the right (online) store

I mentioned I craved for a particular kind of dried fish on my previous post. Well, about a week ago I ordered the dried fish online. I had two packs of the kind I really want and two packs more of different kind dried fish just because they were cheap. The order was delivered three days later which was really great. I have ate what I want (and stank the whole house up) and I am happy. I still have three packs of dried fish in the fridge for when cravings hit me again. I have learned my lesson, it is always better to have extra food in the fridge because I do not know when I will want to eat certain kinds of food. And there are food that I want that is not easy to find. And the best thing, I did not pay a lot of money for my purchase considering I had to pay for shipping. It would have been around the same cost had I buy the dried fish at the nearest Asian store. I am glad I found the right store to order dried fish. I will do business with them again hoping that they will uphold fast and efficient service.

when cravings hit

Yesterday I was miserable. I was very hungry and I ate but after eating I was craving for more even if my stomach is full. I got frustrated so I ate some more which made me more miserable. I was grumpy. I decided to walk off my frustration and got on the treadmill for about 20 minutes which made me feel better. I guess I was just bored. After all, I did not get to go out yesterday. Or maybe it has something to do with craving for a particular kind of dried fish which I could not find in the nearest Asian store. It was awful but I got over it somehow. The husband who is used to me being grumpy when hungry stayed away and made sure the little man was with him. They got online where I heard them arguing because the little man wanted to watch a certain music video of a popular singer while his father for some reason had the page up and reading about supplements review. I did not intervene. I let them settle their own dispute because if know one of them is going to get his way anyway. That walk made a lot of difference and I am thankful for small blessings. Today I feel better. I hope I will find that dried fish I want. Maybe when my craving is satisfied I will be a better person even if I stay coped up inside the house :)

kamote!

Or sweet potato to those who do not know the Filipino name for it. These were boiled a couple weeks ago, the first batch that came out from my small patch of sweet potato vine. I boiled the roots until the pot was dry which made the house smell so good but freaked the husband out, lol. He thought something was burning in the stove which has been happening lately when I forget that I have something cooking. I did not forget about the potatoes though, in fact I was watching the pot real close to achieve the desired look and taste I love. Would you believe I never quit until I ate all these up? Not in one day though, I had to do it in a span of days but I did it and never regret it. I have tried baking sweet potato twice but I have not been very successful with that so I guess I should just stick to boiling because apparently that is what I am good at. Maybe I will even boil a pot full today. That is an absolutely delicious idea :)

eczema

It is starting to get cold anymore. Today I had to wear jeans and a cardigan on top of my shirt because it was too cold a day for me. I love this kind of weather especially at bed time because then we do not have to use AC nor heat. But this is also the kind of weather which gives me very dry skin that sometimes lead to eczema that is painful when not treated early. The little man had it about two years ago but thankfully we were prescribed a good cream to put in his skin and cured it. I don't know if we still have said cream but I hope we will not get it this year. I guess we will have to start using the humidifier before long and to try to stay indoors and hydrated as much as possible so we will not have the same problems again. Anything to prevent us from contacting said skin problem.

presents

Yesterday was the little man's birthday. He did not get much from us that day because we already gave him his presents days before. We do not have tradition when it comes to birthdays, we celebrate the occasion as it comes and we buy presents usually days before the event. We do not wait for the day itself to let him unwrap his presents. It still has the same effect though, wide grins and smiles of appreciation which makes us think of saving money for the next special occasion. Which brings us to Christmas. Christmas is another occasion where we buy him plenty of presents. This time we do buy the presents days, sometimes weeks, in advance but we wrap them up or bag them and let the presents set under the tree to be opened on Christmas morning. We only have a few weeks to get the little man's christmas gift bags and I am already excited. I know I should worry about expenses and all that but then we never really buy anything beyond our means. And our little boy is not very hard to please so whatever we get for him he is happy. We do have to think of what to get him though, something he will like and use for a long time.

beautiful day

After two gloomy days, the sun has finally come up. It is a beautiful day today. It is cool but it does not matter much as long as the sun is up. This will be a perfect day to go out and walk if only there is a place to do that. But, anyway, I will not dwell on that. As long as I get a beautiful, sunshiny day I am happy. I hope it will be like this for days ahead. Like what I always tell the husband, I can brave the cold days as long as the sun is up and is shining bright. Although I will not mind having occasional gloomy days so I will have a reason to stay in and eat :)

short term or long term

The husband was informed that one of his sisters who had an expensive life insurance plan had her yearly check up and was told that she has some serious health problems which made the insurance company cut her policy in half. Should anything happen to her now, her beneficiaries will only get half of what they were supposed to get the year before. The sad thing is that she has had the life insurance for over ten years. Apparently she could not do anything about it so she has to accept it as it is. We wonder if she still has her health insurance and what will happen if her provider knows about it. Hearing news like this makes me wonder if it is better to get something like short term health insurance NC (if one lives in NC, that is) than getting long term insurance only to be turned down or cut off the time you need it most. We do hope she will be able to do something to get her original policy back for her family's benefit. The husband still has to talk to his younger sister to know more details. Maybe then she already will hear something uplifting.

legal issue

An acquaintance of ours is going through a battle. It has something to do with work. We do not know much about the details because much as we are interested to know it is none of our business. The only thing we know is it is not one of those Mesothelioma lawsuits since, like I said, it is work-related. We hope she gets fair treatment. We probably will hear more once the case is closed and she gets ready to talk about it but I am sure not before. It is one of the things I don't like, going through something serious like that. I can handle criticism and other things but when it comes to legalities I don't care much for it. I hope when the time comes for me to start working outside of the home that it will not happen to me.

we are hungry

I could not decide what to eat. I am hungry and the baby is kicking me left, right, and center but I don't know what to eat. I should if I know what is right for me but the thing is, I want to eat something filling. Not just food to get me through the night. How I wish there is somebody here who knows how to cook Filipino food so I can just say what I want and it will be served to me when ready. Or a Filipino restaurant would be nice. But being in the country with barely a handful of Asians it is an impossibility. The husband promised he will bring me to a seafood buffet one of these days so I can indulge. I am looking forward to that but I have more pressing matters I need to attend to. Food. Now. And since nobody knows how to cook (or eat) Filipino food here except me, then I will have to get up and fix my own food. Good times. Not!

the countryside

We drove down the countryside today. We were all bored and we needed something to lift our moods. The country is a fascinating place to drive in the evening. Especially as gloomy as today is. The trees look good with the leaves turning yellow and red. The houses look more welcoming than ever, shelters from the bad weather. The farms are a pretty sight what with the animals in them. It is just perfect. There are numerous houses we passed that are very huge, not at all farm-like but more suited to be seen in big cities. With big yards and pools that are already covered because of the cooling temperatures. When I asked the husband if pool covers are the same as hot tub covers he gave me a blank look. He clearly had no idea. He must have been surprised I even asked. I am like this when bored. I pay too much attention and I ask ridiculous questions according to the husband. Yet he finds it amusing. Even the little man enjoyed our short ride. The scenery might be the same for miles but it is still something to behold. I wanted to go further but it is getting dark and we are getting hungry (which is the often the case lately) so we head home. I would like to do this often no matter how mundane it sounds. At least we are not spending a lot of money doing this.

flea market day

Today is market day here in the country. We passed the flea market stands on our way to the store and I wanted to stop but decided against it. I have only been to the flea market once since we moved here and I did not even get to roam around the whole area like I wanted to because the little man wanted every toy he saw on display. Now that he is behaving better would have been the time to go but it is chilly and we did have to do something more important than looking at stuff at the flea market. I saw a wagon full of soda and I wondered where it came from. From what I could tell, the brands are the kind I saw in stores. The husband said not to ask, that everything can be found at the flea market here like rustic furniture, old farmer's tools and equipment, baked goods from the Amish (this I still have to taste), used clothes and baby stuff, home furniture, anything you can think of. He said if one is lucky he might find brand new stuff too. Which makes me want to go. Maybe next time I will if the weather permits and if I get up early enough to go before the crowd.

rv repairs

It is another gloomy day in the country but we had to go to the store early because the little man ran out of milk. He still prefers his milk over water so to avoid any tantrums I had to go and get him a couple gallons. We are now back home and will probably stay home to keep warm since it is chilly out there. The husband is on the phone trying to explain to his cousin that he does not know about rv repairs so his cousin better ask somebody else about what is wrong with his rv. The latter is asking the husband if he knows why his rv is making odd noises and he said he does not have a clue. I think since the husband worked as a mechanic everybody assumes he knows what is wrong with anything that has wheels. He only used to work on cars and he has not worked in a long time due to health reasons so he has been out of the loop. I hope the cousin will find somebody who knows how to fix his rv. That way he can sell it like he planned on doing a few months ago.

books

I bought two books. Again. After I have promised myself not to buy books because it is getting expensive. I could not take not having any thing to read. It drives me mad. I could get online anytime I want but it is not the same as enjoying a good book. I think the husband realized it too since when I told him I want to buy books he said yes. No questions asked. That is why I love him :) I should be studying for a very important test which should happen soon but I want to read the books first and worry about the test later. I already studied part of the test anyway and I think I am doing good so far. I need a breather. I can't wait to start reading one of the books. I will have to go to bed and start reading tomorrow since it is already late.

he is looking at boots

Since the husband and I had a lot to eat for supper, we cannot go to bed yet. We are making it a practice not to go to bed when we are full for health reasons. He is in his computer right now looking at women's boots. I don't know what his plan is but he has been at it for a while. He even called me several times to look at particular designs to see if I like them. He said he might buy me a pair when he feels like it. Ha! And he got shocked when I told him what designs I liked and how much each cost. I told him I have stopped looking at shoes (for me) online anymore because it makes me depressed not being able to purchase all that I like. He was shocked that I would want so many shoes but then I know he will be, lol. I told him to quit looking at shoes and start looking at mattresses instead so we can make the decision on what brand to get. He is now looking at boots for kids, since he plans to buy one for the little man too. He said he even wants a pair for himself. Well, whatever he decides to do, I will be happy if he gets me a pair that I like. If not, then it is fine with me. I still have my old reliable pair to use for winter.

we cooked good food

It did rain today but not until it was about to get dark. It felt wonderful to have that rain since we have not had rain in months. Not a soaker like that anyway. We went out to buy minutes for the husband's prepaid phone and so we decided to visit his aunt and uncle for a few minutes to see what they were doing. Then we went home to cook food. I baked sweet potato while he had to keep an eye on chicken rotisserie in a separate oven. We also had fried green tomatoes which were delicious. He said tonight would have been a perfect night to grill marshmallows on an outdoor fireplace if we had one since it has quit raining and it is cool out there. But we do not have an outdoor fireplace and using a grill would have ruined the fun. So we ate our food and stayed inside. We will do marshmallows some other time :)

i need to walk

It is a gloomy day today. And I have not done anything but eat and be miserable because I am so full I can hardly breath. Is this a sign of boredom? Or craziness? I want to go out but I don't think it is safe to do what with the weather looking the way it is. I would rather be inside the house and warm than be outside and get wet should it rain. Perhaps I will walk a few minutes on the treadmill. Maybe it will make me feel better and stop my mind from thinking of what to eat when I just had a plateful of rice, fish, and beefloaf. If I don't stop myself I will be so fat the husband will be making fun of me. I could not allow that. I guess I have to get off here so I can do what I need to do. Be back later :)

getting a box ready

We might go to the Asian store tomorrow to get a balikbayan box. When I went there the other day I was told that the store ran out of boxes and it won't be until Wednesday when they get more stocks. The husband and I agreed that we will send another box to my parents. This is our first for the year since we got busy with moving and settling in the new place. I already have a big box here I need to sort out to choose which items we will send or keep. These are items we bought from yard sales like slightly used clothing for my parents and some hip hop clothing for my younger nephews. There are also toys and new clothes for my niece, the little man's old clothes that my mom wants me to send so she could give to the neighbors' kids, and some bits and pieces we found that we think are useful to them. I still have to buy their favored brand of soap and maybe, if I feel like going to the mall, a couple of their favorite cologne. I am sure they will have more requests once I tell them we are getting the box ready to ship. I just hope that the box will get to them before the holidays.

a new pair of shoes

When I went to window shop at a shoe store a few days ago, I have a few pairs I would like to buy. One is a pair of loafers that was really comfortable and the other is a high heeled sandals (which I cannot really use at the moment) that I like. I did not buy either because they were priced a bit high so I decided I will wait and see if the pair will go on sale. Who knows? I might just get lucky. I told the husband about it and he was fine with the loafers but the sandals he has his doubts. You see, I have plenty of high heeled shoes and sandals that I have not even worn yet. They are still in boxes waiting for me in vain. Lol. I just did not have the time to wear them what with having to deal with a toddler and being pregnant. I said maybe after the second baby is born I will be able to wear the sexy sandals which the husband just snorted in reply. He is bad, isn't he? Well, he told me if I want to buy a pair of shoes I need to think of comfort so why don't I think of buying a pair of, say, mbt shoes, or just get the loafers that I liked? I hate to admit it but he does make good points so I will think about it some more. I know these pairs mentioned are not glamorous to look at but he knows that I am for comfort first before anything else. I am just hard-headed sometimes. I will see what we can afford (oh, yes he is paying for it) and let's hope that I will use reason when choosing the right pair of shoes.

for sale

There are a lot of houses for sale in the area we live in. Anytime you drive through residential streets you can see for sale signs littering the sidewalk. The husband and I wonder where all the people are going and his aunt told us they are either moving to the city or to the deeper part of the country. Well, with people selling their houses, most are also selling their furniture. I guess they do not want to bring anything with them when they move so they are having auctions either in the house itself or an online auction for those who are interested. I have never really been to an auction and I would like to go but the husband said it will be awkward if we will go and not participate. He has a point. I wonder if online auction is the same? I have not really looked it up yet. I do not plan to buy anything, I am just curious. I might try to get to an auction one of these days just for the experience.

i want to eat puto!

I am craving for steamed rice cakes (puto). I bought a pack of puto mix from the Asian store thinking I will fix it right away when I get home. What I failed to realize is that I threw my silicone molds when we moved. And I don't have anything here that will fit my steamer. I do have muffin tins but it is too big for my steamer so it is not an option. Now I am left with a box of puto mix which makes me crave some more for the delicacy. What makes it bad is that I cannot even do anything about it until I order another set of those silicone molds and it will be another week or two before it gets here. Why did I ever not listen to the husband when he told me to hang on to the molds? I wouldn't have this problem if I did. I cannot even tell him about my problem because I know he will just tell me "I told you". I will try to see if I can do the steaming in the oven. I have read about steam bath but I still have to figure out a way to do it and see if it works.

a new mattress

The husband and I agreed that we need a new mattress. Our old mattress sags in the middle anymore and it is uncomfortable especially for him who has a bad back. As for me, it is uncomfortable because of my growing belly. We have checked out several stores online to see if there is a mattress that will suit our need. We are contemplating on getting a firm mattress this time since we read it is good for the back. I just want a comfortable bed to sleep in at night. We have enough cash to buy a new mattress now but he said we will use credit for it when we get ready to buy it. Now we need to figure out a way to ask somebody to help in getting the mattress from the store and bringing it inside the house because we can't do it. Anybody willing to help?

birthday

In a few days is the little man's birthday. He will be four years old. We do not have anything grand planned for that day. We will buy him presents, give him a card, maybe eat out if we feel like it, and then go back home. Unlike his first birthday where I planned on having a big party complete with 1st birthday invitations, this time there will be no invitations or any plans. We will do as we please and what he will want to do. We thought we will buy him ice cream since he does like to eat ice cream now. We will let him indulge on his favorite chocolate ice cream for a change. Maybe go to the park so he can play. I just hope he will not say he wants to go to Chuck E. Cheese because he really likes the place too. Well, we will see what we will do that day. We hope he will enjoy his special day.

assistance

Our cars are old so we make sure we have proper insurance for them in case the need arise. The husband made me get insurance that covers roadside assistance just in case we break down on the road. We do not go anywhere much but then we also do not know when a vehicle starts acting up. We have seen a few cars being left on the roadside because it breaks down and I guess the owner does not have towing on their insurance. It is costly when you have to pay out of pocket but when it is included in your insurance it is free. I like it that way. We have used ours twice (I think) when the transmission to our SUV quit working and we had to have it towed to a friend's garage so he could fix it for us. We never paid a penny for towing those times and we are glad we have insurance. We like although we do hope we will not have to use it often. As good as free towing and roadside assistance sounds, it still is better when the cars do not have any problems at all.

he is not feeling good

The husband is not feeling good today. He said he is cold and his bones and muscles ache. I told him to take medicine before it gets bad and go back to bed so he can rest. We cannot afford to get sick. I know if he does get sick, the little man and I will eventually get it. I hope the medicine will take care of the symptoms he has and will stop whatever is making him feel bad. The little man has checked on his father several times wondering why he is not in the living room with us. When his father told him he is not feeling better he left him alone. He was online a while ago until he decided to go upstairs and play with his trains. I hear him talking to James and Thomas. Anything to keep him occupied for a while. I will have to get up and fix something to eat for the husband and continue cleaning the house. I still have plenty of cleaning up to do but I am taking it slow so I will not get tired. I get tired easily this days as my pregnancy progresses. I am getting heavy too. But that can't be helped so I have to deal with it like I do every thing else. Anyway, I have to go. I will be back for more updates later.

on vacation

I was on Facebook just a few minutes ago to check for updates and I saw where one friend posted pictures and videos of their vacation in PI. Her and her husband are there right now, enjoying being around family and good food. I envy her. I really want to be around good food right now. And be with my parents and some relatives. Not all since some of them have been giving my parents a hard time due to the coming local elections. Anyway, when they were planning about their vacation, my friend had to get online several times to check on travel deals since airplane fares are getting expensive and she wanted to get tickets as cheap as possible. She eventually found a good deal and bought the tickets a month before the trip. They are in PI right now and will be there for a month. A month of relaxation and fun I would really want to indulge but can't. The husband said we will go for our own vacation somehow, we just have to wait for it. I know we will in God's good time. Right now all I can hope is that my friend will bring me pasalubong :)

it feels good to be productive

I spent a few hours ironing the husband's shirts this morning. He complained the other day how he wants to wear his good shirts but could not because they are not ironed. I must admit I have not ironed any clothes for a long time. I just fold or hang clothes in the closet right after I take them out of the dryer. I thought I was doing good. Apparently, somebody else does not think what I was doing was good enough. He just didn't have the courage to tell it to my face, lol. So I promised him I will iron all his shirts and jeans to make him happy. And I did that this morning while he had to entertain the little man so he will leave me alone. I finished ironing after a couple hours and I also rearranged his closet so all men's polo shirts line one side while pants and jeans are on the other side. While doing that, I also had the washer and dryer going. I have been multi tasking and it feels good to be productive although it hurt my leg and back to be standing that long. I will make up for it by taking a nap after dinner though. Once I get my rest I will be doing more cleaning in other areas of the house. I like it clean and tidy in the house. It gives me comfort.

getting ready for winter

We are going to the store today to buy a portable gas stove. This is to get ready for the coming winter. We want to be prepared just in case electric will go out. One never knows what the winter brings so we have to be ready. The husband and I debated at first whether to get a gas grill with a side burner instead of the portable gas stove. After weighing the pros and cons, we decided to go ahead and get the stove. It is handier and we can bring it inside the house with less space required. We still plan on buying a gas grill but it will have to wait for now. Winter is getting near, we need to prioritize. He already called one store in advance and was told that they do carry gas stoves. I just hope they will not run out when we get there. If you are interested I will let you all know when we get back :)

storage

The house we live in does not have enough storage space nor are there plenty of closet. So what we do is we rented a storage room for all our "junk" that we do not want to part with (at the moment anyway). Things that we do not need on a daily basis is on the storage building like bicycles, fishing rods, coolers, a few tools, and some odds and pieces we collected through the years. We have been meaning to have a yard sale since we do have stuff we need to get rid of but the horde in us do not want to let go as of yet. Maybe when we do need the money we will think seriously about it. I am glad that there are storage buildings for rent. These steel buildings are handy for people who do not have their own garages or sheds to put their things in. For so much money a month, one can get a storage room depending on the size he wants and leave his belongings there for as long as he wants. And as long as the unit is paid for then there should not be any problems. I love this buildings. Someday, when we have our own house I would like to have one in the yard just for storage purposes.

we finally got to talk

I finally get to talk to my parents a day after they did not show up. Mom was there first who told me dad was not around because he had to keep an eye on somebody he is paying money to do carpentry work. We talked about dad's hospitalization, bills, and more. We also talked about the little man and my pregnancy. And we talked about politics since the date for the local elections is fast approaching and she is running for barangay captain again. This will be her second term and this time somebody is running against her. As always with politics, there are intrigues and issues that are not even true yet people believe. I told her to just let it pass and to hang on to her belief. If she wins then good but if she doesn't to be ready to accept the fact. That is why it is called an election, people decides who they want in office. We have talked a long time before dad showed up. He said he left the carpenter so we could talk which we did. He reassured me he is feeling better (thank goodness) and relayed some gossip he heard pertaining to mom and the people she is up against in the coming elections. It was fun talking to them. Sure they aggravate me sometimes with their demands but I am happy that they are both doing fine and apparently in good health. I hope it will continue that way. We parted with them promising we will talk again in the next few days, probably before the elections. I just hope mom will still win.

free food

We went to a wholesale store a few weeks ago. There are food in that particular store that the husband like so much but only gets from time to time and he decided that he wanted said food at the time. So we went. Like we always do when we go to a wholesale store, we end up spending so much money for only a few items since we have to buy the food in bulk. But I love the store because it normally do not have so many people milling around and also because of the promotional items, mainly food, they offer to shoppers. I love food and I like to taste new offerings when we go. Like I said, we rarely go to that store but when we do we make it worth our while. Why not? There is no pressure and no rush and there is food. We buy what we want and then off we go home. That simple. It will be a while before we will go back for sure but I am already looking forward to what kind of food I will get to taste next time. Even the little man gets in the game by tasting what is given to us. Can you tell we don't have much of a social life? Lol.

so slow

We had a hard time making the old laptop (that the little man is using) play a music CD. It was very slow in loading and reading the cd that we have to wait wondering if it is going to happen or if there was something wrong with both. After a few tries it did work and the cd did play so we were able to listen to the songs that were in it that the husband said was from Sugar Ray. It was not really from the said singer so it was all in vain. While doing all that we could not help but snap at each other about how I did not do it right where I said back that it was not like it was a rackmount computer anyway, the laptop was cheap with 1G memory we bought 4 years ago so that should explain why it is very slow. The other laptops are fine and we do not have any complains about them. Only this old laptop because it has been through a lot of use and abuse (mostly from the little man) and it is old. It might even be time to replace it should we have the money to buy a new computer.

waiting in vain

It is already late yet I am still up. My parents informed me days ago that they are going to get online at 8:30 am their time (7:30 pm here) so we could talk. I started waiting an hour before just in case they will come early but it is already almost 11pm here and nobody showed up. Well, a cousin was online a few minutes ago and told me my parents rescheduled because they are busy. They did not even send me a text message to let me know so I will not spend the whole night waiting for them. These two really know how to aggravate me. Hays, now I will have to go to bed where I should have been in the first place. I just hope they will show up at the time they have set for next supposed video chat.