My First DIY Project: Wall Decor Using Embroidery Hoops

Hubby and I just moved into our new home, and  we are still recovering from the big expense. I looked up on the Internet about wall decor that would not hurt my pocket. I stumbled upon this site. I liked the idea and style. It is unique and cute.

So I looked for embroidery hoops for sale from the same site but I was kinda skeptical to buy  because I did not know if that was I really wanted to do. Besides, embroidery hoops are kinda new to me. I gave it a deep thought and decided to try it. So when hubby and I went to Reno, I looked for embroidery hoops at one of the craft stores there but I did not find one so I thought to buy them online instead.

But before checking the site again,  my friend and I went to a local thrift store first (where I volunteered) and there I saw these gorgeous hoops in different sizes, very clean, and looked unused. I bought them right away. The biggest cost me $2.00, the next size was .75, the rest were .25 each. 

My next target was the cloth to use. The following week, while having lunch break at work, I drove to the same thrift store again (we have 4 thrift stores here), which is not that far from my workplace and I dug its craft room looking for some nice scrap cloth with nice prints. Then I saw pile of thick, floral printed cloth at the bottom of a big storage bin. All new. The sizes are uniform, like the size of  a standard pillow case. I think they were samples of a curtain, I didn't really know.

I only had $10.00 in my wallet. When I went to the cashier whose name is Maria, she was counting like, "1, 2, 3, 4 up to 7. So I thought a dollar each piece. In my mind, I was like, "Hmm. So I am not short of cash." Then I was shocked when she said, "The total is $1.75" with a warm smile. My mind was like, "awesome!"

So there,  I only spent $6.00 total for this project but it took me like forever before I got it done. It's all worth it though. When my friends came over to see me after the accident, they thought my wall decor is cool.

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We've Got Tonight - Gerald Anderson and Sarah Geronimo at Cebuana Lhuillier Concert

"We've got tonight, BABE..."

This video is making me giddy :)

Credit to the owner.

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Thank you Lord God, I am still Alive!



My poor Yukon :( I will miss you!



I had a car accident yesterday on my way to work after lunch. I lost control of the steering wheel while  running the speed limit (70 miles per hour), trying to pass a car.

As what you see in the photos, my car is badly damaged. The autoshop mechanic said it can't be fixed anymore because of structural damage. He also mentioned that one of the tires at the back was flat.

By Holy God's MERCY, I only suffered a 1/3-inch shallow cut in my right hand caused by a broken windshield. I was alert and had presence of mind. As soon as the car stopped, I turned off the engine right away, looked for my cellphone to call 911 but I realized I need to get out from the car or else I might get suffocated. I was trying to open the back door when people started pounding the car looking for survivors. I was okay, I did not tremble nor panic. I was fine, in fact, the EMS staff did not even try to convince me to get into the ambulance service.

That time, my husband was at the house sleeping, he was too tired from working night shift, he didn't even know I was at the house for lunch and I did not disturb him. I don't usually go home during lunch time but I wanted to see him since that was his first day off after working 3 nights. I called my employer about what happened, called my friend Emy to ask for a ride home after the Trooper released me, woke my husband up, told him what happened and went to town to buy groceries with him afterwards.

Consequences are now coming into my head:  no car to drive going to town and to work, increase of car insurance, among others, but I am very very thankful to the Lord God that I am still alive after the mishap. I knew HE protected me from any harm that time, otherwise, I would have been dead. The people who witnessed the accident were amazed that I was fine and in good shape after what happened. I heard that just this week, in the same area, a car hit a horse and the driver got killed. And that two weeks before, there was a pedestrian who got ran over by a truck. I'm glad that I was alone and I did not hit a car, animal or human being, thanks God. 

I have never felt luckier!

Praise God! God is good all the time!

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A Proud Volunteer I am

credit to owner

 

Aside from blogging, I am also into volunteering. I volunteered for Humboldt Hospice as a helper in its Frugal Flamingo store twice a week for 3 hours only. Sales and proceeds go to the hospice care. After moving in to our new home, I've been very busy putting all our stuff together so I've not been there for many weeks already. One of these days, when things get settled I would surely come back to share my time. 

 

I also volunteered for AVA or Advocates for Victims by Abuse as a support staff. There are many areas to help like fund raising, advocacy, community outreach, among others. I chose fund raising, community outreach and writing. Just recently I have constructed a Press Release about AVA needing male volunteers as what the coordinator suggested. We only meet once a month and trainings are held online, we call it "webinars" so this volunteering doesn't eat my time at all.

 

By volunteering, I've been able to extend help to my community in my own small way. And it helps me meet new friends, increases my self-worth and it brings a feeling of fulfillment.

 

Want to do the same? You may go check your local office, library, hospital, church, and other non-government organizations like Red Cross, etc.

 

Touch other people's lives, be a volunteer!

 

Thanks for dropping by. Have a good one!

Sarah Geronimo and Gerald Anderson Together Again

Sasa and Gege

 Yay! They were reunited during the Ultimate Jollibee Date with their fans Ashrald just recently.

While looking at the pics, it seems to me that they are both very happy being together again. Me too! Credit to the owner.

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My US Citizenship Interview/Tests

It was one of the important days in my life and I made sure (I thought so!) that everything has been taken care of, though I was not feeling well because of cough and colds. Since I became a US Permanent resident, I've been visiting the USCIS office many times so I somehow knew the restrictions before you could get in the building. No cellphone allowed, firearms and the like. But I kinda messed up that day. Geez.

When I walked through the security, I heard my bag beeped. One of the security officers checked what's inside in my bag. My mind was like, "It's should be cleared, I did not bring my cellphone with me so I should be okay". The Security Officer or SO ran my bag again after she took my lipstick case out of my bag. It beeped again. "Ayayay!", I thought. 

So the SO checked my bag again. I was very shocked when I saw her holding the folding hunting knife she found in one of the pockets. I was like, "Oh my God! I totally forgot about it!" The first thing that came up to my mind was that, the SO wouldn't let me in for my appointment. I was scared as hell! But thank God, the SO only said to bring it outside or take it back to my car. While walking towards the parking lot, I scolded myself. "Stupid!Stupid!Stupid." I remembered last week, I was checking my stuff in the garage and I found that hunting knife which hubby received last Christmas. I thought I needed one in my bag for self defense, something like that. That's why it was there.

With low morale, I hurried back to the building and put my bag in the conveyor again. And, unexpectedly, it beeped again. I wanted to faint right there and then. I was like, "I don't think there is more inside aside from my personal stuff." The other Security Officer threw me a question, is this a real  Coach bag? I said, "Yes, it is." Then the other Security Officer felt the leather of the bag, also checked the logo inside and out. "It is genuine", she said. "I kinda figure it out now", the other SO said. Then they let me in. I felt relieved! But my mind was," Wait a minute! What's the relevance of the "genuineness" of my Coach bag to the beeping of the security alarm?" I wanted to ask them but I did not want to ask more trouble. Whatever, hehehe!

I waited for more or less 30 minutes before I heard my name being called by a lady. She introduced herself as the Commissioner. I had too many butterflies in my stomach that time that I thought I couldn't handle them anymore. I was still affected with what happened earlier. As soon as I took a sit, she asked me, "How many years you were married to your husband in the Philippines?' I answered, "4 years only Ma'am". She asked me again, "Ma'am how many years was your  first marriage lasted?" I took a deep breath and thought the question seriously. In my mind, I was like, "My ex and I separated after 4 years of marriage then I was a single mom for 12 years and the marriage got annulled  in 2006..." I figured it out already what she meant. I said, "I'm sorry I gave you the wrong answer. I was confused. The first marriage lasted more or less 15 years." She was satisfied. She had me signed my passport photos. Then she told me to raise my right hand to swear to tell nothing but the truth only. Afterwards, she started asking me questions about my children, SS number, address, my telephone number, etc. In between my answers, she asked me to spell out some words. She used my N400 Application on file as her guide and marked check to every answer I gave. Then she explained about the test which has 4 areas include speaking, reading, writing and civics test (knowledge about US history). She said I only answer six (6) questions only out of ten (10) questions.

My first six questions were as follows (with my answers) :

1. Who was the first President of the United States? "George Washington"

2. Give me two US National Holidays. "President's Day", "New Year's Day"

3. Who is the Governor of Nevada? "Governor Brian Sandoval"

4. Where is the Statue of Liberty? "New York Harbor"

5. What is one promise you make when you become a US Citizen? "Give up loyalty to other countries"... Honestly, I felt guilty afterwards when I realized this was my answer, hehehe, I could have answered "Obey the laws of the United States"'

6. What movement tried to end racial discrimination? "Civil rights movement"

I answered all the six questions correctly. She congratulated me. 

Then I was asked to read a sentence and to write a sentence that she dictated. She congratulated me again for passing the reading and writing test. She had me signed my N400 application then gave me a paper about the interview/test results and told me some important instructions about Oath Taking requirements and the like.

So I passed! Thank you God! I just need to wait for the final approval and the date of the Oath Taking in the mail. Hopefully, next month, my birth month :) I can't wait! I am excited to petition my Mom and my siblings. It could cost me a fortune but I will ask my siblings to pay for their respective applications, lol! 

Let me tackle about siblings petition. It will take 15-20 years before the approval. Yup, it's like waiting half of your entire life and that you might not enjoy it anymore, but do not to think about yourself, think about your children. Let me share a story real quick. My Pinay friend's ex husband petitioned his siblings, one of them said she is not interested. So all those petitioned siblings including their children moved to United States after long years of waiting. The children of that sibling who did not want to be petitioned blamed her. They thought their mother was selfish.

Well, thanks for visiting!

Sarah Geronimo's New Hairstyle

Ms. Sarah G.

I grabbed this photo from Twitter. Thanks to the owner.

Is it a "shaggy" style? Sasa looks simple yet very pretty in this hairstyle. 

When KC Concepcion was heartbroken, she changed her hairstyle... Just read between the lines. Whatever happens, I hope the Pop Star will find happiness in the truest sense of the word. Everyone deserves to be happy.

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Be happy as you can be!