A Practical Way of Investing?

To be honest, I know too little about investments. I'm saying this because earlier today, while watching TV, I saw this commercial about investing for your child's future, especially for their education since it costs a fortune here to send your kids all the way up to college. It was then that I realized I haven't really thought about it. I'm aware of the fact that it really is so expensive here to send kids to college, but in the back of my head, I just wasn't paying much attention to it. It's not right, I know and I should start doing something about it as early as now, especially that we got three kids to worry about. But because I'm a stay-at-home-mom right now, there's nothing much I could do to contribute money for their future.

Then, I saw this silver bullion bars from golden eagle online and when I read about it, it kind of looked interesting to me. I don't know how this thing works, but if it's something I could use as an investment for the future, why not give it a try, right?

I still need to read more on that before jumping into a decision.

They've Got Their Own TV!

Finally, we got our boys their own TV in their bedroom! Thanks to Black Friday for the great deal we got on TV wall mount. A 90-dollar worth of wall mount that we got for like $30. How cool is that?! Now, the boys get to watch their own TV shows whenever they want.

We already got them a couple DVDs for kids like, Barney and Friends, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Thomas, and some movies for children their age. We still are planning on getting them more especially the Baby Einsteins, which they say is a good one for little kids. I'll start looking for that online to see if we get a better deal than buying it from the store. Sometimes, it's better that way. Or, I wouldn't mind getting second hand DVDs as long as they're in great condition. Anyway, it's not the label of it being new or not that matters. As long as the kids get to enjoy and learn new things at the same time while watching is the most important thing.

But of course, we still set a limit on how long they can watch TV in a day. That's also an important thing. We don't want the kids to get hooked on watching TV all day and not do other activities at all. Right now, we let them watch a maximum of one hour a day. And usually, we turn their TV on at right about nap time. So when they get tired, they can just take their nap and then we turn it off.

I'm glad that the kids are happy and that they won't ever get bored just being in their room playing with their toys. And above all, I'm so happy that in a short amount of time, the little boys already learned a lot. Kai sings the Barney song all the time, while Kade imitates what his brother is doing. They're learning their ABCs and they're starting to count now, too. And to think that Kai learned his ABC all on his own, to me, is something amazing. I thought I'd be the one to surprise the kids with new things we teach them. But it turns out to be the other way around. They definitely know how to surprise us with little things they learned without our help. And I cannot be more proud of them than I am now. God indeed blessed us with three beautiful and amazing kids!

Plans for New Year...

Like Christmas, our New Year's Eve celebration is going to be simple. We didn't make any plans as far as going out because it will just be too much with all three kids and the cold weather outside. We will stay at home, prepare a small family dinner and watch the New Year's countdown on TV like we did last year. I wish we could do more, but living far from friends and families, there's nothing much we could really do right now but enjoy whatever we have.

The hubby said he'll get us black beans(?). It's something new I learned from his Mom, actually that they put on the table on New Year's Eve. I don't really know what it's for, but I think it's for good luck as well. I'd probably bake again and cook pasta. I don't really know if we'll have as much food as we did on Christmas, but I'm sure it'll be a great dinner again with our little family. As long as we spend it together, I wouldn't ask for anything more. And after dinner, that's when we all sit in the living room for the countdown. On New Year's Day, it'll be a family day - a whole day that'll probably be spent at home doing things together and spending quality time with the little ones.

So, that's pretty much it for our New Year. What about you? How are you going to spend it with your love one?

Basketball, anyone?

Our boys are definitely had grown bigger! As a matter of fact, our oldest, Kai, is already over 3 feet tall and he's only two and a half years old. Kade, the second one, is catching up. At one and a half years old, he's almost as tall as his older brother. I know for sure that these kids are going to be taller than me in a few years. Definitely not looking forward to that!

Anyway, I have this little idea for the boys. Aside from the gifts they got on Christmas, I would like to ask my husband if he can put up a small basketball court by the garage where he and the boys can play whenever it starts getting warmer outside. I don't mean the plastic basketball toy that's just for toddlers. I'm talking about the real thing so they can have it for a long time. I just don't know what it'll require to install it. But I hope it has nothing to do with any welding equipment because we don't have it for right now. Mounting it to the garage wall won't be a problem because my husband is so good at it.

I don't know if he'll agree, but I think it's a good idea so the kids can enjoy outdoors and start getting into sports as well. It's a good exercise, too since we want our kids to stay fit and healthy. Might as well start at a young age, right?

Fire!

The other day, I received a sad news from my family that one of our neighbors' house caught on fire. Their house is probably 6 houses away from ours, not too close but it's not too far, either. Unfortunately, I don't know how the fire started, but the family affected lost almost all of their belongings. I'm just glad to know that nobody got hurt. It probably was tough for them to put out the fire considering that we have no fire department in our own town. The nearest one is about 24kms away, an hour long drive. Thanks to all the people of our town who did their best to help one another in putting out the fire! They were able to contain it before it totally spread out.

If only our place has good water pumps, maybe it'll be possible to have our own firetruck so we don't have to rely on other town's fire department to respond to situations like that. We don't have a good supply of water there and I think it won't be a good thing to begin with. It's something that people there should learn a lesson from. It's always better to be ready all the time. I think it's about time they take that into consideration before something else worse happens.

Almost Over... Already?!

I am still in shock, really, that tomorrow is already New Year's Eve! I was talking to my husband about this earlier today, and I told him it just doesn't feel right. I mean, it does feel like it's only been yesterday when we had the countdown to 2011 and now, it'll be an all-new countdown again to a brand new year. Time just flew by so quickly, and sometimes I wish it'll just slow down a little bit. I can't help but feel happy and sad all at the same time. Happy, because I know I'm getting closer to seeing my family back home again after almost three years of being away. Sad, because it makes me realize that my kids are growing up too fast, and the people I love get older with each year and that is something I dread the most. I am so far away from home, and if you're in my shoes, you'd probably be thinking about the same things, too especially when you have a Grandma who's already 90 years old, if you know what I mean. A lot of things make me worry and I honestly don't know what I'm going to do in case something happens and I'm a thousand miles away from them. I just don't know how I'd take it.

So much for that. I think it's time to reflect on the things that happened this year and go back to the memories created and moments shared. I'd say, 2011 was definitely our year. We received so many blessings that I can't even begin to say thank you for. But I think it's better to save it for later. After all, we still have one more day to spend before we completely say farewell to 2011. One more day to create beautiful memories for this year. One more day, and it's a whole new beginning again!

Wanted: New Phone

My husband has been in constant battle with his old phone because it just doesn't work well anymore. I can't even count the number of times he told me that his phone froze, the screen went blank, and it basically just won't function like it's suppose to. He's been wanting to get a new phone but he just couldn't decide yet on what to get without having to get a new contract from his phone service company. He said he doesn't want to sign another 2-year contract so he'd be eligible for an upgrade just in case a new one comes out next year.

He's been looking at different types of phone for the past few days now but I haven't heard him said a thing about him finding a new one. I don't know what kind of phone he's really trying to look for, but I do remember him mentioning the htc incredible s phone. He said if he can't find what he really wants, he might go with that for the time being. He can be a little particular when it comes to stuff like that because like what he always tells me, you get what you pay for. Well, I guess he's right. If there's a specific phone that he really likes right now, I think it's wise to wait and just go right now with something that may not be the same, but is also a good one.

I really hope he'd end up getting the same phone I have so we both could enjoy the same things I get to do with my phone. And above all, I can track him down if I want to. I'm just kidding! Like me, I'm just waiting for the phone I really want and hopefully, it comes out next year.

It Definitely Was No Fun!

Christmas time is over, sad to say! We really had a busy week that we honestly hardly felt Christmas this year. It's like, it all happened too fast! I think all the preparations and making sure everything must turn out fine on Christmas kind of taken away the time you could've spent on something more valuable. I don't mean like preparing and buying gifts and all that mean nothing. But sometimes we do forget to just take things slowly. We tend to get overwhelmed that we look past things that could've been worthwhile.

Anyway, I'm just saying in general. My thing here really is, the clean up after the big day. As what I said, we had such a busy week that we needed to put some chores off to give time to what was important. So now, I'm here to pay the price!

I started cleaning up today. I really planned on getting as much things done as I can, but I realized while in the middle of putting things away, that we have no storage bin for our little girl's toys. We had two boys first so the toy bins they have are, obviously, for boys and are already filled with their stuff. That kind of made me feel a bit disappointed with myself for not thinking ahead of time so I wouldn't have encountered the issue I had today. I could've finished cleaning so I don't have to worry about it tomorrow, but I didn't so now, I'm doomed!

Another thing was, going through the mails that were just sitting in the magazine rack was definitely no fun! We totally didn't pay much attention to it aside from grabbing mails from the mailbox every morning. And now, we've got a ton of mails that we need to sort through so the rest can be shredded or thrown away. Here's the most fun part of it - the tiny envelopes that got inserted in between those bigger-sized mails almost drove me nuts. When I picked up all the mails, some of them fell and went all over the floor. I was like, great! I had no idea there were a lot of them. It was a waste of time having to clean that up. I think I might need to do a little shopping again for at least two brochure holders where I can put the standard size envelopes, especially the ones for the bills, so we don't have to dig through a whole pile of mails just to locate them. I will put one in the living room and the other one in the kitchen. I'll just wait till I get a better deal on them, but I'm definitely will be buying two for sure.

Weird Winter

It's only our second winter here, but if I were to compare it to last year's winter season, I'd say this year's kind of a bit odd. Well, to be honest, based on my own experience of being here for a year and a half now, I do find the weather here somewhat weird. I can actually count the times the weather forecast was actually correct. I mean like at one time, it showed that it was going to rain, but it actually turned out to be sunny. It showed sunny, but really the whole day was cloudy and gloomy. It's like, it changes every second.

Take this year's winter for instance. Last year, snow started coming down as early as December 2. That was the very first day the whole surrounding turned white. And from then on, it never stopped snowing. We even had snow still even up till April. Spring with a little touch of winter. How weird is that?

On Christmas Eve last year, it snowed pretty hard and the photos below can pretty much tell you. The snow covered our entire driveway and it was up to about 14-15 inches high. It was fun! I don't really like snow that much, but having to experience my very first white Christmas was a total blast! I couldn't be more happier. Of course, I didn't get to play in the snow as much as I wanted to because I was already 3 months pregnant at the time, and I had to stay extra careful. And you probably read my mind - yes, my husband shoveled the entire driveway all on his own! I wanted to try but he said it wasn't safe and he'd much rather do it on his own than see me walking on the slippery driveway and having the chance of getting into an accident. Although he did make sure to put salt all over it, he still thought it wasn't safe enough for me. I think that was very sweet and thoughtful of him, don't you think?

Christmas Eve 210

Shoveling the snow...

Anyway, I just can't believe that it's already past Christmas and the entire surrounding still looks as if we're in the mid Fall or something. It hasn't snowed yet where everything got covered in it. It snowed on Saturday last week, but it barely covered the grass in our front yard. And now, like usual, I just checked the weather forecast on my phone and it showed no snow until Friday when it just showed snow tomorrow about 3 hours ago. I really hope it'll actually snow even on New Year's Eve. We never got to experience white Christmas this year, and a white New Year would definitely make up for it. I want to make snowman and snow angel with our kids!

Please, Mother Nature, let it snow! I'm begging you!

I Hate Dry Skin!

One of the many things I really don't like during winter season is, dry skin. For some reason, every winter, my skin turns dry and at some point, it even gets a little flaky and I really am not happy about that. My skin has never been this dry till we moved up here. And I definitely didn't have the need to use a special type of lotion just to keep it moisturized. I usually would only use one brand and type of body lotion, but during the winter, I use an alternative. There are times when I feel like it doesn't really do anything to my skin and I'd get frustrated, that's why I think it's about time to start looking for a different moisturizer.


When we were still in California, one of our good neighbors gave me a natural body cream and moisturizer and it helped a lot. I had mild dry skin because of my pregnancy at the time and I used that every after bath. It gave me such a relief!

Well, I haven't seen the same product here yet and I really am hoping I'd be able to buy here soon. My husband did tell me to try on something for the mean time and I guess I might do that. I really don't have any problem with something like seaweed body cream even if I haven't used one before. I guess I'll never know how it'll work on me if I don't give it a shot. Who knows, it might just be the one that can really help cure my dry skin right now. I'll look for that the next time we go grocery shopping. I need to put an end to my suffering because it really is annoying me!

A Very Sad News

I have seen the news on TV a couple of times now about the typhoon victims in our country [Philippines]. It's so devastating and really sad that I had to stop myself from watching the news because it only saddens me more and more. The last time I watched it, I got goosebumps when I heard the reporter said that the casualties went up to 900+ and still counting because there are still some people missing. The typhoon, Sendong, didn't only claim too many lives of our fellow Filipinos who were severely affected, but it also brought so many damages to the agriculture, infrastructure, and other properties.

Above all, it really is sad to know that this all had to happen right before Christmas. I couldn't help but feel their pain of not being able to enjoy the holidays, especially now that they've lost their loved ones. Properties that got damaged can be replaced, but not the lost lives of the ones they love.

According to the local news, it might take them weeks to clean all the debris scattered all over the place. They definitely will need heavy equipments like skid steer to get all the job done. Clearing all the debris would require a lot of work.

But in spite of all this tragic event, I still can't help but feel so proud of how strong and resilient Filipino people are! Everyone is doing every little thing they can to lend help to the typhoon victims. Even the ones who got affected didn't fail to help each other out in their own little ways. That just shows that no matter what we, the Filipino people go through, we'll always find ways to bounce back because we know we always got one another to lend a helping hand.

May God bless the people in all the affected areas!

I'm Definitely Writing Again!

Needless for me to say how many times I've already said I'd go back to writing again and never really did, because I, myself, don't even know the actual number of times I said so. But lately, I've really thought about it and I do miss writing. I miss being able to freely pour my heart out - my innermost thoughts and feelings that I couldn't say out loud. I miss that feeling of freedom when I know I am able to say anything I want. It never ceased to bring back memories I thought were long forgotten.

Writing, to me, is a therapy. Aside from music, this is the only thing that can stir up my imagination and yet keeps me sane. I got into writing even more when I arrived here in the U.S. about two and a half years ago. I didn't have a lot of people around me to talk to while the others leave for work, that's why I wrote and wrote and wrote. Pretty much, it sounds like I was talking to myself. And it's still the same until now.

Given that I am a stay-at-home mother of now three children, I unfortunately am residing in a place that's far from possible acquaintances, leaving me with nobody but myself to really talk to while my husband is at work. I engage in small talks with my kids, of course, but it's kind of a little tough when the oldest one is not even three years old yet, and most of the time, he just blunders out whatever comes into his tiny head. So, I definitely am resorting back to writing before I completely lose my sanity. [hehehe] I don't really have that much of an option, do I?

This time, I'll do my best to make this a start of something better...

Here -- and There...

Working in a hospital can be a very tough job. I know this because I took up Nursing and every time we were doing our clinical rotation, taking care of patients is not an easy thing to do especially for Nurses. We were the ones who were constantly on the go. Checking patients here and there, making sure they are well taken care of, and above all, we were the ones carrying out Doctors' orders and making sure they were all met in time. There were even times I handled four (4) patients, and making sure I was able to meet all their needs was really such a big challenge. But I'm not going to lie, though. Running from one room to another was kind of an exercise and I considered that part a fun one.

The only thing I wished we could have used are stuff like medical carts. Oh, how it would have been so much easier on our part to transport medical things from one ward to another, or from one patient's room to the next! It was a bit of a hassle carrying too many things all at once and not having anything to put them on once we were inside the patient's room. I remember, we would even put our stuff on the patient's bed while taking vital signs. It was a little of an inconvenience, I'm sure, on both our parts, but we had no choice. But here, even in their examine room, every single thing is so well-organized. There's pretty much a place for every equipment. Now, that's really handy. It makes the job easier and it can get done a lot faster when you know where to locate things that you need to use. It saves not only the patients' time, but most of all, yours.

It's Christmas No Matter What!

This probably is going to be our first Christmas with hardly anything under the tree. As much as it saddens both my husband and I, there's nothing we could really do to better the whole situation. It it what it is right now. We don't even have any plans yet on what we're doing on Christmas Day. But regardless of how tough it may seem right now, my husband always knows how to find ways to make things special. And I know he will not let this holiday go by without putting smiles on the faces of our little ones.

It has been tough, there's no lie about that. And I won't sugarcoat anything just to show off when that is not the real situation we're in right now. Like any other families with only one person working and bringing in money, our family faces hard times as well. And nothing can make me feel more sad than the fact that it happened to us right before Christmas.

I am not after crowding the tree with gifts and all that. But of course, as a mother, I would also love to have at least one gift for each kid to open up on Christmas Day. Something they may not fully understand yet, but at least would leave them with a memory they can always look back to when they're older. I would love to keep the family tradition we started 2 years ago - opening presents on Christmas Day.

Last year's Christmas was totally different. God sent us blessings more than what we could have prayed for. Not only did our little boys get to have presents under the tree, they received a lot of toys! And the great thing about that is, we got them for free!

I won't lose hope that things will eventually turn out good for my family. Anyway, I've already been told by my Aunt that if we don't come up with any plans for Christmas, we're invited to join their families. I think that, right there is already a blessing I should be grateful for.

We still have a few days left and a lot of things can still happen. Anyway, as long as we get to celebrate the holidays together as a family, and that everybody is happy and healthy, I wouldn't ask for anything more. After all, the true spirit and meaning of Christmas is, showing and sharing love with one another. And of course, spending time with our love ones. So, regardless if we don't get to have a lot, Christmas spirit will still surely be felt in our household. That, I can guarantee! :)

New Magazine Rack

Last week, I won a bid on a magazine rack from an online store. It was so cheap and the shipping was free so I took the chance to put a bid on it, and luckily, I won! It's a simple black magazine rack that I just bought for us to have something where we can store our daily mails. I really didn't have to buy it but I figured, might as well since we usually would get a lot of mails everyday and we just leave some on the table and thus, creating an eyesore. I want a clutter-free living room from now on.

I'm glad, too that it got here a day before the actual estimated date of delivery! I was not supposed to get it till tomorrow, but I'm so thankful it's already here. I already cleaned the living room and I got to put away the mails and I can't be more glad to finally see it actually neat and clean. I'm not saying that it hasn't been clean at all. What I'm trying to say is, every time we'd get mails, because we didn't have a space to put them for the mean time before going through each of them, we'd put them on the center table, or sometimes on the couch. I got tired looking at them so I thought of something that might just help - a magazine rack. That's when I decided on getting even just a cheap one as long as it will serve me its purpose. And it does!

Now, I'm waiting on my guitar stand that my husband promised he'll buy for me. That's one thing I definitely would need a place for. I already found one online and when I showed it to him, he liked it as well and he even said that the price is just right. So, let's wait and hopefully, I get it here soon.

New house

My older sister, Gloria, is in the market for a new house. She always has to have the best of everything and gets very restless if she has to stay in one place too long. One time she got tired of living here and got her husband to take a job in Washington, D.C. Then they bought a house just over the line in Virginia. So her husband had to commute to work each day. She has two kids, a boy and a girl. At the time, they were in elementary school and of course enrolled in a school in Virginia. Well when her children got their report cards, their grades were not as high as my sister wanted them to be so they moved back home after just one year. They moved into a very exclusive neighborhood that celebrities and professional athletes live in. Now her children are in college and are not home very much. So she is getting the moving bug again. I have no idea where she will end up this time. She does not have to work so she is on www.clearwirelessinternet.com all the time. I told her that she could go online and look at houses all over the country through the internet. So that is exactly what she is doing now. But, she always gets what she wants.

Their Second Chances

Do you know the show, Hoarders: Buried Alive?

My husband and I love this TV series that feature people with OCD and compulsive hoarding disorder. Basically, they're the type of people who have this disorder where they find it hard to dispose or let go of things that are sentimental to them. What happens is, they bring more into their homes and nothing pretty much comes out, and through the years of just buying or collecting stuff, they've turned their homes into something that's nearly uninhabitable by any living things.

Anyway, what they do is, they help these people change their ways and turn their lives completely back into normal, providing them with any means of help they'll need along the way. They help them clean their houses, and every time they do, I still am always left in great awe at how much trash they actually can collect. They use about 3 or sometimes more huge trucks, like that of the Bellaire Junk removal, to help them dispose the things they've cleaned out of the house. You'd be surprised on how much junk they can literally remove. But above all, I guess, you'd be more taken aback at how were these people able to live in such an environment for years and not once have they tried seeking for help. Most of them actually were only forced to do so because of the fear that their house might be taken away from them, or worse, their kids will be taken by the CPS if they don't clean their homes and make it into a safe place for their kids to live in. More than anything, I think I am more surprised finding out that there are indeed people like them out there, and that they need help more than anything. They can change, if only they're given the chance to. After all, they're like us, not perfect, and they always deserve all the "second chances" they could get till they are better.

Finding Cheaper Scrubs

As early as now, I'm already looking at where to buy cheap nursing scrubs for me to use when I go back to school. I still want to take up Nursing here in the United States since they have different curriculum than that in the Philippines, where I first took up my Nursing course. They've got really cute uniforms here that I found at http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Women/, and when I say cute, I mean the type of uniform that I won't get tired wearing day in and day out if I have to. Looking at them just makes me feel so excited to get back into doing what I've always wanted to do since I was a kid. I just can't wait to get back on track and get things going.

Whenever things are ready, I at least know now where to buy cheap scrubs and get better deals on nursing uniform. That's at least one thing off of my "to do list". For right now, I'm more into finding the best school to go to, especially that I'm a military spouse and we're constantly on the go. I mean, no permanent address for right now because my husband will be changing duty station again in about a year and half from now. It's another obstacle I need to overcome. I just pray that wherever the Navy takes us next, we'll be in a place where schools and everything are just close by so we don't have to worry about driving far from home especially with 3 little kids. When I look at it, I know it's never going to be an easy ride for the whole family. But we all know that in the end, no matter what, it's always going to be worth it.

My First iPod

My husband knows very well that I love music, and that I listen to it like almost every single free time I have. That's why when I was still in the Philippines, on my 23rd birthday, my husband bought an iPod nano 4Gb as his gift. He was in deployment at the time and he got it online that's why he was a little worried it wouldn't get to me on time. But to our surprise, not only did I receive it on time, it actually got delivered to our house on my birthday! I was so happy because I had so many songs stored in my computer that I have been wanting to transfer to a device like the iPod and take it with me wherever I want to. Since then, I never left the house without that iPod. I listen to songs even when I was inside our classroom! But of course, not during class hours. Only while waiting on our professor to arrive. I would go to the malls and walk around while listening to my favorite songs, especially because I'd usually go out alone. Well, when you've got nobody to talk to and you really don't want to deal with people sometimes, having your headset on would pretty much let them know, "don't dare bother me or else.." (hehehe) I'm just kidding.

Right now, I have two iPods and the other one has that camera on it where you can take videos and photos. My husband got me that as a gift on Mother's Day. I'd say, they're pretty cool gadgets, and like what I said, it's one of those things that I won't leave the house without. It's always in my purse, all the time.

There's Always Next Time...

When we visited my husband's uncle in Yucaipa, California, I wanted so bad to ride on one of their horses there. It's been such a long time since the last time I rode on the back of a horse that's why I really was looking forward to that. But because I've just given birth at the time, I was also kind of hesitant, though his uncle's wife offered to take me and assured me that it was going to be just fine, and that they'll make sure they'll let me use the best horse equipment that they have in case I might find that as an issue as to why I felt that way. I admit, I got a little scared because I am no expert on riding horses, and I certainly have forgotten how it is to ride and guide a horse at the same time.

Well, I never got to do it. Not because I stayed scared to do so, but by the time I was ready to do it, we didn't have enough time. My mother-in-law was with us, too and we had other more important things to do. Besides, we only stayed there for two days. But, Uncle Rick told me that we can always go back whenever we want, and by that time, I can ride a horse for as long as I want to, at anytime.

We're looking forward to paying them another visit, especially now that they haven't seen our other two kids yet. It'll be a perfect time to let them see the kids and be able to spend more time with them again.

She Deserved More Than That!

Do you happen to know anybody who's going through rough times right now due to reasons that have something to do with mental health and substance abuse? If you answered yes, what do you feel deep within you every time you look at them? What truly comes into your mind when you see them in that situation knowing in the back of your head, you know they can do so much better than that? It can be hurting, am I right? Especially when you just watch there and hope you can help them, but you know there's nothing really much you can do.

I know someone from my hometown who's been known for her mental health disorder. I had witnessed several times when she was in really ill, she'd do things that would make you feel so bad about her. I felt sorry for what she went through that triggered her illness! But above all, I felt sorry for those people who, instead of doing something to help her, sat there and laughed at her condition. They think she was crazy and they even made fun of her. It was something that, to me, was degrading on their part. There they were, who supposedly were the "normal" people, making fun of someone who wasn't in her right mind just because they think it was funny. That, right there, was downright unacceptable! They should have known better and acted more understanding toward her condition. She deserved to be understood, accepted for not being herself because of her mental issue, and above all, she deserved to be treated like everybody else. She didn't want herself to be in that situation for sure, if she was only given a choice. The reason behind her mental breakdown was, as I was told by people, her husband left and took one of their two children with him. They said, since then, she completely went downhill.

If only we have a facility in our town that offers post traumatic stress disorder treatment, I knew she would have gotten better. Her family had to take her to the city, which is a 24-hour long drive (by bus) from our town, just to get her to a doctor that treats mental illness like the one she had.

I've had incidents where she almost looked like she wanted to attack me, but she never scared me once. The truth is, we were friends when she's not in that condition. She's such a nice person, a loving Mother, and a good wife. I've had conversations with her and if you didn't know that she has mental illness, you wouldn't even suspect that she has one. That's why I felt so bad that she had to suffer just because she couldn't get the proper treatment and care that she deserved. I knew that if only she was taken care of, she would have recovered and could have been given a better chance in life, especially that she has kids who need her.

I haven't heard anything about her in years. The last thing I was told was, she went missing when they took her to the city to have her treatment done. Some said, she was never found, while others said, she was found and was brought back to our town. I just hope she's all right now, and that she actually got better. I may haven't done anything to help her during those times, but at the time and at a young age, I never stopped hoping and praying that she'll recover soon. And I'm still hoping that she did, or that she will.

May God bless her heart!

SS: The Madness Meme, Part 1

Wow, I didn't even realize that the last Sunday Stealing post I had was on August 8, 2011. I must have been too busy, eh?! Anyway, I am back, so here I go...

Cheers to all of us thieves!

1. Have you ever licked the back of a CD to try to get it to work?
- No, I haven't. But I spit on one before then wiped it with a rag. Hahaha.

2. What’s the largest age difference between yourself and someone you’ve dated?
- Six years, and I'm talking about my husband.. ;)

3. Ever been in a car wreck?
- No, and I will never wish to be in one..

4. Were you popular in high school?
- No, I wasn't. They just knew me because I came from a small town where everybody knows everybody :)

5. Have you ever been on a blind date?
- No, I haven't. The only guy I dated was, my husband :)

6. Are looks important?
- Not really. But I mean, you wouldn't just go after someone who doesn't look appealing to you, now, would you?

7. Do you have any friends that you’ve known for 10 years or more?
- Oh, yes. I actually know a lot. I've been friends with them since we were like 5 years old. We all went to the same school from elementary to high school..

8. By what age would you like to be married?
- I'm already happily married now :) I did say I wanted to get married by at least 25 years old, but I ended up getting married at 22 ;)

9. Does the number of people a person’s slept with affect your view of them?
- If they slept with them because they were in a relationship at the time they did and I wasn't in the picture yet, no, it won't affect me at all. But if they slept with so many people just to do it or to play around, then, yes, it will totally affect me on how I view them as a person..

10. Have you ever made a mistake?
- Who hasn't? Tell me :D

11. Are you a good tipper?
- If they deserve it, why not? ;) I can even be a great tipper :)

12. What’s the most you have spent for a haircut?
- I think we paid $23 for a haircut.. That was already a lot for me..

13. Have you ever had a crush on a teacher?
- Oh, yes!! Actually, my classmate, Anne and I had a crush on our Anatomy professor back in college :) We thought he was too cute ;)

14. Have you ever peed in public?
- Public as in what? Public bathroom?

15. What song do you want played at your funeral?
- The Prayer by Josh Groban and Charlotte Church

16. Would you tell your parents if you were gay?
- Sure. It may not be easy to do so, but they deserve to know and I deserve to be accepted for who I really am.

17. What would your last meal be before getting executed?
- I don't think I'd even want to eat... Would you?

18. Beatles or Stones?
- Beatles..

19. If you had to pick one person on earth to die, who would it be?
- I'll tell you, but then I'd have to kill you ;P

20. Beer, wine or hard liquor?
- Wine..

21. Do you have any phobias?
- Astraphobia (fear of thunder and lightning)

22. What are your plans for the future?
- Retire in a nice home that we built with my husband and be debt-free by then so we don't have to suffer financially and just enjoy the rest of our years with our love ones... I guess, that means work, work, and work.. And more work.. And some more -- for a better future. Period.


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Something I look forward to in the future...

I still do plan on getting a job when the right time comes. Being a stay-at-home mom and wife is definitely fun and fulfilling. But don't get me wrong if I say that sometimes, I really do miss being outside of the house and actually doing something aside from taking care of the kids and keeping the house clean. I know I can do more than just that.

When I was still in the Philippines, I had a job at a call center as a costumer service representative and I was a Nursing student at the same time. I was never not busy because I always had a lot to do. So being at home right now all the time is definitely a drastic change on my part. So when I get the chance to go out and find a job, I honestly am not even going to get too picky about it. Internist Jobs, for example, would be a great first step for me to land a job that I would actually enjoy working for. It's never wrong to always give something a try, right? It may not always be the very thing we all hoped for, but you'll never know, it could end up even better.

Another Hour of Extra Sleep!

Daylight Savings Time just ended at 2 A.M. today. That means we fall back an hour and an extra hour is added to our sleep. (Hehehe). I don't go to work so you might wonder why I'm happy about that. Well, I'm happy because that means I get to stay in bed with my dearest husband one more hour longer before he needs to get around for work. And I'm glad that he gets that extra hour of sleep as well because he works almost 12 hours everyday. He truly deserves it. Now, we'll just have to get used to this time change again and I hope this doesn't really mess up the kids' bedtime. I think it'll only take us a couple of days before we get used to it and for things to get back to normal.

It's suppose to be 3:23 A.M. now, but because he went an hour back, it's only 2:23 A.M. but my body is already aching for some sleep. My husband is waiting for me now in our bedroom and I did tell him I'm not going to stay up longer anymore, so I'm going to sign off for now. I need to get some sleep, like right now! I am not going to stay up till 4 in the morning again -- not anymore!! Period.

A Token of Friendship

Friendship is something I truly value a lot. Next to my family, my friends are the ones I hold so dearly in my heart.

Speaking of friendship, I miss my good friends back home so badly, and that's definitely a fact! It's been years now since I last spent time with them and almost all of us were there. If I'm not mistaken, I think that was back in December of 2006. We all happened to be on vacation and home for the holidays that's why most of us were there at the time. We all went to one of our friend's house after the christening of their daughter, Gia, and had dinner with their family. We all had so much fun. That probably was the last Christmas we all got to spend together like that.

One of the things I'm planning on doing whenever I get the chance to go back home is, buy rings as our token of friendship and give one to each of them. We've been friends since we were kids and I just know in my heart that they all deserve something special. I came across these claddagh rings, something I really haven't heard of before, but definitely got me interested in them. These rings are of Irish origin and are often used as token of affection and loyalty, perfect for friendship. Now, I'll just have to ask for the size of their fingers to make sure they'd fit on them.

I can only hope they'd actually like it. I don't know if they'll ever use their rings or not, but that's not going to make me change my mind on that plan. I am not going to worry about whether they'll use them or not, as long as they make sure they keep them safe and take care of them and not forget the real value and message the rings actually convey, I'll be cool with that. The most important thing to me is, for them to know that I love and appreciate them, and that I will forever keep our friendship safe in my heart.

Fix It or Get a New One?

While I was cleaning my drawer the other day, I accidentally found my old wristwatch that my husband gave me as a gift about two years ago. It looks a lot like the one in the photo below that's why I like it so much. The only reason I'm not using it right now is, it stopped working. I'm not sure if it needs battery replacement, or, if it's broken. I haven't taken it to a repair shop yet so I'm not sure. I really didn't give it much priority right now because I still have another one that I'm currently using. But in case it does need some fixing, I'd probably just go ahead and get a new one. Sometimes it's cheaper to do that than get something fixed because it might cost you almost the same amount as getting a brand new item.

If anything, I'd still go with citizen watches. That's the one I have and I like their designs - very simple but they look beautiful. I'd still keep the old one because it's a gift. And if ever I get enough money to buy a new one and get it fixed as well, that's what I'll end up doing.

Get That Perfect Smile!

One of the things that I find attractive in a person is, their smile. It's probably the very first thing that I notice about them, then their eyes.

They say that a smile can brighten up someone else's day. It doesn't take a lot to flash a smile but it could mean something to those you're smiling at. You never know, one of them might be going through a lot, and your smile might have just made their day.

But are you always confident with your smile? I mean, not everybody thinks they have the brightest smile and because of that, some people tend to be shy to even attempt to flash one. The reason? They don't think they have the pearly white teeth that others have to make their smile noticeable or standout. Well, there are a lot of solutions to that nowadays. Like for example, Teeth Whitening San Antonio, or even toothpastes have whitening substances added to them. You can pretty much choose whichever best suits your needs. But I believe, above all, it's all about proper oral hygiene. Any whitening stuff is not going to work if you don't know how to take care of your teeth in the first place. So I think the first step to do to achieve that perfect white smile is, start from taking care of yourself. After all, prevention is always better than cure. So if you don't want your teeth to lose their natural white color, take very good care of them.

GT: KC's Christmas Wish ;)

Christmas wish - who doesn't have a wish for Christmas? I bet everyone does, including the "older" kids, like me. No one will ever be old enough to wish for anything on Christmas, am I right?

Honestly speaking, I really am not wishing for anything material for Christmas. If I could be granted one wish, I'll wish for us to be able to spend the holidays with my family back home. This year will be my third Christmas away from my love ones and it saddens me right now that I really am not sure as to when we actually will be able to fly all five of us to the Philippines without having to worry about the expenses. Air fare is what's going to kill us. We need to have at least five grand ($5,000) to be able to buy round-trip tickets for the five of us. That doesn't even include other expenses as far as food (especially now that we've got 3 kids to worry about), transportation, and extra money for us to enjoy with. I mean, it's tough. How I wish it is as easy as saying "I want to go home", because that definitely would make a big difference right there. But when your family is like ours where only one person is bringing in money, it really is going to take a little while longer for that to happen. Now, I understand why some Filipino families here in the U.S. take years and years before they could get the chance to visit home because of how expensive it can get. If you don't have the money, then you definitely aren't going anywhere.

I know it's not going to happen anytime soon, but that doesn't mean I should stop wishing for it. I'd still wish that if we don't get to go this year, at least next year around summer time so my family can finally meet our little ones, especially my Grandmother. She's been wanting to see our kids because of all of her six great grandchildren, the only ones she still hasn't seen in person are, our children. She already turned 90 years old last month and I would love for her to meet them, have a photo with them together, and be able to tell them the same stories she used to tell us when we were little kids. So even if we don't get to see each other all the time, I have something about her that I can show and tell to my children when they get older. My Grandpa already passed away in 2009, when I was almost 4 months pregnant with our first born, and my other wish is, for my Grandma to at least get to see them and spend time with them. Grandpa never got to see any of my kids, and I will do my best for them to at least get to meet Nana before it's too late.

Not much for a Christmas wish. But that right there, means the world to me.

I guess I will have to end that part here. It's already starting to make me cry. (Sorry, for getting a little emotional right now. I just couldn't help it.)

But I do have one more wish that I would love to receive this Christmas. You see the photo below? That's the type of casual outfits I love. (And yes, that's Vanessa Hudgens right there, but she's not included in my wish list..Hahaha..)


If I can find this set of outfit, I'd be the happiest woman on Christmas. That is probably going to be the first set of outfits I'd get in a long time. I better go check on that website to see if they have one. If I'm lucky, I might bid on it. I just hope it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg or else, that wish is definitely going bye-bye. So, wish me well on this one!

(photos source: Google Images)

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The Worst Summer Ever!

Literally speaking, this summer, I should say, was the worst we've had since I got here in the States in 2009. Aside from the incident where we lost power for 3 days, prior to that, we didn't have AC unit at home. It was so tough on us, especially on our three kids because it was so hot and muggy at the same time almost all the time. We have had up to 90 degree Fahrenheit inside the house and it was just too much on the little ones. It felt like an oven that we literally needed something as huge as a spot cooler to bring the temperature down. And it sucks that summer ended without us getting the chance to actually enjoy it that much because of how hot it always was. I mean, if it was almost 90 in the house, just imagine how hot it was outside! It was something I would never want our family to go through again. What's ironic was, we finally got the AC installed probably a week or two before it started getting colder. So we didn't really get to use the new AC that much. Good thing on the part where we got to save money for the next electricity bill, but it's just a shame we didn't have it at the time we badly needed one.

Anyway, I'm just happy we've got AC and we never have to worry about next summer again. I could care less this time if we never get to enjoy outdoors that much as long as we don't bake inside our house anymore!

Wednesday Whites: Wedding Photo

This is my first time on Wednesday Whites so I want my first entry to be something special. ;) And since it's our wedding month (November), I decided to use our photo that was taken when we got married in the Philippines in 2007.

It was a civil wedding. We never got the chance to prepare for something bigger because he was only there for two (2) weeks. We pretty much spent most of the time getting a lot of paperwork ready for us to be able to get married. I was only 22 at the time and was still considered a "minor", so I had to get a parental consent. And since my husband is a foreign national, we had to go to the U.S. Embassy to get a Legal Capacity to Marry that would indicate he's not married to someone else. It was such a hassle I should say, but in the end, everything was all worth it. And now, almost four (4) years later, he we are still, happily married with three (3) great and healthy kids.

We've been through a lot and we know it's not the end of it. But trials only made us stronger and had drawn us more closer to each other. It's never going to be a perfect marriage like everybody's relationships are. But what matters most is, we are in this journey together and we will always be there for each other and for our children.

That's it for my first Wednesday Whites.

See you next week!

Fast and Easy Payment

(Photo source: Google Images)

Few weeks ago, I created an account on eBay and started bidding and buying stuff for the kids. My husband has been a member for years now and most of his online purchases are from that website. I've seen him bid on items before and won, and when he told me he got good deals on the items, I got pretty curious. That's why I decided to sign up. At first, I only wanted to browse around, search for items and see how much they cost, and look at stuff that people sell on there. But when I saw an item that I've been wanting to get for awhile now at a cheaper price, I went ahead and placed my first ever bid. I must admit, that first time was fun! I had to wait for like 30 minutes till the time was up to see if I won or have been out-bidden by somebody. And to my surprise, I won the item! I got it for $5.45 including shipping and handling. From then on, I am on the website everyday.

I'm just glad that you can do Electronic Payments nowadays. It makes it so much easier on people to buy something without having to go to a store all the time because all transactions are done through the internet. I really am glad I can buy things online because electronic payments exist. I still don't have my driver's license so you can just imagine how tough it would be for me to get around. Plus, I get better deals from shopping online anyway, so for now, I'm fine with that. I'll just have to really make sure I don't splurge on buying things that we don't need just because they are sold cheap. It can be tough at times to hold back, but if it's not worth it, I also know how to wait.