Mini Vacation!

So it looks like I'm going on a mini vacation! I'm headed to the RP tonight where I'll be for a little bit. Planning to enjoy it, since I probably won't be going back until 2014 =) I'm also going to stock up on my cooking secret recipes staple (aka magic sarap) ! I haven't been cooking anything lately because
1) my brothers are on a health binge and what I cook isn't healthy
2) I hate putting in so much effort and money into something only I will enjoy
3) Now that I'm pregnant, I don't seem to like whatever I know how to make

It will be nice knowing I'll have easy access to it when I do start cooking again, at least. My husband will just have to fend for himself in the kitchen until I'm ready to bear the smell of garlic and onions again. Unless he wants to eat spaghetti and broccoli for the next few months, which will be fine with me!

So aversions. Here's my list:
-garlic
-sweet bread
-kangen water
-onions
-rice
-chicken (especially actual chicken) (exception: in japanese curry, i will eat chicken.)
-most forms of meat (exception : ground beef)
-fish (except for grilled salmon, I'm not sure why but I will eat rice for salmon)
-most seafood ( I can stomach squid/pusit pretty well!)

I guess it doesn't sound so bad, but when you consider what the usual dining fare for a Filipina woman is... it rules out a LOT. I've been living off of italian food, fruits, cold milk (LOVE COLD MILK!), and force fed chicken cutlet and rice.

I'm entering my second trimester, and the symptoms are supposed to be easing up. For the most part they are, with the exception of the increasing aversions. I'm learning to just suck it up and swallow though, for the sake of adequate nutrition. I could go all day without eating, but my stomach never fails to remind me to cram something into my mouth. I have a window of 5 minutes to find food before I start dry heaving up the hizzy. The beauty of the human body. And now the hormones are REALLY coming in to play. I find myself more and more just wanting my personal space... I can't wait until Dats gets home and we can just enjoy each other and our little family before we venture out and meet the rest of the world. Family has always been a big thing for me... but for me, family has never been about blood. It's about the people you care about that care about you, that understand you and give you what you need, be it space or time or a listening ear, open mind, giving heart... Thankfully most of my family is exactly that, but I never limit it to just blood relatives. And I do make more of an effort to have relationships with people who are blood related to me, because I understand that many people think family is family is family, blood first. However, for me, family is love first.  I've always been a small group kind of person, and now it's even more intense. My main concern and my main priority has become the little teeny tiny thing in my tummy. As terrible as it sounds, I feel like the rest of the world can fend for itself while I focus on it.

Another new symptom has appeared. I guess I've been dodging it since I've been dodging sleep lately, but now that I'm able to sleep through the night they've come to keep me company. Around the net they're called "vivid dreams" but really all they are for me is nightmares. They aren't even about the baby! They're mostly about Dats leaving me, losing interest, things of that sort. If it's some kind of insight into my psyche, I'm assuming it means that I'm concerned that he won't be a part of our lives... I'm scared but pretty confident about the baby, but the things that worry me are things that are out of my control, aka his feelings, lol. When I wake up I feel very very guilty though because he's always been so good to me and I've never had any reason to doubt him. When I tell him about them he doesn't even get hurt or offended that I would dream such things, just reassures me that the favorite thing on him is his ring. I'm glad he's so understanding about it.

I mentioned that the hormones are kicking in! Yes, with a vengeance. The other night my dad said something about my eating all the time and I cried myself to sleep. I even went into creating a FB post that I knew would bother him and that he would see, since he's always on my ma's account. After reading it he said he's never going to go on FB again, and tells my ma I've changed. *sigh* because I finally say something about the constant teasing, I've changed. oh well. I'll just settle with the fact that he doesn't understand and he's so used to saying whatever he wants and criticizing everyone else for what they say. He's not used to responses.
Anyway, it was a blessing in disguise, since it made me want to leave earlier, which is how I found out that I actually SHOULD leave earlier. The Continental/United merger changed up the rules, so I've got until the end of the month to get outta here. Good thing I'm all packed! Aside from depositing my last check and picking up my medical records, I'm out of the system here =)

Last night I was able to visit Majah! I brought kuya (older brother) with me, because it gets DARK down south, and I'm not familiar with the area. She's so ridiculously happy, I wouldn't dare take her from there, as much as I want to. Driving away and seeing her through my window was awful. I'm going back again once before I leave so that I can get more pictures of her in action.

More when I get home!

Oh Happy Days

Overall, I've had a fantastic week. Aside from the pregnancy blah blahs, which I'm getting accustomed to, I was able to hang out with some friends!

Brief rundown: 
Monday - Lion King  in 3D with Elainey, topped off with Ice Cream! I came really close to crying in the theatre, but I fought it off. Here's one victory over the hormones!
Tuesday - Warrior with Neil, followed by an amazing impromptu dinner at a nice korean bbq place, where we fiddled around with the grill because we didn't really know what we were doing.
Wednesday - I can't really recall what I did that evening. I was most likely asleep.
Thursday - STOMP! as in Broadway! Loved every pounding minute of it! I'd definitely take my family to watch it again. Thanks work for being awesome and getting us tickets!
Friday - Just came from a birthday party for my cousin. There was a lot of food, but all I really ate was potato salad and 2 cupcakes. I waited all night for those cupcakes, and they were scrumptious.

I'm excited for tomorrow, it's Cirque Shanghai with Bruce! And on Sunday I'll most likely spend the day with my ma and auntie =) I had a few grumpy bumps in the week, but aside from one incident of irrational anger because I wasn't able to pick up my prescription, all was well! I have to share pictures with you ...

This week has been amazing for so many other reasons. One is that I finally got updated pics of Majah and she looks very, very happy.
I'm glad I found her a home that she really meshes with, and I don't think I could have done any better =)

Another is my 10 week appointment went well! Slightly uncomfortable, but let me tell you, the pain just washes away once you see the screen.So far all is happy and healthy and active! Let's just say that I didn't get the ultrasound I was expecting, and cramping resulted. I wouldn't have changed a thing though.

Lastly, because I'm really starting to appreciate what a loving and amazing man I married. The last few weeks have been really difficult for him, and I couldn't grasp why he was so busy or rushed or tired... it's because from 8000 miles away he was thinking of me. I must confess that I went into this seeing myself as the organizer and the get things done person. I found out today, the day he leaves for his deployment, that he was getting everything settled so that when I get there, I don't have a hard time. He set up everything from the post office to the housing, to organizing his stuff in storage so that it would be easy for me to take out and sort, prepaid his bills and set aside funds... and I almost couldn't believe how much he was able to accomplish in just a month. I of course come back with "I'm not frail!" but I guess for him it was important. He says it's his way of being there because he can't physically be here at the moment, and that he doesn't want me to stress or worry about these things right now. I have to admit that I appreciate the gesture and am very glad because it will make things a lot easier when I get there.

The thing that moved me most of all was that before he got off the phone with me today, he said that he prayed, and of all things, for me. My husband is not exactly a religious, spiritual, praying man. He's very passionate and determined and many other things, but praying isn't something that he does a lot of, even though I do it all the time. So when he said that to me, I have to say that I never felt so loved and so sure of us than I ever have before. I was in awe. I didn't know what to say, I was just so overcome with everything. To know that of the very few times he has ever prayed, of all the things and people he could pray for, he thought of me just meant so much I can't even begin to explain. He surprises me everyday. I think he's going to be a wonderful father.

Love from me and the little one =)

little miss majah

I never really used to like animals as a kid. I got tired of them really fast. Even as I got older, the furthest I'd go was fish, and I went pretty far into that. Strange as it sounds, I was pretty committed to those fish. I stayed up all night to fan water into one's gills because it was paralyzed. And I put my brothers fish in solitary confinement for making my fish's life miserable.

When I was in middle school, my brother bought a dog. We named him Soljah, because all of our dogs were ranks and we just ran out so we went with soljahboy. Oh man, did I like playing with and training that dog. But he wasn't mine... and when the time came to turn him over to my brother, I let go. Sometimes I regret it. It's one of the few that I have in my life, and to this day I can barely stand to see what I let happen to him. When we moved here he was tied to a tree and attacked and I didn't think he was going to make it. Thankfully, he did. I decided to get a new dog to watch the house we just moved into since Soljah was so badly injured and getting old, and to keep me company since Dats was leaving and I was always home alone. That's how I ended up with Majah.

She was supposed to stay out on the porch where she could watch the house and be safe from those vicious boonie dogs. But I couldn't stand keeping her out there and feeling like if I did she'd just end up outside like all the rest. So she became my best friend. Dats and I took turns walking her every 4 hours, and then every morning at 4 am he would get up and take her out and then I'd take her before I go to work, and then I'd rush home to see her again. I'd take her jogging every night to meet up with him after his workout. I gave her expensive medication that was wayy out of a college students budget everyday for months to get rid of her mange, and I got my first speeding ticket rushing home to let her out of her kennel. She'd make this funny chewbacca noise in the mornings when I'd be too lazy to get out of bed... and when ever I'm away for too long, she sticks to me like glue when I come home. I go to use the bathroom and when I open the door she practically falls inside. She spent her first night away from home the night before she got spayed, and on Saturday will be her last night. She's been on me like a magnet since she's been back... Sometimes I wonder if she knows what's happening. Dats says she can probably tell somethings up because she always does this when I'm sick, she just hangs out in my room with me even if the door is open and I'm just sleeping. My only solace is she'll be going to a wonderful home.
I was never really an animal person... I get tired of things incredibly fast. There are things I love for one month and hate the next... but I never got tired of coming home to her. And I can't believe she won't be here waiting when I come home again.

I love you Majah. I know your new family will love you just as much as we did. And thank you for being my friend.

Majah keeping guard

Taken as I write this blog entry,next to my bed just like ol faithful.



I bet my baby would love her.

The weekend is over...

and thankfully it's been a busy one. I finished 2 books (I miss reading, I picked it up again now that I'll be moving to a place that has bigger libraries and Books-a-million), spent time with my cousins, took care of a few errands, did some more research on my soon-to-be-home, and started making arrangements for my departure. 

I've had a lot of time to prepare for leaving so I've been trying to do it in tiny baby steps. Like with the paperwork, the easy stuff is out of the way. I've sorted through my things, and separated what I'm bringing, what I'm selling, and what I'm giving away. Some of my things have been sold at the fleamarket, others sent to the Philippines. Used that money to purchase and pack the big things I know I won't be able to find in Georgia, namely

Walis Tingting / Coconut Broom

Soft Broom

Kamyu Blade (It's for grating coconuts, you attach it to a small stool, sit on it like a horse and grate away.) I'll make you some coconut candy if we ever meet =)

Everything else will be pretty easy to part with, or to put in storage. I won't be bringing much because we're paying my relocation out of pocket. We postponed the wedding due to a family emergency, and since I wasn't included in his orders to his current duty station, it's complicated things a bit. In the long run it may have been a better move for me to stay though, since I was able to finish up and get my degree, continue various projects at work, and to get all my junk here squared away before moving. It's given me some extra time to find a job out there, at the very least. ( I still haven't found one. Hopefully that will change soon as I do like to work and keep busy)

The hardest part for me will be letting go of this sweet girl.

Since she was a puppy until she's had puppies of her own. I'd bring her with me but right now it just isn't in our budget to relocate her and then pay an additional pet deposit, and we'd need a place with a yard... I feel terrible about leaving her, so much so that I sometimes try to distance myself. It's difficult when I've had a long day and I come home and she's always waiting for me with a smile though... then she ends up back in the room with me. My jogging partner, my security system, my morning alarm. I now understand why Dats misses her so much. I haven't even left yet and I miss her already.

 Mommy's trying to find you a good home Majah.