Under the Christmas Tree

This may be a bit late to post but I just wanted to share what I got for Christmas from A... hihi!

Gift # 1:



It has been a very long time since I wanted to have a tin lunchbox similar to what I had in the 80's. So when I saw this in Rustan's, I just flipped! And I just did a double back-flip when I opened A's gift and saw this. Inside the lunchbox was my second gift.

Gift # 2:



Lastly, gift # 3:



Let's do the dance of joy

09 to 10

It has been exactly six months since I've last posted an entry in this blog. A lot has happened and my new job and other "extra-curricular" activities have kept me busy and have prevented me from blogging. To make things simple, let me just make a list of what has happened for the past six months before I go talking about my plans for this new year.

1. I am now part of the workforce again. I am now working for an international organisation which I believe plays a great part in making the future of their clients a lot brighter, to say the least. :) I am quite enjoying myself in this new job even if it is totally different from my previous one. The people are great! I met new friends, a few them remind me of the friends I made in my previous job. Weird huh?! :) LOL.

2. A couple of days after working again, A and I were super duper uber to the nth level happy when we found out that we passed the June 2009 Nursing Licensure Exam. No words could explain the excitement and joy when we saw our names on the website of the Phil. Daily Inquirer. It was so funny because we were holding hands when we were scrolling down the page to check our names. I literally screamed at the top of my lungs (I never thought I would be able to produce such sound, a shriek only a hungry infant or a bruised toddler can make) and then the pipe works started working. I only realized that I was crying already when I tasted something salty while I was speaking with my mom-in-law. I also didn't feel that I cut myself (I have no idea where) on the side of my right thumb from all the excitement. LOL. After calling my parents, we went out to meet our other classmates and celebrated. Thank you Lord. :)

3. One of the letters that A and I are waiting for the longest time finally arrived.
This too also made me cry. Unfortunately, I cannot explain more on this as I don't want to jinx it. To my close friends, you know what this is... so thanks for your prayers.

4. I've watched two live concerts from two foreign artists. Something I haven't done in a long time. The first one is actually "A's concert" as he is a fan of the artist, Nine Inch Nails. And the second one was "my concert"... it was Katy Perry's!!!

5. Lastly, A and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary last month. We went to Tagaytay and stayed there for three days. We were able to spend quality time together and at the same time was able to eat at most of the excellent restaurants the city has to offer. I'll post another entry to show the photos of the food we ate. Yes, we had more photos of the food and the restaurants than us. LOL. Foodies indeed.

I may have forgotten other events that have happened over the past six months, I'll probably post them once I remember them. But for now, these five are at the top of my list.

Now that it is the new year... another clean slate presents itself. Another opportunity to renew ourselves (for the better I hope). I hope that for our sake, the people around us and the world we live in, let us always try to be considerate of one another. I hope and would definitely try to be optimistic. Will always look at things as being "half full" rather than "half empty". No new year's resolution as always only dreams becoming realities.

Happy 2010 everyone!

Visita Iglesia on Holy Thursday

My husband and I had our Visita Iglesia last Thursday night. This was my first time to do this outside the comforts of our village in LP. Hehe! I was used to doing Visita Iglesia just by going to the three nearby churches in LP. I know, some sacrifice right? But that's what we've been doing for the past... ummm... 10 years I think.

* The above photo was the shoes we wore that night. After reading this, you'll understand why I posted it. *

Last Thursday was different. This was our route:

1st and 2nd Station: UST Church
3rd and 4th Station: San Sebastian Church
5th and 6th Station: Shrine of the Holy Face of Jesus
7th and 8th Station: Quiapo Church
9th and 10th Station: San Beda Chapel
11th and 12th Station: San Miguel Church
and finally, the 13th and 14th Station: St. Jude Archdiocesan Church

It was a very humbling and eye-opening experience for me.

I felt ashamed (of the fact that when we haven't even started with our Visita Iglesia, I already kept asking A if we're going to walk far from the churches that we will be going to) when I saw something for the first time and made me realize how silly I sounded.

What I saw was probably something a lot of you who frequent the churches of Manila during this time have seen before. I am talking about those people who walk barefoot while doing their Visita Iglesia. At first, (when A pointed them out while we were inside Quiapo church)I thought they just remove their shoes while inside the church but they were also walking barefoot on the streets. I was quite shocked and a bit afraid for their sake (the nurse in me was panicking and I was already thinking of all the possible medical emergencies they could be in). There were even girls who were doing the same thing. Imagine walking the dirty streets of Manila without any shoes. The thought made me cringe and shudder at the same time. But it also made me realize that these people couldn't care less if they step on gum, poop or even something sharp. What's important to them is that it was something they "gave up". Something we should all consider doing to live a more content life.

It was so simple yet for me, it was very real. Compared to what I had in mind (a long list of what I plan to give up this holy week), not wearing any shoes beats the likes of "not eating any pork", "not smoking or drinking for the rest of the holy week", etc, etc...

I wish I could do that. But I don't think I can. That is why I admire those people.
I hope I (and the rest of the people) would realize that it doesn't have to be really complicated to make a sacrifice. It's as simple as removing ones shoes.

I hope everyone was safe this holy week. Happy Easter!

My Turn

My husband and I were reviewing last heart's day weekend. We normally don't celebrate it on the day itself because a lot of people would be crowding the malls and other "vday-friendly" establishments. So last Monday, two days past heart's day, I decided to surprise A. He did the surprising last year so I wanted to surprise him this time.

Since I can't cook (yet!) I decided to order some takeout from Cyma. He was craving for their pork chops for two weeks already so I thought that would be the perfect choice. So I went to Trinoma and ordered our dinner to-go.

For our appetizer, I went for the Kalamarakia or the Crispy Baby Squid then for the salad it was a clear choice to order our favorite, Roka Salata. The candied walnuts tastes well with the greens and the vinaigrette. And lastly, A's favorite, the Hirine Brizola or the Grilled Pork Chops. I ordered a side of roasted potatoes with it. And for dessert, the sinful, Skolatina or the chocolate molten chocolate cake. Yummy!

And as I was waiting for the kitchen to prepare everything, I went to Powerbooks to buy him a book as a present. I was looking for the book Repeat While Fading book but at that time, the title escaped me so I couldn't ask the girl in the Customer Service booth. Instead, I bought him the small cook book that he's been eyeing everytime we were in a bookstore.

So as I got the book, I went back to Cyma to pickup the food and went straight home. I was in a rush because I just got a text from A that he's only a couple of minutes away. Grabe! Pinalipad ko yung kotse at mega setup ako ng table. Actually, I didn't have time to put everything on a plate so I just had to settle with opening the plastic containers so that the scent would fill the room. I was sweating like a pig after everything was set. I even setup the camera on timer so I can get a picture of us once he sees the surprise. Unfortunately, when the doorbell rang, I got so excited that I accidentally tipped the camera so it was pointing at the blank wall. So when the timer went off, it took a beautiful picture of the wall. LOL!

Here's a photo of the food that I ordered.



All in all, he was really surprised and happy. He kept apologizing for not being able to buy me flowers. I didn't mind. Actually, seeing the look on his face when he saw the food, was better than a bouquet of flowers. :) Actually, he's always the one giving me surprises, and everytime I tried surprising him, he'd find out about it. But this time I was successful. :)

Our First Christmas

I was looking for some insurance online for me and my husband when I realized something. How forgetful can I be when I've already blogged about my New Year when I haven't even posted the one for Christmas. Haha! So here it is...

Last December, it was our first Christmas as a married couple and so I decided that we should celebrate Noche Buena this year. Normally, my family don't celebrate Noche Buena in our house instead we celebrate Media Noche. I know it's weird and I don't know how it started but we're used to it.

So as our first Noche Buena, A and I cooked one of my favorite pasta -- Shrimps in olive oil and garlic. We also cooked chicken wings with Rosemary. Both dishes tasted great.

It was a quiet and intimate Noche Buena for us and my parents. After we ate and talked for like an hour or so, my parents headed to their room while A and I went to the Christmas tree so we can exchange gifts.



I bought him the Quicksilver backpack that he wanted when we frequented Surf World. He has a thing for backpacks. Anyway,I was really hoping I got the color right because they had one with the white print. Thankfully he did wanted the red one! Whew!



This was me opening my "surprise gift". I've asked A to wrap it again so I have something to open on Christmas eve. Hehehe!



If you've read my post about the wedding proposal that I got, my husband A has already shown me his Christmas gift. Hehe! For those who didn't get the chance to read it, he gave me the mini laptop that I wanted. It was the MSI wind that is in pink. Wee! Now I think my collection of pink gadgets is complete.

The Big Day

There are certain things in my life that I would like to keep mum in the blogosphere and just share it with close friends. However, since this is my personal blog, I could possibly just share this info. Exactly two weeks ago, my status has changed from "in a relationship" to "married". Teehee!

Yes, I got civilly married two weeks ago to my now husband, A. It was a short ceremony that was held in our city hall. The judge was surprisingly comedic despite his serious appearance. The photo op inside the court room was longer than the whole ceremony. I know, cam whores. Haha! It was our first time to be in a court room (that is for most of us) so we grabbed the opportunity to take pictures. (Sorry I can't post any of them yet because I can't seem to rotate some of the pics..grr!).

There's 12 of us, yes I know it's a small group but it was what we wanted. A and I just had one witness each. Mine was my bestfriend since prep and A's was his best bud in college. The rest were our immediate family members.

All 12 of us went to Spiral in Sofitel for the "reception". We had a great lunch. Everyone was so full. Oh and we saw Senator Lacson having lunch there. We wanted to approach him and have our picture taken but I got scared when I saw him staring at me. Parang galit sya. Hehe!

After resting from the big meal that we had, A and I asked our "guests" to proceed to the back of the hotel so we can have another photo op. Unfortunately, A's father had to go so he wasn't included in the photos. Luckily, the tide was still high so it didn't smell like rotten seaweeds when we were outside. My witness and bestfriend, K, wanted to take prenup-like photos. Haha! Baliktad ata..nauna ang wedding sa prenup shoot. LOL. And since we forgot her tripod inside the car and was too full and lazy to get it, we asked the lifeguard to take our pics at the pool area.



Everything went smoothly. Maybe the only trouble that we had on that day was picking food from the buffet. Haha! But I didn't have any problem with the dessert. I went straight to the chocolate truffle cake. Yummy! :)

So that was it. After the photo op, it was time to leave. I had to go back with A to QC because I had a hospital duty the following day. When we got home, we decided to get a massage and watch a movie as it was still early. We went to our favorite place near Banawe QC and then watched Four Christmases at The Block.

To all those who have extended their best wishes and congratulations, thank you very much. Hopefully we get to see you guys when we celebrate our church wedding. When, you might ask? That I cannot answer for now. So many obligations and duties to fulfill. It'll happen soon. :)

A Very Short Engagement

Two and a half weeks ago, Bigeyedgal and her boyfriend slash fiance went out for dinner and a movie (Twilight -- will make another post for this one).

Bigeyedgal: Ano ba kasi gusto mo for Christmas? Asan na wishlist mo? (What do you want for Christmas? Where's your wishlist?)
A: Ako may gift na sayo for Christmas. Di ko alam gusto ko eh. Kahit ano naman kasi ok lang. :) (I got you one already. I don't know what I want. It really doesn't matter.)
Bigeyedgal: Di pwede yun. Daya! May gift ka na?! Ako wala pa! Waa!(No. You have a gift for me already? I don't have one yet. Waa!)
A: Ok nga lang. Gusto mo bigay ko na sayo? (It's ok. You want your gift already?)
Bigeyedgal (knowing that A was only bluffing): Sige nga, asan? (Ok, show me.)

A then gets in his backpack something and hands me the mini laptop that I wanted to buy for myself this Christmas.

Bigeyedgal (blushing while gawking): Hala! Bakit mo binigay Christmas gift ko? Wala na akong bubuksan sa Christmas. Daya! (Oh no! Why did you give me your present? I won't have any presents to open on Christmas.)
A: Dali buksan mo na. (Go ahead. Open it.)

Bigeyedgal then opened the laptop sleeve and saw the pink MSI Wind. She opened it and saw a post it on the screen... It says: "I hope you won't change your mind." Bigeyedgal then closed the laptop and jokingly said to A..

Bigeyedgal: Ayoko na, itigil ang kasal! (Stop the wedding!)

Apparently, A didn't get the joke and thought that I didn't see the post it note inside. He then said...

A: O, di mo naman pa ata binubuksan eh...tignan mo. (You still haven't opened it.)

So Bigeyedgal did. This time she opened the laptop all the way and read the note aloud. By the time Bigeyedgal had closed the laptop, A was already holding a diamond ring and grinning like a little boy. Bigeyedgal was shocked because she wasn't expecting to receive an engagement ring (plus the fact that she insisted that she didn't need one). He then slid the ring to Bigeyedgal's finger.

Bigeyedgal (almost in tears): Oh my! Hala! Hala ka! Bakit ka pa nagbibigay? Ok lang naman kahit di na promise. (Oh my! Why did you get me one? It's really if you didn't promise.)
A: Ano ka ba, di ka pa nagre-react sa nakalagay sa post it note ko.
Bigeyedgal: Of course not!

A then walked up to Bigeyedgal's side of the table and gave her a kiss. After dinner, they went to see Twilight. The whole time, A kept staring at Bigeyedgal's ring finger.

Five days after... they got married.

What's my Sexy Name?

I saw this at Em's detour blog and I couldn't resist checking out my Sexy Name. I was LOL at the results. I checked mine first then Aris'. Hahaha! Here are the results:

Get Your Sexy Name

Get Your Sexy Name

Ooohh! Adonis. Hahahahaha! :-D

Trager and Tomas

Yesterday was a special day for me and Aris. To our friends, you know what I mean. I simply cannot include any other info about it except that it was great, our stomachs were full and we are all happy and content with the decisions we've made. Below are some pictures that we took. No arguments, no hassles, no confusion. Whew! Both Aris and I were unfamiliar on how to start the conversation but it ended up pretty ok. The date and venue was settled. All we have to do now is take care of the minor details and we're set for December! I'm guessing you already know what this is about. LOL!











I am feeling a whole bunch of emotions. Majority is happiness but I cannot deny that I am feeling a tad anxious, a little bit of stress but I am also super duper excited because this means traveling again! Weee!!! To my friends who will be there in December, I'll see you soon! Em, sorry to put you on the spot but if ever you're going (crossing my fingers and toes!), I need your expertise. You know what I mean. :-)

TIME and TIME again....

Last Friday, my future MIL *wink wink* has arrived.

After days of making our apartment squeaky clean, it finally paid off when she said that it looked great! Whew! *wiping sweat off my forehead*

So anyway, I just wanted to share two of the things that she gave me that really left a plastered smile on my face. Teehee! :-)

Item #1: She gave me her (but still looked brand new) Nurse Mates wrist watch and a lapel watch. It looks really nice. I can't wait to use it during our hospital duties. Plus I'm hoping and wishing that her Head Nurse skills and knowledge would be transferred to me. LOL!



Item #2: She gave us (moi and Aris) a gold necklace. It has a pendant that looked like half of a coin. One has a girl's face while the other one has a guy's face. Both pendants had an Italian inscription: "divisi ma sempre uniti". I researched and found out that these are his & hers love pendants. I found two meanings for the inscription. One says: "Always Together Though As Individuals" and the other says: "Divided But Always United". *kilig*

His mom said that those necklaces have been travelling with her for a couple of years now. Everytime she would go back here in Manila for a vacation, she'd bring the necklaces with her. I'm not exactly sure how old the necklaces are but she said she's been bring it to and from Manila for quite some time now and that she would give this to Aris so he could give it to the girl he would marry. *kilig ulit.. LOL!* I think both Aris and I were blushing when his mom handed it to us. *grinning*

What Happens in Vegas

NOTE: Non-spoiler entry.
Last Tuesday, Aris and I had another movie date. Wee! *kilig*

We met up at Trinoma because I just came from my class, went home to change while he was fresh from the office. When we got there, we were hoping to watch Jackie Chan's Forbidden Kingdom but they're not showing it anymore. So we chose What Happens In Vegas. Speed Racer is showing too but I didn't felt like watching it.

Actually, I wasn't really thrilled to watch What Happens in Vegas because first off, I wasn't able to see the trailer. I have a thing for that except if it's based on a book that I've read. Second, I felt like Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher wouldn't click together. They seem like an odd couple to me. But my assumptions were all wrong. The movie was so funny! There's this scene where they were at each other's throat trying to get to Queen Latifah first. It was hilarious! The bestfriends of Cameron and Ashton were also funny.

I suggest all you lovebirds out there to watch this movie. Perfect date movie! :-)

Brush your teeth!

Last night, when we got home from Trinoma after watching Iron Man, I wanted to go online and check on something but Aris was asking me if I'd be using the toilet. I found it odd but I just thought he wanted to use it and would be long in it and decided to ask me to go ahead. After a couple of minutes, he asked or rather he told me to brush my teeth already so I can continue with my surfing. Still, it was a bit of odd for him to force me to brush my teeth like a five year old. Hehe! But, after another request, I obliged and proceeded to the toilet. I was shocked when I turned on the lights. I found this on the toilet seat.



So that's why... I thought he was possessed by an evil dentist asking me to brush my teeth again and again. Hahaha! He bought me Shopaholic Takes Manhattan. Weee!!! I don't care if I already have Pharmacology and Pathophysiology lectures for the whole month of May. I am going to read it in all of my "free" time. But! I would have to finish first the Harry Potter book. I'm down to a couple of chapters and Sophie's book is next in line. J.K. Rowling would have to wait. :-)

Thanks to my ever sweet and thoughtful boyfriend, Aris. ex-oh-ex-oh! :-D

Clean House

Aris and I were so tired yesterday. Part of our holy week sacrifice was to clean our apartment. We've been swamped with school plus Aris's gigs that we had no time to really "clean" and "declutter" our place. So yesterday, we were on a mission. We started on the third floor and worked our way down.

My gosh! The dust on the floor and dustwebs on the corners of the ceiling were pretty scary. Haha! The room looked like a part of a haunted house. You could literally write your name on the floor from all the dust on it. Mopping the floor was like cleaning the inside of a squid. The moment I placed the mop on the pail with soap, the water almost instantly turned black! Hahaha! It's like squid ink. That's how dusty the floor was. I cannot believe how one room can accumulate so much dust in just a couple of months. LOL! So anyway, after 20 minutes of mopping the floor, I can see its normal color. Success!

The second and first floor was the same thing. Dust and paper were everywhere. We managed to arrange our school stuff and Aris's guitar and accessories. Our vacuum cleaner was working overtime and if only it could talk I'm sure it would tell us to clean the house because it kinda looked liked it was choking from all the dust that it's taking in. *Suck it up Severin!* Haha! At 7:00 p.m., we were beat. My hands are tired and my legs are throbbing. We were pretty satisfied with the results but we still have a long way to go. A couple of bins are still needed to contain our school clutter and Aris's CDs and DVDs.

Anyway, here are a few pics of the first floor of our apartment when it's clutter-free. :-) P.S. I am proud to say that I helped decorate this place. I am a frustrated interior designer. Haha!

Is it tea time yet?

It's that time of the month again and I am really getting hormotional. Last week, I was craving like a pregnant woman. From green mangoes and bagoong to chocolates and chips. Haha! I was particularly craving and intrigued by this blog entry from Dessert Comes First. Before, my officemates and I would buy the Polly's cake sold in Shell Maya whenever someone is celebrating his/her birthday or if we simply want to eat cake! Unfortunately, Shell Maya closed in order to give way to this high-rise condo! So we are left with eating "commercial cakes". Boo-hoo! It's not that I don't enjoy eating these cakes (I still enjoy eating Goldilock's choco roll-- my fave as a kid!) but Polly's is like the Queen of chocolate cakes. *Drool*

So anyway, I was intrigued by this Ceilin cake because ... It IS chocolate and moist. Two things that are important to me when I go buy a cake. I hate it when the cake itself is dry and "tough". Parang galit yung gumawa! I particularly like chocolate cakes because they're chocolate! Haha!

So I was craving and waiting to have the chance to dropby the Caltex gas station in Buendia but my schedule won't allow it. That's why I was so happy when Aris bought me yesterday this round piece of heaven (Another one of his lovely surprises! Thanks again Bebe!). It's the Ceilin cake!




Wow! I literally closed my eyes when I had my first bite. It was like the first time I've ever tasted a chocolate cake! The cake itself was soft and true to Dessert Comes First's description of the icing, it was indeed fudgey (Ergo... yummy! More time for me to enjoy it. LOL!). I really can't say which is better - Polly's or Ceilin's because I heart them both! :-D I guess you could have two or even three Queens in a kingdom -- that is if it's the Chocolate kingdom. Haha!

Little box

Being the magugulatin/praning person that I am, I was pretty scared when Aris came home last Thursday asking me if my Zune is with me. I told him that it was in my bag (but was seriously asking myself if it was INDEED in there! LOL!). He sounded weird and was a bit in panic when he told me to check my bag because he feels that I must have misplaced it. I disagreed and assured him that it was in my bag. He reiterated that I recheck my bag just to be sure. I was panicking this time thinking: "Is there something that he's not telling me? Nawala nga ba yung Zune ko???" (praningness kicking in!) So I went upstairs to check my bag. I was so relieved that I was right and that my Zune was right there nestled between my kikay kit and coin purse. As I went down, I walked towards Aris chin up and proudly showed him my Zune. When Aris turned to face me, he was carrying a small box and handed it to me. I was shocked to see it! I didn't know what to do.... NO! It was not a ring box if that's what you're thinking! Hahahaha! It was way bigger than that. Got ya!

It was a brand new speaker for my Zune. Wee!! Thanks Bebe! You and your surprises talaga. :-) It's a Hamburger Mini Speaker. It's sounds great despite its size. I thought it would be one of those cheap speakers that sound like crap. Di sya tunog lata! If you want the sound to be flat, just use it as is but if you want the full bass effect, all you need to do is open and extend the "burger".

Here are a few pics I got from Philmug. He got me the red one while his is in black (of course!).

Mush at its finest!

WARNING: This entry is mushy from start to finish. LOL!

A couple of minutes ago, around 6:30 a.m., I was awakened by the bright lights inside the bedroom. My initial reaction was just to cover my face with a pillow as I know that Aris was just probably choosing what shirt to wear to the office. After a minute or so, I didn't hear the closet door open and I felt that someone was standing near my side of the bed. As I uncovered my face, I was surprised to see Aris holding a tray with eight yellow tulips (my favorite number I might add) and breakfast. "Good morning! Breakfast in bed... Happy Valentine!", he said. I thought I was dreaming coz things were a bit hazy. Morning glory and all... So I pulled myself up on the bed and gave him a hug. Aaaaawwww..... :-)



I really don't mind not celebrating this day because I believe that LOVE should be celebrated everyday of the year. But this is very well appreciated. I was so moved because I know that even if he was so tired from work and school yesterday plus sleeping late last night, he still managed to meet his friend, Geloy to get the flowers he asked him to buy for me and order in breakfast. Now I know why his cell phone kept ringing last night. Huli ka Geloy! (wink, wink!)

So to my bebe, thank you so much for this wonderful surprise. What a great way to start the day! xxooxx I love you so much...