at it again

yes, i am at it again. i have not gone to the gym for more than a week now. i hate it because aside from me getting unhealthier each day, those days were already paid and it's such a waste of money. i read that setbacks do happen but we should bounce back immediately. sigh! why am i allowing myself to not get up, literally and figuratively. i seem to be doing one step forward, two steps backward instead of the other way around. i should exercise today! it felt horrible that one of my favorite plus-sized tops almost didn't fit me anymore. grrrrr.

i am worried again. i guess all moms do when their kids get sick. marti still has fever and she doesn't want to eat anything nor drink her milk. i would have wanted to tell her she shouldn't have forced herself to go to school yesterday but what's the point. i'm thinking, they should have gotten their flu shots before the rainy month of june came. but then again, there is really no point dwelling on things that have already happened.

i better end this post now. it seems like i am not making sense here. haha.

birthdays galore

to my dearest big sis, Chu and her son, Vince:

happy, happy birthday! wishing you good health and lots of money. :)

wish we could all be in one place again. and wish it will be there in canada, for a change ;-)

love you both although sometimes it doesn't seem so. hehe.

for love of learning

Marti had been nursing a fever since Saturday afternoon and when I left for work last night, she was so hot. Minoy and I decided that she shoudn't go to school today. With that in mind, I did some overtime at work this morning to hopefully pass the metrics at the end of the month. And Minoy also brought the car to his office instead of my Dad driving him there. When I left the office at 11: 00 AM, i got three missed calls and half a dozen messages from yaya telling me that they've been waiting to be brough to Marti's school since 10:30 (her class starts at 10:45) because Marti insisted that she shouldn't miss her class. I walked to the hub's office (under the scorching heat) to get the car and was still undecided whether I should really let her go to school (yaya said there was no more fever). On my way home, I decided she shouldn't and thought of buying her her favorite McDo meal.

I leisurely drove home getting there at 11:45 AM. I was so shocked when I saw Marti crying like she'd just been orphaned and no amount of explaining could make her stop, not even her favorite chicken and fries meal from McDo could pacify her. I hated it. I hated it that I was the one present while Minoy kept on telling me through SMS that I shouldn't give in. And then there was the Lolo who kept on saying "sige na lang gud, unsaon man nato nga ganahan man gyud sya moskwela." And Zach was shouting, "Ma! Ma! Ate cry, school. " Plus I was already very sleepy and I didn't know what to tell the teacher after having notified her that Marti's sick and couldn't attend her class. I had to call the school again to ask if it was okay to go there an hour late. It was the owner who answered the phone and she assured me it's fine as long as Marti is really not sick anymore. So I drove like mad and brought her to her class just in time for the day's activity.

Tonight, the hub told her she should not go to school tomorrow because she's not yet fully well and rested and made her understand she might infect her classmates. But no, she aswered that some of her classmates also have cough and cold and they're there. We'll see. I already told Minoy he should ask Daddy to drive him to the office so he can bring her to school just in case.

Marti amuses me in so many ways. I never really thought she'd be like this as a student. I don't remember being like her when I was younger. In fact, I think there were times I'd ask my Mom to write my teacher an 'excuse letter' because I wanted to be absent.

father-daughter moment

while we were at the dining table, Minoy and Marti had the following conversation:

him: mart, when you're big na, let's work together at this table. you do your school assignments while i work online. ok?

her: yes, dy.

him: and if you have questions about your assignments, you just ask daddy.

her: ok, dy. ikaw sad dy ha, if you have questions about your work, just ask me ha?

giddy

my sister is coming! i am very excited i can no longer wait for her arrival. right now, they're still on board Qatar Air on their way to Singapore. i am praying they have a a safe and really smooth flight especially when they fly from Singapore to Manila on a Cebu Pacific flight. she would have wanted to take PAL but they have to fly with her B-I-L and he already has Ceb Pac ticket.


when i announced my sister's vacation, marti said "naay mag-teach nako sa akong lessons, ma. " but when i asked her if she's excited, she was in denial saying "si zach man na ang ma happy kung naa si tita. " hmmmm, let's see. :)


i can already smell trips to meddah, dates at the coffee shops, shopping and a whole lot more only the two of us enjoy doing. sisters are really a blessing!

touched

i was happily surprised to be mentioned in one of my really good friends, Aileen's blog. if there is one thing about me that i am proud of, it's my being thoughtful. yes, i am thoughtful even when i'm maldita at times. but the bad thing about my thoughtfulness is i expect other people to be as thoughtful as i am. even my dear li'l sis (who's my bestest friend) "hates" it. :)

i opened Minoy's facebook a few minutes ago, and was teary-eyed when i saw a father's day message from my li'l sis. she said "Marti and Zach are blessed to have you as dad. " i so, so agree! and i am also blessed because he does things for them that are supposed to be my job.

It's Our 4th Wedding Anniversary!

happy anniversary, teng! i may not be the perfect wife for you but i know i'm the best. haha. i thank the Lord for giving me someone to love, spend my life with, fight with and hopefully, grow old with. i pray that each year will be better one for us.

i wish that we will love each other deeply and strongly every single day and we will always have the love that will make us accept each other's flaws and imperfections.

i love you the best way i know.

always,

Mimi

Happy Father's Day, Daddy Minoy!

Dy, thank you so much for being so hands-on with Marti and Zach from the time they were born until today...for always spending most of your (waking) non-working hours with them...for being their 'barkada' and best friend...for always being there in my absence...and for everything you do to make Marti and Zach happy. God bless you always with good health, a stable job and lots of money. :)

reminder to self (and others) :)

got this from sparkpeople through my email. timely. i really should get some sleep and rest first before hitting the gym.

" Farmers rotate different crops on the same piece of land to give the soil a rest and let it replenish nutrients. How do you replenish? How much sleep did you get last night? Two-thirds of Americans get less than the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Sleep can set the tone for your actions for days and weeks to come, not to mention your mood and brain power. Even small amounts of lost sleep add up to a sleep debt that muddles your brain and fatigues the rest of you. The negative cycle created by sleep debt may be the No. 1 way people destroy their healthy lifestyle momentum. Regular amounts of good slumber set a sleeping/waking rhythm that energizes you in the daytime and relaxes you at night. The more your body gets into the rhythm of regular sleep, the more the rest of your life can find a similar, consistent rhythm. So hit the pillow and hit your stride. "

working for a call center often deprives you of a much-needed sleep but i guess with proper planning, i can still get my 6-8 hours of sleep.

so there, we should sleep, leen =)

at its peak

my weight, that is. after i drove my little girl to school today, i headed to the gym right away. i wanted to find out if working out after my shift would work for me.

i'm starting over again, day 1 again for me at the gym and was alarmed to know that i'm at my heaviest now at 187.5 pounds! goodness! i was a few pounds lighter during my two pregnancies. this is alarming especially if you see my tummy which looks like i am due to give birth anytime soon.

although i was only asked to do a few exercises this morning, it still feels good that well, i'm back there. and i realized it's better if i go there around 4 PM when i have already slept because this morning, i was so sleepy i thought i'd fall off from the treadmill! while doing the stationary bike, i thought of a good plan :) since my dad is here (and he is bored without anything to do at home), i will ask him to drive Marti to and from school so i can sleep as early as 10 AM, wake up around 3 then go to the gym and pick up the hubby after. brilliant idea?

now let me take my nap with my two bugoys...have a great weekend everyone!

on a brighter note

okay, okay. i know you are already tired reading about how i feel about my 12 AM shift. like i said in my previous posts, it's perfect because i get to drive or accompany Marti to school. i am still confused about what i should do while she's in school for 2 and a half hours. well actually, been thinking of going to the gym then pick her up at 1:15 PM and sleep together when we get home. but i haven't started doing it yet because this perfect shift is still making me really tired. yes, having come from a morning shift, i am really still adjusting to the graveyard shift. no matter how hard i try, i just can't sleep at daytime so a 3 to 4-hour sleep is what's normal for me since this 12 AM shift started. although i have not gone to the gym regularly, i am still happy because with my new pair of fitflop, i feel i am still doing some exercise. i wear them from the free parking area at IT Park to my office at i3, in the mall and supermarket and even at home when i go up and down the stairs and walk around the compound.

M drove me to the office last night because i'd already be late if i still have to look for a parking space. what does that mean? we're now friends. *grin* i'm happy even if everything is still not totally back to "normal". on our way to the office, he asked if D is really going homeand went on to say that when he got home yesterday, D said sorry to him for the tongue-lashing. i'm happy. knowing that D is one person i know who is too proud and whose vocabulary doesn't include the word sorry, it was something. i really hope M will totally forget THE incident.

it's (Marti's) Yaya Beth's birthday today. i treated her to lunch at Sunburst after Marti's class and gave her a cash gift. i am grateful that although she also have tantrums every now and then, she's really so good at yaya-ing :) and she granted my request to stay another year with us.

one of the challenges in working for a call center is passing the metrics where one's performance rating is based. i am failing in the required number of chats per hour that i have to work doubly hard for me not be enrolled in a monitoring program (which will not make me eligible for the quarterly bonus). today, i made 24 chats ( a little more than the required). i'm happy. drained but happy. and i hope this goes on.

i'm happy, too, that Marti does not want her yaya inside the classroom anymore. gosh! my baby girl is now really a big, independent girl. i was so amused when she told me "Ma! my teacher did not tell me my dress is nice." liwat gyud sya nako in so many ways!!!

what now?

it has become so awkward at home after THE incident last Monday. i perfectly understand M. no matter how level-headed and mature he is, i could tell he's hurt and only time can heal the pain. he has been avoiding "encounters" with D. he either leaves home really ealry while D is still asleep or comes home a little late than usual when D is already in the room.

D, on the other hand, seems to have a tinge of regret about what he did but still, the damage has been done. it's weird that he's been like that --- hurting other people at one moment and acting as if nothing happened the next. i mean, he feels it's automatic that people understand that he's sorry for it or didn't actually mean what he did.

now i don't know what happens now. i am conditioning my mind and heart that my father's day plan will not push through. D says he's going home while i could feel that M is also not up to any celebration. i also don't want to force it because i don't want to put them in a difficult and awkward situation.

hay, life!

so, so true

it's true what they say that we should never live with in-laws because no matter how good they are, issues or problems will arise now or later.

just had a bad experience and it was not from my in-laws but from my very own father who did something to M which i will never forget and which, made me cry really hard last night and 'til now.

i'm hoping M (being the most open-minded and diplomatic person i know) will just forget the experience. haha, hoping against hope. M is only human.

at the homefront

today is the first day of classes of Zach's yaya at the Asian College of Technology. classes start at 6 PM and end at 10 PM. same schedule on Tuesdays and Thursdays. she was supposed to have classes on Saturdays and Sundays but we thought it's too much so i personally went to the school last Saturday (despite being so sleepy after my shift) to have those two non-academic subjects removed from her study load. i was actually shocked PE 1 classes are held on Sundays and for 4 hours at that!

our dearest Marti starts school on Wednesday, June 17th. i am both excited and scared. excited because this school year marks the beginning of "real" school for her and i now have a student. and scared that she might think it's still mostly play (like her playgroup class). i'm scared, too because there will already be reading and writing assignments which i need to do with her. i remember my older sis who used to work with her kids on their assignments every night and almost always lost her patience. i know i am a lot like her, even more impatient than her. now i wish tita teacher stella's with us. but then again, isn't that one of the challenges every parent has? here's another thing. i told myself not to think about class ranking or that honor roll stuff so as not to put pressure on Marti but i think it's easier said because i've always been competitive in school and i always wanted to be on top. at least up until high school. hahaha.

it's father's day on Sunday, June 21st. as early as last month, i already made plans and booked an overnight stay somewhere. but sometime last week, there was some petty fight and i'm no longer in the mood to go anywhere, but the thing is my own dad arrived a few days ago and so i really have to come up with something. i guess we will cancel the overnight stay and just hit the beach with the whole family.

i am still adjusting to this 12 AM shift. well, i haven't been sick but i think i look less prettier (haha) now. the really bad thing about it is i fall asleep at work and it's a big no-no. what i like about this shift, though, is i will get to drive and accompany Marti to school. i will see this week how it will go and make my daily IT. right now, i am confused whether i should sleep from 9 to 10:30 and bring her to school or i should wait 'til i've brought her to school and sleep right after. another thing i'm thinking of doing after my shift and while waiting for Marti to get ready is go to the gym. we'll see, we'll see.

influenced

i spent the whole day with my dearest mom. we heard mass at 8:15 AM and went straight to my "second home" and happy place, ayala center. had breakfast at pancake house then went shopping (unplanned, hehe). capped our mother-daughter bonding with starbucks frap (mocha for her and green tea for me). i'm happy we did it. but that is not the main point of this post :)




i've heard about fitflops the moment they came out in the market (Cebu for that matter) but didn't pay much attention or got interested because they didn't look attractive to me. and i was thinking why not do a "real"exercise using my rubber shoes. i wasn't swayed by the users' testimonies and Oprah's endorsement. not until i kept on reading about them in Pat's blogs. having read a first-hand experience from a friend got me curious and so today, i grabbed a pair of aqua walkstar fitflops for myself and electra gold for mom (as my advance 70th birthday gift). we wore them (right after i paid) during the entire duration of our stay in ayala (6 hours). i hope to experience the benefits Pat and other users got and write my own testimony. :) i wanted to get the red walkstar (their first release) but blue is my favorite color and there was no size 9 for my next fave color, purple.

just thinkin' aloud

i have always been in the 3 AM-12 PM shift. there were several weeks when i started at 545 AM and it was quite a perfect schedule because it meant not waking up in the middle of a dream.

recently, i have been assigned to the 1 AM - 10 AM shift. i was fine and i quite liked it because i get home early. when i first joined the call center, i was wondering how it was in the midnight or graveyard shift. some would say it's better than starting at 2 or 3 AM while others would say it's not advisable because you feel as if you don't get enough sleep.

this week i'll be at the 12:45 AM shift while next week, i'll be starting at 12 AM. finally, i can see for myself how it is being in the graveyard shift. i am not complaining. i am still just curious how it will turn out for me knowing the sleepyhead that i am. but with classes about to start, this new shift is the best for me because i can accompany marti to school for her 10:45 AM class.

i already asked my friend (who has a fixed 12 AM shift) what her day looks like. she advised me to sleep right after my shift then wake up around 12 to have lunch then sleep again around 4 PM 'til 10 PM. but if i bring marti to school, i'll only sleep after her class ends at 1:15 PM. i have to go to the gym around 4 PM then sleep again around 6 'til 10 PM. take note, the gym is now part of my daily IT.

sorry folks for this boring, non-sense entry =)