It's the last day of the month once again, and it's time for a roundup.
What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
- Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet
- Kerygma Magazine
What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
- Failure to launch
- Top Chef
What special days did I celebrate and how?
- FIL's birthday at Golden Sunset Resort, Calatagan Batangas
What gifts did I give and/or receive?
- We gave my FIL a cake from Conti's
What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
- Morning sickness :(
What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
- Pizza with SFC friends
- Family Day with my sister and Mom at 8 Waves Resort
- Summer Getaway at Virgin Beach Resort
What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
- Brother's Burger (it was a long time since I had this and when we tried it in Serendra, we weren't too happy)
What special or unusual purchases did I make?
- FOOD!
What were this month's disappointments?
- none
What were my accomplishments this month?
- Ultrasound result was great and I was able to hear the baby's heartbeat already! Such a great feeling!
This one is an interesting tag from Jody. Thanks girl! (*wink*)
The Question:
What do you love the most about your husband/partner?
- He fights for me. :)
- He's very supportive! He supports me in everything, from blogging to digital scrapbooking, to shopping and traveling, and a whole lot more!
- He is willing to give up anything just to make me and Alex happy
- He is always there whenever I need him (literally and figuratively)
- He is such a good father although sometimes he's overly-protective :P
- He wakes up in the middle of the night just to give Alex milk and check if she's ok
- He would always think about me even if he's out with his friends (really!?)
- He used to make me coffee every weekend (before I got pregnant)
- He doesn't cook but he is willing to go to the market with me or even go there by himself (I love him for doing that!)
- He loves my pasta :D
- He always makes me laugh especially if I'm beginning to get negative on things
- He gives me space whenever I need it
- He's ok with me going out with my friends and when I do he stays at home with Alex
- He brings me food especially now that I'm craving for almost anything!
I can go on and on, because there are so many things that I love about Hubby. I can say that I am truly blessed to have him and very happy that I ended up with him. (*grin*)
SO now, it's your turn, Joy, Apols, and Abie. :)
I always wonder how cellphones have emerged as a necessity nowadays. I remember in the "old" days we didn't even have a landline! I used to use this red pay phone to call my friends when I was in grade school. And now except from the fact that everyone has a landline, everyone has a cellphone too! And mind you, there were so many applications and features that a phone can do. From PDA phone to a video phone, it is just amazing! And now there is a free medical windows mobile software. Physicians can actually go mobile! What a nice discovery from Epocrates. If you feel sick it's so nice to know that your Doctor is available anytime and what's even great is that you can use your phone to do that!
"This announcement was paid for by Epocrates."
Ok since I've been really craving for pandesal everyday so I thought of buying a sugar free wheat pandesal in the grocery last Sunday. All the while I was too confident that it wouldn't shoot up my sugar. So I've been eating 2 every breakfast with milk. I'm so full afterwards (and happy too) that I kind of doubted it if it really is sugar free. So I tested again my blood sugar and guess what I got!? I got a high score unfortunately. A whooping 173 instead of a normal 140 for the first hour. It is so depressing. Knowing that it was supposed to be sugar free. I know I'm not supposed to be looking out for these things on my first trimester knowing that I can't even eat a real food lately but I just can't stand knowing that some food is making my blood sugar shoot up. It is depressing in a way that whatever I eat it just makes my sugar shoot up. For now I'm not that concerned with my weight because I'm not even gaining. It's like I'm having Zylorin pills but I'm really not. All I want is to be able to find the right food that would satisfy my cravings at the same time keep my blood sugar low.
That's me! We stayed at home the entire weekend and I'm so happy to say that I slept through the mornings and afternoons. I've been wanting to sleep for a long time but you see, I had to work and do my duties as a Mom so I have to put up with an hour or two of sleep. But this weekend, we didn't have something scheduled so off we went to dreamland. :D
Hubby and I just went out last Saturday to buy some groceries. These are our food for the week, some fruits, Alex's stuff like wipes, milk, yogurt and more. And then come Sunday we just went to hear mass and then had dinner at MannHann which all of us loved so much! I haven't eaten here for a long time now and it made me remember how yummy the food was! I would probably try their other branch which is called Mannang. I think they serve more of Filipino dishes.
Anyway, now I guess I got too spoiled that when I woke up this morning I wanted to sleep more. Ayayay! But since it's a Monday today I need to fight off this laziness and sleepiness to start the week right. So here I am working and blogging again hoping that the lazy bug won't visit me again. (*grin*)
Have a great week everyone! (*wink*)
I'm currently reading a book that's so interesting I can't put it down. It was written by Ken Follett and all about the old times from 1500 - 1600. I love the stories and the characters that go with it. In those times money is never an issue. People would just sell their harvests and exchange it for food. I think barter is the way to live during those times. That's why they have rare coin from silver pennies to different kinds of coins.
There is also a company that offers rare coins nowadays. It is the Monaco Rare Coin which is part of the Monex family of companies. It is already a trusted leader in precious metals investments for nearly 40 years.
After Alex's 2nd birthday there has been a lot of changes in her language skills, and energy. She has been active ever since (except when she got sick) and just couldn't take off her hands on everything! I can really say that she started exploring and even started testing her limits. I can say that it wasn't easy. My patience was not that cooperating. Good thing Hubby was calm as always and would make the situation better. But aside from those situations Alex would always make us laugh and these are some of the things that she already know...
- letters A - E, I, J, O, P, Q, R, Y, and Z
- Can count from 1 - 4
- Her words are:
- Bartiko as Barney
- Mama/Dada/Koka as Lola/Gogo as Lolo/Tita/Tito
- Pakpak as Raprap her cousin LOL!
- uyaOby as Kuya Toby
- Baby Kika as Baby Rika
- Mummy as Yummy
- Dede as milk
- Caw as car - She can identify and say bird, frog, duck, bee, cow, zebra, fish, horse
- She can point a cow, giraffe, elephant, turtle, butterfly
- can point and say red (mwed), blue (booo), black (back)
- can point yellow and green
- can also identify a red car and a blue car
I can say that she is really getting bigger everyday! Not to mention she will going to be a big sister after a few months! I know it's going to be another adjustment for her but knowing how fond she is of her cousin Rika, I'm sure she will be very happy seeing her baby brother/sister soon! (*smile*)
There are tons of used cars available in the market today. Probably because people would only use their cars maximum of 5 years then would sell it and buy a new one. This is what midwest auto recycling does. They specializes in used engines and transmissions. They also has one of the strongest warranty nation wide. Which is very good because buying a used car is talking a huge risk. You'll never know what happened to that car. The nice thing about MidWest Auto Recycling is that all miles are CARFAX verified. Another assurance for the buyer. And most of all they make sure that all engines are test driven, visually inspected and cleaned.
Last Saturday we were invited by my sister for her company's family day at 8 waves resort in Bulacan. Of course we immediately agreed to her invitation knowing that Alex would definitely have a grand time! We left Manila around 830Am and arrived there at 10AM. It was hot already but the pools were so inviting and Alex can't wait to swim! So we let her in spite of the heat but it didn't take long because it was time to eat lunch! It was a fun day so I will just let the photos speak...
Looking forward to swim...
Look at all those kids!
The pool was jam packed!
This is my favorite part of the resort...
Checking the wave pool before going home
with Tita Trish
My Mom's favorite Spot!
I know we still have a loooong way to go before the big day but I can't help but think of what will happen on that day. The sonologist actually said my EDD will be on November 23, 2008. I don't know if this will really push through. Because with Alex, I had to wait for another week and a half.
Anyway I know I have a lot to look forward to. I guess this is the downside of a second pregnancy, you already expect what will happen. Not to mention the Wound Care that I will be having. Boy, I think I shouldn't be thinking about it yet on my first trimester. But anyway there's a company that actually do a service a like that. It is called Allegro Medical and it is one of the largest and most technologically advanced independently owned online retailers of life enhancing products in the United States. I just hope they have a branch here in the Philippines.
Ok, since I didn't want to eat oatmeal for breakfast I opted to eat pandesal. Little did I know that it would make my sugar shoot up! :( I ate two huge pandesals with egg and cheese. Well maybe it was a bit my fault because I overate. LOL! So when I took my blood sugar after an hour I got 174 wherein the normal blood sugar should be max 140. :( So I was disappointed because I was so happy with that meal. Now I need to lessen down my pandesal in take and look for an alternative. (*sigh*)
To pregnant women out there who wants to keep their blood sugar normal, beware of huge pandesals! LOL!
I've been checking out some healthy food and drinks for a healthy pregnancy. I even checked out how much caffeine are in store for every drink. There's one tea that I came across which is called kava tea but I'm not really sure if it is ok for pregnant women. What I can attest is that they are fresh direct from the farm and is organic too!
They use roots only from their Kava plants and these plants have 90% lateral roots and 10% underground making their Kava some of the most potent and safe available. This is even safe to the liver because they don't use stems or leaves. What's assuring is that their extracted products all use distilled water and pure, organic ethanol as the extractor. The only question is that is it safe for me or maybe I should just wait before I give birth?
More photos from our golden sunset resort trip last, last weekend...
A Shot of the Main Pool
Alex didn't swim too long because she felt too cold that she was shaking! So off we went back to the room and rest for awhile until we had dinner. Dinner was buffet. The food wasn't too impressive though. Hubby didn't eat a lot. For me the unforgettable food was the pork steak which I think was grilled first. I loved it! The rest was just ordinary.
During dinner there were cultural shows. First set was Filipino dances and then the second set was more of a Hawaiian/Luau Themed.
There was a Bikini Open after the cultural show but I was too tired (and sleepy) that we didn't watch it anymore. I slept very early around 10 PM and slept like a baby. LOL!
Hubby and I woke a bit early for a weekend but we needed to because I was hungry. So we took our breakfast at the "Fishpond Restaurant". We had breakfast buffet of Tocino, Tapa, Egg, and pandesal/rice. I was expecting more though but it was ok. They didn't even have fruits for breakfast. I guess they needed to work out their food more, it needs to be improved so that their guests will go back.
So there, we didn't go for another swim because it was already too hot and I don't like it for Alex. In short we just stayed in the room and watch boxing until lunch. LOL! Lunch was just ok too at the Fishpond Restaurant and it was more of Filipino cuisine. Service was not too impressive, we had to wait for almost 30 minutes for their turon.
Before we left we had our family picture taken...
All in all it was a fun trip. Food wasn't too impressive but at least the kids had a great time and it was a nice bonding with the entire family. :)
Hubby was supposed to go to Home Depot yesterday to check out some stuff like electric kettle, comforter sets, gas range and many more. But since he was too tired from his team building he opted to just stay at home and sleep. We need a new kettle already since the old one was not working anymore. I'm not even sure why it broke. Hope he pushed through with his plan today.
The trip to Golden Sunset Resort was a celebration of my Father-in-Law's birthday. But on his birthday itself we had dinner at their place. Hubby and I were too busy that we couldn't think of something to give him. And besides he seem to have everything. Now I just recently came across this very nice Rolex Submariner. I know we can't afford it. So we might suggest this to Hubby's Mom and she might give it to his Dad on his next birthday. LOL!
Since I've posted some intro about our trip here, I'll just post the photos and make this post a photo essay! :)
Our first stop was at Josephine's Tagaytay for lunch...
While we were waiting for our food
Hubby's drink
The Restaurant
The Beautiful Taal Volcano
Playing around after lunch
After a sumptuous lunch we then headed to Batangas and it took around 1 1/2 to 2 hours until we arrived at the resort. We were greeted with friendly staff. We had iced tea as their welcome drinks and then they gave out leis for everyone!
The Front Desk
Please don't mind my paleness! LOL!
Alex with her cousins
We unpacked for a while then rest and then at around 4 we decided to let Alex swim with her cousins! She had a grand time! But will have get back to you on that. So watch out for more photos of Alex and Hubby's swimming adventure! (*wink*)
For more info about the resort, check out their website here.
My Mom that is. I just talked to her yesterday and she said that she is planning to have her liver cleanse somewhere (which I failed to note where). She is the ultimate health buff. She drinks carrots (with celery) juice, ampalaya juice, and she only eats fish. I guess it comes with the age too and with her age she should be maintaining her health and it should be her first priority.
Yes I can say that I haven't been gaining weight but instead I lost it. It's like I'm taking lipovox but I'm not. It's just that it's so hard to eat these days especially now that I feel nauseous all the time. And the only thing that I wanted to eat is cheeseburger and fries! Which is definitely not good for the baby. The First Trimester really sucks. I hope I get over it soon! :(
Ok since I haven't uploaded the photos yet, will just post an intro on our getaway last weekend. We celebrated my FIL's birthday at Golden Sunset Resort in Calatagan Batangas. It was also called "The Ricky Reyes' Paradise". LOL! It was a looong drive I tell you. We dropped by Tagaytay for lunch at Josephine's. We actually left Manila before 8:30am and the traffic was so bad that we were in Tagaytay around 11am.
It was raining so hard so I got a little bit disappointed. But good thing the rain stopped when we were in Calatagan. The resort was nice. It was clean. They also had some cultural shows there. The first thing that we saw when we got there was the street dancing which was nice for the kids. It was a big resort. There were three restaurants (I think). It was not much like St. Thomas villa rentals though but it was nice for the kids.
They got a playground setup for the kids, a butterfly garden, an outdoor museum, and a lot of pools that the kids can choose. They also got a jacuzzi for the adults.
Although Hubby and I were talking if it was really worth the trip. We had to travel for almost 4 hours to get there. And they didn't even have a beach. For me I think I would rather go to Laiya than this resort (or maybe I'm just more of a beach person). But the kids surely loved the place!
Anyway will try to upload the photos as soon as possible. But as far as I remember we didn't get a lot though because Hubby was busy swimming with Alex. And me on the other hand was too tired and lazy to get the camera! LOL!
It was supposed to be Hubby's opportunity to spend the day at home since it was a holiday. But Alex started vomiting from 4 in the morning up to 7 that we decided to bring her to the ER. She was getting weaker and weaker and since it was a holiday her Pedia was not going to have a clinic.
So at around 8am we were at the emergency room trying to figure what Alex has eaten over the weekend that made her vomit like that. I still don't know which is which. It is either the milk or the banana or the grapes, but the most important thing is that her vomiting stopped last night. We actually went home after Alex woke up and making sure that she didn't vomit for 2 long hours. Then we decided not to admit her in the hospital yet. Since there are so many kids getting sick these days, rooms weren't readily available. And I also didn't want to see her having that IV again!
Good thing the resident allowed us to go home and let her hydrate through water, milk, and hydrite which she hated. I discovered that her tummy doesn't want water but accepts milk. Which is weird actually.
The funny thing about yesterday was that we brought so many stuff at the ER (ok, I brought food too because I didn't want to get hungry while waiting!) that we could have brought a Johnston and Murphy luggage just to keep everything in one bag. I just don't know why a little girl would need so many stuff though. LOL!
Anyway, an update would be, Alex stopped vomiting but she is still weak and needs a lot of fluids and rest too. But I'm now relaxed since she drinks little by little and eats crackers as well. I just hope that she gets well in time for another getaway this coming weekend.
Oh yes, we had a getaway last weekend at The Golden Sunset Resort in Calatagan, Batangas. But will be back tomorrow with the photos and stories. (*wink*)
What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
- Danielle Steel's Five Days in Paris
- Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth (reading it the second time)
What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
- Forever Young (thru HBO)
- My Big Love :D (I love this movie!)
What special days did I celebrate and how?
- Alex's 2nd birthday
- Bela's Baptism
- Glen's son's baptism
- My cousin Steve's birthday in Malaybalay
What gifts did I give and/or receive?
- We gave a nice frame from Regalong Pambahay for my cousin Steve
- We gave a nice candle for my Tita and a nice jewelry box for Alex's party host Tita Josie
- We gave Alex an inflatable pool for her second birthday
What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
- Hubby, Alex, and I had cough, colds, and sore eyes
What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
- We went home to Bukidnon with my family and in-laws to celebrate Alex's 2nd birthday
- Celebrated Kaamulan Festival and watched the Street Dancing, Off Road etc...
- We get to try White Water Rafting and boy, it was FUN!
What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
- We get to try our fave restaurant in CDO - Jo's Chicken House and La Paz Batchoy
What special or unusual purchases did I make?
- digiscrapping kits :)
What were this month's disappointments?
- We all got sick this month :(
What were my accomplishments this month?
- I got pregnant! I found out when I was 5 weeks through a home pregnancy test
That's how I feel right now. LOL! It is because last Wednesday night after asking Hubby that we go to MOA to get that batchoy that I've been craving about, I was finally able to eat it! After tasting the soup all I can do was give Hubby a deep contented sigh. LOL!
Then yesterday after work, I had another ultrasound and checkup after that with my OB. We were so glad that I had good results from the ultrasound. Cardiac Activity of the baby is now normal. And no subchorionic hemorrhage. Thank God for that. You see, when I was pregnant with Alex I had to stay in bed for a month because of the hemorrhage. So I had to be extra cautious this time as to avoid that.
The sad part is that I won't be able to carry Alex anymore. :( She's getting heavier everyday and even her Daddy can't carry her that long too! But everyday that we are together she always makes me feel how much we are so blessed to have her. She's been so happy all the time, laugh at my jokes, laugh at the tiniest detail that we do, she's just getting cuter everyday! And we really thank God for making her such a happy baby!
Hubby has been so sweet too. He takes care of Alex at night when all I want to do is SLEEP. He makes Alex's bed before we go to sleep (yes, she sleeps on her playpen again!). And he gives her her milk if she started to suck her finger.
Life is such a bliss knowing that you are with your family and that they are happy. :) I just hope that we all get better soon though. Since Alex and Hubby still coughs every now and then and me on the other hand still have colds and started to feel nauseous everytime I think of FOOD.
So I guess this is it. I'm now starting to feel that I am really pregnant. I know that this is one of the hardest part of being pregnant but since Hubby and Alex are just there by my side, I'm sure everything will turn out fine. (*smile*)
For a lot of things lately but two major food that I REALLY, REALLY want to eat is Chicken A La King and La Paz Batchoy.
I've researched a bit last night if there is an original La Paz Batchoy here in Manila and I found one! It's called Ted's Old Timer La Paz Batchoy and I can only find it in MOA. Hmmmm...it is a bit far. But thinking about my Mom who went all the way from Mindanao to Manila just to be able to eat Good Earth Mami and Spaghetti when she was pregnant with me, I think MOA is manageable right!? LOL!
Any more suggestions on where to get an original La Paz Batchoy? (*grin*)
Yeap, my FIL's birthday is on April Fool's day! :) I'm actually thinking of what to give him later (oh, we are so last-minute!) and Hubby and I agreed on giving him a special cake. Since we haven't ordered three days ago, the best thing that we can do is buy it from Conti's. There a lot to choose from actually. From Tiramisu, Mango Bravo, Choco Overload and a whole lot more! I don't know what to choose because I think I want to give him all the flavors. LOL! Anyway will just drop by their shop later and see what they have in store for us. I just hope that my FIL would like what we choose though. :)
To Daddy, Happy Birthday!
I've been with sales for almost a year now. I can say that I'm loving every moment that I'm with it and it feels like IT has just been a part of my past. LOL! Since I'm working from home it would be a puzzle on how to do sales. But the company that I've partnered with is smart enough to use VoIP Phone Systems.
There is a company that offers Nimbus VoIP phone systems which is called Xpander. They are designed to be the most flexible and user friendly business phone systems in the industry. The features like plug and play VoIP phones can work anywhere in the world. It's amazing with this technology you can call anyone, anywhere at a very low cost.