Long Time No See!!!

Hello blog world...long time no see!!! Gosh, it's been more than a week since my trip to sunny California and there's so much to share! Honestly, my time schedule was so tight that I rarely had time to go online and needless to say, I couldn't even spare any time to do my schoolwork. 'Tis so bad, ain't it? Let's just say that it's a good thing that my grade was at a 98% for the last 4 weeks, that one week will just have to be my one bad one. Oh well. I don't regret my time away at all! C'mon people- 'twas a nice, almost uncomfortable, but not yet stifling 85 degrees in da city! When you've been hibernating as I have been for the past how many months since October (yes, October!) because of the snow and below zero temps, it's a pleasant surprise and yes, a major shock to my system! Lol! It's all good. CA was just what I needed to reenergize my spirits!

Back in da Bay- Part One

I arrived in da city on hubby's 34th birthday. I actually missed him by about 5 hours! My actual flying day wasn't so bad. I had a layover in Chicago before continuing on to da city. Since there was a delay in Minneapolis, I arrived in Chicago about 20 minutes before my flight and much to my disappointment, didn't have time to grab a bite to eat. Considering that I had an early morning flight out, I've been up and about since 6am with nothing in my tummy. And did you know that many of these airlines no longer feed you??? They say they have a "limited supply" of meals that you can purchase for $5 and all they give you is a drink and a packet of trail mix. First of all, $5?! For what...a turkey wrap, a sandwich, or a caesar salad. Not worth it. I arrived in da city about 5pm. My mom and pops picked me up from the airport and honestly, I had to complain about the heat. It was probably in the high 60's, low 70's, but good Lord! I left MN at 11 degrees!

From the airport, we didn't go straight home (and at this point, I still haven't had anything to eat!). We had to pick up my car at the garage where it was being maintenanced. My baby, my car! Bad news....the old alarm that I have probably drained out the battery and when it was jumped, it wasn't done correctly. Good news....it's a-ok and will be shipped by next week. That means I'll finally have my car! Whoo hoo!

After a quick din-din, I head to the hotel where my cousin is having a rehearsal for the next day's cotillion. I just have to share this lil' tidbit. I poke my head into the ballroom, not knowing if it's the right one or not, when all of a sudden, I hear "NINANG!" and these two little (not so little!) rugrat niece and nephew of mine run up to hug me. Man, I SO miss these kids! Even though I last saw them at Christmas time, Sabrina stands up to my boobs (sorry, just needed a reference!) and Nico is potty trained and madaldal as ever! You can actually have a conversation with Nico and he'll respond with such animation on his face- too adorable! The rest of the night was spent watching these high school friends of my cousin get their waltz and cha-cha on and the whole time, my sis and I are sitting there feeling old. Really old.

Playing Catch-up

I flew back to MN on Wednesday night. I was so pooped! During my entire time in CA, I probably only slept a total of 24 hours, if even that. On the flight home, I couldn't really get comfy and I was just looking forward to a good night's rest on my bed next to hubby. Hubby met me at the airport with some beautiful white tulips- how sweet! After a bomb dinner, I thought I'd crash, but I willed myself to do some homework (which btw: I was at about 250 unread posts...not a good thang...) Turns out, after about an hour, I gave in.

Thursday morning- hubby and I were busy running around doing errands. PSA crew would be coming by at night to practice for their upcoming show...next week. Aiya. Since we don't have all the costumes and props, I took it upon myself to sew and hubby has taken on the job of making the Pandanggo lights. Not an easy task, I tell you. Y'know, if all the prep work started way earlier, say in October or November, we wouldn't be stuck doing all this last minute crap. I don't mind doing this, on the real, but the timing couldn't be worse. Not only do we have to get all the lights and all the electronical wires, we had to get glasses, batteries, fabric, thread, velcro, and hell- hubby even bought me a sewing machine! Now I know I said that I don't mind doing this. It's all for a good cause and I'm down to school some peoples with our Philippine culture through dance...BUT, with me being behind in my schoolwork and me seriously thinking that this should've been done earlier, I'm now faced with all this unnecessary stress. Plus, we ain't asking to be reimbursed for anything either! It's cool that after this show, I will have my personal collection of Pandanggo Sa Ilaw lights, candles, bandanas, and men's pants, BUT... I wasn't planning on putting money into this just yet. They're definitely something I'm going to keep, but 'twasn't in our budget for right now. An inside joke between hubby and me: we'll be poor and broke, but hey, we've got Pandanggo lights!

By the time we finish up our errands, there's only time to clean up house. I still haven't done my homework (which is still at 250 posts and rising!). Kids come over, we practice, we eat, and everyone hangs out. It was cool- hubby and I rarely have visitors over so it was nice to have people in our place, BUT... hahah, gosh, does this sound like a venting session or what?! Well, I still haven't had a good night's sleep, I had HELLA homework to catch up on and a lesson plan due that night, and hubby had work to do, too. Had it been a weekend, hell, they could've stayed all night! But it wasn't. I honestly wasn't planning for them to stay that long, but man, I was so tired! Maybe it's just my age catching up with me...shiet. After they left, I was exhausted and crashed. Didn't do my homework. Didn't finish cleaning. Didn't do jack. I'm so screwed.

Friday- surprisingly woke up at 9:30am and started doing schoolwork. Didn't leave my computer, except for bathroom breaks, until 4:30pm. That's 7 straight fricken hours!!! My eyes were strained from trying to speed read through almost 300 unread posts, my fingers tired from typing nonstop, my neck and back all stiff, and I wouldn't be surprised if I developed carpal tunnel. Good news...I got down to 10 posts before I passed out. Literally. I think it's safe to say that I finally caught up. Never again do I want to do that. Ever.