In Summary...

I'm way over my head w/ Pathfinders - and I'm realizing just how much I do and don't delegate. My goodness, the club requirements/events and preparation is insane!! I pray every morning that God just takes over me; I just can't do it myself!

Work's been OK. I've actually applied for another job, but out of state. Yes, believe it or not, I'm willing to move... again. I'll blog more about that later.

Running is on hold, even though I have my half marathon in less than 2 weeks. Bursitis on the hip is crazy!! So I'm taking the rest of the year off from running after the 15th of August. I hope!

Philippines trip countdown is on. Less than 6 months to go! Now if I can just figure out how to go w/o having to spend so much money.

Starting next year, I want to go out of the country at least 2x. Let's see how that will go.

Birthday Fun

 
I had a lovely, low-key birthday.  Originally I had planned on having a party. The only problem was that I end up dreading party days because I do too much.  I have this strong urge to accommodate everyone in more ways than one.  You know, gotta think about the vegetarians, the non-vegetarians, the picky eaters, the kids, the elderly etc etc.  My brain just does not turn off when I’m planning something.  So I decided to just make my day simple and do what I like to do – cook food!  Hehe.  I made a big pot of corn chowder and had fixin’s for sandwiches:  turkey w/ havarti, or pesto and basil w/ mozzarella and invited my small family.  =)  There were two highlights on my day:  One is Michelle making me a s’mores ice cream cake and baby Ian’s butt nekked picture on Facebook!  I got a good laugh throughout the day out of that little guy and of course Michelle’s ice cream cake was a hit!  I actually gained 2 lbs during my birthday weekend since I was having dessert everyday for 5 days!  LOL.
 
Michelle, Lizz and I took Monday after my birthday off.  We planned on going to La Jolla and just relax.  We slept in that day – til 9AM – and headed to The Cottage (http://www.cottagelajolla.com/) for brunch.  That place is yummy – I had a bowl of chipotle corn chowder and they gave me raspberry bread pudding for dessert!  Afterwards we went to Title Nine (http://www.titlenine.com/ ) store and I got 2 dresses and a purse.  Momma Lizz got me one of the dresses and Michelle the purse.  I felt spoiled! Hehe.  We then decided to go for a long walk, looked for Kate Sessions park.  We walked 10,000 steps by the time we were done!  One downside is that I dropped my iPhone while walking and it totally chipped on the sides.  I got a case that day so now it’s not visible.  And last, we went to meet up w/ my mom and her boyfriend for dinner at King’s Fish in Mission Valley.  Again, there was dessert; this time it was key lime pie.
 
Overall a wonderful non-celebration.  I still want a big birthday party – perhaps for the big 3 – 0!!  HAHA.  I’m so grateful for another year of life, for God richly blessing me in several ways and for my friends and family who have been loving and supportive in all the things that I do.     
 
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Sleep, Work, Eat, Repeat.

This weekend has been particularly nice. Went to PV Church on Sabbath, had lunch then we headed to L.A. to see family. Even though we did quite a bit, I still didn't feel as tired as I have during Sabbaths when I'm running around church trying to get something done, get home to catch a one hour nap then get back to church again. I'm guilty of sometimes not looking forward to the Sabbath because of all the things that need to be done. So perhaps, in the next year, as the Director of the Pathfinders I can work on getting everything done ahead of time so by Sabbath I just show up. That's the best case scenario, no? Hehe.

Other than that, just been working working working. Finally got our plane ticket for the Philippines and going there on New Year's. I'm super excited. Now when I pay off that plane ticket I just put on my credit card, I'll be even more excited. I've just been really workin' on being debt-free. I think I have enough student loans to last me a lifetime so I'm trying to just not owe anymore than that. And can someone tell me how it's possible that I can spend my whole paycheck, every time when I live at home?! Geez. I do pay (some) rent I suppose. HAHA. Anyway, gotta spend more time in prayer so I can let go of a lot of the worldly things I love that just gets me in trouble i.e. gadgets and food!!! Well, I don't think I can let go of food, but at least eating out so much. I swear, I spend half a paycheck on just food!

Happy 4th to everyone out there! I enjoyed sleeping in til past 9AM today. =) I hope I can do it again tomorrow.

But some pictures for fun:

Me and YanYan.



Lala after watching Shrek w/ her 3D glasses on.



The kids like hanging out in my room. Coz I'm the cool aunt. ;-)



@ Sea World, this pig cracked me up going through the obstacle course!

Running Woes

For the third time in the last week and a half, I'm struggling to complete my runs. I don't know if it's dehydration, GI issues or what I'm eating before a run (which I don't always do) but I'm finding myself in agony after about 20-30 min. of running. I'm talking severe abdominal cramps that makes one want to go to the bathroom. Sorry if that's TMI. What the heck is this?? One thing different is that I'm running faster. My usual 10 min. miles have gone down to 9-9:30 min. miles. I have no confidence for my upcoming event. How do I do 13 miles when I can hardly do 3 miles right now. WHat sucks is that I'm even enjoying my running these days and it's such a bummer when I have to stop. =*( Blah. Will try again on Thursday.

"Tita Grace"

I just love being a tita (auntie). I never get tired of my nieces and nephew calling me that. When I call Philippines, my oldest niece gets excited and goes "Tita Marreee!" Whenever the twins visit, I love getting hugs and kisses from them. I don't know how I was away from them for almost a year. I miss them when I don't see them in a week. I can't wait to see Yza and Youie on New Years. I get sad when I think about how I only see them every 2 years. I get even sadder when they're closer to their other titas. I take being a tita seriously. I want the little ones to know that I love them very much, will protect them and will always be there for them. My co-worker told me last week that I should have a kid of my own since I'm so "nurturing." But besides the fact that there's no prospective husband at this time, I really don't mind not being a mom because I find so much joy in being an aunt. Today I got to hold my new nephew, Ian. I just love this little guy - even though he doesn't really know who I am yet. I remember when Yza, Roman and Bizz were as small as him. Time flies! So basically, the point to my blog is just to say - I really am blessed to be a tita and am very happy. =)

Yza (5) and Youie (3)



Roman (4) and Bizz (4)



Yan2 (2 weeks)

Burrito in my Belly

Just had a whole bean burrito and now I'm stuffed! I ran for a little bit after work and I was just absolutely starving. Now I'm laying down, just chillin'. Last night I didn't sleep so well. I just could not shut my brain off. I fell asleep at around 10PM and woke up at midnight. That was pretty much it for me. Tomorrow I start my 5:30AM-3:30PM shift. Hope it's good times. I find that working out at lunch helps give me energy so I'm planning on doing some sort of physical activity to get me through tomorrow. I know I'm not going to be making much more money with 3 hrs of over time, but hey, it's extra cash, right? Anyway, La Jolla half is in a month and I still have not decided whether I'm running the event or not. We shall see...

Hot Hot Hot

First of all, I'm THE worst at keeping blogs. So, I'm not letting my friends know I'm at this again, just in case I quit again. Which is very likely. However, I've been wanting to put some thoughts on paper (or online) and sometimes writing it as a status on my FB just seems too long.

In any case, today was a super hot day in San Diego. Am I the only one who does not like weather this hot? It's rough going for a run starting at 7AM and by the time 8AM hits, it's just too hot! Chelle and I were gong for a 7 mile run this morning, but somewhere between mile 3 and 4, I stepped off wrong on a drive away and jarred my left hip, which I felt all the way on my R hip. We walked the rest of the way home since I was feeling a terrible soreness on the L hip. I will try again tomorrow, run during lunch and see how it goes. By Tues I'm hoping that I get in and see my chiro guy.

Got back home and didn't have time to catch breakfast because we had to head to the base for the easter egg hunt. It was ridiculously hot and way too many kids. The kids got some cute little things, got on two rides, which one of them almost made me hurl. But, I wouldn't trade for the world the giggle and laughter I got out of Roman as he was spinning us round and round.

Late lunch w/ the fam at Coronado Brewing Co. Their food is pretty good but service always sucks. In any case, I GRUBBED. I ate a salad, half a black bean burger, 2 slices of pizza and Roman's leftover pizza crust. Can you say carbo loading?! HAHA. Then we headed home, and what I haven't mentioned is that I had a headache from the heat throughout the day so I crashed. I still have that headache 6 hrs later so I'm hoping it goes away.

I'm glad this week is a 4 day week for us. I am however doing overtime. Only 3 hrs though. I'm coming in at 5:30AM and leaving at 3:30 PM on Tues, Wed and Thur. Work is hectic. I've been stressed and wanted to quit once or twice. But, God is good and I just hang in there. It could be worst. I paid off 1 credit card, almost done with another and then 1 left. God is good! I can't wait til I"m debt free (minus student loans) so I can enjoy traveling and seeing my niece in the Philippines more often.

I'm hoping to start posting pics on here too. I just need to figure out how. =)