Catching Up with a Friend...

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Yesterday was a good friend’s birthday. Instead of emailing her, I decided to give her a call to greet her. It was great to talk to her even just on the phone. We used to stay in the same place when we were still back home and we did a lot of things together. She married a Belgian so she now resides in Belgium while I’m here in the US. She also has a little girl who now goes to school while I home school our little one. Since her little girl is now in school, she decided to find a job and luckily she found one. She’s been working for a few months now and she said it’s been fun and she’s adjusting well. Her only problem right now is her transportation. They only have one car which the husband uses to go to work. He drops her off in the morning and she catches the bus to get home. It’s been a challenge to say the least so they’re looking into buying a second hand car as soon as possible.

Why a used car? She said they can’t afford a new one right now and I can totally relate. We only have one car ourselves at the moment so I can understand her situation. Luckily I have the privilege to work at home so a second car is not really a necessity for us now unlike my friend. Aside from that, I also can’t drive yet so it be kinda’ impractical to have another car only to have it sit in the garage most of the time. But when the time comes that I will need to start driving, used cars will be on the top of our list. Why not, right? As long as it’s in good running condition, a used car will be better choice especially at this time of economic crisis.

10 Things...

It's a tag, of course! Thanks Clarisse of Coffee Anyone for tagging me. I've done quite a few of "Things About Me" ranging from 6 Things to 7 Things to 8 and now, it's 10 Things About Me! I think I'm running out of things to say about me so pardon me if I'm going to repeat myself. I'm not that 'exciting' as I'm as plain as plain can be. Here it goes...

1) I can't [don't?] dance...at all. I only remember dancing once in my life. I was in 2nd year high school and my patrol team HAD to dance so I danced 'cha cha cha'....and it never happened again... at least none that I can recall.

2) I believe that everything happens for a reason.

3) I don't mind doing household chores...including cleaning the bathroom.

4) I've never been hospitalized because of a sickness/accident. The only time I was admitted to one was during the birth of the little one.

5) I have a vivid memory of the last time I had a hair cut before my father decided to grow it long. I think I was about 5. The next time I had a real hair cut was 4th year college, just before my year book picture was taken. I was 21.

6) I didn't attend my college graduation. I really didn't want to. My classmates & some of my teachers tried to convince me otherwise but there was no changing my mind.

7) I *thought* I wanted to be a nun. I even asked my father's blessing if I could enter the convent right out of high school. It's a good thing he said NO! or I won't be here...hehe.

8) I'm not afraid of ghosts but I don't like scary movies....tee hee...

9) I 'used' to have a very good memory of things...I still do but it's not as good.

10) It took me 10 DAYS to finish this. Nah...but close...

Done!

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Vacuuming that is. I also cleaned the little one's bedroom. I went through her drawers and took out the clothes that don't fit her anymore and some winter night clothes that are taking too much space. I also cleaned her 'art' drawer which becomes her dumping place for cut-outs as well. So, yay!

Anyway, everytime I clean I can't help but start to get a little bit stressed out. Not because of the mess but because of a huge empty spot on our living room. What's the spot for? It's actually for a customized corner curio that we ordered from a guy in Georgia months ago. It's not done yet and we're patiently waiting for it. Everything we have to order from the plasma tv mount to the center coffee table will have to wait because we want that curio in place first. From the looks of it, we may have to get those things without the curio. I just hate it when people don't keep their end of the bargain.

Time to....

Although I wouldn't be looking 'exactly' like that! Truth be told, I am still in my jammies so...

The little one's complaining that she's starving already so I have to make her lunch before I start vacuuming. Hmm...maybe I should also have lunch before diving into my 'cleaning' spree...tee hee...

Ciao!

Catching Up...

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That's what I should be doing but I feel so lethargic. Ugh! I’ve been sitting here just surfing the same sites online over and over again. I need to get off here and start doing something productive but I just can’t seem to muster the willpower to do so. Help! The little one is sitting in front of me right now cutting up some papers as usual. She’s asking me when she can do a search on Braille. Yep, Braille. She saw the braille exit signs at her pediatrician’s clinic last time we were there and she got curious about the 'dots' and started quizzing us about them. We told her she can search online as to what Braille is all about since we have limited knowledge about it as well. But Mom is busy searching for something else so she has to wait her turn.

Tomorrow will be another busy day out for us. I have to get some blood work done while the little one will get her shots. Not fun at all but it has to be done now while hubby is not busy at work. Yep, we are taking advantage of this slow time at their shop because as soon as work starts coming in, he’ll be busy as a bee again. We’re not the only one taking advantage of this time anyway. Their landlord is also having some much needed work done at their shop. Someone from the county paid them a visit not too long and told the landlord that emergency lighting is a requirement for work places. Duh! I didn’t even know they had no emergency lighting at the shop. I’ve only been there a couple of times that’s why. Hubby mentioned that the place needs a lot of work but didn’t elaborate. I know their landlord tries to cut corners every chance he gets but now that he got this warning, he has to get several emergency lights because he has more than 10 shops being rented out in that building. Good thing there has been no accidents there or he would be in big trouble.

Busy Day Today

But before I start with my agenda of the day, let me post this award given to me by Cecile of Small and Simple Things! Appreciate the thought, Cel! Sa uulitin.

So what am I up to today? C-H-O-R-E-S what else? I better get cracking before I get too lazy to get up from this couch!

Have a great day/evening everyone!

Lack of Sleep

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It's the second time this week it has happened to me. I don't like it one bit. I know of only few people who actually like being sleep deprived so I know I'm not alone on this. I am not a fan of napping during the day as well so even if I didn't sleep the night before I won't try to catch up on it during the day. The result? A walking zombie, of course. If this keeps up, I may need the top acne treatment out there to fix the break-outs that are threatening to come out. I didn't have acne problems when I was younger and that's because I always tried to get enough sleep.

Anyway, I better start getting ready for bed. I can already feel my eyes slowly closing while I'm typing this. I am hoping I'd zone out as soon as my head hit the pillow but that's a wishful thinking. It almost always takes me a good half hour to an hour to finally doze off. My brain takes forever to shut down so I'd probably do puzzles to help me go to sleep.

Night y'all! See you tomorrow.

Neverending

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That's how I feel about me being sick. I need to go in one of those cruise holidays ! Seriously, I really do. I think this is the first time ever in my life that I have been stricken by one health issue after another. I am tired of going to the doctors every other week. I don’t think I have ever seen as many doctors in as little time. I wonder if this is one sign of aging. I guess it is or maybe my body is just telling me to slow down and take it easy. That’s why I should go on a get-away as soon as possible to somehow recharge my ‘batteries’. Maybe one of the river cruises will do the trick for me. I wish!

Anyway, I was again a wee bit under the weather yesterday. This time it didn’t concern my thyroid. I thought it did but I realized early this morning it’s not related to my thyroid problem at all. It’s a bad case of heartburn. I went to bed hoping it will help but I kept waking up because I was having a hard time breathing. I wish I knew it was heartburn so I could have taken some medication for it but I didn’t so I had to suffer through it the whole night. Ugh! I am feeling better now but I’m still feeling the 'burn' in my throat everytime I breathe. Hopefully, it will all be gone by tomorrow. Then maybe, just maybe, I can start checking out different cruises, like a nile cruise, the family can take when we get the chance.

Getting Better

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I think anyway. My doctor wanted to see me yesterday so we had to run out later in the day. I actually called him on Saturday and he disagreed with us that I was having allergic reaction to my meds. He said it's unlikely because I've been on them for 3 weeks. My husband and I went online and read some facts about the meds and what do you know...allergic reaction to it happens a lot after weeks of being on it.

So off we went to the doctor yesterday afternoon. He agreed that it's indeed allergic reaction. Duh! He wants some blood work done and he prescribed me another medicine that I should take after 2 weeks. I also have some meds for severe allergic reaction in case the itching gets unbearable. It's not that itchy anymore actually since it's the 5th day already...so those meds are useless now. Oh well...

Anyway, I am just relaxing today. Hoping to get all better altogether. In the meantime,thanks to Ate Beng of Beyond My Quiet Zone for these "awards" ....

Magic 8...a Tag!

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Got this one from Tetcha of Pensive Thoughts. I've been having kind of an allergic reaction to my meds throughout the weekend until now but I'm trying to do things to keep me occupied. It helps divert my attention from scratching...ugh! Anyway, thanks Tetcha for this one....

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To

1) For the itch to stop!

2) A good night sleep. I stayed awake until around 5 this morning...trying NOT to scrath.

3) Spring wardrobe shopping. The little one needs spring wardrobe as well as sleeping attires. As for me, I am thinking of getting some new clothes as well. I may even check the sexy lingerie section of the store to see if there's anything that will catch my fancy. Hubby will like that, eh?

4) For the spring season to make an appearance here in the sunshine state. It seems it's winter then summer. C'mon SPRING...

5) Driving. Yeah, really. LOL..

6) A vacation...or even just a short get-away...to the Phils. maybe?

7) Little one's laughter, hugs & kisses.

8) The husband's silliness.

8 Things I Did Yesterday.

1) Scratched, scratched, & scratched some more. Did I say scratched?

2) Stayed in bed and watched TV while hubby labored in the backyard mowing the grass then putting fertilizer & weed killer after.

3) Blogged a little bit...

4) Tried to be busy to divert attention from too much scratching.

5) Checked Friendster & Facebook.

** Can't think of anything else I did yesterday**

8 Things I Wish I Could Do.

1) Drive.

2) Swim.

3) Cook well.

4) Garden. [I can probably do this IF I have a garden, eh?].

5) Eat everything I want without worrying about it.

6) Quilt, sew, crochet, cross-stitch. knit....

7) Draw.

8) Visit people we love anytime we want.

8 Shows I Watch

1) NCIS...over and over again!

2) Snapped [for those not familiar with the show, it's about women who snapped and ended committing crimes...usually murder...not that I want to follow their lead...LOL]

3) CSI NY, CSI Miami and CSI itself.

4) Monk...it's the last season this June so I'm a bit sad about it.

5) Burn Notice

6) Food Channel shows

7) CMT Music videos

8) 20/20 in the WE Channel

Not a Fun Weekend!

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Not at all. I stayed in bed the whole weekend. I wasn't up to cooking dinner so hubby ran out to get us dinner...for 2 days. I am still not up to my elements and it may take 5 days or more before I'd probably start to feel better.

That's my weekend in nutshell. Hope you had a better weekend than mine. Here wishing you all to ....

glitter-graphics.com

Exciting Time

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Awaiting for the birth of a baby is always an exciting time. I'm very excited about it right now although I'm not the one expecting [I can only wish!]. My high school classmates who are married to each other are. It's not a planned pregnancy but it still something they are very excited about. Their youngest is 8 years old already. I speak with my friends regularly and I was one of the first to know about the good news. Since it's been a while since they had the last baby and because it's an unplanned pregnancy, they have to start from scratch as far as baby's stuff is concerned. I still haven't sent them my gift for the baby but I might get the Bob stroller they have in their registry. There are still a few in their list but I figured a stroller is something they will really use for years and that's the kind of gifts I want to give.

A Bit Under the Weather

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That's me! And it's Friday!!! Ugh! Waiting for the weekend the whole week and then I may be coming down with something. Not funny. I already took some Tylenol and it's helping a bit. I hope it works so I can enjoy the weekend. We don't have any exciting plans but still, I want to be well enough in just in case, right? Oh well, I shouldn't be whining since it's probably [only] a flu [or not]. A lot of people are suffering from far more serious conditions. Hubby's friend is in the hospital for more than 2 weeks now with a perforated intestine so they had to do surgery to correct it. Someone he used to work for was just diagnosed with a certain type of leukemia while another one he used to work with was diagnosed with mesothelioma. The latter is something common in the husband's line of work so I'm a bit nervous about it. It happens but I'm hoping the husband is taking necessary precautions not to fall victim to this disease. I'm sure he is.

Another Visit from....

Tooth Fairy!

Yes, she lost another tooth last night! She lost 1 last Saturday, then last night, she asked me to pull the other one. Yes, I pulled it just like last Saturday...and I don't feel bad about it...hehe. She's getting antsy about it because it's been loose for weeks now just like the other one. I didn't want to pull them at the same time because it may be too much for her. But...she asked me last night and I obliged, readily if I may say so! As soon as she finished rinsing the blood off, she blurted out: Whew! I'm glad it's out. Now I can chew again! It turned out she's been chewing on one side only and probably got tired of it.

As for the Tooth Fairy, she left some coins under her pillow. I told her before she went to bed that the TF may leave her an "IOU" because she may have run out of coins already. When she found the coins under her pillow this morning, she gave out a big sigh of relief...hahaha....

Business Trip

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Beautiful day here again today. The sun is out and it's probably in the lower 70s right now. The little one and I will probably head out the backyard in a bit so she can play for a while. It will probably be too hot to do that in the afternoon so I'll let her play this morning and we'll do her school work in the afternoon.

The husband is on a business trip today. He left early in the morning to catch a flight and he will be catching a flight back home tonight. It's a round-trip since he's only going to North Carolina. He already called us a few minutes ago to let us know he made it safe and sound. Last time he went there, he also flew back home the same day. That time I packed him some clothes just in case he may need to stay overnight. He didn't want me to do that this time because he has no intentions of staying overnight. He has another trip coming up in a few weeks to San Diego. For that trip, I'm sure he will need to book a San Diego hotel because there's no way he can come back home the same day he leaves. He hates plane rides but he doesn't have a choice because it's part of his job. Hopefully, things will pick up at work they they get jobs where they don't have to go far.

Gotta go now since the little one is itching to run around outside.

Cutting Back....

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This year will be a perfect time for me to visit family & friends back home. It’s my batch in high school’s turn to host the alumni homecoming because it’s our Silver Jubilee. My nephew is also graduating from medical school so it’s going to be one exciting time for my family. But I am still undecided if we should go for a visit or not. The husband and I had talked about it but with the way the economy is, I’m just not sure I’m willing to spend so much for the trip….unless we can come up with ways to set aside some money by cutting back on some things. So I started looking where we can cut back. Our weekly grocery bills will be one. I think we spend WAY TOO much in groceries. I am also looking into the Dish Network Deals that advertised online.

When we moved, we got a great offer from the cable company. That’s because it’s one of the ‘packaged deals’ where phone, internet & cable are in one bill. It worked out for a while until outages happened too often. We decided to drop the phone & internet with them and we kept the cable TV. Well, after seeing the Dish Network Offers, I think we’re paying way too much for our cable service….WAY TOO MUCH! How much? Let’s just say that if we switched to Dish Network from our present cable provider, our bill on that department will be cut in half. Now, if that’s not savings, I don’t know what is.

Whew! By the rate I'm "saving" [on papers], my piggy bank will look like this!

Apple Of Our Eyes

Smile! Here she is ready to conquer the world...errr...our backyard. This was just a couple of nights ago. She wanted to go out and go on a star-gazing safari [her words not mine] with Dad. I was taken aback when she came out of her bedroom wearing her 'winter gears'.....ummmm, it's spring....that feels like summer so no idea where that came from. She's cute though, isn't she?

B-O-O!!! Can you see me now?

Looking for a New Provider

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I was without internet for the most part of yesterday. I cannot even put into words how frustrated I was because I had some work to do online. Calling their customer service was useless because all we got was an automated message letting us know that there was an outage in our area and that the service will be restored at 12 midnight! Ugh! The money I lost during the time I didn’t have the connection could easily pay for 3 months of their service. The husband asked them if they’re going to refund us the money I lost because of the outage. Of course they wouldn’t. I’ve had it with them so now I’m checking Hughe Net Deal on their internet service because I am seriously considering dumping our present internet provider after my not so happy experience with it.

Hubby just called and I told him that I am checking the Hughes Net offers and he told me to go ahead and see what they have to offer. He’s the kind that is willing to try something else if what we have is not working...and I can honestly say our present provider is not working for us. This is the second internet provider we’ve had since we moved in here about a year ago. The one we had in the old house does not offer their services here or I would have them in a heartbeat. We had them the entire time I was living in the old house [for almost 7 years] and I can’t remember having a problem with them. I am crossing all my fingers, toes and my eyes that Hughes Net satellite Internet will be the answer to my needs.

Hawks

We see lots of different birds around here. The little one likes to watch them every chance she gets. She really wants to put a bird feeder in the backyard but we're still looking for one that we like.

While we're having breakfast a few days ago she saw a hawk sitting on a branch of our backyard tree. Dad took a picture right away. When we checked the picture, we were surprised to see TWO HAWKS instead. They blend in their surrounding quite easily so we didn't notice the one on the far left. We spent our breakfast staring at them. It's not everyday we see hawks chilling out in our backyard.

An iPhone for Him...

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Last Christmas, the little one's 'big gift' from us is an iPod. She requested for it late in the game so we told her it's from us and not 'Santa'. But I think she knows already that everything is actually from us. Anyway, before we wrapped the iPod, Dad got to play with it. To say he's impressed is probably an understatement. He liked it so much I thought he would get one for himself last Christmas and tell me it's from Santa...LOL. He hasn't gotten one yet because now he wants an iPhone. The iPod does a lot but he couldn't use for calling. He doesn't want to carry a phone and the iPod at the same so the iPhone is what he needs. He travels for business purposes so he wants something handy when the need to search for something arises like booking hotels, or finding his way around an unfamiliar location or simply connecting with us. So what is he waiting for? A sale where he can get this gadget at a much affordable price. During this time of economic uncertainty, every penny saved is a penny earned.

Temptations...

Here's one! This is a picture that a good friend of mine sent me over the weekend. She and her friends went on a short trip to the beach this weekend. It’s very nice, isn’t it? She said she took it from her hotel room as soon as they arrived and sent it to me right away to make me ‘drool’ I guess…LOL. I showed it to hubby and all he could say was: pretty. After seeing this picture, all I can think of now is going to the beach. I know it’s only spring but here in our state, it certainly feels like summer. Right now it’s in the upper 70s already and it’s only 11 AM. So yes get-aways such as holidays in Caribbean are definitely very tempting…especially after seeing that picture.

Honestly though, I’ve been thinking about going on a short vacation even before I got this picture. Two weeks ago, hubby’s brother came down for a visit. He said that he and his wife just came back from a 3-week long vacation. They took one of those Cuba Holidays and he couldn’t stop talking about it. He has retired from his job after 20 years with the company so they have been enjoying some much needed get-away eversince. They already went on a cruise a few times and had been to the Caribbean as well. Their kids are all adults now so they can now go by themselves without thinking: baby sitters. We still have the little one but we wouldn’t mind to take her in one of those holidays to Cuba because she’s so much fun to take on trips right now. She’s very curious about everything and she appreciates everything around here.

I can’t wait to take that much needed vacation with the little one and the husband. Hopefully, once we finalize everything with an ongoing transaction, we can take a few days off and head off somewhere relaxing.

Another One Bites the Dust...

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Sort of. The little one lost another tooth last night. The tooth had been wobbly for weeks but it wouldn't come out. She DARED me to pull it out a few week ago but I didn't want to because it was still very much attached to her gums. I told her once it's loose enough I would pull it out.

It's been bleeding everytime she brushes her teeth so I thought it maybe time to take some drastic measures....and that's exactly what I did! I PULLED IT last night. I think I was more nervous than her because I wasn't sure if it would hurt or not. It didn't. Whewww....

So last night, we got a visit from the:

glitter-graphics.com

So now...she's RICH! [according to her anyway]

Safety First

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After weeks of waiting, one of the little one’s tooth finally fell out. It’s the 5^th tooth that she lost so far so we still have a long way to go. The “tooth fairy” made her appearance of course, although she almost forgot....again! Anyway, I expected her to wake up at dawn because she’s really excited about getting some coins so I braced myself into waking up really early. She didn’t, thank goodness. As soon as she woke up she ran to our bedroom yelling she got the coins. Her exact words were: I lost a tooth and now I’m rich! She’s rich! It’s a good thing we have the GE Home security system installed here in the house so we don’t have to worry about her ‘wealth & fortune’, eh? I wonder what we can do with all the money she has. Ha!

Seriously though, I’m glad that we decided to have a GE Home security system installed when we moved in here. It seems that home invasion is getting more and more rampant nowadays. It seems that some people are resorting to crimes such as home invasion to get through this economic crisis. Our local news has been reporting at least one invasion and/or robbery per newscast. That’s way too much as far as I’m concerned. I’ve only experienced home invasion once and it was years ago and in another country but I never want to experience it again. I wasn’t home when that happened to me but I lost a lot of good night sleep over it. I’m glad that we had the GE alarm system installed. It definitely saves us a lot of worries.

Nighty-Nite!

This is how I feel right now...Winnie the Pooh-ey! I'm pretty sure though that as soon as I hit the hay, I'd lay awake for an hour or so before I finally doze off. It's one of the 'symptoms' of the thyroid saga that I've been going through. I of course didn't know that it's a symptom of something more serious until after the verdict came in. I thought it may be stress related or that I didn't get enough exercise to be tired enough to fall asleep right away.

Anyway, I have a long weekend ahead. Work is here so I need to bust my bee-hind to make some moolah....night y'all!

Audio Books

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I spent a few days going through the boxes in the garage last week and this week. I am almost done already and I'm planning in finishing this task this weekend. Hopefully, I'll be able to squeeze that in my weekend especially now that work will be released later tonight. It seems that life is getting busier and busier that I don't get to do a lot of things I used to do like reading. I still have a lot of new books I dug out of the boxes. I think I bought them about 4 years ago and they are still in their original boxes. I just can't find the time to read anymore. I should probably get me audio books so I can work and 'read' at the same time.

I know I'd have to read the books sooner or later. The biggest question is: when will I have the time to do. So I decided to check out the different audio books at Borders. I'm glad I did because I wasn't aware that some of the books I was planning in getting are available in audio books. I may even get me some more fiction books I've been wanting to get for the longest time. Now I will be able to read those books while I do something else. Yay!

Las Vegas

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What week we've had here in our neck of the woods. For the first time since I came here, a tornado landed not too far from where we're at. It also rained a lot before and after the tornado. Today, the weather is back to normal and it's almost in the 80s now. I whined a bit about it because we weren't able to go outside for a couple of days but now that it's dry and hot, I don't feel like going out there.

Next week, it will be warm [hot?]. I am hoping it won't be too hot to stay outside. Anyway, the husband will be going out of town sometime next week. I am tempted to ask him to take us with him so we can take a little vacation together...but it's a business trip so maybe not. How about I research some Las Vegas hotels and convince him to take us on a trip there instead? Can you believe he hasn't been to Las Vegas? I've been there once but it was only for a couple of days. I still want to go back and explore the parts I wasn't able to explore that time. I'm just not sure if the husband would be willing to go to Las Vegas. It's just not his cup of tea.

Little 'jokester'...

That's our little one. She likes to joke a lot. When I went to the ophthalmologist for the first time, she cracked a lot of jokes to the patients who were in the waiting room with us. And she was a big HIT to them. They even asked her to stay with them when I went in for my turn...LOL.

When we asked her what she wanted for her birthday, we were not not surprised at all when she readily said: a big fat JOKE BOOK! Dad looked for the big fat joke book online but there's no big fat joke book...they're all thin books. So we got her several joke books instead. She already read [and used] almost all of the jokes in her books.

Btw, the one an the bottom of the picture is not a book. It's the 'whoopie' cushion that I wasn't aware of until the Dad got it for her as well. It's a 'farting' cushion!!! It's now broken because it's overused. Can you imagine how much 'fart sounds' I had to endure in the last few days????

Which Way?

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So why am I “afraid” to drive? That’s basically the 6-million dollar question I get everytime I tell people I don’t drive…yet…after almost 8 years of being here in the US. My answer is I’m not afraid of the driving itself. Well, maybe just a little. What's my bigger fear then? Getting L-O-S-T!!! I think only my husband and those people I’ve been in a car with know that my sense of direction is not the best. How bad? I remember riding with the directress of a school I used to work for. The two of us were going to visit another school. She was driving and I was on the passenger’s seat of course. She asked me to remember the directions and take notes of the signs [yep, like that exit sign on the freeway]. Guess what? I wasn’t able to do that. I thought she was going to fire me after that trip...LOL. Fortunately, my teaching is much better than my sense of direction so I managed to keep my job.

So how bad is my sense of direction when I'm not on a car though? Let me tell you a story. When one of the malls in the Philippines was still newly opened, I went to visit it with an ex-boyfriend. In the course of our trip to the mall, we decided to go explore the mall separately. We set-up our meeting place and time in the mall then went off our merry ways. I guess I got engrossed in checking out the different stores that I didn’t realize I was already on the other side of the mall. When the time came for me to meet him, I could no longer find my way. All I could follow were the different exit signs all over the place. Seriously, I panicked for a bit. Cell phones were too expensive to own that time so we didn’t have them. So what did I do? I took the easy way out and went out the store via one of the many, you got it: EXIT SIGNS. From the outside of the mall, I went around and got in through the front of the mall where we originally entered. Clever, eh? LOL! My former boyfriend already had this look....

It's the End of the Week

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... once again! I actually felt like it was Friday yesterday. I have no idea why but that's how I felt. Unfortunately, what I feel and what's 'real' are 2 different things...most of the time.

No plans this weekend here. We had a busy weekend last week so we're just staying put this time...I think. I may even start sowing some of the seeds for my vegetable garden tomorrow even if I still have no idea where I would plant them. Our yard has a lot of room but I need to find a 'strategic' place on where to start my veggie garden.

Oh well...I'll find a place for it I'm sure. In the meantime....

glitter-graphics.com

Time Flies!

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Time surely flies. Our little one just celebrated her 7^th birthday not too long ago. I still can’t believe she’s no longer that itty bitty baby that was so dependent on me. I know it will only be faster from now on so I’m bracing myself for that. Now, if her turning 7 is not enough of a reminder of how time flies, my niece told me that her brother will be graduating from medical school a few weeks from now. The same little boy I helped taking care of when he was a baby is now getting ready to become a doctor. I’m happy he’s about to embark on his lifelong dream but I can’t help but be reminded that I am indeed getting old. Ugh! I also have to start looking for a graduation gift for him. I’ve already narrowed down my choices to a few but I’m leaning more and more in getting him one of the rotary watches I’ve come across online. Yep, a watch. Doctors need a watch, right?

My father was a “watch” man. He loved watches so I grew up seeing different brands. I remember him coming home wearing a different watch everytime. I thought he owned them all when I was younger. He didn’t. His friend fixed watches for a living. A lot of times, the watches he’d fix would remain unclaimed which meant they would be his after some time. So he would let my father wear them as a way of advertising the watches, like rotary watches as well as other brands. We were also able to wear different watches when we were kids so yes, the fascination with watch also grew on me and my siblings.

Anyway, whenever I look for gifts, especially for men, a watch is always on top of my list. And it’s not any different this time. I don’t have a big budget for this gift but I want to give my nephew something nice…and affordable. Guess what I’m looking at now that are nice and affordable? ROTARY WATCHES! Yep, I found what I want to get him. My only problem now is which one…innie minnie minie moe…

34 is too Young?

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The little one and I were having the Q&A a few days ago, as usual. Just like a lot of kids her age, she's asking a million questions at any given time. Her questions range from really the silly to the very complex ones. If I can answer the question without misleading her, I try to. If I can't, I would either tell her I'd answer it later on or ask Dad...tee hee!

Anyway, here's how our Q&A went....

Little one: Mom, how old were you when you got married?

Me: Umm....34.

Little One: Really? You got married TOO YOUNG!

Me: Huh? Why is that too young?

Little One: Well, Dad said I should get married when I'm 40!

Me: Oh! Okay....

So all of you that got married earlier than 34, shame on you. You were MUCH too young! LOL...

Spring Cleaning

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Have you started with your spring cleaning yet? I have started ‘spring cleaning’ months ago actually. Here in the sunshine state, spring is practically non-existent. It’s supposed to be spring right now but guess what the temperature is here today? It’s almost in the 80s. There are days when it’s almost in the 90s so it’s more like summer than spring most of the time. Anyway, I really need to do the cleaning because the boxes from the old house are still in the garage taking up too much space. I started going through the boxes not too long ago and they’re mostly paper works we gathered when we started the process of having a house built. The other boxes are mostly my husband’s stuff like books. He also has a lot of magazines on CAR REVIEWS. The magazines date as far back as the 1990s so I left them in the boxes until he tells me which ones he wants to keep.

Speaking of cars, we may just get another one in the near future. As soon as I get enough courage to go behind the wheels, we will definitely need another car. Husband though is not thinking of getting a brand new one. He wants a used car for now so I’m looking for used Car Reviews to help us decide. His brother used to work for a car company so he gets some discounts when we buy their product. His brother has retired already so a brand new car is not a priority right now. Beside we need to watch the money we spend nowadays as the economy is so unstable. I’ll keep looking at the different used car reviews for now to find the car we want. I’m sure there’s one out there that has ‘our name’ on it. Ha!

Watch!

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You've probably seen this video already. It's now all over the net as well on TV. The Today show just had a segment about it this morning. The You Tube clip already hit the 5 million mark as of today so yeah, it may be something worth watching.

Susan Boyle Sings on Britain's Got Talent 2009 Episode 1 @ Yahoo! Video

Signs....

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Instead of having a small party at home like last year, we celebrated the little one’s birthday by going to the movie and eating out. We had the usual ice cream & cake the night before because we wanted to surprise her. She’s always excited about birthdays so we wanted her to be surprised as much as possible even if it’s a simple cake & ice cream only. We got her most of the gifts she wanted so she’s a happy camper. She’s been playing with them non-stop.

Anyway, our movie date was just the second time she’s been in a movie theater so she’s very much curious still as to the comings and goings of the place. She sees everything from the people that are watching to the numerous Exit Signs found in the theater. I had to remind her not to talk once the movie started…and she tried not to so I’m proud of her for being able to hold her mouth. After the movie we went to the restaurant near the movie house. The birthday girl was of course giddy because she likes eating out. It’s our first time in that particular restaurant so the little one was again looking around trying to absorb everything new. She had a lot questions again like: "Do they ever clean this place?"…to: "Why is there an Exit Sign everywhere we go?" LOL. I had to explain to her that people need directions all the time that’s why these signs are everywhere. Her answer...I don't! I know where I'm going. Hmm....we'll see about that.

Rain, Thunders, and a Tornado...

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Exciting life I have, eh? After weeks and weeks of drought, rain came pouring early in the morning...with a tornado to boot! I think it's the first tornado I've heard of to land near here.

It's still pretty wet out there and it continues to drizzle but who cares....we're in the comfort of home.

I've been watching the news since 8 AM. They've been showing the place where the tornado landed and it's scary. The damage is not that bad compared to that of other states but it's still unnerving to know that it can happen to us....I'm hoping it doesn't though....happen to us I mean.

Cheap but Reliable

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It may be the first time I've experienced this kind of weather here. We've been having some water crisis for a quite a while now so the rain was a welcome respite to the drying lawns around here. But a T-O-R-N-A-D-O? Now that's never welcome anywhere. The tornado landed in another county but we had some nasty thunders for most of the morning. It's still drizzling while I type this and it was gloomy the whole day. I only turned on my laptop to look at some web hosting sites that my husband asked me to check. When the thunder and lightning started again, I had to shut down my laptop because I didn't want to take the risk. I'm about to start surfing again and start looking for a web hosting site again so I can check it off my to do list. It's not for me though. I am tasked again by my 'boss' to look for one...hopefully, I'll get paid for it...but I doubt it.

Anyway, I have to find that web site as soon as possible because their subscription with their present one is about to run out and they don’t want to continue with the same service because it’s expensive. They actually have a 3-year subscription with them. Now that their contract is about to expire, they want a different provider with a much cheaper fee but with a reliable service…kinda' like me. LOL….

And then she's SEVEN!

Yep, our little one is not so little anymore. I know it happens but it still kinda' sad to note it won't be long before she thinks Mom or Dad is not cool anymore. Wahhh.....

The Task at Hand....

It’s been almost a year since we moved in this house. We still have a long way to go as far as making our ‘home’ presentable to visitors but we’ll get there. As my husband likes to say…we have a lifetime to do all these things. And I agree! As they say…slowly but surely. A proof of us [me, actually] taking our time, I have only started about a week ago going through boxes upon boxes of stuff stored in the garage. To be honest, I’ve been dreading to do that task but someone has to do it, right? The garage is running out of floor space so we need to start putting stuff in the attic. Aside from that, I need to look for some documents that my husband needs. That proved to be a difficult task as I have to go through ALL of the boxes just to find what I’m looking for…and I’m not done yet. I think I’ve finished half of the boxes and I’m not sure which box or boxes have the documents I’m looking for. One thing is sure though, I have a bigger task ahead of me once I’m done going through all of the boxes: DOCUMENT SHREDDING!

Document Shredding is something unheard of to me until I came to live here in the US. In my former life, I didn’t see the need to do that. My husband was the one who told me that I had to start doing that a few years ago because my identity can easily be stolen from the papers I toss in the trash. Talk about scary. I started shredding but not 'that' seriously. I guess I needed some kind of a rude awakening to make me believe that document shredding is actually a serious business. A friend of mine became a victim of identity theft. Like me, she also didn’t think it can happen to her so she’d toss out some papers which had some of her personal information. Before she knew it, she had been victimized by some identity thief. As a result of her ordeal, she practically had to start from scratch to rebuild her identity again. She said it was such a pain in the neck. After what happened to her, I started document shredding as if there’s no tomorrow. I’d shred even the junk mails that had my name on them. Overkill I know but as the saying goes: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! I can only agree...

From Me to YOU!

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Funny T-Shirts...Perfect!

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I love t-shirts! I can live in them for the rest of my life. Same goes true for my husband. This is why we almost always have to go shopping whenever we have to attend something more formal. But that’s rare so we don’t worry much about it. Aside from being comfortable, t-shirts also make great gifts. They’re inexpensive and are easy to find. When I sent a box to my friends and family back home, I made sure to put a shirt or two for each of them. After a few weeks of them getting the package, I got pictures of them wearing the shirts I sent them. It surely made me feel good knowing what I sent them is something they can use and they obviously liked them.

But do you know what’s better than t-shirts? How about funny t-shirts like this one?

I like this one in particular not for me but for my husband. He hates squirrels because they never leave our property. LOL! Everytime we’re eating and he looks out the window, almost always, there is a squirrel [or squirrels] sniffing around the backyard and it drives him nuts. So yes, hilarious t-shirts about squirrels will be perfect for him. It will definitely be hilarious to see him wearing this shirt while chasing the squirrels off our property. Now that I have to see. I better order one for him [and one for me and the little one] before they run out.

Winter is BACK!

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What happened to spring? No idea here. It's mostly in the 50s around here today so we had to wear jackets over our 'supposed to be spring attire' when we went to the doctor for my appointment. It will even be colder tomorrow. We will wake up with a temperature in the 30s I think. Although it will get warm towards the end of the day but still...it's supposed to be S-P-R-I-N-G....

My doctor's appointment went well...well, aside from waiting for the doctor for about 30 minutes and waiting in line at the drugstore for more than an hour to get my prescription...ugh! I have hyperthyroid which means my thyroid is producing too much hormones. I also have goiter as a result of this [I think]. I was surprised by that because I always equate goiter with 'bulging' neck My neck looks fine to me but that's what the thyroid ultrasound showed so who am I to question it, right? I am now on medication to slow down my beloved thyroid from producing too much hormones.....hmmm. I need to have some blood work done after a month to see if the pills are working or not then off to the doctor again.

Basically, that's it. My blogging will still be very sporadic because I just don't feel like blogging much nowadays. Hopefully it's something temporary only. We'll see....

100 Truths...a Tag!

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Thanks Tetcha....

001. Name → Juliana
002. Nickname(s)→ Juliana, Juls, Julie, J, Jolen, Lola, Lols & Na
004. Zodiac sign → Scorpio
005. Male or female → Female
006. Elementary → San Simon Elementary School in Pampanga
007. Middle School → Di uso sa probinsya eh....
008. High School → Assumpta Technical High School, Pamp, Phils.
009. College School → St. Scholastica's College Manila, Philippines.
010. Hair color → Black
011. Long or short → Very Long.
012. Loud or Quiet → Quiet
013. Jumpers or Jeans → Both
014. Phone or Camera → Camera
015. Health freak → Not yet....soon!
016. Drink or Smoke? → Neither
017. Do you have a crush on someone? → George Clooney?
018. Eat or Drink → Hungry - Eat, Thirsty - Drink...hehe
019. Piercings → Ears.
020. Tattoos → Peklats?
021. Social or Anti-Social →Anti-social...hahaha....actually, I am both...
022. Righty or lefty →Righty

FIRSTS:
023. First piercing → When I was in Gr. 1 I think
024. First best friend → I can't remember...elementary years I think.
025. First award → Grade 1 Honor Roll
026. First crush → I can't remember his name but it starts with 'R'...
027. First pet → Dog [an 'askal']...it's a family pet
028. First big vacation → Baguio when I was still a toddler.
029. First Kiss → with my first 'serious' boyfriend. Ha!
030. First big birthday →My birthday was always big in the Phils because it's on All Saints' Day...my friends and family are always on a break on that day...
031. First relationship → in college already
032. First Surgery → C-section to deliver the little one
033. First sport you joined → Patintero....hahaha..in Kapampanga: ARINDINGAN...haha

THIS OR THAT:
034. Orange or Apple juice → Orange juice
035. Rock or Rap → Neither
036. Country or Screamo → What's screamo? Music genre? then Country...
037. NSYNC or Backstreet boys → NSYNC if only because of Justin T.
038. Britney spears or Christina Aguilera →Christina Aguilera
039. Night or Day → Day
040. Sun or Moon → Sun
041. TV or Internet → Both
042. Playstation or xbox → Not my thing...
043. Kiss or hug → Hug
044. Iguana or turtle → Turtle
045. Spider or bee → Why oh why?
046. Fall or spring → Spring
047. Limewire or iTunes → iTunes
048. Soccer or baseball → Soccer only if only because of David Beckham...hehe

CURRENTLY:
049. Eating → Nope. It's almost bedtime...
050. Drinking → Water
052. I'm about to →Go to bed.
053. Listening to → CSI Miami here in the living room and the TV in the bedroom.
054. Plans for today → Weeding...and I did it...yay!
055. Waiting for → this tag to be over so I can go to bed...hehe

YOUR FUTURE:
058. Want kids? → I want more but I'm too old to have another one.
059. Want to get married? → Been there, done that....
060. Careers in mind → A small business I can run from home...

WHICH IS BETTER IN THE BOY/GIRL YOU LIKE?
068. Lips or eyes → Eyes.
070. Shorter or taller - Taller.
072. Romantic or spontaneous → Romantic.
073. Nice stomach or nice arms → Neither.
074. Sensitive or loud→ Sensitive.
075. Hook-up or relationship → Relationship.
076. Trouble maker or hesitant → Neither.

HAVE YOU EVER:
080. Lost glasses/contacts → Yes, a couple of time actually.
081. Ran away from home → Sort of...
082. Held a gun/knife for self defense → I placed a knife under my pillow one time for protection
083. Killed somebody → Not yet....hahaha...
084. Broke someone's heart → Yes...
085. Been arrested → Not yet...hehe
087. Cried when someone died → Who hasn't?

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
089. Yourself → Most of the time...
090. Miracles → Yes...
091. Love at first sight → Yes
092. Heaven → Yes.
093. Santa Claus → Not anymore
094. Tooth Fairy → Didn't know about TF until I was old enough not to believe on it...
095. Kiss on the first date → Secret? hehehe....actually, it depends on the date I guess.

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
097. Is there one person you want to be with right now → Right at this moment....no. I have them with me.
098. Are you seriously happy with where you are in life → I'm happy but I can be happier....
099. Do you believe in God → Of course!
100. Post as 100 truths and tag 20 people→ Tagging the first 20 who will read this....hehehe

Thyroid Problem It is...

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We got back from the doctor's office about an hour ago. We went to an ophthalmologist today who was referred to us by a family doctor because my main reason for going to the doctor was my eye...the left one in particular. This is the doctor that ordered the CT Scan for my eye. So that's the main reason for my visit today.

The CT Scan didn't show any problem with my eye. That means no growth or anything that may cause my eye to pop out. Thank goodness. But guess what it showed? I have sinusitis...duh! I know I have it although I'm not taking anything for it..only for my allergy. The doctor called it an 'incidental' result since he's not really looking for that. Anyway, the ophthalmologist did his thing...checked my eye, measured them to see if the left is protruding [it's not]. They took a picture of my optic nerve and told me to come back in 2 months just to see if something's changed.

He basically told me he's certain now that I have a thyroid problem [THS test] BUT NOT the kind of thyroid problem. He wants my original doctor to be the one to explain everything to me since he was the one that ordered the blood tests & thyroid ultra sound. The blood test showed my thyroid stats are out of whack. I honestly don't remember what the numbers are because he just mentioned them in passing.

At least now I know where the problem is. I will know WHAT exactly next Tuesday. Ugh. Don't you just love doctors???

Rainy Day...

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...and I have a doctor's appointment in an hour. Rain is very much needed here but why oh why doest it have to happen today when I have to head out???

Anyhooo....I'm so tired right now. Our appointment is not until 10 but I got up at around 7:30. I woke up when the husband left for work then back to bed as usual. I asked him to give me a 'wake-up' call to make sure we can get ready for the doctor with ample time. The little one woke up when Dad called so now we're ready to go.

I am anxious to know what the doctor has to say. Both doctors [family doctor and ophthalmologist] *think* it has something to do with my thyroid. The first thing the ophthalmologist asked me last time was if I gained or lost weight recently. Well, I probably gained a pound or two but not enough to need a diet pill to get rid of. The only *symptom* that I MAY be having some thyroid problem is my inability to go to sleep as easily as I used to. I'm lucky I stay home so I can sleep in even on weekdays if I don't get enough sleep at night.

Oh well. I better get off here. My husband called and let us know he's on his way home to pick us up. I'll let you know what I hear from the doctor.

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April Fool's Day...

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March has come and gone and now it's April already. It's the little one's birth month which makes April a memorable month for me and my husband. But that's not the sole reason why April is memorable to us. We 'met' in April 2001. Technically, we didn't meet since the 'meeting' happened not in person but online. I sent him a message on the evening April 21, 2001 [Taiwan time] which he got on April 22, 2001 here. So yeah, April is a month we treasure so to speak.

Anyway, I wasn't able to blog yesterday. I got busy filing papers and going through boxes in the garage. We need to put some boxes in the attic to free up some space so I have to go through which boxes I want 'gone ' for years...LOL. I'm not finish yet so I'll be busy again today.

Btw, my CT scan last Monday went quick. I had it done in a hospital and everything went as planned. I don't know yet what's wrong with me though. I have 2 more appointments with my doctors...one this Friday with my ophthalmologist who ordered the scan so he will tell me what the results are for that. My other appointment will be next week, with my original doctor who ordered the thyroid ultrasound. They are both convinced I have a thyroid problem and I'm also leaning towards that because I seem to have the symptoms like difficulty sleeping. I just wish I had the other symptom which is 'weight loss'...hehehe. Unfortunately, I don't. Contrary to what my picture 'shows', I have not lost weight. I actually gained a pound or two....ugh!

I'll let you all know what the doctor says on Friday. In the meantime...

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