From our Home to Yours...

May the TRUE SPIRIT of the season find you and fill your hearts with joy...

Weeks of No Update?

So what else is new, eh? I don't really have much to blog about so I tend to skip updating but since it's been a while, I thought I'd write an update here.

December came rolling in last week. Since it fell on a weekend, I didn't even realize it's December already. I don't normally look at the date on the weekend unless we have an appointment/date for something. Even the little one was a bit surprised when she realized that it's already December. She had to look for her Christmas stocking in her toy box so she could hang it...2 days late as she puts it. Anyway, before we know it, it will be the most awaited day of the year already [to most people I know anyway]...Christmas. We're still in the middle of gathering the stuff in our list. Our tree is still up in the attic. We planned in getting it out of there last weekend but we got busy so that didn't happen. Most probably we'll pull it out of hibernation this coming weekend. The little one is itching to decorate it already. She's been doing that [the decorating] ever since she could...about 4 or 5. We usually do it together but she does most of it now because she's taller than me now. Hopefully we'll have the tree up by next week.

That's basically everything in a nutshell. Nothing exciting. Just the way I like it....haha.

What is Black Friday?

Is it a HOLIDAY?

Those are the 2 questions that my daughter asked me while we were having breakfast. Why? Because all she sees in my emails as well as the on the sites I browse online are all about 'black Friday'. I had to explain to her that it's not considered a holiday although I'm sure some people take the day off to take advantage of the offers in stores.

I've been living in this country for more than 12 years but I've never gone shopping on a Black Friday. I know there are some deep discounts on that day but I'm not willing to wake up at the crack of dawn much less line up in front of stores before midnight to wait for the stores to open at the crack of dawn just to shop. Just reading how crazy people get on this day makes me shiver actually. Stampedes, pushing, shoving just to get in a store is not my cup of tea. Some people probaby get the adrenaline rush doing that but not me. I'm hoping our little one won't do that either because to me, it's hardly worth it.

Since I am blogging about Black Friday, I thought of going the extra yard and check Wikipedia for a little background about this much awaited day. Here's what Wiki says about it...


Black Friday is the name given to the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4 am, or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the holiday shopping season, similar to Boxing Day sales in many Commonwealth Nations. Black Friday is not an official holiday, but many non-retail employers also observe this day as a holiday along with Thanksgiving, giving their employees the day off and increasing the number of potential shoppers. It has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the year since 2005,[1] although news reports, which at that time were inaccurate,[2] have described it as the busiest shopping day of the year for a much longer period of time.[3] The day's name originated in Philadelphia, where it originally was used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic which would occur on the day after Thanksgiving.[4][5] Use of the term started before 1961 and began to see broader use outside Philadelphia around 1975. Later an alternative explanation began to be offered: that "Black Friday" indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or are "in the black".[4][6] For many years, it was common for retailers to open at 6:00 am, but in the late 2000s many had crept to 5:00 or even 4:00. This was taken to a new extreme in 2011, when several retailers (including Target, Kohls, Macy's, Best Buy, and Bealls[7]) opened at midnight for the first time.[citation needed] In 2012, Walmart led several other retailers in announcing it would open its stores at 8:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day [8], prompting calls for a walkout among some workers. [9]

Happy Birthday!

To me! Ha!

Actually it was last week. I just can't think of any title so I just greeted myself a happy birthday. Is that even legal? Hahaha...

Yep, I turned another corner. Another year passed...hoping to get to the next one. Isn't that what we all want? To go another year and then some.

My birthday used to be a big deal. That was before I moved... It was a big deal when I was back in the Philippines.  It's a big deal not because it's my birthday though but because it's All Saint's Day there. For those who are not familiar what All Saint's Day is, it is the day when we remember our dearly departed ones. Well, not just remember since we can do that anytime of the year anyway. We can say, it's 'THEIR' day because it's all about them. How? First, their 'tombs are cleaned and relatives and friends drop by their resting place to light a candle and offer a prayer or two as well as some flowers to them. Loved ones stay by 'them' for hours usually catching up and playing games. Some even camp out there and eat there. Yep, it's like a picnic in the cemetery I must say. Our local cemetery back home is usually bursting with people on this day from morning until midnight. That's how big of a deal my birthday...err...All Saint's day is back home. If only for that reason, my birthday back then was always a happy one. I may not know 99.9% of the people in the cemetery but it was fun watching hundreds of people walk past you on your birthday.

Now that I'm 12,000 miles away from all that, my birthday is no longer the same. I don't think it will ever be the same anyway. Does it mean it's not a happy birthday anymore? Not really. It's still a happy birthday for me. I don't celebrate it with as many people anymore but I have the most important people with me. That to me is enough reason to have a very happy birthday.

Life's Simple Pleasures

I am a self-confessed 'worry-wart'. Is there an intervention program like an AA program for people like me? I haven't heard of any but I'll make sure to post it here if I find one. Maybe I should start one, eh?

Anyway, because of my being like that, there are times that I don't get to see and appreciate life's simple pleasures. But I'm learning to do that now. I'm trying [very hard I might add] not to get stressed over things I have no control of. Instead, I try to enjoy the simple things that life can offer us right here, right now.

Last weekend, we went on a drive. Where? Nowhere in particular. The weather was so nice and we didn't want to waste it by staying in so we hopped in the car after lunch and just drove aimlessly. We've done this a few times in the past and it was so much fun so we decided to do it again. When we first did it we just picked a road that we haven't been in and drove it....to get lost....LOL. We didn't get lost because hubby never gets lost...or so he claims. This weekend, we also picked a couple of roads we thought we haven't been into.

After about an hour or so of 'aimless' driving around, we came across a park. We asked the person in-charge and he handed us a map of the park forest trail. We drove around a couple of the trails and came across bunches of hunters looking for deer and wild pigs or boars. We didn't come across any animals though...just some 'angry stares' from the hunters themselves. Yep, they didn't look too happy to see us there. I wonder why? Can it be because we scared their preys away? Oops!

That's one of life's simple pleasures to me. To be able to get out there and just enjoy simple things like that. I used to not like doing that. I thought it's a waste of time. But how can it be a waste of time if it's spent with the most special people in your life? That I know now....

October Rain

Rain! That's all we've been having since yesterday so I might as well call it that...October rain, eh?

So the last quarter of 2012 officially kicked in Monday. I hardly noticed it because I was barely awake. Blame it on the tiring weekend we had prior because we just came back from a trip again. But we've bounced back already I think. I'm not as tired anymore although this 'bed weather' is really making it hard for me to stay active. All I want to do right now is curl up on the couch and watch some of my favorite shows. Not quite possible since it's the middle of a work week and I wouldn't want to miss work anymore after all the cancellations I made in the last few weeks due to appointments.

I'm sure this month will fly us by as well just like the previous months. Right now our little one is excitedly waiting for Halloween. Before we know she'll be talking about the holiday season and what she wants for gifts. Me? I just want to sit back, relax and enjoy life's simple pleasures. It's not easy especially with all that's happening in the economy. But I'm trying to take it easy the best way I know how. That's all we can do for now. Stressing about it won't help one bit. So why bother, right?

Factory Outlet Products Vs The Real Deal

Just like any girl out there, I like signature products. I don't buy them. Primarily because I don't have the hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars to pay for them. I can probably use credit card and pay through that BUT no thank you. I'm perfectly happy with what I can afford.

For some, knock offs are good replacements. I did too at one point but I got over it and just didn't think it's worth it. For a lot of people, buying from factorly outlets is a good way to get these branded products at a fraction of the price of the ones sold in regular stores. I've been to a couple of factory outlets more than 10 years ago but that's it. Where I'm at, the nearest outlet is hundreds of miles away. Needless to say, I've never been at that outlet. And I may never go...but who knows. Anyway, it was my understanding before that factory outlet products are just those high end products that just didn't pass quality control to make it to the next level so they are sold at much lower prices. Well, maybe not. Let me elaborate. And for the record, this is just my personal opinion.

A few months ago, I got an email invite to join an exclusive 'member' only pass for a popular company that sells mostly purses. It's for the official online site of their factory outlet. I was very happy to get that email. Now before I got that I email, I already have a purse and a wallet which were both bought from their regular stores months before. Both were gifts because if it were up to me, I won't spend hundreds of dollars for a purse or a wallet. But that's just me. Anyway,after getting the confirmation of membership I eagerly awaited for my first 'email only invite' from the site. I got one a few days later. As soon as I got in, I was already tempted to buy because the prices are really much lower than what they have in a regular store. Sometimes the prices are 70% off the MSRP of the product. So far, I got one purse. Not for me but for a niece as my thank you gift for her for all the favors she did for me when we went back home a few months ago. Other than that, I haven't been tempted to get anything else. Talk about self-control, eh?

So, are the purses/wallets sold in the outlet sites/stores the same as the ones sold at the regular store/site? Yes, but not really. Sorta? Here's what I found from my sleuthing...LOL...not much sleauthing actually...just a little bit of observing.

Aside from the big difference in prices, the products in the outlet site and the real site are also remarkably different. The products in the outlet site are probably made by the same company but they're not exactly the same as the ones found in the real site or the stores. The styles are similar but not the same. The materials used I believe are also different. I did a side by side picture comparison of some of the purses I like. At first glance they look the same but if closely inspected, they ARE indeed different. The designs on materials used to make the purses that seem to be the same are obviously not. One has bigger prints compared to the other. Now,  I have not compared the products in person but judging from the pictures, I think it's safe to say that there is also a big difference in quality of the products.

But I guess it doesn't really matter especially if the price difference is 70%, right? But then again, I pesonally now have to think even more before I shell out some hard earned money for something that is original but may not be as good as the real deal. Then again...that's just me. How about you?

It's Autumn...

Almost, anyway. It's only a few days away. It'll be official this coming Saturday.

How time flies, eh? It seems it was only a few days ago when we welcomed this month and now it's almost over. I guess that's what happens when you're busy...which we have been I must say.

My journey to become a citizen was finalized yesterday. I attended an oath taking ceremony along with 90 others from several other countries. This was a long time coming. I was eligible to apply more than 5 years ago but I opted not to rush it. There was no reason to rush it. So what gives this time around? Travel purposes. It's easier to travel once you're a citizen of this country. Also, I want to vote.

When I applied for my residency here some eleven years ago, we spent thousands of dollars. That's mainly because we hired a lawyer to aid us. I have to say it was worth it considering we didn't know the 'ins & outs' of the immigration laws back then. All we had to do was provide our lawyer with needed documents and he did [or his paralegal probably did] the leg work. This time around, we decided to do it all ourselves. With 'all' I mean filing the papers ourselves. That's it! After submitting the documents, I just waited for the immigration office to contact me to let me know the next step. All in all it took about 5 months to finish everything. No sweat at all. And yesterday was the culmination of it all.

I have another journey I have yet to finish....my driving. This one needs a lot more practice on my part. I am not a willing party on this one but it has to be done sooner or later. I have about a year to make sure that's done or I would have to re-apply for another permit...and I would hate for that to happen. Ugh!

Exercising!

It's been months now since I stopped doing regular exercise. I know that's not a good decision on my part. First because exercise is really good for the health. Second, it is so very hard to get back to it.

I know I need to go back to it but I keep putting it off. Ugh! I just need that one push to do it again but so far...it's not happening. Actually, hubby and I stopped almost at the same time. He re-started a couple of weeks ago...I haven't. Maybe I should start with hula hooping first then slowly go back to the Mobia walking.

Oh well...talks about my lack of exercising is kinda' depressing so I better talk about something else. How about the lack of work? Umm...depressing as well. It only goes to show that theres not much improvement going on, eh?

So let's talk about something else then.

Hubby has been busy looking for some properties in GA. That's basically what catapulted our road trip 2 weeks ago. There's a chance we may move there in the future and by the looks of it, now is the best time to start looking for prospects as far as properties go. He found a lot of properties already. Inquired about some. Got some replies. Some are promising. Some not very. The one that he really liked...was sold last week only. Yep, a bummer to say the least. He found a couple more last night and showed them to me. It's funny how he'd show me what in and around the area as if trying to convince me that it's okay to move there. I already told him I could care less where we move as long as we're together. Isn't that what family is all about? Being together? I guess he still wants to make sure that I will like the area just in case.

Anyway, we MAY take another trip there in the future before making any final decision. Or it may just be him since it will be just 'scouting'. But we may also tag along because that's how likes it. We'll see. I'm just hoping that things work out for the better. In general.

So Much Action

For a change. And it's only the first week of September.

Let me elaborate.

Over the weekend, our little family went for a little drive...out of the state! That's a first mind you. In 11 years!!! We've always talked about doing something like that. Just packing up for a few days of 'escapades'. We did it and it was fun. So where did we go? We went to North Georgia which is about 8 hours drive from where we are. We didn't have a lot of plans. Hubby wanted to check on a property he saw online which we tried but with no luck. As it turns out, the property was so remore you have to cross a couple of rivers to get there. Aside from that plan, we just played everything by ear. We ended up visiting Amicalola Falls on our first day there then went on a scenic train ride on our second day. On the third day, we drove back home. That's it. Short and sweet I must say.

Today I went if for an interview. For what? Not a job. I finally decided to become 'one of them'. Yep, after a decade of being an alien I decided to be 'un-alien'....LOL. I had a very early appointment which is how we like it. My call time was a few minutes before offices open for business. I was called almost on the dot. I was in and out of the interview itself in about 15 minutes. Short & painless. Now we wait.

We still have about 3 more weeks of this month. I only have one appointment for this month. We don't have any plans whatsoever to go anywhere. But who knows. We might just go crazy and decide to take another trip. Unlikely but possible, eh?

Change of Heart

And I'm hoping I made the right decision.

I decided to enroll the little one to virtual school. I've been meaning to do that since last year but because of her age, I decided not to do it yet. What's age gotta do with it? She's recommended last year for Gr. 6. She was only 9 years old then. She's not a genius by any means, although the Dad thinks she is...but she's advanced for her age because I teach her one on one. That's the advantage I guess. Anyway, I said last year that I would enroll her this year. So I did. The enrollment wasn't bad. She was accepted almost immediately. She did her placement tests. As per the name of the tests, the results will determine as to what level she should be. She did the regular Gr. 6 placement. Modesty aside, she breezed through them. She was asked to take a higher level test and she did. She passed them as well so she's supposed to take the advanced classes in some subjects.

She started her first try yesterday. It was fine as far as doing the work is concerned. She said it was easy. Although she had to call me a few times for some clarifications, she did most of the work independently. I on the other hand started getting stressed. I had my share of learning the ropes as a coach and I slowly realized that we're not fully prepared for something like this. Maybe I was just overwhelmed but I was about to cry towards the end of the day. So after mulling over it and talking with the husband about it, I decided to withdraw her enrollment. The flexibility I was hoping we'll get with a virtual school is not as much as we would like. I didn't like that she had to spend almost all of her time in front of the computer yesterday. That would probably change but I'm guessing that computer time will be more than we want her to have. That's probably the biggest reason behind my decision.

Maybe next year when she's more matured we can give it a try again. For now, both hubby and I would rather she learns under our direct supervision.

A Special Anniversary Card

And I'm not talking about the cards that my husband and I gave each other on our 11th wedding annivsary. I'm talking about this one...

Of course the cards we gave each other are special but this one is more special because it's not something you'll get from the store. Our little one made it herself and I'm one touched Mama. She actually had to make this one in a hurry. She said she almost forgot our anniversary and just remembered it on the day itself so she had to come up with something really fast. I particularly like the 'picture' of us looking at each other. I think it's kinda' cute...

One day she'll stop making these personalized cards for us and opt for the commercial ones. This is the reason why I treasure every single card she makes for us...with or without occasion.

Eleven Years....

of being a wife. It's probably the best 11 years of my life as well. Yes, there are definitely ups and downs but cheesy as it may sound, I will not exchange it for anything in this world.

My husband and I didn't know each other that long when we decided to say 'I do'. As a matter of fact,some of my friends as well as his were concerned that we may be moving things a bit too fast. How fast? We met online in April, then met in person in June then got married in August all in the same year...2001. But we knew what we wanted and we went for it amidst all the negativities around. I was dead serious with my decision. How so? I moved 12,000 miles away from home just to be with him. I left a job as well which was hard because I loved what I was doing [and getting good pay for it]...teaching. But I fell in love so none of those mattered. I was willing to leave everything behind and I did. Good thing I did because I wouldhn't have the life I have right now if I didn't follow my heart.

Here we are 11 years after. We're still happy together. Thriving to say the least. The ups are definitely worth the downs. Above all, we have a beautiful daughter together. That alone is worth all that I've given up.

Non-Stop Raining

That's exactly what is happening in the Philippines right now. As a result, there is flooding in most of Metro Manila which has killed several people already. This situation is very much like what happened last year when a typhoon named 'Ondoy' hit the country. The only difference this time is there is NO typhoon. It's just rain...non-stop. This just goes to show that with or without a typhoon, such disaster is very much possible there. Why? It's a combination of a lot of things. We can blame the government but we cannot deny the fact that the people who are affected the most have a big part to it as well. People need to be more responsible and know that their actions ~ day to day actions ~ can and will have an impact in situations such as this one.

Help is needed obviously. I'm sure many people will help just like last time. But afterwards...what? Do we go back to the old ways only for something like this be repeated again? I honestly feel bad that many people are in such dire situations right now. I just hope that they learn their ways. That's all. Everyone has to do his part to prevent something of this magnitude to happen again. We cannot always depend on other people or the government to help us. Or blame others for the situation we're in. We have to help ourselves. That's just how life is. I'm sorry if this sounds cold but it's sad to see the same people be in the same situation over and over again. When are we going to learn?

Health is Wealth....

That's a fact whether you believe it or not.

I am not wealthy but I'm surely glad that I'm generally healthy and so is the husband and the little one. To me, that's the most important thing. I know that we all need money to survive our day to day existence but to me, as long as we have what we need then I'm happy.

Just a few days ago I got a message from a former co-teacher. She was telling me the news that 2 of our former co-teachers retired against their wish because of health reasons. Mind you, these 2 teachers [sisters actually] are both of retiring age already. Still, their retirement was kind of 'forced'. If one of them didn't have a life threatening disease, they wouldn't have given up the jobs they had. Just a background, they are both unmarried and with no kids to support and have been working for more than 30 years earning more than what I would consider sufficient to retire comfortably. Still, they retired with nothing to show of the 30 plus years that they actually had jobs.

I don't know if I should pity them or not on their current predicament but looking back on how they lived their lives during those years when they were earning more than they need, I can't really say that I pity them. First, they should have taken care of their health. Sadly, the one who's sick was never mindful of hers when we were teaching together. Her body and choice of food that time showed that. They overworked their bodies by taking in more work than they could handle at that time and failed to put some aside for their future needs.

Anyway, I'm in no position to preach I know. But I'm thankful that I'm realizing these things while I can still take charge of my life and health...unlike them. All they can do now is find something to support them in the twilight of their lives. It just saddens me that they didn't see this coming. Hopefully they can still enjoy the years left in their lives....with or without money.

Call Me Maybe....Spoofs!

I guess 'Call Me Maybe' is still the favorite song folks like to spoof until now. I can't blame them. The song is very very catchy and makes for a very good song to sing along with. Anyway, the first spoof I saw was that of The Biebs [aha!] and his friends singing along to this summer hit. After that one, they just mushroomed. I stopped watching them because they became like a spoof of a spoof already. Well, until I saw this last one. It's that of the US Marines not just singing but dancing along to the song.

Watch!


Here's my original favorite of all of the spoofs. This one has been spoofed as well.

Internet TV is Awesome!

Gloomy day it is around here. Yesterday it was pouring like crazy while we were at the mall. It felt like the roof would cave in because of the rain.

Last week went by without much ado. Work have been really slow...slower than usual so I did nothing but watch on Netflix for the most part. I must say that ditching our cable is probably one of the best decisions we've made in the past few months. We've been planning in doing that for quite sometime now. We finally did it about  a month ago. The cable company kept calling us offering us the best they have but we stood our ground and said no. It was quite tempting to take them on their offer - free premium channels [plus all the channels we used to get with our old plan] for 1 year for a quarter of what we used to pay for a year! Ain't that tempting???

It's been about 2 months now since we subscribed to Netflix ~ first month is free and so far, we've been loving it. We're not big TV watchers anyway so I don't really know why we kept them for as long as we did. Let me correct that. I am a big TV watcher...before the internet that is. But now that there's internet where you can watch everything, my TV time has been cut to almost....all of it?

Oh...one of the reasons I was hesitant to have the cable discontinued was my habit of watching [listening] TV while working, especially late at night. We knew that Netflix would still allow us to watch TV but I thought it's either the on TV or computer...not both AT the same time. Well, I was wrong. All we had to do was get this gadget that we can hook up on our TV and voila...we can watch on both TV & computer. Oh, the new TV sets now are Netflix, Hulu, etc ready. All you have to do is have internet connection and you're good to go.

We also have an antenna now so we get the local channels as well as the main ones...ABC, NBC, Fox, CBS as well as PBS and a few other channels....for FREE! So if you haven't tried it....you should. The worst that can happen when you tell your cable provider that you're ditching them is for them to offer you a deal too sweet to pass up....tee hee!

With Age Comes...

...plenty of doctor's appointments?

That seems to be the case here. I think it was my brother in law who said that once you hit '45', you'd start feeling some things you've never felt before in  your body. Hmm....I'm at that age and so is the hubs. Oddly enough, we haven't been to the doctor this much since I can remember. I'm sure that belief about turning 45 [and feeling more aches/pains] is far from true but it's actually happening to us.

Fortunately nothing really that serious is going on with the both of us. We have some aches and pains here and there and some unusual stuff going on but that's about it. The results of the tests mostly came up fine except for a couple. Still, they're all manageable and treatable. One more appointment and we're good for a few months.

Getting older is something I don't really pay attention to. I'm never conscious about turning a year older. What for? Everybody gets old. It's not like I'm all alone in this predicament. It's only when I start to feel something that I'd feel I'm really getting old. Unfortunately, the body and the mind and the spirit are aging at a different pace. With the former going at a faster rate of course. And that's what's happening to us. Much as we would like to believe that we're not old, our shells are telling us otherwise. And since we pay a fortune to our health insurance every month, we decided to use it and go to the doctor for check ups instead of wondering what the heck is happening.

Anyway, that's my rant for the week. Hopefully I'll have some better rants next time around. Ciao!

Tom and Katie Divorce

Shocking? I guess it is since they didn't seem to have any problems that the public is aware of. As somebody who reads celebrity news quite regularly, I must say that I kinda' saw it coming. Just like what's been written, the two of them have not been seen in public together for months. Considering how much they've been seen in public before that, it's odd that they were rarely photographed as a family in the last couple of months.

I saw the episode in Oprah where Tom jumped on the couch like a teenager to show how giddy he was because of Katie. Some thought it was very odd of him to do that in such a public place [it's Oprah...and he's Tom Cruise!] but he did. He was totally smitten with her. It showed how much because he sang her praises every chance he got...up until a few weeks ago when he was interviewed. They both did that actually...sang praises for each other every chance they got.

So what went wrong? How can 2 people who seemed so in love with each other drift apart? Who knows. I guess love wasn't enough to keep them together? Whatever the reason is for their decision to part ways, I can only wish them the best.

WBO Review: Pacquaio Won

Yep, the Pacquiao - Bradley controversial fight result is not over yet. WBO or the World Boxing Organization decided to hire international independent judges to review the controversial and came up with a unanimous decision: Pacquiao should have WON the fight. That of course made Pacquiao's fans happy.

Does that mean Pacquaio gets the belt back from Bradley. Not so fast. Apparently, WBO does not make that decision. From what I've read, the Nevada board [not sure which one] must be able to prove that some kind of an illegal act [bribing, maybe?] in order to proclaim Pacquiao as the rightful winner of the fight. Of course the 2 judges that voted in favor of Bradley are standing [and defending] by their decision.

What now? WBO recommended a rematch. That's what Manny Pacquiao wants anyway. He even said [allegedly anyway] that he will not accept the belt if it's given back to him now. He wants a fight [re-match] to prove that he's indeed the champion.

Next question is? Does he still have it in him? Most say, yes. Some say...not sure. I say...I don't know. Haha. I don't follow Manny's fights. I just like to talk about it here....because WAHM talks, ya know.

Knowledge is Power

A lot of people believe in that. I do as well. But it's a double edged sword. At least that's what it is to me. I like to learn about things...but not about sickness or symptoms of a sickness especially if it pertains to me or my loved ones. There I said it. It's stressful to me just thinking that something serious may be wrong with me or with someone I care about.

We've been to the doctor and we're just waiting on results...and appointments to talk about the results. Hubby and I are coping differently. I try NOT to research my and his symptoms. He does the exact opposite. He spends hours reading online about the different symptoms we both have and would come up with something. Still, he can't really pinpoint what's wrong with him. Surprising. I told him to wait for the doctor's diagnosis. He is...but he's also trying to figure it out himself. I can see where he's coming from. Yes, self-diagnosis is not a good thing. But who knows your symptoms better than yourself, right? I'm just glad he's not self-medicating. Now, that would be the time I'd probably freak out and would demand he waits what the doctor says.

Anyway, even if I'm trying not to research what could be wrong with me and him, I still can't help but be stressed out about it. I'm actually having some GI problems probably because of the stress. Sleep is elusive for the past several nights and food comes back up every now and then. Ugh!

Growing up, we never really went to the doctor unless it's something really serious. If it's simple body aches and pain, we just wait it out until it went away. Anything manageable, we tough it out. That's how they still do it back home. My parents were only hospitalized [as far as I can remember anyway] when they were old already. We have doctors back there but people only go to them when they need to...rarely for routine check-ups. Now, I'm not saying that's a good thing. Of course I believe that it's better be diagnosed with something earlier than later....but the stress might just kill me before anything else does. [knock on wood that won't be the case].

So is knowldge really power? Yes. As long as it does not involve health crisis that is beyond my control. Blabbering here. Sorry. I'm stressed.

Have a stress-free everyone. [including me]

Boxing & American Idol

I just saw a picture of Manny Pacquiao and Jessica Sanchez together. It was taken last weekend before the controversial fight between the former and Timothy Bradley where Sanchez sang the national anthem.

These 2 are probably 2 of the most popular Filipinos in recent memory. Although I have yet to hear Sanchez to actually say she's indeed a half-Filipina. Anyway, both of them also kept a lot of international fans glued on the tube not so long ago. Unfortunately, both also kinda' fell short in bringing home the bacon. Yes, we Filipinos still consider them as winners but we cannot deny the fact that we were hoping and praying that they emerged as the crowned winners. Yes? In both 'bouts', 'kababayans' or fellow Filipinos felt short changed with the outcomes. In Jessica's case, she herself felt the winner deserved the title. That doesn't make her any less talented. If I may say so, she's way more talented as a singer. It's just that Phillip is more popular [to the fans who mattered the most] during the competition. Many [Filipinos] may not agree with me and that's okay. To each his own, right? Anyway, as I see it winning American Idol is not always a sure thing for success. Out of the past 10 winners, only 2 have careers now that can be classified successful [record sales]. The others are either still struggling to sell records while the others are almost gone into oblivion. If Jessica plays her cards right and with the guidance of a great management team, she can soar higher than any of these AI champs. Her voice is definitely something. So it ain't over till it's over.

The Manny Pacquiao - Timothy Bradley situation is far from over though. As a matter of fact, the WBO is now going to review the controversial result of the fight. According to the article, the Attorney General of Nevada might just do the same thing. I didn't watch the fight. I'm not a fan of the sport itself. I only read about and it's only because someone I know of is involve in the sport itself like Pacquiao. Since I didn't watch it myself, I cannot tell if Pacquiao won it or not or if something fishy happened. But if the boxing association itself is going out of its way to investigate it, then something must be going on.

What do I hope comes out of the investigation? I guess the truth. Hopefully, everyone will be able to accept whatever the association [and possibly the attorney general of NV] comes up with after their investigation. That's all.

First Post in 2 Years!

Smiley Shocked clipart

from Clker.com

Even I have that surprised look on my face when I realized what I'm doing! So what gives? I just thought I'd try and give this blog one more shot. I have some free time on my hands and maybe, just maybe, I can make this work. There's plenty of things out there to talk about and I think this will be perfect place to talk about it. It's called 'WaHM talks' for a reason, you know. That will be all for now. I'll try and post here as much as I can. Hopefully my next post will be within a couple of...ummmm....days? Yeah, definitely. Maybe.