POWER BALL

Like most people I do have dreams about winning the lottery and hitting it big. Did you know that the first time I tried my hands and buying a ticket for the Powerball I won $7. I was so surprised and that is the beginning of my love hate relationship with the Lottery. I don't regularly buy tickets but when I do get a chance and If I happen to be in a store that has them I buy a couple of tickets. I always say that this is it, this is going to be the winning ticket with matching kiss to it. Obviously I haven't or we haven't hit it anywhere big, lol. But hey I'm not going to stop, it could still happen. Maybe I should start buying Lottery at just one place be it the grocery or our nearest gasoline station which is about 5 min. away from the house. Its just gasoline station scares me and gives me the creeps specially at night. I get nervous about what if someone tries to come in and rob the place. I'm sure places like those have mmf drawer to hide cash, checks or coins. Thankfully nothing has ever happened like that near our place.

CUT OFF

Just got off the phone, had to call my sister in Cebu to ask when they are gonna be getting the internet connection back. They finally reached the last straw and decided to leave Smart Bro and look for something better. The service that they have been getting was not bad but terrible. The have made several complaints about the signal and not being able to stay connected online. All the Smart technicians did was drive by looked at the antenna and that was it. No real action to the problem. Luckily I am no longer there if not I would have demanded that reimburse the monthly fee that they have been paying for a service not worth a dime.

My family will be using the prepaid plug in or something for the meantime until the DSL is available in their area. Hopefully when they do get the DSL they wont have the same problem with the signal and staying connected. If they keep having the same problem then its about high time I got them a new laptop. It's not a luxury but a necessity with me living in a different country and the internet being our main source of communication. I have really been looking at daily deal online to check out affordable laptops and gadgets as a gift from me to them. Hopefully I will have enough time to save up and buy one.

BATTLE FO THE PESSIMIST AND OPTIMIST

It looks like my trip to the Philippines is really pushing through. I will finally be at ease when we purchase the tickets in the next couple of days. Honestly I am very thrilled and scared at the same time. The pessimist in me is just raring to sprout out like another head on my shoulder, trying to make me look, feel and think at all the bad things that may happen to stop our trip. I use to be an optimistic little girl until I grew up and realized that it was better for me emotionally not to expect anything good. It didn't hurt as much, the disappointments are not as crippling. It's a shield that I have learned to put up around myself. I feel like I have let down God, In a way, I am. I am robbing myself from believing and trusting in his plans. It's easier to be a pessimist than an optimist. I have to learn to cut that impending other head off my shoulders and just go with the flow. Looking at the bright side of life is what I really need to do more and more. Life is to short and beautiful..

FINISHED BUT NOT DONE

It's been over 2 months since our last mini kitchen renovation got done. Ralph wanted it done as soon as we moved in this house but due to financial reason we had to wait. Finally late last year we were able to get everything done. We shopped around at first at different places and getting quotes for our kitchen counter as well as the flooring. It was good that Ralph and I agree on the new flooring we were going to get and he was gracious enough to give in about the color paint in the kitchen. We had a rough time looking for ceramic tiles to use for the back splash. There was just not enough selections, or so we thought. He was looking in the wrong section. I didn't give up and kept looking and looking at this one store until I finally saw something we both liked. A lot of things like little knick knacks here and there still need to be added in the kitchen but we will get there. The important thing is that the major overhaul like the kitchen counter, flooring,painting and the back splash has already been done.

" I LOVE YOU"

I was never the type of person who was so vocal about saying " I love you". That all changed when I married my hubby of almost 3 years now. I say the Word " I love you " not just to my hubby but to my family members more often now. Ralph and I talk more than 3 times a day on the phone when he is at work and It always ends with I love you. Before he goes out the door to work we kiss and say the the same thing. It's like ritual for both of us now, I don't want to miss a chance to say I love you to him. His work is dangerous and I don't know if its the last time I'll see him so I say I love you as often as I can.

Our Anniversary is coming up and he teases me that its a long and torturous 3 years married to me. And I would say the same thing to him. Its important not just to say those words to your spouse but to also show them how much you care and make them feel special. For more of couples corner click the badge...

BULAD FOR SIOPAO

At last my friend Biyaw has finally taken the hint that I want bulad, heheheh.. She keeps forgetting to send it. She called me yesterday laughing and told me they will be coming on Feb 27th. She will be making a list of what to bring and requested something in return. That I make her something to eat. I guess I will have to make my famous beef ginaling for her again as well as make her siopao. A few of my friends have already offered to send me Bulad but all I was waiting for was BIYAW.. You better make good on your promise girl or your siopao is going to be history,heheheh.

Hopefully if my vacation pushes through, I will set aside some money to buy bulad so I can bring it back. As to the suggestion of Lulu I have already asked my family to look into sending me some bulad.

BULAD NEEDED

To all my pinoy readers here in the US:

I need donation for BULAD! Kidding aside, I miss eating bulad and I am willing to buy your bulad and pay via paypal. That is how desperate I am. Our pinoy store near our house doesn't have much of a selection when it comes to bulad. To those kind hearted filipinas thank you in advance,heheheh..Seriously I will pay for it..

I GOT TAGGED

I normally don't join and follow thru with tags. But today, I am doing it. I got tagged by Gen of Life's Journey. If you want to join in the fun you can just grab the tag and pass it along to 8 of your blog freinds. So here goes nothing :

8 TV Shows I like to watch

1. CSI : Crime Scene Investigation
2. CSI : Miami
3. CSI : New York
4. Ghost Whisperer
5. House
6. NCIS
7. NCIS : Los Angeles
8. Nickelodeon ( Kayla and Kaitlyn's show)
   

8 Favorite Place to Dine-out

1. Chinese Buffet
2. Chinese Buffet
3. Red Lobster
4. IHOP
5. McDonalds
6. Italian Bistro
7. Olive Garde
8. Chinese Buffet

8 Things I look forward too.

1. Our 3rd Wedding Anniversary
2. Valentines
3. Vacation to the Philippines
4. Snow
5. Spring
6. Having another baby
7. Summer
8. My birthday
   

8 Things that happen yesterday

1. Walked Kayla to the bus stop
2. called my grandfather to wish him happy birthday
3. babysitting
4. cashed a check in the bank
5. went to Acme
6. Ralph dropped of Kayla in Baltimore
7. cleaned the stove
8. laundy and laundry and more laundry
   

8 Things I love About Winter

1. Snow
2. Snow so the kids can play in it
3. More snow to go sledding
4. sound of fresh powder when you walk on it
5. looks clean
6. feels quiet
7. want to make a snowman
8. just wants to see my kids reaction to snow
   

8 Things I’m Passionate About

1. My family
2. My Husband
3. My kids
4. My family back home
5. My blog
6. My cooking
7. My computer
8. My games,lol
   

8 Word/Phrases I often Used

1. Langga (term or endearment for Kaitlyn)
2. Manang (big sister)
3. Daddy
4. Sunny (screaming at our dog)
5. Mom
6. Oh my Lord
7. What the heck
8. NO!
   
   

8 Things I learned from the past

1. Faith
2. Hope
3. L ove
4. Patience
5. Be self sufficient
6. Honesty
7. Kindness
8. Understanding
   

8 Blog Friends I want to tag

1. Lea of My Life and People
2. Jenn of My Sweet Haven
   
3. Rosarie of Chrissaire
4. Adin of Mommy's Gossip Corner
5. Rose of Rose's Obstacles and Glories
6. Shy or Worth's Road
7. Rachel of Vantage point in Life
8. YOU!!!!
   

A TOW AWAY

One more day and its the weekend again. Tomorrow, we will go with daddy to drop off big sister at Baltimore for her mom's regular visitation weekend. I don't enjoy taking a drive going there specially when Kaitlyn is in a cranky mood. MIL and I do get our share of driving Kayla to Baltimore when Ralph is working. Let me just say my MIL is not a happy camper specially when its raining, snowing or just bad. One time we got stuck in traffic so bad that we were on the road for literally 4 1/2 hours, a ride that usually takes only 1 hr 50 min. We stopped somewhere to eat so the kids could get some grub and play a little bit. That was one of the worst travel we have had so far. In the 3 years that we have been doing this we have not had a problem with our car not even once, Knock on wood.. If we ever did 24 hour towing should be available in our area. And if for some reason its not, then we will have to call Ralph to come and get us.

EXTRA CASH FOR USED BOOKS

In my previous life before I got married I use to enjoy reading paperback novels, its was mostly romantic books though.I stated reading novels when I was in 5th grade and I got hooked. I got so addicted to reading that I almost neglected my studies. I would bring a novel to school and read it while the teacher was giving lectures, I forgot to eat and I would not go to sleep until I finished reading it. That's how bad it was before but now that I'm a mom I slowed down. The last books I read was the Twilight Saga and went back to my old self,lol.

I'm not the only one addicted to books, my MIL has to have a book to read all the time. She has tons of books downstairs. Books that she only read once or twice and is still in very good condition. Since she has a lot of books that she already read we tried to bring it in at the farmers market to exchange her old books for new one. We only did that only once, since it was inconvenient and they only do business on certain days. She would love to sell her used books for extra cash. It's a good thing I just recently came across selling books online a site when you can sell your old books without having to drive down to certain place and lugging them around. I bet she would love this site since she has been looking for an easy and convenient way to sell her used books. I have already looked up the site online and it looks very easy, convenient and fast with instant price qoutes . All she has to do to check how much her used books would cost to sell is to enter the ISBN number ( International Standard Book Number ) that is usually found above the bar codes in books. And you get a Free Shipping with Pre-paid Postage Label plus fast payment via Paypal or Check. I can't wait to tell MIL when she gets home. Now she can get rid of the used books she has and have extra cash in return.

FOLLOWING THROUGH

Its almost the weekend and I just can't wait. Tomorrow morning is going to be spent at the supermarket to stock up on food and paper supplies for the house. Its been more than a month since the last time we went food shopping. This time I am going to include a lot of healthy stuff not just for the adults but also for the kids. After the Holidays we made a promise that we were going to start loosing weight, exercising and eating healthy. Its not easy mind you but we have to start somewhere. Ralph wants to go back to the gym at work and start lifting weights. His brother, who is a little bit of a health freak told him about protein powder. I don't know about my husband but one of our biggest problem is we don't follow through with what we start. It's so easy to say that we are going to try but taking the first step like starting and sticking to it is hard.

68th AND AN ANNIVERSARY

It's been boring around the house with the Holidays over. We only have 2 special occasion to celebrate next month. Our 3rd wedding anniversary which happens to be on Valentines day and my MIL 68 Th birthday. I have no idea yet if we're going to be celebrating here at the house. It would be nice to have the Schifano clan in one roof again. I miss seeing the newest addition to the family which is the first great grandchild. He is such an adorable little tyke with big brown eyes and peaches and cream skin. I hope he doesn't inherit his dads genes and have lots of acne and breakouts when he becomes a teenager. I hope Andrew, Ralph's nephew will see a Dermatologist for his skin and also if the dermatologist could also prescribe back acne treatment as he has bad ones. Seeing him reminds me of my cousin back home who has bad skin problem. Our skin is our first defense and we should take good care of it. A friend told me that taking care of our skin and face early will be beneficial in the long run.

COOLD WEATHER AND MY MOM

Tomorrow will be the end of my reprieve from walking Kayla to the bus stop. You see Ralph takes the car even for a short distant due to the weather. Since I don't drive I guess Kayla and I will have to bundle up and brave the cold weather and walk. It's not like we haven't been doing that, its just a pain getting all bundled up. The cold weather does terrible things to my skin, dries it out like a raisin. I feel like I look older than my age due to the dryness of my skin. I know one person who would actually benefit from the cold weather, my mom. She has a heart condition and she can't get to warm or hot or else her blood pressure will shoot off the roof. It doesn't help that she has almost no hormones left ever since she had the hysterectomy. What she needs is HGH ( Human Growth Hormone ) to help slow down the process of aging. I probably need to look into hgh releasers and find out more about the benefits and side effects before I tell my mom. I know there is no stopping aging but if a way to slow it down is out there, by all means we should know more about it.

HOPING FOR ANOTHER ADDITION

Finally its another year full of promise for all of us. It's an exciting year for me since I have been planning my upcoming vacation in a few months. Not only that but we are also hoping to conceive and keep our family growing. We haven't really tried the past month since I would not be able to have my vacation if I was over 7 months pregnant. Hopefully in a few months we will be able to conceive. We didn't really plan to have our kids so far apart but it looks like its happening that way. I miss being pregnant, feeling the baby kick inside of me, taking daily prenatal vitamins. On the other hand I do not miss the nausea, throwing up and the crazy food cravings and everything in between that,lol. Who know maybe the next time around it won't be so bad for me, at least back then when I reached my 2nd trimester it got better. I just can't wait to have another baby again. It's all in God's hands now.

BREAKOUTS

One of the things that I am proud of my teenage years was I had nice skin. I however had some breakouts when I was in my college years. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as some people had it. My cousin had terrible acne on her face. She had it taken cared of when she went to college and saw a Dermatologist. She was given the right acne solutions that fit her skin type. It made wonders for her face and cleared it up in no time. Hopefully my kids will get the genes from either of us and not be plagued with acne, pimples or any other breakouts that most teenagers go through.