Stargazers

The Husband had one of our office guards deliver these beauties to my desk on our third (church) wedding anniversary last December 19th.

Stargazers are my most favorite flowers. 

Thanks, love.

I'm a lucky girl.

Christmas 2012 Shenanigans

I'm sorry, my dear readers - yes, all six of you (there were only four of you before but, yes, you are slowly but surely growing, so yay!) - that I haven't been updating that much lately. I've been catching up on sleep, on friends and on family, among other things, and not necessarily in that order.

I finished my Christmas shopping early, just to get that out of the way. I bought my godchildren their presents, and wrapped them myself. I get a real kick out of being all Martha Stewart this time of year. However, unlike Martha Stewart, I can't bake to save my life so I just ordered a dozen boxes of homemade chocolate chip cookies from my friend. This was part of my pledge to support, small local entrepreneurs. I then gave these out to colleagues - mostly The Husband's - and to friends, and neighbors. I didn't put bows on these. I just put leftover holiday postcards. My mother had more moolah to spare and wanted the stuff she gave out to be fancier, so she ordered ten boxes of cupcakes from The Cupcake Theory. The stuff there aren't exorbitantly priced but they are really special. Mom said the recipients were more than happy. (Of course, nothing but the best from my friend, Arvy, who owns and bakes for The Cupcake Theory)

There were no lavish purchases this year. We just bought stuff we needed to be replaced. We bought an LED 32-inch TV, yes, but only because our old one is well, old. We'll place that in the little girl's room as the new TV is in the living room. We'll have it mounted on the wall only after the holidays as things are still in a state of (happy) chaos.

The last working day of 2012 for me was on the 21st, and I had Christmas dinner with two of my favorite girls - Alveel and Raen. We just really click because we have so much stuff in common. For one, we're all moms and we all became moms in our twenties. I love these girls to bits and we can really just talk - in two languages - and giggle the time away. There is no dull moment. We had a buffet dinner at the new Quest Hotel's Puso Restaurant. I swear, we ate so much. Then we gave each other gifts. We capped the night off with tea at La Marea.

It's a 'me' sammich! Flanked by Raen on the left and a pregnant Alveel on the right in Puso Restaurant

photo grabbed from Raen's Facebook

Then it was my sister's 23rd birthday lunch. We went to Kotobukiya. I also had Christmas lunch with my good friends, Arvy and Graeco, at La Tegola Cucina Italia. The Husband tagged along. We had a blast catching up and exchanging presents. 

The Circle of Trust: Graeco, Arvy and me at La Tegola Cucina Italia

photo grabbed from Graeco's Facebook

I also took the little girl to see Santa Claus at Rustan's on the last day of school before her Christmas break. We waited for an hour or so because we were early, so I ended up shopping for her and her dad, even if I wasn't planning on buying anything. Oh well, it's okay. Kaelana was thrilled to be able to see Santa. I thought it was perfect because her present from 'Santa' had Rustan's gift wrapping. It would make sense for her to see the jolly bearded man there. Here she is in her school uniform. Santa looked at her and saw how skinny she was and asked, Have you been eatin'? My daughter just nodded and climbed onto his lap. Then Santa said, Oh, you're heavy. 

Ooops.

Without me really knowing it, Christmas Eve rolled around. For noche buena, we had three cheese spaghetti with mushroom, and Alveel's bakareta and mango icebox cake. My little family just relished being together. We watched movies, we laughed, we read in bed, we told stories. My little heart is happy and content. 

Christmas Day was simple and meaningful. I woke up early with Kaelana to open her present from Santa. I had to actually wake up earlier to eat some of the cookies and drink the milk she laid out for him the night before. I also ate some of the candies for the reindeer. Of course, she assumed that Santa and his hooved friends devoured the goodies, and not me.

The Husband is off to his last work shift of 2012, and we'll both be back to the office in 2013 yet. We're leaving for Iloilo tomorrow afternoon so tonight and tomorrow morning will be spent packing. My entire family is there right now at my maternal grandparents' ancestral home. The whole clan is going to Boracay for our annual reunion, and it's going to be loads of fun.

I'll try to blog, tweet and update you while I'm there... NOT. 

Let's spend the holidays focusing on our loved ones, shall we? The internetzzz can wait. Merry Christmas! Happy birthday, Jesus!

I am grateful. My cup runneth over. 

Panglao

Four months after giving birth to our little girl, The Husband planned a trip to Bohol for the two of us. He used to be a drummer for a local reggae band and had traveled all over the Visayas and Mindanao for gigs. He was a bit surprised when I told him I hadn't been to the nearby island of Bohol. We went there in December of 2005, and whaddayaknow, I have recently unearthed some photos of our stay in beautiful, breathtaking Panglao Island, Bohol.

the view from our beachfront room

perfect weather even in December

Haha. We were so young here!

our first Havaianas!

The sun was brighter because it reflected off the white sand

the tide and a starfish

sun kissed in our little beach hut

exploring

exploring

exploring

and more exploring!

There was an attempt to climb some rocks but one can't go very far without the right equipment. It wasn't safe to do so, in the first place.

The best part about traveling is coming home...

to this.

a four-month-old Kaelana fast asleep

Second Christmas Party for 2012

Our company has roughly 6000 employees. There is always a huge Christmas shindig at every year's end, and everyone looks forward to it. The themes vary each year and the after parties are always epic. The Husband and I - yes, we are colleagues - attended this year's party primarily for the raffle prizes. They always give out amazing prizes. Think trips, a ton of gadgets and an assortment of appliances.

This year's event fell on a Sunday, and coincidentally, the little girl had her third quarterly exams the next day. We couldn't stay out late, and we were honestly very tired. The last work weeks of the year are chock full of brain-drying year-end reports, rigorous final appraisals and whatnot. Well, to cut the long story short, I didn't get to win anything when they raffled off the prizes, but the night was fun, nevertheless.

That's me, second from left, with some of my friends

Our view of the stage

We had local celebrities, Iya and Luis, as hosts

A portion of the program when they showed the kids our company has helped through our adopted communities and outreach projects ♥

There was a sing-off, some Christmas caroling, a local dj who spun for the party and just a chance to be thankful that we belong to a company that makes us feel appreciated. 

It's almost Christmas!

Water Baby

The Husband and I fell in love by the sea. We live in perpetually sunny, beautiful Cebu where gorgeous beaches abound. It's no wonder the little girl loves the water, too. I found these photos of Kaelana's first ever beach trip at eight months old. We spent the whole day at Costabella.

She loved the water and wasn't scared at all! Look!

Don't you just love her little pink bikini?

She loved the sand!

When the tide was low enough, I took her to look at the sea shells and the little fish.

Hanging out with dad by the seashore was fun too.

What a happy, water baby!

What's a memorable beach trip you went on?

Fabrication

I had breakfast with one of my good friends, Belle, today, and as usual, we talked about a lot of things. I'm not going to enumerate them here but most definitely, I have realized one very important thing: that people, when they don't understand something but are desperate to appear 'in the know', because they thrive on intrigue and drama, will tell lies and put forth their own twisted versions of the story.

It's sad.

Oh, well.

Half A Birthday

I believe in creating family traditions. I believe in celebrating milestones. I believe in being grateful.

When my little girl was six months old, we threw her a half a birthday party. It was just a small gathering of family members and a few friends. We had ice cream, spaghetti and cake. What's a birthday without cake? If we decide to have another little one, I'll throw him/her a half a birthday party, too!

That's my mom and a six-month-old Kaelana in a green polka dotted ruffle dress with matching lace socks. Almost-a-year-old cousin, Matt, was fascinated by Kaelana's gold charm bracelet.

My mom is obviously a stage grandmom. We were singing Kaelana a happy birthday here with Matt and his mom looking on. Note the zero candle. Heh.

Here's the half a birthday girl! Isn't she a cutie? Those chubby cheeks and long lashes are too adorable.

The after party

Here's my mom and dad doting over their two grandchildren. They got a kick over the little girl's half a birthday too.

What quirky traditions does your family follow?

First Christmas Party for 2012

Exactly 14 days before Christmas! Are you excited? I am!

I love how there are social functions to attend left and right during the holiday season. I'm normally aloof and I prefer to be alone, but there's just something about the festive December days that makes me actually enjoy socializing.

Last Saturday, December 8th, we had a department Christmas party held at the City Sports Club. It was fun. My right elbow is still bandaged but, I swear, it didn't hurt so I was okay. I just didn't join the games.

That's me sticking my tongue out. As you can see, I lost some weight from being sick and from being confined in the hospital for five days. Those are some of my good friends from work.

There are five trainers in the photo above, two instructional designers and a quality analyst. Who's who?

all photos from Graeco - who suddenly has a camera

Heart

I've always been very vocal about what a big Manny Pacquiao fan I am. I am not here to dissect the fight he lost to Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez. All I'm going to say about the match was that it was good and it was clean, and both boxers fought with integrity.

My dad is a boxing aficionado. Boxing's the only sport he watches. We are a family who roots for Pacquiao.   His loss yesterday felt so tragic that I wanted to cry.

This is all I have to say:

You are a champion and will always be one. In this day and age when people get to where they are by sucking up, by putting forth mediocre wok, by taking short cuts and by being ungrateful to the people who helped them in the first place, you simply did it by showing sheer perseverance, hard work and heart.

I am proud. I will always be!

photo from weheartit.com

Post-Surgery

Well, I DID go to work last Thursday.

Only to be told by our company physician at the clinic that I cannot be given a Fit to Work because I was still sick - that I still had an infection as evidenced by the rashes. I also had a wound on my right elbow that was showing signs of being highly infected. He recommended I get admitted.

So I did. I was confined in the hospital for the past five days. And I was miserable.

I had to get my antibiotics intravenously and my infected elbow wound surgically drained and removed. I missed the little girl tremendously. I was in pain, depressed and tired.

I was discharged yesterday. I am grateful I'm okay now. Please, infections, stay away from me from hereon.