Spring is finally in full bloom here now! I took some pictures today (before the rain starts and it gets chilly again.) Enjoy!

F.B. doesn't get to experience Spring, Fall or Winter. Since it's tropical in the Philippines, it's pretty much summer all the time and then there's also a rainy season.

I got some pictures of my girls in the tree out front. They were all pretty patient, except Spice who started to get a bit pissy after a few pictures!

Sugar:

Spice:

Cinnamon:

You can view all of todays pictures here!

I use a Sony Cyber Shot DSC-W55 for my pictures.

EDIT: I decided I liked # 2 best. That was also F.B.'s choice. So I think I will be getting that one on my left ankle some time soon!

Which font is prettier? I want to get my name tattooed on my left inner ankle some time soon to match my stars on my right ankle. Just something small and slightly discreet. Which font looks prettier? I think I like #1 and #3 best. But I can't decide between them. Let me hear your thoughts?

Yeah, sorry for the picture of my foot! Haha! But it's the only way I can show you what crazy thing I did last night... I got a tattoo! My first tattoo!

I went out with my cousins for Jessica's 20th birthday. She wanted to get a butterfly tattoo on her back near her left shoulder. It was her first tattoo. I've always wanted something small, like stars or hearts on my ankle. I'm not so fond of my ankles, haha. So now I have a reason to be fond of them. I got 3 stars trickling down from big to small, outlined in black & filled in with hot pink. Surprisingly it didn't hurt so much! Only the first star near my lower ankle hurt a bit but after that I didn't feel much. Now I've got to wash it lightly with Dial soap and put Cocoa Butter lotion on it for a few weeks until it heals. I want to put sparkle lotion on the stars when it's all healed up!

I sent a text message to my Fiance F.B. and told him about the tattoo. He is looking forward to seeing pictures later when we have our "date" online. We were finally able to talk to each other on the phone Friday night! We talked 45 minutes. It was really nice hearing his voice! (I haven't since our anniversary!) And it was so nice chatting and reminiscing over all the memories and silly stories we have of when we were together. I really miss him... 6 more months until we get to be together again!

Anyhow there is a picture below of my new tattoo. The crazy things I do when I am with my cousins... and it was a totally sober decision! Though I did have a peach sangria with dinner at the Olive Garden later that evening! Heehee!

My Tattoo: Pictures Here!

Here is the place that did my tattoo & my cousins: http://www.electricrembrandt.net/

EDIT: My mom has wanted a tattoo for a long time and we found out my aunt wants one too. (They are sisters.) So I am going to get my mom a tattoo for mothers day. She wants something small on her ankle or wrist, she hasn't decided yet. I also want to get one more tattoo some time this summer of my name 'Sarah' in black script or pretty cursive writing on my left inner ankle. F.B. thought the stars were sexy, hehe.

Spring is here! It's still taking quite awhile for the tree's to get their leaves but I was able to snap some pretty flower pictures today and some sweet pictures of my "babies".

I had a dream about F.B. the other night. In the dream I was back in the Philippines and we were walking around a supermarket together talking. Then later in the dream we were back at his house and my parents were also in the Philippines so we brought home some Yellow Cab pizza for them to try. It must be my last night there, because F.B. helps me pack and says he will wake me up in the morning for my flight. In the morning I wake up and wonder why he didn't wake me up like he said he would, so I walk out of the bedroom and start walking around the house calling "F.B.!". The house is now my grandparents house (Dad's parents) and I still can't find F.B. anywhere and can't figure out why he didn't wake me up. Then I realize I'm not in the Philippines, I'm back in the USA and that's why. Strange dream... I tend to have more vivid and realistic dreams when I take my Meletonin supplement.

Funny story... When I was in the Philippines in January F.B. & I were in bed falling asleep. Sometimes my dreams are so realistic I might talk out loud (sometimes I also see bugs on the walls & wake up startled.) Well, in my dream F.B. was taking me down a dark tunnel (I'm very claustrophobic!) I wake F.B. up saying, "I see stuff on the wall!" ??? F.B. says to me (I must have been half asleep by then because I don't remember this part.) "Are you having a bad dream?" I say, "No." and go back to sleep. Haha! In the morning I told him to stop taking me down dark tunnels in my dreams and I wouldn't wake him up anymore, hehe!

*Edited To Add*

Last night I text messaged F.B. and asked if I could call him. It was about 2am. (2pm Philippine time.) So he texts me back and said: He didn't think it would be a good idea because he was waiting for the mechanic to bring the car back to the house and he needed to be available to check it out and stuff. I was kind of upset by his answer so I just went to sleep. Around 3am he texts and says the car was dropped off & I could call now if I wanted to.... an HOUR later... when I could have called him and talked to him earlier when I first asked. By 3am I was half asleep and too upset with him to call. The thing is... I hardly ever get to call him. We don't talk on the phone that much because it's very expensive! But once in awhile I need to hear his voice and actually talk with him. We don't get to do that every day!

The reason we usually text before we call is because of the 12 hour time difference. It's helps to text beforehand to make sure we're both available. I was just upset and frustrated because I don't understand why I couldn't call when I first text messaged him. His reason was: 'He didn't want our call interrupted.' But we probably would have finished our conversation before the mechanic even showed up. When we talk on the phone it's usually 15-20 minutes at the most. It's very rare if we get to talk an hour, because of the cost. I don't know... is this a petty thing to be upset about? Long distance relationships are so frustrating sometimes... sigh.

One thing about visiting a foreign country yearly is you develop cravings for certain foods or restaurants you can't visit every day. I am really craving Chow King, Yellow Cab or Gerry's Grill. Or Saisaki Japanese buffet! Yummy! Or just local food. I miss having Liempo. We would get it from a stand. It's sooo good. (It's roasted rotisserie pork with some kind of sauce.) Or pansit noodles! And I love when his Ate makes corn & crab soup with quail eggs. It's not like I can drive to these places. It will be 6 more months before I am back in the Philippines. So I thought I'd share some of my favorite Philippine Restaurants! (Please click on the links & they will take you to each restaurants website!)

1. Gerry's Grill

 























 2. Chow King
Chow King is fast food Asian food. Whenever we go here we usually order the same meal: Sweet & Sour Pork, Rice, Pansit, Dumplings, Prawn Crackers & this little dessert thing with sesame seeds and cinnamon inside.













5. Jolliebee

Phil-Am Foods

Philippine Snack Foods

Taste Testing (Asian Aisle)

My Anniversary Cards arrived yesterday from F.B.! My boy spoils me.... as you can see below. A letters, cards, stickers. He also sent me an 'I Love You' keychain & bought one for himself so we both have one. I just hope my anniversary cards arrive to him on time, Philippine mail is slow and sometimes letters get lost!

You can view the rest of my park pictures on my photobucket account!

I'm also a girl that takes her pet rats to the park! Pics here! They loved it!

I got a call from the Philippine Consulate in New York today. It turns out I mailed my visa application in prematurely. I did not know this because I've never applied for a visa. The tourism visa I applied for is only good for 3 months so if they issued my visa now it would be expired before my trip! The lady I spoke with (with her Philippine accent, hehe!) said If I didn't need my passport right away they could keep it until September, then issue my visa and send back my passport for my trip in October. I asked her if I filled everything else out on the application correctly since it was my first time applying for a visa and she said yes. The only problem was that they couldn't issue the visa until September... so the Philippine Consulate will have my passport until September! Eeek! Oh well, at least I'll be aware whenever I need to apply for a visa again!

In other news: I mailed F.B.'s anniversary cards to him the other day. Our 4th anniversary will be on April 1st!

F.B. & I have been in our long distance relationship for nearly 4 years now. April 1st will be our 4th anniversary. It is a 12-13 hour time difference between Philadelphia & the Philippines. (Depending on daylight saving time in the USA.) Keeping in touch has never been difficult for us. On weekends we have our "dates". We will meet on Yahoo Messenger or AIM and chat for several hours. If it is 12pm here, it is 12am there. Even with the drastic time difference we've always managed to make time for each other.

When I'm at work during my lunch breaks F.B. will get online. I have AIM built directly into my cell phone and we are able to chat while I have my break. We also email during the week. We don't email on Tuesday's or Thursday's. And we don't email on weekends since we get to spend time together online. This schedule works for us and also gives us some alone time as well. We also stay in touch by text messaging each other.

Phone calls are expensive. We usually save them for special occasions. He has a prepaid cell phone. And I usually buy a phone card. Sometimes we will surprise each other by calling out of the blue which is nice. And occasionally we talk on headsets through Yahoo Messenger which is completely free but it has bugs where your voice will sound like a chipmunk, interference noises through the headset or dropped calls.

We send cards & letters frequently. And packages for special occasions. It's about $50.00 to express mail a package to the Philippines or to the USA. We don't use any other service besides express because mail service in the Philippines isn't perfect and sometimes mail is lost. I've had quite a few letters get lost in the mail.

And of course we get to see each other yearly! It takes about a year to pay the balance of the plane ticket off on my credit card, which is why there is such a space of time in between our visits. But it's so nice being able to know when we'll be together again. And it's motivation for the year, something to work towards. I'm thankful we'll get to spend 8 weeks together this October. And maybe the trip after I'll be able to stay even longer.

Despite the incredible distance, we make it work! Sometimes it's tough, but we manage make it work. We are in touch every single day, thanks to technology! Long distance relationships can work. They takes alot of sacrifices, time & money but they work. You have to be able to trust each other. You have to be willing to make sacrifices. You have to want to be with each other, to make time for one another. But believe me, they can work!

I wanted to recommend a book that both F.B. & I have read. It was so good I purchased a copy for each of us about 2 years ago. It's called: The Long Distance Relationship Survival Guide: Secrets and Strategies from successful couples who have gone the distance. By, Chris Bell & Kate Brauer-Bell.