Part of my birthday wish list is to receive designer costume jewelry (I know going for real jewelry would be pushing it).

I really want something in my birthstone – amethyst (I was born on the month of February). This one looks nice:

However layered jewelry necklaces and bracelets are something I love as well – I wouldn’t mind receiving them.

All these are found at Holsted Jewelers. Since 1971, Holsted Jewelers has provided exclusively designed jewelry, gifts and accessories to millions of satisfied customers. They currently have great deals just in time for Valentine’s Day. Go now!

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I find so many nice things on Alpha’s blog. Thanks Alpha!

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These questions were inspired by Katie the Scrapbook Lady.

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

• Yes! Magazine
• Judith McNaught books – reread Remember When, Almost Heaven and Perfect

What movies and/or TV shows did I watch this month?

• I was intrigued by ABS CBN’s new soap – Tayong Dalawa, watched it twice.
• No new movies either.

What special days did I celebrate and how?

• New Year’s Day
• Chinese New Year
• The husband’s 30th birthday

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

• Oh, I have a lot – most will come in the box slated to arrive in two weeks!

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

• My kids suffered from gastrointestinal problems, Martha even had to be hospitalized
• I suffer from back pain, eye strain and dizziness due to stress and lack of sleep.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?

• We usually go out after mass during Sundays. Jollibee all the time.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?

• I wish I had!

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

• ELF Loot
• Bag – which won’t be named for now

What were this month’s disappointments?

• Martha’s hospitalization
• One blog I maintain for my savings dropped its ranking.

What were my accomplishments this month?

• Saving! I saved! Wooohooo!!!

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As I’ve earlier said in my post – we have timepieces. Mine is a gift from my cousin when I graduated in college in 2002 and Edil’s watch is a gift I gave when we got married in 2005. I gave him a classic (simple) Kenneth Cole watch (square shaped face) with leather straps in dark brown – I gave him one in that color since it will go well with his suit – a brown one (because our wedding had the theme pink and brown). Now the brown leather strap is worn out and it needs replacing. He has not been using it since it doesn’t go well with his uniform either (his uniform is in the shade of blue). Leather Watch Bands at Hirsch have good quality I am told.

Why do people give each other the gift of timepieces on their wedding day? I am told they signify time – but why measure time when you commit yourself to forever? I am just wondering out loud here. For me, I gave the watch because I couldn’t think of any to give But it also signified my gratefulness that he has chosen me, to commit to forever, without minding time.

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I’m so sorry for not being able to blog more about the kids and our ordinary life these days. Life has been crazily busy. As in totally busy. I have been blogging at my other blogs but you would not find stuff for the family there. I promise to get caught up this weekend – and the week after. I will be finishing a project I took on late last month next week so hopefully I can blog more (But I’m hoping to sign in another project – one can never get too choosy when life is so hard these days.)

With all the busy-ness we have going on with our little family, we desperately need – well, just me and Edil mostly – a very very loud alarm clock! We sleep like a log most times and even if we have two alarms ringing full blast courtesy of cellphones, there are time we would still not be able to wake up. I used to have it easy waking up, but lately due to late nights I miss the alarm too.

Leather Watch Straps are also needed in the house – none of the adults are wearing any watches. Not that we don’t have watches, but we need watch straps! We have sturdy classic timepieces and their straps have worn out through time so it needs replacing.

Funny how I blogged about lack of time and timepieces

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Gaaaah, finally, I have internet connection again! It went down shortly after lunch yesterday and I was so irritated because I have a lot of deadlines to finish. One didn’t even make it! This usually happens twice a month, with downtime lasting up to 24 hours – as is with electricity. It might be a natural occurrence for us in the province, one that I never get used to.

Anyway, it was raining yesteday too so it might have contributed to the outage. It might be a blessing in disguise though – I was able to sleep early and sleep soundly at that! Me and the kids were knocked out by 9PM and if Martha didnt wake up at 5AM I would not have checked if our net was up already!

If there is one thing that I learned from this though is how I have become so dependent with technology it sometimes makes me sad thinking about it. I was so bored yesterday!!! To be honest, I was even close to throwing a tantrum. Now I really need to get us TV cable. I need another mindless hobby besides surfing the net and twittering! The Starmate Replay products have home tuner kits and home connection kits I can order.

Happy birthday to me I think – Im getting us TV Cable!

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I just got hold of Cebu Pacific’s Zero Air Fare Promo again from Twitter buddies. I always get the latest scoop there I swear. It is better than watching TV or reading the news. It has been sorely tempting to book the flight (round trips to Cebu are just 1500Php) and just worry about the rest afterwards but as we have discussed, times are hard these days and the uncertainty about the stability of the economy (and jobs in particular) is enough for one to actually just sit tight, wait, work harder and pray that all will be well. I know I am sure I can speak for those with families here.

Anyhow, regardless of the situation, a very wise person just told us, “Life goes on, keep dreaming and dream big.” She is so right! So I will keep dreaming of being able to travel, of being able to finally have a chance to get out of the country and finally being able to create a stable environment for my family!

My aunt will be going to the US this year, her first travel outside the country, at the age of 65! She has worked long and hard for her retirement and it’s time she enjoyed herself by travelling. She might as well travel on both East and West Coasts too. There’s the Newark Airport Car Service at the JFK airport in New York so she won’t have a hard time finding tours for herself. We dont have relatives there so it might be harder for her but she needs to go to New York!! No trip to the US would be complete without it!

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I am awake, at 3:30 in the morning while my husband and kids are sleeping. If Im lucky I can get to sleep by 6AM after my son goes to school and then my daughter will wake up at 9AM and Id be too drugged by lack of sleep to pay close attention to her. These days, it’s usually me as a robot doing things mechanically when it comes to my kids. Work, cook, press clothes, see my son off to school, get coffee ready for the husband, sleep. Wake up when the princess does, give her breakfast, usually bread and hotdog + juice, or whatever is leftover from dinner. She usually eats in front of the TV while watching Dora, while I, go sit in front of the computer to work. Again.

I watched this movie. And it was like a punch in the stomach, a splash of cold water in my face.

I got disoriented. Again.

Why did I leave work in the first place? Why did I risk my family’s stability to stay at home?

Six months earlier, I quit my job because my kids needed a mommy (we were having problems getting a trustworthy maid), and that I told myself I’d study for nursing. Six months to day, we still don’t have a maid and I havent still studied for nursing.

Instead, I’ve been distracted. Trying to keep our family afloat, trying to take comfort on things I should no focus on. While I am extremely grateful for the chances I’ve been getting, I know sometimes I need to “keep my eyes on the prize” and go for something for the long-run.

It’s so hard to find balance sometimes.

When I watched the movie, I remembered how much I’ve hurried my son to school, sometimes turning down his request that I walk him to the gate. I also have not remembered the last time I slept the same time as my kids. Years from now, they might not even be sleeping in the same bed I do. And yet, I dont even make time for it.

The days are long but the years are short.

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