to daddy dearie...

...happy 3rd year anniversary. =)

makes sense

"love is not a feeling, it's an ability"
- marty, bf of cara

excerpt from the movie 'dan in real life'
=)

may27, day2 in bohol

The following day, we had garlic rice, tocino and fried bangus with coffee and local chocolate tablet. We lazed around the beach the whole day and took lots of pictures. Good thing we’re here on a weekday so not much people are present. The water was warm and clear. Even if we were surrounded by small bangkas, we didn’t mind dipping into the water and feel the healing waves behind our backs. I think from the shore, you can walk up to 100meters with the water just on your waist! It was amazing! I thought that somehow the waters would be deep, but good thing it wasn’t so we had plenty of space to swim in. And the best thing was that I learned to do floating and a little backstroke… hehehe!

After a while, we strolled along the beach and took some pictures. It was almost sunset, and the kids in the neighborhood were playing around the beach. For dinner, we were served with lechon kawali and chopsuey then we strolled along the beach again and rested on the duyan (hammock) on the tree. It was a quiet night; dadi and I had a nice time talking about things and the latest happenings in our lives. We talked about the kids and our plans for them. We went back to our hut afterwards and started packing for our next day trip to Cebu.

may26 entry.. bohol part2

The ride to the Choc Hills took a while; it’s in the city of Carmen. Going up the viewing deck was very challenging (more than 200steps I think), but when I saw the view, it was worth it! I love the hills, they really look like nice gigantic chocolates laid down on a field. The scientific story goes that long time ago bohol was submerged with ocean water and volcanic eruptions in the water, with flowing lava that mixed with salt water, created those lumps. As the years passed, lands showed up then the pouring rain helped in contouring those lumps into pretty hills. Previously, the natives call it Carmen Hills. But when the Americans came, they said that those are chocolate hills shaped like the Hershey kisses so now its called Chocolate Hills. Some legends say that there were two giants that build them up while others say they were created by enchantments of the land. All together, there were 1,678 hills in those lands… huwaw!!!

We passed by a butterfly reserve hut owned by a 27year old lady from New Zealand. Imagine, a girl that young was an environmentalist and chose to live a quiet life in the suburbs of bohol and established this butterfly nursery. His caretakers and gardeners toured us around the place and gave a lecture on the difference of moths and butterflies. Then we went to visit a hanging bridge, which unfortunately was under repair so we just took pictures at the mouth of it. We also visited an old house, the Clarin Mansion, which was turned into a museum upstairs and café downstairs. I like the ambiance of the place as it was so relaxing. The lady who toured us around the house told us that the owners were one of the oldest politicians in our country. One of the sons was the 1st president of the senate house during the American regime.

Our last stop was at the tarsiers reserve. Tarsiers are believed to be part of the mammal family and are said to be the ‘smallest monkey’. Their eyesight is not that good during daytime but they are best onlookers at night. Obviously its due to their big bulging eyes. They are joined by the lemurs in the reserve, but during our visit, they were lazy and sleepy hanging on the tree branches. After all those visits, we headed to the resort in Panglao Island that was across Tagbilaran City. It’s connected through a bridge and the island has small population with only two towns in it.

We rested through the night and had a wonderful dinner. Our menu consisted of the island delicacy, beef bita-ug and fried spring chicken cooked in local ways.

may26 entry.. bohol

Our first day in bohol was dedicated to sightseeing and tour around the nice places in the area. First stop was at the Sanduguan monument that commemorates the blood compact tradition when the Spaniards came to our country. It was said that during old times, our ancestors would require the ceremony if you have intentions of making friends with the tribe. We stopped by an old and gigantic banyan tree (balete tree) inside a mansion of a german folk who started living in bohol during his retirement years. The tree was 100years old; he bought it together with the land where his mansion was built. Next stop was Baclayon Church, which was believed to be one of the oldest churches in the Phils. There was a mini museum upstairs, a grotto and bonsai garden at the back and a school beside it. The inside of the church itself was breathtaking! I had chills when I stepped inside and all visitors were respecting the solitude. Now I understand why some couples choose to get wed in this church. Another church that we saw was the Cathedral of Sta. Monica, which was also an old church with Spanish-like structure.

We had an early lunch, 11am at the Loboc river where we ate inside a floating restaurant. Of course my nerves were killing me, I have issues with the waves and boats/ferries that’s why I didn’t eat much. I was surprised, though, that when the floating resto started moving, the cruise along the river was pleasant and soothing. The air breeze was so cool in my face and the serenading voice of manong was calming. We stopped for a while at a barge with teenagers and old folks who sang and danced in different songs using guitars and yukulele (small guitars). We even joined them for a while and the Koreans who also watched them joined in the fun. Getting back, we went to the man-made forest area along the highway going to Chocolate hills. During the 1950’s, the governor passed a law requiring citizens of bohol to plant trees on the 3hectare land.





you may view more pictures in our multiply website. =)

may26 entry

*my first thoughts when we started our trip to the visayas region...*

i thank god that our flight wasn’t delayed… i thank god for the safe and smooth flight… i thank god for the nice weather as soon as we landed in Bohol… i thank god for the kind and reliable driver… i thank god for all the wonderful creations that we experienced going around Bohol… i thank god for our peaceful resort… i thank god that I was with my sweet and loving husband as i discover His great wonders.

back again, and nag-eemote

hello we're back! *para bang kanta ng boy band ang subject title? hehe*
kwento ako sa inyo ng details ng trip namin to manila sa next entry ko. inaayos ko pa kasi ung sobrang daming pictures namin from the trip. but let me just blog about my feelings right now...

as i was putting my two little boys to sleep, i was seeing their faces together with dadi and the rest of ptv4 in the airport waving their goodbyes to me and hugging me... tears just suddenly rolled at the corners of my eyes. i'm counting the weeks now... everytime na maiisip ko na malapit ko na sila iwan for some time, i can't help but cry.

never

i will never heed nor attempt to befriend that person anymore... it proves to say that that person is not worthy and is totally and absolutely superficial. i'm letting go of our so-called friendship. period.

counting d days - 10days!

yehey! i'm counting the days when we can finally go back home to pinas and enjoy a 2week vacay! this is the longest vacation we'll have after more than 3years here in sg. and the best part is, we're going island hopping!!! sobrang exciting! dadi and i are going to bohol, cebu and boracay for 3 days each! yiippeee! thanks of course to our friend ulrik, who introduced our ever reliable travel agent, melynn. we'll be spending our 1st three days at panglao island in bohol, including tours in chocolate hills, tarsiers reserve and loboc river. then we'll be ferried to cebu for a tour around cebu city and mactan. finally we'll be flying to boracay where we'll be meeting some of my friends from accenture and my best bud from high school, jeng. we're scheduled to flyback to manila on jun1.

i just can't wait to have a break hehehehe.... btw, the thing that i've been waiting for almost a year now is finally over. i'm so happy it's finally over and now i'm ready to move on to the next phase. =) will tell you more about it on my next entry. but for now, im so excited to go home!

missing u

i've been missing my blog for almost 2months now... and i really hate it coz i've so much thoughts in my mind that i haven't 'unloaded' yet. and promise, as soon as i have sorted things out in my busy schedule now, i will off load all thoughts that i should've shared with you guys. i just need some time to filter out the stress, fats and cholesterol and laziness in my system hehehehe!

so for those tags i've received, promise they're on top of my list. and i've got loads of good and bad stories to share. *wink*

baby alexi...

welcome to the christian world dear baby alexi beatriz! =)
baptismal date: 06 April 2008
thanksgiving: 12 April 2008
you may view more delightful pics here.

alooohhaaa!

i'm back, good thing work nowadays is tolerable *i think* so i can go back to reading my books and blogging of course. presently, i'm finishing the 3rd installment of the dark materials series. (for those of you who's not familiar, it's the northern lights series or as the movie had it, the golden compass.)

before i go on, i'd like to include in my entry the 2nd birthday celebration of my noahby last feb15. yeah yeah, its so late already. it was just a plain and simple celebration with the blowing of the candle in the cake and a quiet dinner at home. nevermind the valentine coz i spent it blowing my brains out in the office. its a leap year as well,some friends and i had a simple dinner at a new restaurant in raffles mall. nothing fancy, food was ok and doesn't really have that wow factor. we met hanipay's sister apple and welcomed her here in sg.

by end of feb to early march, everything just came by like a blurr because overtime work was inevitable and i couldn't even keep track of time properly. anyway, i was still able to squeeze in a little time to go and buy myself my own 1st camera! wiippeee! after 7years of working, i finally got my own digicam hehehe! got it from the IT show in suntec. originally i was eyeing on a new macbook for my own personal use but unfortunately, dadi and i agreed that my camera is much needed in the future events of our plans. we'll be watching maroon5 tomorrow at kallang stadium and of course its difficult to bring dadi's dslr, yehey maroon 5 live in sg!!! my 1st ever concert show to watch after 29years hehehe *oo na sobrang oa na hihi* i'm so excited to finally see the vocalist adam levine.

we also plan to go island hopping in pinas when we go home for our 2week vacation. that too has been booked already yiippee! we're off to pinas on may23 then flyback june7. dadi and i will drop off the kids then transfer to another plane for our cebu-bohol-bora trip. this one i can't wait to experience! as in finally we'll be able to have a vacation by ourselves, the two of us enjoying the sun and the views across visayas hehehe...we haven't arranged on our cebu-bohol-bora trip yet, hopefully the weather will be great and airfare will be cheap. we're also training for a running marathon, the singapore passion run, come june8 so dadi is training me for the 5km run *oo na, fun run lang sya.. keber e first timer po! hehe pagbigyan na!*

btw, i'm now doing a regular hosting job every sunday at the arena in clarke quay for the pinoy sunday entertainment show. it's organized by our friend ulrik and his colleague, ronald. it's like a variety show with bands and live performances. the audience can participate and jam with the bands and join the contest. april will be a busy month as there will be a pinoy amazing star contest coming up. its sort of like american idol style with the elimination and judges and voting thru sms. please do try to come down on sundays if you're in sg and watch great pinoy talent.

eram's sister, debbie, and niece, sam, also came for a week's vacation. we saw them on the eve of their flight back to manila. we had some coffee at citylink after ami and i went to the chinese temple in bugis to seek some 'divine intervention' hehe.. then we celebrated ami's birthday at our pinoy sunday show in the arena last march23. o diva, sosyal!

ayun so that's how life is at the moment. happy easter! =)

*i have to blog this right away, as in ora mismo when i had this conversation with nixon*

nixon going to bed and hugging me...

nixon: mami, something happened to me today...

me: what is it baby?

nixon: somebody told me i'm sexy boy

me: who said it??

nixon: *covering his face with his palms* lincoln did!

*lincoln is his bus buddy and school mate*

me: *trying to recover* why did he say that!??!

nixon: i don't know what he was thinking

me: how about you?

nixon: i don't know what to think also

*moment of silence*

nixon: mami, i have an idea! i'll just ignore him!

me: absolutely!

*kailangan ko na ba ikwento ang birds and the beast 101 sa anak ko!??!*

btw, my nixon has another friend besides lincoln... his name is benjamin.
o diba sosyal! may nixon, lincoln at benjamin franklin! hahahaha!

hay kahit sobrang pagod ako sa overtime for the past 2weeks, nawala ata
lahat ng sakit ng ulo ko! hahahaha

looking forward

i can't believe it that 2007 went by in a breeze. i have a 5year old kid now and noah is turning two on feb2008. i've survived the year working at sgx and still trying to conquer the odds of my career path. we were able to do some clutter organizing and hopefully our rent won't go up in the next few months.

right now i'm so happy to finally do some things that i promised myself i'll get back on. i've found my right pace in jogging so i'm very happy joining dadi during his evening jogs. i've also started reading again.. right now i'm burried with northern lights, the 1st of three books of the golden compass.

dadi and i watched the movie on the last week it was shown here in sg and i was so angry at him that night becoz we were late. good thing there was a book sale at carrefoure so dadi was kind enough to search for all three books. i was so ecstatic becoz i was really anxious to get a copy of all three.

don't ask me about my yoga class right now becoz i can't find time to squeeze it in in my ever so busy work schedule and my muscles are aching so bad lately. i really must book myself for a deep tissue massage.

nixon has started back in school as kinder2 and all he can say whenever we ask him how school was is that its fun! noah is more active and curious each passing day. dadi has moved to the tampines office from millenia walk so i'm officially missing him.

hoping for the best this 2008!

noche buena

our house warmly welcomed some of our friends for the noche buena feast last dec.24. it was my first time to cook and prepare roasted chicken, fortunately it went well and i complimented it with some steamed veggies. of course ham and grapes would always be served, then the ever famous sopas, bistek and fish escaveche, and our favorite puto. after dinner, we exchange gifts, watched a movie and some picture takings.

please visit our multiply site, i've uploaded the pics there.

late dec2007 posts.. KL trip

swamped with so much to do's last dec2007, i wasn't able to blog about how we got through til new year. the highlight of our christmas was our trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with the kids and tita juvs. i think it would be a shame not to be able to see the KL twin towers which is just some few hours from SG.

we decided on it last minute, actually a week before our target date. out of so much stress and boredom, ate vi and i decided to check on KL trips and fortunately we were able to get a booking at people's park chinatown. it was a great deal, 164sgd each for 3days, 2nights to legend hotel including breakfast buffet and tickets to ride the eye of malaysia.

our trip was 12.30pm so we got there at KL almost 7pm already. we checked in and had dinner at mcdonalds *talaga namang mcdo pa din* then we let the kids rest first while we adults went to chinatown. the place was really pretty at night with lots of bargain hunters scattering around.

the next day we had early breakfast and proceeded to KLCC to catch the trip going up the KL towers. unfortunately we got there late so we just took pictures outside and look around the mall. then we went to times square with the kids while ate vi and kiko strolled around putrajaya. we decided to meet afterwards and have dinner at times square. it gave me a bugis-like feeling going around the building with lots of stores each floor (note: bugis is a big shopping place here in sg). i got so tired with this place, as in! lots of sales and so many shoppers. eating at kenny rogers was disappointing though. when ate vi and kiko arrived, we went to the theme park and the kids really had lots of fun!

on our last day, we went to ride the eye of malaysia in the morning. good thing the place wasn't crowded but the heat was exhausting. nevertheless, we enjoyed the experience and then went back to the mall near our hotel to do some last minute shopping and lunch at KFC. our bus arrived on time and we got back in SG saturday night.





more pictures here

looney toons and friends

one fine swimming day

mareng faye and ffg were kind enough to invite us over and take a dip at their condo. some of their friends from sgx were there also with their kids. thank you very much mare for letting us have fun with the kids on the pool... they really enjoyed it. well, nixon did hehe.. noah was so scared of the cold water.

the swim team

candid faye

with nixon *on top* and noah *below*

go figure! =D

surprise story #2

the following day, dec1, we gathered again to give a surprise baby shower for ati twix. we initially had our meeting after our dinner last rockNshoot event at clarke quay. we opted to bring food by potluck. the other ptv4 pips were informed the following week about our plan. i emailed buru about it and asked him to make up an excuse so that ati would go out that day and go to ulrik's place.

we were all set at around 4.30pm that day. when they knocked on the door, we were lined up behind the table and as they entered the flat, we shouted a big surprise and happy birthday! hahaha!!! twix was so shocked, you could just imagine the big smile on her face and everybody was laughing! she said that buru told her it was yanah's birthday *ulrik's daughter* but actually it wasn't and yanah is vacationing in pinas. she insisted on buying a gift for her but good thing buru was very convincing hehehe... faye and ffg almost bumped into them at the bus stop in lucky plaza, mareng faye and ffg just backed out and rode on a different bus.

it was really a nice get together party and we were all so excited and happy for the coming of the new addition in the kid's group. to ati twix and buru, we're all wishing for the best!

surprise story #1

december1 was ate vi's birthday so some of our friends and i planned to give her a surprise cake blowing session at the pantry on nov.30 meryenda. jill and i went down to buy a cake at swensens but before that, i asked ate vi where i can buy disposable plates,spoon and fork. the lady had no idea that we're suppose to use them for the cake hehehe.. i had no choice but to ask her becoz she's the only person in the office who has them. good thing melvin was able to get some supplies from somewhere else.

on our way back from swensens, we met kiko *ate vi's boyfriend* in the lobby then they proceeded to the pantry to prepare. i went to fetch ate vi and grace. good thing their bosses were in a meeting so the timing was perfect! when we were approaching the pantry, ate vi thought kiko was there on our floor to do some fix on roy's pc. she then realized when we opened the cake box that we were celebrating for her birthday. she was terribly surprised and was speechless hehehe.. happy birthday ate vi! =)

ate vi and kiko...sweet!

ate vi, me and grace *mga walang magawa*

5 things tag

Tagged by ati twix =)

5 things found in my bag
- wallet
- keys
- lip gloss
- sign pen
- White Flower *ako din ati meron hehe*

5 things found in my wallet
- credit card
- pictures
- receipts
- atm cards
- sss id/philhealth id

5 things found in my room
- tv
- computer desktop
- bed
- cabinet
- lampshade

5 things i’ve always wanted to do
- to get that wonderful euro tour with our family
- to teach in a school
- learn to swim then dive and snorkle
- get inside a real castle in scotland or switzerland
- cook and bake in my own nice kitchen

5 things i’m currently into
- blogging
- yoga
- trying to finish tv series and movie backlogs
- cooking
- a multitasking mother, wife, daughter and programmer

5 people to tag for this
- carola
- kuya david
- cupie bernskie
- tracy
- len oliver

welcoming a break

Last Saturday, Nov. 24, our friend Ulrik has organized an event in The Arena at Clarke Quay. Out of no choice, he asked me to help in hosting few bit parts of the show. Our friends, Hani, Eram and Ami also helped Ulrik in the registration and selling out of show tickets. We arrived around 3pm on the venue then the show started around 4pm. There were lots of pinoy bands who graced the event and they really performed well. Among the band included was Ulrik’s group, Quiverpool... he was the drummer. My portion came before their set, I introduced one of the contestants in the 50 most gorgeous people here in SG. Her name is Jacyln Chan. She was there to promote herself and gather some votes from the audience. All I can say is that she’s smart and nice and beautiful. I got the chance to know her more backstage and after presenting her to the audience, we had some picture taking. There were also some invited models for the PinoyCSers members shoot. The ladies helped me hand out the prizes for the raffle draw and congratulating the stars of the night. It was pure music and fun all night.

After the show, we had dinner at Boat Quay. Finally, we had our chance for some peace and quiet. We had a delicious beef hotplate, baby kailan veggies, fried calamari and chicken ala max hehehe! We reviewed the event and planned some things to do in the next few weeks. All in all, it was a fun night, and the break was very refreshing. I miss hanging out with my friends. I'm very thankful for dadi's presence, it made the night much more fun and easy. He was so supportive that night and I know that he also enjoyed taking pictures.

at the stage with the models

backstage

at the vip lounge

at the registration booth

*from left to right* esther, naomi, natasha, jacyln and moi

addiction

i thought i'll get over it. it's like one of those feelings that when you already tried and reached the peak, you just wanted to stop and get on with your life normally as it was. but i was wrong, i just caught myself doing it again and again even if i had already finished one session. i started slow, to feel the moves and the right motivation. then at times, there comes the frustration of not getting it then you decide to do it more and more. afterwards, you attain the ultimate end! and you've won! but you can't get enough of it... so you do it one more time. i can't stop myself from doing it at the office or even at home. i try to fight back the temptation, but my fingers just itch to get on with it.

hirap talaga magpigil sa paglaro ng solitaire!

Finally!

After 3months of deciding which design of chuck taylor to buy and postponing it until we finalize what we wanted, we bought our own pairs of converse sneakers! Yahooo!!! Originally, I wanted to buy a pair of mine back in Manila last march when we had our vacation. When we got back here in SG, dadi and I decided to get ourselves a pair with the same design that would be nice for both of us. So here they are… =)

I’ve been trying to avoid the inevitable, trying to delay what is supposed to be. I faced it, alas! It carved a mark in my heart and soul. And now I’m so lost and confused. I’m trying my best to be a better person... to be a loving wife, a doting mother, a responsible daughter, a reliable sister, an objective friend, a hardworking employee, a just member of the society. Does one really have to carry the task and burden of such? I’m asking for more patience, guidance and counsel, of love and understanding, of hope that eventually things will get better. Enough of the leaping out of faith, I’ll retire myself for what is to come. Who knows if I can get back the urge to fight back again and conquer the odds, but for now, I’m just tired. I’ve been hiding and fighting too much, and I’m missing a lot.

Awed

The other night while I was putting my little boys to sleep, Nixon suddenly asked if he could pray first before sleeping. I was astounded and caught off guard. I’m not prepared what to say while guiding him to his prayer. But suddenly he started reciting the Lord’s prayer (Our Father…), the Hail Mary and Glory be. I didn’t say anything after he finished. He said goodnight and I answered back a sweet goodnight to him. Then I smiled and said a thank you to God. My son is really growing fast. He’s now 5years old… and I’m one proud parent.

By the way, he also knows how to look at the time on our wall clock. =)

the new...

me...


dadi...


nixon...


noah...


and my new fone...hihihi!

latest

after coming back from my pinas vacation, i was immediately rolled in to another project in sgx. my other project was in UAT (user acceptance testing) phase so the ball was with the users. we were waiting for feedback and approval. the new project entails more program changes and cumbersome tasks since we were assigned to make official documentations as well. the worst part was that i got sick with tonsilitis for a week so my performance was not at its peak.

we had a small celebration for blessie's birthday at surfNturf in suntec. we also helped faye and rommel moved out from their condo. we met some friends and had lunch to welcome them here in sg. i went back to my yoga classes just last week.

blessie's birthday celeb @surfNturf




the best thing that happened lately was that i had been pronounced by our company as a permanent staff after 4months of my probationary period. yiippee! it's nice to enjoy the perks and of course it would mean assurance somehow for our future here in sg.

back in sg

after a week, my mom and sis were scheduled for a one week visit here in sg. my mom missed our kids so much. we visited the merlion because last time they were here, they weren't able to go there and have pictures taken near the merlion itself. my mom and sis went around sg by themselves and joined us for dinner sometimes during week days. dadi and i weren't able to take our leaves anymore but we tried to take them out after office.

we had lunch at no signboard in vivo city during the weekend, it was also our 1st time to dine there. cereal prawn was really great and abalone with veggies. the chili crab was very spicy and the fried rice was terrific. we had picture takings and the kids played in the playground even with the scorching heat. then we proceeded to chinatown for some coffee and visit. good thing the moon festival was around so the place was crowded with tourist and lots of decorations were present.

they left on a monday and as usual, my mom was very sad to leave her apos behind. she was begging us to come home on christmas. well hopefully we'd still be able to get cheap tickets this late. we'll see...

kainiz experience sa manila

one of my reasons kaya ako umuwi sa manila ay para mapalitan ang surname ni nixon. iniisip ko na sana payagan nila ko kahit ako lang maglakad ng papers. di naman kasi kabisado ng information kung tinatanong ko over the fone ung mga dapat gawin so might as well go there personally para malaman ko. i called the manila city hall to verify if they're going to get the original copies of the birth certificate and marriage license. oo daw kailangan nila kunin para may sarili din silang copy kaya nung wednesday mismo ng hapon, nagpunta kami sa NSO quezon ave. dati dun lang pupunta kung gusto mo lang magrequest ng copy. aba pagdating namin dun, wala na at kailangan na kami pumunta sa east ave branch. pagdating namin dun, buti na lang walang masyadong tao pero kakaiba talaga pila system sa atin. the following day ng 11am pa marerelease ung mga papers so iniba ko sked ko. sa umaga na lang ako pumunta sa dentist para sa hapon, pagkakuha nung papers, direcho na kami sa manila city hall.

sa manila city hall nagsimula kalbaryo ko. syempre may pila at pagkatapos ko naghintay ng 30minutes, sinabi sa kin ng legal assistant na dapat daw local copy ng birth certificate ung ipapasa, di daw ung authenticated copy. aba nagulat ako dahil ultimately, pinaka legal ang authenticated copy dahil galing pa to ng NSO at ginagamit pag kukuha ka ng passport. ayaw nila, kailangan daw talaga un local copy na nirerelease pagkapanganak ng bata na binibigay sa ospital. di ko nadala un kaya sabi ng ale, kuha na lang daw ako muna dun. kinabukasan ng umaga pwede na daw makuha at balik ako sa kanya. sinabi ko ung case ko na ako lang magisa andun para magasikaso pero unahin ko daw muna pagkuha nung birth cert, tsaka na lang un susunod.

the following day, friday, nakuha na namin ng umaga un birth cert. buti maikli pila kaya sandali lang ako naghintay. pagdating dun ulit sa legal assistant sabi nya schedule for interview daw kami mag-asawa. sabi ko nga sa kanya kahapon na ako lang mag-isa. ayun di daw pwede. araykupu! akala ko naman ok na, biglang kailangan pa daw ng affidavit of legitimacy from phil. embassy sg tapos papa-authenticate sa DFA sa pinas bago ipapasa ulit sa kanila. manang naman! sana sinabi mo na lang sa kin kahapon para di na lng ako nagbayad ulit para kumuha nung local copy at di nasayang oras namin bumalik dun kundi din naman pala maaayos. haaaayyyyy!!! gobyerno nga naman talaga naten! pano ba tayo aasenso nyan!? pambihira!

back home

i was able to get a leave from office last minute to attend my kumareng faye and rommel's wedding in pinas on sept1. i booked my tickets on the 1st week of august, sure thing, ticket prices were soaring high even for budget airlines. so i just took jetstar going to manila then cebupac to flyback to sg. i was really excited to go back home after some few months and its an experience to fly alone. i was not really happy leaving dadi and the kids behind but its way over our budget if everybody comes along. besides, we won't be able to bring the kids to the wedding coz its an adults affair and nixon's school is still up until aug31.

aug29, my flight to manila was 7.50am. dadi was kind enough to take me to the airport. we had a quick breakfast after checking in then i headed to the boarding area. the experience wasn't that bad (i really hate flying). i was able to get a little nap and the middle seat wasn't occupied so there was more space to move. after the plane landed, i got out, met my mom and sis and we walked all the way out of the airport to get a cab.

at home we had lunch together then proceeded to my dentist afterwards. unfortunately his clinic is closed on wednesdays so we just went to NSO office in east avenue. i really hated how our government system works out to serve our people but thats another story i'm going to write about in my blog. we just settled going to sm north edsa by that afternoon til evening to buy some stuffs i needed to bring back to sg.

the next day i went to my dentist early in the morning. berna, my mom and i went to have lunch at jollibee then proceeded to manila city hall. from there, my mom left us to hear mass at st. jude while berna and i proceeded to glorieta to meet my other sis grace and her boyfriend aljo. i went around landmark first to buy my evening bag and some yoga pants and of course my automatic umbrella hehe. aljo treated us to gerry's grill bcoz he got promoted then berna left afterwards to be with her friends while grace, aljo and i catched a movie, a love story hehehe. it was nice and exciting bcoz its been a very long time since i was able to watch a tagalog movie in manila.

friday, i woke up early again to go back to manila city hall (for nothing gggggrrrrrr). my mom and i went to hear friday mass at quiapo then went home for lunch. blessie and i met at megamall to have our nails done and go malling. we met with faye who was relaxing herself at ricky reyes salon. i must say that megamall had flourished into a more sightful experience than before. so i'm happy again to be back there. blessie and i parted our ways early bcoz she has to meet with her friends and i had to get back home to rest. unfortunately i got lost on my way home. i took the mrt and i thought that getting off at north station would be hard since the puv's there are stationed farther. i jumped out to quezon ave instead. but there were no more cabs waiting on the exit so i was left with no option other than to go to sm north edsa and have my mom pick me up from there.

sept1, i went to my dentist early in the morning to get my retainers then proceeded to david's salon in trinoma for my hair and makeup. i met up with kati who had her eyebrows threaded and had her hair done also. we went back to my place to change our clothes then hailed a cab to go to san sebastian church. luckily we were accompanied by my mom and bro so we didn't lose our way and traffic was not bad so we came in early. we met up with blessie and her sis debbie. i had a little chat with annie, a housemate of faye who's living in US with her hubby and son. the ceremony started on time, i was the reader during the mass so i was able to see everything up close. it was nice to watch rommel crying while faye was doing her bridal march..aaww a very touching sight. the reception was held at wack wack golf and country club in san juan. food was great and everyone enjoyed themselves.

the following day, i heared mass with my family and we had lunch at chef d angelo's in trinoma. i did some last minute shopping then we went home afterwards. my sis grace and aljo visited me that night before i leave for sg. come monday i fixed my things and had few more moments with my mom then they accompanied me to NAIA. it was kinda tearful actually when we were inside the cab. who knows when i can come back to manila again. but it was really refreshing to take a break and visit everyone back home.

dadi's birthday

before anything else, i'd like to greet my dadi rak a very happy birthday! we celebrated it at new york new york cafe in one raffles link after office. i made reservations and asked for a mini cake for him to blow a candle. we were so stuffed with baby back ribs and quarter chicken pasta... yum! i gave him a very nice dog tag necklace that i knew he really liked to have. after that we watched a movie at plaza singapura. it was the 3rd installment for jason bourne's life story, the bourne ultimatum.

it was plain and simple fun...the way we used to celebrate our birthdays back in pinas. its a breather and refresher for both of us. i'm glad dadi loved his day. i enjoyed it as well. =)

highs and lows

i've been attending yoga classes lately, i think for about a month now. so far, the best thing i was able to conquer was drinking sodas (a.k.a coke). its also a good way to sweat, i never knew that it's helpful to my perspiration glands. i gave up on gyms because it gets boring after some time and the fact that i don't sweat out during sessions. i have also been able to spend some time with my friends blessie, faye, sheryl and ethel. i've gained new ones as well... our pinay consultant mae, then there's dholly and eloisa.

the downside is dadi and i don't get to share so much time anymore because we don't go home together during my yoga days. he also has his jogging regime as he has gained an inclination to marathons. it started last july with a 5km fun run courtesy of his officemate and now he joined a 12km marathon for august 26. so our schedules hardly meet whenever i have my yoga or he has his jogging preparation sked.

i think right now dadi is very comfortable with his physique. most of our friends said that he lost a lot of weight. i'm not too sure about mine hehe... i guess mine would take a little while for results to start popping. but if it wasn't for faye's upcoming wedding, i think i won't really be interested attending yoga. but i realized that it helped me alot in dealing with my weight problems. =)

p.s. i haven't still made up my mind about harry potter hehe..

welcome to the world kenita =)

congratulations to our friends katrina and ken for a beautiful bouncing 8lbs baby girl. her name, kirstin kayleigh kiunisala (kkk diba ang kulet?)... katipunera for short hehehe

chatting with nixon

dadi: hey nixon, what do you want to be when you grow up?

nixon: i want to be able to reach number 10. *note: our hdb flat is on the 8th floor, nixon likes to press the elevator buttons. basta addict sya pumindot ng elevator.*

dadi: no, what i mean is when you finish school, what kind of work do you want to do? you want to be a pilot? the one who flies the airplanes and helicopters?

nixon: hmmm i don't think i want to be a pilot.

dadi: why??!

nixon: because i don't want to be away from my family!

oo nga naman, how sweet diba? eto pa, let's continue with the conversation...

dadi: ahh ok *smiles and looks at me*. how about an engineer or architect? you know they are the ones making the buildings and houses.

nixon: but i don't want to carry heavy blocks. *orayt!*

then there's this one night when we were walking at a 7-11 store, i saw some marshmallows and asked nixon if he liked some MARSHMALLOWS.

nixon: it's not marshmAllows... it's marshmEllows! *ayun dapat pala slang*

another scene where nixon saw me wearing my eyeglasses...

nixon: mami, why are you wearing those spectacles?

duh??! anak where did you get your vocabularies?! parang dejavu nung what color is this and he answered purple, pwede namang violet na lng diba? hahahahaha!!!

ayun lang, kids can sometimes be so fascinating while growing up.
=)

blog hopping

today was one of those idle days in the office. there was supposed to be a testing using my laptop but my office mate was out doing his other project so i was left with reading some training materials for the other upcoming projects. the best side of this is having internet access *hoorraayy! bless the cyberspace technology*.

so i was reading through my pile of mails with my other yahoo account and a message from multiply updates gave me an interest. there was a link for kc concepcion's account. i got interested so i clicked on the link and i enjoyed reading her entries and looking at the pictures. though some words are in french *i think*, still i was mighty proud of that gal...why? i was initially expecting a high profiled blogsite in pure english contents, but what i read were entries spoken from the heart containing words of our native tongue. and her entries were really life as it is happening to her, not any bragging account of fashion and high society rubbish or gimiks that 'normal' society people like us only dream about. it was so nice of her to share humbly some of the places she's been to and some experiences she has encountered. so i decided to add her to my list of blogfriendness.

*parang nahiya tuloy ako at gusto ko na din mag-add ng tagalog words dito paminsan minsan when i feel like it nyahahaha*

another nice find was the blogsite of a good friend who was supposed to be my gownmaker if our wedding would have pushed through. veluz reyes, aka mama veluz as i fondly called her, just recently updated her blogsite *thank goodness*. i was really amazed at her artwork gown designs that really shows off the beauty and uniqueness of each of her brides. i was also laughing through some narrations of her experiences with the different brides she had. the latest entry i read was really funny, i could just imagine how much patience she has within her powers to endure the stress hahahaha...

my take on harry

i'm definitely a big fan of jk rowling's harry potter series. having read the first four books for 3x already and the fifth and sixth book 2x is an evidence that i don't tire myself reading it all over again. the first book's movie was shown in pinas last nov.1 of 2005. i actually gave birth to my eldest on oct.25 2005 and went to the movie house at megamall on the 1st showing day just to watch it with dadi niño. hehe fanatic talaga... we even have a dvd collection of the movies shown except for the 5th installment which is not out in the market yet.

the latest movie, order of the phoenix, was admittedly quite boring but was not that bad. i myself didn't really enjoyed reading the book itself so much because it had so many pages and so many side stories. i guess we can't blame the book for being written that way because rowling was just doing justice to each character in harry potter's life, why they turned out to be good wizards and some into villains. some might not really appreciate the movie due to the fact that there were less animations and off-the-seats-wow experience like we had during the 4th movie. harry was most of the time 'angry' at book 5, well practically because of his loss (sirius) and that most people would not believe him that voldemort is back. more agravatingly, the so-called wanna-be-popular and miss-know-it-all professor umbridge was on the scene exploiting the power handed to her by the ministry to take charge of hogwarts.

now that the last installment to the harry potter series book is out in the market, i'm not sure if i want to join the bandwagon and buy the book. somehow i have reservations because it would mean the end... the end of waiting what's next and anticipating more actions and adventures. it was how i felt when i had to buy the last book for the shopaholic series of sophie kinsella. i really really loved those books that i'm willing to read them again by end of this year.

maybe it's just the feeling of elatedness whenever harry vanquishes the evil that makes it more exciting. and how friends would really stick up with you come what may. and how our emotions and feelings for our loved ones suffer also when we're in pain so its best that we move away from them. it's still human nature that is evident even in the magical world. and it was nice that rowling didn't concentrate so much on the divinities and powers beyond humans.

as for the deathly hallows, well i still have to contemplate whether i'll just borrow a copy or get one myself or collect the books altogether or maybe wait for the completion of the movies... we'll see. i'll let you know my decision in time. =)

just a quick birthday greeting

hey hey friendly friends! just wanna greet each and everyone for this month's celebration...

roll call!

july 14 - edgardo 'jun' cruz

july 18 - roy of sgx

july 20 - oliver coloma

july 21 - pader lew dime

july 22 - weng micua

july 23 - raul of sgx

july 27 - rommel 'ffg' abdon

july 28 - cupie bernskie

to my friends, cheers to more fruitful years and blessed life ahead! =)
*don't forget your treats... and for those who already did, thank you very much hehehe!*

anniversary special

(pardon me for the long post)


until now i can't help but smile and laugh and be teary-eyed all at the same time whenever i reminisce our anniversary weekend. yeah, we had two days of celebration hehehe..i just want to share with you how we celebrated our 2nd year anniversary.

i finally decided to buy niño his favorite perfume. it's sentimental for both of us since it brought us together. well, i admit, i was so into 'his presence' whenever i remember that scent when he passes by. he emptied his perfume way back in pinas and haven't gotten around buying a new one since then. it's gss (great singapore sale), so we went to robinsons mall to see their offer. and i knew then that i have to buy it for him.

on july 5, thursday, i found a window of time to buy my gift for him. when i got there, the packaging that we liked, which includes the two miniature bottles, was out of stock. even the biggest size (125ml) wasn't available anymore. i decided to get the 75ml bottle and bought another one with a twist on the scent that has the 125ml bottle. good thing the sales guy found a separate miniature bottle in a pretty packaging and threw in some more freebies. so you could imagine how difficult it would be for me to hide all those things from him. i didn't have time to have them wrapped, i proceeded to our meeting place in suntec. niño was very surprised when i handed him his 'gifts'. his smile won't rub off hehe. he won't stop saying thank you until the next day.

our anniversary falls on a sunday, we decided to have our celebration on saturday, july 7, and have a simple dinner perhaps on sunday itself. we booked die hard 4 in plaza singapura for the 4pm show. initially, we had new york new york restaurant in mind for our dinner but after the movie, we were starved and we don't want to travel to get there only to find ourselves still on queue after an hour or so. we went to carl's jr instead and ate a different meal for a change. we agreed to have dinner at new york new york the following evening or some other days.

the night was still young so we went bag hunting on the malls along orchard road. actually i have been checking on an esprit bag but was still looking for other designs. after the pain of walking, niño finally blurted out that i should just buy the bag that i originally wanted. it was getting late then so i think it's better i heed to his request before he changes his mind hehe. i also got myself an 'everyday sandals' which i told him i would cut from my monthly allowance. while on our way home, he asked if he was able to meet the price of the gift that i gave him and i said, you're halfway there (this line would be the understatement of the year after you finish reading this blog entry). we got home and watched some few episodes of lost and dozed off. but at the stroke of midnight, we both greeted each other happy anniversary.


on the day itself...

sunday july 8, we allowed tita juvs to have her day off. we heard mass at 11am but before that, a delivery of a dozen roses knocked on our door and niño gave it to me while i was dressing up. i was so surprised and happy. they were beautiful scarlet red american roses and the petals were so velvetty. in the afternoon, he reminded me that we'll have dinner that night but actually i wasn't in the mood coz of the gloomy weather. he took a bath and i tended to the kids. tita juvs arrived shortly after niño finished so i went in to bathe.

when i got into the room, i was surprised to see niño putting on slacks and polo. i was pressured to find a decent dress to fit in and he kept asking me to hurry up. i was getting pissed that time coz i was already perspiring. so i wore something nice and we went out. inside the mrt he asked me if we could pass by a place he'd like to see and shoot some pictures... i agreed. we got off at city hall mrt and walked into raffles shopping mall and passed through a corridor. then we were inside the stamford swissotel. we got into the elevator and went all the way up to the 70th floor.

the view was breathtaking... i was in awe. we took some pictures and had few chitchats with the hotel guests. after a while, i asked him if we were already leaving and he told me no because we're going to have our dinner there. OMIGOSH i was speechless for a while then i composed myself after some time. he had a reservation in a window seat corner of the equinox restaurant and the view again was stunning. we were served with port wine and some bread and butter. our appetizers came in, a sumptuous half dozen of oysters and watermelon salad with goat cheese. it taste different from the usual food we have but it was delighting. our main dish was salmon with shitake mushroom for me, and veggie dish for niño. after that i excused myself and went to the ladies' room.

when i came back, there was a wrapped box with a ribbon on my table side. i thought that it was a complimentary gift from the restaurant. but when i read the card tag, my hands shaked and i was beginning to feel that any moment, my tears will just trickle down. i opened it... and it was the guess watch i've been eyeing for two months already. so i cried and kept saying omigosh omigosh this ain't happening. i was smiling so madly that the corners of my lips were almost touching my ears and felt my tears roll down on my cheeks as well. it was a priceless moment, and i couldn't have asked for more.

(back track on the story of the watch)

i initially got attracted with the heart-shaped design guess watch when i saw it on a billboard at tangs department store. i walked into the place and searched for it and viewed it in person. it was two-toned silver and gold color, i showed it to niño that time.

after a while, i was beginning to get so obsessed with it that everytime we passed by a guess shop, i would always take a peek at their watch collections. i looked at the tag price and checked if the price has dropped already hehehe.. it even happened once that i bumped my head on the display window in raffles shopping mall, with another woman peeking through the glass. it was so damn hard hit that i felt my world wiggle a few seconds. the woman catched my gaze and said a loud, 'OUCHE!', while staring at me. i was so embarassed! niño kept to himself and after the woman left, he gave in to his bursting laughter. (nyahahaha i'm sure you're doing the same thing right now... stop!)

sad to say, that wasn't the first time (hrrmmpphh!). i bumped into the window in another department store while peeking (again) on the guess watch. this time by myself only without any spectators (whew!). and for the third time (geez i know it's pathetic already) after peeking again back on the same window where i first hit my head. (so you could just imagine how much i wanted it bwahahahaha). this time i was already having my eyes on a different design, it was chainlike gold and copper. the initial heart-shaped two-toned watch design that i liked was out of stock already for most stores (so sad).

(fast forward to our dinner date)

niño asked me if i liked his gift..well of course i answered a big YES! imagine, i wasn't expecting that he was still able to find the original design that i liked. and the most touching part is knowing how much effort he has put into making this wonderful event very special. he made me feel so loved and cared for. i never thought he'd go an extra mile for me...and i'm very thankful to him.

i asked him why he bought that design when i was already eyeing a new design lately. he answered, "we have lots of memories together with that watch and i knew how much you wanted it.". yeah i could just imagine myself everytime i looked at the time, i would laugh at the thought of how it ended up on my wrist. =)