Simply Belle

From my family to yours, Happy Holidays!

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picture lifted here

My daughter came home yesterday from Flagstaff by way of Lake Mary but had to turn around because the road was closed due to snow. I had told her several times before her trip to check first the road closures in the area before proceeding home. Of course, she didn’t listen and assumed that the road was passable because the weather has been nice since the snow storm.

After driving half an hour into the road, she called us that she had to take an alternate route because like what I was afraid of, the road was closed. Hmmm, if she only listened, she would have saved a 40 minute-drive, plus gas. It was 3:30 PM when she called.

I expected her to arrive around 6 PM via the long and winding route which she hasn’t driven alone before, so I was a little worried. I told her to call us if she needed help with  direction. I also prayed that she would have a safe journey home. At 5 PM, my eldest daughter and I drove to the mall in town to do some last minute shopping, and also to get my mind off L

From a distance on my way home,  I didn’t see her car parked along the driveway which worried me a bit. It was about 7 PM, and so the visibility was poor. As I turned on the street where I lived, I saw a red car stranded along the road in front of our house.   I suspected something was wrong as she normally doesn’t do this.

Me: L, why is your car parked like that outside? Why didn’t you park where it is supposed to?

L: The car quit working. I just barely made it to the gas station in town, and then it ran again until just right in the front of our house.

What a perfect timing because my husband just signed up for a road side assistance four days ago due to my prodding. He called the 1-800 to ask for help first thing in the morning. He couldn’t get through. He tried again, and he was put on hold for half an hour. I told him to dial again and maybe he would have better luck the second time around. Wrong! The line was busy.  Busy! Busy!  We dialed again, and again, and again, and no luck. This went on for an hour or so. We were getting agitated.

My husband called the insurance, where he signed up with, to complain about the service. She told him that he just had to wait for his turn because there might be tons of people calling. Huh? She wanted us to go through that same routine again by waiting for an hour or so by the phone, wasting our whole morning.

This time, I got up and used my cell phone to call the agent in town, upset. We exchanged words and I got hot under the collar. She insisted that I also wait for my turn as there could be a lot of people calling. I said, “look, if I am in the middle of nowhere and I do as you told, my cell phone is going to run out of battery. What good is it if I couldn’t get a hold of anybody?”  She said she was able to get through earlier. I told her that I would come over to her office that minute for her to show me how to get a hold of the sales representative because we couldn’t. And I also told her to try calling them, wait by the phone, and asked her to call me back, should she get through.

Evidently, she was unsuccessful, as well. Told her  so.

She called back, and said that it was alright to call a towing service in town as long as the fee was under $150, and that she would reimburse us for it.

It took two unpleasant calls before the agent caved in to option B.

Problem solved.

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Blogger friends, I would like to introduce to you all a young filipino mother who is new to the blogosphere. She is raising a 2-year old hearing impaired girl.

It was a gloomy morning on the 22nd day of November year 2005 when I gave birth to EC via caesarian section operation. EC was a high risk baby due to measles (rubiola) that I suffered from during my first trimester of pregnancy. No one could imagine how stormy the history of my pregnancy was. During that time I was told frankly by a resident doctor that the risk for congenital abnormalities to my unborn child was so high. I was not given any hope to cling on to so all the possible complications were laid out to me. My unborn baby was given a week to live because I was also told that I had a great chance of suffering from spontaneous abortion due to high fever brought by the infection. But if by chance the pregnancy continued still the probability of having a still birth was high.

Please read the rest of the story here.

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The day before my daughter A went back to the university for summer class, we took a walk to the park with our respective camera in tow. I was using the DSLR Sony A100 while she was using a point and shoot camera that her sister gave her for a present. It was more of a leisurely walk because we often stopped when something struck our fancy like a dandelion flower. It never occurred to me that dandelion flower would make a good subject for photography. She must see something that I don’t. She would take pictures of almost anything. I noticed that she didn’t mind taking pictures against the light for artistry either. Here is one of hers with the ducks.

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fire pit

Last Sunday, we had a cook out at our friend’s ranch in celebration of her husband’s and a friend, F’s birthday. I always love going to this ranch because it is private, huge, and quite a ways from town. We can laugh, giggle, dance, sing, and drink to our heart’s content and not worry about disturbing anyone. A good respite after a hard day at work. I stayed mostly outside, frolic around the area, and watch birds fly by. We also built a fire in the evening to warm us because it was getting chilly. Boy, it was fun sitting by the fire and reminisced old times. A few friends had a glass or two of margarita and I matched it with a good cup of coffee for myself, which I haven’t had in a while because I am a green tea drinker.

My husband and I came in two cars because he doesn’t like to linger at a party. Whereas, I do, now that I don’t have kids at home to care for anymore. It is not that I like not having my kids at home; of course I miss my girls but it is such a nice feeling that I can hang around much longer now when there is a gathering as opposed to rushing home like in the old days.

The horse in the stable at a far corner was such a nice treat. We all went down to spend some time with Chico and gave him something to eat. Very very friendly creature! He seemed thrilled to see us because he seldom gets to see new people and sad to see us go. I wonder if the owner R ever takes him out for a run. Horses are made to run and ride.

I rescued the birthday girl as soon I noticed her red cheeks and half-closed eyes. She had a tad bit too much of margarita already and was dozing on and off on the chair. She was alert and wide awake in the car though and maintained an enjoyable conversation with me on our trip back home. I watched her from my car as she proceeded to her house to make sure she was okay. She looked in control and didn’t stagger at all. Happy birthday dear F! I am so glad you had a blast on your birthday.

The birthday celebrant in charge of the barbecuing while the host was busy taking pictures.

Delicious barbecued shrimp and chicken wings

I wasn’t sure what my friend, M, was doing here with her arms spread out like that. Doing the chanting, maybe…hehe. You see those two old houses in the background? Those are not livable anymore and soon to be demolished. Currently, they serve as shelter for wild animals, like elks, cats (9 to be exact), and probably javalinas, too. R, the owner, spread hays inside for the elks to munch on and water bowls to drink from.

friends sharing stories by the campire. the problem with being the photographer, you are not included in any pictures.

Chico, the horse.

L, G-G, and F, the birthday girl.

G-G patting the horse.

mother and daughter

pretty 12 year-old G- G

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On the way home from a Sunday’s trip, we saw a person parasailing with a view of an awesome sunset in the background.

Today is Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. We will be spending Thanksgiving dinner with my friend, E, who lives an hour away from home. I will be making corn bread, turkey stuffing (my husband’s favorite), blueberry salad, veggie salad, green bean casserole, and avocado salad side dish. My friend, E, is in-charge of cooking the turkey, desserts, and bread.

My plan is to splurge on healthy dishes and nibble on meat and desserts.

From my home to your home, Happy Thanksgiving!

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Took this picture just a while ago during our leisurely walk.

I was tagged by niceheart for this interesting meme. I actually followed the instructions explicitly, didn’t I?

• Where is your cellphone? Desk
• Relationship? Fun
• Your hair? Short
• Work? Steady
• Your sister? Estrange (step sister, my one and only)
• Your favorite thing? Photography
• Your dream last night? Ohlala! (secret)
• Your favorite drink? Water
• Your dream car? LandRover
• The room you’re in? Bedroom
• Your shoes? Worn-out
• Your fears? Diseases
• What do you want to be in 10 years? Grandma (hope the kids will not see this)
• Who did you hang out with this weekend? Husband
• What are you not good at? Organizing
• Muffin? Blueberry
• One of your wish list items? Wide-Angle-Lens ( i just found out that it is on the way…yeheyy!, pinagalitan ko si waswit kunwari, bakit hindi ka muna nag consult sa akin bago ka nag order?)
• Where did you grow up? Catanduanes
• Last thing you did? Shower
• What are you wearing? Jammies
• What aren’t you wearing? Socks,etc
• Your pet? Lovebird
• Your computer? Custom-made
• Your life? Busy
• Your mood? Concerned
• Missing? Kids
• What are you thinking about right now? Kids
• Your car? Chevy
• Your kitchen? Dirty (my husband washes them in the morning)
• Your summer? Scorching
• Your favorite color? Blue
• Last time you laughed? Park
• Last time you cried? September
• School? Draining (financially)
• Love? forgiving

Now, who do I tag? Rowena, Elyani, Greymom, Eden, and Dimple.

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Last Monday when I came home from work, I was greeted with this sight in my living room. My husband hauled all these stuff from the garage to the living room for me to pack to send to the province. I am also packing my not so old PC to give to my nephew who is going to be a freshman in high school next year. Huh? When will I ever have a chance to rest or have time to catch up with my blogging even? My last entry was from over a week ago and I am way overdue for a new post.

These are, by the way, the school supplies that my daughter, Lexie, had collected during the Key Club’s Donation for Education drive at school. This is supposed to be done last summer but I have been extremely busy entertaining so it has been neglected for a while in the garage. My husband thought that by bringing it to the living room, it would prompt me to pack it in the box. Gosh, I hate clutter so I guess his strategy works. Don’t you just love husbands? He thought that it would make me happy if he hauled it to the living room, where it is nice and cool as opposed in the garage, where it is uncomfortably warm. I suppose, it makes sense. But you know the real reason behind all these? Those stuff have been in his side of the garage for quite some time and he wants to claim his space back. But, right now, blogging comes first. As long as I started the packing today, even if I don’t quite finish it, it should make my hubby happy. Geeesshh, I still have to go to the post office to mail some cookies to my darling daughter, and ohh, I just remember, I have yoga class this afternoon. Oooppss! I better get going….

Remember the days of beanie babies? I got hooked on it for a while. I call it my beanie baby fever days. I wouldn’t let a week pass without buying 2 or 3 of these babies to add to my collection. They said that the price of some of them would go up in value over time so I got addicted even more. I also bought it to reward my daughters for getting good grades at school. My eldest daughter enjoyed receiving them. She consistently got straight A’s as a result.

Recently though, when she cleaned her room this summer, she got rid of these babies and shoved it off in the garage. She doesn’t hang on to her stuff forever unless it has sentimental value. Her room is very organized and clutter-free. I don’t want to take those babies to the Thrift store because I spent money on them. I believe I paid $5 or more on each. I thought I would send it to my nephews but what will they do with it? Will they appreciate it? I wonder if I should hang on to it hoping that it will go up in value??? Hehehe, I am dreaming again. Who wants one?

It is now 10:40 AM, and I better get on with the packing.

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The last two days were extremely busy for me preparing for my daughter’s concert. My UP XDS family from Virginia and California came to help me with the fundraising. The day prior to the concert, my daughter got really sick and I was so worried that she would not be able to perform. I spent the whole day tending to her, making sure she was alright. The thought of canceling the show immediately popped in my mind.

Later in the afternoon, she started showing progress. She wasn’t as pale as few hours earlier. By 4 PM, she started rehearsing. I felt a sigh of relief. The show would go on as scheduled after all. By 5 PM, Tepsie, my husband, and Jake went to the venue and set up the sound system, which took about an hour. She went home to get ready and by then, it was 6:30 PM. She only had half an hour to dress up and to apply the make up. We headed back to the location at around 7 PM. It is a good thing that we only live within 5 minutes from the venue. It gave S the time to practice some songs with her sister.

The concert started on time. The president gave a brief speech right before the show. He talked about the Association and its objectives. He also noted that there were items for silent auction. The five of us had to walk around the stage and showed each items off to the audience. Too bad though, not too many people came. Well, for a town where Filipinos are few and far between, I couldn’t complain with the outcome. We auctioned off all our items. The Thai boat that I wanted so much, initially priced at $20, sold for $85. Not bad eh?

The arrival of my XDS friends: Tony, Raff, Jake, Nene and Sam.

Tony, Sam, Nene and Jake getting all the items ready for auction

Sam and Toni working on the poster in the comfort of my living room.

Jake presenting the painting for silent auction while president Raff explaining the historical significance of the painting

Tepsie singing her original songs.

Lexie and Tepsie singing a duet

As usual, the hard part was seeing my friends go. My husband and I had a really good time with them. Tony was hilarious. I have this high tech shower that baffled all of my guests. I was able to show how it worked to Nene but forgot to teach Tony and Raff. Tony went to take a shower one morning but couldn’t find the knob to pull for the shower to work. He gave up and lowered his head below the faucet instead and splashed water over his body. Nene and I laughed hard when we found out. I totally forgot to tell him. He jokingly said that I did it on purpose.

Nene is so sweet, cute and sexy. I understand now why she has done so well in her chosen career. Before the concert, she insisted that we make flyers and go door to door in the business part of our town, where I deliver mail everyday. I was so embarrassed to go inside the door yet Nene made it look so easy. She said, “there are only two things that can happen, they either say yes or no.” Wow, she is one great entrepreneur. I am pretty sure that if I hang around with her long enough, those entrepreneurship qualities of her would eventually rub off on me. Also, she has two beautiful and loving kids whom I adore so much. Sana maging balahe kami..hehe, (just kidding).

Raff, our dear president, was so kind, jolly, and adaptable. Since my house has only three bedrooms, he and Tony didn’t mind sleeping on the couch in the living room. They were going to sleep in the hotel but I managed to convince them to flop on the couch and in the sleeping bag in order to save a few hundred dollars. Hey, a penny saved is a penny earned, right? Worst of all, Raff gave my husband a heck of a fight in chess. My husband was simply blown away. I am sure he looks forward for a rematch.

Ahh, I miss them now.

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