Health is WEALTH

I do feel envy, not for money, or for love or for material things. I feel envious of my badminton friends playing without pain, I look at them and think, did I do something wrong in my past life to be burdened with pain? (Heaves a great sigh) I really don't have a right to whine, but I have a Japanese friend who has been playing for probably 30 yrs, older than Mohammad and still jumps, lunges and prances about like a 18 yr old on steroids. He is still fast, stamina like a stallion ehehe (Japanese Stallion) and eats rice like it's still the in thing since the low carb diet. Again, I don't have the right to complain, but after tearing my acl, mcl and all the l's (anterior cruciate ligament, medial and lat ligaments) in '07, my love-hate relationship with my knees started. It just felt like it was neverending, non stop doctor appointments, excruciating rehab post surgery. ANd believe me I have a very high threshold for pain, I was on plain tylenol post knee surgery, motrin after both baby deliveries and hmm let me see a sucker for pain and suffering especially after the 1st URban Jungle Adventure race which I was part of the 1st all girl team, we actually placed 3rd out of 20+ teams in a grueling 24 hour race around Metro Manila. Rockwell was the starting point and I will never look at Rockwell as just a MALL. Since we had to rappel down from the roof, traverse a rope a few hundred feet above and walked around it's periphery 10x tied to my team mates. While the beautiful people of Makati and yuppiedom watched and sniggered and wondered..what the hell we were doing. My team consisted of Janet Belarmino, Noelle Wenceslao and a girl who was part of the Philippine national team for kayaking. It was long, hard and brutal by the time we reached the finish line, my knees would not bend, the soles of my feet were unrecognizable because it was one big blister. To the point that my mom had to take me to the ER the next day since I could not walk my feet were swelling and Doc Dave Gamboa had to debride and tape up my poor feet. I can't even climb up the stairs. I CRAWLED up the stairs. Needless to say, I had a very high pain threshold... TO BE CONTINUED

wendy shawn wedding

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It's that time of Year...

Humming the old Nescafe commercial where this couple were cozying up to each other on front of a fire with cups of steaming instant coffee.."It's that time of year..lalalalala" etc. etc. and No I don't mean Christmas, although if it was up to my daughter, everyday will be Christmas and her birthday too. I mean the flu season. Just goes to show that time really passes so quickly, last time I had the flu shot, I was 5 mos pregnant and in a blink of an eye, I have a 6 month old daughter and it's time for the shots again. I am encouraging people to get their flu shots, especially this season the CDC is predicting to be worse than ever, with the swine flu virus adding to the mix. Some might not want it coz they swear it make them more prone to being sick, or they have experiences that after the shot they get sick.

FACT: There is more than 1 strain of flu, getting the flu shot doesn't mean you are not gonna be sick, but if you do get sick, this will be a milder version compared to getting the full blown flu.

FACT: children 6 months to 18 yrs old, caregivers of children, pregnant women, or would get pregnant this season..pls just get the freaking vaccine. Even if you think as a healthy adult you will survive the Flu, if you have little kids or babies, they are more susceptible and might not be able to fight off the infection. So for the sake of the little ones, even if you are afraid of the needle, It's just a little, teensy weensy needle! suck it up and get it! get it! get it!

Have seen too many children suffering getting transferrred to tertiary care because the parents don't want the vaccine. I can't stress it enough. Get it.

Here's link for all procrastinators and non-believers out there
http://www.cdc.gov/FLU/protect/keyfacts.htm
Don't wait till it's too late, coz there might be a shortage of vaccines this year, don't put it off to the point that it's like a refugee line. Walgreens offer the shots from am till around 4pm for $24.99

And remember folks, aside from getting the vaccine, keep in mind the usual ways of disease prevention, handwashing, using purell or alcohol gels, try to stay clear of crowds. And if the kids are sick with fevers and symptomatic, don't send them to school. Keep them home, so at least whatever they have won't get spread around.

Crunch Time!!

I got in touch with my lawyer (who's kinda cute in an old dignified kinda way) but not my type hehe (just in case my hubby is reading), and we went over the terms of the contract. I was a little dismayed and unsettled since the date they set when they finally get their mortgage and cannot backout is Oct. 15, and they want to close on the 30th..of OCTOBER. So let's see, that's freaking hello of a 2 weeks time for use to find an apartment, get the credit checks done and over with, sign the lease, start moving stuff and all the crap my family accumulated in 5++ years not to mention all my daughter's clothes, shoes and handbags that she purloined from her Ate Indy's closet (but that's another story). Change of addresses, calling all banks, companies with our change of locations. Hmm, what else, DMV, SS, HR, IRS, and all the alphabet soup companies that has been a part of our lives one way or the other. Call the electric company, cable, telephone co, rent the moving van, hire movers, start boxing boxes and packin' away! All in 2 weeks. I told my husband, you better take a vacation, coz NO WAY can I do this by myself. Just to give you an idea about how involved my hubby is in the planning, implementation and evaluation process. I talked to him on the phone..while driving (oops but I swear I had hands-free gadget thingamajig) and I was telling him what's gonna happen, how fast it's gonna be and what I need him to do.. there was a pause and he was quiet for a few seconds..finally he asked.."So where are we going?" I'm like, Lord Almighty! I thought we were on the same boat, prepping the condo, putting it up for sale, finally finding a buyer and then...surprise..where are we going???!!!! I honestly don't know. Trying to look into the Westchester area, definitely NJ is not an option since I love my job and the flexibility of the hours since I only work weekends, I can be with the children weekdays. And before anybody comments that I'm so lucky and I can't appreciate that. STOP. I do. I do appreciate working only weekends, caring for my kids instead of hiring a babysitter who would probably earn more than I do and that is basically the reason I cannot leave Connecticut. I appreciate this job so much I am willing to commute longer just to keep it. Trying to move into an area with a good school system, but Westchester is sooooooo expensive. Property taxes are like $20-30,000 a year. And that is just taxes. HUWHATTT? It's NY baby and everything skyrockets! I really love Norwalk, diverse, alive and besides that free entry to Calf Pasture beach, which is a pretty nice stretch of beach considering it's the long island sound. My house is a hop,skip and a jump away from Stop and shop, Shoprite, Walmart, Home depot and TJ maxx and still be peaceful enough that we are not on a busy street. I love it that there are a lot of businesses in Norwalk, several dance schools, museums, stepping stones museum so it's not a monopoly of anything. I'm gonna miss all my fast food restaurants that kept me alive all those years (KFC, Wendy's, Burger King and of course Mickee D's) all just around the corner. It might sound unhealthy coz there are really some people with kids who have never even stepped foot in a fast food resto, but rushing for night shift, no sleep after taking care of 2 kids, I just wanted something hot, fast and I dont have to park. Yay for drive-thru. Enough of my ode to Norwalk. time to move on, I think I'm gonna cry when I finally turn over the keys, it's just that this place was not just a condo, it was our home, and I hope the people who will live there after us will take care of it like we did. Time to move on and am really looking forward to a house with a backyard. I'm sad and sentimental..oohhh ikea catalog, I think this would look nice in my new house.....

Got car... Can drive

Woke up early to accompany my niece to Yorktown,NY so she can take her practical test and finally get her driver's license. I am praying that she will pass, coz it's the 3rd time. The first time she and her dad went, to their dismay, when daddy handed the DMV officer his license, it was expired... hmm funny. Second time I went with and it was wintertime and Mikayla and I were FREEZING! This testing center doesn't have a building or even a shelter for the adults that accompany the kids. i was so surprised, in corporate America where there is a Dunkin Donut, Starbucks on every street corner, this street doesn't have ANY..AT ALL. You just part at the side of the street behind the line of cars with sweaty, nervous and jittery teens waiting for their exams and wait.. and wait... and wait. Finally Indy got her turn, I did try my best to suck up to the officer but no avail, after 5 mins. they came back, my niece with her lips and shoulder drooping, she failed. I felt bad for her and I was thinking maybe I'm a jinx since I remember I also accompanied her mom when she took her test and she failed that too..Oh well. Anyway 3rd time is the charm, passed her test with flying colors with just some minor mishaps. I was sitting on the park bench freezing (again) despite the thick sweatshirt,jeans and thick socks, weather report said it would be like around 60's but it felt like 50's waiting for Ate Indy, and was seated next to a blonde mom wearing a thin cardigan, summery sandals and shivering her ass off hehe. She was very talkative, basically I learned about her 2 teenagers, her job, her opinions on teen driving, her fears on her teens driving, all within 5 mins. I was about to contribute my 2 cents when her daughter drove up and the test was finished, she looked at me and said "That was fast... what does that mean?" I just gave her a sheepish smile and didn't say anything... based on experience, usually if the test was over that quickly, then the kid failed. And I was right, mommy walked up to the officer and the lady told her that her daughter Stephanie needs practice. Oh well. So mommy and daughter drove off and still I sat there waiting. Again wishing for a cup of Joe. But the wait was well worth it, Indy parked and got out of the car, started jumping up and down screaming she passed. And even though she is not my kid, I felt like a proud mommy. I got a glimpse of my future and what my kids will go through. There are a lot of unknowns and I have a lot of fears as a mother to two daughters, but with moments like this, I feel that it will be all worth it.