Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Wanderlust Photo Summary 2008-2013

One of my dreams, (besides marrying the man of my dreams.hihi) is to be able to travel and see the world! In fact, I want to share a very personal revelation that no one ever knew except my family and some close friends (now you know!) cause its a total epic fail! When I think of it now, natatawa nalang ako.hahaha (I just laugh at it.) Here it goes- I courageously applied as a flight attendant a couple of years back at Delta Airlines that is headquartered here in Atlanta. (Oh diba nakakatawa? Funny right?! hahaha.) I wasn't exactly sure what had gotten in to me to even think of applying for the position, but my dream and frustration to travel strongly kicked in. They called me over the phone and surprisingly I passed the phone interview. After that, they called me again for the final interview which consisted of a series of tests which I battled through the entire day. However, there was one exam that I believe I failed so badly. They made me reach out for the over head bin (a compartment above the seats where luggages are stored) without my 3 inch heel and with feet flat on the ground. Wonk wonk wonk :( I lack in the height department which of course matters a lot cause attendants should be able to help passengers put their stuff in the bins. Oh well, in fairness, it was a great experience. Now, I realize God didn't allow me to be a flight attendant cause I cannot leave my family behind, yet. I need to be with them.  Especially, I cannot be a runaway bride/wife to my hubby in our newlywed life. 

So what if I was rejected. There are still ways to travel and God is so good cause He blessed me with a good job, good money saving skills, and a good bf/hubby who mostly pay for our trips.  That allowed me to wander :) My goal is to be able to conquer all the 50 states of America. hahaha. So far, I've only been to few states and there's more to see. 

Not only do I dream of seeing the entire states, but I also fancy traveling internationally, someday! Thus, we have to save save save!

I am not a girl that is so much into collecting designer clothes, bags, shoes, and etc. I am more after collecting memories and building stronger relationships! :) Below is a few of my collection of magnets I bought through my travels and snippets of places I've been to.       

Disney World, Florida, 2008

my wonderful family :)
Georgia Aquarium, 2009
toured Alan in our first meet in US
World of Coca Cola, Georgia 2009
CNN, Georgia 2009
Six Flags, Georgia 2009
Liberty Island, New York, 2009

Time Square, NYC, 2009
Little Ferry, New Jersey, 2009
met Ate Beng's best friends
White House, Washington DC, 2009
went to Singles for Christ conference with my first couple friends 
Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Alabama, 2009
visit to Mother Angelica of EWTN 
Amelia Island, Florida, 2009
with family and met a new friend, Mary
Las Vegas, Nevada, 2009
Sin City!

Vegas with Alan and my mama!
Kalamazoo, Michigan, 2010
Alan's best friend's wedding

Ocoee, Tennessee, 2010
with my CFC and SFC friends

white water rafting adventure!
Hanauma Bay, Hawaii, 2010
Aloha to the most majestic Island! 

with SFC NY friends

Chattanooga, Tennessee, 2010
white christmas with family
Savannah, Georgia, 2011
Tybee Island, Georgia, 2011
Lady and Sons
new year celebration with SFC friends
Philippines!!! 2011
went back home after 3 years and got engaged! surprise!
Bohol, Philippines, 2011
Panglao Beach Bohol, Philippines, 2011
with my bff/sis in law and cousin in law
Bohol Bee Farm, Philippines, 2011
Boracay, Philippines, 2011

with my sister and her bf
South Beach, Miami, 2011
Ruby Falls, Tennessee, 2011
with my Atlanta friends
Philippines (again!) 2011 
we got married! :)

St. Rita Catholic Church
Taal Vista, Tagaytay, 2012
Punta Fuego, Batangas, 2012
Blue Ridge, Georgia, 2012
bed and breakfast weekend wih hubby
Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Florida, 2012
Washington, DC and Virginia, 2012
cherry blossom festival
Los Angeles, California, 2012
Santa Monica, California, 2012
SFC conference
Ellijay, Georgia, 2013
Helen, Georgia, 2013
Biltmore, South Carolina, 2013

Hubby's gone for almost 6 months now and that leads me to a hiatus in my wanderlust. However, he's back in a couple of weeks! Time to set my feet again on the road and up up in the air! :)

Also, my Ate Joyce (older sister) is arriving this weekend. It's her first visit to the US! My Ate too is a frequent flyer and a voyager and I'm just so happy for her as well. We were raised poor but that didn't become a hindrance in achieving our dreams and going to places. 

May this blog inspire you to reach for whatever dreams you may have, hop on that next plane, take that leap of faith, believe in yourself, and trust that God will guide you every step of the way. If we only make Him the pilot and driver of our lives, He'll steer that wheel smoothly, farther, and will take us to somewhere far beyond. 

Thank you Lord for majestically turning our dreams to reality and for the opportunity to see and enjoy your wonderful creation with our family and friends :)

More travel adventure posts to come!

on my bucket list! <3
photo by sallyzeunert.wordpress.com
xoxo,
Joselle

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Staycation in the Hospital

Friday nights are Joselle-Lola nights! Few more days and a love triangle will spur, Joselle-Alan-Lola night na! hahaha. Our household have rotations of people assigned to sleep and watch over Lola. This week, lola was sent back to Emory hospital because she was lethargic all over again and it was diagnosed that apparently, she had UTI for the nth time. Poor Lola. On Friday, I posted on Instagram that I checked in at the hospital for the night to attend to Lola. 


We love Emory. Lol. It's not that we want to be there all the time but because this hospital is the best one I've ever been to. It doesn't give me a feeling of a hospital, but a hotel. Their facilities are state of the art, their technology is quite advanced, definitely alcohol or chemical smell free, lobbies are huge, ample size of waiting areas with TV, large space for parking, cafeteria food is cheap but tastes good, they also have room service, so you can order food from your room, and my favorite, coffee and iced tea are free flowing! These factors made my overnight with lola enjoyable. 

Staff wise, the doctors are brilliant and nurses are fantastic. There are also quite a few number of Filipino nurses and those that were assigned to us made me really proud to be a Filipino. They've been so helpful, friendly, and hard working. Kudos to all the nurses all over the world!   


Saturday morning, after breakfast, I gave my lola a well deserved pampering. Above is a picture that I posted on Instagram of Lola getting her hair and facial treatment done by me. hihihi. I just simply used a no rinse soap on Lola's hair to take away the oil and make her hair smell nice. On her face, I wet a towel with hot water and exfoliated her face. After that, I put moisturizer on her face because sitting all day long in the hospital with cool temperature makes her skin dry. While I was massaging her face, she suddenly, ran her fingers through mine. Maybe, my face nostalgically reminded her of her youthfulness. hehehe :)


I ordered Lola New York Strip with mashed potato for lunch. Their steak tastes peculiarly good!



And a staycation is not complete without my travel essentials. hihihi. I love how all the rooms have hot showers. I was turning into a germaphobe gal as I was locked in Lola's room and I didn't want to catch any sickness also so a nice shower that day was glorious. 

Generally, I enjoyed my staycation with Lola. The doctors anticipate that she can be discharged Monday. I hope and pray so!

If may I share, my lola gave me a big twitch in my heart this morning. When the doctor and the nurses came in to check on her, she grabbed my hand and held me closer, and proudly told them this, "this is my granddaughter and I love her"! :D I love you too Lola! 

Also it broke my heart when she abruptly asked me when is she going to die. A question that no person has ever asked me before. She must be feeling a severe pain some where in her body and it hurts me to see her body crumbling. She's down to 98 lbs, she can't quite stretch her legs due to muscle pain, and when she poops, she must be abashed when she helplessly allow us and strangers to wipe her bum and genitals. Lola's very conservative and also she feels that she's a huge bother to us when she is definitely not. But also, she might have asked me that straight forward question because she's ready to go and be with God. I sensed in her that she indeed does not fear death because she knows she lived a good and full life, ready to be reunited with her maker. How fascinating! Only God knows when that day will come and as long as she's still gifted life to live, we'll take care of her the best we can. 

I hope every children/grandchildren may be inspired and  may have fervent desire in taking good care of their grandparents/parents. Hopefully, our kids will take care of me and their dad too. I hope you'll get to read my blog my future son and daughter. hehehe.

To conclude this post, while I was changing her diaper, she looked me in the eye and uttered a kind request, "gagawin mo din ito sa mama mo ha?" (you should do the same to your mom okay?). Till her last days, her concerns are only for the well being of the people she loves. What an awesome grandma and I'm blessed to have her.

xoxo,
Joselle