Mae girl & baby Enna

My fave filipino from this rant is finally home and healthy. I had no idea until the day after I wrote that post that she was not doing alright.  Her mom e-mailed me and told me that she and baby Enna almost died. Enna was in the ICU for more than a week and they wouldn't let Mae leave yet either. Her blood pressure was way too high and she was having seizures and had blood coming from her mouth at one point.  (I did not even know that could happen from birth complications).

 I literally think about the Philippines everyday, but never as much as that day. I've never wanted to be there so badly.  I felt so helpless.  She was the person who took care of me like nobody else could and now she was suffering.  It's hard to be in love with people and places so far away.  I was crying all day about it and luckily my sister picked me up and distracted me with food and music for a while.  I knew her husband was taking good care of her, but it didn't help me feel that much better.  My family knows how much I love her and were really supportive.  The only thing we could really do was send money.   The hospital wouldn't let her leave until the bill was paid and there were a lot of unexpected expenses from the complications they had.  I'm kind of poor right now, but I sent what I could and my dad figured out how to wire the money and sent some more with it. (He is a good egg). Once she e-mailed me a few days later and told me they were finally home and safe, I felt so much relief. 

Maybe I needed a reminder of how fragile life is and to appreciate those around me more.  I am really blessed to have wonderful people in my life.  I'm so grateful for all of my companions and for my family.  I'm especially happy to know death is not the end.  If something had happened to either of them, I know I would see them again.  But I am so happy they are still here.  Someday I will visit them.

Peer pressure

I love post secrets.
I used to read the new ones right at midnight, but I've been making myself wait until I'm at work early Sunday morning. It helps motivate me to wake up. Some of them are creepy, some are inspiring, and some make me want to be friends with the stranger who wrote them.  Like these ones. The peer pressure one is absolutely how I feel. Thank you, stranger danger.

Grandma dress ...but not.

Confession: I really love grandma dresses.  But I like to modernize them a bit so they are socially acceptable to wear.  Here is a great one I did this week.  I love mixing classy with fun, so what better way to do that?  This dress was $5. 

shoulder pads: gone.
neckline: loved the bow, but it was too much with the print.  I took off the bow and finished it with some bias tape. 
color blocking: added some lavendar color blocking and also a couple inches to the length.
sleeves: changed them from long to short. 

I thought about changing the buttons, but didn't find any that looked great with it.  Those might change later.