It's been a year today since hubby and I vacated our house in Wichita Falls after we had sold it. I still remember, before hubby and I left, I can't help myself but cry. We lived in that house for 4 years and there were many memories there. Hubby and I worked hard to improve that house. That house was shabby when we bought it. We did some work on that house to make it look better. At first hubby didn't want to buy it because it was situated in a busy street. But the advantage was it's only a few minutes drive to all the leading stores and restaurants in our city.

When we left that house on the 20th of December last year, we went to stay with my step-kids in Alvarado and spent Christmas and New Year there before flying here in my homeland. I'm so glad that hubby and I will be spending Christmas here with my family after spending 6 Christmases in the states. Home is where my heart is.

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...is courtesy of Femikey of Femikey Designs. This is the 2nd time that she did a free makeover for my blog. I like the color and design of this layout and when she said she's giving it away for free, I requested it right away for this blog. She granted my request and she installed the layout in my blog. So this is now my blog's new look. If you want a blog makeover, visit her site because she give away free layout every now and then. She also sells her designs for a very reasonable price. Once again, thank you Femikey for my new layout.

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Christmas is in the air and it's the time of the year to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. I'm glad that we're here in my native land so hubby and I will celebrate this Christmas with my family and loved ones. We had already decorated our house with Christmas decorations as early as last month. But I can't help myself reminiscing our Christmas decorations the other year in our house in Texas. Hubby was the one who put the Christmas lights in front of our house and I was the one who put the Christmas ornaments. Then I asked hubby to take photos in our front porch. I just want to capture in picture the Christmas decorations that we put. The pics didn't really turn out that good. It's kinda blurry but still I wanted to post it here. The batteries of my digicam were exhausted that's why. Anyway, here are the pics taken 2 years ago.

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I just wanna post here my experience in eating lunch at Cracker Barrel restaurant sometime last year. My hubby had 2 gift cards from this restaurant worth $10 each which was given to him as Christmas present from the parents of the kids in their school. We used it for that day to pay our lunch. It was my first time to eat at the said restaurant. When we went in, the place was packed and we had to wait for 5 minutes to be seated. My hubby ordered his favorite chicken steak with fried okra and french fries on the side and I ordered chicken and dumplings with mashed potatoes and coleslaw on the side. I haven't eaten chicken and dumplings yet so I was curious how does it taste. To my dismay, it doesn't taste good to me, even their mashed potatoes. I will never order it again and I told hubby I will not try to cook chicken and dumplings because I don't like it. It's a good thing they gave us dinner rolls and corn bread while waiting on our orders so that filled me up. I just asked for a box and took home my order. My hubby ate it for supper. The foods at Cracker Barrel didn't meet my expectation and I doubt I will ever eat there again.

This is what I ordered, chicken and dumplings and mashed potatoes and it was not as good as I thought.

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Last year, I had a health issue regarding the ringing in my ears called tinnitus. The ringing was so loud that I wasn't able to sleep and later on I developed anxiety and depression. I asked my hubby to take me to the park one Saturday afternoon to walk and unwind. I've been feelin' low and stressed due to lack of sleep so I decided to go out walking and feel the fresh air and sunshine. Lucy Park is just 5 minutes drive from our house. I like that park, it's so nice, clean, peaceful and serene. I went walking while my hubby waited on me in the van. He doesn't like to walk because he said his callous in his feet hurt. I took photos of the trees and the scenery around while walking. I love nature and whenever I'm at Lucy Park, I feel that I'm so close to the Creator with the beauty of nature that surrounds me. There were some people at the park and I saw a couple who was having their wedding pictorial near the pond. The park was a good place for wedding photos with all the green scenery and the ducks in the pond. After I was done walking, I called my hubby to come with me and sit at the swing. We sat there for maybe an hour just talking, looking at the trees and people who were there at the park. We talked about God, how He created that magnificent park with all the trees, birds and ducks. I love the feeling just being with my hubby out in the park, sitting on the swing and just appreciating the beauty of God's wonderful creation.

More than a year later, I still have a ringing in my ears but it's not as bad as before. Maybe I just got used to it that I don't think about it that much now. I just notice the ringing when it's so quiet at night and sometimes when I think about it, I suddenly hear it. So Lisa, don't think about it, okay?

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During our weekend getaway October last year, we had the chance to see the pumpkin patch in Denison. I've seen some photos of pumpkin patch before but that was my first time to actually see it for real. I was just curious to see the different kinds of pumpkins that they have there. Well, they have different varieties of pumpkins there and maybe it would be good in making a pumpkin pie. I love pumpkin pie but I don't know know how to make it from scratch. I use the canned pumpkins from the store whenever I make one. At the pumpkin patch, they have the hayride there but I didn't want to ride because that's not new to me. We have those in the Philippines. We call it "kuliglig". Here are some photos taken there.

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I had a huge garden at the back of our house in Texas. For the past 3 years I planted different kinds of veggies and I harvested a lot too. For now, I'm going to post the string beans and my bitter gourd from my garden last year. My veggies yielded a lot so what I did, I cut the string beans and blanched it. After that I put it in a ziploc bag and put it in the freezer. It lasted a few months. I didn't do that it with the bitter gourd though. I like to cook it fresh from the garden so it won't taste so biter. Whenever I pick some I cooked it right away with ground beef, tomatoes and eggs. My American husband love it. He said it tasted so good.

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Last year, hubby and I went to eat at Grandy's on different locations three times. When we were on our way to Alvarado June last year, hubby and I stopped at Highway 287 to have lunch. We wanted to go to Dairy Queen but it was on the other side of the road so we opted to go to Grandy's. I've seen in their menu that they have a country steak meal and it was their special for that day. Special means the price is discounted. So hubby and I ordered 2 steak meals with 2 side dishes each. I ordered fried rice and coleslaw for my side dish and hubby ordered macaroni and cheese and French fries. I tell you, that was the cheapest lunch we had in a long time in a restaurant. We only paid $7.98 for 2 meals. Their steak was good and they even gave us 2 dinner rolls each. I was so full after that. It was my first time to eat at Grandy's and I like it there. The next day, we went to eat again at Grandy's in Alvarado and I ordered the same menu. But it was not the special of the day so we paid more. Besides, the prices in Grandy's Alvarado are higher than in Hwy 287.

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On the way back home from San Antonio more than 2 years ago, we stopped by at Cabela's shopping center in Buda, TX. This is a sports store and they sell items mostly for recreation, sports, camping, etc. What impressed me most about this store is that they have a mini zoo of different kinds of preserved animals. They have lions, tigers, deers, bears, elephants, zebras and a lot more. They call the preservation of these animals taxidermy. Whoever preserved those animals, they sure did a good job. I was so amazed and I kept taking photos of those different kinds of animals. They also put some artificial trees in the mini zoo and painted the background with a beautiful scenery which added beauty to the mini zoo. It's amazing!

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Just looking at these photos made me miss my exercise equipments. I had been using these almost everyday when we were still in Texas. I like to exercise because it's good to my body. Most of the time, after I was done with my blogging I rode my stationary bike and bike for about 15 to 20 minutes. While biking I was listening to my subliminal CD for peace and happiness to remove my stress for the day. After I'm done with my stationary bike I ride my power rider for about 15 to 20 minute too. I set my timer so I know when it's up. I tell you, after I'm done with my exercise, I feel a lot better. I feel renewed and I felt I gained more strength. I also walk in my treadmill during cold weather because it's cold to go out walking this time of the year.

When we moved out of the country, I can't take with me my exercise equipments so I gave it away to my friends. I gave the treadmill and power rider to my pastor's wife and my stationary bike to my step-daughter Shelly. If only the shipping is not that much, I could have shipped it here. Anyways, I bought a new stationary bike a couple of months ago but can't afford yet to buy a new treadmill and power rider.

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When I was in Texas, I tried to bake cookies for the first time. I've been baking cakes, muffins and bread but I never tried baking cookies. I thought of baking some home-made cookies because my hubby likes it. I baked oatmeal-butterscotch cookies and to my surprise they turned out good. They were not as good as those cookies that I've been eating though but they're still edible. Perhaps if I keep on baking cookies, I will get better. Good thing is, my hubby liked the cookies and he ate most of it.



Here's the recipe:

Sensibly Delicious Oatmeal-Butterscotch Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or grated peel of 1 orange
3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 2/3 cups (11-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ TOLL HOUSE Butterscotch Morsels

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
COMBINE flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 7 to 8 minutes for chewy cookies or 9 to 10 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

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It's during fall season that the leaves of the trees change colors before they fall down. They change into different colors like orange, red, yellow and brown. It's really amazing how God created the four different seasons and we can see God's wonderful creation like the trees' foliage that change colors during this time of the year. As the poem say, "Poems are made by fools like me but only God can make a tree." We took these photos after we got off from the church on a Sunday last year in Wichita Falls, TX.

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Hubby and I have been missing the chicken and gravy at Chicken Express because their foods are really, really yummy. Other restaurants we've been to can't duplicate their chicken and gravy. Others come close but not as good. Well, the above photo was taken more than a year ago when hubby and I went to Alvarado to visit the kids. We stopped by at Chicken Express to have supper and as usual we ordered chicken tenders and I got mashed potatoes on the side while hubby got French fries. We really love their chicken and their gravy. It's a lot better than Golden Chick. We always go to Chicken Express every time we go to Alvarado. This is one of our favorite chicken restaurants.

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I was going through the videos that are in my camcorder and I thought of sharing one here taken at Lucy Park when our church had a picnic there June last year. It was my hubby who took this video and see how bad he took my video. Sometimes he cut my head and also his hands are shaky when he takes videos or photos. I always complain to him that my photos and videos are not that good when he's the one taking it. Who else would I ask to take pics or video of me except him so I can't really complain. Besides, he's the one who bought my camcorder and my digicam and I do love the man.

Find more reactive videos at coull.com

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It’s been 6 years since I first step foot in the so called land of the free and the home of the brave wherein most people in my country are dying to see. I still remember, my hubby and I left NAIA (the airport in Manila) at about 12:30 midnight. Before boarding the plane I was so excited and I told myself, America here I come, lol! Well, that was my first time to ride a plane and I had mixed feelings, nervous and excited. We had a smooth flight from Manila to Korea and I managed to have a little nap. We took the Korean airlines and we had a 7 hour layover in Korea. Oh my, that was a long wait for me. I was so eager to see USA.

Then finally we boarded the plane that will take us to Texas. It was a very long trip and the flight was not as smooth as the previous one. We encountered a lot of turbulence during the flight. At first I got so nervous, it feels like there was an earthquake inside the plane, lol! But after a while I got used to it and I got to enjoy the trip. The stewardees had served good food and hubby and I enjoyed it. I looked around the other passengers and some of them were sound asleep and some even laid down on the vacant seats. I wonder how they managed to sleep inside the plane. Maybe some of them travel by plane often and they got used to flying. But me, that was my first time and I can’t sleep while flying. Besides I got a lot of things in my head like what will my life be like in the US and I thought of my family that I left in the Philippines. Sure thing I gonna miss them.

Then after long hours of flying we were finally in the US territory. I was so excited to take a glimpse of how the US look like so I asked my hubby to exchange seat with me so I can sit by the window. I took a peek outside and all I’ve seen were trees and buildings. When we finally landed and got our baggage, hubby and I were in the lobby of DFW airport and there we were met by his 2 lovely daughters. I was glad to see them, my new family here. While we were on our way to the house I just kept looking around. I said to myself, so this is it, this is USA. I thank the Lord for bringing me here.

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...after more than a month of absence. The reason is our town didn't have internet connection because someone had stolen the phone cable once again. The other month we had the same problem and when the phone company restored our phone and internet, the thief had strike again after only 5 days since we got back our internet. I know it's not good to wish bad things to happen to other people but sometimes I can't help myself to think or wish that those thieves will be electricuted while trying to cut off the phone cable. It happened in Manila while a teenager was trying to steal the phone cable there. He was electricuted right there and then and died hanging up there. I just hope it will scare those other thieves who have heard the news.

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During our weekend get away in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, we went to watch the jeep rock climbing show on our second day there. The jeeps climbed the pile of rocks and went down a deep hole and then go up and down another deep hole again. Oh my, that’s a scary thing for me, they call it extreme wheelin’. Even if they will pay me, I will never dare to ride that thing. I would surely be screaming like a small kid.


There was also a classic car show. Those cars are old models but I bet they are expensive, maybe the price is the same as a brand new car if not more expensive. I'm not really fond of classic cars because I prefer the latest models. Besides, they are too pricey. I was just wondering why they cost a fortune. It doesn't make sense to me.

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...that we got back our internet after 8 days of no connection since somebody had stolen the phone lines in our area. I thought it would take longer before the company will fix it but I was mistaken. I'm again connected to the world wide web and I'm so glad. Having no internet is like having no connection to the other parts of the world and it's like my daily routine is not complete without it. I also missed updating this blog and visiting other blogs. Now I'm back to the blogosphere and it makes me glad.

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Sorry guys if it's been a while since the last time I updated this blog. We don't have our phone and internet connection since Tuesday. Somebody had stolen the cable lines here in our town so it's gonna be for a while before we can have it back. I will update this as soon as we will have our internet back.

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I was going through my scrapbook works when I saw these photos which I made as scrapbook last year. I remember my hubby and I were in front of my laptop and I took some photos using the built-in webcam. We've been having some fun taking photos together and we made some faces while posing. It's one of those wacky moments and I wanted to share here those funny photos that we took. Pasensiya na, walang magawa si lola.

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Our weekend getaway in Oklahoma 2 years ago was spent mostly by watching the Balloon Festival in Tahlequah. As I wrote in my previous post, we stayed in a vacation house in Cookson. Friday evening we went to watch the balloon glow. I was surprised to see lots of people there. It was my first time to watch a balloon festival and those balloons were really huge and colorful. I took some photos when they had those balloons lighted up and twinkled. After the balloon glow, they had a fireworks show to wrap up the day’s event.

The next day, we went again to watch when they flew the balloons after we had our lunch. It took a while to wait. While waiting on the balloons to fly, there was a live concert but I didn’t really care about it because I don’t like those kind of music. It’s good that a group of Gospel singers sang next and we sat down and listened to their songs. The balloons flew later than what was scheduled because there was a shower in the afternoon. It’s good they decided to fly anyway but not a lot of them because of the rain.

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...for giving me another year in my life. I celebrated my birthday the 5th of this month but it was just a simple celebration. Hubby got out of the hospital on the day of my birthday. We spent a fortune for his hospitalization that's why he was not able to buy a gift for me. But I'm thankful to God because hubby is fine now and the doctors didn't find any serious illness in him except an inflamed colon due to colitis.

Last year during my birthday, hubby gave me silver jewelries as my birthday present, a matching silver necklace and bracelet with crystal stones that glitter like diamonds. They were so pretty and I like them. Before my birthday, I told my hubby that I'm not requesting any particular gift like I used to. I told him it's up to him what he wants to give me. So I was surprised when he gave me the jewelries. I hugged and kissed him. He asked me if I like his gifts. Of course I do like it. Hubby knows that I love jewelries. But my hubby is the best gift that God has given me. I won't trade him for anything else.

I thank God for everything. I thank God for all the years that He has given me and I thank Him for my life. Without Him I won't be in this world.

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