a case of cabin fever

michelle and i have been cooped up in our tiny portland apartment for a few days now. the only respite we had was dinner with ninang gracious and ninong jay on wednesday and friday night. (gracious and i went to dinner, just us women on thursday at romano's). last night was dinner at the espenida's and we had great fun eating and playing cranium, until it was time to go and michelle could not hold back and leave behind a souvenir on their colorful rug. =(

just as we were putting her coat on, michelle, who has been feeling under the weather the whole week, got 'sick' and threw up what little she ate that night (mostly milk). on our way we home we had to make a quick stop at the grocery store to buy fever reducing medicine and yogurt (the only food she would eat when sick). she's feeling slightly better now but still clingy. i hope she feels better for our flight back to san francisco tomorrow. i guess this kind of cold, wet, gloomy weather has given us the case of cabin fever (and a real fever for michelle!). shortly after waking up, i still feel tired and sleepy and just want to crawl back into bed. michelle woke me up this morning with a soft tap on my shoulder and her tiny voice saying, 'mommy, hug me.' (makes my heart melt!)

i was hoping to go to the lloyd center today and have michelle try out ice skating with her dad who is the better skater, but it's just not gonna happen. i was also hoping to eat at caprial and john's kitchen for lunch, too, but we'll have to make do with left overs from yesterday's lunch. 'caprial's cafe' was the cooking show i always watched when we first got cable back in the philippines. i was elated when i found out she's a portland native and wanted to try out her food. maybe i'll have the pleasure of trying out her tasty dishes when we return in better weather.

the goodness in people

it's been a week now since i was laid off and there are times when i wonder if i will ever find a job in this very competitive market. i haven't been doing any intense search but i've been sending my resume here and there.

i am amazed by the willingness of people to help out. my [now former] boss called me and asked me to email him my resume because he was informed of a job opening at another firm. a former co-worker works there now so we have insiders =). i am grateful that they thought of me so i can submit my resume. there is no guarantee but it's a step towards getting A JOB. i don't know how much the pay is but in this difficult time, a job is a job and i'll be happy to have a decent paying job (even if it means a slight pay cut) just to get us through this time. God will help us make ends meet for he promised to bless us abundantly.

hmmm....

will i survive as a housewife? or will i risk my sanity? =)

it has been brought up by a friend of my husband that i stay in oregon and open up a filipino restaurant since i love to cook and i think my cooking can pass for an ok karinderya. hehehe =)

maybe someday but not soon. =)

mt. hood

snowy mt. hood proved to be too cold for me. we went on sunday and the drive was longer than our playtime in the snow (almost a 2 hour drive, and only 20-30 minutes in the snow!). while we were all bundled up, our gloves were not meant for making snow balls. our hands were freezing after 20 minutes and i thought out loud, 'this is what frost bite feels like!' we went back to the car and back to portland before our fingers fell off.

michelle obviously had fun, just look at her smile!

pero mas malaki ang ngiti ng ama while sliding down the slope on the tube.

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

this our (mine and michelle's) first 'major' snow fall. the images were taken outside our portland apartment.

michelle really enjoys playing the snow. ako naman i still prefer playing in the sand in a nice warm beach over playing in the snow. =) but this kind of weather is good every once in a while. =)

thank you

thank you to all of you who read my blog and expressed your kind words of encouragement. sabi ko nga dati pa, true wealth is not in material things but the wonderful relationships we keep.

i am forever blessed because i have the love and support of all my family and my friends. =) God is good!

it's official...

i am no longer an employee of BAC-MER.

i was laid off today after more than 5 years of being an employee. it was difficult to leave even though i already 'knew' that i was going to be laid off. since the merger was announced in september, we all had this thought in the back of our heads that we were going to say goodbye, one by one. about 12 of us was let go in our office alone. there are thousands of us laid off today from all across the firm -- including john thain...our former ceo who...well, there are so many not-so-nice-things i want to say about him and what many of us now think of him but i'll keep my mouth shut. may God bless him, let's leave it at that! hehehe

i am sad, yes. it has been a great 5 years and i have learned and grown so much during this time. i will miss the friends that i have made and the camaraderie we have. but such is life, and we need to move on. i take this as an opportunity to explore bigger and better things that the good Lord has in store for me.

when i got home, i sent this letter to my friends and clients...

Hi,

I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye but I know it would have been harder if I stayed and said goodbye to all of you one by one. I will miss you all and greatly appreciate your friendship. I left with a heavy heart not because of the uncertainty that is before me but because I'm leaving behind some of the most wonderful people I have ever met. I know this is hard for you as it is for all of us that had to leave today, but I pray that we all find comfort in our faith, our family and our friends.

It has been a short 5 years for me in the office but it has been very rewarding. I hope to see all of you soon with smiles on our faces knowing we have overcome these challenging times.

I would love to keep in touch. Take care, God bless us all!

When you pass through the waters, I [the Lord] will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,

nor shall the flame scorch you.

Isaiah 43:2

in everything that happens in my life, i give praise and glory to the Lord. it may be hard to see the brightness of the future when something big like this happens, but i know that God's hands are already at work and everything will be ok. the Lord is my rock and my salvation.

my portion

"Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever."

Psalm 73:25-26

Praise God for He alone deserves all the honor and glory!

Grabe talaga ang kabutihan ng Panginoon. Hallelujah!

note to self...

wag na wag, na wag na wag, na ulit maglalasing.


EVER!!!


i didn't like it when i was 18, i didn't like it when i was 24, and now that i'm 28, i asked myself again (while still lasheeeeeng), 'why, oh why, oh why, would i ever, ever, ever subject myself to a torture like this????'


sober na ako by the way. =)

wins and losses 1/12/08

small victory: hardly any rice

small defeat: chocolate! waaah!!!

fun with girls...errr, women!

11 of us 'women' of v.o.v. celebrated cynthia's birthday by getting a full body massage in millbrae and having lunch. i have to say, it's one of the better massages i've had state-side. what is it about asian women that they give the best massages? plus, for $45 for a full 60 minute massage, can't beat that. (after your first time it's $78 tho) the place is called, 'a perfect day spa'. it was a good massage, and i would come back, even for full price.


after the massage, we ate at alimango for lunch. the food was ok. i have no complaints about the food, but neither was i impressed. would i come back and eat there? still thinking about that. their 'fountain drink' says free refill but when my friend asked for a refill on her coke, she said there are no refills on her soda. i don't know what they considered a fountain drink but we weren't about to argue with them over a glass of soda so we didn't complain. the manager (or owner) was very friendly though. maybe we should have asked him instead of the waiter. any hoot, we had fun. i would have loved to stay and hang out but we were gone for 4 hours already at nahihiya na ako kay karen who was babysitting michelle earlier (thanks k!).

cynthia, happy birthday to you!!! 2 corinthians 12:9-10 '...Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong." we love you!!!

the women: pastora mona, cynthia, me, tita ressie, cherie, ate gina, nanay teresita, tita irma, ate thez, ate anna, karen v.

small victory: did not eat rice today, hooorah!

small defeat: ate one too many spoonfuls of dessert, baaaad!!!

ass off the couch!

I SOOOOOO FREAKIN' NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT!!!

i get upset at myself sometimes for 'letting myself go' and gain as much weight as i did last year. why did i let myself fall off the weightloss wagon again? i've come to accept that my genes play a big part in my struggle and i will have to battle with my weight for the rest of my life but that's not an excuse to gain instead of lose weight! urgh!

i read leonardo dicaprio told kate winslet, 'you have to let the fat girl go'. kate has always struggled with her weight too and look at her now! slim and svelte! i, too, have to let the fat girl go and reclaim my old self!

i'm tired of disguising my love-handles by wearing oversized everything. i'm tired of looking at my closet only to find clothes that are tight and make me look like suman. (shopping for a new wardrobe is an option i currently cannot afford and dare not entertain!) i'm tired of complaining about my wide hips and my bulging belly. I AM SO TIRED OF THIS $#!+!!!!!

so that's enough complaining, time to get movin'. wii fit jogging is calling my name.

sugatan cousins

after christmas, my cousin, raquel and her dad and husband visited the bay area. the last time i saw them was around the same time last year when we visited them at their home in seattle.

so syempre, halata naman sa kaseksihan naming lahat, wala kaming ginawa kundi kumain!!! it was great to spend time with them and with ate joan and ate jeen na kahit na taga rito rin sa daly city e hindi ko masyado nakakasama.

.

i really had a lot of fun and i wish we could hang out more often. lalo tuloy nakaka miss yung iba naming pinsan. kelan kaya tayo ulit magkakasama sama ng kumpleto tayo? =)

here are some of the photos naming magpipinsan.

raquel, al, me, paul, michelle, my dad, and tito rollie

the sugatan clan at tita lita's

ate jeen, ate joan, raquel, and me

nasa lahi talaga namin ang *sexy* =)

slowly coming together

the house is slowly coming together.

maybe we'll have the house warming when the husband comes back next month. =)

always log out!

the post below is a lesson to me.

ALWAYS LOG OUT OF BLOGSPOT IF YOU DON'T WANT SOMEONE ELSE POSTING BLOGS ON YOUR BEHALF.

love you lai!!! =D

Not Almira

This is not Almira. This is her friend who saw an opportunity to post on her blog while she's in the living room. I'm sure she will delete this when she finds it hehehe...

I love Almira. She's like a mother to me. Always the one who knows better. The voice in your head that tells you what you're doing wrong hahaha... She's my best friend, one third of the best people you'll ever meet (the other 2 are of course me and Chel). I not only love her, her whole family too. Her mom, dad, husband, and my favorite inaanak, her daughter Michelle. She's a little angel. Our little angel. The one who makes us laugh and she just makes it so easy to love her.

She's superhuman. She works full time, but she's also a mother, a wife, a daughter, pie maker, and very domestic.

Chel said she doesn't wanna say anything daw. Nahiya.

Ok, now to the bad stuff... Almira doesn't laugh loud. As in, she can be "cracking up", but not in the sense of the word. When she's REALLY laughing, it's inaudible. Her face would be contorted but no sound will come out.

Almira is afraid of people. She locks the door in the car because there's people outside. Because of this, she's very picky with friends, so one should feel lucky if she considers you her friend.

Almira doesn't like pranks. She hits. A lot. Not her daughter, but she does hit Chel a lot.

What else can I say about her? I don't have enough time or interest to finish this post. One last thing about her, "ang cute cute" nya! LoL! (inside joke) Love you Mie!

(parinig)

i would love to write about raquel's trip to san francisco, kung maguupload lang sya ng picture!!!