video chat

I talked to my parents through video chat the other night. They wanted to see our new baby and so we obliged and spent about an hour talking to them while showing their third grandchild. It was a pleasant conversation with some of our relatives in the background. I was advised what to do since I don't have anybody here to help me but the husband. I was also asked if the balikbayan box we were supposed to ship has been shipped yet and when I said no I heard a chorus of disappointment, lol. It will have to wait until we are ready to fill it up and send it to the asian store. My mother was the only one who was happy because she wanted another item in the box for her, a new wristwatch. I told her I have been looking the times I was at the mall but I have not found anything affordable yet. It does have to depend on the budget, you know? Besides I saw a necklace display on one of the stores that I think father will like. Would be nice to get it for him so both of them will have jewelry from us. They both love to wear jewelries, a trait I did not get, lol. Anyway, I told her to just wait a few more weeks, maybe months, and we should get around to having the box shipped. As for our conversation, they said they will get online again and make sure we get to talk longer. They were happy to see their grandchildren from me and are hoping they get to see the little ones in person.

on hunting

Since we moved to the country, I have heard of men young and old brag about going hunting. It is a big thing apparently especially since we live near the mountains. I just bet there are plenty of animals that people can hunt when it is open season. I know that there are all kinds of hunting gears a person can buy on almost all stores around our area. Gears like rifles, kits, binoculars and such. I don't know if they have any eotech brand or if this brand is even for hunting in the first place. I am totally clueless when it comes to hunting stuff because the husband is not a fan so we only hear it from his cousins and their friends and only when the topic comes up which is rare in our presence.

i am craving...

For tortang talong (eggplant omelet) and stir-fried water spinach. Thinking about eating these food with hot steamed rice and cold water on the side makes me drool. The problem is I don't have eggplant available and I have not seen water spinach since summer of last year. So these cravings will remain just that, cravings. Until I chance upon these vegetables at the Asian store the next time I do my grocery shopping there. Sometimes it is awful when cravings for tropical vegetables hit me because of their availability (or non-availability) in the place where we are at. Next time if and when I find water spinach I will try to plant some and see if the plant will survive here in the mountains. I know eggplants do because I did plant a few last summer even if I did not get much out of it. I will have to think of something else to fix to satisfy my cravings.

waiting for my turn

I want to watch a particular movie but the husband wanted to watch something else. And as is the case with us, he gets what he wants. Merely because I give in and also because I don't think I will be able to sit still for over an hour to watch a movie while the little man is still up. I will try to do it when he is asleep and after the movie the husband is watching is finished. For now I am online updating my blogs, looking at updates of my friends on Facebook while reading about adapexin reviews that I found on a certain website. I am just curious because it sounded almost the same as another diet pill I have read once and I thought it was just a typo error. I proved myself wrong. Well, it never hurts to learn something new. I don't think I have to wait too long for that movie I want to watch. I might as well wrap things up and make sure the little man is in bed so I can do what I want in a little while.

fish!

I bought fish from the Asian store last week. It is called galunggong in Filipino and the English name I can find online is mackerel scad. There were five fish in a pack and since I thawed the whole pack I decided to cook them all at once. I fried half and I boiled the other half. When the fish was cooked I immediately fixed a plate of rice with fish and ate until I was full I can hardly breath. If you think I went ahead and search for the best diet pills on the market you are wrong. I never even felt guilty over that indulgence. It has been so long since I have had that kind of fish so I enjoyed eating it. It is rare to find galunggong in the store I frequent and I just got lucky last week. It may be a while before I can cook it again but at least I satisfied my craving for it for now. I still have a few pieces leftover which I will surely be devouring on my next meals. I love fish!

we have tons

Of baby girl clothes from the SIL and her daughter. We brought home two big tote boxes full of newborn and 0-3 months onesies and sleepers along with socks, hair bows, blankets, hats, diapers, and even baby wipes. She even gave us formula and a lot of other things the baby might need when she gets here. I told her the little girl will be spoiled rotten if she keeps on giving us stuff but she said she is just excited for the new baby. She loves babies, see. She has grandchildren she adores and spoils. I am grateful for all the things she gave us. She has always been generous when it comes to giving us stuff for the kids. She also loves the little man whom she promised to babysit when I have to go to the hospital to give birth. I am happy we do not need to buy a lot of things anymore. In fact, the only item we need to buy is a crib which we will eventually once the baby is a few months old. I plan on making her sleep on a bassinet for the first couple of months and then transfer her on a crib after that.

a little help

The husband has trouble sleeping some nights. He complains about it and I pity him. I do have sleepless nights sometimes for no apparent reason. His has something to do with worry. About his health, about his older son, about the future. He takes pills to make him sleep when sleeplessness attack him. He does not swear that what he takes are the best sleep aids but he said every little bit helps. If he can sleep a few straight hours without interruption he is happy. I hope he will quit worrying so he can sleep better. We all need good night's sleep to function well the next day. I think what he needs is a long vacation and we hope to do that in the near future in the tropics. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

he bought a truck

The stepson bought an old truck he is now driving. His father gave him a nice car but he wrecked it so he has to make do of what he has now. He seems to like the truck, even his father likes his son's truck saying it looks good. The car is insured since he was able to find cheap car insurance for it. He drove it to meet us at the SIL's place the other day. The truck has some things that needs to be worked on but nothing really major as far as repairs is concerned. He can probably work on it since he has plenty of time in his hands and his mom has a place for him to fix his truck whenever he wants to. His father advised him to do it when it is not too cold though because it has been really bad here weather-wise. We hope the truck will keep him busy for a while, he needs to keep his mind off other things.

off to pick up baby stuff

We are going to pick up the baby stuff that the SIL wants to give to us. I talked to her last night and she named off a lot of things she accumulated for our little girl. I told her if this keeps on we will have a spoiled baby. She said she is already excited for me to give birth and promised she will be here to help us with the little man when the day for my c-section comes. It is a relief to hear that because I would like the husband to be with me in the delivery room. It will also be a relief to know that the little man will be with his favorite aunt that day. Anyway, we have to go. I will probably take pictures of the loot later when we get home and post it here if I don't get lazy. We will see.

financial independence

A friend has an online store where she sells shoes, bags, and sometimes clothes. She started out small but as months go on and her customer base widens, she is now expanding. Just a few weeks ago she posted that she already accepts credit card payments on her online store which is a good thing. I don't know if she has pci compliance hosting for her online store because I think it is too personal to ask her that but I am happy for her success. At least one of us stay at home moms is having a steady source of income. I would like to be financially independent too one of these days but it will have to wait until I am ready. It may take some time but I hope it will eventually happen.

small blessings

When my boys get bored, they tend to go overboard by playing loud music on their computers. If they are not satisfied with the sound the computers make, they turn the television on and for added measure, turn the radio on high volume. They do these from time to time that I should get used to it but it still drive me buggy. Once they get the reaction they want (mostly from me) they quit and go on with whatever they are doing. Crazy I know but that is what happens here when cabin fever hits. Sometimes I am grateful for little things like not having wall speakers or surround sound for the television and the computers. I would really go crazy then. At least I can block out the computer sounds because the volume on those can only go so high without it sounding like something is tearing up. We cannot wait for Spring to come so we can get out often. Being able to sit in the carport without having to wear layers of clothes will be something of a blessing. We do need a change of scenery every now and then.

bills

Our heat bill for December is twice than our normal bill for previous months. This was because of the very cold temperature that we experienced. I personally thought our bill was too much but the husband who used to live where we are at now thinks we have a decent bill. I guess. I am not used to having heat bill this extreme. He said what I should worry about is our electric bill since we had our Christmas lights on for a month and we have night lights on every night not to mention the lights that the little man and I turn on as soon as it gets dark outside. It was almost a hundred on November and we have yet to receive the bill for December. I hope he is not right or else the little man and I will be in trouble, lol. He always tells us not to turn on a lot of lights but we forget sometimes. We try to follow orders as much as we can but it is just too tempting. Oh well, we will get our electric bill in a day or two. We will know then.

almost ready

The husband's sister called the other day to inform us that she has bassinet and crib she can give us for our little girl. We were happy to hear the news because we have been planning to buy these items soon. Her call came at the right time. We still have to see the bassinet and the bed but the fact that somebody else is actually trying to help matters a lot. I hope that the items are sturdy and are in good shape so we will not have to buy either. We can use the money on other things the baby might need when she gets here. We are getting ready for her arrival. She seems to be ready to get out too given the fact on how she kicks my side when she tries to stretch. I don't think she has a lot of space to move so even if her wiggling around hurts sometimes, I just have to bear it. I pray that baby and I will be doing good on our big day.