I told you that one of the best things I like about blogging is meeting you guys. The thing I like least naman about blogging is being judged ng hindi maganda based on what you people read here. Some people can really be mean and hurtful. Remember mga bakla, what I tell you in this blog is only a very, very small part of my life. Albeit it looks like na nakasiwalat na buong buhay ko dito, hindi pa rin. There are so many things about me and there are so many things that are happening to me that I don’t tell you about.

With that, let me note some things.

1. Hindi ko inimbento ang mga feelings ko that I share in my blog. I do not “over fabricate it just to keep my blog from moving”. I do not need to “move my blog”. Hindi ko kailangan sumikat. Hobby ko lang ito. If you have been a long time reader, you will know that it was never my intention to commercialize this blog. Even with the very few sponsored posts, I have been trying to keep it as raw and personal as I can. I cannot invent issues and feelings. Nakakapagod yun plus I do not have the time.

2. I share because there are a lot of women out there who can relate to me. I want them to feel that they are not alone with that feeling. I want them to feel that what they are feeling is normal. I want them to learn from what I went through.

3. Alvin isn’t submissive. Hahaha! It makes me laugh even to think that.

4. Alvin is very vocal about me not staying home. Ayaw niya ako maging housewife. Sasakit daw ulo niya.

5. Hindi “under” si Alvin. Again, if you know my husband, you will never associate that term with him.

Yan ba ang mukhang under?!

Kaloka kayo.

Anyways, dedmadela na sa mga nega na yan. Tara, kwentuhan na tayo.

Last Wednesday, my cough and colds were over acting. I told myself I’ll take a leave the next day since we are done reporting our year end report. I needed to rest. Come Thursday, I was already in Skyway on my way to work when I remembered na maglileave nga pala ako. Kamote. Hahahaha! Pinanindigan ko na. Come lunchtime, I went to Glorietta to do errands with my officemate, Abeth for our Recognition Night. We had lunch at Mu Noodle House and I ordered their frozen Tarragon Iced Tea.

It was so delicious and so wrong for my throat!

I lost my voice after that.

When Friday arrived, I couldn’t take a leave off because of the sunod sunod na meetings and a walkthrough with our VIPs. I didn’t know how I will last the whole day without a voice. Sana may Dubsmash sa totoong buhay ano?

Lelz.

My last stop for the day was Discovery Primea. Dito kami ng walkthrough. The washroom at their hotel is so beautiful. Marmol all over!

Dress: MANGO; Shoes: STACCATO

Alvin told me to rest the whole day of today, which is Saturday, so I cancelled all my appointments. I had three events pa naman to go to. Anika had make up classes so I had a chance to see her off, something I can’t do on a normal day. Alvin and I watched TV until noon. I got agitated na. That happens to me if I’m not doing anything. Alvin said that he was going to fix our kitchen sink so I asked if I can have a quickie mani pedi in a nearby nail salon.

I was home two hours after.

Alvin and I had lunch together at around 3pm. He asked me naman if he could go out with his brother and cousin to a firing range. I said gorabelles. It’s his form of relaxation eh.

And so I posted this photo in Instagram. I said gimme 10 minutes lang then I’ll be blogging na after. I asked my IG and FB page followers what they want me to blog about.

I have noted all your suggestions, mga mare! I’ll blog about each one of them =)

After I posted that photo, I fell asleep.

I woke up 4 hours after!!!

Kaloka! Ang dilim na sa labas! Hahahaha!

I felt so rejuvenated. I also noticed that my voice was coming back. Rest talaga ang kailangan.

Alvin told me na kanina pa daw ako inaantay ni Anika gumising. Anika wanted to go to SM BF so we went.

We had dinner at Mary Grace Cafe. She ate a lot. I love it when I see her eating a lot. Gusto ko siyang tumaba.

We went around SM Department store for a bit before going home.

I got her shoes because yung mga shoes niya, maliliit na sa kanya.

It’s funny because when Anika was really young, I kept on buying her expensive shoes. Sabi daw kasi nila, the shoes that she wears during her toddler years will make a great impact on the shape of her feet and the way that she will walk. I didn’t want to risk it so talagang I invested on her shoes.

Ngayon matanda na siya, wapakels na. Hahahaha! Her feet are fine naman. My main concern na now is that her shoes must be comfortable even though if it’s not expensive.

Enter SUGAR from SM Kids Department. There are so many nice and inexpensive shoes here! Check out the ones that I got Anika:

This black with gold ribbon details costs Php 350 only…

… so I got her a gold pair of shoes too! Tuwang tuwa. Sinuot na pag-uwi.

Kung hindi ko pa inawat, suot pa sana niya now habang natutulog.

I also got her this pair of sandals for only Php 399.

Amazing, isn’t it? The prices are so affordable.

It’s not practical na kasi anymore to buy her expensive shoes bilang her feet grow super fast! She’s in that stage na now. And this time, I really bring Anika with me when shopping for things for her. Ang picky na niya sa mga susuotin niya eh. Grrr. Sayang lang the clothes if I buy her but she doesn’t wear it kaya kasama na talaga siya bumibili.

How about you muthers? Where do you buy your kids’ shoes? =)

We all woke up very early today. We scheduled kasi the Christmas tree and Christmas tree decors shopping after attending the 9am mass.

I asked Alvin if we can buy a new tree and decors because the one that we were using in the old house got broken. Ewan ko ba kung paano nangyari yun. Alvin said yes as long as I promise that we will not change the color theme every year anymore. I thought about it and agreed. Inisip ko kasi it is a welcome change because we are celebrating the holidays from now on onwards in our new house. This house is ours na. It’s not rented anymore so sabi ko it’s just fitting na we decide na in just one theme that we can carry in the years to come. Para din may parang tradition na inaasahan si Anika every year.

I told Alvin that if that’s the case, gandahan na natin. And so we went to Landmark Department Store in Makati.

Maganda mamili dun mga bakla, I swear.

We chose a 7 ft Christmas tree na mataba. Ayoko ng slim na tree. Hindi ako nasasayahan tingnan. I showed Alvin and Anika the Christmas Tree that I was pegging. They approved of it so we took it from there. ANG MAMAHAL NG MGA DECORS!!! Lekat na yan. I kept on returning the decors/ornaments that I was choosing.

ALVIN: Bakit ka ba soli ng soli?

ME: Ang mamahal Babe eh. Nakukuripot ako.

ALVIN: Sige na. Bilhin mo na. Pang matagalan na naman yan eh.

I was taking it easy shopping for the ornaments because I have learned na in the past 5 years that I have been decorating the tree. Lagi ako si atat then masasayang because I will not like what I bought when I get home. But Alvin was arguing that may peg na naman kasi kami so we just kept buying and buying the ornaments na nakasabit sa pine-peg namin na tree. I just added some decors but hindi lumalayo sa peg.

ALVIN: Damihan mo pa Babe. Ang laki and ang taba ng Christmas Tree mo.

Sabi mo yan ha.

When we got to the cashier, muntikan na akong atakihin sa puso when they told me the total price.

Sumakit bigla batok ko!

My reaction siguro was classic and first time makita ng asawa ko ang shock sa fez ko while shopping that he offered to pay for everything. I declined. Pride pride na ito. Hahahaha!

It was all worth it when we got home. I took a nap and then Anika woke me up around late in the afternoon. Gagawa na daw ng Christmas Tree.

Alvin put on Christmas songs and we started assembling the tree.

Anika was so excited! All our househelp helped us when we were hanging the ornaments na. All these were happening while Jose Marie Chan was singing in the background.

It’s a nice Christmas tradition ano?

Finally, we finished our first ever Christmas tree in our house.

Gold and white.

Classic.

We went to SM Home in SM BF afterwards. Alvin, the salesman and I assembled this.

So pretty ano?

I’m just going to finish decorating the garland that I will hang over our big mirror than buy a few more Christmas decors for the dining/kitchen and dito sa sala and we’re good to go.

How about you guys? How’s the Christmas decorating going? =)

Honestly, I always have a hard time shopping for Christmas gifts for people. I don’t like kasi to give yung parang hindi man lang pinagisipan na mga regalo. For my loved ones, it’s kinda easier because I know them pretty well and I know what they like. That’s what I’m going to give them.

Eh paano sa mga officemates for example? I want to give them something nice and useful. Paglimpak lipak ang officemates or staff, you would want to give them something nice, useful AND not that expensive. Kung 40 plus ang staff mo like me, baka mamulubi ka na if you do not think about and plan carefully what you will give them

Good thing I discovered that my High School friend Kaira’s mom makes these really nice smelling hand sanitizers.

These hand sanitizers are from MS Home Scents. You can click on it to see their Facebook page.

They have different sizes so you can choose from different prices too. The cheapest is the 50mL which costs Php 55 each while the most expensive one is the 500 mL which costs Php 350. See? You can choose different kinds of sizes for kinds of people: sa mga close, hindi masyado close and sa mga wala lang. Hehehe.

They have other products too. Check out their Facebook page for the details =)

Happy shopping!

Growing up, I have seen self-entitlement in so many forms sa friends ko, sa mga kapatid ko and even from myself.

Minsan kasi sa sobrang pagmamahal natin sa mga anak natin, we tend to fawn over them a lot and have the tendency to always give them what they want. As a parent ha, ang hirap i-balance yan. Due to the fact that Anika’s an only child plus the only grandchild in our family, kitang kita ang self-entitlement niya this early. But that doesn’t give me the excuse not to try my best to correct it habang bata pa siya, whenever an opportunity comes. Correcting our children needs teamwork from the husband and wife. Katulad na lang what happened to us the other night, gusto kong sabunutan si Alvin.

Anika came home with a note from her teacher that there’s an ongoing book fair in their school. They made all the students choose and write down the books that they like. After writing the titles of the book, the representatives from the book fair noted the price of each book beside the title. Anika showed me her list. She listed down five book titles. Bibilhin daw niya lahat.

Hindot. Parang aabot siguro ng Php 3,000 plus if she buys all the books that she wants.

ME: Wow. Anak, the books that you chose are expensive ha?

ANIKA: But I like all those books. I want to buy all of them. All my classmates will buy all the books that they want.

Ay wait ‘teh.

I know I said that if it comes to books, Anika can buy whenever she likes. Pero ateng, self-entitlement yung inaarte niya to the highest level. I decided to use this opportunity to teach her about that.

ME: Anika, you can only choose 3 books from your list. Our budget for the book fair is only for 3 books.

ANIKA: No Nanay. You don’t understand. I have to buy all the books. Teacher said to list all the books that I want.

ME: Yes. But you have to ask permission from Nanay and Tatay if you can buy all the books. But I’m telling you now that you can only buy 3 books.

ANIKA: No! You don’t understand!

She started crying.

Alvin who was playing the guitar nearby said, “Don’t cry na Anika. I will give you money to tomorrow to buy all the books that you like.”

Nilakihan ko ng mata si Alvin.

ALVIN: What? Libro naman yan eh.

ME: Yes. But I’m teaching her something. Hindi pwedeng kung ano gusto niya ibibigay natin agad.

ALVIN: May pera naman eh. At saka libro naman yan eh.

ME: Eh paano kung wala tayong pera?! At hindi lang dahil sa pera yan. Kailangan nga siya matuto.

ALVIN: Hayaan mo na.

ME: No! Alvin umayos ka ha. Suportahan mo ako dito.

ANIKA: Stop it! I don’t like both of you now! Stop fighting!

And then she stomped her way to her room.

Lech. I’ll deal with her later.

ME: Babe, hindi nga. Wag ganyan. Masama yan. Kaya nagiging spoiled si Anika eh.

ALVIN: Baka mapahiya naman yung bata sa school na hindi niya nabili lahat nung nasulat niya na books.

ME: Hindi ganun yun. Option natin ano yung pwedeng bilhin ni Anika.

ALVIN: Bahala ka.

Grrrrrr..

I’ll deal with him later.

ME: Anika, go inside our room. I want to talk to you.

She sat down on our bed and I sat down facing her.

ME: Anika, hindi maganda yung attitude mo na yan ha.

ANIKA: What is attitude?

ME (deep breath): Ugali. Hindi maganda yung ugali mo na yan. Di ba I told you that you cannot have everything that you want all the time? If you want something, it doesn’t mean that you can have it right away.

ANIKA: But you don’t understand! My classmates parents will buy all the books for them!

ME: No anak. Not all of your classmates are rich. Not all of them will buy all the books.

ANIKA: All my classmates are rich.

ME: Hindi anak. Trust me. I went to your school too remember?

ANIKA: But Nanay, Lisa bought all the books already yesterday because she had money in her wallet. I don’t have money. I don’t have a wallet. Wait? I think I should bring my Frozen wallet with me to school. Can you put money in it?

ME: Anika focus. Let’s discuss the books first. You can only buy 3 books okay?

ANIKA: Why?

ME: Because we only have enough money to buy three books.

ANIKA: Why?

ME: Because the other money that we have, we spend it for electricity, for food, for the payment of your school and for the other bills. I use some of the money to buy my food in the office. Osige, if we buy the five books that you want, gusto mo ba Nanay will not eat anymore in the office? I will get very hungry all the time. Kawawa naman ako.

ANIKA: No. I don’t like that.

ME: See? That’s why we cannot buy all the things that we want all the time. We need to save money for other things. You can wait naman for other occasions when you can have what you like.

ANIKA: Like Christmas?

ME: Yes. It depends if we have money. That is why Nanay and Tatay are working hard.

ANIKA: Okay. Just three books.

ME: Do you understand na now? Hindi lahat ng gusto natin ay dapat bilhin.

ANIKA: Yes Nanay.

Unknown to me that time, Alvin has been listening to our conversation by the bedroom door. He went inside after.

ALVIN: Ano Anika, okay ka na?

ANIKA; Yes. I’m gonna go back to my room na.

Alvin followed her.

ME: Wait Babe. Alika dito. Ikaw naman. Sit on the bed. Ikaw naman ang kakausapin ko.

Hay naku. It’s as if dalawa ang anak ko.

ME: Babe, turuan natin si Anika na hindi niya pwede makuha lahat ng gusto niyang bilhin. Kaya lumalaking spoiled yung bata eh.

ALVIN: Nakakaawa kasi eh.

ME: Nandun na ako pero mas nakaka-awa yan paglumaki ng masama ugali. Ikaw din mahihirapan diyan.

So there, the husband agreed na with me.

When disciplining the kids, we really need everybody’s participation. Hindi yung, ikaw dinidisiplina yung bata tapos may kumukunsinti.

Kaloka.

The next day, I asked help from my architect friend regarding the design of the trellis that Alvin wants to install outside our house. I saw her steel tape. It’s soooo cool!

I wannet!

So I posted it in Instagram and called Alvin.

I called Alvin.

ME: Babe, tingnan mo post ko sa Instagram. Ang ganda nung metro. Ang cool. I want it! Hanapan mo naman ako ng ganyan please. Bili mo ako.

ALVIN (in a seriously annoying imitation of me): Alam mo hindi lahat ng gusto natin ay dapat bilhin. Paano na yan? Hindi na ako kakain sa office pagbinili ko yan.

Lech.

Hahahaha!

Happy midweek guys!

Feel na feel ko ang Friday the 13th yesterday.

Alvin has yet to get me a village sticker so I have to leave my driver’s license with the guard house at the entrance of our village every time I go home. I get it back via a claim tag when I go out of our village in the morning.

I know.

One, I should seriously get a village sticker. Hindi ko lang maasikaso.

Two, I should not leave my driver’s license sa guard. Dapat daw ID lang.

Kamote kasi ako.

Anyway, even if kamote ako, that doesn’t give them the right to lose my license.

Yesterday, I left the house early because madami akong gagawin. I will be out of town for almost two weeks. When I got to the guard house, the guard told me na nawawala daw yung license ko. They gave it to a girl who left the village na earlier.

Yes. Nakaalis na yung babae. San lupalop ko hahanapin yun?!

The girl left her real license.

Her name is Ma. Princess Merana. If anyone of you knows her, please let her know that my driver’s license might be with her. Parang awa niyo na.

And so with that, I couldn’t leave and drive without a license. They were telling me that they will be issuing me a ticket so that I can drive for five days. Something like that. They said that they will call me na lang daw. Anak ng teteng, 10am na they still have not called me. I went to the security office. Natural I’m mad di ba? Aba yung “security manager” nila, mas mataas pa boses sa akin.

So nagsigawan kami dun.

I was

ME: You cannot give me that attitude because kayo ang may kasalanan dito!

MANAGER: Wala akong kasalanan dito! Tao ko yung may kasalanan!

Tae. Na-hohopeless na ako.

ME: Natural kasalanan niyo ho din! Tao niyo yan eh! Command responsibility!

Ang dami ko pang sinabi until my tears started falling. I was so frustrated. Pero yung umiiyak na matapang pa din ang peg ha? Hindi ako nagpapaawa.

That shut the Manager up.

MANAGER: Pasensya na ho. Kaya lang naman tumaas ang boses ko ay dahil galit na galit ako sa mga tao ko.

ME: Eh bakit ako yung sinisigawan mo?

Di ba?

To date they have not found the girl yet. She didn’t come back to the village last night.

I’m so freaking stressed.

Ang maganda lang is that I was able to spend time with this cutie the whole day.

I went to work after lunch to give instructions, sign documents and check reports.

Anika and I went to St. Luke’s Global City to visit Pineda.

These two were inseparable.

This is the scene sa hospital bed.

Kaloka hahaha!

When it was time for Anika and I to leave, nagdrama rama moment yung dalawa. Maeko wanted to sleep in our house that night. She was begging Pineda. Eto naman si Anika, naluluha. She told me that she wants Maeko to go with us for a sleepover. Ang tagal din ha? It was so funny watching them. Kanya kanyang drama, pumayag lang ang mga mudraks.

In the end, it was agreed that Maeko will sleep over at our house this weekend. Sasama na lang siya sa amin ni Anika sa High Street.

Tuwang tuwa ang dalawang bagets.

I wish they will grow up to be bestfriends too like their moms =)

One of the nice things that came into the mail the other week was this Sniff and Cuddle Baby Colognes.

The moment I saw and smelled these three colognes, I knew I had to include them to my Christmas gift suggestions!

There are three scents, one for each adorable Kramer child.

L to R: INCREDIBLE for #GavIncredible, DOLL for #ScarlettDoll and STAR for #KendraSuperstar

They smell good ha? The Incredible variant smells like a freshly showered and powdered baby. The Doll variant smells like fresh fruits while the Star variant smells like flowers.

I like the smell of the three that it’s difficult to pick which one I like best. Hindi siya masangsang which is a perfect choice for my Anika. It’s a nice cologne for kids talaga.

Sniff and Cuddle is made with fragrance oils from France and it is also made with Aloe and Oat Protein Moisturizers. Aloe and Oat are known to soothe and soften skin.

They’re just Php 60 each so you can gift all three to one child and it will still not come as expensive. Check na check!

Sniff and Cuddle Baby Cologne is available in Zen Zest outlets in malls, Boardwalk direct-selling dealers and at www.sniffandcuddle.com.

If you are below 18 years old, please do not proceed on reading this post. There are photos na maseselan. Hindi pa ito para sa inyo mga girls. Your time will come. don’t you worry.

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If there was one thing I was preparing for ever since, it’s Faye’s bridal shower.

Faye and I grew up together so we’re practically sisters. I vowed to myself that when she gets married, I will be the one to throw a bridal shower for her.

Preparing for Faye’s bridal shower was quite challenging given that she’s getting married in less than three weeks.

I will be out of town for almost two weekends plus Faye’s super busy with her wedding preps, ang hirap makahanap ng schedule. I finally found a common free day for everyone and that was last Saturday.

For the record mga bakla, this is the very first ever bridal shower that I have ever organized ha?

Hindi pala siya madali, mga ateng! Hahahaha!

First was choosing what to do sa bridal shower ni Faye. Ayoko ng nail spa eklaver na yan. Ayoko ng dinner dinner. Ang lame. This is the time Faye’s going to say goodbye to singlehood so I had to make it a night to remember!

So bastusan ang peg. Hahahahaha!

I first inquired at Victoria Court. I love their themed rooms! They have an Iron Man room, a Fifty Shades of Grey room, a Cirque de Soleil room and kung ano ano pang bonggang rooms.

The clincher was the price. The cheapest room that they had was Php 5,000 for five hours. Good for 10-15 pax. That doesn’t include yet the food. Hindi siya cool for me. Parang hindi sulit. They had corkage sa drinks. You cannot bring in beer so I opted for a more traditional venue. I looked for a one bedroom hotel room. Mas maluwag, may living room, may space, may bedroom and toilet and bath. Pwede pang mag-overnight stay.

I chose Lancaster Hotel in Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City.

Their one bedroom suite costs around Php 3,500 without breakfast.

The original theme for the shower was Sexy Playboy Bunnies. Kaso lang, the bunny headbands costs Php 80 each at Divisoria. After using it, wala na siyang use sa mga guests so sayang lang. We changed the theme to Kate Spade instead.

LT and Faye were in charge of the decors. LT made the pompoms that I hung in the ceiling.

Faye got the temporary tattoos as game prizes. LT made pretty underwear pouches and Faye DIY’ed the thank you cards.

I ordered small hand sanitizers from MS Home Scents at Php 55 each. They can customize the tags too =)

The penis chocolate lollipops I got at Kink Cakes for around Php 180 for 6 pieces.

Here’s what the food table looks like.

LT baked lasagna, I ordered chicken from KFC and pizza from Shakeys. I also bought a lot of chips and two kinds of dips in the grocery. Faye made lemon water and bought two bottles of red wine. I bought softdrinks.

Faye got the Kate Spade themed  paper plates and paper cups from Party Central. You can see the Chantelle Caddy that I got from My Domesticity. Ang cute right? =)

One of the cutest things that I saw Faye brought was this plastic champagne glasses. I forgot lang where she got them.

And for the cake, I went Kink Cakes and ordered this. Hindi na ako naginquire kay Tazzy Cakes kasi baka sabunutan ako ni Cat. Lol!!! The cake costs Php 2,200.

I ordered the “From Miss to Mrs” banner at My Little Party Shop Manila. The banner costs Php 350.

Faye DIY’ed this small poster.

I ordered the balloons also at My Little Party Shop Manila =) They costs Php 200 for a pack of 6 balloons.

The bride’s bridal shower veil was made by LT. LT also made the veil that I wore during my bridal shower 6 years ago.

ME: Tita, bakit yung kay Faye ang ganda ng veil?! May lace lace pa sa dulo! Yung akin dati wala!

Yun pala, Faye told LT din,

FAYE: Bakit yung kay Ate dati may tiara?!

Hahahaha!

LT’s the coolest. She was the one helping me decide on a lot of things for Faye’s bridal shower. Utang uta kami tuminging ng penis cakes and photos ng iba’t ibang strippers! I told Alvin that I will be the one to do Anika’s bridal shower years from now.

I was teasing LT not to cry. Hindi pa kamo wedding yan. Bridal shower veil pa lang yan.

Faye’s gonna be a beautiful bride!

Traffic was so bad that day because of the APEC dry run. It took LT and Faye three and a half hours to go from Merville Paranaque to Lancaster Hotel. It was so crazy. Kaya naman we really appreciated everyone who to the time to attend Faye’s bridal shower.

The girls arrived around 7pm.

The strippers arrived around 830pm.

Yeah, the strippers. Like I told you, nauta talaga ako kakatingin ng photos nila with their matching macho poses! Kaloka! I had to choose kasi eh. Wala na ibang references except their Facebook accounts. For some reasons also, there were at least 3 strippers texting me. Na-sense yata nila na kailangan ko ng stripper? Hahaha!

I got two strippers. I chose yung mga medyo pogi, mukhang malinis, mukhang makinis and mukhang mga mababango.

This is how the girls looked like while they were waiting for the boys to dress up in the bathroom. Can you sense na stressed sila? =)

This is how they looked like after one set of the men! Grabe, sumakit talaga stomach ko kakatawa. My throat was scratchy na from all the screaming that we did.

I won’t post na here the photos ha? Maselan talaga eh! Hahahaha!

All I can say that the two strippers were very good.

How good?

Magic Mike levels.

I swear.

Afterlike 4 sets ata yun, they also facilitated the games where all the girls participated. Mukha naman silang tuwang tuwa.

Here we are just before the men left for a souvenir photo with them. Sorry ngarag na ako. Tawa talaga ako ng tawa because the girls were screaming their heads off!

The guy in the left is the “manager”. The two dancers are Joseph (in white) and David (in blue sando)

They’re very professional and mababait. They’ve been in the business since 2009 daw. Magaling sila =)

Yun lang.

Charot.

Hahahaha!

You can contact David at 0917-9614438.

Their professional fee is affordable given na there’s the two of them and they facilitated some of the games too. Very recommendable talaga.

Try niyo na girls! Lol!

So there you go. I hope you had fun sis!!! I love you! I can’t wait for your wedding day!

One Saturday afternoon, Alvin got so bored that he called me and Anika.

ALVIN: Gusto niyo magbanda?

ME: Sige.

He and Anika got their guitars and started singing. Ako yung taga video.

ALVIN: Wait. Magpicture tayo ng album cover natin.

Pumwesto yung dalawa sa bed. I sat on the floor and was prepared to do the peace sign with my two hands. Malinaw was the one who was going to take the photo.

ALVIN: Teka. Wala kang dala.

He gave me a pot.

Lekat.

To those of you who are asking, yes we are really like that in real life. Para talagang may sitcom sa bahay. Especially now that Anika’s getting older, gumagaling na siya pumunch line.

To prove my point, here are some of our dialogues at home.

Alvin was teaching Anika her Filipino lessons. The lesson was about rhyming words.

ALVIN: Eto ang mga salitang magkatugma.

ANIKA: Ano yun Tatay?

ALVIN: Parehas na salita.

ANIKA: Hindi noh. Rhyming words yan.

ALVIN: Alam mo naman pala eh. Okay, encircle the words that sounds the same.

ANIKA: Tagalog please Tatay. Filipino subject eh.

ALVIN: Eh! I-ensirkel mo man ‘day ang words na the same!

ALVIN = 1 point; Anika = 0

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Anika is a drama queen. As in konting kibot, drama levels.

ME: Anika wag ka nga ma-drama diyan. Talo mo pa si Judy Ann eh.

ANIKA: Who’s Judy Ann?

ME: Parang si Kathryn Bernardo. Ang drama mo parang si Kathryn Bernardo.

ALVIN: Kanino pa ba magmamana yan?!

ME: Hindi sa akin noh!

ME (to Anika): Anika if you do not like something, you have to say it. Don’t cry agad. Iyak ka ng iyak. Maliit na bagay, iniiyakan mo eh.

ANIKA: Why did you cry when the sofa was delivered at home?!

ALVIN: Mmm! Sabi ko na eh.

*rolling my eyes now!*

ANIKA = 10 points; Nanay = -5 points

——————————————————————————————————

ANIKA: Nanay, what is a mummy?

ME: A mummy is someone who was preserved in the very, very old Egyptian times. They wrapped the mummies with white cloth.

ANIKA: Why do they call them mummy?

ME: I’m not sure. Can I google it first and then get back to you?

ANIKA: I thought you were smart?

ANIKA = 10 points; Nanay = 0

——————————————————————————————————

ANIKA: Tatay what it a teenager?

ALVIN: A teenager is a time in your life when you will listen to me all the time.

ANIKA: No Tatay. That’s not correct.

ALVIN: Osige, what is a teenager?

ANIKA: A teenager is somebody who wears strange clothes and listen to strange music.

Magprepare na tayo Babe. Magprepare na talaga tayo.

=)

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Question #1: Pag ba talaga naging mag asawa na hindi na katulad ng dati? Syempre nag wiwish ako na sana hindi magiba trato ng fiance ko sakin. I mean kung pano kami yesterday and today. Mag iba kaya sa future?

When you get married, change is inevitable though for most of the newlyweds that I have talked to, hindi naman ganun ka-grabe. One example of a noticeable change is being more comfortable with each other. Less na kasi ang naitatago mo sa asawa mo eh. Your husband now sees you sleep (and snore) while drool comes out of your mouth. Maririnig ka na niya magfart. You share bathroom time. Makikita na niya na hindi na lahat ng panty mo eh sexy (Hello granny panties!). Time will come when you will get irritated with the things you once found adorable with him.

Ang tunay na pagbabago comes when you have kids. When I was pregnant, my friend told me to cherish the remaining time na kami lang ni Alvin. It will never be the same again daw once we have kids. Tama siya. There will be so many changes na aabutan tayo ng end ng APEC if I list them all here. There will be good changes. There will also be “not so good” changes.

But don’t you worry. All married couples go through these changes. Hindi kayo nagiisa. Wag niyong isipin yun. Isipin niyo that what both of you are going through is normal. Both of you will grow with it. As long as the communication lines are always open between you and your spouse, there will be nothing that you and your husband will not be able to resolve. Wala lang bibitaw.

Question #2: Stay in the Philippines or migrate abroad?

My answer to this question is… to each his own.

Because my dad worked for an airline industry, we were able to travel to so many places kasi kung san san siya nadedestino. I get to talk to different OFWs. No matter what country we were in, they always say the same things: (1) Malungkot tumira sa ibang bansa and (2) there’s no place like the Philippines. I always hear those two sentences. Ang lakas daw talaga maka-home sick. Because of this, never kong pinangarap magsettle in another country. I would love to travel and visit all these places pero ang tumira, hindi siguro.

To those of you who are thinking about migrating abroad, here are my thoughts about it. Baka makatulong.

One, the mere fact na walang househelp sa ibang bansa (meron pero super duper expensive), talagang second thoughts ako to the highest level. Ang maganda naman daw dun, nakakabond daw talaga sa family if walang inaasahang ibang tao gumalaw sa bahay.

Two, I believe that if you are earning well here in Manila, like more than what you need for your basic needs, I don’t see any reason for you to go abroad. Having your family and friends near you is very convenient for you. Masaya. You can get to see them anytime. Hindi mo sila mami-miss. Ang bilis also if may kailangan kang matakbuhan for anything: moral support, emotional support or if you just need somebody to be with you anytime. Malaking bagay din ang malapit ka sa kanila.

Three, if it were only because so Anika can study and have her on the job training abroad, yes, I would settle there until she graduates.

Four, Alvin and I get stressed when we watch the news dito sa Manila. Mapapaisip ka talaga lumipad and magmigrate to a safer country. Lalo na girl ang anak namin and left and right ang rape, kidnapping and molestation news. It’s scary. Gugustuhin mo talagang umalis ng bansa.

Five, remove the thinking na madaming pera ang mga nakatira sa ibang bansa. No, it doesn’t follow automatically. They often have more than one job there in order for them to earn more than what they need. They earn dollars/euro or whatever but they also spend dollars/euro or whatever there too. Buti sana if you are earning dollars then spending peso naman. Hanep yun.  Eh hindi. Kakayod ka dun sa ibang bansa. You will deal with discrimination.

Six, the clincher is when your husband or wife decides to work or settle abroad. That is a different story. I personally believe na dapat hindi magkahiwalay ang mag-asawa. Walang sense eh. Nagasawa pa kayo. I know of a lot of people who do not like to live in another country pero nandun because of their loved ones. If ever Alvin decides to work/migrate abroad, I will go with him without batting an eyelash.

Yun po. Sana nakatulong kahit paano =)

Your thoughts too please?

Anika had something in her eye. Ang kati kati daw. I was checking it. I was already getting stressed because nagpapantal na din siya.

ME: Anika look to your right.

Galaw ng galaw.

ME: Wag kang magulo. Dali look to your right.

Ang kulit. Galaw ng galaw pa din. I was holding her face na towards dun kung saan ko siya pinapatingin.

ME: Anika nakakainis na ha! I said look to your right! Ang gulo mo!

ANIKA: Left kasi talaga yan Nanay eh! Left! Eto ang right o! Sa kabila!

Nyark. Sorry naman. Lol.

—————————————————————————————–

Anika was practicing counting from 1 to 20 in Filipino.

ANIKA: Tatay what is zero in Tagalog?

ALVIN: Ummmm… bokya.

ANIKA: Bokya? Okay. Bokya.. Isa.. Dalawa.. Tatlo…

She continued lang.

ANIKA: Labing apat… Labing lima…. Umm…

She looked at me.

ME: Go anak! You can do it.

ANIKA: Labing six!!!!

=))

—————————————————————————————–

After dinner one time,

ANIKA: I’m done!! I’ll wash the dishis na!

MALINAW (her yaya, singing Break Free): Dish ish the part where I say I don’t wanna… I’m stronger than I’ve been before!!!

ANIKA (rolling her eyes): Whatever, ate!

Hahahahaha!

On our way back to Manila yesterday from Baguio, naloka ako ng bongga in Kennon Road.

Around 9am, there was a Delica van in front of us. We were approaching a sharp left turn. We were running at 50 kph. I noticed the van going to the opposite lane. My first thought was “Gusto siguro magwiwi nitong driver nito. Pero bakit kaya diyan tatabi sa kabilang side? Maluwag naman sa right.”.

To our surprise, he drove right through the mountain! Bumangga siya then the van toppled to its right!

It was a very, very good thing that (1) hindi kami nakatutok sa van and (2) wala siyang kasalubong na kotse.

We stopped the car and my officemates immediately ran to the van.

They ran because they wanted to get the people out of the vehicle asap. I was praying sana walang bata sa loob.

So my friends went there and saw the driver come out. His foot was bleeding, otherwise, okay siya.

Ako nagpicture.

Habang nanginginig sa takot.

It was my first time to see an actual accident!

I was about to follow them however nagwild yung vehicle! Smoke started to go out of the van. As in thick smoke. We all started running to the opposite direction. Our driver backed our vehicle a couple of meters away.

Akala ko sasabog yung car! Yung parang sa movies!

Good thing it didn’t. My officemates said hindi daw sasabog yun kasi daw the Delica runs on diesel. Meron daw high combustion rate or low combustion rate yung diesel. Something like that. Hindi ko gets but I was just thankful it didn’t blow up.

The drivers and the passengers of the other cars helped put the van in an upright position. We asked our officemates back in Baguio to call the police and tell them that there was an accident in Kennon Road. After that, umalis na kami.

The driver was obviously shaken. Nakatulog daw kasi siya. Lekat na yan. He was extremely lucky the van swerved to the left. What if dere-derecho siya? Derecho siya talaga sa bangin!

Scary.

It wasn’t his time yet to die.

Please let this be a lesson to all of us. Do not drive if you are not feeling well. If you are sleepy, itabi ang kotse. Wherever it is you have to be, it’s never more important than your own life.

Anyway, tara good vibes naman.

I’m going to tell you about the different restaurants that we tried in this trip. It was quite a bummer because we had to work while everyone else in Manila was in a holiday because of the APEC summit. Instead of being bitter and all (hahaha!), bumawi na lang kami sa food.

Chocolate de Batirol
Igorot Park, Camp John Hay, Baguio
Restaurant hours: 7:30am to 10pm

One breakfast, Mami Abeth and I ate at Batirol. She had the Tocino de Kalabaw (Php 160) while I had the Boneless Daing na Bangus (Php 160). We shared the Champorado with Tuyo. It was the best Champorado I’ve ever had.

I also ordered Bibinka (Php 105) and the Almond Choco-Late de Batirol (Php 90). I didn’t like the bibinka but the hot chocolate drink was soooo good!

Bistro by Hill Station
Ayala Land Technohub, Camp John Hay, Baguio City

The food that I like at Bistro by Hill Station are the Bistro Salad, Crispy Belly Pork with Holy Basil and the Penne ala Vodka.

I ordered the Bistro Salad (solo: Php 140; Double: Php 240). It had mixed greens, tomatoes, berries, white cheese and caramelized cashews in sesame mirin dressing.

Most of my office mates ordered the Crispy Belly Pork (Php 205)

The Pasta ala Vodka (Single: Php 170; Double: Php 290) had three cheese. It was really good.

Vizco’s Cafe
Inside Photo Fog Cafe
Ayala Land Technohub, Camp John Hay, Baguio City

This one is my best food discovery for this trip.

I am telling you that their Strawberry Shortcake (Php 80 a slice) is worth every calorie! Mapapapikit ka talaga sa sarap. Promise.

Happy Tummy
Ketchup Community, Romulo Dr, Baguio
Restaurant Hours: 8:00 am to 10:30 pm

Happy Tummy is a Thai Restaurant.

The Bagoong rice is good paired with…

… the chicken pandan and…

… Fried Spring Rolls.

On our way home naman, we stopped over at Ningningan in Tabang, Bulacan.

Parang dampa here but the cost per grams of the shrimps, crabs, liepo and everything else incorporates na the cooking cost. No more hidden charges anymore.

I loved their garlic butter shrimps (Php 100 per gram)..

.. And the Singang sa Miso na Salmon Head

So there. Instead of dieting for Faye’s wedding, I’m so doing the opposite! Good luck to me on December 1! Hehe!

Good morning everyone!

I’m here in Baguio again. This time naman for our annual corporate planning.

Yea. I just got back sa Manila last Friday di ba? Eto I arrived here again in Baguio the other day.

Grabe guys. I got stressed last Friday. After the car accident that we encountered in Kenon road, everything was good vibes because traffic was so light in EDSA so driving was a breeze. I was at our office by 3pm to get my car. I went directly to our family house in Paranaque because LT said that the gown that we had made in Divisoria was with her na daw. Hindi maganda ang tone ng voice ni LT when I was talking to her on the phone a few days back so I got nervous. Pakshet. We cannot afford to have a gown booboo anymore. The wedding is very, very near.

As in December 1.

As in November 24 na talaga ngayon eh.

The wedding guests from Amsterdam have been arriving already.

When I got there and saw my gown. Tae. Ang pangit pangit talaga! I wanted to cry. I didn’t want to show lang LT that I’m panicking because she has a lot on her plater right now. Faye wanted a DIY wedding eh. So they’re all pretty much super busy ngayon. I didn’t like to stress or burden LT more.

Pero kinabahan talaga ako.

There is no freaking way that I will wear the gown. Mukha akong baby seal in lace.

ME: LT, bili na lang ako ng gown. Wag na bayaran yan dun kung san kayo nagpatahi ah. At huling huli patahi na yan sa kanila.

I could imagine Wowa na talaga telling me, “Ano sabi ko? Sabi ko kasi wag na kayo diyan magpagawa eh. Yung mga ganyan hindi na dapat diyan i-risk ipagawa.“. That was exactly what she said when I told her about it later on.

The original plan for my Saturday was to take Anika somewhere (swimming or whatever) so that I could spend quality time with my mag-ama.

However, instead of doing that, kinaladkad ko yung dalawa sa mall. We set our mission to find a Maid of Honor dress. Sabi ko kay Alvin, we will not stop until I find The Dress. I literally do not have time na talaga. I will be back in Manila from Baguio on Thursday pa.

I set out a plan already. We will first go to Landmark because I saw a part of the department store there that sells gowns. Pagwala, we will go to SM. Pagwala, Greenbelt na. I checked out the department stores first because I didn’t want to spend thousands of pesos for a gown that I will just wear once. The dilemma is I have to find a gown that doesn’t cost much but should look bongga. Pang Maid of Honor dapat ang makuha kong damit.

Idagdag niyo pa sa challenge that the gown that I should be wearing should be mint green.

I told Pineda about my problem and she told me to check out The Bridal room in Instagram. She showed me this dress.

The dress is nice kako but I presently do not have the figure for it yet.

And so we went to Landmark.

Winner pala dun mga ateng! There are a couple of gowns that I like plus their dressing room is kabog.

Anika immediately had her outfit of the day taken.

Dress: COTTON ON KIDS; Shoes: SM Kids

The fitting room was so spacious. Tumbling ng tumbling ang bagets. It was also nice that outside the fitting room, there was a sofa where Alvin was lounging. We were all comfortable.

Top: FOREVER 21; Shorts: FOREVER 21; Sandals: CLN

I called LT while I was picking gowns.

ME: LT, magonline ka na dali. Magsusukat na ako. Isesend ko sayo ang mga photos.

Here are the dresses that I tried on but didn’t buy.

I like sana this dress even if it wasn’t mint green. Nakakataba and nakakapandak lang yung lower portion.

I also like this dress but they didn’t have it my size. Pinipilit ko siya sa akin but I look like I’m preggy while wearing it.

This one’s nice too but they don’t have my size and the gown wouldn’t close at the back.

It was so amazing because I found The Dress in my first try. I’ll show it na lang to you guys on December 1 para surprise. Yung unang binitbit ko na dress to fit, perfect na agad yun. The dresses above that I showed you I just fitted after the first dress that I chose. Pang validation nga na dun sa dress that I bought.

LT agreed with me naman =)

So there, I’m very thankful hindi na ako nahirapan to find a dress for the wedding. The dress cost Php 6,500. They gave me a 10% discount kasi may small stain na natatakpan naman. Good deal na talaga =)

So excited na talaga for Faye’s wedding!

Hello!!!!! Hello!!!!!

The past few days have been crazy since I arrived from my second Baguio trip. If you have been following me in Instagram, you should have seen me finishing off a box of TimTam and telling you that my Things To Do List has a sub Things To Do inside it!

For all of you who have been reading me since time memorial, you know that my hectic December starts during our company’s annual corporate planning until the company Christmas party. Abalang abala ako niya. This year’s extra challenging because it’s Faye’s wedding on December 1 and that’s tomorrow na!

Our friends from Amsterdam have started arriving as early as last week. I will be picking up Lolo Papa later at the airport. My brother Toots will be picking up Wowa also this afternoon because she just had her vacation in Japan.

Before this weekend, I was busy naman catching up with work because I was gone for almost two weeks. Our Recognition Night (which I am part of the organizing committee, na ako din ang event direction on that day) will be on Wednesday. I am just happy that I am working with really great people. Special shout out to Mami Abeth!!! =)

I’m going to do a photo diary to tell you about my past few days. I will make it faster lang because I have to purge my closets. I will remove all the clothes that I haven’t been using anymore. This includes my “someday clothes”. Eto yung mga someday, magkakasya din sa akin yan. Hahahaha! I need space for the new clothes that I will be getting.

Osha, here what happened since Baguio.

NOVEMBER 22 TO 25 (SUNDAY TO WEDNESDAY)

For this year’s corporate planning, I was assigned to stay in one of the ancestral homes of the company owners in Baguio. The house is so beautiful. The thing is haunted house daw siya!

The bosses were telling us all these scary stories happening in the house during the time they stayed there. Punyeta, takot na takot talaga ako. During our first night, I slept with my rosary around my arm.

Our corporate planning was held at one of our projects in Baguio, The Outlook Residences.

If you remember, I just went there two days before to inspect the units because we will start turning over units to our clients next year. Puros alikabok and gray pa dun.

Imaging my surprise when we arrived. Ang ganda ganda na niya!!!

Amazing!

This is the al fresco coffee shop where we had our daily lunch.

This is the lobby.

This is the breathtaking view.

Imagine waking up to that view? Ganda di ba?

This was the lobby of the Bontoc and Banawe function rooms of the South Wing.

This was what they did to the side. That was so bare pa during my first visit kaya I was surprised when I saw it. I want that glowing rock also sa garden namin!

During our last night in Baguio, my contact lens tore.

As in the other half was left inside my eye. Kinalkal ko na ng bongga mata ko but I couldn’t take it out. I was already prepared to go to the hospital when I get back to Manila to have it extracted. Thankfully, before going to bed, nilunod ko eye ko sa tap water. Lumutang sa eye ko so I was able to get it.

Whew. Kinabahan ako dun ng slight.

NOVEMBER 25 (WEDNESDAY)

When I got back in Manila, I had dinner with my mag-ama that night. Walang pahinga pahinga. Kuracha lang ang peg.

I got Anika a toy because I promised and I got a new blender and coffee maker.

This was Anika’s outfit of the day:

Top: COTTON ON KIDS; Skirt: SM KIDS; Shoes: SM KIDS; Headband: DIVISORIA

Anika dresses herself na now. Because of that, I always bring her na with me when shopping for her clothes. Nasasayang kasi if she doesn’t like the clothes. Hindi niya sinusuot.

NOVEMBER 26 (THURSDAY)

I went to work and time flew very fast that day. Ang dami kasing ginawa. I had meetings left and right.

NOVEMBER 27 (FRIDAY)

The next day, I had walkthrough and then I asked permission from my boss if I could leave work early. There was a surprise retirement and birthday party for my mother in law at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM). She has been working there for more than 30 years.

The theme of the party was Paris. We were asked to wear black, pink or white.

This was Anika’s outfit of the day. The dress was given to her by LT a few years back. Ngayon lang nasuot.

My mother in law was surprised and was so touched. Ang bongga ng party niya eh. She loved her work so much but like what Alvin said, her sons have been asking her to retire for quite some time already. Happy na ang Sombrero brothers because finally Ka Lydia will be able to rest, enjoy her grandchildren and shop till she drops at SM.

NOVEMBER 28 (SATURDAY)

I had work that day. Yuh. Ako na talaga. We had our Operations Meeting from 8am to 2pm.

When I got home, ginawa ko yung garland namin.

Hanggang there lang talaga ang kaya ng artistic powers ko.

Alvin also hung na the Christmas lights outside.

I am not even halfway done in decorating our house for Christmas. Ang pinagdadasal ko na lang is sana matapos ako bago mag Three Kings.

Lol.

NOVEMBER 29 (SUNDAY)

It was my mother in laws birthday yesterday.

In the morning, Anika and I spent time together at Pick and Polish in BF Homes Paranaque.

I tried their gel French Tips.

We had lunch at Vikings in SM BF. I got them matching shirts in UST colors.

For dinner, we went to my in laws’s house because Alvin’s relatives will be going there for Ka Lydia’s birthday celebration.

Ayun, kinagat ng something yung eye ni Anika. Nakakaloka.

I do not know what bit her because she was playing outside when it happened. She also had pantal in the other parts of her body. Nawala nung pinaliguan ko and after she drank Allerkid.

Today when she woke up, the swell subsided a little.

I am praying mawala na totally yung maga by tomorrow.

Bukas na kasi talaga kasal ni Faye eh! Grrrr!

Osha mga bakla, gagalaw na din ako here. I’m going to nag Alvin to clean our aircon and to have his haircut na. I’ll clean out my closet na din. After that, we’ll pick Lolo Papa up at the airport.

I can’t wait to tell you all about Faye’s wedding!

Ciao!

Guys, I’m microblogging muna at my Instagram account ha?

Toxic levels lang. I’m running on less than 2 hours of sleep eh.

Pero babawi ako dito ha? Wag niyo akong iwan. Hahanapin ko lang ang diwa ko after all these stress.

Alabyou guys =)

I’M BACKKKKK!!!

I missed you guys!!!

Yes I’m still alive.

Diyosme, if only you guys know how I was the past two weeks, baka maloka din kayo. It was so busy and toxic na for sure, hindi kakayanin ng normal na tao ang pinagdaanan ko. Di ba, I went to Baguio twice with just a day apart between the two trips? When I got back, wedding ni Faye. The day after, annual Recognition Night namin. I thought I will be able to rest the next day, hindi pala. My boss asked my help (I asked Abeth to help us too) to organize the DMCI Annual Golf Tournament for the next day! Konti (but crucial) na lang naman ang gagawin but still, I arrived home that Thursday at 11pm with Lolo Papa and LT waiting for me. I organized kasi a dinner and a sleep over at my house that night for Lolo Papa kasi second to the last night na niya in Manila. Next year na namin ulit siya makikita. I didn’t know naman kasi na gagabihin ako ng wagas. Nakakahiya tuloy. At least naman, I was able to spend a few minutes with him before I went to sleep at 1230 am. I had to wake up at 230am the next day to be at Wack Wack Country Club at 430am. And then the next day, no sleep pa din because I had to attend our Operations Meeting.

Ngarag talaga.

And nasita na din ako ni Lolo Papa. I work too much daw.

I explained to him na hindi naman ako araw araw ganun. Nagkataon lang na sunod sunod and of all days na-toxic ako, nung 7 days pa talaga that he was in Manila.

Kamote.

Anyway, past is past (meh ganun pa?! lol!) so let’s all move on. The important thing is that I’m still breathing (charot! haha!). Hindi ako nakatulog while walking sa sobrang puyat and I was able to accomplish the things I needed to do in those days.

Here are the photos from the time we picked up Lolo Papa in the airport until Faye’s on the day wedding preps.

Right after we picked Lolo Papa at the airport, he requested for us to bring him to Makati to attend a mini reunion with his High School classmates. Surprise daw na dadating siya. We picked him up an hour after.

I asked Anika to pose for her outfit of the day. Eto ang ginawa. Emoterang frog.

Top: HELLO KITTY; Pants: SEPHORA; Shoes: VANS

Here’s what I wore naman.

Shirt: GIORDANO; Skirt: SM DEPARTMENT STORE; Shoes: CLN; Bag: STRADIVARIUS

I don’t have that much clothes anymore =c I need to shop for new clothes na. I gave away na kasi the clothes that do not fit me anymore and the clothes that I have not worn for ages. Purging levels ito. I was so proud of myself to be able to let go of my clothes. Yun lang, wala akong time to buy new ones. Hopefully over the Christmas break. Magshoshopping talaga ako ng wagas. Itaga niyo sa bato yan. Lol.

Anyway, from Makati, we went straight to Marco Polo Hotel in Ortigas where I booked Lolo Papa a room. It’s also in this hotel where Faye and Fonz are billeted.

As expected, photoshoot na agad ang mag-lolo.

The room that was given to us was a Premier Room and it was huge!!!! Ang ganda pala ng rooms and service in Marco Polo Hotel. Very much worth your money talaga.

Here’s our room with a king sized bed.

Our room’s view was parang Shaw Boulevard, I think.

The room was spacious. Tuwang tuwa ang Anika. Takbo ng takbo everywhere!

And the bathroom? OMG. Gusto ko na dun talaga tumira. I love the his and hers sink. Peg ko ito sa sunod na house namin.

I love how everything was presented. Ang soshal talaga.

They have a separate bathtub from the shower area.

I wasn’t able to take photos of the shower and water closet area pero OMG kabog na kabog ang rain shower! Anika and I spent like 30 minutes siguro taking a bath dun the next day. Super sarap. Ang lakas ng water, ang laking shower area and the water heater was working very well!

While Lolo Papa rested, we went to Faye’s room to help them with their DIY eklaver. Inatake ako sa puso ng slight because parang there were so much stuff to do pa! The cutting of the escort cards, the cutting of the rope and inserting them in the pouches and…

… and the flowers were all over the bathroom pa!!! And the wedding’s the next day na! Stress!!!

Pero when I checked out LT and Faye, kalma na kalma sila. Ang galing! Forte talaga nila ang DIY =)

The next day, which was the wedding day, Anika and I were at Marco Polo Hotel at 730 am. We were early to avoid the morning rush hour traffic. We had breakfast with LT, Faye and Fonz because Lolo Papa was still sleeping. Jetlag kasi.

After breakfast, Anika spent time in the bathtub.

Around 11am, Rexcie arrived. Wowa asked Rexcie to do our hair and make up.

Ka-ganda talaga ng anak ko.

If you’re wondering why I’m out and about in rollers, na high blood kasi ako ng slight on that day. The coordinator told me that Marco Polo was not allowing our ordered lunch from KFC to be brought to our rooms. May corkage na daw. Binaba ko nga. Since the staff of Marco Polo is very nice and accommodating, they eventually allowed us to bring up the food. Hindi din naman kasi sa amin sinabi na bawal to bring food upstairs when we checked in.

So there you go. That’s the part one pa lang. Part 2’s coming up!!! =)

As promised and since halos ithreaten niyo na ako (hahahahahaha!), here na ang part 2 of Faye’s wedding!

All photos are from my iPhone pa lang. I have yet to get the nice photos from Michelle Pineda Photography, who was the official wedding photography team of that day. Wait for it because yan naman ang Part 3 ko together with the wedding suppliers and ratings =)

Moving forward, one of my achievement for Faye’s wedding was being able to bring Wowa and Lolo Papa together in one room. Hahaha! Wala silang choice because I only booked one room for two nights for Lolo Papa’s stay. That was also the room where we had our hair and make up and where we dressed up for the wedding. Lolo Papa stayed in the hotel lobby and Toots and Alvin went out while the ladies were dressing up.

Here are the ladies in our family. Alam na san minana lahat ang kagandahan per generations. Wag na kayong kumontra =p

I look pale pa there because Rexcie, who did our hair and make up, hasn’t put lipstick on me yet. I was gobbling down the delivered lunch before this photo was taken.

WOWA’S DRESS

Wowa’s dress was from one of the dress boutiques at Trinoma Mall. She actually already bought a ready to wear dress a few months ago at SM Fashion Forum. Expensive yung dress ha because parang it was from one of the designer brands. Nabigla naman kasi lang kami ni Faye. We thought Wowa was just looking around. She fitted this dress and we told her that it looked nice on her. Nagsukat lang kami ni Faye saglit sa fitting room and then when we went out, we saw na binibili na ni Wowa yung dress!

ME: Ma binili mo na agad agad? Di ka man lang nagpakipot ng slight?

WOWA: Wala na akong time pumili.

True din kasi.

In a few days, she was already leaving for Japan for a vacation and will be back in Manila the day before the wedding. Wala na talaga siya time.

However, after a while, parang we decided that the dress she bought ay hindi pang Ninang. Pambagets siya. Masyadong madaming kitang skin. Ang baduy if she puts a shawl over it. Good thing she was able to see that dress when she went to Trinoma before she left for Japan.

Ayun, binili na niya ulit. It costs her Php 8,000.

Personally, I like this dress better than the first one that she bought. Magastos pero at least, maganda naman ang dress niya for Faye’s wedding.

MY DRESS

Like what I have made kwento before, the dress that I had made in Divisoria was a disaster. I should have listened to Wowa the first time. Hindi ko na dapat ni-risk. I was just super lucky that Landmark Makati had this dress in their gowns section. The color and the design of the dress was perfect. Ang tagal ko na winish makasuot ng dress na one shouldered. The dress costs Php 6,000. It had a very small stain in front. The stain was covered naman by the layers sa harap but still they gave me a 10% discount for it. Technically, nakamura din ako.

ANIKA’S DRESS

Anika’s dress was made by LT. It had a ballet leotard top and a full skirt. It was simple pero Anika loved it. Flower princess daw siya because LT and Faye made her a floral crown.

For me, she looked really adorable. Feel na feel din niya ang curls niya.

Eto ang eksena before we went to the bridal room for the picture taking. I told Faye and Toots they better have babies soon kasi kita mo naman, stariray na stariray ang anak ko. Walang choice eh. Hahahaha! She’s the only grandchild in my family.

This was Lolo Papa and I 30 years ago.

One camera wasn’t just enough. Lol.

This is us with LT, the mother of the bride. LT and the Mother of the Groom’s gown were from Miss Selfridge.

Here are the men with Anika

A lot of you are asking where my youngest brother was. He didn’t attend Faye’s wedding. Hindi ko alam sa kanya why.

Faye asked me to keep this piece of paper where she wrote her vows. I took a photo of it so I can show you =)

She was crying when she was reading that at the church. Naiyak talaga kaming lahat. The message was very simple but straight to the point.

You should have heard Fonz’s vows. Ang galing. I will share their wedding onsite video in a bit.

FAYE’S DRESS

LT made Faye’s dress. It was beautiful.

Faye’s dress was just covered in lace. It was simple and elegant. I love how Faye was so determined to exercise and get fit a few months before the wedding to be that sexy. Kinareer ni Faye yung Gold’s Gym. Tingnan niyo naman yung outcome. She was one of the most beautiful and radiant brides I have ever seen.

Here’s one of the family portraits that I will be framing for our house.

Yeah. I intentionally had my arms cropped. Ang laki eh. Lech.

This is our family photo naman. I can’t wait to see the photos from Lolo Papa’s camera too.

I took one more quick shot of Faye before we headed out to the church.

I also asked Alvin for a photo while we were waiting for our car.

The wedding ceremony was held at Villa San Miguel, Archbishop Palace in Mandaluyong City. Dalawa ang church dun. Faye and Fonz chose the small chapel.

Here’s Toots and I with our new brother, Fonz the groom.

Like what I said in my Maid of Honor speech, our family is very happy na si Fonz ang nakatuluyan ni Faye. Fonz is very kind. He is a very patient and nice person. We love him to bits!

When I said that Fonz and Faye’s wedding chapel was small, I wasn’t exaggerating.

It was really super duper small. Ang kasya lang maupo are the members of the entourage. It was that small. Some of the guests who attended the ceremony were standing up na.

Lolo Papa and LT gave Faye away.

Faye’s biological dad passed away last year. Sayang nga eh. He could have been the one sana to give Faye away.

Anyway, the priest who married the two was Fr. Santi. Fr Santi is a family friend and our parish priest in Moonwalk Village in Paranaque. Like our family, he also hails from Bicol.

This is the chapel. I was already standing at the other end of the aisle.

I love how intimate it was though. Sa renewal of vows namin ni Alvin, ganyan lang ka-liit na chapel ang gusto ko. Konting konti lang ang kasama.

And finally, this is the wedding cake.

Faye asked for a super duper simple cake. Faye gave me a design and I asked Cat of Tazzy Cake to make this. As usual, Cat’s cake was so delicious. Vanilla flavored cake lang siya with chocolate filling pero ang sarap sarap talaga!

There you go mga bakla. I will tell you more about the reception in the Part 3 na ha? I don’t have nice photos na kasi at the reception. Madilim na kasi. I will just wait for Pineda’s photos =)

For the meantime, I will leave you with Fonz and Faye’s Same Day Edit Video =)

Fonz & Faye Same Day Edit Video from knowellpadilla on Vimeo.

I have a great idea for a Christmas gift for the kids!

Thanks to Mommy Krisna, she sent me these really cute bento making and artsy things for your little ones.

This Teddy pan is the cutest. Imagine cooking pancakes on this pan =) It’s very affordable at Php 145 a piece.

This piggy snack box is the one Anika’s using now for school.

It’s nice because it has two levels where you can keep different kinds of food for your kids. They’re also very affordable at Php 145. They also have a bear and frog design.

And how cute is this Disney Aluminum Foil? Priced at only Php 130

And for all of you bento making mommies (mga idol ko talaga kayo), here are some food picks and bento decors that you can get for your kiddos. They’re priced at around Php 115 a pack =)

You can order these cute things from STUFFify

Cellphone Number: 0917-4584433
Email Address: stuffify_ph@yahoo.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/stuffifyph
Instagram: @Stuffify_ph

To keep up the tradition in my blog, here are a couple of items that I want for Christmas.

Since forever, the red Givenchy Nightingale bag still tops my list. I won’t post the photo here anymore because I have been wishing for that every year. Malamang suyang suya na kayo sa hitsura nun.

The second item is the Prada Baroque sunglasses. I almost bought it a couple of months ago because it was on sale however for some reasons, nanguripot ako. Time changes a shopinggera din pala ano? I’m not as an impulsive buyer that I was before.

Third on the list are these Kate Spade sunglasses that I am wearing here. In love talaga ako sa mga big “bubuyog” levels sunglasses.

Fourth on my list are these bags from Kate Spade.

Cedar Street Dot Bee Wristlet, $78

Cedar Street Mini Maise, $198

Cedar Street Maise, $298

Fifth is this Mini Weekender from Bags by Rubbertree.

source

And finally (don’t laugh ha?), I really want this Nokia 8210 in Red. May nagbebenta pa pala nito online?!

source

Ang dami kasing memories ng phone na yan! It reminded me of my yuppie days. Yung tipong kahit na nalalagas na yung phone kasi nagkakasira sira na, I couldn’t replace it because wala akong pambili. Mga ganung levelz =) Hahahaha!

So there you go. That’s my Christmas wishlist for this year.

What’s yours? =)

Last Wednesday, sa katakawan namin ni Anika sa sweets, we unintentionally ate a spoiled cake. After eating half of my serving, my tummy hurt agad. Anika has yet to start on her cake when I told her not to eat it anymore. Ewan ko ba kung ilang beses kong ini-re ang batang yan ba’t ang kulit (oh, 36 hours worth of ire pala), nalingat lang ako, sumubo pa din ng cake.

I had LBM right after that dinner meal. Anika was fine naman. I asked her if she wanted to make poopoo or if she has a tummy ache, hindi daw.

At around 1:30am, I woke up because I heard Anika crying beside me. She wasn’t saying what hurt. Umiiyak lang. I got her and carried her. Ayun, sumuka ng wagas over my shoulder and all over the bed. She fell asleep after that. At around 3am, she woke up again to throw up. Sakit daw tummy niya. She threw up again at 5am.

Alvin wanted to take Anika already to the hospital. Ayaw ko. I felt that I can still manage yung pagsusuka ng bata. And besides, I don’t want to subject Anika to the trauma of putting a dextrose on. Hindi naman pa kailangan sweruhan, bakit dadalhin?

I told Alvin to buy Maalox for Anika because her tummy became acidic. Titigil yan sumuka after uminom.

Ayaw ni Alvin.

Medyo gets ko ng slight why Alvin was apprehensive to follow my instructions. Hindi naman kasi ako doctor. Pero expert ako diyan sa mga stomach sickness. Sakit ko yan for the longest time.

Anyway, antayin na lang daw the next day if sumuka pa.

At around 7am, Anika was still sleeping. Hindi na sumuka. Thinking that she was okay na, I left for work.

Alvin called me around 9am to tell me Anika threw up again.

My sister in law, who’s a doctor, and my mother in law went to our house that morning to check up on Anika.

I went home very early that afternoon to be with Anika.

When I got home, I saw a bottle of pedialyt and Maalox.

I wanted to roll my eyes. Sabi ko na nga eh. Ayaw kasi maniwala sa akin. Hayst.

Anika didn’t throw up anymore the rest of the afternoon.

The next day, when she woke up, masakit daw tummy niya. I asked Anika baka pwede niyang pigilan magsuka until after she drinks her meds. Oo daw.

I had a walkthrough in one of our projects that was near lang where we live. I told Alvin that I cannot postpone the walkthrough anymore because there was no more time and I was the one who organized it. I told Alvin that I will be back by 10am. The walkthrough was at 8:30 am and we will be done in an hour. Wala naman problema yung building na yun because last building to RFO na.

Since Alvin also had an appointment to go to that day, I asked LT if she can go to our house and stay with Anika until I arrive before lunch. Ikukuha ko na lang lang siya ng Uber. Okay daw. Tatapusin lang daw niya ang walking niya.

Alvin called me at around 8am to tell me that Anika threw up twice. Ang dami dami daw. He sounded so worried that I had to calm him down. I told him not to panic. Natural na magsuka siya in the morning sa sobrang acidic ng tummy. Anika just needs the medicine and eat. I wasn’t worrying that much because ang lakas sa tubig and liquid ng bata. Hindi siya madedehydrate agad agad ng ganun ganun lang.

Eh, ayaw daw kumain ni Anika sabi ni Alvin

Umiling ako because walang problem kumain si Anika when I’m the one feeding her. Pag-Tatay niya ang nagpapakain, nuknukan ng arte. Eto namang Tatay, he falls for Anika’s paawa every single time! Nakakaloka. Hindi ko maisip paano kaya paikutin ng isang five year old ang Tatay niyang ala Robin Padilla.

Kaloka.

I told Alvin to ask Malinaw (Anika’s yaya) to feed her. Pumasok na kako siya sa office. He doesn’t need to worry because I will be home in two hours. And besides, LT is coming over na. Walang problema.

Ayaw. Ayaw nung Tatay umalis. Hindi na daw siya papasok.

Bahala ka, I said.

When I got home at around 1030am, I saw my mag-ama naka-cuddle sa sofa. When Anika woke up, she asked for her Tatay. She was whining and whining. Yakap naman ng yakap ang ama. She was crying per hindi naman nagsusuka.

I carried her to our room and placed her on our bed.

ME: Sweetheart, yung totoo, masakit pa ba talaga ang tummy mo?

ANIKA: A little Nanay.

ME: A little lang pala eh. Why are you crying?

Silence.

ME: If it doesn’t hurt, don’t cry. You’re worrying Tatay so much. If you cry again, he will think that your tummy really hurts. He will bring you to the hospital. Do you want to be taken to the hospital?

ANIKA: No Nanay.

ME: Eh di don’t cry. Does it hurt when you walk?

ANIKA: No Nanay.

ME: O eh di go walk around. Look for something to do. And let’s eat more food and drink more pedialyt.

After that, Anika was able to eat a few subo of spaghetti that I asked our househelp to cook. She drank a lot of liquid. After a while, kumain na naman ulit. Small meals siya all through out the day. I just had to remind her in like every other hour.

In the afternoon, she was okay na. Nagaaya na magpunta ng SM BF.

See? No need to panic di ba?

That is one thing that I want to share with you, working moms, out there.

If your babies are sick, you go home. Pronto. It must be clear in your work that family comes first for you. I am lucky because I work for a company that’s like that. My boss is lenient basta anak ang may sakit. He expects nga lang for you to make bawi when you report back to work but that’s okay with me.

I’m telling you mommies to go home and take care of your sick child because nobody can replace a mother’s care.

However, even when you are home, there should be a balance between making your child feel that you are there to take care of them and also making the child feel that they need to do something in order to get well. Kailangan nilang matutong maging matatag.

Even if I seem to be like the less sensitive or less dramatic parent, hindi ibig sabihin nun ayaw ko mag-alaga. I just know how to read Anika. Kinabisado ko kailan siya nagiinarte and kelang nagsasabi ng totoo. I know her like the back of my hand. That is kinda challenging if kasing arte ng anak niyo ang anak ko.

Hindi ako kumukunsinti ng whining. For me, whining is a step towards self entitlement. Ayaw ko niyan. I want Anika to grow up into somebody who can handle being sick. Wala naman tayong magagawa eh. Dadating at dadating ang panahon na magkakasakit ang mga anak natin at one point or another. Yes, I comfort her and I try my best to be always by her side when she’s sick. But at the same time, I don’t want Anika to grow up weak. Gusto ko, sa sarili niya, kayanin niya. She needs it to survive.

It’s all about balance.

It’s not easy but we have to do it.

Bow.

Whew.

Eto na mga bakla, I can finally tell you what has been keeping me busy for the last two weeks. I can finally tell you bakit ako ngarag na ngarag and why I’m very pressed for time everyday. So much that I can’t blog as often as you are all used to.

In the company that I am working for, we hold a Christmas Presentation for each department every year. Contest yan and all departments take it very seriously. The prize is big but wala sa amin ang may pake dun. Dangal ang nakataya dito. Dangal and bragging rights for the whole year. Very big deal ang manalo. It’s a bigger deal if you win the Grand Prize. As in.

For the past couple of years, the Construction Division (which I’m part of) have been placing 1st or 2nd place. We were then grouped with the Design Department. However last year, the management decided to separate the two groups. Parang dun nagkasubukan. Design was grouped with one of the other magaling groups while kami, wala na kasama. Solid na Construction Division na lang.

We lost last year. As in we didn’t get any place. It was painful especially for me because ako yung punong abala. I’ve never lost at anything that I am passionate about. It was a very humbling experience. It was like also rubbing salt on an open wound because the Design Department won first place.

Kamote.

This year, the grouping was still the same. We had only two weeks to practice because hindi ko maasikaso sa sobrang ka-busy-han at work. Akyat baba ako ng Baguio di ba? It already came to a point that I wanted to back out. Ayaw ko na kami sumali because of the stress that I knew na haharapin ko. Kaso it wasn’t for me to decide solely on that. The group decided that we will join and fight.

Fine.

One challenge was to find a good choreographer. Hindi madali makahanap ha and their professional fee is not cheap. We were extremely disappointed with our choreographer last year so may learnings na kami in choosing one. I found Milai Tamayo through the recommendation of one of my blog readers. After meeting with her, the team decided that she’s the one so we hired her.

The second challenge is getting everybody together to practice. This was difficult for us because watak-watak ang mga engineers namin sa iba’t ibang site.

Nevertheless, we were able to practice for a bit.

If you were a participant, you wouldn’t like me in those two weeks. Drill sergeant ang peg ko. Milai was a heaven sent because she really helped us put everything together.

Last Friday was show time. After giving the kids a schedule that they have to follow, I went to Regine’s Salon to have my hair and make up done. The theme of the party was Oscar  Awards Night and that was also the theme for the presentation. Ang papel ko sa presentation was an Oscar Awards host.

Kailangan bongga.

As usual, I told Rexcie that I want a make up na parang natural. Panalo talaga siya.

On my way back to the site where everyone was, at C5 Road, Alvin’s car’s tire blew up. I was so freaking scared because the car swerved left and right. Punyeta takot na takot talaga ako!!!

I was just lucky because I didn’t hit any car while I was swerving and I was near na the site. Somebody came to change the tire.

This was my outfit of the day for that night.

Nirenta ko lang yan girls.

I had to rent a gown because I was the Oscars host for our presentation.

It was my first time to rent a gown. I wanted a ball gown kasi. Gipit ang time to have one made plus it’s very expensive. I searched online and found The Gown Station in Quezon Avenue. One big ball gown caught my eye. When I got there, I was disappointed because napaka-dumi na talaga nung gown. As in. Ayaw ko sukatin kasi mukhang makating makati na. They led me upstairs where I found rows and rows of all kinds of gowns. May pang sexy, may pang barrio fiesta, may pang sagala and meron din pang hindi ko alam na occasion. My problem was super hirap maghanap ng soshal na gown na malaki that I wanted. I found and chose this yellow gown nung konting konti na lang, susuko na ako.

It was so itchy when I fitted it. They said they’ll clean it naman daw. It cost Php 3,500 plus the Php 4,000 refundable fee.

Gorabelles.

Hindi naman ako nagsisi on the day. Bongga kung bongga. I asked LT to make a petticoat made of wire para lalong lumaki. Hindi na-achieve yung size na gusto ko but keribelles na naman.

We performed like there was no tomorrow. People who were watching said that ang linis daw ng perfomance namin.

Okay na yun. I said. Basta magplace lang kami, happy na ako.

At the end of the night, they were calling na the winners. Hindi kami third place. Kinabahan na ako. They didn’t call us also for the second place. I wanted to cry na.

I told my boss and my other co-managers that if we didn’t win, palitan na nila ako as punong abala. Ayoko na.

Imagine my shock when they called our group’s name as CHAMPIONS!!!!

I. FREAKING. COULDN’T. BELIEVE. IT!!!!!!!!!

Naduro ko boss ko ng wala sa oras sa sobrang saya! I was screaming my head off!!!

BOSS KO: O Fleur. Ibig sabihin niyan, ikaw pa din next year. Panalo tayo eh.

Hahahahaha!

We all went up the stage ng tuwang tuwa to get this trophy.

I was hugging the trophy the rest of the night.

ENGINEER: Ma’am pwede po namin mahiram yung trophy? Magpipicture lang po kami.

ME: Osige. Pero diyan lang kayo sa harap ko ha? Wag niyo na ilayo.

Hahahahaha!

I was sitting with my boss, my co-managers, our company president and  his wife when I got up to pee.

Binitbit ko yung trophy.

BOSS: San mo dadalhin yan?

ME: Weewee lang po ako sir.

The people in the table burst out laughing.

It’s Sunday night already and until now, hindi pa din ako makapaniwala.

I feel so happy!!!!! Sulit ang stress and all the pagod of the group.

Eto pa lang, merry na merry christmas na talaga for us! =)