retrospecting year 2008

last year was a year of accomplishments and failures, of good times and difficulties, of joys and woes... but as we have always said in our prayers, we thank the lord for all the things that happened this year, whether they are good or bad... each is considered a blessing. =)

1. our home sweet home was built

...and we moved in last may. though it's not yet finished (by my standard =P), there are some finishing touches (paint job, baluster for the porch, cornice touches, built-in cabinets for iñigo's room, fences, other kaek-ekan) that we still have to save for. but still, we're mighty proud of our house--our very first real-estate property!

 

2. the pregnancy that didn't progress

it was first week of march when i learned that jude and i were pregnant again. though we're not expecting that pregnancy, we were still overjoyed of the idea that a second baby is coming by end of 2008. but a miscarriage bursted our bubbles; i had my ultrasound on the 11th week and a blighted ovum (no embryo developed) was confirmed. initially, it was depressing, especially for me, but we were able to accept it in no time. after a month, god gave us one of the answers why it happened and i even took the miscarriage as a blessing in disguise. iñigo, inspite of his varicella vaccine, had chickenpox last june. and you know what this disease can do to a pregnant woman, which could be me, and to her developing fetus. meanwhile, iñigo was doing well and wasn't feeling sick, he didn't even get a fever. he was just scratching all the time. =)

3. family trips to malaysia and sagada (with la union as side trip)

inspite of the financial challenges we encountered last year, our family still managed to take a few trips. these were in malaysia (kuala lumpur, putrajaya, and malacca) and sagada and la union. my sss maternity benefits and a part of jude's bonus last october funded these trips respectively.

 

 

 

 

 

 

it was also last 2008 when iñigo had his first camping experience, which was in caliraya; and when we made a visita iglesia of the old churches in the remote towns of laguna.

4. the small business that we opened and closed.

i didn't mention it much here but we ventured into a food business in the first half of 2008. we named our store "bogzzi sizzling haus" with sizzling foods and goto as specialties. business was good in our first month of operation but the succeeding months coincided with the economic turmoil brought by skyrocketing rise of rice and fuel, and our sales went down, inluding the nearby shops (idamay daw ba? hehe). we also had a problem managing the business since we lost trusted helpers both in the store and in our house, while i cannot commit my time in tending the store as our house and son were all left under my charge... not to mention my job, which can also be sometimes demanding. i am not a superwoman so jude and i decided to close it.

5. the househelps that come and go

i remember making a lengthy post here about my sentiments on our househelps. it's enough to say that i really had a major headache when it comes to househelps and i hope that i won't have the same problem again this year... that if, we employ again a househelp. hehe.

6. a healthier and smarter little boy

"healthier" because unlike in 2007, iñigo never had any hospital confinement last year. except for the chickenpox, which i already mentioned, and a minor case of bronchitis last april, iñigo was well and active for the rest of 2008. it was me who was confined for three days in the hospital after i had a serious bleeding brought by my miscarriage and the d/c procedure, which followed afterwards.

there you go... the milestones and highlights of 2008 for us. we're optimistic that this year--2009--will be a better year for us, especially in the financial aspect... ehem... hehe. we are also looking forward to a few travels, one is already scheduled this march, but i hope there will be more... let's see na lang...

i'd also like to see a healthier and slimmer jude and marie this year... especially jude. haha!

...and if God wills, we will have our own baby girl na this year. *wishing* =D

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! =)