christmas tradition

Day after thanksgiving, we go out to the farm and get our christmas tree. The rest of the day, we're out putting christmas lights around the house. It takes us all afternoon to do this. Right now we have:

1. 3 reindeers and Santa's sleigh
2. 2 strings of white lights laid out as a runway for the reindeers
3. 3 garland string, 2 on the basement window, 1 by the front door
4. 4 strings of red lights, 2 each on the pine tree
5. 1 multi-colored lights hung on top of the garage door
6. 2 christmas lantern on bedroom windows
7. Santa on the dining room window
8. christmas tree on the other dining room window
9. 3 strings of icicle ligths

This is how it looked like last year. We want more.

This year, we started a new tradition. We made christmas decoration! We found this kit at a hobby store.

Has it really been almost 2 months since I last posted here at blogspot?

UPDATE:

Since I last posted, I have:

1. bought 2 piano books. John Thompson's Teaching Little Fingers to Play (which my piano teacher used back in PI) and First Grade Book (which I'm doing now). My progress has been slow but I'm happy. I can slowly read notes now. Megan is learning, too.

2. bought a sketchbook and sketchpad. I was doing pretty good with this but lately I haven't been doing any sketching.

3. done nothing on the cooking. I'm looking for a new recipe, something Italian, pasta... not sure.

That's it.

There are a lot of things I want to do/want to be...

On top of my list are:

1. an excellent cook
2. photographer
3. play the piano
4. learn french and/or spanish
5. sketch

I'd go through this phase where I'm all out pursuing these but I'd get bored or lazy and I drop it. Months later, I pick it up again. If only I have the will to finish what I started.

Imagine that.

Apparently, I live in the #6 Best Place to Live according to CNN Money magazine. Who would have thought. It doesn't feel like it. Hehehe. I really need to explore more and see what this place has to offer.

I've been complaining that I don't want to be here. I'd rather be somewhere else. I was really bummed when I came back here from Davao. It's time to stop being so negative about this place.

I bet you a thousand smiles, as soon as I start liking this place, it would be time to move for us... again.

Thank you!

Two weeks ago, we drove to San Diego to see Aymone, Macky & Winter. We stayed for a week and it was fun, lots of places to see and lots of things to do, Balboa Park, Sea World, San Diego Zoo, I forgot the names of these two places, where we had fish and chips for dinner and they had a lot of great stores and the other where we had lunch (lots of great stores, too).

Megan said her favorite part of the trip was Sea World. She loved Shamu Rocks. I think Buddy enjoyed the dog beach, although, he only went in the water once on his own accord. Megan certainly loved it. Part of the appeal, I think, is she gets to carry Buddy into the water so she can see Buddy swim.

On our last day, we drove to Mexico. We had lobster at Puerto Nuevo. Megan and Aymone had margarita at Hotel Califia. We walked around Rosarito.

Once again, thanks Aymone, Macky & Winter.

There are 3 things you can do in napa...
*wine-tasting
*shopping
*picture-taking

We decided to do #3 today. But what was supposed to be a relaxing drive around napa, taking photos, turned to an adventure. We headed out around 10. I decided to take 12 to Sonoma instead of 29 to Napa. First stop, Art and Nature Center (forgot the name), didn't even get to the desk, they had a sign, no pets allowed. 2nd stop, winery, no pets allowed. 3rd stop, once again, no pets allowed. I'm beginning to see a pattern here so we decided to just go home and come back another day without Buddy.

Instead of going home, I called Aymone for direction to the dog park. So, we took Old Sonoma Rd to 29, missed a turn, got to downtown Napa and found 29. Somehow, I didn't find the dog park before I knew it we were driving on a winding road at 25 mph, uphill. "Mom, we're lost", Megan would say and I'd reply, "No, we're not. We're still in CA, so we're not lost. Besides, this is fun." Finally, we started going downhill. 12% down grade... pretty steep. Then, I was at 12 again, ended up in Santa Rosa.

It was time to go home. I was pretty confident that I would get home no problem. Boy, was I wrong, missed another turn and ended up in Vallejo. It was a lot of fun and we saw a lot of great houses. Total driving time... 6 hours.

Last post, I complained about nothing to do.

I've started reading this book, C'est La Vie, and found inspiration. I've always wanted to speak french and I did try and learn but got tired of it and gave up. As you might have guessed, I want to do it again. Only thing is, I left my learning materials in NE. Didn't think I'd need it. I really don't want to buy another set of books so I'm turning to the internet to help me out on this one. We'll see what happens.

*big sigh*

It's like my life is on hold. I am officially doing nothing. Nada. Zero. Zelch. I'm just hanging out at dad's doing nothing. NOTHING... I need to be productive. I need inspiration. To do something. Anything. What should I do for the next 6 weeks that I'll be here???

Suggestions? Anyone? Save me from this insanity...

I'm just bored. That's what it all boils down to.

ARGH!!!

I've been meaning to post new photos and videos BUT I DON'T HAVE A USB. I thought my brother would have a USB but no, he does not have any. It's making me so frustrated. So frustrated that I mustered enough strength to go in Dad's room and look for one. Yes, it takes a lot to go into Dad's room and rummage through his stuff. Just kidding. Dad's room is not that bad. I found 2. 1 for his camera which is too square and another one for his mp3 player which is too wide.

So, unless a USB miraculously falls in my lap, no photo or videos from me. OR I could just go to the nearest store and get me one.

We're here in sunny CA.

Pleasantly surprised that Megan behaved, she didn't bombard me with her ceaseless chatter. She pretty much sat at the backseat and did her math book. Although, sometimes she would tease Buddy and Buddy would start barking and inside a car, Buddy's bark is just sooo loud.

At first Buddy barked like crazy when I got him inside his crate. He did not want to be in there but after a few, he settled down and resigned to his place in his crate. Funny that everytime we'd stop and I'd put him back in his crate when it's time to go, he would still go bark and whimper. You'd think he would have learnt his lesson, maybe just trying his luck. We might pity him and let him out of his crate. Nah.

Overall, the drive was OK. It took us 3 days to get here, slept at Wyoming & Utah. Our last drive day was 11 hours total. So, I'm thinking maybe I could do it in 2 days next time.

need a smile?

click on the link bugging you.

it's worth a click, i promise. hey, you might even laugh.

Finally decided what we'll do... we'll drive.

Hahaha. Megan, Buddy & I will drive from middle of nowhere Nebraska to California. I don't think it's a very good idea. Megan is so impatient and Buddy is so nervous inside a car but this is our best option.

It's a 22-hour drive so unless I drive 11 hours straight, we'll be on the road for 2 days. I don't think I can drive that long with 2 spoiled brats in the car, I think it's best if we do it this in 3 days.

I've always wanted to drive coast to coast so this will be like a practice run for us. Wish us luck. I'm gonna need it. A lot of it.

I never thought that...

... I'd be whale-watching off a riverbank, but that I did. Two whales, believed to be a mother and a calf, was spotted in Rio Vista, 20 miles away from Dad's house. We drove down there and sure enough, there they were. It was sad though, they have been stranded on that stretch of the river for days, they have been injured and have been out of saltwater for days. As of today, they are making good progress towards the sea. Hurray!!!

... I'd watch B-52 live in concert and for free. I have a couple of their CDs and who doesn't know any of their songs, so when Gary told me that they would be performing, I'm all for it. Too bad we couldn't get close to the stage though, it was reserved for VIP guests. It's all good.

It's almost 1 in the morning. The last time I posted was 17 days ago but that seems like a lifetime ago. Everything is the same yet different. Where do I start?

People ask "How are you doing?" and I automatically answer, "I'm OK." but am I really OK? I don't know. Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. I seem OK or maybe I'm just in denial. I am now running on reserved battery power might as well sign off. I don't really have anything to say.

It's been awhile...

I woke up this morning disoriented. Then, a few seconds later, I realized that I'm at Chemas. I could live here. I'd like to live here. Who wouldn't? So peaceful.

We headed for the beach. At 7 in the morning, the water was warm enough to go swimming. Unfortunately, the tide was low, so we just waded and looked for bright, white shells. Then I saw a yellow fish with 1 blue stripe, then another and another. I told Gary to grab the goggles and wake Megan up.

The water was so clear that you could see the bottom clearly. We went by the seawall and found more things. An eel, a sea snake, so small, I wasn't scared. A white fish with black spots. A two-tone fish. A fish with yelllow stipes. Another one with blue neon stripes. I wish I know more about the different species of tropical fish.

Someday, I will live by the sea.

My poor blog!

I've abandoned you for so long. It's just that there's nothing blog-worthy happened to me lately. I've been taking more pictures.

I like these the most.

I love this. Simple life. Simple pleasures. Happy na sa sugbang isda at baboy with matching talong and, of course, coke.

Megan's birthday party photos ---> click ME.

It snowed but we were not there to play! =(

*sigh*

I'm tired of looking at my page...

I want a new one...

I don't have time to make one...

*sigh*

I'm so proud of myself!

Hahahaha! It's nothing big but still I'm proud of me. I googled myself (not my real name, just a user ID) and found a photo of mine posted in Wikipedia.

I'm just glad that somebody I don't know posted it. =)

Photos from Chemas ---> click here