and it was so risky. Well, one has to do what he has to do..
I just love Saturdays. It was really a fun date with my boys! Praise God!

Tagged by Apple

HI! I've been tagged by Apple .

RULES:

Each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves on their blog. People who are tagged need to blog 7 facts about themselves and post the rules as well. At the end of their blog list 7 people you are tagging. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment.

1. I blog to vent out my emotions. But only 3 people who knows me personally knows that I have a blog. My sister, my husband and my best friend I.
2. I wanted to start scrapbooking for the last three years and last Father's day I got to do my first layout. It was a gift for my husband from my son. Now, I don't know what to do next. I want to start with our love story as my anniversary present for November. But I do not know how to go about it. (Thanks Mickee for helping me :))
3. I went back to school (because my husband forced me to) last year to get a nursing degree. I prayed hard about it and I know God answered my prayer when I passed the CPT. Nursing school never came into my mind. In fact, my friends who knows me in my banking days and college days and high school days and grade school days know that I will never dream of becoming a nurse. But people change and dreams change. And I really want to buy that LV bag. (di ba Meeya? )heheheh..
4. I nursed for 16 months. M never got use of the feeding bottle in the first place. (Kaya bago pa rin ang avent bottles ko at balak kong ipadala sa sister ko) My plan was for 6 months lang but since I got used to it plus its beneficial for my son and mas matipid, I lasted that long!
5. My whole family in Pinas thinks I can not be a housewife. They do not think I can cook, iron clothes, do the laundry, clean the house, etc. Even my cousin M thought that I'd only last for 2 years as a stay at home mom. My dad who passed away last September has not tried any dish that I have cooked. H swears I can cook. His weight will tell you how he loves my cooking. (I cannot divulge his weight though.) And it has been 3 years and 7 months since I became a housewife. Pinakamahirap na career. But I love it to bits.
6. I love to shop especially if it is on sale/clearance. When I was earning my own money I did not care about the price of any bag or shoe or clothes for that matter. Now, I find it really hard to buy something if it is not on sale. I am talking about shoes only and clothes..;)
7. I love Saturday and Sunday mornings with my boys. We are lazy to get out in bed so we kid around and play and jump in bed and just hang out. I always think and ask GOD if I did something realy good to deserve a life like this. Praise God for all His blessings! Esp. a healthy and happy family!

I think everyone has been tagged so I cannot post any names anymore. So if you're reading this, you're tagged!

Honor's list

I got a letter from my school that I am included in the honor's list for last semester's Spring 07. I am so happy because all my efforts paid off. Well, during the Fall 06 class I was also included in the honor's list ( Yaiks, asan na ba yung letter na iyon? . I do not remember if I blogged about it) I pray I will be able to maintain my grades and be accepted in the nursing program! I felt MIL being proud of me as H showed him the letter! Thanks be to God!

Father's day cookout

Yesterday was a fabulous father's day! Whew! We all had our tummies and hearts filled with delight! Hubs thought of having a cook out at St. Andrews . I called our friends Thursday night and all 8 pinoy families confirmed that they will all come! (R invited another Korean family and so did V) No one declined our invitation! Everyone wanted to celebrate dad's day together this time! So we all had lunch at the park potluck style. H and I came in early as we had to make sure we would be able to get a good spot for grilling the ribs (which H did and it was really good- no leftovers) and at the same time close to the playground so our kids could enjoy the swing and the slide (which they did while us parents watched) The others could not stop themselves from going into the waters (at 12 noon..tsk - H included) At 2 pm, the D's called and asked if they could bring ice cream so it was just perfect. Better late than never! We had cantaloupes and watermelons but nothing beats Nestle Drumstick! My son M enjoyed it to the max!





At 3pm, we then went to the beach. It was just a minute drive since the state park had the picnic grounds, camping grounds, a gator land, etc. all belonging in one area. At this point, M cried so hard he doesn't want to leave the state park. We kept on telling him that we will just park our car near the beach and he could still go swimming. Hala, he cried and after just one minute in his car seat where we buckled him up, he dozed off to sleep. He was really tired so that's why he became cranky. While he was sleeping, the daddies set up our beach umbrellas, boats, and other stuff. H cannot help but wake my son up as he thinks he should not miss the fun in the beach. (Sus, almost every week kaya kami nasa beach ) So after an hour, he woke him up and off they ran to the beach! It was really fun watching my 2 boys.
Nobody wanted to leave that time! It was almost sunset when the gang started packing up!
Again, M does not want to leave! He cried and we had to trick him just to get him out of the waters. Ang hirap huh!
It was a fun day!! I'm sure we will do this again! It's nice that we are just minutes away from the beach. I just pray no hurricanes will hit this year!
Here's our Pics!

happy dad's day

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

This was taken at his mother's day present for me--my sitting area with a fountain and flower pots to boot! So relaxing we would spent our quiet nights here at the backyard! Love you love!
As a proof of my love, I bought him this. It was hard earned money on my part as I worked part time babysitting this summer. I heard him talking to SIL. He said that he was touched by my generous gift as I bought him something he will definitely not buy for himself. Actually, style ko lang ito para ibili nya na ako ng matagal ko ng pangarap. Bwahahahahha..

X

I am feeling a little sad because my good friend/classmate R is leaving this end of the month. She will move to South Carolina together with her 3 kids. Well, there'll be emails and phone calls but it will feel different. She asked me to move in with her so we get to study in the same school. Nice thought. It is hard to be friends with people who are in the military. They just stay for a while and then move at another place. I will surely miss R.

Well, another thing that is on my mind which is nonsense really I don't know if it is worth blogging. There's this person whom we call X. I think she wants to see H terribly that she planned for their vacation at D. I got all this information from my BIL who came in with a set of nice clothes for my son. Ok, here it goes.

When BIL came home, we were at the dinner table eating. BIL said that X called H that afternoon but H was not picking up. T mobile does not have a signal at his office and X did not bother to leave a message. What X did was to go to H's former workplace since they used to work together in that facility. H had transferred to a new facility last March (which X does not know that's why she went to that old facility with the hope of finding H.) Then X brought the set of clothes to BIL's house and called BIL and told BIL the whole story. Hmmm..?

In my opinion, if X wanted to see my son and give him the clothes, she could have called my house or she should have drove straight to my house as she very well knows that I am a stay at home mom. If she did not want to see me or my son and wanted to see H instead, then she would call him on his cellphone, she would go to his office and she would leave the clothes to BIL's house which is a few blocks from my home.

Hmmmm...desperate moves! Tsk...

Friday night out

Tonight, H and I went out on a date. Actually, it was last Tuesday when he asked me what my plans are for Friday. I said, nothing. So he said, we should catch a movie and have dinner. Or vice versa for that matter. I winked at him and said yes, i would love that. I guess the last date we had was last month which I forgot to blog. Oh, it was a Thursday and he asked me to go out with him as he had a surprise for me. It turned out that we had concerts at the park and that night it was a band who played blues music. H brought a picnic basket, complete with Ben and Jerry's Pistachio ice cream. I remember I laughed so hard because we were the only young people in that concert. Almost everyone was 50 years old and up. And we didn't know their songs. There was one lola who danced with all her might. H said he will remember her and hopefully she doesnt get to be a patient for evaluation by H. Talk about out of place. But it was still fun because I was with H.:)
Back to our date, we had to plan our great escape. The little boy had spider senses that we were going to leave him behind so he started clinging to me. MIL was helpful as she tried to entertain M while we grabbed the car keys. It was an easy one.
We headed to Bonefish Grill . The food was great. For appetizers, we had calamari. Then I ordered Crab Cake while H ordered chops. The ambience was great too. The manager was kind enough to approach us. We were asked if that was our first time and we said yes. So he introduced himself and welcomed us. I think that was really nice. When we went out, a long line has formed and I heard the guests had to wait 30 minutes to get in. Our friend E was right in telling us that it was not really child friendly. They had bar stools on some tables. Luckily, we did not get that type. Our table had some type of paper as their tablecloth. It was pretty neat and easy to clean afterwards and yet it did not look cheap. I mean, they had candles on the tables plus the lighting still provided a romantic ambience.
Our dinner lasted for more than an hour so we were late for the movie "Mr. Brooks." We had to settle for the next one which I cannot remember the title. Seriously, it was a lousy movie. It had Ashley Judd and I cannot remember who. I really did not like it.
On the way home, I craved for some Krispy Kreme because of the "Hot Now" sign. I just cant resist that sign. Hayyy.. H bought half a dozen for me. Bait noh?
One good thing even though we have seen a lousy movie, being with H that night made that date a very good one. We both realized how we still love each other's company and how being away from M at least for four hours recharged me. Seeing that movie made us talk about how lousy the movie was and how we wasted $16.00 for that. Next time, we should see the ratings first. Lesson learned.
We got home at 10pm and baby M was still up and running. He took the first bite of my Krispy Kreme. I gave MIL the other one. And the rest, well, I have to do treadmill tomorrow.. Hehehe..

M's blog

What have I been busy with?
Aside from trying to finish my son's photo album, I have been trying to update his blog.
Here it is.. my son's blog
Oh, and Ive been trying to clean the attic, clean my closet, my son's closet, H's closet.
So many things to do, so little time!

Happy birthday Sis!

I texted her happy birthday. She replied back. She texted thanks.
That's it.
Have a happy birthday Sis! I want to tell you so many things but I guess I don't know where to start. You'll be a mom soon so I guess you'll know how it is to love unconditionally. You'll think of your baby first. Yourself, last.
I love you, as always!!!

Memorial weekend

Together with the L's, we drove to Jacksonville Friday night. H could not come as he had promised to finish the sitting area at the backyard for my supposed to be Mother's day present (super delayed..err. I always complain that I have nowhere to sit everytime I watch M play at the backyard)
After an hour's drive, we had a flat tire so we had to sleep at D's house at Tallahassee. D had a dog named "pogi." M was scared of the little puppy. So cute.
The next morning, we left for Jacksonville and had lunch at Jeepney Stop- a filipino restaurant a.k.a. turo turo style who cooks yummy yummy filipino food. I ordered lechon and daing na bangus.
We then went swimming. It was more of a swimming weekend as our kids would always request that we go swimming. How I envy their pools! It was really designed for kids just like the ones that Shipwreck Island had. It was just 1 foot deep and mushroomlike tunnels are everywhere. Our kids enjoyed the pool as much as we did. And they had lifeguards everywhere. It really felt safe!
Dinner came and we had chicken bbq and steak and inihaw na tilapia at S's house. Sunday morning, we all went to church. Then we had lunch at Cheesecake Factory . I had my favorite Renee's Special - One-Half of a Chicken Salad Sandwich, a Cup of Soup
and a Small Green Salad. I asked S for a spoonful of her white chocolate raspberry truffle cheesecake as I was really full. Yummy!
Afterwards, we went shopping at St. John's.
It was a great weekend indeed. I am so blessed to have S in my life. She is one of my precious friends. Our friendship started when we were in college. Who would have thought that we will still be friends now that we have kids? She's got three adorable kids (I am the ninang of the oldest M). She is also the ninang of my only son M.
When I came home, my sitting area was right there waiting for me. Yehey, thanks H. You're the best! That sitting area would mean another post...Maybe later.
Have fun!!

Shipwreck Island

Just like last year, we were invited by Tita A at Shipwreck Island . My son had a blast. The rides were all great! The burgers and hotdogs were all yummy! We all had a great time! All the pinoy families were present today. Family outing ang dating. Ang saya talaga!!
We all enjoyed the lazy river, the giant slide and the wave pool! H found it hard to let my son get out of the water. My baby just loves the pool. Siya ang super enjoy.
The heat is on! Have a fun summer!!

The 2nd bday party for the lil boy

Today was our planned birthday party for the little boy! He is now two years old! We have invited a few friends to join us on this special day! The party was set at the Pool Pavillion but with a cold weather this morning, we had to move it here at the house! It turned out to be the best decision as the kids got to play outside and once it got cold, we went inside the house and watched manny pacquiao's boxing game! Champion!
For the food, we had kare kare, lumpiang shanghai, inihaw na liempo, chicken barbecue, fried turkey and spaghetti. The dessert table had leche flan, puto, maja blanca, and biko. All the guests commented that the food was great! Tita E baked the delicious chocolate cake. It looked so yummy I had a hard time slicing it! Sayang kasi ang design. It was really a labor of love from Tita E.
M was geared up as a racing car champ ( Thanks Ninang S for the outfit)to match the cars theme for the party. He had to sign up his autograph as girls lined up. We had the traditional pabitin and pinata. We also guess the number of tires games and egg relay contest. Everyone had fun!
Thank you Lord for 2 great years!!! Here's to more birthdays..(and parties)..!!

2 years old

Two years ago, B was born. How time flies! Now he is two and suddenly I realized he is no longer a baby. huhuhuhuh..
Anyways, Lola cooked pancit and caldereta. ( I prefered fried chicken:))It was yummy. I bought cupcakes because I wanted to teach him how to blow his cake as he will have his birthday party this sunday with a few friends. I am expecting 30 adults and 15 kids. It will be a pool party and I do hope it gets to be a sunny day.
I would like to share this video. I just hope he will do the same thing on Sunday pero sana di na sya sakalin ni lola. biro lang..
Happy birthday my baby!

Playdate

lyrics

Dance with my Father
by : Luther Vandross

Back when I was a child
Before life removed all the innocence
My father would lift me high
And dance with my mother and me and then


Spin me around till I fell asleep
Then up the stairs he would carry me
And I knew for sure
I was loved


If I could get another chance
Another walk, another dance with him
I’d play a song that would never, ever end
How I’d love, love, love to dance with my father again


Ooh, ooh


When I and my mother would disagree
To get my way I would run from her to him
He’d make me laugh just to comfort me, yeah, yeah
Then finally make me do just what my mama said


Later that night when I was asleep
He left a dollar under my sheet
Never dreamed that he
Would be gone from me


If I could steal one final glance
One final step, one final dance with him
I’d play a song that would never, ever end
‘Cause I’d love, love, love to dance with my father
again


Sometimes I’d listen outside her door
And I’d hear her, mama cryin’ for him
I pray for her even more than me
I pray for her even more than me


I know I’m prayin’ for much too much
But could You send back the only man she loved
I know You don’t do it usually
But Lord, she’s dyin’ to dance with my father again
Every night I fall asleep
And this is all I ever dream

lets go fishing

Patience is a virtue!
Watch as hubs and son go fishing! As if they were able to catch a fish, hmmm..better luck next time. We went home empty handed. The waves were really strong so blame it on the weather!

hello

This was the most hectic week I have had so far. With a research paper due, lab exams, lecture exams, and a movie about Wolfgang Amadeus, I just had to juggle everything. Oh, and my son is starting to express himself. Like I gave him his sippy cup with milk. Then he said, " Tu shu." I said, "what?" He repeated it. "Tu shu". Then it dawned on me he was saying " thank you." Last night, it was my brother in law who gave him a chocolate bar as his pasalubong from work. He then said "Tu shu" And my bro said, "Sis did you hear that he said thank you?" Hehehehe..we are all so proud of him. Well, he says, opo, yeah, notebook (he loves blue's clues), wowow (for wowowee), kabog, mum, dad, lola and uh oh when he knows he is in trouble...

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I am so excited to have our spring break. Yippeee!! It did not occur to me that I will have one whole week off from school until my classmate told me. That would mean I get to spend time with my son, clean the house, start with my flower garden, throw all my junk mail, and yup, plan for my son's 2nd birthday party. I have started with it and then I just stopped. This weekend, that is a must do for me.

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My sister and I are in good terms now. (We are not talking. hehehhe) I mean, I know in time, we'll be ok. I love her and that's all that matters.

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Have a great week everyone!!

Yup, shopping time it is!!!
My son loves to shop and here's a proof! Together with his cousins and aunt N and Uncle J, he prefers the red cap. Japorms..

Positive

I prayed to God that she will be just fine when I left her. She asked me to trust her, that she can handle herself, that everything will be alright.
And yet, she made a wrong choice. Or who am I to say it is the right thing or the wrong thing to do?
I am deeply hurt with what she did. Extremely disappointed. Why did she do that?
If she only knows how much I love her, will it change? And that I will accept her no matter what. She is still my baby, my favorite sister in the whole wide world.
This too shall pass...

Bye

Proud mom, thats me. ehem..
Today, my son waved bye. And here I am ready to share it to the world.
It's been a while since I have shared a clip so hope you enjoy watching it.

Am I coming or not?

Our family is driving to Atlanta tonight to see Centennial Park, Lenox Mall, Georgia Aquarium and whatever Atlanta has to offer. I am having second thoughts, seriously, of going. With my coming A&P exam this Thursday, I think of my weekend as my time to study since H & M will be out, my IL's will be out, my nephews will be out. My home entirely to myself. Wow !!! That is a study treat right.
Have I turned myself to a geek or nerd or what? Something is wrong with me I think. Hey, it is Friday and here I am at the library. Geesh..
I better go home and start packing for my boys. And I'll bring my pink turtleneck/thermal wear and pink gloves. And my scarf as the weather says it will be 30's - 40's there.
So who says I'm not coming?
Ok, I think I'm still me.

Love

I just know in my heart H loves and adores me and only me. And it makes me giggle into a glee.
It's funny how being married changes you. The demands of a toddler (what , terrible two's starts early - he is just 21 months old..) going back to school, housework, in laws, all the daily grunts, where to park, should I turn left or right, what's for dinner, the list is endless.
And yet, coming home knowing H supports me and loves me..whew! Sleeping beside him and waking up in his loving arms is one of my many blessings!
Thanks be to God!

My weekend

Where did the weekend go?
I know I should have read my books but alas, it's only now that I got to open them. And Im in the library, minutes before my class. I hope my professor will not call me to discuss the skeletal system. I really have to implement my planned study habits. Tsk!
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I just figured out I deserved a break (though my mind says I dont deserve it). My good friend S & her family arrived from Jacksonville last Friday. I was really tired but she called me up on the phone saying I need to see her after 5 hours of driving. She stayed with our other good friend C since our rooms are all occupied until further notice..;) I went to see her at 11pm and stayed until 1am. Kwentuhan at tsikahan..C's house was on the same street as ours..
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Saturday morning was I's 2nd birthday party. My son had a blast. Food was good and they all love the caldereta (which I cooked). My sil commented it was really good. All our Filipino friends are excited for the next party which will be on April. Ohmygosh, it will be my turn to cook and plan. On the other hand, I'm thinking of a simple party. H insists he'll buy lechon daw. How can I go back to my old shape - 90lbs? Dream on!
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Sunday morning I cooked breakfast for S's family. Then we all went to church. (H came with me, alleluia! It's been a while since we've been together in the church. He started going to another church together with his mom since September) Then, S wanted to eat at a restaurant in the beach -- Uncle Ernie's-- but my ref has lots of leftovers which we want to empty first. So S and I kissed bye bye at the church. I am pretty sure we will see each other again soon.
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This weekend, our family is planning to be in Atlanta. My sil says we should tour her around. So we will visit our bil's house, eat dimsum, and have lots of fun. Oopps, I hear shopping is around the corner at
Lenox Mall. (hehehehhe)

Another exam in lab and it gives me butterflies in my stomach. I hope I'll do good.
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Nowadays, I leave the house on MWF and I always get the look "you dont have school today" from my IL. Still, I do it my way. I really cannot focus on my studies with 3 toddlers and 1 baby (MIL is babysitting a pretty baby with hazel eyes:) So off to library I go. And I end up typing here at my blog.
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Hope you'll all have a fantastic week ahead! :)

I cant believe I've done it. Yipeee...
Well, as you know Im back to school and I just came out of my Anatomy quiz. Results shall be posted in two hours or less. I am praying I did good. Amen.
I find A&P interesting but totally apart from my business degree. It's a good thing H reviews me with my notes. I can see that he also enjoys recalling the body parts, body planes. Hay naku, each day is totally new. I feel like I have enriched kuno my vocabulary. So many terms..
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My house is a chaos. My sister in law have arrived and have been staying with us for a month now. She's got 2 toddlers which drives me nuts. I know my son will go to that stage sooner or later. I just cannot believe that my nephew does not run out of mischievous tricks like writing on my newly painted wall and blaming his brother for that, emptying the entire baby powder onto the floor, etc etc. It makes me scared if and when my son becomes his age. Sagana naman sya sa palo at sermon pero ganun pa rin.
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My mother in law got her green card which makes her eligible to go home. It was indeed a speedy process as it took her only 3 months after we filed the papers last October. She said she'll go home sometime August.
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So there..at least you know I am still alive!!! :)

The Christmas Crying Party

Well, things are pretty busy this month. Our community decided to have our traditional christmas party a week earlier. We all met last Saturday, Dec 16th at 7pm and had our traditional potluck style.
My son Miguel has been crying the whole party. I think he is not used to having so many people around. I am just laughing about it at first. Here's a clip to prove what I am saying.

He refused to play with other kids and prefers to play alone. Then he would tag my hand and would insist I sit beside him while he plays.
Is this just a stage? Now, Im excited that his cousins are coming over because that way he'll get used to having other kids around the house. Takot ba sya sa tao?

Finals

Now I am on my last leg. Who would have thought that I would finish this semester? (Who even thought I would enroll in fall 2006? ;))Even I doubted myself. But now, I have finished my final exams on two subjects, Nutrition & Dev. Psych. I will still have to deal with two more tomorrow. I just cant wait to have this done and over with.
Some good news, my sister in law, together with her kids & hubby are coming this 29th and we will all be spending our New Year's Eve on Disneyworld & Seaworld . It would surely be a memorable vacation. Our savings will be slightly depleted but I am sure memories will be priceless. It will be my son's first trip to Disney and I am so excited. I have shopped for his clothes so as to make sure he will be comfortable, he wont be cold and the like.
Funny thing is, someone offered (a.k.a. xgf)her house for us to stay. We called her to ask for discounted tickets (too bad none). H preferred that we get our own place. That way , we could all do our thing and besides, we are 6 adults and 3 kids. Talk about big family ei.. and her house is about 45 mins drive to Disney. Thanks to hotels.com, I think I have found a perfect place to stay.
Hmmm.. gotta study! Bye for now..

:(

There has not been a day that I havent cried, shed a tear or two. It would just strike me at an unknown time, when Im driving, in the parking lot, in the restroom, in my classroom, in my bed. Anywhere, anytime. It could be at 3am, at 7pm, or 6am. I couldnt describe my feelings. It would be a tear which would then be a sob. It would be a sad thought then an angry thought. I really dont know.
I would call my siblings in the Philippines and I was hoping my dad would pick up the phone. I would look at his text messages and feel melancholic.
I just miss my dad.

2 weeks

What? Finals will be in 2 weeks, how time flies. I havent even started reading Chapter1 yet. (joke)
I did not imagine going back to school would be that hard and challenging yet it is fun. Seriously, Im enjoying it. At first, I lovingly joked my hubs that I have plans of changing my career (from being a bank officer to a RN) I asked him his ideas on what if I go back to school and earn a degree in the medical field..err..nursing. Never mind if I have hematophobia but I know I just want to try and see for myself. (Besides, that's a very good excuse of letting me out of the house for 3 hours a day) Surprisingly, hubs thought it was a very brilliant idea and so I did my thing last May. I had to pass the entrance exams, have my grades evaluated ( our grading system has to match their sytem here like 90 is to A etc. ) I guess that left me with no choice but to go back to school.
Quizzes, presentations, hmmm..it scares me at first but Im getting used to it.
I guess being a student is not that bad. After all, we are students of this thing called life.
Meantime, I better start reading Chapter1.
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Thanks to all those who left me a note regarding my dad. I still have crying moments, when I'm driving, when Im in the parking lot, when Im home, when Im in the grocery store etc. I know this is all a part of it. Knowing you're praying for me really helps. I truly appreciate it.

My dear dad

Warning : This is very sad. I just have to write now as I am again teary eyed.
This morning, I had a dream about my dad. In my dream, I was home when the phone rang. I picked it up. And on the other line was dad's voice, giving me instructions on a certain check, that it has to be deposited. I just cried..hearing him. I asked him how he was doing..and then the line was cut. And he was gone. And I cried, cried so hard.
Too bad I can't call him when I woke up. He passed away last September. Very untimely, as we were planning for his vacation here that month.
The last text message I got from him was during my birthday, where he wished me a wonderful year ahead and of course, his desire to be with his only grandchild M. He is a proud "lolo". During our vacation last April-May, he was so crazy with his "apo". When we left the Philippines, our phone calls would not be complete without him having to talk to M. My son would talk back in his goo goo gaa gaa voice, and some shrieks in between. It makes me happy in a way that at least Dad got to be with his grandson physically, even for just 6 weeks.
So when he was confined in the hospital last week of September, I had the urge to go home immediately. I left H and my baby M and flew home. That was the longest flight I ever took continously praying that Dad's gonna be ok and that we will all get through this. But then I was late. His liver failed and he had been revived twice but that was just it. Dad expired at 1030pm Friday night when my plane landed at 1010pm. At the airport, my cousins were unusually quiet. Not until I reached the hospital that my sister relayed the news. That was the saddest moment of my life. Ugh..
Good thing H and M followed me after 3 days. It was not a good flight for H (travelling alone with an 18 month old baby for 18 hours is unthinkable) but he managed to be with me. We stayed for 2 weeks in the Philippines. I got the chance to be with relatives & family & friends. And then, it was time to go back.
Until now, I still cry. I would have moments of crying when I start to think of him. My baby would look at me and that would make me cry more. I just miss my dad. I truly miss him.
I find peace in knowing that he is now with the Lord. I do pray that he is happy now that he is reunited with my mom and with God.
But still, I cant stop crying...