#Birthday: 44 and Lovin It

"God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well." - Voltaire #44andlovingit❤ #birthday #lifeCelebration #celebratingLife

A post shared by Chubskulit Rose (@chubskulitrose) on Jun 9, 2017 at 5:14am PDT

Today marks  half of my lifetime (just kidding).  Who knows  when is my time  but  for now, I turned 44 and loving it.  Here's 44 facts about me, timeline, and other aspirations.

1. I was born and raised in the southern part of the Philippines. 
2. I am the 2nd child of nine (I don't know how my Mom survived with 9 kids, lol)
3. I have three brothers and 5 sisters.  
4. I put myself in high school by working as a house helper.  My parents did not have  enough resources to send me to high school.  
5. A super typhoon Sisang  wiped away everything my parents  have worked for through the years (home and everything).  We have never seen our home again and what was left to us were the clothes we were wearing before the typhoon hit.   
6. Graduated High School in March of 1992.  
7. I worked for 5 years after high school then saved some money  to pay for my college
8. Graduated college in March of 2001.  I was a working student in school.  My savings alone would have not survived.  I spent my savings during my first year then the second year I was almost broke.  God have always taken care of me, I got thru the scholarship in school that pay  part of my tuition and also gave me free  food and lodging.   Earned a Bachelors Degree in Commerce Major in Management
9. I got employed  in the school where I attended one semester before I graduated.  
10. I pursued my master's degree while I was  working an office job in school.  Working and  studying  is  hard but I was used to it since I was in  high school so it was just normal although during the last year of my  graduate  school, it was tough writing  my thesis and working at the same time.
11. Earned my master's degree  in March of 2003.   During that time, I was engaged to my ex-boyfriend, now my husband.  He walked with me on  the stage during my graduation.  MBA Major in Financial Management
12. Five months after my graduation, I got married, I was 30.
13. One week before my wedding, my father suddenly passed away, it was a big blow and let down.  We already  scheduled our civil  wedding so despite  of him passing, we went thru a very simple  ceremony a  week after  his funeral.  
14. My husband and I met  thru an online dating site.  One of my student assistants in  the office  told me about Asian Matchmaker.  I laughed and told her that I don't have time for it since I was very busy writing my  paper.   She told me she would me set it up, she basically did it for me, created my profile and everything.  Ruth  was my guardian angel, she did it really good for me and I owe her  the good life I have now with my husband.
15. Even though we were married, hubby and I lived in two  different  countries.  I was still in my former country trying to  process my  papers of coming here and he was finishing his  military tour in Guam.
16. One year and two months after our civil wedding, hubby  and I  got married again but this time in church.  He  thought it would be nice to have my family and friends  witness our wedding since nobody was with us  when we first got married.  Because of the  circumstance  of my father passing unexpectedly, we only had  two godparents with us during our civil wedding.
17. After our wedding, God blessed us with a precious gift, I finally conceived after waiting and trying for over a year.  
18. I came in the US in May of  2005, I was 7 months pregnant  with our first child.  
19. I gave birth to our first born two months after I arrived here in the US, I was 32.  
20. Nine months after that, I got pregnant again with our son, I wasn't sure if I would be a good Mom to two children but I think I am doing just fine.  
21. We bought our first home in 2006.
22. I never  drove  growing up but I learned  to drive a stick shift before coming to the US.  
23. I got my driving license here in the US  in 2006.  It's been  eleven years since I have been a licensed driver  but I only drove  twice after having it lol.  Yes, I am scared to drive, I admit  it.
24. We relocated to South Korea  in 2008 for my husband's last tour in the Navy.
25. We visited my family back home in 2009.  That was  my family's first time meeting our children.  
26. 3 months after our  visit to them, I was informed that my eldest brother  passed away due to a motorcycle accident, it was a tough pill to swallow.  We went back there for my brother's funeral.
27. We came back in the US in December  of 2009.
28. I used to  hate cooking but ever since I got married, I learned to love it.
29. I ate rice  everyday, that is part of my identity lol.  Also the reason why I  have a hard time getting rid of my tummy fats!
30. I love writing.  It's my main avenue in expressing myself.  I used to write  diaries.  I am not much of a talker so writing is how I fully express my opinions.
31. I discovered blogging 9 years ago, I haven't stopped since.  It was June of 2008 since I started to blog and still loves it to this day.
32. I love dogs, we have two.  I also love bunnies, we have 4.  
33. I love doing laundry especially  the folding  part.  Some people hates folding clothes but I absolutely love it.  
34. My mother is my hero, she   has done so many things that I don't think I would be able to do especially raising 9 children, whew!
35. I am 20 years and a day older than my  youngest sister.  Her birthday is a  day after mine. 
36.  I love gardening, I could work on a garden everyday and never get tired of it.
37. I love taking photos, if I could take a a course  in photography, I would to  improve my skill.
38. I love music, I sing once in a while but not much.  My favorite genre is country, love song, pop, and classic.  
39. My favorite season is summer, you can do a lot of things outdoors.
40. I  love walking but I like to  run once in a while.
41. I   like yoga but I seldom do it.
42. I'd rather  receive a plant rather than a bouquet.  
43. I am not fond of baking.  It's either I burn myself or I burn the  goodies when I do lol.  Not just my thing.
44. Lastly, I want to live a long healthy life with my husband and kids but only God knows that so I  enjoy  every moment I have with them everyday.

So that's it, those 44 facts would summarize what has been happening to my existence .  Life is hard  sometimes but it is up to us to choose a path that could alleviate whatever  hard situation we may have.  Being poor is not a hindrance in achieving whatever dreams or goals you have.  The key is your perseverance, resilience, hard work and determination in achieving  the things that you want.  I hope that I did not bored you with my story lol.