(Let’s see if I can blog all events in November before December starts tomorrow!)

Gobble. Gobble.

We had our first experience of a Thanksgiving Dinner last Thursday (11.26.2009). It was a gastronomic experience – turkey with yummy cranberry sauce, baby back ribs, lechon cebu, lenggua, Chinese Chicken salad, chocolate fondue with fruits, blueberry cheesecake, apple pie, fruit salad, and so many other good stuff that I would need more diet pills! (I have been reading adipex reviews in fact!)

I am not able to share as much pictures because the people we were with really do not want their photos posted But as soon as I get pictures of us (there were a lot of cameras that night, thankfully), I will share them here.

What am I thankful for?
2009 was a good year – I am thankful for everything, the good – because it has helped me deal with the bad, and the bad – because it has given me the opportunity to rise above myself and prove I can do better. There is so much room for growth within me, and I pray that I never stop knowing that.

I am thankful for my God, my relationship with Him, the privilege I have.

I am thankful for my little family, they are really my life now.

I am thankful for my extended family – for support, love and treating us like family.

I am thankful for my parents – you never really stop needing them.

I am thankful for my friends – you know who you are.

I am thankful for all the things that make our life easier.

I am thankful for the things that make life hard. It helps to not forget asking for help and that no matter how hard I try and work, there is really such a thing as Divine Providence.

I am thankful for my husband and the marriage I have with him – few people have the luck of marrying their first love AND finding their true love. I got to have both. May I never forget that.

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We spent most of our weekend outside the house and a great deal of hours in our vehicle going to places. Saturday was the First Communion rites of Matthew and the first birthday party of Jane’s son Mateo. Traffic was bad and it was out first time to go Blue Leaf. Good thing we didn’t get lost as we don’t have any gps in our car.

I will blog about it in detail later I just need to answer my e-mails. I haven’t checked them in 24 hours and it ballooned to more than 300!

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We had a very nice (first) Thanksgiving dinner last night – it was our first time to be in one, and the first time for the kids to taste turkey. Matthew liked it and just likened it to one extra large litson manok I wish I can share pictures but my battery went dead last night so I have to wait for friends to give me our copies.

So what do we do the day after Thanksgiving?
We are going to put our tree up today, after we go to the mall to buy one! It would not have come at a perfect time as the husband is home so there would be someone 1) to drive us and 2) set the tree up.

Today is our laidback rest day too because tomorrow we will be gone from the morning to attend Matthew’s First Communion rites and then to a birthday party in Manila.

Times like these when just stay at home makes me wish I had one of those infrared saunas for us to relax into, and that my house was big enough to accommodate one. If you don’t know yet, saunas have very nice effects in our body, if you stay long enough. For one, the dry steam will allow your toxins to get to the surface of your body, your sinuses will clear up, it’s going to be good for arthritis too! Not to mention it will help in weight loss too – much of it will be extra water weight you have, but since it gets rids of toxins and salt too, you will look less bloated after. It has such nice effect on the skin too!

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Marts is so much into Barbie and Disney Princesses lately (Cinderella and Ariel). She doesn’t feel Dora that much anymore but she still watches it everytime she wants to sleep.

She recently received a Barbie doll from Andie from our MBAP kids’ exchange gift. The day before I bought her a 100 peso Barbie Doll (which is names Shirley – the brand) at SM – I knew she was going to get a Barbie but we were in the mall and she was throwing tantrums because she wanted a Barbie.

So when she got the two of them, here is what you can hear from her:

”Mom, eto si Barbie. Eto si Shirley, yaya ni Barbie!”
”Mom look si Shirley, no hair eh! No hair!” (Shirley has no hair after the first row glued to her hairline – it’s such a comedy!)

Eto si Shirley:

Umiikot paa nyan mag-isa panay ayos ni Martha:

Mom! Going round and round the feet ni Shirely, ayos mo!

And just so you know – Martha is not all girly girl. She told me:

Mom sipa ni Shirley si Barbie – yeheeeey!
Violente pa din. LOL

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Source.

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Last week, the items I have bought since August started to arrive one by one. See, I tend to buy little things here and there every month and just  have it shipped when it’s many enough through my good friend. It was particularly more exciting this time because my friend included so many gifts for her goddaughter Martha and the items I bought for the kids and a few of niece and nephews as Christmas gifts are there as well.

I still have a lot of things to do and hopefully, presents to buy for the everybody. It is going to be a big Christmas for us this year and I am excited for it.

The one things that is missing from the things I thought I ordered were the juzo socks for my Mom. I thought I had ordered it already but it turns out I was wrong. These socks are support stockings, which come in different styles and colors, designed to support your legs and veins due to prolonged standing.

My mom needs support or compressions stockings nowadays because her sciatic nerve is bothering her all the time. But since she wants open-toed and nude-colored stockings and it is not available here, she requested that I order them from the US.

What is great about Juzo socks is that it has a variety of compression pressure that you can choose from. From 12mmHg to 50mmHg, you can order in different sizes, lengths and colors. I need to confirm what pressure my Mom needs and can tolerate though.

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The holidays are here! Everybody is gearing up for Thanksgiving on Thursday and after that most families put their trees up already – it is the start of the holiday season, officially. We are going to spend it at home, as with every Christmas, to be with family and loved ones.

I am helping a friend though travel this Christmas. She just recently got promoted after all her hard work this year and got a hefty bonus so she wants to get away with her family to spend quality time with them. It will also be her treat to her kids since she was away at work for most part of the year. They already have been the the US so she is looking towards somewhere in Europe this time. If only she can afford a European tour – but she will be traveling with her husband with three kids in tow so that might not be within her budget.

Cheap Holidays are easier to find these days, thanks to ULookUBook.com. You can choose from the variety of travel destinations that they offer and decide if you want to book both flight and hotel travel plans or just one or the other. As of this writing, my friend is partial to going to France and she is going to be doing some reading with the France travel guide available on the site.

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As we count down to Thanksgiving Day this Thursday, I would like to list all the things I am grateful for today. Remember I am going to be doing this up until Thursday so do not be disappointed if I post trivial things on my list first

• For work. I am really really REALLY burned out from blogging already (you just don’t know how much!) but last night I am reminded that I still have it good – I get to enjoy the best of both worlds: take care of my kids and still help the husband with bills around the house. The pay is better than working in the office eight hours a day. It doesn’t come with benefits but I still get to shop a little on the side. Thank you for the money you give to me, WORK! It puts food on the table and helps us live comfortably.
• For the internet. Because I got to find work.
• For Matthew’s vacation this week at my in-laws. I needed some time to recharge and miss my kids together. It has been a long hard second half of the year for me, with money and health problems coupled with the husband staying in Manila again to work. It is hard being the only adult in the house with two kids fighting all the time. It can get draining. At least I get to be able to sleep in for five days, spoil the princess and work ferociously (it has been a productive Monday, got so many things done!)
• For friends. Fairweather friends, casual friends, true friends, best friends. I believe you are what your friends are. And I’m glad I can choose who to be friends with
• No sickies nor accidents (Good thing the husband doesn’t ride a bike or else I might have contacted a San Jose motorcycle accident attorney a dozen times)
• Passions, distractions, hobbies. I am saying this again. I am not domesticated. I try to be. But I am more of the artist mom. I love to read, watch movies, tinker with everything and talk and eat out Today I am grateful I still get to enjoy things outside of motherhood and that I am still given a chance to be good at them.

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