J. Rose Online

I am thankful for Mr. Man. He is my rock, my backbone, my all, my world, my everything. He has my back and will always do anything and everything to make me happy. I have never known what love was until I met him and was loved by him. Over the last almost 9 years we have grown up together, helping each other up when we have fallen. I will always stand by his side and will always be proud of the man he has become. We've definitely shared the many ups and downs any relationship goes through and one thing for sure is that I'm glad that we found each other to go on this journey together. We were definitely strangers starting out on a journey that ultimately led to the love of a lifetime.

I am thankful for my baby boys. They have been my inspiration to live each day to its fullest and aspire to be more than I can be. I love them with all of my heart and will do ANYTHING for them. I am also thankful for the new baby that is growing inside of me. Although the timing was basically not right, in the end, I am blessed to even have the opportunity to have another one. My kids are also my world. It is because of them that life has more meaning.

I am thankful for my family. For my mom and my brothers.

I am thankful for the girlfriends I have that don't bring drama or cattiness. And it's these ladies that lend an open ear when I need it or vice versa!

I am thankful for my best friend, Ceejae. Over the last 8 1/2 years, ladies have come and gone, but it was the two of us that still remained friends. We've gotten closer and closer over the years and our friendship eventually grew to "BFF" status. She always has my back as I will always have hers. Our conversations never run dull and even if we talk about the same things alllll the time, we always put a twist to it and re-tell our stories, LOL. I am thankful to have her friendship!

I am thankful for Jackie & Johnny (her hubby). From that time in Jr. High where we didn't like each other because I had a crush on a guy who her friend also had a crush on then to writing notes to each other and being friends disregarding any beef we had prior. Then doing filipino folk dancing, then ditching class when I was a freshman. I remember when Jackie & Johnny started dating, I was always the third wheel hanging out with them, but they always welcomed me. I remember always being the messenger between the two when they were arguing. LOL. I remember when they had their first son, CJ, whom I am godmother to. After awhile, we lost touch and grew apart. They had two more kids and I had my oldest. But now, that we live a lot closer to each other and our kids are so close in age, we have been hanging out as much as possible. Both of them are like a second family to me. I'll always remember how they always accepted me for me and never judged me any other way. I love these two and their kids too. They are the married couple with kids that Mr. Man and I can relate to.

I am thankful for my new friendship with Christiana. Even though we barely met a few months ago, it feels like we've known each other for a long time and we're just catching up. From the moment we met, we had an instant connection. She feels like the little sister I never grew up with. I know I'm considerably older than she is, but that doesn't make a difference because we get along great. She's already proven to lend an open ear when I needed it and I do the same for her.

I am thankful for blogger because without this I wouldn't have met soooo many wonderful ladies and especially meeting in person. It's like our own little world where we come to everyday and we conversate with each other through our daily posts.

I am thankful for my readers. If no one reads my blog then why post? But I'm glad I interest some of you to keep coming back everyday.

I am thankful for my computer, the internet, my cell phone and World of Warcraft. It is because of these things that I never get bored everyday. It is because of these things that help me get in contact with friends. It is because of these things that allow me to keep in touch with friends. It is because of these things that cause me to have monthly bills. LOL.

Well everyone, what are you thankful for? It's 1:05 in the AM right now, about to head out to pick up my mom from the Greyhound bus station. My brothers and my mom will be here for thanksgiving dinner which I am going to prepare. I can't wait. I get excited when they come over. =)

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Products Used: (All MAC unless noted)

Face:
Studiofix foundation NC44
Select Sheer loose powder NC45
Smooth Harmony beauty powder

Eyes:
TFSI
Black Tied e/s (all over lid)
Bright Fuschia pigment (outer V, crease)
Ricepaper e/s (highlight)
Blacktrack fluidline
Graphblack technakohl eyeliner (lower waterline)
Lash #6
Espresso e/s (brows)

Lips:
Cranapple lipliner
Party Mate lipstick

Ok, now time to call my mom and wish her a happy birthday. Her birthday is today and mine is tomorrow.

bottle of sauce and package of veggies


cut up the chicken, add oil to the pan and stir fry until it is no longer pink


add frozen veggies and stir fry until veggies thaw out.


this is what it should look like so far


add stir fry sauce. I used a little more than half the bottle since I had so much chicken in there


stir it up to get the sauce mixed in


serve over a bowl of rice and you are good to go! Take that Yoshinoya, LOL, j/k

This recipe is pretty simple! If you can stir things around in a pan, then you should be good. Another thing I like about this recipe is that it's fairly inexpensive. I would have to say for the chicken stir fry dish, I spent a total of about $12-$15, can feed a family of 4 and there's enough for leftovers (unless you eat it all of course). Prep time: around 5 minutes to cut up the chicken. Cook time: about 15 to 20 minutes

Products Used: (All MAC unless noted)

Face:
Studiofix foundation NC44
Select Sheer loose powder NC45
Fashion Frenzy blush

Eyes:
TFSI
Aquadisiac e/s (inner lid)
Cool Heat e/s (outer V, crease)
Brulé e/s (highlight)
Blacktrack fluidline
NYX eyeliner in Emerald City (lower waterline, lower lashline)
Dazzlelash mascara in Black Dazzle
Espresso e/s (brows)

Lips:
Lollipop Lovin' lipstick

So anyways, I just realized that I have nothing that has to do with babies. It's like I'm starting all over again. I mean some items, I know I'm going to need soon are: a crib, stroller, carseat, OMG diapers!!!!!

One of the items I had when the boys were babies was a swing. It was my lifesaver! All you moms out there, what items did you have that were your must have or lifesaver? Share with me! It's been soooo long for me. HAHA.

So then I started thinking of the baby shower. A few of you have mentioned to me a "beauty blogger baby shower" and some of you have even told me you'd come to a baby shower if I had one. By a show of hands, (ok by a show of comments), how many of you would indeed come if I had a baby shower? It's never too early to start planning you know.

I'd like to get a rough count of how many of you would like to celebrate the new life that I'm bringing into this world, as scary as it is! Oh yeah, since I'm due in May, it would more than likely be some time at the end of March to the middle of April and more than likely be at my house in Diamond Bar (which I know is pretty far from those in the Valley).

To tell you the truth, the more that I think about it, the more excited I'm getting about this new baby. At my next OB appointment, I'm going to ask how soon I can find out the gender. I'm also going to look into getting a 4D ultrasound done. I think that would be so cool. Unfortunately, insurance doesn't cover it as it is an elective procedure. But I was doing some research and there are some places that offer 4d ultrasound packages starting at $100.

I've also noticed that I subconsciously put my hand on my baby bump. I know it's not much that's there right now, but I tend to find myself doing that a lot now! Wow, can you tell I'm excited? HAHA, cuz I am.

I was watching a Tyra Banks show the other night and she had ladies on the show in which the audience had to "guess" their race or nationality just by looking at them. A lot of them were bi or multi-racial, but looked otherwise.

I thought it was a very very interesting topic and decided to post it up here for an Ask J.Rose post.

I want to share my thoughts and then also get your thoughts on the subject. Especially from those that are indeed bi or multi-racial.

I, personally, am not bi or multi-racial. Both of my parents are from the Phillippines. And I was born and raised in the good ole United States, California, to be precise.

Did I grow up learning all about the filipino culture?
Yes and No. No because sadly, I don't know very much Tagalog (filipino language). I understand a tad bit, but can not speak it. I have to say I understand more Ilocano (another dialect) than I do Tagalog, but even at that, it's still not much. I have been involved in some filipino traditions such as filipino folk dancing with a group of other filipino girls. I have been exposed to the different filipino foods, some I love, some I could care less for (IE: balut, bagoong, dinaguan/chocolate meat). My mom was involved with the filipino community center and like every young lady in Santa Maria, you had to run for the Pista Sa Nayon (fundraising contest for the filipino community center). If you've heard of Rex Navarrette's comedy, I can safely agree with almost everything he says about filipinos. He is FREAKIN' hilarious, by the way.

When I was growing up, I had friends of many different cultures. Well at least of those that lived in Santa Maria. During my elementary school days, I remember a lot of my friends in school were either white or hispanic. Then in junior high, they were mainly hispanic, some filipinos and some whites.

Then in high school, I started hanging out with more filipinos, although I still had a lot of hispanic and white friends too. I was raised to embrace the many cultures that America had living here. My mom was/is not a racist so I was never raised to be racist towards others, although, I have to admit, I do buy into the stereotypes of different cultures especially mine. BUT... at the same time, I am still open minded. Because I honestly think that some of the stereotypes are true. I am not saying that all people of a certain race are the same, I'm just saying some. For example, filipinos and their filipino time, how many of you are filipino and you run on that?!?! And don't lie! =)

Another interesting thing that caught my eye on that particular episode of the Tyra show is the fact that some of the ladies that were indeed not bi or multi-racial did look like they were. I started to notice that I got that a lot starting in high school and even to this day. I have been asked by many people of what my nationality is. It's gotten to the point where I would ask them to guess. I've gotten a lot of "you look mixed". Different combinations I've gotten were mainly hispanic/asian, hispanic, indian, hawaiian, filipino with something else. And some people would be surprised when I told them that I am full filipino.

Ha, the thing that I LOVE the most is when I tell them I'm filipino and they start saying stuff like "Mabuhay, Kumusta" or better yet, the old white men who spent time in the Phillippines or have a filipino wife or girlfriend and say to me "Maganda". LOL.

One time when I was working at PC Club, I had a filipino lady come in with her two nephews or cousins or whatever and she was buying computers for her office. She had asked me if I was filipino. I told her yes and then she told me, "Oh, you're pilipino! Then it's like we're pamilee (family), it's like I'm your Auntie, you should gib (give) me discount!" Say that with a filipino accent. I was like OMG! I don't know you! LOL.

Ok I'm going off on a tangent here. Why am I writing about growing up multi-racial when apparently I'm not. The reason for this topic is because my kids are bi-racial. Some of you know that my husband (Mr. Man) is Thai. He looks more filipino than I do, huh? LOL. It's ok, he gets it a lot. My family actually thought he was filipino when they first met him.

So basically that means my kids are half filipino and half thai. To tell you the truth, even though we live with Mr. Man's mom, it seems my kids know more of their filipino side than they do of their thai side. I know that had a lot to do with the fact that my mom lived with us for quite a few years and my kids were overly exposed to that side of their heritage.

Now that my mom doesn't live with us anymore, I'm going to have to say that my kids are growing up "american". Both Mr. Man and I were born here and I would say we both also grew up "american". I would love to teach my kids about the filipino culture and I know Mr. Man would love for the kids to learn more about the thai culture, but how can we do that when we ourselves don't know too much about it because we were brought up "american".

My kids school is diverse and I see them hanging out with kids of different nationalities which means I'm doing a good job because my kids sees them as friends and not different from them.

So that brings me to my discussion.

These questions are geared towards bi or multi-racial people.
How many of you out there are bi or multi-racial?
What side of your heritage did you learn more about or can associate with more?
Did you have any struggles growing up because you were mixed?
Is there a side of you that you don't claim? And Why?

This questions are geared towards filipinos.
When you see the check boxes for nationality on forms, what do you check off? Pacific Islander or Asian
The reason I ask this particular question is because I'm kind of confused on that, LOL. I personally check off Pacific Islander. I don't know why, I just do. I mean the Phillippines is part of Asia so wouldn't that make us Asian? But then again we are an island and islands like Guam and New Zealand are considered Pacific Islanders. But wait, Japan is also an island that's off the coast of Asia, but they are considered Asian. What do you think?

This question is geared towards everyone.
Is there a stereotype about your nationality that bothers you?
Do you feel more comfortable associating with those of the same nationality?

This question is geared towards those that was born and raised in another country and then came to America.
Do you see a big difference in the way kids are raised in your home country and here in america?
Are there some things that bother you about the American culture?
Are there any stereotypes about your culture that bother you?

These are some questions I hope that some of you participate in as I am very curious as to what you guys think.

Is there a topic you'd like to hear my opinion on? Is there something you'd like for me to bring up? Feel free to suggest it by emailing me jaclynrose at teamlegion dot net, commenting on this entry or the chatbox. Click here for more info on the Ask J.Rose series.