Sweet Life With Mary

For this meme, I thank again, my friend, Racgold and her Filipino blog, Kuwentong Kengkay.

This tag is simple. If you feel comfortable and your better half does too, you can post a picture of him in your blog ( but if not a description will do). May it be a baby picture anything that you like with the following:

1. First name: if he doesn’t like his name plastered all over the internet, a pet name will do.
2. How and where did you meet?
3. Characteristics
4. Your plans 20 to 30 years from now.

1. I’ve referred to him a few times in this blog — Jack. I call him “honey” most of the time, though when Mary is around, I have to say “Big Honey” as Mary is also my honey (though with her, I can’t say “Little Honey” as she is not Little anymore…)
2. We met in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada when I was still being Canadian. He was in town for business and we both signed up for “Vancouver by Night” — where singles are taken around to various Vancouver venues every Thursday for 6 weeks. We were “friends” for a while, then best friends, then….
3. Malambing. One of the few Tagalog words he knows. Loosely translated, he is sweet. Great cook. He usually does the holiday meals— Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day, my birthday. He does most of the laundry while I do most of the kitchen clean-up. One thing he’s never done is change a diaper. He does most of the “homework” with Mary— working on a whiteboard with her, teaching her letters, doing flashcards, working on puzzles, playing Scrabble Junior. He makes it a point to tell me and Mary how much he loves us and appreciates us everyday. From the start, he had made me feel beautiful and he continues to let me know it.
4. We see us doing a lot of travelling, staying a month or so at different parts of the world, maybe, experiencing Christmas in London, one year then Manila, the next, etc. Though, we aim to have this lifestyle sooner that 20 years from now. 20 to 30 years from now? Checking out Mary’s boyfriends as she begins dating, maybe?

Why the title “Two Things”?  Well, he is my better half and I’m the other half - Two halves? Two things? I know, it’s reaching but I wanted the continuity of the countdown on my meme series.

Found this meme all over the internet. The Three Things meme. For this one, I interviewed Mary and this is HER list.

Three things that make me laugh

• when there’s a whoopee cushion and somebody sits on it
• when somebody tells a joke
• when people like, fart

Three things that make me cry

• when somebody be’s like, mean
• when somebody tattletales when I didn’t do anything
• when someone “keeps me right there and I’m hurting my back and I started crying” (rough-housing)

Three things that scare me

• dark
• movies that are really scary
• scary dreams

Three things that I love

• my momma
• my dadda
• my sister

Three things that I hate

• Thomas - (the tank engine)
• people are not being nice and call me names
• what I really, really hate people that say they don’t like me and that they hate me

Three things that I don’t understand

• Tagalog
• sign language
• Chinese

Three things on my desk

• What? I don’t have a desk

Three things I’m doing right now

• kicking a laundry basket
• talking to my mommy with a tape recorder
• watching TV

Three things I want to do before I die

• grow up and live the whole entire day —-my whole entire life
• wanna make kids
• that’s all, actually

Three things I can do

• gymnastics 
• cool things that my mom can’t do, like jumping on rocks that are far
• monkey bars

Three things that I like to listen to

• Madonna - Material World
• Kylie - La-la-la
• Mambo No. 5

Three things I would never want to listen to

• I never ever, ever, ever want to listen to Goosebumps
• I never ever, ever, ever, ever want to listen Thomas the tank engine
• That’s all

Three things I would like to learn

• how to speak Tagalog
• how to do Math
• how to do sign language and read

Three favorite foods

• the Noodle soup that’s Chinese (actually, it’s Vietnamese)

• my favorite, favorite, favorite !!!  candy and chocolate
• chicken teriyaki and corn dogs

Three beverages I drink regularly

• iced water
• soda
• purple drink

Three TV shows I watched as a kid

• Courage, the cowardly dog
• Dragon Tales
• Backyardigans

I enjoyed doing this interview and Mary did, too. She wanted to do more.  Which gave me the idea that this is a great game we can do in the car when we are travelling.  Great!

 —–

We are quite enjoying our little vacation with Gramma, been staying with Jack’s sister and her 2 cats, Cookie and Blackie.  This is the first time that Mary actually got to interact with cats for an extended period of time.  She and the cats are enjoying each other.  I will have photos and more details at later posts (when I get back to home turf and download photos and such.) 

Now, for this meme I got tagged.

4 Places I’ve Lived

Caloocan City, Philippines
Manhattan, New York, USA
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Louisville, Colorado, USA

4 Jobs I’ve Had

Machine Shop Manager
Order Entry supervisor
Black jack dealer
Medical office receptionist

4 Jobs I Wish I had

Jewelry maker
Diamond appraiser
lady-in-waiting for Princess Diana— before she died, of course
organic farmer

4 Places I’ve Holidayed

Okemo, Vermont
Shanghai, China
Banff, Canada
Boracay, Philippines

4 Favorite Foods

my mom’s Adobo
my mom’s kare-kare
my Ate’s chicken curry
my Ate E’s ginatan

4 Places I’d Rather Be

our villa in Tuscany (I wish we have a villa in Tuscany)
laying on a lounge chair under a palm tree at a sun-drenched beach
gabbing away with my three sisters anywhere in the world
with my Mom and Mary, at the same time

4 Bloggers Id like to Pass this Meme to

Do I have to?
my sister, Val so she can have a blog entry and
YOU - come on and join the fun!

The “Why Do You Blog?’ meme was circulating early this year and I was not any active blogger yet to have been tagged or to even be aware of it. Ryan Healy was not tagged but did it to get in the fun and started his own Tag thread.  I want to get in the fun, too….

Why Do I Blog?

• First and foremost— to show off my Mary to her Lolo and Mama Mer.  Blogging has given me a way to reach out, show photos, share ideas with my folks in the other side of the globe.

• I needed an outlet for my rants and raves.
• It’s fun!!! Really!
• I get to expand my circle of friends.
• And, maybe I’ll have some income coming in while doing something I really like.

Why do YOU blog?  If you are not a blogger, why are you NOT BLOGGING????

Next on my Meme Series which I started yesterday, I chose this one because I can do Six Things as you are supposed to List 5 to 10 things that you do almost everyday that help you to be successful.

• “I greet this day with love in my heart.”  This is my first thought as soon as I wake up, EVERY MORNING, even before I open my eyes.  Thinking this calms me, makes me smile and just have a relaxed, optimistic outlook when I set out to do my day.  Its taken from a book by Og Mandino, my first Inspiration Author.  The whole quote will explain why I do this. 

“I will greet this day with love in my heart. For this is the greatest secret of success in all ventures. Muscles can split a shield and even destroy life itself but only the unseen power of love can open the hearts of man. And until I master this act I will remain no more than a peddler in the marketplace. I will make love my greatest weapon and none on who I call can defend upon its force… my love will melt all hearts liken to the sun whose rays soften the coldest day.”
  -Og Mandino

•  Active Visualization.  I do this just before I go to sleep and as soon as I wake up (after my “greeting” above).  My ideal self-image, my successful career, happy family life, trips, whatever I want to effect into my life— I already have.
• Read.  A LOT.  Self-help books, romances, mystery, favorite authors, blogs.  This way, I improve my vocabulary, my English proficiency and gain just a little more knowlege everyday.
• Say “I Love You” to Mary, at least ten times in the course of the day.  Give and get as many hugs.
• Say “I Love You” to Jack, at least once a day.   
• Give thanks to the Almighty for all the abundance in the world!

What do you do for a Successful Day?

The original meme had already run its course and you can read the Simply Successful Secrets of the best Personal Development gurus here.

Introduction

I must have been crazy to take on NaBloPoMo (blog everyday in November??? With Thanksgiving and all kinds of school holidays??? What are you thinking???!!!).  I imagined everybody from the US, at least, would be in the same boat and that’s what makes it more challenging.  If not for my commitment to do this, I would have said “the h*** with blogging, I’m going on vacation!”  Instead, here I am.

I wanted to have post ideas and posts done ahead of time so I do not have to worry about not having web connection or finding time to actually sit down in front of the computer and then, not being able to post for that day.  What to do?  And then, it hit me, (literally, thanks to Manisha) Memes! 

For the next 7 days, I would do some of the more popular memes out there. Usually, you’d have to be tagged for it, but I am taking the liberty in just doing them as I am a newbie in the blogging world and if I have to wait to be tagged, then I wouldn’t have anything to write about for the next 7 days. Oh, wait, I am tagged for one of them.

Sending Some Link Love Along the Way

For today, it will be Seven Bloggers That Continue To Inspire Me (inspired by Racgold)

• Dooce - first personal blog I have ever read.  Found out about her through a magazine article that was talking about this phenomenon called BLOGGING.  I was then working full-time, in front of a computer all day and was not interested in sitting in front of the HOME computer afterwards, especially with a toddler around.  Heather B. Armstrong writes so beautifully about her daughter, Leta, dog, Chuck and life in Mormon Utah with her husband— I visit her blog, at least once a week to see what she is up to and continue to be inspired. She takes great pictures, too!
• Manisha of Indian Food Rocks, I would say is my first Blog friend.  Met her while Google’ing “Mini Pom Clinic” so I can find where my daughter will have her cheerleading performance.  We later met at that same performance, watched our daughters perform and she has been a regular commenter here.  I visit her blog everyday as I learn SO MUCH about the Indian culture and Indian food.  The photos of  the food that she features (mostly, food that she had prepared for her family)— mouth-watering and continues to tempt me to attempt some Indian cooking of my own.
• Racgold of HomeWorked and Kwentong Kengkay.  Not only does she ably maintain these two blogs, she is also a regular contributor to Pinoy Moms Network. What is most remarkable to me is her command of the Filipino language at her Kwentong Kengkay blog. I was born and raised in the Philippines, Filipino (Tagalog) was spoken in our household, studied it in school and yet I could not come close to her proficiency in the written Filipino.
• Rachelle of Seek First His Kingdom.  A Colorado Blogger I met through Nablopomo.  Her Christian writings give me pause, as well as her handsome husband.
• Amy of Inherent Passion.  Another Colorado Blogger from whose blog I am made aware of the environment and what I can contribute to preserving it and making it better.  I also find that we have a lot of interest in common and would probably get along real well in real life.  
• My littlest sister, Val of Val’s Ventures.  Ok, she is not so little anymore but she is my FIRST “baby” and I am so proud that she is on her own adventure in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  Her blog is still in the works and I look forward to her occasional updates.  She promised they will be more regular soon.
• And, of course, my husband, Jack of Working Lunch With Jack Bergstrom.  He is an executive coach and public speaker and I was finally able to attend one of his seminars (my then boss made me do it) about 3 months ago and I must say, I was a proud mama!  He can go head-to-head with Anthony Robbins any day!

Thank you all for inspiring me!

Usually, at the end of a Meme, I would then tag other bloggers to mimic what I have done but like I said, I’m a newbie and for this series, I do not know enough bloggers.  Hey, if you’re reading this and you have a blog and you want to do this meme, let me know, comment with the link and I will, for sure, visit your blog.

For a Thanksgiving project, I “helped” Mary disguise a turkey.

When Jack and I visited Mary’s classroom for a parent/teacher conference, here is what they have along the hallway.  There’s Mary’s Ballerina Turkey.

I particularly like this one. I’m a sucker for butterflies.

Though, this alligator disguise is very creative.  Where’s the turkey?

For sure, these turkeys are safe from Thanksgiving.  We know how our Thanksgiving turkeys look like - wrapped in plastic, shaped like a ball, hard as a rock in the freezer section of Safeway.

Mary had been very excited about our upcoming road trip to see Gramma for Thanksgiving.  She has been packing FOR DAYS (as she puts it). 

Whenever she finds an activity that I do not have to actively supervise, I leave her to it and never mind the mess afterwards.

So, what does she have packed so far?  Looks like she will be taking most of her DVD movie collection. 

She’s been stuffing this little backpack.

Let’s see, some toys that were destined for Goodwill that she somehow managed to find, pens (she’s planning to do a lot of writing, I suppose), a little jar of pennies…

At least, the other bag only has 4 stuffed animals.

We leave in two days so, hopefully, by then, I can convince her to take only HALF of her bedroom’s contents…

Partly Cloudy, 60’s, a Perfect Fall Day

…someone has other ideas…

“Get Up, Mother!”