Drop Down TV Lift

Honestly speaking, if only linear actuators are cheap, I would love for us to get one so we can have that drop down TV lift like that one I once saw on one of the shows on HGTV about home improvements and renovations.  They placed it right above the fireplace in their family room, and if they don't want to watch TV, they can hide it by pressing a button, and it is lifted up as if it's never there.  I think that's a pretty neat idea, especially when you still kind of want to keep that beautiful designed fireplace without ruining anything, and you have that nice entertainment area, all at the same time.

I just love that thought of being able to hide the TV, so in case the kids are in that area and they happen to be playing, we can safeguard it from getting hit by objects that they might accidentally toss in the air.  My boys can be like that sometimes.  They like to play with their ball.  They toss it, and they run to catch it.  I don't think I want to be that parent who, would never allow her kids to just run around the house and be just kids.  That's why there are a lot of things available out there that you can use to make your home a "kid friendly" one without having to sacrifice a lot.

That's just me.  If there's a will, there's a way.  Inasmuch as I love keeping things in order and protecting them from getting ruined, I just couldn't bear the thought that I'd choose that over my kids and letting them be.  But like what I said, if only we can afford it, I'd get it in a heartbeat!  In the mean time, we'll go with other options that, may not be as good as having that drop down TV lift, but works almost just as fine.

So much I want to do.

Fresh Surprise ;)

My husband reported back to work today after his 2-week long leave.  I must admit, I missed him a lot, and it it were not for his job, I would've asked him to stay home and just go in on Monday.  But you know, that's not how the military works.  If you got to go, then you got to go!

Anyway, I honestly thought that he might be home a little late today like what he already told me last night.  He was informed that the results for the new Chiefs might be out today, and him being a Chief now, that means he must stay there till everything gets done.  I don't know what they really do.  All I know is, when he made it last year, he stayed at work till late at night.

Well, he came home early today.  He got some stuff for us and the kids, and then he told me to go grab another bag he had left in the car.  And so I did as I was asked to do.  To my surprise, when I opened the back door of the car, there it was, a bouquet of fresh flowers sitting in the backseat!  What more could I say about that?  It did put a big smile on my face.  And when I went back inside the house, I thanked him, gave him a big hug and a kiss for such a sweet gesture.

Thank you so much, Mahal!  No words can ever express how much I'm grateful for having you in my life.  Not because of things like this that you do for me, but because you complete me, and I know that without you, I'd rather not be here as well!  I love you with all of my heart - to infinity and beyond!

I'm Gonna Get Me One.. Someday!

On my first Christmas here in the US, my husband bought me a guitar for a present. He knows how much I love and enjoy playing guitar, and since I couldn't bring the one that my sister got for me on my 18th birthday, he must have thought of how much I've missed being able to play music, so he ended up buying a new guitar for me.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love guitars.  As a matter of fact, it has always been my dream to able to buy the guitar that I've been wanting to own since I was a kid, and I will keep on buying and then collect them, so later on in life, I've got something that I can give to my children.  I don't know if any of them will be interested in it, but I'm hoping they'd want to keep them as a remembrance of me.

I know how to play gospel songs, love songs, Christmas songs, a little RnB, but what I really want to learn how to play are, classical, alternative, and rock music.  You know, like the ones that some would consider a "noise" instead of it being a music.  I just like those types of music genre.

And I'm not going to lie, when I saw this one particular guitar from  gibson guitars for sale, my mouth started to drool, literally!  I also love violin, and when I saw this, I was like, this is just perfect!  I've always wanted to learn how to play the violin, too, but never had the opportunity to do so.  So this guitar will pretty much give me that feeling that I will be playing two different instruments at once because of its design.  It's a guitar, but it also looks like a violin at the same time.  I mean, there's no guitar lovers out there that won't fall in love with this one.  I really can't wait to own one like this.  And if I did, there's only two things that are going to happen for sure; it's either I enjoy playing a lot that I won't even want to put it down for a second, or, I love it too much that I won't even want to dare touch it because I'm too scared that I might scratch it or something.  But regardless, as long as I own one, I'll be the happiest girl in the world!

I AM BACK!!

So glad to be back after a week-long vacation in Oklahoma with my family!  We all drove down to visit my mother-in-law, and for the kids and I to meet the rest of my husband's family.  I must say, it was a blast!  We all had a great time!  In fact, the kids (the boys) didn't want to leave yet, and I know it must have been so hard on their Grandma, too to see us go.  I know the feeling.  My husband and I felt the same way as well.  We all wished we could've stayed longer, but my mom-in-law only had a week of leave, and my husband needed to be back, too because his 2-week leave was already almost up.  He actually already reported back to work today, which sucks because, like usual, we missed him and we got used to having him around with us 24/7.  But duty calls, and he needs to go back to work, whether we like it or not.

We left Oklahoma last Monday at 2:30 in the afternoon, and we didn't get home until Tuesday, the next day, at almost 10 in the morning.  That's right, we were on the road for almost 20 hours including our stopovers.  The trip coming back was a lot harder than going there because the kids were uneasy,especially the little girl.  She didn't even want her Papa to stop driving, or she'll wake up from her sleep and would lose it!  It was, no lie, a tough one, but we still, we cannot thank God enough for watching over us and keeping us all safe all throughout the drive back and forth.

It definitely was a vacation to remember!  As a matter of fact, it was our first family trip, too, and God willing, we've already talked about going on another family trip sometime in November.  We're praying that things will work out according to our plans so we all could enjoy another family time in the outside world before the crazy cold winter season comes.

2-Week Leave, yay!!

My husband will be taking a two-week leave starting Friday of next week.  He said he needed to use his extra days of leave before October, or else they'll be taken away.  I'm really looking forward to having him for two weeks with us because this year is our last summer here and I want us to do things like travel, visit places, and just spend time with the whole family.

I'm not so sure yet, but he was talking about us taking a trip down to visit his family in Oklahoma because most of them haven't seen me and the kids yet, then pay respect/visit his Dad's grave in Nebraska.  The last time we visited his Dad was in 2010.

We have so many things in mind that we would love to do.  I  really hope we'll get to do at least some of them, if not all, because like what I said, this is our last summer here.  Next year, around the same time, we'll be in a new place, and we don't know when we'll be able to take a trip back here just for a vacation.  I guess I'll find out more about what he really wants to do in the coming days.