There is so much to be thankful for these past couple of days.  For one, hubby finally landed a job with a company he’s always wanted to work with.  Second, there were seats available for my mom so that she can fly back from Manila a lot earlier than her original departure date from Manila without us having to pay an arm and a leg for the change fee amount.  Third, I was able to switch my schedule around last week in order to fit Erynne’s schedule so as to avoid having to incur extra charges for daycare (no more free daddy daycare!).  My last class of the day on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays ends at the time I should already be out on the playgrounds of Erynne’s school waiting for her dismissal.  I’ve been spoiled these past couple of months because E’s been picking her up from school everyday, giving me time to work on my things.  Now, it’s all changed.  Not that I mind because we are all thankful that life is back to normal again.

Yep, Erynne and I.  As well as the husband.  Yep, we’re all students once again.  The only difference is that E goes to night school.  He’s now looking at a degree in the medical field.  Quite a shift from his original degree in Engineering, isn’t it?  Well, with the way life is these days, there’s only one thing we can be at this point:  1) flexible and 2) open to change.  So here we are.  These changes will take a few hurdles but something I’m positive the three of us can overcome.  The husband did contemplate an online degree so that his evenings wouldn’t be sacrificed but in the end, he decided he’d go the other route — a real school setting.  Besides, the degree he wants isn’t being offered online.  If he was seeking an online teaching degree, it would have been perfect.  With the times as difficult as they are now and with unemployment rates rising as I type this, check out Western Governor’s University if you or someone you know someone is looking to change or further their careers.  They have a wide range of courses and degrees available for everyone — never leave home!

Ha, I’m one to talk.

The husband is griping that he’s “just so fat.”  Okay, and that makes me what?  What annoys me to the nth power is that he seems to be coming from some kind of wacked up culture where losing weight slowly is a joke.  Why can’t one be happy with half of a pound weight loss every week?  That’s 2 pounds in a month!  Multiply that by 12 and that’s 24 pounds a year.  Times that by 2 years and that’s 48 pounds.  This is so elementary!  But whatever.  Go stuff yourself with fat burners for all I care.  Better yet, knock yourself out with this liporexall review that has your name written all over it!  (Did I tell you he loves fat burners but gradually, I’ve had him lay off of that stuff because I don’t think they’re healthy?).  MEN!

I almost forgot Father’s Day is coming up.  How terrible of me.  What are you guys getting the dads in your life?  My dad is going to be with us this year so I’m real happy.  Him and E are fairly easy to shop for (because God knows I wouldn’t know a thing about buying satellite radios if, for instance, one of them hinted for one).  E has been researching on badminton shoes for the longest time.  Me thinks I should just go out and get them for him but at the same time, I have a feeling he’d much prefer something more personal from Erynne and I.  I’d prefer that too, to tell you the truth.  Not that I’m cheap but really, personal gifts are the best — whether that be a hand-written letter or card with a picture, etc.  Not that I have anything against giving things like badminton shoes or satellite radios or any other gift for that matter.  Thoughtful gifts just mean more to me.

I seriously thought hubby didn’t have any major wants this Christmas because the way I see it, he has everything he wants already (or so I thought hahaha!).  Look what he gave me when I asked him for a wishlist:

-new Wii game

-Guitar hero

-external hard drive for all our files

-roadbike

-discount home theater seating

-new WordPress domain

-a Gibson guitar

-Navigon GPS

Well.  Golly gee whiz.  Looks like air tools won’t work afterall.  LMAO!

Look what we walked away with this evening at hubby’s Christmas party:

And yes, notice I’m using the term “we.”  It is rightfully mine as it is hubby’s.  Hahaha.  And to think I didn’t really care one way or the other if we went or not but DH really insisted that we go — he didn’t win anything at last year’s party so he really wanted to win something this year.  And yeyyyy, this was a great surprise.  (We didn’t even have a hunch as to what was inside the box when Erynne went up and got our prize.  We were going to open it at home but then we saw other people who had won and in their boxes were digital camera, camcorders, even iPod nanos!  And get this — Erynne was the one who picked out DH’s lucky raffle number.  Totally meant to be, eh?).

Much as I love our Canon powershot (only a few months old!), I think I’m going to love this new camera as well.

Today is hubby’s company Christmas party.  They’re doing a gift exchange today.  He’d been obsessing over what to get his female co-worker for so long, I wish I had known about Holsted Jewelers a few weeks ago.  See, I suggested to him that he should get his co-worker some designer costume jewelry but he said she already had too many jewelry pieces.  Ha!  He must not have gotten the memo that women can never have enough jewelry pieces.  And Holsted Jewelry has such excellent pieces featured on their website.  To boot, we could have gotten free shipping if we spent over $85 (yes, I would have gladly picked out a few pieces for myself hehe) and their risk-free guarantee allows you to return any pieces that you’re not happy with.  Oh well, I hope his co-worker will still be just as happy with what he bought instead. 

I think I’m in fighting form again although I still have traces of a cough.  Not to mention, a very dry, sore throat.  I wanted to hold back from taking any type of meds but I finally gave in yesterday to Sudafed’s multi-symptom tablets.  Time and again, that stuff always works wonders on me.  Makes me wonder why I even hold out on that stuff when my body shuts down.  Need.to.stop.doing.that.  No more stuffy nose, no more sneezing — just that dry throat.  I’m almost good to go.  To boot, I even headed out the door this afternoon because I was craving for a sandwich.  Weather’s been so nice on our end that I figured some hot sun might help my current state — and I was right.

Tomorrow’s the husband’s birthday.  Didn’t buy a cake or anything because the last time I did that for my cousin A’s birthday when she was here a few weeks ago, the cake almost went to waste (and I gained less than 2 lbs!).  I went ahead and bought a slice of carrot cake instead so we have something to blow for tomorrow.  Notice I said “we” — that usually means Erynne really.  Anytime it’s anyone’s birthday, she thinks it’s her right to blow.  But of course, I say.

More posts to come.  I am on a roll!

It’s already September and we’re still getting crazy hot weather.  So much for summer being over!  There seems to be a slightly colder breeze coming from outside tonight so I hope that’s an indication that the weather will start cooling down.  It had better; otherwise, hubby’s going to start demanding for a new car.  He’s so nice that he braces the hot weather in a car that doesn’t have auto air conditioning, can you imagine?  But remember now, his commute is only a mere 7-8 minutes (if even that).  Still though, I know it’s a sacrifice.  I hope it gets cold soon… if there’s such a thing for California.

The husband just took the little girl to the park.  Sweet of him considering I know he came home early so we could eat dinner and he can start his homework.  Yes, homework — hubby’s taking a programming class so he’s been really tied up these past few weeks.  The only time we get to really converse is during dinner and/or before bed.  Not that I am in any way, shape or form playing the role of a single mother but it’s pretty exhausting when I have to tend to Erynne from morning until evening (whereas prior to hubby’s programming class, mommy’s shift was over the minute daddy walked in).  I can’t imagine those really, really full-time moms who are in charge of the kids literally 24/7 (because their husbands are out of town on business…or doing the hanky panky with other women haha).  But I’m not complaining because I still have it good.  So hubby’s been a little busy and he can’t be on duty right as he walks through the door, ’tis alright.  Life could be worse, I know.

I’m dead tired today.  Probably because I just looked over our finances after everything we’ve planned and are planning for Manila and it was enough to drain me in every way possible.  The problem with me?  I like to spend but I don’t want to use my money.  Is that so wrong?  HAHAHAHA.  Why can’t money grow on trees the way tomatoes and oranges grow in my next door neighbor’s backyard?  Why can’t we go pick out a money tree like we did with hubby’s apple tree (which is now growing apples until Erynne decided to pluck them off way too early!)  A money tree that I can pluck my way through at my heart’s content — now that’s my definition of a perfect world.  LOL.

And before you start getting crazy on me, remember I never said I wasn’t a brat.  Hehehe.