precious moments

Philippines ~ we will be there soon !

      I was feeling a little low lately. Been wanting to go see mama in the Philippines. I want to go home by myself. Ryan had been telling me that one of these days he will allow me to go home by myself. Last night, we were talking about the Philippines. Ryan said we can probably go home next year or may celebrate this birthday there. I looked surprised. I told him, I thought I can just go home by myself. Then he said, "Sweety, I have been saving and I want to go home too."

    What can I say ? Every payday Target takes a part of our check and it goes to our invisible savings account. We can withdraw the money but we chose not to. Now we have a reason to withdraw it. We will use that money next year for our trip. We don't have any instant money for that so we have to wait and save. I know it will be so worth it.

My Plants Part II

     It was my day-off yesterday and as usual, I got up at 11:00 a.m. turned the PC on and chatted for almost an hour with Ate G. and did my blog. At around 12:30 noon Ryan came home exhausted. He took a nap and I decided to take a nap with him. Two o'clock pm the phone rang. I got up and answered it but it was a telemarketer. After few minutes there was another call, tried to answer it again but it was another telemarketer. I can't get back to sleep so I got up, had something to eat and started crosstiching. At around three o'clock pm the phone rang again but this time it was a familiar voice. It was Lorraine from work. She asked me if I would like to have few of her plants. Her daughter sent her a whole bunch of them from Arizona for mother's day and she said, she has so much plants in her house that she doesn't know where to put them. I readily said yes. I gave her some instructions on how to get to our house so that she can drop the plants off.

   Four p.m. she rang the door bell and I met her outside. When she opened her trunk, she had 11 different indoor plants. She asked me to pick as many as I want  but I asked her if it was ok to take all of them and she was more than happy to give them all to me.

                         The plants from Lorraine

    I started with only two now I have 13. They are all beautiful. Before Lorraine left, she asked me if we need something because she wants to get us a house warming present. I told her that we are OK and we can get by. She insisted and said she won't leave if I won't tell her what we want. So, I told her we need dishes so that she doesn't need to spend so much.   

      What can I say about Lorraine. She has been in Target for 10 years. A very hard working lady. She was the same person who gave me my favorite watch for my birthday last year. She over heard me instructing the ladies that if Ryan would ask what I want, to tell him about that watch. She bought it instead. Very sweet of her.

     She has 4 kids. Her husband had heart disease but died with fire. They used to live in an apartment  and the kids from the first  floor were playing with matches. Her husband then just got back from the hospital. She said it was her birthday and her mother-in-law invited them out but her husband refused to go because he wanted to rest. He was supposed to work the next day after a long absence. When Lorraine and her kids got home, her husband was dead and the apartment was on the ground. I can't imagine how painful it must have been. She is an example of a very brave lady. She takes care of the elderly every Sunday, take them to church and give them communion. We are both so happy to be apart of her life.

    So when Lorraine left, I asked Ryan on what to give her. Since I have been crosstiching and had been giving some away, I decided to give her my Jesus crosstich. Ryan was ok about it. He said she will love it and will cherish it. We went to Michaels last night and got her a frame. It looks beautiful. She deserves this. I have never seen anyone who sacrifices herself to help out others. I can't wait to give it to her this Saturday. Also to let her know that we care.

My Plants

      We went to see Ben, Ken and Vicky last Friday. Even though they don't have that big of a space but Vicky was able to grow plants inside their apartment. As Ken would always say, he felt like he is in a jungle. Every time we go there, I didn't notice all her plants because they are all by the window. But that visit was different, the moment I walk-in their apartment and saw all her plants in the kitchen, I just fell in love with it. They decided to move it up because of Ben. He is learning how to walk and he would pull all the leaves that he could reach. She has wandering Jews. It is a vine and it crawls (as what Ryan call them) . She has Aloe Vera which she doesn't realize that it is good for the scalp. Then she has another kind of plant which is so pretty but she doesn't know what to call them. She also have a lemon tree in a pot. She had that plant since she was 19.

     Before we left, she gave me some parts of her plants and the next day, I made sure that they will be planted. One thing I like with these plants are they are indoor and would need less sun. Even during winter she said, she never had any problem with them. She waters them once a week.

     I planted mine in a nice pot. I only took the wondering Jews and the other plant with no name. Since the previous owner of our house had so many plant hangers, I told Ryan not to take them off so that we can just hang indoor plants if mine will ever survive. We have one in the guest bathroom, in the living room and one here in the computer room. But for now, all I can share are their pictures in the pot. I decided to put both of them in the living room as shown in the picture below. For a closer look of each please click :

        Wandering Jews    Green plant ( no name )

Bedroom

      Every week at least I will try to feature one room and the stuff that I like inside. Though our house is kinda empty, through this, family and friends will be able to see our humble home.

                         Our Master Bedroom

      We painted it light blue. We wanted it to be a little bit darker so that once we are in it, it will bring us to the sleep time mode. One of these days I will take a picture of the entire bedroom but that will be later. We agreed that we won't have any TV inside the room. I never liked the idea that one wants to go to bed while the other still wants to watch TV. Now, we get to talk about what happened at work, about Dad, our family back in Cebu, our plans for the house or just about anything. Then we kiss and hug goodnight and go to sleep. Here are few things that I loved inside our bedroom.

                                    Our Altar

       When I was in the Philippines, I already told Ryan that I want to have my own altar. Even in the previous house, I have my own altar right next to my bed. I always feel so loved and so at home whenever I have one. Even in Cebu, I had my altar upstairs while mamas was downstairs. 

      The picture frame of Jesus behind Sr. Santo Niño was a gift from Ryan to me. When he visited me 3 years ago, he bought it in SM-Cebu and brought it here. He knew I was going to have my own altar. Another Jesus portrait was Ryans from UIC. He used to have his little altar in his dorm. So, when I heard about it, I always knew that it won't be any problem for my Ryan for me to have an altar. I also have the bible, Mother Mary praying, the rosary and the cross. The cross was Ryan's  pre-birthday gift to me . It has his name behind it and my name in front. The bottle of Johnsons baby cologne was from mama. There's holy water inside. She sent it to us together with a prayer so that we can bless the house. We haven't use it yet because we wanted all the painting to get done before the blessing.

The Dresser                                  The Lamps

     There is nothing really significant with our dresser. We bought it at Target when it was on sale. That one important thing I want to point out is my jewelry box. It doesn't look like a jewelry box but it is my jewelry box. Ryan knew I loved Hello Kitty so much. He sent me that same Jewelry Box 5 years ago when I was in the Philippines. I love every time I open it. It makes such a lovely music. The heart shaped roses was from Target too. I bought it last Valentines day during it's 90% mark down. I was not sure how much did I pay for it but I am sure it was so so so cheap. The lamp was also clearance. The big lamp is what gives so much shine to the room. If we want a bedroom light, we always use the antique looking lamp.

                                      The Painting

      That charcoal painting was painted 4 years ago by a co-teacher. We wanted to hang it up by the bed but we need to buy a screw that can hold it's weight. We don't want it to fall on our heads while sleeping. Ryan looks like Ryan while I look like Corazon Aquino. :o(

Bob and Mary :)

Finally, finally finally. The dead cat is gone.

Last Tuesday I came home from work and was still feeling terrible because of the allergy. Although, we have gone to the doctor, I just felt better for 3 days and it came back again. Anyways, Tuesdays is when Dad comes to the house. It is their father and son bonding with Ryan. Dad fixes stuff around the house while Ryan watches him and learn. After I changed my clothes to my house clothes, I locked the master bedroom door and I wanted to take a nap but I couldn't. I got up felt so suffocated inside the house and told Ryan that I will be outside if they need my help. He was so concern with my condition but I insisted that I need to be out. I opened the garage door and took the broom and the dust pan out. Leaves are starting to fall because it's spring. I started cleaning the deck but there were so much leaves and I stopped. I went to get the window cleaner and started cleaning the windows instead.

I heard the next door neighbor just turned their lawn mower. Then I saw Bob. Bob was the first person who welcomed us in the subdivision. He told us that if we needed help, he will take care of us. He was mowing the grass and I decided to yell " hi Bob ". He gave me a wave and smiled. After few minutes he came by the fence and started asking how I was. I run towards Bob like a little girl with a big smile and was so happy to see him. He asked where Ryan was and I told him that he was with Dad fixing something in the bathroom. After few minutes I told him about the dead cat right next to our house that had been sitting there for almost 3 weeks. He wasn't too happy when he knew about it. The owner of that house should have taken care of it. He decided to come over to take a look at it. I waited happily in front of our lawn and we walked towards the foyer. I invited him inside the house and introduced him to Dad  and then showed him where the cat was. Luckily that day, the cat wasn't smelling. He asked me if we have a big garbage bag and I gave him one with a shovel. He got rid of the dead cat and I was happy as a puppy. It look so yucky and I was glad to see it inside the trash can ready for the trash day this Friday. !!!!

Bob asked me if I would like to see their house. Mary his wife was in the house. I said yes and Ryan came with us. Bob and Mary's house is lovely. I love how everything was in place. It was neat and very clean. They gave us a tour of their house and I was so impress of how lovely it really is. I've never seen a house so nice and so gorgeous. We were in the kitchen when they started telling us about their love story.

Bob and Mary were engaged for 3 years but broke it off and went on with their separate ways and married someone else. Mary's husband died  after 28 years of marriage while Bob in the other hand, was single after his second divorce. One Christmas, Bob called Mary's brother to greet him a Merry Christmas. Mary's brother told Bob what had happened to Mary. They started talking then and dated for a year and got married. Now they had been married for 26 years. I was so "kilig" when they were sharing us their story. I told them destiny has always a way.

We went back to the house to start painting the living room. Still 3 more rooms to paint. When will we ever finish ? But hey, we are getting there. Just glad to be able to meet some nice people like Bob and Mary.

Yesterday was my lucky and not so lucky day but today is a very ok day.

It's confirmed. I am allergic to cats. We went to see Dr. Bulow yesterday at 1:00 pm. I just loved being with that doctor. Dr. Bulow had been Ryan's family doctor for the past 10 years now. He is not only a good doctor but also a good friend. Well, I don't doubt it. Ryan's family have kept good people around. Like Mauro, he is 79 years old. He is Ryan's barber since he was one. Dr. Shaultz, the family dentist. She has known Ryan since he was 5 years old. She also did two fillings for my teeth when I first got here. She was so happy to see Ryan and to meet me when we visited her in her clinic. Dr. Page, the family dermatologist. She is the dermatogist that is responsible for my clear face. I have been going to her clinic for 2 years now. Dad knew her long time ago.

Well, going back to the issue. We were there to see Dr. Bulow for less than 10 minutes. After having series of tests then he knew it was allergy. I took home some medications and I am glad I felt better that the past few days. He said, if I won't feel better in 20 days, we may have to hire someone to clean our air duct. Definitely, it was a bad news for me.

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Today, I am not alone at work anymore. I was going through the applications yesterday during my spare time. To my surprise I saw an application from 16 yr. old kid from Pinas. He recently graduated from high school in Tarlac. So before I left last night, I made sure to tell them to hire him. I was so excited to see him today. His mom was there and he made it through. They must have known that Filipinos are hard working. Now I am not alone and for that I gave my day an A. There was also a very good news today but I will disclose it later.

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It was my lucky day yesterday. Well actually not just mine but also Ryans. We had a raffle at work. There were more than 20 TVs and radios that they want to give away. When I came in yesterday they told me that I won and the more excited I was when I realized what I won. I won a 21 inches TV with built-in DVD and VHS player while Ryan won a mp3 player.

Cats ? they are not for me.

Ryan had been bugging me for the past few days to go see Dr. Paul Bulow. Since we moved in the new house. I have been feeling strange. I thought I was too overwhelmed that we finally have our own house. I have never been allergic in my life. At first, I thought I just have a cold. But it keep on going on and off. Well, I suspected that it might be the cat dander but I keep on telling myself that I had never ever had any problems with cats.

For the past weeks, every time I woke up early, my eyes are puffy, red and watery and I  sneeze a lot especially when we turn the heater on. We had our carpet deep cleaned already but still it did not go away. So finally today, I surrender, we are going to see the doctor.

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The day we had the closing, we went to see the house again but this time we had our own set of keys and it's ours. The moment Ryan parked the car on the driveway and I got up, I smelled something weird. Like of a dead animal. I thought it was a squirrel or raccoon but it smelled worst than that. I tried to ignore the smell and I was hoping that the smell will go away. But it was getting stronger and stronger. Until finally, I found it. It was a dead cat on our neighbor's property. A cat again ... the source of my misery. I have been bugging Ryan to get rid of the cat. One time, he had his gloves and mask on and his trash bag. After few minutes he came back telling me that the cat was decomposing and it look so yucky. To add more to it, our neighbor isn't that friendly at all. I have been thinking of letting them know that they have a dead cat. I saw the owner one time and he was mowing his lawn and I was pretty sure that he saw the dead cat and did nothing. It's been two weeks and it is still there. The sad part is, we can't do nothing because it is in their property. We tried calling the Park Forest Pet Control and they said they only take care of live ones and if it is dead, we have to take care of it. *sigh* Well, the good part is, it's cold outside so it doesn't smell at all for now.

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This is our hot tub. Three to four people can fit in it at the same time.  We haven't tried it yet because it's chilly outside but we will surely try it this summer. The bad side is, it has a little hole by the deck and there is a cat that live underneath. So, when it's nicer outside, we will give the cat something to eat and Ryan will patch the hole. It would be nasty if there is another dead cat underneath the tub. Don't you think ?

Beginning...

This is weird but hey it's worth a try. There are a lot of things going on in my life. Of course I would love to share it with my family, students and friends both near and far. Heck with my grammer and spelling. This is my sanctuary.

Watch out for my upcoming entries.