Sadly, as seems to be the case with our family lately, sickness rained on Nick’s birthday parade. :(  Not exactly how you want to spend your 30th. It was just stomach issues, so we...
This is a collection of posts from our tour in Manila, Philippines from July 2009 to June 2011.
Sadly, as seems to be the case with our family lately, sickness rained on Nick’s birthday parade. :(  Not exactly how you want to spend your 30th. It was just stomach issues, so we...
I know you remember the horrible “biscuit” faux pas I made at my last tea party – well not this time! I knew a scone when I saw one and dabbed it with clotted cream and jam. Now...
Ah, what a strange time it’s been lately. Holiday events wrapped up around the 15th because 50-60% of the expat population was going home. I was doing really well up until the activity...
I swear, we tried our best. There was a solid plan, we stuck to it steadfastly and yet…nothing quite turned out right. Guess we’ll just chalk it up to that old adage “The best...
The 24 hours leading up to Rachel’s arrival in Manila were filled with non-stop pacing and a few mini panic attacks. The mix of anticipation, concern and lack of control threw me into a tizzy...
Day 2 was a huge success by all accounts and measures. We completed our first massage (a Lymphatic Drainage Massage at Neo Spa) and took in Mall of Asia. Avatar at the Imax surpassed all our...
Just got back from 5 glorious days in Bohol, an island in the Southern Philippines. As you know, my friend Rachel is visiting and we wanted to take her somewhere that would give her a feel of the...
Made my third trip to the ER in 6 months today. Instead of accompanying Norma or Nick though, this time it was me checking in. I wish I had some fabulous glory story to tell about what...
Greetings- It’s been a full couple of days and I’m horribly behind on my posting. Just got Rachel off on the airplane this morning, so now I have a moment to catch you up on the rest of...
I’m sure it won’t come as a shock when I say that I’ve been a bit down lately. The 6 month mark hit hard, compounded by the Christmas factor. Thank goodness for Rachel’s...
We had the pleasure of being invited to a Worst Gift Exchange Party on Thursday night. The objective was to bring the worst thing you had in your house and wrap it up for someone else’s...
The big news in our neighborhood this week was the opening of St. Luke’s Global City, a new hospital in Fort Bonafacio. With 600 rooms and 400 doctors’ clinics, it’s sure to give...
WHOA – I was just sitting back this weekend reflecting on the fact that Nick and I just crossed the one year mark for our Civil Ceremony that took place back on January 2nd, 2009 in a Maryland...
This is a great example of a constructive use of “exercise time” at the Cebu Prison in the Philippines. You may be familiar with previous videos of Michael Jackson’s hits...
Just wrapped up part 2 of our two week Valentine’s Day celebration at Friendship Home. My Mom and Dad helped me kick it off last week when they were in town. Last week’s party was 1/2...
Today was a big day. It was the start of my pro-bono coaching work at Carewell, a local Cancer Resource and Wellness Community. If you remember back, I found Carewell in the midst of a personal...
After 8 months of painful waiting, I was finally able to have my first taste of Tater Tot Hotdish overseas. Despite the simple ingredients in the recipe, it was surprisingly hard to execute. I...
I really like the Chinese concept of “Year of the …”. I think that fits well into everyone’s lives and allows us to concentrate on key priorities for that year. For Nick...
You can’t help being inspired by this couple, who still know how to have fun with each other after 62 years of marriage. Add to that the fact that it happened at the Mayo clinic and it became...
Today I was privileged to get a tour of the garbage dump Tondo, home of 1.5 million of Manila’s residents. It was one of the most humbling and disturbing experiences I’ve ever had and I...
Picture from Rage.com Instead of engaging in my typical St. Patrick’s Day activity of beer drinking and social events, I had the opportunity to do something vastly different this year. I was...
I’m having a hard time letting go of this experience, feeling that my sharing is still incomplete. I’m hoping that in doing one last post, I’ll feel like I did Tondo the justice...
Here are a couple of great videos about Tondo that aired on TV in London last week. Â Lynie, who led our tour is featured. Â You’ll recognize many shots from my pictures. Â And I promise, no...
Have I mentioned how much I love you, my blog-reading public. Last week we reached a new high, with over 550 of you visiting in one day! Thank you for the L-O-V-E… I know you have many...
Well folks, I can now add another natural disaster to the list of things I’ve survived in my life, which currently includes: 1. Tornadoes 2. Blizzards 3. Golf-ball-sized hail storms...
Wow, it’s hard to believe, but I just crossed the 1 month mark at Carewell. In those four weeks I was able to hold seven different group coaching sessions not only for cancer patients, but...
I have mentioned before that the Philippines has a largely Catholic population, with roughly 83% practicing. And these are not casual church-goers either, but devoted followers of Christ. While...
I’ve come to a very important realization in the last few weeks. Â Cold temps I can do, but extreme heat is an entirely different story. Â And I’m not talking the 90’s here people...
For the last few years I’ve been hearing about these things called “TED” talks popping up in conversations and occasionally being circulated via Facebook and other social networking...
Life doesn’t get much better than spending an afternoon in the country with my new-found Carewell friends. And although the gathering was set up “just because,” there ended up...
One of my blog readers named Jessica arrived at post this week. We’re hoping to meet up for the first time in person once she and her family get settled in. In the meantime, she posted a...
On Saturday Nick and I had the pleasure of accompanying 25 kids from Friendship Home to a local water park (along with a few other adults thankfully!).  As I’ve mentioned before, these kind...
Sarah Jansen arrived in town late last night for her 2 week visit! Â Of course, the first two things on our docket were a great new haircut and a 90 minute massage. Â Both were raving hits!
Minnesotagal’s Note: This is a big day! The first-ever Guest Blog post from my current visitor and dear friend, Sarah Lynn Jansen. I hope you enjoy the varied perspective. If you’re a...
Our last two days have been pretty bi-polar. Friday was devoted to our first (of two) day trips. We were off to see Hidden Valley Springs, a stunning rain forest paradise a few hours from Manila...
May 8th, 2010 was a day of mixed emotions in the Miller household. It was on that day that Jenna Miller (#4 in the line of great Miller gals) graduated from the College of Saint Benedict (CSB). ...
Nick recently started physical therapy for an old/back neck injury he got 10 years ago, so part of our Saturday routine now includes him going to therapy for 2-3 hours (for the unbelievable cost of...
It’s been a fun-filled 48 hours for Jenna in Manila. We didn’t waste any time jumping in, going directly from the airport to the American Women’s Club monthly shopper’s...
Dearest readers- I feel awful for not posting lately. I know you don’t want to hear any excuses but… I had my first business workshop in Malaysia on Friday/Saturday (post coming on...
Those of you who have known me a long time know that Sarah & Singing just plain go together. I think the best way to explain it to you would be that I have my own “Pandora” station...
Turned out to be a BIG party weekend for this girl. Felt like I was back in my early 20’s, not 1 month away from the big 3-0! Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I went out for...
So, you all know that I’m a big fan of my husband and the time we spend together. But once and a while it just so happens that I’m on my own for a few days when he’s on a work...
I. Â Do. Â Not. Â Want. Â To. Â Be. Â A. Â Veteran. Â Expat. Zoom in on me kicking and screaming as I’m metaphorically pulled to the one year mark. Â “Noooooooo, we just got here! Â Am I...
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Â These kids derive so much joy from the simplest things in life and it is so amazingly heart-warming! Â I just love being with them. Â Screw...
Wow, big day for this girl. Â First ever Acupuncture treatment! Â Truly, I’ve been wanting to do this for years, but never had the courage. Â Maybe I was just being cheap too because now that...
Since it’s become obvious that I can’t stop time and prevent the one year mark from happening, I’ve decided that for today’s 1 Year Commemorative Post we’ll take a more...
Note: The following post is a guest post from my visitor Karolanne. Â It details her experiences with the various treatments we tried. I should begin by telling you that I’ve only had a couple...
Guess what arrived in the mail as my very first Birthday gift??? Â The biggest box of Retro ’80s candy I had ever seen!! Â Thanks to my oh-so-hip in-laws, I was the recipient of an assortment...
You are all well aware of the fact that I don’t really believe in doing anything small, especially when it comes to milestone birthdays. Â All it took was 5 months of hinting on my part before...