Intricate Thoughts

I’m Falling….

2012-02-10T10:53:00.003+01:00

You read it on magazines, you hear from friends stories, you even watch it on movies and TV series, yep, from all sorts of media, you learn of love stories gone boring, bearable, tedious, and dull. Some couples slip through to a stage where they find there relationship flat-lining into a monotonous routine that they settle for being comfortable and completely forget the sparkle that they used to have. They have long lost the butterflies fluttering in their stomachs each time they are in each other’s company.

After 5 years of wedded bliss and 10 years of being together, I’m so grateful that I can say that after all this years, my honey never fails to make me fall head-over-heels in love with him every single day. I believe that is the secret of our relationship and how we break tedium. It doesn’t happen without effort but we just love doing stuff for each other that’s why it doesn’t seem like any effort at all.

I’m also blessed with a husband who is such a hopeless romantic, but also as important as the grand gestures, he is also the type of guy whose small actions tend to make you feel really loved and cared for and pleasantly surprised.

I never really paid attention to it but this morning, I can’t help but smile as I open my bag and found my wallet inside. You see, last night, I took my wallet out of my bag and took it upstairs to the office desk and completely forgot it there. This morning, while on my way to work, I remembered and I panicked that I forgot my wallet. But, as I open my bag, my wallet magically appeared inside. That is just how my honey is, he always takes care of me and makes sure that I’m ok.

The other day, while I was on my way home, he called me up and said, “hey honey, do you want to go to the city centre?” so I asked, “why do you want to go there together with Bee to meet up?” to which he replied “no, I was thinking you can have a ‘me’ time and I’ll take care of Bee.” Isn’t he just the sweetest thing????

I cannot be grateful enough to have a hubby such as my honey. He never fails to surprise me, to support me and to make me feel secure. More than that, through the big and small actions, he never fails to make me feel loved! Thank God for him.

Through thick & thick(er)

2012-02-02T16:29:00.002+01:00

I have never really stopped to think of how blessed I am when it comes to friends. Today was like a bolt of lightning, hitting me smack in the face making me realize how truly rich I am with wonderful, gracious, loving and most of all funny friends. No, there was no big or life changing event that happened, it was as simple as reading an FB post from one of the closest friends I have ever had (who I now realize I truly and utterly miss!) about something as trifling as a song and a cassette tape (OMG, we’re still talking about cassette tapes, how ancient are we?!?), which by the way is still missing after 10 years! Reading that post made me realize how wonderful those times were and how I’m going to cherish those memories forever (elk! another cliché – but its really true!).

I, for one, am not the type of person who collects friends by the dozen, I’m the sort who doesn’t have a lot but the ones that I keep are treasures, gems whose worth can never be equalled. And maybe because of the same FB post that I’ve read which triggered this realization, I am currently missing a particular group of friends. My college kadas, The Goddesses and Fidel. Oh, we were such a wacky bunch!

I vaguely recall how we bumped into each other, some of them I’ve met on my first year in the University, still neneng and totoy looking. But our friendship and group solidified on our sophomore year. We laughed and cried together, we failed and triumphed together. I know we will all smile each time we think about that afternoon in the manggahan when one of them took my ID as they always do and ran with it and collided with a coconut tree smack in the face! (haaay Ms. Hum!) What about those nights (and overnights) we spent while we were finishing our thesis. And who could forget Ms. Jollibee and her smile (I wonder how she is by the way). Oh, and what about those nights when we stood vigil in front of the VPs office to fight and claim the cum (and magna for Ms. Hum) laude medals that we almost lost due to technicality.

We may have chosen our own paths in life now, we may have different priorities as before. Months or even years may fly without us seeing each other, we may have gained (I doubt if anyone lost) a couple of pounds or so and we may now have our own families or about to go there, but I know in my heart we know that the bond of friendship remains. And no matter how much more time passed by, we’ll always be the Goddesses and Fidel.

Goddesses and Fidel, reunion in Paris na!!!!

Thoughts on turning a year over 30

2012-01-27T12:35:00.002+01:00

I know it’s a couple of days late and the ship has sailed but hey I’m 31 for the rest of the year aren’t I, so might as well. When I was a kid I used to think of 30 as old! I couldn’t even begin thinking how ancient 31 would be. Back then, in my young mind, the thought of turning 31 is synonymous to the Mayan Prophecy, the end of life as I know it :D. How melodramatic right!

As melodramatic as I was as a child, looking back, I think my young self was absolutely right. As I look at my life, I think the moment I turned 30 and now 31, my life has changed so drastically and life as I have known it completely changed. The good thing though is that when I was I child, the fear of the unknown scared me that is why I thought, when I turned 31, the changes would be scary, horrific even! But now that I’m actually here, I realized that the metamorphosis that my life underwent is indeed hair-raising kind of scary but these changes are also profoundly amazing!

Don’t get me wrong, my teen years were good, my twenties, even better! Through these years, I have learned a lot, experienced life, learned how to love and be loved, made tough decisions that shaped my life as it is now, earned friends whom I will keep to my death bed, married my prince and has been bestowed with a baby who is part angel and part princess. During the past three decades, I have travelled, I have explored, I have lived my life. So indeed the past three decades have been a blast. But as great as the past years were and as blessed as I have become, I know my God is not yet done with me and he has so much more in store. Now, as I turn a year over 30, I know that much more exciting things are waiting for me, more wonderful places be explored, more brilliant decisions to be made, and more astonishing blessings to be received. As I start another chapter in life, I know and I am looking forward to living my life, this time not only for myself but also for the family that my honey and I are building. I am so eager to reap the rewards of the past and invest for our future.

There is only one word I could think of as I turn another leaf in my life… Thrilled! I’m so thrilled to journey 31.

The Boutique Bed & Breakfast

2012-01-24T17:11:00.001+01:00

A secluded escape that promises luxury intertwined with comfort sprinkled with liberal dashes of romance in a city not to far from the Metro, it was a promise too tempting to resist.

I’ve read mixed reviews about this quaint bed and breakfast and I’ve been curious for ages that is why, since we are in the Philippines for our 123rd monthsary, I’ve decided to surprise honey with a little trip to Tagaytay. I’ve booked the I Lust room by calling them, it was quite easy, just gave them my credit card number and voila! I’ve secured a night’s stay at their best room. I’ve also availed of their birthday package, this package includes a cake, candles, wine, balloons and rose petals to be scattered in your room. Very nice touch!

The B&B was quite easy to find, we arrived just before dinner. We went to the small room just at the back of the reception to choose the scents that we want for the room and for our toiletries. After sniffing fragrances and making our choices, we were taken to our designated room, the I Lust room. The first thought that went to my head was, “This is it?” Don’t get me wrong, it’s a really pretty room with an inviting king-sized bed at the centre topped with a gazillion pillows. It’s just that the expectation for this room has been so hyped up that I was looking forward to something more.

After dropping off our bags, we went downstairs to have dinner in the Hawaiian Barbeque and that was a big hit, hubby loved the fall-off the bone ribs, it’s a definite must try when you’re in the area. We forgot something in the room (I forgot what it was now) and hubby was about to get up to go back in the room to get it. Good thing I remembered that some hotel staff would be there arranging our room so I convinced honey to forget it, whew!

I pulled off the surprise, honey had no idea about it, he was very surprised when we entered our room and there candles every where and petals were scattered on the floor. The birthday package was really worth the penny.

The room in my opinion is a totally different matter all together. For starters it was a bit small, and I thought that the tub would be in a bathroom with a window that overlooks Taal, instead it was in one corner of the room opposite the bathroom. I’m not sure but there something about it that I find off. Maybe it was the fact that when later during that night after I got up from enjoying a hot bath, the cold air from the aircon (which was directly opposite the tub) gave me shivers, LOL! I also found the balcony too small; so small that during breakfast the following morning, the service trays were inside the room coz the balcony can barely accommodate the table and two chairs were we had our breakfast. Apart from being small, I felt that the concept of the room wasn’t translated enough. I kept on thinking, what made this room the I Lust room, there was no defining aspect, there was nothing in the room that suggests lust or passion (well apart from the book that was under the shelf which was about love and sex).

As part of the room rate, the B&B also offers welcome drinks and a forgettable plate of espasol, some goodies were also found in the room (I wasn’t too thrilled about these either, it was a very small bottle of shing-a-ling and another very small bottle of hard yema). The room rate also include a mid night snack of hot choco and churros.

The following morning, we were served a Filipino breakfast, I ordered Tapa and honey ordered tocino, it was nothing special really, but the nice view made the breakfast more special.

I have mixed feelings over the Boutique. I really admire the plan, the idea is really promising and I believe that the potential could be great. I believe the exact words I told honey is that The Boutique’s concept is superb down to the room ideas to the service included in the rates of the rooms but the execution falls short.

So will I go back? Honey liked it enough to think of going back, but I told him, I didn’t feel that it was good value for money and I’d be able to get the same or even more for less.

Final Destination 5

2011-09-06T10:36:00.001+02:00

Out of the blue, honey just emailed me yesterday saying, “let’s go on a date tonight” and honestly, I was thinking the very same thing. I love it how he can read my thoughts even when we are in our own offices nonetheless.

So we started planning and we wanted to watch a movie. Since we were disappointed with the last movie we saw, we are hoping that this time around it would be better. We decided that if we make it to the cinema by 18:50 we’ll watch Harry Potter again, but if not we’ll go for Final Destination 5.

Honey was stuck in a meeting in the afternoon so Final Destination 5 it was. The plot was more or less the same as the first 4 movies. Someone would have a vision that they will all die and he would freak out and save some of the people from the disaster that was about to happen that would have killed all/most of them. Although the plot was the same old one the movie was surprisingly entertaining. Think violent, gruesome, gory and gross. But because the scenes were so horrific and bloodthirsty, it was a little bit funny. I’m still impressed by the writer though, because although the plot is still the same, the details on each scene on how they would take each character out was really well thought off. Being the 5th instalment, I would have thought that by now the writers would have exhausted all possible means to create a ghastly way of killing off each character but they still managed to surprise me.

This movie is definitely not for kids, and needless to say this is not a movie that vies for awards or anything like that, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

Cowboys and Aliens Review

2011-09-02T13:34:00.004+02:00

This week’s date night, honey and I were trying to decide which movie to watch. As I browse through the schedule of movies, I was toying with three possible options. I was deciding whether we should see Final Destination 5, Harry Potter (I really want to watch it again!) and Cowboys and Aliens. A spark of memory flashed through my head as I recall the preview of Cowboys and Aliens when we were last in the cinema. I got excited coz the preview hinted of a very promising movie. You have James Bond and Indiana Jones in one film, what more can you ask for in a flick?

The film starts with a man waking up in the middle of a desert not knowing who he was, how he got there and where he was going. He had to defend himself against several cowboys, go to a village, again crush his fists on some more cowboy faces then Aliens appear in the skies and take some of the village people.

Now this is where we started to get disappointed with the movie. The movie started to move at such as pace that even a turtle carrying a backpack on top of its hard-humped back would still outrun it. At some point honey looked at me and said… “I’m bored.” LOL! Seriously, could the movie progress any slower?

After about an hour into the film, it did start to pick up the pace, but the lull that you have to endure before you get to the good stuff is a little bit too much.

Then I realized, this is the second Harrison Ford movie that we’ve seen that bored us to the point of slumber. The last movie of his that we’ve seen was the last Indiana Jones film. I kid you not I was asleep almost two thirds of the entire movie. This time it was honey’s turn to be rocked to sleep.

I think, next time Harrison Ford has a movie, we’ll really think twice, even thrice if we’re going to see it.

You’ve got Talent

2011-08-24T13:41:00.002+02:00

(via)

Our company has a campaign about talents and stuff, I’m not really sure about the mechanics but from what my officemate told me you have to register your talent and share it with the rest of your colleagues. Initially, I thought it was all about singing and dancing or maybe even taking photos. But from what I’ve learned over lunch today, the scope of the talent search they were referring to goes far beyond that. Apparently, one of the talents registered is shopping around Amsterdam :D. Those people who want to subscribe to witness that talent first hand will be scheduled to go to Amsterdam sometime this week. I can’t discredit that, I do believe that is a talent. LOL!

After my colleague mentioned that, another of my lunch buddies faced me and this is how our discussion went.

Lunch buddy: Hey Christian, you should also register your talent!

Me: What talent is that talent that you’re suggesting I register?

Lunch buddy: Online shopping using the credit card of your Husband!

Toink! I couldn’t agree more, online shopping is a talent that needs to be honed constantly (to the utter delight of my honey, LOL), but I’m not ready to share that talent to everyone just yet. :D

The Rise of the Planet of the Apes

2011-08-19T10:27:00.001+02:00

My honey is such a sweetheart, he told me that no matter how busy we both get, we should always make time for each other and he suggested we fix a day of the week for our date night. He thought Thursday would be the best day so for a couple of months now we’ve been having our date nights no matter what.

Yesterday was Thursday again so it was date night for us. We planned to go to a movie, initially we were planning to see Green Lantern, but hubby arrived later than expected and we wanted to have dinner with Bee first so we ended up in settling for the Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

I’m glad we ended up watching this movie coz it was really entertaining. The plot was developed quite well. The story revolves around a scientist (James Franco) who is trying to develop a cure for alzheimers to help his father who is suffering from the ailment. He was testing the drug he was trying to develop on apes. The drug improved the intelligence of the ape massively, the ape had faculties almost that of a human. Little did the scientist know that the ape he was treating with the cure was pregnant and she passed on the effects of the cure to her baby.

The movie had all the ingredients of a good flick. It combines emotions, titillating scientific ideas, great special effects, a dash of action scenes and cute and adorable monkeys, what more can you ask for?

Honey and I really enjoyed the movie.

Geneva Switzerland

2011-08-18T12:39:00.001+02:00

Switzerland is known for its luxurious watches and breathtaking mountains, however, being the chocoholic that I am, it is surprising that Geneva has never been on my list of cities that I would want to visit since they are famous for their chocolates, among other things. So I was really thrilled that this year’s Couples for Christ European Conference was held in this city. This gave me an excuse to explore the city that I have overlooked for so long.

A warm and breezy summer day welcomed us to Geneva. The city is clean and quite modern. From the airport, we needed to take a bus to go to our hotel, which was to our pleasant surprise, free of charge. People are nice and very helpful.

After we checked in, the concierge of our hotel gave us trip tickets, he told us that we can use the public transportation for free our entire stay. Isn’t that a great deal.

One of the things that always fascinate me in a city is their architecture. I must say, I am partial to Gothic, Romanesque and Baroque architectures. That is one reason why I fell in love with Prague. The buildings in Geneva are more modern and looks quite new. After all, they are more famous for their ski resorts rather than their architecture. My favourite spot in Geneva is the lake. It’s so refreshing to look into the lake. We even explored the lake by taking boats. We aimlessly took several boats just to cover the entire lake. The cool breeze was such a welcome relief to the very warm day.

One of my favourite meals in Geneva was from a restaurant called Les Relais del entrecote. They serve steaks (as the name suggests). They only serve one kind of steak and they will just ask you how you want it done. The steak is split and served twice, I think so it won’t get cold, and you’ll get two portions of fries as well. The meat is perfectly seasoned, the sauce that comes with it is to die for and the fries are yummy, even Charlie loved it!

The word that stuck into my mind when after we’ve been to Geneva is “expensive”. I have lived in the Netherlands for quite some time now and a lot of people told me that this is an expensive city, but I already got used to it. I wonder how those people who told me Amsterdam is expensive if and when they visit Geneva would react. I was really surprised that the prices there are two or three times more than the prices in Amsterdam.

I’m sure we’re not coming back to Geneva anytime soon (as I’m still saving up for the watch I want to buy honey…. Maybe we’ll go back when I’m done saving :D) but it was a lovely city.

Charming city of Prague

2011-06-27T11:36:00.002+02:00

OMG! I’m so guilty of neglecting this blog for the longest time, it’s almost a crime!

Oh well, will really try to make amends *keeping my fingers cross*. Let me start making amends by blogging about our recent trip to one of the places I’ve been dying to visit for the longest time….. the charming city of Prague.

This trip was booked on impulse. I have a colleague who receives these notifications on all sorts of things they offer on discount prices and he told me he just booked a trip to Prague and its cheaper. Since we were supposed to go to Prague last year but it didn’t push through, I’ve been eyeing a chance to reschedule the trip and what better opportunity than a discounted trip. So after a quick call to honey, I asked my colleague to book us as well and we’ll all go together. However, after coming down from the exhilaration of booking a trip that we’ve been wanting to make, I’ve decided to look around and book on my own and realized that I could have booked it at the same price at better accommodations. Darn, that’s one mistake I’ll never commit again.

Prague and I started on the wrong foot. We arrived in Prague at around 9:45pm and we were at the hotel at around 10:30pm. The biggest mistake we have committed is not having dinner before the flight thinking that we can grab dinner when we arrive. Such a sorry mistake, although there were restaurants near by the hotel, they close at 10pm. We were starving! Bee started getting grumpy because it was a bit warm inside the room. It's not like its a dodgy hotel or something, its actually a part of a chain of hotels. Honey and I were so tempted to pack our bags and search for a better hotel but it was late, good thing soon enough it started to cool off. Honey was so hungry that he tried to scout for anything he can buy to eat outside but his efforts were futile, he returned empty handed. Bee was the only one who had dinner, good thing I brought some baby food for her for just in case situations. Combine hunger with discomfort, we were fuming, but now that I can look back it was so funny coz honey started to eat Bee’s cookies LOL!

Prague completely redeemed herself to us the following day. We went to the town square and it was just breathtaking. The city has so much to offer. Beautiful architecture, charming cobbled streets, historical castles and such a rich culture. We walked for 6 hours straight and at the end of our 1st day of exploring the city, our feet couldn’t stand another second but our eyes have never gazed on something so wonderful and our spirits were soaring.

1st of the many Glorious years to come

2011-02-11T14:00:00.004+01:00

I am really puzzled when I realized that I haven't even blogged about my little one's 1st birthday party. Being a first time mom and being someone who is always thrilled to organize a party, I have started whirling ideas in my head about Bee's party as early as February 2010 (her birthday was in November :D). I have specific ideas how I want the party to turnout. From start to finish, I tried to be as hands on as I can sans the many miles that separates me and the venue of the party.
I am so grateful that I have found a partner to create the dream party for my little one. Here is a supplier rating that I posted in a forum to for the details.

Charlize Jaeden's 1st Birthday
Date: November 20, 2010
Venue: Corinthian Gardens (South Hall)
Party Planner: Kathleen dela Merced (Hi5 Parties)
Caterer: Passion Cooks

I'll rate my suppliers na rin 5 being the highest 1 being the lowest rating

Venue (rating: 5): the venue was very nice, it has a high ceiling kaya maganda lagyan ng decors, very spacious, clean comfort rooms. It was a plus that we were the only party that day coz otherwise, with the glass walls, we would've seen everything that was happening in the next hall.

Party Planner/Stylist: Hi5 Parties - Kathleen dela Merced (rating: 5+++)
from the moment i started planning my baby's party, i already had a picture of what i want to transpire specially when it comes to decorations. I wanted it to be festive yet to be very classy at the same time. I've read before in some of our thread that there is a kind of PP who decorates parties in such a way na "mailagay lang" or malagyan lang ng maraming maraming decor" and there are those kinds of PP who carefully plans and executes so that every detail is coherent and the wow factor is not from the sheer volume of decors but from the quality. Kathleen is such the PP, i'm really very satisfied and more! Grabe talaga yung attention nya to details, and she is very hands-on, tapos she is very accomodating pa sa requests ko and she considers my comments. She is really a huge help specially for me who is a first time mom planning a party from abroad.

I love the backdrop, talagang pinag isipan, pati yung backdrop dun sa buffet and the design of the dessert buffet, oh pati yung entrance.... everything! ang galing talaga! I really got what i paid for and much much much more! Super love ko talaga si Kathleen! i'll recommend her to anyone.

Caterer - Passion Cooks (rating:5+) in the beginning of my party planning, i almost didn't get Passion cooks coz from the menu, hubby preferred the food of another caterer, that would have been a huge mistake, buti nalang naconvince ako ni Kathleen and ng mga reviews here in GT. super yummy ng food nila, and the presentation is awesome, added to that is the great customer service, very nice si Maja, very accommodating, when we had our food tasting nga she served us something that is not in our menu and when we liked it sabi nya gusto nyo ichange, pwede naman if you really want. ang bait! super!

Cake: Concept by Hi5 executed by Les Sucreries Rating (5): when Kathleen and I were discussing details for the party and she provided me the package, i asked for a cake upgrade coz i want the cake to really be one of the attraction during the party, and an attraction it really was. Galing galing ng les sucreries grabe! the flying fairies, the castle with blinking lights! wow talaga! and the cake was super moist and yummy, just the right sweetness!

Dessert Buffet - Sugar & Spice c/o Hi5 (rating 5+): I love that the dessert buffet was according the theme as well, it was very well executed and the kids really loved the treats!

Food Carts: c/o Hi5 (rating 3): we had fish balls, ice cream and corn dogs, i wasn't able to taste everything only the corn dogs which were super yummy! but i heard really good feedback from the guests. Actually it was hubby who commented on the presentation of the carts. It was served on tables just outside the hall, sabi lang ni hubby, he thought it would be like food carts talaga yun parang may booth, not on the table lang, para daw mas maka dagdag sa ambiance nung party. Next time daw sabihin ko na ilagay talaga sa mga carts at lagyan ng konting design din (talagang nagpplano na for next year ang stage daddy! lol).

Photographer - Richie dela Merced of fat boy studio (Rating:So far 5) The rating that i gave is partial coz i haven't received the finished product yet, so rating is for the quality of service that they gave, super nice si richie pati yung 2nd photog nya ang bait bait and ang sipag sipag nila, they never stopped taking pictures, sabi nga nung cousin ko "ang sipag nila ha bigla nalang silang sumusulpot" haha, first batch of pics na pinost nila sa FB are also great! I hope dun sa iba pang pics na hindi ko pa nakikita marami pang shots nung mga details ng party

Videographer Thor (rating 5++) - again the rating is for their service kasi wala pa naman akong narereceive na output. grabe super professional sila, ang aga aga nila sa venue, tapos super nice pa si Thor and Carmela

Photobooth Poof (Rating: 5++) - the staff manning the photobooth were really nice, they had a lot of great props, the quality of the prints were superb, ang cute ng mga bag tags, the leather guest book was awesome, need I say more? everything was great talaga sulit toh, everyone at the party loved this

Entertainment/Host Symond (Rating: 5) galing sya talaga, even the adults were very entertained. hindi corny mga jokes nya and very witty. Age appropriate din yung mga games nya and he kept the party lively at all times.

Outfit (2nd Party Dress ni baby, mommy's and daddy's)- Dan Cadiz (Rating 5+++) actually he was the one who made my sister's wedding gown and I was impressed with him kaya I recommended him to a friend who was also very happy with him kaya when i planned for my baby's party sabi ko i'll ask him make our outfits and hindi naman ako nadisappoint, he's very good, magaling sya sa bead works and very very nice pa, very reasonable pa ang price nya, sa itsura nung mga damit ang mura na nung quote nya sakin, uulit talaga ko sa kanya

Outfit (baptism dress and 1st party dress ni baby) Baby Fashionista (rating 5) - the dresses were really pretty and the details were great, un nga lang i specifically requested na i wanted the exact same wing na nandon sa picture sa site nila but hindi ganon ang binigay sa min, nonetheless ang ganda ganda ng mga dresses from them.

Hair and Make up - Archie Tolentino (Rating 5+++) galing nya talaga, he did my make up sa wedding ko and everyone liked it kaya sya ulit kinuha ko and just the same everyone complimented me on how i look during the party. tapos super early pa sya, sya pa nagsabi na agahan natin para just in case may kailangan ka asiksuhin hindi ka mashort sa time. bait bait bait pa. pati hair ni hubby inayos ayos pa nya.

The big 3-0

2011-01-22T00:01:00.000+01:00

(Via)

I know a lot of people fuzz about turning another year older and even more people lament the very moment when they will reach this big 3-0. I’m getting a flash back of a Friends’ episode where all of them turned 30 and Joey screams “why god, why?” LOL! Anyway I digress. Well, I’m not one of those people, coz I’ve always believed that another year added to your age is always a reason to celebrate, even more so, it’s a reason to be grateful!

Turning 30 is a huge milestone. I am truly thankful that I’ve been blessed with 30 wonderful and glorious years. My appreciation for these past years comes with a tinge of trepidation though. I deem that the only way I can even give back to my creator for all his wonderful blessings is to live my life to the fullest, and reaching this point in my life gives me the perfect opportunity to face my fear, that is to evaluate whether or not I have lived my life the way I think I should.

Even before the term “bucket list” has been coined by a movie, I have already created my very own list, several of them actually, one list I call “100 things to do before I turn 35”, another I call “My life Plan”, still there are others but these two are the most prominent and the ones I really try to keep track of. I do like to plan a lot, I can say that although I am not very organized with my stuff (thank God for a husband/boy toy who is borderline OC and loves to organizes my stuff for me, LOL!), I like to organize my future. Every year, before I celebrate my birthday, I go through my list and my life plan, just to get a feel of where I currently am and where I want to be.

Looking at my list reminds me of my priorities in life. It gives me an overview of where I want to go and how I want to get there. I am glad that as I browse through my list, I was able to tick a couple of items in there. I was also able to add a few more things to the ever progressing manuscript. I cherish this moments when I leaf through the pages of my life plan, coz after realizing that I’m slowly getting there, I get a sense of calm deep within me.

As I celebrate a high point in my life, and after taking a moment to step back and look at the life that I have lived so far, my fears have abated because I know that although I am far from being able to say that I have lived my life to the fullest, I’m on my way there. As I look back, I also can’t help but be overwhelmed by gratitude for in the past 30 years of my life, I have received multitudes of blessings from my daddy God, blessings that I don’t deserve but were given to me just because he is him, my merciful Father. Then there is my honey, I can’t even imagine living my life without him for he is the kindest, most loving and ever supportive husband one could ever hope for. Of course, my little angel, the little one whose mere smile can turn my world upside down. Finally, my family and friends, who are always there no matter what.

It was indeed a glorious 30 years, I wouldn’t have lived my life any other way. Thank you daddy God for these years, and I’m looking forward to the next years to come!

Project 101: Day 3

2010-12-30T09:56:00.002+01:00

I got worried this morning, I woke up late and Baby Bee wanted to cuddle so I wasn't able to get up and work out in the morning. I was determined to workout in the afternoon though so in spite of the chores I had to do, the moment the meat was on top of the stove waiting to get tender, I popped in the dvd and started to workout. Bee was watching me and laughing at me and exercising with me the whole time, I just had to be careful to put the dumbbells out of her reach. What a way to power through.

I must say though, I getting used to working out but after new year I have to really focus on the other side, my diet!

Weight: 210lbs
Exercise: level 1 20 day shred
Food:
Breakfast - a bowl of oatmeal and a toast
Lunch - turkish pizza and yoghurt drink
Snack - grapes and half of the left over longganisa from breakfast
Dinner - rice and chicken roll

Project 101: Day 2

2010-12-28T09:51:00.006+01:00

It was very difficult to get up this morning coz it was so dark and it was too cold and my little one is hanging on my neck and trying to cuddle more tightly as she went back to sleep, but I forced my way out of bed and asked honey to cuddle with Bee so that I can start working out.

For entertainment, I watched the last episode of Glee as I followed Jillian Michaels bidding to move my body :D. Perspiring feels great.

In the afternoon, honey picked me up from the office and took me out on a date that explains the huge snack I ate. We decided to juat share the pizza coz I told him i didn't want to eat a full meal.

Weight: 210lbs
Exercise: level 1 20 day shred
Food:
Breakfast - a bowl of oatmeal and ham sandwich
Lunch - sandwich with cold cuts, non fat yoghurt drink, veal soup and croquettes
Snack - a couple of bites of roast beef sandwich, 1/4 lean ham and pineapple pizza and a slice of apple pie :-(
Dinner - didn't eat dinner anymore

Project 101: Achieve Ideal Weight

2010-12-27T12:55:00.007+01:00

Ever since I gave birth, or maybe even before that, I have always been on and off the diet route. See I have a very sweet tooth, if not the sweetest, there is. And this is the reason why I struggle. However, now that I don't breastfeed my little Bee any more and now that I have settled into motherhood quite well, I no longer have an excuse not to go back to my healthy weight.

So today, I started working out in the morning again, I woke up, plugged in the 30-day shred by Jillian Michaels and started to move with the DVD. I should say it was a very nice feeling afterwards, hey I don't get to sweat at all during winter if I won't do this.

The plan is simple enough, I just want to overhaul my diet to include more healthy stuff and try to squeeze in at least half an hour a day of exercise. So to help motivate myself, I plan to make this space a journal of my progress (or retrogress as the case maybe). I also entered into a bet (anything that will help eh :D)with my cousin, whoever losses more weight by April wins 5 thousand big ones! (that is in PHP)

For today:

Weight: 210lbs (OMG my heaviest weight ever so this better go down!)
Exercise: 30 Days Shred DVD - 20 Minutes in the morning
Food:
Breakfast - 2 hard boiled eggs and orange juice
Lunch - turkey sandwich and non-fat yogurt drink
Snack - grapes & some chips (couldn't resist)
Dinner - three tablespoons of rice and sinigang na baka

Les Paellas: Back to Barcelona

2010-12-21T17:57:00.000+01:00

It delights me to no end when I unexpectedly discover gems amidst the sprouting choices of restaurants in malls these days. That is exactly what happened when we went to Les Paellas. I just had a long and boring hair treatment at Toni & Jackie’s in SM North and I could already hear my tummy grumbling. When I’m in this state of being, I no longer have the patience nor the strength to stroll down a crowded mall and crave for a particular menu, when I’m in this point of hunger and frustration, I would gladly try anything within a few feet from me. Having said that, I told honey that we should just have dinner at Les Paellas coz it’s the most interesting restaurant within ten steps away from the salon where I had my hair treatment. That is how we discovered this food haven.

As the name suggested, the resto’s specialty is paella so we ordered paella negra which was absolutely divine, it brought back memories of our Barcelona trip. This paella is almost as good as the one we had in Les Quinze Nits, and that is saying something about this dish. The only edge of the Spain version to the Les Paellas version is that the latter had less squid in it. This is a must try!

Then we ordered Shrimp Pizza, and man was this a real treat! A single bite and your mouth is treated to a myriad of wonderful flavours that doesn’t seem to belong to each other but somehow went so well together, it was bliss! I’m definitely coming back to this place if only to get another bite of this pizza.

With such succulent dishes, I could care less about the ambiance of the place, but having said that, Les Paellas has a very homey feel to it, very comfy couches and very friendly staff. Only thing I found odd was that there was a wait staff lying on the last couch (we were sitting on the couch next to it) trying to nap and when new clients arrived she had to be asked to move coz they wanted to take the last couch. Oh well, that was just an observation and in no way would hinder me from going back to that quaint little shop.

I would recommend this place to anyone who wants to get a taste of authentic Catalan dish! Yummy!

Chillin’ at chilli’s

2010-12-20T13:08:00.002+01:00

Normally, when we’re about to go back home to Manila, I would make a list of all the places that we have to go to and restaurants that we have to dine in, however, this year, because I was quite busy the week before we fly back, I didn’t manage to make that list. Luckily, honey is always on the look out for the restaurants that he knows I want to go back to, that is how we manage to go back to this all time favourite place.

During our vacation, we made it a point to make sure that our itinerary for the day would cover places within the same area to avoid wasting time in traffic. That day, we were in Greenhills area, we had a foot spa appointment and we were about to go to a dinner appointment afterwards. The spa appointment finished early and we had some time to kill, we were intending to go to the shopping centre when hubby spotted Chili’s. We decided to eat a light snack (or what we thought would be a light snack) coz honey had a conference call anyway.

I was just so glad to be back to this favourite resto, it brings back nice memories. The food is still great but the highlight of the night was this divine chocolate mud pie! Even better that I remembered it.

I sure hope we can go back to this place the next time we’re back in Manila,

My little one is no longer a baby

2010-11-18T00:01:00.001+01:00

Has it already been twelve months, really? 52 weeks? 365 days? 8,765.8 hours? 31,556,926 seconds? Has it already been a year when your daddy and I brought you out into this world? Time seems to have evaded us, I can still remember that fateful night when I was in tormenting pain trying to cope while you’re pushing your way out of my body, but the real magic was when the doctor finally placed you on my bare chest, while the cord was still binding us, you looked up at me then all the pain melted into thin air, as if I didn’t feel any of them at all and my heart almost exploded with the amount of love I had bursting inside me only for you. You were this tiny little lump who meant the entire world to me and your daddy. Now, my little one, you’re a whole new person all on your own.

Twelve months it’s been, you’ve grown much taller, you’ve gained a lot of weight, a couple of your teeth have popped out, your face has changed and you are no longer a lump, you are now a very beautiful toddler, my beautiful toddler. I erupt with so much pride each time you achieve a milestone, and I know that most people think they are normal things that are bound to happen anyway, but for me, your mother, they were spectacular achievements that made you even more special to my eyes and my heart. I couldn’t even begin to describe how your playful grin could wash away any illness I have, how your laughter can take away all my stress, how your simple touch can make me go over the moon and back. You might be tiny, but you have no idea how humongous you are to me, and the mere thought of being a witness to more of your spectacular moments make me look forward to the years to come.

My little one, I pray to God everyday that he transforms me into the mother such an angel like you deserves. I beg our creator that he guides me and your dad to raise you and hone you and cultivate you in such a way that you will achieve your fullest potentials. Above all, every night and day, I implore our Father in heaven that your dad and I may manage to fill your life with so much love, laughter and fond memories to last you an eternity.

It doesn’t matter how many more centimetres or feet you grow, or how many pounds you gain or loose, or how many teeth would pop out or fall out, no matter if you’re a lump or a toddler or a young adult or an adult. It doesn’t matter if you’re in kindergarten, elementary school, high school, college or even post graduate studies. All of these won’t matter to me. In my eyes and my heart, you will always be a reason for living. You and your daddy are my motivation to strive and be a better person, just because in my heart I feel you deserve more. I can write platitudes about how deep and profound my love for you is, and still they wouldn’t be enough, nor would they even come close.

Someday soon you will read this humble note from your doting mommy, and someday you’ll understand, and I hope and pray that someday as you read this you’ll know that no matter the years, you will always mean the world to me and your daddy, it won’t matter how many years pass, you my girl, will always be my baby. I love you so much Charlie!

My Little Girl is no longer a Baby

2010-11-17T17:25:00.001+01:00

9 Happy Years Together, 4 years of marital bliss

2010-09-24T14:29:00.001+02:00

I know it’s such a cliché to say that time flies but what can I say, it’s absolutely true. I still remember, oh so vividly, that faithful day that I’ve laid eyes on this guy , I was still a gooey teenager back then (OMG, I was still a teen when I first met him…. Geez….shivers!) and I know it’s another cliché but I never thought I’d be spending the rest of my life with him.

Looking back these past years, I couldn’t be more grateful. It was the best years of my life. I have been blessed with a man who not only takes care of me but loves me unconditionally in spite of all my flaws. I have been blessed with a person who is my person… someone I can count on and someone who, I know, will always be there come what may. I don’t know what I did to deserve such a man who puts my needs over his own. I always tell honey that he is a blessing and an answered prayer and I believe this is so more as we spend each day together. And if all these blessings were not enough, the generous father up there even topped it up by sending us an angel to complete our little family.

So, nine years down, and if these nine years is even a fraction of how our eternity together will be then I can hardly wait for eternity with my man (I keep on saying nine years which is when we started our relationship and not when we got married coz I see our wedding as an integral chapter of our love which began earlier). I’m not saying that the nine years has been perfect or that we are the perfect couple, we do have some arguments, oh yeah we do, and we sometimes don’t see eye to eye but all of these are like spices which further enhances the flavour of our love. We do have one golden rule though, we always make sure that we keep our fights clean.

And to my honey, my one true love, my strength, my refuge, my sanity, my life, I guarantee there will be tough time, I guarantee that one or both of us would want to get out of this, but I also guarantee that If I won’t have you, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life coz deep in my heart I know that you’re the only one for me (borrowed lines from our favourite movie). Love you so much honey! Happy Anniversary!

Ber Months are here!

2010-09-02T17:21:00.002+02:00

via

Oh, that time of the year is fast approaching and its evidenced by the sudden change of wind, its much cooler now and the days becoming shorter. I remember this morning, honey dropped me off here in the office and I told him "look the leaves of the trees are becoming golden again".

ahh yes, its that time of the year again. Let be the first to greet you all a very Merry Christmas!

Sojourn: Vienna

2010-08-25T11:02:00.003+02:00

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As soon as I tear off the leaf of the calendar to reveal August, I notice that the office halls are quiet, rooms are empty and tables in the café are barely occupied. Vacation time has come upon us. Previously, honey and I never scheduled our holidays on this month coz we always thought that this is the only time when we get good weather here in Holland, why leave? But since EuroConference of CFC is staged in Vienna this year coinciding with the vacation period, we decided to go there, anyway we have never been to Vienna before.

So we packed our bags, loaded the car and off we went at 3 am to start our supposedly 10 hour journey to Vienna. I was a bit worried about Bee coz this is her first time to travel such a distance, but I was thinking this will be good practice for her for our very long flight back to Manila in November. Surprisingly, she slept most of the trip and woke up to eat and played a little bit when we stopped over at some rest stations then went right back to sleep the moment we hit the road again. I was very surprised coz she doesn’t normally sleep in the car.

Passing through Germany, I was shaken to my very core, never in my life have I seen people driving on the road at 200kms/hr. I have always known that Germans are great car makers, that is why we opted to buy a German car, but now, I can also attest to the fact that they are also proficient in using them.

Upon entering Austria, the weather seemed to be different, it was cloudy and gray the entire time we were driving through Germany but in Austria, it was bright and sunny. We decided to take a stop after passing through the boarder of Austria and when we stepped out of the car, it was warm and cosy. The landscape that greeted us was breath taking. In the couple of days that we stayed there, I’ve noticed that they have both great scenery and awe inspiring architectures.

Vienna, is a gem all on its own, there were a lot of dazzling places to visit. We are definitely going back there.

Terms of Endearment

2010-08-02T11:15:00.002+02:00

I don’t know what it is about cute babies and terms of endearment, but ever since we had our little one I’ve come up with gazillion of cutie baby terms of endearment to call her. I can’t seem to be satisfied with darling and little angel and sweetheart, I just created more. The other funny thing is how my terms of endearment for our little one catch on pretty quickly.

Like I specifically remember, there was a phase when every time we do something for our little Bee, like for example we’re in the supermarket and I would say “let’s buy a tub of strawberries para sa maliit na tao (for the little person)”, or “I’m cooking porridge for the maliit na tao”. Then the other week, our tita, the one who takes care of our little one, told me “I already prepared food para sa maliit na tao” haha.

Then more recently I have been making up songs when we give Bee a bath and I call her my little Pachooch! (I have no idea where I got that from). Then honey started calling her Pachooch as well, then he asked me, “why are we calling her Pachooch again? Where did you get that from?” I said, “I don’t know, why are you calling her that?” hahaha…

Awww, our little baby Pachooch is growing so quickly and I just can’t seem to call her enough names to let her know how much I cherish these moments with her.

Seasaw

2010-07-20T16:29:00.004+02:00

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of SeeSaw. All opinions are 100% mine.

For someone who goes gaga over American TV series like me, it irks me to no end that although the local channels here in features the series that I’m dying to see, they are always a couple of episodes behind! I have to search high and low for sources of these much awaited series and try to find a good enough site that will let me watch the latest issues between McDreamy and Meridith, or the latest drama between Stefan and Elena.

I’m so glad that SeeSaw has finally arrived. SeeSaw is an online TV that has both free and paid for contents from various providers like BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, Indi Studios and various movie studio content. Hubby is also excited about this coz he’s now able to catch his favourite sports program which are not being aired here. Yey! What’s good about SeeSaw is that you have an option to watch hundreds of programs for free or rent premium shows from the US and UK, you can also catch up on 4oD and Demand Five programs. This site also allows you to share what you are watching with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.

If all of these are not enough, I get to lounge around and enjoy great comedy shows on their Comedy Section. Who doesn’t love a good laugh.

I’m am really looking forward to browsing through other amazing stuff SeeSaw has to offer.

Resolve to eat healthier

2010-07-19T13:06:00.005+02:00

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No, this resolve doesn’t have anything to do with losing weight or looking more fab. It’s just that ever since our little Bee started eating solid foods, I’ve been planning to also do a revamp on our daily menu. I wanted to incorporate more greens in our daily food intake.

After reading this article, I’m more convinced that I should take a step towards over hauling our meals. It doesn’t mean that we’ll become vegetarians, I’m just planning to try and make a conscious effort towards eating healthy stuff. This way, Bee will grow up and get used to eating better and becoming healthier in the process.

I will start off by researching for recipes that are yummy and healthy at the same time.

Here’s to eating healthy!

My Precious

2010-07-08T16:29:00.003+02:00

If there is anything at the top of my wish list, that would have to be an LV bag. I’ve been lusting for it for so long but I’ve been going back and forth in deciding whether or not to get coz the practical side of me is whispering that I can do a lot of things with the money that I’ll buy the bag with.

Finally, two weeks ago, Honey solved my dilemma for me, he bought me my LV bag! It was a normal Wednesday, hurriedly went to work, did some spreadsheets, made some analysis, browsed websites in between, when honey called me up. He asked me “Honey, which is the LV bag that you like?” I said, “I like the Verona GM”, then he said “Ok, I’ll get if for you, I’m already here in the LV shop”.

You just got to love my honey, he’s big on surprises, I was really surprised coz there was no occasion. And he told me he didn’t take me with him coz he knows that the fickle-minded me would just tell him not to buy the bag coz its too expensive, so he just went off and bought it himself. I love him to bits!

( i love the intricate design of this little lock!)

I am so fond of my new bag, its big enough to carry all my stuff. My breast pumps, my bm storage kits and all my other knick knacks. Ayluvet!

Eclipse and a Nice Surprise

2010-07-02T11:04:00.003+02:00

I have got to say last Wednesday turned out to be a really, really great day for me! It started off just like an ordinary Wednesday. I went to work, created spreadsheets, analyzed numbers, browsed sites in between when honey called me. He said he reserved tickets for Eclipse (Twilight Saga) and said he’ll just drop by a friend’s house coz we have been previously invited for a dinner that we cannot not go to, then we’ll go and see the movie. I even teased him that at least now we’re quite sure that we’ll make it to the movie unlike what happened with New Moon. However, later that afternoon, honey’s plan changed, he called me and said he’ll go home first before going to the dinner but the rest of the evening will remain unchanged.

So that afternoon, as I walk the street that leads to our door, I saw honey coming from the other side with a huge paper bag in tow. My oh my, it was a Louis Vuitton paper bag… Oh I finally have my bag. I digress, this deserves a whole new post.

Anyhoo, we watched the movie as planned. I was surprised that the cinema was full, all the while I thought there would be few people since its midweek. So there we were in the middle of a full packed cinema, most of the movie goers where teenagers as expected.

Of all the three movies that has been released so far, this is the one that I enjoyed the most. I love how they did the flashbacks for each of the characters. I have always been with team Edward but I must admit, Jacob is HOT! All the teenage girls (or maybe even the more mature ones) shrieking, at a decibel that could hurt a dog’s ear, every time Jacob graces the screen with his shirt off. I think the new Victoria is also prettier than the one who portrayed the character in the past two movies. However, I was just wondering how come the Denali Clan has not been introduced yet, specially the grudge that Irina would hold against the Cullens coz that plays an important part in the plot of the next movie.

It’s definitely an entertaining film and a must watch. I’m already looking forward to the next one!

Bee enjoys the pool on a warm day

2010-06-24T16:20:00.005+02:00

We normally get around 10 days with great weather in this part of the globe. That is why last Monday, upon waking up to a great morning sun, I just felt this urge to stay at home. After having breakfast, Bee and I were playing in her gym when an idea popped in my head. Since it was a great warm day, I thought we might as well go out, get our new under water camera and march on over to the pool, anyway it's Monday and there is a class for baby swimming lessons that afternoon.

Honey was already in the office so I had to maximize my convincing power to make him come home early in time for the lessons. It didn't take much to make honey come home so we're all set.

We arrived a bit late for class but it turned out great. Charlie enjoyed herself and we're very happy about our new camera yey!

Here are some of my favorite shots for the day

I'm already looking forward to our next swimming lessons!

New and Improved TV Time

2010-06-18T22:33:00.003+02:00

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of SeeSaw. All opinions are 100% mine.

One of the things honey and I share is a great love for watching TV, either movies or series. After a long day's work, we both look forward to sit back, relax and cuddle in the sofa with a big bag of chips and ice cold soda while enjoying our favorites. There are times when we are in the mood for good old suspense thriller movies, still at times we crave for a heart warming love story but most often than not, honey and I just love to laugh our hearts out as we enjoy our favorite comedy movies or series. As they say, laughter is the best medicine, that is why, more than the rest, laughing our hearts out as we watch these series and movies completely relieve us from the stress of a tough day. However, there are times when watching reruns after reruns of the same old show can get old. That is why it's great that I have discovered SeeSaw which offers a brilliant solution to the same old boring regular scheduled-programming.

SeeSaw revolutionizes our way of enjoying television programs. Through SeeSaw, we are given an option to watch hundreds of programmes for free. We can also opt for the rent premium shows from the UK and US. One of the best things about SeeSaw is that we can also catch up on 4oD and Demand Five programmes. SeeSaw also provides the functionality to its users to share whatever they are watching with their friends on Facebook and Twitter. Regular television programming can't top that. What sets SeeSaw apart from other site where we can watch streaming videos is that whatever we are watching from this site can be played in full screen safely and legally.

I was amazed when I browsed through SeeSaw's Comedy Section. They have a pretty comprehensive list of recent hit series that I've been wanting to follow. I can't wait for my next TV time with honey, we're going to have so much fun exploring this new treasure we've discovered.

Our Little Bee Reads

2010-06-15T11:34:00.005+02:00

I have been in love with books for as long as I can remember, naturally, when we had Bee, I wanted to share with her this fervent love affair that happens in every leaf that is turned. We started by reading to her while she was still in my womb, I’d read to her fairy tale books, the harry potter books, the twilight saga books and every book that I was reading that time.

Reading to Bee became a bonding moment for us, when she was born, and honey went back to work, in the middle of the day we would cuddle up in the sofa and I would read to her parenting books and baby books that I was devouring during those times. It was a win-win situation, I get to read up on things that I need to learn for our little one while she gets exposed to different kinds of words which I’m sure fascinated her.

We also bought several books that we read to Charlie before she goes to sleep and there are those books that keep her company when we travel just to keep her entertained during the day.

Of all the books we bought for Bee, her favourite is a board book entitled Hooray for Fish, I think she gets amazed by all the colours and shapes that is in the book. We always bring this book when we travel coz every time Bee starts to get bored, I whip this book out of her bag and she would be contented browsing through the pages… of course I help her flip through the pages.

Here is my little one reading her favourite book.

and here she is reading another of her books...

My Little Bee Eats

2010-06-07T22:12:00.004+02:00

Ever since we started introducing our little Bee to solid foods, I have found a new joy. I get giddy every time my little angel reaches out and puts food on her mouth. I can see her enthusiasm and her enjoyment as she nibbles away her strawberries, or her oranges, or her shrimps or her chicken. Motherhood really gives new meaning to previously mundane stuff.

Our video cam has conked out on us so I told honey we should really get a new one to capture this moments with Bee. We finally got a new cam, we actually got a Canon D10, it's a waterproof camera with video... I thought since we already have a DSLR might as well go for a multi function camera.

We grabbed the first opportunity we have to start filming Bee as she eats. This is my little big girl eating her Breakfast last Sunday morning. I went a little crazy and played with the video on IMovie... i love love love IMovie!

Mobility for People with Special Needs

2010-06-07T18:55:00.002+02:00

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of NMEDA. All opinions are 100% mine.

This weekend was one of the most glorious weekends that we have had this year. It was sunny and warm but breezy enough to give us such a luscious temperature. Since we only get this kind of weather like five days a year (lols), what better way to spend it than to soak ourselves in as much sun strolling around. As soon as we woke up, honey, Bee and me packed our bags, got in the car and headed off to the nearest park. While we were parking, the driver of car two cars away from us grabbed my attention. He was getting off the vehicle and I noticed that he was being assisted by his passenger coz he was transferring into a wheel chair.

It never ceases to amaze me how much differently abled people have more mobility now. I can only imagine how restricted a handicapped person might feel and how limited they actually are without the technological advancements and aids that they now enjoy. I believe that the progress in terms of disabled people going back on track to their much desired road of independence are fostered by institutions such as NMEDA. NMEDA is the only association that promotes safe driving and equipment for disabled people. They are non-profit and their members are required to adhere to the safety standards of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NMEDA dealers (members) are the ones who sell handicap vans and vehicle modifications for disabled people.

Through organizations such as these, people who are handicapped can be assured that they are getting help towards becoming more mobile and by transacting with dealers who are accredited by NMEDA, they can be assured that their safety is priority and the quality of the products they acquire are assured. Dealing with accredited dealers does not only benefit the disabled person but also their families and caregivers not only because these products help them become more independent but also because they are assured of their safety when using the products they purchased.

Safety and independence are two words that I know disabled people give much importance to and I think that it is great that there are institutions now like NMEDA who work towards the betterment of disabled people.

I heart BLW

2010-06-01T13:29:00.003+02:00

Bee is a bit more than six months now and I can’t really put into words how glorious these past couple of months were. I’m scared and excited and thrilled all at the same time each time our little family embarks and reaches a new milestone for our little angel. I think one of the most exciting things we have done so far is introducing Bee to solid foods.

When it comes to my Bee’s growth and well being, I always want to be armed with as much information as I can. That is why when Bee reached her 3rd month, I started to peruse books, websites, magazines and what have yous to research on how to best introduce solid foods and what type of foods should I give her. After a lot of digging, I came across a website which fosters a non conventional way of introducing adult food to babies, the method is called Baby Led Weaning (BLW). I was intrigued!

I started to search my trusted shopping site to find books that will give me more details on how to go about BLW and I found this little treasure.

The idea of BLW is quite simple. Since kids love to explore and since at six months (or from the time babies can sit with very little or no support) babies are mature enough to hold finger foods and put it in their mouth, instead of pureeing the food that we will give to babies, we should give them finger foods to start with. To simply put it BLW encourages parents to just let our babies get on with eating.

I tell you honey and me were so nervous the first few times that we let Bee eat coz she enjoyed it a lot and she would shove carrots and broccoli into her mouth and would start to gnaw at it. There were times when she would gag and my heart would really thump so hard but then after she gags for a while she would just move on to pick up the next piece of food that grabs her attention and would happily suck, gnaw and chew on it like nothing happened.

I further researched and consulted Bee’s doctor on what food I should give her and what she can’t eat yet. After knowing those things, I just gave Bee everything and she gladly tries everything we put in front of her. We bought her a high chair that has a big detachable plate of sorts and we would put her food in front of her and our entire family will eat together, I love it!

Apart from making our mealtimes more fun, with BLW there is less fuss in preparing food for our little one, she normally eats what we eat (but for her share, I don’t put salt). She gets to exercise her grip and hand and eye coordination coz she is also the one who picks the food from her plate and she is the one who decides whether she’s had enough of not. I must say, I’m a bit relaxed and I don’t stress on how much or how little she eats coz at this age, eating is more like playing for her and her main source of nutrients is still breast milk and she still drinks her milk as she always did. So far, Bee has tried so many kinds of fruit, veggies and meats but her favourites are carrots, oranges, shrimps, broccoli, strawberries, pumpkin and cauliflowers.

I will definitely recommend this method of weaning to my mom friends.

My Bee @ Keukenhof

2010-05-18T09:53:00.004+02:00

I’m loving the Month of May, we have four holidays this month and then that is it, the next public holiday that we’re waiting for will be Easter next year. This year is not at all great when it comes to holidays. Last week, honey and I only worked for three days, Thursday was a holiday and Friday, we took the day off. Thursday was devoted for shopping stuff for Bee, specially the things that we’ll need now that she is about to eat solids and Friday, well Friday became a pleasant surprise.

Initially, honey and I were planning to go to Den Hague to get Bee’s passport, which finally arrived after one and half months of application. However, came Thursday evening, we received a call from a friend giving us free tickets to Keukenhof, who were we to say no. We had to go on Friday though coz the garden is only open till Sunday and our schedule is really full for the weekend. We hit two birds with one stone, we went to the embassy very early and had a quick lunch then went to Keukenhof in the afternoon. The weather was glorious and the garden, as I remember it, spectacular.

This is the second time to visit Keukenhof and Bee’s first. The garden never fails to impress. I wasn’t expecting that the garden would still be that stunning now that its almost the end of spring, normally the flowers would have already withered by now, that is why they were already scheduled to close that coming Sunday.

The array of flowers in display was just amazing. The colours were so vibrant, the smell was heavenly and the afternoon we spent there was simply divine.

I'll let the pictures speak of how beautiful the garden is

Our Little Family in the Orchidarium

I just love those Colors

I would really like to have this plant at home

Look at how happy our little one is

Tulips, Tulips and more Tulips

My Honey and my Bee

Loving the smile

this is so unique

Looking forward to the next visit

A special day for that special woman

2010-05-09T00:01:00.000+02:00

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In less than two weeks our little baby Bee will turn six months old and I’m so excited! I still can’t believe how wonderful these past months have been. I once read a quote (I forgot from whom) which says “You’ll never know how much love your heart can hold till someone calls you mother”. Now that I am one, I completely understand what she means, I have never imagined that I could love someone this much. Now that I have a child of my own, I have a more profound appreciation and love for my mom, oh what I would give just to be able to tell her that now.

Being a new mom and all, its inevitable that people would give me, more often than not unsolicited, advice about how they think I should raise my kid and I remember telling honey, “you know what, I appreciate some of the advices that I receive but it pains me that I couldn’t get the guidance from that single person whose opinion weighs more to me than all other advices combined.” This special day makes me miss my mom more than ever, this is the last special day I have celebrated with her.

I know that Bee missed much coz she didn’t meet her Mama, coz special could not even begin to describe how wonderful she is but I know that she looks after Bee and sends her love to her granddaughter in her own special way.

And to all the special ladies, for whom this day has been dedicated to, you are all heroes in my book and the world is a much better and loving place because of all of you.

Happy Mother’s Day Mama! I miss you so much!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the special women out there!

Great Gift Idea

2010-05-04T11:05:00.003+02:00

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Powermat. All opinions are 100% mine.

Two Christmases ago, I gave Honey an IPhone and I can see he loves it to bits. He surfs the net with it, downloads videos and games with it. He tells me it’s very handy. For me, I only use my mobile to call, rarely send text messages and alarm in the morning . However, it frustrates me to no end when I couldn’t reach honey through his mobile because his used up all it’s battery.

Lucky enough for me, I found Powermat. I have been bugging hubby to bring his charges all the time but because he needs to bring a different charger for the office and for his car, he just doesn't bother. So now if I get him this then it will be convenient for him, he just needs to pop it in the car and get it if and when he needs it. Oh, and he can also use it to charge his IPod and I can borrow it to charge my Blackberry, how cool is that? While browsing through the site, I am more convinced, this will definitely lessen the stuff we bring every time we travel coz it's compatible with our camera, PSP and even our navigation system.

I'm defitely going to get this for hubby before our planned vacation in August, I'm sure its going to be very handy.

Queen's Day 2010

2010-05-01T22:16:00.002+02:00

One of my favorite holidays here is the Queen's Day. Every year, hubby would always stash coins in anticipation for this event. You see, during Queens day, there are Carnivals (Kermis) and flee markets. Honey and I love in the booths of the Kermis and normally honey would win me lots of stuffed toys!

This year it was more special as this is Bee's first Queen's day. And perhaps because honey is more inspired this year, he won a record breaking 9 stuffed toys! I tell you, Bee's room is getting crowded and so is our guest room :-). if we go on at this rate, there will be no more room for other things but stuffed toys in our rooms haha. My favorites from among the stuffed toys honey got this year are the characters from Winnie the Pooh cartoons, they are so cute plus I've learned of a Winnie the Pooh character I have never heard of before.... Heffalumps! He is a cute elephant.

I'm already looking forward to the next Queen's day, i'm even more thrilled coz I know that by that time, Bee would can already enjoy some of the rides in the carnival so we'll be having much more fun! yey!

Party Planning in Full Speed

2010-04-20T14:01:00.005+02:00

Ever since we've decided to celebrate Charlie's 1st birthday party in the Philippines, the stage mommy in me took over and went on overdrive researching for ideas to create a super party for our little one. A lot of people were laughing at how serious I was at planning this party, but hey, this is our one and only baby so I want this to be really special and memorable. I know, i know she might not even remember this day, but that is why I'm planning to hire a good photographer and a good videographer.

So I officially started writting letters of inquiry to caterers and party planners last February and after two months, the party is really taking form... I'm so excited! I've finally decided on the party planner, we haven't signed a contract yet but I'm so happy with her ideas that I'm so sure we're getting Hi5 Event Planning & Design to organize the event. I did inquire with other party planners but when I look at the venues they styled, I don't get that wow factor, that is why I really persisted on contacting Hi5. Kathleen, of Hi5, is such a darling and although I haven't seen what she will churn up for my daughter's party, I'm quite certain it will be awesome, looking at the venues she styled, her creativity surely shines through, and another thing i like about her decors, they are really amazing and classic, i hate tacky decors.

Kathleen and I have already thrown ideas back and forth and because I have already seen samples of her work, it's so easy to communicate with her what I want coz I know she gets me.

For now we're still deciding on, well basically everything, the venue, caterer, photographer and videographer, entertainment, carts and other stuff. But finally choosing an event stylist that i can trust is a huge step. Yey! I'm so looking forward to the next stages of our planning

My Daily Dose

2010-03-04T14:19:00.001+01:00

I would give anything to spend an entire day with my little girl. However, during weekdays when i have to go to work, I need to suppress the urge to pack up and go home. But there are days when I get wonderful surprises such as this one.

Honey worked from home today and so I got my post nap picture. I just love it! I realized Bee has a lot of red dresses hehehe...

Little Bee on the Pool

2010-03-03T11:57:00.006+01:00

From the very start, we have given Bee her bath at night. This way, it became a pre-bedtime activity for us three. Bath time for Bee has always been fun, boisterous and splashy, specially now that Bee is kicking a lot. I observed how much fun Bee is having when she is aplattering all over her bathtub. This is the reason why I've decided to look for a baby swimming class that Bee can participate in and luckily, i have found one very close to our place.

So when Bee turned two months old (which is supposedly the youngest age a baby can start with the swimming lessons) Honey and I took her to her first class. She was the tiniest and youngest of the class. She couldn't stop looking at the water and the clown fountains and everything that is around her... it was so adorable. I asked Honey to accompany Bee in the pool for her first lessons so that I can take pictures. And how cute is she in her swimwear?!?

It was a fun class, there was singing and splashing and jumping. She couldn't take her eyes off the water... It was so endearing when she got startled as Honey splashed water on her face and she begun to cry. But that was just at first, the next time she was ready for all the splashes.

The classes are twice a week and since Charlie is still very young, we don't really attend all the classes, but we so look forward to everytime we can attend the class...

Post Nap time Pictorial

2010-02-26T14:16:00.005+01:00

When I was still on maternity leave and Bee and I were the only ones at home, I got into a routine of washing up Bee at around 11pm then feed her then put her to sleep. Another habit that I got the hang of doing is taking her picture when she wakes up and send it to honey so that he'll see Bee while he's at work. I so miss those days of cuddling Bee the entire day.

Today however, I got to be on the other end of this routine. Honey is working from home today as our nanny is traveling so he's taking care of her the entire day. A little after lunch a really nice surprise greeted me on my mobile.

There she is... my little bundle of cuteness just up from her nap.

Here are some of the other post nap time shots I have of her.

This one I think is taken before her nap that is why she is all too serious... she wants to sleep already hehe

If you noticed all her shots are taken while she is seated at her throne (her bouncy chair) haha... she just loves that chair.

Ahhhh, I wanna go home to now to see my angel.... two and a half hours more!

Monthsary 101

2010-02-21T11:53:00.004+01:00

The 21st of every month is special day for honey and me. We celebrate our monthsary on this day. Although we have been together for quite a while now, the luster of this day hasn't faded, in fact it has gained more meaning and we are more excited to celebrate this day as the months passes by. This day is no exception.

Honey is not at home this weekend because he is facilitating a youth camp and since Charlie is still too small to sleep over at a camp, we decided that Charlie and i are just going to visit during the day and go home at night. So this morning, i didn't wake up with honey beside me which is always a strange feeling (that's why I never really liked it when he is on business trips). At around 7am though, he called me up on my mobile, i was a bit on the edge coz i just drifted back to sleep having fed Charlie at around 6:30. He asked me to go to the guest room to get a folder that he keeps in one of the closets there saying that he needs an information from that folder. I sleepily hauled myself out of bed and went to the next room. He asked me to open the closet and inside a bouquet of flowers was sitting in one of the shelves. And then he greeted me Happy monthsary.... I forgot I was sleepy after that. Now it made sense why it took him so long to come back to camp yesterday when he went back home to pick a couple of things that he forgot.

This gestures just make me fall in love with honey all over again. I am so blessed to have someone who showers me with love that overflows and who takes care of me to no end. When Charlie grows up and meets a man who is even a quarter of a husband honey is, then Charlie is so blessed, she will be loved and cared for and I will be at peace.

Happy 101st monthsary my honey! Love you much!

Look who's watching over me while I work

2010-02-19T13:21:00.003+01:00

Honey and I had our valentines date on the 13th instead of the 14th coz we have an appointment on the 14th and to get away from the crowd. I requested that he take me to the movies coz I haven't gone to see a movie since I gave birth to my Bee and I really wanted to see Avatar.

We decided to just buy the tickets when we get to the cinema thinking that Avatar has been showing since December so most probably we'll be the only ones left who hasn't seen the movie. To our surprise, we arrived 15 minutes before the screening that we intended to get into and it was sold out. I was really disheartened and we almost didn't push through with watching coz we had to wait for another 3 hours and I didn't want to be away from Bee that long. But Honey convinced me to go and watch the movie.

While waiting for the next screening, we decided to eat first and that's when Honey remembered that BK sold thermos that featured Edward and Jacob. So we dropped by BK and we were told that they don't have it anymore. Through Honey's persistence, the guy checked from their storage and found one last thermos... yey!

So now as I click clack away from my laptop, I have this guy watching over me hehe.

Thanks Honey for Edward.

After so long

2010-02-17T17:04:00.002+01:00

I can now personally attest that motherhood warps time and each day passes by like a blink of an eye. This is the reason why this space has been neglected for so long. Just like that four months of maternity leave has come and gone and I’m back at work. I’m still trying to find my jive and balance work and taking care of my little angel. Good thing our nanny arrived a week before I had to go back to work.

So how are things since I last checked in? Everything is going quite well. I adore my Bee and I still can’t believe that a love this strong can exist. She is doing really well, she eats and sleeps very well. She likes to smile and giggle when we talk to her.

I got used to less hours of sleep, breastfeeding is still going well. During my first three days back at work I still manage to express milk. The nanny that we hired is coping with the new environment and with bee.

I sure hope that this would be the start of me being able to post more regularly in this site again. I sure missed it.

Charlize Jaeden: Our Birth Story

2009-12-11T11:55:00.004+01:00

It has been exactly three weeks since our little angel has arrived and yet I remember the events as it happened as if it was yesterday. Our saga started on the 16th of November. I knew honey would arrive home at around 3pm so I decided to wait for him to have lunch so we ended lunching at around 3:30 pm so that night I decided not to have dinner coz I was still full from the very late lunch. I was happily re-reading new moon in anticipation of watching the movie in a couple of days when I remembered to bug honey to buy our tickets online for the coming Thursday (19th of November) which was the first day of showing of New Moon here in the Netherlands. He ended up buying the tickets at around 10 pm while telling me to stop reading and to go to bed.

I was still reading at around 11pm when all of a sudden, a gush of liquid came out of me. My water broke! I immediately called honey and told him “honey, I don’t think we’ll be able to use those tickets after all, my water just broke.” My general practitioner instructed us that in case my water broke late at night or very early morning, I should sleep and call them in the morning, so I tried to sleep. However, the contractions started, at first mild but were gaining strength by the hour then at around 4 am, when I went to the toilet, there were traces of blood in my undies and so I told honey to call the midwife. When the midwife and the assistant arrived, they told us that they we’re not sure if it was really water or pee that came out of me so they said I should rest coz I might not even give birth any time soon.

So I tried to rest but no avail, the contractions started to get stronger. At around 9 am I told honey to contact the GP again and when they arrived, they checked me and told me that I was 2 cm dilated, they told me that I should just wait a while and they will come back to check on my status after a couple of hours.

At around 3pm, the GPs arrived and checked on me again. At this time I was really exhausted and I haven't eaten except for 2 pieces of bread that honey insisted I eat. After checking on me, the GPs told me that I was only 3 cm dilated so it was going really slowly. They suggested that we go to the hospital already so that I could be given morphine for the pain so that I could rest coz the labour process could be long.

Honey and I arrived at the hospital at around 4pm and when we arrived, the doctor explained to me the options for medication but that time, the pain subsided so I decided not to have any medications. However, around 8pm, the pain was already too much and I was too tired from the long labour, not to mention lack of food coz I was not able to eat anything at all (I tell you labor messes with your appetite), so I asked for medication. However, since I’m already 7cm dilated, epidural was out of the question, I was given morphine, but the medication didn’t have any effect on me so it was a long and painful labour. Honey was starting to worry about me as I writhe in bed with agony. Now I know why they call it such.

After what seemed to be an eternity of torturous pain and squishing honey’s hand that would definitely require him to undergo therapy, the doctor finally said that I was fully dilated and should push when I felt the pushing contractions come. Within half an hour of pushing, the doctor told me that I was pushing well but the heartbeat of the baby rises each time I push so they would need to make the delivery quicker by using a clamp. With a few more pushes and through the help of the clamp, our little angel was out, finally. The moment they placed her on my chest, all the pain seemed to have vanished. Honey cut her umbilical cord and he told me it was a really strange feeling, good kind of strange.

Giving birth to our little Charlie is something that I would remember for the rest of my life. I have experienced pain that I have never experienced in my whole life. But in spite of the exquisite pain, I would go through it all again just to have Charlie in our lives.

7 going for 8

2009-10-12T11:17:00.003+02:00

I know this weblog has been neglected for so long. Ever since we got back from our vacation from Rome, things have been crazy busy at home and at work. It doesn’t help that I have to slow down my work pace so that I can teach the person whom we hired to temporarily replace me while I’m on maternity leave, which by the way is in two weeks!!! Yey!

I noticed that after I completed my 7th month of pregnancy, my tummy grew bigger and is now much heavier. It’s becoming more difficult to turn around in bed. I am grateful that I still get my much needed sleep at night.

Highlights of the 7th month:

@ Birthing classes kicked off and I’m really learning a lot. Our classes are every Thursday night and we discuss breathing, relaxation and exercise techniques that are supposed to be very helpful during D day. Our classes also touch on maternity care here in the Netherlands, common practices, stages of labor and how to cope once the baby is out. I have learned gazillion of things that I know would be very helpful when Bee is finally ready to come out. Oh and it’s a plus that our adorable birthing class instructor informed me that with the kind of health insurance that I have, I can actually claim the maternity class fees. Sweet!

@ Furniture for the nursery has finally arrived although all of them are still in boxes stashed away in the other room as we are still in the middle of repainting the nursery.

@ The wall papers in Bee’s room have already been stripped off, the walls have been cleaned and the part where the mural will be painted has been painted white for the base. Our dear friend, who agreed to do the mural, started sketching on the wall and from the first strokes that she has left on the wall I know it’s going to be perfect!

@ Honey has already had the car checked, as hubby wants to make sure that we are all safe when we’re in the car. And as Bee is coming on the dead of winter, Honey also scheduled an appointment for our heater to be checked and all sorts of preparations to make sure that when Bee comes home, it’s going to be comfy and cozy.

@ We received the maternity box from our insurance company. This is one of the benefits we get from our insurance where they will send us a box filled with baby goodies one could ever think of. Actually, I don’t even know that some of the items in the box are but I will definitely ask some of my friends here about what they are.

@ The hospital bag is taking shape. Honey and I have placed all the things that we already have (which are the basic stuff) in a bag ready to be picked up when Bee finally arrives. There are a couple of things still missing (I call these missing things as nice to haves) but Honey and I are shopping for the rest of them when my maternity leave starts. (Anyway, in theory that is still 5 weeks away from my due date).

Looking forward to:

@ completing the nursery
@ completing the birthing classes
@ Shopping! (I’ve been avoiding baby clothes shop for so long coz I might not have enough strength to not buy so much clothes for Bee)

Whew, it has been a whirlwind month for Honey, me and Bee but I’m really looking forward to the next stage. As I told Bee a couple of times, I’m so happy to be carrying her in my tummy but I also can’t wait to finally hold her in my arms.

Final Trimester Begins

2009-09-03T17:17:00.001+02:00

I can’t believe that we’re on the final lap of our pregnancy. The last two trimesters have been pure bliss. The past six months that baby Bee has been in my tummy is a journey honey and I will cherish forever.

During these first two trimesters, honey and I have kept ourselves busy with trying to prepare as much as we can for our little angel. We have already been shopping for some of Bee’s need when she comes out. We also started researching for child care assistance so that there will be a smooth transition when I come back to work and of course we started preparing for the documents that we’ll need if and when we decide to bring someone over from Manila (and OMG, it is a tedious process). With the help of plurk and online friends, I’ve also read (and still is reading) some of the books for pregnancy and childcare that they have recommended. I’ve also contacted my health insurance and they have arranged for a child care specialist to visit me for two weeks after I’ve given birth (kraamzorg in Dutch). Honey and I also managed to secure a spot in a birthing class, finally. We also chose the colour palette for the nursery and we’ve made a list of the things that we need to buy for our baby and also for the mommy and daddy bag.

Indeed, the first two trimesters have been very busy, nonetheless fun, for honey and me. And as much as we cherish these past six months, we’re so looking forward to the last trimester of our pregnancy.

The last three months, we’ll be busy with attending the birthing classes (which starts on the 17th of September), painting the nursery, processing the papers for our nanny, shopping for all the things in our list that we haven’t bought yet, and preparing mentally and physically for the coming of our little one.

It’s undeniable that the first six months have been a blast for honey and me but I so look forward to this last trimester and ultimately the time when honey and I will be able to hold our little Bee in our arms.

Domina Roma Capanelle Hotel & Conference

2009-09-03T10:44:00.002+02:00

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While planning for our trip to Rome, a lot of our friends and colleagues told us that this time of the year could be very hot and humid in the eternal city. This is the reason why one of the requirements that we looked for in a hotel to stay at was a swimming pool so that in case it gets really hot to go outside we can just spend the day lounging by the poolside and dipping in the cold water.

After thorough research, we were resigned to the fact that it will be very difficult for us to find a hotel with a pool at the very heart of the city so we went for this hotel and we were not disappointed. Domina Roma Capanelle Hotel and Conference is located around 30 minutes away from the Termini station in Rome via the metro. Going to the hotel from Fiumicino Airport can be a bit tricky but once you have done you’re research, reaching the hotel via public transport is quite easy. The hotel also has shuttle busses which, if you can work your schedule around it, could be quite convenient.

Upon entering the hotel lobby, we knew that we made the right choice. The hotel is very clean, the staffs were very attentive and the rooms were very spacious and cosy. We did have a problem with our room on our first night, water was leaking from the ceiling from the air conditioning unit but upon our request, the staff changed our room immediately.

A dip on the cold pool was a perfect ending to a tiring day of exploring the city with the warm and humid weather. Although, the hotel might want to change the closing time of the pool area as guests can no longer access it after 7pm. The breakfast was hearty and composed of normal feast of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, yogurts, variety of fruits, breads, hot and cold drinks. My only complain is the variety, after having the same thing for breakfast for an entire week can be tiring. Another thing, when guests have breakfast later in the morning, some of the items in the buffet run out and are not refilled, good thing, except for the one day that we had breakfast at 10am, the rest of our stay, we started our day early.

We had a wonderful stay at this hotel and we would consider staying there again when we come back to Rome.

3rd Wedding (8th) Anniversary, and we’re off to Rome!

2009-08-26T12:00:00.000+02:00

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Three years of marital bliss and 8 wonderful years of being together, now this occasion needs to be celebrated with a bang. This thought kept running through Honey’s and my mind when we were trying to plan for our anniversary get away. We wanted to celebrate in a place that is also special, if not as special as the occasion is for us. After considering a lot of factors and our circumstances, honey and I finally decided that the perfect place would be in Rome, Italy. We also settled for a date that is less than a month earlier than our anniversary thinking that on our anniversary, I’ll be 30 weeks pregnant and we’re not sure if I’m still up to the task of walking around to explore a beautiful city.

Looking back, I can’t find the words enough to express my gratitude on all the blessings that God has showered upon us. And as tiring as the last weeks have been, the downpour of blessings have been undeniable. More so, I can’t thank God enough for the love, happiness, peace and all the other wonderful gifts he bestowed upon our marriage (and our relationship) over the years.

Honey and I are excited to explore a famed city that we’ve never been to before to celebrate our special day knowing that next year, we’ll have a little angel tagging along with us.

Finally!!! After weeks of waiting, we’re heading off to our trip. After weeks that have been crazy busy, a week of lounging in the pool, lazily strolling to witness the famed sites and feasting on authentic Italian feast is a much welcome relief.

How old is old?!?

2009-08-19T10:11:00.003+02:00

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The past couple of weeks have been crazy! (or I’m just making excuses for completely neglecting this space for a while now. Thing is I have posts lined up I just couldn’t find the time (and energy) to edit photos that go along with the post.

So to ease my way back and to get my blogging mojo up and running again, I have decided to take up Niko on her tag. There is only one question actually, how old is old?

Isn’t it thought provoking and I must say, with my pregnancy and all the stuff we’ve been doing to prepare for the coming of our little angel, I’ve been thinking about this question for some time now. However, I’m really not worried about the age, per se, what I’m thinking about is how wise or mature have I become over the years. You see, I’ve always believed that one can grow old without being any wiser or one can be young but be full of wisdom beyond his years. Age for me is relative, just this year when I turned 28, I told honey that I don’t feel anything different from when I was 21, seriously. But now, I think I would have a different feeling next year when I turn 29, coz then I’m expecting to have matured more and to have gained more knowledge and experience after going through a pregnancy and giving birth to a new life that we love and care for more than life itself.

Thinking about it, this is a tough question “how old is old?” and to be honest I don’t know the answer. Is it the wrinkles, the bifocal glasses or the persistent rheumatic attacks on one’s knees that signify you’re old? I really don’t think so. I told honey once that even when we aged, I still want to travel with him, do our weekly dates and explore things that we have never tried before. I know that with age comes a certain degree of limitation on a body’s capabilities but it’s really in one’s heart and mind. So I say, I think one is old when his heart looses the desire to live life to the fullest and one is old the moment he allowed his heart to tell him so which causes him to loose vigor and enthusiasm. In my opinion, being old is not the number of years you’ve lived but the moment you’re hunger for life ceased to exist and you’re content to stare at a blank wall waiting for something inevitable. And I do hope and pray that I will never see that day.

How about you, what do you think, how old is old?

***this is my entry to Cathara's birthday contest.

***I'm passing on this interesting question to Emarene, Ayie, Cess, Beth & EmDy

Better half tag

2009-08-04T12:37:00.004+02:00

I've received this tag from Niko and I was intrigued if I'm able to answer all the questions. I've realized that I know most of the answers to them but some of them I was uncertain and had to ask honey while we were having breakfast. Turns out my guesses were correct. This was a fun tag to do.

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
~ Eurosport or CNN

2. You're out to eat, what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
~ mango chili dressing

3. What's one food he doesn’t like?
~ New York cheesecake or any fish dish he doesn't recognize

4. You go out to eat and have a drink, what does he order?
~ orange juice or iced tea

5. What shirt size does he have?
~ medium to large, depends on the brand

6. What shoe size does he have?
~ 11

7. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
~ bacon and eggs

8. What would he eat everyday if he could?
~ mangoes and atis

9. What is his favorite cereal?
~ choco pops (does it count even if he really doesn't eat cereals he just buys them for the free toy hehe)

10. What would he never wear?
~ he’s very adventurous with what he wears, so he wears pretty much everything.

11. What is his favorite sports team?
~ real madrid, manchester united (football) & cavaliers (NBA), we both really liked Ginebra (PBA) before.

12. Who did he vote for?
~ I don't think he voted the last elections.

13. Who is his best friend?
~ Me, of course

14. What is something he does, but you wish he wouldn't do?
~ stay up really late. (he's a nocturnal creature hehe)

15. What is his heritage?
~ Filipino

16. You bake him a cake, what kind of cake?
~ he really likes the prunes-walnut cake and the mocha mammon cake that I make for him

17. Did he play sports in high school?
~ yes, basketball, table tennis

18. What could he spend hours doing?
~ surfing the internet, watching movies and organizing stuff!

19. What is the unique talent that he has?
~ organizing, and he’s very good with directions

20. What's his type of coffee?
~ he rarely drinks coffee but he would chose fraps if and when he would.

How about you, how well do you know your better half, give the tag a try and see how you do, oh and if you decided to do the tag, please link back here, i'd love to see your answers.

94th Mensiversary @ Ron Blaauw Restaurant

2009-07-28T09:00:00.001+02:00

As I have mentioned time and time again, one of the things that I really love about honey is that he has this moments when he completely catches me off guard and surprises me with something that he knows I’ll really like. The way we celebrated this month’s mensiversary is a classic example.

We are one of those cheesy couples who always makes an excuse to celebrate our love for one another and mensiversaries are simply perfect for us, we always look forward to this day of the month. It can be as simple as a kiss and a hug or can be as elaborate and as fancy as the dinner we shared last week. The night before, honey already told me that he’s leaving work early, drop by the dentist and pick me up for our date. He was at the office at 5:30pm and we drove somewhere close to his office. The moment I saw this quaint shop in the middle of a charming neighbourhood, I asked him, “how on earth did you know of this place?” I even teased him and told him “maybe your taking on budget…” I cut myself midsentence when I saw the name of the restaurant. This well known place could never be a budget meal.

For this month’s mensiversary, he took me to Ron Blaauw restaurant. This renowned restaurant was awarded with two Michelin stars and serves French and International cuisine. It is located in the heart of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel. It was really a surprise for me coz honey remembered that during restaurant week here in Amsterdam, I tried to book us a reservation but they were not able to accommodate us.

The interior of the restaurant was very homey, the tamed lights were very romantic and the seats were very comfortable. But with a restaurant of this calibre, the highlight is definitely the food. We were seated at the couch to enjoy our aperitif, of course in my case it was orange juice and we were served with a wide array of appetizers that are so exquisite, the most memorable of which is the crusty bread which looked like charcoal black burnt pieces of thin bread but when I took a portion and dipped it to the butter-like accompaniment, I found it very nice, the bread was crunchy and the butter complimented it well. Honey favoured the shrimps in cone. Before we were seated on our table, we browsed through their menu and decided to have the 8 course meal, I was a bit hesitant to order that at first because it sounds a lot but the maitre’d assured us that the servings are small enough for us to enjoy all the courses. Once the dinner started, plated works of art begun parading on our table. All the courses were prepared exquisitely with the freshest ingredients one could ever imagine. The creativity of the chef and his staff was evident with each plate that arrives. The entire meal was like a well orchestrated concert where each course builds up and prepares your tongue for the crescendo of taste that is yet to come. The dessert parade was like the perfect punctuation to a well thought of dinner.

The price that we paid for the menu was definitely worth the fair that was served. This dinner definitely goes down as one of the best mensiversary dinners we’ve ever had.

____________

excess: the photos we have taken during our meal is trapped in my mobile phone :-( i can't seem to transfer it on my laptop.

5 months and getting bigger

2009-07-24T13:41:00.003+02:00

This week marks the end of my 5th month of pregnancy and my, oh my, what a journey it has been so far. Over these past five months, I have realized more than ever how blessed I am. As I have mentioned time and time again, this has been one smooth sailing pregnancy and our little baby Bee is not giving mommy any difficulties at all, added to the fact that honey is with me all the way making these entire pregnancy a breeze…

Honey and I have read in one of the many weekly updates that we receive from fabulous pregnancy sites that Bee’s hearing us loud and clear now and this is the perfect time to start reading to her, so every night before honey and I go to sleep we read 2-3 stories from the illustrated stories of Jesus, one of the children’s books that we bought while vacationing in Manila. I’m so thrilled to receive the illustrated fairytale book that I’ve ordered online so that will be the next book we’re reading.

My baby bump is becoming more obvious now and I’m finding dresses, skirts and leggings more comfy to wear. I sometimes feel some fluttering in my tummy but I’m really not sure if that really is baby Bee moving, but honey and I are sure looking forward to the time when we’ll know that the movement is really Bee. Although I'm really not worried coz our midwife told us that my placenta is placed in such a way that it serves as a cushion so it might take a while before I can really feel the baby's movements but she assured me that when the baby's kick is strong enough, i'll definitely know it. I also noticed that my shoes are getting tighter, looks like it’s time to shop for a new pair. We also ordered a maternity belt coz I’m starting to feel my tummy getting heavier and I think I’ll need all the support that I can get.

This week we’re choosing colour palettes for the nursery that we’re preparing for the coming of our little princess. I’m leaning towards a purple and pink palette, although, the freshness of apple green seems to be a nice idea to. We’ll see what honey and I will come up with.

We are also signing up for the birthing classes being offered in Amsterdam, honey and I are really looking forward to it coz it will not only discuss breathing techniques and the process of giving birth, it is also a class specially designed for expat couples because it will discuss the technical stuff that we need to undergo like how to register the baby, how the Dutch medical system works and all sorts of information which should settle most of the questions that have been bugging since we knew we were pregnant.

Wow, I can’t believe how time flies, we’re already on the halfway mark of this pregnancy and as much as I love being pregnant, I am also excited to finally reach the end of this pregnancy and hold our little angel in my arms. We’ll get there soon enough!

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

2009-07-20T11:14:00.002+02:00

After reading all the seven Harry Potter books, honey and I have been so looking forward to finally get to see them on the big screen. I was disappointed when the latest instalment, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince’s premier was moved from last year to this year. You can just imagine our excitement when we were finally buying our tickets online to finally see this much awaited film.

I’ve read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince years ago so I’ve had forgotten a lot of the details in the story. However, one thing that I haven’t forgotten is how much I enjoyed leafing through the pages as I explore Harry’s adventures and misadventures with him in another year of his stay at Hogwart’s. I was so tempted to reread the book before going to the movies, after all I was home on sick leave the very same day that the movie premiered and had time to spare, but as the call of slumber was much stronger on my tired body than the urge to relive the book, I gave in to the call of the bed and slept the day away. After seeing the movie, I think not rereading the book was all for the best, I was thrilled to see each scene in the film and was excited as each part of the movie unfolds without me tying to mentally recall the next things that I have read in the book.

The movie was great! I daresay that this is the Harry Potter movie I enjoyed the most beating the first movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone out of my number one. We were even treated to about 15 minutes of 3D as we watched it on IMAX and the first few scenes were on 3D. The movie was funny, exciting, heart warming, it contained everything that I’m looking for in a good movie. I can’t believe how much the actors have grown over the years. It made me look back to the time when honey and I saw the very first movie together, we were still in college then.

Of course, I browsed through the book after watching the movie and although there were scenes that I would have loved to see on the movie, this film is definitely a gem and worth watching.

Kneading like there is no tomorrow

2009-07-13T13:18:00.004+02:00

The very first time I used my new chef http://intricate-thoughts.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-very-own-personal-chef.html, I made some muffins and Japanese cheesecakes and it was a breeze but I thought, batter mixing is not really the true test of a good mixer. So over the weekend, I decided to see how my chef would do when faced with the laborious task of kneading dough. I opted to make Siopao (since I have been craving it for quite a while now) and pandesal.

Last Sunday, my eyelids were barely opened and the rain clouds were making me want to crawl back in bed, good thing honey was picking up a friend from the airport so I got up the same time that he did. I readied the ingredients and threw on my apron and started baking. I was truly amazed at how easy making bread is now. I was able to make two batches of pandesal in less than an hour sans the backache that normally lingers right after I have done all the kneading. I kneaded bought batches ten minutes each and there were no complains from Kenny (that is what I fondly call my chef now). After stashing the dough inside the oven to proof, I started to ready the ingredients for the siopao ( I only made pork asado though as I’m not really fond of bola bola). Thinking that this is the perfect moment to test Kenny to its limits, I kneaded the siopao dough for ten minutes and my Kenny just kept on mixing, it’s like a walk in the park for him, fantastic.

I was all smiles when I pulled out my Pandesal from the oven and after I have steamed by siopao. As I took a bite of the chewy pandesal, I just had to smile and think of the next kneading journey that Kenny and I are soon to venture on. Cinnamon rolls and ensaymada, your next!

Pinks & purples!

2009-07-08T11:56:00.007+02:00

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Honey and I have so been looking forward to our scheduled ultrasound last Monday which will finally tell us if it will be dresses or pants and trousers. Surprise, surprise…. Bee is a girl!!!

To be honest I was really surprised to know that our little angel is a girl. See, since I got pregnant, I’ve dreamt like five times (or even more!) that Bee is a boy. So when the technician asked us what we think the baby will be, I immediately said boy but it was such a pleasant revelation. I knew honey preferred to have a girl, as for me I really had no preference (on the contrary, I actually wanted both!). The experience is overwhelming really!

This ultrasound also told us that everything is in order that our little daughter is perfectly healthy. The technician measured everything, her head, her heart, her spine, her tummy and everything that can be measured. I had to laugh when she measured our little girl’s feet and told us “hey, your baby has big feet.” haha, takes after her mom, I guess. Good thing we live in a place where my shoe size is readily available, unlike in Manila.

It’s so surreal to know that in a couple of months from now, we will be caring for our very own little girl. See you soon Bee, our little princess.

My very own Personal Chef

2009-07-03T10:54:00.006+02:00

From the moment I discovered the magic that is baking, I have started drooling over the Kitchen Aid stand mixers. I would imagine how much fluffier my cakes would be, how much faster I can whip up frostings and how easier it would be for me to knead my bread (special my pandesal which our friends here always request for). I have my mind set on having one and I even listed it on my Christmas wish list . However, after checking the prices on line, I was surprised. A kitchen aid model which costs around $250 in the US would be had here in Europe at around €450… what kind of conversion is that?!?

During Christmas season, honey kept on insisting that he’ll just buy me the Kitchen Aid but being the wise shopper that I’d like to think myself of, I told him to hold it off and I’ll do some more researching. After combing the internet far and wide and browsing through reviews upon reviews of stand mixers available in the European market, I have concluded that the better alternative for me is to get a Kenwood mixer. There are reviews that even go as far as saying that KAs available in Europe are not as good as those in the US, this I’m not sure of. I was so surprised when I learned that the specifications of a Kenwood mixer are much better than that of a KA and it’s cheaper. Apart from that, all the reviews for Kenwood have nothing but good things to say about the product, how durable and versatile it is. The only edge KA has over Kenwood is the variety of funky colours. I am more than convinced so I told honey I found the mixer that I really want.

Without much prodding, honey and I ordered the product online and last thursday, honey came home with a huge box in tow. We’ve finally got our very own Kenwood Chef Classic. I immediately popped in the DVD included on the package on the player and honey was amazed by the range of things this chef can do. We can buy additional attachments to even increase the range of what our chef can do in the kitchen, it’s simply amazing.

Of course I donned my apron and baking mittens during the weekend and had a little baking frenzy at my kitchen after all my chef and had some getting-to-know to do… For our first adventure together, we made some blueberry muffins and japanese cheesecake. I must say, I couldn't be any happier with its performance.

Bigby's

2009-07-02T23:59:00.001+02:00

I have fond memories of Bigby’s. The first time I dined at this quaint but charming resto was way back my auditing days when a colleague and I flew all the way to Cagayan de Oro for an assignment. After our very long inventory taking was over, we asked around of a restaurant they could recommend and Bigby’s was the unanimous recommendation so off we went and had our very late lunch there. I remember the food being really good and the attendants were very warm. Upon knowing that we were from Manila, they even gave us a complimentary slice of cake with sparklers and all to welcome us. How great is that?

After hearing that Bigby’s has finally hit Manila, I needed no more prodding, I told honey we should dine there once we go on holidays to Manila. True to my word, I hauled honey to the resto and we were both impressed by the ambiance, it was very homey and the couches were very inviting. I completely forgot that they offer very big servings and so when honey and I an appetizer and main course for each of us. I ordered the Tijuana Quesadillas and honey wanted to give their Squiggly Rings a try. For our main course, we both ordered the belly buster. The food is as good as I remembered it to be, the servings were huge and the attendants were as friendly as ever. The ribs in particular were excellent, it was tender and juicy and falls off the bone. The food we ordered was just too much for us he took most of it home with us. I even told him that we have to save room for the midnight dream cake but as it turns out, there was no more room in our tummy. Oh well, we will definitely be back and next time we’ll know better. We’ll bring the entire family along so we can all sample the goodness of this place.

This place is definitely a must try.

Memories Preserved

2009-07-01T23:59:00.001+02:00

The moment we’ve learned that we’re having a baby, the ecstasy, excitement and that amazing feeling that borders between nervousness and anticipation are just too much and I wanted to preserve them somehow. So once those wonderful emotions have subsided a bit, I started jotting down ways of how I can create a memorabilia that our growing family can cherish for years to come. It was like a light bulb flashed on top of my head…. What better way of preserving memories than to make a scrap book!

I’ve never really been into arts and crafts and all those cuteness so I cannot tell whether or not I have an apt for it but it’s never too late to try right? With this project in mind, while vacationing in Manila, I scoured bookstores, novelty stores and paper shops for the base scrap book that will hold all my little treasures. After combing the biggest malls, I still couldn’t find the right one. Then while we were in Megamall, I remembered this shop that I adored some years back, Papemelrotti, I checked their store out and found several charming scrapbook, but none of them really grabbed my attention, so I decided to look in some other places and if there is really nothing else out there, I’ll get one from this shop.

Our last few days in Manila came and I’ve decided to just by the scrap book we found in Papemelrotti coz that was the only thing missing, I’ve already bought the all the other paraphernalia I think I’ll be needing (like stickers, buttons and other accessories) to be able to create my very first scrap book. The very same day, I met my sister for dinner and she handed me a gift, guess what it was? It was a scrapbook, none that I’ve ever seen in my previous search for this elusive book. It was cute and brightly coloured and was everything that I was looking for. Apparently, she bought it that afternoon in a small stall while strolling in Robinson’s place. Oh how wonderful, now I have two.

The moment we got back here in Amsterdam, I started creating the scrapbook. Since this is the first time I’m doing this, I decided to just put in anything that I feel I would want to see again that would trigger happy moments. I just try to document, through bits and pieces, the stages of our pregnancy and the important dates and events.

So far there are still a few pages that I’ve filled up but I’m still collecting the rest of the stuff I want to squeeze into this tiny treasure. I’m hoping that I would be able to tap into my creative juices and create a jewel that we could keep.

If you have any tips or suggestions on how I can make this keepsake even prettier, by all means, I’m (wide) open for suggestions.

Heavenly Scents

2009-06-30T23:59:00.002+02:00

While cooking dinner last week, I heard honey opening the door coming home from work so I dropped the ladle and went out of the kitchen. The moment I stepped out of the kitchen door, there he was standing in the dining area with a red box in his hand. He told me, “I have something for you.” It was a perfume, so I asked him why he got me this. He said, “Oh, nothing, I just remembered this perfume from Tita Z and she loved it and I thought you’d like the scent. And besides your other perfume is half empty now so might as well get a new one.”

Sheesh, I didn’t even noticed that the other perfume I was using is already half empty. How blessed am I to have a husband who looks after me like this. He does a lot of tiny gestures that make my heart flutter and of course he is also Mr. Grand Gesture who makes my tummy somersault.

I couldn’t believe how heavenly the scent of the perfume is the moment I opened it. I’m not sure though if my giddy heart had any influence on that.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

2009-06-29T11:38:00.003+02:00

I remember honey and I saw the first Transformers movie while we were on vacation in the Philippines and the brilliant effects and fast-paced story kept us at the edges of our seats. No wonder, honey was very keen on taking me to the movies for our last week’s date. Personally, I didn’t like Transformers (the animated series) I preferred Voltes V, but as it turns out, honey was a fan. He even gave me a gist of his favourite episodes.

We decided to see the 6pm showing of the movie (being the 2nd IMAX screening of the day) rather than the normal screening at 5pm. We were stunned by the very long queue that greeted us. It was free sitting so everyone was trying to get ahead of everyone to get a good seat. As I didn’t want to get squished we just decided to let the bulk of the crowd to go ahead of us before we went inside. Luckily, we still managed to get great seats.

As expected the special effects were spectacular. The movie didn’t have any dull moment in it, it was action packed, comic reliefs were right on target and all the action scenes would make you hold your breath. Oh and my favorite autobot would have to be Bumble Bee, I feel giddy each time Sam calls him "Bee"... so cute!

Honey and I enjoyed the movie immensely and if you’re looking for an enjoyable film for the family, this definitely should be one of your options.

A very delayed Father's Day Post

2009-06-27T13:39:00.000+02:00

I really wanted to make honey's very first Father's Day as special as it can be because it's his very first. I ordered a gift for him online a couple of days before and I also bought a cute card where I'll write him a letter. I thought everything was going according to plan. However, when Friday come and went without me receiving the package, I knew it wouldn't arrive in time for the special day (and up to the time of posting this, we haven't received it yet!). I was so frustrated but thinking that there’s no point of making a big fuss over something that I can’t control, I just focused on beautifying my card.

It’s been a while since I’ve last written to honey so I knew he’d like this card a lot. And the moment I saw this adorable looking card, I knew this was what I was looking for. This post is late coz I didn’t want to take chances of honey peeking here and seeing the letter I wrote for him.

I am sharing with you now what I wrote on the card and as expected honey liked it a lot!

"To my Honey,

Another chapter of our love is about to unfold and we are about to face a daunting experience, but every fibre of my being is full of excitement and optimism that with you by my side, this will be a part of our journey that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

I’m filled with joy as I think of how lucky our little angel is going to be having you as a father. If s/he will receive even just a morsel of the love you have shown me throughout these years, then s/he is gonna be loved like no other child has been or will ever be loved.

You have been my rock all these years and having you by my side have made me stronger and made me want to become better in everything that I do. I have no qualms that you will be the fortress that protects our child, a light to our precious gift and an inspiration for him/her to become the best person that s/he can be.

I wanted to make this day, your very first father’s day, special for you coz I know, without a doubt, that you are the best Daddy in the whole world.

Bee and I love you so much!"

What’s in a name

2009-06-17T13:42:00.001+02:00

My name has always invoked curiosity especially with newly met acquaintances or friends. See my name is not at all unique, but when my name is given to a girl, that’s what triggers the questions. I’m the sixth daughter (we’re seven siblings in all… no boys) and my parents decided to give me a boy’s come what may. I actually like the idea, and if ever our little angel is a girl, I’m contemplating on giving her a girl’s name with a boyish nickname (like Alexandra with a nickname of Alex… cute right!).

Now, I’ve received another tag from Niko and it gives a link to a site that translates your current name into its 1950s version. What? I got curios obviously and so off I went and followed the link. I wasn’t expecting a very girly 1950s name, it sounds so cute. Its sounds so Wizard of Oz that I imagine myself wearing a ruby red shoe. Haha

Your 1950s Name is: Dorothy Wanda

What's Your 1950s Name?

Head on over to the link to discover your 1950's name. Oh and please link back here so i could know what your names are. Have fun

Angels and Demons

2009-06-15T11:36:00.002+02:00

(via)

I’ve been wanting to watch Angels and Demons for weeks now, but somehow, going to the movies gets bumped off by other more pressing (or other not so pressing) matters in my weekend to do list. Finally last Saturday, for our week date, honey took me to the movies.

It’s not surprising that there is so few of us inside the cinema, after all, the movie is on its third week of showing. It made the ambiance of watching the film more conducive for me though, I never liked a cinema that is packed. I must say that I liked Angels and Demons (the novel) better than The Da Vinci code which fuelled my excitement to see the movie. I was curious as to how the makers are going to fit all the exciting portions of the book into a two-and-a-half-hour movie. The movie was enjoyable although, if feel that there were certain important areas in the novel that weren’t fully developed in the movie. Of all the cast of characters, I liked Ewan McGregor’s portrayal of the carmelengo the most, I think he really gave a convincing performance. As expected, there were deviations from the novel and I think that a person who watched the movie without reading the book first will be more entertained, and completely clueless as to the ending. .

Although I’ve enjoyed the novel immensely, I was a half expecting to be disappointed with the movie as I was when I watched The Da Vinci code (the first Dan Brown novel translated into film) but to my surprise, I did enjoy the film and can say that it’s definitely worth watching.

Meat Haven and Holy Cow Chop House

2009-06-11T23:59:00.000+02:00

Honey and I, we both love our meat, and given the opportunity, we are willing to sample a good steak. Honey, more than me, is in a quest to find the steak the best steak for him. See, honey’s criteria does not only grade the steak itself but also the condiments and side dishes that goes with it. So far, if my memory serves me right, the top two steaks on his list are the one that we had at Planet Hollywood in Dubai and the steak from Wilma & Albert here in the Netherlands.

During our holidays in the Philippines, I told honey we should try the steaks here in Manila as well, only thing is, there are just so many restaurants that we want to try that is why trying out steaks take the back seat. However, after visiting my very friendly OB-Gyn, my sister A, honey and I had our lunch at Robinson’s Place Ermita and while looking at possible options where to dine, I saw Holy Cow Chop House. The restaurant looked so inviting and I remember having read great reviews about this restaurant so off we went and grabbed a seat. For starters, we ordered calamari and nachos, both were really good. For our main course, my sister and I had the Tiger Prawn and Steak Platter while honey ordered the Rib Eye Steak. I really liked the mushroom sauce that was served with the steak, although the tiger prawns were a bit bland and dry for my taste. I think the steak that honey ordered was a real winner, it was tender, the juice oozing with beefy goodness and cooked just right (you see honey and I prefer our steaks to be well done but still juicy) and the matching side dishes and mushroom sauce perfectly blends to the creaminess of the meat. Paired with a tall glass of lemonade, this is one satisfying lunch. Too bad, all of us were too stuffed to order dessert, next time.

(calamari)

(honey's steak)

(tiger prawns & steak)
Although Holy Cow’s steak didn’t make it to honey’s list of favorite steaks, their steaks are definitely worth a try. I know we will once we’re back in Manila.

Spring, Summer and Breakfast

2009-06-08T14:08:00.002+02:00

Good weather is not at all common in this part of the world that is why a lot of people have been ecstatic about the wonderful spring/summer we’ve been experiencing ever since we got back from our holidays in Manila. Our temperature ranges from 16-28 degrees Celsius and that may not be very warm for a lot of people but I must say we’re really quite happy with it.

To make sure that we get the most out of this rare blessing, honey and I have been having our breakfast at the roof terrace during weekends. I must say, it improved our mornings immensely. See, I have planted some strawberries, blueberries, and some other potted plants in the roof terrace and it’s great to look at them and enjoy the sight of these growing plants while enjoying a mug of hot chocolate.

Honey also organized a potluck barbecue, two weeks back, at the park with some friends. We’ve put up a tent, brought some barbecue stuff, plenty of drinks and buckets and buckets of rice and started feasting. Everyone had a grand time.

As I’ve said time and time again, spring is my favourite season of the year and as it turns out, my favourite season has been extended this year and I am a happy gal.

The Spoiled Preggy Lady

2009-06-02T14:38:00.003+02:00

I just wanna say, I love being pregnant. For starters, at fourteen weeks now, everything has been a walk in the park, no morning sickness, no aversion/cravings for food of any sort. I was expecting for the worst really but it turns out that our little baby Bee is not giving mommy any difficulties at all. Then, there is my ever doting honey, who has always spoiled me through the years, is finding more ways to spoil me even more! He took over my chores at home and even when I’m cooking he would tell me to just tell him what to do and he’ll do it so that I can rest. And although he knows I’m not experiencing any cravings, the moment I ask for something, he goes out of his way to get. Oh, I just can’t ask for anything more from my honey, I simply love him!

(via)

After browsing through my favourite baby sites, I have learned that at fourteen weeks our little Bee is now the size of a clenched fist. My, oh my, he’s getting bigger, no wonder my pants are starting to feel snugger. Sooner or later, I would have to bring out all the maternity clothes honey and I bought while in Manila.

Although I know that we’re far off from the finish line, if my first trimester is any indication of how this pregnancy is going to be, I am really looking forward to the rest of our pregnancy terms. I am one lady welling with happiness and contentment at the moment. That should be good for Bee as well I think. After all, one happy mommy equals one happy baby!

My Package of Joy

2009-05-27T10:06:00.005+02:00

While vacationing in Manila, I was having second thoughts if I should buy the Twilight DVD from there. After having read witsandnuts’ post about how the Philippine-released DVD is wanting for a lot of features, I told myself that I’ll just wait for it to be released in Amsterdam. As difficult as it was to resist purchasing the DVD (which was seriously calling out to me while we were in the record shop), I managed to hold my ground and look the other way.

When we returned here, the first thing I did was check out the local record shops and to my dismay, the Twilight DVD is not yet available and I was told that it will be released sometime in June. I was about to kick myself when my colleague told me about the sale at Amazon. When I checked out the site, well what do you know? The Twilight DVD is already on sale. I was ecstatic. I immediately placed my order plus some books that I’ve been wanting to buy for a while now, which luckily enough were all on sale.

After three days of waiting, I was so thrilled to go home hoping that my anticipated parcel has arrived (or was left to our neighbours). The moment I stepped into the door, my eyes immediately spotted the white and orange slip, I knew the postman has come. I picked it up to see where the package is and immediately asked honey to go and get my parcel from our neighbour as indicated in the slip.

I have a big, wide grin as I welcomed honey back inside the house with the box in his arms. I was like a child opening a present on Christmas Eve. There it was my Twilight DVD, Nigella Lawson’s How to be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking, Complete Novels of Jane Austen and a children’s book entitled The very Hungry Caterpillar (for my little baby Bee). Oh, the simple joys of life. I have a lot of watching and reading to do.

The Second Trimester Begins…

2009-05-25T13:57:00.003+02:00

(baby Bee @ 11 weeks and 4days)

It’s been a smooth sailing ride for the three of us for more than three months now. I can’t believe how much joy, excitement and anticipation your daddy and I have while waiting for you to come out. I vividly recall that morning the stick finally turned blue, we almost jumped for joy. I still remember the first time we saw you on that screen, you tiny little angel, it was pure magic. And how about the first time we heard your heartbeat… oh we were ecstatic, I had tears welling in my eyes and my heart filled with so much love and yearning to finally hold you in my arms. You are the gift that we’ve been praying for, for quite a while now and now that you’re finally here, it’s so surreal, I have to pinch myself sometimes.

Now that we are embarking on the second leg of our journey, the three of us, I’m so looking forward to feeling your first kick inside my tummy, to soothe your movements with my voice and to caress my belly knowing that you’re there appreciating the touch. I can’t wait to learn if I should buy you pretty tiny little dresses, or will I be shopping for cute little shirts and shorts. There are a lot of other things that we are about to experience together and your daddy and I are looking forward to all those marvellous things.

I cannot guarantee that your daddy and I will not have doubts or fears in the coming months, for like you this is also something new to us, but if there is something that I can guarantee, that is, you are loved and will forever be loved. Hang in there our little baby Bee, mommy and daddy are patiently waiting for you.

(baby Bee @ 11 weeks and 4days)

Bohol Sea Adventure

2009-05-22T13:33:00.005+02:00

Our third day was spent basking in the glorious sun, sand and beach of Bohol. We were fetched by our bangkero, kuya George at around 5:30 to start our sea tour bright and early. As part of our itinerary, we were scheduled to watch dolphins at play, snorkel (well honey snorkelled, while I fed the fishes from the small boat) at fish sanctuary and island hop to Balicasag and Virgin (Pontod) Island.

I was surprised that as early as six in the morning when we reached the spot where the dolphins were supposed to show up, there were a lot of other boats, passengers of which were also tourists like us hoping to get a glimpse of the marvellous sea creature. We saw a couple of them dolphins jumping about but each time that we would go closer to the last spot where the dolphins were seen, all the rest of the boats followed suit and the dolphins just swam and went to a completely new spot. After an hour or so of aimlessly going about the wide area, although we did saw some flips and flaps from the ever elusive dolphins, I begun to feel tired of running after them and told Kuya George that we might as well go the next stop. Little did I know that where we were going next would be a much better location for us to spot the flirtatious swimming of these intelligent creatures. I couldn’t help but wonder why kuya George would want to spend all those time running after the elusive dolphins in the first spot. He explained to us that in the first spot that went to, the dolphins were much bigger and they are more playful. Oh, well, I was more than happy to just get closer to the dolphins, the flips and flaps of the bigger ones were a mere bonus.

Next, off we went to the fish sanctuary where honey snorkelled the entire day. I opted to join him and went into the small boat that we rented and thinking that I won’t be going in the water so I can take the camera with me. We took the bangkero’s advice and bought some crackers with us to the snorkelling site. At first, I thought I’d be bored to death while waiting for honey to finish exploring the fish sanctuary. However, while honey was busy floating and dipping and flapping away through the beautiful corals, I took some crackers and dipped my hand in the water. I was amazed by the number of fishes that came to my hand, the crystal clear water made it so easy to see all the fishes and I sure am glad I brought the camera, I took pictures of the fishes as they feasted on the crackers I gave them. I didn’t even have to ask if honey had a grand time, his smile said it all. We were nicely brown and toasted from the burning sun when we went back to the bank where a hearty lunch was waiting for us.

(virgin Island)

After lunch, honey did some more dipping and flapping in the beach but I managed to pull him off from the shore and we went to our last stop for the day, the Virgin Island. This is a half circle stretch of white sand beach that people can see during low tide but is completely out of sight during high tide. This was where we found the henna tattoo guys. Since I’m not allowed to swim and honey also wanted to get henna so badly, we spent half an hour or so waiting for the guy to finish the tattoos. I must say, I loved how my tattoo turned out, it’s so intricate and pretty.

When we finally returned to our hotel, I can’t believe how tired I was, I guess the heat of the sun really took a toll on me. However I must say that I haven’t seen a beach more pristine or sand finer than the ones I have seen in Bohol. It’s breath taking.

Countryside Tour Bohol Part 2 of 2

2009-05-20T16:20:00.006+02:00

The incessant coughing and sneezing coupled with the flu and fever that bugged honey and me down for the past couple of days made our wonderful trip to Bohol seems so distant now. That is why I must follow up on my previous post to relax my mind and remind myself of the recent good times that honey and I had in that wonderful island.

The Loboc River lunch and cruise left me yearning for a bed to nap (oh well, in my present condition, my body seems to always long for a bed to doze off) however, that sleepiness lasted only for a couple of minutes for the moment we saw the countryside leading to the place where we would soon be visiting the tarsier, our eyes couldn’t help but feast on the wonderful scenery. We reached the tarsier sanctuary in no time and I almost leaped out of the van as I was so enthused to finally see the infamous tarsier of Bohol. The moment I saw them cute little primates, I couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh wow… they are so freakin’ cute!” Indeed they were so cute, I wanted to reach out for one of them and start pinching them. Oh, of course I didn’t! I contented myself with feeding them crickets (crickets on stick - which at first gave me goose bumps) and taking their pictures.

I was bummed to leave them cute tarsiers but we had to carry on with our tour. Next stop was the other infamous gem of Bohol… the Chocolate Hills. On our way to the hills, K regaled us with the cheesy legend of the Chocolate hills. She said that one of the more famous legends tells a story of a giant who fell in love with a beautiful lady. Now this beautiful lady was engaged to be married and a part of the wedding ceremony, she has to bathe in the lake naked. Now the giant saw her and couldn’t help but reach out to her. Once the giant picked her up the lady was overcome by fear and died. The giant mourned the death of her loved one and cried for so many days. The tears dried up and up to this day stand as the symbol of the Giants grief and are now what we know the Chocolate Hills. I told you it was cheesy!

K told us that we had to climb hundreds of steps to fully appreciate the beauty of the chocolate hills from the viewing deck. I must say, as mushy as the legend is, there was nothing cheesy about the splendour that greeted us. The moment we were on top, we tried to catch our breath, not only from the steep climb but also because of the beauty that welcomed us. The viewing deck gave as a 180 degree-view of the hills and they were simply majestic. Such a shame this site didn’t make it as a finalist to the 7 wonders of nature for it’s truly breathtaking.

From the chocolate hills, we stopped by the man made forest going to the giant python, Prony. The man made forest has been an initiative of the local government to help the once deteriorating forest of the island and after 50 years, the trees have been kept safe from loggers and they are constantly being monitored. Such feat should be followed by other LGUs I think.

After the man made forest stop, we went on and visited Prony, she is the largest python in captivity ever known (via). In this python sanctuary, it was not the python that caught my fancy, it was Marimar, and he referred to himself as Prony’s twin. What initially caught my attention was when he greeted us in Dutch (heck he knew more Dutch than I do). He started telling us Prony’s history, his eating habits and finally asked us if we want to see him perform which of course we readily agreed. He was amazing, he hung himself upside down while lip synching a Regine Velasquez song. He was really pretty with his make up and the red dress that he was wearing, I even told honey that he really looks like Michael V. (when Michael V dresses up like a woman).

After being amused with Marimar, err Prony, we passed by a bolo making house (there was nothing special there) and a nipa weaving lady (also nothing special there) before we finally made it to Baclayon church. Baclayon church is the second oldest church in the Philippines (next to San Agustin church in Intramuros). The massive walls and the tainted glasses gave me a feeling that I’m somehow in the Spanish era. Honey and I took turns in taking pictures and K kindly asked us if we want our picture taken. She picked the spot where to take the picture and when we all looked at the picture she has taken, she pointed out to the wall which eerily seemed to have a face on it. She said that the face has started to appear a couple of months ago and a lot of people are saying that the face looks like Father Pio (I’m not sure who he is).

Our last stop for the day was the souvenir shop, of course no tour is complete without souvenir shopping. We hoarded several delicacies and some pasalubongs.

The entire day was tiring but it was so worth it. It really pays off to have knowledgeable and nice people to show you around their town. Thanks to K and Kuya Ferry for the unforgettable tour, honey and I enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Countryside Tour Bohol Part 1

2009-05-18T23:59:00.000+02:00

Honey and I stayed for 4 days in Bohol. The first day was our free day which was spent in the beach, me lounging under the coconut tree while watching (and getting envious) as honey swam his heart out in the beach and then in the pool, oh well I got to dip my feet in the pool and I got to walk in the beach as long as its only knee deep. Tough, tough, tough.

The following day was the day we explored the many wonders and great spots of Bohol. Our very nice driver, Ferry and our very well informed tour guide, K, took us to a lot of breath taking places in Bohol. Our first stop was the miraculous well of Mother Mary in Dauis Bohol, K explained that some time long ago there was a drought and all of a sudden, water sprung from the ground and the image of Mother Mary was seen floating above the spot were the water welled up and from then on the well never dried up. The other curious thing about this well is that the water is fresh while the entire island is surrounded by sea water. The people of the town built a church with the altar situated where the well sprung.

(the miraculous well)

Next stop was the popular blood compact monument. I’ve seen this site plenty of times in the past in pictures and in some movies as well, but I was not prepared by how beautiful the view is from the monument overlooking the sea and the landscapes of Bohol, it was amazing.

(beautiful Loboc River)

After taking in the beauty of the scenery of Bohol from the top of a cliff, we all decided that it was time to experience the Loboc river cruise where we will also be having our lunch. I believe this meal was one of the best we’ve had in Bohol, owing to the mouth watering mango and shrimp paste combo that I devoured all throughout the meal.

(our hearty lunch)

The painstaking view of the green river made the meal a lot more pleasant. There was also a singer who regaled us with old ballads. The cool breeze that touched my face was more than a welcome relief from the hot and humid weather. In the river bank abounds Nipa tree, all the while I thought they were small coconut trees.

Before we went back to the bank, we stopped by a settlement area for a tribe. We took photos of the native children while they were swinging from the trees with a rope. They even invited us to take a picture with a snake which we can hang over our shoulders, to which offer, honey and I both declined. Hehe.

No wonder a lot of people are enamoured by the charming town of Bohol. There are so many treasures waiting to be discovered. I can’t believe how much beauty we’ve witnessed just at the first part of our countryside tour.

A piece of Paradise in Bohol

2009-05-17T23:59:00.000+02:00

One of the highlights of our recent Manila holidays was going to Bohol for a much needed R&R. Since this would be the last time that honey and I are travelling by ourselves, because soon enough we’ll have our little angel always with us, we wanted to make it extra special trip. We had to book everything at a very short period of time making it more difficult to have all our requirements met or otherwise making the trip very costly since it’s the peak season after all. Good thing one of my college friends, M, recently got married and had her honeymoon in Bohol just a few weeks earlier and she was able to recommend an agent who can take care of all our needs.

After browsing through websites and hotel and resort reviews, our first choice was to stay at the Amorita resort. However, after receiving the package options and price list from our very agent, we saw that our preferred resort costs twice as much as the resort that our agent recommends (which happens to be the same resort M and her husband stayed at and she had all nice things to say about it) with fewer inclusions. Our agent explained that this is because the resort is almost fully booked so the prices are much higher than their normal rates. So without thinking any further, we decided to go for Alona Tropical.

I must say, I couldn’t be any happier with our choice. The first indication that the resort really strives to give great service was when we arrived at the resort at around 9 am. Normally we would have to wait till 2pm before we could check in but they readied our room for us and checked us in immediately, without extra cost. At first we stayed at a beach front room that was quite further from the beach front but after soaking in the sun for a couple of hours, honey was able to request for a different room that was literally 10 steps away from the beachfront, perfect!

(in front of our beach front room)

(posing after taking a dip in the pool)

Since my OB in Manila told me that I was not allowed to swim, I had to content myself with lounging in front of the beach while dozing off or reading a book, that was when I noticed that the resort that we initially wanted to stay at was right next to Alona Tropical and that they don’t have a beach front of their own. Since they are located at the top of a cliff, their guests would have to go down the stairs (which would not have been very convenient at my present condition) and use the stretch of beach in front of Alona Tropical. That was when honey and I were convinced that we made the right choice. Anyway, we were able to savour the view from that resort the night we had dinner at their restaurant overlooking the beach stretch of Alona.

I would definitely recommend Alona Tropical to anyone who wants to go to Bohol. It offers great value for money, the service is impeccable, the amenities are great, I love the homey feel of the spacious and well kept rooms and it definitely made our stay in Bohol more special.

Dessert Discovery

2009-05-01T07:38:00.007+02:00

A couple of weeks back, while browsing through blogs, i chanced upon a post about Estrel's caramel cake and how good they are. Being a dessert fanatic, I got curious and googled some more and found out that all hits refer to this cake as nothing less than remarkable. I can't believe that anything this good has escaped my radar for a long time. I told honey that once we're here in Manila, we have to drop by the shop and make sure to grab one of these caramel cakes everyone is raving about.

Last week, after accompanying honey and his cousin for a hair cut, we finally decided to look for the famed cake shop. It is a quaint space in the corner of a very busy street. The homey feel of the this shop adds to the charm of the desserts sold. Upon entering, there were several boxes lined up in the shelves so I immediately asked the nice lady for a box of their famous caramel cake. She told me that all the cakes are sold out all the rest of the boxes still in the shop are just waiting for their owners to pick them up. I was about to get so disappointed when the other person in the shop told the lady that they have one more box of cake to sell because there was a mistake in the order taken earlier in the day. The lady told us that we were quite lucky because normally, there are no more cakes for sale at that time of the day. We greedily grabbed the box and bought a box of food for the gods as well and went on our merry way home.

We immediately served the cake once we got home and everyone enjoyed it thoroughly because it's very fluffy, the sponge cake melts in your mouth, nothing I haven't had before but I believe that the best thing about this cake is the frosting, it was quite unique something I haven't tried before although it reminds me of cajeta, i can taste condensed milk in it but it is delicately sweet, not the uberly sweet kind. The food for the gods was a winner as well. I think i'll try my hand and make this caramel cake on my own and see how it turns out.

One should definitely try this cake, this can be a favorite during special occasions but it can get old after a while because this is the only cake that they make.

Updates from Humid Manila

2009-04-29T09:05:00.002+02:00

I've been neglecting this space for quite a while now. I just can't seem to squeeze in an hour or two to blog about our adventures in the midst of our hectic schedule here in Manila. I've been out and about everyday since we arrived and I'm quite surprised with myself, instead of getting dismayed with the intermittent rains that pour here, I've been quite thankful for them. They have made the scorching heat a lot more bearable.

Honey and I have visited a lot of families and friends, the details (and pictures) of which will be following very soon. We've dined on some of our old favorites and we've tried some new restaurants as well. Most of all, i've also had an appointment with an OB here in Manila and I've had another ultrasound. We've heard our little baby Bee's heartbeat for the first time yesterday, I almost cried. It was the sweetest sound I've heard. Everyone in our family is so excited with the coming of our little angel very soon.

Of course, no vacation here in Manila is complete without shopping! I've bought baby Mozart (which i can't find in Amsterdam), a couple of baby books and other stuff.

Next week we'll be in Bohol and I'm so looking forward to it, although the OB said I shouldn't swim :-) Oh well, dipping my feet on the cold water is better than nothing.

Our Precious Gift

2009-04-16T23:59:00.000+02:00

The past couple of weeks have been uncertain for honey and me, not the restless kind of uncertain but the type of uncertainty that nags here and there just because we didn’t know. I’ve missed my period, my last was end of January but I’ve tested a couple of weeks ago and it was negative. Honey and I were a bit disappointed but we thought, oh, well there is always the next time. I was a tad worried coz, I may have delays in my period before but not this long so I went to the doctor, I told him that I’ve missed my period for almost two months but tests turned negative and so he had some blood tests done on me. Before the weekend after consulting my doctor, I got a call from the him telling me that everything was fine with the blood test, all my hormones were ok. I was not so convinced about the results, I was thinking that it was so odd that they didn’t even recheck if I’m really pregnant or not so come Saturday (28th of March) morning, right out of bed, I decided to take another test, and what do you know?!!!

We were so thrilled that the other line finally turned blue, honey couldn’t wipe the smile off his face, and he immediately grabbed the phone and called Mama Lits. I still wasn’t convinced so I asked honey to buy me another pregnancy test and don’t tell anyone else yet until we have confirmed it. The second test turned positive again.

After having an ultrasound, we learned that we're six weeks pregnant! Oh, pure joy! I was filled with a mixture of so much excitement and happiness and a little bit of fear all at the same time. I've never felt like this before. I still can't believe it, we're finally having our little angel, our little baby Bee.

Oasis of flowers

2009-04-14T14:08:00.005+02:00

One of the most popular destinations here in Holland during spring is the Keukenhof. Honey and I have been planning to visit this well known garden for the longest time but somehow, the two months that this garden is open slips by so quickly that we never managed to squeeze in a chance to drop by.

L, a friend of mine since the good old auditing days, was here over the Easter holidays so honey and I grabbed the opportunity to finally see for ourselves what everyone was raving about. At first, honey was not sure how to get there but when we saw the cars starting to file up, we knew that we were in the right direction. After seeing all the cars headed towards Keukenhof, I thought it’s gonna be crazy and we’re not going to enjoy because of the huge crowd, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Even before we enter the garden, the field painted with various colours was already a site to behold. Keukenhof, which also means kitchen garden, is now on its 60th year and is situated at an area that used to be a hunting field where herbs are also planted for the kitchen of Jacoba van Beieren’s castle, thus the name. via.

I have never seen more flowers in my entire life. Tulips, lilies, daisies, amaryllis, roses, different types of orchids and so much more flowers whose names I’ve never seen before are all there in one garden. No wonder people are enamoured by this garden, it’s like a piece of paradise with its magical colours and cool breeze. I can imagine this place as an awesome venue for weddings, even prenuptial pictorials.

I am so looking forward to coming back next year, maybe even prepare a picnic basket so that we can stay longer in this oasis.

100 Truths

2009-04-06T18:07:00.004+02:00

via
It's been a down right busy day, with our monthend closing and all. At the last leg of my workday, i needed a pick-me upper so i am glad have another tag from Niko, to get my head away from work for a while. This are basic questions and i can't believe relaxing it is to just scribble down stuff.

001. Name → Christian
002. Nickname(s)→ Kreez.
004. Zodiac sign → Aquarius.
005. Male or female → Female.
006. Elementary → PES2
008. High School → Pasig Catholic College
009. College School → Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
010. Hair color → Dark Brown.
011. Long or short → Long.
012. Loud or Quiet → Depends, when I’m with friends I’m talkative but I don’t know you my lips are sealed
013. Jumpers or Jeans → Jeans.
014. Phone or Camera → Phone.
015. Health freak → No.
016. Drink or Smoke? → neither.
017. Do you have a crush on someone? → Yes. Keannu.
018. Eat or Drink → Eat.
019. Piercings → Ears.
020. Tattoos → Nope

FIRSTS:
023. First piercing → I have no idea!
024. First best friend → dulce – I was in kindergarten.
025. First award → 3rd honors - kindergarten.
026. First crush → Devon Sawa of Casper
027. First pet → a dog
028. First big vacation → Ilocos Summer 1995
030. First big birthday → Every year my mom makes a big deal of my birthday

CURRENTLY:
049. Eating → nothing
050. Drinking → Water.
052. I'm about to → call it a day
053. Listening to → the printer.
054. Plans for today → cook seafood pasta for dinner
055. Waiting for → honey to send an email

YOUR FUTURE:
058. Want kids? → definitely
059. Want to get married? → I did, and I want to do it again
060. Careers in mind → be an entrepreneur, build our own business

WHICH IS BETTER IN THE BOY/GIRL YOU LIKE?
068. Lips or eyes → eyes
070. Shorter or taller - Taller.
072. Romantic or spontaneous → Romantic.
073. Nice stomach or nice arms → Nice arms.
074. Sensitive or loud→ Sensitive.
075. Hook-up or relationship → Relationship.
076. Trouble maker or hesitant → Neither.

HAVE YOU EVER:
080. Lost glasses/contacts → I did, I had LASIK surgery so I don’t need it anymore
081. Ran away from home → Never did
082. Held a gun/knife for self defense → haha violence, but no.
083. Killed somebody → more violence! nope
084. Broke someone's heart → I’d like to think I haven’t
085. Been arrested → nope
087. Cried when someone died → Yes, of course

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
089. Yourself → Yes.
090. Miracles → A definite yes
091. Love at first sight → Not really
092. Heaven → Yes.
093. Santa Claus → No.
094. Tooth Fairy → No.
095. Kiss on the first date → No.

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
097. Is there one person you want to be with right now → Yes - My honey
098. Are you seriously happy with where you are in life → Yes.
099. Do you believe in God → Yes.
100. Post as 100 truths and tag 20 people→

It's real nice to share and fun to answer this stuff, although some items are a bit weird. If you're looking for something to pass time, i suggest you grab this tag and answer away. Don't forget to link back here.

Reward for Passion

2009-04-03T11:07:00.005+02:00

Whenever people ask me what I do for a living and I would tell them that I’m a CPA by profession, they would always say “oh, so you’re good in math?” to which my immediate response is “Oh no, no, no!” As far as I can remember, my passion has always been with writing and speaking. Even as a kid, I’ve always been highly opinionated and there is nothing more exhilarating than sharing my views or stories with other people. My passion for writing has even been more fueled when I became a part of, and eventually led the school news paper in both elementary and high school. Those were fun times, I get to have my opinions read by the entire campus. My school days (that is from elementary through my university days) have also given me a platform to develop another love affair, this time with public speaking. My best loved mode of public speaking would definitely have to be a debate. I just feel elated each time I step on that platform to deliver my views on a matter of discussion and the knowledge that somehow, I am able to influence the opinion of others as well is beyond words.

After college, when I started working, there are fewer avenues for me to extend my wings for writing and speaking. There was just no room for me to pursue my passion further. This was the case until I’ve discovered blogging. Since then, my fervor to express my opinion, to tell my stories and to just say something has been ignited once more. I now found a channel where I can keep a journal of all the pieces that I’ve ever written. It has become my stress-reliever and has allowed me to build a space for my thoughts, my very own views.

Apart from writing in my blog, I also enjoy discovering other entertaining, informative and funny blogs in the web. What’s even more exciting is when a co-blogger notices my space and rewards me for what I’ve created here. That is why I’d like to thank Pu Niao of Chopsticks for dropping by and showering me some love by gifting me with these fabulous awards

The Neno's Award and the Brigadeiro Award. These awards are gifted to bloggers who show intense love for blogging and encourages friendship through blogging.

Thanks again Pu Niao, more than the award, I appreciate that you’ve noticed my love for blogging.

Now the other good thing about blogging is that you find other bloggers with the same amount of zeal and reading there blogs will make you realize how enthused they are with it. I find the following blogs so candid and entertaining, truly worth the stop.

Niko’s blog – her maxim of “blogging like no one is reading” is truly admirable.
Confessions – this blog is truly informative and funny.
Witsandnuts – her antics, travel and experiences are inspiring and informative at the same time
Market Manila – if this is not a blog that showcases passion for food, then I don’t know what will.
Pulse - DrEm's blog is indeed a blog that inspires, her daily post is something that i look forward to, when it comes to movies, food and travel, i definitely consult her blog

These are just some of the blogs that I’ve been lucky enough to chance upon and it is evident in all of them how passionate they are with blogging and how enamored they are with sharing their views and stories.

Eggplant heaven

2009-04-01T10:09:00.004+02:00

(via)

I’m not sure what came over me yesterday but as early as lunch time, I made up my mind to pass by the vegetable market a block away from our place and buy several eggplants. I was really craving for Tortang Talong (eggplant frittata)!

So off I went to the vegetable market and I chose good eggplants. After that I have to head to the supermarket adjacent to our home to buy some tomatoes (you’d think that the vegetable market would sell them, but no they don’t). I was debating with myself weather I should peel and boil the eggplant of broil and peel. I decided to do the latter so on the stove top, I placed a wire rack and allowed the eggplants to broil just until they’re soft enough to be peeled by hand and squished. After I have broiled them, I allowed them to cool for a bit, and then I peeled them off by hand, it’s quite easy to peel them off coz the skin comes off easy if they have been broiled to the right softness.

After peeling, I squished them all flat and set them aside. I took some eggs, beat them well and season them with salt and pepper. I poured some olive oil over a hot skillet, I took the squished eggplants and dipped them well in the eggs and fried them on hot skillet. Depending on the size of the eggplants, but I used an egg for each eggplant. Other people I know add minced meat to this viand, others add onions and tomatoes but I prefer mine simple and satisfying. Oh, I almost forgot, the tomatoes serve as side dish, you have to chop ‘em up real nice and add a spoonful or so of fish sauce or fish paste. Presto, super yummy dinner.

I had to close my eyes each time a take a bite, I’ve missed this comfort food a lot!

Early mornings, new beginnings

2009-03-26T01:00:00.002+01:00

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I have always been a morning person, my mind retains information better when I get them in the morning, I’m more productive, my energy level is high, I simply love my mornings. Even when I was studying, each time that we have a major exam, I would set the alarm at three in the morning or so to start studying. Waking up at an ungodly hour has been a part of my routine during my preparation for the CPA board exams, I would normally sleep at around 10 pm and wake up at three in the morning. In my memory bank those days were some of the toughest but ironically the most memorable days of my life. Looking back, I still can feel the struggle of trying to open your eyes when the bed seems to have a stronger pull of gravity in your body, forcing you to go back and cuddle the soft sheets and silky pillows. I dread and miss those mornings all at the same time.

For quite sometime now, I’ve been fiddling with the idea of taking another certification exam. I just thought that it would sharpen my skills, refresh me of knowledge long forgotten and help me advance in my career. So finally, a couple of weeks back I’ve finally decided to apply for the Certified Management Accountant exam given by the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA). While flipping through the review materials, the memories of my CPA board exam review days came rushing back to me and surprisingly, I got this chill of excitement running down my spine, I felt giddy. For the past days, I’ve been trying to wake up earlier to squeeze in an hour of study in the morning and an hour of exercise (oh well, I said I try!), I’ve been doing good in some days while on others I fail to get out of bed miserably. However as the exam (1st) date nears, I have to improve and stick to my schedule more religiously. I’m really looking forward to it.

I really am keeping my fingers crossed on this. Wish me luck and pray that I at least gain knowledge in this challenge that I’m about to embark on.

Weee! We’ve got WII

2009-03-25T02:00:00.000+01:00

Last Christmas, I created my very first wish list and although honey wanted to buy the things in the list I didn’t receive from anybody else, I told him not to because I’m really trying to limit myself to the things that we need and not overly indulge in the things that we want.

Over the weekend, one of our friends asked us to go with them while they try to look for the best sofa set to replace the one they currently have. Shopping, (window or otherwise) is a trip I couldn’t bring myself to decline so off we went. Right beside the furniture shop that our friends visited was our favourite electronics shop and saw that they have really great deals on offer. I tagged honey along and entered the shop marvelling at all the wonderful things on sale clenching my fist as I try to use every ounce of self control that I have to keep me from buying those items that I long to have. However, honey got the better of me, pointing out that he received a pleasant surprise from work last week and that there was a storewide offer, which includes one of the items in my wish list, he insisted that he wanted to buy me a present, who am I to argue, so I caved. There inside the Mediamarkt, we finally became owners of this marvellous WII sport pack.

I’m really enthused about this game, I read a lot of wonderful things about it and as I try to explore it, I can say that this will definitely be a part of me and honey’s bonding moment. We already started last Saturday night, we played tennis. Egads, my arms and shoulder were aching after four games with honey and everything was a tie. I also tried the WII fit board and the WII fit program yesterday and I must say that its really good.

If at first I have my doubts about this purchase, now I can truly say that it was a really great buy, this WII. We’re looking forward to fun times ahead.

The big 9-0

2009-03-20T13:01:00.004+01:00

Honey and I have been together for exactly 90 months last Saturday and I must say, it keeps on getting better and better. This starts my countdown to our centennial mensiversary. All through these months, honey and I never failed to celebrate this day, I guess we’re just the type of couple who grabs any and every opportunity to celebrate our love for each other. It can be as simple as greeting each other “happy monthsary” or it can be as elaborate as having a dinner date plus gifts, bouquets of flowers and the entire shebang, no matter how simple (or enormous) it is, we just make it a point to celebrate.

One of the things I love about my husband is the fact that he likes to always surprise me. He stops at nothing to get anything that I want and he gives them to me just when I least expect it. This month’s gift is another example of this. I have mentioned time and again how hard it is to get a decent cake plate here and I’m getting more and more frustrated coz I’ve been expanding my kitchen experiments lately. And just when I’m about to get more frustrated after scouring the shopping street adjacent to our home, honey popped this baby out of a bag and told me that this is his gift to me for our 90th mensiversary. It’s perfect! I love the chocolates but more so I love the cake plate. It’s simple yet elegant, just what I was looking for. Honey hit another jackpot!

Honey, thanks for being the best, no, the perfect husband to me. You’re all I’ve ever longed for, dreamed of, prayed for, and so much more. You are the silver lining in my sky that gives me hope, happiness and courage. I want nothing more but to still be holding hands with you when we’re old and gray and wrinkled. Happy 90th mensiversary honey! I love you!

Beautiful brown longanisa logs

2009-03-20T00:21:00.000+01:00

During weekends, I tend to plan our breakfast more carefully resulting to a more elaborate menu. After a week of plain and sometimes hurried breakfast, I want to pace myself in preparing and savouring the first and most important meal of the day during weekends. This is the case last Saturday, I chanced upon this simple recipe for longanisa, something that honey has been telling me he’s been craving for for a while now but we don’t get longanisa in this part of the globe readily available. The moment I saw this recipe, I knew exactly what we’re having for breakfast.

The recipe is really easy and really yummy, it reminds me of the longanisa I used to have when I eat breakfast at Mcdo, really tasty. I paired these beautiful longanisa logs with some fried rice and fried eggs with a bowl full of tomatoes drizzled with some fish sauce. Voila! The perfect breakfast. The best thing of all is that honey absolutely loved it.

Orange goodness

2009-03-19T00:01:00.000+01:00

I have never been big on fruits. When it comes to desserts, I would always prefer the creamy goodness of ice cream, the decadence of cakes or the buttery pleasures of pastries over the freshness of fruits. Its not that I don’t like them, I would savour the sweetness of a ripe Philippine mango or the tangy goodness of lanzones, if they’re there but when I’m away from the Philippines, I don’t get cravings for them. I have a very short list of fruits that I really like and although I prefer them over other fruits, I don’t go gaga over them, until last week.

Honey and I were doing some grocery shopping and we chanced upon this unfamiliar fruit. I knew I’ve seen them somewhere before but being the not-too-crazy-about-fruits that I am, I’ve never been curios enough to try. However, honey, who is a fruit buff, insisted that we buy some of it because he remembers having tried them and remembers them to be really good. So we grabbed a couple of them fruits and went on our merry way back home.

That night, while watching our favourite series, honey started peeling off these gorgeous produce and he popped one in my mouth. At first bite, the texture was a bit grainy and mushy while the juice that oozed from the fruit was sweet, but not overly. The next piece that honey gave me was even more wonderful, it was a bit sweeter, the texture was smoother and mushier, it was refreshing. Immediately I know I’m hooked.

In our local grocery, they’re called Kaki fruit, however, some know them better by the name persimmons. Personally, I’ve never really been familiar with them before, I’ve never really seen them in the Philippines before so I wouldn’t think that we grow them locally (of this I’m not sure). I think the ones that we have here come from Italy or Spain.

This fruit definitely climbed up to be my top favourite fruit, and that is saying something.

Creamy Heaven

2009-03-18T00:01:00.001+01:00

For as long as I could remember, I have been in constant search for the best cheesecake. From the best recipes to the café that serves the most delectable slice of this creamy, sensual treat. My most favourite cheesecake is the kind topped with one of my most favourite fruits, blueberries. My constant search has always been focused with the New York cheesecake kind, however, last Friday, after dropping by one of my most visited blogs, I chanced upon this interesting recipe of a Japanese cheesecake. Having pledged my loyalty to the cheesecake club for as long as I could remember, I am quite surprised that I’ve never tried this kind before.

Last Friday evening, with my apron wrapped around my waist, I wielded my mixer and started trying my hand on this gorgeous treat. The recipe was quite simple, I don’t have an 8 1/2 “ silicone baking pan so I used the one that I have, I think it’s 10” (I’m not sure) and I baked mine using a baine-marie and it turned out beautifully. Honey was out with some old colleagues that night so I decided to unmold the cake for tomorrow’s breakfast.

The next morning, I’m thrilled to sample the cake that was waiting for me inside my oven. I sliced a huge piece, took a forkful of the smooth cake and the minute it touched my tongue, it melted. It was as light as snow. I savoured every mouthful of this sinful and tempting treat. I couldn’t help but close my eyes as allow my tongue to feast on the sweet, tangy and fluffy heaven. Pure bliss!

This is the only cheesecake that I’ve made that honey enjoyed as well (he’s not a cheesecake person). This recipe shoots up to one of my top cheesecake recipe list.

Flowers, fruits and more

2009-03-17T00:01:00.000+01:00

One of the highlights from our recent trip to France is the trip to the garden/plant shop. They had various kinds of plants from blooms to fruit bearing to ornamental, they also have indoor, outdoor, hanging and water plants, name it they have it. Honey and I have always wanted to visit gardens here in the Netherlands coz we know they’d be really good, it is the home of the beautiful tulips after all, but we never get to go.

I love all the flowers, in different shapes, sizes, colour and scent, it was simply wonderful. Going to this garden also bolstered my desire to grow my own fruit bearing plants in our back garden. The look of lemon hanging from the branches was priceless, and beneficial too, if I may add.

I had to stop honey from buying all the tall trees, telling him that we’ll just buy them from here. We ended up with a pot of roses, several pots of strawberries, two pots of tiger lilies and a pot of parsley. These plants were immediately replanted on our back garden the moment we arrived home. That’s how excited we were about these beauties.

Good thing we didn’t buy much from France though, after talking to my colleague, who’s half French and half Dutch, he said he wouldn’t be surprised if the plants we bought we’re actually imported from the Netherlands and that his parents (specially his mom who is French) buys loads of plants from here whenever their going back to France coz its much cheaper here. He also recommended a garden where it’s really good to buy plants. We’ll definitely drop by and buy all the plants that I want to grow myself.

I’m really looking forward to this coming Spring, more than ever, coz I’m excited to see all my plants mature to their fullest beauty.

Gems in the cyberworld

2009-03-16T00:01:00.003+01:00

One thing that I love about the cyberspace is that you gain friends and feel like you get to know other cool peeps even without actually meeting them. Through Plurk, I’ve met another friend and it what a small world it is, I found out that her sister is from the same university that I graduated from, the same college, same year only different blocks (and during our time there were only two blocks that survived the stringent requirements of our course). Nice eh!

If meeting someone real nice and funny over the net is not enough, she even gave me a very flattering citation, she gave my blog the Uber Amazing Blogs Award. Thanks Ghie, more than the award, I’m really glad that you find inspiration in this humble space I’ve created here.

Personally, I visit different blogs for different purposes, there are those blogs that I go to for a quick laugh, still there are those blogs that I visit to have my eyes feast on the photos of wonderful food, places and anything that are so interesting and finally, there are those that I go to when I need a pick-me-up-from-a-gray-day-inspiring story.

Among those blogs that I go for a quick fix of my mood for the day are:

Batjay – I love his wit and green humour, his candour is admirable. This is definitely my stop to indulge with humorous, gut wrenching, stomach wringing, tear invoking laugh.

Pinoycook - this is my go to blog when I encounter a dry spell when it comes to creative cooking, one look at the recipes and posts in this blogs reignites my passion to spend my time in the kitchen.

Wifely Steps - if there is a word I’d use to describe this blog that would definitely be charming. Informative and entertaining posts, coupled with cute photos of cujo, the incredible dog. I’m hooked.

Pulse - this is one of my daily dose, as I’ve mentioned before, I just like to drop by coz Dr.Em’s post are short, entertaining to read and keeps me in touch with what’s good in the Philippines.

Witsandnuts - - this is a one of my more recent discoveries, I just find her witty stories and colourful photos amazing, plus she gives me my needed peek to a place I once called home.

Bo Sanchez Blog - - I visit this blog to get grounded, to be inspired or to simply laugh at what this pastor is currently up to.

There are so many blogs that I keep on visiting for so many other reasons. I must say, I’ve found so many gems lying around the cyberworld, I just needed to look more closely.

Mixed Bags

2009-03-13T15:00:00.000+01:00

If there is one thing I can’t leave the house without, that would be a bag. I must admit though that my fervour in collecting them in all shapes and sizes has dwindled over the past years. Either it’s because I’ve lost a lot of my favourite bags in transit when we were moving here in the Netherlands or because I don’t change bags as often as I used to, I really can’t tell. Honey even noticed that I don’t change bags that often and asked me why. I told him, simply because when we moved here, I always have to wear a trench coat, a jacket or a sweater and most of these items of clothing that I have in my closet are all black or white or brown therefore I don’t have to change the colour of my bag as I normally did, unlike those days when I used to work in Manila or Dubai, people can already see the wardrobe I’m sporting so my bag has to match with it. Although I love bags, I am not a label fanatic, in fact, every time honey tells me, he’ll buy me an LV or Christian Dior bag, I tell him no, its not practical.

This morning, I was in the mood to change trench coats going to work so a change of bag was necessary. I’ve chosen one of my newer bags, an Aldo purse from Dubai, the cost of which I don’t know coz it has been a present from friends who visited us last Christmas and New Year. I really love this bag coz it suits any colour palette being a black and white bag and I just love the prints.

As I was in a hurry to change bags this morning, I just stashed all the things that were in my other bag to this bag. I have my wallet, a hair brush, make up kit, a portable playstation (which I borrowed from honey yesterday), cell phone charger, a copy of itinerary of the trains in Italy (which honey gave me to look at for the trip that we’re planning), a copy of my life plan (a document that I created which lists all my plans and dreams in life, I always have it handy coz I read it when I have time to pass), some receipts (how much of an accountant am I, couldn’t let go of receipts hehe) and finally a letter from the Institute of Certified Management Accountant (which I grabbed before I went out the door this morning, this letter contains a lot of information about the series of exams that I’m planning to take very soon to be a CMA!).

How about you, are you a bag person?

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This bag talk is inspired by Niko’s bag tag.

Our girl is now a Big Girl

2009-03-12T15:00:00.002+01:00

Cute!!!! Imagine me shrieking this word with a decibel that hurt my brother in law’s pet cats’ ear. Sorry, I can’t help it. The moment I entered my sister’s kitchen and saw her feeding her little angel, I just yelped out the word.

Now that I’m thinking about it though, cute doesn’t begin to describe our little Alex’ big hazel eyes, her dark brown curly hair and her hypnotic smile. Indeed she does. No wonder all my sisters in the Philippines went gaga over her during her one month visit to Manila. She’s simply captivating. She started to cry the moment honey and I entered because she doesn’t recognize us anymore. It figures, the last time we saw her was six months ago. However, after just half an hour of trying to woo her, she gave in. She’s much bigger now than the last time I saw her and she is starting to become prettier as opposed to just being cute the last time we were together. Her plump pink cheeks are now more defined, our Michelin girl is now gone, in her place is this big pretty girl.

She loves to turn and twirl and tumble in the bed, when I carry her around she turns around as well. She is very curious about anything and everything around her. And when you ask her to give you a kiss, she sticks out her tongue and touches your lips or cheeks with it. Honey quipped by saying “she gives you an authentic French kiss.” Hehe. Indeed she does. She doesn’t like to sit long on her stool and would look at you with pleading eyes to take her from the stool, which of course I can’t ignore. Honey and I enjoyed Alex’ company over the entire weekend, we can’t seem to get enough of her.

As they say, all things must come to an end, with heavy hearts we had to say goodbye to Alex on Sunday morning to embark on another seven-hour drive back home. I sure hope to see her again very soon. I do hope and pray that Alex grows up to be a good, loving, God-fearing kid.

Sunshine and meadows

2009-03-09T13:22:00.003+01:00

Apart from seeing my family, especially my angel of a niece, Alex, one of the things that I enjoy immensely each time we go to France is the long drive, that is, when the weather is nice. Such was the case last Friday. When we got in the car to start our long haul journey, it was raining a bit (which is very typical Dutch weather) so my hopes were not that high. What do you know? Less than an hour later, the sun decided to show himself and shone majestically on the fields and meadows that we passed through, the sight was breathtaking.

The change in landscape between Netherlands and France is quite dramatic. I can readily tell that I’ve entered French territory the moment we saw up hills and down hills on the road. We see mountains and cliffs as we drive through the express way of France, whereas, the land is as flat as a ruler in the Netherlands.

My favourite site in France is this towering bridge and a viaduct. I don’t know why but this viaduct reminds me so much of the one in Ilocos.

It was a pleasant seven-hour drive. I had picturesque views to entertain me as we go through the long trip.

Tulips and Spring

2009-03-04T21:21:00.000+01:00

Like most people, honey and I have a frantic schedule during weekdays, therefore, honey and I like to take things easy on weekdays (if and when circumstances permit it). My typical Saturday morning would begin at around nine to nine thirty. I would take my own sweet time in preparing breakfast. Once honey and I get our fill of our weekend breakfast (which normally is a heartier meal than what we have during weekdays), I would start tending my orchids and the rest of the plants that we have at home. There is serenity and calm each time I look these beauties and a satisfaction fills me, knowing that they are as lovely as they are because I cared for them.

Same is the case last Saturday, after breakfast, I watered my orchids and the rest of the foliage at home. That is when I noticed this just outside my kitchen door.

If my memory serves me right, this pot was planted by honey almost two years ago. He planted these tulips way beyond the prescribed planting season that is why we didn’t get to see them sprout last year. I remember teasing honey and told him that he is not to handle plants coz he never managed to keep any of them alive. When I told him that the tulips he planted are starting to bloom, the smirk on his face was so wide, I just have to laugh.

Beautiful blooms, they signal the beginning of my favourite season… Spring.

Chocolate and Hazelnut heaven

2009-03-02T17:07:00.007+01:00

With my favourite apron in place, I braised myself for another whirlwind misadventure in the kitchen last Friday evening. After having learned how to whip up a sinful, melt in your mouth, sugar high inducing treats, I haven’t looked back. I welcome every opportunity, with open arms, to try another gem of a pastry. I had another excuse last Friday, since we’ve been invited to attend a friend’s daughters birthday party, I knew I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to try another recipe in my must try list.

After careful consideration and after rummaging through my pantry to check for supplies, I’ve decided to try and make my own version of chocolate hazelnut nutcracker cake. I was curios how flavourful the cake would be with the hazelnut and graham crackers incorporated in the cake's batter. It was pretty easy to whip up and in no time, I had my cake base cooling in a wire rack.

The following morning, I made the Crème Chantilly and indeed it was heavenly. Icing the cake was a breeze and it turned out to be simple yet elegant. The end product was very flavourful and the rich frosting complimented the cake very well. My only complain is that the cake was not as fluffy as I’d hope it would be.

The cake was very well deserved at the party though. This recipe may not make it to my top five best cakes but it was definitely worth trying.

Weekend Frenzy

2009-03-02T10:49:00.006+01:00

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At five in the afternoon last Friday, I was already envisioning myself lounging on the sofa reading a book or watching my favourite TV series while having snacks or staying in bed until late morning. By eight in the evening, I saw my dream of a relaxed weekend slowly fading right before my eyes. I realized that I had to make a birthday cake for a friend’s daughter’s birthday the next day coupled with the fact that honey was not feeling too well that night and so I wanted to make him a comforting dinner. The moment I stepped into the house, I put on my favourite apron and started labouring in the kitchen hoping that I’ll finish everything, latest by midnight. We had dinner by around nine in the evening, I gave honey some paracetamol and tucked him into bed. I continued to work on my cake and managed to clear everything by quarter to twelve, I’m so pleased with myself, right on time.

Saturday and Sunday’s activities all happened at warp speed. I finished icing my cake, honey and I attended a dinner party on Saturday which ended at way past midnight, I cooked jam right after the party (until now that I’m writing this, I still don’t know what came over me to be cooking jam after midnight), I cooked a dinner for a dozen people for Sunday, host a dinner party at home on Sunday night, I’ve managed to try my hand on a Singaporean style tartlets from a recipe a colleague gave me and top it all off, I managed to spend time with my orchids, do some shopping and take some photos (to serve as evidence of how busy I was over the weekend hehe).

Looking back at all the things honey and I did over the weekend, I am not surprised that when my alarm clock buzzed this morning, I almost didn’t want to get out of bed and had to peel myself very slowly off the sheets and get ready for work. Weekends really come and go so quickly, I think I need another two more days to recuperate from all the weekend frenzy. ;-)

Simply obsessed

2009-02-27T13:37:00.002+01:00

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Different people would have different passions in life. Some are obsessed with clothes, others with books, some people would scour the farthest corners of the earth to find the most priceless antiques while some people may be passionate not with things but with relationships or hobbies. Personally, I am a type of person that likes variety in my life however, if asked what I cannot live without, I think I have that fairly narrowed down.

• On top of my list would be my honey…. There is just no way that I can satiate my zeal to be always with him. He reminds me of Edward Cullen’s line in the Twilight Saga saying Bella “is her brand of heroine”. I think honey is also my kind of heroine. Good thing I don’t crave for his blood, haha.

• Family and friends would steal the second spot of the things that I simply cannot live without. There is just no way for me to survive without having the support, company and presence of these wonderful people. They make my life more colorful and animated.

• Travel would definitely be something that I am obsessed about. What excites me about travelling is the fact that I get to explore a new place and I get exposed to a new culture. I also love those days leading to the date of travel as well. I find it exhilarating when I search, high and low, for information that would make my travel even more memorable and fun. There is an undeniable pleasure each time you find a gem of a place that you know you would want to keep coming back to.

• Whipping up a piece of sugary heaven is also a passion I’ve discovered just recently. There is a huge satisfaction in hearing people’s compliments after feasting on a concoction that you have labored on for hours. However, the greatest joy I get when baking is seeing the pretty little masterpiece that I have carefully prepared for a loved one, that’s even better than the sugar high one gets from these pastries.

• At the end of a gory week at work, there is nothing else that I want more than to cuddle up with honey on our sofa or in bed, with a bag of chips or a bowl of our favorite fruits and watch a movie from our collection of DVDs. I am a fanatic when it comes to movies and I enjoy movie houses a lot, however, there is nothing more relaxing and invigorating than enjoying an old favorite cuddled up and in the comforts of our own home.

Giddy, that is the only word that I can use to describe the feeling I’m left with every time I’m able to spend time with all these obsessions that I harbor in my life. I must say for an addiction, they made my life a lot healthier.

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This is my response to Niko’s tag.

Dilemma

2009-02-25T17:51:00.004+01:00

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I know it’s still like a gazillion months away before we go back to Manila, but honey and I are already trying to make arrangements for the trips that we want to make when we’re in the Philippines. The reason for this is because we wanted to take our entire family to a trip. This is where our dilemma begins. I really have two destinations in mind for our family holiday, Ilocos or Boracay. I’ve been in both places before and I remember having a grand time. I was leaning towards Ilocos because honey has never been there but honey is inclined to choose Boracay because he knows that the kids and the kids at heart would have all sorts of stuff to do.

Since we’re talking of a very big group here (around 20-25 people) and of different age brackets, honey and I would have to consider a place where everyone would have something to enjoy. Another factor to consider is the package deals that are offered, since we’re a big group, might as well make use of the purchasing power and make sure that we’re getting the best value for our money.

I know that honey and I are looking at a big project but I’m really hoping that we pull off this entire shebang coz I know it’s gonna be a lot of fun.

If you have any suggestions on where best to eat, stay or any spots that is a must visit in these two places, it would be greatly appreciated as it will help us make the final decision. Thanks

Getting Hitched

2009-02-20T09:40:00.004+01:00

One of the most memorable events in my life would definitely have to be the day when honey proposed to me. It has been almost 4 years ago and yet, every time I remember it, I still get giddy and I get butterflies in my stomach. Oh it was so romantic and to have experienced a proposal twice, I think, is rare. It’s a priceless memory that I hold very close to my heart and would relate to my kids and my kids’ kids tirelessly.

The reason for this sudden trip down the memory lane is because of Maria’s tag. She candidly shares the day she agreed to spend the rest of her life with her hubby and she invited me to share my memories of the day when I decided to spend the rest of my life with my one true love. As I have said, I’ve reminisced about it quite often and have blogged about the entire story before. Since that faithful day, I have never looked back. It has been pure marital bliss and I couldn’t be more thankful.

Looking forward to the next holidays

2009-02-18T23:59:00.000+01:00

These past couple of weeks have been so busy in the office that I am completely burned out by the end of each week and before I know it, the entire weekend has gone by leaving me still wanting more time to rest.

I must say, one of the things that relieve my stress is thinking of the next holiday that honey and I are taking. Oh, I’m so looking forward to visiting my sister in France in two weeks, in time for her daughter’s 1st birthday. I so miss that cute little cherubim, my little Michelin girl… hehe.

I have also convinced honey to finally bring me to Italy and that trip is scheduled in May. I just can’t wait. We’re planning to visit Milan, then Rome and finally Venice, my dream city to visit.

And finally, the biggest holiday planned this year is in November, we’ll be celebrating honey’s birthday back home with all our loved ones.

There, I’m a bit more energized now, just the mere thought of all the good times ahead relaxes me and keeps me going. I just need to hang in there for a couple of weeks more.

Vday breakfast

2009-02-16T15:19:00.001+01:00

Although I asked honey not to buy me flowers and not to take me out on a date for Valentines Day (which he completely worked around), I am not the type to pass out on any opportunity to celebrate love day, in my own way. That is why the moment I woke up last Saturday, I busied myself in the kitchen to prepare a breakfast for honey suitable for the occasion. I made him heart shaped pancakes!

Honey absolutely loved them.

I loved how we celebrated Valentines day this year, fuss and stress free on both honey and me. Just the way we liked it.

A one of a kind V-Day Date

2009-02-16T09:38:00.003+01:00

A couple of weeks ago, I already told honey not to buy me a bouquet of flowers and not to bring me to a fancy dinner on Valentines Day. I just thought that the day has become so commercialized now so I wanted to pass on celebrating it this year. But honey, being the true romantic that he is, found a way to circumvent my request and still bring me to a date to celebrate. He fetched me from work last Friday and told me that since I didn’t want to go on a date the following day, we’ll just have our date that night. He had a fresh idea for a date and we had a one of a kind Vday, we played bowling!
I was so surprised when he parked the car at a bowling centre very close to my office, I thought that we’ll just have our dinner at the restaurant beside it but honey said we’ll play bowling first and then have dinner. I was thrilled. We had so much fun. I knew honey was good in a lot of sports but I didn’t know he was also a good bowler. He completely crushed me, he had strikes and spares across the scoreboard and I, well, I managed to topple down some of the pins but nowhere near his score. Oh well. We were so starved after the game that we enjoyed the dinner after the game immensely.

The following day, when I woke up, honey gave me a couple of gifts as well. I was eyeing him suspiciously and he started explaining. He told me that since I asked him not to buy me flowers, he bought me gifts instead. How could I be mad… hehe. He got me this pretty pair of Nike cardio shoes and a cake plate that I’ve always wanted.

I must admit, it’s really nice to celebrate heart’s day but to be honest, with honey beside me, everyday is Valentines Day.

Happy Valentines Day to all! (better late than never).