Pinay WAHM

It’s been more than 10 years since I decided to quit one of the best jobs I’d probably have in my lifetime. It wasn’t just the job that I ‘left’ when I decided to quit but a whole bunch of people I consider friends and family. Fortunately, technology has kept us connected and updated with what’s happening in our lives even if we live on the opposite side of the world. At the time I left Taiwan, I just became the godmother to a friend’s little boy. He wasn’t even a year old when I left and in 2 weeks time, he’ll be 11 years old already. Sadly, we never really got to know each other and I’ve never really played the usual role a godparent plays…just being there. This is why I call myself an 'absentee godmother'. Can you tell I’m feeling a wee bit of guilt? I do actually but there’s not a lot I can do. To somehow make up for it, I’m thinking of getting him something for his upcoming birthday. I know he’s into paintball guns right now since it’s his brother’s latest favorite past t

Sealed with the 'much awaited' kiss. Awww.... On a side note...can you see that cute little bridesmaid on the bottom left....LOL...isn't she cute. I think she's had enough of the noise, eh? Poor girl... So...did you wake up at 3 AM to witness the wedding of the century? I didn't. I'm perfectly happy just seeing footages of it so I didn't even think about waking up that early. But I have a really good friend who CAMPED out in front [maybe side?] of the Buckingham Palace in anticipation of today's big wedding. She even posted a picture of the bride [to be] she snapped while she was in a car with her Dad on their way to the cathedral. What can I say...my friend is a true blue fanatic of the Prince so she didn't mind sleeping on concrete floor in a flimsy tent just to be able to witness the Prince got hitched. I was able to see the carriage ride to the palace live on the Today show though. But that's not what I'm excited about the most. I WAS AB

One of the things that hubby really wants to do is online trading . That way we can work side by side at home. He’s really interested in it because he believes he’ll be able to make a lot of money if only he can do it full time. I believe him as far as his ability to make money out of it but to make it as his full time job...I don't think so. He’s not really the type who would sit in front of a computer day in, day out. He likes the ‘money’ part of it but he won’t be able to last just because he’s more like the ‘working’ guy. He has to do something manual or he’ll go nuts. He currently has an online broker but he wants to be more involved and learn the ropes of the trade. But he has some really big problems...time...as in lack of it. A few months ago he’s able to sit a few times a day in front of his computer to monitor stocks and even did some stock trading but those days are gone. Right now, he can barely leave the shop because they have so much work to finish…and they still ha

Here's the official trailer of the final installment. Hopefully we will be able to see this one in the movie cinema...if not, then I will just have to wait for the DVD again just like with the others. I don't really mind but it would be a welcome changes to see this one in a bigger screen...and in 3d. Although I'm not sure how the little one will react to it knowing how a scared she gets at times.

Did you get your invite yet? I haven't...and from the looks of it, it won't make it on time. AS IF!!! Lol... The big day is tomorrow already. Everything on TV right now is about it so I thought why not join the fun and blog about it along with the tens of millions that are doing so already. What's another one. I don't want to be an outcast, do I? I really don't have much to say about it since I don't know much about it. Who does anyway? Some people might claim they have the inside scoops or what nots but until tomorrow, no one really knows how things are going down. Much of what's being speculated is just that...speculation. So to avoid 'speculating' myself, let me just wish the happy couple the best. I'm sure I'm with millions others who are wishing them the same thing. Cheers!

It looks like the little one's acne cream is working well for her. At first we were hesitant to give her anything for her skin in fear that it may do more damage than good but when her little pimples wouldn't go away with just water and facial cleanser we originally got, we knew we had to get something else and that's when we got her the acne cream . She hasn't been using it for a long time but it seems to be doing its job as the pimples seem to be diminishing. I just cannot believe that we're dealing with this acne problem as early as now when she hasn't even crossed the 2-digit age. Everything about her seems to be happening a lot earlier especially if I start comparing it with how it happened with me personally. I'm not sure if it's because she's biracial or it's because of all differences of now and then. But whatever it is, we just have to deal with it. I'm just hoping we'll be on top of every little changes in her....

After such a long time and years of trying to get in touch with my former dorm mates in college, I’m finally able to find them. I was able to get in touch with one a few years ago but she didn’t have any news about the other as well. Thanks to the social networks, we’re able to reconnect. One guy started a group and it just caught on and now we’re all reconnected. Pictures upon pictures have been uploaded in the group and I can’t help but laugh with those 80s hair dos and hair donts…LOL. There are also a bunch of pictures during sports tournaments with the guys and gals proudly showing off the volleyball trophies as well soccer trophies they won in those ‘fierce’ competitions. As if! In all seriousness though, those guys and gals took those tournaments very seriously so winning those trophies were a big thing for them then. Staying up late to watch the late night volleyball games between teams became the norm for us during the months of these tournaments. But if there’s one sport I r

After weeks of dealing with a nasty virus that invaded our quiet [?] abode, we're finally 'virus free' . It was one heck of a ride for us since this has never happened before where all three of us fell victim to an unforgiving bug! It's usually just one of us...not all three of us...so it was something new deal with. The only good thing is we had it one after the other. Literally! First week it was the husband ~ who by the way was the bearer of the bad news...err...bug. As soon as he started to get better, the little one followed. For almost a week, she was nursing a cold. That's the hardest to me since I hate seeing her not feeling well. It was just a cold but still it was a nuisance. She didn't miss a beat though. She still did her daily school work and ate like she wasn't sick. That's probably why she got better really fast...in just a matter of days. Exactly a week to the day the little one started feeling ill, I started coming down with a cold. How

Just like any other kids, one of the little one’s favorite things to do is go to a park. To her, it does not really matter how big the park is as long as it has some swings or slides or even just a sand box then she’s a happy camper. I on the other hand would be happy as long as there are shaded park benches within the vicinity because all I do is watch her run around the place whenever we visit a park. I could probably run around as well but I don’t think I’d last longer than 10 minutes so yes, a bench is my best friend at the park…well, picnic tables will also do the trick for me actually. When we were still living in the other house, we used to visit this really neat park not far from there. The park is big and has a lot of site furnishings in it. There’s even this big wooden castle that most of the kids that visit would hang out in majority of the time they’re there. It was a bit tricky for adults that want to assist their kids because the castle was made for kids and all we cou

Something that I've been trying to avoid has happened...I have a cough..and I hate it. It's probably one of my most hated sickness or illness. I hate that it keeps me awake at night...as well as other people in the household. I also had to beg off work because I've been coughing non-stop since last night my throat feels like it's burning and my voice is raspy. Besides, I also feel really tired due to my lack of sleep last night. I tried to nap today but to no avail so I ended up playing some games on my computer to pass time. When I got bored playing, I decided to do little work but my pesky cough just wouldn't let out so I decided to just watch some TV. Our weekend plans are still up in the air. Hubby's working tomorrow so it means we're not going anywhere. Sunday, we're planning in going to a store that we went to a few weeks ago and use a coupon we got then to buy me [yep, ME] some new pants, I think. From there, we may look for some vases and/or pot

I caught IT ...the VIRUS that was originally brought in here by the man of the house. He 'nurtured' IT for more than a week then when IT got tired of him, IT went to the little one. She had IT for about a week. Then IT decided to find a new nesting place...me! I got IT exactly a week after the little one caught IT . I'm still nursing a cold because of IT but I'm hoping I'm over the worst part of IT ...sore throat. I'm sucking on a Halls candy right now to ward away that itch that seems to linger there especially at night. Hopefully, I'll start to get better and IT takes a hike already. Now because of my thyroid condition, I have not taken any cold medicines...per my doctor's order . The little one is worried about the fact that I cannot take meds for IT . She went ahead and read every label of all the cold medicine we have [we have a few because the husband likes to try different kinds to see which one works the best for him] and found out they

That's what we have in our poor garage that I tried to straighten up on the weekend. In the other house we didn't have a garage. We had a separate shed for hubby's man stuff and I rarely went in the shed. Here I have no choice but see the 'mess' since the garage is attached to the house. In fairness, it's not just the hubby's mess this time that's cluttering it up...it's our mess. Like I mentioned in my other post, I'm just waiting until the attic is ready then most of the things in there would all go in the attic....I hope. But until that time comes, I'm afraid I may have to go in there and do some de-cluttering every couple of months maybe. Now because of this 'space' issue we have been putting off buying things that will need space in the garage. Like what? Bikes! We've been planning for the longest time to get us each a bicycle which we can use for fun as well as for exercise. But right now, we don't really know where to s

Catch the bug that got both the hubby and the little one? It feels like I did but I'm trying to ignore it. I've been sneezing repeatedly today. So what else is new since I'm a 'seasoned' err ... professional sneezer, eh? Well, this time around I can feel some pain at the back of my throat/nose which is a sign that I may be coming down with a cold. I thought I was able to get away from it but it doesn't seem to be the case. I was about to take the cold med that worked wonders for my husband when he had the sniffles but when I read the label on the box it says: Ask your doctor if you have 'thyroid disease' which I have so I paused and wondered if I should 'really' ask my doctor. I did. As it is right now, I still have the TED which may or may not be related to my thyroid problem so that's why I decided to call my doctor to ask if I should be taking the Alka-seltzer or not. He advised me not to...so I didn't. Doctor's order, right? He t

For some reasons, the little one is fascinated with fountains. Everytime we go to the store to look at the plants, she gravitates towards the fountains on display which are mostly garden fountains. Maybe it's that soothing sound of the water flowing or just because they have water that's why she likes them. I really don't know why. The husband and I also like them but we don't think we have a good place in the yard to put a fountain right now. We need to have more 'landscaping' done on the yard before a fountain would fit in. I think anyway. The Dad also noticed how much the little one likes fountains so he thinks maybe we can get her a table top fountain that we can probably put in her bedroom. Something similar to the one on the left but something that will go well in her bedroom. I'm not sure if there is such a thing as a pink or purple fountain but if there is one, she will be thrilled to no end. We just have to look for it, right?

It's actually an annual appointment with my ophthalmologist. Unfortunately, no good news...a little bit of a bad news so he wants to see me in 6 months instead of next year. My right eye is not doing well as far as its lid retraction is concerned. It retracted a little bit more since the last time I was there. My TED [thyroid eye disease] is not showing any sign of going into remission even if my thyroid problem is under control already. Frustrating. I guess that sums up how I'm feeling about this whole ordeal. It's not a life threatening disease but the mere fact that the doctor can't really tell why it's happening [still, even if my thyroid problem goes away I CAN still have TED] leaves me feeling this way. He even said that even if I have my thyroid taken out, it wouldn't necessarily get rid of the TED. In other words... no treatment but to keep the eye lubricated with OTC eye drops. There has to be a reason why it's happening, right? But that's all

Contrary to my original plan of relaxing this weekend, I actually did everything else but relax. This is I don't like to plan. But I guess it's just fair because the husband spent the weekend working as well. He got paid...I didn't. Ha! I'm happy though because I was actually quite productive as I was able to clean up some of the mess in the garage and it now looks less like a maze in there. It wouldn't have been as messy if we can just store/move most of the things in the attic but the hubby still has to do something in there before we can actually do that. In the meantime, I have to strategically put things around the garage so it's out of the way. We also need some shelves bad or some kind of storage and now that I think about it, maybe we can use those laptop carts that hubby wanted to buy from a guy at work. I originally thought we won't have any use for a laptop cart here but I may be wrong about that. I think it will be perfect to store some of the

I originally planned in doing nothing but bum around the house this weekend but I found myself doing otherwise. Our garage is slowly getting all cluttered up especially with the latest project...the flower beds. At first I just planned in moving stuff around but I ended up doing more than that. I'm not done yet so I might spend some time tomorrow tinkering some more in there. I won't be the only working though because hubby's working through the weekend as well. It's something they need to do to get caught up with work so he has no choice. The little one is not thrilled about that but she knows why so she's good with it. She's spending her weekend tinkering with the gifts she got on her birthday. She already started making some 'jewelry' so she's also 'busy'. I don't let her do those on the weekdays so she only has the weekend to play with them. Anyway, I also have to do some work later on because of some deadlines. I don't want to ge

Because of the ‘spur of the moment’ birthday party we had for the little one over the weekend, I completely forgot about an annual festival that I really wanted to visit this year. It’s a 3-day event showcasing different Filipino talents and products. I’ve been to one of them when I was still pregnant with our little one…a couple of weeks shy of giving birth actually and I remember it was fun. Since I was (very) pregnant at that time, I wasn’t able to really check it all out mainly because I had to stop every 4 steps or so to rest in between bathroom breaks. This year, I wanted the little one to see it because it’s the closest she can experience the Philippines…for now. But it was all forgotten because of all the chaos preparing for her ‘very surprise party’. Anyway, I didn’t even know about the 3-day event until the owner of a Philippine store told me about it a couple of months ago when we went there to get my monthly supplies of ‘home’ goods. She was busy looking for Promotional Ite

After enjoying the water slide to the fullest, the little one is now a wee bit under the weather...with a cold! I'm not really sure if I should blame the water slide entirely because Dad also had a cold last week. It's very much possible that she caught the virus that Dad had since she wouldn't stay away from him even if we told her she could get the virus. What can we do....Daddy's little girl. Every few minutes she'd go...can I give Daddy a hug? Can I just ask Daddy something? and so on and so forth. But then again...she overstayed on the water slide to the point that her lips were a little purple already. She said she wasn't cold but her lips said otherwise. She's getting a bit better now. The good thing is she hasn't lost her appetite much. She's still doing pretty much everything she does on a normal day. Except this time, she has some excuse to rest more than usual....because she's 'sick'. Now I'm wondering if I'm next in l

It’s now been more than a month since the gutters around the house were installed. They’ve also been tried and tested since then because it had rained quite a bit since then. So far they’re doing good because our flower beds didn’t get flooded during the heaviest downpour. Since having them installed, we also started working on our flower beds in front as well as the one on the back. The back is done already since we only had to put some pebbles on the beds. The ones in front need a lot of work still. We already have some plants on them but we need to plant a lot more and probably put some decorative stones as well. We went to the store the past few weekends to look for plants and it’s proving to be a hard task. I don’t know much about plants so I let hubby look for the ones he like. While hubby’s busy looking at plants, I’m also busy admiring some of the rain chains they have on display in the store. I was particularly taken by the one that would have looked great as a rain spout for

That's what the little one got for her birthday from her visitors. She was of course thrilled since she's into those right now. Remember her ' rings ' that I posted about here? I guess we all go through that phase where we want everything big and colorful...LOUD in other words. She even got some bangles last time we went to the store. Even the head band she got on that day spells... l-o-o-k...a-t...m-e ... because it has some big feathers on it. Anyway, she hasn't started working on the rings & bracelets yet. I told her this weekend since she still has to do her school work on the weekdays. I'm sure that once she's done working on them, she'll be parading around wearing them...and I'll make sure I take pictures when that happens...

I think it's important to have priorities in life. I personally believe it makes my life more manageable. I am not a control freak by any means but I want to have some kind of order in my life and prioritizing helps me in that aspect. I'm not only talking of the 'big stuff', rather small things like what to buy next. Seriously. And I'm not alone in this. Hubby and I talk before we buy even the simplest thing because we know it's going to come out of our budget and will ultimately affect not just one of us but all of us. Everything unplanned...we avoid...like that party we had on the weekend. But we're not sorry [or broke] we had it. The little one had fun and that's all that matters to us. But as a result of the spending, we now have to put off some purchase we originally planned in making. For one, we will just continue to look at printers instead of buying one in the near future. It's not really a necessity since the one we have is still in perfec

Here's another snap of the little one and a friend having fun sliding down the inflatable water slide. I think they only left it during lunch, cake time and opening of presents. The parents of her visitors planned in leaving an hour before they finally did because the kids kept going...one more...one more. One of the little girls came up to our little one and said it's been fun. Then added...maybe we can do this again? Maybe when you're 10? LOL...this was the 9th birthday of the little one by the way. Do I see another water slide birthday party celebration next year? Maybe? We'll see....but it was definitely fun!

Because of the fun that our little one when we rented that big water slide for her birthday yesterday, hubby and I are not thinking of getting another above ground pool. We got one a few years ago when we were still in the other house but the water quality we had back then was so bad, we spent majority of the time trying to keep it clean instead of enjoying it. It was kinda' hard to enjoy when you can barely see the bottom of the pool. We didn't expect the water to be that bad that's why we got the pool. After a while, we just gave up. We gave the pool away as well as all the pool supplies we bought along with it. The husband just didn't want to deal with it at that time because it was like a useless cause. Currently, we have good water quality where we live. We saw how clear it was in the pool that's attached to the water slide yesterday. We only had the slide for a good 6 to 8 hours but the fun that our little one had while playing in it would probably last her m

...and it's all because of the 'spur of the moment' birthday get together for the little one. I don't want to call it a party since it wasn't really...but it made the little one's birthday memorable. The main attraction was of course the water slide we rented. It wasn't cheap but it was well worth every penny of it since it was enjoyed until the last minute that we had it. As the kids were playing and having fun, the young 'once' of course chatted. We haven't seen the couple that came by [with their kids] in years so it was a lot of catching up. In the years that passed, both of them switched jobs already. They're younger than us but they're already worried about what retirement would be like to them considering how the economy is today that's why they've switched to jobs that they believe is more stable than what they used to have. They're also looking for some solid investments so I suggested that they should probably invest

This is what we have in our backyard right now. It's for the little one's birthday which we're having today. A few friends will be coming over with kids in tow to enjoy this water fun slide for a few hours. The little one is already having fun with it right now and has no idea she'll have some company a few hours later. It's all unplanned actually. We just thought of inviting an uncle and his wife over for cake and ice cream but they have friends coming over with kids so they'll be bringing company which is okay since they have kids....thus the spur of the moment water slide. Wanna' come slide with the kids?

Is it spring or is it summer already? Or is it still winter? It seems like Mother Nature has been playing tricks on us lately. Based on some pictures of friends in FB posted recently, it’s still snowing in some states so it’s more like winter in those places. It’s the exact opposite here. The temperature has been in the 80s for a couple of days now and according to the weather people, some places even hit the 90s today. Tomorrow will be another hot day for us around here. It was a totally different story 2 weeks ago. It was raining really hard for almost a week. There were also some really strong winds which probably knocked down a lot of Keystone Mailboxes and Gaines Mailboxes everywhere. The news showed a bunch of trees falling down on cars as well as houses because of the winds so mailboxes were probably not spared. Knocked down Classic Mailboxes would have been nothing though compared to what could have happened if the tornado we were warned about actually touched down. Yep, tor

Eversince I stopped teaching, I no longer know when Spring Break is. The only clue I have is when the I see some tweens & teens walking up and down our street on a week day. I used to look forward to this break when was still teaching in Taiwan because it meant 2 weeks off from teaching. It was either time for quick trip home or a trip to explore some parts of Taiwan. Now...it's the time to...to...nothing really...toink! Still, I'm luckier than many because my break is...everyday[?] if I choose to...tee hee... Anyway.....

To this song! "Have You Ever Seen The Rain". This one is Casey Abrams' version last Wednesday which I think he did really well. This guy can sing and play so many musical instruments it's crazy. Watch this if you haven't seen it yet... This song is one of my favorite songs of all time. I've been listening to it over and over since Wednesday....both this version and CCR & Tom Fogerty's versions. They're all good so I just keep switching....

Just to be clear...I don't mean shopping for man but a man doing the shopping. LOL. Anyway, shopping for groceries [and other home supplies] is something I don’t normally do myself now. It’s not that I don’t want to but I just can’t because of my inability to drive. The job has to be done by the husband since he has no choice. Of course that comes with advantages and disadvantages which I won’t list anymore. The husband shopping can be amusing sometimes because he tends to veer off the ‘list’ especially if it’s just a short one. One time he went out to get a shower curtain at a hardware store. Guess what? He came back with a totally different shower curtain with matching bathroom mats, towels, dispenser, soap dish. In other words, he decided to do a bathroom make-over. He didn’t find the shower curtain in the hardware store [but he found a truck tarp he wanted] so he went to another store and that’s where he decided to just do the make-over for our bathroom. As soon as I saw the w

After some rainy days, we're now having cool mornings again. I was back in my warm tights and sweaters since yesterday morning. Hubby was asking me if it's too cold for me...ummm...yeah! Anyway, one more day and it's everybody's favorite day again....FRIDAY! But let's not jump the gun and enjoy today first, okay? I have a lot of work to do...paid and otherwise. I'm hoping to do as much as possible between today and tomorrow so I can spend the time outside helping the husband. He started putting down the decorative stones last weekend. He already finished the back where the blueberry bushes are and one side of the garage. We still have to do the 2 flower beds in front...that's where I come in to help. The flower beds are riddled with weeds so the weed picker has to step in...ME! Only after they're weeded can we start planting the plants we got last weekend. For now, they're still in their pots positioned where we want them to be. With that....I better

Do you still remember the day when all that’s available to get online was dial-up internet service? I do because that wasn’t really that long time ago. I still remember [and I can still literally hear it when I think about it now] that dialing sound whenever I tried to get connected. It was music to my ears at that time especially when I was about to get online to talk with my future husband. Ha! Yep, dial up was the only way to do it during those days but I’m sure glad it was available. Actually, it’s still available now and is still being offered. Many people don’t really need the speed in getting connected. All they need is to be connected so why spend extra money to get high speed internet, right? My husband’s grandparents still have dial up until now. They say everything is slow in their life anyway so why change it…LOL! When I first arrived here, the husband still had dial up. So whenever I had to go online and he’s at work, I had to call him first to let him know so he wouldn’t

This is one of the plants we got last weekend. I know this flowering plant as 'Rosal'. But it's not called the same here. I think it's called 'gardenia'? I have to check the tag again tomorrow but the flower is very much like the rosal that I know of...very fragrant. The guy at Lowe's said that he loves his at home and highly recommended it to us. Hubby and I already had it in our list of what we wanted to get but we weren't sure how good they'd stand with the kind of weather we have here. According to the Lowe's guy, they survive pretty well. We just have to cover them in really cold weather. They won't die but the flowers may not bloom as much and as early. We also got another pretty flowering plant - with pink 'bouquet' like flowers. The flowers look like they're already arranged in a pretty bouquet...and I just saw them at the Ellen Show today. The plants were behind her and they looked very pretty. I can't wait until the

I think I've said this before but I'll say it again...finding a web hosting company shouldn't be as hard as it has been. I think it's been months now since I started my quest to look for a web hosting company that I can use to host one of my blogs. The same thing is happening to the husband. He is not happy with his company's current webhost so he's been looking for another company but it's been months as well since he started looking for one like me. Why...with all the choices we have out there, it should be really easy. But it's not. I guess that's what's making it hard...the numerous companies that offer the same service. Anyway, my case is really simple since I don't have to move anything.I will be starting from scratch that's why. In hubby's case, he has to move his company's entire website so he will need help in doing that because he won't have the time to do it himself. His company doesn't have its own server so n

It's not actually a 'to do' list...but it is. Confusing, eh? LOL... It's a list that the little one wants for her upcoming birthday. She just made it today. We actually asked her a few weeks ago what she wants and she only told us one thing...that's it...and it's a cheap toy which she saw at Big Lots...to which I said 'no' when she asked if we could buy it. Why? Because it's a toddler's toy...I think. Anyway, back to the 'list'. It's mostly....toys again. Much as I don't want to get her anymore toys...it's her birthday so I looked for them online and found most of them. But since her birthday is just a few days away there is no way some of them can get here on time so I only ordered those that will be here before then. Oh well....we already got her some presents that she's been wanting for months now so I'm sure she'll forget the ones she won't get. Maybe...

Finding a good investment these days is very tricky. One day you think something may be a good investment…the next day it’s a totally different story. I think in all the chaos in the economy, the price of gold is probably one of the few things that remain stable. Everytime I see read or hear how good of an investment gold is, I can’t help but cringe. Why? I had the chance to invest in it when I was still single and earning enough to actually invest into something. The price of spot gold during those years was also a lot cheaper. But my main concern then was to invest into something else that was more appealing to me [and lots of other people], real estate. I tried to save instead of spending it on gold so I could purchase a house. But before I could do that, things happened. My parents passed away unexpectedly then I got married. My plan of buying a house didn’t happen obviously. Today, I can only wish I actually listened to some friends convincing me to try investing in gold. Not on

It definitely was...I think? LOL... Like I mentioned in my earlier post, we're finally able to start working on our flower beds. Well, 'hubby' was finally able to start working on it...I wasn't since I had other things to do. Nevertheless, it was a productive weekend all in all. Aside from being able to do some chores I put off last week because we decided to 'play' a bit, I was also able to do a little bit of work on the side. On top of all that, I am a few step closer in fulfilling something....which I won't divulge for now. Maybe in time I will.... Oh...and I was able to get on my elliptical yesterday which was totally unplanned. I normally do it on the weekdays and take a break on the weekends...but I felt like going on it so I did...and it felt good....then I binged today...woot! How's that for a productive weekend???

A few years ago, I did some translating as part of a I took job as a foreign language consultant. The bulk of my job as a consultant though was more on editing than translating so I didn't get to do a lot of document translation . But with the little I did, I can only say one thing...translating is not easy. It's a good thing it's not the main job or I would have had a tough time fulfilling my job. I speak my language fluently but translating a language to another language requires more than being fluent with the target language. Before that, I really thought I could work for a professional translation company but I soon realized I probably wouldn't pass as one. I would have to take some kind of a course in order to be an effective professional translator. In due time, I'd probably venture into professional translation. I know there are many people looking for translation services so it would be an interesting avenue to explore. But like I said, I would have to tak

I spent a good part of today cleaning while the husband worked outside. I really wanted to help in cleaning out the flower beds but I really had to do some cleaning in the house so I wasn't able to. Yesterday we spent our day at Lowe's looking at different plants that we want to put in the yard and the flower bed. We went there last weekend as well just to see what they have...like a dry run so we won't have to spend so much time there choosing. Well, the dry run didn't work because we still spent hours going around reading the labels on different plants. I didn't know choosing plants is so much work. We ended up getting only some of what we 'think' will survive our kind of weather. We also got some stones and dividers and what nots to finally start making our flower beds look like...ummm...flower beds? That's why I really wanted to help out the husband today. I just want to finish it as soon as possible. Oh well...maybe next weekend. Hubby is so tired r

Today was a busy day for us. We originally planned in just getting some plants but we ended up going to a couple more places so we ended up staying out until around 4. One of the stores we went to is a clothes store. I saw some nice looking tops and made a comment about them. I guess the husband liked the clothes on display so he asked if I wanted to check them out…so in we went. As usual, he’s the one pointing at some clothes that he ‘thinks’ I’ll look good in which I don’t usually agree with… but If I have the best body shaper then maybe. I just don’t feel comfortable wearing tight fitting clothes even when I was a lot smaller in size. Anyway, I went out of the store with a couple nice shirts and a bag that’s on sale. The little one got some colorful bracelets as well as a jewelry hanger which will be good for all her jewelry collection. If it were to hubby, I’d probably have more but I told him I’ll look for a seamless shapewear first before I dare get into those clothes. Isn’t th

These are the little one's toy spiders that are supposed to scare the wits out of Mommy. Did it work? Not by a long shot but I just find it funny she even tried. She actually put 2 of them by our bedroom door - the green and the purple ones - to 'probably' make me jump. I had to burst her bubble and tell her that I don't think there is such a thing as a 'purple spider'. She's still happy though because she likes to 'observe' every 'special occasion that's known to man...April Fool's day included. Have you had a successful April Fool's Day prank? I did, once. It's one that we played on our students when I was still teaching in Taiwan. We called students over the intercom asking them to go to the Principal's office just for the heck of it. We know how it is being called in the Principal's office, don't we? The students we played the pranks on were good natured students so we all got a good laugh out of it afterwards. I

It’s the start of the 2nd quarter of 2011 today. How time flies, eh? It’s also the 4th month of my neverending saga of exercising on my elliptical. I’m happy to report that it’s going well. As they say…’so far, so good’. I’ve been consistent and from what I’ve read that’s the key to achieving your goal so I must be well on my way to achieving mine then. I’m happy to say as well that I’ve lost a few pounds already and I may just be able to fit into those Levis jeans I used to wear before I packed on the poundage some years ago. I still have a long way to go to get into some of my favorite clothes but I’m glad I’m seeing some good results after a few months of sweating it out. If I continue to doing what I’m doing right now, I’d probably need some new wardrobe in my closet soon. I still have some of my old clothes but it would definitely be fun to add some more to it just to ‘reward’ myself, eh? So in between looking for some woolrich jackets that one of my brothers requested me to loo