Hurricane Season Peak?

Hubby told me that the peak season for hurricanes is this month. From the way the hurricanes are making their way here, I'd say he's right on the mark.

June is the start of the hurricane season. Up until late August, we only had 3 named storms. A couple of weeks ago, storm #4, Danielle was spotted. She's now gone. But right now, we're watching 3 of them, I think. And that's in a span of a few weeks. The worst so far, Earl, is nowt cruising along the coast. It's not expected to hit Florida but it's still scary watching 3 [sometimes 4] hurricanes on the news. Some tourists in the NC outer banks already ditched their plan of staying there in the fear that it will have a great impact to the banks.

We are not feeling the effect of any of these hurricanes right now. I'm praying we won't have to in the coming days and weeks. But being in a state known to be prone to hurricanes, I can't help but be nervous during this so-called hurricane season.

Btw, the picture is that of Hurricane Andrew which devastated some parts of Florida in 1992.

Daydreamin'...

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...of a much needed vacation!

It’s funny how the concept of vacation has changed for me throughout the year. Until a few years ago, my so-called vacation was always synonymous with summer vacation. It was usually spent back home in the province where I grew up and spending time my elderly parents. After they passed, I actually didn’t know how to spend my 2 months off from teaching. Good thing that didn’t last because I suddenly found myself married and living across the world.

Today, vacation to me means going to Walmart. LOL. Just kidding. Actually, that’s partly true because I, we, haven’t been in a real vacation for years now so everytime we go out of the house, it;s like going on a vacation. Ha!. Hubby and I are talking about taking one as soon as we can because we are both burned out with the daily grind. An overseas trip is not feasible right now so we’re looking at some places within the country. An Outer Banks vacation is definitely in the list since North (and South) Carolina is one state he wants to take me and the little one. Actually, he wants to MOVE in that state. Since that’s not going to happen anytime soon, we’d settle for a weeklong vacation and stay in one of these babies…

It’s a vacation house by Carolina Designs and has all the amenities that a family like us can enjoy.

The house has everything from game rooms to hot tub...

to an indoor swimming pool which will probably become the little one' hang out....

And if we get bored playing chilling inside the house we can always take those 'long walks' in the beach. Yeah???

Pesky Virus!!!!!!!!!!!

I have no idea why these Trojan viruses keep on popping up on my computer. I already quarantined quite a few and it seems there's no stopping them. It's a good thing my virus shield intercepts them before they can wreak havoc on my computer but it's really irritating...and scary I must admit. Everytime I see the warning 'threat 'detected' I close the browser as soon as possible thinking the virus will do damage to my computer if I don't close the browser.

I thought it's because of my browser that the virus gets in. I was still using Netscape up until a few days ago. I'm just used to it so I thought of just sticking to it even if it's no longer supported by a lot of sites. After a couple of times of being attacked by the virus, I switched to Internet Explorer and Google Chrome alternately. It didn't do any good since I'm still seeng the virus pops up almost daily. Ugh!

Uniforms

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I didn’t have a charmed life growing up. My parents were almost always struggling to make both ends meet…but we survived. Yes we had lots of love and care among us but we couldn’t deny the fact that we were missing a lot of basic necessities some days. This is the reason why I was thankful that I had to wear uniforms when I was in high school and college. At least I didn’t have the feeling of inferiority since we were all wearing the same type of clothes. It wouldn’t have mattered in high school whether we had uniforms or not because my classmates in high school and I were in the same spectrum as far as social status is concerned. But such was not the case in college. I went in an exclusive school for girls and majority of my classmates were either in the middle or rich category so I liked wearing uniform.

Since one of my brothers only gets paid the minimum salary, we sometimes volunteer to help him with his kids school needs. His kids are either in high school already or in college. We either help my brother pay their textbooks or buy their school uniforms. One of them is taking up nursing so she’s always in need of scrub clothing. Good thing there are places where you can get these scrubs at an affordable prices or else it will be tough for my brother to get them for his daughter. His youngest daughter who is still in high school also wants to take up something in the medical field so the scrub tops and scrub pants that her older sister is using now may still be useful once she goes to college.

Bad Day

It's a song originally sang by David Powter. It became very popular when American Idol used it as a theme song for the eliminated contestants and was played while showing the different highlights of the eliminated contestant at the end of the show.

The Chipmunks sang it in the Alvin & the Chipmunks movie and since the time that the little one saw this in the DVD , she's been singing it on and off. Recently though it's the ONLY song she's been singing....like 100x a day. She sings it quite well but she tries to sing it like the Chipmunks!!!!!!!!!!!! Arrghhh.... I already told her she cannot watch that DVD again until she stops copying the chipmunks! It's funny for the first few times but it gets annoying afterwards. I still hear her humming it but that's okay...as long as she does not sound like the chipmunks...

Bad Decision

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As always, the weekend just breezed through us that we barely felt it. We had a relatively pleasant weekend though. We just stayed home and ate junk foods. The little one couldn't be any more excited since she's deprived of junk foods around here. I did very little work and so did the husband. Both of us spent some time on the phone though. I was able to talk and catch up with a friend who is now on the West coast for a business conference. It's been a while since the last we spoke on the phone so it was great talking with her.

The hubby spoke with a friend as well who is now in the process of selling his newly-renovated house. I was actually surprised to learn that they're selling. Apparently, the mortgage just became too much for them. This is the same person who just recently retired trying to find ways to invest his retirement money so I actully suggested that they buy gold bullion some months ago. He wanted something secure and gold is secure. I guess he didn't listen and decided to renovate his house instead. So now the house they consider a solid investment is in the market.

There is a strong possibility that it may face foreclosure if it does not sell in a few months. It just makes us sad that the house he worked so hard for to build and renovate will probably be foreclosed. Like they say, you can only do so much for other people. In the end, it's their decision not yours. All I can do is to hope their house sells soon.

Wishing You A...

It's a sunny Sunday around here this morning. Of course that can change in a split second. That's just how it is in the sunshine state during summer...and the rest of the year. The weather is quite unpredictable.

Anyway, our weekend has been uneventful so far. It's quiet in the work front and we're taking it easy on the home front. I just got off the phone with a friend who's visiting a sister in the West coast. It's great to talk with her for long period of time and get caught up with what's happening with our respective lives.

Oh...and I also became a grandmother for the 3rd time courtesy of another niece. Actually, hubby said I'm a great-aunt. Not quite sure which is better...grandmother 0r great-aunt. The word 'great' just makes it sound like I'm ancient...which I am....almost anyway. I haven't seen any of my 'grandchildren' but I'm hoping to see them sooner or later.

That's about it. I stll have a few tasks to finish so I better get on those before they get washed away....

Upgrade?

This picture [of our hands with wedding bands] was taken on the day we got married. The engagement ring is very simple but priceless to me nonetheless. It was still being set when I came so the hubby gave it to me a month or so after I arrived. Some people choose to keep their engagement ring in a box and just put it on when they go out or only on special occasions. Not me though. These rings never leave my finger except when I jump in the shower.

A few days before we had our last wedding anniversary, hubby was looking at my ring and just blurted out of the blue that my engagement ring looks 'lonely' with just one stone. He said maybe we should start looking at loose diamonds and upgrade my engagement ring by putting little diamonds on each side. Ha! I'm still thinking about it. It really does not matter to me one or the other. I love my ring just the way it is but if the husband wants to upgrade it, so be it. I'm happy which ever way we go.

'Oficina de la Casa'

A quick peek at our little home office. We still haven't had the chance to organize it so pardon the mess. The book shelves are still empty since the books are all over the house [boxes in the garage included] so I decided to put the framed pictures of the little one and her 'art works' on display. Dad said it's too 'busy' with all the pictures but the little one said...it looks great!! Hahaha...I guess she admires her work and her pictures more than we know, eh?

Now I look like a receptionist in an office whenever I sit on my chair. See the little pink paper on the table? The little one made it. It has my name on it....LOL....you just gotta' love her, right?

News

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I try to be updated with the news as much as possible. It's already a habit of mine to read it online or watch it on TV every morning while I'm having breakfast. But with all the bad news being reported, I'm thinking of not watching the news during breakfast. It somehow ruins my appetite hearing about things like job losses, stocks falling, economy failing, etc. It seems good news rarely come on these days. It was even reported that because of job losses, people are starting to dip into their retirement accounts like 401K and IRA to pay their mortgage and other bills. That is just sad.

Unemployment benefits have also started to run dry so many people are no longer getting any benefits. I can't help but wonder, how much longer will the social security disability benefit last? If people keep losing their job, then they also stop paying taxes, social security , etc which will eventually result to social security funds running out. As is it now, many people are not even getting the help they need and deserve. What will the next few years look like as far as retirement and disability benefits are concerned? So many questions....with very little to no answers....