Binging for the holidays

With the upcoming holidays to our motherland, I am thinking that I may need diet supplements here. We all know going home to visit family and friends boils down to one thing -- food binge! It is not uncommon to be dieting especially when the food you have known and loved is readily available. Who could resist that?! And it is expected that we should gain a few kilos here and there, but I reckon it is all worth it. You can always lose them when you come back to your so-called real world.

Proud parents

Our friends are expecting their first born in a month's time. Finally it's a baby boy. The male gender is considered a rarity in these parts of the world, as most of the children are female. If it were the olden days, I am sure daddy R would be passing out cigars to his buddies when finally their son is born. A truly proud moment for them both as it was a project that is 10 years in the making. We are so happy for them. Baby-envy mode now.

Thinking of Sydney

It seems like the family is going to Sydney for a nice spring get-away. I am excited! Come to think of it, the little girl's never been to Sydney for a vacation. It has always been a stopover for us flying to and from Manila, but we have never stayed for a day or two to go around that lovely city. Anyway, I hope there great deals that are similar to Branson vacation packages that we could take advantage of. It would be good to see Sydney once again.

Gift-giving

Tomorrow is our fifth wedding anniversary, if we were to consider our civil wedding back in 2005. We haven't really gone into the tradition of giving gifts to each other to celebrate (so never mind cotton gifts for anniversary or wooden ones as is the case for this year). We normally would just go out and have a nice dinner. I guess we are just more practical this way. But maybe it is high time that we do get something for one another to make it more significant. :)

Finding a cure-all

I have not been having quality sleep of late. First of all, the little girl was sick with the cough and cold, so we had to be on our toes especially at night time to make sure she does not end up vomiting whilst she cleared her throat as she coughed. Then, on top of that, J appears to be suffering from sleep apnoea, and our GP seems to agree as she's finally referred him for sleep studies. He's now booked in for an appointment with the sleep clinic at the end of the month, so hopefully our sleep/health issues will be resolved by then. I suppose at this point, irvingia won't be of much help, as I am even open to recommendations of surgery, if it is a cure-all. I guess, it all remains to be seen now.

During the holidays

Lots of people going on holidays now, as school's out and as always, families are off to wherever their short 2 weeks could take them. I hope they have their rv insurance all set, as you never do know what to expect when you are out on the road for long periods of time. Unfortunately for us, we are stuck and won't be able to leave. The little girl's carer is on holidays herself, so we have to take leave in order to look after this very active toddler of ours. I wonder how things will be when she starts school next year. Nothing short of busy, I am sure!

Ms Smarty Pants

Speaking of the little girl, I am glad it is just treatment for eczema that worries us. She is growing up to be one precocious young lady. She comes out with all these comments that surprise us every now and then. She is really observant, so you need to be careful with what you say because she will be more likely to pick it up even faster than you can blink your eye. I just hope she doesn't get all too miss smarty pants with us.

Unskinny bop

One of the things that I do not look forward to during the cold season is having to deal with all these skin problems, brought about by this dry weather. It is not so much for me, but more for the little girl. She has been suffering from eczema even when she was an infant. Thank goodness, it is much more controlled and manageable now with regular eczema treatment. I do hope it gets better over time and she won't be troubled anymore with this, because it can be quite annoying.

No surprises here!

Gift giving to hubby has now become non existent, all because he has specifically said that he did not want me to buy him any more clothes and that he'd buy them himself. Now that puts me in a predicament as I can't just pick up anything off from the rack (like mens ties or shirts), and I am limited to who knows what. I love surprises, but with this kind of arrangement, the thrill of it all has definitely gone out the window. Oh well.. I guess the only positive thing about is that he will certainly be getting exactly what he wants. Win some, lose some.

Too Busy

The invitations are finally out for the little girl's birthday party next week. I have just been a terribly busy mommy that I have failed to create a special and personalised one for this year.

I do miss digiscrapping, but I find it a bit time consuming. And right now, time is so precious to me as I've got so many things crammed into my schedule, that I've sacrificed on that teensy part of our preparations. To be honest, I am quite disappointed about it. But I guess I need to accept that I am only human and I do have my limitations. Such is life!

Fingers crossed

With our upcoming outting to the coast, I cannot help but feel terribly excited. It's my first trip down there so I am pretty much looking forward to it more than anything else. And as it is our birthday month, I reckon it is such an awesome way to celebrate it with a little getaway such as this. I've got nothing to worry about long drives except for the availability of 24 hour towing, which we hope we will never ever need for this trip. I am praying that the weather cooperates as well so we won't have spend any moment indoors. *fingers crossed*

Wishful Thinking

I know we have just come back from our vacation. But have you ever had that feeling when you can't stop but think when you'll be able to get away for another holiday? This early, we already have plans of coming back to the motherland next year. And yes, I wish we are able to travel and explore more the capital cities here. Planning for a trip (which includes hunting for All Inclusive Hotels) is something that I certainly enjoy a lot. If only money is not an issue and we had unlimited recreational leaves, that will definitely be the day!

Sickies

The little girl is sick again. We've now established it that she really cannot withstand extreme weather changes, especially when she gets direct exposure by going outside for long periods. So yes, we've had another round of sleepless nights so far, especially with hubby whom she has specifically requested to stay with her at bedtime. A little bit of under eye cream may just be one of our ready solutions so that we don't look all that tired when we go to work this week. I hope she'll be better soon. We certainly don't want her travelling on the plane with a blocked nose!

House plans

J and I were discussing about major home renovations. I said major because we were thinking of adding a second floor to our house. This will allow us to maximise our view of the hills, in addition to increasing the size of our living, dining and kitchen area (think an extra family room as well as huge cupboards and shelves for storage, but maybe not one of those copper kitchen sinks). I guess the only thing that could prevent us from this happening is our neighbors opposing against our plan. But from the looks of it, I reckon we stand a fair chance at it because we are not really blocking any of their views. we'll see in maybe three years time if this will come into fruition!

Business plans

As we are going home for the Holidays this year, J said that he will endeavour to invest in my grandfather's goat farm, one that he has sort of promised to my grandfather when we last saw him during our trip last year. My Lolo also brought J to see our fish ponds where we raise milkfish and seaweed, and sell to the local market. I'm pretty sure Lolo used to have pond filters when he was raising prawns in the 90's. But I don't think he uses them now. Just the same, the fish and seaweed business also seem to be a worthwhile business venture. We'll all see how everything works out. Hopefully when we all get together in December, J will have decided in what business to invest in.

Found It!

Well, I've finally decided on this gown design and submitted it to my soon-to-be sister in law for execution. I hope they are able to execute it as close as the one in the photo.

Now that's all in the works, I am actually quite excited in going home and attending the wedding. It's occasion like this that give you a reason to really dress and glam up! :)

More Wedding Preps

Well, I have managed to iron out my holiday schedule now and have informed my boss about it. So that's all good to go.

My soon-to-be sister-in-law has sent me the sketch for Erin's gown so I can send her the little girl's measurements soon. Here's the design for the flower girls' gowns:


I actually quite like it because it is simple yet elegant. My SIL says Merlene Marcelo is doing their gowns. I've heard about Merlene before and had heard positive feedback as well so I think they will be in good hands.

Now all I have to worry about is how to lose fat especially in the tummy area so I look presentable during the wedding. Oh, I also have to pick out a gown too!

In the dark

The year is nearing its halfway mark and we have yet to hear from my brother about more details of their wedding preparations (like if my brother will be wearing a tuxedo or not, etc). I suppose they must have had some things done already but they just are not so keen about discussing it with us. I suppose they feel more pressured if we ask them about it, so I reckon it's best if they just tell us if and when it's convenient for them. Oh well, to each his own.

Travel updates

Well, our friend helped us score some real cheap tickets for our holiday in December. We got them for 50% of the original price so it certainly is a good deal, especially now that Erin is not considered an infant anymore and we have to pay almost full price for her fare.

That trip is all I'm looking forward to at the moment, as a break is much needed. We could have had one of those weekend getaways last Easter holiday but we didn't get to planning it out right, plus the little girl had the colds at that time. Hope this time there won't be any hitches especially with DD who is turning out to be the most impatient of all people I know. *fingers crossed*

Birthday woes

It's the little one's turn to be a year older. We haven't really gotten her a present yet as this major party for her this Saturday is going to burn a whole in our pocket. LOL. I mean, given another chance, I definitely would not have booked ourselves at that venue had we known of the poor service that these guys were giving us. At the price that they charge, they should be offering us even more!

Oh well, lesson learned. And I was just kidding about not getting the little girl anything. She certainly deserves more because she is just a joy to us. We'll just have to check the Sale at her favorite toy store. LOL.