Boholandia

Today, I dream of Bohol. The pristine, white sand beaches of Panglao, the magnificent marine life, the fresh air and laid back feel of Tagbilaran City, the beautiful countryside... Aaah. I had told myself before that if I would get rich, I would buy a house in Bohol (among other favorite places - Baguio, Palawan, Tagaytay) so I would be close to the all the wonders it offers.

Well, I'm not even close to being rich, hehe, so for now, I'll make do with seasonal trips to this beautiful place. Here are some pictures from my recent trip to Bohol (our honeymoon last May):

View from our balcony... Hay, it's so nice waking up to this every morning. :)

At our balcony

Chilling and having snacks by the beach...

Foodidoo: the resort's lasagna is to die for! And the pizza, too!

Watching the sunrise... Marveling at the beauty of God's creations...

Balicasag Island, a popular snorkeling/diving spot

Snorkeling at Balicasag Island

Yummy lunch after a tiring yet fun snorkeling: inihaw galore + sinigang na tuna panga (not pictured)

At the Blood Compact Site

Tarsier, the world's smallest primate

Man-made forest

Chocolate Hills in Carmen, Bohol

As sweet as chocolate ;)

Let's see, will it taste like chocolate? ;)

Hanging bridge

Cruise with buffet lunch along Loboc River

Loboc River - so clean, so calm...

View of Loboc Church from the river

Loboc Church facade

Baclayon Church Bell Tower

Feeling pre-nup? :)

Can't wait til our next trip to Boholandia. :)

Bittersweet Sunday

Ah, Sunday. There's always a bittersweet feeling I get whenever this day arrives. Love it because it's weekend, no work, I can just chill, lalala lalala. But a part of me kinda hates it at some point becuase when it's over, it's time to go to the jungle the next day. Haha Oh well, that's life.

Today, I'm more on the bitter side because it's the first morning since Paul left for Singapore. I woke up without his arms around me. :( But anyway, he'll be away for just a month. I just tell myself, it's over before I know it. Four weeks? Easy. Hehe

In other news -- I just entered my 7th week of pregnancy! How exciting! Note that this is the ovulatory count (which I think is the more appropriate count, because it starts with the conception date). If we are counting menstrual, it's the 9th week already, because this type of counting starts from the first day of the last period, meaning you are about 2 weeks preggy already at the time of the conception). Anyway, so far, so good. No morning sickness yet. Just occasional bouts of dizziness, especially in the mornings. And I always feel lazy and sleepy! I wish I could afford to be jobless so I could just stay home and chill while I'm pregnant. Hahaha

05.15.10

Sharing some photos from our wedding day:

The bride

The groom

Of course, it's not complete without the staircase shot. Hehe

A beautiful ceremony in a beautiful church

Photo credits: Mag's Photography

You may also check out some of our prenup photos in my bff''s blog.

I'm back!

Wow, after a year and one day, I am reviving this blog. Hehe I haven't updated this because, well, I've been busy or actually, lazy. Hehe Have also been kinda hooked on other social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr and microblogging sites, Twitter and Plurk.

So, how have I been? Lots of things happened in the past year and most of the major ones took place just recently. Let me list down the top 3 milestones, hehe.

• Paul and I got married! Yes, after 8 years of being together! =)
• I got new job. Well, within the same company... I was actually transferred to another business unit.
• Paul and I are having a baby! Oh yes, honeymoon baby! Our little bundle of joy will come out late February next year.

There are a lot of things to blog about, lots of thoughts, rants, raves, experiences, especially now that I am a wife and a soon-to-be mom! I will try to regularly update this as much as I can. I also renamed this blog to "Wonderful Journey". I may be whiny or a pessimist at times, but that's exactly how I feel about my new life right now... I have a loving husband, a very supportive family, caring friends. And to add to these, a little angel will be coming into our lives, our very own child!

It is a wonderful journey, indeed.

Happy birthday, Nanay!

Happy birthday, Nanay!

You are the best Nanay in the whole universe!


We love you!

Bad Day

Some signs that you are surely in for a very bad day:

•  You woke up late, with a major headache because of a terrible sleep interrupted by bouts of gut-punching coughs.
•  Free lunch got cancelled.
•  You had to skip breakfast prepared by your mother (sarsiadong tilapia and tinapang galunggong!)
•  You stepped out of the house and felt the scorching heat of the sun. It's so freaking hot in this country you feel like your flesh is going to melt any moment.
• Heavy traffic almost all the way to work - at NLEX, Monumento, even at Intramuros.
• You arrived at work so late you probably need to just file a half day VL.
• And last but certainly not the least: The continually diminishing amore for your work is so alive and kicking your senses, AGAIN.

Oh well, enjoy the rest of the day.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, especially to my amazing brothers and my Tatay! :)

And of course, to Paul also! I know this would sound cheesy, hehe, but every year, I greet Paul, "Happy Father's Day to the future dad of my kids." :) Too much keso, indeed!

Summer

Meet Simone Ann Margaret, a.k.a. Summer, the 12-day old baby of my bff, Ese.


She's just so adorable!

I heart Boyce Avenue

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there!

Most especially to our dearest Nanay, who's simply the best! :)

Nanay doing an early morning stroll at the beach. This was taken
late last year during our family outing in Boracay.


We love you Nay! Mwaaah! :)

I heart Jollibee.

Wouldn't you love to have all these for lunch?


Yum. I heart Jollibee.

Happy birthday, By!

Happy, happy birthday By! Wish I was there to celebrate this very special day with you...



I love you! :)

Song in my head...

I'm Still Here
Johnny Rzeznik

I am a question to the world,
Not an answer to be heard.
All a moment that's held in your arms.
And what do you think you'd ever say?
I won't listen anyway…
You don't know me,
And I’ll never be what you want me to be.

And what do you think you'd understand?
I'm a boy, no, I'm a man..
You can take me and throw me away.
And how can you learn what's never shown?
Yeah, you stand here on your own.
They don't know me 'cause I'm not here.

And I want a moment to be real,
Wanna touch things I don't feel,
Wanna hold on and feel I belong.
And how can the world want me to change,
They’re the ones that stay the same.
The don’t know me,
'Cause I’m not here.

And you see the things they never see
All you wanted, I could be
Now you know me, and I'm not afraid
And I wanna tell you who I am
Can you help me be a man?
They can't break me
As long as I know who I am

And I want a moment to be real,
Wanna touch things I don't feel,
Wanna hold on and feel I belong.
And how can the world want me to change,
They’re the ones that stay the same.
They can’t see me,
But I’m still here.

They can’t tell me who to be,
‘Cause I’m not what they see.
And the world is still sleepin’,
While I keep on dreamin’ for me.
And their words are just whispers
And lies that I’ll never believe.

And I want a moment to be real,
Wanna touch things I don't feel,
Wanna hold on and feel I belong.
And how can they say I never change
They’re the ones that stay the same.
I’m the one now,
‘Cause I’m still here.

I’m the one,
‘Cause I’m still here.
I’m still here.
I’m still here.
I’m still here.

Take it from Mr. Tex

"There's a lot more to racing than just winning."

Mr. Tex, Dinoco's big boss, uttered these words to Lightning McQueen in the movie Cars. Lightning had just lost the Piston Cup (with good reason) and so when Mr. Tex asked him if he wanted to be the new face of Dinoco, he was surprised because that opportunity was customarily offered to the champion.

Lightning goes, "But... I didn't win..." And then Mr. Tex replied with those nine words that would become one of my most favorite quotes.

I think I could apply that quote in my current situation. Ok, I'm losing, I know. That's why I don't want to continue anymore. Staying will just make it worse. I don't want to win this battle. I want to wave the white flag and move away, probably start a new battle somewhere else.

I want out.

I survived a Manic Monday.

A few more minutes to go and the day's ending. What a manic Monday! It was so toxic at work. I was cramming the whole time to finish two reports, one of which I got to complete. Yehey! As for the other one - hmm, it's not done yet, but I've submitted a partial report to my boss. Which means I'll still be working tonight to finish it so it could be reviewed first thing tomorrow. Hay, hay.

Thank you Lord for getting me through this day. And a big shout out to Kel as well for keeping me sane! I was so close to bursting my sanity bubble earlier today. Haha I felt so frustrated I wanted to cry. Good thing Kel gave me an effective energy booster, in the form of a song and dance number via SMS haha! It goes like this:

"Ain't no loving my Jeng... Chuwap, chuwap, ooohh..."

The moment I read this, all crappy thoughts and feelings just flew out the window. I could imagine him doing that crazy dance. Hehehe Hilarious! For a moment, it didn't feel like he's 1,800+ miles away, it was as if he was just within my reach... Aww, enough of the cheese. :)

Anyways, it was a tiring, haggard day, but you know what they say - what does not kill you makes you stronger. I may have been close to giving up earlier today but I ain't surrendering. Look at me, it's almost midnight, but I'm still up! Need to finish that remaining report!

Goodnight y'all! :)

Manic Monday

Oh dear Lord, please help me get through this day...

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!

It's the last day of the long weekend so enjoy!!! Tomorrow, we'll be going back to work. Boo!!! Hehe I'm excited today because after days of eating mostly fish and veggies, I'll be tasting meat again. Nanay is cooking adobo! Yehey! It'll be a hit for sure because Nanay is a superb cook. :) Can't wait for lunch!

Enjoy!

Snap, snap...

...back to reality! One day to go and the holiday is over. Yay!

Goodbye late morning gising. Goodbye petiks mode.

Hello reports. Hello deadlines. Hello traffic. Hello rush hour siksikan sa LRT. Hello dust. Hello Delgado rugby boys. Wahaha! Or should I say, Huhuhu? : (

Hay, sige na nga, bite the bullet na. Come on mamon, let's get it on!

I heart Bono

Chanced upon the twitter page of U2's Bono, a.k.a. Paul Hewson, yesterday. I quickly clicked the Follow button. I've always been a fan. :)

His words are just amazing, very profound and inspiring. Here are some of his tweets:

It's too often. We confuse "planning" with "doing". Great movements begin with foolish and clumsy fist steps. Begin.

Knowing what is right is nothing. Doing what is right matters. Action is everything.

Don't ask, "Who am I to be great?"... Ask, "Who am I not to be?" You are important, you can make a difference, when your time comes, act.

If you're feeling lonely, reach out and help someone... We are all alone, until we chose not to be. When you give, you grow. Reach out.

How could you not admire this man? Front man of one of the world's greatest, most influential rock bands, a philanthropic performer, an advocate of peace and freedom, a humanitarian worker. He truly is a ROCK STAR, in more ways than one.

Black & White

La la love my new pair of sneakers! :)