Looking Forward To...

The next time this happens...
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Family photo in Hongkong

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...it will be here:
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Coron, Palawan.  Photo grabbed from Pat's FB (thanks Pat!)

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Can't wait!!

Back in My Arms

Hubby's back home from a business trip.  Thank you Lord from bringing him back safely to us.

Daddykins

Celebrating dad's birthday here in Bangkok back in 2009.

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Today is dad's birthday!  So I'm dedicating this post to my first love, my daddykins.  Here are some things you didn't know (or may not know) about my dad:

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#1 Nothing makes dad happier than being with his children + grandchild.  One of our favorite memories as a family was when we traveled to Hongkong and Macau back in 2009.

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Macau

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Hongkong

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But the trips need not be abroad.  Even a simple trip to the mall or supermarket creates happy memories.  Sometimes we don't even need to leave the house.

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Our annual new year's eve party in Tagaytay is always super fun!

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#2 Even if he's surrounded by many women...

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Dad in Las Vegas.

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...he has eyes only for mom, the "Aple of his eyes".  Heehee!

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#3 Dad is great already as a father -- there is nothing more that my siblings and I could ask for.  You can just imagine how he is as a grandfather.  Aly adores her lolo Bernie like anything!  Whenever Aly would come home, lolo Bernie makes sure that they have enough of his one and only grand daughter's favorite food at home: cheese, hotdog, Chuckie, Yakult...if Aly says she wants Jollibee, dad would drop whatever he's doing and drive his grand daughter to the nearest Jollibee.  He is just awesome!

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Wat Phra Kaew

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Aly's birthday gift for lolo.

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Carrying Aly even if he has a bad back.

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Holding hands in Macau.

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Singing for lolo on his birthday.  Look at the admiration on my dad's face.

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Sports-themed Christmas party.  He bought Aly a different colored headband because she didn't like gray -- even if the entire family was wearing gray.

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Sitting next to lolo on the tour bus in Hongkong.  Note that she's not sitting with her dad.

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The things that he'd do to make his unica apo laugh (not too successful here!).

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Hongkong Disney

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#4 Dad has fierce haggling skills!  Expert talaga pag dating sa tawaran.  Minsan lumalayo na kami kasi nakakahiya na yung laki na tawad nya -- hindi lang 50% ang tawad!  Mga 60-70% pa.  Kulang na lang talaga umiyak yung tindera.  But believe it or not, he wins the haggling war most of the time.  That's something that I really want to learn from dad :)

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#5 Dad is not just the perfect father, he is the perfect husband as well.  Just look at how he spoils mom.

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With designer bags:

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Louis Vuitton

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Burberry and Ferragamo

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Nth honeymoons:

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Shanghai

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New York

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San Francisco

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Universal Studios

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And that's the way to treat a wife!  (Note to self: make sure the hubby reads this post.  Haha!)

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#6 Dad always keeps a bag of his favorite chips at home.

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It has to be cheddar and sour cream.  Hindi nya pinapansin yung iba.

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#7 Dad is a fashionista.  He's a bit of a bagets dresser too.  Heehee!

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Rockin the statement tee in an apple orchard somewhere in New Jersey.

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In a Calvin Klein jacket on the streets of NYC.

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In another Calvin Klein jacket and a Louis Vuitton Damier Ebene Brooklyn bag in Niagara Falls.

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#8 He has a huge collection of Lacoste shirts.  I don't know exactly how many, but I know that can wear one everyday for two months without repeating.

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A fraction of his collection.

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My favorite: his limited edition Campanas x Lacoste.

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#9 Daddy has a smile that can light up the entire room.  Whenever he cracks a joke, my sister Angel and I laugh the loudest.  We're his biggest fans!

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Happy daddy and his great, big smile!

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#10 My dad is super tipid and super maingat with his things.  Like his phone can be 2-3 years old and not have a single scratch on it.  And if he thinks that a certain item is still usable, he will not throw it away even if it's really old.  I remember one time I was de-cluttering the house and I found this plastic container that wasn't being used anymore so I threw it away.  Later that afternoon, the container found its way back into the house again.  Apparently, dad found it in the trash and brought it back inside kasi daw pwede pa naman gamitin.  Classic daddy!  But I guess that kind of attitude is what led him to where he is now.  

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#11 Dad jogs every morning.  He's a bit of a fitness buff (hindi ko na naman namana ito).  Even if he's on a holiday, he doesn't skip his morning exercise.  When he's here in Bangkok, he'd wake up at 5:30am and go around the block.  His commitment is admirable.  I think that's his secret for looking and feeling young!

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#12 Another one of dad's morning rituals: magwalis ng bahay.  Even if he has a helper at home, sya pa din ang nagwawalis.  He also has these special tweezers that he uses to pick up the smallest bits of dirt on the floor -- like a strand of hair or a tiny, tiny piece of paper so small that other people won't normally see.  He's OC like that -- eto, namana ko na talaga to sa kanya.  Haha!

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To dad, happy birthday again!  I hope, no, I know you will have a great one.  I feel bad that we're not there to celebrate with you but you'll be here in a few weeks so we'll celebrate again.  I pray that the Lord will bless you with good health, more blessings to share with others and many more years to come so we can make more memories together.  Thanks for being a great dad to us and lolo to Aly.

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With dad on my wedding day.  When this photo was taken, the room suddenly fell silent.  Tears were starting to well up in my eyes.  It was my moment with dad.

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We love you, dad!

Family Time

Richard and Aly just had a long weekend -- Monday and Tuesday were public holidays here in Bangkok.  We didn't go anywhere; we just stayed at home and did family stuff like watching movies, tv series...both of them also pitched in with the household chores which I really loved.  Heehee!

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I love those days when we can just chillax at home -- I have no complaints about being stuck at home because the heat outside is too unbearable.  We don't like to leave the comfort of our air-conditioned home.  But don't worry about our carbon footprint, we only turn it on when we really have to like, for a couple of hours in the afternoon when the heat is at its peak.

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Thank goodness for long weekends!  I have my husband and daughter all to myself, all day, everyday :)

Encouragement

Today while waiting at my doctor's office, he approached me, gave me a gentle pat on the back and said, "Please don't stop losing weight.  Keep up the good work.  Stay away from carbs, rice, bread...eat more salad."

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You can just imagine kung gano kalaki ngiti ko.  Haha!  It totally made my day!  :)  But I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that I don't gain it all back.  Haha!

Update on My Lenten Sacrifice

Sometime last March, I told you about my Lenten sacrifice: no make-up shopping and no chocolates for six weeks.  I'm proud to say that I made it!  Ok, I'm going to be honest because I had a slice or two of Aly's birthday cake which was chocolate -- not good quality chocolate cake though ala Polly's so I won't really consider it (ok, excuses).  I also figured it's better to eat some than throw food away right?  That would be a bigger sin.  Anyhoo, other than that, I stayed away from chocolates. As in zero.  Even if I had to buy several packs of Toblerone for pasalubong when we went to Manila for Holy Week.  Even when I was tempted to buy the Hershey's chocolate ice cream in the supermarket during our last day because they don't have it here in BKK and it was my last chance to have it.  Yeah, I pretty much had to have nerves of steel but I'm really proud that I made it through.  So, on Easter Sunday morning, I got this for myself at the airport.

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A box of Droste chocolates.  Yum!

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I think I went a bit overboard because as soon as we arrived at Suvarnabhumi, I bought another pack of chocolates -- Maltesers naman.  Heehee!  Bumabawi...

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As for make-up, it took me another week to buy again and this is what I got:

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Clinique Chubby Stick in Super Strawberry.  The SA tried this on me when I had my free facial and I liked it.

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And now for the best part.  Making that sacrifice not only made me lose a little weight (from not eating chocolates), but it also lessened my cravings.  I only eat chocolates like every weekend now.  To think it's so easy to buy since I pass by 7-11 everyday on my way to Aly's school.  Plus, chocolate bars here are cheap, like Thb30 (Php42) is enough to get you a chocolate fix.  But no, I think after six weeks without chocolate, my body was able to trick itself into thinking that I don't need to have it all the time.  I won't say that I will eliminate chocolates completely because that won't be me.  Heehee!

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As for make-up, I now have better control.  No more gigil, no more wanting to buy this -- no more shopping even!!  After the Chubby Stick, I haven't bought anything yet.  Even after making a promise to myself that come Easter Sunday, I will go back to my suking NYX cosmetics seller on eBay to buy more stuff.  I checked her site twice, but I never got around to buying anything.  So yay!!!

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I think I did a great job for a first-timer.  Thank you, Lord for seeing me through and thank you for "healing" me from my product addiction.

The Life I Always Wanted

Thank you, Lord for giving me a wonderful husband who is crazy about me (I'm equally just as crazy and madly in love with him too!).

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And for a beautiful daughter who brings me so much happiness.

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It's the kind of life I always wanted.

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And I'm inspired to be an even better wife and mom to these two.  Thank you, Lord for all the blessings :)

Mommy

Happy mother's day to the best mommy in the world!  We love you!

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Giving out some mother's day love to all the mommies out there -- my MIL, my titas, my cousins, my SIL, Richard's titas, my mommy-friends...wish you all a great one :)

Downtime with the Hubby

Me and my man

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Yesterday was Labor Day holiday in Bangkok so I had Richard all to myself.  Aly was in school because apparently, not all schools here recognize Labor Day as a holiday but that's ok.  So the hubby and I spent some downtime together -- he helped me with my morning chores, then we went out to run some errands...  The best part was, he took charge of Aly's morning seremonyas, including walking with her to school so I stayed in bed for another hour and half.  Heehee!  It was a great day!

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Thursday is another holiday.  I can't wait!

My Rugrats

Last week, Aly got to spend time with her cousins and she had the best time ever!  She won't stop talking about them and not a day goes by when she'd tell me that she misses them already.

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My favorite kids in the world: my babe Aly, Gabbi and Moe (niece and nephew from my cousin Chig) and Eli (from my BIL Eric).

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I love watching these rugrats together.  I wonder how they'll be when they're all grown up?  I can't wait!  Oh no, I take that back -- I don't want them to grow up just yet.  Heehee!