Archive

Archive for the ‘Life’ Category

The Things We Wait For

November 1, 2012 15 comments

Every semester for the last two years I’ve printed the 1L xxxx School of Law course schedule and kept it tucked inside a notebook hidden in my purse. I’ve been carrying it around as if the schedule were my own, praying that one day it would be.

In a life which I’ve devoted the better part of to raising a family, my hopes to pursue a law degree has been a secret desire buried twenty years beneath the daily conundrum of kids’ science projects, football practices, mortgage payments, the ups and downs of my husband’s business, and my own nine to five job. When you spend that much time folding laundry and refereeing sibling rivalry attempting law school seems more like a pipe dream and less than a reality. Perhaps even more restrictive of this law school fantasy of mine was that bachelor’s degree I lacked but required if my aspirations were to become anything more than an unsettled yearning in my chest. Read more…

Categories: Asian, College, Dysfunctional, Family, Filipino, Funny, Girl power, humor, husband, Inspirational, Kids, Law school, Lessons, Life, Moving, Parenting

It’s Almost G Day Folks!!

April 29, 2012 18 comments

I contemplated long and hard about writing this post. I wasn’t sure if I should be embarrassed…or proud.

I think people tend to be their own worst critics. Course, I don’t believe that about everyone. Browsing through my husband’s Facebook newsfeed, you might actually think otherwise. There’s definitely a good amount of tooting-your-own-horn going on over there. Maybe that’s why I don’t have a Facebook account. Heck if anyone wants to read snarky comments about my life every ten minutes on his or her feed. A few hours of that and I imagine people would start blocking me.

Truthfully, I always feel uncomfortable accepting compliments or praise and it’s a rare occasion I’m not kicking myself for something I wish I did better. It’s a little tiring really, flogging myself all the time. Read more…

Categories: College, Crazy, Embarrassing, Family, Funny, Girl power, humor, husband, Inspirational, Kids, Law school, Lessons, Life, Marriage, Mothers, Moving, Women Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Stories They Leave Out of the Marriage Manual

February 18, 2012 17 comments

Some days I look at my husband and think, “I can love this man a thousand years, in this life and the next.” Other days I find myself struggling to figure out how I’m supposed to stand him one more day. Marriage is funny like that. It’s like a roller coaster, complete with that sick-to-your-stomach-feeling you get when you catch a dip you didn’t realize was going to be so steep.

There really is a thin line between love and hate. I should know, my husband and I have danced on both sides more often than I’d like to count. On a few occasions I’ve just been one bad decision away from setting his clothes, his car – heck, sometimes his *ss on fire. Good thing I know better, at least now I do.

The last few years of our marriage have been rough, which is saying a lot considering the first ten was chock full of cinematic worthy drama. I don’t doubt the stories of my marital highs and lows wouldn’t incite screenwriter Tyler Perry into writing part three to his ‘Why Did I Get Married’ movie series. Read more…

Categories: alcohol, Asian, Crazy, Dysfunctional, Embarrassing, Family, Funny, humor, husband, Inspirational, Kids, Lessons, Life, Marriage, Women Tags: , , , , , ,

Happy New Year…from my house to yours..

January 14, 2012 2 comments

Another year has come and gone, another memorable chapter in our lives closed.

It hadn’t been one of our better years. As individuals, and as a family, I think each of us learned new things about ourselves, strengths we didn’t realize we had and weaknesses we would’ve preferred keep to ourselves . My husband and I found ourselves doing a lot of much needed self reflection. We rediscovered what it takes to keep a family whole and how being happy with ourselves and each other plays a key role in that.

Between the hectic schedule of a family of six and despite our tumultuous summer, we’re all still laughing and driving each other nuts, in a good way..at least most of the time. Read more…

Categories: Asian, Crazy, Dysfunctional, Embarrassing, Family, Filipino, Funny, humor, husband, Inspirational, Kids, Lack of sex, Law school, Lessons, Life, Marriage, Mothers, Moving, Parenting, Women Tags: , , , , , , ,

Renee – A remembrance and tribute to love..and loss

January 14, 2012 Leave a comment

Recently, I was given the opportunity to provide a remembrance at a memorial for my dear friend’s wife, who was taken from us far too early. It was my tribute to their extraordinary love…and to his new found pain. 

I didn’t get a chance to know Renee as well as I would have liked, but as David’s Executive Assistant and as his friend, I did have the pleasure of getting to know her through his eyes.

I know that she was beautiful, intelligent, and strong. She loved the arts, especially ballet. She went to school at Texas A&M and maintained that fighting Aggie spirit throughout her entire life. I know she was a dedicated Aggie, so much so she made David a convert when he actually attended Baylor and UT.  Read more…

Categories: death, Funny, husband, Inspirational, Lessons, Life, Marriage, Moving Tags: , , , , , , , ,

The Stuff Our Kids Teach Us

October 11, 2011 6 comments

The other day I was tossing up the closet when one of my girls came up from behind me in surprise.

“Mama, what are you doing?”

You bet I jumped. “Hey sweetie.”

“What are you doing,” she asked with her head cocked to one side.

Now this is the baby of the family, the kid where hubs and I finally got it right, hence a bit sheltered, so when she asks me what I’m doing when it’s rather obvious I’m nosing through her dad’s junk she really is asking out of innocence. This is opposed to her older, more street savvy siblings whose likely responses would’ve been, “Mom, whatcha’ doin’ creeping through dad’s things again,” accompanied with a wink and a smile implying I owe them one.  Read more…

Categories: Crazy, Dysfunctional, Embarrassing, Family, Funny, humor, husband, Kids, Lessons, Life, Marriage, Mothers, Parenting

The Problem With Desire

October 9, 2011 9 comments

It’s a hard thing to want something, and I mean really want something, with all of your heart, and every bit of your being.  So much so you can barely contain the elation in your voice when you talk about it, nor the flutter in your belly attesting to both extremes of excitement and apprehension. You find yourself struggling to keep the knot in your throat from rising just thinking about it, dreaming on it.

Yup, desire can do that to you.

Twenty years  of secretly coveting something for myself; almost a decade’s worth of semesters staggered between raising kids, juggling bills, and the daily grind of nine-to-five; and all the nights spent studying eight hours in one sitting until I was ready to poke my eyes out – I’m finally that much closer to my ultimate goal. But it’s the 11th hour and I find myself questioning everything that got me here, all of my efforts, every what-if and why-didn’t-I, and the actual probability of crossing the finish line at all. Read more…

Categories: College, Funny, Girl power, Inspirational, Law school, Lessons, Life, Marriage, Mothers, trying not to die, Women

Protected: Welcome To My World!!

July 21, 2011 Enter your password to view comments.

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Categories: Asian, Cheap, Crazy, Dysfunctional, Embarrassing, Family, Filipino, Funny, humor, husband, Life, Marriage, Parenting, Sex, Teenagers, vacations, Women

What The %@#$%^! Is Going On Here?

May 8, 2011 8 comments

I’m a warrior, a road warrior. Well, among other things. Really. Just hear me out.

Being a family of six limits our options when it comes to travel. Heck, being a family of six limits us financially in several respects, because as you can guess six times any dollar amount usually equals much more than most people can afford.

Hence, over the last few years this family has become a band of road warriors, trekking it across the state and the country in our bucket of a minivan accompanied by three little dogs. Despite the thousands of dollars we save in airfare, road tripping has its drawbacks, the most obvious of which has to be the circus you’re subjected to by the parties in your car.  Read more…

Categories: Asian, Crazy, Dysfunctional, Embarrassing, Family, Filipino, Funny, humor, husband, Inspirational, Kids, Lessons, Life, Marriage, Mothers, Moving, Parenting, Teenagers, trying not to die, vacations, Women

Exhaustion

March 24, 2011 9 comments

I’m not a morning person, never have been. In fact, I have a love hate relationship with my snooze button. I need her, rely on her, religiously check on her just in case, but every morning I blindly smack her quiet for that luxurious ten more minutes of sleep. Who am I kidding? I set her for 6:30, but shush her half a dozen times before my husband has to coerce me out of bed with coffee at 7. And that’s on a good day.

The worse days entail me waking up to my fourteen year old standing above me citing I have fifteen minutes to get dressed and out the door. Better believe I’ve long since given up fixing my face and hair unless I can work that in while I warm up the car. I usually focus on just trying not to wear the same outfit two days in a row and some weeks I don’t even manage that.  Read more…

Categories: Crazy, depression, Dysfunctional, Family, Funny, humor, husband, Kids, Law school, Lessons, Life, Marriage, Mothers, Parenting, Uncategorized, Women

The Price We Pay

March 5, 2011 7 comments

I was recently invited to write a piece for The Write On Project, a fabulous blogging community featuring some really great writers. I’m quite humbled and flattered they extended me an invitation. The suggested topic of the post was guilt. My post is scheduled to post on their site tomorrow morning, but titled as “This Girl’s Road to Redemption”. On my site I prefer the title “The Price We Pay”. I hope you all enjoy it. I wonder if some of you might even relate, especially those of you I grew up with. Here’s to all the other “survivors of our era”.

The dictionary defines guilt as “a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime, or wrong, whether real or imagined.” Real or imagined, that sounds about right. Might even be more accurate, at least helpful, if they added a footnote, “Warning: Duration of guilt known to last several years. Atonement not guaranteed.” Now that’s the kind of guilt I know. Come to think of it, I didn’t know there was another kind. Read more…

Categories: alcohol, Crazy, depression, Family, Funny, Girl power, humor, Inspirational, Lessons, Life, Mothers, Moving, Women Tags: ,

Protected: Okay Boys, Lets Talk About Sex

January 31, 2011 Enter your password to view comments.

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Categories: Crazy, Embarrassing, Family, Funny, Kids, Lessons, Life, Mothers, Parenting, Sex, Teenagers, Women

Are My Children Mentally Deranged?

January 16, 2011 10 comments

Here’s a scene from dinner a few months ago, not quite sure what to make of it.

Mom: Where’s Taylor?

Rodney Jr.: In her room.

Kayla: She’s still trying to get out.

Mom: Of what???

Rodney (nonchalantly): We tied her up. Read more…

Categories: Crazy, Dysfunctional, Embarrassing, Family, Funny, Girl power, humor, Kids, Life, Mothers, Teenagers, Violent behavior, Women

Protected: Angry Open Letter to That Family Member Who Just Doesn’t Know How to Call Back

January 11, 2011 Enter your password to view comments.

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Categories: Crazy, Dysfunctional, Family, Filipino, Funny, Life, Violent behavior, Women

Protected: Sick Notice – The Extended Director’s Cut

January 9, 2011 Enter your password to view comments.

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Categories: asthma, Cheap, cheap thrills, Crazy, doctor visits, Dysfunctional, Embarrassing, Funny, Hot men, humor, husband, Lack of sex, Lessons, Life, Marriage, Sex, trying not to die, Women

Remember the Name

January 7, 2011 9 comments

This is 10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will,
5% pleasure, 50% pain, and 100% reason to remember the name.

Fort Minor

I root for myself, a lot. Really I do.

Life is hard enough as it is just trying to get through the day to day stuff, dare you start dreaming for something bigger, setting ambitions for yourself that seem dubious, silly even. Sometimes I need to cheer myself on just to get through the day. Read more…

Categories: Family, Inspirational, Kids, Lessons, Life, Marriage, Mothers, Moving, Women

Happy New Year from our family to yours!

January 1, 2011 2 comments

Here is an excerpt from our annual holiday  family newsletter.

It’s amazing how quickly the years go by, especially when you’re having fun. Well, it hasn’t all been fun, but it’s definitely been memorable.

Yesterday AJ was still tossing his 2nd grade lunch in the garbage bin instead of eating it, Rodney Jr. was still waving at me through tears every day I left him at daycare, Kayla still cried just because you looked at her funny, and Taylor still swore by the tooth fairy who jipped her when she woke up to use the bathroom.

Today AJ is an adult and navigating his way through early adulthood eating every last bite of the lunches we feed him, and yours if you’re not careful, Rodney Jr. spends weekends at his friends’ homes as if I shared custody with their parents, and this year the girls think they’re too old for anything from Toys ‘R Us and prefer jeggings. Read more…

Categories: Crazy, Dysfunctional, Embarrassing, Family, Funny, husband, Inspirational, Kids, Lessons, Life, Marriage, Mothers, Parenting

Sorry, It’s Just Not Your Lucky Day

December 23, 2010 11 comments

The current economic crisis has left few unscathed, myself included. My husband’s business is rather slow to say the least, but I’m thankful we continue to stay in the black, as opposed to many of our counterparts who aren’t even in the game anymore.

We’re fortunate that I have a great job, receive a pretty adoption stipend, and that I know how to budget up the wazoo. It’s never easy to feed a family of six, all of them hearty eaters, but we make it work. Determination is always a plus.

Sure, we’re lucky enough to manage but every now and then, like when a car unexpectedly needs work done or your son comes home with a lacrosse registration demanding $500 payment, it’s a challenge not to scream, or beat somebody up, or incite some other grand measure of self destruction to express my frustration or mask my desperation. Read more…

Categories: Cheap, Crazy, Dysfunctional, Embarrassing, Family, Funny, Girl power, husband, Inspirational, Kids, Life, Marriage, Mothers, Parenting

Protected: Top 5 ‘God, Help Me’ Parenting Moments

December 19, 2010 Enter your password to view comments.

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Categories: Crazy, Dysfunctional, Embarrassing, Family, Funny, Kids, Life, Mothers, Parenting, Sex, Women

Mission take-some-extra-rolls-home

December 17, 2010 2 comments

I’m so cheap…it costs a ton to feed my family of seven at home, even moreso when we eat out, so we frequent buffets. More bang for your buck, I say.

One afternoon we went to a Golden Corral where the rude waitress proceeded to seat us in the big family, ergo ghetto who-gives-a-crap about them, section. I was mortified. The area was tucked in a corner and hidden by dividers. Other people’s children were running around playing tag and dirty plates were piled up on tables without a busser in sight, but we were hungry so we stuck around.

I spent the rest of the hour complaining about nasty this, nasty that, ghetto here and there, blah, blah, blah. At some point my husband turned to me and told me to shut up.

“You’re the ghetto-est of them all, babe,” he accused.

“WHAT,” I retorted, “you better take that back,” I demanded.

“No,” he stood firm, “I know what you’ve been doing for the last ten minutes.”

I fidgeted in my seat uncomfortably. “I’m not doing anything,” I refuted.

“Yes, you are. Open your purse,” he directed.

“NO.”

“I bet you don’t want to. You have a bunch of sticky buns and rolls in your purse, I know you do.”

“I only took one or two,” I replied defensively.

“No, babe, you took eight and you’ve been putting them in ziplock bags that I know you brought from the house.”

Mission take-some-extra-rolls-home foiled! Darn it.

“Babe, you’re sticking $0.50 rolls in the $1000 Burberry bag I bought you. Are you crazy? I’m not buying you anymore nice purses if you’re just going to use them to hide stolen food.”

Pouting and reluctant, I surrendered and pulled the giant ziploc bag of rolls out of my purse, tossing them on the table.*

Suffice to say, I no longer steal rolls from buffets..at least not in front of my husband.

*By the way, on our way out I did grab the ziploc bag and stuck it in my jacket. Waste not, want not..

Categories: Cheap, Crazy, Dysfunctional, Embarrassing, Family, Funny, husband, Lessons, Life, Marriage, Women
%d bloggers like this: