Eat and Eat

I brought home two boxes of pizza, one order of chicken wings and bread sticks last night after work. Friday and Saturday nights are our movie nights where we watch kid movies with Frankie. I don't even know how many times we've watched Tarzan, Dumbo, and Finding Nemo just to mention a few of his favorites. Anyways, when Ryan saw the goodies that I brought, he's reaction was if I was trying to fatten him up more. I smiled and said that he doesn't need to eat the entire box.

The problem I have is I don't control my portion when I eat especially when it is some Filipino food that I missed. I know how greasy and fattening they are but still I just want to keep eating. Times like this is when I need the help of Lipovox. Lipovox is very promising with ingredients that would help anyone that is trying to lose the weight.

Vitamins

When I was in the Philippines, Ryan kept sending me bottles and bottles of vitamins that I could use and take. It was generic and that really worked for me. I used to have 6 classes and had to stay up late just to study in each of the classes. Now that I am about to venture the same schedule, I may have to start taking the same vitamins again. I was afraid that I will gain weight, but I am more afraid that I might not be able to handle my work and my school. I really don't know yet. Maybe I am just thinking of this too much or pressuring myself too much, but I don't want to give up any of them. I will try. I will try for my son and for our future. That is one of the things that kept me going.

Mini Vacation

Downtown Galena

When we were in the Philippines, Ryan informed me among one of our many chats we had that he wants us to go to Galena for a quick visit and mini vacation. I just said ok because I was thinking of the expenses. He was waiting for my yes and was going to book it when we get back. When I got back, I had reminded him how much we spent in the Philippines and all our savings are all gone because of the plane tickets and the pocket money going there. He didn't care. I also felt bad because he was left here alone, so I figure that if he wants to go then we will be going. As soon I got back, I requested another off which they gave it to me without a question.

I am glad we went because it was beautiful there. It was the view going there is what captivates our attention. It was just plain beautiful. Downtown Galena was just ok. I was actually imagining something more. We went to a few stores but most of them just doesn't interest me. We walked around for a little bit and spent the rest of our day in the hotel snuggling and watching movies. The next day we stayed and drive around in Iowa. It was ok still. We wanted to watch a movie but the time did not permit. The next day, on our way home we stopped by Starved Rock. There were quiet a few people and the place is beautiful as usual. We had a wonderful time together. Later that night, we went to Best Buy to get my netbook. It was short, but we had fun.

Galena on the left and Starved Rock on the right.

Stubborn Acne

I got an email from my sister Resty asking me about proactive. She had heard from someone that it works, and she was wondering if I could get her one. I have personally used it before and it didn’t work-out. In fact, I had break-outs after break-outs and it was getting uncomfortable. I ended up discontinuing my membership, so they won’t keep on sending me the supplies every two months. I told my sister that as much as I wanted to help her out, but I really do not want to waste the money. If it didn’t work for me, it might not work for her too. It was a little pricey, and I was afraid that her face might get worst especially when she doesn’t wear a sunscreen. Hopefully, she will find the best acne treatment that would work for her. I really hate to see her face extremely red and full of acne.

Bad Breath

I was at work yesterday when a lady came up to me asking for help for her son. I came up to her and asked her what they wanted. She asked me if we still have a pair of shoes in the back. I scanned the box with my RF to see if we have it even before going to the stockroom. Thankfully, we got it, and I went to the back and got it for them. When I handed it to the boy, she smiled at me and said thank you. The boy has the cutest face, but he also had the stickiest breath. I could tell when he opened his mouth to tell me thank you. It only comes to show that nobody is perfect even if that kid looks perfect.

Having a bad breath just ruined everything no matter how good one looks. I even hate it when I talk with someone who is a close talker and also who has a bad breath. Sometimes I wonder if they could tell that they have stinky mouth/breath. Thankfully, there are bad breath treatments that would help those who need serious help. Hopefully, I never had to deal with bad breath as long as I have a constant visit to my dental hygienist.

Another A

I am the most excited person every time I get an A. Getting an A in my situation is really overwhelming because I don't have the luxury of time to do my assignments and to study all the time. I am just glad that my English classes are all done, and I just need to do communications.

Anyways, this was yet another challenging school year for me because I struggled again. I got it good in 101 and now I have to deal with poems and literatures. My very first paper was a little rough and I only got a B. Thankfully, I was given the perfect in attendance award so I was able to redo my paper and I got an A for that. The next two papers were A but my critique for a poem was C. The poem was so short, and I didn't know what else to say. Plus the deadline was on the week that we got back from the Philippines. Frankie wasn't sleeping well, and I was still on major jetlag. I honestly just submitted it for the sake of submitting it. I am just glad that I got an A in my midterm, my research paper and in my finals so I ended with an A in the class. We'll see what is going to happen this summer and this fall. My job has been really good in working around my schedule. I couldn't ask for more.

Scam

Every time I look at a picture of me and my sisters, I couldn’t help but laugh on how much we have grown. Resty and I have truly gained weight. Although, we are comfortable with how we look now, sometimes I couldn’t help but wonder if those diet pills actually could help us to get rid of the excess weight and achieve the weight that we wanted.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of diet pills that are in the market today. When buying one, you should be extra careful because there are a lot of scams that are going around like the sensa scam. If manufacturers are not honest about what they put in their product, the consumers are lead to believe on something that does not exist. It could be harmful to the consumer, so my suggestion is, if one is looking for a diet pill check what they have to offer and make sure that the company exists to back up their claim rather than having false claims.

Pain

I never had hemorrhoid before until I gave birth to Frankie. It was very uncomfortable and painful. I was a little embarrassed sharing it to anyone because I thought I was being unsanitary. I even tried to hide it from my husband. Then later I realized that there was nothing to be embarrassed about. I did not know what triggered it though. I know some friends who also gave birth who had it, and there are also people that have it at some point of their lives. Thankfully, there are hemorrhoids treatments that one could take advantage to get rid of it completely or lessen the pain. It was surely the last thing in my mind.

Cousin's Wedding

Ging-ging is super excited because she will be singing some songs for my cousin's wedding. She really didn't have that much time to prepare because my cousin was not quiet sure too on when the wedding is. They both work outside the Philippines and only had designated people to go after their paper works. I am so static and I can't wait to know how it went. I asked her if she could ask someone to record it for us, so we could see it too. She said mama will do it for her. I hope everything went well. She will be singing duet with her classmate in college too. I can't wait!

Lucky!

I am so lucky this semester because I don't have to buy my two books for summer. One of my co-workers and friend let me borrowed her books for nothing. I asked her if she wants me to pay her back, but she told me I could use it and will go ahead and sell used books when I am done with it. She took it to work last night, and she left it in my mailbox. I can't believe how much I saved since my one book cost over a hundred dollars. Ryan got one of his books from the bookstore and now I will return it. He made the wrong move in buying it there, and it was very expensive. He went online and got the rest of his books there for less. He should have done that before getting it from the school bookstore. Using a used textbook surely saves the student a lot of money.

Adding Up

When I first decided to take one class this summer, I thought of going to the gym and use one of their treadmills. I can really use some help in my lower extremity. Every time I gain weight, it is my legs or lower body that gets really affected. My legs would hurt, and I could not stand longer than eight hours that is why getting pregnant for me is very hard that I would require complete bed rest. Unfortunately and fortunately I should say, when I got a letter telling me that I still have money left in my account for my scholarship that I could use, I went and registered for another class. This summer will be extremely busy for me, but I am not complaining. It means I am one step closer to my goal. Hopefully, I still have the time to hop on the treadmill at home every once in a while.

Effortless Potty Training

Before Frankie's third birthday, I was a little worried that he might not be ready yet. The school that we will be enrolling him only accept kids that are potty trained. Ryan and I talked to the principal and to his future teacher and they gave us tips that could help him learn how to potty by himself or at least be able to tell us when he is ready to go. They told us that he was still very young and there are a lot of kids that are older than him that are not potty trained yet. We have another option to where we can send Frankie, but we are so determined to send him to a Catholic school unless we move into a much better neighborhood with a better school.

After that said, I did not have the time to train Frankie. When I was home with him, he doesn't have any diapers on, and he always tell me if he wanted to go. Unfortunately, when he was left with Papa, he doesn't tell him, and he wears a diaper when we are not around. I thought if he is not ready for fall then it is not meant to be. I never thought how easy it would be when we got to the Philippines.

You see in the Philippines, my mom is an expert. Besides, my sister Ging-ging had promised me that she will help train Frankie since she learned some tips from school on potty training. I let them handle him. It only took them just one time to show Frankie what to do (which I showed him here but he was not paying attention.) and he was really good. Plus the hot weather contributed to it too. He did not want to wear any diapers, so I try to put one on for him when we go places then when we were home I just put his underwear. It really worked.

Even after we got back in the US, he still did not want to wear a diaper. We tried putting him a diaper overnight but every morning it didn't have any pee. At night even if he is wearing one, he still went to the bathroom and just pull it down. It has been a while since he is not wearing any diapers. He doesn't wet his bed because he wakes up and goes to bed by himself. Although, there are times when he is trying to get the toilet paper to wipe his "oten-tin" and it accidentally fall into the toilet, but he'll get there somehow with that. As for now, I am just so excited for him that he will be going this fall, and we have that taken cared of.

Responsible

Its been a while since I checked my credit score. The last time I checked, it was pretty good when we purchased our house and got the cars too. Ryan and I are very careful with our finances. We make sure that we pay our bills and mortgage on time. We are now not only thinking of ourselves but also for the future of Frankie. We have been doing really good and had cut down big time in the use of credit cards. This allows us to travel once in a while and spoil ourselves every once in a while. We work so we could enjoy what we worked for rather than nothing at all. Although I haven't check my credit score, Ryan had been on top of it checking his credit report. In fact, it has never been to easy for businesses to do their business credit reports too to see how they are doing. I am just glad I have a responsible husband who is looking out for us.

PS3

Frankie loves his Dada's ps3. It amazes me how he knows exactly what to do and where and how to turn it on. He likes attaching the dance pad to it, so he could dance. I ended up hiding it because that is what he does all day. Ryan got the latest version where we can also use it to watch blue ray disc. It is really awesome if you ask me. He still need to get rid of his old ps3 that we still have in the closet.

Sister's Indeed

I laughed so hard when my little sister Ging-ging posted this in her facebook. You see, I am 6 years older than Resty, and she is 5 years older than Ging-ging. Since our parents could not afford to buy us clothes, I am usually very careful that I will not ruin the clothes I have so that I could hand it down to my sisters. I sometimes get hand me downs from my older brother's clothes or backpack. Anyways, even if we had our own jobs and went on separate ways, I still send my clothes to my sisters instead of having them just sit in the closet. Thankfully none of us has b.o. or it would have been yucky.

Well, the shirt above I got here in the US. I have used it in Florida. In fact, that was the first shirt I got here in the US. I even wore that when we went to Canada in 2004. When I gained weight, I decided to send it to Resty. She took it to Taiwan with her. The picture above is taken in Taiwan. Then when she gained weight, she passed it on to Ging-ging. When I went home, I forgot to ask them about it or if it still looks ok. Although I am sure it does because mama is so delicate with clothes. It surely made me remember about the sisterhood of the traveling pants movie. Only it is a pair of pants not a top.

New Pill

I am uploading our pictures when we went home to the Philippines, and I could tell the difference when we first got there and when we were about to leave. I have gained so much weight from the little time we were there. Mama's cooking was just amazing, and I did not let the chance pass by of not eating the food that I missed. I must have gained another 10 lbs. from this trip and now I am having a hard time getting rid of it. I was doing better before I was only 10 lbs. away from my pre-pregnancy weight and now I went back to square one. I am not really as frustrated as before because I know it was my own doing. I ate that food that I missed. Maybe when this doesn't stop, I can try a new diet pill. I hate being big. It seems so hard to get around and it feels like I am carrying a heavy load around me. Hopefully, this summer with the busy schedule I will be in, I could get rid of it.

Looking Old

I will be turning 32 this year November and no matter how I see it, I am getting old. As they say, my age is no longer in the calendar. As I get older, I can't help but look back on the things that I accomplished and the things that I am hoping I will accomplish. Through our seven years of marriage, we are blessed with Frankie. Although, he is a handful but we love him so dearly. I enjoy every minute of my time with him watching him grow from a little baby to a little boy.

In the morning when I look at myself in the mirror, I could help but feel old because I look old. It must have something to do with stress and the lack of sleep. That's alright because if it gets worst, I could always use the best wrinkle cream that is out in the market today. I hope this little bumps on my face will go away.

Busy

Before I start, I would like to thank my sister-in-law Vicky for wondering if I stopped blogging. It makes me feel important that my blogging is important and someone is actually reading it. Since we got back from the Philippines which was about a month ago, my life has been really busy. Frankie was having issues with his sleep plus I had a paper due that Wednesday right away. Every time I have my weekend off, I just want to relax or get some sleep. I tried to try as much as possible but sometimes I could help but get behind. I wonder if I can still keep it up this summer when I have classes back to back. As what Papa said, I can worry about it when the time comes. As for now, I am ltaking it easy and ooking forward to our trip to Galena.

Credit Card

Although, I am not a big fan of using the credit card, but I find owning one very helpful especially on emergencies. It is not all the time that I have cash in my wallet. It is also nice that most of the stores now accepts credit cards. In fact, all businesses should accept credit cards. It makes it a lot easier for them and for the consumer. The credit card processing is almost instant now a days and the merchants know exactly where their money is at. I find it very convenient especially when I don't have the cash in hand.