Last summer I won the 1st Asian Aisle blog giveaway! I wasn't expecting such a big prize package! Because I wanted to thank Cindy for the great prizes, I picked out a few treats for her while I was in the Philippines. Today she featured 'Dried Mangorind Candy'. Head over to Asian Aisle to check it out!

Other Asian Aisle Posts:

Clover Chips Feature

Choc-Nut Feature

Taste Testing

Wow!

Last August I won the 1st Asian Aisle blog giveaway! I wasn't expecting such a big prize package! Because I wanted to thank Cindy for the great prizes, I picked out a few treats for her while I was in the Philippines. Today she featured 'Clover Chips'. Head over to Asian Aisle to check it out!

Other Asian Aisle Posts:

Choc-Nut Feature

Taste Testing

Wow!

I made a timeline of my relationship with F.B. over the years. Our relationship hasn't been the typical one, but it's been an amazing experience & adventure so far and more to come in the future.

✯ 2003 ✯

September 2003: Crossed paths online at Lindsay Fan's Forum. (Lindsay Lohan.)

✯ 2004 ✯

January 2004: Began talking at Lindsay Fan's Forum.

February 14th 2004: First "Valentines" Together. F.B. sent me a picture of roses through a pm message.

March 18th, 2004: First emails exchanged outside the forum.

March, 2004: F.B. saw a photo of me for the very first time.

April 1st, 2004: The first time we ever said, "I love you.", and defined our relationship as a couple.

April 2004: Exchanged Addresses & Phone Numbers. We called each other & sent letters that month. The Lindsay Fan forum closed. We also broke up for about a week or so because of stress, family issues & distance…

June, 2004: I saw F.B.'s photo for the very first time.

✯ 2005 ✯

February 14th 2005: Our first "official" Valentines together as a couple.

April 1st, 2005: Our 1st Anniversary.

✯ 2006 ✯ 

January, 2006: We nearly broke up again. Long distance is so hard sometimes…

February 14th, 2006: Technically our 3rd Valentines Day together.

March 17th, 2006: I bought my 1st plane ticket for the Philippines.

April 1st, 2006: Our 2nd Anniversary.

December 13th, 2006: I left for the Philippines.

December 14th, 2006: The first time we met. The first time we looked in each other's eyes. The first time we hugged & held hands.

December 15th, 2006: The first time we kissed. Our first date out to the mall- we ate at 'Tokyo Tokyo' for Japanese food. Our first movie, 'Happy Feet'. First time we "made out" at the movies- (cuddling & holding hands.)

December 18th-21st, 2006: Our first couple vacation together in Makati City. Our first kiss in public outside on the bench in Greenbelt.

December 25th, 2006: The First Christmas we spent together. F.B. gave me the ring for Christmas that would become my engagement ring.

December 27-29th, 2006: We took another couple vacation to Tagaytay City, Philippines.

✯ 2007 ✯

January 1st, 2007: Our first New Years together.

January 3rd, 2007: I had to leave the Philippines to go home… that was the hardest thing I ever did… (I miss you baby).

January 10th, 2007: The day we got engaged!

April 1st, 2007: Our 3rd Anniversary.

March 2007: Bought my plane ticket for the Philippines!

✯ 2008 ✯

January 2nd, 2008: I left for the Philippines.

January 3rd, 2008: I arrive in the Philippines.

January 7th, 2008: We arrive in Makati City to spend a week. (A special date for us that we won't forget.)

January 10th, 2008: We share our 1 year engagement anniversary together in Makati City and get to go to Saisaki buffet.

January 11th, 2008: We see our first play together at Greenbelt in Makati City. 'Tuesday's with Morrie'

January 20th, 2008: We went to see a Philippine Basketball Game together at the Cuneta Astrodome. Our first sports game together.

January 24th, 2008: I return home from the Philippines.

March 10th, 2008: I buy another ticket to the Philippines. Staying 8 weeks this time!

April 1st, 2008: Our 4th Anniversary.

October 6th, 2008: I leave for the Philippines for an 8 week stay.

October 7th, 2008: I arrive in Philippines. F.B. gives me a red rose.

October 9th, 2008: I get to spend F.B.'s birthday with him and his family. Saisaki Buffet!

November 16th, 2008: For F.B.'s dad's birthday we take a family trip to Baguio for the day.

November 27th, 2008: I celebrate "Thanksgiving" in the Philippines with F.B.

December 4th, 2008: I arrive home from the Philippines

✯ 2009 ✯ 

January 10th, 2009: Our 2 year engagement.

April 1st, 2009: Our 5 year anniversary.

November 24, 2009: I leave for the Philippines

December 19, 2009: F.B. & I were married!

December 19th-21st 2009: Our Honeymoon!

December 25th, 2009: Our first Christmas as a married couple.

✯ 2010 ✯ 

January 1st, 2010: Our First New Years, married!

January 19th, 2010: Our 1st Monthiversary!

January 23rd, 2010: I leave the Philippines.

April 1st, 2010: Our 6 year anniversary!

✯ 2011 ✯ 

February 4th, 2011: F.B.'s visa interview at the US Embassy in Manila. His visa is approved to come to the USA!

March 6th, 2011: F.B. arrived in Philadelphia, PA!

April 1st, 2011: Seven Year Anniversary!

July 4th, 2011: F.B.'s 1st Independence Day in the USA

Aug 31st- Sept 1st, 2011: Our Philadelphia Getaway

September 4th, 2011: The 1st birthday F.B. spent with me.

October 9th, 2011: F.B.'s 1st birthday in the USA

October 30th, 2011: F.B.'s 1st Halloween in the USA

December 9th, 2011: F.B. & I get our own place.

December 19th, 2011: 2 Year anniversary!

December 25th, 2011: 1st Christmas in the USA.

✯ 2012 ✯  

January 1st, 2012: 1st New Years in the USA. 

February 14th, 2012: Our 1st Valentines Day together!  

March 6th, 2012: F.B.'s 1 year anniversary in the USA  

April 1st, 2012: 8 year anniversary!

October 9th, 2012: F.B.'s 2nd birthday in the USA.

November 2012: 1st Thanksgiving in our new place & starting immigration again.

December 19th, 2012: Our 3rd Wedding Anniversary

December 25th 2012: 2nd Christmas in our apartment.

✯ 2013 ✯  

January 2013: 2nd New Years Eve in our apartment.

March 6th, 2013: F.B.'s 2 year anniversary in the USA. 

April 1st 2013: It's been 9 years since F.B. & I started dating.

May 2013: Immigration is finished! 
October 9th, 2013: F.B.'s 3rd birthday in the USA.

December 19th, 2013: Our 4th Wedding Anniversary

✯ 2014 ✯  

January 2014: 3rd New Years Eve in our apartment.

March 6th, 2014: F.B.'s 3 year anniversary in the USA. 



(I'll try to keep this up to date by adding in new things from time to time.)

Congratulations Patty! You've won the latest giveaway! I used a random number generator to determine the winner!

Please email your address to: tunaymahal8279ATyahooDOTcom and I will get your prizes shipped off to you!

I'm also including an extra prize of L’Occitane's Verbena Shower Gel. It's a brand new 1 fl.oz travel size. I'm currently obsessed with their Verbena scent. I just ordered a few more products, I have to post about! Congrat's on winning!!!
In other news, nearly 3 weeks later I finally got to pick up my car from the body shop tonight! The blizzard of 2010 did $2,000 worth of damage to my car. They had to repaint the hood, roof, buff out the windshield scratches. I had to pay a $500.00 deductible on my insurance plan, but State Farm covered the excess expenses. Very happy to have the car back because it costs me $203 dollars for driving the rental car 8 days. That was mainly because of the $17.99 insurance plan I put on it. Needless to say, my tax refund will be paying for all my car expenses. I just picked up a tarp cover at Walmart tonight for $50 so before this next snowstorm hits Thursday evening my car will be covered & protected from scratches!

I have to post about our latest immigration updates sometime this week. The lawyer went over with me all the next steps we'll be taking. For now our I-130 has been submitted and we should hear back in 3-5 months. I know... so long to wait but it's going to fairly quickly once that part is over!

NOTE: Our lawyers Peter J. Gonzales & Shanna Stanton have changed firms. They are no longer with Kahiga Tiagha. They are now with Green and Spiegel LLC, but still located in Philadelphia. 

In rattie news, Ginger's sneezes were actually a respiratory infection. She started wheezing last weekend and was having trouble breathing. She had a visit to the vet and she's on antibiotics now for 2 weeks. He also took a look at her tumor under her right arm, but it can't be removed until her respiratory infection clears up and it's definitely getting bigger... slowly. On top of that, poor girl somehow sprained her foot in the cage and I've been putting ice on it and giving her a children's pain reliever to reduce the swelling. It's definitely looking a lot better now though!

I also stopped in Pet's Plus on Monday afternoon to see what's going on with the blue hooded rat I purchased back on February 5th. She still has mites... the vet was coming back on Thursday to check on her. They've been treating her orally and topically and it's not clearing up.

I posted my thoughts on the Rat Chatter Forums where I'm a moderator. We think they may not be cleaning her cage properly once they treat her for the mites- because the ivermectin doesn't kill the mites eggs. Which could be why the problem hasn't cleared up. I ordered some ivermectin myself online last night and if I haven't heard back from the pet store, I'm going to go pick up my blue hooded girl next Friday and treat her for the mites myself at home.

I'll have to take some precautions if I do that though. I already have a spare cage which I'll have to keep in a completely different room from my other girls. I'll have to also make sure I shower & change my clothes after handling the new girl before I touch my other girls. And her cage will have to be scrubbed down with diluted bleach & water every week when she gets her ivermectin treatment. Hopefully things will clear up much faster once she's at home with me!

2-19-10 was my 2nd month of being married! Can't believe it! Just last month F.B. & I were at the Manila Hotel celebrating our 1st month... I'm still in the middle of changing my last name everywhere. My credit cards finally started to arrive with my new name. I still have to get a new passport though!

Time for a blogging meme! (Stolen from BPD in OKC).

1. How long have you been blogging?
I started this blog March 2008. Before I started this blog I used to have an online journal on Xanga.

2. What made you start?
I wanted a place where I could share & document my long distance relationship's story.

3. Who inspired you?
The idea started from reading other blogs out there, I wanted to tell my story too.

4. About how many hours a week would you estimate you spend on your blog?
I'm usually logged into my blogger dashboard reading blogs every day for 1-2 hours. When it comes to my own blog, I may spend 3-4 hours a week writing blogs.

5. What kind of experience or background do you have with writing?
I used to write stories & poetry and songs a lot when I was younger.

6. Talk about how you come up with blog topics. Where do you get your ideas?
I blog mostly about my daily life, my long distance relationship, our immigration process, pets, photography, my trips to the Philippines. I try to keep my topics interesting & unique. Sometimes I like to do features on different places, products, foods, etc.

7. What or who inspires you and your blog?
Life, my husband, the future.

8. Where and/or how do your brainstorming for your blog?
I post a lot of pictures on my blog, so most of the time the stories write themselves from my pictures. Sometimes when I'm out and something interesting is happening, I'll say, "This is blog worthy!"

9. Do you have any blogging rules or guidelines you follow?
I try to link and cross reference posts, so people reading can either back track in my blog or click a link for something I'm talking about to get a better understanding.

10. Is there anything you will not blog about?
I don't blog about work in depth or co-workers.

11. Do you have any sort of a publishing schedule in terms of day of week or topic?
I go with the flow and whenever I'm inspired I blog. When I'm blogging from the Philippines, I try to update at least once a week.

And now in honor of blogging it's time for another giveaway!

I picked up this gorgeous freshwater pearl bracelet & key chain from Kultura in the Philippines. The pearls on the bracelet are an iridescenct burgundy color. (Kind of reddish/purple.) The chain is silver. It's stunning in person, the picture doesn't do it justice! The rubber keychain says, 'Manila, Philippines'.

I'm also including 4 packs of San Mig 3-in-1 instant coffee in: Original & Mild. (best instant coffee ever! I always stock up when I'm in the Phil!) and 2 packs of Close Up Lemon Mint Twist Toothpaste! Both Philippines Products!

To enter the giveaway leave me a comment telling me how you found my blog & why you enjoy reading it.

(Remember anyone can comment, you don't have to be registered on blogger!)

This giveaway is not restricted to the United States, so my international readers can enter! Family & friends are not excluded from the giveaway. I will use a random number generator to determine the winner!

The deadline to enter this giveaway will be: February 22nd, 2010.

(This entry will have a future date until the giveaway is over!)

I'm finally home after the longest trip home, I've ever experienced! Saturday morning F.B. drove me to the airport around 8:30am. We arrived a little after 9am so he parked the car and we wheeled my luggage to an outdoor seating area where we could spend some more time together before I went into the airport.

Philippines Flag at the airport:

Our last pictures together:

I went into the airport around 10am. My flight to Shanghai China was around 12:20 in the afternoon. Everything went pretty smoothly. I arrived in Shanghai around 3pm. Then I had to go through immigration in China just to reclaim my luggage and go through customs. So odd. I really don't understand why they make you do that if you're just transferring to another airline- it's not like I was staying in Shanghai.

When I finally got my luggage and checked in with American Airlines that's when things started to get a little crazy... first my 6:00pm flight to Chicago had been delayed until 10pm. But even worse the flight to Philadelphia had been canceled for some reason and the only other flight going out was at 6:20am on Sunday morning- when I was supposed to arrive around 12am Sunday. Ugh.

I was stuck in Shanghai China for about 5-6 hours considering I checked in around 4:30-5pm. I exchanged some money so I could buy something to drink. I ended up getting two Gatorade's... not that I could read that they were Gatorade, LOL! But I recognized the logo!

My Shanghai China, Gatorade!

I also got a pretty glass bangle bracelet for 30RMB, which when I converted online it was around $4-5 dollars.

Finally boarded my flight to Chicago around 10pm in Shanghai. It was a 14 hour flight because we had some delays getting off the ground and when landing. We arrived in Chicago around 8:30pm on Saturday. Going through customs was actually a breeze this time for me, no issues at all. I claimed my luggage and then I had to RECHECK IN AGAIN with American Airlines because of the canceled flight. They re booked me for the 6:20am Sunday flight to Philadelphia.

Then because so many people had missed their connecting flights and because it was the weekend and not many flights were going out until Sunday morning American Airlines had to put about half the people on the flight in hotels for the night. They also gave us meal coupons. I had to get some clothes out of my suitcase, but I just re-checked both my bags so in the morning all I would have to do was go to my gate since I already had my boarding pass.

Well, then I had to go outside in the freezing rain in Chicago to wait for a shuttle bus. Since it was late there wasn't many running and you had to look for the shuttle with your hotels name on it, there were so many people waiting for shuttles. It was around 9:30pm by then. There was a man from Shanghai and another girl that were also going to the same hotel I was. The man finally snagged a cab instead and insisted we both come along because it made more sense to share a cab since we were all going to the same hotel. The girl and I were going to split the cost with him, but he paid for the whole cab ride which wasn't too expensive. That was really nice of him!

Finally checked into the Holiday Inn in Chicago around 10pm. I was EXHAUSTED! I only slept maybe 5-6 hours on my 14 hour flight, but I had pretty much already been up for 30+ hours by then! I was kinda freaked out to be staying in a hotel by myself in a city I don't know. I had all the lights on, the TV on. I locked the door and put the luggage rack in front of it, lol! I didn't really sleep at all, because I was checking out at 4:45am. I think I must have had 5 cups of coffee, while I watched CNN, Dirty Jobs & Nancy Grace on TV, lol! And of course had a shower! They had Bath & Body Works products there, how neat is that?! hehe! Coconut & Lime is my Mom's favorite scent, so I took her home the little lotion.

My hotel room in Chicago:

Sunday morning I checked out around 4:45am. I had called down to the front desk at 4am to ask them to call a cab to pick me up at 5am. They did have free shuttle but since the night before hadn't been a great experience of waiting I wanted to take cab. Well... the cab was late and the free shuttle was there and everyone boarding so I just decided to take that to the airport because it was past 5am already and my flight was boarding at 5:50am. As soon as the shuttle was pulling out- the cab shows up... oh well... too late, I was already on the FREE shuttle, lol.

Airport security wasn't too bad that early in the morning on a Sunday. I got through pretty quickly and even got some Starbucks white chocolate mocha coffee (My fav!) and a blueberry muffin. Though after sipping my coffee my hands were shaking from all the coffee I had at the hotel, so I tossed out the rest of my Starbucks (ACK)! When they announced to board the plane, the lady gave a laugh and says, "All 7 passengers can now board the plane!" I've never been on such an empty flight! It was so quiet on the plane ride home.

We arrived early in Philadelphia around 9am instead of 9:20am. My luggage was already waiting by the time I got to baggage claim, since there were only 7 of us on the flight! My parents picked me up around 9:45am and I was finally home after 30+ hours of traveling, I lost track of how many hours everything took considering I went through January 23 TWICE. Once in the Philippines/China and then again in Chicago!

I was feeling pretty disoriented once I was home. It's pretty weird to come home after being away 2 months, living in another country where you develop new habits and a new way of living, etc. Pretty weird to see my room. And my girls! Ack! So weird to see my ratties after being away for 2 months! Saffy & Nutmeg were a little scared of me at first, but Cinnamon looked like she couldn't believe her eyes and Ginger kept sniffing me. Sad though... my Ginger has started getting a small tumor under her left arm. I'm going to have to get it removed probably in February once I get my first paycheck.

I'm due back at work Wednesday at 7am. So just Monday & Tuesday to recover from traveling. My shoulders, back, etc ache sooo bad from traveling! I didn't go to bed around 3pm and I woke up around 12am and did a little unpacking. Now it's almost 2:30 in the morning so I am going back to bed to get some more sleep! I'm supposed to meet F.B. online around 12pm... I miss him so much...

F.B. & I have been married two weeks now. We got to spend our first Christmas & New Years together as husband and wife.

Christmas Eve day F.B. & I went to Robinson’s Metro East early in the morning. We hung out at a net café for a couple hours while I uploaded more wedding photos, etc. Afterwards we had lunch at Wendy’s in Sta. Lucia Mall. (Baconator…mmmm… deadly, but delicious! Hehe!)

We stopped at an electronics store after lunch so F.B. could get me a Christmas gift. He got me an 8GB USB Flash Drive. Yay! We also stopped at the Guess store again… I have a bad addiction with that store in the Philippines! I’ve gotten 4 t-shirts from there already, and it’s not exactly cheap. They were all around P800-P1300. ($17-28 USD).

Christmas Eve we went to church around 9:30pm. The church was packed with people. When we got back to F.B.’s house we had ‘Noche Buena’ around 12am. We exchanged Christmas gifts with the family and took pictures. We had dinner around 1am and didn’t get to bed until around 3am Christmas Morning.

Christmas Day we stayed home and relaxed. Around 6:30pm we went to Mega Mall to Saisaki Buffet to have dinner with F.B.’s family & relatives. Afterwards we had Starbucks.

Christmas Photos:

F.B.’s aunt got me this cute wooden mouse pen and wooden mouse toy for Christmas.

Mugwort eating in the kitchen:

December 28th we had a free overnight stay at the Malayan Plaza Hotel in Pasig City. It was a gift from one of F.B.’s aunts. It’s just around the corner from Mega Mall and Robinson’s Galleria in Pasig City. Our hotel suite had its own little kitchen, with a microwave, stove and full fridge. There was also a DVD player, but we didn’t bring any DVD’s with us!

Our Room:

Our Kitchen!

View from our hotel room:

We wanted to go to the IMAX Theater at Mall of Asia, but it was still packed with holiday shoppers, etc so we ended up going to Robinson’s Manila to spend the afternoon there. I got another cute keychain mouse/rat to add to my collection! We also checked out Fort Santiago but it was really hot that day so we didn't stay long.

New Years Eve we headed to church around 9:30pm. We got back home around 11pm. It was pretty loud with people setting off firecrackers and fireworks all over the place. At 12am we had dinner. F.B. & I had Spongebob necklaces that light up from Ate Malou’s daughter, Jenny.

New Years Photos:

With Jenny:

I also got to call home to my family on Christmas & New Years. My ratties are doing well while I'm away. They even got banana chips as a Christmas Gift from my Mom. Hehe. Here's a photo of Saffy they sent to me, she's wearing a Santa Hat!

Sunday we are headed to the Best Western Astor Hotel in Makati City for 5 days, 4 nights. We check out on the 7th. We also still have to pick up our marriage certificate sometime soon and we are also still waiting on the professional wedding photos. We want to head back to Tagaytay one day this month too. For our first wedding “monthiversary” on January 19th, we are going to go back to the Manila Hotel.

The 23rd I will be heading home. I've already been in touch with our lawyer. I will be contacting him when I'm back in the USA, so we can start F.B.'s immigration process. It's estimated to take 1 year to 2 years at the most. We are doing a longer process on purpose because it will save us money in the long run and F.B. will be a permanent resident when he finally steps off the plane in the USA.

NOTE: Our lawyers Peter J. Gonzales & Shanna Stanton have changed firms. They are no longer with Kahiga Tiagha. They are now with Green and Spiegel LLC, but still located in Philadelphia. 

F.B.’s parents booked a two night stay at the Manila hotel as a wedding gift to us. We checked into the hotel around 3pm on Saturday. The hotel was really nice. We had a large room with a huge memory foam bed. There was a 40 inch flat screen TV in the room and in the bathroom there was another flat screen TV built into the wall above the bathtub. If you wanted you could watch TV from the toilet, hehe! There was also a huge separate shower.

Pictures of our room:

F.B. really enjoyed the complimentary robe. He showed off his karate moves! Lol!

He also enjoyed his ruffles!

At the hotel:

Out to dinner:

We spent a lot of time watching Spongebob, Nickelodeon and eating junk food on our honeymoon! Sunday we planned on going to Manila Ocean Park. They’ve been doing a lot of construction and part of the new mall is open now. We had lunch at Gerry’s Grill. Afterwards we went to get tickets, but there were so many people they were making you take a number to wait for your turn. There were over 100 people ahead of us, so we decided to head to Mall of Asia instead, which also turned out to be a bad idea because of all the weekend holiday shoppers.

We were going to watch a movie at the IMAX theater but it was sold out. So we decided we’d head to a net café, only there were no seats left. Finally we decided to go to a different mall in hopes there would be less people. We headed to Robinson’s Galleria and went to a net café first. F.B. updated our relationship statuses and I changed my last name. Afterwards we had dinner at Yellow Cab where we got Hawaiian pizza and tried their Alfredo Pasta. We picked up some bottled water and snacks to take back to the hotel.

Monday we checked out of the hotel around 12pm. We decided to head back to Manila Ocean Park since it was a weekday. This time we were able to get tickets and got to check out of the park again. They also had a special Jelly Fish exhibit that we had to pay P150 extra for ($3). It was nothing special though.

We got pictures with Tiki Dude this year! Yay!

Also… why does Tiki Dude have a little tiki?

I called this fish Crazy Eyes he just kept staring at us!

Another fish:

Seahorse:

Stingray:

Crazy cowfish, but looked like an alien fish to F & I!

This crab looked like it was meditating!

I got a cute little mouse/rat made out of seashells at one of the gift stalls:

We were planning on having Saisaki Buffet for dinner so we didn’t really have lunch. Instead we went to Robinson’s Manila and got Frappucinos and Egg & Sausage sandwiches from Starbucks. We walked around a lot and I got a new book by Jennifer Weiner. Later on we headed to another net café to check stuff online.

In the bookstore I was really confused because we saw Where’s Waldo books, only he’s called Wally over here?!

We left Robinson’s Manila around 5pm to head to Mega Mall for Saisaki buffet but we hit horrible traffic. We were stuck in traffic for 3 hours so by the time we were close to Mega Mall it was too late for the buffet. We headed to the 24 Burger King and decided to have a Burger King buffet instead, lol! Whoppers, fries, onion rings, chicken Tenders and dessert! I think our honeymoon was the weekend of eating, hehe! (After all the wedding dieting!)

When we arrived back to F.B.’s house after the honeymoon there was a sign greeting us in the dining room:

We also had a ton of wedding gifts to open when we got back home:

Tuesday we finally got to have dinner at Saisaki Buffet. We had lots of sushi and tempura and some other stuff too. And we actually got to try the desserts this time. We also picked up two pairs of my jeans from the alteration shop. They needed new zippers. We spent a long time at Mega Mall on Tuesday we didn’t arrive home until around 12 midnight!

It’s been such a busy week so far! We’re exhausted. We slept until 3pm this afternoon! And there are still a lot of things coming up, Christmas Eve tomorrow night, Christmas Day on Friday. And on the 28th we’re staying overnight at The Malayan Plaza.

To view all of our wedding & honeymoon photos click here!

Happy Holidays!!!