Traveling has never been cheap but you still get it cheaper if your destination is within the "continental" US than flying overseas. Our most expensive summer escapade is the trip we made to the Philippines and let me tell you that vacation was seriously and unbelievably costly. Kids airfare is as much as the grown ups. So, any trip within the 50 States is still affordable whether by land or thru flying. Our summer retreat at SC and Mrytle beach would probably be the most exciting of all the getaways we have had so far. Two trips to the Florida coast and another to Mississippi shoreline aren't a match to the fun we've experienced at SC's Mrytle Beach. Our hotel room facing the Atlantic Ocean falls into the category of "a room with a view" hahaha. Serene and pristine water of the Carolina's oceanside makes the big difference plus the boardwalk to the water. Good Grief of the eateries! If there is one place on earth for all the restaurants of the world.......you betcha, Mrytle Beach is the right place. Some of the cuisines I've tried were from "Habibis Cafe",  a Lebanese taste, "Black Thai", which is a Thai cuisine, and Bombay At The Beach", the taste I've been craving for for centuries hahaha. Whoa, Indian cooking is really tasteful! I have tons of photographs to share. I am accustomed to taking fotos b/c this habituate tells me where I've been. At the moment, I'm done uploading one album. Interested enough to peek thru it? Well, just click my three babies sample shot below. Happy reading and I am truly elated Summer is over.

Two Of A Kind: I apologize but the shots below has been on pending since Saturday two weekends ago. Been wanting to post them right before we took off for the Carolina but you know when you are preparing to take off, fooling around is the last thing you wanna do. Remember........putting aside the computer time is a must for goodtimes sake hahaha. Thanks a bunch for looking!!!

Mercy, Mercy, look who's fifty! Oh yeah! My dear dearest finally reached his BIG five and oh. And according to AARP, he's been considered a "Senior Citizen" hahaha which makes him guffaw.  Well, we're out-of-towners for few days (exploring all of AL's since Wednesday) and will gear towards our destination early next week. This would be a long and full-of-fun vacation for the four of us. My dear spouse had his b-day bash by the water today. Our day started out kinda early for the party. Cooler and everything that we're gonna need at the picnic area were hauled in the boat first thing in the morning. Mr. Sunshine didn't put on a show till close to noon but when he did, I sorta wish it would be a 'lil later. Dale found his derma miserable despites of his $8 Banana Boat spray. He got roasted for inner tubing and turned as red as a lobster as well as the kids. I've tried it too myself (but my already tanned complexion didn't show much of a difference) and had sooo much fun being pulled by the boat (every single moment was captured by video cam for my husband believe it's better that way than taking shots of me hahaha). What an experience! I am truly brave and my cooperation just proved that I still have it hahaha. Anyway, my dear Dale had a blast and he really enjoys his special day with his family and best friend. Great food, nice boat, beautiful Smith Lake and refreshing water........you can't ask for a better venue and wonderful view. Below is a sample shot of us inside the famous "Pericos" for a late evening celebration. Thanks for viewing. I knew that "when you are on vacation, you are on vacation". That simply means.....leave the computer alone for good times sake hahaha. Ssshhh, I'll be visiting you tomorrow !!!

Oh well, my class presentation finally was delivered and performed this past Tuesday. Whew! that's one load that I don't have to tote with me. As of this very minute, all I am waiting for and looking forward to is my finals, which by the way, will be on Tuesday and Wednesday. Yours truly doesn't have to attend class Monday for I have done my duty in advance. This would be an extra day to study for finals since hospital routines would be on stand-by till late August. This short break favors my hands from giving "shots" to patients at the hospitals. I took pride of my confidence and my nurse instructor's faith and trust with me. I will surely miss the challenges and fast pace mornings at the Telemetry.

Now, it's about the revelation hahaha. Here's my choice and what I've picked for our 13th year anniversary. This sucker really put a hole in my dear dearest's pocket hahaha. I love "Whirlpool" brand and I am obviously collecting them one at a time hahaha. My digi cam is still dependable and by the time I decided to get my new "DSLR Cam", all the DSLR's around me would have years on them. The longer I put it off, the newer my prospect DSLR would be. OK, let me stop here for the moment. Lan Inday and Kay friend, I still owe you two some visiting. I'll try to hop by your place before we took off for La La Land. Thanks a bunch for reading and have one fun Friday to all !!!

My schedules are overwhelmingly tight which prevent me from networking. I have to take exams almost every week and between school and hospitals, I just don't have enough time to spare with my PC. I am not going in-depth about what we did today for our 13th fruitful years of togetherness, but promise I will as soon as I get home tomorrow from the testing center. Below is a sample shot of us......13 years and counting.

An update: OK, here's how our 13th anniversary celebration went. We drove out of town and celebrated it with our two precious kids (I guess everyone is aware that we're family and we do things together....ALWAYS!). Vietnamese eatery was our first target but can't find one and end up having a table for four at "Rose Hill Seafood Restaurant". Food was good and we had sooo much fun (you can never have a dull celebration with kids around hahaha). Shopping was done first, of course, and we went ahead and got some "school clothes" for kids. School is about to start in three more weeks and daddy dearest wanted to get started early on that. The "highlights" of the day was when I was asked to choose what sort of "PRESENTS" I'd prefer. Whew! that's really a tough one to make. My choices came down between a "Canon DSLR 15mp cam" and a "Whirlpool 25cu ft Stainless Steel Fridge". I know I don't have to be a self-centered and think only of myself, so I carefully examined my pick. They're both expensive anyway so it didn't really matter if I chose one over the other. I don't mind sharing the foto of my pick but I have to put you on hold on that. Pix will be posted on my next entry. Thanks for coming and I hope you enjoy viewing our latest album. Oh, by the way, my dear Dale asked me yesterday if I am excited about our upcoming trip. I told him not to mention about it now that I am concentrating about my tests hahaha. Exams went smoothly today. I have a presentation to make for Tuesday. My class is advised to have it done on the 27th but I volunteered to do mine ahead of everybody.

Yours truly is a year old today. Yup! I'm celebrating my BIG 43 this very day. I feel great and proud and though I spent the entire day taking care of my patients instead of spending it at home with my family, I do comprehend that at times something has to give. My day started off at 6:30 this morning and while I'm doing my clinicals and tending to the needy, my dear dearest was tied up with the kitchen at home fixing all sorts of delectable vittles. Came home around 5:30 this afternoon only to be surprised with the great meals he prepared while I was gone. The sweetest thing of all was the "cake" he made for me hahaha. I thought that's the nicest gesture a husband can do for his wife. I know a wife who baked a birthday cake for her husband BUT not the other way round. It sounds unreal but that's my dear Dale. The kids put candles on it.......four in the first row and then 3 the next row (which makes 43) hahaha. They got me a funny bday card too that made me guffaw. I'll pause here for now and will resume shortly. Sorry for the inconvenience but I have a big test tomorrow. Gotta go to do some review. Kay & Lan, I will visit you later when my schedules thins out a little. Thanks for coming and have one fantastic 1st of July to all !!!

Update: Oh well, I'm back to continue hahaha. In addition to the gifts visible to the naked eyes that I received from my "three babies", daddy dearest had another "B-I-G Surprise". An itinerary was shown to me. We are going to have a four days escapade right after my finals which is on the 29th of this month. Oh boy I can't wait hahaha (sounds like I've never been out of my cocoon lately). I know we just had our North Carolina & Tennessee trip in April but it's July and a lot of our special dates falls on this month. So there you go. I may be taking summer courses which makes my routines twice as hectic, but who says you can't have fun while you're building a career? I told Dale I am "spoiled". He said........"it's way beyond that" hahaha. Go figure!

Birthday fotos were taken as usual but I am running out of time to place them all in the album. For right now you can view samples HERE:

Daddy dearest is scheduled to work for the weekend and so we decided to give him a treat in advance and had our family fun time this past Thursday. Eating out has been a part of our day to day life, so the experience isn't that new to the four of us hahaha. Honestly speaking, we really can't find any eateries within 90mi radius that we've never been before (we're running out of places to dine in) hahaha. The kids and I know from the core of our hearts that daddy dearest deserved the best for he's always been there to do his greatest for the family. Thus, he's never been cheap (he didn't even try for once) but observed magnanimity at all times. He really loves "grilled vittles" so we picked this nice "stainless steel grill" for him this year. I got him a new pair of "New Balance" shoes as well. He haven't open his "cards" from the three of us yet but I am almost certain he's going to like them (we will see if my card will make him guffaw hahaha). I may get him new scent of cologne this week (after my exam) since he's into it big time. I'm not going to stretch this post to the max for I have to do a lot of readings. Thanks a lot for coming and have one sweet Sunday to all !!!

I have a truckload to share and doesn't know where to begin but I'll try my best to cover some of the important highlights of my two weeks of absence. Friday, a week ago, I had a minor surgery and thank Heaven my benign "abdominal nevi" was finally shaved off me. I had it for quite sometime but since it's not something to be alarmed, I didn't push for its removal. I am positive the procedure will cost us some big bucks but thankfully my dear dearest has a great health insurance and that trip to the surgeon didn't cost us a thing. It was done early in the morning and my Dermatologist was quick and precise it didn't take him long to remove it. Anyway, Montgomery wasn't part of the plan but we had an "impromtu decision" to make after the clinic. The four of us never had any breakfast (just picture how hungry we were) and so we planned to visit Ihop when everything was taken care of. The facility's location was out of town and they're an hour behind us, so we kinda stuck there to think where to go after the surgery. In a snap, my dear dearest thought of Montgomery and everybody agreed. By the time we got there, it's almost lunchtime which answered our growling stomach hahaha. Ihop's plan was aborted.

Weekend came and went and I was stuck studying for my two BIG Exams. I'm glad it was over and really made good grades on both of them. The middle of the week, daddy dearest took the kids to fish after Josef had his "Orthodontist" visit (he may need a brace after 6mos). "Creekstand Fish Farm" wasn't operating till Thursday to Saturday and so Jann, our baby girl, got cranky and disappointed when the three of them found out they have to make another trip. I was at school (thank Heaven, I don't have to deal with it hahaha!) but daddy dearest handled it so well. Thursday was Josef's appointment to his eye doctor. Another eyes exam and a new pair of specs which simply means pouring out some cash.......AGAIN! In the afternoon, Jann had her "salon appointment" at JC Penney. Glad I came home on time to tag along and be my dear dearest's sidekick hahaha. Just trying to make things a 'lil easier for him. After Jann's hairdo, we headed straight to have lunch at "Zaxby's" and then geared toward the fish farm.

Oh my, the main topic I am trying to cover is push to the side hahaha! I told you I have a truckload. Well, let me just embed here the fotos of Josef's epistles of recognition. I've been wanting to discuss about it since last month and here I am just now featuring about it. Thanks for reading and have a fun filled Friday to all !!!

Above foto (on the left) was Josef's "Finals Exemption Letter" from Middle School. Foto above, on the right, was sent to him from "Congressional Youth Leadership Council" and was nominated by his Language teacher.

The 60 cents Josef paid for stamp came back with a great view in it. A week before school is over he asked for 60 cents to pay for the stamp. I don't know but the whole thing is new to us, (with regards to Middle School) for "report cards" were never sent thru the kids at the last day of school. The system sent them out thru the mail in which kids paid for the cost. It's not much but it seems so weird hahaha. Getting back to the subject, it came to our address this past Thursday. As expected, Josef made all A's again (for the record......7 years in a row). Jann, on the other hand made all A's too but unlike her big bro, hers was posted in the paper (aside from having the real record of her grades). Isn't that cool? Her school wants to make sure everybody knows who is who hahaha. I still have Josef's letter from "Congressional Youth Leadership Council" and his "Semester Exemption Letter" but I will just have to save those for my next post. How's that sounds to you? To me? Great news about my witty kids always been bringing "music to my ears". I have a "truckload" to share but then there's not enough time. My right hand has a "brace" due to inflamed tendon (tendonitis) and let me tell you that it's not fun. Friday, I was at school and when I came home around 1:30pm my three babies were gone fishing (daddy dearest left a note). I have to call him thru his cellfone to let him know I need to make a trip to the "Urgent Care" in Auburn. The kids made me feel so guilty when they got home and told me I ruined their fishing trip to Chambers Lake hahaha. I was sorry but it was their Dad who made that "call". Daddy dearest is still in bed when I took off for school yesterday but not our baby girl Jann. I instructed her to pass on "my verbal notes" to her dad but it slipped her mind hahaha. I won't do that no more. I should know better leaving a verbal notes instead of written ones. It won't happen again, I am so certain of that.

Josef supposed to have a baseball practice this morning at around 10. We got there at the ballpark half an hour early but found nobody from his team. We waited some more minutes and then gave up and decided to leave the parking lot of the Sportsplex. I tried to call his "coach" but can't recall his number. I have at least six different numbers with the same three digits exchange but was confused which one belongs to "the man". In the end, we decided to come home and called him from our landline. His fone wants me to leave a message which is very impossible for Jeth to do (I don't like leaving my voice on someone's fone). He called back and we talked. He apologized for not sending me a note about the cancellation. But the great part is this.......Josef's team on the standing is #1, baseball fanatic called it "unbeatable". Tuesday evening is the "Championship" and if they beat the opponent.......his team will get the crown. Opps, we can call it a "trophy" also (whichever sounds good to you, it didn't really matter). Monday is a game and Tuesday morning is one last practice. In the evening is the "real deal" hahaha. Many thanks for reading and what happened to my hand that's been hurting? Geez! I typed down a lot. Have a super freak Saturday everyone!!!

I realized the "keenness" of Josef's report card isn't that clear. So, for some clarifications here "below" are the exact view:

• TAV (Total Average) YAV (Yearly Average)
• Math 99Math 99
• Lang 95 Lang 97
• US Studies 98 US Studies 96
• Earth & Space 98 Earth & Space 99
• Reading 99 Reading 98
• PE 100 PE 100

We really have had an "exciting plans" for this year's Memorial Day and my family and I are looking forward to it. Frankly speaking, I made known to my "instructor", Thursday of last week before I left the classroom, that I won't be sitting in her class coming Tuesday and that I will be seeing her Wednesday morning. She agreed and I was so elated! Getting back to our "exciting plans"........my dear Dale's bestfriend who lives on the other end of the State has invited us to celebrate Memorial Day on the lake in his brand new boat. The plan was made some few months back (me being secretive about our future plans keeps me from declaring it right away hahaha) and finalized two weeks ago. Technically, as obvious reason, my dear dearest kept on monitoring the "extended forecast" for the county where we gonna have the gatherings. Stormy weather is predicted and so my dear Dale drew a "plan B" just to be on the safe side. His buddy called Monday and told us about our get-together and what sort of dishes he'll prepare. Gosh, if wouldn't have been for the fickle weather we would have so much fun. Friday came and the forecast remained the same. We can't do anything but to abort the plan. In the end, our "plan B" came in place. We went to Cumberland Mall in Atlanta and had our lunch at "P. F. Chang's China Bistro". We would have, as our original agenda hahaha, to try "Macaroni Grill" in The Summit (Birmingham) but since the wind blew on a different direction, our choice of eatery has changed too. We're over 3hrs drive from Birmingham but close by to Montgomery. The issue we have about geographic location was that our state's capitol doesn't have much to offer. Driving all the way to Atlanta is a 'lil farther but shops and restaurants selections are overwhelming which is mainly the reason why we often preferred gearing towards North rather than going South. I paid "Bebe" a visit to see if I can find anything worth buying but came out of the store empty handed hahaha. Maybe next time, I can fish out "something special" (if I get lucky)! The first store might be a 'lil dismay but "DSW" didn't disappoint me. I came out with my new "Bandolino" sandals in hand. Jann wanted a pair for herself but they don't carry kids stuff. We have to get hers from somewhere else. Here below is my new pair. Thanks for reading and I wish you all have one magical Memorial Day !!!

Jann's Yamaha Key Board finally arrived thru the mail early this week but my congested schedules prevents me from making a note about it. My Summer classes started this week (life gets busier again) and it needs to be taken care of before anything less important. Anyway, we were appalled how huge it was! This item really worth every penny we invested to it. As expected, it made our baby girl "super excited". Her day to day routine became "engaged" since her music instrument got here hahaha. There's so many features this key board has to offer from simple tune to more complex audio. It belongs to her but as part of our family values and beliefs, she have to share it with her big bro shall "he" wants to play with it at times. I laid the rules here and the kids are still living under "the parent's roof", so simple stuff like this doesn't have to create headaches. She finally brought her "report card" home Thursday (last day of school) with "All A's" of course. Josef had been out of school since Wednesday which is two days earlier than usual schedule b/c "he" was exempted from taking "finals". I will talk more about it later. I guess, this will do for this post. I have to save the rest for my next entry. Happy reading and have a fun Friday to all !!!