365 Creative Ways to say I LOVE YOU

Love is in the air...it's almost Valentines Day! It's the time when we express our love to our spouse. I'm sure it's not just on this day we express our love but 365 days x 3 right? Or maybe even more than that. Anyways, here are some creative ways to express your love to your HUbbies ( or wives if you're a male :) . I won't be giving 365 ideas but I'll just start off to get you thinking. Some of these ideas, I got from books and applied it, some ideas I got from my friends, some was done to me by my Hubby while others I did for my HUbby ( you get to be 100% creative esp. when you can't buy presents for your Hubby..hehehehe!). If you have your own creative ideas. PLease feel free to share them too.

Warning: Some of the ideas maybe too "corny" for you . But even how "corny" it may be, but if you mean it with all your heart, it'll give long lasting rewards in your marriage.

1) Leave love notes, poems in your spouse's wallet.

2) Post some heart shaped post-its everywhere in the bedroom (mirror, inside the closet, pc, toothbrust and etc) . Write on these notes.."I love you because...(all the reasons in the world why you love your spouse).

3) Send him an e-card on normal days.

4) Call him just to say you Miss him.

5) Make a Love Trail. Post a big "I Love You" poster on your front door , spread flowers. confetties from the front door to the room, inbetween are heartshaped posters on the floor with your love commitment written out.

6) Serve breakfast in bed with heart-shaped bread, morning note and all other paraphernalias :) .

7) Leave a love letter on the fridge or any place where your mate usually goes first thing in the morning.

8) Create a Love Letter Treasure Hunt. Write more than 5 love letters and hide them everywhere. Then ask your spouse to look for it with clues attached.

9) Give Love Coupons as gifts. For example, in about 10-15 blank call cards, write down all the 'gifts', 'rewards' your spouse can redeem at a certain time. i.e. " You're entitled for a dinner date with me on Feb 14, 2008", "Entitled to claim unlimited kisses. Hurry, offer claimable while supply lasts! " hahahah! You got the idea? something like that.

10) Give him a Body Spa, facial or massage. ( This is Janet's expretise, ask her of some easy do-it-yourself body spa recipe )

11) Make a voice tape/ message for your spouse telling him of your love, dreams and etc. This is best esp. when you or your spouse is away for a long time.

12) Set a romantic candlelight dinner. Nothing expensive, you just need some candles, food, a little music and a lot of LOVe.

13) Pray for your spouse ( with your spouse) thanking God for his/her life and all the other needs.

The list can go on and on...this is just for us to get started and be reminded to think of creative ways to make our days with our spouse more and more memorable.

May all of you have more blessed and romantic days ahead!

Note: I would appreciate if you could add more in the list...I need some more ideas here too!

I'm IN!!!

Yes, I'm IN....I'm monetizing my blog right now.

I've been thinking about this for a long time and finally, after thinking LONNGG and hard with all the pros and cons and stuff, I decided to give it a try. Then I asked permission or rather convinced my HUbby to allow me to monetize my blog. Then this afternoon, I was more motivated after I chatted with Janet where she gave me some helpful tips and encouragement. Thanks Jan! So, here I am now, excited, well motivated and ready to soar..hahaha!

The primary reason why I delayed in my decision to monetize my blog was TIME. I was afraid that if I get into this, I might end up being in the net the whole day. Currently, it seems that time is not enough to do all the things that I needed to do at home and stuff. But then now, I resolved that I'll just have to wake up earlier, set up a schedule and try to balance my time. Hmm... All the best to me!

Okay have to go now. I need to sleep early so I can wake up earlier so that tomorrow I'll have more time.........to blog. hahahha! Good nyt!

Word for the Day

Our Li'l girl never ceases to amaze us. I'm sorry for being redundant, if I've said this before.

We were all in the car and on our way home. Tricia, baby Lyle and I were seated at the back. Lyle was already so uneasy as we were in Tesco for quite a long time for we did our monthly grocery. Tricia was playing with Lyle, while Jesu and I were talking. Suddenly, Tricia said, "Amma, Lyle looks 'fe-rious' . " I was not so sure of what she was saying , if it was 'serious' or 'curious'. So, I asked, "What's that Trish?" "Lyle looks fe-rious!", she repeated. Still not sure, "Fe-rious? What does that I mean?", I asked her. I wanted to check whether she meant serious or curious. I know she knows the word serious, but not curious. Then she said, " Fe-rious, Amma, means Angry. Oh no! Jesu and I were shocked, she meant FURIOUS!...hahahah!! Such a big word for a small girl. Then I wondered, where she got that word when we rarely use that in conversations. Then I remembered that word comes out a lot from her storybooks. Wow! We could never underestimate the 'power' of books. I could really see Tricia's vocab widened because maybe we've been reading to her since she was 5 months old.

Haay.. speaking of books, I'm still thinking a lot of the books we saw last weekend. I hope we can get the set of Grolier Books. The 'Words, words,words" set where kids can get up to 6,500 useful words, I Wonder Why Series, would just be in time for her curious mind too (and oh not to forget our future chatterbox, Lyle), and the Children's Enyclopedia.

We're Back

Yes, we're back home now.

We had a great time with family and was able to accomplished our 'mission' which was to do Lyle's passport (more from My Li'l One) and my check up too.

The whole train journey was a breeze. Lyle was so cool while Tricia was so excited the whole time. When Tricia's excited, she'll be her bubbly self and couldn't keep still. She went up and down the bunks, danced on the aisle and noisily chatting away. Good I brought some coloring books for her, so there were also some quiet times for us when she did her coloring. ( More from Tricia's Diary)

When we arrived Taiping, it was already 12midnight. Amma ( my hubby's mom) didn't know we were coming. We wanted to surprise her. Our brother told her that a couple from JB are going to stay in the house for the night. So, when we came inside the house, Amma was jumping up and down with glee. Hahahha!

The rest of the days were spent doing our 'mission' and spending time with family. Of course I was able to eat most of the food from my wish list. Yum! THe only thing I wasn't able to eat was the Kuaytiaw Goreng, Popiah and pizza. But that's okay, if not then I would have some calorie overload over the weekend.

Tesco didn't have any MPH bookstore too but they had they Groiler's shop where they were offering excellent books for kids. It was really a book haven for Tricia. When we were there and the salesman was introducing their package, Tricia was with the other salespeople and 'reading' with them. Their books were just excellent but it was also quite expensive since they only sell in sets. I would say it's worth it but the problem is we don't have that much $$$. Hahahah! But I would really want to invest in good books just as how my Nanay did for us when we were still small. I remember that my favorite was the Children's Enyclopedia (24 volumes) and Book of Art (10 Volumes). And that was from Groiler's too. Anyways, when it was time for us to go from the shop, Tricia refused to leave. She also loved their books. Hmmm..what to do lah! hahahah! I myself couldn't stop thinking about the books and how to buy them. Hahahha! Why don't I monetize my blog and maybe earn extra cash? hmmm...esep, ...esep....but have to ask my friends first if they really do earn from this and how to do it...heheh!:) Calling Noemi, Janet and Ruby...need help! ;)

Okay have to go now..been babbling about different topics already. Still have to unpack.

Weekend in Malaysia

We're going to Taiping, Malaysia tomorrow! Yeah, we actually just decided on this a few hours ago because we found out that I needed to have a medical check-up urgently ( for insurance purposes) and the check up must be done in Malaysia.

We had an option to do it at the border and come back immediately but then we're worried about leaving Baby Lyle with my cousin for a long time because he has really been a cry baby lately. (Oh, we can't bring Lyle with us outside Thailand since he will only have emergency exit with no visa yet.) There was this time we left him with our friend and he was crying the whole time. Oh it just broke our hearts when we came home and he was sobbing. And we were just gone for 2 hours! So, I won't risk leaving him again because the whole border trip with the check up might take the whole day. Pity Lyle and pity the one who'll be watching him too!hehehe!

The trip to Taiping will just be in time too since Lyle's Ammachi ( Grandma) already missed him so much. ANd this time we'll need to get him a Malaysian passport so he could travel with us anytime.

I love going to Taiping (my Hubby's hometown). Aside from the loving family we have, the place is also beautiful. It's laidback. It's always cold since it rains all the time there. And you have to try bathing in Taiping water, it's icy cold! Nice!

Now, I'm already excited to meet the family, smell the Taiping fresh air, eat some Curry Mee, maybe go to Pizza HUt (yes, because their Pizza is much cheaper there than in Thailand), and guess what Tesco has opened in Taiping! I heard they have Secret Recipe inside Tesco too..wow!! I just love their cakes...so, which means I won't be thinking of my weight or diet or healthy food for the weekend lah! hahaha! So, it'll be an eat-all-you-can weekend! Eat-all-you can Roti, Apam, Poppiah, Kuaytiaw Goreng and etc..hahaha!! Anyways, I hope they also have MPH bookstore there. I'd like to get some books for the school, for Tricia and maybe for us too.

Okay, have to go now. Still have to pack our things. I just pray that we'll have a pleasant journey. We'll be riding the train. Tricia's sooo excited for the train ride but I hope Lyle can take the travel. Since it'll be his first time to travel 'abroad' ;)...

Good night for now and see you next week!

Weekend Snapshot 4

Yesterday we went to a trade fair called, IMT- GT International Fair. It exhibited different products from Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. Their displays and goods were beautiful.

The 'wyeing' statue, little girl with palms together. This is how Thai people greet each other.

This wind 'chime" caught my attention, it's nicely made.

Here they are all together. Nice to bring them all home.heheh!!

Everybody loves weekend, it is the time for leisure, recreation and other religious activities. And when everyone is having a grand time, you want to capture it and share it with others. That’s why Weekend Snapshot is here for you. Come and join the fun here.

The Chosen Son

Supposed to be posted last night.:)

Last night we went to a friends' house to celebrate the birthday of their 12 year old son. The son's name is Sam. Actually, he's not their real son nor January 3rd is his real birthday. Sam used to live in the streets ever since he was small. He doesn't know who his real parents are , as he and his siblings (who are all missing) were abandoned by their parents when they were young. Sam doesn't even know when is his real birthday. They just celebrate January 3rd as his birthday because that's the date when our friends got him, brought him home and treated him as thier own.

When I asked my friend why they decided to adopt Sam, she said that they want to share their blessings to others and they can do this by loving and taking care of a child who has never have a chance to experience all these in life. And I was just so touched and impressed by the way they show God's love, it's something that you could say that's for real and not just for show. Everytime we see this family with Sam we're just so blessed as how they treat him equally and even more special than the other children. His siblings extend their love and extra understanding to him too. He has a totally different background, worldview, value system and even maybe many traumatic experiences. The whole family had to make a lot of adjustments in their life, routine, finances and etc to welcome Sam in their lives.

I could just imagine, what if no one ever found Sam? He could still be in the streets now. What if they never came to a decision to accept him as he is and make him as their son? He could be involved with other things now and live a wasted life. He couldn't have experienced how it is to be loved and to be cared for by a family. Most of all, he could'nt have experienced the life changing power of our Lord, Jesus.

It's a blessing to see Sam changed. He's a totally different person now from the first time we saw him several months ago. He used to be very timid, shy and insecure. Now, he's very confident, secure and his joy is just contagious. He's quite a smart kid too. He hasn't experienced going to school or studying for the past 11 years in hus life. But when my friend taught him to read, he learned it fast and now he's reading everything from books to street signs.

My Hubby asked me this question again and again for 2 years now: Can we adopt a child? It's also his desire to bless other children. My answer would be," if God tells me so, then I will. " But honestly, I think I'm not ready for this kind of call. I know it entails a lot of adjustments, a lot of sacrifice and etc. Or maybe I'm not called to serve in this way. I don't know. But as what I said, if God tells me, then I will do it for I know if He calls, he will enable. But as for now, I'll have to pray for more strength and grace to take care of my two kids. Even as of now, I would want to say..huhuhuh! Two is enough! It is finished!...hahahah!!

Party Pictures

Tricia with her 'grown up' friends

The birthday boy. When his Mom asked him who he wants to invite for his party, he specifically asked our family to be there. So sweet of him!

Tricia with David ( Sam's brother). They said they're going for shopping.

Sam's Dad, Mom and sibling..and oh, that's my son they're holding. :)

By the way, please pray for Sam's processing of documents too. The process is a bit complicated since Sam is considered "invisible" in Thailand as he doesnt' have any documents and his parents are nowhere to be found. It's a challenge for the family and they even have to sacrifice going back to US as they don't want to leave Sam alone. They can only go back home to US once Sam gets all his paperwork is done.

Year 2008

I've been tagged by Janet on my Resolutions for 2008. Thanks Jan!

Yes, the New Year has come and once again it's time for our resolutions. I can't remember if I had any last year. But this year, we surely have quite a number since we made some realizations from our 2007 experiences that made as pause and say, we need to make some changes in 2008.

Here are some on our list:

1) Be more organized. From our overstay experience and my family's one-day delay flight experience(singapore-cebu) we learned our lesson :we have to be more organized again; organize our days, make schedules and put everything into writing (due dates, arrival and departure of visitors, meetings, and etc.) This also applies to organizing the things in the house, you can imagine how cluttered our house is; we were searching for our battery charger for weeks and found it just inside one of the baskets (under the stairs). We were a bit more organized a several months before, but with the baby's arrival everything has changed. Now, we won't have any more excuses as the baby has a more predictable routine and we have quite adjusted well already.

2) Strive to be fit and healthier. Hmmm...is this us talking or what? hahaha! I know many (esp. my family) will be quite doubtful on this resolution, but we are STRIVING. Hahahah! For many days now Jesu and I have been exercising. Then, I already have posted a big sign on our fridge: NO COKE allowed inside! hahahaha! (am I for real?). Instead, we'll only be drinking fruit/vegetable juices. Yes, 3 boxes of that are inside our fridge now. We came to this realization (finally!) that we're not getting any younger and we must take care of ourselves. In other words, we've already felt the signs of ageing..hahahah!

3) Spend more quality time as a couple. We've been doing this regularly but somehow when people come ( visitors from other countries) our routine gets disrupted and my Hubby becomes so busy and we even don't have time to talk much. To achieve this, we added a time for us as a couple. Every morning, while all kids are still asleep, we'll try to have breakfast together, spend time in prayer and talk. We didn't use to eat breakfast together as we wake up at different times. We also have tea-times now. During some days, whenever my Hubby comes back home early we make it a point to have tea and talk with our little girl who's a tea lover (as she said, she's an Indian that's why she likes tea. Hmmpp..bantay lng ka mangayo ka ug Kape sa ako ha?)

4) Go out more and meet new friends/neighbors. This is only applicable for me since my husband has already mastered the art of making friends..hehehe! I'm quiet a shy person but it's a must for me to go out, meet some of our neighbors to simply make friends and practice my Thai too. I've made quiet a lot of friends from our old neigborhood but not much in this area since I seldom go out. Reason?? Contented to chat with family and friends and oh, blogging too. hehehe!

5) Last but not the least, try to save up money for Philippines Homecoming 2008! This means, I need to cook more often so, we eat out less and therefore, we can save. Most of our expenses go to food shops and restaurants. We just love to eat out. It's one of our outlets and our way of unwinding but I think, we can still achieve that here in our house. Just need to be more creative and motivated to cook everyday. If we eat out less, we don't just save money but we also have healthier food alternative...imagine the amount of calories for pizzas, burgers, and of course coke?!

So, that's our list of realizations and resolutions for 2008. Have a blessed 2008 everyone!

Balulang :(

There was this time that I missed home so much that I asked my family to send me pictures of the kids, our house, the river near our house and etc.

So, finally today I received the photos and when I saw it, I missed home more and more. I showed the photos to my HUbby and he also felt the same way.

Our home is like a like refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city life. It's a place of rest and relaxation. Oh how I miss the rushing sound of the river which can be heard all day long. How I miss the times when I wake up every morning and feel the crisp,cool morning air. I could remember my unhurried breakfasts in our dining area and just enjoy the scenery outside. How I miss to see the swaying of the trees and tall grasses. How I miss to see the chameleon who'll be showing itself at the river banks from time to time. No matter how we much we disturb him, he'll just be still and go away on its own will. How I miss the TUkkko sound which the giant gecko (?) makes every night. How I miss the cold during the rainy season and the wind during the summer.

Cagayan River as seen from our house.

Used to bathe here when we were small. Now, I'm not sure if the water is still clean.

Our humble abode

Most of all , how I miss all my family residing in that compound. Both my sisters' houses are just a stone throw away and when we're out of load (cellphone load) we'd just shout and call them out ( hahahah! mga taga bukid gyd!) without worrying about disturbing our neighbors as they're far away.

My family during NEw Year 2008

Haaayyyy.... I miss home...I miss my family .....hope Christmas and New Year 2008 will come fast..heheheh!!

*Photos courtesy of Emmanuel Acedillo (my bro-in-law) . Thanks Man for taking your time in taking the pictures even to the point of almost being bitten by a snake. hehehhe!

Christmas On The Street

With Thailand only having 2 % Christians (not sure of the current statistics), Christmas is not such a big deal here like back home. Christmas celebrations are limited in the churches and a few homes. December 25th is even a working day. So, when we heard that there'll be a Christmas Program at the city center, our family was happy, took the opportunity and went. It felt so good to hear Christmas carols, see all the presentations and even the street was very well decorated.

These girls are soo cute and they dance so well.

All these decorations are in the middle of the street. They purposely closed down the street for this event.

Everybody loves weekend, it is the time for leisure, recreation and other religious activities. And when everyone is having a grand time, you want to capture it and share it with others. That’s why Weekend Snapshot is here for you. Come and join the fun here.

Birthday Surprise

It was my Hubby's 32nd birthday yesterday! It was such a blessed and special day for us.

In the morning, Tricia and I surprised him with his birthday cake and gift. Good thing that Tricia woke up early and was not moody but cooperated well on my plan. So, I told her of our plan to go to the room and sing songs for her Appa. With a smile on her face, she sleepily nodded so, I lighted the birthday candles and we went slowly inside the room. And when we were going in, tada! we were the one who got surprised as my Hubby was already awake and going out of the room ( I thought he was still asleep).

So, with me bringing the cake and Tricia clutching the gift, we immediately sang, Here I am to worship ( it's the only worship song that she knows how to sing from beginning to the end). Tricia looked so cute singing and looking at her teary eyed Appa. Then, we sang Happy birthday and Appa blew the candles on the cake. I bought the magic candles (the type of candles that lights up again and again even after several puffs) and our li'l girl was laughing and giggling everytime the candle lights up again. Then after all the thank you's, hugs and kisses, Tricia prayed for Appa.

My Hubby was indeed surprised and he also didn't expect to receive a gift from me as I already apologized to him earlier for not giving him a gift ( drama lang gud :) ). But it really is a challenge to buy a gift secretly for someone who's always with you. Need to plan everything well and even do some acting sometimes..hehehe!

Anyways, and then for his birthday treat, I already arranged beforehand our "date". The last time we went out just the two of us was last October when family was around but that was only for a short time since it was too late at night. Back to the birthday date, thank God for friends who are so ever willing to take care of the kids just for us to spend time alone together. Thank God that Tricia agreed (after so much of convincing and bribing) to go out with her Ninong Junjun to go to Diana, Tesco and Carrefour ( yes, mallhopping to buy us a lot of time for our date) while Baby Lyle is with his Ninang Litlit. Praise God for Ninangs and Ninongs. Thanks Jun! Thanks Ate Lit!

My Hubby and I indeed had a great time together. We went to Lee Gardens and had dinner at Sizzler's. We felt like boyfriend and girlfriend again. Imagine, going out without kids tagging along. We enjoyed talking and eating leisurely without having to reprimand someone, " Tricia, sit down please.", "Chew and swallow your food" or think about the baby, "do you think he needs milk?", " I think he needs to change diapers" and etc. It was actually quite awkward and new...hahaha!! We also enjoyed the "unlimited" HHWW (Holding Hands While Walking) and HHWWPSP( Holding Hands While Walking and Pa Sway-sway Pa) because with kids our hands will be usually full and less chance to HHWW. It was indeed a good time for us and we just extremely enjoyed it and looking forward for the next 'date'.

So, that was my Hubby's birthday suprise and I'm glad that he was so happy and kept thanking me for making his birthday special.

* Sorry, no photos. I really forgot to bring the camera. Sayang! Maybe I was just too excited like a school girl on her first date. heheh!

My Delayed Christmas Blog

Finally, I have the time to sit down and write my Christmas entry. A lot of things happened first before Christmas like our Overstay-Border run Experience, Village party and etc. but for now, I'll just have to write about our Christmas Eve (Filipino style) first.

Aside from our family and our Anneh's family, we only invited two couples who're very close to us, since we'll be hosting another Christmas dinner on the following night.

So, our friends started coming at 7:30 and we started out with dinner at 8:00 pm. We had Indian and Filipino/American dishes for dinner. I didn't cook the Indian dishes as it might turn out to be a Pindian Dish. So, our Akka, a real Indian cooked the Indian dish and indeed it had that authentic taste. Yum! I just made lasagna, brownies and roasted chicken while my cousin made eschabeche (sweet and sour fish).

After dinner, we had worship and sang songs to Jesus, the Reason for the Season. We had a good time of worship. Then we asked each one to take turns in sharing one of the many things that we are thankful to God for the year 2007. Guess what I was thankful for the year 2007...hmmm...of course, the birth of our precious baby boy. Others shared about how God protected them, provided for them, or giving them the desires of their hearts.

Rajah Anneh thanking God for protection during the car accident they had

Sak thanking God for His continuous provision

Then we had gift giving. We're supposed to have 'exchanging of gifts’ but since almost everyone has a present for everybody, then we decided to cancel it and call it gift giving instead. Or I think, that's what we did is the REAL exchanging of gifts. Anyways, we made it in such a way that whoever is going to give the gift for must describe the receiver in two words first before giving it...so, there were descriptions like Miss Universe, Miss SS (secret!), Joker Sak, smiling buddha, 10 years younger (oh, that’s more than two words) and etc. :)

Then, the most exciting part of the program came, and that is the opening of gifts! There was this one girl who was the happiest of all because she got her wishes fulfilled. She's non other than my Li'l girl. She got a pair of rabbits from her Ninong Junjun and an electronic keyboard from..guess who? :) wow! she was just so happy when she saw her rabbits. She ended up praying " Lord, thank you for my rabbits. I'm so happy Lord. I like it so much!" I just hope her rabbits will survive this time. I think they will since they are bigger rabbits now.

Tada!!! Two cutee rabbits!!

Tricia praying and thanking God for her rabbits.

Everyone agreeing in her cute prayer.

Careful with the rabbit, please..

All of us got so much of presents and we all were just saying ... wow! ..wow! ..wow! .. everytime we opened the gifts. :)

Then, after all the excitement, we had coffee break and just waited for 12midnight to strike and talked, talked, talked ..and at 12 midnight..this is what happened....




Well..we had indeed had a blessed and FUN Christmas Eve! Hope you all had a blessed Christmas and wishing you all a fruitful new year!!

Christmas rush, guests..

Today will be the start of our busy days ahead..guests are coming so we'll be busy entertaining them, busy eating out, busy going around the city and etc..yehey!

So, I think I'll have to disappear for awhile and be back soon. Or maybe I'll do have some free time to blog later. Well, we'll see.

Have a Blessed Christmas to all of you!

Christmas Lists

Finally, I had the time (and mood) to sit down this evening and made my Christmas lists and things-to-do-list. It was just today that I realized that we don't have much time to do our Christmas stuffs since family from Malaysia will be coming over next week!! On top of that we'll be organizing the party for the kids at the village. We must finish everything we have to do before guests arrive so, we'll just relax and enjoy the time spent with them. So, this afternoon, my mind was swirling because it seems we're running out of time and 1) our second batch of Christmas cards to be sent are not yet done. 2)I don't have a specific list yet of who to give what for Christmas 3) I still don't know what food to prepare for that day (especially we'll be the one hosting the dinner for the whole family), and last but most importantly, I don't have any idea how much we'll spend for everything or if we even have a budget for it...hahahah!

So as a natural born planner, the only time I would feel peaceful or at ease is when I sit down and take time to write things out; names, gift items, menus, program, time and yes, COSTS. And after writing down all these, I indeed felt better. I felt more accomplished and very organized after a very long time of not holding a pen and planner (and not to mention thinking!) . So like a professional event coordinator, I laid down all the plans, lists and schedules to my Manager/Boss (hahaah! no other than my dear husband). He was nodding and was just saying yes, yes, and yes! to all the lists and plans. Hmmm..I should have added my Christmas wish list too. But surprisingly after all Christmas plans and lists are settled and finalized, he asked me what are my top 3 Christmas wish list? "Wow, so you're going to give me all 3 gifts for Christmas?", I jokingly asked. I already know what our Christmas budget is like so, even if he will say yes to all my top 3 wish list, I would still insist on 1 gift...hahaha! that's me, I'm the very practical (a.k.a thrifty) wife. Anyway, I told him of my wish list and of course wish no. 1 is granted...hahaha!! Sorry, I can't tell what that my No. 1 wish is. Secret!

So anyway, back to our Christmas plans. For our gift giving to our friends here, I still stick to giving homemade edible stuffs just like what I've been doing for the past 2 years. It saves time and energy cracking our heads what to give to this friend, whether he/she will like it or not, whether he/she will use it not and etc. Just as what Flylady advices, give gifts that are clutter-free, so the edible stuffs fall in that category. Two years ago, I made some homemade cookies, packaged it nicely and gave to neighbors and friends. Last year, I made some brownies. And maybe this year, I'll stick to brownies since I've had friends who really loved it and even requested me to give them more! hehehe! For our Christmas Eve plan, we're going to have a Filipino Noche Buena even if I'll be the only Filipino around in the family (oh, I have a cousin here so that makes two of us). Our theme color will be Green/Red so everyone must wear that color. We'll be exchanging gifts too!yehey!

Haaay, writing about this now just made me reminisce of our Christmases with my family in the Philippines. I find our Christmases really special and memorable (Senti time...huhuhuh!) In our family, we usually have a theme for our Christmas party and once there was a time that our theme was Formal Dinner. So all of the ladies (including our guests) wore evening gowns with make up and the guys wore Barong Tagalog or suit. Then we turned off all the lights and had candle light dinner. We were all laughing and teasing how each one looked. Some wore their prom dress, wedding gowns and Wedding Barong..hhahhaha! You could just imagine that our neighbors must be wondering why everyone who goes into our small house wear gown and barong tagalog. That was really memorable and fun! Not to mention I also had a blooper that time but it's too embarrassing for me to write. If my sister is reading this, I'm sure she'll burst out laughing coz she'll remember what that was.

Anyways, before I recall and write all my past Christmases, I have to stop now and start doing what I'm supposed to do...what am i supposed to do now? let me check my planner first..hehehe! (feeling organized lang na) ..but wait, it's already 1:30 am so, I better sleep first and continue with the card writing tomorrow. Good nyt!

Driving 101

..it's a productive weekend after all!

After my lazy Saturday and Sunday morning, things got started to spruce up in the afternoon. I came across this website which helps in making the house organized, getting rid of clutter and etc. so, I got motivated again to just get up and do some things productive.

Then in the evening, my Hubby told me that it's time for driving practice. Uh oh! So, he was really serious to start driving practices every weekend. My cousin came over too, because he asked him to take care of Lyle while we're out. So, no excuse to back out. Hmmm..smart!

So Day 1 for driving practice officially started. Actually, I was driving before ( year 2000) in the Philippines for a few months but somehow stopped. I didn't see the need for me to drive then because we had a lot of drivers ( my father & bro) at home and it's a much better view to be on the passenger seat. And now, I totally lost all my confidence to drive by myself. It was just lately also that I was able to learn to ride the motorbike.

Anyways so we came out of the house and immediately, my hubby gave me the car keys and asked me to reverse the car to get it out from our garage. "But our neighbor's car ( a new silver Honda Vtec) is near our area!", I hesistated. hahahah ! It just proved my cowardice. " Don't worry!, It should be ok" , my Hubby reassured me. So, slowly I reversed the car and thankfully was able to get out and didn't hit our neighbor's car. Then we went out of our muban (subdivision) and then went to another place where the road is ideal for driving practice. It's a long road, wide, with curves, humps, deep puddles and less traffic. Yeah, it's ideal because you'll need to change gears often because of the humps and puddles which is good. Surprisingly, the farther I drove, the more confident I become. After we circled that long road, my Hubby told me to drive to the market. "Okay", I said calmly but my neck and back were so stiff already from being 100% on guard. "Oh no! The market place would be more crowded", I thought. So off we went to the market place and on the way, there were more people (who walk at the middle of the road) , motorbikes (which can't wait for their turn) and cars (which tail me so closely..haaayy!). I was getting a little bit panicky but good my instructor was just so calm and confident as if he thinks I'm already an expert driver. I even forget which gear I am in already! I'm very forgetful these days and I always forget whether I'm in the 1st gear, 2nd gear or 3rd gear. So, my instructor has to be the one to remind me of my gear. Then thankfully, the parking ( which I feared most) was a breeze since there were no other cars parked at the side of the road (yes!). So, we parked and went inside the market and bought some fish and vegetables and went back home safely. Thank God! It was indeed a great relief to back home and I came down from the car with a BIG smile on my face. I did it!!

Because of that pleasant driving practice experience, I'm now VERYYY motivated to really practice more. My 'instructor' told me that my steering is good, I just need to practice my gears and clutch then 3 more sessions and I'll be able to drive on my own. Really???!!! hehehe! So, I told him that by the 25th of December, I'll drive by myself and that'll be one of my Christmas gifts for him..hheheh! Is it possible? I hope so.. I hope my motivation won't waver. I'm now looking forward for another practice next week. Where would our next destination be? What about Carrefour? I need to master that road because for sure that'll be our future destination..heheh!! Now, I'm already dreaming of the time when I can bring Tricia and Lyle (maybe when he's a bit older) out whenever we're bored in the house. It'll also be very helpful for us whenever my Hubby will be out of town, we won't just get stuck in the house and be counting the hours, minutes and seconds when he'll be coming back but can be very mobile and go WHEREVER we want to go. ...I'm sure you know where that'll be :)

'twas a Busy Wednesday..

..that explains why I was not able to blog yesterday.

Yesterday was the King's birthday so, it was a holiday! With a new baby, Holidays these days are no longer spent in going out (as it will so crowded everywhere too) but we'd rather spend it at home with family.

So, from morning till the afternoon my hubby and I cleaned and rearranged our Dining and kitchen area. Good thing, Lyle was just sleeping the whole afternoon and I still even had a bit of time to start writing on the Christmas cards that we'll be sending to friends. But then evening came and we remembered that friends were supposed to have dinner with us in the house. We didn't have much time left to prepare so, we thought why not try our 'steamboat & grill" set given to us by our friends a year ago and just buy the seafood plate set in Carrefour. And indeed I didn't regret that we decided to do that because it's hassle free and not to mention cheaper too.

Imagine, all we just did was buy the seafood plate set, beef, fruits and coke and cooked rice. Within minutes, everything was ready. We also enjoyed grilling, cooking our own food while we talked and talked. I guess we should do this more often when we invite friends to the house especially these days when I don't have much time to cook. Thanks to our Indonesian friends who gave us the steamboat& grill set!

Missing Z....

" Amma, when I close my eyes, I see Z's face. Do you see Granny your Mother when you close your eyes too?" Tricia once said and asked a few nigths ago. Z is Tricia's cousin, who was here just about 3 weeks ago. And I think she's missing him without her realizing it. From time to time she would mention his name and remember him whenever she eats the jelly they used to eat together. There were good times for them as well as bad times as it's normal for kids to fight. They'll fight but them be giggling again the next minute and are like bestfriends! This is the beauty of children, they never hold grudges like adults..hehehe!

Now back to Tricia and Z. I could still remember their reaction the first time they saw each other at the airport. They ran to each other, were so happy and immediatly held each others hands. They looked so cute! Then, they continued to hold hands from the airport's arrival area, crossed the street, ...all the way to the parking lot until they have no choice but to let go since they have to get inside the car. Then, on the way, Z was trying to talk to Tricia but in our dialect (Bisaya) . So, his mom told him, " Speak English Z kay dili man makasabot si Tricia" Speak English because Tricia won't be able to understand you". But as 'show -off' as she is she showed off her very limted bisaya and asked Z.."Unsa imong ngalan?" What is your name?" hahahah!

During the first few days together, we really didn't have any problems with them. There fights only started on the 3rd or 4th day. I think they were too bored also, as we adults didn't really give them any activities to do as we were also busy chatting and doing our own thing.

Anyway, here are more pictures of Z and Tricia. It's not just Tricia missing Z but all of us here too (even his Teacher jun2). I miss his cute, chubby hands tightly holding mine whenever we are in the mall. I miss his " whatever to you!' line whenever he rans out of English words or couldn't understand what Tricia is saying. I miss his curly black hair and pouting lips whenever his angry. But to Z, we'll see you at the end of 2008 or maybe 2009.