Thanksgiving

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

- 1 Thessalonians 5:18

As the spirit of thanksgiving lingers all around, I want to itemize everything that I am grateful for…

• a great God Who is forever faithful despite my being unworthy of all His goodness

• a joker who endures being a hubby to an unpredictable wife that I am

• my parents and siblings who loves me and supports all my aspirations in life

• true friends that stayed behind when most people already left

• a church family that stands by the principles of holiness, worships One God, still believes in miracles, sings and prays like no other

• the church ministries that are helping me grow as a Christian and appreciate God’s works in the lives of people

• the school that helped me come to US and be on the job that I am in now

• the job that pays off the monthly bills, supplies enough allowance for my family, gets hold of our other needs and still permits me to save a little

• my employer who gave me the opportunity to be part of this company I go to work everyday and agreed to help me with visa matters

• my manager, team leader and teammates who always assign me feasible tasks, are always approachable for anything I need and for conniving to extend my contract

• a good health that had always kept me and hubby going

• a dependable car that comfortably transports me and hubby from point A to B

• my driver’s license that will finally allow me to drive anywhere and everywhere on my own

• my sewing machine that patiently assisted me to resize some sweaters for winter and come up with more projects

• our little but well-insulated apartment that provided us with enough warmth during the blazing summer days and freezing winter nights without having to turn the air-con or heater on

• the food we eat that gives nourishment to our bodies, reminding us of the Lord’s providence

• safe drive everyday that’s proven God’s protection over us

All these and everything else, I thank and give HIM praise!

Big trip- day 3

As promised, I cooked Sinigang, our favorite Filipino sour soup, on Sunday morning.

We let our original plan of going back to the inner harbor pass. All of us were too tired to get up early that morning so we went on with the day’s flow. We ate brunch and spent the rest of the morning chit-chatting again. While Nell vacuumed the car, us gurls never ran out of stories to tell each other. We once again laughed our hearts out until it’s time to go.

We dropped by the Asian store to grab some veggies and meat we can’t find among Oriental stores here in Lexington. Our big basket got full and heavy as we paid twice a month’s grocery expense for everything. Not only prices were way cheaper but the veggies were so fresh. It was also our first time to come across pork meat with fats and skin (which makes a good lechon kawali), so we did not let go of the chance. We were hoping to get some green bags from there to preserve the veggies longer but had no luck.

We finally hugged and bade our farewell to each other. I was teary-eyed, pretty sure to be missing them both.

Us at WV rest area

We hit the road the same time we left Lexington for Baltimore so we expected to be arriving home at more or less the same time we arrived Baltimore. We stopped at the first rest area in West Virginia to eat our dinner and steal some of Lerrie’s and Dinesha’s crops from the barn. I drove the first half of the trip but eventually gave up when it went dark. I became so tense I can barely see the road.

It was even harder to see the road when we got to West Virginia mountains since the roads were clouded with fog. Half-asleep and half-awake, we got through it below the speed limit and reach Lexington past our expected arrival time.

Both exhausted, we went to bed at 2AM.

Big trip- day 2

I am the early bird of the group. I woke up early, dropped by my barn at Facebook, made coffee, prepared my self and prepared packed lunched for the day. We are headed to Washington, DC for July 4 fireworks at midnight and some other free attractions in between.

Crime and Punishment Museum opens 9AM. We got there about 15minutes before their opening so we took our breakfast for the meantime. This is the only museum with an entrance fee on our itinerary that day, but we settled on the idea of trying it since we thought it would be interesting to see CSI labs and forensic bits and pieces for real. While we were introduced to America’s big time criminals, we also procured a mission for extra bucks that forced us to be familiar with other documented crimes to come up with the solution to the puzzle. Aside from preserved evidences to the crime, we were also kept busy with the games we can play with involving crime and punishment. We also took a tour on America’s Most Wanted studio. What we estimated for an hour or two was extended to almost hours.

I was not impressed with the National Arboretum as much as I was with the UK Arboretum here in Lexington maybe because it’s the peak season of summer and most of the flowers seemed to be dying due to the heat of the sun. It was a much bigger place (and looks harder to maintain) but there’s nothing much we saw. I love the bonsai’s though. They were gorgeous and the best of what I’ve seen so far.

The National Zoo was another huge place. The main target was to see Panda bears. I was a bit upset on how the panda’s were housed. I was expecting them to be on outdoors but they were accommodated in a room with glass walls so people can see them. We just hope that those rooms were just their sleeping quarters and that tunnel like opening from the “outside little forest” leads to their dwelling. It would have been sad if all they have is that room space for their habitat. We saw a lot more animals but again did not have a chance to look at all of them. Not just because we ran out of time but we were also running out of energy.

We went to McDonalds to grab our dinner and charge our camera battery for the fireworks. After almost an hour there, another hour was wasted looking for a parking slot. We decided to skip the National Mall as it took us forever to finally eye for a vacant space to which we can finally park the car. As expected, the place was jam-packed and we did not a find good place to spot the fireworks with the Washington Monument on the background. We also missed seeing the Whitehouse and the Capitol close enough but at least we were there…

Time was too short! We need to get running back to Baltimore that same night and drive back to Lexington on the next day….

Big Trip- day 1

As expected, we were late for our schedule on day 1.

First destination was the National Aquarium. The view surrounding it already took my breath away. The inner harbor was so beautiful with all the ship museums and those colorful dragon-like and plain white boat rides. Tall buildings ranging from malls, museums, restaurants, pubs and the like stood stunning. Sadly, since we were in a hurry, I did not have the chance to take snap shots of everything.



Inside the National Aquarium, we were entertained watching a 3-d movie about sea creatures in the theater. What I thought was ordinary turned out to be almost real as we found ourselves screaming for unexpected strokes and pokes on our legs and backs. Water splashes on our faces come from everywhere. Snow and bubbles also appeared from out of the blue. It was fun but kids got so scared that some parents have to get them out of the theater. It was for kids like us not for the little ones.


My favorite was the dolphin show! I was both amused with what dolphins can do and got real interested on how they are trained. Most of all, dolphin smiles made me want to go as close as I can to them and just hug them. They are so adorable and sweet! I told Nell I want one for Christmas… That was my first time to see them up close and personal. I must admit, I fell in love at first sight with them.

The aquarium itself was amazing! I’ve seen sea creatures I’ve never seen before nor even imagined they exist. There were both colorful and dull-colored creatures, big and small. However, everywhere in the building was so crowded that we really were not able to take a peek of all there is to see. We missed some but I guess we’ve had enough.

My precious camera’s battery went dead as we went out and decided to stroll around. So I again missed taking shots of the outside. After a day’s walk inside the National Aquarium, we tumbled ourselves to the white boat rides to relax for half an hour. It was so cool… It made me a bit nostalgic as it reminded me of my pump boat experience back in the small island province where I grew up.

The next few hours were spent walking round and round, posing for crazy shots courtesy of Lerrie’s camera. We finally headed home when it rained since we decided we needed a good night rest for the next day’s itinerary.

Big trip- introduction

I have not fully recuperated from my so-called big trip but I can’t wait to blog about it!

It all began with when I initiated an email wondering if Dinesha and Lerrie did any of the laboratories in our Algorithms course. Confirming they both did not, it ended up in an exchange of daydreaming conversations that gave birth to a brilliant idea.

Dinesha asked of our plans for July 4. Having none (except fireworks with the church youth group), I told her nothing really exciting. She asked for the closest airport to my place but we realized it was too expensive. Without any definite plan in mind, we opted to search for flights from Arizona and Baltimore, which was way cheaper than from Arizona to Lexington.

Just a month ago, I and Nell planned to go to Washington to have our passports renewed. Lerrie kindly offered her place for us to stay so we can save bucks than staying in a hotel. It is a 9-hour drive from point A to point B. It must be tiring but is compensated with the fact that airfare is quite expensive compared to gas consumption when we drive.

So if Dinesha says yes, our long time plan will be made real and it will be our first big trip. Without having enough time to think about it, I giddily suggested that Dinesha can fly; we drive, meet at Lerrie’s place and spend the long weekend for our reunion.

The next few days were quiet. The topic was never brought up again. We scheduled days of group study for our midterm exam. On the last night, I asked about it and to my surprise Dinesha already bought the ticket for her trip. There I stood smiling at Nell, ready to spend the rest of the night planning for the big trip…

I got over with midterm exam quite easily maybe because just five days after that is our scheduled trip. I proposed an itinerary to the group, wanting everything set when we get there so we won’t be wasting a single second. Although work got me busy2 days before the trip, my acting TL let go of me early on the big day.We got to Baltimore on our estimated time.


Believe it or not, us gurls spend over night chit-chatting and laughing our hearts out. While Nell managed to ignore our noise and get a good morning sleep, we went to bed past 5AM on the first night.

Oh how I miss them, my beautiful friends!

Happy Birthday Nay!

She’s not my maternal mom and her name is not “Nay.”

Nanay is how some or most if not all Filipinos call their mom. I first met her in October 2007 when she, being the closest to the university, was requested by Pastor Jay to pick me up for church one Sunday. I found it awkward to call her by name since we usually address some name that depicts respect to our elders back in the Philippines. So upon driving me home that day, I asked if I could call her “Nay” and she sweetly consented.

Nanay Linda and Bitsy, the spoiled brat

I call her Nay from thereon and she, not only became a good friend, but acted as my adopted mom too. I lived with her after my 6-month on-campus course and I enjoyed every bit of each moment we spent together. She taught me a lot of things about America and I am grateful for everything that she’s been and is to me.

Happy birthday Nay! I pray that the Lord will bless you more and more and will keep you warm in His loving arms. I love you and thanks for everything…

This afternoon's joy...

IS made possible with

a coconut macaroon crunch ice cream

and a real indoor plant
to accompany my little fortune bamboo
courtesy of Kathy's lovely kitchen vine...

Taco Salad

Is what I had last night and is still what I am craving for since this morning. Not because I did not have enough of it last night., in fact, I had more than enough. The ingredients provided were just perfect for my taste buds...

Keith & Melissa invited us over to their place for dinner after church last night. We had taco salad, brownies and ice cream. We forgot about the rice and we just had a great time with them and their little one, Olivia. She's such a darling! Stacy and Steve, also from church, were there too. We had fun just hanging around, eating and talking about anything and everything. We look forward to spend more and more time with you guys!

I felt partly guilty though that we were not able to accept Sister Rene's invitation for dinner last night too. She's been inviting us over to their place but our schedules never meet. Hopefully, we'll make it sometime soon.

I feel so blessed and so thankful that we have our church family to satiate the longing we feel for our families and friends back home.

Weddings and gowns

I am married and am happy being one. Memories of my wedding day still cause some sort of butterflies in my stomach. Oh, I love that day! How special, how beautiful it was for me…Aside from those sweet reminiscences, among the things that I want to preserve is my wedding gown. I only get to wear it and feel to be the most gorgeous, most beautiful bride in the world this once in my life so might as well keep it for a remembrance. My mom kept hers very carefully and we, her children, were able to see and appreciate it with our own eyes. I want to share the same thing with my own children someday.

A friend is getting married and what occupies most of her preparation is finding a wedding gown she would love. I suggested that she make a search online to choose from a wide variety of designs and elegance at best bridal prices. As I said, this only get to happen once in a woman's lifetime so she deserves to look her best on that very special day.

I wish I can help her with all the necessary preparations and be there for her wedding but I cannot. I hope, however, that my suggestion on getting the best bridal prices will help her in one way or the other.

Dear friend...

It saddens me that you're sad
It hurts to hear you cry
If only I could wrap my arms around you
I would...
To console what you feel
To make you invincible
To guard you from more heartaches and pains

I want to tell you to stop
To grow and to let go
But I can't be blunt enough
To hurt you more
And care less...
Unsolicited advice and insensitive reactions
Will be the least thing you need
All I can do is to listen and stand by you

I wish I had a magic wand
That I can use to shove your troubles away
To bring back that sweet smile on your face
To redeem your old happy self
Or...
To simply undo the past
And help you start from the scratch

I wish I can be a better friend
A superwoman who can save you
From all you’re going through
I remain hopeless that we’re miles and miles apart
Except that you’re never missed in my prayers
And please know that...
He will take care of you more than I can