The one with money sense

After our bohol trip, i can't help but give credit to simon and i for having to be able to treat our parents for a vacation. we've always wanted that and knowing that it will make them happy made us more motivated to save up for it. and with that, i'm also proud of the good deals that we were able to get that manages us to save a lot.

1. we got PAL's 777 promo. for a group of 6 adults and 1 kiddo, our 10k flight accommodations is a great catch.
2. i was able to book the hotel last year so i'd be able to avail of their old rates. ;) and i saved a couple of thousands with that.
3. i got the ordinary tour of hotel, renting out the van for the whole day with your driver/tour guide tagged along and we only chose the ones we wanted to go to since we're with older people and we know that they wont be able to stand long walks. so we went to the essentials: chocolate hills, loboc river, and tarsier areas and headed back to the hotel. had we gone with the complete tour, we'd have less time in the beach.
4. we brought light meals for breakfast and coffee packs. ;) our first day allowed us to splurge and indulge ourselves with food from the hotel since our first day is simone's birthday. on our second day, we settled for our "baon" and "ihaw" from restaurants nearby. and our third day, we ate again in the hotel's restaurant. :)
5. i know it's always nice to buy pasalubongs for relatives but we opted not to spend too much on this so we only bought peanut kisses for our siblings :)
6. we saved up for it and paid whatever we can pay so we don't have to cash out that big amount on the day of our vacation. it's like an rv financing, you make an installment so you don't get shocked that you spend a lot already for the trip.

Planning a trip is not easy but whatever it is that will make our parents happy is definitely worth it. So if you can afford or if you can save up for it, i'd advise you to go on a trip with your parents. Even if they are able to afford it on their own, it makes them proud and doubly happy that their children give an effort to do something for them :)

The one with alone time

I never complained that i don't spend much time for myself but i've always dreamed i'd have more time for myself. And God granted it today. I'm here in the mall since lunch time. I forgot my laptop so i could'nt set a meeting with a client. Simon told me, "baka gusto ni Lord mag-spend ka time for yourself". and it struck me that yes, that might be the reason as i'm always, always in front of the computer (like what im doing now..haha) So i asked him to drop me off at Robinson's galleria, decided to get a haircut and a cellophane treatment and then a scalp treatment, then strolled and bought myself a nice top, had my eyebrows trimmed and just had a great time by myself. sarap! It's like i was in a home theater seating, that's how relaxing it was. there'd be times i'll think of calling simone at her grandma's place but decided not to. i really have to learn how to have that "me time" as in not even thinking about my kiddo as i know that she is safe naman.

thank you Lord for this time. seriously, it is the littlest of things that gives life more meaning. :)

Oh by the way, the reason why i had to sit inside an internet shop...coz it's cheaper than me doing shopping! hahaha.

The one with 3-year realizations

Simone just turned three. Feels like it was only months ago when i gave birth to her (yeah, i still carry those pregnancy weight you know, haha) and felt like for me, she will never grow old. I find it fascinating that every year, just weeks before she turns a year older, she will always show signs of developments that will really mark her birthday. Like when she turned two, i remember her memorizing the alphabets by singing it, being able to count 1 to 10. Now that she turned three, she speaks in sentences that drops our jaws and at the same time, makes us emotional once again. she reasons in logic and in sensible ones mind you. One time, she was just so hyper, she kept on moving inside the car and her dad told her in an annoying composed tone "simone, wag ka nga malikot". we were shocked that she answered back with "eh happy ako e." we looked at each other (simon and i) and felt teary-eyed with her answer. it was like, "oh man, she really knows things around her" the common sentence that "kids say the darndest things" what she answered was not darn, it was pure joy. :) and we cant help but wonder how a 3-year old kiddo can know this already and express it.

We love you anak. im not yet ready for you to turn 18, moreso of getting married (i'd need hemorrhoids treatments when that time comes) but one thing is for sure, you are ready to grow up so we'll take it one year at a time. :)

The one with wish it was five years back

When we went to bohol and i saw these women wearing their 2-pc swimsuits, i thought to myself that wish i had the same guts as they have now five years back. haha. I had a slimmer tummy when i was single. as in my waistline was like 27 and had hips like that of a spanish woman (read: big hips) thus more emphasis on the waist. but the weird thing was that i did'nt feel i was "slimmer" at that time. I'd always compare myself with my slim, bone and skin friends and would think that i'd wish i have their bods.

But then, time passed and fast forward, i can only attempt to wear swimsuits with boyleg design. harhar. i still felt sexy but i'd wish my tummy five years ago will be back and that i wont have to drool over sites such as www.topfatburner.net. haha.

The one with just one party

I planned on not accepting parties on the weekend of simone's birthday but i accepted alma's knowing that she's very easy to work with. I'm so glad that her party was a day before simone's and i was able to be there the whole time. I had a great time doing her jungle theme. and as a last party before our bohol trip, this one was a party i enjoyed attending. Flooch had a great show, Queensland caterer served the best food, some of the older people there might need a cholesterol treatment from all the guilt food we all indulged with. haha. there was no party in the morning giving us more time to prepare. love it!

thank you Lord for a wonderful send off thing so i don't have to think of anything else but simone's birthday ;)

The one with bohol birthday

Our trip was perfect! It was everything i prayed for. Great weather, Simone being a perfect travel buddy, our parents who had a fabulous time and kept on wishing we'd come back, great food, white sand, great hotel, good people. We kept on eating to our hearts' content. it's good that the benefits of colon cleansing took place and the dads did'nt feel any pain as effect of possible gout, arthritis or even high blood. haha.

will post a separate entry for this trip. really, really had a great time. thank you Lord!

The one with thinking about it

Now that simone is nearing to her 3rd birthday, i can't help but think at times when we will try for a second baby. As of now, actually, we're planning on starting to try before she turns five but honestly, im not so sure if i'm ready for it. But i know that no one will be ever ready for it. A second surprise is a big blessing but the process of having ot go thru everything, the prenatal vitamins, the check-ups, the leg cramps, the contractions is just the peak of the iceberg. haha.

But im sure when that times comes, God will prepare us for it and I'm sure our family will be doubly happier too :-)

The one with this weekend na

Celebrating birthday out of town is an unusual thing for us but we want to travel more than we used to, we also want to travel with our parents and since we're not throwing a party for simone, this is the best way we can celebrate her birthday. we'll hold a post-birthday celebration when we get back so we can celebrate it with her aunts and uncles too. :)

I have a lot to do's. Check our tickets (im not sure how online ticket works when you get to the airport, do you just use the one you printed from the pc? hehe) i have to call them for that. and i also need to buy new swimsuits for simone, new shorts for daddy and a swimsuit for me too. I also need to strategically think how we would pack simone's bottles, clothes, diapers. i really don't want to carry a lot of stuff for this trip you know.

When going out of town, one must not forget these:
~ camera
~ sunblock
~ to pack light (i wont bring jeans. shorts, leggings, lightweight shirts will do)
~ celphone and chargers
~ hat
~ vitamins (i always notice almost everyone i know who go to outings get sick after the trip, so pack yourself with vitamins, hehe)


Happy 3rd birthday simone! a few days more and you're a year older again. love you!

The one with flying colors

Last night, we hosted our monthly thanksgiving day at our house. Normally, i would order food from shakey's (for pizza) or buy chicken from Andok's. hehe. but i felt like cooking for our family and wanted to show my cooking prowess, if there's any. Later that i realized after buying breakfast steak and lamb chops from rustan's that i found out i don't know what to cook! bwahaha. i immediately texted concon to help me but alas, my limited-sized brain could'nt afford to understand what she was saying. so my menu for the evening were these:

Lamb stew with young corn and quail eggs
bacon and pepperoni lyoner carbonara
beef steak (read: beef tapa)

the first one was my highlight for the dinner. haha. it was music to my ears hearing my mom in law saying that it was delicious and sauce is just perfect. wow. and to my ever critic sisters in law, haha, all of them just cook really good so there was an added pressure. Imagine, I made them eat lamb! im soo happy! they loved it. actually, it's supposed to be adodo-style but i overused the white vinegar, hence, had to add more water and soy sauce and sugar. haha. but the meat is so tender. :) my husband loved it more. he kept on saying how much he appreciated my cooking.

the second one was easy and i had to give credit to my pasta cooking. i can't miss pasta in my menu. but the sauce was creamy i must say and i put loads of bacon into it, that's why they loved it. yey!

the third one was my not so well-done "steak". but they still ate it so i was still happy. simon told me nga, "para may konting flaws naman". hahaha. yeah right!

my mom in law brought chicken curry and that's the one i ate. :) it feels good seeing people appreciate your cooking and eating to their hearts' content. so much better to have you being commented for it. now this is how chefs feel when they are requested to come out of the kitchen so a guest can thank them for a very great meal they just had. haha.

i seldom cook, as in very seldom but this one made its flying colors. :) til my next cooking adventure!

The one with finally

Yeah, i just posted that patience is my waterloo and now that i remember, today is the first payment we made for our baby Vin. gosh, we have him for a month already and this is the first payment we just made. we are actually planning to pay a lump sum amount but our agent advised us that since we're on a loan already, might as well maximize it. im not big in loans, i wanted it to be done as soon as possible so i won't think about it every now and then. that's why we're saving for a house also so we won't have to loan that big amount too and the mortgage insurance rates won't be as high.

The one with a lot to wait for

Patience is not my cup of tea...and they say it's a virtue. hahaha. I just can't wait for a lot of things this month and January felt like forever. seriously, did't you feel like january took off really slow and that it has almost five weeks in the calendar?! hahaha, impatient i know.

so now that february is here already, here's what we are all been waiting for:

~ Simone's 3rd bday - yes we don't have a party for her this year but we'll make sure that she will remember this birthday with our bohol trip. our parents are sooo excited that it makes me excited too. actually, im the type who does'nt want to expect too much so i wont get disappointed too bad as well. but i really hope the grannies will have a great time, if not the best. :) we'll also have a birthday dinner celebration with our families once we get back. isn't it exciting?! :)

~ David Benoit's concert - "david who?" this was my first reaction when simon told me he wanted to watch his concert. and then i learned that he is a great jazz player. the concert is at PICC and we bought tickets already. jun, simon's friend, bought it for us and we'll be on a double date. haha.

~ our 11th anniversary as a couple - i cannot believe that the day after simone's bday will be our 11th anniversary as a couple. yeah, college pa lang kme na. hehe. wow, it's that long already huh? i love you beh! we have'nt anything planned yet for that day since that's our trip back to manila but a nice dinner date will be sweet. hehe. hindi pa napagod sa mga lakwatsa!

here's to february and i hope everyone will have a sweet and fun love month!