sNUTdate

Early Sunday Mass fail. Had lunch instead at Peanut Butter Company Katipunan with Babs and cousins, JR and Andrei. We've been craving for something different. PB Co. is not a new member of the Katipunan Group of Restos, but unfortunately I haven't had the chance to visit the place. It's a payday weekend, so we forced Doc Jubie to treat us. Well, he paid for half of the bill. THANK YOU! While waiting...

Photo Ops!

SheMan/HeGirl

The much awaited PEANUT BUTTER MEALS are finally served! My sister and I had Chicken Curry Pasta, BBQ chicken, and THE BEST TASTING - PB Co. Milkshake. The extraordinary food have that certain peanut butter twist that will make you crave for more.

After food fest, I went to the waxing salon to get some hair waxing done. It took me less than an hour to finish. That made us 1 hour too early for the mass. Look who's under food coma! Or is he just thanking the Lord for not giving us hypersensitivity reaction to peanuts? Well, AMEN for that!

FlipFlops Reunited

We call each other Flip and Flops cause we are inseparable. Unfortunately due to our busy schedules we were not able to update each other with our lives, so we decided to meet up just to catch up last Sunday. We were supposed to have mass but we (more of I) arrived way too late for it. Instead, we went to the adoration chapel to pray. We had A veneto pizzeria and pasta for dinner. While having our hot choco and tea, Sundz and I enjoy the scenery - hot men. Sadly, they're together. Like dating kind of together. SAYANG! What happened to the unfair world today? Besides that, we had more serious talk about life and everything in between. We used to talk over the phone for hours or even overnight, that's why 8 hours of being together was quite bitin for the two of us. It feels good though to be comforted by you. Iba eh! We know each other too well that talking is unnecessary. Tinginan lang solve na! Parang contradicting yun. Anyway, THANK YOU for being you, just the way I like it. Likwise, always remember that I got your back!

The best way to end an extraordinary day with extraordinary sweetness and love is to share it The J.Co Way. I can equate it with my attachment to Krispy Kremes. LOVE IT!

 

 

Nothing is sweeter than the togetherness we share.

Time to Pay Forward

June is a special month for me and my college friends since Sundz and Noreen are having their birthdays just 4 days apart. Our June 2012 party is as fun as it was celebrated from the past years, but this year it was more fulfilling and relaxed. We had no booze, no loud music, but we had a blast! 

We went to that place where ladies carry a package, but they don't know yet that that gift is the best gift they'll ever receive. Our goal is to make them realize that at the end day. Hope we'll be able to achieve our mission!

Off we go.                                    Yka- a very happy kid with her balloons           Prepping the FOOD.

Our snack box includes special pancit, lumpiang shanghai, and barbecue. We also brought balloons and fun-filled games for our special guests. The trunk is full of goodies- baby and mommy milk formula, dypies, wipes, baby clothes and stuff. But where are we headed to? We went to Grace to Be Born. It's a shelter for unwed soon-to-be-mothers, who once in their life thought of committing the silliest sin of all. With the great powers of the Holy Spirit, they were enlightened to keep the most precious gift, the gift  of life from The One Above.

We're all set and ready to rumble!

A, B, C, D. Pick me!

As nurses, we decided to incorporate health teaching to the second game. Just some infos for our new found preggo friends. We're not allowed to take pictures with the moms due to confidentiality. 

During dinner, we were sitted next to each other in a long table. It was like The Buzz, controversial questions were thrown by Cathy of course. After the chit chats, three of the mommies shared their singing talents. It was an instant sound trip. Of course, our very own dashing diva, Yka also had an impromptu song number.

Mother and Child

To cap off the visit, we went to the nursery to play with the adorable darlings who were left behind in the center. While having my alone time with baby pogi, I can't comprehend why would they say no to an angel. I wanted to take home one! But they wanted married couples to adopt these kids. I'm not married, not even part of a couple that's why I'm not qualified. Next time, maybe?

Meet Grace To Be Born's cutie patooties!

We were all sweaty and tired when we left the shelter, but we went home with happy faces and lovely traces. So, when are you guys planning to PAY IT FORWARD?

For inquiries, you can reach Rey Ortega at 09275010605 / 09228597035 or through rortega_corinthians@yahoo.com and Myrna Ortega at 09178039139 or through myrna.ortega@gmail.com.

Katas ng Saudi

Buhay OFW: Magtatarabaho bilang Nar sa Saudi. Magaalaga ng mga di naman kaanoano habang ang mga sariling kamag-anak ay hindi maalagaan dito. Makakuwi kung kailan huli na ang lahat, wala na siya/sila. Malungkot, mahirap, ngunit kailangan magtiis para sa kinabukasan ng mga mahal sa buhay. Nagiging pinakamatalik na kaibigan ang laptop at nabubuhay sa cyberworld. Yan ang pang araw-araw na buhay ng mga OFW. At sa tuwing uuwi sa bansang sinilangan, sila pa ay ating KAKATASAN. :) 

Haha! We love you Seh! Sana di ka magsawa itreat kami sa tuwing uuwi ka! Lubos ang kasiyahan namin sa tuwing nandito ka kasi para tayong nakokompleto. Darating din ang araw na mayayaman na tayong lahat at sa ibang bansa na tayo manlilibre. Di ko lang sure si Cheks kung ililibre niya tayo. PEACE Les! :)

Dinner at Bigoli, Drinks at Distillery Eastwood.

Thank you for everything Love! Til your next visit!

Mr. Big, ang mga Bigo, at si Goli

*Thank you also for these pictures Serah.

It was a THAIriffic night after all!

And I'll remember the love that you gave me

Now that I'm standing on my own

I'll remember the way that you changed me

I learned to let go of the illusion that we can possess

I learned to let go, I travel in stillness

And I'll remember happiness

So Long, Summer!

R.I.P. SUMMER May2011-June2012

It's already raining and summer season is officially over. In fact, typhoon Butchoy is currently invading our country.

But NO, I wont be talking about the weather. This post is about one of our babies, his name is SUMMER.Very timely also that Winter's only baby boy passed away today. The cause of death is canine parvovirus. It's a very contagious disease that mainly affects our poor little housemates. The signs and symptoms usually manifest within 3 to 10 days. In Summer's case, Mum noticed only one sign yesterday. She saw blood stains on their cage (he's sharing a home with her mother). My mum thought that it was just another heat for Winter, that's why she disregarded what she saw. Then around 2pm today, Summer is no longer moving. I refused to look at him cause just by hearing what happened it already made me sad. How much more if I'm going to see him lifeless? He's been with us for a year and several weeks. The pictures above were taken last year, just a few days after he was born.

Thank you Baby Summer for making me, my family and Andi happy for a year! You will always be remembered. I know you're already hopping like crazy in doggie heaven now. KISSES!

Andi with Summer

Thrifty Travel Thursday

Nowadays, a 500 peso bill is no longer sufficient for a bongga weekend getaway. Hotel accommodation will cost you thousands, airfare will be cheap if purchased months before, and you will not enjoy the trip if there's no good food! Good food is directly proportional to the price. Therefore, more kaching kaching required! 

I am so desperate to feel the provincial breeze because of the scourging heat of Manila sun. Yung tamang soul searching lang, star gazing, night swimming with the night sounds of the crickets. I thought it will remain as a daydream, until one day...

Sundz invited us to attend their town's fiesta. That means free food, lodging, and if you are available at the same time her family is leaving Manila free transpo na rin.

The gang is always on the go for cheap thrills. RESULT: we are almost complete and absolutely ready to conquer Calaca with this 15 minute hike from the villa to the beach.

Find people who share your values, and you'll conquer the world together. - John Ratzenberger

Photography is a means of recording forever the things one sees for a moment. - Aaron Sussman

The friends who grew up with you deserve a special respect - the ones who stuck by you shoulder to shoulder, in a time when nothing was certain, all life lay ahead and every road led home.

The beach will not be complete without the parked boats to sit on, sunnies, and the company of girlfriends.

There's no thrill in easy sailing when the skies are clear and blue, there's no joy in merely doing things which anyone can do. But there is some satisfaction that is sweet to take, when you reach a destination you never thought you'd make.

That one sweet day ended as expected. We spent the rest of the night at the private pool with bottles of  beer and our favorite green mangoes (don't forget the bagoong). Too bad the funny captured moments are for us only. 

Last group picture before leaving

Who says that you can't have fun with just 500 pesos in your purse? FYI I spent under 500 during the whole trip. 

Join me on my next Thrifty Travel Thursday. Ciao!

Meme Me

My friends think I'm already in Sydney.

My mum thinks I just go out and party.

My boss thinks I sleep during work hours.

Society thinks I just eat out and take pictures.

I think I do household work.

But in reality, I'm in front of the laptop updating my status and reading gossips in all social networks. 

One of the few pictures Mum was able to keep. They lost almost all of them several years ago.

They had their fair share of kilig and drama, but they managed to conquer it all. We are very pleased to have you as our parents and proud that you're still together after 26 long years. Happy Wedding Anniversary!

Taken during my sister's debut. February 2012

How I wish I will be able to find my one true love like my parents did. Every princess hopes for that fairy tale ending with her prince charming.

Year Ender

Exactly one year ago, I was clueless that approximately 365 days from then I'll be better than ever. It was a tough year due to all the mishaps. But, I am just so thankful because I'VE GAINED MORE THAN WHAT I'VE LOST. It is now proven that His will is always better than ours.

Cheers to the new improved version of me with all the positivity! Lord, I'm now ready. You think?

Fortunate Misfortunes

At 7 a.m., I have to wake up and prepare for my second interview at 10 today. Alarm snoozed. When it seems like I took more sleep for 5 minutes only, it's already half past 7. Finally, at 8 a.m. I woke up. Took my time in eating brunch (yes, I'm having brunch this early), took a bath and prepped myself for an important meet-up with the school directress. The night before I already picked (inside my head) the dress that I'll be wearing today. It was something comfortable for any day. The sleeves are until below the elbow in case it will rain, but the material is thin enough for the expected heat that I'll be experiencing by lunch time. I used my fave brown semi-wedges with it. I'm about to leave the house when luckily, I received a phone call and my scheduled is moved to 11am. 

Fast forward to that moment when I got off the train. It started to rain a bit and realized I forgot my umbrella, so I hailed a cab instead. I was fortunate enough to be inside the taxi when it started to rain really hard, not like cats and dogs, but tigers and lions. It was just a little more than zero visibility, mga +2. Traffic was major and it started to flood along Shaw Blvd. First it was just gutter deep. Then slowly increasing until I am in slight panic. The driver made a wrong turn to this street to make a "short cut" that eventually became a "panic-attack-for-Kay-cut". Just when we're about to enter that street, one concerned citizen tried to stop us from going. The Kuya driver did not stop. So we went through. At the middle of that flooded place, I feel like I'm TJ Lao but this time WE WERE INFORMED! I'm scared that the car will stop from working until we're stucked at the deepest part of the dirty ocean-like pool of trash, and have no choice but to go out and push the poor car on the upper side of the street. "MANONG, MAY INTERVIEW PO AKO. BALIK NA TAYO PLEASE!" The water started to gush inside the car ala Titanic. As much as I want to start shouting, I offered a short prayer instead. "Lord please!" 847bazillion times until we reached the shore. Thank you Lord! On the next turn, I am where I'm supposed to be. I feel sorry for Manong driver. I want to give him 1 thousand pesos for betting his and his car's life for me. Bbbut I don't have that big amount to donate. I gave 3/4 of my total money instead. I kept 1/4 for my fare later.

To cut the story short, I made it to the interview and was offered a job today. I got in! I'm so excited and I refuse to hide it! :)

Freedom Friday

Dear Mum, 

You're my no. 1! I am not Bimby and you're not Kris. Scratch that! 

Ma, YOU'RE MY ONLY ONE.! So, what makes you different from the rest? Here are the reasons ala boy pick-up.

1. BUMBILYA KA BA?

Cause you LIGHT up my world like nobody else. Ikaw talaga ang ilaw ng tahanan Ma. You are the first person who introduced us to Our Lord. You taught us the standard "Now I lay prayer", prayer before meals,  and the rosary. You opened our eyes to His love and put our trust and faith in Him. You literally light up a candle for us every Licensure exam, final exam, and all the other tests my sisters and I took.  

2. COMPUTER VIRUS KA BA?

Ikaw ang SUMISIRA sa reducing diet namin - you make the best home cooked meals in the world! Just after we finished eating breakfast you're thinking of what to cook for lunch, or worse morning snack.Cause you can make any day a cheat day. 

3. FERRARI KA BA?

Kasi AUTOMATIC ka, you are always there for Dad, me, and my sisters making it no need for us to ask for help.  

Thank you for making it this far and not shutting off the computer after reading that. I apologize for my WALEYness. 

Happy Mother's Day Mommy! I love you with all my heart! Here's the perfect song for us.  

Always Love You by Tori Kelly

A Repost

The world has turned upside down. What makes a used-to-be wrong acceptable? Let this article teach you the irony of life. 

Should You Have Sex with Your Ex?

A new study finds that having sex with your ex may not be so bad after all.

Everett

If you think friends with benefits sounds complicated, imagine being divorced...with benefits.  

Having sex with your ex—a la the 2009 movie “It’s Complicated” starring Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin as exes who start sleeping together years after they divorce—can rehash a whole mess of mixed feelings. (At least that’s what a host of self-help authors say.)  

Now, a new study coming out in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology suggests that sex with your ex may not be as bad as you think.

Researchers at the University of Arizona looked at post-breakup psychological adjustment and ongoing contact among 137 married adults who had recently separated. As you’d expect, people who accepted the breakup were generally better adjusted while those who still pined for it weren’t.  

MORE: Beauty Your Way Through a Breakup

But that’s not all: for those who didn’t accept the breakup, making a clean break (the advice everyone gives after a breakup) didn’t leave them any happier than trying to keep up a friendship. And if they stayed in touch with their exes, they were actually doing better if they kept having sex with their partner. 

“Sexual contact with an ex-partner seems to be associated with better wellbeing for those who aren’t over the relationship,” says lead author Ashley Mason, a clinical psychology PhD candidate. (YouBeauty Relationship Expert David Sbarra is a co-author on this study as well.) 

Why? Most likely, it’s simply that their actions match their feelings. 

MORE: Can "Friends With Benefits" Work?

“Their psychological attachment to their ex-partners may still be that of a lover,” says Mason. “So if they’re still having sex with their partners—a type of contact we usually only have with lovers—then their attachment to and behavior toward their ex-partners are in line with each other.” In other words, if you want to be in a relationship but you’ve settled for sex, then at least one part of your wish has come true. 

Of course, having sex with your ex shouldn’t be seen as a cure-all. 

“I would not suggest that people run out and start having sex with their ex-partners,” says Mason. “Continuing to sleep with an ex could be preventing one from starting a new relationship that might be beneficial.” (Feeling used comes to mind as a probable downside as well.)

But if you've unwillingly untied the knot and you decide to keep it carnal, you may actually find you're doing better—at least for a little while.  

ByNadia Goodman

Who knows, maybe couple of years from now it's going to be legal to get high in PI. :) 

my precious tribe

I could not ask for more.

Five years ago, mother and I went to Our Lady of Manaoag Shrine to ask for help and guidance as I am about to take my Nursing Licensure Examination. It was a long and exhausting trip because we just took the bus. At the end of the same year, I was able to pass and that made the pilgrimage worth it. We were planning to go back to give thanks to Mama Mary but we were not able to do so.

Until last April 22, Sunday, we revisited Pangasinan to show our gratitude together with our Urgel family.

                  

It was too early for everyone specially to my sister Kith. We woke up at 7am, took a quick bath and left right away.

It was almost lunch time when we arrived at last! The kids' tummies are already complaining for food but there was only one fast food chain near the church. As expected, the place was jam packed. TIP: It is best  to bring packed lunch and snacks. It took us almost an hour before we can finally eat.  

Because of that, we missed the 12 noon mass. It was already half past 12 when we reached the church itself. For future references, here is the mass schedule. Boohoo! :| We finished the mass though and went at the back of the church. We have to fall in line before we can go at the back of the altar, put our hand inside the small openings and then we can touch the back clothing of the image of Our Lady of Manaoag. That is what we really went for besides the mass of course.

I wonder what these kids are asking for.

The shrine is said to have miraculous powers that attracts Catholics to keep on coming back.

Thank you. I love you. AMEN. It should be quick!

Lighting candles is our tradition. Most people do this every time they ask for something. In my case, I got nothing more to ask for. To be honest, I feel like I have so much, making me able to give a lot too. Words can no longer describe how thankful I am for all the blessings I've been receiving all my life. Sure, there were  some downfalls but those are the things that keep me going. I thank the Lord for letting His will be done.

This is a semi-complete photo we had before leaving. It was hot hot hot that day but we managed to flash our best smiles. Family bonding is always amazing specially when we do activities for His greater glory.