blabber&chatter

a lot going on...

2007-12-05T13:10:00.000-05:00

R had another meltdown yesterday in school... a huge one... he will be off school for the rest of the week... his teachers are very supportive, and that helps so much.

during the last session he had with his therapist last monday, he finally agreed to see a psychiatrist, and is now open to taking medication for his depression. that is really a big turnaround for him... his therapist assessed him as being extremely depressed. unfortunately, the earliest schedule we can get for a psychiatrist is in january yet. but with the incident in school yesterday, i'm hoping that R's therapist would be able to get an earlier schedule for us. i'm sincerely hoping, and praying for it...

amidst all these, i'm working on a new project, and studying two prospects, but i'm having a hard dividing whatever is left of my time... no question who my priority is, though... on top of it all, there's the usual housework, which if i would be in the Philippines, is not something i would have to worry about, and will surely be taken care of in a snap... that still does not make me want to relocate... not in 20 years maybe...?

but the real bummer is the snow... it's not heavy but it also has not stopped coming down since i drove hubby to the "T" stop this morning. there should be, at least, 3" of snow on the ground right now... ugghhh... i have no choice but to shovel if i want to be able to drive out later to pick up hubby... but i also don't want to do it too early as i may have to shovel again before 6pm. it is just before 2pm right now so i'm looking at doing it an hour later...

in the meantime, i'll post this now and tinker with my new project while worrying about a million other things at the same time...

uhhhmmm...

2007-12-02T19:45:00.000-05:00

i don't know what to write about...
i'll put down whatever comes to mind...

a curfew was declared in metro manila for one night due to another coup attempt... hohummm...
obama is now leading hillary in the iowa primary race... grrr...
snow is coming our way tonight... double grrr...
i'm not ready to pick up a shovel...

i'm in a state of emotional and mental distress...
i sometimes wonder how i am functioning at all...
i need someone to talk to...
i badly need someone who will not only listen but also someone who will be empathetic...

right now, i'm just trying to push it back and bury it...
i don't want to shed anymore tears...
i can't believe how lonely i am...

so many chores... so little time...

2007-11-30T10:54:00.000-05:00

been busy... although i spend time on my computer, i am working... dividing my computer time between completing trades at FLR and rewriting PLRs for hubby. on top of that, i do have household chores, as some of you may already know as i talk about them quite a bit. so this will be short... i'm busy...

woohooo...!!!

2007-11-27T23:51:00.000-05:00

monday night football

it was muddy
turf was bad
weather was bad
players struggled
in the end, my Steelers won!
jeff reed's field goal, 3-0...

dancing with the stars

marie & jonathan were fan favorites; they ended in 3rd
mel & maks are good, technically; they were ahead in points
in the end, helio & julianne hoisted the coveted mirror ball!
they got both technique & charisma...

woohooooooo!!!

oprah factor...???

2007-11-27T18:51:00.000-05:00

oprah on a campaign blitz for obama in iowa...
my thoughts... (not yours nor theirs)

oprah = "a million little pieces" by james frey
oprah = dr.(but-not-board-certified) jan adams
oprah = sexual abuse scandal in the oprah winfrey leadership academy for girls
oprah = "the secret" by rhonda byrne

and now...

oprah = obama

add that to the top of the list...

laundry, laundy, and more laundry...

2007-11-26T17:16:00.000-05:00

another busy day for me. only time i sat down in front of my computer before now was this morning after i drove hubby to the "T" stop. i only checked my email and sent to my cousin in germany, a link to 60 minutes' Eagles' interview. her hubby is a big Eagles fan. after that, i loaded the washer again, and continued my ironing while waiting for the first load to finish. i also changed and washed towels and sheets, and right now have comforters in both the washer and dryer. i have not done any PLRs, but i'm hoping to finish one later ~ maybe... after dancing with the stars... it's the finals!!! i'm rooting for helio castroneves and julianne to win.

i'll jump in the shower before i pick hubby up at 6:05pm so... later...

hectic...

2007-11-26T00:01:00.000-05:00

after breakfast, i spent most of my morning and early afternoon rewriting PLRs. badly-written PLRs. when you read one of them, it seems like whoever "wrote" them just strung along words, and passed them off as "articles"... there is no rhyme or reason to most of them... i finished 3 articles before i went to the grocery store. when i left, i saw neighbors from both sides clearing their yards of leaves. there were leaves all over our yard, too that's why i decided to clear them when i got back. besides, it will rain for the most part tomorrow.

i started around 4pm and stopped a little after 6. it was already quite dark that's why i decided to stop. took a quick shower before i started supper. prepared something simple and quick... i'm tired... after cleaning up, i loaded the washer, ironed some shirts while watching tv, and have just now finished folding the laundry.

i know. it was a hectic day... i squeezed a lot in a day when i had 3 days to spread them out to... that's me... super procrastinator...

i'm going to bed... g'night.

Hillary Clinton...

2007-11-24T20:38:00.000-05:00

she's tough. she's smart. she's decisive. she's experienced.
she has a vision. she brings change.

she's a woman, a wife, a mother.
exceptionally capable and highly dependable.

Clinton may be her last name.
but she is her own person in each and every way.

gang up on her all you want.
she will never back down nor go away.

brace yourselves for a wild ride.
you're in for a big surprise.

this is the fight of our lives, and
we're in this to win and fly high.

go, Hillary!!!

i almost forgot... cyber monday...

2007-11-24T11:38:00.000-05:00

we were watching the news last night, and all the newscasts had something to report & show about black friday. everybody took advantage of the special offers, what with the rising cost of gas and heating, the plummeting mortgage market, and the weakening US dollar, why not?

the upside to the weak dollar is the influx of europeans and canadians into US shores to do their holiday shopping. in fact, broadway's lights may be dimmed in NY due to the stagehand's strike, but the city and its visitors discovered other attractions ~ bus tours to various outlet malls or shopping trips, to put it simply. europeans are finding the best value for their euros...

one newscast also mentioned about cyber monday. an equivalent of black friday for online shopping. i almost forgot about it... i will surely check a lot of websites, and see if i'll get a better deal for a microsoft zune. i hope i also find something for hubby...

i started working on the 2nd batch of 5 PLRs again last night. one is so badly written i ended up rewriting it... i'll continue to work on the remaining 4 today but not before i'm done with some housework... i work on the PLRs 5 at a time... it takes off the pressure, psychologically...

by the way, i put a link to Hillary Clinton's website on top... i'm a fan, a supporter, and a believer... you can say all you want about her, but no one among the "boys" can hold a candle to her.

chaos continues... black friday...

2007-11-23T16:43:00.000-05:00

i got up this morning with snow on the ground... it wasn't really much, dusting in some parts, but still snow on the ground... =(

before i forget, my cornish hen turned out good - tasty and juicy... we all had halves so there is still a half left. i also still have 2 crab cakes and a pot of the arroz ala cubana... lots of leftovers to choose from for dinner this weekend...

went out to get breakfast for saturday and sunday, but i didn't leave until 3pm in the hopes there wouldn't be a crowd anymore... wrong... the parking lot at walmart/giant eagle was still full... i found a parking spot almost at the farthest end of the lot. it was cooold... i went to walmart to grab the breakfast stuff, and also went around to check out the electronic stuff piled up on rows of aisle all over the store. there were still a lot of TVs, dvd players & recorders, printers, computers, etc... when you see that much people and that much stuff in a store, you wouldn't think gasoline prices are at $3+ a gallon, and rising... at least black friday pulled the stock market up, and hopefully did bring stores back into the black...

i bought a Christmas gift for R last night from amazon. a microsoft zune 30gb mp3/mp4 player... there were more good deals online than in stores, and the convenience is definitely a plus... i first saw the item at walmart's website, and found the price very reasonable at $99.99. i read the reviews, which were good, and checked the specs. by the time i was ready to order, the item is no longer available online but still is in selected branches, none of which is near our home... grrr... so i searched online and found amazon offering it for $89.99... but there is a catch - it won't be delivered until after Christmas... bummer... but i still got one because it was a good deal. it is a 30gb player!!! but i had to tell R he won't have his gift until new year's... =)

i still don't know what to give hubby... i hope my love and affection would suffice... =)

we give thanks...

2007-11-22T17:59:00.000-05:00

from our family to yours, happy thanksgiving!

we got up this morning to strong winds and rain... blehhh... i was still aching from yesterday's yardwork... we had a late breakfast, as usual, then i prepped the cornish hens. i split them in half, rinsed them well, and patted dry. i placed each in cut foil and seasoned them with a mixture of seasalt, garlic powder, paprika and lemon&pepper seasoning. i wrapped each in the cut foil and refrigerated until it's time to cook them. they're now in the oven to be baked for 45 minutes or until browned. i'm basting every 15 minutes, and had just done the 2nd... the rice is also cooking right now, then i'll do the stuffing after the third basting. i hope the hens come out good... i did some tweaking on the recipe, which i always do so i'm not sure how it will be... hubby and R should keep their fingers crossed...

i'm goin'... enjoy your dinner, folks, and don't forget to give thanks...

leaves, leaves, and more leaves... criminal minds...

2007-11-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

just as i wrote earlier, i raked and bagged the remaining leaves on our lawn. i didn't realize there was still that much because i filled all 10 bags, and still had to use one regular trash bag for some leaves i gathered at the back of the house.

i started just after 1:30pm and stopped at 4:20, and had about 2 10-minute breaks. one was when i crossed over to our neighbors, who were also bagging their leaves, to wish them a happy thanksgiving. next was when R came home from school. we had a small talk before he went into the house.

i didn't realize how tired and thirsty i was until i got inside the house. my backside was hurting. my arms were hurting; can barely lift them. my back was hurting. my shoulders were hurting my legs(knees) were hurting. i'm almost incapacitated once again... i also had 2 papercuts from the bags... one was between my thumb and point finger, and the other was under the nail of my middle finger... ouch!!!

when i went in, there was a message from hubby so i called. said he might come home earlier than usual... called back 10-15 minutes later to confirm he'll come home early. i told him i'm too tired and hurting to prepare anything for dinner and clean up afterwards. i suggested mcdonald's so off we went to mcd's after i picked him up...

i watched kid nation and criminal minds before i took a shower, which made me feel so much better, the shower, that is... tonight's episode of criminal minds was one of the best i've watched so far... love, love, love that show... i was really sad when mandy patinkin left the show. i thought he was a good fit and his character was different, but i'm starting to warm up to joe mantegna...

i'm so tired and sleepy... i'm off... g'night, people...

frenzy...?

2007-11-21T11:45:00.000-05:00

there's been a noticeable frenzy at giant eagle and walmart since sunday. it was the start of Thanksgiving week so no suprise there... altho' i'm not a part of that frenzy, i love being in the midst of it. you'll see all sorts of shoppers, from the undecisive to the efficient and no-nonsense, to the hoarder...

i felt so tired and sleepy last monday so i went back to bed after i drove hubby to the "T" stop. i got up around 11am... i didn't do any housework but instead did some online stuff. i also cancelled the remaining offers i need to cancel to prevent charges on my credit card. i got some credits back from the cancellations so it was good.

since tuesday's forecast was warmer than usual, i decided to rake the leaves and pack them in brown compost bags. unfortunately, only 2 of the 5 bags were picked up since i wasn't done when the garbage truck came by. i actually needed more bags, too since there were so much leaves on the ground. some leaves that have been there longer and were rained on were already rotting when i raked them. it was kinda gross... i really am not a garden person but i have to do what i need to do... before i worked on our lawn, i went to 3 different stores to pick up some things. went to walmart, giant eagle and aldi's. oh. i also went to lowe's since there are no choices of rakes in walmart. i found a plastic one in lowe's, which makes more sense since it won't rust and it's teeth won't be bent. we already have a rake, which we got from qvc. it's not the the usual rake because it picks up leaves. the teeth are in a circular formation and you can "open-close" them similar to an umbrella. that's how you pick up the leaves. and since the teeth are in a circle, it's hard to use it as a rake versus one that has its teeth in a row.

i went back to walmart this morning to get more brown bags but they're out of it. good thing they have them at giant eagle so i got 2 bundles or 10 bags. i also bought a box of stovetop chicken stuffing just to try it. i'll prepare it as a side. i also bought a tub of bob evans mashed potato - already prepared so i don't have to. we don't need much anyway since hubby is not fond of it nor the stuffing. i just want R to have an alternative other than rice, to eat with the cornish hen. speaking of cornish hen, i hope my first attempt at it would be a success...

i'm just waiting for "the young & the restless" to come on at 1:30pm. i watch it everyday... one of my afternoon guilty pleasures... after y&r, i'll start with the leaves again. my arms and shoulders are still aching from yesterday's, but like i said, you got to do what you need to do...

y&r is on... gotta go...

my bad...

2007-11-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

i have neglected my blog for several days now... my last post was wednesday yet, and there should have been another post that day(night) but...

i actually had a busy wednesday plus i was still kinda tired from the previous day's leaf-blowing task... my right arm up to my shoulder were actually sore. inspite of this, i was raring to go wednesday. it was a big day for me because...

last wedneday, i took oath as a new citizen of the United States of America. it was a very touching, emotional, and happy event. one of my most memorable alongside the day i got married and my son's birth. what usually is an event held in the courthouse was held that day in one of the ballrooms at the Omni William Penn Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, thanks to the Rotary Club. the event was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Pittsburgh, which they do every four years as part of their public service and community involvement.

there were close to 150-200 of us who took oath that day. a very diverse group of people... the ladies were each given a white rose, while all the new US citizens were given small American flags. i got very emotional when we sang God, Bless America and America, the Beautiful... i always do, anyway, everytime i hear these songs...

after the ceremony, hubby treated me to lunch in a nice restaurant in the highmark building. it was a wonderful event... a wonderful and significant day altogether.

the next day, i filled up the voter's registration form that was distributed during the ceremony together with passport applications to those who were interested. the passport application can wait but not my voter's registration. the primaries are coming up soon, and i can't wait to exercise my right to vote as a citizen of this country. and just so you know, i registered as a Democrat. even R was very excited about it...

i will always love my birth country, the Philippines, and i will always treasure and cherish its culture and tradition. i also love my adopted country for it is here where i experienced the true essence of freedom. this country has given me and my son so much in our 8 years of living here, and i am more than happy to give back whatever i can in return. words will never be enough to express my deepest appreciation and affection for this country.

on friday, i was a bit stressed out as the bathtub in our basement bathroom, which R uses, won't drain. i used the plunger on it but it didn't do anything. i called HSA Home Warranty that morning to get a referral for a plumber. after hours of waiting, back and forth phone calls, and to make long story short, a plumber finally came and fixed(unclogged) the drain. it's working fine now...

saturday is like any of our saturdays... laidback. i did a little bit of everything... did some ironing, checked on the status of my online project, which continues to be a disappointment to me, and i also started helping hubby again with revising articles, PLRs to be exact. i'd also like to learn how to create websites where hubby will put the PLRs i revised(rewrote). unfortunately, some PLRs are so badly written it's taking me longer to revise them, which also makes me spend more time than i would have liked to on them. that was one reason why i stopped revising before - badly written PLRs... (PLRs - private label rights)

today, another typical sunday... i set the alarm, which i always do on a sunday, so i'll get up in time for the cbs sunday morning show with charles osgood. today's show was all about food and thanksgiving. and speaking of thanksgiving, since we are not turkey-eaters, we always had ham. not this year. we're tired of it... since one cannot find a small-sized ham good for three, we always ended up eating ham for weeks on end, sometimes right up to a week before Christmas, and we don't want that anymore... so this year, hubby and i thought we should try cornish hen. still a bird, but a tastier, more manageable bird... =) i'll keep you posted...

i really don't want to dwell on it but will touch on it a bit...
you win some, you lose some... the Steelers lost to the "lowly" jets today - in overtime. 16-19. that hurts...

i'm going to bed...

the falling leaves... missing tuesday...

2007-11-14T23:21:00.000-05:00

i've been thinking about using the leaf blower but can't find the right time to since it was either too cold or raining until...

tuesday morning... hubby told me that i really should use the leaf blower soon, and asked me to look outside. i was a little shocked to see our neighbor's driveway totally covered with leaves from our maple tree... i knew it was windy, and raining lightly when i drove R to school around 6:40 this morning, but i didn't expect that amount of leaves to fall on the ground... it was embarrassing, to say the least... so as soon as i got back from taking hubby to the train station, i took out the leaf blower and extension cord, and cleared the neighbor's driveway... i also tried clearing their lawn but i wasn't comfortable being on it so i just tried to pick up as much as i can... i think i used the blower for a little more than an hour... big mistake. when i finally decided to stop and put away the cord and the blower, i could barely lift my right arm without it shaking uncontrollably... it was from holding the blower so long without rest or any support... i practically didn't have any use of my arm unless i hold it up with my left hand or rest it on something to be able to have use of my hand. without support, my arm would just shake... it was so painful that i decided to take a muscle relaxant to ease the pain. it did help but it also made me so drowsy that i just had to sleep it off hoping it wears off sooner... another big mistake.

i'll spare you with the rest of the details. needless to say, i was incapacitated for the good part of tuesday, thus the absence of a blogpost. i was sorta, kinda knocked out...

one laptop per child...

2007-11-12T12:20:00.000-05:00

this is a project started by Nicholas Negroponte to provide disadvantaged children around the world with an educational tool, and not just a laptop. the vision goes beyond a laptop, but starts with one... read more about the project here.

they are also currently running a program, Give One, Get One, for two weeks from november 12 to 26, and is open in the US and Canada. through Give One, Get One, the laptop will be made available to the public for the first time with a donation of $399. your donation will give you a chance to donate one laptop to a child in a developing nation and another one to a child in your life. learn more about it here.

a lot of big-named companies have followed suit in developing similar projects. i just hope they find a common ground and work together instead, and not compete in the guise of helping these kids, as to who has the better, more worthwhile project...

big props to Nicholas Negroponte and his team for sticking to his dream and making it a reality...

i just had to...

2007-11-12T00:33:00.000-05:00

that is, say this...
i'm sooo sleepy... zzz... zzz... zzz...
g'night, people!
i am a happy girl. =)

it ain't pretty... the comeback kids...

2007-11-11T16:28:00.000-05:00

as Ben Roethlisberger said, it wasn't pretty, but the bottomline is, the PittsburghSteelers won!!!

they were down 15 points in the first half, but came back strong in the second led by Big Ben, who rushed for 49 yards with 1 TD. did i tell you he is a QB?

cleveland had a chance to tie the ballgame, but kicker, phil dawson, missed a 52-yard field goal attempt... ouch...

final score, 31-28.

sweet! life is sweet.

that hurts...

2007-11-11T15:43:00.000-05:00

with 2:37 minutes out in the 3rd quarter, i turned off the tv. it was painful to watch... in the first half, the browns had 3 TDs against the Steelers' 3 FGs, which translated into the score is 21-9... the Steelers failed to convert from the red zone three times(period)

so i walked away from the tv, turned to my computer to check on my emails, and get my mind off the game... but i just have to peek... so peek at yahoo sports i did... the score was 28-24 with 4:18 minutes to go. the Steelers has the ball IN THE RED ZONE!

i have to see this!!!

hmmm... 2

2007-11-10T23:33:00.000-05:00

i discovered a website with links to different craft/sewing sites. i've been wanting to learn how to sew for the longest time but never got around to doing it. in fact, i bought a sewing machine i saw on qvc about 3-4 years ago, but haven't even opened the box yet... i'll check michael's if they have a sewing class scheduled in the near future. it's about time i do something about this...
fios tv is now available in our area. i'll talk to hubby about having the service installed since we already have fios internet. i miss all the shows i used to watch on cable... i have not seen any of them since a year ago, i'm not sure if some of them are still on...
i'll go and take a shower now. my eyes are getting heavy...

i'm sooo sleepy... zzz... zzz... zzz...

hmmm...

2007-11-10T21:46:00.000-05:00

the housing market continues on its downward spiral... i wonder what happened to those who were flippers when the market was booming... there were so many shows about flipping houses that i have lost count, and have not seen any as we don't have cable nor dish to whatch these shows since we moved into our home almost a year ago...
price of crude oil per barrel continues to climb, and i won't be surprised (nor anyone, for that matter) if it reaches the $100-mark next week or at the latest, Thanksgiving weekend...
i saw this sticker on a car's bumper at the giant eagle parking lot that says, "let's take the bushes out of the rose garden!" yeah, let's...
R's gums are swollen so his cheeks are also puffy... he looked like when he was 4 years old...
i watched "memoirs of a geisha" on dvd this afternoon. i borrowed it from the library together with "catch me if you can" two fridays ago. yeah... i, so far, renewed them twice now together with "dr. strangelove", which R has seen for about 4-5 times now... i like "memoirs..." it's my kind of film... romantic, heartbreaking, and a period film. i love period films... i didn't know it was directed by rob marshall of "chicago" fame... all the actors, main and supporting, were very good...
i'll watch "48 hours mystery" now...

i'm not sleepy yet... =)

wisdom teeth...

2007-11-09T23:33:00.000-05:00

four wisdom teeth were taken out from R this morning. the procedure took about half an hour... when i was called and led to where R was, he was trying to get up and saying something... but you can barely understand him because there were pieces of gauze in his mouth for the bleeding plus the fact that he was drugged for the procedure. it took almost ten tries before i finally got what he wanted to say... he wants his 4 wisdom teeth to keep... uuuggghhh...

but he was also funny because he was smiling all the time and kept on mumbling all the way home. i helped him change and i also change the gauze before i finally tuck him in bed. i made a quick trip to giant eagle to grab food he can eat. soft food like pudding, jello, applesauce. no hot or warm and solid food. he was so hungry when he woke up that he finished 3 each of the jello, pudding and applesauce, and he was still hungry so i gave him a bowl of ice cream. after he had eaten, i started him off with the antibiotics. he didn't feel any pain until late this evening so i finally gave him a painreliever and another pill to make him sleep better.

tomorrow, i'll make champorado for him for breakfast...

i'm sooo sleepy... zzz... zzz... zzz...

green!

2007-11-08T22:21:00.000-05:00

saying that is just like saying "eureka"! i finally went green on a referral i did 3 weeks ago. i already informed my trader, but it seems she doesn't log on on a daily basis. last time she was on was tuesday yet... hopefully, she'll see my message not later than this weekend... when this trade is wrapped up, i would only have one unfinished trade waiting to green. in the meantime, i'll probably do(start) a new trade. maybe do a "green for green" so i can hopefully cash out on one of my referral sites... that would really be nice...

i'm alternately watching Without a Trace and finishing this post. love tonight's episode, which started at CSI, and will get solved in Trace. they did these crossover episodes specifically for the sweeps.

i have to give R a snooze pill before he goes to bed, and more tomorrow, at least an hour and a half before the surgery, to make him woozy... fasting, too, starting midnight that's why he's having a snack right now...

i'll post this now, watch Trace, give R his pill, washup after the show, then go to bed. hubby already turned in half an hour ago...

i'm sooo sleepy... zzz... zzz... zzz...

nuthin'...

2007-11-07T23:27:00.000-05:00

nothing much happened today...

ohhh! our neighbors in the north had their first snowfall last night(early morning). Eerie had about 8" of snow... i'm not ready for that... good thing we didn't have any... but according to kdka's chief meteorologist, jeff verszyla, this season's winter will be warmer than last, and snowfall will be less than normal... sounds good to me... i know, i know... we need the snow... but let the other counties have them...

what did i do today?
went to giant eagle.
went to aldi's.
grabbed coffee.
did some ironing.

i'm sooo sleepy... zzz... zzz... zzz...

dentist... election... dwts...

2007-11-06T23:48:00.000-05:00

R didn't have school today. local election... luke ravenstahl was re-elected mayor of Pittsburgh. i'm sooo glad desantis didn't win. it wasn't even close inspite of all the endorsements he got especially from local major dailies, and the apparent partiality of kdka's jon delano... ha!

i took R to the dentist for filling. during his last checkup about a couple of or three weeks ago, the dentist saw 2 small cavities that needed to be filled. i was upset when i first heard he had cavities. but the dentist assured me it was nothing major, and were in fact very, very small. i was just surprise that he would have them when i am very strict with his oral hygiene, and he is very diligent about it. anyway, the entire procedure didn't even take half an hour...

i wasn't able to watch the replay of last night's dancing with the stars episode because of our appointment. they showed a replay today at 9am because of monday night footbal, which my Steelers won. =) marie osmond wasn't in the results show tonight because their dad passed away last night, just a few weeks after jane seymour's mom passed away. this season is just full of one unfortunate incident after another... btw, jane seymour was voted off this week...

i'm sooo sleepy... zzz...zzz...zzz...

here we go, Steelers... here we go!

2007-11-05T23:37:00.000-05:00

monday night football.
Steelers v baltimore ravens at Pittsburgh.
it was raining.
Ben threw *5 TD passes, 4 of them in the first half; was pushed to the turf but not before throwing a 45-yard completion to Santonio Holmes in the 3rd quarter. he was taken out but came back in the 4th quarter.
some members of the Steelers' All-time Team was in the sideline cheering on the guys and enjoying the game. among the notables were Terry Bradshaw, Mean Joe Green, Franco Harris, Lynne Swann, Mel Blount and Jack Ham. Coach Bill Cowher was also there and got the crowd going at one point.
but the night's most impressive Steeler was linebacker, James Harrison. his stats speak for himself.
final score, 38-7.

here we go, Steelers... here we go!

*ties Terry Bradshaw's and Mark Malone's record throws in a game.

fall back...

2007-11-04T23:03:00.000-05:00

by the way, standard time is back.
we gained an hour!!!
but did we put it to good use...?
i'm off to bed...
g'night, people.

9-0!

2007-11-04T19:37:00.000-05:00

yup! inspite trailing for the first time this season, the new england patriots prevailed over the indianapolis colts. bridget moynahan's baby daddy threw 2 TD passes in the fourth quarter to stop the colts from running away with the game, and finished off 24-20.

Tom Brady is really HOT, literally and figuratively!

battle of the undefeateds...

2007-11-04T16:57:00.000-05:00

the patriots and the colts are playing right now. they are the remaining undefeated teams in the nfl, and so this game will finally separate them. james brown had a question earlier on cbs sports where he asked if the winner of this matchup would end up as the super bowl winner. all the panelists - dan marino, coach cowher, boomer esiason and shannon sharpe said no, and i say no, too. my Pittsburgh Steelers has a good shot at it, and i'm sure fans of green bay, chargers, cowboys, etc. would say the same thing - that is, their respective teams have a good shot at the super bowl... question is, who has the most legit claim? the Steelers fans, of course! =)

the Steelers will be on monday night footbal against their nemesis, the baltimore ravens. last year, the ravens ravaged the Steelers in their two meetings. i'm confident it won't be so this year, and i'm going out on a limb and say, it will be the other way around. the Steelers are playing solid this season. not perfect, but solid.

i guess we wait and see...

sleep... more sleep...

2007-11-03T14:37:00.000-04:00

i went to bed this morning around 2am, but had to get up at 7 for R's 8am appointment at quest diagnostics for bloodwork. he has an appointment with his endocrinologist next week hence the bloodwork. i think they got 6-7 vials of blood for testing...

around 2pm, hubby said he'll take a nap, and i told him i will, too that's why i didn't make the bed... so off to bed i went for my nap. it was 2:30pm. well, my "nap" turned out to be the longest i had in a while. i woke up after 6pm... hubby was already awake before i was, but didn't get up... we finally dragged ourselves out of bed around 6:30ishpm.

i'm still frustrated with the two trades i'm working on. i've been at it for 2 weeks now and have not gone green on both. uggghhh!!! i don't want to do any more trades until i'm done with these two... so now i'm stuck, and it's not a good thing...

all soul's day... remembering my brother...

2007-11-02T13:00:00.000-04:00

this is supposed to be the day we remember our dearly departed. but for some reason i do not know, it is not so in the Philippines...

so i remember my youngest brother, who died at the tender age of 16 of H-fever... his death, so far, is the most painful experience i ever went through in my life... i still think of him. miss him. wonder what could have been... my parents were totally devastated when he passed. it was very painful for all of us...

i named my son after him...

all saint's day...

2007-11-01T15:55:00.000-04:00

1st of november, all saint's day.

in the Philippines, this is supposedly the day when everybody treks to cemeteries to remember their dearly departed. that used to be the case when i was young... veeery, very young...

nowadays, all saint's day seems to be the day when most pinoys go out of town for some R&R, just like the holy week. this is how most of us observe these religious holidays now... boracay, baguio, palawan, tagaytay... just some of the places popular to out-of-towners to go to to "remember" their dearly departed (all saint's day) or do some "soul-searching" (holy week)...

but people still do go to the cemeteries. they go through the motions of offering flowers, lighting candles, saying a little prayer or in isolated cases, pray the rosary. that should take about half an hour maximum, and the rest would be socializing...

such are "shining" examples of Philippine tradition nowadays... the kind of tradition this generation passes on to their children. and this coming from a country, which its own citizens tout, as the only Roman Catholic country in Asia. with these "traditions", and everything that are going on in my country right now, how can you brag about that...?

and such is the hypocrisy of our society...

trick or treeeaaattt...

2007-10-31T23:32:00.001-04:00

happy halloween, people!

i bought a halloween paper pumpkin lantern to hang in the porch, and a couple of bags of candies for the tricksters. i bought only a couple of bags of candies we actually like because i'm not sure if there will be any li'l ones who will come knocking on our door since this will be our first halloween since we moved here.

fortunately, there were 3 pairs of kids who came, and they were all adorable. the first was a pair of sisters in princess outfits complete with tiaras and makeup. they were sooo cute! the second and third were both pairs of brothers in ghost, alien, spidey and pirate costumes. i wish there were more kids... but our street is a no-outlet street, and it may be one of the reasons why not a lot come here.

so now, my boys are just happy to consume the leftover candies...

chilly... sunny... chilly...

2007-10-30T13:36:00.000-04:00

fall has finally arrived, as far as temps are concerned. we had our first frost advisory yesterday when the temperature dipped between freezing and below freezing. but halloween is looking good. forecast is in the high 60s, so that's a good thing for the kids... i have to grab a bag of candies tomorrow for the tricksters...

i'm really hoping the offers i did almost two weeks ago finally get credited. i don't want to start with a new offer until i'm done with these two... it is frustrating...

i'm getting sidetracked once again but i'm not saying by what... =(

the days are flying by so fast...

sunday... monday...

2007-10-29T23:08:00.000-04:00

i didn't get to post yesterday, obviously... i don't like that... as much as possible, i want to be able to post everyday.

i can't even remember what i did yesterday... ohhh... i did two loads of laundry - sheets and pants/shorts... and i ironed 3 pairs of those pants before i finally sat in front of my computer (late) last night to check on my email. R still doesn't have his computer together so i still don't have sole use of mine. he was using it almost the entire weekend.

the Steelers won yesterday over the bengals. it was the Steelers' 7th straight win against them at their home turf. next up for them will be the baltimore ravens on monday night football in Pittsburgh. all i can say is, the Steelers are looking good.

another game that i will surely watch on sunday is the matchup between the patriots and the colts. these two teams are still undefeated so this game will finally separate them. since the season started, i haven't seen a colts game yet, but have watched 3 of the patriots', and they are looking really invincible. i think this is the best patriots team i've ever seen. they were good before, but they're looking really, really good this season. that is a game that i'm sure a lot of people, even non-football fans (are there even any?) will watch.

am getting a bit frustrated with my online project right now. but i'm still doing it, and that's all i'm gonna say about it...

oh, R & i didn't attend the meetup. we got to the venue, but didn't feel comfortable. no one acknowledged us so i decided to just get out of there. we went instead to station square since it was just a couple of blocks away. my first time there, and R's 2nd. his first was when their 6th grade class went on the duckie tour. from there we went to the strip district. i got a couple of bottles of tuyo (similar to anchovies), 2 cans of canned milkfish sardines, 2 cans of squid sisig, a 25-lb bag of rice, tofu, 3 slabs of pork belly and a pack of mung bean pastry or hopia. hubby ate most of it...

i made spring rolls for dinner tonight. good thing there is a coleslaw mix in the grocery store because that's what i use for my veggie spring rolls. there were 24 rolls in all, and there are still 12 left for tomorrow's dinner. i'll also make sotanghon soup to go with it because R was looking for soup earlier.

so there. that's my sundaymonday... nothing exciting... just normal... i like normal...

bits & pieces here & there...

2007-10-27T17:26:00.000-04:00

highest paid athlete in the world is Tiger Woods at $100 million. no one came even close. cross-dressing(?) oscar dela joya came in 2nd with $43 million.
former Philippine-president, joseph estrada, who was convicted of plunder, was given executive clemency by a fellow plunderer(?), president gloria macapagal-arroyo. as they say, birds of the same feathers...
California is now on its 7th day of fury. the inferno that started a week ago has so far caused the state:

seven people dead
destroyed 1,800 homes
displaced 500,000 people
410,000 acres burned
property damage estimated to top $1 billion.

democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, celebrated her 60th birthday yesterday but didn't get a break from hits from fellow candidates obama, edwards, guilliani, and romney. bring it on, boys! you're all wimps compared to Hillary!
britney (or SHitney or UNfitney as perezhilton would sometimes call her) continues to self-destruct. the woman is mentally unstable, though not beyond help.
the press conference that never was... FEMA held a fake "press" briefing to supposedly update the media of the CA wildfire disaster. the problem is, there were no press people around. the questions thrown at the FEMA deputy chief were actually from FEMA employees, and totally scripted. read here the outrageous extent this government agency will go through just to score good points from the public.
still on the CA wildfire - caused by arson? why???

whaaattt???

2007-10-26T23:14:00.000-04:00

i laugh whenever ellen says that... whaaattt??? it's the way she says it...

anyway, R and i went to the oral surgeon this afternoon for an evaluation. he will take out 4, yes, 4, wisdom teeth! according to him, it doesn't make sense to take out two first when he can take out all 4. it's not unusual, says he, and he does it all the time... and guess what? he'll do it in only an hour. 1 hour.

they gave us a packet, "your wisdom tooth packet". it contains the do's and don'ts when you're having your wisdom tooth/teeth taken out. we also got 3 prescription medicines, to make him woozy prior to the operation, for pain, and antibiotics.

R is scheduled on the 9th of november at 11am. it has to be a friday so he will have some recovery time.

by the way, R asked the surgeon if he can be awake during the procedure... duhhh... R is weird that way... =) he also told me that he wants the 4 teeth, as in, he wants to keep them.

oh. before i forget. i also got a notice in the mail about the result of that interview i talked about weeks back. it's scheduled in mid-november, and again, i won't go into details until after. so there.

it is really tgif. i can sleep late... ahhh... the luxury of getting up late... priceless!

g'night, people.

all's well, that ends well...

2007-10-25T23:42:00.000-04:00

...around 5:40ish am. a little TLC did it... =)

we're better today than we've ever been in the last couple of weeks, and i hope it stays that way. i'm tired of the mood swings, the now-you're-talking-to-me, now-you-won't. but i'm really glad the tide has turn, so to speak, because it is the weekend! i don't want to spend it moping and seething with irritation... so i'll try my best to think before i speak... hahaha!!!

my brother called and we had a long chat about a cousin-in-law who works with him. he more of like vented, which is just fine, and i gave him my 2-cents... also got to talk to mommy and daddy but not sister. she's not in the talking mood, i guess... calling her moody is an understatement. she's been that way for as long as i can remember, but she no longer gets into my nerves - but she still does with mom and brother.

i wasn't able to spend any time at all doing any offers. i'm tied up with housework, preparing dinner mainly. full production once again, and to think it was only baked spaghetti. but mind you, it was from scratch... it has two sauces, meat sauce and white sauce, and prepared like lasagna - layered. it turned out good, according to hubby and R. i made a lot of the meat sauce so i can freeze the rest for future dinners... the white sauce is simple enough to make so i didn't have to make a lot of that altho' there was a small tub left...

ok. it's past 12am once again. i've been getting only about 4 hours of sleep for the past weeks. i need to change that...

i'm off to bed. g'night, people.

gloomy wednesday...

2007-10-24T22:06:00.000-04:00

as gloomy as i'm feeling... no, it doesn't have to do with my son. we are ok. we may have some heated discussions (read: arguments) at times, but we're always good. we always find a way to resolve our issues, his issues.

i hate it when i am treated like i'm someone insignificant, and spoken to like there's nothing between my ears. i don't know what is with him - whether he's going through male menopause or something... he blows hot and cold. i've been very patient, just trying to ignore when he's in "that"mood, and speaks to me in "that" tone of voice that makes me feel like i'm stupid. then you just reach that point when it will just get to you, like it finally got to me now.

i specially hate it when i know i didn't do or even say anything that would deserve such a treatment, and so when it did happen the last time, i just had it. i didn't talk to him about it. i didn't tell him anything. i just stopped talking unless it is necessary. i guess he noticed since he has been speaking to me in a gentler, kinder voice. but i cannot just bring myself to just go back to my old, chatty self. i only speak when spoken to. i now seldom give any comment or opinion to anything, whether it's the news or whatever it is we're watching, which is just not like me. at all.

earlier this evening, he tinkered with the bathtub's drain, and got out clumps of hair - my hair - that was causing the slow drain. i said something about the wire he used. he got irritated, i got irritated so i'm sure he will be back to his old grumpy self again, and either stop talking to me altogether or talk to me "that" way again, and give me the freezing cold treatment.

i'd like to say i couldn't care less, but in reality, i just want to bawl, and let all my frustrations out. it hurts so bad. i hate it. i hate this. i hate, hate, hate, hate, hate all these!!!

and now i am so mad...

wet, windy, tuesday...

2007-10-23T21:21:00.000-04:00

i woke up to gusty wind this morning... good thing it wasn't raining yet when R left for the bus stop, but it was already raining lightly when i drove hubby to the train stop after 8am. i went to giant eagle from the train stop to get bread & bananas, but also ended up grabbing two boxes of stouffers pizza bread. they were on sale, that's why... =)

i spent the rest of the morning organizing my spreadsheet, and updating which offers i need to cancel. i also started working on one referral i responded to yesterday. i have completed two offers on that so far, and have been credited for one. i'll continue to work on it tomorrow morning. there's one offer, though, that is frustrating me right now, which is supposed to be one of the best and easy sites to do. i guess it's more of the offer i chose to complete... anyway, their customer service has already responded to my request, and hopefully i get a manual credit for it real soon. i want to go green on that one so my buyer could also cash out.

i was also able to do some ironing, which is always a good thing as far as my to-do list is concerned... 'nuff said on that...

i also got an appointment for R with an oral surgeon for friday, but it will only be for an evaluation. i hope it won't be too long before he's able to schedule the surgery...

the California wildfires seem to be not letting up... the firefighters are already pushed to their limits, and so are the firefighting resources. there are just not enough firetrucks and other firefighting equipment to fight off this firestorm. i saw on tv, fire tornadoes created by this firestorm fanned by 80 to 90 mph-wind, and it is very, very scary! nobody, not even seasoned firefighters, has seen fire of this magnitude and ferocity, ever. hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated, and mandatory evacuations had been issued in dozens of communities. we can only hope and pray that the wind dies down soon, and that no lives are lost. our thoughts and prayers to the people of California...

manic monday...

2007-10-22T23:42:00.000-04:00

not really... =) just trying a catchy title...

as i mentioned in my last post, i did some cancellations yesterday of trial offers i did more than a week ago. i hope i did everything right, and didn't miss anything. i don't want any of my greens go red... knock on wood (3x)... but like the past couple of days, i had to share my computer with R... but the short time i had use of my computer, i found out i went green on one site i did, which completes a trade worth $22 plus a $5-bonus. yesss! i have a total of $74 in my paypal account right now, and am waiting for another site to go green on for an additional $24 less $19 for fees... not bad since i didn't really work on these sites for more than an hour, hour and a half, tops.

i was also able to respond to another trader's offer and will work on that tomorrow. that one is worth $50, which is not bad at all even if i spend 2 hours working on it. we'll see... after this offer, i'll try to do a ref for ref trade to gain referrals for myself. hopefully by doing that, i will also gain more confidence to start paying for referrals or what they call as "jumping the fence"...

i brought R to the dentist this afternoon after school for his regular check and cleaning. they found two small cavities on his left side so i scheduled a filling for him. those cavities upset me because i'm so strict about his dental hygiene, which made him very careful and conscious about it. everytime i remember it, it still bothers me... i also got a referral for an oral surgeon to take out his wisdom teeth. the left one is bothering him specially. if you see his xray, you'll understand why. it just came out all askew... everytime he eats, he accidentally bites his inner cheek, which really bothers him, well, aside from the usual pain from a wisdom tooth... we'll go back for the filling on the 6th of november while i still have to call the oral surgeon's office tomorrow morning for an appointment.

by the way, i spent my morning prepping our dinner. there was a lot of chopping so that took most of my time. by the time R got home, which was 10 minutes before 3pm, i just about finished cooking... i wasn't able to do any ironing at all, which was included in my monday to-do list... uggghhh... i have to do some tomorrow...

and lastly, the part that sucks... the Steelers lost to the denver broncos last night. that really, really sucked... they lost by a field goal... read it in the sports section... i don't want to relive it anymore...

g'night!

still up...

2007-10-21T02:25:00.000-04:00

i didn't get hold of my computer until after 11pm... R was using it, and i don't want to rush him...

checked on my credits for the offers i did, and they still have not gone through. grrr... i may have to submit a support ticket for one of them, and cancel some of the trial offers i signed up for.

if you don't know what i'm talking about, it is about a new industry that is internet-based. it's all about marketing and advertising, and it is called the freebie industry because of all the freebies you can get. if you want to know more about it, be prepared to do a lot of reading here. better yet, sign up to be a member of FreeLunchRoom, the #1 forum dedicated to the freebie industry. you will learn a lot from this forum, and its members, who are the friendliest, most helpful ever!

ok. i can barely keep my eyes open. i'm off to bed, and back to FreeLunchRoom later today.

g'night. g'morning.

thursday... friday... saturday...

2007-10-20T18:34:00.000-04:00

i missed posting since thursday. lots of things to do - housework, personal stuff, online project... the personal took over most of my time last thursday.

thursday - my son stayed home, as suggested by the principal when i talked to him wednesday after i picked R (my son) from school because he was having a bad day. the principal also suggested he goes back on friday...

my son is so unhappy to the point of depression. he has taken to long walks, which according to him helps him clear his head. as much as i worry about this, i let him...

i found this meetup group of Aspies in pittsburgh. i signed up for membership, and also confirmed to attend their 2nd meetup on the 27th of october. the nice thing about this group is that there are a number of adult male members who are all Aspies, whom R can talk to and ask questions from. i showed him the website, make him read the concept of the meetup and also members' profiles, and he was very receptive to all of it. i'm very optimistic on this one, and i hope it does help him...

we also went to the library to rent a movie, which unfortunately was not available in ours so we had to request it from another library. it is a stanley kubrik-movie, Dr. Stangelove. he enjoys these kubrik movies, which are not actually my cup of tea... he also likes reading george orwell, especially 1984, which he's read a number of times so i decided to get him his own copy. i like the copy i got from amazon because it also includes animal farm, which is another orwell masterpiece, at least according to orwell readers. i'm not one of them... i like light reading. i seldom read heavy stuff, and this taste in books extend to movies. i don't like watching movies, where i'll come out confused or with a heavy feeling. i want to be entertained, amazed (ie. action films like the Bourne series), and feeling good when i come out of the cinema. i already see and read a lot of the heavy stuff (news) on tv and online so those are enough for me...

friday - R did go back to school, but was miserable when he came home. not that something happened. he is miserable in school, period. i don't know how that will change. i know his teachers had a meeting thursday morning to discuss how to best help and handle him especially when he becomes agitated in class. i also hope they will have a better understanding of him...

he went for a walk after he dropped off his bookbag and drank water. he was out for 2 1/2 hours... i was worried, and crying, feeling so bad for him knowing he is hurting... when he got back, i just gave him a hug, and said i love him.

R's computer, motherboard to be exact, conked out on him - again. we sent it back to the manufacturer, hoping this time they would replace it instead of repair it. in the meanwhile, he is using my computer, which cuts down the time i spend on my online project.

my online project. well, it is not as easy as i thought (hoped) it would be. the main thing i do is not hard, per se. what is hard is keeping track of and choosing the right offers, and waiting. the waiting part is taxing on one's patience, not to mention frustrating. but i'm not giving up. i have been at this for only 5 days. hopefully, when the other offers come through, i'll be more motivated...

saturday - i have just spent about 3 hours online, checking on the offers i already completed and also to complete more. it is not that simple... i have to do some cancellations tomorrow, and after that, i'll do new referrals. i hope things turn out more promising...

ok. i'm off. have to do some housework, and turn over my computer to R. he just got back from another long walk, and he's in a good mood... =)

my son...

2007-10-17T11:11:00.001-04:00

i had to go to school and pick up my son...

he was at the principal's office and having a total meltdown...

we had a long talk in the car while parked in our garage.

he ranted and raved and yelled and cried...

and the central reason for all these, the feelings he have for this girl...

it all goes back to that... his (young)love for this girl...

help...

i did it...

2007-10-17T08:33:00.000-04:00

i finally did my first trade yesterday. since i have done some GPT sites before, i didn't have a hard time navigating the site and completing the offers. i was careful, though as i should, to prevent mistakes that may be costly, and also avoid pitfalls that may cause me to 'go red'. to have a better understanding of what i am talking about, and the industry in general, you can read all about it here.

i believe that one can be successful in this trade(industry). you just have to read and learn about the business, as with any other, and be very patient. when you feel that you know enough to complete your first referral, go for it because that would make you better understand what you are into. be prepared. all these things i'm talking about are true with any other job you do or business you go into. read, read, read. i cannot stress that enough.

ok. i'll do another one. my second trade, if ever...

Drew Carey, come on dooowwwnnn...!

2007-10-16T11:30:00.000-04:00

i forgot to write about him yesterday, being his first Price is Right show since taking over from Bob Barker. there may be some who do not agree with cbs's choice of a replacement, BUT there are a lot of us who think he is the best choice.

Drew is a perfect fit to the show. he is a people person, very sincere and down-to-earth, not to forget very funny, and quick-witted.

i grew up watching Bob Barker, and hopefully, i'll grow old watching Drew Carey.

i hope to 'come on down...!' when i get the chance to visit LA...

i know i am...

2007-10-15T22:10:00.000-04:00

...ready, that is.

i'm now paypal-verified. i have a separate credit card set up for this. i opened a separate checking account only for this. i have tons of notes, and read lots of tutorials. i have been lurking a lot in the forum to do more reading and learn, learn, learn. and yet, i still cannot muster enough courage to jump into the trading fray. i don't feel as confident inspite of what i already know. but i know i can do it. i just need a bit of a nudge... maybe a push...?

today would have been an ideal day to start trading being a monday and the 15th of the month. but i just got cold feet... aggghhh...

as my son and i would say, i'm so meemee...

linggo. sunday. domingo. FreeLunchRoom. Warrior.

2007-10-14T13:30:00.000-04:00

got up early for a sunday, and was able to watch cbs sunday morning in its entirety. since their topics are all about one's health, Sanjay Gupta hosted the show. as always, the show was entertaining, interesting and informative.

we had bear claw for breakfast but let hubby had a bigger piece. i bought only one since we were supposed to just have a taste of it. good thing we still have a loaf of the stickies so i had that instead. hubby's tired of it, though...

i just spent some time at FreeLunchRoom's forum again earlier, and did more reading and posted some questions and comments. i still have not done any trading, though. i know i'm ready, and have a basic knowledge of how these sites work but i still feel inadequate and nervous about it. but lest you misunderstand, the industry is NOT a scam, and FLR members are one of the friendliest and helpful people i've encountered online outside of the Warrior Forum. they are always willing to help new members or newbies navigate their way in this new industry. granting that they do so because it will be beneficial to them, still, it is comforting to know that they are always there, available and willing to help. in this industry, your success is their success.

ok. i'm off to the grocery store, and the chinese restaurant nearby to check out their new buffet offering.

sabado...

2007-10-13T14:40:00.000-04:00

or saturday in english. uneventful... still have not started with my online project as i'm doing a lot of reading and lurking in the forum. i want to be totally prepared before i jump into it...

we got up late, as usual... had sticky loaf for breakfast... the sun is shining brightly but don't let that fool you. it is chilly outside... nonetheless, beautiful day!

right now, i just went through my email accounts. i have 7 of them... organized my main email and deleted a lot of stuff.

i'll do more readings and maybe do some ironing... uggghhh... i need(want) a housekeeper. if we're in the Philippines, that won't be so impossible...

but i still won't change anything in my life right now... fickle...

the lonely journey that is AS...

2007-10-12T11:05:00.000-04:00

i thought my friday was going fairly uneventful until i got a call from one of the guidance counselors in my son's school. she said my son had been agitated since the 2nd period because of all the talks around him about the homecoming dance on saturday.

as i mentioned in an earlier post, these social activities have a big impact on him because it makes him see and realize how different he is from most kids. as any kid would, he feels left out and inadequate. no matter what i say - that being different is not a bad thing, and he is not the only kid who is going through the same things - he still feels crappy about it, and have a hard time seeing the positives in him.

the guidance counselor told me that they think it would be best to send him home, and that officer modrak would drive him home. i thanked her for their help and said i'll be waiting. a few minutes later, she called again and told me that my son refused to go home and wanted to finish the rest of his classes so i said ok.

as expected, when he got home, he was still agravated by the talks about the dance, and had a total meltdown... i just let him be - mope, cry, yell. mope some more, cry some more, yell some more... and i just held him... talked to him in a soft voice telling him that things are not as bad as he sees them... after calming down, he decided to go for a walk. as much as i want him to just stay, i let him...

this is such a long, at times painful, sometimes lonely journey for us. but i am hopeful, and he will be, too...

love. patience. understanding. compassion. prayers. these will get us through...

the interview...

2007-10-11T22:18:00.001-04:00

that was painless... it's done and over with, and the trip was even longer than the whole interview process. i know i said i'll tell you all about it, but i won't know the confirmation(result) until the end of october or first week of november. until then, i'm keeping the details to myself. i just don't want to ***x it... i'm superstitious that way... but as soon as i get the confirmation, i will divulge everything. promise...

it is homecoming week in my son's school. they had the bonfire last night and he went. he didn't go to or participated much in these school activities in the past but that seemed to have changed this year.

i know he's being brave participating in these activities, having zero experience in a social environment. i think it is me who is not being brave enough. i worry too much, i stress out about it, and yet, i have to keep those feelings in check so he won't sense my apprehensions, and hinder him to experience these things. i don't want to deprive him that. if he gets hurt in the process, the best i can do is be there, and hold him and assure him that things will be alright. i just have to step back and let him experience all these, if it also means letting him fight his own battles.

cliché as it may sound, i now truly understand how my mom felt then...

yes!

2007-10-10T15:32:00.000-04:00

i'm finally paypal-verified! i got to be this morning, and i thought i would have to wait 'til friday... i'll see if i can start my online project tomorrow after i got back from my interview. the one i cannot talk about yet...

the other night, hubby and i were watching tv when we heard a knock on the door. it was after 8pm, and we only had one other knock on our door since we moved into our home 11 months ago. hubby opened the door, and there stood this guy on our doorstep. he said he, and a group of people, were going from door to door around our neighborhood, collecting signatures, to petition our senators and congressman to draw up a resolution to address the problems of imports from other countries especially those from china. the petition is also for the protection of manufacturing jobs in the US, and to limit outsourcing.

while hubby was signing the petition, Dave, the petition guy, and i got to talk about other issues like the expanded SChip (which i also touched on in an earlier post) passed by both houses, and was promptly vetoed by bush. he gave us sample letters to send our reps to the senate and lower house, to urge them to override the veto. while discussing all these issues, of which i'm passionate about, Dave said i should go and work for them because they're looking for people "like" me, whatever that means. i was a bit surprised, and said i have to think about it because i have a project i will be working on, and i'm not sure how much time i should spend on it. and of course, there's also taking care of the household...

then early last night, i was in the shower when someone from Work America called, and left a message saying Dave told them about me, and would like to talk to me about what they're looking for, and if i would be interested. hmmm... that was fast, and inneresting...

i still haven't called, but i will tomorrow after i come back from the interview. until then, my time is my own...

same, same... kiss from a rose...

2007-10-09T23:10:00.000-04:00

busy with hw. again today. still waiting to be paypal verified, and i'm getting impatient...
i can't wait to start with my online project...

another thing i'm excited about is thursday. i cannot say what it is until after... sorry... but i'm ready...

watched dwts, and Seal was one of the guests. first time i heard him sing, and i didn't know kiss from a rose was his... i know... actually, i didn't even know the title of the song... i had to wait for the refrain, run back to my computer, and yahoo'd it. when i got the title, i went to clickster, search for the song and downloaded it. i'm now a happy girl... =)

i got a postcard today from my favorite niece, Kristine. her mom is my first cousin, and she's half german, her dad being one... she and her friends went to westerland, in the northern most island of germany. she's actually back home but i got the postcard only today. i have not seen her since she was 10 or 11 years old and she's now in her early twenties. we communicate by email, and became "close" since she started college. i have become a confidant, and i treasure that. she is one of the most sensitive person i know...

temps will drop starting tomorrow. our indian summer is over... i'm not ready - yet...

Columbus Day

2007-10-08T11:48:00.000-04:00

no school today, but not necessarily a slow one for me. as always, tons of things to do. i won't bore you anymore what they are. i think you already know...

i can't start with my online project until i get paypal verified. that's taking quite long... i'm anxious to get started just to get the feel of it. it's different actually doing it versus reading about it, and i've done a lot of that. i've read about some pitfalls but what business doesn't have any? all i can do is be as cautious as i can, and ask a lot of questions especially when in doubt. i can't do a "blackwater", and that is - shoot first, ask questions later. that would be a huge disaster as in blackwater's case...

...and so is the children's health insurance program or CHIP. bush spends billions in iraq but refuses to expand CHIP to cover more children for a fraction of the cost of the iraq war. the house passed an expanded(compromised)version of the program, which bush promptly vetoed on october 4th. in the meantime, children, who cannot afford health insurance and are not qualified for medical aid, have their health hanging in the balance...

the government has had its priorities misguided for seven years now. and for me, bruce springsteen said it best in his 60 minutes interview last night. telling the truth is not unpatriotic...

21-0

2007-10-07T23:55:00.000-04:00

hahaha! loved the look on mike holmgren's face everytime his team failed to bring the ball home. and to think they had been billed as having one of the best defenses in the NFC. hahaha! just look at the score. that says it all... and guess what? four key Steelers' starters didn't play due to various injuries.

i really don't want to brag about the win but this was their first face-off since the Steelers won the Super Bowl in '05 at the seahawk's expense. after their loss, holmgren wasn't exactly gracious in defeat, and made some disparaging remarks that downplayed the Steelers' win.

so i would be the least sympathetic that they had been thrashed by my Steelers...

21-0. hahaha!

slooowww...

2007-10-06T16:44:00.000-04:00

i set the alarm for 7:30am but didn't get up until after 9... and because i got up late, i didn't make crepes anymore, and instead made eggs for hubby to go with toast while i also made eggs, fried cocktail hotdogs, and fried rice for myself... =) hey! i didn't finish them all... hubby got some fried rice, and i gave the rest to my son who had breakfast around 8am.

i did make crepes for afternoon snack, but it wasn't a pleasant thing to stand in front of the stove cooking crepes at 80°plus-temp. as i planned, i used cream cheese for filling, which was a nice contrast to the maple syrup. if i decide to make them for breakfast tomorrow, i should double the recipe. the crepes were good, that's why i need to double... =)

it's going to be another warm day tomorrow. it's weird watching hockey with temps in the 80s... and speaking of hockey, the Pittsburgh Penguins won their season home opener against the defending champs, the anaheim ducks, 5-4. they lost their season opener, though in north carolina againtst the hurricanes, 4-1. they got into the playoffs last season but didn't do well. i hope that changes this season - get into the playoffs, and do very well.

i'm tired of being in front of the stove and washing the dishes so i bught mcdonald's for dinner. now, if only we can have mcd's for dinner every night...

downtime...

2007-10-05T23:57:00.000-04:00

after spending more than half of my day purging my files, my son and i went out after he came home from school. i had some errands to run...

i dropped him off at the barber shop for a haircut, then went to the post office to mail somethin' for hubby. returned a book at the library then went back to the barber shop to pick up my son. from there, we went to hollywood video because he wanted to check out new game releases. he didn't find anything interesting... went to the grocery store afterwards to get milk, butter and cream cheese. i'll make crepes tomorrow for breakfast and will use the cream cheese as filling. i don't want any fruity filling for crepes...

i had downtime after dinner so i watched ghost whisperer and moonlight. scary... but i love both shows. i hope moonlight does well... numbers also had a good episode tonight. i thought of ironing while watching tv but decided not to. it was my downtime...

i'm off to bed. g'night. g'morning.

problem is...

2007-10-04T19:56:00.000-04:00

ME! i got myself so far behind with my obligations at home that now, i really, really need to step it up to keep up! otherwise, no amount of time management i impose on myself now can make me accomplish the things i really need to. i have to focus on those. i know... i'm talking in circles... blabbering as usual... i'm sorry...

but i'm getting there, and having some progress. i'm also no longer procrastinating - as much... i am setting my priorities straight, and getting them right.

ok. i'm done for now. thank you for coming by. sincerely... =)

g'night.

oh my...

2007-10-03T12:04:00.000-04:00

so many to do, so little time...

ok. i have a new GPT program to post in my other blog but i'll do that later... i want to post this first, and then put together the documents i need to give to hubby for photocopying. i need to have them organized not later than tomorrow for my thursday interview at 8am. sorry... i cannot tell what the interview is for and why. i have to wait until it's over and what the result will be before i can discuss anything about it. until then... let's wait...

will i have time? so much to do... gotta go. but will be back tonight, when the dust has settled...

have a good day!

i'm on my way...

2007-10-02T16:51:00.000-04:00

at last! after much delay, my other blog now has contents. sensible contents. i tasked october 1st to be the day i get that blog going but my son had school issues yesterday, and so...

he's fine now, and said he had talks with several school officials about what happened yesterday. hopefully, the issues had been resolved. he had another walk for about an hour 15 minutes around the neighborhood after he got home from school. he walks off the stress now just like what he did yesterday. i think it helps him... i hope...

i got my other blog up but fell behind with some housework. i guess that's the tradeoff. but with proper time management, i believe i can be more organized and efficient. should take out p-r-o-c-r-a-s-t-i-n-a-t-e out of my vocabulary.

you can check out my other blog here. not really much but enough to get it going. please be patient...

1st day of the 10th month...

2007-10-01T23:44:00.000-04:00

accomplished a number of things today...
a good start to october.... except!
problem in the home front...
my son has "issues" in school...
i was hoping this won't happen, but it did...
just like clockwork...
it's like deja vu...

he needs help, and so do i...

that was painful... and i'm really pissed...

2007-09-30T19:56:00.000-04:00

Tiger lost his singles match against mike weir at the president's cup. he was 3 down after several holes, but started chipping away at it inspite of the more weir-friendly crowd. the venue was in canada, where mike weir is from, that's why. Tiger even managed to go 1 up but in the end, wasn't able to hold it. inspite of his loss, the US still won the cup over the international, 19.5 to 14.5 points. still, Tiger lost... that's kinda disappointing more than painful...

what's really painful was the Pittsburgh Steelers' loss to the arizona cardinals... there's more to it than just the game. arizona's coach and assistant coach were former Steelers offensive coordinator and assistant head coach respectively. i won't even name them. both were passed-over for the head coaching job, which bill cowher left, in favor of mike tomlin. ben also had a falling out with then offensive coordinator, when he (OC) said he felt ben rushed back to the game after his motorcycle accident and apendectomy. ben didn't like what he said, thus, the falling out. before the start of the game this afternoon, former OC shook hands with his former players EXCEPT for ben. what was that bs??? he's now a head coach. he should be above that kind of crap!

i'm really pissed... we'll get back at them...

almost over...

2007-09-30T15:29:00.000-04:00

september is almost over... a lot of significant dates in september. of course, there's september 11, which is very significant to americans. but for most filipinos, that date used to be remembered for something else. that was former(deposed) Philippine president, ferdinand marcos' birthdate. when i was in grade school, that date used to be declared a special holiday to commemorate his birthday. of course, we loved the idea because it meant no school for us. but my dad hated it. he said it's a day wasted, both for the economy and the students. i didn't understand then what he meant...

another significant date for filipinos is september 21, the day martial law was declared by marcos. the year was 1972. it was a military takeover, and they were everywhere. during those years, everything was suppressed. i didn't understand the gravity of this until later on. the Philippines was under martial rule until january 17, 1981, when it was finally lifted.

on a personal level, a significant date for our family is september 25, my paternal grandfather's birthday. i remember him only with fondness and love. i still miss him even though he'd been gone for more than 30 years. he was the only lolo i ever knew since my maternal grandfather was kidnapped by japanese soldiers during wwII, and was never heard from since. my mom's family were told he was brought to the mountains where he was tortured and eventually killed for being suspected of being a supporter of the filipino resistance group during the war. that was really a sad part of my mom's family life.

so many stories to tell about my family but i won't. not here or maybe not ever...

=(

2007-09-29T21:41:00.000-04:00

fell off the wagon... uuuggghhh...
will play catch up, and hope to get some headway...
am not surprise anymore...

finally...!

2007-09-29T13:59:00.000-04:00

my d-link wireless usb finally gave out on me yesterday after i posted my latest blog entry. timing, huh? very frustrating because i want to check on some things after i was done with my tasks yesterday.

anyway, after breakfast today, hubby laid out a cable connection for my use, from the main internet hub in his office in the basement, to my office in the main level. he had to drill some holes through a wall cabinet, but it was ok. they are hidden anyway...

...and now, after much tinkering with my wireless, malfunctioning, unpredictable d-link the past several weeks, i now have a reliable connection! finally!

i'm happy. need not worry about suddenly losing connection. yipppeee!

back to my tasks for the day.

'later...

friday morning!

2007-09-28T08:29:00.000-04:00

friday, thank gad it's friday...

it rained again last night, and we woke up to a very chilly morning. it's 8:33am right now, and the temp is only 55°F, a far cry from the usual mid-60s we wake up to. autumn is indeed here...

i'll load up the washer after i post this and continue with my ironing. i know... exciting stuff... someone in the off-chance reading this would probably asked, why i iron so much. well, that's what we(my siblings & i) experienced growing up. my mom irons everything. she won't let us go anywhere with un-ironed(unpressed) article of clothing. we didn't grow up that way. it is our family's thing... may sound ridiculous to you, but not to us.

on a different note, i fervently wish that the upheaval in Myanmar be resolved peacefully, with no more violence, whose main instigator is the military junta governing the country.

peace.

ahhh...

2007-09-27T23:42:00.000-04:00

i'm tired... i did finish a lot but i still have a long way to go...

i watched the season premieres of csi and without a trace. as with premieres, they're continuations of the finales. i like both, and so with criminal minds, ncis, and the unit. the show that surprised me the most because i thought i wouldn't like it was cane. it was really good. they showed clips of future episodes and they look very promising. i hope they do well... among the new shows at cbs, i don't have high hopes for viva laughlin. all its trailers didn't do anything for me. as with a model, it doesn't have the 'it' factor. won't hold my breath on that one...

ok. i'm going to bed now. i'm really tired. still have a lot to do tomorrow. but thank gad it is friday.

by the way, the us leads the international team in the presidents cup, 5 1/2 pts to 1/2 point. if only they are this dominant in the ryder cup...

am still...

2007-09-26T23:44:00.000-04:00

yeah... i'm still at it... doing the laundry and ironing. my bad. i let it pile up to the point i'm almost buried...

i'm giving myself until the weekend to finish. i have to even before i can start with my project. i cannot have it hanging over me. i cannot work that way.

so no internet use(surfing) for me except for my blog posts and checking the scores at the president's cup... i can't resist that...

bad girl...

hmmm...

2007-09-25T16:39:00.000-04:00

i made lechon sa hurno again for dinner tonight. i just popped it in the oven to brown a bit. while browning, i am finally, after much procrastination, am ironing. it's long overdue...

while ironing, i'm watching Oprah's, and the discussion is about sex, erotica, open relationships in a marriage, etc. inneresting... =) but majority of what they are discussing, hubby and i already know, and in fact, been practicing... =) not the open relationship, though. we still(highly) believe in monogamy. i may be liberal in a lot of things, but not that. i don't see that as an option for us...

i was channel switching last night, between cbs' comedies, abc's dancing with the stars, and pbs' the war. but we watched majority of dancing. the women performed first, with the gents getting their turn tonight. our early fave among the women is sabrina bryan of the cheetah girls. she was very good with her chacha altho' we (and the judges as well) felt there was too much hiphop in it. the rest of the ladies, except for josie maran, a model, were good. i won't say anything more about josie's performance. the judges said it all.

i'm looking forward to watching helio castroneves tonight, mainly because of julianne hough, last season's grand winner's partner (apolo anton ohno). will also watch out for mark cuban. i hope he does well. i like him. he can be an asshole, but a lovable asshole - unlike donald "combover" trump...

i also watched a part of the bachelor. i like the jersey girl. i didn't see who were cut, though. i hope she's not one of the 10...

ok. i'll check my lechon in the oven, and jump in the shower. will pick up hubby in a few...

g'bye for now.

who knew...?

2007-09-24T23:14:00.000-04:00

who knew, that iran's president will visit the US, and be invited by an ivy league school, to speak to their school community?

who knew, that ahmadinejad, would request to be allowed to lay a wreath at ground zero, and that nypd would have considered if not for the public's outrage on his (insulting)request?

who knew, that former world boxing champ, oscar dela joya, likes to cross-dress?

who knew, that donald trump would advice bush to start "hiding" if he wants another republican to succeed him in the white house in 2008?

who knew, that the long arms of the law, may have finally caught up with oj simpson?

who knew, that benjamin abalos, former mayor of a major city in the philippines, and now the country's election commissioner, would time and time again, manage to evade inquiries and investigations on various allegations of anomalies, and still keep his position, and enjoy the "perks" that goes with it?

who knew, that after the 1986 people power revolution in the Philippines, and the overthrowing of the marcos regime, that two marcos clones, joseph estrada and gloria arroyo, would become presidents, and we will again experience the same, if not worse, level of corruption we experienced during marcos' rule? we just never learn...

the falling leaves...

2007-09-23T23:13:00.000-04:00

fall or autumn started today, but it didn't feel like it at all. our high today was in the lower 80s, but i'm not complaining. if we can stretch this kind of weather longer, we will...

Steelers played the 49ers today, and got another win, which brings them to a 3-0 record. their two prior wins against the browns and the bills were downplayed by some sports columnists saying they were lightweight opponents. now their singing a different tune, and marveling at the Steelers defense. ha! i hope they continue to win...

i wasn't able to watch the season premier of cold case and only saw the tailend of shark. hubby and i watched ken burns' new documentary series, The War, on pbs. it is about the 2nd world war as told through personal accounts of men and women from 4 different towns in the US - Mobile, AL; Sacramento, CA; Waterbury, CT; and Luverne, MN. the series is in 7 parts and will continue until october. i hope our local library buys the dvd set so i can borrow them. i will surely miss some, if not most episodes as they will be shown the same time as my favorites, which will all have their season premiers this week.

my son was moping again... he asked to be driven to the library to finish his schoolwork. unfortunately, his crush was also there. he wanted to talk to her but wasn't able to muster enough courage to, and now he's very upset with himself. kept telling him what he felt was normal, and he's not alone, but he just won't be appeased. he went to bed early saying he wasn't feeling well. i hope he feels better when he gets up tomorrow.

ahhh... the travails of young heart...

season premieres, series premieres...

2007-09-22T22:00:00.000-04:00

season premieres and series premieres will start tomorrow. finally! i'm done with (most)reality shows, which are summer staples, and repeats of my favorite shows. the pioneer of reality shows, which graduated from being part of cbs' summer programming to mainstream programming, survivor, premiered last thursday. the locale this season is china. i like team fei long, with James as my favorite castaway. by the way, they won the first immunity challenge...

cold case and shark premieres tomorrow after 60 minutes. shark switches timeslot with without a trace, maybe after seeing that shark can stand on its own, without the backing of their thursday powerhouse. not that cold case isn't one...

if you noticed, i am a cbs watcher. i very, very seldom stray away from them. i watch from the early show, to the soaps, to the evening news, to primetime, to dave, till craig, if i'm still up. i like, and strongly supports katie couric's cbs evening news. her newscast has meat and substance. brian williams', on the other hand, tends to be dramatic, which detracts from the real news. i believe that katie's gender has a lot to do with her low ratings, which is very frustrating and insulting. she is as capable, hardworking, and efficient (if not more) as her colleagues. give her a chance!

i'm stepping off the soapbox now... 48 hours mystery is already on...

g'night, people...

goodnight...

2007-09-21T22:32:00.001-04:00

uneventful day... lot's of procrastinations... very unproductive... it's embarrassing... need to take action...

will go to bed soon... tomorrow's another day... a better day...

g'night...

also...

2007-09-20T12:30:00.000-04:00

two other artists i would have never heard of, if not for perez, are
amy winehouse and lily allen. really, really good artists, who unfortunately, seem to care more for "other things" other than their music. really sad because both of them have the potentials to be great artists. unfortunately, they seem to not appreciate their own talents...

it is really sad....
and i love their music...

either you love him or you hate him...

2007-09-20T11:34:00.001-04:00

that's sums up your opinion of perezhilton, the unabashed, self-proclaimed queen of all media. he admits to being a media whore, and is absolutely shameless. but he is also a hardworker and very loyal, which are only a few of the reasons why he is a huge success. there are no gray areas in his world-famous celebrity blog, perezhilton.com. he calls it as he sees it, and makes no apologies. i don't necessarily enjoy him all the time, but i do for the most part.

one thing i really, really like with perez is his support of very talented but untapped musicians(artists). my personal favorites are Eric Hutchinson and Meiko, who both will be guesting in perez's concert on the 30th. tickets were immediately sold out, and people who were lucky to get tickets will surely be treated to a wonderful night of music from these two artists. their music is clean and unadulterated so unlike your typical music-factory, commercially-produced music. i hope their sound remains even after their success.

...and i'm sure they will be huge successes...

wednesday... crab cake... Kid Nation...

2007-09-19T23:42:00.000-04:00

not much happening...

as planned, i made crab cakes for dinner. it was ok but not great. it's a bit salty. maybe because of the mayo and old bay seasoning... i dunno... i have to tweak the recipe next time, like i always do with the other recipes. i did not with this one so...

Kid Nation premiered tonight. i like the show a lot. very interesting concept, very interesting cast of characters. the kids are really smart, funny, and are just being kids. my early favorites are Sophia, who won the first gold star, Michael, Zach, and Jared, who is very funny. this show has a lot of potential inspite of some bad press it got due to alleged complaints from parents, that were floated around during the start of the promotion for the fall lineup. thanks to that, i think it created more buzz...

just watching interviews of Dick & Dani right now. i'll watch the rest tomorrow. i'm going to bed...

g'night, people.

kid nation logo courtesy of cbs2.com

at last...!

2007-09-18T22:50:00.000-04:00

the big winner of big brother 8 was finally crowned, and it's none other than - Dick! he won $500k.

Dani got $50k for coming in second. not bad for a summer gig. other than that, she and her dad are finally speaking after nearly two years of estrangement; she met Nick; and she gained weight, which made her prettier. hopefully, she does go back to school. that girl is one smart cookie. she's also tough.

ok. my summer obsession is over. done finito. kaput. tapos! hopefully, i'll soon get back to my normal routine, pre-bb8 season.

"my name is cynthia, and i'm a bb8 addict..."

screencap courtesy of dawn of bb8dish screencaps.

early morning chill... shrimps with garlic in olive oil and butter

2007-09-17T22:26:00.000-04:00

it was chilly again when i got up this morning at 5:30. it's been this way since last week. i don't mind the cold weather just not the snow. can we skip winter, and go from autumn to spring?

i finally used the shrimps i bought from the grocery store a couple of weeks ago. i found a recipe of gambas al ajillo at Market Manila and another shrimp recipe from JMom's website. market man used olive oil in his recipe while jmom used butter. i tweaked both recipes and came up with my version.

i washed and peeled the shrimps before i brined them in water with sea salt for approx 1-1.5 hours in the fridge. i didn't cook until after i picked hubby from the train stop. here's how i did it.

heat 3 tbsps of olive oil
add half a stick of butter
saute chopped or minced garlic; don't brown
add pepper flakes; stir, 2 minutes
add shrimps; add paprika
stir until shrimps' color turn pink
turn off heat and drizzle with lemon juice

i didn't add salt as the shrimps are already salty from brining, and i also used salted butter.

i like this recipe because i didn't have to labor in the kitchen. it was simple, fast but very tasty. it was very good to say the least. i love it, and so did hubby. my son didn't taste it, though. he had cereals and bananas (again!) in his room. he was in a typical "teenage mood" aka grumpy.

there were lots of leftover so we'll have them again tomorrow. but i don't think it will be as good as when it was freshly cooked.

next in my menu, crab cake.

win day!

2007-09-16T22:27:00.000-04:00

Tiger won!
the Steelers won!

...and Alan Greenspan had an interesting interview in 60 minutes.

manic sunday...

2007-09-16T12:35:00.000-04:00

it's gameday!

Steelers will play their home game opener against the buffalo bills today. kickoff time is 1pm. i hope they (especially ben) continue to play as good as they did against the browns.

also, today is the final day of the tour championship. Tiger is leading the tournament. if he wins, or even comes in 2nd, he will also be the first fedfex cup winner with an additional $10m in prize money. i'm no longer astounded by the amount of money involved where Tiger is concerend. the interesting thing is, Steve Williams, Tiger's caddy, gets 10% of his prize winnings. he's a million dollar richer after all is said and done. all i can say is wow, Stevie...

let the games begin!

one pleasant surprise...

2007-09-15T21:32:00.001-04:00

early this afternoon, i got a phone call from the hair salon i go to to inform me of a pleasant surprise. to give you a brief lookback, i had my haircut 2 weeks ago, and jen, my stylist, asked me to write my name and contact number at the back of a ticket stub. it was to be entered in a raffle draw promo they have in the salon. fastforward to this weekend, i was the lucky winner of the raffle. =) never in my life had i won anything in a raffle draw. this is the first time, and boy was i excited.

so off to the salon i went. jen was equally excited for me as she handed me my prize. it is a big wicker picnic basket with lots of pittsburgh pirates (baseball team of pitt) goodies and tailgating must-haves. there are also 4 tickets for wednesday night's game against the arizona diamondbacks. unfortunately, i'm giving those away as it is a school night. maybe if it was the minnesota twins, i'd go, school night or not... =)

i love my 'farm boys'...

the Tour Championship & the FedEx Cup

2007-09-15T12:11:00.000-04:00

today is the 3rd round of the tour championship. if Tiger wins this, and i have no doubt he will, he also wins the first FedEx Cup. his closest rivals for the cup are Stricker and Michelson, but they're not anywhere near Tiger's score. not only that, they're not anywhere near the level of Tiger's play, and that's where the biggest difference lie. that says it all.

he finished yesterday's front nine at -7, the lowest 9-hole score of his career. he had 5 consecutive birdies and topped it with a 70-foot eagle putt to finish the front nine. how exciting was that for those who were there watching? i was following the tournament on Live@ but they didn't show Tiger, which is a bummer. they only showed snippets of his round...

i'll be watching, of course. where else would i be?

chilly saturday...

2007-09-15T11:51:00.000-04:00

i woke up to temp in the 40s at 5:30am. i forgot to turn off the alarm...grrr... got up to use the bathroom, and went right back to bed. finally got out of it at 9:40am.

didn't have any fancy breakfast. just bagels for myself and hubby, and biscuit breakfast sandwiches for my son. hubby wants breakfast fast, and doesn't want to wait an hour for it so... which is just fine with me. no big clean up.

daytime temps, as forecasted, will stay in the mid to high 60s today. first chilly day of the summer. yes, it is still summer. fall will not officially start until the 23rd. i didn't catch what the farmer's almanac's winter forecast was. i hope it will be mild. i'm ready for chilly days, but not the snow...

i have tons of laundry to do. i have my whites (still) in the dryer for 4 days now. 4 days!!! what is wrong with me??? uggghhh... such a procrastinator...

happy saturday, people!

really...

2007-09-14T15:42:00.000-04:00

i need to get down to business, and buckle down to work. really.

i wrote my to-do list in my notebook, but not here. not sharing yet until i have, at least, started some real work on my project. it's long overdue now. my fault. i lost focus. too many distractions. a lot of procrastination.

no more excuses. i have to get on track, and stay there...

random... part 2

2007-09-13T22:25:00.000-04:00

yes! final hoh was won by dick. he evicted zach (duh!) and is going to the final two with dani. as carolyn of bb8dish said, "it is going to be a fairytale ending if it's D&D in the final two". we got our fairytale ending. but most importantly, i hope they will be able to repair their fractured relationship. that is worth more than the combined $550k they'll win from bb8. that is priceless...

bill belichick and the new england patriots were fined by the NFL, $500k and $250k respectively, for cheating in last sunday's game between the patriots and the ny jets. a patriot employee, allegedly instructed by belichick, was caught in last sunday's game, on the jets' sideline, videotaping their defensive/offensive hand signals. in my mind, that makes ALL their super bowl wins suspect! now, putin's "pocketing" of kraft's 2005 super bowl ring doesn't sound as bad. bunch of cheaters...

the Steelers have FIVE super bowl wins, and we can proudly say they were won fair and square, and very well-deserved!

Tiger Woods played until the 11th hole before play was again suspended due to darkness. he will have a looong day tomorrow...

and so would i...

random...

2007-09-13T15:46:00.001-04:00

i'm still in a sniff-sniff-cough-cough condition...

former Philippine president Joseph Estrada was convicted of plunder and sentenced for life. another case of karma...

the Tour Championship, being played in Atlanta, is suspended due to inclement weather. Tiger and Stricker are the only pair who hasn't teed off...

tonight will be the last of a 3-part competition for final HoH in the bb house. i hope Bush's address does not preempt the live show...

i cooked beef caldereta (beef stew) for dinner, my son's favorite. it is not your classic caldereta but an improv. with ingredients not readily available, you learn how to do improvs on certain Filipino recipes. i think it's good enough. ask my son and hubby...

sniff, sniff, cough, cough...

2007-09-12T10:09:00.000-04:00

have not been feeling well since monday afternoon. aches and pains in my extremities, shoulders, and back. yesterday was the same, but felt worse as the day wore on...

popped 2 tabs of acetaminophen before i went to bed. i was sooo cold; in and out of sleep. i guess the tabs kicked in because i started feeling warm. turned fan on; fell back to a restless sleep. somewhere in the early morning, hubby moved to the living room couch because he was cold from the fan. that's where i found him, when i got up to turn off the fan, and go to the bathroom. woke him up and asked him to move back to the room.

i still got up at 5:30 - prepared son's breakfast and hubby's lunch. limbs still aching; sniff; cough. 'thought of asking hubby to just take the car so i don't have to drive him to the train stop, but remembered i had to have a blood test this morning for next week's followup check for my thyroid.

so off we went. dropped off hubby. had blood test. started the washer when i got back. checked on bb8 updates. will prep ingredients for tonight's dinner, and if i'm up to it, will do some ironing.

did i say i was not feeling well today?

never forget...

2007-09-11T08:47:00.000-04:00

In Memoriam... 9.11.2001

United Airlines Flight 175
American Airlines Flight 11
World Trade Center Towers 1 & 2, New York City
American Airlines Flight 77
The Pentagon, Arlington, VA
United Airlines Flight 93, Somerset County, PA

2,974 lives lost... never forget...

Malu Fernandez & Kris Aquino: two peas in a pod, part 2

2007-09-10T14:24:00.000-04:00

didn't i say in my entry of august 19, that karma is a bitch? well, here's an update relative to that post:

about a couple of weeks ago, Malu Fernandez issued another apology. i've read it, and i don't have an opinion on it... but the most important thing was what a lot people have been waiting for her to do - resign. and she did. the same day she made the "sincere" apology. she made a mistake, she faced the consequences (altho a tad late), and she paid for it. hopefully, she will now find peace.

anytime soon, one of Kris Aquino's show, Deal or No Deal, is ending. kaput. they're giving all sorts of reason to its demise, but i don't really care. what i know is that, none of her shows are doing well in the ratings game. not surprising at all. a lot of people are getting tired of, and turned-off by her antics. she should get off her high horse, face reality, and stop believing her own press. perhaps this would be a wake up call, but i highly doubt it.

to borrow a phrase from Janelle of BB6, "bye-bye, bitches!"

oven-roasted pork belly aka lechon sa hurno, a variation of lechon kawali

2007-09-10T10:52:00.000-04:00

last week, i was looking at food blogs, specifically Filipino food blogs, and they made me long for home. my mom's cooking, the local goodies, the fruits...

when i went to the strip district about 3 weekends ago, i bought two slabs of pork belly from the asian store, thinking of using them for adobo or binagoongan. the asian store is the only place i know where i can get them. never seen pork belly sold in our local grocery stores. anyway, i saw a recipe for lechon kawali, and i got excited. if i like lechon kawali, hubby loves it. but i hate frying. i don't like oil splatters, specially the amount of cleaning that comes after. then i saw the oven-roasted lechon recipe of Sassy in her pinoycook website, and bingo! i searched some more for other recipes, and i finally did a variation, and came up with my own version.

i boiled the slab in water with sea salt, peppercorns, quartered onion, crushed garlic, and about a quarter cup of vinegar - for about 2 hours. after boiling, i air-dried it for another 2 hours, rubbed it with olive oil, and popped it in the oven at 300 degF until lightly browned. i let it rest until after i picked hubby from the train station at 6pm. when i got back, i broiled it until the skin showed blisterings. i let it rest for about 10 minutes before i served it.

hubby's grin at the sight of the lechon was more than enough consolation for all the labor i put into my first ever lechon. unfortunately, my son is not a big fan of fatty foods so he got himself a bowl of cereals and a couple of bananas for his dinner.

meanwhile, hubby and myself enjoyed the artery-clogging dinner very much, and finished it off with a slice each of chocolate cream cake.

ok. please pass the lipitor now, honey...

honorable mention to the Filipino food blogs i visit all the time. my source, not only of recipes, but much inspiration in the kitchen. you are invaluable to someone like me, who is not an expert.

pinoy cook
Market Manila
purplegirl's kitchen

thank you!

they come in 3s...

2007-09-09T22:59:00.000-04:00

this is a happy Sunday for me. i am a huge sports fan, and though i don't play any sports, i enjoy watching it. and today, my favorites didn't fail me.

1st, football season officially started today. the Steelers played their season opener in Cleveland against the Browns. they started strong, and finished strong. they totally smoked the Browns 34-7, with Roethlisberger throwing a career-high 4 TD passes! a good start to, hopefully, a very good season. congratulations to the players and the new coaching staff headed by Mike Tomlin. go Steelers!!!

2nd, as i predicted, Tiger Woods wins the BMW Championship, and is now leading in the Fedex Cup points standing. it was very close, especially in the front nine, where Baddeley and Stricker tied him for first in several holes. Tiger played flawless golf, made birdies when it matters most, and set another tournament scoring record. he is a fierce competitor but never forgets to have fun, and that is one of the things that sets him apart from the rest of the field. give him five more years, and he will be setting more records that will set him apart, this time, from the golfing legends he so admires. next week will be the final leg of the Fedex Cup, the Tour Championship. should he win there, he will set another record, this time, as the Fedex Cup's first winner.

3rd, another history-making event, this time, at the US Open. Federer defeated Djokovic in straight sets for the finals. this is Federer's fourth straight US Open championship, and is the first man to win four consecutive since Bill Tilden in the 1920s. he is now just 2 grand slams shy of Pete Sampras' record of 14. there is no doubt he will tie it and surpassed it in the next two years.

for me, Federer is the greatest tennis player of all time, as Tiger is in golf, and Michael Jordan is in basketball. i consider myself lucky and privileged to have witnessed these guys play, and excel in their respective sport.

i told you, they come in 3s...

gut feel

2007-09-08T20:36:00.000-04:00

i should have listened to my gut. then i would have spared myself the unecessary tension...

after i came back from a short trip to the grocery store, i was alternately watching the us open semis between federer and davydenko on cbs, and the bmw championship, the 3rd leg of the fedex cup playoffs, on nbc.

tiger is in 2nd place going into tomorrow's final round. still a good thing because he is really playing well.

federer, meanwhile, won the first two sets, but was down 0-3 in the third set. that didn't even make me nervous, and that's no disrespect to davydenko. i just know that federer will come through, and he did. he broke back several times altho he seemed to have a hard time holding his own serve. but he came through, 7-5.

i felt really good about those two results, and so i thought, "they come in threes..." i just know in my gut one of the Donatos will win the PoV.

...and she came through, as always, for herself and her dad. Dani won the PoV. she is now the Veto Princess. (Janelle is the Queen)

this is a good night.

uggghhh...

2007-09-08T14:45:00.001-04:00

i'm on pins and needles...
i need to find something to do for the next 90 minutes...

oh, lordy...
my tummy hurts...
i feel like throwing up...

i need to calm down...
it's just a game...
it's just a show...

I CAN'T!!!

news

2007-09-08T00:27:00.000-04:00

i'm already tired of hearing news about the war. but there's just no way you can avoid it... there seems to be no end or resolution to it. the US should have not been there in the first place...

the Iraq war has so far, cost the American people (not the government because those are taxpayers' money) $449 billion. staggering amount considering a lot of social services were being cut left and right in every single city and town in America just to fund this war.

to add insult to injury, there was a report this evening at nbc nightly news about an Iraqi who used to be the Iraqi government's watchdog. he recently resigned his position, and fled to the US because of threats to his life. all the threats were due to investigations his office conducted on the rampant and widespread corruption within their government. the corruption is so bad, he is calling for the US government to stop supporting the Maliki administration.

how could something like this happen to the most powerful, most influential country in the world? mind-boggling...

meanwhile, there have been 3,760 casualties since the war started on march 19, 2003.

staggering numbers indeed...

the good, the bad, and the ugly... bb8

2007-09-07T23:30:00.000-04:00

the good - today was my court date at 10am at the courthouse for my speeding violation. i arrived at the parking lot the same time as the magistrate and another man, who was also going to the courthouse. when we got there, we signed up, and waited in the waiting area with about 8 other people. the magistrate started hearing cases just before 10, and the proceedings were fast as he was already in his 3rd case by the time 10am came. i thought to myself, that is a good sign, and it was. i didn't imagine it to be that painless altho i wasn't really nervous. to make the long short, all 4 points assessed for my violation was waived, which is my(our) biggest concern since that would have affected our insurance rate - AND - the fine was also lowered. a check for the refund will be sent by mail. i think the entire proceeding was over in 10 minutes. so that's the good.

the bad - something happened that i was not very happy about, and only aggravated me more. i won't go into details here. i'd rather keep it to myself...

the bad - re bb8... Zach won HoH. that sucked since Dani almost won...

the ugly - still on bb8... Zach nominated Dick & Dani for eviction. he totally turned against them... it was actually a good strategic move on Z's part. it's just that it just sucks when you're at the receiving end of a betrayal...

only hope is for one of the Ds to win the PoV because that is where the real power lies. the PoV winner holds the power to send someone packing.

in all these years that i have been watching BB, not once did my favorite houseguest win. they all got screwed... i hope my luck changes this season and see one of the Ds win.

friday's eve; doctor; bb8...

2007-09-06T22:03:00.000-04:00

yup! i laughed the first time i heard it. and i heard it first from Jon Burnett, kdka's meteorologist, while giving the forecast for thursday, friday's eve. =)

i went to my doctor yesterday for a follow-up check. i was there a month ago due to high blood pressure, and was given a prescription for norvasc. unfortunately, my bp was still high so i was told to double my intake, and gave me a new prescription for a stronger dosage. i was also given a prescription for a muscle relaxant as i complained of neck pain, that causes a tingling feeling on my hands (and/or legs), which is caused, according to my doctor, by tension! ooohkay... a lot of stuff contributing to that tension but i'm not putting them here...

one thing i can put here though, that causes my tension, is big brother 8. tonight's episode was the most brutal (but exciting)! it was bb fast-forward meaning, two weeks worth of shows compressed in one - live! yeah! eviction. hoh comp. nomination. pov comp. eviction. so in that order it was - Jess. Dick (yes!). Eric & Jameka. Zach. Eric. i'm sooo happy Jess & Eric are gone, and relieved Dick won HoH!!! but i can't discuss it anymore. i'm drained by all the excitement, and i've already said it all at bb8 dish, the best bb8 website of all! booyah!

g'night, people.

not really...

2007-09-05T09:52:00.000-04:00

last night, as i was going to bed, i checked on my son again. i was surprised to see him sitting up in bed because we already said our goodnites half an hour ago.

his first day in school didn't really go as smoothly as i thought... he was frustrated with himself, for letting other kids bother him. my son's issues has everything to do with his inadequate social skills plus the fact that there are indeed bullies in school. i always tell him that he cannot let these kids bother him, to walk away when they try to start something, and report them to someone of authority. the school is very good in dealing with bullies, and educating kids about it.

my son knows all these but being a young teenager, he cannot help but be affected by it. his inadequate social skills also makes him question some kids' real intentions as he already got burned in the past. as a mother, i cannot help but be hurt and frustrated by it. a parent can only do so much for their child. and there are battles that you cannot fight for them, but still, these things hurt knowing how much it is affecting your child.

i told him he always has choices. the choice to let these kids affect him or the choice to stay focus, and do well in school to achieve his goals. i also reminded him that he has a support team who is always there for him. it's a good thing he has a session with his therapist next monday so i told him to discuss his apprehensions with him, and find ways to better handle his frustrations, stress, and trust issues.

after everything is said and done, i can only hope and pray.

first day of school... hello and g'night... again.

2007-09-04T23:33:00.000-04:00

yay! seems like a good first day for my son... whew... i hope it continues...

we had fun organizing his things just a while back. he told me they don't have to take home any books, thank G*d, and they won't have a lot of homeworks, too. i think it would be mostly papers and reports, which frustrates him the most, not because he's not good at it but because he is such a perfectionist.

was very crabby this morning... my wireless usb adapter was not working properly, going on and off, and not getting any signal. it was actually my son's. he's been having problems with it so we switch adapters. i was able to make it work yesterday after tinkering with it but not this morning... grrr... i had to use my son's computer to check my emails. i tried to uninstall so i can re-install but it won't let me. an error window kept popping up and i don't understand what it was. so i tinkered some more, still won't work, got frustrated, got up and had dinner. after cleaning up, i tinkered with it again, and voila! here i am with the adapter working. =) hubby said not to turn off the computer anymore, just the monitor, until we find a replacement or solution to the problem.

so that's what i'll do... g'night, people!

labor day; golf; tennis; big brother 8 - part2

2007-09-03T18:48:00.000-04:00

still labor day...

tiger didn't win... came in tied for 2nd place, and guess what? phil michelson won. but tiger is one spot up in the fedex cup points standing. unfortunately, phil is now first... uggghhh...

james blake lost to tommy haas in a 5th set tiebreaker. he had several matchpoints but failed to convert any of them. he came up short again... uggghhh...

the seed was planted by Dick but Jess is doubting it big time. my hope is, she would continue to listen to Eric, as she always does, and Dick keeps his mouth shut for once, and the plan goes without any more hitches... oh, Dick...

dinnertime.

labor day; golf; tennis; big brother 8

2007-09-03T16:34:00.000-04:00

happy labor day! ...and tomorrow is the first day of school... =(

the tv is on and it's on the us open with blake playing against haas. i like james blake a lot. he's such a cool guy, and a good tennis player. but i love roger federer. since andre retired, all my affections are now with roger. =)

i'm not watching the deutsche bank golf championship but i have the live feed on my computer. my tiger is not playing well... i'm ok with that as long as phil michelson, who is leading, does not win.

it's crazy in the big brother house right now. dick and dani (with zach) are planning a huge move to shake things up. i hope it works out as planned and not backfire on them. i really want father and daughter to be in the final two. but with big brother, everything is possible. as they say, expect the unexpected.

we'll see.