Pinay WAHM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not sure about you but I've been waiting for the weekend more than ever. We don't have anything planned though. We're just staying at home. Last weekend, the husband worked on both days so the little one started asking Dad on Monday if he'll be home this weekend. Well, he is home this weekend so the little one is one happy camper. There's another reason why the little one is happy. It's Dad's birthday today. She's been counting the days and now it's here. We baked him a cake and she told him not to go out of the bedroom because she doesn't want him to know we're baking a cake. Ha! We could have planned to go out but I'd rather stay home because he had been working so much the past 2 weeks he needs all the rest he can get. Actually, what he needs [we need] is a vacation. But he can't take it anytime soon because they have so much work to do right now. I guess that room in an Anaheim California hotel wou

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She sings...a lot but she won't let us record her singing....so we try to record her without her knowledge. It's hilarious to say the least because she'll be singing at her little heart's content. Here she is singing along with Taylor Swift's "Picture to Burn"....pardon the visuals [or lack thereof]. I had the digital camera sitting on the table while I was working and just turned it on to capture the 'singing' only. It would have been better if I captured everything because she was also dancing/jumping while singing . Maybe next time...Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ...the original Edsa Revolution/Uprising happened. It's been that long? I was in college when everything unfolded...second year to specific. I didn't go to any of the places where people gathered to take part in the uprising but I knew what was happening. I remember sitting by the side of the road in front of my dorm in UN Avenue waving a flag to the truckloads of people passing by on their way to Mendiola. The nuns who manned our dorm let us stay out until the wee hours of the morning because they themselves where rejoicing with what was happening then. We went back to school a few days after it happened. Our teachers, especially the Social Science teachers were over the moon. I think we all passed our classes partly because of the Edsa Revolution....LOL. Our SS teacher asked as question during our final test: How do you see the Philippines 20 years from now? I cannot remember what my answer was but it's now more than 20 years since that histo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I had a busy day today. After weeks of waiting for work to come, it finally came. As luck would have it, while I was doing some work for one company I got an email from another company I work for asking me if I wanted to take part in some kind of a testing…paid testing. The company is trying to come up with their own software that we can use for work. Right now, we’re using a software by another company which of course means monthly subscription fee. They are hoping that with their own software, they can get away with the subscription fee. It seems everybody’s doing something to cut corners, eh? Anyway, I obviously said no because I was in the middle of something. I just hate it when that happens. Why can’t work be released sparingly so I don’t have to choose? Anyway, I didn’t have time to blog or hop. I also had to ignore some messages in my instant messengers because I didn’t have the time to ‘chat’. If only ‘chatting’ pays, then I would be one h

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ... for a change. Ha! Yep, work has been released this morning. I'm sure it's not going to last forever so I better take advantage of it. My boss finally answered my question . Actually, it became a question of everyone in the group so she had to send a mass email about it. But before I go, I better do the 'tag/game' that Arlene passed on to me this morning called: Juliana needs... I'm supposed to google what I need so I did. Here's what came up.. -- Juliana needs you digits... -- Juliana needs to get regular exercise [yes, she does] -- Juliana needs to be exorcised [huwaattt???] -- Juliana needs no resuscitation -- Juliana needs to eat a cookie [tell me about it!] -- Juliana needs to book a flight [I do? To where?] That's it. Thanks Arlene . I didn't know I have so many needs...haha.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The housing crisis has hit close to home. One of my husband’s siblings just had their house foreclosed a few months ago. They just couldn't afford the mortgage anymore because it keeps going up as they had the adjustable mortgage rate. The house that was built by them, literally, is no longer theirs. They are now renting not too far from here. It’s working out fine except for their dog. It used to have its own space in their big yard but the house they are renting now doesn’t have a yard so the dog has to stay with them in the house. They are going to build it a small house at the back of their house but for now, they are looking for large dog beds to get while it’s staying with them inside the house. I would volunteer to take care of it here until they finish its house [since we have a yard] but I’m afraid the little one will get attached to it so I didn’t say anything. Instead I’m looking at the Bowsers dog beds and may just get one and give it

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .... waiting for my boss to answer a question I asked....last night! Grrr..... I can't continue doing my work because I need to finish this one before I start another one. I sent 2 follow-up emails but I still don't have the answer. And it's a simple question. I guess I'll just finish it and wait for it to be returned to me with the instruction on how to correct it. I hate doing that especially if I know something IS wrong with it. Can you say I'm frustrated? This is how I look like right now... I'm not bloody though...haha!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My eyes feel so heavy while I’m typing this. I had a hard time falling asleep last night and I really have no idea why. Stress maybe? But I can’t think of anything that could have stressed me out. One thing is sure though, my allergy is acting up because of my lack of sleep. Now that I think about it, for the past few months I’ve been struggling when it comes to falling asleep easily. I initially thought I may have restless leg syndrome but that didn’t last so I don’t think I have it. I so envy the husband because he can go to sleep most nights as soon as he closes his eyes. Since I no longer think it is restless leg syndrome, I am now at a loss as to what’s causing my inability to sleep when I have to. Can it be a symptom of menopause? But I’m only in my early 40s. Is it possible? Apparently it is possible for women my age to go through menopause already [even those much younger than me]. I personally don’t know anyone who has gone through the proces

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ... is here. The last one was really slow for me as far as work goes. This week there is some hope as one of the companies I work for informed us we're going to have some work. Some of it has been released already but I didn't get any [by choice] since I was barely awake when it was released. More will come later on and I will definitely grab some as soon as it is released. The Oscar award ceremony was last night. I caught the opening number and some tidbits of it. I know that the movie " Slumdog Millionaire " was the big winner of the night bagging both Best Picture and Best Director. If you want to see the complete list of winners, click here .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The husband finally made it home around 6 last night after working for 12 hours, yes on a Sunday [as well as Saturday]. But like I said, I shouldn’t complain because he has a job even if that job keeps him away from home 7 days a week. He said that it will not be like this all the time though. As a matter of fact he’s not even sure when the next order will come but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that something else will come after this job. In the meantime, we are trying our best to stretch every dollar we have to survive this economic crunch. Thus I am always on the look-out for places where my dollar can go a long way…a long long way. Mama's Daily Deal is one such place. It’s a newly launched site where a great deal is offered everyday. And when I say deal, it means it’s the "real deal". What kind of a deal? How about a brand name baby product [or a mommy product] that is on a 61% discount like the stroller that is on sale right now

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our Sunday is almost over. The work I mentioned a while ago is still out there somewhere. Our boss emailed us for update and said that it’s going to be released later than anticipated. I started making dinner much earlier so if it’s released, I don’t have to worry about dinner anymore. I have a chicken roasting right now while the cheesy hash browns are done already. I’d probably just throw in some broccoli for veggies and voila, dinner is ready. It’s almost 5 PM already and I still haven’t heard from the husband. That means he’ll probably be home his usual time on weekdays which is around 6 PM. Like I said, it’s frustrating that he is working on a Sunday but with the way the economy is, I guess we have to be thankful that he has work. A lot of people are looking into debt management plan as a result of all the financial problems they’re having because of this economic crisis we’re in right now. It seems that nobody is safe nowadays especially th

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's the Oscars tonight and it's the 81st award ceremony. It's probably the biggest night in Hollywood as far as movies are concerned. This year Australian actor Hugh Jackman is hosting the event so I'm expecting lots of singing and dancing on his part. He's not a comedian [although he can crack jokes] unlike most of the former hosts so he's spiel will probably short and sweet. I have not really sat down and watched the award show so I usually just flip through the different online magazines to find out who won the previous night. I don't have any personal picks since I didn't see any of the films nominated...haha...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The husband just called. He’s still at work and he has no idea what time he’s coming home. He’s frustrated, I’m frustrated but if there’s anyone who’s probably the most frustrated about him working on a weekend, it’s the little one. She waits for the weekend with great anticipation because Dad will be home so you can just imagine how sad she felt when Dad told her that he may have to work this weekend. She spoke with him when he called to say “I only want to say I love you”. The hint of sadness in her voice can’t be denied when she said that. I’m just letting her watch her Madagascar DVDs to at least amuse her and somehow forget that Dad is working today. Like I mentioned in my earlier post, if the economy is not this bad I would discourage the husband in giving in to their customer’s unreasonable demands but with the way things are, they cannot afford to lose customers. Needless to say, the husband has been stressed out lately. His face is breaking out th

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's been a busy weekend for the husband because he has to work...yes, including today. He left his usual time even if it's a Sunday. I don't quite understand why customers can't stick with the schedule they agreed upon. If the economy is not what it is today, I'd probably discourage the husband in giving in to the customer's unreasonable demands...but.... The little one and I are just doing our own thing right now. She's been singing her heart out with her Taylor Swift CD. I so want to record her while she's doing that but she stops everytime she sees me with the camera so it's not possible. So here I am typing away. I am waiting for some work to be released [FINALLY!!!] later in the day. Hopefully it would be enough to last a day or two... In the meantime...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Diabetes is runs in my family. I am well aware that I have a very big chance of getting this disease anytime so I try to stay healthy. But there are things that are beyond my control. So when I read about C’elle and its new service of preserving stem cells found in menstrual fluid I got very interested. According to some studies related with this, these stem cells have the potential to diseases such as diabetes and leukemia. Who would have thought that our ‘monthly visitor’ has the potential to save lives? Better yet, it’s probably one of the easiest ways to collect stem cells. I have not subscribe yet as I am still trying to read more about it but I have visited their Pricing page already so I know what to tell friends and family when it comes to the cost of this service. I’m planning in asking them to Order Now while it’s still affordable. I know I will...for my future.

Thanks to Recel and Beth for this tag...appreciate the thought and the compliment. Now for the rule, here it is: 1. Show the award logo in your post. 2. Pick a picture you have with your kiddo(s). 3. Post should include your best experience as a Mom. 4. Nominate other blogger mom's out there that you consider the best mom, like yourself. I've been thinking about this while looking for a dedicated server I need for the blog I started for my batch but I'm actually stumped! Probably because if I'm asked who's the best Mom for me, it would have to be my NANAY...and not me. I'll try and sleep [again] on this tonight and hope I'll come up with something tomorrow...till then...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fortunately, it's no longer the bad ones [ya know the 'p_rn] but they're still pesky and irritating nonetheless. Someone visited my blog last night. It's new a visitor. I clicked on the name and as soon as I did that I saw another window open up. I thought it's just the Bravenet exchange window that bravenet blogs offer. I closed the extra window. After I did that, another window came up this time bearing the logo of my anti-virus program. It was a WARNING that my computer was invaded by virus! NOT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was one of those pop-ups that want you to download something to 'get rid' of the so-called invaders! Since I was using my new laptop, I kinda' panicked a bit. So I clicked on something without thinking clearly. I thought it's my anti-virus that came up. It's only when I saw that the dang thing was blinking did I realize it's a trap! Arrggggghhhh!!!!!!!!!! Good thing I was able to stop it bef

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My hair became my trademark when I was still studying. I think I was the only one who had long hair in both high school and elementary. It’s because of my long hair that I got a nickname that sticks with me up to this day…Lola which is the Tagalog word for 'grandma'. All of my high school classmates, some schoolmates and most of my high school teachers called me that and I didn’t mind at all…still don’t actually. It was my father’s idea to let my hair grow long. He was so proud of it that I still remember him showing me off to his friends mainly because of my hair. This year my high school batch will be celebrating our silver jubilee. So we’ve been in constant communication now preparing for this once in a lifetime event. As early as now, we’ve been collecting pledges in all forms to make that occasion memorable. With the upcoming celebration, there are 2 burning questions that I am always asked. One is: Are you coming home to attend? And the othe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I just read somewhere that one of the companies I work for has just filed for Chapter 11 [or was it 13?]! That means...I am 'officially' directly affected by the economic crisis. We have not received any word from the company or anybody from the company so we're not sure what's next. I read the press release about it so I know it's true. I just wish they let us know instead of us learning about it from other sources. From what I have read, they will be bought by another company that I am not familiar with. Hopefully that other company will keep their ICs so I can keep my job. Come to think of it, I actually didn't make much with this company so it won't make much difference but it's still bummer knowing they're being bought. I guess this makes me a direct casualty of the recession, eh?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Who would have thought that the day will come when one can actually earn a degree in the comfort of his own home? I certainly didn't but it's now very much possible because online college courses are now available for anyone who wants it. I did it the old fashion way which is going to school in person and doing everything onsite. If online courses were available at that time, I wouldn't hesitate in doing that. Actually, it was probably available already then but I just didn't know about it. Right now, I have plans in attending online classes. It's perfect for me since I don't drive yet. I also don't want to leave the little one with a sitter. Hopefully, I'll be able to decide what course or classes I want to take really soon. Decisions. Decisions...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That's the title of my new blog. Well, not quite new. I've been blogging on that one since last year but it's only now that I decided to work on it regularly. So if you have the chance, do drop by and give me a haller! I'll be linking you up there as long as you let me know you want to be linked. Please welcome WAHM Talks ! in the blogsphere!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another slow day! To top that, my allergy is on full force again. I'm not sure what triggered it but I have a pretty good hunch...the weather. Right now my nose is runny and my eyes are watery. I already took my allergy pills...twice but it's not working. I can't take more than the recommended amount or I'll feel lightheaded again. Anyway, since it's another slow day I decided to check on the different online colleges . I am seriously considering an online course. I really don't know yet what to take but I'm looking at my options. I need something that will take only a few months and in a field where work is abundant. I'm tired of sitting around not making any green. I don't have to work but it's something I want to do....for myself.

These are the 'goodies' that greeted me and the little one when we woke up this morning. Our ' valentino' left them by the, get this, bathroom sink...LOL. Yep, these are the first things I saw when I did my usual 'business' in the morning. Nice place for a Valentine present, eh? The little one was not feeling well last night and was throwing up before going to bed. The card and the [shared] box of chocolate from Dad definitely made her feel a lot better this morning. The first thing she said when I showed them to her was: "Awww....precious Dad" .....LOL... We called Dad as soon as we got them and to greet him as well. Gifts for him? How about some home made cards from the little one...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. Any plans for today? We have nothing planned for today but then again we don’t usually plan anything on Valentine’s Day which is perfectly fine with me. The husband is at work while the little one is watching her Disney channel. We got something from Dad for Valentine's day and I will be posting it a little later on. As for me, I am busy searching for some text books that I need for the little one. That’s on top of the books that I need to get her for night time reading. Like I mentioned before here, she already finished all the books that I got her before Christmas. We got her a 3-book in one of the Nancy Drew series. She already read the first part so she still has 2 more to read so I really need to start looking for more books for her. Fortunately, I may have found some good ones in the borders jan 2009 books that I can buy for her. I have yet to ask her which ones she likes as she’s getting more choosy now so I

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How do I luv d? let me count d ways. I luv d 2 d dpth n brdth n h8 My sol can rich, wen felng outa syt. 4 d ends of being n ideal grys. I luv d 2 d level of evry day's Most qyt nid, by sun n candlyt. I luv d frilly as men stryv 4 ryt; I luv d purly as dey turn frm prys. I luv d wid d passion put 2 use N my old grifs, n wid my childhoods fyth. I luv d wid a luv I semd 2 lose Wid my lost synts--I luv d wid d breth, Smyls, tyrs, of al my lyf? N f god chos I shal but luv d btr aftr deth. Hapi Valentyns 2 Al! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Disclaimer: This was just forwarded to me...and I am just reposting...for fun. Peace Elizabeth Browning!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The husband has been looking for corner curio for months now. It’s probably one of the first things we looked for when we started shopping for furniture. Unfortunately, it's the hardest to find so until now we are still looking for the perfect one. The curio will hold the different paraphernalia for the different electronic devices we still have sitting on the computer room floor. Needless to say, our living room is devoid of any appliances since we have to get that curio first before we get say the digital TV that our living room needs so badly. He’s been looking online at different digital and high definition tvs almost every weekend that I get tired hearing him talk about his ‘finds’. I am sometimes tempted to say to get it already but I don’t dare since I know he has to get that curio first. While finding that elusive curio we are also actively checking the different sites that sell tvs at very affordable prices. I personally like looking

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Woo hoooo! Any exciting plans? It's V-day so I'm sure a lot of people will be heading out to celebrate. Us? Not quite. My hubby has to work and we don't normally brave the crowd on this day. I'd rather stay home and watch TV. Maybe this Sunday? Not sure...but maybe. The little one is having some tummy troubles again today so that's another reason why we'll be staying put at home. I asked Dad to get her some candies for Valentines...which he does every year anyway. Right now I'm making dinner...pizza and wings and some pop-corn shrimp. Two of those are boxed so I only had to prepare the chicken myself. Enjoy your weekend everyone....and valentines day if you're one of those that observe the day anyway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That is the question. Well, the little one's question anyway. It seems that when the weekend rolls around, the little one always has one question to ask Dad...and that is if he's going to work on the weekend or if he's going to be home. She loves to have him at home...and so do I. So even if we don't normally go anywhere special, Dad being home is a treat for us already. So this morning when Dad left for work, she asked that same question. Dad had to work last weekend so she's worried that he has to work this weekend again...and she may be right. The husband and his partner are very busy right now because they're trying to finish a job that the customer wants by next week. After that job, there another one lined up I believe. I don't mind him working on the weekends because that means they have work to do, right? And with this economy, that is a good sign. My husband has been looking for other ways to promote their business to stay bus

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This one is for my lady friends out there...married & unmarried. Read on.... A store that sells husbands has just opened in Ottawa where a woman may go to choose a husband from among many men. The store is comprised of 6 floors, and the men increase in positive attributes as the shopper ascends the flights. There is, however, a catch. As you open the door to any floor you may choose a man from that floor, but if you go up a floor, you cannot go back down except to exit the building. So a woman goes to the shopping center to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads: "Floor 1 - These men have jobs." The woman reads the sign and says to herself, "Well, that's better than my last boyfriend, but I wonder what's further up?" So up she goes. The second floor sign reads: "Floor 2 - These men have jobs and love kids." The woman remarks to herself, "That'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can call me that! I've been posting non-stop since this morning! Why? Guess!! I'm trying to take advantage of my sudden 'burst of energy' and post as much as I can. You know how it is. One minute you're on a 'go go go' mood, the next minute you want to do nothing...as in nothing at all. So I'm taking advantage of my new found...energy?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Economic Crisis. Recession. Lay-offs. Bankruptcy. There is not a day we don’t hear these words especially in the news. It seems that things have a greater chance of getting worse instead of getting better. More and more people are resorting to credit cards to get the basic necessities. The sad thing is…we don’t know when all of this is going to end. I just heard that a good friend is on the verge of filing for bankruptcy because they can’t afford to pay everything anymore even if both she and her husband have jobs. I advised her to seek debt counseling first because doing anything else. I wish I can help her more but just like her and any other regular person on this planet, we are also struggling to keep our heads above the water. Hopefully, things will get better for her and the many people who are about to lose whatever little things they have left. Hopefully...

I got this tag from several blogger friends....unfortunately, I can't remember any of them anymore. It seems my brain is on break. Blame it on the lack of work...LOL. Thanks much to ALL OF YOU who tagged me on this. Anyway, my birthday is not until later this year but the husband's birthday is in a couple of weeks. So...I'll put a twist on this one and write some wishes for the Man of my Life ! Charing!! -- More work...means more money = happier husband [and wife] -- Good Health... -- Long life...so we can spend the prime of our lives together [we're almost there actually...LOL] I guess that's about it. He also got his biggest wish....me! hahaha....and the little one of course.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I visit a work-at-home Mom chat board regularly. It's like my water cooler since I work at home. I get to read about other WAHMs perspectives. It's also there that I found a few of my work at home jobs. Anyway, the common topic there right now is how to survive during this difficult time. We at the work at home community are also very much affected with this economic chaos going on. It's either we're not getting work or some are being let go. A few of the Moms there are looking for a way to make money some other ways. One of the suggestions is to go back to school. Hmmm....not a lot of Moms would want to do that. But a couple of them decided to give it a try and has been looking for a university online so they can still stay home while getting an education. One of them is thinking for getting a medical transcription course since it's one of the fields that's not badly affected with the crisis. So far, she's having a grand time being

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ...by Bill Gates! I posted this list a while back. I'm reposting it because it's something we can all learn from... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school . He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world. Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it! Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself. Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both. Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not too long ago, my oldest sister celebrated her 50th birthday. Up until now I cannot believe that she's actually a 'golden girl'. Since it's some kind of a milestone, my other siblings and their kids gave her a simple birthday party at home. Obviously I wasn't there since I'm thousands of miles away from them...but I got to talk to them....to all of them actually. Can you imagine the phone bill? Anyway, I'm always happy to talk to them and hear news such as a nephew who's almost done with medical school and a niece who's on her 3rd year in law school. These kids were just babies when I left and now they're aspiring doctor & lawyer? Wow. Anyway, one of my nieces though is still not decided what she wants to do. Actually, she hasn't even started taking any college courses because she wanted to work already. Now that she's working, she realized that her promotion is next to nothing if she doesn't have

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just for fun! Peace! It's fun to cook for Tom. Today I made angel food cake. The recipe said beat 12 eggs separately. The neighbors were nice enough to loan me some extra bowls. Tom wanted fruit salad for supper. The recipe said serve without dressing. So I didn't dress. What a surprise when Tom brought a friend home for supper. A good day for rice. The recipe said wash thoroughly before steaming the rice. It seemed kind of silly but I took a bath anyway. I can't say it improved the rice any. Today Tom asked for salad again I tried a new recipe. It said prepare ingredients; lay on a bed of lettuce one hour before serving. Tom asked me why I was rolling around in the garden. I found an easy recipe for cookies. It said put the ingredients in a bowl and beat it. There must have been something wrong with this recipe. When I got back, everything was the same as when I left. Tom did the shopping today and brought home a chicken. He asked me to dress it

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The husband has been operating a small business with a partner for the past 3 years. Their business is basically a 'baby' so it's still having some 'growing pains'. Aside from that, their business is caught in this thing we called 'economic crisis'. He's been wanting to have a business for as long as I can remember and when he finally has one, recession hits. Fortunately, their business is surviving the present crisis. Of course they can do better if the economy is not this way but we're nonetheless thankful they're making it. During this economic slowdown my husband wants to do something with the free time they're having. He wants to have more knowledge as far as owning and running a business is concerned. I mentioned to him that he should check the different mba programs being offered online. At least he can take the classes during his free time and he doesn't have to travel. He can even do it while he's

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some tips for a healthy and happier life..... 1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant. 2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to. 3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.' 4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants. 5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli , almonds & walnuts. 6. Try to make at least three people smile each day. 7. Don't waste your precious energy on energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment. 8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card. 9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. 1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's almost the weekend again. It seems that days fly me by and it always takes me by surprise when I realize that the week is almost over. I've been feeling lazy lately and it's probably because of the lack of work. It seems that it will stay that way for a while since our economy is not showing any sign of getting better. Because of this 'lull' at work, I am seriously considering going back to school. Not quite sure yet what I want to take but it has to be something that is somehow recession proof. One thing is for sure though, I have to take online courses whether I like it or not. For one, I don't want to leave the little at a daycare AND I don't drive yet. So yes, an online university will be the perfect choice for me.

That's my plan anyway. I've been lazy enough so I will try to do some cleaning today. I have no clue where to start but anywhere will be good. Hopefully I'll be done before the day is done. Wish me L-U-C-K!!! I'll see you around!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Since I got this new laptop for Christmas, I have been thinking what to do with the old one. That one served me well for more than 6 years. True it crashed on me at least a couple of times but I used it to its full capacity. If I remember it right, it's even a refurbished one but it lasted for as long as it did. It's still working fine except it's a bit slow. That's probably because it's almost full. Can you imagine how much stuff is on its hard drive? It's 6 years worth of 'savings'...of files I mean. I already deleted a lot but I still have a lot stored in it. I may give it to the little one so she can hook up her Art Studio software on it but I may have to get an external hard drive so I can transfer all my files in there. I can transfer the files on this computer but I'd rather not. I like that this is still uncluttered and I'm planning in letting it stay that way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ...can't my body look like this? Her name is Bar Rafaeli and she's the 2009 Swimsuit Sports Illustrated cover girl. Va-va-va-voom!....and I am...broommm....brooommmm!!!!!!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .... for blogging. I am not quite sure why though. I've been sitting in front of my lappy for hours and can't think of anything to write. I have 3 blogs...well, 4 but one is my 'trial and error' blog, and I have not written on one for days. Anyway, I just bought a domain for one and it's still very much a work in progress. I really want to finish that one ASAP but I just feel so lazy. I've been looking for a template for it but I can't seem to find one that I like. I think I changed its template about 6x already. I can't blame the weather [anymore or again] because it has been near perfect since the weekend. I think the lack of work is making me lazy. I need something to jump start me again so I won't waste anymore time doing nothing. I better get off here to start dinner...yes, I've been lazy to do that as well...ugh!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This morning, I was finally able to talk with a high school classmate using Skype. She's been bugging me to download the software but I took my sweet ole' time in doing so. Well, I was actually waiting for this computer to be returned from the service center since I didn't want to install the web cam in my ancient laptop. When she called me over the weekend she asked me again so I finally gave in and downloaded it last Sunday evening. Anyway, my classmate works in Thailand so our times are opposite. We actually talk on the phone regularly but it's kinda' neat to talk to her and see her at the same time. She also got the chance to talk to the little one who was thrilled to chat with someone she could actually see. My friend asked the little one if she gets bored because she doesn't have any siblings or classmates to play with. Of course the little one said yes! My friend so 'sweetly suggested' that she should ask us for pet to

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not quite sure if it's just me or it's Blogger. Everytime I go to my Dashboard, it's all screwed up! I think it's been 3 days that it's like that? I took a screen shot of my dashboard. Here's how it looks like now. Is anybody else having the same issues or is it just me? Tell me it's not just me!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sad, but true. Stimulus Payment Info "This year, taxpayers will receive an Economic Stimulus Payment . This is a very exciting new program that I will explain using the Q and A format: Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment? A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers. Q. Where will the government get this money? A. From taxpayers. Q. So the government is giving me back my own money? A. Only a smidgen. Q. What is the purpose of this payment? A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy. Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ? A. Shut up. Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the US economy by spending your stimulus check wisely: If you spend that money at Wal-Mart , all the money will go to China . If you spend it on gasoline it will go to the Arabs. If you purchase a computer it will go to India . If you purchase fruit and vegetables

This is the cute little girl who had a birthday party yesterday. She's the granddaughter of my husband's sister so she's technically our granddaughter. But here in the US, she's our 'niece'. Cool, eh? It makes me feel 'younger'...LOL.... The party was supposed to be a Princess party but none of the guests wore any 'royal' outfits. Maybe because most of the guests were adults. Yep, there were only a few kids who didn't don any royal outfit as well. The party was held in one of the parks near our place. It was like a backyard barbecue so it was very laid back. We had burgers, hotdogs and pastas. Our little one had a blast because she got to play with some cousins who are near her age. She's the youngest in the group so they tried to take good care of her. And since it's a birthday party, cameras were everywhere...from the tiny ones to the big ones. My husband took a liking to the Canon Powershot that the birthday girl's Dad used to

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It definitely feels like it's spring here already weather wise. We are currently in the 50s, almost 60s and it's going to be in the 70s later in the day. The sun is out and it's not windy. Woo hoo.... We'll be heading out in a couple of hours here. The little one has been looking forward to this birthday party, first because it will be held in nearby park so she can't wait to check out the playground. Secondly, it's a Princess themed party. She's excited to see the decors and the cake. We don't have much planned for today except for that. After the party, we may head to a store and look for some stuff...but that's just me....LOL. I really want to go to the Philippine store but it's a bit far from the park we're going to so not sure if that's possible. Anyhooo....have a great day everyone. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ours is relaxed, at least mine and little one's anyway. The husband is working today so it's just the two of us. Nothing much to do until it gets a bit warmer around here so here I am blogging while the little one is doing some Math exercises on her computer. I got my laptop back yesterday from HP headquarters so it's the one I'm using right now. According to them, they had to change the backlight and the start button. It's working fine now and I am hoping it won't fail anymore or we'll ask them to replace the whole unit. Tomorrow, we will be going to our niece's first birthday. Since it's her first birthday, we had a tough time finding the right gift for her. Having the little one with us while we were looking for gifts made it even tougher because she wanted everything. Wooden Toys would have been perfect but we didn't see any in the store we went to so we just got her a couple of plastic ones and a gift card so h

It was freezing this morning when we opened the door as the hubby left for work. It was still in the low 30s when I got up this morning. It's currently in the higher 50s so it's still a bit chilly. Mr. Sun though is smiling down at us so it's all good. Starting tomorrow, our temperature be in the 70s and that will last throughout next week. Yay! I can finally pull those eyesores [read: weeds] overtaking our backyard. Right now I'm busy writing down a grocery list. This time though I won't be writing 'junk foods' like last time. That means there will be no binging this weekend...woo hoo! Just a little bit I guess since we're going to a birthday party on Sunday. Anyway, I wish everyone a great weekend ahead! I hope it will be a relaxing one for all of us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have been spending the majority of my day today surfing online. I have a couple of ‘missions’ I want to accomplish as soon as possible. One is to find a template for another blog that I am planning in working on. Well actually, I’ve been working on it and posting on it on and off since last year but I’m planning in attending to it this year regularly. My other mission is to find a great webhosting for it. This blog is on a free hosting so I don’t really have any idea how webhosting works so I’ve been trying to know more about it. Thankfully, I found some great articles that can help me tremendously in this new quest of mine. Hopefully, I’ll be able to find the webhosting service that best suits my needs by next week. If I find a good one, I may even move this blog to paid hosting also. Wish me luck!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CIGARETTE: A pinch of tobacco rolled in paper with fire at one end and a fool at the other! MARRIAGE: It's an agreement wherein a man loses his bachelor degree and a woman gains her master DIVORCE : Future Tense of Marriage LECTURE: An art of transmitting Information from the notes of the lecturer to the notes of students without passing through the minds of either COMPROMISE: The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece TEARS: The hydraulic force by which masculine will power is defeated by feminine water-power! DICTIONARY: A place where divorce comes before marriage CONFERENCE ROOM: A place where everybody talks, nobody listens and everybody disagrees later on ECSTASY: A feeling when you feel you are going to feel a feeling you have never felt before CLASSIC: A book which people praise, but never read SMILE: A curve that can set a lot of things straight! OFFICE: A place where you can relax after your strenu

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Slow day today as usual. Our boss has a message on her messenger that says: Wishing there was more work! It's been weeks since we had the last batch of work so everyone is a bit restless already since no one is making any moolah right now. I guess we're now feeling the economic crisis 'for real'. To while away time, I have been surfing online a lot. I like to do that especially when it's this slow with work. What I don't like though are the pop-ups that keep showing their ugly heads whenever I visit some sites. My pop-up blocker is on but it's not doing the job. I still get pop-ups. I guess it's time to call the Ad Muncher, eh? I just read about this Ad Muncher not too long ago although it's been around for quite some time now. Anyway, Ad Muncher not only removes but kills pop-ups in all browsers. Aside from that it also removes advertising in different programs like Pando, Kazaa and others. Needless to say those Adwares an

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I know it happens every week but everytime the mid week comes around, I'm like: It's Wednesday again? It seems that after Wednesday the days will just fly us by. It's also the day I usually stop and ask myself: What have I accomplished this week? My answer right now: NONE! Huh? Maybe I should go visit Acobay and promote my blog there and that would be my accomplishment for the week, eh? Our weekend will be busy because we're attending a niece's first birthday. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun because it's a Princess party! Yay...I get to be a princess for a day. Actually not me but the little one. She's super duper excited about it of course. I still have the gifts sitting on the table waiting to be wrapped. I better get on to them and make that my accomplishment of the week, eh? I hope you're having a great week everyone!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It’s a windy day here today! It was freezing this morning when the husband left for work and right now it’s in the low 40s but I’m sure the wind is making it a lot colder than what the temperature is recording. Anyway, since it’s been cold the past few days the little one and I have been inside the house only. I really want to go out in the backyard and start pulling out the weeds that are all over the place but I’d rather not. So what have I been doing while cooped up in the house? A lot of online surfing. First on my list is a cell phone. Yes, I am looking for a cell phone right now….to replace the land line. It’s not 100% sure yet but after the last bill, I am seriously considering getting one. We didn’t get a long distance plan for our landline simply because we don’t use LD much. Or so we thought. It turns out that since the husband’s cell phone number is from the area code from our old address, everytime I call him it’s actually long distance. D

I've been given this Fab Award by a few blogger friends before so it's been posted here already. Thanks to Lena & Recel for passing it on to me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I woke up today with an email sent to me by a very good friend. Sadly, the email is not bearing good news. Just recently, her Mom’s leg was amputated as a result of diabetes. I had the pleasure of meeting her Mom when I was still teaching in Taiwan. She even became my ticket agent after meeting her. So we have both a professional and a personal relationship. The news hit me hard not only because I knew her Mom but because my mother died from complications of diabetes. It happened to me and if I have any choice, I wouldn’t want anyone to go through what I’ve gone through. Helping my friend cope with this will be a bit hard since we’re thousands of miles apart. I email her regularly and I am hoping that it helps a little. Since I have diabetes in my genes, I can’t help but worry. I believe that we’re luckier though than the women of the past generation because now there is some kind of a light at the end of the tunnel because of what C’elle is offering… a

Let me count the ways! - Considering we met online, we are very much compatible. We didn't go through the awkward moment of pretending to be somebody we're not simply because we were HONEST with each other from day one. I like that he HATES to lie ....he believes that it takes too much effort to do that so he avoids lying. - He makes me laugh ...and that to me is very important. He's a goof ball like me. - He makes things happen instead of waiting for them to happen. - He never pressures me into anything. He waits until I'm ready for something. - A family man in every sense of the word. That's just some of the reasons why I love him. I can go on and on and on...but I'd rather not. He's my husband and that alone explains why I love him .... Thanks to Umma who started this and the others who tagged me on this one. I forgot who they are already but I appreciate the thought. Let's hear from the other ladies out there....spill it out!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Superbowl game is at its peak right now. And where am I? I'm in the living room and in the dark while typing this. The husband is watching the game. I would peek every now and then but that's about it. I mentioned in my earlier post that we're not really rooting for either team but even if that's the case, I still get nervous. I have the tendency to root for the 'underdog' team [read: losing team] so I get a bit edgy. That's why I'd rather stay here in the living room until the game is done. The husband asked me to search for tape drives if won't be watching the game so that's what I'm doing right now. I don't even know what those are until now. It turns out, some companies still use some kind of a tape to back up their files thus the need for a tape drive. I'm not sure why the husband is looking for one but oh well. I'm sure he has his reasons.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .... for some football? It's Superbowl Sunday today. I'm sure that most American men [and women] are glued on their TV sets waiting for the big game at 6 PM tonight. The game will be played here in our neck of the woods actually....Tampa! And no, we're not going...hehehe. I didn't really get how big football is here in the US until I came here. I had an ex-bf [ehem!] who used to play college football here in the US and he tried explaining the game to me and how big it is here but you wouldn't really know that unless you actually live here. I watched some games with him on TV but nothing he said made sense to me then. But now that I'm married to a football fan, I can say I *somehow* understand the game. We can even talk about it every now & then. I still have a lot to learn but at least I can watch the game and understand what's happening. This year the Steelers from Pittsburgh, PA and the Cardinals from Arizona are going