and we’re off to Miami.

I don’t think I’ve recovered from our trip to Vegas and soon, we’re off on a plane again. Oh wait, what is this? Am I complaining? Not really. I was kinda venting in my other blog but today, I’m remaining hopeful, whatever that means. I guess I’m feeling emotions that I didn’t think I’d feel in leaving Erynne behind. I don’t know if it’s normal but I’m expecting the worst — afterall, this is my first time to really leave her behind. Sigh. If going out dancing in Vegas (and wishing I were at home with Erynne) is an indication of what is to come, then we are dead meat.

What is wrong with me? Am I too domesticated now? Have I become boring? God forbid! I have this image of me calling home every port we arrive in just to call home and make sure the little girl is fine. How awful would that be. Worse yet, I hope I don’t cry because I’ll miss her too much. What the freak. Hello, I’m going to have quality time with my husband once and for all, and what? I’ll be thinking only of my daughter? Niiiiiiiice. Yep, maybe I have become a boring old hag. Shoot.

At the same time, I’m starting to feel some excitement. Just this morning when Erynne was hitting my face while I tried to get those last few seconds of sleep, I was in heaven thinking I’d be able to sleep through the night and the morning without interruption from anyone once we’re on that cruise ship. Heaven! But then again, our time is so limited on the ship, I doubt we’d spend any extra time sleeping. 5 days will go by fast.

Have I told you I haven’t even unpacked from our Vegas trip? My train of thought? What for? We’re leaving in a few days — I’ll figure it all out tomorrow . Hahahaha. This time, the husband is going to pack his own things. Last time, he was complaining that I wouldn’t let him pack his own clothes. Fine, fine, fine — do it yourself so that when you DO forget something you wanted to bring, you have no one else to blame but yourself . And me? Tell me what money cannot buy when you forget something from home. And this is so true of Vegas. Like I said, so I forgot to pack a few things when we went to Vegas, so what? Because seriously? Everything you need for Vegas is in Vegas so why fret?

Haaay, even as a mommy, I’m much too carefree. I wish I could be organized and anal like some moms. They’re my heroes. I relax too much. Heh, but for someone who relaxes too much, I sure do take myself way too seriously sometimes. LOL.

Can’t wait to go on vacation again . No more being boring old hag. I wanna sin, sin, sin!!!!!

PS. I wanna sin, sin, sin!!!!! —–> Yah, because I’m such a good person already, ah-huh

Pictures I should have posted weeks and weeks ago. Her dad took her out for a spin in the neighborhood when these were taken. Kudos to him cuz God knows I don’t have that kind of patience, LOL.

His latest joke, as told in the car while driving around Vegas:

Guy: Pare, hindi mo ba alam ilocano si Jesus Christ?

Dad: Paano mo nalaman?

Guy: Eh, nakalagay dun sa cross nya, “INRI,” Ilocos Norte Region I.

We laughed. Hard. Count on my dad for major corniness — everytime. No moment is ever dull because he’s either laughing at his own jokes or everyone’s laughing at him.

You gotta love family.

PS.  Still waiting on pictures from Vegas.

Happily tagged by Aggie as this gives me a reason to get all warm and fuzzy inside (does.not.happen.much).

Rule: Name five of the Best Nights of your Life and then tag four people.

1. May (4?, 5?, or was it 6?) 1994 — graduation night ball that had a casino theme where you had to stick around til 6am to hear the winner of the grand prize for the evening (the year before us was a car, our year was $3,000) and guess whose name got picked from the box: me. I travelled to Manila and blew it on everything and anything.

2. November (4? or was it 14?), 2003 — the night the husband and I decided we’d spend the rest of our lives together.

3. December 23, 2003 — landing in Manila and meeting the husband for the first time ever (normal people would meet their partners first before #2, LOL).

4. July 1?, 2? or was it 3?, 2004 — I’m going to cheat on this one as this one happened first thing in the morning — home pregnancy test said we were pregnant.

5. March 19, 2005 — 8:38pm, Erynne Gabrielle was born.

I’m tagging Abby, Cheche, Liv and Jane!

So I might have forgotten to pack a few lot of things due to my crazy nature but life still went on. For me, at least hehe. One of the most important things I forgot was the CAMERA! But oh well, right? No need to whine about a stupid camera–sh*t happens (and then you die). But no worries, between my sister and my cousin, I should be able to come up with some decent ones to show you guys. And would you believe, my sister and cousin took me and the husband out for some dancing (on the night of my sister’s graduation). Holy cows, not only was the extra 50 pounds on my body a hindrance to my dancing, but gad, being there was just ohsowrong. Maybe if I was 5 years younger and single or something (which many of the people we were with that night were), it wouldn’t have been so bad. All I could think about was being in bed, snuggling with E and Erynne as I felt completely out of place. The bar scene is so yesterday.

But. The club they took us was awesome. I just loved how it was low-key and you could easily just chill out in the back (outside) with couches and huts and all that good stuff. They even had beds with throw pillows where you could really relax and have some good conversation and yummy drinks. Plus, they had pools over to one side and overall, it was just a fantastic sight. Add to the fact that it wasn’t a club where everyone is just jam-packed and you can barely move; nope, it wasn’t like that at all. You can pretty much dance anywhere you want. The music was fabulous too. Definitely a place I’d frequent if the circumstances had just been different. Anyways. Will post pictures hopefully by tomorrow.

Overall, Vegas is everything one could imagine. I’ve been there so many times but each time, it is always something I want to do all over again. Life just never stops on that strip. Did I gamble? Not much, some.. but then again, I’m not a gambler so it was all just for fun. Lost about $200 bucks between E and myself. We’re definitely not high rollers .

Erynne loved the trip as well! She did well on the plane.. not a word both going and coming back. She just slept on her own both times. Ahhh, perfect traveler, that kid.

I won’t make this long as my head is just swirling. One thing about being in Vegas, you hardly sleep. As a result, I could seriously sleep for about 24 hours straight right about now. I feel like I’ve got major jetlag and our plane ride was only about an hour hahaha.

We’re due at the airport in about 3 hours. The catch? Err, the problem? I haven’t even started our packing *evil laughter*. And lemme tell you why. I was out shopping this morning. Can you believe that? Of all times. Thankfully, the husband is at work still and doesn’t know what I’ve been up to. Bwahahahahaha.

And you know what else? I still have laundry to fold before I can even start the packing (not to mention, another load to wash). Talk about hilarious. I wish I was a lot more anal-retentive when it comes to packing for trips but you know, this system works for me. I shouldn’t even be on here typing away! Some people just never learn, hay.

But as always, things turn out fine in the end. And when we’re sitting at the airport looking dumb and bored, I’ll have wished I’d spent a little more time shopping. LOL.

Abby says I’ve been quiet. So I thought I’d make some noise before y’all forget about me altogether. Family came back from a fun-filled (albeit cold) trip from Australia. Was told the wedding was oh-so-fabulous. I’ll bet! Wedding on a yacht-like boat, glass windows everywhere as you dance and celebrate the night away while touring through Sydney harbor? Heck yeah, I’d be gushing alright. Which is why I got all bummed out (again) that we missed out on family and partying *sigh*. Oh.. and to add even more injury to my already wounded heart? Between my dad, my mom, my uncle and my cousin, none of them brought back pictures!!!!!!!!! Don’t tell me that’s not crazy.

Anyhoo, we’re off to Vegas tomorrow. I’ve been telling Erynne for the past few days we’ll be flying on an airplane but I guess she thinks mommy’s pulling her leg as she’s seen relatives come and go and mommy still hasn’t made good on her promise hahaha. She’ll be so excited. I’m bummed that we still haven’t bought a new camera but eh, I guess our old one will do. It does its job, what more must I ask for, right? And besides, I’d rather we stretch our dollars on other aspects of our (upcoming) trips rather than get a brand new toy. Maybe before Christmas.

Erynne’s a bit stuffed up . I hope she becomes 100% well soon — I so want her to enjoy the pool and the other pool places her aunts will take her to when we get to Vegas. And in 110+ degree weather, being in a pool will feel so good to her. We bought her a new swimsuit and this inflatable thingy where she can sit down and dangle her feet in the water. And get this, red tide is in — UGH. And I was so looking forward to dipping my gorgeous body in a pool. LOL. Oh well, better now than in the Bahamas, I say.

Time’s moving way too fast. I just realized I’ll be 31 in less than 2 weeks! Wasn’t it just yesterday I was entering my 30′s? Gesh.

Pictures soon .

At last, I’ve gotten new frames. While I did not get my much awaited red frames (only because I ended up not liking the ones I thought I was going to purchase), I am pretty happy with the ones I chose. And take note, complete with prescription lenses, high index something (so that my frames don’t end up looking like a microscope) and anti-reflective coating, I only paid less than $160. Can you believe that?! You can’t get any cheaper than that, I promise because trust me, this girl’s been lookin! I wish our camera had batteries so that I could post my glasses on here because they aren’t bad-looking, if I do say so myself. Again, they’re not red but they give me a little bit of attitude. The husband says I look smart. Hmp, I don’t want to look smart; I want to look fun! Which explains why I wanted loud red frames. But the search is still on because, sadly, much as I like the ones I have (not just because it’s cheap but because the quality is a.m.a.z.i.n.g!), I want a pair that’s funky and loud ~ you know, the type where people do a double take because my frames are a bit out of the ordinary. Still haven’t found them (well, I did but I was rushing and didn’t have time to stop and chitchat with the salesgirl and thus, did not end up getting the model number so as to track it down at another eyeglass branch–smart, I tell you). I hope those red frames scream at me the next time I walk by or something.

Let me just briefly talk about the quality of my lenses. Okay, so I’ve been using glasses since I was in the 4th or 5th grade. I am now 30 years old. Do the math and that’s a hella long time, right? As God is my witness when I say this, the quality on these Costco babies? Fine, fine, fine! They are, for lack of another word, “amazing.” So amazing that when I tried it on for the first time for the husband, he wanted to poke his fingers into my eyes because he wasn’t sure if there were lenses on my frames or not. Can you imagine? And when I put them on, talk about c-l-e-a-r. Who would have thought frames at Costco could be so awesome? AND at the price I paid? Naturally, this won’t be the last time I get prescription lenses at Costco. I can’t say enough good things about the quality, honestly. And if you don’t know me by now, I’m pretty hard to please. NAKS! Hehe. With frames at $49.99 and lens work around $100 (they charge no tax, by the way), I just might have a reason to start loving Costco, yep.

Oh, speaking of plus points, I was told the frames would come back to me by the end of the month but that they might come back a few days later. I was pretty bummed out that I wouldn’t have a new pair of frames by the time I head to Vegas next week but for the price I paid, I had no right to bitch. So imagine my surprise when they called me yesterday (just a few days after I placed my order!) and said my glasses were ready for pickup. Such a brilliant establishment, that Costco.

Anyhoo, I’ll try to get a picture up as soon as I purchase some new batteries for it the camera. Not that you’d care but eh, I’ve nothing better to do with my life as it is.

I’m at that point where I want to blog like crazy but I just don’t know what to blog about. So many things come to mind and so much I want to share but none of it is making any sense.

I was so fascinated with some of Nell’s pictures on his blog that I asked him a few weeks ago about the beaches in Half Moon Bay. I was up for a picnic and was going to drag E and Erynne with me (the little girl is always game; the husband, on the other hand, pretends to be game hehehe) but when it came down to driving over there, the temperatures didn’t look justifiable for the type of picnic with the sun shining down on you and Erynne being able to run around in just shorts and shirt. So no, we didn’t quite make it to the beach (I was even considering that beach that overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge cuz I had read on Yelp.com how there were nudie people running around *LOL* but of course, that wouldn’t have been appropriate for the little kid). I’m no prude but running around naked playing with a frisbee? I mean, that’s gotta be something. I remember when my friend A and I were in Curacao and we were on a beach, getting ready to go snorkeling (but we had to canoe out into the ocean a bit, if I do recall) and there was one couple on the said beach and the girl had removed her bikini top and was moving about without a care in the world. I was like, “wow.” I guess when you’re a provincial girl like I am, seeing things like that would really blow your mind. But anyways, back to the frisbee throwing and naked men with a lot of people around? Talk about happy happy joy joy.

I had a point with my picnic story, really. Instead of the beach, we ended up getting sandwiches from Bonne Sante (another recommendation from Yelp and let me tell you, they have the best burgers–HUGE!) and we headed back to San Mateo and sat underneath a tree in the Japanese Garden of Central Park. Now that I think about it, I don’t know that we were supposed allowed to camp out in that area of the park but eh, so what. I was so bummed we didn’t get to take any photos because it was such a beautiful day; Erynne spent most of her time yelling at a squirrel to come down from the tree so she could feed it Dora popsicle and potato chips. The batteries in the digital camera died on us — bastard!

The summer went by so fast, no?

Friends and enemies, I am back!

Gad, has it been 11 days for realz?! Shoot, where did the time go? And what the hell happened to me? Honestly, I don’t know. Life just suddenly… got busy (whatever that means when people disappear and then suddenly just reappear again). I guess errands and people visiting from Alaska and driving around got the best of me. Oh, that and a few days before, reuniting with an old friend, Pledge and getting to know for the first time a new friend, Tilex something for mildew and grime. OoOoOo, that does sound a bit nasty, doesn’t it? Don’t worry, it was only in one corner of our master bedroom shower *insert laughter here*. No matter what I was using to eliminate that stuff off of the tiles, the grime (or is it mildew?) just would not come off. Drove me nuts ~ until I finally put my foot down and DUH, did what I should have done from the beginning: make friends with Tilex something or other. And let me tell you, if you haven’t already purchased this rock ‘n’ roll stuff (Tilex something for mildew and grime once again), do it! My greatest find for the year 2007, hands down. I just wish I could use it more often though, LOL.

I also almost lost my life one day in the Inner Sunset area of SF, if you don’t mind me sharing, about a week ago. Heck yah! Some retard wouldn’t stop for dear life when he could clearly see (I hope!) that I was trying to do some illegal stuff by making a U-ey in a tight little street. Okay, it wasn’t illegal what I was trying to do — I was just fed up with not being able to find parking and did not want to roam around endlessly for another 25 minutes looking for off-street parking to buy these for my mom:

I absolutely hate driving in SF, I cannot express. And if I wasn’t such a dumb@ss, I shouldn’t have driven there anyways (and went to the San Jose branch instead). But eh, you live and learn. As for the Zcoil shoes, aren’t they just fugly? But I can’t tell you enough how they’ve done wonders for my mom — name any foot problem/pain, she’s got it. The only thing she hasn’t done for it is surgery and would you believe how I came to learn of them? On a cruise forum on Tripadvisor.com! If you know anyone who has foot problems–and I’m talking extreme foot, back and knee problems–check out the Zcoil shoes. I tease my mom all the time (I call her the bionic woman bwehehe) but she’s such a happy camper, almost losing my life (hers too) was well-worth it.

Sadly, everyone’s up in the skies bound for Australia as I type this. Cousin M is having her church wedding on Saturday and well, besides E not getting the time off approved for this month and having to hold down the fort at the homecare, we didn’t get to go. So sad; it would have been a nice little family reunion. And in the days I’ve been gone, good news! E has now been regularized at work! Hip hip hooray! We are now normal people with insurance, Erynne and I. So good to be a part of society, ya know?

Can’t wait to read up on everyone’s chezmez.  Now that I’m back from the dead, I’ll be haunting you guys soon!

PS. This post? Psshhaw, got the bag alright. I don’t know what I was thinking when I bought that thing. The fact that I paid a little over a hundred buckaroos for it and the stitching isn’t exactly p-e-r-f-e-c-t (but of course, right?! It’s a $15 bag, for crying out loud!) bothers me a just a tad bit. I even tried to return it because the stitching wasn’t exactly up to par with my standards but no such luck. This is what happens when your eyes are bigger than your brain. Estufida!