I have been dating hubby for 4 years before we got married and we have been married for 5 years. In all of those 9 years here are some oustanding memories I have of him.

OUR FIRST DATE. When he ordered his soda of choice, he said “rot ber” (i.e. root beer). I realised he is Bisaya, and my first thought was “wow he’s really afront about it, not shy (ashamed) at all”. Later on, when I told him how impressed I was back then, I was in for a shock! He was indignant and insisted he has no Bisaya accent at all. Worse, he now claims it’s because of me that he now has one. WHAT?

SECURE. He’s not the jealous-type. In fact, he likes it when I get looks from other guys. When we were dating, he would actually tell me to make “pa-cute” (how do I translate this??) as someone’s checking me out. When I asked him about this attitude (perversion?) he said he feels proud that his gf/wife is pretty & attractive <- his words not mine, I swear!

MEETING THE FAMILY. He insisted on meeting my parents. He accompanied me to Nueva Ecija. Perhaps sensing I really don’t want to introduce him to my family, he arrived at the bus station 2 hours earlier than myself.

GOD-FEARING. I was an occasional Catholic, meaning I go to church only during certain events. Sometimes I do hear Sunday mass. But hubby made sure I attend to my spiritual needs, too. He’d pick me up on Sundays or after work to do novena’s. He’d insist we pray together. And now he’s the one who taught pogiBoy the Guardian Angel Prayer and some additional praises & supplications. I have a better relationship with God because of my husband.

OC. He used to clean his room endlessly and it used to drive me up the wall. In the morning, he’d sweep the floor and dust everything in sight, then he’d do the same ritual before going to bed! I was hoping he’d keep that habit, but unfortunately he chose to copy me and relax more. Pity.

WORST REACTION. He was keen on starting a family. He was eager to get married and was excited about me getting off the pill. But on the day I showed him my pregnancy tests (yup, all three of them), his first reaction was “Negative?” with a sheepish smile. I was expecting him to immediately jump up & down, not stand there looking confused. When I told him I was preggers, he was speechless, then he kissed me, and next day, he gave me two more test kits, you know just to be sure… yup he’s really OC.

BEST REACTION. He cried when I gave birth, he cried again when he first saw pogiBoy. He also cried when he saw my CS scars.

Hubby is far from perfect, but so am I. I thank God for giving me the best person in the world to accompany me in my lifetime.

I’m not sure if he actually reads this blog in-between surfing for Manchester United, just in case though,

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This year I shopped for new clothes and shoes for myself. Then I shopped (together with hubby) for our garden. My next project is to shop for the house and top of my list are curtains and curtain poles. I have been wondering where I should buy those, thankfully this UK-based opportunity came up from PPP. So in the next few days I will be surfing in Terry’s Fabric site.

UPDATE 20 June: Truly embarrassing, this meme was supposed to be kakikayan facts. Tsk, tsk. Oh well, sorry folks but I changed the rule at this end unwittingly.

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Noemi tagged me to divulge 7 random facts about the woman behind KWK. I have been chewing on this topic for a whole week. I always find it difficult to come up with answers about myself. So here are some really random facts about Auee:

1. When I was in high school I get teased a lot about being Ms Eveready, you know the battery? I hate not having what I need. So on most days my bag is filled with band-aid, bottle of water, brollie, baby powder, 2 hankies (I need a spare!), hand gel, hand lotion, lip balm, post-it notes (or small notebook) & a pen. Those are just the minimum content.

2. I started dyeing my hair when I turned 18 because my mestiza mother gave me their white (grey) hair not her complexion. My colour of choice is red, as in a head you can see from far away if the sun is very bright.

3. I hate math but I chose Computer Science in my UPCAT application because it sounded cool. The first time I saw our syllabus, I wanted to shift to Psychology straightaway. I have maths and statistics until I graduate?? Thankfully I didn’t move out & stayed the course. Though talking in my dream about “X’s value” is not my idea of sleepless nights.

4. I love cartoons, actually make that addicted to cartoons. Even when I was single I used to drag friends to see animated films. Nope not just adult-targeted animation, even Rugrats and Pokemon movies. I think this is one of the reasons why my niece, Gella, and my son loves me so much.

5. I’m a voracious eater even when I was young. Every time we attend Fiestas, the host often remark how nice it is to see “your kid loving our food”. Translation? “Susme ang takaw naman ng anak ninyo!” I even devised a strategy when attending all-you-can-eat events, if we’re visiting a number of houses, I would feast on the main courses for the first 3 houses and finish off the round with desserts from the remaining places-to-eat (ok, see). I also limit the rice intake to accomodate more lechon or similar fare. Just remembering this is already making me salivate! I miss Fiestas & their open houses…

6. I’m a dreamer. I dream about tomorrow, about conquering the world, about a vacation in Pinas or in Venice, about being a rockstar, about being a Palanca winner. It’s endless. Thankfully, I get a lot of stale time on the train to & from work so I can indulge in these fantasies.

7. I’m a hoarder. Eversince I can remember I love keeping “remembrances”. The oldest keepsake I have is the very first Christmas card I received. It was given by my then gradeschool ditse’s closest friend (can’t remember her name now) and it is dated “12 1981″. It’s one of those small cards you get when you buy a bag of crisp in the sari-sari store (local variety store). I also kept letters I have received from suitors and even pictures of my crushes & High School boyfriends. I love going through boxes of these things whenever we visit Pinas.

Well that’s it. Now for the fun part, to tag some of you!
:-)
I tag Vernaloo, Jason, and Rose.

Thanks Noemi for this meme, it wasn’t as ‘painful’ as I thought hehe

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VoIP nowadays is so common even my mother knows what it is, and that is saying a lot considering she knows nothing about computers. If you’re looking for a service provider, check out Packet8’s rates that start from $14.99 a month. They are offering a variety of packages for any business Voip needs.

This year it was hubby who has been pushing to get started on the garden. I wasn’t too keen. But two weekends ago, he woke up early without prompting (!) & when he went downstairs, he said he was ready to go! Amazing. Usually he takes a 1 to 1.5 hour pag-iinin before getting up. He then takes another 1-2 hours to get ready for anything. I kid you not.

Anyway, we went to our local Homebase. I wanted to go a nearby weekly farmer’s market, but hubby insisted it’s not convenient. But I was already thinking the shop will cost us an arm and a leg, it did.

Anyway I wanted to share some pictures I took of Homebase’ garden centre. The place was really nice, I wanted to grab everything in sight, including their garden gnomes!

I will post pictures of the plants in our garden soon. Most are looking healthy & have started to blossom, while some according to hubby are wilting.

The pictures were taken with my Nokia 70.

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You’re probably familiar with reality shows pitting men versus nature and willing them to survive using their wits and skills. I’ve also seen shows where so-called experts show you how to survive in case you get stranded in an island, a forest or a desert. You do learn some interesting things. For example like do you know that leaves with insect bites are edible?

However, being stranded, penniless in an unfamiliar urban jungle is totally different scenario. If say I end up in New York with no money and no way to call for help, will going to the police help? I don’t know. Where will I sleep? How can I stay safe?

The most important thing for me in that situation will be to find shelter and get fed. I will look for the British Embassy. They can give me food and bed for the night. From there it will be easier to contact family or friends to notify them of my situation. If an embassy doesn’t exist and I find no shelter, I will hawk whatever valuables I have in exchange for telephone call/s and food.

USA Network’s Burn Notice is a new show, starring Michael Weston, promises to give a new twist on being an urban survivor. It starts on the 28^th of June. For a sneak peak, why not visit the show’s website to learn how this CIA Operative survives his job

I’ve been fidgety since last night. I wanted to bounce around & I think, unconsciouly a smile creeps on my face every now & then. No, it’s not that ‘Friday feeling’.

It’s because the Sassy Lawyer picked up one of my posts. It was already a delight to see (read) her expound on the topic. What I didn’t realise was the post was actually her Manila Standard editorial for this week! Isn’t that cool? Well from my use of superlatives & ‘!’ you’d already guess I’m over the moon.

Funny thing was, only when I tried her tip in the Mommy Journals did I see that I have an inbound link from the Manila Standard!
:-)

Because this is such a big deal for me, I’m putting this post under the label “occasion“. Yup, starstruck fan is in awe.

I’m so happy, happy, happy… <– singing like Dory in Nemo

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You could be happily surfing the net, checking out the latest goss, shopping, or using your online bank account, all the time you’re unaware someone out there is “listening” and watching your every keyboard type & mouse click.

Are you protected from these silent predators? No? Then I suggest you take a look at Webroot spy sweeper. Spy Sweeper is the most award-winning anti-spyware software. For as low as $29.95 you get 360 degrees of protection.

Aside from the reliable security, you also get free customer support, just in case you don’t know where to start or have any other concerns. And if you have more than one person to protect, why not go for their 3-user pack just for $39.95.

What do I know about reliable software vendors? Okay don’t take my word for it, how about testimonials from big names like PC Magazine, PC World, and Download.com? Companies like these need as much protection as the average Joe Surfer (or Jane Blogger). In 2006 alone, they got at least 10 awards! Early 2007 got Spy Sweeper two (2) more recognitions!

And if you really want a nice neat package, then Spy Sweeper also comes with an antivirus.

So if you’re unsure whether you’re being “watched”, look at Spy Sweeper.

Because I loved the “interview” meme so much, I pleaded with Verna to ask me some more
:-)

1. What scares you the most?
I try to shake off bad thoughts but now & then when you read horrible news I always say a prayer to keep those “bad things” from happening to my loved ones, especially to my son. I just don’t know how I’d cope should anything happens to him.

2. What is the first thing single women/men should know about married life?
That it is very different from “dating”. I know you consider each other’s feelings now but when you’re tied together “forever”, it will mean sharing everything – good, bad, ugly, pretty, smelly & fragrant. It is difficult to compromise & bend your will, but you must sometimes. Marriage is not looking at all the positive attributes you already like, but looking at his negative traits & deciding whether you can really live with them. Because trust me, they’re unlikely to change – permanently.

3. If you can create a music video of your life, what song will it be and what will be the theme of the video?
For these days, I can’t think of a particular song but I’d like Ely Buendia to sing it, you know full of irony. The video will be of roller coasters zooming up & down, doing 360-degrees turn. That’s how it feels sometimes, exhilarating & fun but also disappointingly repetitive in the end haha

4. Say you have the power to change an ending of one movie, what movie will it be and what’s the new ending?
I’d change the last “Rocky” film & have Sly’s character be shown as old & aged or even dead & revered. So that we wouldn’t have to endure his pathetic comeback. That film and also “Die Hard” with the same treatment.

5. Do you watch Desperate Housewives? If yes, what character is closest to your personality? If no, choose a movie or tv series character that best describes your personality.
I rarely catch Desperate Housewives as it’s shown late at night. When they were still being shown I liked Stargate (original with Richard Dean Anderson of MacGyver fame) and “Dark Angel” (Jessica Alba). I love to think I’m adventurous that’s why I chose them but I also like “Ugly Betty” so I think it’s just the escapist in me.

Character? Probably “Lt Col Samantha Carter” of SG-1. I normally with an all men crew & I don’t get intimated, I get the job done.

There. All 5 questions sweetly concluded. YEHEY! Thanks again Verna, I enjoyed these, too.

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It is common practise amongst the Brits to retire somewhere sunny and warm like Spain or Portugal. You’d often see advertisements enticing locals to visit an exhibit for overseas properties. And you do get a lot of people selling up and moving abroad. It is not such a bad deal if you get double or triple the money when you convert your monthly pension.

Southern Cyprus as experienced chronic over development due to this fact and so is most of the common Mediterranean destinations. North Cyprus is seen as the last idyllic region. North Cyprus Property is now seen as exceptional value for money. Apartments cost from only £30,000 and detached villas with pools can be bought for less than £100,000! Compare that with the cost of housing here (& the weather) & who wouldn’t want to invest & move abroad?