Eden's Wanderings and Wonderings

Izzy had some great ideas of how snow fun should start. :)

This is the way to go with his Aunt Tracey (Eden's daughter)... Better than snowboarding????

Not my original but this was "begging" to be posted...

1. You spend the first two years of your children's lives teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.

2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.

3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.

4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said. (This is so true with my kindergarteners who tell me about their home lives.)

5. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children
more awful than your own.

6. We childproof our homes, but they are still getting in.

ADVICE FOR THE DAY: Be nice to your kids. They will choose your nursing home one day. (I, personally take this to heart... LOL)

AND FINALLY: IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TENSION AND YOU GET A HEADACHE,
DO WHAT IT SAYS ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE: "TAKE TWO ASPIRIN" AND "KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN"!!!!!

No foot fetish here... LOL.. just a "Wendy type" photo ...

Once a month I treat my daughter and we go for a mani-pedi session. We invited my daughter in law to join us in this pampering tradition. After this self-indulgence, we go out to lunch. It is a nice time to spend with my girls... and our feet / toes feel beautiful.

Maybe later we will graduate to include massages, etc... :)

Today, the Staycation continues. We headed for the beach. Inspired by Barb Cabot's eloquently written post about beach memories, we headed for the beach today... towards Half Moon Bay.

It is nice to travel the usually busy Bay Area freeways in the middle of the day on Monday. There was no traffic so we made it to the beach in good time. We stopped at the San Gregorio beach where Izzy loved playing in the sand...

I am pretty content with life and really happy about being a transplant from the Philippines to California.

Then one of my cousins sent me a series of pictures she took of my hometown. Homesickness sat in! I miss Samboan, Cebu. It is in the middle part of the Phillipines; about an hour by plane from Manila. It is where I was born and where I spent my elementary school days. It is a pretty peaceful place... everyone seems to be related to me... and can potentially know everything about me...Inspite of that, or inspite of it being small and confining, it has some awesome assets... like this sunset...

I grew up in a little town by the sea. I have not been home in about 3 or maybe 4 years. My relatives are torturing me. My younger cousin and neices sent me some pictures of my favorite part of that town called Samboan. Here they are enjoying the sea....

Here is the newest member of our family. He gives us new hope and we hope all the best for him as we give him all our love.

My two older grandsons are taking martial arts classes. I wondered why at such an early age... so I went to watch. One (Mikey) is 17 months old and the older one (Izzy) is 4 years old.

Izzy at ModCom... I think that stands for Modern Combat.... I already do not like what C stands for...

Mikey's class was first. Here he is with his teacher.

My grandson, Mikey, is 2 years old today. He used to be Baby Mikey until younger brother, Liam, joined the family. Mikey had his first of a series of 2nd birthday celebration last Saturday. The party had a Yo Gabba Gabba theme. (He loves that show... I did not even know what that was until Mikey took a liking, no loving to it!)

Mikey's Saturday in pictures:

After a quick wardrobe change (due to chocolate) ... he decided it was nap time... Good thing most of his guests had left already. :)

It did not matter where. Naptime was going to happen... on the floor until Grandma moved him to a bed.

Exhausted... unitl the next party comes along!

Garbage - according to Wikepedia, is waste or an unwanted or undesired material or substance.

This pile which may qualify as garbage by the above definition, This was left in one of my bedrooms that was recently vacated by someone who we won't identify. The former inhabitant of the bedroom did not leave me with information regarding this pile... nor a forwarding address... Do brand new shoes some in boxes ( Bandolinos, Tory Burch, Enzo, etc...), beddings, paper shredder, clothes, suitcases, and many more become garbage when they are of no use to me? Been wondering about that and what to do with them!!!

On the other hand, I wonder why I was left with this to deal with? ... Perhaps that is the more important question!!!

Ok, now that I have vented, I feel better... :)

Early this week, I met my family at a restaurant in nearby Dublin (California, not Ireland). After dinner and on the way to our cars, Mikey, my two year old grandson went around hugging trees. Hmmm, cute and grandma is wondering if his future will include tree-hugging environmentalist stuff... :)

My grandson, Izzy, graduated from PreSchool. The school had the works, caps, gowns, diploma, pomp, and circumstance.... Which is really good.

My school does not hold kindergarten graduation ceremonies. Graduation, it is said, is for upper grades... secondary education. Our sixth graders have a promotion ceremony, not graduation... So this PreSchool graduation was a treat.

I arrived a bit late and wanted to take a picture of Izzy.... he warned me to not make noise... He follows rules... that is good.

Here are some of his friends. Ladies man.

When the children received thier diplomas, the director told us about the children's heroes, what they want to be when they grow up, etc. Izzy's heroes are Ninjas. (I should have coached him to say Grandma. )

His diploma.

Izzy -5

Mikey -2

Liam - 7 months

Photos borrowed / lifted from DIL, Katrina's Facebook page. :)

My grandson, Mikey, is a walking, breathing entertainment to me. He also can find entertainment in just about anything around him. He is very self -sufficient when it comes to finding something to entertain him.

When we were in Hawaii in May, he found entertainment in and around the hotel. At the hotel lobby, the poles that are placed to make customers wait their turn, was pole dancing implement for him... it was a quiet morning at the hotel.

He entertained himself as well as the girls at the counter. It was a slow day at the Sheraton. :)

I was worried that he will grow up to be one of those kids who can entertain himself and be out of control like the ADHD children that I see in school because he seems to have such a zest for life. But at the Koi pond, it was long and calm moments of pleasure for him just watching the the fish swim around in the pond.

After his brother's graduation ceremonies, he entertained himself by crawling across a few chairs.

Hugging trees at a shopping center. Hope the trees weren't mistaken for fire hydrant (in the past) by passing dogs. :)

He shows excitement in most of the things that entertains him.

He loves life, what is not to love when there are opportunities of entertainment all around you! Maybe it is a middle child syndrome. In any case, I love that about him. Here he seems to say, "Life is wonderful!"

That's my Mikey, Mr. Entertainment himself!

After a rather busy Saturday of three baptisms and a house blessing (will blog later about these), Tracey and I are on our way to Cebu, Philippines. So we start at SFO, leaving the Fremont home Saturday, August 1. We are taking Cathay Pacific Airlines. Our itinerary today is SFO to Hongkong to Cebu City, Philippines. We have a long scheduled layover in HongKong. Mike and Jessie took us to the San Francisco Airport arriving around 9:30 PM.

Our travel agent told us to be at the airport at 10:00 PM for a 12:00 AM flight via Cathay Pacific. We promptly checked in and when Tracey checked the boarding passes, she told me that our flight is leaving 1:20 AM. Bright side of the situation – our layover in HongKong will be shorter. Maybe. Hoping.

Tried to connect to the internet at SFO, but no free wifi; I was not willing to pay the $7.99 daily rate when I only have a two hour wait. What happened to Gavin Newsom’s free wifi campaign?

Finally, after much people watching, we board for our flight to Hongkong. We watch first class and business passengers board before the lowly and common passengers, like us, were asked to queue for boarding. In my next life, I am going to be rich and only fly first class, said she who does not have much leg room in Seat 38 B, next to her daughter on 38C. Cathay Pacific handed out a packet that contained socks, toothbrush, and toothpaste tube to economy passengers. Nice.

August 3, 2009 - Ok, I am really just at the airport for now.... HongKong airport.

Island 1 – Hongkong. We arrive at the Hongkong International Airport. We have a 9 hour layover. Yes, 9 hours! There is only a single flight direct to Cebu City from Hongkong and that is not leaving until 4 PM and it is only 7AM now. So Tracey and I wait. We checked with Cathay Pacific to find out about our flight. We have no gate assignment. Too early per the person at the check in counter. We wait.

We shop – window shop. I can’t afford to do any other kind of shopping. If I were a shopping addict, I would think I am at a buyer’s Disneyland. This can easily be one’s “Happiest Shopping Place on Earth”. Seriously, you can go to Chanel, Burberry, Tiffany, and pick yourself up a Prada all during a layover! I window shopped as I have to save my pennies for the Philippines. Besides, I am too beat from the 12 hour flight, judging from this photo.

Actually Tracey and I spent our money elsewhere. We decided to get a lunch at an airport restaurant called Wildfire. Tracey called my attention to the table setting. They had silverware but with a plastic knife place setting. They must worry about passengers taking butter knives on board and be a threat to society. Ok, works for us.

The food was awesome. We ordered a Duck Confit salad and a sampler appetizer. Everything was really good… well except for the smoked salmon which resembled raw to my simplistic taste. I passed on that. I loved the stacked grilled tomato and eggplant topped with mozzarella, basil, and tomato. I want to recreate this at home.

I wanted to blog regularly while on vacation but (vacation) fun gets in the way sometimes. :) So I am going to try to post some late entries. This one is 14 days overdue!

August 4, 2009 – The island of Cebu.

A few cousins were there to meet us. Good thing because I would not want to brave the streets of Cebu City and their daredevils called cab drives. We checked in at the local Marriott.

Upon arrival we went to dinner at a restaurant that featured Filipino food - Café Laguna. After a long flight it was great to see family and have my feet planted on Tierra firma and enjoy authentic Filipino food.

First full day in the island of Cebu… Visiting my 88 year-old Mom was the main agenda for this trip. Tracey and I went to see her on the first day. It is wonderful to see her healthy and looking happy. She seemed happy to see us too. She even asked about her other grandchildren, Shawn and Mike. She recognized Tracey. She is looking wonderful and she seems very content here.

How can I be this late? This is still on my 2nd evening after arriving in Cebu. Seems so long ago as I am now continuing my (mis)adventures in Hongkong... not really misadventures. I am loving everything about this trip! So here is another installment.

An evening with relatives at Siam…

Today’s highlight was about meeting the cousins, nieces, and nephews for dinner at a Thai restaurant, Siam. The restaurant is owned by one of our cousins. (Did I say I have cousins all over in this island?)

The food delicious, the company WONDERFUL! I am so grateful for a great family. There were lots of laughter. I am so happy to have this get together. Thanks to Arleen, Lyla, and Lani for coordinating the “reunion”. There was a gathering of about 30, great turnout for getting relatives together the day after we arrive. My cousin Arleen is a pastry chef, Cordon Blue grad, made these cakes for the occassion. How lucky can we be!

... and to celebrate summer birthdays!

Mama Inday, my mom, was such a trooper. She arrived at the appointed time and stayed and chatted with the best of them! Catching up with family took us well into the night. Even Mom stayed way after her bedtime!

August 5, 2009.

We are off to my hometown, Samboan, today. My Mom and her two caretakers are coming along. A van is picking us up from Marriott at 1:00 PM. The photo below is shown with my cousin, Fe - who lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and my god daughter, Bem (standing next to my daughter, Tracey).

I started the day by blogging, but I am WAY behind when it comes to posting the entries!!! And it is going to get worse... blogging wise that is. For the next five days, I am not sure what or if there is even any type of internet connection at this town destination. I am sure, however, that my daughter and I will have our fill of swimming, eating, and sunning. There will be lots of sunsets too... I will be parked near some beach. YEAH!

Let me back track. I arrived to some awesome welcome. There are four relatives / families who want to host our stay here. My cousins are asking that we stay with them… Tracey said we each can have our own individual hosts! We just might stay at one different place each night so we do not hurt anyone’s feelings. Could this be something like too much of a good thing?

There are some wonderful views everywhere,,, so whereever we are, it will be great.

We decided to stay at my cousin, Fe’s home. My Mom and her two caretakers are staying with a cousin next door. Talk about some wonderful bed and breakfasts! How did I become so LUCKY!

These and the wonderful sight to wake up to. Retirement calls.

Today we swam, ate, caught up on the town gossip… well not all… as I find out more each day what, who, when, why, and where.

And the sunsets are beatiful too!

Tracey waiting for the sun to set on our first day in Samboan.

Fe and I joined her at the beach-

So we stayed and watched the sun disappear into the horizon. Irresistible.

Perhaps I should not wait three or four years between visits.

August 6, 2009

My daughter, Tracey, barely remember the town I was born and grew up in. Her last visit (prior to this one) was some 15 years ago. Time to reacquaint...

Samboan is about 150 kilometers from Cebu City. With road conditions, it takes one 3.5 hours to get from the city to Samboan... through some really funky towns.... and delightful sights. :)

I borrowed the two pics from Tracey... some creatures compete with pedestrians trying to cross a road well traveled. :)

Life is simple in Samboan... uncomplicated. No one hurries... My mother says that. That is one of the reasons why she abandoned California residency.

We started many a day in the sea ... swimming and / or snorkeling. Most mornings some little kids are up and early waiting for Tracey to get into the sea . They frolic with her. Happy children with not a care in the world.

The one in the middle, Kikay, really enjoyed visiting Tracey; made gifts for her and collected shells to present to her new friend, Tracey.

Reese and her sister Angel loved swimming early in the day as well.

I am the least "sporty" person in the world. I do not involve myself in one, nor do I watch any on TV. I am surrounded by very sports minded people, my own kids, however. Go figure!

My children and their significant others went on the MS BikeRide from San Francisco to Sonoma. They have done this before... to help raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research. I usually go and watch them at the finish line but this year, I was under the weather so I miss the event. I stayed home instead of going to Sonoma...

Day 1 = Here is Tracey and my daughter in law, Katrina (wife of my oldest son, Shawn) getting ready for that 50 miles ahead. (Sorry for the blurry photo)

Day 2 - Tracey and Mike went on another 50 miles from Rohnert Park to Lake Sonoma. Here is Tracey at the finish line.

My son Mike's fiancee, Jessie ran the Rock N Roll Half Marathon in San Jose, California two weekends ago. Here is the before - Jess is the one in teal.

Jess during

Jessie at the finish line... still looks great after 13+ miles. :)

Tomorrow, they are all running a 10K with proceeds to benefit my school district's sports program. I am so proud of them... I wish that sporty DNA came from me though.