SWF and Friday Fill-In!

It's a very rainy day TODAY, so I'm posting something sunny and bright! This was taken by my cuz Cy when she went to Bataan. I hope Mr. Sun shines tomorrow! Visit the home of  Skywatch Friday to find beautiful skies all over the world.

My cousin Cy went here last summer : Anvaya Cove, Bataan, Philippines (Lucky her!)

Friday Fill-In #193

1. My back is killing me and screaming for a massage.

2. Born to be wild.

3. Leaves are falling all around, and the grass smell sweet today.

4. Stress results forgetfulness.

5. Healing is God's design.

6. Slaving at the office and cutting my lunch time in half to blogging time is what I've been up to lately!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a little quality time at home, tomorrow my plans include finishing up the pending audit  items at the office  and Sunday, I want to catch up on my sleep (and laundry, too LOL)!

To see more Friday Fill Ins, visit Janet and the home of FFI here.



...and then HOP over Fun Follow Friday and Follow Me Friday to meet new friends!

30 Days of Truth -- Day Eight

Day 08 → Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like shit.

I could name a few who ATTEMPTED to treat me like shit and one or two almost succeeded. The most felt was by the person described in day four.  I know he was not treating me the way I deserved to be treated but I ignored the signs,  hoping tomorrow would be better. It went on for years. But a person can only take so much, we are like balloons slowly filling with water. We expand and take in as much as we can and then we explode.

But I'm better now. I realized, it's not living the life we chose BUT choosing the life we live.

• What about you, who has made your life hell, or treated you like shit?

Tell me via the comment section the link to your post so I can check them out, too!

The list for the 30 Days of Truth Challenge is here

Next:

Day 09 → Someone you didn’t want to let go, but just drifted.

I grabbed the logo here :)

a long distance call.

My mother called the other night telling me the results of her blood tests came through already and all was well and not to worry. She was diagnosed with Type II diabetes last year. For someone who has this debilitating disease, she was fairly amicable  (which is not often) and went on to talk about the doctors and nurses of Dr. Sofronio Garcia Memorial Hospital. She even said she doesn't like the word "Memorial" in the hospital's name, sounds like death she said. I laughed at her comment, I guess she was just trying to be funny.

According to her, the hospital ambiance is light,  and exclaimed that nurses seems to be wearing colored uniforms, unlike in her younger days. I mentioned that they are called scrub clothes now. "OK, like the T.V. show", she said. Well, boring white nurse uniforms has already lost its popularity and was replaced by patterned or solid colored uniforms in blue, pink or teal green scrubs and paired with surgical scrub hats in various designs to add color to a rather drab -- and stressful hospital scene. Nurse uniforms and supplies  has evolved into fun, fashionable yet efficient wear for health care professionals around the world. I hear her saying, yeah, yeah. And she went on for another 10 minutes ordering my life around long distance talking, and I realized that I love her. I hope we have still a lot of time together.

Wobble Over Wednesday

Yeah, I know. It's Thursday. I woke up, and it's Thursday! Just be sure to go over My life with Rats and more... and check out Wobble over Wednesday -- a great place to meet and greet new bloggy friends and maybe a few followers!

You can TWEET about this, too! Feel free to use:

( : Join in Wobble Over Wednesday and get lots of new friends and blog followers. @Smile7891 http://mylifewithratsandmore.blogspot.com/ : )

I love y'all! Hugs!

Sensational Haiku -- Stress

Welcome to “Sensational Haiku Wednesday!”
Click here for info and background on this weekly event!

The basics:

Haiku is simple! It is 3 non-rhyming lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively (a great way to use your fingers!)

This week’s theme is: Stress

irritable, restless
achy, hungry and hopeless
all because of stress!
-----------

Next week’s theme: Waves

3WW -- gait, nudge, ripen

My godson Gyan at one of the bazaars in MY

a child's clumsy gait

can nudge a withered garden

to bloom and ripen.

 

gait (n) - manner of walking or running; bearing
nudge (tr. v) - To push against gently, especially in order to gain attention or give a signal.
ripen (vb) - to make or become ripe

30 Days of Truth -- Day Seven

Day 07 → Someone who has made your life worth living for

Family and friends. I may not admit it, but for so long I  lived for the approval of my loved ones. I always strived to act according to the standards set by them. Through them, I find purpose to better myself.

Love relationships.Teddy. He is my friend.  He is "the one". I know so.  :) But he can make me really, really crazy sometimes and that keeps me on my toes.

Enemies.  Some people -- they can't move on. They try to take me on guilt-trips and if I let them, will do their  best to suck me in their misery. Sometimes Most of the time, I am  not completely blameless for the the things that happen to me. Enemies  make me look inward to contemplate and re-assess myself.
.
This is a hard one because the follow up question would be: Is it? So  I mulled over this  for days and I realized, people who come and go can love us, hate us, leave us, and they always leave a mark in our lives.

• What about you, who has made your life worth living for?

Tell me via the comment section the link to your post so I can check them out, too!

The list for the 30 Days of Truth Challenge is here

Next:

Day 08 → Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like shit.

I grabbed the logo here :)

Light. Dark.

a church in Caluruega, Batangas

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

colored glass, is it
Stained to let the light in or
to keep the dark out?

Happy Mellow Yellow Monday!
Blue Monday hosted by Smiling Sally here.
Wordless? Then, Wordless Wednesday is for you!



Update 28Sept2010:

My entry for Ruby Tuesday, too! 

Difference in timezones :)

Microfiction Monday #50

Welcome to Microfiction Monday,

where a picture paints 140 characters, or even fewer.

May is thinking of her husband, now laid to rest and wondered, "How many shades of blue could there be?" as she sat pondering by the sea.     (137 char)

Every Monday, Susan at Stony River hosts Microfiction Monday. She posts a picture and you add a caption in 140 characters or less. Come and join in!

Custody -- a FFF 55

He was by the open veranda, looking out to the sea.

"Hey...", she said as she wrapped her arms around him from behind . "Are you OK?"

"Yea.."

"Do you miss them?", she asked.

"Who?"

"The kids."

"No."

 "Yeah, I guess I do. I don't know if I can go through the custody battle tomorrow."

This is a Friday Flash Fiction 55 hosted by Mr. Knowitall.
-

My Life in 6 Words - 25Sept2010

Blog-stalking. Not working. Laundry piling up!

For more life in six words, visit Cate @ Show My face

Book-less (not necessarily hopeless).

I want to buy A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog by Dean Koontz (I'm a big fan of D.K.) but I found that it is a little over my budget right now. It's  $15 at the Book Depository  (higher at approx $24 dollars at National Bookstore Online).


And it really hit me -- I can't buy books due to my budget constraints.And I  just realized how broke I am... :( :( :(

Well, I am hoping this is just a temporary setback.

So for the meantime I thought I might as well try to win books here instead:

Welcoming the Fall Giveaway hosted by Good Choice Reading - ends Sept 29, 2010

Over 50+ blogs sponsoring book giveaway (US, Canada, International)

Booklover Book Reviews First Birthday Giveaway - ends 18 October 2010, 5pm (Brisbane Australia)

LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN - Colum McCann (literature)
SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE - Alan Bradley (cosy mystery, quirky)
LIFE OF PI - Yann Martel (literature)
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO - Stieg Larsson (crime thriller)
CROCODILE ON THE SANDBANK - Elizabeth Peters (cosy mystery, historical, funny) 

 

The Book Bee International Giveaway - ends Oct 8, 2010

 Win any of the books:

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The Last Testament by Sam Bourne
The Girls He Adored by Jonathan Nasaw

Escape in a Book Giveaway -- ends Sept 29, 2010

 Win:

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson 

or

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Hop, Hop,Rock 'n Roll Friday !

 

Today DJ KathyA picked Bob Dylan. The song titles are in bold caps and the lyrics are in bold. Here's Rock 'n Roll Fridays!

1. TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN’ “And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’ for the loser now will be later to win, For the times they are a changin’”
What would you do or play at a Casino? I'd play the SLOT MACHINES.

2. ON DESOLATION ROW “To her, death is quite romantic, She wears an iron vest. Her profession’s her religion, her sin is her lifelessness”
What was the worst job you ever had? As machine operator in a cotton company. I lasted about a week.

3. DON’T THINK TWICE IT’S ALLRIGHT “I ain’t sayin you treated me unkind, you could have done better but I don’t mind. You just kinda wasted my precious time. Don’t think twice it’s all right”How do you waste your time besides memes? Stalk other people's blogs and check how they did their memes. LOL. Of course, I sleep and watch DVDs.

4. IT AIN’T ME BABE “You say you’re lookin for someone, never weak but always strong. To protect you an’ defend you whether you are right or wrong. Someone to open each and every door, It ain’t me babe” What traits make up the ideal mate for you? honest, witty, wide-reader, loves traveling, good conversationalist, good teeth,

5. JUST LIKE A WOMAN “She takes just like a woman, yes she does, she makes love just like a woman, yes she does, and she aches just like a woman, but she breaks just like a little girl”
What woman would make a great president? The Philippines had two woman presidents already and I don't know  if I want another one!

photo from Bruce on Games

6. KNOCKIN ON HEAVEN’S DOOR “Mama put my guns in the ground I can’t shoot them anymore, that long black cloud is comin’ down, I feel like I’m knockin’ on Heaven’s door”
Have you ever fired a rifle, handgun or other firearm? Paintball once. Does it count? On deeper thought, I  certainly  won't recommend this to kids as I feel it encourages violence and makes it look like fun. But PAINTBALL is FUN!

7. LIKE A ROLLING STONE “You used to laugh about everybody that was hangin’ out, Now you don’t seem so proud, about havin’ to scrounge for your next meal”Have you ever been on Welfare (the Dole), or collected Unemployment Insurance Benefits? No, not yet. And I hope I won't be.


8. MAGGIE’S FARM “Everybody says she’s the brains behind Pa, She’s 68 but says she’s 24”When was the last time you lied about your age? When I was still in my teens, I always try to pass for  20 so I can get into disco bars or If I  I have crushes on older men. Now I don't lie anymore. I let them guess. LOL

9. MR TAMBORINE MAN “Hey Mr Tamborine Man, play a song for me, I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m goin’ to. “
Have you ever played a musical instrument? NO. I think I'm tone deaf.

10. ONE MORE CUP OF COFFEE “One more cup of coffee for the road. One more cup of coffee ‘for I go…to the valley below”
What brand of coffee do you drink and how do you take it?

photo from Batanggenyong Online

I like espresso. Black, or little sugar. Once in a while, some friends would bring Kape Barako. "Kape" means coffee and "Barako" is a Tagalog word meaning manly, or strong. And the name really speaks for this coffee!  Kapeng Barako (came from the Liberica variety of coffee that originated from Africa) is fully grown in the high lands of Lipa, Batangas. I suppose it was introduced to the Philippines during the Spanish colonization era.

There is joke going around on how clean the Filipinos are: they  wash their bread on their coffee before eating!

That we do, too. Especially in the morning with hot pan-de-sal!

For Instant -- Nescafe. I drink it hot. Or cold. Not too sweet, not too creamy. I like my coffee to taste like coffee!

11. ONE TOO MANY MORNINGS “Down the street the dogs are barkin’, and the day is getting’ dark. As the night comes in a fallin, The dogs ‘ll lose their bark”When was the last time a dog barked near you?  Some of my neighbors let loose their dogs at night so everytime I am late coming home (say after midnight), they follow me ( sometimes 3 or more of them) and bark all the way to my apartment. The trick is that, I walk slowly and never sway my arms around :)

12. SUBTERRANEAN HOMESICK BLUES “Look out kid, don’t matter what you did. Walk on your tip toes, don’t try NO DOZ, better stay away from those”
When you have to stay awake what do you do when you are very sleepy? Coffee, coffee, coffee. Play rock music. Surf the net. If all else fails, I pinch myself.

13. TANGLED UP IN BLUE “I was layin in bed wondrin if she’d changed at all. If her hair was still red…”What color(s) has your hair been? Always has been dark brown.

Happy Friday everyone!

Sunset Highway

 Keep your sense of proportion by regularly, preferably daily,
          visiting the natural world.
             - Catlin Matthews

To see more beautiful skies, visit Skywatch Friday and Looking at the Sky on Friday
Wordless Wednesday here.

Simple Pleasures-- Tomatoes and Dried Fish

Come and visit A Collection Of This And That and share with us your Simple Pleasures.

Mine is "tuyo at kamatis sa may maanghang na suka" or dried fish and tomatoes dipped in chilli vinegar.

Perfect on a rainy day!

xoxooxoxooxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Home of Worldless Wednesday

bassgiraffe’s Thoughts

This week’s STAR spot is Linda’s Lunacy

If you love bloghopping, then go over http://www.nofse.com/memes/ and check out Terra H.'s list of bloghops!

Thursday Thunks - What's in a name? -

The TT questions are brought to you by Bud, the color of Kimber's hair (where did she go?) and the number 333.

1. We are changing your name. You have no choice. You get to pick it, but we must approve it. You must have a good reason. Ok, what is the name and reason?  Simone.  It's either that, or Bob.

2. I say Shotgun, you say? Then shoot!

3. We are sending you away. Africa or Mexico? Africa. I dream of an African Safari.

4. When you're home alone, do you still close the door when you use the restroom? Yes.

5.  Berleen told me that I have to ask a mean question. Tell us about a horrible memory.  I caught  the ex cheating on me.

6. What are your plans for October? Visit my mom in the province.

7. Is there anyone that you regret ever meeting ? Yes.

8. You have 3 months left to live, what do you do? Go to an African Safari!

9. You wake up in an unfamiliar place, what is your first reaction? Ask where is the bathroom.

10. Your phone rings at 4am, just before you kill this person, who do you expect it would be? Dick Tracy?

11. You're having a bad day, what one thing can make your day better? A long shower.

12. You are doing a meme written by the blogosphere's shadiest character. Is there anything else that you should be doing right now? Lunch.

13. If money were not a problem, (and it never is, right? Yes, I stole this f$%*ing question. Sue me.) where would you like to live?  

Sarangani, Philippines

Google Photo

---or---

Google Photo

xoxoxooxoxox

Tomorrow, please join in!

This is a GREAT meme 
(even better than what we did today. Well it could be.)...

This week features the lyrics of Bob Dylan!

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7 Worst things to say to a person who just got dumped

1. You don't look good together anyway.
2. Move on, you deserve better.
3. I guess now I can tell you that s/he made a pass at me when you were still together
4. S/he's a jerk. What did you see in him/her anyway?
5. Maybe s/he's just in for the sex or worse...for the money.
6. It's time for a makeover and a visit to that gym.
7. I told you so, it wouldn't last!

Could you say anything worse?

Creative Writing Prompt #231

Hoo are you? #15

Helllloooo fellow HOOOOOTS! Welcome to another week of 

HOO ARE YOU!



This week's questions:

1.  What is your Zodiac sign?

2. Name 3 things that are always in your purse besides your wallet.

3. Which magazines do you look at the most?

4. Do you pluck or get your eyebrows waxed?

5. How often do you go grocery shopping?

My answers:

1.  What is your Zodiac sign?
Taurus the Bull.
2. Name 3 things that are always in your purse besides your wallet.
Chapstick. USB. CELLPHONE.
3. Which magazines do you look at the most?
Cosmopolitan.
4. Do you pluck or get your eyebrows waxed?
Neither. I shave them to shape.
5. How often do you go grocery shopping?  
Very seldom. Here in the Philippines, there are a lot of mini-stores (sari-sari stores) lining the neighborhood. I do grocery only during paydays, holidays and major family occasions.
 
HOOOOOOOOO ARE YOU?

HOOOO HOOOO!

Link up to Night Owl Crafting    to join. This is fun!

 

 

 

Sensational Haiku -- Respect

This week’s theme is: Respect

Not to be bought or sold
but earned through our deeds and thoughts.
That is self-respect.

Next week’s theme: Stress

Click here for info and background on this weekly event!

The basics:

Haiku is simple! It is 3 non-rhyming lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively (a great way to use your fingers!)

30 Days of truth - Day 06

Day 06 → Something you hope you never have to do

 (My 30 days of Truth)

Lie.

As hard as we try to be, not all of us can be Honest Abes.  

I mean, how do you say to a loved one that they are dying, or to a child that one parent is going away for good and there is no sense in waiting? I think honesty does not equate with insensitivity, that's all. I hope I would not be in a situation like that.

• What about you, what is it that you you hope you never have to do?

Tell me via the comment section the link to your post so I can check them out, too!

The list for the 30 Days of Truth Challenge is here

Next:

Day 07 → Someone who has made your life worth living for.

Untitled-- a Ruby Tuesday Post

Iya's trip to Langkawi, MY

I'm glad I found this in my archive because I was thinking about hats and how good it is to go to the beach. I don't know how to caption this so I untitled it. (Am I making any sense?) LOL. Where do you think he's going?

One thing's for sure, go over Work of the Poet, home of the Ruby Tuesday  to see more RED today!

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If you love bloghopping, then go over Society of Socialpreneurs and check out their list of bloghops!

 Follow Me Back Tuesday 

hosted by
Survey Junkie,
Little Yaya's, 
Review Retreat  
& Boobies,BabiesAndABlog..  

special co-host this week : Traci from Traci66

Tuesday Blog Hop

Hosted by

Fabulous Finds by NimblerGrove, 

 New To Mom and Chubby Cheeks Thinks

"Spotlighted Blog" of the week Mama to 3 4 Blessings

My life in six words.

Roller-coaster life! Goes down. Up again.

That's mine! But I don't mind.

Things to do + bloghopping

T.G.I.F!

Workweek's almost over! Yay! Officework's been hectic these past few weeks because of the audit requirements. I can't wait to just stay around the house because I've neglected a few things like:

• having a conversation with Teddy without dozing off
• having a cup of coffee with Teddy without rushing off in the morning
• catch up on my reading (even if it's just the newspaper) lol
• cook a decent meal (I hate canteen food!)
• and other things ::wink::

 I've been meaning to catch up on my posts. I hope you won't feel that I've neglected you, my dear readers, at all! I guess I still haven't gotten over my lost writing mojo last month :( Please bear with me. If you have tips up your sleeve on how to get it back again (that elusive writing mojo), kindly tell me. You have to be patient with me, though because I like giving advices than taking them! lol. Kidding aside, I will seriously consider and apply them.


If you like looking at pictures, you might want to peek at my Ruby Tuesday post and my favorite Skywatch Friday. As I said, I'm at a loss for words so I thought pictures of life around me would do. I've been neglecting my 30 Days of Truth but I hope to get on with it soon. You might want to start one yourself so check the list of questions here.



Anyways, I hope everyone a quality weekend!


Now on to the bloghop!