samu't sari

my boss called me this morning to inform me that the venue of our conference early next year is no longer in shangri-la mactan. either i have it changed to shangi-la makati or tagaytay highlands, but definitely shangri-la mactan is already out of the picture because it is logistically unwise to hold the event there according to the sponsors. this is a sad news for me as i'm really looking forward to set foot on this 5-star hotel-resort in cebu for free, and i just have to pay for iñigo and jude, and probably my mom's (who will tend iñigo for me) airfare and accommodation.

but that was it. now we have a strong reason to push the other trip we're planning next year.

but i'm quite thrilled that tagaytay highlands is my boss' next option after shangri-la mactan as jude and iñigo haven't been there yet and i want them to have the chance to see it as the place is really lovely. and if i may add, it's only 30-minutes away from our house. =)

***

we have our hands full right now for next month's events. first in the list is our wedding anniversary so we're again preparing for an out-of-town trip, which we do every year. next is an (jude's younger brother) and rozunne's wedding on the 12th so we're quite busy preparing for our attire (AS IF...!), especially iñigo's as he'll be an extra bible-bearer to his ninong an's wedding. =D we wanted to throw a shower for the weds-to-be but we're not really sure when to do it as we will come back from our trip by 8th, our anniversary date, so we're in the dark with regard to this. add more to my stress is the visit of some important people from our number one company-client on the 9th and 10th.

but what's most stressful of all is when i found out that there's a big, big, big (more than 50% off?) sale of guess, mossimo, and mango items in the afternoon of 10th, it's only a one-time affair so i have to be there!!!

***

are male kids really uber-kulit? iñigo is right now and i sometimes end up in tears (no exaggeration here) as i am torn between reprimanding him or just letting him be since being naughty is in his nature as a two-year old. he's a very strong-willed kid and i am not sure if it's a positive or a negative trait for him. i'm nursing a bruise in my hips right now as while i'm sitting on a stool this morning, iñigo pulled it out as he intended to use it as a platform so he can get his toys above the cabinet, which i purposely put because once everything is in his reach... hay, CHAOS!

***

did you try googling your name? i did just this morning as i wanted to know what others will find out about me when they tried to key in my maiden name in google. it's my long-lost-but-found-now friend in college, jeanette, who told me yesterday while we're chatting that she googled my name in her effort to touchbase with me. siempre, napraning ako! hahaha.

there are only two entries for my name; one is mentioned in the website of national statistics coordination board as one of the reports i prepared for their office while i was still with department of trade and industry is posted there. but i laughed when i saw my job title as it's typed, "trade and tourism development specialist". hehehe. kelan pa nag-merge and DTI and DOT (tourism department)? my name is also mentioned in energy regulatory commission's (ERC) webpage for those who have cases with meralco back in 2001. to make it clear huh, i was the one, on behalf of my parents, who filed a case against meralco thru ERC because we received a billing statement which charged us php 30,000+ in amount. to make the story short, i won the case and i made myself popular in its kamagong branch. hahahaha.

i tried to search jude's name in google but there's zero result... hinde s'ya sikat. hehe.

***

TGIF, and we have a busy weekend ahead of us as we're going up north...

of metro manila. =)

happy and excited over these...

things that we (it's mostly "me") are looking forward this summer:

kiddie camp this april which is being organized by mms. the stage mommy in me is again alive and kicking... hahaha... and i'm more excited to this event than the daddy. i wonder where i can find a small backpack...oops!  

sagada-la union road trip before the holy week. i already have an itinerary for this major lakwatsa as early as now... isn't it obvious i'm already giddy with excitement? haha.

we will take the banaue route going to sagada and spend two to three days in this town. this would give us enough time to see the beautiful wonders of this awesome place.

can't wait to trek down its rice terraces and refresh in bomokod falls and explore the nooks and crannies of sumaguing cave once again and taste the yum-yum yogurts or crepes some of the restos here are serving. we will take the baguio route on our way back but instead of kennon road or marcos highway, we will exit baguio via naguilian road, which i hope is passable by then, and take the road going to san juan, la union for another surfing adventure!   

moving to our new house this march. i just hope that there's still money left for us to furnish it. isn't it more exciting if we will move into a new house with new and bright furnitures and furnishings? i think i can take care of this... i can keep my consultancy job as one of my rakets so i can save up for the things i want to stuff inside our new abode. wohoo-hohoo!   

 

 

what's up for us this 2008?

i forgot to mention in my last post that our new year getaway was also some sort of a planning session for us as a couple. it's because we we always believe in the saying that “the couple who plans together is the couple who stays happy together”. sensible enough, isn't it? and nothing will beat the 1st day of the year to share dreams together so there and then, amid the noise outside our room, jude and i  sat down and discussed our goals and plans for this year and made some reality checks along the process as we knew we are up against one important element… yeah, you guessed it right… money, budget, moolah.... sigh, if only money is the least of our concerns… =)

 

anyway, here’s a rundown of what you can expect from us this year:

 

-         transfer to our own house by first quarter. i’ve been looking forward for this since late last year but because of some delays, the construction of the house just started recently. it’s a simple bungalow i tell you but knowing that it’s already under our name (we will be paying off a housing loan though for ten years) is enough for us to be proud of, don’t you think?

 

-         start our own business. this also a long overdue project but we are positive that this will start very soon.

 

-         travel some more. more than what we did last year if possible. jude and i are eyeing camiguin as our next anniversary getaway this coming october. a trip to sagada this summer is also a nice idea as jude hasn’t been there (while i’ve been there twice). i was also considering to pursue my long-time dream to fly to batanes but after watching the movie “batanes” i eventually changed my mind as i find the place too rustic, which means we can’t bring iñigo with us and that’s definitely a no-no. jude also told me that he plans to go to bicol by may so it’s also in the bag now.

 

and if budget permits, i might see petronas again for a kl trip and proceed to singapore afterwards. =d

 

  -  go back to our roots and try climbing again! i’m still unsure though if i can do this   because: 1. i need to leave iñigo behind for one night; and 2. ehem… kaya ko pa ba? hehe. but jude is adamant that he will have at least one climb this year. let’s see…

 

-         conceive baby number two. should i divulge more? =D

 

there are some little plans we also made for our ourselves, for iñigo, and for the house which are:

 

-         learn photoshop and baking for me

-         learn other skill for jude

-         gardening for the front yard

-         enroll iñigo in a toddler school

-         print all the pictures we’ve had all these years

-         join more marathons and runs for jude

-         fix a personal time for each of us every month. jude can go out on this week while i can go out week after that.

-         fix a date every month. and the other week is for both of us.

-         involve ourselves in a cause-oriented group like gawad kalinga or the likes

 

and of course, the new year celebration won’t be complete without making any so we also joined the bandwagon and we too made some promises and commitments for this year. may heaven help us with these… =D

 

-         save, save, and save some more! there are tons of things we need and want to save for, which includes my lasik treatment, so we may be mr and mrs scrooge this year. the amortization for the housing loan would also start early this year so there’s also a lot of scrimping we need to do. i told you… money is never the least in our concerns. hehe. here's some measures we thought in order for us to save:

 

o       schedule our trips wisely. if possible, cut the trips we make going to metro manila and learn to say no to some invitations. prices of gas and toll are getting more expensive and we spend at least php 500 everytime we go somewhere in metro manila.

o       cut some household expenses like groceries and electricity. i know there’s something we can still forego.

o       cut further the eat-outs and food binges... we need to go on diet anyway

o       cut further the shopping and buying splurges. okay, this is for me. hehe.

 

- get rid of those excess fats and stay healthy. jog, bike and go to the gym for jude (their office has opened its own just last month so he has no reason not to…) while i can only join him for a jog. also, eat right which is really hard i tell you.

-         sleep early.

-         go to mass on time. yeah… we’re guilty of this. =(

 

jude has to add one more but i prefer not to share it with you.

 

so there you go for the things we look forward to this year. reading them makes me look more excited and yet intimated especially on the financial part but i know we can make it.

 

wish us luck! =)

on kalibo, boracay and traveling with a toddler in tow

when jude and i were deciding on what destination to take for this year's wedding anniversary, the island of boracay instantly came to mind. you see, we haven't been to this overrated tourist destination and we thought it's high time that we set foot on its white sand beach and see for ourselves how fine and powdery it is. it's like everyone had been to this place except for us! it always came as second choice for us then and it was only this year that we both longed for a boracay trip so that explains. =)

we stayed first in kalibo for one night before we took the ride going to caticlan. we were with iñigo, as usual, so we were very careful with our itinerary trying to have it toddler-friendly as much as possible. but as fate would have it typhoon "ineng" was still in the country last weekend and though it was heading north, the strong gusty winds enhanced the monsoon rain in the western visayas area, boracay included. and i tell you, it was RAINING all day in boracay. we just locked ourselves inside the room and killed time watching cable tv.

we would have been more adventurous and just ignore the rain and the possibility of getting wet if it hadn't been for iñigo. going on a trip with a baby, who's now a toddler, made a big difference on the way we travel... and the loads we need to carry, i must add. for this trip alone, jude had to bring the samsonite luggage and my expedition backpack to accommodate all the necessities (take note: we didn't bring anything unimportant) especially for iñigo, which includes the nebulizer apparatus. and i haven't mentioned the stroller yet which was another bitbitin for the poor daddy. good thing that we bought a lighter one because the graco stroller iñigo was using when he was still an infant is really a heavyweight.

oh well, that's the trade-off i guess for having a kid. we can't even go on an island-hopping or banana boating because that would be risky for us. and yes, we didn't swim nor take a stroll on that day we arrived in boracay because we can't take iñigo out in the rain.

but that was friday. fortunately for us, the weather went better the next morning so we were able to go to the beach after a brief stroll in d' mall. iñigo wasn't in his best mood as he was suffering from a bad cough. we just let him stay in his stroller which we parked along the beach as i read that sea breeze is the best saline solution to remedy a cough. true enough, iñigo's cough calmed down, which made jude to consider buying a beachfront property in batangas. feeling mucho dinero ang daddy! hehe.

we still had a nice time in bora despite the rain, which poured down again btw in the afternoon. jude ogled at the curves covered only by two-piece swimsuits while my eyes feasted on the goodies being sold in shops or by peddlers. i realized at the end of the trip that bora is more of a shopping haven to me than a beach paradise. hahaha! we've already been to honda bay in puerto princesa, el nido, panglao island, and coron and honestly speaking, boracay comes last in the list.

we stayed until sunday afternoon which gave us more time to enjoy the beach. for our meals btw, we survived in boracay because of andoks, goodah, and cindys'. isn't it obvious that we were in tipid mode? =P we only had a grand dinner last saturday night since it wasn't raining anymore and we felt that a bora trip isn't complete without a dine-out in one of its restos. we went as far as station 3 for the buffet dinner with a promo price of php 200 per head. i failed to get the name of the establishment but i left my seat disappointed because their foods were all ordinary to my palate.

talking about restos and foods, we enjoyed them more in kalibo city as we stayed there again sunday night to make ourselves in time for the early monday morning flight back to manila. if you'll get the chance to visit this city, which is famous for its ati-atihan festival every january, i recommend that you eat here:

- perfect combination, formerly known as mix n' match. we tried their baby back ribs and it's good! you can't believe its price because it's only php 100 per serving.

- peking house. this seems to be an old restaurant but i was really raving when the sinigang na hipon was served on our table--i counted the prawns and it's 10 pieces! =D i couldn't believe the prawns are that cheap in this city because i only paid php 95 for it. and mind you, it's delicioso too. with its name, this resto also serves good chinese food.

so okay... that's all for our 2nd wedding anniversary celebration. though we still cap it off last monday night with a nice dinner in paseo de roxas as jude insisted. SWEET!