Eloped!

The only reason why I keep an account with a very popular social network is because of family and friends who are mostly on the other side of the world. I've been away for more than 10 years and it's through the pictures they post there that I see most of them nowadays. When I left, my nephews and nieces were still very young. Now almost all of them are adults and young adults and a few teenagers. So yeah, social networks helped a lot to somehow keep me abreast with what's happening with them.

Anyway, one of nephew, who is also my godson was only 9 when I left. He's 19 now...and he's MARRIED! I first saw the 'news', yes, in that very popular social network. I didn't believe it then. I thought it was just a kid 'staking a claim' at his young lady love. Well, I found out today that it's true. I spoke with my brother and he said that his son is indeed married! I was floored. He said he tried his best to talk him out of it but they still eloped. Ugh! My nephew has a job...at a food chain...getting the minimum wage. He still lives with his parents. Now he has a wife...and soon a child of his own. I can't help but wonder how he's going to support his family. Yes he can always avail of a payday cash advance loan for emergency situations. But how long can he do that? I honestly believe that he doesn't know what he has gotten himself into because he sounded 'upbeat' on the phone when I spoke with him. I didn't want to burst his bubble when I spoke with him so I tried to bite my tongue. I just told him that now he has to work doubly hard because he has a family to support. He just chuckled and said, I know. Does he, really? I seriously doubt it.

After hanging up the phone, I sat down glued to my chair for a few minutes. I just couldn't shake that feeling of 'fear'....for him, his future child [children] and his very young wife. I know they don't have any savings or anything to keep them afloat if he loses his job. I know for sure my brother wouldn't turn his back on them but they will have to stand on their own feet someday. I don't think they know the gravity of the situation as of yet. Right now they're having too much fun to think about that. I just hope that when reality hits them, they will be able to face it. Or else...

No Updates?

The weekend passed and I wasn't able to update here. What gives? Let's just say I was pre-occupied. At least my mind was. I wanted to go somewhere to look for stuff but that didn't happen. Instead we were cooped up at home. The reason? The little one was nursing a cold. We suspect she got the virus from her evaluator's house because she started feeling the sore throat the day after her evaluation. She's doing a lot better. It seems that everytime she catches a bug, it stays with her for a week then it's gone. I'm glad it does not stay longer than that but then again, hubby and I always make it a point to stay on top of it because we don't want her being sick for an extended period of time.

As usual, I was the worried one around here waking up in the middle of the night to check on her. I remember her asking her Dad one time why I worry so much about her. Dad's reply...that's what Moms do. I guess that sums it up. But like I said, she's a lot better now. I guess I can go back to being...being...busy? Like I wasn't already, eh?

So it's officially FALL now. There has been some slight change in the weather but nothing worth raving about. It actually rained quite a bit yesterday so our 'new plants' had a field day. I heard it won't be raining much in the coming days so it's a good thing it rained as much as it did in the last couple of days.

I read/heard that there's a big typhoon wreaking havoc in the Philippines right now. I hope it doesn't do much damage....not another Ondoy I'm praying. For everyone out there. Stay safe! Hopefully this latest calamity will go away soon!

Time's Changed!

Or is it part of the aging process?

Let me clarify. My youngest brother who recently celebrated his birthday used to ask for things that I've always considered 'out of my range'...price range that is. I guess that's partly my fault because when I was still single and was making more than enough, I always gave in to his 'requests' of buying him things that were not, let's just say, cheap. I had the money and I didn't have any responsibilities at that time so I didn't really care. So when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, I was expecting him to hear say one of the Luminox blackout watches he's been bugging me about a few years ago or the motorcycle he once asked me to buy him. But guess what, he said 'nothing'. I asked him to repeat that and he said 'nothing'. Huh? Was I talking to the same brother? He said that time has changed. He now thinks that there more important things in life like his family. Oh yeah, I forgot he has his own family now so he knows what comes first now. LOL. But seriously though, I'm quite proud of my brother. He has grown so much eversince he had his son. He's like a totally different person now and I just wish he continues to be as responsible.

Bat Flowers!

Halloween, anyone?

Hubby's on a roll. I thought we were done with the planting for now but apparently, we're not. LOL...which is fine by me. He likes doing it and I like looking at it...weeeee!!! Our yard looks so much better with more plants. Well, actually it's more like the front of the house since most of the new plants are located around that area. He's not done yet. He still has to decide what he wants to plant around the well that's prominently placed in front of the house. I believe he's looking for a certain tree to put there but he hasn't found it yet.

Anyway, one of the flowering plants he brought home are these so-called 'bat flowers'. He saw them at the store but didn't get them right away. He told me about them first and showed the pictures to me online...then he got them the next day. I thought they were a little bigger but not quite. The plants are small and so are the bat flowers. They look like bats though even if they're tiny. The colors are 'Halloween' colors - orange! Just in time for that time of the year...here are a couple of pictures the hubs took a couple of days ago.

UP CLOSE & PERSONAL!

You like???

The 'Teacher in Me'...

Today is the last day of summer here. That means tomorrow is officially fall. Already? Before we know it will be winter, eh? Then the season of giving will be rolling in. Ha! Well, from what I’ve been reading and hearing, a lot of people have actually started shopping for the coming holidays as early as, um…January? Yep, that early. I can’t blame them because it’s quite stressful to do last minute shopping. I’ve been there and I don’t like it a bit but it happens. You know what’s more stressing to me when it comes to shopping for gifts? It’s choosing the best gift for the receiver. I want the gift to be useful and not something that will either be thrown or be ‘re-gifted’ because the person has no use for it. This is why I always go with an educational toy when I have to give a child something not only for the holiday season but for any occasion.

It used to be that shopping for an educational toy took a lot more time and money. I remember combing the stores for such toys when my nieces and nephews were still young. I could have easily bought them a truck or a doll and be done with it but my being a teacher always kicked in and I wouldn’t settle for anything less than an educational toy. Today, it’s quite easy to find these toys. It seems technology has opened the eyes of toy makers and made them realize that a toy can be fun and be a learning tool at the same time. I just sent a box full of educational toys to me nieces kids.

A Back-Up Plan...

Have you heard of Ameriplan? Probably. I've heard of this company a long time ago...literally years ago. It's one of the companies I read about when I was just starting to look for a work at home job. One of the regulars in the chat board I frequented to was doing it. Per his account, he's able to stay at home mainly because of Ameriplan. I was this close in giving it a try but changed my mind because I kinda' realized I wasn't good in sales. I don't think that I'd be able to sell anything if my life depended on it...so I chickened out. Good thing I stumbled upon some other work at home opportunities.

Anyway, Ameriplan is a discount dental and health plan. It's not insurance but it's a good alternative if one cannot afford the regular cost of insurance. I would say many people can benefit from it especially now that we are facing such hard times. A lot of people nowadays go without any health plan, much less a dental plan. I cannot blame them. At times like this, we have to make hard choices and one of them is where to spend the money that we have. Sadly for many insurance is just not on top of the list. Fortunately, we are not in that situation. But if I know of somebody who is looking for a back-up plan as far as medical or dental plan is concerned, I'd let them know about Ameriplan. It's the next best thing to insurance.

Of Evaluation & Baby Gift...

Yesterday was the little one's annual evaluation. I'm happy to report...she got some good words from her evaluator. As a proof, she wrote a recommendation that she can be admitted to Grade 6 if we decide to enroll her to the virtual program of our county. We still have a few months to decide on that since enrollment for this school year is closed already but I'm definitely considering it. I'm just happy that we're making progress. As for the little one, she was just happy that she got the lollipop the evaluator gives her after each testing. LOL...

Whether I admit it or not, the pressure of this evaluation is more on me than on the little one since I am considered the 'teacher'. I know that because I was a teacher in my former life and when my students didn't perform as expected, I felt responsible for it. For the last few days, I wasn't able to do much of anything, much less search for gifts for new baby from godfather that my dear brother requested me to do because he has no idea what to give his friends newly born son...his soon-to-be god child. I actually started looking as soon as we hang up the phone last week but this evaluation was just crowding my mind that I couldn't concentrate on the task at hand. But since it's over and done with, I can now fully concentrate in looking for that perfect baby gift my brother want's me to look for him. Hopefully, it won't give me that 'baby blue' feeling. Sigh...

Achy...Breaky???

Not my 'heart' but my 'aging' shell...aka body! Ugh! No one to blame but ME, of course. I shouldn't have worked sitting on the dining area for hours because those chairs are not made for that. As a result, I hardly slept because I couldn't find a comfortable sleeping position.

My weekend is now spent in bed trying to be comfortable. I got up when hubby left for work ~ [yep, he's putting in some hours on a Sunday]. Instead of forcing myself to sleep, I decided to just have an early breakfast then took some Tylenol to see if it would help with the 'achy breaky' old body of mine. It helped and I was able to nap for a couple of hours which somehow helped me to get on with my day.

I may have to take a couple more pills soon because I am starting to feel the muscle pain coming back already. I'm also starting to feel a wee bit sleepy so I better stop rambling here and try to nap while the little one is busy playing...and the hubby is busy working.

Clearance!

Today is my youngest brother's birthday. I had a long chat with him last night and it's mostly during at times like this that I realize how much I miss my family back home. The camaraderie, the childhood jokes that no one else in this world find funny are only some of the things that came flooding back to me while we were on the phone. Hopefully I'll be able to see them sooner than planned. Anyway, my brother's birthday also signals that half of this month is done. Back there, they're already talking about Christmas. Back here, Christmas is down in the list since we still have Thanksgiving & Halloween to think about. Oh and how I can forget, Black Friday! The biggest day for sale hunters! I am not a Black Friday follower simply because it's way too crowded for me. I'd rather sit home in front of my computer and look for special sales like a January Clearance or the now famous Cyber Monday. To me, nothing beats shopping in the comfort of my home...in my jammies with a cup of hot cocoa.

Paper Mountain!

That's what I have on my desk right now.

In this day and age, paperworks shouldn't be a cause of stress anymore. But I still get stressed whenever I see all the papers piling up either on my desk or on the counter. I don't know why but even if I can easily subscribe to paperless billing, I still like getting hard copies of documents...then I regret it for a minute because they keep crowding my desk until I get around to putting them away. But that's not the end of it. Those papers have to stash somewhere which means more space needed for them. Maybe I should look into getting a scanning software and just start scanning away so I can get rid of them. I wonder if that's going to work or if it's even worth it. I know big companies use scanning software to keep track of their paperworks but I don't know of any household that do so. Maybe I can start a trend, eh? I wonder if the man of the house would let me get one. Hmmm...

MidWeek!

YEAH!!!!

For some reason, Wednesday makes me happy. It seems [to me at least] that when Wednesday comes rolling in, the rest of the week just goes by quickly. It's probably all in my mind but still...anything to perk you up, right?

It's been a slow day to me so far in terms of work. The past couple of days were a bit crazy because I barely had time to breathe in between work. That makes today a very much welcome 'breather'. The day is still young so I won't say it's a slow day but I'm happy to get that much needed break. It doesn't mean that I've been idle though. I had the usual chores around the house that I finished earlier than usual. Now all I'm thinking about is what else to make for dinner. We're having some fish and asparagus on the side but I need another side dish and I can't think of anything else. It would have been easier if we were in the Philippines because that side dish will definitely be RICE! But we're not so I need to come up with something to substitute for the rice. Hmm....

Anyway, I hope you're having a great Wednesday! Two more days and it's going to be....FRIDAY! Yay!

Taking Advantage

The husband is what I call our 'McGyver'. He can literally fix everything. Believe it or not, if a shirt needs a button, he would be the one doing it, not me. I can do it but not as good. Years ago we couldn't find a pillow case that would fit the little one's hotdog pillow so he bought some fabric and made one. I have no clue how to make one...LOL. We never had to hire any handyman to fix anything around the house because he does it himself. The only problem is time because he also holds a regular job.

Anyway, I am not the only that calls on him when something needs fixin'. His brothers & sisters [and friends] do the same thing. One time a brother who he hasn't heard from for a long time called out of the blue. Why? To ask if my husband knows where to find polaris sportsman parts for his ATV. I was very surprised he had to ask my husband that when he could have simply gone online to look for it...and I thought he was calling to catch up. Hubby said that it's easier to pick up the phone than search for something. Since this brother knows that the husband so readily helps, he thought he'd do just that...call hoping hubby would look for the parts for him. This happens all the time. People [friends and relatives alive] would call him asking for favors, questions, and what nots. I swear they only call when they need something from him...and it somehow irks me. Can you say 'taking advantage'?

Ready...

...to take on another week. I think?

It's Monday and I'm still sleepy. Who's not, right? But we have to do what needs to be done so here we are...

I took the weekend off and didn't go on the elliptical at all. I 'planned' in doing so but I chickened out so to speak. That's okay. I was back on it this morning and I'm hoping I'd be able to keep doing it at least during the week days. But even if I exercised for an hour, I still feel sleepy. I guess that's what Monday is all about, eh?

This week will be a busy one again for me. The little one's annual evaluation is next week and I have to get her stuff in order....books, worksheets, notebooks. It won't be that hard to do that since I try to put everything in one place and in order so I won't have to be all crazy come evaluation time. She's sort of nervous & excited at the same time. She's had the same evaluator since we started homeschooling so she's used to her already. I'm sure everything will be fine. When I spoke with the evaluator last week she even said that it'll be a breeze since the little one is very smart...

Aside from that, I am anxiously waiting for the confirmation for my passport renewal appointment. I have no idea why it's taking so long to get it. I'm just hoping it comes soon. Hubs is not so happy with how much time it's taking. He said we have to plan around that appointment since we want to take advantage of the time we're in the area and visit places. But how can we do that when we don't even know the time or date yet? Oh well...it's never fun to wait, is it? Patience.......breathe in...breathe out...inhale...exhale....

Scrubs & The List...

When my nephew started his residency in his university hospital, he requested me to find him some neat looking scrubs he could wear. I don't feel comfortable shopping for somebody else's clothes so I instead of choosing the scrubs for him I just sent him the link for http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/ and asked him to just choose ones he like and I'd get them for him. Since he's halfway across the globe he figured it would be cheaper if I just buy them here then send them to him in one of the boxes I send over there anyway. That request was made a couple of years ago. Up until now, he has yet to send me the list of the scrubs he chose from the site I sent him. Hmmm....

A few weeks ago was his birthday so I planned in calling him to greet him. Luckily, his sister was online so instead of calling, we did a video chat. The birthday boy was still on duty when I called so I had to wait for him. After almost an hour of chatting with family, he finally arrived. His first question was: Where are my scrub sets??? Oh well...I explained to him that all these months I've been waiting for him to send me the list of the ones he chose but no list came. Apparently, doctors get busy and when that happens, scrubs usually don't become a priority. I just asked him again to check the website I sent him then send me a list of the ones he wants me to get for him. Until then...there's not much I can do.

Weeks of Hardwork

I may be 'bias' but I think it looks pretty good, doncha think?? Yep, that's our newly 'renovated' flower beds. Well, more like newly planted since it's the first time we've actually planted something on it. It's looking like this and that's no thanks to me [well, maybe a little]. It's mostly the husband's labor of love. He's been working on them every chance he gets....which is not much because he's been rather busy at work. But like they say...if there's a will, there's a good looking flower bed/s! Ha!
That's how it's going to be for now. My 'personal gardener' still has some plans with it but for now, he's done. What can I say...I'm proud of what he has done...that's why I have to post a picture of it. ^_^

A Well Deserved Trip

It's been almost 4 years since we last went to Disney World in Orlando. It's about a 4-hour drive from where we live so one would think we'd be there at least every 2 years, eh? Well, such is not the case. During that trip we didn't bother to look for Disney World Hotels because we opted to just do what we thought was a smart move...a round trip. Big mistake. We didn't realize that the drive would take so much of our energy and time that we barely enjoyed the experience. We got there mid-day and left the place around 8 that night. We got home after midnight. Never again was my chant that night. We promised ourselves that next time we decide to do it again, we will definitely stay in one of those Disney World Hotels that we see being advertised all the time.

Anyway, in about 4 weeks, we are heading down to Orlando again. The primary reason for the trip is more like business in nature. I need my passport renewed and the Orlando office is the nearest one where I can do that. My appointment will be on a weekend so I came up with this bright idea that maybe we should visit Disney World again. The little one [and the Mom, maybe?] deserves to see and enjoy the place after all these years. This time around, I'm booking one of the Disney World Hotels not far from the attraction itself. I already told the husband about my plan and he couldn't agree more. I know the little one will be thrilled to hear that one of her ardent wishes will be granted in less than a month but I'm not telling her yet. I'll wait until the last minute because I don't want to be badger with questions about it right now.

Long Weekend It Is!

Long weekends don't normally apply to us here. In our household, I mean. Since hubby has a small business of his own, he makes his own work schedule. They don't really observe the holidays that regular 9-5 jobs enjoy. But having a business of your own also has its perk like he can take off when needed without informing a boss or waiting for approval. He can take off anytime and come back anytime.

Anyway, this time it's different. They're actually observing this long weekend for reasons I'd rather not get into. I'm just glad he'll be home through the holiday weekend. He already spent part of it productively around here. He just planted a few more plants around the yard and is planning in getting some more tomorrow. Our flower bed is finally taking shape and it's all thanks to him. I try to help if he needs it but for the most part, I just let him do what he wants. He'd call me before he plants anything to see if I'm agreeable to it and if I say yes, then he'd go through with it while I'm in the comfort of our house. Ha!

We have no concrete plans for the long weekend. I'm sure we'll be spending most of it at home. We may head out to run errands at some point but that's about it. I'm just glad I can relax for a couple of days. To me, that's priceless.

Enjoy your long weekend everyone! Happy Labor Day to those who are on this side of the world...

Downgrade & Upgrade...

We’ve been a customer of Direct TV for the last several years now. Just recently, they even gifted us with a 3-month free subscription on several of their channels that we don’t normally subscribe to. I guess they’re trying to keep us as their customer. Sadly, we’re actually planning in discontinuing the subscription soon. We tried to list down the pros and the cons of continuing with it and the cons far outweigh the pros at this time. Hubby already put an antenna in the attic. We tried what channels we can get with just the antenna and it’s not too bad. We’ll give a try and see what happens. If we realize we’d rather have cable services, then we’d probably consider subscribing to one again.

After this latest cost-cutting step, we’re thinking of improving our home security system though. So it’s not all cost-cutting for us. We’re just trying to prioritize putting those we consider more important on top of the list and to us, the security of our home is much more important than having cable. We currently have a home security system in place which is part of the contract when we had the house built. Hubby wants to ‘up’ the system but we have to pay extra of course. We’re still deciding if we’d stay with the same company or find another one that is more affordable like home security daphne. They have 3 different packages and they’re all under $50 a month. I would really like to have our security system upgraded soon so when hubby is out of town, I will that much needed peace of mind.

Almost There....

Yep, it's coming whether we like it or not. FRIDAY!!! I'm not as anxious as I was the past couple of weeks but it's always something I look forward to. Who doesn't???? It's like the window to 'weekend heaven'....LOL!

The week went by fast and I've been a very good girl. Why? Because I was able to get on my elliptical everyday since...wait for it...SUNDAY! Yep, I did it on a Sunday simply because I was feeling sluggish that day. I'm not an exercise nut by any means but I now believe that sweating it out can really boost your mood. That's what it did to me on Sunday [and any other day I feel that way]. I did it as soon as I got up in the morning and stayed on it for about 40 minutes. I felt a lot better after that 40 minutes workout.

Right now, my weight is probably 'the ideal weight' for me. Actually, I surpassed my weight goal already...and it's still going down bit by bit. The only problem is...I still haven't gotten rid of my midsection roll/s yet. That's the only one I want trimmed and it's not budging...at least not as much as I want it to...it just keeps 'jiggling'. Ugh! I stopped doing my Pilates for Abs routine because it doesn't seem to do the trick so I switched to another one. It's a lot more intense [for me anyway who is an exercise wimp] so I'm hoping it will yield results in time. I started it Friday of last week. The result of that initial try was painful. I could barely move last weekend because my back was so sore. Even breathing was a bit of a struggle. I took a few Tylenol and I was fine by Monday so I started it again that day. So far I've been doing it for 4 straight days and I haven't felt a lot of soreness....just a little bit here and there. Hopefully I ca keep it up.

I know for a fact that being consistent is the very reason I'm seeing some good changes. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can keep on doing what I'm doing...if only to keep my mood on the 'upbeat'...

Hassle of a Job

Content by Sol Rosales

With the economy in the position it is I know I should be lucky to just have gotten hired but I never really knew all the hassle that came along with starting over in a new city and having to relocate. I have to look for a place to live, while at the same time I have to find my way around this brand new city. I spend most of my time being lost and it has become a long running joke after I meet my friends out for drinks that I’m going to have to try and find my way home. Hopefully, I can find a new residence sometime soon because living in a hotel is beginning to take its toll on patience and me. Yesterday, I met with the Realtor and we looked at some houses that are in my price range and I’m very excited about the possibility of actually having a place to call mine. One of my new co-workers was kind enough to email me this link the other day TexasElectricityProviders.com At least now an energy provider is the last thing I have to worry about.

Tube Bending

Huh?

That's basically what I said when the hubs asked me to do something for him. Like I've been mentioning in some of my posts here, they're very busy at work right now. His trip out of state 2 days of last week didn't help them at all as far as deadline is concerned. Normally, he does the searching, mostly online, when they need some supplies or services for one of their bowls. This time around, he doesn't have the time to do that...thus the request. He wanted me to look for a company that does tube bending. Huh? I actually asked him why he couldn't just do it himself since it's a tube. How hard can that be, right? Apparently it's not that simple if you're doing some big machines like the one they're working on right now and if you need several of them. So, I went to "work"...an unpaid one at that. It didn't take me long to find Delafield Corporation tube bending.

After reading what they can do, I was pretty confident I found the right one. Well, I did...but not really. My 'boss' said it's what they're looking for but because of time constraints, he'd rather find one closer here...within the state if possible. He asked me to bookmark the site though for future reference. Oh well...I guess I kinda' did good even if he couldn't use this company yet. At least I found one that does what they're looking for, right?