HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Happy Valentine's Day to all!! Whether single or with a sweetheart, I hope that this day will be special for everyone. =D

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Last night, Ruther and I exchanged presents. I didn't want to give him my present at the end of today (because it seemed like it's just too late), so I thought, since it was close to midnight last night, it would be okay to give him my gifts and preempt Valentine's Day. Ruther didn't seem to mind and he got a small mug with a design of a heart on it and a small stuffed tiger from the boys. (Ruther was born in the Year of the Tiger.) Then, I gave him my presents: a cute red tie and chocolates. Well, that was all I could afford anyway. =P But what he didn't know was that I snuck a Valentine's Day card in this bag this morning. I hope he'll read it later at the office. I just don't know if he'll be able to rummage through his bag enough to see it. If he doesn't say anything about it by lunchtime, I'll text him to check his bag. =D

I got a box of chocolates from Ruther and a small card. I love it! I wanted to taste a piece of the chocolate but I thought it would ruin the packaging and I want to take a photo of it today. So, I'll probably start eating it later. =D Thanks sweetie! Mwah!

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Well, as predicted, the weather is rainy today. I wanted to go out and buy some essentials at the pharmacy but I think I'll have to wait until it stops raining. I don't want the boys to get sick, especially now when we are so close to going home. So, if it doesn't stop raining at all, we might have to go tomorrow.

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I seem to have recurring headaches now. Last night, my headache was bad so I took a paracetamol. It was around 7pm and I didn't want to be suffering the whole night so I decided to take a tablet. This morning, I felt a slight throbbing and I was worried that I'll have another headache but so far, it has abated. Hopefully, it will not recur any more. Don't want to be popping any more tablets today.

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I'm done with Season 2 of the Veronica Mars series. Yipee! =D I know, mababaw lang ako.

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I have been watching A Haunting, a series on the Discovery Channel. It's really interesting because I have always been fascinated by the paranormal. I was influenced by my culture (the Philippines is rich in paranormal stories), my mother, and my reading. Ruther is not into this kind of shows too much because he has an active imagination, if you know what I mean. =D

BADMINTON RACKETS

I took this photo last Saturday at the Kozukue community center. =D

FOR RUTHER

A Valentine's Day poem


Love existed because of you
A love that's sweet and pure and true

You touched my hand and then I knew
That love was meant for me too

Our hearts melded into one
And all my fears and doubts were gone

Your love fills my heart, my dreams
And everything else, so it seems

Without you love, life would be gray
Sorrow, loneliness at the end of the day

But you are the light that shines for me
That lifts me up and let's me see

That life can be wonderful and gay
That happiness can fill my everyday

This Valentine's Day I wish that we
Will forever be you and me

I pray our love continues on
Until we are old and gone

I love you, dearest, and near or apart,
Your love will never leave my heart.

2.14.07
8:44am

TO MAKE YOU LAUGH

I love reading those funny dialogues from court records. They really crack me up. =D


Were you present when your picture was taken?

Attorney: What is your date of birth?
Witness: July fifteenth.
Attorney: What year?
Witness: Every year.

Attorney: How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision?

Attorney: What did the tissue samples taken from the victim’s vagina show?
Witness: There were traces of semen.
Attorney: Male semen?
Witness: That’s the only kind I know of.

Attorney: You say the stairs went down to the basement?Witness: Yes.Attorney: And these stairs, did they go up also?

Attorney: Did you ever sleep with him in New York?
Witness: I refuse to answer that question.
Attorney: Did you ever sleep with him in Chicago?
Witness: I refuse to answer that question.
Attorney: Did you ever sleep with him in Miami?
Witness: No

Attorney: Did he kill you?


source: http://www.carlos-m.net/quotes/funny-quotes/

THE BLESSED VIRGIN

I took this photo of the Blessed Virgin Mary last Sunday at the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Catholic Church).

PRE-VALENTINE'S DAY MUSINGS

I think I'm coming down with something. I have been having a bit of cold these past days which got worse this weekend. Yesterday, I had a really bad headache and after dinner with Ruther's friends, I had to take a little nap to just get a bit of rest. It helped somewhat but this morning, I still kind of feel out of it. I hope my head clears later. Still got chores to do.

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We made spaghetti for dinner yesterday for Ruther's friends who came over from Kamoi. I made the sauce while someone else cooked the noodles. I was really happy when many said that the sauce was yummy. I really like it when friends enjoy my cooking. I tried to make the sauce Filipino-style which is a bit sweetish with some hotdog slices in the sauce. Don't ask me why but we've always eaten spaghetti sauce that way. But anyway, I'm glad everyone enjoyed dinner. =D

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The countdown meter says that we have 13 more days before we head for Manila. I am starting to feel nervous, anxious, and sad all at the same time. I have been trying to psych myself up by telling myself that when we get home, I could get to read all my magazines, I could watch my shows again, I could go swimming and get a tan, I could visit the bookstores and malls once more, I could go around Manila and Zamboanga. But somehow it still isn't enough to cheer me up and shake me out of my apparent depression. I know I will miss Ruther a lot. =(

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What are your plans for tomorrow, Valentine's Day? It'll be a rainy day the whole day tomorrow, according to the weather forecast. I was planning on going to Sakuragicho and taking the boys to CosmoWorld but I suppose that is out of the question now. Maybe we could go on Thursday instead. As for Ruther and me, nothing special planned. We'll just have dinner here at home and just do a bit of tv watching.

HOME ON A HOLIDAY

This past weekend has been quite hectic. There was the birthday blow-out last Saturday at the karaoke place at Kamoi and the bowling after, then come Sunday, we went to church and had lunch at Ruther's favorite ramen place at Yokohama. We then spent the rest of the afternoon at home, catching up with our shows and just taking it easy. Today, Ruther's friends came over and we watched a movie, Blood Diamond. Kinda gory but very deep story. I might have to watch it again to fully understand everything said. I could not concentrate too much because I was distracted when I put Ethan to sleep. Still can't say if I like the movie, though...

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I seem to be suffering from a headache now. It's concentrated on the right side of my head, actually, around my temple and towards the forehead. I had it since this morning but I didn't want to take an analgesic because I don't want to be too dependent on medicine these days. Back in college, I just popped a paracetamol when I felt even the slightest throb in my head. But I don't want to do that anymore. A drug is a drug. It will always have side-effects whether we like it or not. So, until I can't take the pain anymore, I'll put off the meds for as long as I can.

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I have been watching the I Shouldn't Be Alive series from the Discovery Channel. I missed some episodes when I came to Japan so I downloaded it so I could catch up. I find these shows interesting. I sometimes wonder if I could survive if I were placed in the same challenging situation. Would I have done the same thing? Would I have made other choices? What would motivate me to go on and get out of a horrifying situation? I would like to think I'm a strong person, especially when it comes to my boys but well, I will never know until I am in a life or death situation. I only pray my guardian angel watches over me and my family for the time being.

BOWLING (FEB 10)

at Yokohama

The gang.

Me, Ethan,and a 5-pound ball

didn't quite make the spare...

Ethan, the human bowling pin... so cute!

NATIONAL FOUNDATION DAY

Today is a national holiday in Japan. It is the National Foundation Day also called kenkoku kinen-bi or kenkoku kinen-no-hi. According to Wikipedia, "On this day, Japanese celebrate the founding of the nation and the imperial line by its mythical first emperor, Jimmu."

KARAOKE

These are the photos taken at the Karaoke place yesterday... Loads of fun... =D

Okay, let's pick a good song...

Cheers!!

The gang.

My sweetie sings for me... =D

Ethan is sooo bored...

Nikki just plays on...

The one doing the "V" sign is another February celebrant, Aaron. His birthday is actually today.

A QUICK NOTE

It's been a long day.

I'll get to more details tomorrow but as planned, we did play badminton, then had lunch, then had the karaoke for 3 hours. After that, we went to Round 1 for some bowling. Of course, we ate dinner first.

It was such an eventful day, really exhausting, but really fun as well. I promise to give the blow by blow tomorrow. For now, good night everyone!

TGIF

Yup, it's another Friday. Another weekend coming up. Another day bringing us closer and closer to leaving Ruther and Japan. The countdown meter says we have 17 days more to go. Ya-hoo. =(

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Badminton is on the schedule for tomorrow. We didn't play last week on account of Ruther's sickness but he's all better now and I am itching to play again. =D Hopefully, it won't be that cold tomorrow. It's very hard to play when your hands are all numb and you have goosebumps all over.

After badminton is the karaoke at Kamoi. I'm sure everyone will have a blast. I usually just sing in the background. When I take hold of the mic, something comes over me and I go out of tune. Really! No kidding! When I sing off-mic, I'm okay. When I'm on it, I sound argh! So, I better stay away from the mic to keep the weather bright and sunny tomorrow.

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I am now on Episode 16 of Season 2 of the Veronica Mars series. It's getting interesting. Can't wait to watch the rest of the episodes...

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The other day, I watched The Descent. It's a movie. It was really really weird. I guess it was supposed to be a horror flick but it was just plain weird. When the movie ended, there was no explanation, no resolution, no sense to what the movie was about. All I know was that there were these gollum-like creatures stalking and killing these trapped women in an undiscovered cave in a mountain. Why were the creatures there? Why did they look like that? What was the mystery of the cave? Why did they attack some women and not others? How did that cave and those creatures come to exist? NONE of these questions were answered at the end of the movie. I guess I just wasted 2 hours of my life watching that flick. Oh no, I didn't. I was folding laundry when it was playing. Okay, no harm done then...

POST-BIRTHDAY WRITE-UP

Yesterday was a lot of fun. I spent most of the morning doing chores and in the afternoon, after the boys' nap, we went to the supermarket so I could buy a small cake for Ruther. You know, just so he has something to officially call a "birthday cake" and so we could put a candle on for him to blow out. I decided it could be dessert as well so I purchased a strawberry shortcake and another cake as well with fruits and custard on it.

Before Ruther came home from the office, I put out his presents (much to Ethan's delight, but he became disappointed when I told him those were not his) and readied the cakes. While waiting for Ruther to make his big entrance, Ethan practiced blowing out some candles. He really loves to do that. We used some of Nikki's leftover candles from his birthday last November.

When Ruther arrived, he was surprised. We sang happy birthday (well actually, only I sang) and then we took some photos of Ruther blowing his candle. Ethan actually blew a lot of times so I had to light and re-light the candles for like, a hundred times. =D

After that initial photo-taking, we delightedly feasted on the KFC chicken Ruther brought home. We were all so hungry, we forgot to take more photos! hahaha! Oh well... After dinner, Ruther opened his presents and got a bath towel from the boys and a hooded vest from me. Actually, I also have one just like it and I thought it would be nice if we matched. I'm just happy he liked the presents.

A few minutes after, we called home (Manila) and my sis greeted Ruther. Mama (my mother-in-law) spoke to Ruther as well and greeted him. Actually, she was already asleep but Ruther's dad woke her up so they could greet him a happy birthday. So, she was really groggy and sounded so sleepy. =D

It was a fun night. We didn't get to go out, we didn't have fancy food or a huge cake, but we really did have lots of fun and I'm just so happy that we were all together on Ruther's day. Well, the pictures say it all. =D

RUTHER'S BIRTHDAY PICTURES

Ethan loves blowing candles out. He looks cute here with his puffy cheeks.

Ethan wants to blow out the candles himself.
Happy Birthday Ruther!!

Daddy and Ethan blow out the candles while Nikki watches on.

happy day...

a yomiuri giants jumbo bath towel!

a hooded vest from me... =D

ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES

National Flower

The Sampaguita Jasmine (Arabian Jasmine) was adopted as the national flower of the Philippines since 1934. The Sampaguita bears a white, star-shaped flower which blooms for the full year. The flower opens at night and lasts for about one day, producing a unique sweet scent. For the Filipino people, the flower is the symbol of purity, simplicity, humility and strength. Its blossom is celebrated in Philippine legends, stories and songs. It is believed that the flower was brought from the Himalayan areas to the Philippines in the 17th century. http://www.aseansec.org/18203.htm

National Fruit

Philippine mango (the national fruit) is known worldwide as the best tasting variety of Carabao mangoes in the world. Philippine mangoes have a distinct rich taste, no turpentine taste, not fibrous and high nutritional value compared to other cultivars. Philippine Carabao mangoes are available year-round but the best tasting fruits are those picked during the summer months.

National Costume

A Barong Tagalog (or simply Barong) is an embroidered formal garment of the Philippines. It is very lightweight and worn untucked, similar to a coat. It is the common wedding and formal attire for Filipino men. The term "Barong Tagalog" literally means "Tagalog dress" (i.e., baro ng Tagalog or dress of the Tagalog) in the Filipino language. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barong_Tagalog

Like their menfolk, the female indigenes of the archipelago, gradually cover their upper torso with short, sleeved collarless blouses called baro, through the 400 years of colonization. And what was, since ancient times, an all-purpose brief wrap-around skirt--metamorphosed into the long skirts called saya. Interestingly the saya was generally fashioned out of opaque plaid or striped cotton and sinamay varieties, while the baro was rather stubbornly made quite persistently of sheer fabrics.http://www.skokienet.org/american/groups/filipino/clothing%20page.htm

National Sport

Sipa is the Philippines national and traditional native sport which predates Spanish rule.
The game is both played on a large court surface inside an indoor or outdoor field (which is about the size of a modern day tennis court) by 2 teams that consists of 1, 2 or 4 players in each side. The aim of the game is to kick a soft ball made out of rattan fragments, back and forth over a high rise net placed in the middle of the court. The sport requires speed, agility and extremely good ball control.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipa

National Tree

The Narra (Pterocarpus Indicus) or Red Sandalwood is the national tree of the Philippines. It is a deciduous, relatively short-stemmed tree.

National Bird

The Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) is one of the rarest, largest and most powerful birds in the world. This bird of prey, or raptor, belongs to the family Accipitridae.
It was first called the Monkey-eating Eagle upon discovery in 1896, based on reports from natives saying that it preyed only on monkeys (hence its generic name, from the Greek pithecus ("ape or monkey") and phagus ("eater (of)") . Results of study on feeding ecology later revealed, however, that they also prey on other animals such as colugo, civets, large snakes, monitor lizards, and even large birds like hornbills.

National Leaf

Anahaw is the national leaf of the Philippines.

National Fish

The milkfish, Chanos chanos, is an important food fish in Southeast Asia. It is the sole living species in the family Chanidae (about seven extinct species in five additional genera have been reported).
Milkfish have a generally symmetrical and streamlined appearance, with a sizable forked caudal fin. They can grow to 1.7 m, but are most often about 1 meter in length. They have no teeth, and generally feed on algae and invertebrates.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milkfish

National House
In the Philippines, a Nipa hut (locally called as bahay kubo) is a home constructed out of bamboo and tied together. They work well as shelter from average wind and rain, and they are very cool and airy. The downside of their bamboo construction is that are easily damaged in larger storms, but are inexpensive and easy to replace.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipa_Hut

sources: http://library.thinkquest.org/28616/noframes/philippines/psymbols.htm

RUTHER'S BIRTHDAY TODAY!!!

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It's Ruther's birthday today!!! He is now 32 years old. I am so glad we are celebrating his birthday together. I am so happy that we are here with him. Last year, I was really sad that we were apart because I really really value family celebrations and I really didn't like not celebrating together. So, today, am just happy, happy, happy. =D

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I made some baked macaroni for Ruther's baon today. I wanted to make lots actually, for him to share with his officemates during lunchtime but it can get really crazy in the trains during rush hour and I'm sure he didn't want to be covered in sauce when he reaches the office, so I just made enough macaroni for him and for me (for lunch).

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Ruther said that to treat his friends forhis birthday, we'll just have karaoke on Saturday at Kamoi. He said it'll be the cheaper option, plus, it'll be fun too. =D I asked him if he wanted to have the celebration with his friends, that we will give him the day to have fun with his friends but he said he wanted us there too. He's such a sweetie... =D

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Tonight, Ruther will buy some KFC chicken for us and we will have dinner here at home instead of eating out. It would be nice to have some photos to document this day. =D

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.....

source: Uncle John's Bathroom Reader

If it takes you less than 5 minutes to fall asleep, it probably means you're sleep-deprived. Healthy sleepers need between 10 and 15 minutes to doze off.

Researchers at Oxford University concluded that counting sheep may actually keep you awake. Why? Counting sheep is so boring that the mind brings other, more interesting thoughts to the surface just to keep itself occupied.

Your brain is more active when you're dreaming than it is when you're awake.

Having trouble falling asleep? Turn off all the lights or get some eyeshades. You need melatonin to feel drowsy, and melatonin production slows down when ambient light passes through the eyelids.

Certain scents can help you fall asleep. According to a recent study, the most effective aroma is jasmine.

Most primates sleep an average of 10 hours per night; humans average only 7. But that's a recent development. Until the turn of the 20th century, humans slept for 10 hours, too. Who's to blame? Thomas Edison. The invention of the lightbulb turned us into a society of night owls.

If you want to remember your dreams, write them down as soon as you wake up. After 5 minutes, 50% of the dream fades from memory; after 10 minutes, 90% is gone.

PINK

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. - Buddha -

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photo taken at Sankeien Garden