TOOLS, GADGETS AND GALORE

Nowadays everything is easier, faster, efficient and convenient. I have asked myself so many times why Americans have so many gadgets for almost everything. Housewives have so many tools and gadgets to help with cleaning. Since most Americans don't have maids or cleaning crew to clean, we do it ourselves. Inventions and gadgets make things easier and faster. It also applies to technology and the WEB. There are programs and software to help with business, schools, household,church, offices and many more. It even amazes me how people can do their own taxes in there own homes with just a simple software program. Business is easier to manage with software like project management software it helps small business owners and major companies run smoothly. I should have really studied more about computers and the Internet since there is such a big field to knowledge that is available out there waiting to be searched. I may not be a computer geek but I sure so admire them...

SHE TURNED 77

My Grandmother turned 77 years old yesterday March 31, 2010. Let me tell you something about her. She is smart as whip, sharp as a sword and soft as a jello. My grandma is what people would say a tough cookie, she works hard for everything she has and takes good care of her family. She may have a sharp tongue but her words always rang true and always looks out for you. I love her for taking care of me and my sister when my dad left us, I love her for her cooking but most of all I just love for loving us in return. I talked to her yesterday and I could not help but get teary eyed. Both my maternal grandparents are getting older and it hurts to know that I am not there when they need me, for someone to watch them, do errands for them as such. I am counting down the days until I see them again. Don't worry La, your dollar is already saved and in safekeeping until I hand it to you this summer. I love you so much....

WILL I EVER DRIVE?

Having 3 cars is by no means an easy feat. Their is maintenance, gas, insurance, monthly payments and what not. When we got our latest car, a Jaguar Ralph probably got a lot of auto insurance quotes from different insurance company. I am stumped as to why my husband got a third car. He insists that he got the 3rd car for me, I know its a load of crap because I don't even know how to drive,lol. I am not to miffed abut it though since we did get the car at a good price and the interest was very low from hi credit union. Ralph does use it when going to work since its more efficient on gas and saves him money. I just worry about the payments and the burden that it puts on him. He assured me that in 4 years time we will be free from any payments when it comes to our cars. All we have to worry about is the insurance after all the cars have been paid off. I just hope that this year I will finally be able to drive. I just want to be able to drive myself somewhere or help out with errands so that I don't have to depend on my MIL to drive me around. I am really crossing my fingers on this one.

PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR

The other day while we were doing our running around and stopping by the furniture store Ralph talked about the plan for next years vacation. We can't do anything this year since I will be going home to the Philippines this summer. Because of that we may as well plan our vacation ahead so we have other options and choices. He talked about doing a time share on a cruise to the Bahamas and of course the Disney vacation. We should probably include Outer Banks vacation homes in our plans. The main purpose for the vacation is for the kids to have fun and so we can bond as a family. Ralph wants to go somewhere were the kids can ran free, and swim to their little hearts content. I know its still early to plan things but its better this way so we can put aside some money for our next impending vacation.

SUPER SWEET 16

Who watches My Super Sweet 16 on MTV? I just finished watching the episode where Lil' Mama was coming out for her 16th birthday. I have never heard of her though maybe coz I am an old fart already? But anyway she is apparently a singer or rapper. The theme of her party was about coming out of a Princess. She wanted it big but most of all she wanted to celebrate it with her family. She wanted to make sure that her family looked gorgeous and nice for her big day so she got tuxedo for the male members of her family. I think it was cream or off white but the guys did look elegant and sophisticated. Of course every one looked great on the big day specially the birthday girl. I really don't approve of this show and how this young men and women and partying like crazy and getting cars like it was nothing. A part of me is sorry that this kids are growing up spoiled by the parents. I just hope this kids grow up to be successful persons not just spoiled brats.

EYE SEE YOU

March has been a very very busy month for all of us. We have had about 2 appointments for the kids. One with the dentist and the other one to check out their eyes. Its was just the three of them that got an eye check-up, Daddy, Kayla and Kaitlyn. Yes, Kaitlyn is still young but with Ralph having eye problems we wanted to make sure that our kids have perfect vision of if they have problems it can be treated right away. This has Kayla's 3rd check up and so far so good she has normal 20/20 vision. She was so good and just did exactly what the technician wanted her to do.

The Picture below is when she had her eyes checked. They took pictures of her eyes to make sure that their was no abnormalities or whatever.

The second was the part where they had to blow air into her eyes to check for Glaucoma. I was kinda worried but she just laughed when she felt the air hit her eye.

Third picture is of me holding the princess bruiser Kaitlyn coz she was to small and they wanted her to feel comfortable while she was being checked. She is a very independent little girl. She refused to have me hold her head steady while she was looking into the machine. I finally gave up and just let her do it on her own.

Last part was when she was actually being check by the Ophthalmologist. Again, she refused help and wanted to just sit on the chair by herself. She had to kneel on the chair since she was to small but she was fine with it as long as she get to do it by herself.
She also has 20/20 vision on both eyes. The doctor said it was good to see parents bringing in a child early for eye check up. Kaitlyn will have to go back after a year this way she can interact better and her eyes is more developed. All in all I am just happy my kids are growing and developing healthy...

DISTORTED VIEW

While at Kmart today I happened to glanced at the many tabloid magazines near the check out counter. I happen to notice this article of Heidi Montag and Heather Locklear side by side. They were saying that the bombshell that has becomes famous for her notorious procedure done could looks like Heather Locklear when she is older. I always wonder why she thought she had to get 10 procedures done. I thought she already looked beautiful and sexy before she had all those surgery done. She looks good not but a much much older version of herself. Do you think women in Hollywood are obsessed with looking younger and more beautiful? I bet you they probably have a little booklet full of beauty secret that includes, skin firming creams, best anti wrinkle creams, acne products, eye cream and so much more. I do not know why we women put such burden on ourselves to look something we are not. It's a pity that we are sending out the wrong message to our young girls today. I hope that when my kids are older they will realize that beauty comes in different shapes and sizes. It is up to us to teach our kids that Beauty is not only physical but how you perceive it and let it come out.

A MOUTHFUL OF CHEMICALS

We have been out since 10 a.m. this morning and just got home about an hour ago. Spent probably 2 hours in Kmart just browsing around and getting the kids some stuff. While there I stopped at the cosmetic isle to check out the make-ups and some facial cleanser for my skin. There was a whole bunch and an isle full dedicated to women's facial skin care. I don't even know half what of them are for, It makes me leery about reading all the chemicals that are in the product that I can't even read,lol. I am better off on making my own home remedy for acne, this way I know what I am putting on my skin. It's probably not that hard to do, I know of some by browsing and reading some blogs that specialize in home made products ranging from soap, shampoo, lotion and many more. Its also cheaper making your own remedial solution for your skin and this way you can personalize it just for you.

TROOPER

That my friends is a picture of Kayla lying down on a dentists chair. We got her out of school early this month for our routine dental check up. Kayla was a trooper while being cleaned and examined by the dental hygenist even though I nor her daddy was not around. We had an appointment for all three of us and Ralph got called first. He took Kayla with him to let her see and assure her that when it was her turn she has nothing to be scared of. I was in the waiting area with Kaitlyn until I was informed by the staff that they were already working on Kayla and wanted to inform me. Of course I wanted to be there so Kaitlyn tagged along with me to where her big sissy was. I was so proud of Kayla for being so good and cooperative. Because she was so calm and happy about it, Kaitlyn in turn got the vibe that it was not scary at all. That was one of the reason why we took the little one with us so that when she will finally be seen by our dentist the next year she won't panic and have any fear of dentists like me. Seeing how relaxed her big sissy was while they were cleaning her teeth I am pretty sure we won't have a problem with Kaitlyn being seen by the dentist. I am really crossing my finger that Kaitlyn won't be scared of dentist like I was at her age.

EARLY DETECTION

Watching my favorite shows is just one of the ways I entertain myself. While I was pregnant with my youngest I used to watch medical shows like crazy, although I won't exclude my other non medical show. The one show that had me really laughing was My Wife and Kids starring Damon Wayans. One episode was about Michael (Wayans) getting a Colonoscopy to check his Colon for any abnormalities or problems. It was just so darn funny when it came to the part where the doctor was holding the instrument to be used for the procedure and breaking out into a song number. Mind you it just had me laughing like crazy. But before he had the procedure I think he had to prepare his body by taking some colon cleanse products. If a remembered correctly after the show ended Damon encouraged people specially of African American race to have their Colon checked. It was a funny episode but It also carried a public health service to make people aware that having routine Colon check up can help detect and catch Colon cancer at its earliest stage and have early treatment done. My MIL herself is thinking about getting her Colon checked and has been talking to Ralph about it. Whatever her decision is she know that she can always count on me and her sons to be their for her.

AGING AS A PROCESS

Having a long line of family members on my dad side who has bad acne, pimples or breakouts was enough to scare about my face. I never worried about my face until I hit puberty. One summer that I was in my hometown I had a nasty case of acne breakout on my face. Woah, I was flabbergasted and at a lost why all of a sudden I got this skin problem. I didn't know any acne remedy back then so I was not really able to treat it right away. Every time I see the few scar that was left on my face I am reminded of how reckless I was for ignoring my skin. I don't know if it was from over exposure to the sun or from dust. That was the worst acne breakout I have had . I do get occasional breakouts here and then but nothing as bad as before. Keeping in mind that aging is a process that all will have to go through, it is important that I take better care of my skin no matter what. Healthier looking skin means a younger looking you, wouldn't you think?

MONEY COUNTER

Now that is a lot of money right there! I just couldn't resist taking a picture of the money that Ralph was counting for the Girl Scout cookie sales. I am his little secretary when it comes to helping him count the money to make sure it was counted twice before he deposits the money in the bank. The most money I counted was $20,000 while I was working for a travel agency before. We had to list down the serial number every time a client pays in dollars.Wouldn't it be nice to have that much cash lying in the house?

PUFF!PUFF!

For almost a week I have been trying my best to control my eating, exercise and hopefully get lean and loose some weight. It has not been easy on me. The first day I tried exercising, which I took very easy I lasted for 12 freaking minutes. I was huffing and puffing life crazy and thought I was going to pass out. The following day I was so sore that going down the stairs was pure agony. I know its not going to be easy but at least I'm really trying. There are days I have to push myself to even try and do a little bit of exercise. I want a little bit of help, maybe take something like diets pills,appetite suppressant, fat burner pills or anything that could help me shed a little bit of weight. Loosing that single pound is the key, once I see that It will keep me motivated to exercise. Starving myself is not helping in fact its only making things worst. Learning to portion my food intake and keep track of how much I eat and counting calories and what not should be my next move. I have to keep myself focused and motivated. Results come from hard work.

THE RIGHT FIT

Spring is finally here and I am just giddy and happy as can be. I can wear jean more now since the weather is not that cold. I usually wear sweats in the winter time keeps my legs warmer. Only a couple of my jeans fit me perfectly. Finding jeans that is not to long and won't show my butt crack is hard to find. Having a big butt makes it hard for me to wear low rise or hipster kind of jeans. I could wear them but when it comes to bending down forget it,lol...The kind of jeans I wear are the boot leg style jeans. However I am liking the new skinny jeans that I got from a friend. Maybe I should try browsing through Joe's jeans and see what kinds of style they have. Durability and the fitting is important to me since I'm the kind of person that will keep wearing the same thing over and over again if I love it. Hopefully my diet and exercise will pay off so I can wear some of my old jeans,lol

OFF TO THE E.R.

For the past weeks, months Ralph has been nursing a cyst on his behind. It looked like a ingrown hair but it kept getting bigger,inflamed in short infected. He finally decide to see a doctor about it and he was told it was just in grown hair and was given antibiotics for it.Ralph never took the antibiotics and of course it kept coming back. Finally last Mar 12,2010 he could no longer tolerate the pain. It got to a point that he could not walk or sit down due to the the cyst being infected. MIL took him to the ER and it was there that they drained the cyst by taking a good size chunk of his behind,lol.. I felt so bad that I was not there with him, I had to stay with my kids. I cried when he called me and told me he wanted me there and he screamed when they drained it. His white blood cell was already to high due to infection so the ER surgeon decided to admit him so he can be given an aggressive dose of antibiotic thru his IV. It was better he stayed in the hospital so this way the infection can be monitored as well as his medication..


When we finally visited him the next day he looked so exhausted and drugged up with painkiller and antibiotics. He perked up when he saw his little princesses, he didn't want them to worry specially Kayla. Hopefully he will recover fast and the infection will clear up so he can have the go signal for his cyst removal surgery on the 1st of April. We love you daddy and we miss you here at the house.