Kwentong Kutsero

Mayron akong isang kakilala. Sa Germany nag-krus ang aming landas taong 1995 at kahit papano ay nagkaroon din kami ng magandang pinagsamahan. Matagal din kaming nawalan ng komunikasyon sapagkat lumipat siya ng Amerika habang ako ay patuloy na nanirahan sa Germany. Hanggang sa dumating ang takdang panahon na kami ay tumulak na rin patungong Amerika (Hunyo 2007).

Dito ay naisipan ko siyang tawagan upang kumustahin. Heto, humigit kumulang ang naging paksa ng aming usapan. Itago na lang natin sya sa pangalang Darna.

Me: P*kP*k! Kumusta ka na??!! (halatang excited, tagal ba naman hindi nakapag-usap).

Narda: Ok lang ako! blah blah. Meron na akong Toyota Sienna. blah blah.

Me: Good! Mabuti naman.

Narda: kapatid, alam mo bang US citizen na ako??

Me: Talaga? Good for you! (sinserong natutuwa)

Narda: Kaya hindi na ako made-deport!

Me: Huh? Eh bakit ka naman made-deport?

Narda: eh kasi nga hindi ba kapag green card holder ka lang tapos gumawa ka ng kapalpakan dito eh pwede ka pang ma-deport sa Pilipinas. Eh US citizen na ako, kaya hindi na ako pwedeng i-deport!

Me: gagah! hindi ka nga made-deport, dito ka naman nila IKUKULONG! Tsaka ingat ka dyan sa lugar mo, kapag gumawa ka ng kalokohan, BITAY ang katapat mo.

Madami pa kaming pinagkuwentuhan, este, siya lang pala ang nagkwento. Hirap kasing makasingit sa dami ng ipinagyayabang nya sa akin eh. Pinapabayaan ko na lang. Hindi kasi ako mahilig mambara. Ikinukwento ko na lang kay neybor Des. hehe Pinagchichismisan, este pinag-uusapan na lang namin. Nakalimutan ko, HINDI NGA PALA KAMI CHISMOSA. bwahahahaha. Ang hirap naman kasi dito kay Darna, pakiramdam nya ay alam nya ang lahat. Ginagawa pang tanga ang kausap...sus.

Dami ko pang paligoy-ligoy. Gusto ko lang naman sabihin na HINDI NA RIN AKO MADE-DEPORT. Nung May 21 kasi eh nakapasa ako sa citizenship interview. Pano yan, baka hindi na ako ma-reach?

Home blah

If you are planning a home improvement project, think before you let go of your hard-earned money. You have to put in mind that while some home improvements pay off by increasing your home's value, others will do little to improve it. I've heard from many people that a swimming pool hardly ever adds value to your home. Darn it, and I wanted to have one in our backyard! (as if!) My friend Kellie is having a deck built in her backyard, and I think it's a good investment. Me, I'm dreaming of someday renovating my kitchen. I want energy efficient stainless steel appliances, glass sinks, and granite counter tops. But knowing myself, I doubt it'll happen soon. I plan on using and abusing our kitchen appliances until they die! hahaha (evil laugh).

Action Packed weekend

Sad Friday:

It was a sad Friday, because mom left to go back to Germany. The month that she stayed here went by so fast. *sigh*. The good news is that she's already looking to book a flight for December. She'll spend Christmas with us and that'll be totally awesome! We miss her sooooooooooo much!!

Spectacular Saturday:

Hubby received 6 free Kenny Chesney concert (May 24, Cleveland Browns Stadium) tickets from the Army. That same day though is game 3 of the NBA playoffs between Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics, and we had planned on watching it live at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit Michigan. The practical side of me wanted us to just go to the FREE concert, spend a little money on gas and have a good time. But the "good wife" side of me knew that it's one of hubby's dreams to watch a NBA game, and this is the perfect opportunity for us to fulfill it. We ordered online and I was a little ticked that we paid almost quadruple the ticket's face value. We gave the concert tickets away, pawned the kids off to my in-laws, and headed out to the NBA game. It was my first time watching a live game and I had an awesome time. I was dancing, cheering, screaming, and acting all crazy the entire night. I was surprised I still have my voice after the game. The players looked so fit and buff, I bet they have weight equipment everywhere they go. I ended up having more fun than I could ever imagine. I told hubby, to his delight, that I'm willing to do it again even if it costs us an arm and a leg. I also promised Alexis we'll take her with us the next time we watch a game. And oh, Pistons lost by the way. :-(

* sold out crowd.
* live action
* the drumline, they're really good
* posing with the cheerleaders


Party Sunday:

We just got back from Splash Universe, an indoor water park in Dundee, Michigan. My in-laws threw a swimming party in honor of the two grandkids' (Alexis and Destiny) May birthdays. The family had a blast and plans are already being made for the next family outing. We're hoping to go one more time before the Bahamas Cruise in August.

So that's how our weekend went. We're still off from work because it's Memorial Day here. How was yours?

Kaarawan

Lunes ang kaarawan ni Alexis, ngunit Sabado pa lang ay nagsimula na ang kasiyahan. Maagang dumating ang aming mga Pinoy friends from Columbus na sina Carl at Kellie, Bob (kano sya sa totoong buhay pero parang Pinoy na rin kagaya ni Steve) at Trixie. Naging napakasaya ng aming salo-salo. Sina Carl at Kellie ay mahilig din sa Harry Potter kaya't nagkabangkaan sila ni Alexis. Nakakatuwang panoorin ang pagpapalitan nila ng kuro-kuro, habang ako ay nasa isang tabi lamang sapagkat ni hindi man lang ako nakapagbuklat ng HP book. Si Carl na isang propesyonal na photographer ng Trupix ay matiyagang nagturo ng potograpiya kay Alexis. Tuwang tuwa sya sapagkat may talent nga daw si Lexi sa pagkuha ng mga larawan. Naengganyo tuloy ang aking munting bruhilda na mag-ipon ng pera para makabili ng DSLR (yun nga ba ang tawag dun?). Sa ngayon ay may $200 na sya, $800 na lang hehe. Gusto ni mommy na ibili na namin ngayon, pero tumutol ako sapagkat mas nais kong paghirapan nyang mag-ipon upang ng sa gayon ay matuto syang pahalagahan ito.

Bilang ina, hindi mapasubalian ang kasiyahan sa aking dibdib sapagkat noon ko lamang nakitang nag-open up si Alexis. Noon ko lang sya nakitang nakipagbalitaktakan ng husto sa mga taong kung tutuusin ay hindi nya naman madalas nakikita. Ang isa pang ikinatutuwa ko ay kung papaanong si Kellie, na nakilala ko taong 1998/99 sa IRC, ay nakakaalala pa ng mga munting detalye tungkol kay Alexis. Paborito nya kasi si Alexis nung araw. Kung hindi nga lamang nabinyagan na si Alexis nung mga panahon na iyon ay tiyak na kinuha ko syang ninang nito.

*heto kami noon....circa 99-00

Dito nagpalipas ng gabi sina Carl at Kellie, habang sina Bob ay Trixie ay tumulak na pauwi sa Columbus. Ginabi kami sa kakalaro ng Wii. Inaliw sila ng husto ng aking munting entertainer na si Teban liit. Kinaumagahan ay nagluto kami ng tapsilog at German corned beef para sa almusal. Makaalmusal ay lumisan na rin sila (in English, eat and run haha).

Dali-dali naman kaming naghanda para sa grill party sapagkat bandang alas dos ng hapon ay nagdatingan naman ang pamilya ni Esteban. Happy Happy na naman!

My little Big Girl

When mom went back to Germany in October (after a month-long vaca here), Lexi was a tad bit shorter than her. Now six months later, Lexi is a tad bit taller than her lola (and me for that matter). She's growing up fast! She'll turn 11 in a few days (May 19th). Physically, she may look like a young lady, but she's far from it. She doesn't like boys (yet), doesn't deal with acne treatment yet, nor is she too concerned about her social life. I always forget that emotionally, she's still a little girl. Because of her size, I expect a lot from her and I have to be constantly reminded that although she looks like a young adult, she's still a little kid. We butt heads a lot because we are so much alike. Unfortunately for her because I already know what she's thinking before she even starts to open her mouth hehe.

Weekend in Pictures

For Mother's day, Steve and my mom joined forces to give me the best gift I could ever ask for. Mom bought all the supplies and hubby built this little grotto for me before leaving for work today. It's not completely finished yet because we are still going to put concrete benches on both sides, and solar lighting fixtures.



Flowers in bloom....flowering tree right by our front door. It's really beautiful.
For dinner, mom made sinampalukang manok. Yummy!! I can't remember the last time I had this dish. Mom's the BEST!!

Mother's Day

No Love like a Mother's Love

There is no love, like a mother's love,
no stronger bond on earth...
like the precious bond that comes from God,
to a mother, when she gives birth.

A mother's love is forever strong,
never changing for all time...
and when her children need her most,
a mother's love will shine.

God bless these special mothers,
God bless them every one...
for all the tears and heartache,
and for the special work they've done.

When her days on earth are over,
a mother's love lives on...
through many generations,
with God's blessings on each one.

Be thankful for our mothers,
for they love with a higher love...
from the power God has given,
and the strength from up above

by Jill Lemming**

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Mothers out there!!!!


Planning a party? Check out this website for really cool party invitations!!!

movies atbp.

As an early mother's day treat to my mom (and to myself), I took her to the movies to watch Made of Honor starring the love of my life (next to hubby) Patrick Dempsey. Long before he became Dr. McDreamy in Grey's Anatomy, I've already fantasized and lusted over him (*wipes drool). I've seen the "fafah-ble" potential in him even in his nerdy days of Happy Together in the 80's. Overall, it was a nice eye candy, err, movie. Mom loved it. I did too.

Anyway, after the movies, mom and I went to Monette's market, a local fresh produce market in neighboring Toledo. Boy, oh boy, we found a gold mine!

Can you believe we got these ripe mangoes for only 33 cents a piece?? Yep, it's a steal! I guess people here are unaware of how good these mangoes are.

Btw, while browsing online, a new diet pill caught my eyes. It's called Phentermine (Isa munang PATALASTAS). I need to do more research on this though. One can never be too cautious, you know.

moolah

If you're a taxpayer like me, I bet you are waiting for the stimulus package the federal government is sending out sometime this month. If my Math is correct, we will be getting $1800 extra, just for filing our 2007 tax return. Not bad, huh. Anyway, to most people that money is already spent. Even retailers are banking on it and are already expecting people to go on a shopping spree. Talk about counting chickens before the eggs are hatched, eh?

People are just itching to spend, spend, spend the extra money. IMO, A wiser alternative would be to talk to a futures broker about possible investment. Or maybe save it for retirement. Or a 529 college plan for the kids. Something more meaningful. Something that is long term. You wouldn't miss it anyways.

Day 2

Day 2.

After eating breakfast, we left the hotel early to continue on with our "expedition". We were only about 10 miles away from the South Carolina border. We arrived right around lunch time in Georgia. First stop was Applebees. We were all hungry but somehow, restaurant food just don't cut it. After eating lunch, we were left craving for something that is more solid. We checked in our hotel (army lodging) in the military base. The room is very cozy. It has 2 full size beds, a pull-out full size sofa bed, a little dining area and a kitchennete. The first thing we did after checking in was shop at the PX and the commissary. Mom decided to prepare rice, adobo and shrimp for dinner. We feasted on home made food away from home. Then we bought some ice cream from Baskin & Robins for dessert. The eating binge did not stop there. I might have to find some of the top diet pills to help me get rid of the excess weight I've gained from all the food I ate.

Ft Stewart has changed a lot since we left 8 years ago. It has gotten bigger. They built a new PX that looks more like a mall. There's a new welcome center, new church, and new barracks for single soldiers. New businesses sprouted left and right. You can tell it's really a big military community. I wouldn't mind getting stationed here again someday. In some ways I do miss being around the military community, in more ways I don't.

By the way....here's a picture of WHAT NOT TO DO WHILE DRIVING.


NEVER NEVER PUT MAKE UP ON and FALL ASLEEP while DRIVING.
more pics to come later...

Long Drive

Wednesday, April 29th:

We woke up at about 6AM as planned. I turned the coffeemaker on and made some rice to go with the mechado mom cooked the night before. It's going to be a long day and mom wants to be prepared. She wanted the kids, specially Steven to eat some rice during the day. Cooler is packed with different kind of drinks, from soda to water, to juice, to godiva chocolate mocha drink. 2 suitcases were filled with clothes and other necesseties. We'll be living out of our suitcases for a few days.

We were out of the house by 7:15. The first bathroom break was at 9AM. I spotted a Panera bakeshop at the rest plaza. Hah, breakfast, the most important part of the day. We drove through Ohio, then West Virginia. It was beautiful albeit a little difficult to drive because of it's terrain. It was very hilly and curvy. It reminded me so much of Germany (Black Forest area). "..take me home country road, to the place where I belong,West Virginia, Mountain momma...take me home.." It was time to fill up the tank and take our lunch break as well.

Then we drove through Virginia. Beautiful as well. The sceneries are breath taking (literally). We drove through a valley and looking down made me nervous. Hubby loves driving close to the guard rails and my fear of heights sure didn't help. I was glad when we reached North Carolina because then the driving terrain kind of changed. From hilly to a more flat surface, just like that.

We were close to the South Carolina border (about 10 miles) when we decided to retire. It was 6PM. We found the nearest exit and looked for the closest hotel. We had Chinese food delivered as soon as we settled in our room. Yummy!

I am thankful that the kids behaved pretty well. We were pleasantly surprised at how well they took the road trip. I was surprised at myself as well. I actually LET hubby drive, literally and figuratively. I wasn't as bad a back seat driver as I used to be. tee hee.

Day 2 next......