It's almost the end of January and yet, this is my first ever post for 2012. I know, I'm such a lazy blogger. Although that does not mean I don't blog in my head. God, if someone would invent a way where my thoughts would go directly to my blog, nakupo -- disaster.
2011 has been so good to me and Bob, and came with the great blessing called Nathan. I have high hopes for 2012 and all the years to come. The thing is, I think I've never been this positive before. Parang ang gaan nalang ng lahat ng bagay. Call it weird but that's how I feel right now.
In two months, we'll be celebrating N's first birthday party. Oh my. Ang lapit na. For N's birthday, we decided to skip on the bonggang handaan and instead celebrate it with the people who will appreciate it the most. We'll do a party at Philippine Orthopedic Center, and hopefully, if budget permits, pati sa Tahan-tahanan.
Sana manalo ako sa lotto. Haha!
Oohh this is perfect! I have several books which we use for our Project 20 outreach pero I want more books for Nathan naman. Last year, I was able to score big books for 100 pesos instead of the usual price na 200-300 and the kids in Zambales (where we did our Christmas Outreach) loved it! Makaladkad nga si Dudad one of these days. :)
I wish there’s a way to disable Ctrl + A and Delete on my keyboard whenever I try to start a blog post. Perhaps your dashboards will be flooded with posts about me and all the what-nots I do everyday. But I guess it’s there for a reason, noh? :)
Life is still ah-mazing as usual, and I say that because I feel that every morning is a blessing. I wake up and see my little angel, Nathan right beside me and then I turn around and there’s my other (not so) angel Bob, and that snore I’ve grown to love throughout the years we’ve been together.
This is my life right now, domestic yet fulfilled. I treasure every minute I am with my two boys, and thanking God that I have everything I need and want within arm’s reach. Nathan continues to be a wonderful reminder of how much God loves us and how much trust he has placed on our shoulders. I couldn’t be more thankful for all these.
Life is wonderful.
Last night, you sang with your heart and we felt it. You were right, the love inside Araneta last night was overflowing, and it’s all because of you. When you sang “Lucky”, I really felt it, and all I could do was hold my husband’s hand and be thankful that yes, I am in love with my best friend.
And though I was hoping until the very last minute that you’re going to sing Geek in the Pink, okay na rin coz you did so much more than I expected. It was a great show from start to finish. Not a minute wasted, all thanks to you.
Please have another concert here. Geek in the Pink, don’t forget. :)
I honestly can’t wait for the 30th.
As a bonus for Bob’s hard work, our friend and partner, John, gave us free tickets to Jason Mraz’ concert! He gave us funds to buy Patron seats, but boy, ang bilis nasold out yung patron seats! Imagine our faces when the lady told us only Upper Box B and General Admission tickets were being sold.
But on the other hand, okay na yun noh! We will go there to hear him sing Live naman e. Bonus na yung makita siyang upfront. Bob and I are so excited na talaga. Bob’s been playing his songs nonstop para daw memorized na namin pagdating ng concert. Kumusta naman yun, kahit memorized as if naman makakasabay sa beat ni Mraz! Hehe!
Tapos Train naman kasunod on December 7. Bob and I have a list of performers na pag pumunta dito eh hindi namin palalagpasin yung concert, and Train is among that list! It’s too close so I don’t know if we can afford the tickets, parang sobrang nakakaguilty manood ng concert magkasunod, sayang ang pera! Pero, hayy we’ll never know! Hehe!
This evening, we gave a child vendor a hundred peso bill and told him to keep the change. Perhaps stunned, he looked at the bill for maybe five seconds and then looked back at us. Said thank you and then left with a smile. We caught him look at the bill again, as if checking if it were real.
Then he went inside the nearby bakery, got himself a chocolate drink and settled happily on the bench outside.
Lord, thank you for our blessings. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to share it with others. Bless that kid, Lord. Keep him safe and healthy.
I think I will never eat pork again for as long as I live.
The past two days have been so difficult for me and Bob. Culprit? Food poisoning. :( Kami lang kasi kumain nung left over na grilled pork from our Sunday get-together. I think nakadagdag yung hindi na namin ininit yung ulam.
Ack, we were vomiting every hour ata. It went to the point that we were so weak to move already. Thank Goodness there’s Mama, Papa and Joy to take care of Nathan. As in I can’t even hold him dahil baka malaglag ko lang pag karga ko and masusuka na naman ako.
Worst two days of our lives. :((
If every birthday has a theme, I’d say this year’s title would be, “For a change”.
For the first time in so many years, I finally celebrated a birthday with all four of us together, under one roof. The last time I think was eight years ago. So when Mama went to our room yesterday and kissed me on the cheek then greeted me a happy birthday, I almost felt like I was dreaming. It was so surreal I almost cried.
I think this goes without mentioning, but to me, the biggest highlight of my birthday is that it’s the first birthday I had with a family of my own. Bob and Nathan, what more can I ask for? God entrusted me with two of his precious creations, naku naman, ano pang mas peperfect pa dito?
I didn’t make any plans at all for my birthday. I stopped making plans when I realized that it always rains on my birthday – walang mintis. And not just slight rain, talagang malakas and bumabaha. But then again, kahapon ng umaga, grabe walang ulan. The sun was up, at talagang mainit pa. I said to myself, “Aba, kakaiba to. Let’s go to MOA!” Hahaha! Ang tapang ko noh? Eh kasi Bob gave me a wonderful birthday present – budget! Hahaha!
So Joy texted Ryan so he can come with us. And while he was on his way, I prepared a little game for the family. We had Uno Stackos at home, I printed some phrases on a paper and then dinikit ko sa likod na part para hindi makita. I included a 1k peso prize, some 500’s and 100’s and then a lot of Waleys! Hahaha! Papa got around 700 pesos in cash prize, and everyone thought he’ll be the one to get the 1k major prize, but lo and behold, yung nangungulelat na si Joy with 20 pesos got the one thousand cash prize! It was really fun watching their reactions whenever they read, “Waley, bunot pa!”
We had so much fun we forgot to cook lunch. Haha! So kinain namin yung dala ni Ryan na cake from Red Ribbon and then prepared to go out. It was almost 1pm nung nakaalis kami ng bahay. I said to myself, “I know God always, always gives me signs on my birthday. Bring it.” Haha!
True enough, nung nagpa-gas palang kami, nakita ko yung matandang babae na pinakain namin ni Bob sa Jollibee one time. Without me asking to, tinawag ni Papa at Mama and binigyan nila ng alms. Yes naman, natuwa ako. I feel that we’re so blessed na it’s just right for us to share what God gave us. Malamang kasi yun ang reason bakit overflowing ang blessings, diba?
And then dahil nahihilo na kaming lahat sa gutom, instead of settling sa drive-thru, we opted to dine in sa bagong tayong Jollibee dun sa may bayan, on the way na e. Had one piece chicken each, since we said kailangang magpagutom para sulit yung dadayuhin pa naming sa MOA. Haha!
Ayun na, paglabas namin, may batang babae na nagaalok ng tinda niya. I stopped to ask her what it is, and she said, “Lumpiang Toge” daw for 7 pesos. I was full already, and I know everyone was, so I don’t think we can eat any more lumpias. But she was really asking us to buy, and nakita ko talaga na parang desperate na siya, so I told her, sige give me two pieces. Kasi yun lang yung nakita kong barya ko, 20 pesos. Then her little brother came and with happy eyes, he asked “Magkano na yun pag dalawa?” Then he used his hands for counting and said, “Ah! Fourteen! Edi magkano yung sukli?” I said, “Six pesos. Pero, itabi niyo na. Sa inyo na yung sukli.”
They smiled at me, tipong smile na sobrang thankful, and then the girl said, “Ate salamat, di pa po kasi kami kumakain.” I knew it was way past 2 pm already, ba’t di pa sila kumakain? I said, “Ganun ba? E kumain na kami, sa inyo nalang yung binili ko, kainin niyo ha?” Grabe, tuwang tuwa sila, thank you ng thank you. I can’t imagine pano yung feeling kung gutom na gutom ka na tapos pagkain yung tinda mo pero hindi mo pwede bawasan.
Nung paalis na kami, sinilip pa nila Joy if they really ate it. They did, and nagshare talaga silang magkapatid dun sa dalawang lumpia. I asked Papa to go back kaso lang wala na sila dun sa harap ng Jollibee. But I really do hope to see them again, siguradong matutuwa yun sa chicken joy. :P
Anyway, so yun nga. We went to MOA, window shopping and side-eating. We had frozen yoghurt na kami lang ni Joy ang kumakain kasi they all say it tastes panis na gatas. Haha! And then krispy kreme. Nagpapagutom kunwari para daw sulit talaga. By 6 pm, andun na kami sa dampa choosing Mama’s favorite sea foods.
In fairness, masarap ang luto dun sa kinainan namin. I don’t want to name them na, sayang publicity. It was all good, service was fine until they handed over the bill. Hahaha! Double sa expected namin, and we even calculated upfront ah. May charges dito, may charges duon. But anyway, okay lang. Nainis lang ako kasi they promised a 20% discount before we came in, tapos nung bayaran na nakalimutan na nila. But all is good, the food was great – ang dami! But I guess nag work yung pagpapagutom namin kasi I initially thought we wouldn’t be able to finish it sa sobrang dami, but we did. No take homes!
And then we all set to going home, pagod and busog, we left MOA with slight smiles on our faces. Haha. Then on our way home, I remembered we still have vouchers for a full body massage with ventosa therapy. It was around 9pm na so I called the spa and asked them if they’re still accepting clients. Unfortunately, fully booked na sila for that night (and for the coming days – sept 9 pa open!) so we decided to just stop by the nearest spa sa subdivision namin, since I’m really really craving for that full body massage. :)
10pm na when Bob and I got to the spa. Bob was so in to treating me, at talagang full two hours pa yung kinuhang package. Haha! Since nauna na naman sila Mama and Joy, there was no worrying for Nathan kasi for sure tulog na siya nung mga oras na yun. It was our first time dun sa spa na yun since bago palang, and boi did they exceed my expectations. Ang galing ng therapist, si Bob tulog na agad ilang minutes palang during the therapy. We had thai massage which was exactly what I needed – stretching galore.
The music was so nice din, and then I just found myself praying to God. I thanked Him for what has been a very wonderful birthday. It never fails to amaze me how things changed for the last few years and how he intricately planned it all. There I was, on a massage bed, for the remaining two hours of my birthday. Ang sarap ng feeling, not just because of the massage, but knowing that Bob and I made this already. We are in that stage na we can afford a comfortable living. I can’t say luxurious pero okay na sakin yung comfortable. Compare that to what we had three years ago, when Bob’s computer table was a make-shift box, and all we had as furniture are a mattress and couple of kitchen utensils – sa first apartment namin. I’m so proud of what Bob has been for the years since we got together, he really worked hard, to get us to where we are right now. Ok na ko dito, I’m okay with all aspects. Happy ako we can do grocery shopping every week and not run out of stocks, happy that pag kalahati nalang yung gatas ni Nathan, may pambili na ng bago before it runs out. Secured, comfortable and we can afford little luxuries like that. A car and a house soon, jusko Lord, what have we done to deserve all these?
“This is THE life!” I remember myself saying before I dozed off to sleep last night. Thank you Lord for making all of this happen.
P.S.
For sure madaming typos and grammar error to, pagbigyan na. Too happy to edit. :D
Kagabi, pagkatapos namin sunduin si Mama sa airport, hinatid naman namin yung kasama niya sa Mandaluyong. Di kami pamilyar sa lugar kaya sobrang nangangapa talaga kami. Yung kasama namin, medyo familiar lang sa lugar so sa kanila kami nagrerely on directions.
Then they said, “kaliwa po dyan” so kumaliwa naman si Papa. Turns out NO-LEFT turn pala yun and syempre, hinarang kami ng mga traffic police. I was in shock kasi first they told us was “May namatay na po dito kaya sinarado ang left turn.” May three warning signs daw pero we didn’t notice it at all kasi walang reflector, and it was dark there. And ISA PA, yung police enforcer dun sa may kaliwaan SIGNALED to us to go left so we did.
I was so impressed with the police officer coz when we finally get to the side of the street, he told us “Di baleng mahuli, wag lang maaksidente, tama po ba?” And he raised valid points, kaya amazed pa ako sa enforcer na ito. Then he went away for a while, tapos si Papa naman nagprepare ng pera. I told Papa, “NO! Wag mo bibigyan ng kotong yan, mukha namang hindi nanghihingi e. Baka maoffend pa yan, lalo ka pang maticket-an ng bribing!”
Sana the good stuff continues noh? Pero unfortunately, bigo kami — AGAIN!
When he got back, he said the lines I dread the most. “One thousand po talaga ang fee sa ganyang violation. Sa totoo lang di namin pwedeng sabihin kung magkano yung multa, pero sinabi ko sa inyo. Pero kung gusto niyo, pwede naman natin babaan. Iibahin ko lang yung violation niya. 500 nalang”
Ano to, bargain?
Eh kung bargain pala, mas magaling ako tumawad — sa pagkakaalam ko. Sabi ko kay manong enforcer, “Kuya, maniwala ka’t sa hindi, for the rest of our lives hindi na kami ulit kakaliwa dyan sa street na yan.” I wanted to point fingers and question bakit kami sinenyasan na kumaliwa, or bakit hindi nakareflector yung no left turn signs, etc pero masyado na kaming pagod para makipagdebate pa.
Nakakapang-hina, to have this kind of conversation with a police enforcer. I wanted to tell him, “Sige na! I-ticket mo na yung 1k na original fee, kesa magpakababa ako ng level ko at pumatol sa kotong police.” Pero too late na.
Sabi niya, “Eto yung folder ko. Tatanggapin ko maski magkano ibibigay niyo, maraming salamat. Ibababa ko dyan sa manibela, kunin mo yung lisensya mo tapos iipit mo yung pera. May camera kasi dito.”
I swear — I wanted to get out of the car and lash out at that enforcer and just express how disgusted I am for his behavior. Pero, wala na. Pagod na lahat e. Mastranded ka ba naman ng 5 hours sa eroplano, papalag ka pa ba? Gusto nalang namin lahat makauwi.
Nakakapanghina.
Please someone tell me may pag-asa pa ang batas dito sa Pilipinas.
I’ve become obsessed with all kinds of anti-mosquito stuff ever since Dengue breakouts become an everyday piece on the news. It’s really scary, and would never wish for that to happen even to my worst enemy. It’s sad that most victims are kids. Hayy.
So ayun nga, we have everything in the house. From baygon electric mosquito repellant to anti-mosquito patches, with varying degrees. May subtle lang amoy, meron namang sobrang tapang na kahit hindi lamok eh mahihilo na. And just this morning, our neighbor asked if we wanted to avail of the fumigation for 1k pesos, and siyempre pumayag kami. Better be safe than sorry, right?
Hayy. I wish they come up with a vaccine or something.
Bob and I — may soft spot kami sa matatanda na nasa kalye para mamalimos. Sobrang soft, in fact, na hindi talaga kami makakatiis pag may nakita kami, or may manghingi samin. I don’t know, maybe he misses his Lola and ako naman, as thanks na I still have both of my Lola’s with me until now.
So last Saturday, habang nagpapa-gas si Papa, may nakita kaming matanda, and kumatok siya sa may bintana sa side ni Papa. Binigay ni Papa yung mga coins sa dashboard niya, maybe 20-30 pesos siguro yun. Then she went to the other cars in waiting, pero hindi siya pinansin.
Feeling sorry for her, I asked Bob if we can give her the spare 100 peso change. Bob immediately said yes, and I asked Papa to call her. Sabi ko, “Nay, galing po sa anak namin, si Nathan.” Then as if on cue, Nathan smiled at her! :)
There’s a certain delight on her face when she saw what we gave her, and even asked me if I’m really giving her a hundred peso. Her voice was coarse, and then she told us she’s begging for her medicines, which costs her at least 200 a day. She said her meds are a hundred peso per tablet, and she needs two each day.
She proceeded to ask if we can add a hundred more para kumpleto na daw yung gamot niya. I still have a hundred from the change, so nakipag-eye contact nalang ako kay Bob and he seems to tell me, “Sige na, bigay mo na.” So I did.
I really hope na she was able to buy medicines for that day, and may nagawang mabuti yung 200 pesos. I felt awkward when she asked for dagdag, it’s the first time we have been asked na ganun, but we reasoned out na maybe she was really desperate already, it was almost evening and if it’s true she needs two capsules for the day, late na siya.
Aahh. Life.
“After a year-long investigation by PETA Asia-Pacific and the National Bureau of Investigations, police have now charged a Philippine couple with cruelty to animals and other crimes related to producing a series of pornographic videos in which young girls torture and kill animals.
WARNING: Graphic descriptions follow
The “crush” videos that the Ridons are believed to have produced show scantily clad 12-year-old girls as they stomp on live animals, a rabbit as he or she is skinned alive, other rabbits as they scream while their ears are cut off and they are set on fire, a dog as he or she is burned with a clothes iron, and a monkey who was repeatedly hit in the eye with the sharp end of a stiletto heel. There is more, including puppies crushed until they vomited their own internal organs. A bill currently in the Philippine Senate would criminalize the sale of such “crush videos,” already illegal in the U.S. and other countries.
Faced with the charges, suspects Dorma and Vic Ridon have fled. Warrants have been issued for them.”
