Island Girl

Happy new year everyone! How are you going to welcome the first day of the year? My family is at home right now watching the History channel. Or my boys are. I am here in front of the computer just surfing the web and since I don’t have anything better to do I decided to update this baby. My father called and left a message on my voice mail greeting us a happy new year. I tried to call to ask how their media noche went but I could not contact him anymore. He must have been on his way home already. Unfortunately there is no signal where they live. But anyway, I really want to start my own tradition here at home but there is only three of us here right now and the little man is too young to appreciate anything. Maybe in a year or two. For now, we will welcome the new year with hope that things will continue to get better for everybody. That dreams and resolutions will come true and be fulfilled. And that plans be realized.  Every beginning is a reason to celebrate and a reason to look forward for what might come.

It is a few hours before Christmas yet here I am feeling melancholic. While wrapping presents earlier, the husband and I got to talking about our past Christmases and I just started crying. I couldn’t help it. I did not want to stop the tears either. The husband got so worried for me and asked what was wrong. I do not know what is wrong. He kept on asking me what I want and he will give it to me. He is so sweet. But I don’t think I need anything material at the moment. It is just the holiday, I guess. And being away from the tradition I was used to. Or it may be because of some unhappy things which happened on past Christmases. I am not going to analyze things at the moment. I am over it at the time being. I am happy for the blessings my small family is enjoying. I am content to be with the two men I love most, my husband and my son. I just get crazy from time to time. Perhaps it has something to do with being a year older in a few days

We went shopping again today and we ended up buying more toys for the little man. We did not find anything for the big kids so the husband decided to give the oldest kid something she can use on her car. I forgot what it was called, lol. He also paid for their groceries at Sam’s. He probably spent around three hundred dollars on her but as long as they are all happy I am fine with it. We have not bought anything for the younger brother but I am sure we will think of something. I will have my present from the husband delivered on the 24th but I don’t know what to give him. I know he loves electronics and I am sure he would be thrilled with a new Sony Vaio but I cannot afford one at the moment. I have not even bought anything for him, not even a card. I am a lousy partner I know. I hope I will find something for him and soon. I know I need to get online and look and stop watching my soap operas like what he told me to do

Yesterday evening was not a good one for me. The husband got on me for things that I did not even do. He was being mean and I was upset about it. I had to give him a piece of my mind because I hate to not be able to say things to him when we have an argument. When I told him what was on my mind he said sorry. I know he was in a lot of stress lately but it was not reason enough to pour it all on me. I am the type of person who will not say anything when I know I am at fault, but if I am on the right expect to hear a lot from me. Like any previous arguments though, we made up even before going to bed. I don’t hold grudges and I forgave him for the harsh words. I just hope this will not happen again. I am open to discussion and if he will only talk I will listen. Crucifying me for something I did not do is another matter. I know that arguments makes a relationship healthier because it opens up a time for discussion thereby being able to air each other’s side but it sure is stressful. Thankfully everything is resolved and we are back to normal programming, lol.

I like going to other places. I enjoy the trip and I love the scenery. I blame the husband for this penchant to travel because on my first few months here with him, he brought me to several nice places. And I came to love to travel even if I used to get motion sick all the time. Crazy as it may sound but even the stops we made on gas stations were fun. I know I am a nut, lol. Perhaps the reason I like to travel is because when we arrive in a certain place, he always gets the best (even if cheap) accommodations. No, we don’t do vacation rentals because there used to be only me and him but he has been to the places we visited and so he knows which place is the best to stay in. And when we are on the beach, our room is always ocean-front because we both love to listen to the sound of the waves. He said he wants us to go camping next year when the weather is not too cold but I don’t know if I will like it. I may be from a third world country but I have not really tried sleeping in the ground and I don’t like the idea. He said it is fun. I prefer the comfort of the motel room though.

Yesterday was the teenager’s 19th birthday. The husband invited his son and his girlfriend to have dinner with us at O’Charley’s. We always eat out when a member of the family is celebrating a birthday instead of doing it at home. The stepdaughter called and so the husband invited her and her family as well. There were nine in our party including three kids. It was fun, lol. The little man was his usual good mannered self. Yes, he may terrorize me when we are at home but in public he is the epitome of good manners The stepdaughter’s son started getting loud but it was not something they could not control. We all had a good time eating and gossiping. Don’t ask who we gossiped about or you will be shocked, lol. The talk was mainly about the stepdaughter’s new home and the Christmas party they attended prior to the dinner. I loved the bread served along with the appetizers the husband ordered. I kept on eating that when my food came I was already full. Don’t flame me. It is seldom I encounter bread baked the way I like it and it was fresh and good. I eat bread only when it is to my liking. In fact, when I asked for a to-go box, I piled the bread in it and left my food on the table where the stepdaughter scoped up the vegetables on my plate. We are an unconventional bunch. What do you expect from hillbillies? Lol. The husband’s food was really good. He shared it to me and his daughter. I, in turn, gave him more than half of the food I ordered since I was already full. The little man ate his fries but did not even touch his mac and cheese. We did not leave until we were ready. We had a fun night.

When I got here almost three years ago, I did not know people rely on good credit record to buy anything of value like houses, cars, and other properties. And why should I when where I came from we use cash most of the time when we buy anything from stores? And owning cars are only for the rich who can either pay the vehicle in full or in several payments as long as they are well known enough to snag a car of their liking. Most people use the public transport which are cheap and abundant on all streets even in the metro. There are people with credit cards and with good credits but I am pretty sure they are a minority. The rest do not care whether they have credit may it be good or bad credit. All people care about is how to get by every single day since life is not really that easy. Sometimes you could say they are lucky because they don’t have to worry about owing credit companies money which would have been disastrous with the economy as it is right now. At least people where I came from do not have to worry about how to  or scrambling to look for companies who will help them solve their problems. Be that as it may, I am not there anymore. I am here in the US where one’s best asset is his good credit history. And since I am here, I have to do like most people here do which is to establish credit and hope to pay my bills on time so I don’t have to be subjected to a credit repair plan in the future. So far, things are looking good for me. I am not planning of buying a house or a car in the next few years but we might find a use for it in the future.

We rarely see the husband’s teenage son anymore. He has a few days off from work but he doesn’t stay home much. If he does, he stays in his room all the time and when the little man and I are in the other room trying to take a nap, the teenager sneaks out of his room to supposedly run around with friends. He has been doing this for three days. He did not come home last night and instead of calling his father, sent both our phones with text messages telling us he was spending the night at a friend’s house. Did not even try to call. The husband has a feeling that he, along with his high school friends, found an apartment. He was told about the kids’ apparent apartment hunting a few weeks ago and thought that maybe they have found one and are spending their off times from work (assuming the other two friends are working as well) in their new pad. Of course these are just speculations because we have not talked to the teenager yet. If they indeed found them a place I wonder why the secrecy though. If he will only be upfront about it I am sure his father will understand. He doesn’t have to act like it is the world’s greatest secret, lol. I hope the kids are not up to no good. I am sure when the money runs out he will be back on his old room. There are a lot of questions right now. If only this kid is like his older sister who, even if she had arguments with their father, still calls and informs him what she is doing to stop worries and problems. He thinks he is old enough to act like a man yet he is acting like a sneaky adolescent.