I know she is with us

Tricia, you are greatly missed. Three years ago, Tricia was taken from us. She was taken too early by breast cancer. I miss my sister-in-law. Though she is not present on earth with us, I know that she is here watching over us.

I was thinking of her this morning. As I was thinking of her something wonderful happened. Somehow she came to my rescue. I truly believe she was my angel to make things happen. We have been preparing for our move next week and I have been trying to arrange for Baby Bear's care so that I can focus on the move. Trust me it will be so much easier if she is not here, she is a busy girl and will most likely get into everything that she is not supposed to. I had most days covered except for Thursday, which happens to be the day that we move most everything. I got a call this morning from my mother-in-law and her appointment that prevented her from taking Baby Bear was canceled. This all happened as I was thinking of Tricia. Coincidence or not, I believe that Tricia was watching over us and helping to lift some stress from our lives. Thank you Tricia. I love you and I miss you.

Two years

Two years ago today Tricia was taken from us by cancer. Her memory is still very strong in our hearts and minds and will always be so.

Tricia, you are not forgotten. You are always in our heart and memories. I think of you often and I miss you.

Happy Birthday Mr. Bear!!

Today is his birthday!! Mr. Bear is the best and most wonderful husband. We don't do anything big for our birthdays, but I did make him a yummy pot roast dinner. He seems content with a homemade dinner. I was going make him some red velvet cupcakes, but that would entail making an entire batch of 24 cupcakes. It is kind of hard to make just a few. So he said not to make any. His mom had gotten him some Lindt Lindor Truffles as part of his gift. Those are some yummy truffles!

Mr. Bear, I hope you had a great Birthday!! I LOVE YOU!

I will race!

Once again, I'm participating in the Susan G. Komen LA Race for the Cure. This national nonprofit with chapters all over the U.S. work towards educating and providing funds for breast cancer research.

Yes, I realize that I will be 28 weeks pregnant during this event, but I assure you that I can do this (I have been exercising and jogging with my doctors okay, 3-4 days a week throughout my entire pregnancy). I have participated in this 5K for the past 5 years. As I did last year, I run/walk (maybe more of a waddle) in memory of my sister-in-law, Tricia Borba Vasquez, who was taken from us by this awful cancer.

As part of the event, I've created my own Personal Donation Page and since my birthday is coming up soon, what a great birthday gift!! Your support would be the best gift you could ever give me and this is for an important cause.

Did you know?

• Ten to fifteen percent of breast cancers are not detected by mammography?
• Men are also at risk for developing breast cancer?
• Having no children or a first child after age 30 are among some of the risks?

Happy Birthday to my Mama Bear

Today is my mommy's birthday!! She is so beautiful and you would never guess that she is about to become a grandma!

I know she never gets to read my blog, since she doesn't have the internet and is not really into technology. Nevertheless, it is a special day and she should be acknowledged!!

Love you Mommy!!!

Gotta love my Mother-in-law!

I was sick last week and she came by and brought me some fresh squeezed orange juice. Not only was it fresh squeezed, but the oranges were picked from her orange orchard. How awesome is that? She is awesome. I am so fortunate to have her in my life!!

Sadly, Mr. Bear was sick the week before and he didn't get that attention from her, it probably helps that I am carrying her grandbaby (and I am limited in the medicated relief that I can take).

Holiday traditions

For as long as I can remember my family has always celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve. We would stay up until midnight and open our presents at midnight. It was a nice little tradition as a kid. As an adult it seemed to work out well, so that we could celebrate Christmas day with Mr. Bear's side of the family (though we would be quite tired).

Our Christmas Eve celebration rotates among my aunts and uncles homes, this year my parents are hosting and decided to change things around. Instead of our Christmas Eve tradition, we are celebrating on Christmas Day with a Christmas luncheon. I guess it is nice that we won't have to stay up so late, but now we have more places to travel on Christmas Day . I'm a little bummed out about the change of tradition; it is a change from what I have come to enjoy since I was a little girl. All that matters is that I can see my parents and my lola on Christmas. That is what Christmas is truly about: spending time with family.

Anyways in keeping of tradition, I let Chase Monster open his present on Christmas Eve:

One year

It is hard to believe that one year has passed since Tricia was taken from us. I remember that day clearly as it was yesterday.

Tricia was really sick and we knew she would be passing at any moment. She had been moved from the hospital to a hospice to help manage her pain. Each day we visited her at the hospice, as we knew it was just a matter of time before she was taken from us. It had been just 2 weeks prior that Mr. Bear received a call that his sister (technically step-sister, but she was his sister just as his step-father is as much his father as his biological father) had a brain seizure. The day of December 16, 2007, we made hand prints of Tricia with our hand prints. It was a nice little exercise that one of the grieving counselors did with the whole family. It helped to have a piece of her to have with us.

That evening, we went back to the beach house we had rented near the hospice. (It was nice to to have a house to stay in rather than sleeping in hotel rooms, as we had done for several days. All of us stayed at the house and later during the week it was nice to have friends come and stay as they visited.) We made dinner and relaxed by the fire. It was a Sunday night and we had all had a long day. Mr. Bear and I went up to the room to sleep. I remember that it was a very light sleep, it seemed as if I was partially awake listening to every sound in the house. Then a knock came to our door and I immediately sat up and my mother-in-law came in and told us that she was gone. It was just after midnight and they had just received a call from the hospice. It was December 17, 2007 and Tricia passed away from breast cancer of the brain. Everyone in the house was up and made their way downstairs into the kitchen. There was sadness and relief that she was no longer suffering. We consoled each other and decided that there was no reason for everyone to head over to the hospice. The important phone calls were made but the rest would be made during the day. Mr. Bear and his cousin went over to the hospice to make sure things were taken care of and the rest of the house tried to go back to bed and get some rest; we all had a busy day ahead of us to plan the funeral.

The morning led to a beautiful day; the sun was shining and the weather was cool. It was peaceful and serene as if Tricia had ordered that for us. We were staying at a wonderful house on the beach and the beach had a calming effect on us all; it was therapeutic for us. I remember sitting on the patio staring at the waves crash.

For the first time in my life I was asked to write a eulogy. I never thought I would spend the holiday season writing a eulogy. I wrote her eulogy in the midst of the serene backdrop that Tricia provide for me. I have written many things; I have written a dissertation and a thesis and many papers and chapters over the years. But nothing as difficult and as meaningful as this short eulogy for my sister-in-law.

We had much to think about. Fortunately, many calls had been made prior to this day in preparation. But I still think you are never ready even knowing that she was sick and this was really happening. There was so much to do. The church and the funeral home, getting the eulogy in the paper, flowers and food for the reception afterward, deciding on music and readings for the mass, looking for pictures. In many ways, like planning a wedding (which I had done earlier in the year) in a span of a few days. But being busy and planning gave us something to do. It gave us something else to focus on rather than the pain we felt in our hearts.

That emptiness and pain is still there. I really don't expect it to go away. There will always be an emptiness and pain; I just think the magnitude of it will change over time. I am especially sad that Baby Bear will never know her; will never know her vibrant firecracker personality that matched her vibrant red hair; will never know her beautiful smile. I am honored that I had that short time to know her and I will share her pictures with Baby Bear and I know that Mr. Bear will share his memories as well.

Tricia, we miss you and we love you!!

Ocho Ocho

Yesterday, we celebrated my lola's 88th birthday. My lola is so full of life you would never think that she was 88 years old. She was running around telling people that she was ocho ocho (ocho is the number 8 in Tagalog. It is also in Spanish too). In the Philippines there is a song and dance called the ocho ocho and when ever she told people she was ocho ocho, she would do the moves to the dance.

Here is the ocho ocho:



Picture an 88 year old woman shaking her butt and dancing the ocho ocho. It was great!! You gotta love her. It was just awesome. My lola is awesome. I hope that I am like her when I come to be ocho ocho!

Happy 88th Birthday Lola!!

Today is my grandmother's 88th birthday. (Lola means grandmother in Tagalog/Filipino). My lola is such a beautiful and wonderful woman and I am so fortunate to have her in my life. She looks the same as when she first immigrated to the U.S., which was back when I was around 4 years old. I hope to age as gracefully as she has. My lola helped to raise my brother and me, she was always there for me for as long as I can remember. Her strength, beauty, and love always shone through with everything that she did. She was always someone I admired and looked up to. Today she turns 88 and she is still going strong. She is just an amazing woman and I would be lucky to be half the woman that she is.

Happy Birthday Lola!! I love you! Thank you for everything, you have helped to make me in to the woman I am today and I thank you for being such a wonderful role model. Mahal kita!

A good man is hard to find

And I was lucky enough to have found one. The saying goes that women marry men who are like their fathers. My daddy is an intelligent, kind, and caring man. He is the best daddy ever and I am totally daddy's girl. Even as a married woman, I will always be daddy's girl. That is why when my daddy really wanted a Wii that it was so important for me to find it for him. My daddy and Mr. Bear have different personalities. However, my daddy is very conservative and reserved. Mr. Bear is outgoing and anything but conservative and reserved. However, Mr. Bear is an intelligent, kind, and caring man. So I found a man who shares the best qualities with my daddy.

The other day, Mr. Bear went for some beers after work at a local bar/restaurant. He noticed this group of elderly people (he said they were in their 80's or so) who were themselves having dinner and drinks and enjoying themselves. He liked the fact that they were enjoying themselves on a nice Friday afternoon, so he decided to pick up their tab. They came up to him and thanked him. It turned out they were from the local senior citizens center and every Friday evening, they all pick a place to go out to dinner. They were so thankful for him paying for their tab. They told him that they would put the money they would have used to pay for dinner back into the collection pool for their next dinner outing. Mr. Bear really enjoyed his interaction with them and he hopes to make it to his 80's and be able to go out and enjoy himself with friends.

I thought that was such a great story and it reminded me how wonderful and kind-hearted Mr. Bear really is. I love Mr. Bear and I love what a good person he truly is. I am lucky to have such a good man.

In-laws!!

I got an email from my mother-in-law the other day. She just sent me an email to tell me she was thinking of me, missed me, and loved me. How awesome is that! I am so lucky to have a wonderful mother-in-law.

You often hear horror stories about evil mother-in-laws, in fact they have websites devoted to these stories. I have no horror stories. I love mine and she is so kind and generous to me. When you marry someone, you not only marry that person, you also marry into a family. I have been fortunate to marry into a wonderful family. They have been nothing but accepting and loving. They welcomed me into their family with open arms and were so happy to have me become a part of their family. How lucky am I?

I love my in-laws. I am very lucky that they love me too.

Hanna for Secretary!!

My little cousin is running for school secretary and she asked me for advice on writing her speech. Too cute and I feel so honored that she would come to me for advice. Last year, she had a class project in which she had to interview an adult and she chose me. I hope that I was able to give her the advice she needs to write a great speech. I know most high school elections end up being a popularity contest and I don't know what her status is in school. I hope that she wins based on her own merit. She called me telling me that she had several points in her speech and asked me what I thought.

Her points:

• Who she is?
• What is a secretary?
• Why vote for her?
  

Great points. It really gets at the basics for a speech. I helped her to flesh the points out a little more to give it more substance. I hope my advice was good. I guess we'll see in the next few weeks.

Vote Hanna for Secretary!!

The no longer elusive Wii

I found it!! I found a Wii! By chance I stopped by a Best Buy. I was on my way to Target and it was in the same shopping center. Low and behold, they not only had them in stock, but they had 4. Amazing! I had called a different Best Buy yesterday as well as several other local stores. All were out of Wii's. I figured this Best Buy would be out too, but I thought why not look since I was right there. I am so glad that I did. So, I immediately bought one and called me daddy. He was so excited that he came over to my house to pick it up. He too had been to a few places near his house today looking for one.

My parents rarely come to visit me, Mr. Bear and I usually go to visit them. They only live about 30-45 minutes away so they are not too far. My daddy was like a little boy. When he saw that it was indeed the Wii that he wanted, he had a big smile on his face. They stayed for a while and we went to dinner. It was nice to have some time with my parents. Thanks to Wii, I got to spend some quality time with my parents. Strange but true. I am glad I found it, the excitement and happiness it brought to my daddy was worth it all.

Thank you to everyone who left comments on how to find one.

The elusive Wii

Who knew that it would be so hard to find a video game console. My daddy came home from visiting my little brother in Seattle. While in Seattle, he discovered Wii. Now, my daddy really wants one and he can't seem to find it in his area. My daddy asked me to look online and call around in my area to see if it was available. My daddy never asks for anything and he has given me everything I have ever needed all my life. So for the first time my daddy actually wants something and I am determined to find a Wii console. I thought this would be a nice early Christmas/Birthday (his birthday is in December) gift for him. I've been searching online and it is sold out everywhere I look. There are a lot of Wii bundles for sale but my daddy just wants the console. I had no idea it would be so hard to find.

Anyone know where I can find a Wii console?

Wings of an Angel made It Time to Shine

We had a very eventful weekend, good and bad. This post will be about the good, tomorrow I'll share with you the bad.

On Sunday, Mr. Bear and I went to the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club with his parents to watch the horse races. We had such a blast! It was a beautiful day in Del Mar, the sun was shining and the weather was gorgeous.





Our betting adventures started off not so exciting. After several losses, we got to the 4th race and horse Wings of an Angel started it all. I learned that my sister-in-law, Tricia loved the horse races and used to come to Del Mar when she used to live in the area. Well, Tricia was truly our angel and ended our losing streak. Thanks Tricia!!









For me, the 7th race was most notable when I put down a bet on two horses to win and place, America's Friend and Lightmyfirebaby! I didn't bet big but I won and that was so exciting!! I was screaming and rooting for them to win, it was so much fun.







Mr. Bear's step-father and his friend knew one of the horse owners. It's Time to Shine raced in the 9th race. The owner invited us to the paddock to see the horse before the race started. That was a real treat.





Of course, we placed some bets on It's Time to Shine. And low and behold, It's Time to Shine won!!! We got to go to the Winner's Circle and we were winners!! Wohoo! That was an exciting race.





We celebrated by going to one of Tricia's favorite restaurants, The Beach House, and having lobster dinners.



Lobster is soooo yummy. Dinner was excellent dinner. A great restaurant right on the beach with a gorgeous view. Our winnings paid for our dinner. What a wonderful end to a great day!

Happy 35th Anniversary Mama and Papa Bear

Today my parents celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary! They are so cute together and so in love. I am so fortunate to have such loving and great parents. I only hope that Mr. Bear and I can follow in their footsteps towards a long, loving, and happy marriage.

I love you mom and dad!! Here is to many more anniversaries to come!

A late weekend roundup

Last weekend was a food filled. On Saturday, we celebrated my father-in-law's birthday with a family BBQ. Check out my food blog, Rumbly Tumbly Treats for the food I prepared for the BBQ:

• Rumbly Tumbly Mac and Cheese
• Red Velvet Truffles
• Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

On Sunday we spent the afternoon with my mommy for Mothers Day. We treated her and my daddy to lunch at yummy Ten Ten restaurant (the same place we went for her birthday). Mr. Bear really loves that Chinese restaurant and had been looking forward to it all week. It is always nice to spend time with family!

It is nice to splurge and eat some oh-so-yummy-but-so-bad-for-you food once in a while. It is all about moderation and not eating like that every day. So back to my regularly scheduled healthy eating!

Happy Mothers Day

All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.
~ Abraham Lincoln

To all the moms, especially my moms, Happy Mothers Day!

Long Life

My friend shared with me a very interesting website on our world's population. This website also has a life expectancy calculator. Through a series of questions you can find out your life expectancy and your virtual age. I thought it would be interesting to give it a try. After a series of questions pertaining to health and family history, this is what it told me:



My life expectancy is 92 and my virtual age is 15. Wow, I guess that I will live a pretty long life if I believe this little calculator. My grandmother is 85 and is still going pretty strong. She has her ailments and she often tells me that is ready to be with my grandfather who passed away 10 years ago. But then again, she also told me last year that she was holding on until my wedding, which she made it to, and now she is holding on until I have a baby (I hope she won't be holding on too long, but I guess we'll see). My grandmother keeps on holding on and I hope that she will be with us for a long time. My great-grandmother, her mother, lived to her 90's so I think it is entirely possible for my grandmother as well.

So, maybe I shouldn't be so concerned about my mortality as I was a few days ago. Or maybe it is because I have been working on leading a healthy lifestyle and creating healthy habits that according to this calculator I will live to 92. Who really knows how long we have and who really knows if a calculator can really predict the future (probably not, since I could die from an accident). It is best to live each day to the fullest and to continue on my journey to be healthy. Family history is still strong with heart disease (my daddy) and now osteoporosis (my mommy). Being healthy is a life long commitment, it's not worth it to stop being concerned, but there is no need to be obsessed.