The hubs and I has just gotten into a funny and healthy argument this morning as we talked about changing the windows on our loft.  We came back from a 3-week vacay around Asia and got back here last weekend.  We found out that it had been storming out here while we were away.  Thank God the weather's been nice the past days now but our loft windows as it turned out, were not spared from the heavy rains.  Heavy condensation that doesn't let up is so evident until now. Too bad we haven't really paid much attention to it before.  Getting dual pane windows had been on our TO DO list for the longest time but there was always something else to accomplish (and spend for),like our patio project which I was wishing for the longest time.  I have been blogging about it too!

And I'm happy to report that we've finally gotten that accomplished!!!  Woohoo!  Now my summers will so much better... remember my dreams of backyard barbecues and great summers nights of reggae music, tiki torches, mojitos and margaritas, smores over a firepit?  Throw in new visions of lounging on lazy summer afternoons with a good book, cold lemonade (that's too fairytale-ish for me...how about iced coffee, there that's more like it), with Colbie Caillat crooning in the background.  Wow, only one thing is really missing now for sure....summer!  But it won't be long.  Anyway, I digress, like I always dohehe.

We went online to check for dual pane quotes and landed on a site for  All Double Glazing  and I'm pretty convinced that they are the same, and hubby doesn't think so.  But I think so. I hope so.  Because this UK website I stumbled upon is so informative and provides up to 4 different quotes for double glazing.  I also appreciate the information about the benefits of double glazing. It's making me realize that it really is more than a cosmetic improvement to one's house.  It does help after all.

I appreciate the guest post, Emerson Moses

I thought long and hard about it and eventually went to www.direct.tvlast week to get us satellite. The kids were dying to get MTV finally because all their friends were talking about it and I really wanted to start watching all those Real Housewives shows I hear so much about. My husband wasn’t too happy about it because he’s a big proponent of not watching much TV and really getting outside to enjoy the day but you know, I don’t always do everything he wants! I love my husband but he can be kind of narrow mindedabout fun things like playing the lottery and going to the mall and TV watching. I wish I didn’t have as many things I’m keeping from him as I do but he won’t even know we get all those channels until he goes to find golf or something in a few weekends! I love that he’s so simple and silly about it all but you know, he’s really just a big prude if you ask me!!

I'm happy because after so many weeks into the summer, it finally feels like it. At least in my abode.

For many years, the real arrival of summer in our house is when my stepdaughter is visiting.  That also means the rest of our cousins stay in our house to spend time with her.  That also means that the hubs and I start getting extra busy planning out activities, destination trips and food trips. 

Five years ago, you'll find multi-colored Nike Dunks on our doorstep, backpacks strewn around.  Candy-colored nail polish bottles, hair straighterners, and we'd be cooking food, driving them around, a lot of pick-ups and drop-offs....

Fast forward to today, they are pretty mobile and out on their own, my stepdaughter drives around anywhere now and takes her cousins with her.  Today they went to our old town to visit an aunt, eat chicken wings at an old favorite stop.  While we used to talk about arts and crafts and how their water ballloon fights went,  now I find myself listening and interested in what she has to say about health and beauty products....which is really one of my favorite topics.

Online shopping is a newfound thing as well.  I was delighted to discover new things with her help such as the acrylic makeup organizer, lotion applicator, and even gillette mach3.

Suffice it to say, my daughter has "become" my instant girlfriend.

It seems like only yesterday.Where did those 5 years go?  I'm not complaining.  It just went so fast. 

But it's all good.

All good.

Guest post from: Joe Castro

Having a dog in New York City is not as easy as you would imagine. Yes, it is a walking city, but it's not the most convenient thing to have to walk down four flights of stairs every morning just to take your dog outside. Sometimes, Sam spends hours trolling up and down the street, just looking for a good place to go to the bathroom. Not exactly my favorite way to spend a Saturday afternoon! Don't get me wrong, it's great having a dog, living in the city just makes it harder. Not long ago, I signed up for clear from www.clearwirelessinternet.net/clear-internet-deals.html so I'd have Internet at home to be able to connect with other dog owners. It's actually been great as I've found a whole new network of friends who face the same dog related problems as me! Going on walks and having to find parks is much easier when there's someone else there to talk to, not to mention our dogs get lots of playtime just romping around with each other!

The hubs is at it again. I'm not sure if it's from being tired and sleepless following a long night of entertaining at home, or our air ducts are really launching a war against us the homeowners, spewing dust all over the place and making us congested and sneezing all the time.  It's only been three years since we moved to our new home...but maybe I'm clueless, maybe we need to clean them every year? Every spring I guess?

I always find the spots near the air duct openings more dusty than the rest of the house.  Unfortunately. These include my bedside end table...and who knows, the window seats in our bedroom where I always like to chill.  Who knows, monstrous particles of unseen dust could be sitting on top of our comforter and we just don't know it.  You see, they are not picky in terms of where to land.  They just float and land pretty much everywhere.  Including our nasal passages that's for sure.

I'm so close to engaging the services of pro air duct cleaning austin and have the finally come over and power blast the piles of dust away.  I heard that they are really good at odor treatment too.  Not that we have a problem, I just mentioned it because I noticed it on the website I'm looking at: http://www.thesteamteam.com/pet-odor-treatment.shtml.

The hubs has been talking about it for the past months now but because of our busy schedule, we never got to it.  It somehow gets pushed all the way down the end of our TO DO list all the time.

I don't know how many more sneezing bouts we can take until we finally call them to the rescue.

I find myself saying that word over and over lately.....EQUILIBRIUM. I like it. I think it's my most sought after state.  And the most cherished when it happens.  And I think it's my most favorite word at the moment.

Anyway, so I'm here again, dropping by.

How have you been?

If you were to ask me....I'd say, I'm finally finding my EQUILIBRIUM more often than I used to, and being able to make it stay and stick around for a longer period of time, for days on end....which was unheard of in the past. I'm learning to dance with life, better than I ever imagined.

First things first.  Something really funny happened a few weeks ago.  The hubs came up to me and said,"Let's see...you like bending wires, painting with coffee and wine, you get pleasure out of cutting wine bottles into two and adorning them with copper wire, you take photos of the sky...almost everyday..... is there something we need to talk about?"

And I just said,"THANK YOU"....

He's seeing the real me and what's in my heart.  He's describing the artist that has long been buried under 6 feet of the hustle and bustle of life.  I'm happy to be described in that way, and I prefer it more than....

***The idealistic yuppie that I was years ago....in stilettos and tailored suits carrying a briefcase that had a huge laptop, a heavy mobile phone (back in the day when brick phones were hip....and double-functioning as self-defense)

***The aspiring healthcare practitioner (sometimes in
nursing scrubs) aka psychologist trainee roaming around the hospital counseling and briefing patients on their death beds or post-CBG patients getting another lease of life.

***The dancing Kindergarten teacher and curriculum specialist in this international preschool

***The "Asian Nerd"  devoted to her desk job involving research, corporate communications, sales and a little of supervising.

***The happily married woman who dons on an apron after work, and whipping up mean dishes for the hubs.


THE HUBS IS SEEING WHO I REALLY AM, AND WHAT I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE. 

I'm happy to pursue this, even if you'll still find me buying stuff from  http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Women/ (trust me, they are so comfortable, I can wear them as protective gear on top of my clothing when I do my artistic pursuits); or even if you'll still see me committed to my corporate job....which rocks by the way, and which I love so dearly.  It is actually as adorable to me as ever. 

I'll just be an artist on the side.

Or rather....

I'll just have the desk job on the side.

EQUILIBRIUM, BABY!

One of the main reasons why I am excited about long weekends like this Memorial Weekend is being able to sleep really late (and feel like I've done a lot of stuff that I needed or wanted to do and then not worry about waking up early for work the next day and in fact, being able to sleep in on a Monday --a rare luxury indeed! A breath of fresh air for a change! Earlier in the day, the hubs and I went to the park to celebrate the graduation of a family friend's son. And as usual we were extra careful with locking up the house and activating home security clancy so that we are assured that no one breaks in the house while we're away. We'll never know when burglars will break especially on long weekends when most people are out of town, or away from their home barbecuing with friends somewhere. Better to be safe than sorry! While we were in the park, we were planning with our friends where we are going to watch the next Pacquiao match which is set in November. One of our friends is already planning to ensure that his tv is ready with that from www.localtv-satellite.com/ as early as now! I can't wait. I know we're gonna have a blast like we always do. Meanwhile, I'll enjoy the rest of my long weekend. Hope you do too!

Things have been busy as always but I'd like to believe that I really have pretty much gotten used to it, shuttling from one place or activity to another, short of bilocating and/or teleporting if it was a possibility. Anyhoo, we're right on track with our goals, at least most of them.

At home, we are having our automatic garage doors fixed and I guess recalibrated, if that's how you call it.  And the hubs is gonna program my 325 buttons to be able to open it, so I don't have to worry about a remote control clipped to my sunshade.  I'm excited.  He already got his programmed a long time ago, and he chose to make me use the remotes that our garage door opener came with, which for some reason pops out on the weirdest of times, making a surprise appearance inside my purse too one time.  how did that happen?

I know it's not connected with the garage or anything, but I just want to say that I'm a lot happier now.  Like a window has just been opened, and a good breeze just wafted into my life, I'm breathing in new air which leaves my mind crystal clear. 

It makes a big difference living my day-to-day grind because I am able to focus on my priorities and at the same time live through the hurdles without stressing out. 

And oh, a co-worker just told me "you are my most favorite person here on earth".  Ten million smile points right there.  It doesn't mean that I have to go about floating and flying.  It just reminds me to be more humble and keep my feet on the ground.  It keeps me on check all the more.

Thank you, God, for wonderful things!

I heard that mumbled by the hubs as we watched "Dancing with the Stars". I thought I was imagining things (or he was!) because it's only spring time and summer is still a couple months away.  But it seems that the hubs has something else in mind... SUMMER!  And thoughts of summer getaways and backyard fun with barbecue, water balloon fights, inflatable pools (well, including intex pool filters of course), tiki torches and making smores on the firepit.....My 3 M's:Margaritas, Mimosas, and Mojitos, some reggae music, I'm gushing....

It's really just around the corner and I'm tickled silly.  We always have great summer backyard productions up our sleeves sans a real pool or "backyard oceans" with intex filter b so the guys always talk about these days.But who knows....maybe we can order one and really really go all out on our summer backyard production this year!  Especially when the kids get together in our house as they usually do each year.  We've been doing it for so many years now, every time my stepdaughter comes over for a visit on spring breaks, summer vacations and even Christmas holidays.  They are growing older, time is running short.  Now that my stepdaughter is in college, it seems that those teen daycare days we've had are now VERY scarce, and perhaps has really all fizzle out without us knowing it.  Scary movies, popcorn and water balloon fights became playstation games, and then biking by the bay trail down the street from our house, then good movies, real food trips (no longer those frozen microwavable snacks)....and then, one kid after another goes missing in these get-togethers in favor of hanging out with their own set of friends.  I'm already getting nostalgic. 

Perhaps before it all ends, we can pull off another great summer in our house. 

I can't wait. It's like I want to do it now.  Or wait, maybe I can.

We'll probably do our first barbecue this weekend for the hubs' special day.

Now, pass me that Margarita, please!

On May 7th, we will be able to watch WBO welterweight and WBC light middleweight champion Manny Pacquiao again.  He is scheduled to fight Shane Mosley.

And since we have been without Satellite TV the past couple of years (long story, so I won't take you there!), the hubs is now doing some last minute arrangements for Direct TV because we're planning to have some friends over again on fight night.  The last time we did this was 2 years ago during the hubs' big 4-0 birthday weekend where we watched his fight with Hatton, over beer and barbecue. 

I didn't realize that it has been that long... I can still remember that birthday weekend when I also had a hula performance, I remember this satellite guy that the hubs called and he was way up high on the ladder that I could see him from the second floor window while I braided my hair for the hula show.

Those were the days.  I don't dance anymore.  Sometimes, it feels weird.  Things that used to be seem so far away now.  I'm now busy with other pursuits and sometimes I ask myself, did I waste time? But I am thankful that there are little things that still happen over and over to refresh my love for life, and dictate is rhythm.

Like Easter coming soon.  And the boxing match we all look forward to.

Pretty soon, it will be time to watch the fireworks.  Again.