Looking Ahead to 2010

With just hours before it'll be officially 2010, allow me to post my goals for the coming year - here is the ever popular New Year's Resolution!

1. Make an effort to learn how to cook complicated dishes for my hubby. (So we won't have to live on the usual Adobo, pork steak and fried everything.)

2. Start a tradition for hubby and me. 

3. Eat healthy and work out more.

4. Learn a sport.

5. Convince hubby to travel. (at least for our wedding anniversary)

6. Be less of a compulsive buyer.

7. Attend mass religiously.

8. Worry less.

9. Save, save, save for the rainy days. 

10. Get pregnant. (We're fervently praying for this one)

I felt truly blessed in 2009 that despite the minor setback on the finances and health there are still a lot to be thankful for. I am praying for a better if not the same blessed year ahead and I am wishing you all a happy and safe 2010!! 

Looking Back to '09

2009 has brought equal servings of happy and not so happy memories. There were a few goodbyes - I waved goodbye to my friends at work when I resigned in early September and our family bid farewell to our dear Tito Boy who passed away in late September. Along with the goodbyes came a lot of new beginnings - I married my hubby on our 8th year anniversary, my best friend's engagement to hubby's longtime friend and the birth of my brother's son Vince. 

2009 indeed is full of ups and downs, bumps along the road but still I find myself looking ahead to 2010 with a smile on my face and hope in my heart. So long 2009 and come right in 2010! Happy New Year Everyone!

Wish Granted!

I posted what I wanted for Christmas from my sister RK a few days ago. Wish granted! Yay! Thanks, RK, for the BDJ 2010 Planner. Blogging my Christmas wish list proved to be quite effective! I might be doing the same thing for my birthday on January. Hmm, I should start thinking what to wish for...

Here's to hoping you all received the gifts you wanted for Christmas! Belated Merry Christmas everyone and may we all have a happy, abundant, healthy and stress-free New Year ahead!

Christmas is for kids!

Yesterday, my sister-in-law told me of a place where I can buy toys at very low prices. If you are new to Divisoria or even a frequent visitor like me, you might not notice this place because it does not have a sign outside not even a huge banner. The building only has a small tarpaulin which says "Bodega Sale".  It's not very eye-catchy but believe me, once inside you'll find yourself surrounded by lots and lots of toys and yes, they don't cost much. A remote-controlled car is priced starting at 150 pesos. One particular toy that I really want to buy for my nephew, Cedric, is a huge firetruck with lights and sounds and blows out bubbles from its pipe. Super cool at a very low price of 250 pesos. There are many toys to choose from some priced at 3 for 100, you can even get a small car for only 20 pesos. I walked around, compared prices and when I'm done I joyfully went home with two huge plastic bags full of toys!

I know I posted a blog a few days ago saying I won't be buying gifts this year due to my limited budget, but, I just can't let Christmas pass without giving away some presents (for the kids, at least). It saddens me to think I'll be the only one not walking around distributing gifts come December 25th.  So this Christmas, I will only be giving away presents for the kids in our family, I will make it up next year for those kids at heart (oldies, hehe!).

I want the BDJ 2010 Planner for Christmas

I am a self-confessed OC that loves planning ahead and making lists. Birthdays, expenses, daily chores, books I've read, monthly and yearly goals - everything is listed down, believe me. So having a planner is a must for me.

While everyone is going gaga over the 2010 Starbucks Planner (it does look good but spending a lot of money just to get it is so impractical for me), I am gearing towards the less expensive one yet almost as good if not better than the Starbucks one. It's the Belle de Jour Power Planner 2010. Besides having the usual pages for daily scheds, the BDJ Planner also has sections for goal setting, budget, various articles on health, beauty and career, and like the Starbucks planner it also has discount coupons from many lifestyle brands such as: All Flip Flops, Urban Salon, Celine, CMG, Folded and Hung, Michellis, Pizza Hut, Plains and Prints - to name a few. 

The BDJ Planner is the one for me so please, anyone, gift me one for Christmas?

(The "anyone" I'm referring to is my sister, RK, which I hope reads this post, hehe!)

Advance Merry Christmas, everyone!

My Horoscope Says...

Coincidence? I don't think so. I'd rather put it this way, "God indeed answers prayers." So, thank you, Lord, for answering mine. 

Goodbye, happy days!

It's official. Contract has been signed. Starting January 4, my life as a housewife is over. Welcome back, Corporate World! 

A Little Angel was born

December 3rd, 2009, 4am - I received a text from my brother Paulo informing me that his wife Mildred's water bag broke and that they are already at the hospital.

December 3rd, 2009, 8am - I got another text from Paulo asking me why our mother wasn't responding to his text messages. I had no idea so I texted Mama to tell her Mildred's in labor already.

December 3rd, 2009, 10am - Mama finally replied back but she's not asking about Mildred. She asked me if I want to accompany her to the mall to play Bingo. WTH?! I replied back with the message telling her Mildred's already at the hospital ready to give birth anytime that day.

December 3rd, 2009, 2pm - My sister Roan finally set up a conference call with me, Paulo and Mama. By then, Mildred already gave birth (after 10 hours of labor) to the 14th member of our family they named Vince Andrew. Mama was at the mall and that was the first time she heard about her new apo. It appeared that she wasn't getting all our text messages. She then texted my father and together they went to Batangas to see their third apo. The rest of the family will visit Vince Andrew on Saturday, December 12th.

Welcome to the family, Vince Andrew!!

A Different Christmas

It's December once again and I hear Christmas carols everywhere I go.  It's a little hard for me to get in  the spirit of Christmas given the fact that I am now a stay-at-home wife, with no monthly income. For the past years, since I started working, I would have my list ready during this time of the year. My list would be categorized into groups: officemates, friends, aunts, uncles, female cousins, male cousins, nephews, nieces, godchildren, siblings and parents. 

This year would be different as lacking the financial resources that I once had, I have to say "pass" to gift-giving this year. I know I could always ask hubby for some shopping money but it won't be the same. It always felt good (I admit, a little proud even) to spend my hard-earned salary in buying gifts for everyone. Even the bumps and push along the streets of Divisoria, wrapping each present myself and signing the gift tags are quite enjoyable. 

As Christmas draws near I know it will be a little more difficult for me. It makes me sad not be able to bring gifts for everybody come December 25th but then I kept telling myself that gift-giving is just icing on the cake. To be with my family over Christmas Day lunch and dinner, to laugh with everyone and to relish the moment that we all went out of our ways just to be reunited as always (every year) on Christmas Day... I feel better already. 

There's always next year anyway. =)

Online Streaming

As much as I love reading books, I am also a certified movie junkie. My movie genres range from the musicals like HS Musical and Dream Girls to adventures like National Treasure and The Mummy series and it doesn't hurt to watch a few chick flicks every now and then. Today, I was able to watch the new flick of Sandra Bullock "All About Steve". My rating would be just 2 thumbs up. The movie is nice but I didn't laugh as hard as I did with Ms. Congeniality. All About Steve is a feel-good movie, nice ending but it lacks in funny points. There are new uploads on the streaming site and I already have my entire week planned out with one movie per day. 

Wednesday, Nov 25 - Planet 51

Thursday, Nov 26 - The Boat That Rocked

Friday, Nov 27 - 2012 (if I still have the time because my best friend will be coming in from SG and I am required to spend the entire day with her)

Saturday, Nov 28 - A Christmas Carol

Sunday, Nov 29 - This day is off because this would be New Moon day! Hubby and I will watch New Moon on the big screen, hopefully, there won't be as much people in the cinemas as there was on the opening day. We let the first week of showing pass so we could avoid the crowded theaters.

We are family

I belong to a huge family of 6 kids and my mama and papa. Over the years, our family of eight extended to 9 when my brother RJ introduced his wife Cenie. Then we extended to 10 when Cenie gave birth to Cassandra, 11 when Cassandra's baby brother Cedric was born. 12 when my brother Paulo married Mildred on December of last year. May of this year, lucky 13th (as I would like to call him), my hubby Deck joined our family. We're close to having the 14th member of the family because Mildred is due to give birth to a baby boy anytime this week. She's 1 cm dilated already! Yey!

With some of us kids having our own families and our own jobs, it's quite hard to get the entire family together in one place. The last time that everyone's present is on my wedding day. Yesterday, November 21st, is my sister Roan's 26th birthday and she treated us to dinner at Seaside Macapagal for a sumptuous feast of seafood dishes. Even the very pregnant Mildred traveled all the way from Batangas! RJ and Cenie arrived pretty late but at least they came. 

We had fun with the food (our family is a huge fan of seafoods), sharing stories, laughing at the kids (Cedric and Cassandra) antics that we failed to take a picture of the entire family together. What a waste! Oh well, there's always a next time. =)

The Birthday Girl and Myself

My nephew Cedric munching on a piece of squid

Yummy Buttered Prawns

 A Platter of Buttered Prawns, Steamed Crab and Scallops

Artist's Nook

According to my daily horoscope on Facebook I should find other outlets to express my creativity. As you might have noticed, I haven't been actively posting on this blog for quite a while because I have been busy expressing my creativity on some other things. I've been designing invites for various events, well, I'm just starting my own online shop, The Print Haven, specializing on invite designs. Just recently though, I've been introduced to designing multiply lay outs. I never thought I could earn from this because having my personal multiply account, I was used to borrow the templates designed by other users. I already finished 4 designs (including the one on The Print Haven) and got paid for three of them. I am on to projects 5 and 6 already. For the time being, I haven't posted some of my finished works on my online shop because all of the projects that I've taken were just passed on to me. For this post, however, I am posting the headers that I have designed so far. If you are an online seller on multiply and wants to have a personalized template please do leave me a message and we'll start from there. =)

Missing Tagaytay

It's one humid afternoon here in Manila and it is during this time of the day that I wish I have my own car and that I know how to drive so I could bring myself to Tagaytay. It's the closest place we could get to enjoy a relaxing, cool day. Mornings at Tagaytay is best enjoyed with a cup of hot chocolate and a platter of Sunrise Breakfast (Cheese Omelette, Two Buttermilk Pancakes & Bacon). Lunch could be Filipino Cuisine at RSM Restaurant with an unobstructed view of Taal Volcano. Their Pinakbet is the best! As for merienda you can drop by Amira's which is located along the highway going to Nasugbu, Batangas and buy yourself a box of Amira's Buko Tart. Dinner could be anywhere like Leslie's, RSM or the various restaurants and food chains near Olivarez. Coffee afterwards at Bag of Beans (again)  with a serving of BlueBerry Cheesecake is a must! Hmmm. I wish I could go to Tagaytay over the weekend...

Creativity Pours!

Since I resigned from work, I've been keeping myself busy with lots of things. I tried article writing, answering surveys, playing facebook games. Recently though, my cousin suggested that we start our own on-line shop. Since we both love doing crafts, we're both very "artsy-fartsy" and we both had a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) wedding, we chose to market our creativity.

We set up our own multiply sites - our very first venture to on-line selling - where we offer our invitation templates. We have a wide range of themes and designs. We create invitations for different events: be it for wedding, for birthdays, baptismal or baby announcements.

Designing invites began to take up most of my time. I even stay up as late as 3am if the creativity bug is kicking in. If I won't be able to use the computer - usually when hubby comes home and takes over to play his games - I sketch a few designs on paper just so I won't forget. Busy, busy, busy.

Through this blog, I am boldly promoting our multiply sites. Come, have a look and browse through our albums for your invitation needs. While you're at it, leave us a message. A simple note would certainly make our day!

Visit us at:

The Print Haven

The Party Village

9 fashion designers sketch Bella Swan’s wedding dress!

With less than two months before the release of New Moon, here are a few spoilers on what Bella Swan will be wearing on her wedding with Edward Cullen. I'm such a Twilight fanatic and even though I have yet to buy all four books, I read the whole saga through e-books and by borrowing the paperback copies. I don't want to buy the books yet as I am still waiting for the hard bound collection to be available. I'm having a hard time finding a complete set! Anyway, I also included here the updated trailer of the upcoming New Moon. Enjoy!

After the Storm

Two days after the storm "Ondoy" left the country, we are still on the process of cleaning the house. Floodwaters entered our living room on Saturday morning and less than an hour later our living room and kitchen were submerged in waist-deep muddy waters. We had no choice but to move some of the furniture upstairs and create a makeshift kitchen so we could still eat. Around 4 pm, electricity was cut off which makes it harder for us. There we were, with only the glow from a candle as a source of light, praying the rains would stop so the floodwaters won't rise anymore. It was a scary, sleepless, long evening for us. 

Thankfully, when we woke up on Sunday morning, the floodwater has dropped from waist-deep to knee-deep. We only waited a few hours until the waters finally subsided and we started our clean up. We had to bring down the furniture from the second floor of the house, we had to scrub the floors, the walls, the chairs and tables again and again so we could remove the mud. We are not yet through cleaning up until today. 

It's very tiring, my whole body is aching. Sentence for today, "an anodyne makes you feel good".

Anodyne: A source of soothing comfort.

Some things never change

I am one very observant person and it doesn't take much for something to draw my attention or to amaze me.Me and hubby are big Chinese Cuisine fans. For quite a while, we've been frequenting this Chinese dining place, Silver Star, where his father usually buys Pancit. We ordered take out one day, a serving of Lomi, Chopsuey (my favorite), Lemon Chicken and Shanghai Rice, and we became regular customers since then. When we first came there, I immediately noticed an old school cash register. I didn't think it was working until the cashier punched in our order. I wanted to take a picture then but I was hesitant because I thought the cashier was in a foul mood.  I always wanted to take a photo of that old cash register but I didn't have the guts to ask until yesterday. Me and hubby together with our friend Bong decided to have lunch at Silver Star. I told Bong of how I really wanted to have a picture of that register and he just stood up and went to the cashier. He took photos while making short conversation with the cashier. We learned then that the restaurant was built in 1947, it was still a hotel then. Then the hotel was moved upstairs and the restaurant itself was built in 1948 or 1949. The cash register was bought in the 1950s. It's almost 6 decades since the cash register has been bought and it is still working until now. I asked the waitress if the cash register has undergone repairs since it was bought and she said she doesn't know one instance when the cash register has been broken. Amazing, isn't it?

Time, I got tons of it!

It's been a week since I filed my resignation from work and it's a huge understatement when I say, "I am getting a little bored." I got the whole day (and night) at my disposal, to do whatever I want to do, to go wherever I want to go. But due to the consistent rains pouring down the city, I'm stuck at home.

So, what else to do when you can't go out. Lots! Here are some of the things that take up most of my time now that I am officially a "B-U-M":

-Do the laundry. When I was still working, me and Hubby used to do the laundry only on weekends when both of us don't have to go to work. Now that I have the time, I do the laundry almost everyday so our dirty clothes won't pile up.

-Clean the house. Back then, I only clean our room because that's where we usually hang around even when there's no work, but now, I do the whole house as well. It takes about an hour or more, so that's more than an hour less of getting bored.

-Read. I still have a few books left from my last visit to Booksale. I have disciplined myself to make one book last at least a week to minimize my expenses on books. I used to read one book for one day so imagine how many books I have to buy to satisfy my daily cravings for a story. I'm now reading The Chamber by John Grisham - my favorite author.

-Play online games. I'm hooked to Zynga and Playfish games on Facebook. These games are what makes my days less boring. I already maxed out the levels in Farmtown and Restaurant City. I am now on the process of buying a house and designing my apartment in Yoville, I'm taking good care of my fishes in Fish World and I visit my pet every now and then in Pet Society. See, I am awfully busy these days. =)

-Post a blog, blog hop, answer surveys. Being stuck at home limits the topics for a blog so I am only updating this blog every few days. I visit the updated blogs on my blog roll and then I answer surveys if there is an available one.

-IM friends and relatives. It's nice that some people are concerned with how you are doing and how you're coping up with the post-resignation blues. 

It is pretty depressing when you allow the situation to get into your head and when you concentrate mainly on the fact that you are useless unemployed. What you should do is keep yourself active, don't stress yourself too much about unemployment, make yourself useful and keep yourself busy. There are a lot of things that can be done with time that you didn't usually have until now. That's what I am doing. =)

Saying Goodbye

Yesterday was my last day at the office. I left not because I have found a new job or that I am not in good terms with my colleagues. I left because of health reasons. My pulmonologist advised me to resign due to the recurrence of my Bronchial Asthma and GERD or Gastroesopageal Reflux Disease. I should take a rest for at least a month while under medication or I should find a job that's on the regular shift (day shift).

I got the medical certificate of not fit to work on Saturday and since then I could not sleep. It was a very hard decision that needs to be thought over and over until I am sure that it is really the right thing to do. I am tempted not to tell my superiors about the doctor's diagnosis because I truly do not want to leave the company. Tuesday morning, after weighing the pros and cons and after much deliberation with my husband, we arrived at the decision that I should resign. Healthwise, it is the best and only thing that needs to be done.

I was supposed to go on shift Tuesday night, meaning I'll report at 9pm and leave at 5:30am Wednesday morning. But, while on commute, I had an Asthma attack and decided not to finish the shift and just leave when I'm done with the paperworks and the meetings.

I first talked to my Team Lead, handed over the medical certificate and my resignation letter. Tears started to flow. We talked and she told me that it's really a hard decision but I do need to prioritize my health over anything else. Then, she scheduled a meeting with our team. The one meeting that I fear the most as I know I cannot control my tears when I say "this is it for me". As expected, I cried as every team member gave messages of good luck, get well, we'll see you again and we will definitely miss you. It's really a sad moment for everyone because we, as a team, are a solid group and it's heartbreaking that one has to leave. We may have our differences but we try to work around them and find some things that bind us together. As we left the conference room, everybody had puffy, red eyes from crying.

I then met my manager and told him of my plans that I will take a rest first as advised by my doctor, he wished me luck and that he and my team lead will be there if ever I needed anything. I proceeded to the Human Resources Dept and asked for the necessary exit papers, decided to return next week to complete my clearance forms.

Then it is time to say goodbye.

I hugged my teammates, my batchmates from training, other team leads. It is really hard to say goodbye and I could not say the word. I stayed at BPSI for less than two years but it felt like I stayed longer than that. It felt like I've been friends with everybody for a longer time than those mere 17 months that we worked together.

I still can't say the word goodbye, so I'm just saying, "I'll see you around, guys!"

Through Good and Bad Times

Before I went to college my mom used to tell me that the happiest days would be my highschool days, my friends during that time will be my friends till I get old. College would mean serious business, no more time to slack, she said. I think this will be the first time that I can say, "Ma, nagkamali ka jan!". =)

College is hard, yes, but still it was a lot of fun. When you're with the right people, even the hardest of all thesis defenses will be a breeze. I am lucky that I met wonderful friends during college. Sure, there were times that we disagree over the petty little things, but we all kissed and made up afterwards. 

After graduation, it was hard to keep up with each one of us, given that we are based in different cities and we all have different work scheds. Organizing a get together can be quite a challenge. 

Now, 7 years after graduating from college, we finally pulled it off. When my bestfriend Mhy's flight home from Singapore was confirmed, our other friend Cai, who was now based in Cebu, immediately booked a flight and came to Manila. We are to meet on  Saturday, August 22nd, at Barrio Fiesta in UN Ave.

It was a blast! It's as if we were never apart for 7 years. We talked about a lot: married life (only 3 of our friends are not married yet), having kids, work, our college life. We had a great conversation over a sumptuous dinner of Sinalab, Crispy Pata, Pinakbet, Laing, Kare Kare and Sinigang. After dinner, we proceeded to nearby Starbucks to have coffee.

There, we were met by 3 other college batchmates (Errol, Richard and JR). We had another round of good conversation, endless laughter, more photo ops. We left at around midnight since Starbucks is closing already. We said our goodbyes and promised to meet again next year. =) 

New Finds - shoes

My bestfriend Mhy arrived from Singapore last Saturday. She'll be here on vacation until the 30th.

Me and Mhy have so much in common and one of them is our love for shoes. =) We're not very particular with brands so long as it fits us, it's comfy, it's cute. Given that I now live closer to her home here in the Philippines (Tondo, Manila) and our homes are just a ride away from Divisoria (the tiangge capital of the Philippines), we just cannot resist the urge to shop. 

So, on Sunday afternoon, we met and went to Divisoria. She needs to buy a few things to bring back to SG because she said things are super expensive in SG compared to here. She's supposed to buy work pants, lots of blouses and shoes. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a pair of pants that fits her well, I think we just bought one or two pairs. Then we're off to 168 Mall to buy blouses. I knew of a stall there that sells nice tops, be it for work or for leisure, at very reasonable prices. But, because we arrived there at 7:30pm, most of the stalls are already closed including the stall that I'm talking about. 

So, we just went around to look for shoes. It's quite hard to scout around since some of the stalls are closing already. Then, we chanced upon one stall that sells quite a lot of pairs of shoes. We immediately made our selections, asked for our sizes and bought and bought. I bought three pairs and Mhy had four pairs. Talk about hoarding! Haha! We even had a pair of the same design but of different colors, Mhy bought the purple one and I bought the cream one. No worries because we didn't spend a lot on these shoes, after a little haggling we got each pair for the price of 200 pesos each (that's about 4 dollars each). Quite a bargain!!

On conceiving

I never thought I would want to conceive this much. Sure, I wanted to have kids but never this eager that I find myself getting paranoid with the simple symptoms (?) like lack of appetite (i'm not really hungry that time), getting sick after eating (I ate too much, as usual), nausea (I have vertigo). Yeah, yeah I'm probably not pregnant.

But still, I can't stop stressing about it. I even found myself looking at a book on getting pregnant (almost bought it actually).  We've only been married for short of 4 months and I'm already troubled on not having the capacity to bear a child. I might as well consult an OB-gyne. 

Soon, I wish I could put to use the home pregnancy kit that I bought which is stashed inside my underwear drawer. It doesn't hurt to be prepared, right? =)