Saturday, December 29, 2007

8 things to look out for in 2008

And so this is Christmas and what have you done, another year over a new one just began.....
The song is very appropriate looking back at the year about to close, we as a family have a lot to be thankful for, we were able to accomplish a lot of things:

a.) Go on holiday together - since I have never been to Disney it was both a dream come true for me and my son.

b.) Having a car- in our long stay in the states we finally have a car that we can call our own.

c.) Growing up - seeing our son grow up and interact with other kids.

It seems like a short list but I am not a true believer of the " New Years Resolution", I mean why would you make a long list of 20 things to do when you can only really promise to do 5 at most. I am not talking about those lists were you promise yourself a trip to the Bahamas, diving with sharks in South Africa etc. I am thinking about the tangible everyday stuff that we do.

For the coming year I am expecting the following and hoping to do each in turn:

1.) Getting my driver's license

2.) Celebrating our 7th year wedding anniversary

3.) Moving to a bigger and better place.

4.) Preparing for a bigger family with our second child.

5.) Reuniting with my in-laws

6.) My son going to school for Kindergarten

7.) Getting our papers approved

8.) Paying off all our debts.

It is not an exhaustive list just some stuff that I know will make a major impact in our lives this coming year, through all the blessings that we received there is only one above us who we will
always be thankful for, Almighty God.

Hoping that the coming year bring you good fortune and the blessings of God.

The right to bear arms

Under the Second Amendment of the U.S. constitution " A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Has never been more important to me than a fortnight ago.

I am talking about self protection and preservation, a couple of days ago one of our neighbors was coming home to celebrate Christmas with her family she was just getting out of her car when a man assaulted her at gun point and demanded her purse, the man also asked for her keys and decided to take her car as well, the time of this incident was around 9:30 pm in the parking area of the apartment complex, they lived just a couple of doors from our place.

My hubby relayed this news to me after coming home and seeing our neighbors from other apartments talking about the incident, what got me mad was that our apartment complex had not sent out letter talking about these events.

I talked it over with my husband and we decided that it would be best to look for a different place when our lease is over, before we heard about this incident we were undecided if we wanted to continue our lease but now we are more than willing to leave and look for a better place.

I would argue that sometimes even if the area looks peaceful one cannot be too sure of the surroundings and people in general. This brings me to the point of my hubby probably going overboard with the idea of buying (in his words):

a.) A handgun - Well technically not a handgun but I guess this one will scare the lights out of anybody.

b.) A Taser - great for stopping the occasional cow, bull or aggressive date.


c.) A Wakashi Blade - this will be for close quarters combat, old school but very effective.



I am not a stranger to guns as my father had a couple and my hubby is not new to them because in his mind he assumes that playing Call of Duty qualifies him as an expert. Needless to say I guess this curtails my hubby's night outs with his friends.

In closing I will always remember this view from our living room:

The Pool, Clubhouse and Tennis Court

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Joyeux Noel

We woke up late on Christmas day as we had spent the previous night with some friends celebrating and catching up on each others respective lives, we saw no need to wake up early
because we had already gone to Church on Christmas Eve.

I enjoyed the company of my family as it was a holiday and my hubby cooked lunch for me and it was a welcome sight to actually see him trying to avoid being hit by bubbling oil from the pan, he looked silly at best but as he was determined to eat, he braved the occasional hazards of cooking.

We did not have any gifts for each other this Christmas as we opted to prioritize some of the stuff that we needed for the apartment and the coming of our second child. My husband did get his wish of getting a game console (Many thanks to his co workers) and my son got a couple of things including a bicycle.

Early evening we decided to go out and watch a movie (National Treasure: Book of Secrets), all in all it was an amazing film, with enough information that piqued the interest of the viewer and some moderately good piece of action to whet the appetite. My son did not like the film while my husband was 50/50 as he said "It sort of resembles an Indiana Jones movie/ mystery novel".

Since we are on the topic of history, did you know that contrary to popular belief, Christ may not have been born on December 25 because if it was that time of month, the bible narrative of shepherds tending their sheep would be incorrect as at that time it would have been too cold, also Dec. 25 coincided with the annual festival of the sun in the Roman religion before it Rome adopted Christianity as its official religion. Constantine the great adopted most of the pagan religions and placed Christian religious observance on the same dates. (According to my hubby)

So that is how we spent our Christmas day, it was a time well spent with family.

Expecting the Unexpected

On my second visit to my OB-GYN and Perinatologist, I was given the news that I was doing okay with my pregnancy, currently on my 13th week the baby was doing fine and I should just watch my weight because apparently I have gained 5 pounds in one month, so I guess it is imperative that I cut back on my carbs and have more protein in my diet. This is the same thing my hubby is doing as he is now seriously (with a capital S) going to the gym, I hope he is not doing this to impress other girls but to stay healthy.

I also had a second peek at the baby by my specialist when they did a sonogram, and the most amazing thing happened, the baby nodded its head and waved its hand. This was a surprising turn of events but unfortunately my hubby was not there to witness this as he was with my son and they had gone to get some breakfast at mickey Ds.



Well thats all I have in terms of an update, the following pictures are from that sonogram.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

My two cents and one peso.

HAY BUHAY AMERICA TALAGA

Akala ng mga tao na nasa Pilipinas
kapag
nasa America ka akala nila madami ka ng
pera. Ang totoo, madami
kang utang, dahil credit card lahat ang
gamit mo sa pagbili mo ng mga gamit mo.
Kailangan mo gumamit ng credit card
para
magka-credit history ka,
kase pag hindi ka umutang o wala kang
utang, hindi ka pagkakatiwalaan ng mga
kano . Pag wala kang credit card, ibig
sabihin wala kang kapasidad magbayad.

Akala nila mayaman ka na kase may kotse
ka na. Ang totoo, kapag hindi ka bumili
ng kotse sa America
maglalakad ka ng milya-milya sa ilalim
ng init ng araw o kaya sa snow. Walang
jeepney, tricycle o padyak sa America .

Akala nila masarap ang buhay dito sa
America . Ang totoo, puro ka trabaho
kase pag di ka nagtrabaho, wala kang
pangbayad ng bills mo sa kotse, credit
card, ilaw, tubig, insurance, bahay at
iba pa. Hindi ka na pwedeng tumambay sa
kapitbahay kase busy din sila
maghanap buhay pangbayad ng bills nila.

Akala nila masaya ka kase nagpadala ka
ng picture mo sa Disneyland, Seaworld,
Six Flags, Universal Studios at iba
pang attractions. Ang totoo, kailangan
mo ngumiti kase nagbayad ka ng $70+
para
makarating ka dun, kailangan mo na
naman
ang 10 hours na sweldo mong
pinangbayad sa ticket.

Akala nila malaki na ang kinikita mo
kase dolyar na sweldo mo. Ang totoo,
malaki pagpinalit mo ng peso, pero
dolyar din ang gastos mo sa America.
Ibig sabihin ang dolyar mong kinita sa
presyong dolyar mo din gagastusin.
Ang P15.00 na sardinas sa Pilipinas
$1.00 sa America , ang isang pakete ng
sigarilyo sa pilipinas P40.00, sa
America $ 6.50, ang upa mo sa bahay na
P10,000 sa Pilipinas, sa America
$1,000++.

Akala nila buhay milyonaryo ka na kase
ang ganda ng bahay at kotse mo. Ang
totoo milyon ang utang mo. Ang bago
mong
kotse 5 taon mong huhulugan. Ang
bahay 30 taon mong huhulugan. Ibig
sabihin, alipin ka ng bahay at kotse
mo.

Madaming naghahangad na makarating sa
America . Lalo na mga nurses, mahirap
maging normal na manggagawa sa
Pilipinas. Madalas pagod ka sa trabaho.
Pag dating ng sweldo mo, kulang pa sa
pagkain mo. Pero ganun
din sa ibang bansa katulad ng America .
Hindi ibig sabihin dolyar na ang
sweldo mo, yayaman ka na, kailangan mo
ding magbanat ng buto para mabuhay ka
sa
ibang bansa.

Isang malaking sakripisyo ang pag alis
mo sa bansang
pinagsilangan at malungkot iwanan ang
mga mahal mo sa buhay.Hindi pinupulot
ang pera dito o pinipitas. Hindi ako
naninira ng pangarap, gusto ko lang
buksan ang bintana ng katotohanan.


*************************************************************************************

The following comments are in no way demeaning but are just a response to the above observations that were emailed to me by other people.

First of all the description of Filipino life in the states as based on these observations hold some measure of truthfulness. I tend to agree that our fellow kababayans have a "Hollywood misconception" of life here, this mainly because the media paints such a rosy picture of life here that people instantly equate America with the land of milk and honey.

The facts are clear that in America one can better oneself to certain degrees and variances, allowing for a certain period of adjustment and hardship, let us be frank unless you came to America already with money (which would be the case if you were a croney of past or present administrations) then usually you started life just like every other immigrant who came to this land, down at the bottom.

The measure of your success here is measured by your ability to improve your situation by hard work, I agree with the comments that money in the states is not picked off a tree or found on the wayside it is made with sweat and sometimes tears. I remember that it took us about a couple of years to adjust to the brutal realities of life in America but the things that we went through made us push harder to succeed.

I also agree that most if not all material possessions in the states are either a lease or loan, as nobody unless they already have money, can afford to pay cash, which is not bad in itself but because the economy functions on credit, your history in paying off those debts counts as much as having the ability to pay them.

I am not saying you can't live a frugal life in America and have a lot of spare change but at one time in your life you had to go thru growing pains here in the states. I would like to end by saying that if somebody tells you that so and so have got it good in the states think about the sacrifices those people make in working their a## off!

The Night Before Christmas

"Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring except for 4 adults and one notoriously upbeat child." My husband had come home from work at around 3:30 in the afternoon, and after doing some preparation we proceeded to church for the Christmas Eve mass.

We had left the apartment early as we correctly assumed that there would be a lot of people going to church at 5:30 pm there was of course another service at around 11:00 pm but this would mean that people having had dinner with friends and relatives and having imbibed a few drinks would be willing to get up and go to for ministry. The parking lot was madness with vehicles parked in unlikely positions, the inside of the church was also jam packed with people and to top it off, Aidan chose that moment to sleep, poor hubby had to carry him during the whole mass, thank goodness he started going to the gym as he was not fatigued by the experience.

One of my hubby's friends, Venkat, called up to say that he was starting on his way to our apartment, and the call came at the right time as mass had just ended and we where on our way back to the apartment. Once we got home we wasted no time in setting up the settings and cooking the food we were serving our guests.

I can safely say that my cooking was more than satisfying to my hubby's friends, I can of course
never compare my food to the creations of Emeril or a Wolfgang Puck but it if satisfied two people then I am at least satisfied with my efforts.


We spent the night talking about stuff and to our surprise, Venkat gave Aidan a bicycle for a Christmas gift, it is a very good gift because it would at least give Aidan a chance to play outside when the weather permits, and with supervision.







Aidan also opened our gift to him which was a Buzz Light Year Train set, it consists of 4 boxcars and about 14 ft. of tracks which you can configure to whatever shape you want, unfortunately there was not battery included for the trains so we would need to purchase them later.








Christmas eve was spent with friends and family, we got to enjoy the look of Aidan opening his gifts but the only thing is that when we asked Aidan if Santa gave him the gifts, he replied "No it was you Mommy", it looks like there will be no fooling this kid when he grows up.

So to everyone out there let us wish you all the love and warmth that friends and family bring together in this time of year.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

A pleasant surprise


Saturday came bright and early when I was woken up by a loud noise from the front door, as I was curious I went out of the room and found my husband holding a package in his arms. It was a gift given by my friend, Marilen. I asked my husband to open it and was surprised and delighted at the contents, this package salvaged what would have been the previous nights anxiety.

You see I had spent the night in a dismal way as my husband had come home late from his department Christmas party. I wanted to tuck myself in early for the night but because he was not home yet, I had to wait for him to come home.

So long story short he comes home and quite pleased with himself started recounting the days events and afterward we proceeded to sleep.

I was very surprised to see the gift basket because it was unexpected and I could really feel the spirit of the season. I am sucker for surprises because I still am a kid at heart and I feel that when I give something to someone and I see the expressions on their faces, I feel good.

Thank You Mare for this gift!

Miracle of Miracles - As my husband would say!


"Wonder of wonder, miracles miracles..." the lines of this song come from the "The fiddler on the roof", a young Jewish man sings about the good fortune that falls him and lands him the affections of a girl.

Oliver said:

"My situation of course had nothing to do with the affections of another girl, you see I already have one, my wife". But the reason he remembered that particular song was because he received a gift from his coworkers for Christmas. He has been languishing at the fact that most if not all of his friends at work have an Xbox 360 and he was saving his money to buy it and of course even wishing that he would get it for Christmas, but owing to the fact that there are other important things that need to be bought, he was not putting this on top of his list.

But low and behold, when he came home last night he had an Xbox 360 bundle that was bought by his coworkers for him and he was so happy that I believe the shock of the events had a profound effect upon him. Like he said "I never believed that all of my hard work in helping out people at work will impress upon them to grant my wish this Christmas".

Seeing him that way made me happy for him because his wish came true, I should also note that I was responsible for selling his old Xbox before :)

It's a wonderful life



Christmas is truly a time of rejoicing and happiness, in the Christian world the time of advent marks the period of the coming of the messiah. In the movie "It's a wonderful life" George Bailey played by James Stewart encounters personal problems that force to contemplate taking his life, he is shown by an angel what life would be like if he were not around, in the end people who he has been there for at one time in his life save him from his problems.

For me Christmas is a time of giving, just like the townsfolk who helped George Bailey, it is the one
part of the year that people are more generous with themselves, where the cost of giving is set aside for the greater feeling of having given something without expecting something in return. During this holiday let us show the gift of giving to those who in need who have none indeed.I wrote this because my friend EM, who tagged me wanted to find out what Christmas meant for me.

Thanks for the Christmas puppy gift Em!

Thursday, December 13, 2007

My Wish-list This Christmas '07

Samsung LCD TV 52 inches
TomTom GO 720 Portable GPS

MacBook Pro 17inch




Monday, December 03, 2007

Another Approval

I know I spoke about a way to earn some extra cash on the side of my
previous posts, with the popularity of blogs and journals becoming
mainstream on the net, advertisers have found a way to leverage this
market.Bloggerwave is a website were in you can get paid to write about your life experiences with different products and services.

Bloggerwave allows you to choose the postings that interest you and then choose to answer them. If you are the kind of person who writes constantly to blog why not leverage the power of your writing skills
and get paid in the process. I am unable to provide more information
of a technical nature but I would like you to go see for yourself, Bloggerwave.

Many thanks to EM for encouraging me to visit this site.

Coming to America

Emillie asked me about this question, "What was the hardest in migrating to
the states that wanted me to return to the Philippines."
I guess some of the reasons that would make me go back would be:

1. Getting paid a mediocre salary
2. Having a bomb blow up while shopping - really exciting :)
3. Commuting to and from work while inhaling the smog and pollution in manila.

But all kidding aside, the country is beautiful and the people are
very friendly, there is a lot of history and culture that one can
honestly say is truly good. Migrating to America was more a change in
lifestyle than it was a change in environment for us, while some
people immigrate here truly start from scratch we were fortunate enough that my husband's
cousin and her friends were there to help us get settled in and
provide comfort and help in times of need.

I could truly say that the first three years in the states was hard on
our part as we had to move from one place to another because of the
job market, we had lived in Connecticut for a year and my hubby found
a job in Jersey and initially we wanted to stay where we were but
because we could not see each other only during the weekends when he
would come home, we decided to move down to New Jersey.

I had the opportunity to live with different people and adjust our way
of thinking with regards to being "tough". In the Philippines it is
easy to blame your surroundings for your own lack of progress but
there is no excuse for that here in America, as doors do open but it
will be up to you to take advantage of them.

So going back to that question, what was the hardest thing that I
experienced that made me want to go back to the Philippines?
Loneliness, if I probably had come here without any family or relative
to talk to then I would have returned back home.

Thank you to all the people who have been a part of our lives here in
the states.

We Decided To Get This!

I noticed a change in my husband the past couple of weeks, He usually
has a lot of interests and I could say it jumps from one week to
another, this could be a digital camera, a gaming console or a high
end workstation to indulge in his 3D Hobbies. This week though he
seems to be focused on sport bikes, thats right folks a 33 year old man
missed his calling as motorcycle daredevil. I notice these things
from looking at the websites that he visits, ie. snooping. I asked
him about at dinner and he mentioned the coolness factor of riding
one,
knowing my husband he expects the best and for him the best would be a Ducati.

Ducati is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer that some consider one of
the best out there, some give it the moniker of " The Ferrari of
sport bikes". It is both a thrill to ride and eye candy at the same
time, being the wife that I was before any such pursuit I asked my
husband about the consequences of getting and riding a motorcycle.

You see I noticed while surfing the net that there are usually a lot
of fatalities regarding motorcycle riders, that is not too say that
they are caused by the riders themselves but rather by other people on
the road. So I suggested that he have a talk with a couple of his
friends about
the things he needed before he decides to ride.

1. Take the http://www.msf-usa.org/ riders course.
2. Buy protective riding gear
3. Get Life Insurance

My husband went surfing for life insurance policies on the net and he
found out this website that helps you to decide the right policy
geared for you. Advantage Term Life gives you the option
comparing insurance policies among the various service providers here
in the country, it is as simple as comparing apples and oranges. He
filled out a form and submitted it and got a response back, needless
to say doing it this way is very comfortable and easy compared to
buying a house.

So armed with the three things he needed to reason out with me in
getting a bike, he proceeded to explain all three. He could have made
a good lawyer as he presented his case with gusto even showing me the
insurance quotes that he got from Advantage Term Life and how affordable they are and provide good coverage.
All was good until I asked how much the Ducati would cost? and lets just say that
the only motorcycle that he would ever ride would be on his Xbox 360.

Save on Insurance Premiums and get your quote today for all of your insurance needs.

Getting Sick Over HealthCare

I was browsing my favorite video store one fine afternoon and I came
upon a documentary about health care in the United States,
up to this point I have never actually given any thought to the
differences in health care in America, to cut the story short the
movie was informative at the same time a rude awakening.

In the movie people with good jobs and a normal life were placed in
situations where their health was affected to a major degree
that hospital bills and medical expenses drove their lives upside
down. I surfed the web to try to find out if there was a way to
actually save on medical bills but without compromising your health
and I found the following website for Medical Insurance Quotes. The site
was pretty straightforward asking you to fill information which will
take you to a recommended health care provider.

You can compare this to getting a quote for car insurance, we know how
badly we take care of our car so shouldn't we do the
same to our health. I looked at the site because I wanted to save a
little bit of money and still have the necessary health
plan for myself as I am carrying my second child. I know that until we
have universal health care or at the very least pay lower
bills for health plans then Advantage Healthcare Quote is a better alternative to what is currently out in the market.

Get Paid Online

Making money online is the best way to earn extra income. Many moms are turning to this popular alternative in order to bring in some extra cash and at the same time they can spend more time with their children. So When I heard about Blogsvertise I signed up immediately. There's no harm in trying. At first I had my doubts, you can never be too sure about things on the net. First of all you have your regular purveyors of spam, second your friendly neighborhood pedophiles and weirdos and lastly the people who actually go to the trouble of inventing sites solely for the purpose of having you part with your credit card, of course two weeks later you have a check for that Gucci bag except that you did not buy it...

I was a little bit apprehensive but my friend Em told me about this and vouched for this and so here I am.
I love the way Blogsvertise is built, the functionality and ease of use are second to none, mind you I am not a true techie, but the site is so easy to use, you will in no time be able to blog about topics that you hold dear to your heart.

I always feel that having my thoughts written down at the end of the day provides some closure to my everyday activities, as much as I love talking with friends about various topics that interest mothers like me never really caught on until now. Try out Blogsvertise and see how it could help you out and have some fun in the process.

Life's Unexpected Detours



Me and my husband have so many plans for the coming year 2008. We even plan on going back to Disney Orlando next fall, buy a new LCD TV, try the extreme sport of Parasailling, and might buy a house before my in-laws get here but all of these plans were postponed because I got pregnant but God has plans for me and my family so I will not complain about it, I will just embrace any detours that come my way. I will let God guide me in every step of the way. Maybe this new blessing will bring more joy and happiness to my growing family. Or he might give me the ultimate wish that I've been waiting for our "GC".

I always ask this question to myself - What has life in store for me next year and I got my answer =).

Be Careful What You Wish For, You Just Might Get It!

I always tell my husband to plan our next baby but he refuses and tell me that he's not ready yet for another child. But when I learned that I'm pregnant just few weeks ago, I had no idea what to do. I have mixed emotions; worrying that It's to early to get pregnant or is it the right time to have a second child, so many questions popped into my head. My first child will be turning 5yrs old next June. Some other say that the timing is okay because they have 5yrs gap. Some other friends are asking me if I'm happy, excited or scared. I told them that this is what I really want to have a baby now but because it was unplanned I don't know if I'm ready.

Being a mom for about 4 and half years now I think I can manage to have two children. I just need to read some parenting books and talk to other mothers who have two children so I can do better and be a good one.

I'm on my first trimester of pregnancy. I'm doing good so far and will keep you updated.