Today!

So I took a pregnancy test today, 10 AM in the office CR, haha. Yes, in the office because I have been taking PTs at home for the past year now and I didn't want to have my hopes high and somehow make H sad that it was (again) negative. 

Today I had 2 lines! :) I was doubting at first and was thinking maybe it was a false negative so I did another test after an hour. The first kit had 2 lines immediately after I peed on it. The second one though had only 1 even after I waited for 5 minutes. I stared at it, but it had only one line, so I threw it in the trash bin, went out of the CR and continued work dismayed. It bothered me that much that after 30 minutes, I went to the CR again, got the kit (don't worry, it was still the only trash in the bin) and to my pleasant surprise, it had 2 lines! Yey!!

*this picture was the second kit. I had a picture of the first but I chose not to post it since I took a photo with pee on it. haha. Sorry na po, excited lang.

Baguio Weekend (012014): Day 2 - Mines View and Good Shepherd

We bought our ticket back to Manila on our first day, right after we unloaded the bus to Baguio. We were scheduled to ride the 5:30PM bus back to Manila on Sunday. The checkout to the hotel is at 12PM and I was worried to be without a private bathroom for almost 6 hours as I had my period (meaning my tummy was unsettling haha). Bothered, I urged H to look for a hotel to house us until we leave for home. We couldn't extend our stay with Hotel Cosmopolitan, at least not with the same room because it had been booked that day. They offered us another room with twin beds and of course of higher price than our current room, so we decided to check out other hotels. Good thing there were a few nearby. We were asking hotels (Eurotel, Holiday Park and Paladin) if they had a half-day rate but they didn't. We were hoping Eurotel would be a little cheaper but to our surprise, they're even more expensive than Hotel Cosmopolitan. Since they have an available room, the manager said we can pay half the price of a whole day. The price they offered us was even higher than a whole day of our current room so we checked another hotel. Holiday Park was supposedly the hotel I was going to book since it's the top hotel recommended by Tripadvisor, but it was fully booked. Since we were trying to check-in on a Sunday, there were available rooms. Their standard room was PHP1800 but if you are using your BPI card for payment you'd get a 10% discount so you'd only pay PHP1620. Since we were paying for a whole day, we decided to check if we can reschedule our bus home to a later time. We were going to work that Monday so the latest we can leave Baguio was a little past midnight so we got the 12.40AM trip. Changing of schedule was with a charge and we paid an extra PHP50 each. After securing our ticket, we went back to Holiday Park to book the room. Oh monthly period, what headache you gave us. *sigh*

After settling the bill we took the cab to Mines View. To get to the viewing deck, you have to take several downward steps passing by souvenirs shops. 3 ponies will greet you tempting you to take photos with them. A photo costs PHP10 each, but we didn't only because we pitied the pony.For sure it wouldn't be able to stand while carrying either of us. Nyahaha. The viewing deck was full of tourists. There were a few foreigners with us, one even doing a video blog. We took a few pictures and hurried to Good Shepherd to buy pasalubong because we still needed to checkout by 12PM. It is already 11AM.

We walked to Good Shepherd and were surprised to see a long line that early. We bought Strawberry and Ube Jams, chocolate crinkles, Alfajor and Angel Cookies (which were made of hostia scraps). I wanted lengua but they were out of stock. Aww. The pasalubong cost us PHP2420. We hailed a cab to Hotel Cosmopolitan, checked out and transferred the bags to Holiday Park. We couldn't checkin yet as it was just a little past 12PM. To past time, we decided to check out session road, have lunch and hear Mass at the Cathedral. 

Baguio Weekend (012014): Day 1 - Botanical Garden and Wright Park

We took a long cab ride (compared to the others we had) to Botanical Garden which cost PHP89. In Baguio, if you don't know how to commute, you can always take the cab. It's more expensive than taking the jeep but cheaper compared to taking the cab in Manila because 1. their flag down is PHP35 compared to Manila's P40 because they don't need A/C 2. Cab drivers will give you your change regardless if it's only PHP1. :) 

Some Igorots will welcome you and will gladly take a photo with you for a little donation but we didn't have a photo op with them because we were busy lining up to get our corn sold by the entrance of the garden. It was tourist priced at PHP30 so we shared one but it was worth it. It was yummy! :) 

Botanical Garden was different than how it looked like when I was there last 2008. Last 2008, all we saw were the pasalubong stores inside, giant Igorot statues and 2 Nipa huts. Now, the path walk to the giant statues is cemented,  a few sheds erected (I don't know what to call them) and there were flowers in bloom already. It's just sad because the Nipa huts are gone and the Igorot statues a little ruined. 

With the pasalubong stores are the carinderias where I ate the tastiest longanisa ever with my parents back in 2008. I urged H to try it and he liked it too. Yey! Unfortunately, we can't bring a pack home because we think it needs to be frozen for it to still be good after a 6 hour bus ride back to Manila. While we were waiting for our longanisa to be fully grilled, a few kapwa turista were picking which ihaw ihaw to have. Had I not been shy, I would have blurted "Yung longanisa po, masarap, pramis!" Hehe. Nothing much to see as some parts of the garden are still under construction. Before it gets too dark, we headed out to Wright Park as we were told it's walking distance from the garden. Outside, we were greeted by a strawberry taho vendor and of course H had to try it. We're in Baguio, we need to have our strawberry fix! 

Wright Park is a 10-15 minute walk from the Botanical Garden. It was already dark when we arrived at the spot where you can get a horseback ride for PHP300. We skipped that and climbed our way up to what I remember was the way to The Mansion. Boy were we panting when we reached the top. So unhealthy haha. We passed by a long pool before getting to The Mansion. It was too dark to take pictures so H didn't have his souvenir photo. Maybe next time. :) 

We decided to have dinner at Session Road where you have plenty of choices on where to eat. Since I remembered that Volante was featured in "Ang Pinaka", we decided to dine there. It was actually my second time eating at Volante's. The first was with the parents but since their pasta is Italian tasting, the parent didn't like it. We ordered meatball pasta and pizza. H ordered strawberry shake, I had a sip and it was that good that I had to order mine too. What we liked most of what we had was the dessert. It was a chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream on top. We loved the contrast of the warm cake with the cold ice cream. The dinner cost a little over PHP700 but it was good. 

It wasn't that cold inside so I had to put my jacket back on when we were about to leave. H had to use the CR so I went outside already. Wow, having an unzipped jacket on was not enough. I had to zip it all the way up and put my scarf too. That night, it was 18deg celcius. Brrrr. :)

Next Stop: Good Shepherd and Mines View

Baguio Weekend (012014): Day 1 - Cafe by the Ruins and Burnham Park

H has never been to Baguio, *i know, right? :p* so one Monday over chat we decided to go that same weekend. I've been to Baguio once and it was summer so I never really felt Baguio's coldest. That was what pushed me to go, I'm the "planner" type, so I'm not really comfortable doing "biglaang lakad"s. The same day, I checked Victory Liner's website so we can book a bus ride but unfortunately, the booking must be made 8 business days before the trip so H had to go to Victory Liner in Cubao and buy us tickets. The earliest he can get was 10pm but since I'm on midshift and I usually leave the office around 11, we opted for the next available one which was 2am. 

I went home Friday night around 11 and we were both excited! I was planning to take a 30-minute nap before leaving but since workdays are hectic days for us, we didn't have the chance to pack until the night before the trip. We were at the Cubao terminal at 1:30 am and despite the hour, there were still a lot of people, even chance passengers. The bus left at exactly 2am. I'm usually the one who sleeps during bus trips but this time, right after we've settled, H's already snoozing while I got mine around 5 in the morning already. The 2nd bus stop was in Pangasinan and H urged me to go down even if I didn't need to go to the CR just so I can feel how nippy the air was! 

It was a 6-hour ride from Cubao to Baguio and we arrived a little past 9. The air that welcomed us was twice as cold as the one in Pangasinan and being the thin-skinned girl that I am, I needed to bundle up.Wednesday before the trip, I tried booking us hotels but all was full and I was lucky enough to get one room at Hotel Cosmopolitan.It was supposed to be Holiday Park but they have no more available rooms too. The room that Hotel Cosmopolitan had for us was with twin beds but I took it anyway because I didn't want to be calling other hotels. Since their standard check-in is at 2pm, we just left our bags with them and walked our way to our first destination - Cafe by the Ruins. 

The restaurant was just 10 mins away by foot from the hotel. An officemate of mine told me to try them. When we got there, we were 4th in the waiting list and after 15 minutes we were called for our table. It was a nice place, and you can smell the freshly baked breads while waiting because the seats outside was were right in front where they display their breads. 

Our breakfast totaled to almost P800. Yes, their they're a little pricey but the food was good. I had their longanisa and H had their bacon breakfast set. Breakfast sets include coffee or fresh juice and fresh fruits. Since H read that their scones were good too, we had one plate. The scones plate was P85 which includes your choice of spread. We picked kesong puti. The bacons were thick and the longanisa, long. It was a bit raw in the middle and it isn't sweet tasting like the ones I'm used to but it was ok. We shared my longanisa and took home the bacon and the scones. I took a bite at one of the scones, and yes it was good! :) It was that good that you can eat it on its own. It tastes like a salty lengua de gato.

After breakfast, we went to Burnham Park which was just a few steps from Cafe by the Ruins. We took a few pictures and because my tummy was rumbling and H was still sleepy, we went back to the hotel and slept by the couch. Haha.

At around 1pm, the receptionist called me saying that our room was ready. She asked if we wanted to swap from twin to queen bed because a room just went available because the group who booked it settled for one room instead of two. I happily took the one with the queen bed for 2 reasons: 1. H and I can share the bed 2. It's P300 cheaper :) The room was ok. The bed and pillows were soft and comfy and the CR was spacious enough. Negative points were the CR has no bidet so I had to ask for a tabo and the shower was mahina so I ended up using the tabo for bathing too. The TV wasn't flat screen hehe but for P1680, this shouldn't be an issue. 

Excuse the unmade bed. I jumped right in before H had the chance to shoot. :) We slept until 4pm, watched a little bit of TV and asked the receptionist where we can still go as it was already 5pm. Look at the chubby chips! We usually see chips bloat that way in airplanes, we were thrilled like kids :p

Next stop:  Botanical Gardens and Wright Park

My 2013

January

Lian's 2nd Birthday

April

Malaysia - Singapore Trip with the family 

Patrick's Dedication

June

H's 30th!

Zambales Trip with Hubby 

August

Patrick's 1st Birthday

Lola's Birthday @ Oriang 

October

Rion's 1st Birthday

November

Mama's Birthday @ Cabalen 

Bought New TV :)

December

Attended 2 Weddings 

Turned 31! :)

Attended City Garden Office Christmas Party (Gatsby)

Christmas Gifts Panic Buying :p

Ate Cyn's (with kids) Christmas Visit :) 

Sean's Christening

2014 Goals

Since it's going to be another year, this is (another) attempt on New Year's resolution. Hehe. I've learned from the hubby that in order to attain goals, you set small achievable ones for a reasonable time, so here goes my hopefully achieved-by-the-set-date goals:

End of January:
1. Get braces. (again. I lost my retainers so I've been without them for months now, my upper teeth started to get gaps again.)
2. Complete my APE. (I was suppose to finish this December but you know the drill, everybody gets busy with Christmas so there.)
3. Finish the book "Allegiant". (Feb.2)

End of February:
1. Lose 7 4 kilograms. (Starting weight: 73 70 Kilos. *insert sheepish smile here*) (Mar.22)
2. Plank for 2 minutes.
3. Jog continously for 30 minutes.

End of March:
1. Pass 1 Microsoft Certification.
2. Throw/give away unused things to unclutter the house. (Mar.15)
3. Renovate the house. (yey!)
4. Minimize allergy scars.

End of June:
1. Buy bookshelves.
2. Buy oven. :)

I'll update this list once their done. Crossing my fingers that they'll all be crossed out by the end of June next year. Hope you had a blessed Christmas. Happy New Year! :)

Photo from this link.

Christmas Day! :)

Papa would always say that every year it gets less Christmas-y. Houses are with less or no decorations at all, children don't do Christmas carols that often anymore and people are with less money to spend on gifts. It seems to be true but nevertheless, December is my favorite month and Christmas, my favorite occasion. 

I remember when my brother and I were kids, we'd hog mama in the kitchen, mischievously stealing a taste of the food being prepared for noche buena. My family celebrates noche buena - we'd wait for 12 am of December 25, say grace and share a meal of pasta, bread, hotdogs, ham, bacon and fruit salad. Those were the main stays. Christmas morning would be spent hearing mass and going to relatives afterwards to have lunch. I was rich that day. I'd collect at least P2000 from Ninongs/Ninangs and TitosTitas. :) 

I started becoming poor during the Christmas season when I hit highschool. I was old already and refused to take aginaldo. I'd tell my tito/a to just give it to my younger cousins. I then became even more poor when i started working and having god kids of my own. Aside from the aginaldo I prepare for the god kids, I'd also shop for gifts for my family and relatives. During December, the pay is given early and so it's a long wait before my pockets are refilled with the next pay. 

Since I got married, this has been our routine - Christmas Eve with my family and the next day with my relatives then we go home to Pampanga around the 28th and spend the rest of the vacation there. This year, our noche buena was still the same with the addition of hot choco and baked doughnuts H and I bought at Pan de Manila. The bonuses that I had were spent buying gifts - watch and Kobo for H, watch for papa, 2 blouses for mama (I already spent much on her birthday last November hehe) and 2 shirts for the brother. H and I also shopped for gifts to be given to some god kids, but the rest we gave aginaldo. This year, we got to save a little by giving nieces and nephews candies in a pouch instead of money. 

We were able to fit in the budget some office give aways too!

I was feeling guilty because we only got to attend one Simbang gabi and didn't even hear mass today. Hay. With all the things that made us busy, hearing mass and praying should be the most important. After all, Jesus is the reason why we celebrate Christmas. I should be reminded of that. 

Thank you, Father for sending Jesus to us. Merry Christmas! :)