I am me. I don't like header pictures. I like simplicity.

I miss reading your entries.  Sorry, I'm just not around so much.  Busy, busy, busy with baby stuff.

As much as I want to stay here, I just don't have time to blog here plus my other one.  From now on, this will be my official blog site:

I Have Cramps

Hope to see you there. 

Every once in a while we need to smile at life.

http://www.halini.com/media/happycouple.wmv
http://albinoblacksheep.com/numa.php

You've heard of my grandfather passing. Just tonight, I heard from my sister C that my other sister J's husband was stabbed Thursday night (Philippine time). He was pronounced dead on arrival. My sister J didn't know the tragic news until the next morning, as they were staying somewhere else that night.

From what they told me, my brother-in-law was having some sort of argument with someone somewhere close to the house. Knowing that the argument was getting heated, my bro-in-law opted to leave quickly to avoid even more dispute. The angry guy followed my bro-in-law and stabbed him in the back, then on his chest and shoulders. The guy is in jail now, but nothing can bring my bro-in-law back.

I pray that my sister and her two daughters have the strength and the love of our family to go through this sad time.

I've been meaning to post something for some time now, but I've procrastinated. It's a bad habit, I tell you. You start putting things off, and keep on doing it until it's too late. Which reminds me - I need to start doing my taxes before it's too late! :P

Anyways, here's what's been going on so far.

My maternal grandfather passed away the start of this month. As far as I could tell from folks that he has had medical problems since February. He wasn't eating properly, which isn't good for a diabetic, and he became weak. My aunt (my mom's sister) didn't want to leave Lolo ("grandfather" in Filipino) in his condition, I think, but she had to go to some sort of conference in Washington. She visited Dallas for a few days before going on to the conference. I heard the news from my brother's sudden phone call on my cell phone at work. Such a shock. I then proceeded to call my mom (who was in church at the time with my aunt) and I couldn't get a hold of them for an hour. I called my sister also to inform her about what happened and how my mom was unreachable. I got a little frustrated at some point, that I cried, coupled that with the shock of Lolo passing. Finally, my mom got the call and she started to work, so to speak. My aunt had to cut her trip short, and my mom had to get a flight home. They did the necrological services a few days later. I heard that they did a 21-gun salute, as Lolo was a retired Colonel in the military.

Good news on my last doctor's check-up. My blood sugar is normal, not even borderline for diabetes, so very, very good news. Doc said that the baby is growing normally. And it's such a surprise when she told me I'm already in my 28th week since March 7th. Wow, 2 more months and this baby will be coming to this world.

My sister Christinne mentioned something about births and deaths in the family. She remembered that when my paternal grandfather passed away, my sister gave birth to a son that very same year. She said that the case may be the same for my baby. A life after death, so to speak. Something to think about.

My dad from Rhode Island also visited us folks in Dallas at the end of February/start of March. It was nice to see him again after so long. I don't even remember the last time I saw him last, me and my forgetful mind. He stayed at my sisters' for a couple of days and spent some time with the grandchildren and he had the chance to see our house of 2 years finally and stayed there before going back. We even watched the movie, "Firewall" which was really good. Dad even got a chance to taste one of our most favorite beverages here in Dallas - Lollicup. :) Since my aunt was also here, we decided to have a family dinner before my aunt left the next day.

Too bad both visits were short-lived. I miss my family. :(

Luci's back in Taipei this week for job training, and I'm missing him everyday. It's a good thing I can keep busy for a while. We also pleasantly found out that we can call each other on the cell phone. I just hope that it doesn't charge us too much, or hopefully, none at all, since we are on the same plan. We'll see it on the next cell phone bill. For the meantime, we just try to keep the phone calls to 3 minutes minimum. Besides, he can check email everyday also (but, of course, it's nothing compared to hearing his voice).

That's it so far. I hope I didn't forget anything. If I do, I'll make sure to post it the next time. :)