Mother's Day 2013

Celebrated the day with very good friends, catching up over food and drinks. I am so thankful to have these Mommy-friends who I can always count on. They made my Mommyhood journey a little less daunting. ;)

And from my loves --- a beautiful mug with Abie's photo and a molded hand of my little one with this inscription: 'This is my hand. My hand will do a thousand loving things for you. And you will remember when I am tall, that once my hand was just this small.' 

Thank you Daddy and Abie. I strive to be a good, if not the best, mother I can be. You both are my inspiration. Love you to the moon and back.

Xoxoxo

Christmas 2012

It's Abie's first Christmas and she enjoyed the rainy day spent with friend whom we consider our family here in Australia. Here are random shots of the different parties we attended.

Well, hello there

I know, I know. Its been a month since my last update and I have a valid reason for not attending to this blog --- I was busy at work! Yes, busy. We just had a hectic year end with all management reports due two weeks after the 4th of September. But now, that is all over and the new financial year have started (I will worry about month end tom).

Today, I am 18 weeks and 4 days pregnant, almost halfway already. I will have my second ultrasound on Thursday and we can't wait to see the little one once again and to finally know his/her gender.

The second trimester is the 'most forgettable' according to the books I read --- no major dramas, morning sickness is gone and you are not that huge yet that you can still do whatever you like (or almost). And this is true in my case. I am just so happy that I'm over morning sickness because it not really funny! I am monitoring my weight now so I won't gain more than what is desirable for me and for the baby.

I haven't had a monthly photo to show off my tummy but on my 16th week, hubby took this photo of me when we went to Bobbin Head Park.

I am ending this entry with a photo of me and Rose, my highschool barkada who went to Vanuatu to educate the people there on how to do organic farming (and even grooming!). I am so proud of her coz she is doing what she loved to do --- be involved in her own NGO and help other people by imparting her (and her husbands) knowledge about farming. You are truly an Iskolar ng Bayan Rose --- you gave back to the people what your learned from UPLB, I salute you!



Till my next update.

Hope you are having a lovely day!

Isang Maulan na Sabado

Last rainy saturday, Agie and I went to Cecille's baby shower. The place was over an hour away from our place so naturally, we were the first to arrive. Following the First-in-First-out rule, we were the first to go too, but only when the heavy downpour started to subside --- or so we thought. Walking from Cille's place to the station took us around 15mins and during this time, Agie and I were laughing so hard because we had the perfect timing! As soon as we stepped out of the building, the rain started to pour again, and the wind was blowing wildly. And of course, today is the only day that Agie left his umbrella home! Half of our body is drenched and I looked like I just got out of the shower. And when we finally arrived at the station, the rain stopped! Hahaha. Good thing we didn't missed our train, otherwise, it would have been a nigthmare, waiting for another 30mins in wet clothes. :D


It was nice to catch up with friends - dami kong na miss na kwento, grabe!!! Can't wait for the next one --- March 14 for Rafa's birthday.

@ Toongabbie Station, mejo fresh pa ako nyan at 12noon











@Artarmon station. di halatang basang basa ako. :D

...of workplace and workmates...

i had a long email exchange with Manj today. she told me how her role in Shell have evolved and how she is not as swamped with work as before. during the course of our emails, i suddenly missed Shell and...

1. Canor - our November 2005 'team mate' that made our day and night shift work extra fun;
2. the endless conversations in our workstation
3. cam-whoring to the max
4. starbucks during christmas and the quest to get the planner first
5. lunch' at Manila Bay during a December night shift
6. our very first christmas floor decoration -- all the drama we had with Ed's Team, the trek to Tutuban with Cel and Jaz
7. breakfast!!!
8. laughter of the entire team
9. food trip and mini stop!!!
10. aristo-cart and their fried lumpia - the best street food eva!!!
11. videoke during ofc hours (only in Shell!!!)
12. dinner with the leadership team - Sally, Mars, Junie, the IT guys... sino pa ba?
13. Ambers and Buddy's pansit, barbecue and pichi pichi
14. Burloloys sa katawan --- i rediscovered a few of my necklaces and started using them again
15. Bohol
16. Manga with Bagoong, sama na din ang mais!!!
17. Go Live!
18. Teleconferences --- Nico and Rene (whom I still keep in touch with)
19. SITI Sups and TLs - Aimee (asan ka na???), Alice (miss you girl, will email you soon), Yen (yehey, you're coming here na), Perla (busy na naman as always maski dito sa Oz), Cesar (ikakasal ka na...), Aileen (kaw na lang natira sa Shell)

and the list goes on and on and on....

Its been 3 years since I left the company and now, Agie, Lanie, Ces and I are building our new lives here in Oz, soon, Yen will be here too.

Back in the Phils, people have moved to different processes, Malou, Haidee, Sol and Lanie gave birth and soon Chona will too.

We matured.

But one thing will remain the same --- the friendship and the bond that we formed will forever stay. SITI AR will always have a special place in my heart. The best working days of my life were spent there, I've grown as a person and as a leader. I had my weaknesses but I am thankful for my team who confront me and not talked about it behind my back (or if they did, they are still honest enough to let me know about it). I miss you guys! Im wishing and hoping that we'll see each other, reunite, look back and reminisce the good times.

Miss you guys.

New Life (Lives)

BABY BOOM IN OZ!!!

All my married friends in Chatswood are having a baby - Ruthie is due to give birth anytime soon... then Noemie is on her 3rd month, and I just learned that Lanie too is preggy! I hope i'll be next, hahaha.

Back home, my elder sister had a miscarriage last year. It would have been her second baby after nine long years but sadly, we lost the little angel (gi wak-wak daw, i dunno). My younger sister also had a miscarriage last weekend. She has been so busy with her thesis in the last couple of weeks. She needed to do some revisions, had to travel to Cagayan de Oro and she's back at work too that her body just didn't cope with the stress level she's experiencing. Sad thing is, she didn't know she was pregnant! She bled on the bus on the way home and thought its her normal period but when tummy ache just didnt go away, they had to admit her to the hospital. After some tests, they said she lost the baby... sad, sad.

But its not all bad news. I also learned last weekend that my sister-in-law, who lives in Butuan, is also pregnant!!! Its her third time but the first two, she also lost it. The first one was due to a miscarriage on her first trimester, the second one, didn't develop well inside the tummy. They did everything they could, went through the pregnancy even if they knew from the ultrasound that the baby only have one arm and one leg and have a weak heart. But during the 8th month, the baby didn't survive. Our little Atasha was born dead and is now in heaven praying for all of us. My sis-in-law is still experiencing difficult pregnancy but she's coping well. They've been waiting for this baby for 5 years and we are all praying for the health of both the baby and the mommy. We all know our little Angels in heaven are looking after the life growing inside Jen's tummy and I just knew that this time around, it'll be perfect. But I still continue to pray for her everyday...

I hope im next in line... :D

Christmas in Oz

My first Christmas in Oz was celebrated in style (Filipino Style that is).

At around 8pm, Cherry and I invited a few friends over for a Noche Buena at our new place in Chatswood. Everyone brought their own food--- Noemi, Jun and Gabbie brought yummy grilled chicken, Mike and Lanie brought grilled Tilapia (yum, yum, yum), Agie made sinuglaw (sinugba and kinilaw with pinakurat), Sally brought wine from Hunter Valley, I cooked kare kare and Cherry bought kutsinta from the Filipino store. Pinoy foods we were really craving...




At 12 midnight, we went to hear the misa de gallo and i was quiet surprised to see the church full-packed. I thought Aussies were not into traditional christmas celebration but i was wrong. i saw people of all ages and nationalities (well, i saw some Chinese, Koreans and a few Africans that flocked the Church). I guess being a Catholic school, the tradition of having a midnight mass is being taught too.

On Christmas Day, Agie and I went to the City and had our picture taken at some Christamassy sights ----

Sydney Town Hall adorned with lights

Different lighting of Sydney Town Hall
Hyde Park

We also went to Queen Victoria Building where a christmas tree was adorned with Swarovski crystals was on display; and Martin Place where the Christmas Tree was placed.

The day after, Dec 26, was a holiday in Australia. It was Boxing Day (just look it up, was supposed to be the day that people give gifts or something). And during boxing day, there's a huge sale going on in the City. Myers (a very big Department store) opened its doors at 6am, while the rival David Jones (these are high end shops like Shangrila, Rustans) opened theirs at 6:50 am... Normal shopping day in Australia is like shopping on a weekday in Rockwell, not too many people, no queue in the dressing room nor in the cashier. But come Boxing Day, its like Divisoria!!! Where did these people came from??? There was a queue just going inside the store and people are just everywhere. I had the below shot taken when I was on the elevator at Myers.

It was unbelievable!!! Just so we wont feel that we wasted our time, we just bought a nice China made bowl at 30% discount and some lotion that was sold at half the price. Even on sale, some itmes are still expensive compared to Manila prices. That being said, i cant wait to go home and shop!!!

So that's how I celebrated Christmas this year. Next year would be different, really different! And I cant wait for 2008 to come!!!

Happy New Year!

(nakakatamad mag post at magkwento)