Lunch Date with Richard

I was feeling down the other day -- blame it on the gloomy weather, my colds, my period and seeing photos of the family celebrations that we missed back home -- they all made me feel blah.  So, the next day, Richard surprised me by taking a day off from work so we can have a lunch date.

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Greyhound Cafe at Siam Center.

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Sigh...I wish we had millions of money so we can easily fly back and forth to Manila.  That way, we won't have to miss any birthdays and other family celebrations.  While I love seeing photos on Facebook because it keeps me updated, it also makes me sad not to be there and miss all the fun.  Being so far away sucks that way but I'm really glad that I have Richard and Aly to hug me and tell me that everything will be alright.

Our Big Girl Baby

How did she go from this:
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Summer school, June 2008

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To this?

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March 27, 2011

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She never ceases to amaze us with her antics, witty comments, trivia...I am so blessed to have Aly in my life!  She never fails to make me laugh.  Sometimes Richard and I would just watch her perform and do funny stuff in front of us.  Sigh...she's growing up real fast but I know that we will still have more adventures together.  We're "family best friends" and that's our pinky promise to each other :)

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Thank you, Lord for Aly's wonderful birthday weekend.

Lolo Erning

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My favorite photos of lolo Erning with Mick.  I love these because lolo doesn't really like to have his photo taken (he looks uncomfortable in most) but these captured him in a relaxed and natural pose.  And this is how they really are when they're together.  See how kilig my brother is on the 2nd one?  He is lolo's biggest fan :)

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Today is lolo's 81st birthday.  It's sad that we're going to miss another party but like I always say, we'll be there in spirit.  

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Lord, thank you for another birthday.  I hope that you will bless lolo with strength, good health, more blessings and more birthdays to come.  

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Happy birthday, lolo Erning!  We love you, lolo!

Feeling Better

I was out of commission for two days.  I had all the signs and symptoms of a flu -- all the bad stuff like muscle ache, chills, aching throat...the entire shebang except for the fever.  It's weird, I know but it made me feel really crappy so Richard ordered me to stay at home and rest.  But today I woke up feeling better.  Now I can finally attend to my growing pile of laundry and ironing.  I'm also strong enough to go to the grocery, which is great because we're running out of food at home!

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Back to regular programming.  Thank you, Lord!

My Happy Thought: Father and Daughter Texting

Richard showed me this text message from Aly last night:
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Two things I love about this: #1 how Richard saved his daughter's number on phone book: Aa Aly My Princess.  Isn't that sweet?  #2 how father and daughter are communicating via text.  I love how Aly asked her daddy what he did today.  Isn't she sweet too?

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My two loveys.  I just want to hug them all the time :)

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More kwento about Aly's new phone here.

One Week Later

Remember when I told you about my Lenten sacrifice?  It's been a week since then and I think I'm doing pretty good!  Like A+ performance.  We went to Central Chidlom last Saturday and I didn't get any urge to look at the make-up counters.  I still read beauty blogs but no more gigil and cravings.  Woohoo!

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Thank you, Lord for seeing me through.  We have a few more weeks to go.

Lunch Date with Aly

When Richard has work on a Saturday and I'm too lazy to cook, I go out for lunch with my favorite girlfriend :)
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The best babe ever!

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My kooky lunch companion.

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You'll be surprised at how talkative this little girl can be!  She can talk for hours.  Nonstop!  Richard and I sometimes wonder if she ever gets tired from talking too much.  If we ask her for some quiet time (especially in the car), she can only do so for like five minutes then she'll start talking again!  The only way to make her stop is to ask her to speak in Filipino.  Haha!

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I love these bonding moments with my girl.  We talk about anything and everything, laugh about anything and everything...just like a grown-up companion/girlfriend.

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Oh, and she also styled her hair that day.  It looked like this:

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She pulled her hair up in a ponytail and placed a small clip for her bangs on one side, the way mommy does it.

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But this way is the Aly way.  Heehee!  Isn't she adorable?  I asked her if she wants me to fix it for her, but she said no thanks :)

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Happiness.

My Two Loveys

My two lovey doveys watching tv.  

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Four things I love about this photo: #1 Richard, of course.  #2 Aly, of course! #3 Aly dragged that big chair across our room because she wants to be comfortable while watching.  She redecorated mommy and daddy's room just so she can "relax".  Haha! #4 Photo was taken by my Lumix on night portrait setting and I was surprised at how clear the photo was!  I kept it stable by putting it on top of the tv, of course and I asked Richard and Aly to stay still for like 15 seconds.  Haha!  But the result renewed my faith in my tiny camera.  I love it more now.  Heehee!

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I love evening downtime with Richard and Aly.  I think as a wife and mom, there's nothing better than having both husband and daughter at home.  Not that Aly goes anywhere without mommy or daddy.  The house is just too quiet without my little critter and I really miss her when she's in school.  As for Richard, my day is not complete until he comes home from work. There are days, although not too often, when he needs to spend longer hours at work.  That's fine with me.  There's really nothing much I can do about that.  I'm just glad he knows how to balance work and family.

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How did I get so lucky?

Lenten Sacrifice

I was struck by the priest's sermon in Church yesterday.  He talked about making small sacrifices to make Lent more meaningful to us.  It doesn't have to be anything big or grand.  It can be as simple as shortening your daily internet time from, say, four hours to just an hour.  I never really made any Lenten sacrifice before -- to think I was practically brought up by the Assumption nuns for more than half of my life!  But it's never too late.  Our family has received so many blessings these past years: living in Bangkok, my sister passed the boards, etc.  There's no better time to make my Lent more meaningful than now.  I have so much to be thankful for.

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Sooo, I'm putting it down here because I feel that by doing so I'm bound to my word.  I announced it to Richard and Aly after Mass yesterday as well.  I'm going to make two sacrifices for Lent: #1 I will stop buying make-up until Easter Sunday.  It may sound shallow to others.  If only you knew how often and how much make-up I've been buying these days.  Making this sacrifice will be the best way to curb my product addiction.  I have six weeks to enjoy the ones that I already have and I can use my allowance on a much-needed haircut and color plus a massage!  On the brighter side, I can also save money for a big shopping binge come Easter Sunday.  Heehee!  Until then, I can only look, not buy.  I did a farewell walk (feeling Ms. Universe haha!) at the beauty counters in Central Chidlom yesterday.  Richard and Aly thought it was ridiculous but they know I'm dramatic like that.  Sabi pa nga ni Aly, "mommy, what if they come out with a limited edition and you can't buy?"  She's obviously referring to my MAC Wonder Woman episode.  I didn't know what to say because I don't really know what to do if that happens.  I'm just crossing my fingers it won't happen.    

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#2 No chocolates.  For.  Six.  Weeks.  This is going to be a tough one with Aly's birthday coming up.  She prefers chocolate cake over vanilla so it looks like I won't be having any cake on her birthday.  Plus, I saw this cute mini-chocolate fountain at Central yesterday and I planned to include it in the after-school birthday party.  That's going to be sheer torture!  Why do I like to do things the hard way?  But I can do this.  I SHOULD see this thing through.  Lord, help me.

My Week

Two lunch dates with two fabulous girlfriends, a little bit of shopping on the side, the surprise arrival of my order from ebay (it arrived a lot earlier than I expected so it really made my day!)...it was a great week!

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And I stayed within my budget too!  Have a great weekend, everyone!

What Makes Aly Happy

...makes Richard and I happy too!  Even if it means lining up at Krispy Kreme* to get her a box of her favorite glazed donuts.

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The smile on her face when she saw the box of Krispy Kreme was priceless!

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*Krispy Kreme has only one branch here in Bangkok and the lines were super long!  Rumor has it that you had to line up for two hours for their donuts.  That went on for six months I think, but I was very lucky the other day because the line was a lot shorter than the usual.  I jumped on the chance and bought Aly a box of her favorite donuts.  

Morning Chats with Mommies

There are some mornings when I'd come across another mommy from school and we'd walk back together to our apartment building.  We'd chat about anything and everything; I'd always pick up something new like mommy tips, mall sales, where to buy stuff and the occasional gossip.  Heehee!

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I love those mornings.  It's a great way to start my day.  Thank you, Lord for new friends :)

Downtime with Aly

After dinner when I'm done washing dishes and tidying up the kitchen, I have my downtime with Aly where we sit on my favorite chair and goof around.  It's that time of the day when both of us have no more chores -- no more household chores for me and no more homework for Aly -- and both of us are just basically killing time before getting ready for bed.

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We tell each other jokes and other funny stuff...

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...sometimes I'd tickle her and she would tickle me back...

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...most of the time I would just hug and kiss her like crazy!

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It's basically just a kulitan session...

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 ...but it takes away all the stress and exhaustion.

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Downtime wit Aly -- I love!

Sharing

Aly and ate Gabbi's sharing station at mom and dad's house in Tagaytay.  They gave out chocolates and pencils to our kid neighbors on New Year's day.

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Kuya Moe was there too!  He was in charge of inviting the kids over.

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She had fun sharing with the other kids.

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Today, when we were walking back to the apartment from school, Aly told me: "Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be a principal in a school for poor kids so they don't have to pay."  Great idea, babe!  

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Curious, I asked her how she came up with that idea, but she told me that she forgot.  That's ok.  It's the thought that counts, right?  You see, one of the things that I always teach her is to share her blessings.  It goes without saying of course that she should be thankful for whatever blessings she receives, but more than that, I also want her to learn how to share.  While her "grown-up" plan changes every so often -- she once told us that when she grows up, she wants to be a chef, a restaurateur (she even had a hard time saying that!), a teacher...this is the first time I've heard her say that she wants to be someone so she can help other people.  I love that!  And I love the fact that Aly remembers the things that I taught her.  I know some concepts might be too big for her to grasp, but what she said to me this afternoon is just the kind of reassurance that I need.  It tells me that we are heading in the right direction.