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? =)

Great Find - Neutrogena Hand Cream

Last night, an officemate handed me a tube of Neutrogena Hand Cream (Norwegian Formula). She said she thought of me when she saw that on her dresser because she knows how I love lotions and creams. She guarantees me that I am going to like the product. And I couldn't agree more!

This product works wonders. With just a small amount, it softens your hands instantly and I assume that with long term use, you'll have really soft hands and no more dry skin. The tag line is definitely correct "just a dab heals dry skin". 

She used to sell this at the bank where she previously worked because her grandmother kept on sending these from the states and she's got a lot of stocks. But, this one tube she gave me for free. Isn't it great?! No worries, when I've used up the whole tube I'm going to ask her for another one and I'm going to pay for it already.

I definitely recommend Neutrogena Hand Cream. I now have super soft hands in an instant. :)

Yummy Avocado

Yesterday, my father-in-law arrived from Cavite. Whenever he or my mother-in-law comes to Manila, I always look forward to one particular pasalubong that they bring. Avocadoes. They only have one tree in their backyard but this particular tree is so abundant with fruits come avocado season. 

The avocadoes are really delicious and of good quality - the kind that cost a lot here in Manila - but my inlaws are againts on selling the harvest. They say that when you sell the fruits, the tree won't produce the same quality nor the same amount of fruits as when you give them away. Well, it doesn't matter to me if they don't sell it as long as I get a few kilos of the produce. =)

It is almost the end of the avocado season and that's the reason why I only got a few. Still, it will satisfy my cravings for fruits and sweets.

Avocado +  sugar + Alaska Evaporated Milk = Yummy Dessert!!

Super Cool Wedding Processional

I love this video, if only I was able to watch this before we got married, our wedding would probably end up like this. Haha! The entourage must love the couple so much for them to allow themselves to look silly in front of everybody. What a fun wedding it probably turned out!