Should have been…

Sweet Sixteen! Today!

Alas, all we have are memories. Great memories!

Jake misses you ~ because Jake misses the time he steals your share of the food bowl. haha!

I miss you because you were such a part of our family. Adaptable, malleable, and just one awesome ’people’ cat. Everyone who knew you, loved you. Except maybe the one that made you go away. I still think I know who made you go away. I have suspicion but not proof.

Oh Tom, you are totally missed!

And there is yet to be a blog page to honor you, oh sweet ol’ Tom!

In any case, Happy Birthday!

I’m the only cat around now. I miss my cat friend, Tom. I’m having difficulty adjusting to this loneliness. To divert attention, I lick myself to oblivion. If not for the loving care of my human caregivers, I would be hairless by now.
Where is he? Where did he go?
His birthday is coming up, and usually there’s lots of food to go around. I miss food.
Where is he? huh?

My Precious had just had a birthday Monday. As always, he wanted a quiet celebration. So unlike his younger days,  when 10 or more little terror guests, mostly boys, were invited. Now, it’s only a family affair.

Last Saturday, part of his gifts was to drive him anywhere he wanted. There was a limit to distance, of course. He wanted to hike Mt. Hood hiking trails. But that’s out of the choices. Explained to him that if it’s raining locally, it would be snowing up Mt. Hood. He opted to go to this place:

Uwajimaya: only 3 stores, 1 in Oregon and 2 in Washington. Visited all the store aisles; bought dessert goodies. We had a very Japanese lunch. The restaurant within the store looked all Japanese except for the background music. It was playing Hawaiian songs. Sushi is always part of the dishes that we order when we go Japanese.

Then off to downtown Portland, about 20 minutes west of Uwajimaya. Walked around and window-shopped. All in 1 hour of getting there. Then, the birthday boy got bored. So we went home. I couldn’t complain. It was his birthday after all.

What he got for his birthday:

• The much-anticipated Lizard Ridge Afghan:  He was quite surprise with this unusual present. And he loved it. My Precious is a blanket person. Never a sweater person, so I cannot make him sweaters. He stopped wearing sweaters once he reached grade school. ‘Tis sad!

• A tire gauge: very practical. Dad only gives him practical gifts.
• A Border’s gift card: bookstore gifts are always handy. There’s always a bookstore gift card in any present we get/give.
• A clock sticker: his car’s clock somehow breaks every now & then. Must be a loose wiring somewhere. Everyone is lazy to have it fixed. So Dad just got him this.
• Lots of chocolate: Euphoria chocolate, a local chocolate maker.
• And lastly, he got 2 days off from work. This child who’s never taken days off just because. He’s learning. haha!

I apologize for not posting for…..over a month?! Such a shame, huh? My website must have gotten soooooo boring, I can understand if my readers (who were few to begin with) decided to abandon me.

So, what have I done during my blog absence? Nothing really boring, mind you. I have kept up with knitting, dancing, still working nights, still on track with my walking training for the Portland Marathon in October. I’ve incorporated jogging a bit in my walk training, but am trying not to aggravate my knees.

This past Wednesday, I went to a knee/hip specialist to find out what the status is on my knee condition. Had x-rays done. The doctor took one glance at the x-rays and told me I have no ligament nor bone problems. I don’t even have any sign of arthritis. That’s wonderful to hear.

However, because I have Baker’s Cyst on both of them, there’s something that’s generating fluid build-up to the back of knees. I’ve known that I had Baker’s cyst ever since my rowing days. The first specialist I went to told me to stop all physical activities and see if the fluid would go away. I did that, stopped ALL activities for 6 years, until I got sick of the over-25 pound weight I put on. That first specialist also recommended that I had a choice of pain killers (steroid-type) or fluid aspiration or surgery to overcome the Baker’s cyst. I didn’t like the choices so I just laid off physical activities.

The fluid never went away on both knees. I dabbled with safe workout, but reality check was I’ve put on extra weight that I hate. I wanted to be fit again. Six years of exercise hiatus will not make one fit in a matter of months though. It finally hit me that walking IS a form of exercise. So, here I am today, excited and stoked about getting back to fitness.

This knee surgeon I went to this time around suspects that I have a tear in the meniscus and recommended an outpatient procedure called arthroscopy. Although it’s an outpatient procedure, the recovery may take a bit longer. I cannot afford that, as at this time when such a procedure would take me out of the marathon. I will have to postpone the procedure till after the marathon, if ever I decide to go forward with it.

This walking business seemed to have taken over my life. I even joined a fitness school, right after the Eugene Marathon, for my cross-training. The fitness program is SUCH a killer. It involves a combination of weights, aerobics, gymnastics at high intensity with emphasis on safety for 45 minutes. But it can be scaled to your ability and any physical, or health issues. I love, love working out on weights. I’m really enjoying this fitness school. I have a long ways to go though, as I get winded just 10 minutes into the workout.

So, there you have it. This is my excuse for being away from writing my blog. I can’t wait to resume it though. I’ve missed mentioning alot of stuffs happening around me, my life, my family and friends.

I hope you all come back, all 5 of you, to my blog. hahahaha!

Has everyone gotten their holiday presents that they wished for?  Let’s surely hope so. This year, my request was for a simple present from the hubby but, none from the working, self-supporting child.

Well, I got what I wanted and then some. My Precious got me a gift card from my favorite coffee shop called Barry’s Espresso & Bakery. See this blog that describes Barry’s. I love Barry’s for its unpretentiousness. When I have cravings for Jewish food, I go to Barry’s. Challah bread is a must-have, so is the potato knish. And his pastries are super-delicious but not too expensive. And the soups are so original; one of which the Senegalese Peanut Soup, is my bestest favorite. I was really surprised that My Precious even knows what his mom likes. He always seem not to care about what mom does. But I think that’s where he’s at full attention, when you are off your guard. Or pretends that he’s the least bit interested in you and what you do.

Then Mr. Wonderful gave me these:

The Spirited Walker by  Carolyn Scott Kortge,  the book I requested. I wanted to read this to get me psyched up for my anticipated New Year’s resolution to walk seriously since I cannot go rowing anymore.

The other book, Dewey by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter, was a surprise addition to my Xmas presents.

I’ve already started reading the Kortge book. Dewey will have to wait a little bit, like the rest of the books on my long list of reading.

Then, both boys presented me with a whopping gift card from my LYS. The hubby said that the $ should be enough to stop me from further bleeding the bank account. Right………for the time being. hahahahaha!

As for Mr. Wonderful, he has his birthday presents, remember? And more Xmas gifts in the form of…..you guess it, bookstore gift cards. He already used one of them last night when he had to drag me to Borders. This guy lives on books as some men live ‘watching sports’ on TV. This is one thing that I really, truly like about my hubby. He’s not into sports, glued to the TV.

Oh, he has gotten a sweater that we have named FUD, short for fuddy-duddy. It’s an old fashioned front-zippered sweater that would look good on Mr. Rogers of the famed Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood TV show. The hubby loves FUD.

Now for My Precious. As all parents know, children are to be lavished with gifts that are on the verge of getting them spoiled-rotten. This year, we had to tone it down. But My Precious still got what he didn’t expect we would give. Gifts of Necessity. He, who is now self-supporting in every way, got the following gift cards from:

• Market of Choice, his favorite grocery store
• Fina Taqueria, a favorite local Mexican fast-food joint
• Barnes & Noble, his favorite hangout (he’s a bookworm too!)
• Local Movie House

My son has turned into his dad. Dad’s famous: ‘oh, don’t give me anything’ has been handed down to his son. His request to NOT give him anything this year fell on deaf ears. And I’ll tell you why My Precious does not need anything (he thinks). He only wants knives, custom knives to be exact. He knows there’s no way we’re going to spend money on such things. If he wants them, he has to earn his own money. So far, he didn’t get himself one, not that I’m aware of. Ever since he has lived away from home, he has been so budget-conscious.

He was pleasantly surprised with his gifts and was truly happy. I can tell, because he actually SMILED.

That’s the Pinoy version of Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Happy Holidays To All! Hoping that everyone is safe at home having a most wonderful time together with the family and friends.

What better way to hear Christmas music and a favorite dance to go with it.

click here if Youtube vid does not open automatically.

And how about the lively tune, Wonderland, sung by (surprisingly) Heidi Klum.

I’m still awake at 1 a.m. And no, I’m actually off from work.

Just came back from Simbang Gabi (that’s Midnight Mass for those who aren’t familiar with the traditional Pinoy’s/Catholic’s special Christmas mass). Unfortunately, there’s nothing to pig out on, another Pinoy tradition of eating to your heart’s content after a midnight mass. I miss Puto Bong-bong, a sticky rice dessert that is one of my favorites.

The box is quite ready to be mailed out when the snow and chilly weather struck. Sorry sibs and Lola! This package may be delayed getting to you since the onset of snow just backlogged all my plans and schedule.

Here’s to tease you with what goodies are being sent to you, which I’m afraid will get to you after Christmas.

This is Lola’s Pig.

Remember these, YS?

And since I’m such a slowpoke when it comes to handmade craft crunching, my presents to the ON (oldest niece) and 2YS (2ND Younger Sis) will have to wait till January.  The truth is, I had a setback with the knitting items for these two relatives. Guess it’s better to let them know the truth. My apologies.

Note to YS: the rest of the photos are in my FLIKR account. Check it out.

And when he’s here for a visit, I’d be tempted to ask him if he misses home; or worse, if he misses me. I wouldn’t dare, though. I’d want him to know that his mom can hack it; that I’m not the ‘HOVERING’ kind of mom after all. He hardly misses his Dad as he works at the same company his Dad works.

So, through the grapevine, I found out that My Precious indeed misses home. He was asked what he misses most. There were two things at the top of his list. Here’s what he said.

• IRONING ~ tops the list.
• DINNER with Nay* and Tay* ~ only comes in 2nd.

Mr. Wonderful laughed so hard when he heard this, but my jaw dropped. I was shocked! I never realized that my ironing had a very significant impact on a growing boy, who never told me that his clothes had to be impeccably clean and UNWRINKLED. He never had to complain, because always, like a robot, I had ironed everyone’s clothes, be it grudgingly. 

So, I’m not sure if I should be sad about this or jump for joy? Gosh, I thought I’d be missed for my sunny disposition and perky personality. HAHAHAHA! That would be the day! Even I do not believe that! Hahahaha!

*By the way, Nay and Tay are short for Nanay (Mom in Pinoy) and Tatay (Dad).

Yup, My Precious has reached one of his milestones in life.

October 26th. Very Important Day. Always.

This precious person has impressed upon people to be low-keyed, subdued, humble, gentle and very private. He exudes an inner intellectual that he guards closely, but surprises us on occasions he lets his guard down. He rarely smiles on cue. But every now and then, he will exhibit a wicked smile that translates to a playful naughtiness he’s about to spring on someone dear to him, most especially on the cats, specifically on Jake. I just realized now that this behavior is exactly the same as Mr. Wonderful’s. Like father, like son.

Here’s one of his playful moods.

The parents sprung a joke on him.

He thought it said, “You’re 21 Now Go Home…..”

Overall, the occasion to celebrate his birthday was what he wished for. Quiet and only with his loved ones + a very dear childhood friend, BH. He got to talked to his Titas (aunts) and Lola on the phone when they called to wish him a wonderful birthday. BH, by the way, is only 2 weeks younger than him. So both get to celebrate birthdays twice every year.

For a month now, I’ve been feeling sad, mixed with glee. It’s a teeter-totter kind of feelings.

It’s not that he’s going to be far away. It’s not that he’s going to live by himself. There will be 2 other friends from high school, best friends actually.

When he was born, a wonderful feeling of parenthood had enveloped me. Very strong maternal bonding has suddenly hit me. This child has given me the strength to live life through him. And yet, it scared me beyond wits to think that one day, this child will grow up and will be his own man. And I have no choice but to release him.

This is the time, this is the moment. The right moment.

As a parent, I’m proud to say My Precious was a child who did not give us major headaches: like getting into drugs, smoking, drinking, girls, skipping school, etc. None of that sort. We did not give him curfews ~ he’d come home on his own accord before 10 p.m., no more than midnight. Even now, so close to his 21st birthday. He even calls home if he’d be a little bit late or, if he left the house and we weren’t there to know where/who he was going with. He’s that responsible.

Sometimes I’d wonder if we brought him up boring. He’d rather stay home than ‘prowl the mall’. He doesn’t even get tempted into drinking, unless the occasional supervised offering. We had urged him to travel, go out on a whim, dare to meet new friends, even a girlfriend. Do fun things.

But then, maybe because he’s been home for so long, sheltered in a way, that he’s just waiting for that time when he’s on his own. There will be change, lots of changes occurring in his newly found independence. And I’m hoping the changes would be positive changes, not the college peer-pressure kind of changes. That at this point in his young adult life, all that he had learned from being with his parents will stay with him until he makes his very own decisions that would fit his way of life. And along the way, he’d be able to pick up positive traits and examples from people surrounding him, as opposed to their negative ways.

Gosh, it’s hard being parents. I actually am more edgy, and ambivalent about all this leaving home scenario. I have never been more worried than I was when the child was at home. And yet, I would like to see if we have raised him right. I’m eager to test how good parents we had been.

So for now, he had been packing boxes, a few at a time. I believe there are 3 reasons for this action:

1. He works full time and has little time to pack all at once; or
2. He has mixed feelings himself ~ he’s scared to be on his own and what’s out there in the unknown world, or
3. He’ll miss all the things he had been familiar with, like: dinner, laundry, etc.

And so, here I am wailing inside me, and yet utterly happy that on his accord, he feels he’s ready to face the world, capable of taking care of himself. Ready to be an adult.

Little bird, spread your wings

Tugging at my heartstring

Fly, fly away

But don’t go astray

Your life has begun

At twenty-one!

 Poet I’m not! At least it rhymes!