This Dog-Gone Life

my 'lil Batgirl

2007-05-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

Peachy hiding under the covers

2007-05-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

Carving the bird

2006-11-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

T-day cooking

2006-11-25T19:28:00.000-08:00

Jerica's belly 25.5 weeks

2006-09-24T15:32:00.000-07:00

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Def Leppard/Journey concert

2006-09-03T21:26:00.000-07:00

Erwin and I are children of the 80's.

stuff from IKEA food market

2006-08-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

The lingonberry preserve is awesome, the chive sauce is really good with salmon, and the cheapo caviar is okay too. I mean, it's no beluga so what do you expect? It almost tastes like bihod sang barungoy. Well, almost.

Holding off

2006-08-08T00:36:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm about to turn down an offer to go to grad school. This was all I wanted for the longest time. Getting in to grad school is tough and highly competitive but as luck will have it, the acceptance offer was handed to me without much effort on my part. I should be jumping for joy but the sad thing is I just can't do it right now. My priorities have been re-arranged and I have to hold off on going to grad school. I know I'm letting a good oppurtunity pass me but I'd like to think of it as trading a good oppurtunity for a much better one. I just hope I'm right about this.

Jerica's belly at 18 weeks

2006-08-04T15:55:00.000-07:00

Isn't it fun to watch a growing belly!?! (just as long as it's not mine)

Dog gone wild

2006-07-22T22:55:00.000-07:00

Ellen walking down the aisle

2006-07-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

Graduate!

2006-07-10T08:30:00.000-07:00

my new plate holder. yes, i'm done with school...finally.

i am a princess

2006-07-02T10:19:00.000-07:00

I miss my mommy

2006-06-24T18:39:00.000-07:00

Black and white

2006-06-24T18:36:00.000-07:00

The reason I love my Prius

2006-05-21T01:07:00.000-07:00

2006-01-15T11:39:00.000-08:00

Fresh from E's dwarf orange tree!

E

2005-11-30T14:50:00.000-08:00

Per Ellen's request. Here's a goofy picture of my man, E.

This is very bad. It goes straight to the hips... but it sure tastes good.

2005-11-26T16:41:00.000-08:00

Peachy licking her chops

2005-11-25T11:34:00.000-08:00

Clothes to give away. The Salvation Army will be so proud of me.

2005-11-24T13:22:00.000-08:00

2005-11-20T11:43:00.000-08:00

Busted! You're not allowed on the couch, Buboy!

2005-11-14T11:49:00.000-08:00

Chichi waiting for Dada to come home...from the Philippines.

2005-10-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

Dong's turtle. I'm just waiting for him to go to dental school and this turtle is mine.

2005-10-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

Flavor of the month.

I wonder how long before E gets tired of you. Wait til the new the new Xbox comes out.

2005-10-21T21:06:00.000-07:00

Behold the power of a Sharpie.

2005-10-21T00:55:00.000-07:00

Dong's seahorse.

2005-10-21T00:47:00.000-07:00

Peachy in the morning.

The enterpreneur me

2005-09-21T10:51:00.000-07:00

I was silent for a while because I took summer classes and most of all, I started a side business. E did not want anything to do with it at first. He said it was a waste of money and that it was not a good idea, yadi-yadi-yada. Everytime I would talk to him about it, he would just dismiss me by saying he's tired or he doesn't want to talk about it, whatever.

I finally got so frustrated I told him I'm going to do it anyway. If he's not going to give me any constructive feedback, so be it. I can think for my own self and don't need his input if he doesn't want to share it. It was a struggle to get him involved in my little business.

Well, now that he sees my gross sales for this month, he's totally stoked. That's right, all it took was to show him the money. We just met with a small business tax advisor last night and we are very surprised to learn that we could deduct so much stuff like half of our car expenses (yes, including gas!), my cell phone bill, membership dues at Sam's Club, the purchase price of the machines we bought, clothes (for uniforms), office supplies, even some dining and entertainment expenses, etc. Gosh, I can't wait to file our income tax. Heck, with the tax refund coming our way, we're probably going to expand this little business much sooner than we thought.

Now, if I could only find a way to manage all of my activities this coming Fall. I'm still taking classes full time at UCD, I have on-line classes via the community college, I have two internships/volunteer work, a part time job, plus my small business. Arggh, I wish there's 48 hours in a day.

Oh yeah, I did very well in all three classes I took this summer. I didn't think I would because I was so distracted with starting the business and everything. Once again, God's on my side.

JOKES...pretty offensive but too damn funny

2005-07-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

I lifted this from Ate Jenn's blog. I thought it's pretty funny, so here it goes:

JOKES To Offend Everyone

What do you call two Mexicans playing basketball?
Juan on Juan.

What is a Yankee?
The same as a quickie, but a guy can do it alone.

What is the difference between a Harley and a Hoover?
The position of the dirt bag.

Why is divorce so expensive?
Because it's worth it.

What do you see when the Pillsbury Dough Boy bends over?
Doughnuts.

Why is air a lot like sex?
Because it's no big deal unless you're not getting any.

What do you call a smart blonde?
A golden retriever

What do attorneys use for birth control?
Their personalities.

What's the difference between a girlfriend and wife?
45 lbs.

What's the difference between a boyfriend and husband?
45 minutes.

What's the fastest way to a man's heart?
Through his chest with a sharp knife.

Why do men want to marry virgins?
They can't stand criticism.

Why is it so hard for women to find men that are sensitive, caring,
and good-looking?
Because those men already have boyfriends.

What's the difference between a new husband and a new dog?
After a year, the dog is still excited to see you.

What makes men chase women they have no intention of marrying?
The same urge that makes dogs chase cars they have no intention of
driving.

Why don't bunnies make noise when they have sex?
Because they have cotton balls.

What's the difference between a porcupine and BMW?
A porcupine has the pricks on the outside.

What did the blonde say when she found out she was pregnant?
"Are you sure it's mine?"

Why does Mike Tyson cry during sex?
Mace will do that to you.

Why did OJ Simpson want to move to West Virginia?
Everyone has the same DNA.

Why do men find it difficult to make eye contact?
Breasts don't have eyes.

Did you hear about the dyslexic Rabbi?
He walks around saying "Yo."

Why do drivers' education classes in Redneck schools use the car only
on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays?
Because on Tuesday and Thursday, the Sex Ed class uses it.

Where does an Irish family go on vacation?
A different bar.

Did you hear about the Chinese couple that had a retarded baby?
They named him "Sum Ting Wong"

What would you call it when an Italian has one arm shorter than the
other?
A speech impediment.

What does it mean when the flag at the Post Office is flying at half-
mast?
They're hiring.

What's the difference between a southern zoo and a northern zoo?
A southern zoo has a description of the animal on the front of the
cage along with a recipe.

How do you get a sweet little 80-year-old lady to say the F word?
Get another sweet little 80-year-old lady to yell *BINGO*!

What's the difference between a northern fairytale and a southern
fairytale?
A northern fairytale begins "Once upon a time...A southern fairytale
begins Y'all ain't gonna believe this shit..."

Why is there no Disneyland in China?
No one's tall enough to go on the good rides.

Busy, busy, busy

2005-05-21T00:12:00.000-07:00

E and I are so unbelievably busy! We have construction/landscaping going on in our backyard. We finally got a contractor to put a concrete service walkway on the sideyard, fix the fence, and put in new sod.

The sod has been installed and it looks nice. Ever since the dogs ruined the old lawn, our backyard has looked horrible. With the new grass installed, it's nice to sit out there now and read a book. The concrete and fence won't be done until next week because it rained for a couple of days. I can't wait for all these to be finished so I can start planting climbing roses or other vines to cover the fence. I'm excited!

Yummy zucchinis

2005-04-28T20:34:00.000-07:00

We harvested three zucchinis from my garden last Saturday. We grilled the veggies with a sprinkling of oregano (which is growing in an old tub of Magnolia ice cream by my kitchen window) and they were yummy. Nothing beats fresh veggies straight from the garden. I have four zucchini plants and they are very productive.

E picked another zucchini from the backyard today. Man, these zucchs grow fast. You forget about them for a couple of days and next thing you know, they're as big as a baseball bat. Hehehe. I'm really not complaining, I love zucchs, I love growing my own food. I can't wait for my other veggies to mature too.

Bye-bye Jeep, Hello Toyota Prius

2005-04-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

The gas prices are really getting in my nerves so I traded my Jeep Liberty for an eco-friendly Toyota Prius. It's like night and day, really. The Jeep, we call it the Buboy-mobile, (after my black dog Tyler, aka Buboy) is black while the new Prius is white. We will appropriately call it the ChiChi Car, after my little white dog, Peachy.

The Jeep is a (mini) SUV, the Prius is a small hatchback car. The Jeep takes up $35 per fill up every 4 days because I drive so much. The Prius, I was told will only take $15 to fill up every 7-10 days. The Jeep was giving me 23 mpg in the highway while the Prius is supposed to reach 51 mpg in the highway. Isn't that awesome or what?

To get the Prius though, I had to literally call ALL the Toyota dealership in Northern California because there's a waiting list to get the car. It's selling like hot cakes. Oh, I read this article saying that used Prius' are being sold for more than the original price. Ngek!

I finally located one in Stockton after weeks of calling around. The only problem is that the car is top of the line (package 6) and all I really wanted is the middle of the road package 3 or 4. I reasoned that I really don't need the navigation system, bluetooth, and all the other extras. E urged me to take a look at it and when the salesman offered to take a thousand off the price, we went ahead and bought the car.

Check out the Prius here.

The things that I like the most are:

1. the navigation system, not the female voice but just the map
2. the smart key system. I can start the car without handling my keys.
3. the screen that shows how the engine, the electric motor, and the battery works together
4. the really bright head lights
6. the 6 CD changer. So bad ass.
5. most importantly, it's a cool little car and doesn't use as much gas (50 plus miles per gallon). You hear that OPEC?
6. let's not forget my bragging rights for driving an environment-friendly vehicle.

I love this car. I love it so much I plan on washing it (with the help of Mr.Clean, of course) myself. Yeah, sad to say but I never washed any of my previous cars. I paid the neighborhood kids to do it for me.

As soon as I re-install Hello! again, I'll post pictures of my awesome Chichi Car.

Updates

2005-04-01T22:21:00.000-08:00

Gosh, it's been awhile since I last updated my blog. Here are the things that happened between then and now according to my handy dandy planner.

March 31 --- first day of Spring Quarter, end of fun for me.

March 30 --- grades are out and I'm happy to report I received three A's. Never mind that I got one C. That was from that class I thought I was going to fail. More than half of the class failed so, I guess I'm still okay.

March 25-27 --- worked on the yard. It's so overgrown, it's horrible. E and I were pulling out weeds so tall they could have been small trees. Instead of using one of those handheld digging tool, I was using a crowbar. I'm not exaggerating either.

March 24 --- hung out with my best friend M and another friend, Jess. We went antiquing near the town of Folsom. E thought it was stupid to buy really really old stuff for more money. I think so too but I went along anyway or M would be whining I don't love her enough.

I bought a marble coffee table and M found a really pretty hanging basket for her kitchen. Jess cooked dinner for us and it was yummy. It was falafel stuffed in pita bread with feta cheese, tomatoes, onions, peppercini, and with yogurt mixed with balsamic vinegar as sauce. Falafel is an Arabic dish and it was a good way to expand my culinary horizon. Heh!

March 22 --- first day of Spring Break. Actually, more like clean-up time for me since I totally neglected all house chores because of finals. I'm not going anywhere since the break is too short to travel anyway.

March 16-21 --- FINALS!!! As usual, I was stressed, sleepless, and subsisted only on caffeine. Oh yeah, I did treat myself once at IHOP with a steak and eggs breakfast but I was too distracted to really enjoy my food. I was too worried that I might not pass this one class.

March 11 --- took a trip to Genentech with the Microbiology Club from school. It was really interesting. We had to wear booties, head covers, and blue jumpsuits inside the plant and we all looked goofy. Too bad I couldn't bring my camera in or I would have snapped a picture just to embarrass my classmates. hehehe. Genentech is an amazing place; they don't manufacture aspirin or OTCs, their drugs are mostly last resort medicine for those that are terminally ill.

On our way back to school, we encountered a pervert on the freeway and we ended up calling the police on his ass. I don't want to get into the details cause he was just too gross. Yuck!

March 9 --- E's birthday! Happy Birthday Sweetheart. I took E for a dinner at Outback, after that we went to a comedy club with some friends in Sacramento and had a blast! I was told that it was actually one of the best shows they've had there.

Of drinking and driving

2005-03-07T18:13:00.000-08:00

My bestfriend's husband P was caught drunk driving last weekend. Apparently, he and my bestfriend, M were bar hopping and they were on their way to yet another bar when M started getting sick. She wanted to go home but P wanted to go to the bar anyway. So, they had an argument in the car and that's when P started driving erratically. A cop saw them and pulled them over. It must have been obvious that P was drunk because he was immediately ordered to the backseat of the cop car. M was left sitting in the passenger side of their car when the cop started talking to her. She pretended to be sober and carried on a decent conversation with the cop. Just when she thought she fooled him, he asked her to step out of the car. "No problem", she replied, except that all of her efforts to look and act sober went into waste when instead of stepping out of the car, she rolled out of the car instead!

Needless to say, P spent the night in jail and M was driven home by the cop. Of course, driving violations do not end that painlessly. He will have to go to court in a couple of months and we're guesstimating the fine to be around $1000 and another $1000 for the required driving school, counselling, and stuff.

Lesson of the story: DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE. It's f*cking costly. M and P got off pretty easy actually. They could have crashed their car and paid the ultimate price, their lives.

We are in the red

2005-03-05T21:16:00.000-08:00

E and I set up our mortgage payment to be automatically deducted from one of our bank accounts. Well, the stupid Bank of America took more money than they should have and we now have a negative balance. That's right, we are broke.

E doesn't understand why our mortgage would suddenly go up when we have a fixed interest rate. The only reason I could think of is that they have to replenish our escrow account. The escrow account is what pays our property tax and home insurance and all that good stuff. The bank has to keep it at a certain amount each year by law. Since California's housing market soared and home values increased, our property tax also went up. I think that after a few years of paying a higher than expected property tax, our escrow account is now below the minimum. In order to bring it back up, the bank would have to raise our mortgage payment.

Whatever the reason is, it still would have fine if we were only informed ahead of time. But NO, we didn't get any notification at all. In the past, B of A has been very good to us. We have a Premier Account with them which gives us a lot of extra services for free and the people at our local branch are very friendly. The thing is, I don't really care for all these little perks they give us if they are going to mess with our hard earned money. They better reverse the fines they tacked on to our account or I'm taking our business somewhere else. Come to think of it, maybe it's time to look at those refinance offers I get in the mail.

I got 90%+ for midterms!

2005-02-16T20:57:00.000-08:00

I totally kicked ass, thanks to the few days the sun decided to shine just before my tests. Oh, just indulged me on my one shining moment. Afterall, it's not everyday I get to feel smart. Come to think of it, the last time I was this proud academically was when I got a perfect score on my first Chemistry test at UPLB eons of years ago. After that, I became boy crazy and everything went downhill from there. hehehe.

I have long and flowing hair no more

2005-02-07T20:33:00.000-08:00

There goes my hair...to Locks of Love in Florida. E said now that my hair is shorter, my head should feel lighter, and I should be able to think clearer. I said, yeah, that really makes sense.

2005-02-02T20:50:00.000-08:00

My bus pass! Yes, I'm taking the bus. I'm going to try it for a month and see how it goes.

2005-02-02T20:47:00.000-08:00

Peachy, modelling E's new iPod.

2005-02-02T20:46:00.000-08:00

Somebody ran into my car and broke my left mirror. Grrrr!!! If I may borrow from Batjay, this was truly a "packingsheet" moment.

2005-02-02T20:39:00.000-08:00

Just gotta take a shot of this since I rarely see one.

Missing out on a really kick ass party

2005-01-22T11:27:00.000-08:00

The sun is still nowhere to be seen in my corner of the world, my house is a still a mess, school work is bogging me down, and to top it all off, I can't go to my friend's party! My only chance at some natural mood booster on the dead of winter went bust because I can't take off from work. So, I'll be missing out on some great food, rich and enlightening conversations, dancing, drinking, and all that good (and illegal?) stuff in a college party. Oh well, sucks to be me right now.

Did I ever mention how thick the fog was this past week? It's horrible! It's so thick I'm almost afraid to drive into it. A friend who lives in the boonies (where the fog seems to be thickest) said it took him an hour longer to drive from his house to school. He said the fog was so thick he had to take a hatchet, whacked the fog with it a few times, get in the car, drive an inch forward and repeat the whole process to get to school. Hahaha! I know, it's a pretty lame joke but I'll take whatever I can get at this time.

Brrrr! Damn, it's cold in here.

Ramblings of a seasonally depressed

2005-01-18T19:49:00.000-08:00

God/Allah/Helios/Higher Power, could you please, please, please, let the sun peek out a bit? Just a teeny weeny bit so that 1) my backyard will dry up and my dogs won't have to keep tracking in mud inside the house and 2) most importantly, so my mood would lift up. This wet, dark, gloomy winter is slowly making me nuts. I really don't want to shell out $150 for a full spectrum lamp which I heard works like a magic for seasonal depression. Just send me some sun, pretty please?

On a slightly happy note, we had a "mutant hunt" session in my Bacterial Genetics class and I surprised myself by knowing all the answers! I'm not as engot in this class as I thought, here are the condensed version of the questions.

Q: What can you say about the DNA sequence of a mutant gene w/o frame shifts?
A: Must have no repeats.

Q: ...a gene w/ tons of deletions?
A: Has tons of repeats.

Q: Salmonella has no inserts. Why?
A: There are no transposable agents.

Q: ...a gene that absolutely does not revert?
A: No deletion in the sequence.

Q: ...a gene that reverts very rarely?
A: Has inserts in the sequence.

I could probably keep this up if my teacher would only stop mumbling to himself and talking to the board all the time. The subject is hard enough as it is, but having a professor who is better suited in doing research than conducting a lecture makes it even harder.

Dirty floor and shrunken coat

2005-01-17T16:10:00.000-08:00

Argh!!! I came home last night to one very dirty floor. There were muddy paw prints of varying size on the floor and some shoe marks too! I don't need to be a CSI and be all forensics about it to determine who are the culprits. The big paw prints belong to Tyler, the medium ones are Shaggy's, the little ones belong to Peachy. The shoe marks are E's, since he's the only other human who lives in our house. Mr. Libby, the mop, and I are becoming fast friends.

E did the laundry and I was pretty happy about it until I discovered he washed and dried my favorite purple wool coat. It's wool, it's not supposed to be washed and dried like the rest of our clothes. It's supposed to be dry-cleaned or it will shrink! And shrunk it did. It now looks like a ten year old's coat. More aarrghh!!! That was my most favorite coat, and it was a gift from his mom. The past couple of days are clearly not so shining moments of my man.

K as in carrot

2005-01-16T20:45:00.000-08:00

WTF!?! Mwahahaha!!! That's what my best bud said when she was trying to spell her name out for our IT guy over the phone! Hahaha. She was serious too. But to her credit, when she realized what she said, she immediately "remedied" it by saying, "I mean, like a diamond. As in the karat of a diamond." But still, I couldn't stop laughing my butt off. I burst out laughing everytime I look at her. Take note, she's an English major. I love her to pieces but man, her being blonde still remains, long after her hair has turned brown.

Don't get me wrong though, Pinoys aren't exempt from temporary lapse of intelligence. Case in point, I asked E to get me some zucchini from the store. Guess what he brought home? Cucumbers.

E: Hon, I bought you cucumbers.
Me: Thanks, but I asked for zucchini.

a pause

E: It's the same, isn't it?
Me: No, it's not.
E: Well, what's the difference?

I was tempted to say, um, for one, the spelling. Geez, what is the world coming to?

Busy bee

2005-01-15T22:28:00.000-08:00

I have way too much stuff going on right now.

In school:

Winter Quarter just started and I have tons of homework already.

My music class is supposed to be an easy class; but since I'm a retard, I can't figure out the meter in a piece. The very "simple" Semper Fidelis is mind boggling to me.

As for my Bacterial Genetics class, well, I really can't say anything. It's because I don't understand a damn thing. Thank God the rest of my science classes are manageable.

In the home front:

I have a huge pile of clothes to wash, and an equally huge pile to fold and put away.

My house is a mess.

My dogs keep tracking in mud from outside.

E's tracking in dirt from outside.

I swear I'm going to lock them all out of the house one of these days.

2005-01-10T20:49:00.000-08:00

My Bahama Mama hair!

2005-01-10T20:48:00.000-08:00

Getting my hair braided

2005-01-10T20:44:00.000-08:00

The brown thing amidst the vast blue of this pic is me. E was so lazy to get up from his lounge chair when he shot this.

2005-01-10T20:38:00.000-08:00

relaxing on the beach

2005-01-10T20:37:00.000-08:00

E on the beach

2005-01-10T20:36:00.000-08:00

View of the harbor from Atlantis Hotel

2005-01-10T20:34:00.001-08:00

E and the Majesty of the Seas

2005-01-10T20:34:00.000-08:00

sitting between palm trees on our way to Fort Charlotte

2005-01-10T20:32:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Nassau

Nassau Part 2

2004-12-29T22:44:00.000-08:00

We were supposed to go to Coco Cay today but the Captain decided to just stay at Nassau due to inclement weather.

E and I spent the whole day at the beach. We rented a couple of lounge chairs and had some coconut juice. I played in the water and when I got tired, I had the top of my hair braided. That was no joke, the lady really made sure my braids were tight and pulled my hair so hard I had to dug my hands and feet in the sand to keep from complaining too much. E never got up from his lounge chair for almost three hours. The beach was so nice I just wished we could have stayed there a little longer.

For our last night in the ship, there was a stand up comedian and he was hilarious. That was the best show ever. I heard that he's a regular at Jay Leno's show but since I'm more of David Letterman's person, I really don't know him. He made me laugh for an hour and got me thinking I should probably check out the comedy clubs in Sacramento, namely The Punchline.

There was also an excellent father and son balancing act. I sat on the edge of my seat and held my breath because the son was precariously perched way on top of his father and the boat was swaying! I really thought I was watching an accident waiting to happen but their performance was flawless and went without a hitch. Boy, I was never been so happy to be wrong. They bowed out to much applause from the crowd.

E and I went to the bar again lest our bartender friends miss us. Hehehe. We had a few drinks and they didn't even want to charge us at all! We insisted on paying but they wouldn't hear it. So, we resorted to leaving some cash instead. Whatever money we spent in the bar, we surely got double that amount in alcohol.

Awesome vacation, I tell ya'. Tons of food, good sights, pristine beach, warm locals, a broader perspective, new friends, and alcohol up the wazoo, what else could I ask for? I'm definitely taking another cruise.

Bahama Mama!

2004-12-28T21:41:00.000-08:00

Nassau, the capital of Bahamas, is beautiful and very colorful. Most of their government buildings have this light pink color and it's gorgeous. I heard that the MMDA Chairman in the Philippines is "painting the town pink" and I'm wondering if he got the idea from the Bahamas?

The Bahamian people are very nice and the places we visited are very clean. We explored Nassau on foot and just off the docks, we found two Filipino restaurants! We're truly all over the world! We also checked out their stores and flea markets. I bought a blue bag with the word Bahamas embroidered on it. We also bought shirts as pasalubong and postcards to be sent to friends and family back home.

We went back to the ship for a quick lunch and to drop off our loot before heading back out for an organized Nassau/Paradise Island Tour. We checked out Ft. Charlotte, the Queen's Stairs, and another fort right next to the water tower. The aquarium inside the Atlantis hotel could very well rival those of Sea World. Our tour guide, Freddy, was really nice and knowledgable. He gave us a brief history of his country and pointed all the major buildings and landmarks. Never mind that he almost gave me a heart attack by his erratic driving.

Of course, no visit to the Bahamas is complete without tasting their famous conch (pronounced as konk) which is believed to be an aphrodisiac. It's the meat from the conch shell (duh?) that they cooked and put in the salad or deep fried. We had conch fritters and it was good, but I think the aprhodisiac claim is totally bogus. All it made us do was to run in the bathroom a couple of times. Enuff already, too much info.

We watched a show in the ship later that night before going to dinner. We skipped the formal dining night and went to the buffet instead. And as expected, we took our usual spot at the bar and drank so much, it was crazy. E had a cigar and our friendly bartender kababayans were quick to give him a shot of cognac to make the cigar even more flavorful daw.

There was an ice carving demonstration on the deck and tables upon tables of desserts and chocolates. Just looking at it made me feel full already. We totally ignored it and we kept on drinking instead. Later on, there was dancing and tons of people having a grand time. E and I had a great night and before we know it, the bar was closing already!

All aboard!

2004-12-27T21:19:00.000-08:00

We drove to Miami to board our ship, Majesty of the Seas to the Bahamas! The ship's so nice and beautifully decorated for the holidays. We readily took advantage of their buffet since we were starving by the time we got there. The food was delicious and the desserts were heavenly. With our bellies full, we explored the boat and all its amenities. The deck is where all the action was, there was a band, a bar, the swimming pools, tons of people, and a lot of dancing. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many Filipinos working there.

Our cabin is small but very efficient. There was a small TV on the corner and they were even showing pay-per-view movies! The cabin attendant left some chocolates on our pillows which I thought was cool. It was a far cry from my childhood experience of travelling by ship to Negros.

We also went to a mandatory safety meeting with our life jackets which had a long white strap attached to it. I told E I don't need the meeting since I'm sure I'll strangle myself first with the straps before I could put the lifejacket on anyway.

When we bought our soda package at the bar, we saw more Filipino crew members. E left them a big fat tip and when we returned that night to have some drinks, they really hooked us up. Needless to say, my vacation turned into a booze cruise. We chatted and made friends with them. We even left our address and phone numbers just in case they find themselves somewhere around San Francisco in need of a place to stay or maybe just a tour guide.

Check out pictures of the ship here: http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll?qscr=ksif&tovr=-1294797248 (may or may not work, Expedia's website is a little wacko).

Christmas picture

2004-12-25T20:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!!!

Christmas in FL!

2004-12-24T14:44:00.000-08:00

We finally made it in FL on the afternoon of 24th. Peachy was such a good girl throughout the whole plane ride. The only problem we had was fending away kids who wanted to touch her. Yup, my little baby was so popular at the airport. Everyone was oohhhing and aahhhing at her.

Seeing E's family, especially our godchild/niece, Eliza made our long and tiring trip worth it. Eliza has grown so much since we last saw her. She is an adorable and delightful little girl. Tita Flor's house is nice and comfortable. E's whole family was there and like any other family gatherings, it was a lot of chaos, fun, kwentos, and of course, food.

We had a gift exchange on the night of 24th and boy, we received so much gifts I was afraid I'd have to buy another luggage. My most favorite gift is the two-way radio that E's brother gave us. He said that we could use it when we go on our cruise. E also received his new toy from work, it's a Dell Pocket PC. It is sooo nice. And because he has new Pocket PC, I get to keep his old one. It's really not old, maybe just a few months, so I'm not complaining.

It was a totally different Christmas than last year when we were in New Jersey. I remember being bundled up and still being cold last year. This year, E and I were both feeling sticky because of the balmy FL weather. Wherever we celebrate Christmas though, as long as it is with family and close friends, it is always wonderful.

Worse than crappy day

2004-12-22T20:50:00.000-08:00

We're suppose to fly out of Sac Airport tonight but our flight got cancelled because of some bad weather condition in Texas. We were told that there's ice on the runway. Ice??? in Texas??? When I think of Texas, I think of warm, humid nights, and of all the nights Texas will have a freaky weather, it has to be the night that we're supposed to have a lay over there. Some luck, huh?

So, we're not going to be able to leave to FL until the morning of 24th. Oh well, better than nothing, I guess.

Crappy day

2004-12-21T21:14:00.000-08:00

I took Peachy and Shaggy today to the groomer. I was told that Shaggy MUST be shaved inspite of it being winter and all. I was told that his dread locks are bad for his skin and he is most likely in pain. I put up a weak resistance by saying he's going to get really cold but I quickly clammed up when the doggie barber, with her fierce blue eyes, told me to keep him inside or put a sweater over him but the hair MUST go. She was very firm and persistent. I could sense that she's not trying to make money off me or anything. She only wants what's good for my dog. I finally agreed and was told to come back in four hours.

When I came to pick them up, Shaggy looked like an emaciated rat or something. The grooming cost quite a bit too. Not only did I have to pay bucco money, I also got a very sad looking dog. What a crappy day.

Just getting ready

2004-12-21T08:51:00.000-08:00

We're getting ready to leave for our two weeks trip to FL. I'm doing all the preparation since E is still working. I made an appointment for Peachy and Shaggy at the groomers for today. I was told they might have to shave Shaggy's hair off since his hair is all knotted/matted (parang dread locks).After thinking through it last night, I decided that I'm going to get his hair trimmed and not shaved since he loves to be outdoors with Tyler and without his coat, he's not going to survive this nasty winter. As for Peachy, she's going to need a trim, ear cleaning, and her nails cut.

Part of my "getting ready to leave" is to clean the garage. I broke down tons cardboard boxes and organized our stuff there a little bit. E and I have become the typical American family whose garage is so full of junk that we have to leave our cars, which are worth a heck a lot more than our junk, outside the house. It's really E's fault, he has way more stuff than me. Granted I have more shoes but what he lacks in shoes, he makes up in clothes big time. He occupies two big closets in our room while I only use one. His closets are busting out of clothes and is beginning to spill onto the closet in the guest room while mine is very roomy. While I was cleaning the garage, I also noticed he has two golf carts and two golf bags! This guy has two or more of everything. I'm seriously thinking of selling his stuff on eBay. Hehehe. I bet he won't notice.

Oh yeah, we're also going on a cruise to the Carribean! It's only for three days and we're going to Nassau and Cococay in Bahamas but I'm sure it's going to be a lot of fun! We're leaving Miami on the 27th and we'll be back on the 30th. The schedule is so perfect such that we can celebrate Christmas and New Year with E's family. We want to go to Disneyland in Orlando too (E, as old and big as he is, still loves Mickey and Minnie) but we might not have enough time. We'll just wait and see.

Christmas shopping

2004-12-19T21:42:00.000-08:00

Went to Nordstrom today to get gifts for E's family. Gosh, it was so freakin' crowded and the parking is crazy! If it was just up to me, I would go to Walmart or maybe Target where the prices are cheaper and there's ample parking. I'm a bonafide tightwad, that's for sure. It just that we have a gift card from Nordstrom and I'd rather use that than spend money out of my pocket.

I bought Calvin Klein perfume sets for his dad and two aunts. When I was rung up, I still had credits left in the card!!! So, I went and grab a lotion for myself. Hehehe. Oh, and they wrapped my gifts for free. Can't beat that, one less thing to worry about. The rest of my Christmas shopping has to wait til we get to FL because I'm afraid it won't fit in our luggage.

Sweet wake-up calls

2004-12-16T16:03:00.000-08:00

I had two big tests early this morning. Since I'm known for being a sleepyhead, I was a little anxious about not waking up on time and missing the dang tests. As it turned out, I really didn't have to worry. I received not one, but three wake up calls this morning. E, who left the house early, called me around 6 AM. My friends, GK and MH also called me within 10 minutes of each other to make sure I'm actually awake and didn't fall back to sleep. E also set my cell to alarm (without me knowing) for good measure. Thank you guys for being so thoughtful and sweet.

As for my test, it went really well. I already got my score on one of the tests and I'm happy to say I got 100%. A is in the bag, baby!

Vet Day

2004-12-11T18:54:00.000-08:00

No, not Veteran's Day, veterinarian day. E and I took Tyler and Peachy to the vet today for their annual PT and booster shots. When Tyler stepped on the scale, it read 134 lbs! WTF!?! My boy is 134 lbs???? And we thought he's losing weight already. Gosh, how did he get sooo big? And then they weighed Peachy who used to be 12 lbs. Now she's only 9 lbs. That's when it occured to me that Tyler must have been stealing Peachy's food. Thief!

Other than Ty's weight issue, they both passed with flying colors. Whew! I'm glad the doctor didn't find anything wrong with them or I'd be so broke. The visit alone cost us almost 200 bucks and we still have to get Peachy's teeth cleaned and bring Shaggy for his PT and booster shots next month. Oh yeah, we also have to pay for Tyler's kennel when we leave for FL, Peachy's plane ticket, and she and Shaggy need to be groomed soon. Dang! These dogs are expensive.

2004-12-09T08:31:00.000-08:00

Peachy's timeout.

Stuck inside the house

2004-12-08T22:18:00.000-08:00

It's been raining the whole day and my dogs and I are stuck in the house doing nothing. Below are some cute/sweet pictures of Peachy that I took using my cell. It's grainy but it's still okay. I'm trying to clean my cell of pictures before our trip to FL. It's mostly pics of Peachy because of all three, she's the most photogenic. Tyler is black and his face almost always doesn't come out right on the picture. All I see is a silhouette and I could hardly make out his brown eyes. Shaggy is even worse, he's brown and he blends right in to our rug. I have pictures of him where I couldn't tell him apart from the rug. Afterall, I named him Shaggy for a reason: he looks like shag carpeting.

I didn't turn on our christmas lights tonight. I didn't want to go outside the house and have to plug in those electric cords when it's raining and risk electrocuting myself. Come to think of it, I didn't even check the mail today. Oh yeah, and I was supposed to pick up something from the Luggage Center today. Oh well. What can I say, I'm lazy. But I think it's the weather. Yeah, that's right. It's not me, it's the rain.

2004-12-08T22:10:00.000-08:00

Yum, yum.

2004-12-08T22:06:00.000-08:00

Peachy and her doll

2004-12-08T21:58:00.000-08:00

Peachy giving Tyler a kiss

2004-12-08T21:57:00.000-08:00

E and Peachy

2004-12-06T15:05:00.000-08:00

Our house. I just love the luminaries!

Thanksgiving Dinner Success

2004-11-25T22:01:00.000-08:00

Our Thanksgiving dinner went smoothly. I got my wish of a real sit-down dinner. We had a smaller number of guests than expected due to a friend's last minute cancellation. That was soo fine with me because that meant I could sit everybody on our dining table and I can complete my table setting with cloth napkins and wine glasses too!

E's deep fried turkey was delicious and the rest of our food was equally good. The conversation was long and funny over coffee and desserts. Our guests came around 5 pm and stayed 'til 10 pm. The clean-up was a breeze. I just loaded everything up in the dishwasher and with the Tita's help, we were done in no time.

I'm just glad everything went well. I was full of anxiety as this was my first time hosting a Thanksgiving dinner. All I really asked is that nothing major goes wrong (i.e. our house burning down with all the cooking we have to do). Well, nothing got burned, not even our turkey. Yay!

2004-11-25T14:57:00.000-08:00

Our dinner.

Picture: E cooking the turkey

2004-11-25T14:47:00.000-08:00

E's deep fried turkey

Pre-Thanksgiving prep and a birthday

2004-11-24T23:36:00.000-08:00

My Thanksgiving preparation is very simple: Clean. Cook. Repeat ten times.

We made desserts today and cleaned the house again. Everything went fine except for a last minute run to the store to pick up some serving platters. It was a pretty busy and tiring day. Later at night, E took us out to some yummy Thai food for Tita F's birthday. We got her a cake and sang her happy birthday at home.

Went to bed around 1 pm after loading my second set of dining plates into the dishwasher because I'm determined to have everyone eat out of real china instead of paper plates tommorow. I'd like to have cloth napkins and wine glasses out too but I don't have enough for everybody.

The relatives are coming!

2004-11-19T20:13:00.000-08:00

E and I have been busy cleaning and preparing our house for his relatives that are coming to visit us this Thanksgiving. My house is sooo nice, and clean, and pretty, Martha Stewart will be proud of me. It's a lot of work but I love his family so it's all good. One aunt is staying with us for a week and the other is staying for two weeks.

E is excited about the Thanksgiving that he has the whole dinner planned out already. We have friends coming over too, but I hope it doesn't get too crazy and become a buffet style instead of a sit-down dinner!

Kodakan

2004-11-13T19:01:00.000-08:00

E and I went to get our pics taken in Sacramento. Gosh, we look so fat! Well, we really are fat and the pictures didn't hide our big, fat faces. Oh well, that's what happens when you get comfortable with each other. The place we went to is so unbelievably inexpensive. But the real bonus is they take pictures of pets too! Yes! We're definitely going back soon with Tyler, Peachy, and Shaggy in tow.

Oh yeah, I found out that wearing boots after an ass-kicking thigh workout is definitely not a good idea. I was pretty much limping the whole day.

It's finally over!

2004-11-12T17:25:00.000-08:00

The Scott Peterson trial is finally over. The jurors found him guilty for murdering his wife and unborn son. Gosh, I've been watching CourtTV so much I'm starting to have a crush on Vinnie Politan. I think he's a cutie.

I hope that this verdict brings closure to Laci's family and to the much maligned town of Modesto.

My best friend's birthday

2004-11-08T17:02:00.000-08:00

It's my best friend's birthday tonight and I took her out to dinner. I was going to take her to Chevy's but E suggested the Cheesecake Factory and even offered to pick up our tab. Yay! That pretty much means sky is the limit and eat/spend all we can but my bestfriend, Michelle, is such a good girl and didn't want to take advantage.

We both ordered pasta for the main course and had cheesecake, of course, for dessert. The servers all gathered and sang Happy Birthday to her. That was really nice.

To Michelle, Happy Birthday and I wish you more birhtdays to come! I love you!

Bush Won!

2004-11-03T19:55:00.000-08:00

I expected him to win anyway. I heard that he had the most votes ever in history. But the funny thing is Kerry got the second most votes so that just shows that this is the election where the most number of people voted. Those commercials that urge people to go out and vote sure are effective. Advertising is a powerful thing.

"We're gangsters!"

2004-10-31T18:06:00.000-08:00

I'm at work and E just called to update me on how his Halloween night is going. He is at home handing out candies to trick or treaters. So far, he had seen a gamut of costumes including monsters, fairies, princesses, pirates, and a Spiderman. Our neighborhood kids are always good at dressing up and the amount of candies E hands out is proportional to the cuteness and originality of their outfit. So, imagine his surprise to open the door to some boys that were just in jeans and shirts. Not willing to easily give out his candies, he asked them about their costumes to which the boys indignantly replied "We're gangsters!". Hahahaha! If I was there, I would have given them my whole stash just for humoring me.

Rainy Days Are Here Again

2004-10-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

Not much going on. Just finished my midterms and so far, so good. I got two A's already. Grades for my two other classes are not posted yet.

It's been raining the past week and I'm loving it. I don't know, there's something about the rain that calms me down. It sucks for my dogs because they can't really play outside too long. They're cooped up inside their house and I feel sorry for them. E agreed to leave the side door in the garage open so that the dogs can just go in and out of there. It's a much bigger space to play at when it's raining outside. I just hope they don't damage anything major by their chewing.

Tyler is a big chewer and when he was just a puppy, he chewed anything and everything, including the wires of our AC unit. When we called an electrician to fix it, he found the chewed up wires and was amazed that Ty didn't get electrocuted. And because it was our dog's fault, the home warranty didn't cover it. We ended up having to shell out $500 to get it fixed.

E was so mad he thought of giving Tyler away. But Tyler is my baby, I was pissed too but not enough for me to kick him out of the house. Tyler has mellowed down a lot since then but we're still cautious. We give him a lot of toys to play with so he doesn't get bored and starts chewing up stuff. As for the garage, I'll just wait and see. If he destroys anything, he'll be banished to his doghouse again in the backyard, which is not very fun with all this rain we're getting.

Exploding Brain of a Drama King

2004-10-25T21:53:00.000-07:00

My friend DL is such a drama king. I usually don't associate myself with overly dramatic people because I can't relate well to them. You see, I'm just not like that. If something bad happens to me, I'll be sad but nothing major. I will just shrug it off, learn my lesson, and move on.

I'm lucky that all of my female friends are NOT dramatic at all. Unfortunately, I don't have such luck with my male friends. DL is one good example. He just dumped his girlfriend. Yes, that's right, he dumped her and not the other way around. It was his idea and he's still depressed about it...like, three weeks after the fact and while trying to date other girls already.

Also, while studying for our biochem class, he kept saying his brain is going to explode. Of course, the nice person that I am just told him to take a break from studying. But if I can't bear it anymore, I just might have to tell him to shut the f**k up and his brains won't explode unless someone shoots him on the head. And if he doesn't shut up, that someone just might be me. Hehehe.

Our other friend, M, totally agrees with me that he is so dramatic. Worthy of an Oscar, I tell you.

SF Quickie

2004-10-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

Went to San Francisco today with E to meet his aunt who has a lay over on her way to Manila. We took two cars because I plan on driving back on Monday morning while E is going straight to work. E and I took her to Pacifica for a brief sight seeing. It's funny how they have a Taco Bell right on the water. There were a lot of surfers even though it was little chilly.

She has a video camera and wanted to tape us so that their family back home could see us. So, E and I dutifully stood there and said our hellos. Later that night, we watched the entire video and saw E's brother and his family in it. What's funny is that E and his brother said the same exact thing: "hello, kumusta?". Same phrase, same body language. I think that's pretty neat.

We took Tita F to a Korean restaurant for dinner and it was nice. They have tons of side dishes including my favorite, fish cakes. Yum, yum. We ordered chicken and beef bulgogie. For those who is not familiar with it, it's just raw meat that is cooked in the middle of your table where they have a charcoal/gas grill going. It was alright, the only thing I didn't like is that we cooked the food ourselves! I always thought it's the waitress that cooks it. I later asked Dong, who is Korean, who should really cook the food, the waitress or us? He said that one should ask the waitress, otherwise, they assume you'll cook it yourself. That sucks, there's another Korean place in Sacto that I used to visit and they always cooked my food without me having to ask them. I guess, it's different in every restaurant.

When we checked in to our hotel, they upgraded our room to one with a spa/jacuzzi tub (is there a difference?). Hehehe, I'm starting to get used to this little luxury since we always seem to end up with a spa tub everytime we stay in a hotel. When the time comes for us to upgrade the master's bath in our house, I'll definitely consider putting one in. It's just sooo nice. Man, I wish I have one already.

Annoying White Jewish Dude

2004-10-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting at work right now and my co-worker is bugging the sh*t out of me. His name is Isaac, he is a white Jewish dude, and he thinks he is the reason why I'm living in America right now. He said that he saw my picture when I was little on a Christian Children Fund tv program that said "save the life of a child for a penny a day!". A penny a day! Not even a dime or a quarter. Just a penny. He also said that he almost didn't sponsor me because he didn't have a penny a day. Of course, he was just playing around.

Kidding aside, he idolizes me. He loves me although he's sooo politically incorrect most of the time. Well, make that all the time. Like the time he asked me out of the blue if I had ever looked at my dogs and thought of cooking them for dinner. I am not very witty and can't come up with a good come back but I always wonder why did they kill Jesus? Tell me, Isaac, why?

Tug of war: Shaggy vs Tyler

2004-10-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

Shaggy: This is my toy!

Lost and Found Snake

2004-10-17T22:32:00.000-07:00

The run away snake has been found! Hooray! And Dong decided to get rid of it for good. More Hooray!!!

E and I explored a trail a few minutes away from our house. It's more of a bike path really but it's in a wooded area. We brought Tyler and Shaggy along and they loved it. I wanted to see where the trail ends but it's a very long trail and after a good hour of walking, we decided to just turn around and head home. It was a nice nature walk but I'm afraid that's the closest I would get to going camping. E is just not into that stuff.

He's very prissy (as in, maarte) and his idea of camping is more like checking into a hotel, with a warm bed, shower, hot meals and maybe, if I'm lucky, we'll venture outside for an hour or so. Camping to me is pitching a tent in the woods or by the beach, eating out of cans, building bonfires, and really roughing it out for a few days to see nature up close and personal. E and I couldn't be any more different when it comes to camping. And that I don't understand. He used to be in the military and you'd expect him to be more of an outdoorsy type but he would rather play Xbox or maybe golf. The golf course is not considered outdoors, is it? With the manicured grass and artificial ponds and sand and stuff? Well, maybe it is, just not in my book.

Run away snake

2004-10-15T19:34:00.000-07:00

Oh boy, Dong just called to inform me that his snake got loose. Great, just what I feared. He looked everywhere but couldn't find the darn snake. So, now it's official: I am not going back to his place...not until he finds it.

Fish and cornsnake day

2004-10-13T22:27:00.000-07:00

I hang out with my friend Dong today. He has a beautiful saltwater aquarium with tons of real pretty fish. The rocks he used are imported from Fiji and brimming with live seawater plants. He has a clown fish "Nemo", a little blue "Dory", and others that are also brightly colored and just so adorable. He has sea anemones of different colors, sizes, and shapes. They look like flowers and their tentacles seem to dance with the water. He has sea cucumbers, snails, some shrimp-looking thingies, and a purple starfish too! I so wish I have an aquarium like that.
I have to remember to take a picture of it next time.

But the more interesting thing we did was to go to Petco to pick up his cornsnake. Yes, a snake! I was so horrified at first I bowed I'll never come over his place again. At the end I got curious so I went with him. It's a baby snake but it's about a foot long already. It's red with some white markings. I didn't look very close but the pattern is kinda geometric looking. While we were in the store, I picked up a care sheet for the snake and it said that it could grow up to six feet long. That's scary. Oh yeah, and he has to feed it frozen mice. Yikes.

We studied for a little bit and then went to the school gym. It's my first time to the gym since they opened it last quarter. It's huge and very modern (that's probably where my tuition and parking fee went). I was a little intimidated in the weights room because it was mostly guys working out. Dong showed me how to properly used the machines so as not to hurt myself. I have a little notebook to keep track of my progress. When I did my cardio on the treadmill, I was between these two girls who were running like there's no tomorrow. I tried my best to keep up with them but I just couldn't. What can I say, I'm a wimp. It's so sad. Good thing E has some healthy sandwich for me when I got home to eat my "sadness" away. hehehe. Pretty good sandwich too. Either that or I was just extremely hungry after a very long day.

Love Song

2004-10-12T23:26:00.000-07:00

E and his friends discovered a karaoke bar at the Bay Area. Hahaha, E is not shy at all, no sirree. He and his friends just went at it and had fun with the mic. Just before going to bed, he gave me a call to say goodnight and sang me this song over the phone. He sang it well and I'm very impressed. The song is very sweet and very fitting with his frequent trips away from home.

"Love Song" by the Cure

Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am home again
Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am whole again

Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am young again
Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am fun again

However far away
I will always love you
However long I stay
I will always love you
Whatever words I say
I will always love you
I will always love you

Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am free again
Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am clean again

However far away
I will always love you
However long I stay
I will always love you
Whatever words I say
I will always love you
I will always love you

Mission Accomplished

2004-10-10T23:53:00.000-07:00

We finished the side yard! Yippeee!!! Just when I thought I've touched enough stones to last me a lifetime and I'll never touch another stone ever, E and I came up with this plan for our walkway which, unfortunately, involves guess what? Yep, more stones. You see, our house is a two storey house and looks tall while our walkway is a narrow strip of concrete flushed to the side of the house. So, it doesn't look very proportional. We think that if we place stones about a foot wide right next to the walkway, it would look like it has been expanded. I'll probably put some plants in there to add interest. Not to be outdone, E said he'll put some solar ligthing in there too. I think it's a good idea, it's also not overly expensive, and something that we'll have fun doing.

On the same note, I planted some ivy along the fence hoping that I could do some vertical gardening. Regular or horizontal gardening is out of the question because of my doggies. They will destroy anything and everything until we get them a dog run. Well, that's not going to happen til next summer because there's no contractor that would do it at this time. So, until then, all of my gardening plans are on hold. Stinks.

I'd love to get dirt under my nails and grow veggies and have some fresh cut flowers but nope, I can't even plant bulbs for spring time because I heard it's really bad for dogs and knowing Tyler, he will dig it out faster than I could bury it. Oh well...

Long Time No Blog

2004-10-08T22:24:00.000-07:00

It's only my second week back in school and I'm already swamped! I'm still trying to get used to this quarter system where everything happens so fast. I'm going to start working out with my friend Dong next week. He used to be a personal trainer and part of a weightlifting team so, he knows alot about fitness.

But first, E and I has to finish the side yard tomorrow. Yeah. Fun. Just thinking about that makes my body sore again. Oh well, we started it, we have to finish it. Tyler and Shaggy got out of the yard this afternoon. I guess the gate on the side yard blew open and they were able to get out. When E went to the yard to play with them, they were gone. Of course, we both got frantic. I took my cell and car keys and drove off to look for my boys. E drove to the opposite direction looking for them too. Argh, I hate that feeling when one of them is hurt or missing or sick. Fortunately, I found them right away. They were running around checking out the neighborhood. Thanks God(dess).

I don't know what Tyler did but he stinks to high heavens. He's getting a bath tomorrow. Shaggy's hair is matted and Peachy's nails need to be cut. That means we need to take a trip to the doggie barber/groomer. Man, I think dogs are just as expensive as kids. But how come I can't claim them on my income tax?

A relaxing weekend...Not Part 2

2004-10-03T21:54:00.000-07:00

The phone's ringing rudely woke us up this morning. Normally, I get PO'd by early calls but it was my mom on the other line. I'm always happy to hear from her. She finally got a cell phone and said that she's still trying to figure it out...apparently, so is the time difference between Philippines and California. I'm not hopeful she'll figure that one out anytime soon. She'll call me whenever the mood strikes her.

E and I worked on the side yard again. And I mean, we really worked. Boy, I'm so sore I feel like a semi has run me over a couple of times. I shoveled stones and pushed the wheelbarrow as much as I could. E did most of the work because he's bigger and stronger but I helped out a lot too. The side yard is now half filled with stones. We stopped around 11 AM to eat and rest. One more weekend of this and it should be done. Assuming we didn't actually break our backs today.

A relaxing weekend...Not

2004-10-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

E and I woke up early to work on our side yard today. Our side yard is bare soil and with the rainy season coming up, it will definitely turn into mud. And Tyler loves to get dirty, he will play and roll into the mud which, of course, he will track inside the house later at night and irritate me to no end.

We tried to get a contractor to cement the side yard but they're all fully booked. That left us no choice but to just dump stones on the side yard hoping it will minimize the much hated mud. But first we had to put some weed barrier on the ground. With E and I working side by side, it didn't take us long to finish the job. We were done by 9:00 AM. Thirty minutes later, E's co-worker and friend Dave picked him up for they have work to do at Stanford. I also went to work and didn't get to see him again until midnight. We finished the easy part today, tomorrow is going to be a different story.

Family Time

2004-10-01T17:14:00.000-07:00

Went to work for just four hours today. I left early since E wanted to spend time with me tonight. Yay! I finally get to hang out with my sweetie. We played fetch with the "boys", Tyler and Shaggy in the garage. Princess Peachy, of course, gets jealous and does not know how to play with the other two. E placed her on top of some boxes just so she'll be out of the way. She sat there and gave us this sad-puppy look which E always fell for. So, after a few minutes, he grabbed her and ended up holding her with one hand while trying to toss toys to Tyler and Shaggy with the other hand. Hehehe. He can't help it, he turns into a mush when it comes to her.

First day of Fall 2004 Quarter

2004-09-30T21:56:00.000-07:00

I'm officially back in school. I had four classes today and it was pretty hectic. I also saw a bunch of friends and old classmates. Most of my teachers are pretty lively. One of my them is Dr. Applegate, she's very funny and she also works as a nutrition/fitness consultant for the Sacramento Kings as well as the Oakland Raiders. THAT, I think is really cool. I changed my mind about that class I'm trying to add. I'll just wait 'til next quarter to take it. I don't want to overload myself and end up with crappy grades.

On a different story, E is out of town again. He'll be home tomorrow night when I'm working late. That seems to be the story of our life. I don't get to see him anymore and that really stinks. I'm glad I have school to keep me busy.

End of Summer Vacation

2004-09-29T22:28:00.000-07:00

Today is my last day of summer vacation. I'm going back to school tomorrow. Yay! I know, I'm a dork but I like school. I'm still waitlisted on one class and I hope to God that the professor let me add. Please, please, please.

Note to self: three months summer vacation is just too long. Must take summer classes next year.