porangag

problems

2009-07-14T18:20:00.006-04:00

Because of his injury, the husband is not able to fix our car. What is ironic is the car's transmission needs to be fixed. What do you know, the husband can't do it anymore. It sucks! There is an excellent resident mechanic at home yet with the help of a friend he has to bring his car to a friend's shop so the friend can fix it. I know the husband is frustrated. He is not used to relying for help from people especially when it concerns cars. In fact, friends used to call him to ask what needs to be done if a car is acting up. He still gives out advice but he can no longer do anything but. It must be hard for him. I know his mind is willing but his body is not. Hopefully the car will get fixed so he will quit worrying about it.

moving help

2009-07-11T08:07:00.003-04:00

Before long, we will be moving out of this duplex we are living in. We might even move out of state although we can't make up our mind where to go just yet. It is a daunting task just even thinking about moving with the husband not able to help. How am I supposed to lift and carry anything in the truck? The stepson is working full time and going to school. We can ask the son-in-law but his decision will have to depend whether his wife will agree to it or not. If nothing else works, we might have to call a moving company and hope it is not expensive so we can afford it. I have to look not for moving companies Los Angeles but for ones in the South. We have rented trucks on our previous moves but a moving company with real people to carry (I will definitely pack) the boxes and furniture to the truck and deliver it to our destination is something I am not familiar with. It may be less stressful though. We still have another option left and that is to call relatives from another state and ask them to help but that also requires money not to mention their time. We better decide what to do before doing anything else.

sunset

2009-07-07T19:17:00.004-04:00

I have already posted this picture on one of my blogs perhaps a year ago but I want to post it again to remind me of our days spent on the beach. We have not watched the sunset since I took this picture because of things that happened that is beyond our control but I am happy I have this picture to remind me of those times. We might not be able to do this again in a long time should we decide to move back to the Midwest but I know one day we will when we come down to visit.

staying home

2009-07-04T07:02:00.002-04:00

We are staying home for the day. Unlike the previous years, we are not going to watch fireworks displays. The husband and I already had fireworks earlier when we argued over something silly and ended up laughing like goofs. It is crazy when two adults with a toddler get coped up in a house for days because of things we don't have control over. The husband got a call from his daughter saying if we want to we can go up to their place and we can bring the kids to the park to play. He declined and said we would rather stay home. I don't blame him. I want to stay home too even if we have enough of staying home, lol. It is just that by staying home we get to save money. I am not ready to run after the little man which is what he is guaranteed to do when we go to the park. How do I know? Because we have been to the park months before and I ended up chasing him everywhere. Anyway, it is a pretty day and hopefully a lot of people are enjoying the holiday weekend. Happy fourth!

not a good day

2009-06-28T13:05:00.004-04:00

We have a growing boy in the house and some times when he gets bored he does things that are not safe for him such as climbing on furniture and running fast without caring whether he bumps into something. It frustrates me but there is nothing much I can do at the moment. He is a kid after all. He tends to be curious about things and how they work. Although I try hard to entertain him with toys and spending time with him, it still is not enough. I know he needs to be around kids his age he can play with. It will eventually happen when we move near his cousins. But for now I have to keep up with him while keeping my cool which is so hard to do especially when I am sick like today. Sometimes I wish he is older and can entertain himself by playing games on XBox or watching movies. His form of entertainment right now is me, like annoying me by doing things I specifically told him not to or by using me as his horsey when we are trying to take naps. If I don't lose weight following any diet regimen I might just lose weight being around my little man when he is in a mood like this. It does not help that the husband is not in a good mood either because of pain and other concerns. I feel like I wanna crawl under a rock and stay there until I am recharged.

our condolences

2009-06-26T05:17:00.005-04:00

The husband's aunt (his mother's sister) died yesterday morning. He was informed about it by his sisters who called and told him the sad news. I have heard stories about his old aunt who lived with her husband a good few hours where we used to live in Indiana. I did not get to meet her though. The husband was not close to that particular aunt unlike his sisters. We already ordered flowers which is the only thing we can do right now since we live farther away and we do have problems going on at the moment. I talked to one of the husband's sisters and she was devastated. I wish we were there to console her but I can only say so much on the phone. I hope they will get through this tough time.

summer break

2009-06-21T09:30:00.004-04:00

The neighborhood kids are enjoying the summer break. They are out riding their mopeds, riding their bikes, and putting up skateboard ramps near the roads. We saw several kids on skateboards the other day waving at us when we passed. I find it comforting that I saw adults with them too. Though I am not comfortable watching preteens riding their mopeds without helmets. I thought only 16 year old and older are allowed to do it but I guess if they don't get out of the subdivision they are fine. The husband said when the little man is older we will buy him his own moped as well. Provided we have the money, lol. Or we will bring him to a place where he can ride a go kart. I am hoping he will be able to do things that me and my cousins did not get to do when we were kids. Although I would love it too if he gets to play the games we played when I was a kid. I sure had fun times even if I did not have new toys.

on dentists

2009-06-19T20:27:00.003-04:00

I was searching for something the husband wanted me to check online when the little man decided he needed some attention. He kept hanging on to my arm and trying to drag me to the living room and when I gave in he left me in the couch and ran straight to my computer. Sneaky little brat! He punched keys (at least he did not literally take any off like last time) and came up with Plano Dentist on the computer screen. What was a two year old doing looking for dentists online? And at a Texas city at that? Lol. He is a nut. Could it be he remembered his pediatrician's recommendation to bring him to a pediatric dentist? Mama needs to set up an appointment quick.

number six

2009-06-18T21:37:00.004-04:00

Who would have thought that a skinny teenager would make it to one of the world's highest paid athletes? Such is the story of Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao who is hailed by Forbes as number six highest paid athlete of the world. I remember the nights when my father watched Pacman's boxing bouts. He was a nobody then, skinny and young but determined with flawless TKO record. At the time Papsy used to talk to the television and said that young man (while pointing at the television screen) will go places in boxing. I did not know then his words would be prophetic. Who would think a physical education teacher would know how to pick out a great boxer? He did though and every time Pacman wins I know he is happy and proud because long before celebrities fly to the US to watch Pacman's game, my father watched his amateur bouts at home on his sister's old black and white television set even if it was way past his bedtime. Not caring that he had to make his lesson plan for the next day. He used to brag that one day that unknown teenager will be successful and he is right. He is still a fan who watches Pacman's games but now on a colored television with better reception courtesy of his satellite dish, lol. I am sure he will be thrilled when I tell him about this news. As a Filipino I am proud. After all, it is not everyday that a fellow Filipino gets to be included on Forbes' list :)

new orleans

2009-06-17T18:50:00.004-04:00

That is where my younger brother is headed right now. He is a seafarer whose boat he works in is sailing through Asia but for some reason is now in US soil, er sea. It is his first time to come and such a shame since he does not have a visa which means he can't even get out of the boat. He could have visitors for sure but we are far from New Orleans and we don't know how long they will be staying here. If only their route was in the Carolina areas it would have been fun. He sent me a text message earlier telling me of his location. I am waiting for his reply whether I can call him. I bet he is excited. This sure is unexpected.

shopped for jeans

2009-06-10T19:54:00.005-04:00

I went to Old Navy to buy two more denim jeans today. I would have wanted to buy khakis but I did not like the color of the ones left with my size, green and blue. There was one in white but I thought the cloth was too flimsy. So I settled for denim instead since I think I need more for the coming winter if we are going to be in the Midwest. I did not have to ask the husband for shopping money like I normally do. I used the money I won from the lottery scratch card I bought earlier. Or my part of the money, that is. I have to alter the length when I get new thread but that can wait. At least now I don't have to buy more jeans and I can send my old ones that don't fit to my cousins in Leyte. Everybody happy :)

diet woes

2009-06-09T09:56:00.004-04:00

With my unsuccessful attempts at losing weight, I am surprised I am still at it, lol. I have been doing the diet thing on and off for over two years after I gave birth to the little man. I am disappointed with the weight gain ever since and am trying to get rid of it hence the diet. The problem starts when I lost control of my appetite which is always the problem anyway. I have blamed it on giving birth, being on the pill, and all things except myself. Disgusting, aren't I? Well, I am at it again. Started yesterday with the hopes that this time I will be successful. And for back up, I even read a lot of slimming pills review so I have an idea what to expect should I have to use diet pills in the future. I am keeping my options open just in case. It won't hurt to try new things. A friend said she used diet pills for months after she gave birth and she looked good when we met. Maybe I will be lucky too.

something old

2009-06-06T08:00:00.004-04:00

We went to the stepdaughter's house to get our stuff which had been in her garage for months. We finally decided to get us a storage building and we are going to deposit everything we don't normally use on a daily basis there. We did it while her husband was there because most of the things we had in their garage are heavy. The husband could not lift anything due to his injury and I can only lift so much weight. The stuff are still in the trailer awaiting for the stepson to have time to unload everything. Anyway, I saw things I actually already forgot we have. Like the bikes which my first reaction was that it looked familiar, lol. And the little man's jogging stroller which we made good use for two years until he learned how to un-snap the belts. It was not a Bob stroller but it sure did help us a lot when we went walking during summer (even winter) on the beach. I thought about getting rid of it but the husband said to keep it and maybe give it to somebody else if they're interested. There were even paddles which for some reason the husband kept even if he sold the canoe that came with it a long time ago. We might have to post a lot of this items we no longer need on Craigslist one of these days. We tend to keep things more for sentimental reasons than monetary so we might not get much from it. I don't know what I will unearth when I start cleaning the closets.

communication

2009-06-05T10:10:00.004-04:00

Got to talk to the sister-in-law (little bro's wife) via yahoo messenger last night. We did not talk long though because she was trying to fix their computer's web cam and headset. I really wanted to see my niece who will be turning one year old this month. It was a shame she could not fix the web cam but she promised she will have a technician come over and fix whatever needs to be fixed so we can talk longer and more freely next time. We had our cam on though and the little man was doing all kinds of tricks to anybody who was interested to watch, lol. He would not budge when I tried to get him out of the chair so I let him play with my friend who was also online at the time. They were just exchanging audible and smileys and he was so tickled with that. Must have been because of the attention he got. She said this little boy is going to be a heart breaker :)

i love yard sales

2009-06-02T17:51:00.002-04:00

One of the things I love to do on weekends is to drive around looking for yard sales. I get a kick out of finding what I call treasures from rummaging through another person's belongings. The fact that most of this items are very cheap is an attraction by itself. Especially for people like me who loves a bargain. I share this interest with my sisters-in-law and mother-in-law. They have told me often enough that if we only live near them I could go with them on weekends and spend it yard saling as what they call it. It is fun and you will never know what you will find on yard sales. The only downside to this is that sometimes you could be driving for miles and not see a sign which is a total waste of time since most yard sales or garage sales are conducted in the mornings until early afternoon. And if you are late you will only get whatever the other yard salers did not like. Plus gas is getting expensive nowadays and driving around the neighborhood is no longer a luxury. So instead of driving around looking for yard sales it would be convenient to know where there is one, right? Which is why you should check out Garage Sales Tracker if you want to know ahead of time where a probable yard sale is at. All you have to do is key in your zip code and decide how far you are willing to go to find a yard sale and a list will appear. For added convenience to the buyer the site features driving directions, items for sale (so you will know what to expect), and you can even contact the seller in case you have questions. You can even find coupons in the GST site which I have already browsed over earlier in hopes of finding coupons for the items we need from the store. Coupons are a big help nowadays.

A word of advice, go early if you want to get the good deals. I have been late many times and I did not get anything good out of it quite literally and figuratively.

storage building

2009-06-02T16:07:00.003-04:00

We need to find a storage building as soon as possible. We have things in the house that needs to go since there is no room for them inside or outside. What's more, the landlady does not like anything, and I mean anything including the lawn mower, in the yard or anywhere near the premises. Tough luck, huh? But since we are good people *grin* and we want the place to be neat, we will just get us a storage place just like what we did before. This way when we have to move most of our things are already in boxes at the storage building which would only require for us to put them in the vehicle. Anyway, the husband is scouting for the best place. It has to be further inland in preparation for the hurricane season which incidentally started yesterday. I hope he will find a good deal.

replacement

2009-05-31T20:17:00.007-04:00

The little man loves it cold inside the house especially when he is asleep. There have been many times when he woke up screaming because his room was too hot for him which makes his head all sweaty. Anybody could tell he does not like it, lol. So when he took his nap this afternoon I made sure his room was cool enough for him to be comfortable. Since the husband said "we" all have to get used to the heat in preparation for our trip to visit my parents in Leyte, our AC is on 74-75 degrees most of the time. It is still cold for me but I guess it is hot for them. To make the little man's room cooler I had our old desk fan going because the ceiling fan on his room is not working. It needs to be replaced. I turned it on and off earlier but nothing happened. It is time to start looking for ceiling fans online so we can replace his old one. You see, his brother used that room when he was living with us. He might have tore it up and not tell us about it. Or maybe he told his father. I don't know. All I know is that it needs to be replaced right away to avoid trouble :)

window shopping

2009-05-27T16:34:00.004-04:00

Here I am with nothing else to do. I blame the rain, lol. The little man is asleep, the husband who got up a while ago is in the couch talking to his daughter, and here I am bored out of my wits. I want to go to the mall and window shop but I can't because it is raining and because the little man is asleep. I am dying to do something relaxing and fun. For those of you who don't know, window shopping is relaxing for me, lol. Since I can't go out I am shopping online. Or window shopping online if there is such a term. The things I have searched are just varied. I don't have anything specific in mind, just going from site to site to browse hoping for sales or discounts. I have been to different sites admiring lingerie items and reading reviews on colon cleanse products such as Colonix and more. I am going to try to search for toddler clothes and see what will come up. I might just find a site which sells clothes at affordable prices. Perhaps tomorrow the weather will be a lot better and I can go to the nearest mall. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

on computers

2009-05-22T20:38:00.004-04:00

I have been bugging the husband to buy a new cpu for our desktop computer. He knows how I loved the wide screen on our old computer yet he is not doing anything to fix it. It crashed about a year ago when his son opened sites he was not supposed to and he decided to let it go because he claimed he was tired of fixing it over and over again. When his son moved out I wanted the computer back and running again but he has gotten used to the laptop and he told me if he ever will fix the desktop computer again, he will buy new parts for it and he will assemble it himself. He said this is better than buying the whole thing from the store. I agree with him on that score because he assembled that old computer and it worked really good. He had everything in it including a video card so I can play my online games in it. I can't do that with my laptop and as fast as it gets, I still think our old desktop computer was quicker. It withstood the little man's turning it on and off but the viruses it got from certain websites killed it. How I wish to be able to use it again. Maybe soon.

fried

2009-05-18T16:01:00.003-04:00

It stormed the whole day yesterday here in the South. We thought it would just be a heavy downpour but it started to thunder and then a lightning struck just a few meters away from the house. The husband was in the carport talking to his sister on the phone while it happened. He said he did not even have the time to blink because it happened so quick. He said he saw yellow and orange light hit a branch on the neighbor's tree. I was in the computer and right at the same time the lightning struck my laptop give off electric shock which made me jump. The little man was with his sister-in-law in the couch and when I checked on him he was fine. He got quite for a while though but he went back to playing when he recovered from his shock. It was pretty loud. The television and the DVD player quit working for a few seconds then went back on again. The stepson ran outside to check on his father who was in shock. For a person who always warns me not to stay in an open field when it is storming, he clearly does not practice what he preaches. He said he did not have a clue it would happen. The lightning fried the modem for the internet. It also fried the charger to his laptop. Good thing we have the same brand and I am not using my other laptop so he is using my charger now. We don't have to buy a new charger as of the moment. The neighbors pretty much had it bad. The couple who live across the road said their washer and dryer quit working while the internet and cable on the house beside ours quit working. I have not checked our washer but I know the dryer is working. It was quite an experience and the husband has been telling people about his close encounter with lightning.

on looking good

2009-05-15T12:44:00.005-04:00

The last time I got on a weighing scale it showed I lost two pounds. That was after weeks of trying to cut back on food intake and doing some exercises here and there. It took time and effort and I am not very happy with the result. I am thankful it seemed like I lost weight (that is if our weighing scale is not broken) but I want to lose more pounds and the way it is working I am looking at a few more weeks to even shed another two pounds. Such hard work! I want to give up but I want to look good. This is the only thing I know how to lose weight without spending too much so I am doing this right now. At least I can stop looking for diet pills that work anymore. Although it is tempting to do the quickest way possible to lose weight. But as it is I can't afford to buy anything at the moment. I would rather spend the money for the little man's needs. I hope for more patience and perhaps faster metabolism. The pains of getting old, lol.

treat

2009-05-10T14:18:00.004-04:00

As treat for me on Mother's Day, the husband is driving me around to wherever I want to go. I am sure if I ask him to go to a buffet or any other restaurant for that matter he will agree. He is lucky I am on diet, lol. I just want to go to thrift stores to find shorts and shirts I can wear at home. I have not bought anything for a while and I am not ready to spend too much money on clothes so going to thrift stores is fine with me. I just want to get out of the house anyway. The little man loves to be out of the house as well, pointing at things he sees on the street and naming them.

While I was at one of the stores though nobody greeted me happy mother's day. None. The sales clerks were greeting everybody else even old ladies but not me. I bet they were wondering if I am a mom, lol. This is what happens when one is so short that people are afraid to say anything in case they don't hit the mark. I told the husband about my observation to which he only laughed. I have always had problems with people thinking I am too young maybe because of my height. I don't think I look that young anymore though. But I still get ID'd even when I buy lottery tickets. If they only know I am a decade older over the legitimate age to buy lottery tickets.

Anyway, to all mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day!

sold!

2009-05-02T15:49:00.004-04:00

I posted two brand new air conditioners on Craigslist today and it sold just minutes after the ad was up. The husband is happy and I want to sell more of our belongings, lol. The AC's were bought when one store had a huge sale last year. I wondered why the husband bought five window air conditioners and one huge one for inside the house when we only needed one. Now I know. It is an exhilarating feeling selling something online. We are pack rats and we have a lot of stuff in storage and in the house that we need to get rid of only we like to hang on to our stuff. The bad thing about having too many knick knacks though is it is a burden when we decide to move. We have been packing things that we are not using since we got married so I asked the husband if we can sell some of them. We agreed to start sorting through our things and sell what we are not using and those that we don't need. And believe me we have plenty of things we even forgot we have anymore. I let the husband get the money. What I want is to do the posting and waiting for prospective buyers to call.

insured

2009-04-24T18:58:00.003-04:00

After worrying about the little man's health insurance for months, I have heard good news from the mail today. The application for his health insurance is approved. That was after searching for different insurance online and asking relatives what to do. We are happy. We are hoping he will not have to use it though. We got him the insurance for just in case. He is a kid and they tend to get hurt or get sick and since he can't tell us much what is wrong we might have to go to the doctor. Now I will not get to upset when he is not feeling good. I still pray he will continue to be a healthy boy and not give me a scare. The husband said I am prone to panic and I must admit I am when it comes to this little boy.

nothing to do

2009-04-22T14:41:00.003-04:00

The husband has a doctor's appointment today but we decided not to go with him because it was at a hospital downtown. Parking is hard to find and there are a lot of people milling around. I figured it is safer for me and the little man to stay home and wait for him. I think I made the right decision since the little man crawled up in bed with me just a few minutes after his father left. It saved me from having to deal with tantrums had I decided we go with the husband. I do make some sound decisions sometimes, lol. And since the little man is asleep and the husband is not home yet, I am left with nothing to do except mull over what to eat for lunch and search online about liporexall for no apparent reason. Yeah, I am bored. I am happy when my cousin from Denmark called online but his internet connection is on and off and it is aggravating. Hays, I should just go ahead and eat so I will be ready in case the husband decides to go to the beach to walk. His doctor advised him to do some walking hoping it will do some good for his back. I sure will be happy when he gets to feeling better.