Visa

I was surprised that not all stores accept visa as a payment. I was up in Midlothian earlier to do some business up there and decided to stop at one of their stores to get Frankie a bottle of prune juice. Since we got home from the Philippines, he has been having issues with this bowel movement, so the doctor told me to try prune juice. I had my visa credit card out and was surprised to learn when the lady told me that they don't accept visas. I should have known better and see the kinds of credit cards they accept by the door as I walked in. Bummer! I was even planning to get a prepaid visa because I never liked carrying cash with me. I hope that, that store realizes that they might be losing business for not accepting visa as a mode of payment.

Kitchen

The use of metal tiles have been growing popularity in the United States especially when used in the kitchen. In fact, last weekend, I was invited to a get together party from a lady I worked with, and I saw the metal tiles in her kitchen. It looked to neat, durable, and it seems like it is so easy to clean up too. That is what I really would like to have in the kitchen especially when Papa is cooking some oily stuff, and it usually goes to the wall and sometimes are so hard to get rid of. It would be nice to have something where all it needs is one wipe or maybe two to clean it up. It would be awesome to have.

Cousins

Dan-dan became really scared with Frankie because the first time they met, Frankie pushed him. I was so mad that I made Frankie say sorry to Dan-dan. Since then he has been really scared of him. He is a year older than him but Frankie seems to be in control. When we spent a few days in Bohol, that was when Dan-dan started feeling confortable around Frankie. They played like kids do and when the other is not around they keep on asking where the other is. I miss those kids, and I can't wait to be with them again.

Business Insurance

Papa, my brother Anthony, and my sister Resty have been discussing about establishing their own business with my help in the Philippines. It was Papa's idea when he is ready to go home then he has something to do. He plan to put up his own photography business where he can take pictures of graduations, weddings and other occasions. When he went home about two weeks ago, I was overwhelmed by the people who still remembered him because he was the one who took pictures of their kid's graduation and so on. I think he will be ok there. I wonder if they have business insurance in the Philippines to protect the owners in case something happens to the business. I may have to look into that.

Vitamins

When I first got here in 2003, Ryan encouraged me to take womens vitamins because I was so skinny and so pale. He was worried that I might get sick especially with the change of weather and being away from my family. I adjusted so much when I first got here. The weather, the food and the continues speaking in English, but I got the hang of it and adopted the new life I was in and actually later enjoyed it. I am so blessed to be here and to be with my husband who looks after me all the time. It has been seven years since I first got here, and he still always reminds me to take my vitamins.

English

In two weeks, this semester is over. I should be really happy but it also means my research paper is due. I did really really well with the last two papers I had but it was the third one that I got really low. We were supposed to critique a poem and I hate doing that. I don't even know the correct way of doing it. I have it say, I submitted it for the sake of submitting it. I have an A+ in my class and after submitting it I went down to B+. Yep it was that bad. Hopefully, I can find a way to bring my grade up. I still have the finals and my blog, so hopefully it will be just enough to get an A in this class.

Losing Hair

Papa brought the hair dye that I bought for him from here. He dyed his hair when we got to the Philippines to get rid of some white hairs. He looks a lot nicer with his colored hair. I am glad that I don't have to worry about Papa losing his hair because it doesn't run in the family. In fact, I don't remember anyone in the family losing their hair.

Hair is the crowing glory of one's face although, there are people who looks good without hair because of the shape of their face. Others had to deal with losing ones hair though, but it is not as bad as before because there are now hair loss cure that people with losing hair can go to. I hope no one in my family had to deal with it.

Health

Both mama and papa are taking medications for their cholesterol. They are in their 50s and 60s that they need very close monitor with their health. We just found out that mama has diabetes, hypertension so as papa. That is why I would love to have mama over here, so we could give her medications just like papa. There are cholesterol treatments that they both can do. At least here, there are a lot of generic medications that they could take. It is undeniable that my parents are getting old, and I want to take care of them as much as possible the same way they took care of me.

Marriage

I have to admit that I take things for granted sometimes. It is because of how busy I am that I failed to do things that I used to do with Ryan. Although Ryan had always been very understanding, I still feel guilty because I felt like I have not done enough. He knows how much I love him, and how we help each other to give Frankie a better future.

I came across this story at my facebook account and would love to share this everybody. It is a very powerful story that is worth the read.

Marriage

To those who are married, .. Not married .. and soon to be married, I hope you will be touched with this story... MARRIAGE When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes. Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce.. I raised the topic calmly. She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why? I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Dew. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her! With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Dew so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now. The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Dew. When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again. In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage. This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that everyday for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning.. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request. I told Dew about my wife's divorce conditions.. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.. My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mummy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office. On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time.. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her. On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Dew about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger. She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily. Suddenly it hit me... she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head. Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mum out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day. But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy. I drove to office.... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind...I walked upstairs. Dew opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Dew, I do not want the divorce anymore. She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead.. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Dew, I said, I won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other any more. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart. Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away. At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart. That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed - dead. The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage! If you don't share this, nothing will happen to you. If you do, you just might save a marriage. Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

By: Joey Gabinete Acebron

Grilling Time

Ryan and I used to have a very small grill when we lived with my father-in-law. We only used it once and we ended up throwing it out because it rusted. When we finally got our own place, I wanted to buy one of those big grills. I saved and saved but there is always something that comes up back in the Philippines that I will end up spending my money with them. Finally, after a long wait. I got our own grill and we have been using it since. The downside of it though is, it is propane and if we don't have the tank then there is no way we could use it. Maybe when this one dies on us, we could get one of those outdoor electric grills. It would be awesome because I don't have to worry about running out of propane or getting one in the store. It is almost barbecue time again. I can't wait for summer.

Furniture

Our house in the Philippines has not change a bit. It is still the same old house where I grew up. I let my younger sisters choose. It is either we fix up our house and they don’t go to school or the other way around. Both of them answered, they want to finish school. That is why every time we have people coming over; I sometimes explain to them the state of our house. I have assigned the house to my sisters now that they are done with school. It is up to them to have it fixed and probably buy a rustic furniture for the living room. Hopefully the next time I visit, I will see some changes.

Gloomy Weekend

We had so many plans this weekend but that changed because of the weather. We have been home from the Philippines for a week now and the sleeping pattern in all of us are getting better. We wanted to take Papa to the Botanical Gardens so he could take pictures of the different flowers that they have over there but it was supposed to rain this weekend and it did. It would have been wonderful. We will have to see if we could make it on the next weekend that I am off.

On another hand, Ryan is very excited for our trip to Galena. He has been trying to book a two night get-away but he wanted to make sure if Papa would like to come so he could book a bigger room. Papa was a little excited about it but he doesn't like the long drive. So, he might just stay at home with Frankie but I want to make sure that before that happens, Papa will then be ready to drive by himself. It will be the week of Ryan's birthday. I am excited but not too much because May is my final week with school and just so much to do.

Traveling

I am so glad that I was able to get luggage sets when we had a sale at work than relying on the luggage that we have at home. I still have the luggage that I bought from the Philippines, but that seems to be falling apart. The wires are sticking out, and I need news ones. I am glad I was able to get a good deal for the new set of luggage that I got. We travel all the time and it is very helpful to have a reliable luggage.

State Board

I am dreading to take the Illinois state board exam because I don’t know what to expect. When I took the teacher’s board exam in the Philippines, I kind of know what to expect even if I did not enroll myself for the teacher's review. This time, I am not quiet sure if I am even ready for the English and Math part or if my learning is good enough for the test. I bought a reviewer and hopefully it will help me. I have been reading it on my lunch break if I don’t have anything to do. It would had been a lot easier if I was taking the SAT because there are sat prep courses that would help me prepare for it unlike the state board. I promised myself that I will study and only take it only when I am truly ready.

Aunt and Nephew Love

I am so grateful to Ging-ging because she practically raises Frankie now. I am able to do the things that I am supposed to do especially school work and paid blogging entries. I can go places now too because if Ging-ging is there; Frankie doesn't look for me. She is a great help. She changes his diaper and gives him baths. Frankie is always where Ging-ging is. It allows me to do a lot of things.

Ging-ging is really good with him and with kids for that matter. I can tell. She is just like me. Frankie will surely miss him and I will too.