Happy As....

a clam! And you know why? Because yours truly has officially reached exactly 100 followers today! I can't believe it either. I started this blog back in late 2008 and it wasn't until a few months ago this year, that I found out about following other blogs and attempting to have people follow mine. I've seen other blogs and how many people follow them and I'm like, gosh, I'll never get that many people to my blog. I thought 100 was a long shot. And here I am. I just hope that my following continues to grow.

Thanks so much to all of you for your support and I hope that you've enjoyed reading and following this blog as much as I've enjoyed following all of yours. Because more than likely, if you're a follower of mine, I follow you right back!

And yes...I will get off my arse and do a giveaway. I promised on at 75 followers and I'm way behind!

Wordless Wednesday: I want.....

A glass of SWEET wine so bad!!!

I can't wait until this baby is out of my tummy!

These pictures were taken at the Mesina Hof Winery in Eastern Texas in Spring of 2008. I was visiting my best friend Chrissy at Fort Hood, Texas. This winery was a few hours away from her house...toward College Station. Her mom, Peggy, also visited at the time.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Honestly, today I didn't realize that it was Tuesday until about half way through the day. I wanted it to be Wednesday so bad. Heck, really want it to be Friday. I guess that's what I get for not blogging yesterday. I totally messed up my flow!

2. As I'm sitting here doing this, Lucy is sprawled out next to me and she's got bad gas! Peeeeee-yew! I'm sorry I'm putting your business out like that, baby girl.

3. I'm not doing so well with my 40-hour work weeks. Now that I've hit my 7th month, I'm supposed to be following an 8-hour work day schedule. So really, I'm supposed to leave work by 5 if I get to work at 9. I didn't know that the hour for lunch counts too. But it's been four days since I hit 28 weeks and I haven't gotten home earlier than 6:30. It's my fault though.

4. Lucy and I have made new walking friends at the park. We see Aracely and her 4 year old daughter, Isabella, pretty much every night. Lucy loves playing with Isabella. They like to run off together. It's just great to see that Lucy loves playing with little girls. Maybe a glimpse of what to expect when Vaiosina is that age.

5. Aracely was sweet enough to give me two pairs of Old Navy maternity cargo pants--one khaki and one green--that she's not using anymore. They fit so well and are so comfy! I'm stoked. I was going to buy some this weekend, but no need for that anymore. I love having sweet new friends!

6. I got the phone call from the hospital about my 3-hour glucose test lab results. Everything is NORMAL! And thank the Lord. If those people were going to tell me to lay off the sugar, I just might have gone off the deep end!

7. I'm at that point in my pregnancy where my baby is jumping on my bladder like it's a trampoline or something. I have to pee literally every two minutes. I mean, I was totally expecting this to happen, but geez, it's annoying.

8. My friends Chrissy and Melody are going to be here for Memorial Day Weekend and I cannot wait! I haven't seen Melody since the end of 2006. I'm so stoked. I'll tell you guys more about them in the weeks to come.

9. Congratulations to my little brother, Jon, and his fiance, Jolene! They are officially new homeowners and I am so happy for them! Yay! Now, if they would just get married already! Seriously, they've been together for over 10 years! I love you guys.

10. One of these days, I'm going to attempt to put together the glider I purchased for the nursery last weekend. I am so pumped about it. It was the best model they had at Babies 'R Us, and regularly priced for $499.99. I had about $175 worth of gift cards left over from the baby shower and they just happened to have 20% off furniture that day. So I got it for more than 50% off!

Anyway, the weekend can't come soon enough. It's only day two of the week and my body doesn't seem to want to take any more. Is that bad? Well, gotta go. J-Lo is on the George Lopez Show and I wanna see!

Happy Mother's Day!

Well, Happy Mother's Day to all you awesome mommies out there! I truly hope you're enjoying your day and that it is as beautiful as the day we're having here in El Paso. I also wanted to take the time to recognize my own mom, Ruby. And she really is a gem!

Visiting El Paso (March 2010)

You know, with me, friends have always come and gone, but my mom is my best friend and confidante--and her love and support has always been constant. My mom has always been an inspiration to me and the perfect role model. She has always been honest and candid (even in my teenage years, when I didn't want her to be all the time!); she has the kind of personality (and a laugh) that is so infectious and can light up the darkest of days; is a woman of God who shares her faith with others through her generosity and service; and she is one of the strongest women I know. Back then, she didn't have deployments to worry about and I thought I had it bad with Malu being away so much. But my dad went on two year-long tours to Korea and was away a lot at military schools. My mom took on the dual-parent role and I honestly never saw her falter. She always worked hard and made the time to be there for us, no matter how much it drained her. And she was an Army Wife for 24 years until my dad retired.

New Year's 2008

She's still as tough as nails these days. She has a full-time job running a local business in the Springs pretty much on her own and is the president of the Filipino American Community of Southern Colorado that unites thousands of Filipinos in Colorado Springs and supports the local community as volunteers for many organizations.

Fil-Am Christmas Party 2007

I found this poem at http://www.xmission.com/~tssphoto/mom/trib.html, a website that has poems and quotes that honor Mothers all over the world. This one is for you, mom!

WONDERFUL MOTHER

God made a wonderful mother,

A mother who never grows old;

He made her smile of the sunshine,

And He moulded her heart of pure gold;

In her eyes He placed bright shining stars,

In her cheeks fair roses you see;

God made a wonderful mother,

And He gave that dear mother to me.

My hope is to be the kind of mother and friend that she has been and continues to be to me--the wonderful mother she has taught me how to be through her example and through her unconditional love. Happy Mother's Day Mom and I wish that I could be there today to spend this special day with you. May you be blessed today and many more years to come!

Abundant Living & Jim Caviezel

I recently started to go to the Abundant Living Faith Center, a contemporary, non-denominational church here in El Paso. My friend, Joy, introduced me to the place and I love it. It reminds me so much of my church back home in Colorado Springs--only it's bigger and the facility is like nothing I've ever seen before. The church itself looks like half an arena with stadium seating and huge high definition screens, complete with a contemporary band/choir. The nursery and children's area looks like a scene of the "Bug's Life" ride at Disney World. Heck, if I were a kid, I'd LOVE dream about going to church every day! It's simply amazing. And the greatest thing about the place is that the pastor is fantastic. I leave feeling spiritually filled every time.

Today was a special day. Not only did they do a special for Mother's Day, but Jim Caviezel was a guest during the service today! Jim Caviezel is best known for his role in the movie, The Passion of the Christ, in which he played Jesus. When I think of the movie, I still can't put into the words how I felt when I saw it debut in the spring of 2004. I cried pretty much the entire time.

And Jim spoke very candidly and passionately about his experience portraying this role and about his faith. What also impressed me about him was that he was (and not surprisingly so) so well composed. Not loud or overzealous at all. Just very poised and eloquent...and even funny at times.

It's funny, most people think first of the Passion movie when they think of Jim Caviezel, but I immediately think of the first movie I saw him in...The Thin Red Line. He played the psycho Soldier husband to the chick in the film (can't remember who she was) and I remember being terrified of him when I went home. I mean, he's got those piercing eyes that just freak the crap out of you.

So when I went to get his autograph on the set of audio CDs that he's promoting, which I bought (The Word of Promise Audio Bible), I couldn't even look straight into his eyes once he finished signing them. He looked up and we made eye contact for milliseconds and then I quickly turned my gaze away. Those blue eyes totally wigged me out. And he said something and I think I shook his hand and told him thank you for coming and went on my merry way. Oh, what the heck...I'll just come out and say it. The guy was just so handsome, I didn't really know how to react.

There, I said it. I mean look at the guy. But I walked out of the service having heard a great message and armed with the entire Bible on CDs that I know I will enjoy listening to. If you're interested in getting your own set, click on the link that I set up above.

May all of you be blessed this Mother's Day and throughout the week! And thanks to Joy for introducing me to such an awesome church.

Getting to Know You...on Saturday!

Well, Keely at http://www.mannland.com/ pushed GTKY to today so that we could have a break on Mother's Day. What a great idea. Most people will be busy anyway. And you guys know what to do if you want to participate!

Copy, paste and answer these questions into your own blog post and go to Keely's to get linked!

1. What has been your most memorable Mother's Day? (with your mom, as a mom, or with your wife)? I'm sad to admit that I don't remember any specific Mother's Day with my mommy, although I do remember a time or two when my brother, sister and I made her breakfast on our own when we were old enough to do it. I've been away from home for so long, that I only remember sending cards and flowers. I bet next Mother's Day will be memorable though, seeing how it'll be my first. Oh, and thanks to my friend Laura at work...she left a gift of Burt's Bees lotions, lip gloss, and an amazing leg and foot creme that makes you tingle all over. She gave me a card that said, "Happy Mother's Day! It's your first and only one where you get to sleep in! Enjoy!" She's so awesome!

2. Have you ever been pulled over for speeding and were you able to talk your way out of it? Yes and I can't talk my way out of a ticket to save my life. My husband, on the other hand, has gotten out of every ticket he has been pulled over for. I don't know how he does it.

3. What's the oldest thing you have hanging in your closet? Not sure, but I know that I have a few shirts that date way back to college.

4. Do you whiten your teeth? No, although I've been told I have the whitest teeth ever. But I do use a toothpaste that happens to have a whitening agent.

5. Underwear or Panties..What do you call your "unmentionables"? I say "underwear".

6. If you could go on vacation right now..today..where would you go? Disney World or any place with a beach!

7. Do you get offended when people cuss on their blogs? Not really. Don't see any blogs with much cussing.

8. If you had to give up one luxury item, it would be....? OMG...I'd never give up my cell phone or this computer. So I'll go with the flat screen TV in my livingroom!

I had planned to do some cleaning but I. just. don't. feel. like. it. Oh, I'm so bad. Happy Saturday everyone!

Friday Follow & Friday Photo Flashback

It's time to get our Friday on! Head on over to the following blogs for more info and to get linked up with all the Friday Follow participants. It's so much fun!:

One to Try
Midday Escapes
Hearts Make Families

All of these blogs are on my blog list (to the right)...what a great way to make new friends. This week's Friday Follow is being sponsored by Tooth Soap, who is also doing a giveaway to celebrate Mother's Day. You can go to any one of the blogs listed above to enter!

"No need to fear the dentist anymore. You can reduce the visits and make your dentist happy too. Brush with Tooth Soap®. Non-toxic, sustainable, organic and no need for a warning label. Created by a mom who has kids with no cavities. Get more information at: http://www.toothsoap.com/special-offers. " (taken from Midday Escapes).

I'm also participating in Friday Photo Flashback hosted by Alicia at More Than Words. Let me tell you, Alicia has a great blog and a wonderful family with five children, whom she homeschools! Talk about a cool chick! Head on over to her blog to get linked! The idea is to go back to the day when we didn't have digital photos. Break out your scanners and dig out those old photos and tell us the stories behind them. What a great idea, Alicia!

It's so funny. I'm 28 weeks with my first baby and a girl to boot. And here I am with my mommy many moons ago. Not sure how old I was at the time and I am my mom's second girl.

Look at that bulging tummy! My dad always jokes around and says that I was a funny-looking baby. I think he says that because he means just the opposite. I think I was cute back then!

Happy Friday everyone and have a great weekend!