10 random facts about your mom :) 'been tagged to do it!!!

Now it is my sweet girlfriend from Florida that tagged me to randomly share 10 things about my Nanay (Mom) or share 10 random facts about my mother. Wait a minute... what is the difference??? Anyways... here they are:

1. I have always thought I have one of the good-looking mothers around with her "kayumanggi" (golden brown) skin and beautiful face and sweet smile. She sure had a lot of hunky admirers when she was younger.

2. My hat is off to her for her hard work, strength both mentally and physically, determination, perseverance and intelligence.

3. Don't cross her path, the Waray, a woman from Samar [Visayan Island - known for their fearless disposition] in her comes out and she will lash out on you without batting her eyelash.... so you really want to be on her good side and it is very easy to be on that side.... no sweat.

4. She will spoil you like crazy if she likes you... (geeezzzz, she's getting to sound a lot like me... )

5. She had elementary grade for education but I can bet on her any time to discuss anything in the whole wide world... she is well read. She puts me to shame, that is for sure.

6. Her present world is now the 4 grandchildren and 1 great grandchildren, and I guess still the children...

7. She had a not so good marriage with my biological father (it was an arranged marriage) but had a wonderful marriage, for the most part, with my stepfather who passed away 2 years ago...

8. She is now living the healthy life... consciously and meticulously.

9. Had a mishap with her right knee operation which now limit her used-to-be very active, very independent way of living.

10. She is the best MOM!!! what can I say??? She raised four children on her own with multiple menial jobs. Now they are all living such comfortable lives here in America.

I love her very much!!! ( I know that is the eleventh random fact... but it is a fact indeed)

Picture blog by Human Mom...

Since my brain is pretty drained from 2 days of retraining/recertification ... my PALS and TNCC expired, I decided not to use any (brain that is) with this entry. Besides I am a bit down from cancelling my trip to New Orleans. Sharing some pictures of my 2 four-legged children. I still miss my Puffy but doggies lives are moving on...

Meet Duke, a typical Alpha creature, adopted recently. A 4-5 year old Llasa Aphso. Such a vibrant, loving doggy son.

He now is the second shadow to Human Mom, even in the restroom. He is now in training for what this girly house is suppose to be .... hehehe!!!

He loves to play with Human Mom's garden shoe, in fact, the left pair is now his "security object". Human Mom retired the right pair in hope that someday the left pair will be let go and able to join the right pair again. In the mean time the left pair goes wherever the Duke Meister goes... So far it remains intact though.

You have heard about my ever so loving dog daughter, ever so faithful ... a Human Mama's Girl... Zipper. She is about 14-15 years old, a Llasa Aphso , definitely a gracious 'ole lady and yet still energetic, or she tries to be...

She is training Duke on how to be a gentleman ... hehehe by snarling at him when he tries to pull one of those Alpha maneuvers. Of course, with Human Mom's nod and approval and occasional... way to go girlie, you tell that hunky how to behave around us girls...

Ever so patient, Zipper, is never presumptuous, always looking in Mama's direction first for approval, be it with food, going in the house, going out the door... such a perfect dog...
Together they are adjusting to each other's idiosyncrasies. It is such fun to watch them with their antics... for free, I get entertained.

C's Birthday!!!

It was a long week!!! All worth it though. It was a pretty hectic week of working and preparing for my one and only child's birthday party. The last time I had one for him was when he was 12 years old. I thought this year he could use one. He has been down a bit for an overwhelming adjustment to the hectic life of "adulthood". Besides, my family has been hinting to get invited.

So I had a total of 46 people over. It is always a pleasure having my family over, especially seeing the little ones. Food, food, food, eat, eat, eat and eat some more... and talk until ours ears fall off!!! What a nice life that is.

It was nice to catch up with my cousins' lives and seeing how much their children have grown. We did not even do Karaoke this time, we got busy just talking and looking at family pictures and watching family films.

I did have to leave them when I had to go to work but I was not worried at all because I knew they will take care of everything. The best deal for me was that the "boys" worked on my gazebo remodelling... I will surely share the picture of the finished project. They did such a great job. My brother, Emil, has to put the finishing touches next week-end when he comes back.

The children were tanned very well... hehehe!!! They spent long hours in the pool while the adults were under the patio with the ceiling fans going... temperature was in the 100's both days.

Food??? I had a cooler full of iced drinks. A huge container of lemonade. A jug of iced sun tea. Fruits... cut up watermelon, grilled pineapple and peaches (a big hit) and Manila mangoes and bananas.

Sweets... chunky chocolate chips cookies, oatmeal raisincookies, chunky peanut butter cookies, camaroons, divine angels, brownies, leche flan cassava, rice cake, and the birthday cake. Popsicles and ice cream and smoothies were consumed as well.

There were the mixed pancit, menudo, shrimp/mussels dish, grilled salmon, hotdogs and sausages, tri-tip steaks, chips and hot salsa, pork adobo, and cat fish soup (sinigang), grilled asparagus, mushroom, and zucchinis, veggie lumpias, lumpiang shanghais and pinakbet. My picky nephew was served my macaroni and cheese dish which made him content and happy. And of course the biggest electric rice cooker was on...


Most everybody stayed over so the party continued the next day... I mingled a bit after work then off to bed... I was waking up with the voices outside in the pool and the patio and drifted off and on to sleepy land. Then I had to work that night again. Whoever were left behind cleaned pretty much the house and took all left over... my order... so that I don't have to eat them.
It was a great party!!! I wish you all came over...

6 Weird Things About Me - made to confess

I was going to add on to the dream house entry but I had to do this post because my dear amiga from Arizona tagged me to confess... hehehe!!! After reading this confession, tell me... first, if I am really weird or not... and if I am, then how much??? Did you say you are a friend???

SIX WEIRD THINGS ABOUT ME:

6. I don't like my food mix in together, maybe next to each other or touching each other but no mixing them all up. I guess that is a carried over neurotic tendency of my obsessive desire to have organization of some sort in my life... so that I can function in a more harmonious environment... Or maybe I just would like to savor each dish separately and have my palate distinguish the unique taste of each and so my brain can appreciate each taste in its simpler form.

5. My house has night lights all over, I like it that way so when it gets dark, it gives me the relaxing feeling that the dim lights give out. I never need to turn any light switch on to go around the house... the night lights provide enough lighting to get from one spot to another. Another reason is my two 4-legged children that can be anywhere in the house spread out asleep. I sure don't want to be stepping on them in the dark.

4. The need to clean the entire house all in the same day. I never thought it was weird to clean your place all in one time that you are doing it until I was enlightened by a few people. It has always been my way of doing it. Again my neurotic tendency comes out with the way I clean. When I clean, I really clean from inside, out, upside, down, underneath and over not missing a spot, even the spot that people will never see.

3. Two things I have to put on to feel completely dressed, otherwise, I feel nekkid... perfume and a pair of earrings. It is not the same to me to be all dressed up without my White Linen or Nina Ricci perfume and a pair of earring in my ears.

2. My lipstick and my toe nail polish have to RED... love it, love it, love it!!! And at this age, I can wear any wild color, right??? I usually get my spa pedicure every two weeks and red it will on those massaged pampered toes. And my lips really feel very secured when they are covered with red lipstick... hehehe!!!

1. That I mastered the art of power napping... give me 5, 10, 15 minutes and I can go into power nap and snap out it fully recharged, well, at least that is the feeling I get. I unfortunately could use more discipline with sleeping. I tend to deprive my self with sleep. I should know better, but I have always been that way... sleep is down the bottom of my list to do...

All about B R A G G I N G!!!

Alright, I have waited long enough to brag about my one and only, the love of my life, the only priceless treasure I have ... my son, C. He came unto the world 2 weeks later than expected. Although he was born 10.1 pounds and 23 1/2 inches, he was under close observation for a month for possible more complications from difficult delivery... medical negligence actually. Ten years of his life was an observation period with pending litigation if ever a health issue surfaced.

He was finally brought home after a month of stay in the hospital. Never had any medical problems ever since, thank goodness!!! He grew up a happy, healthy, full of energy, and intelligent child. Being the only second child on my side of the family, he received tremendous amount of love and attention. He did not have many toys because I did not believe in having them. What he did have were books. We spent many hours reading books and having adventures and using imagination through them. We were active members of our public library, letting him join in reading programs, and similar activities. He learned to read with 100% comprehension at age 3. From then on he continued to be advanced scholastically. Every year the school would recommend for him to be promoted to the higher grade but we decided to leave him be with his own age group. He might have been advanced scholastically but socially, we felt that he was just right and needed that part of growing up with children of his own age. Being an only child, school was his important source of social growth.

School years were hectic. He did all of those little boys' activities such as sports, school activities and advanced scholastic activities with awards and recognitions. His love for reading developed. And now that he is all grown up, he would occasionally tease me for giving him that curse... the love for reading... because he can not stop reading.

He, just like any other child was resilient. We parents sometimes misjudge our children's capacities to take in life changes. They are very capable beings in handling family life changes. C, is no exception. He was able to work around Mom's life changes. I went back to school while continued to work night shift so that I can be home during the day for him. He learned to adapt to that and grew up in that kind of environment without a lot of difficulties. He just continued to grow up and grew up he did in seemingly high-speed fashion.

Many times, I have made the comment about being content just to sit in the corner of the room and watch this child every second of everyday and not be bored at all. But reality dictated that it was not possible.

Teen-age years were typical. There was that stage of "know -it-all, smart-mouth, testing limits". But he learned pretty quickly that all those were not needed and not important so we moved along in our growth stages without a lot of difficulties. At age 13, he was made to sit down and made to listen to Mom's heart talk. I was amazed how he took it smartly and lovingly... the decision to live separately from his father. Again I say, we misjudge our children with their abilities to understand.

Then, Mom's awakening came... he was off to college. OH NO!!! I had the harder time with the separation than him I think. But then we both adjusted and accepted the fact. Just another stage of growing for all of us.

Now he is a college graduate with double majors. Always a good child and remain my source of joy. He is my ears and shoulders to cry on and I am likewise to him. He is adjusting to the world of adulthood with his first job, first apartment, first car (that he bought). I think he is doing a pretty good job on it. And in my book, he will always be the first...

Two of my children ... four-legged that is!!!

I have only one child, a wonderful son. I will probably share all kinds of stories about him later on but this time I am sharing you the stories of my other children... the four-legged ones.

The very first dog that entered in my only child's life was Button, a mutt. She was a combination of a Chihuaua and a poodle and she was just as cute as a button thus named so. We had her for a few years when one night on our way to the store, another four legged creature graced our lives.
My son and I were walking out towards my SUV when down the cul-de-sac was something coming towards us. It was a dog we gathered. So we decided to approach it but then it would run away from us when we were going towards it. But when we would turn our backs to go back to the vehicle, it would walk, almost running towards us. We played this game for a short while then I thought that maybe if I open the vehicle that it would maybe jump in there. And I was right!!! A long haired, smelly, panting doggy jumped right in the vehicle and flopped itself in my son's lap. We looked at each other in amazement. This doggy looked emaciated and so tired and probably so thankful at that moment that finally it found "a place". We went ahead to the store as planned but my son stayed behind in the vehicle with the very still doggy whose only moving body part was the tounge that was panting. When we got back home I carried it in and it basically surrendered itself to us seemingly not caring at what ever happen next as long as it was not out there on the street any longer. I took it straight to the bath tub because I noticed the sand in the vehicle and the trail on the carpet. The dog was covered with not only sand but fleas... from head to paws. I gave it the longest bath ever. When it was all dried and clean, we fed it some chicken and rice and it ate and ate and drunk and drunk. My son made it a bed in the corner of the living room and there it slept the entire night and half of the day after.

While it was asleep that night, we drove over to our public library and research the breed. And she was a Llasa Aphso. We decided to name her Zipper to sort of match Button. As the days go by, we learned how perfect this doggy is ... so unassuming, so calm, so loyal, so devoted, so trained, so loving, so patient and I can go on and on. We wondered how the owner can toss her out on the street. She didn't have any collar and she had some wounds on her that were signs of physical abuse. Shortly after she came into our lives, our Button was failing her health --- CANCER invaded her. It was so heart breaking. My son and I, you could say became selfish at the end of her life because we hung on to her even though she was suffering. Finally, my nurse's heart told me to let go and we did. My son and I cried the minute we came to the decision that she would be put to sleep and all the way down to the animal hospital then back home and many more days after that. Zipper sure had missed her.

On my birthday, I decided to go to the animal shelter and adopt another doggy. I fell in-love with a screwny looking doggy but so so cute --- a peach poodle, a boy. He was found on the street and had been in the pound for quite a while. My son was so happy to see him when I brought him home and he named him Puffy because his hair then or even now would get all puffed up when ungroomed. He is a total opposite of Zipper but loving in his own way as well. As calm, quiet, and patient as Zipper is, Puffy is exactly the wiry, hyper, loud doggy. In a way they compliment each other's personality. Zipper would give Puffy a growl when he gets a little too much of anything. Now, they are inseparable.

Zipper was already four years old when she adopted us and now she is at least 16 years old. Puffy was two years old when I adopted him and now he is 12 years of age. He became Zipper's eyes and ears as Zipper approaches old age. They are my shadows. They pretty much run the household and I became a mere tenant ... hehehe!!!

I take them in my morning walk and that is one big task only because they get all the attention of every walker we come across. We end up stopping many times to get their pats on the heads and whatever other cutesy words awarded to them. And they love all the attentions.

Now, as the human mother, I hate to even think that my doggies are getting to the end of their doggy lives. Both are pretty healthy and yet their ages are in the advanced stage soooo.

One thing I know, whatever happen, I am so thankful they came into my life. They are my companion now that my son is out of my household.