Christmas in the Philippines: The Things I Miss

Traditional Filipino Parol with lights / Photo source: AMS Daily

Christmas is about done in the Philippines as I write this. For us, it's today. During this time, I time travel - back into those days when I was young, in the country where I was born and raised, enjoying the days and nights with my brothers and sisters and friends leading to Christmas day.

Culture Buzz: In What Language Do You Think In Your Head?

The Thinker / Photo: WikiCommon

English is not my first language. Not a shocker there. But it is for some people who couldn't tell - and I will tell you, I've got a few many fooled without meaning to. Tap on my shoulder. "heck, got you fooled!" I can't help it. I was born and raised in Asia but I'm pretty fluent with the language and I can gab my way through a conversation without sounding soooo foreign and soooo fresh off the boat - which most "judgmental", ignorant, people think I am- just by looking at me. Tough. "Do you know English?". "Can you speak in English?" 

Right. Of course I do. Bitch.

To which I would get this "Oh wow. Your English is good!" 

I've rolled my eyes so many times, I've got the roll down to a science.

Bitch.

But you probably don't know this - but I'm telling you anyway -  that I also speak three dialects and semi-fluent with 2 other languages. I can hold 4 different conversations in 4 different languages and dialects at the same time. I have no problem keeping up and drives people nuts! Awesome right? Well, kind of.

Not Dead. Yet.

Anyone taking a peek in my blog these days will most likely get a chilling sense of desolation. An eerie feeling that you get when you find yourself walking into the streets of a ghost town. Deserted. Isolated. Abandoned. And probably falling apart. A forgotten planet all on its own. Forgotten by time. Forgotten by the world.

You surmise it's dead. 

I don't blame you.

I'd probably think it's dead too.

Parenthood: Reasons Why I Learned To Love My Child's Mess!

Got kids? Then you know it! Clutter, messy floor and the despicable messy room - they are the vain of your daily domestic existence! I get you. They're part of my "normal" for about 10 years now too. Never a fun moment there I tell you, but you know what? I just discovered an appreciation of all my unica iha's mess-es! I may have just fallen in love with them in a cuckoo, crazy, kind of way.

It all started with my daughter being on Summer Camp for a week. I thought, "Aaaah! What a relief!" A relief that washed over my entire being. Finally, a break. A break from motherhood. A break from all her "drive-me-crazy" mess. Period.

Can you relate?

SAD Makes Me... Sad

It's raining. It's pouring. But I'm not snoring. I'm actually sad for reason I know not. This happens every year. Right after Summer ends and Fall begins. Each year I wonder what cursed spell the weather have on me this strong that it can manipulate my moods and emotions to its whim and fancies! And it gets worst during the Winter. That unexplained melancholy that washes over my poor awkward self from seemingly nowhere. It sneaks up on me. Most often than not, I'm caught off-guard.

Our #snOMG Winter Wonderland Whiteout Fun in Charlotte NC

Sitting on a huge boulder of a snowball! Thanks to 10" of snow.

Last time we've had this much snow was in 2004. 9 freakin' long years ago! I know a lot of you are saying they're either "done", "tired", "ready-for-Summer" kind of folks right now...but c'mon! What about us in the snow-starved State that don't see this much snow ALL THE TIME? Yeah us. Not that I'm asking you to hate on me now but I'm totally lovin' the fact that we got 3 Snow days and 10 inches totally awesome amount of snow! I know - we'll pay for the "price" later - but for now, we'll have fun shall we?

This don't happen all the time.*

Watch this in our YouTube Channel:

Our #snOMG Winter Wonderland Whiteout Fun in Charlotte NC

* Obviously, this video was recorded earlier. Snowstorm started on Tuesday up to Thursday of this week.

Check this out:

• My No-Brainer Snow Gauge for #snOMG in Charlotte
• How to Catch a Snowflake

Take A Pause

I'm rather curious. As a blogger, when was the last time you walked away from your laptop for 2 to 3 weeks and felt 100% comfortable with it? This could be by choice or by circumstances.

Did you get the "shakes" when you did?

Kind of like when you stop drinking coffee and then you get plagued by "shakes" as an after-effect.

If you're NOT a blogger, stop reading here - or you'll think I'm a rambling fool.

If you'd rather continue and think I'm a rambling fool then please read on.

Life According To My Toothbrush

I confess. I consume more toothbrush than the regular person would. What if I tell you I replace mine every week? It's rather shameful that my husband is working very hard so he can provide for my weekly toothbrush demands! But before you judge me, it's not at all because I'm OCD that way or that I have a vendetta to get rid of every toothbrush that graces my teeth every week! If anything, my vendetta would be on the debris on my teeth. I have a bad habit - if you can call it that - of brushing my teeth so hard, like with a vengeance, it leaves my toothbrush all frayed, slanted and disheveled like an old witch's broom that have seen better days in as little as one week or less!

When Holiday Turns Into Grieving

It's one of those weird and ironic things that happens in life - death and holiday celebrations culminating at the same time - it simply isn't right. Not at all. And when you're at the receiving end of it, "tragic" wouldn't even begin to describe it. It also inevitably makes you question all intention to celebrate a supposedly joyful and thankful holiday. Holidays like Thanksgiving. Honestly, how does one find the inspiration to celebrate? Simple. You do not. And it's alright! Grieving is a process that makes no exemption even if it's the merriest of Holidays.

You just grieve. Period.

How Do You Embrace Gray Hair?

I know we all grow old and end up with gray hairs BUT discovering I suddenly have "multitudes" of gray hair was like waking up from a nightmare inside a nightmare! How did this happen and when did tons of gray hair happened? Why me???!!!

Watch the Vlog directly on our Channel: Gray Hair Dilemma Henna to the Rescue!

 "Aaaahhhhh!" I screamed like a loud siren, sounding like someone murdered me in the bathroom. Well, that was what my hubby said anyway. After giving him the litany of my discovery, he just matter-of-factly said, "Oh honey...just embrace it." Say what!? "Embrace?"  I snapped. That is like totally telling me to embrace my mother-in-law! I'd rather scream than embrace it. So, I screamed. Again. Watch my video. I will attempt to hide them. Have you embraced your gray hairs? Or are you like me, waged war with it?

Homeowner Woes: I Hate Forrest Gump and His Box of Chocolates!

I don't hate (well, maybe sometimes) but Forrest Gump and his "box of chocolates" epiphany is just proverbially annoying me right now! Especially with the "you never know what you're gonna get!" part because right now, I'm feeling like we got the crappy chocolate out of his box! "Why Forrest Gump? Why add crappy chocolates?!"

Truth be told. It really has nothing to do with Forrest Gump. It's all about LIFE being like his box of chocolates. You REALLY never know what you're gonna get!

50 { Hard but Useful } Lessons I Learned from Moving

As you've  all come to know, I moved. This is my second major move which I thought I had it down to a science but as it turn out, the 9 year difference between the first move to now made a tremendous difference in the amount of schtuffs that we're moving! 10 years worth to be exact. To say I'm beat at the first wave of packing and moving would be beyond understatement! It's like Reality TV... only better. It's raw, unedited and uncut!

Here are 50 lessons I learned during this move...and rather painfully too... Things like...

Swimming in an Ocean of Boxes!

Has it been quiet in here girl? Hearing crickets? Well, not exactly. It's a bit like library-quiet in here. Lots of activities and noise in the background but they're totally muted. You don't hear or see the loudness of tape ripping and box stacking, add my occasional grunting and whining. What's going on?!

In Moving Purgatory

These couple make moving look good! If only it was real.

Lately, my days are surrounded by a growing number of boxes. Big, small and little ones in between. It's making my house look like a cross between a warehouse and a sardines can. It's getting tight in here so fast and we've just about started packing! All 10 years worth being squeezed in moving boxes.

Unreal. Just like the process. Put together box, sort, toss, fill, tape, pile, repeat.

It feels endless. Like a broken record, it's almost annoying. If this was Lord of the Rings, I'm in middle earth right now. Not hell. Not heaven. Purgatory. 

Do I Look Pregnant? Don't Answer that!

Hello? Anybody there?

Warning: This article is the ramblings of a woman under coffee coma. If you don't like muffin or loathe the word skinny, run away as fast as you can. If you love humor (at this woman's expense) then READ ON.

Not too long ago, I made a disconcerting decision to look at myself in the mirror, LIKE REALLY LOOK! I was probably naked. I tend to develop amnesia with things that shocks me. Though I remember, I started with a squint then bravely opened my eyes wide open, trying forcefully to not blink! If you were me, you'd be scared too and probably screamed! I did not scream. But what I saw in that reflection was one of those moments where you simply have to drop the "Whadda FFFF" expletive. Tracy Beckerman of Lost in Suburbia came to mind, not because she's a potty-mouth, though I'm sure she is sometimes, but rather specifically, of that chapter in her book where she mentioned "WIDE LOAD".

Downton Abbey Addictive as a Controlled Substance and as Real as My Past

Downton Abbey is back for the 3rd season and I can't be any happier. It's like my drugs. I crave it like I would chocolate or chips. I can't get enough of it. A safer option than the real you-know-thing but that if it was real, it should be legalized pronto! Because I'm hooked on Downton and no plans of being rehabilitated.

Thank. Give. Inspire. Friday: Thankful for Friendships

WHY it's TGIF!
TGIF was conceived while I was in the potty. I. know. Eww as it may sound, it's the only place where I can really THINK...in peace. You know this! Having kids can be... a little too chaotic. Hiding in the potty is sometimes the best sanctuary. So, yes the idea came to me while *insert your guesses here* and pondering about Thanksgiving and voila!  It's Friday. And each Friday, I kept saying TGIF. Why not give TGIF a new meaning? As you can see, I did!

How Disney Saved My Daughter from a Broken Heart

Mikey on his way to Disneyworld

Imagine yourself as an 8 year old child. You finally got your wish to own a sock monkey that you've wished for since a year ago. You wished and wished and wished until your wish came true. You love that little cute thing with all your heart and you're totally inseparable. From waking up to sleeping at night. It was literally your twin... up until the day, your beloved sock monkey went missing...

Sea Fog and Day Moon Phenomena Off of Sta. Monica Beach in California

The beach on a regularly sunny day

I've seen and experienced ground fog, Winter fog and cloud fogs descending from the mountain but never once seen a Sea fog, much less be aware of it, this, until my recent trip to Sta. Monica Beach in California! When I saw it, all I could muster was "Holy Schmokes! Wow..." It was a spectacular sight to see! The fog slowly rolled in from the shore, getting thicker by the minute. It got so thick, it engulfed everything and things totally disappeared in sight, including the whole boardwalk attraction at the beach. "Just wow!"

Fish Tail Braid My Hair!

Kim Kardashian sporting Fish Tail Braids. 
Doesn't she look like Wendy's in an Irish outfit though?

My daughter and I have been seeing this wonderful braid on girls and women all around town but couldn't figure out what it's called much more know how to do it! It is of course driving me insane because my young girl who have long hair wants me to do it on her hair and I've got no clue how it's done! Being creative as I was, I attempted to create it, not miserably, but see for yourself.