adventuresofmoonchild

Family Appraisal

Published on March 27, 2013, by v7a6uv in Personal.

On the way home last week, I had a “what-the-heck/what-the-fudge” moment. See, about three weeks ago our company rolled out the yearly performance appraisal results. My supervisor called me in to his office to discuss the final rating I received and I received a very good news. I told Laviel about it and told him we’d keep it quiet at home just because I’m afraid my Mom might attempt to squeeze me to get every single penny. Long story. Anyway, as I was saying… On the way home last Thursday, Mom suddenly told me I should treat them for lunch or dinner on payday. I said “What? Why??” And she answered, “You got a high rating!” And there goes my “what the…!?” moment. Mom is working in the same company as I am. We don’t belong in the same department, though. I’m in the technical division, while Mom is in, well, Human Resources. No wonder she knew about my rating. What a disadvantage! On the bright side, she didn’t mention anything about my due payment. So, yay!

Nonetheless, I’m looking forward to a family lunch or dinner-out. I’d be more than happy to oblige my Mom’s request.

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Tags: appraisal, family, mom, moments, wth

Women, Appreciate Your Man

Published on March 11, 2013, by v7a6uv in Life in General, Personal.

I have a backlog of emails in the form of daily digests from Weddings At Work. I haven’t been as active in using the PC nor the internet these past couple of months ever since Laviel and I arrived. Probably because I don’t really find it a necessity to go online unlike when Laviel and I were miles apart. Anyway, as I was going through each email, a fellow w@wie shared her favorite part of Bo Sanchez’s LittleBook on How to Have A Great Marriage. Below is the excerpt from the LittleBook:

Women, Appreciate Him

Women, do you know how discouraging it is for your husband when he realizes that he cannot fulfill you? But when he sees you smile and become happy because of the little things he does for you, he inwardly feels powerful and accomplished. He tells himself, “I did that. I made her happy.” What does a man need? Appreciation. Appreciate him for the little things he does. Tell him how happy he has made you. And remember that when you appreciate him, you’re encouraging him to continue to move in that same direction. Inwardly, a man wants to be admired by his woman. Women are naturally appreciative of the small things. When they’re not appreciative, it’s because of two reasons: She doesn’t know it is important to her partner — or she’s stuck in resentment. Here’s how to score points with your man — some higher than others…

He makes a mistake and you don’t say, “I told you so.”

He gets lost while driving and you don’t make a big deal out of it.

He gets lost and you see the good in the situation.

He forgets to pick up something and you say, “It’s OK. Next time.”

He forgets it again (!) and you say, “It’s OK. Next time.”

When he goes into his cave, you don’t make him feel guilty.

When he comes out of his cave, you welcome him and don’t punish him.

When he apologizes for his mistake and you receive it with love.

You’re happy to see him when he gets home.

You don’t give unsolicited advice about his responsibilities.

You ask for his support rather than dwell on his failures.

Friends, the key to a great relationship is simple: Love the way your beloved wants to be loved.

Now let’s learn how to speak the way our beloved speaks.

When I read this excerpt, I felt ashamed of my self. I was guilty. I know and I’ve realized that consciously or unconsciously, I make my husband feel inferior. I don’t like doing it but there comes a time when I succumb to disappointment and resentment and I unintentionally react with such negative effect on him. We’ve had some arguments and fights when he had mentioned that he felt this way and it hurts me. It hurts me because I never wanted to hurt him in any way and yet I do. Marriage is not a joke; not in any way should marriage be taken lightly. As I’ve always heard from the elderly, even in my younger years: marriage is not like a spoonful of hot rice that once put in the mouth, you can spit it out at once. Marriage is a vocation; it is a promise made and never should be broken. When you get married, you have a responsibility to your other half and you can no longer think only for yourself.

I haven’t read the entire article yet but it’s a short one so I’d like to start it as soon as possible. It was generous of my fellow w@wie to share the link to the article from her Dropbox account so in turn, I’d like to share it as well for those soon-to-weds, married couple, or just plain interested.

How to Have a Great Marriage by Bo Sanchez

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Tags: husband and wife, love, marriage, married life

When Mom Had A Tummyache

Published on March 7, 2013, by v7a6uv in Personal.

On some weekends, it is just normal that my Mom gets left alone at home while Dad and I go out with friends. It is not a weekly basis for my Dad but sometimes it happens that both of us are out on Thursday night. A week ago, Dad had told me earlier that he and Laviel would be going to Tito Jimi’s place for some drinks. I, on the other hand, is scheduled to go out for a run with Ella.

All three of us – Dad, Laviel and I – went on our way almost at the same time while Mom was left at home. Ella and I had finished our run and were sitting at a café having tea when I received a call from Mom asking where we are. I told her and asked if everything is alright. She told me she wants to go to the clinic because she’s been having stomachache which started from the time I left home. Dad and Laviel left home first and I went out a few minutes later. Ella and I were close by so I told her we’ll go with her. I sent Laviel a message saying that we’ll be going to the clinic with Mom. He called and asked what had happened and I related the story. I spoke to Dad as well and he told me to let them know what happens.

When Ella and I got home, I went to Mom’s room and found her sitting, waiting for me. As we walked slowly out of the house, she would stop once in a while when she feels the pain. We headed to Al-Ahli hospital because it was already late and ordinary clinics are already closed. We went directly at the emergency section and Mom was taken cared of immediately. Dad and Laviel, meanwhile, advised us that they too were on their way to the hospital at the same time as we were. Unfortunately, Dad forgot where the emergency area was so they took quite a while before they got to us. Mom was already inside the treatment room when they came and Dad went to her.

It took quite some time before Mom got released. They ran some test to check what could be causing her stomachache and gave her meds through IV. While waiting, Laviel felt the urge to eat donuts so we decided to take Dad home first so he could rest and the 3 of us went to the petrol station grocery shop to buy donuts. I forgot to mention that Laviel and Dad were both a little tipsy since they came from a drinking session so Dad was feeling sleepy and Laviel was acting silly. From the petrol station, I told Ella to go home and we’ll take care of Mom. Laviel and I went back to the hospital to check up on Mom. We waited about an hour more before she was released. I sat beside her bed while Laviel slept in the car.

The diagnosis? The doctors said there must have been a sudden increase in her acidity which caused her the pain. They gave her some meds and a follow up appointment for an ultrasound and cardiology just to make sure it was nothing serious. She had gone for the ultrasound and everything was normal. I don’t think she went to the cardiologist yet, though.

It’s a different feeling to be in the hospital when someone close to your heart is the patient. I wasn’t paranoid but I can’t say that I didnt feel worried. I was actually silently praying it was nothing serious. Probably another factor why I was a little bit anxious is because it is unusual for Mom to want to go to the hospital because of an ordinary stomachache. Now I know how she felt when I was rushed to the hospital and went through a laparoscopic appendectomy 3 years ago.

Thankfully, she felt better the next day and now she’s eating again as much as she was before that night.

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Tags: family, hospital, love, mom

Daily Prompt: Twenty-five

Published on March 5, 2013, by v7a6uv in Daily Prompts.

Yesterday’s prmpt was abut the imprtance f each letter f the alphabet. Yes, indeed we need all f them t speak prperly. The challenge is t pick a letter and create an entry withut using that letter. Nt that I dn’t believe it but I’d like t take n the challenge. Isn’t it bvius yet?

I’m nt realky sure what I’m suppsed t write abut but when I saw the tpic, I immediately remembered what had happened last February 14th. My friends and I had planned a drinking sessin t celebrate – nt Valentine’s day – but they called it the Lnely Hearts Club day. I knw Laviel and I aren’t suppsed t be part f the club but we’d like t be part f the fun. We hadn’t planned anything fr Valentine’s day s we thught it wuld be nice t bnd with sme friends. Ur visitrs arrived at arund 8 in the evening and we finally started the shts at 10PM. We had a game using a deck f cards where each number had a crrespnding actin which we have t perfrm r else we take a sht. Yu have t really be quick and alert when playing this game t avid getting drunk. Unfrtunately, during the first rund, Ella instigated the rule f remving the letter ‘S’ in all wrds that we are suppsed t speak. Nw that is very tricky! Dna and Ann, wh were getting tipsy and talkative, basically drank the whle bttle of vdka as punishment fr speaking wrds with the letter ‘S’. F curse sme f us fell it the trap as well, but nt as much as the tw f them.

Here are the results:

Indeed, all twenty six alphabets are essential in ur everyday lives. It’s like lsing a finger r ne yur bdy senses; yu’d feel incmplete and disabled. Merely speaking with ne less f a letter wuld make a whle lt f difference… And t avid getting wasted and frgetting what happened the night befre as yu’ve seen in the few phts abve.

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Tags: Blogging Challenge, challenge, daily prompt, friends, twenty five

Blog Awards: Two Awards in One Post

Published on March 2, 2013, by v7a6uv in Personal.

Once again, I have been nominated by an amazing blogger and friend, Jayvin, for another blog award. She has actually nominated me earlier this year for my very first award but I haven’t been able to acknowledge it because I didn’t get the hang of it. Well this time, I would like to try my best and give my awards some justice.

The first award I got is the One Lovely Blog Award.

As per the rules of this award I must:

Include the blog award logo in your post and repost the rules.
Thank the person you nominated.
Nominate 15 other bloggers and let them know about it.
Post seven random facts about yourself.

Of course, it is right and just to thank the person who nominated me for this award: Gorjaeous. I honestly don’t know if my blog is worth this award but I am giving my blog all that I can and all that I’ve got. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can nominate 15 other bloggers for this award because I follow only a few. But I can nominate these blogs:

Scatterbrain | Irrational Enigma of Drowned Beauty

Miss Marzipan | ventures forth into the realms of all things DIY

Into Mind | a minimalist approach to personal style, wardrobe building and a positive mind

A Detailed House

So What Now?

As for the seven random facts about me? Well..

I must be one of the most stubborn people you’ll ever meet. I’ve been hearing my parents complain about this most of my life.
I am rebellious by nature. I like doing things in my own time. If you ask me or tell me to do something over and over, believe me, I heard you. And if you don’t stop, talking and scokding, the more I rebel.
I think I may have too may sweet teeth. But I try my best to regulate my sweets intake; for health’s sake.
I love making friends. I am an only child – as I have mentioned a couple of times in my some of my posts – thus, I try my best to have lots and lots of friends to make up for not having any siblings.
I love the sound of violin. I don’t know how to play one so expect our one of our future children to be learning how to play the darn instrument.
I don’t cry in front of other people. I might have, one time or another, but it’s very rare to see me cry in front of friends or family. So consider yourself lucky if you have seen me cry.
I have clothes that I haven’t worn yet – not even once – that have been bought from a week ago to more than a year ago.

Now for the second award, it’s the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award!

What are the rules for this award, you may ask? Well..

Acknowledge the person who passed the award to you and provide their link.
Include the award logo on your blog.
Answer the ten questions I posted above.
Nominate blogs and link those you have especially enjoyed reading. The number you can select is up to you.
Notify each individual that you have nominated them.

Of course, once again, this award came from my sister-from-another-parents, Gorjaeous. Thank you, Pardz! I don’t know what my blog life would be like without you. Hahaha! But darn, your questions really got me thinking hard!

Ten Questions from Gorjaeous:

What is that one song that lifts your mood up no matter how bad your day had been?

Any song of Ed Sheeran would be great.

What is your most favorite Disney Princess?

My favorite would have to be Aurora. Despite having watched Cinderella during my pre-school years, it is the Sleeping Beauty that I remember the most. And I just love the 3 fairy godmothers!

What is that one trait you think you got from your mother/father that you love?

Aside from my big hips (courtesy of my Mom), I’d say my being sympathetic/considerate/accommodating to extended relatives which I probably got from my Dad.

What is your favorite month?

I am torn between my birth month July, February, or September. Can they all be my favorite month? Now, before I get any violent reactions, let me give my justification for each. July, obviously is my birth month. Who wouldn’t love their birth month? February – I just love the weather during this month. Not too cold, not to warm. Perfect weather for me. It gives me the aura of freshness. September – because I married the love my life during the month.

If given the choice, what name would you choose for yourself?

When I was in elementary, I used to hate my name. It was too unique and it didn’t sound good for my ears. I just didn’t like it. And people oftentimes get my name spelled or pronounced incorrectly. I thought to myself, when I grow older, I’d change my name legally. And what name did I have in mind? Crystal. I have no idea why I wanted that name but it looked and sounded good for me when I was younger.

If you could take me anywhere in the world, where would we go?

Oh we could go to Maldives or Seychelles!

What is your worst mannerism?

I used to have a mannerism of scratching my head when speaking to colleagues in the office. But I managed to avoid that now. Can’t think of anything else because I don’t notice when I am doing my mannerism.

What is the most recent book you have read?

The last book I finished was Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

What is your greatest frustration?

Learn pole dancing!!! I really, really want to learn how to pole dance. Had we ended up settling down in Singapore, I most probably would be pole dancing by now. Unfortunately, due to major change in plans, pole dancing lessons would have to pushed back in my list of priorities.

What is the essence of a woman?

Unbelievable question, Pardz! This reminds me of beauty contests! The essence of being a woman, in my personal opinion, is being independent yet nurturing. Nowadays, it just normal for a woman to have her own career and make a name in the business world. But this does not mean forgetting her responsibilities as a wife or a mother or a daughter.

Now, I’d like to pass this award to the following bloggers:

Miss Marzipan | ventures forth into the realms of all things DIY

Into Mind | a minimalist approach to personal style, wardrobe building and a positive mind

So What Now?

Kindly answer the following questions:

What made you decide to start blogging?
Do you believe in destiny?
If you only have 24 hours left on this world, who is the last person would you like to spend your day with?
Say, you were given $1,000,000 to spend only within 24 hours, after which will disappear mysteriously. What would you do with the money? (Note: you cannot keep the money in any way)
What is your favorite part of your body?
What is the first thing you notice in a man, without having to speak to him?
If the scientists/astronomers discover another Earth in another galaxy – a new, healthy, abundant Earth – and the option of moving/living in the new Earth is offered to you, would you transfer?
What is the most common curse word do you often utter?
Who is your favorite Hollywood actor/actress?
What is your favorite movie of all time?

Well, I hope the ladies enjoy answering my silly questions! Congratulations and good luck!

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Tags: awards, blog awards, blogging, one lovely blog award, sisterhood of the world bloggers award

From A Family Of Three

Published on February 23, 2013, by v7a6uv in Personal.

Fact: I am an only child. Which means I have a very small family; it consists of me, my Mom and Dad. I’ve always thought that being an only child is kind of boring. I don’t have siblings to play with, I don’t have anybody to annoy, nor do I have anybody annoying me.. Well, except from my parents. I vowed to myself that I would have more than 1 child; 2 should be minimum, and the more, the merrier!

Laviel, on the other hand, came from a slightly bigger family; he has 4 siblings. Three of them are married and each couple has at least one child. The eldest has migrated to Canada with his family but came home last September for our wedding. Whenever they are complete, the house in Cavite always feels busy with all the hustling and bustling of adults and kids.

We had planned an out of town getaway with my small family and Laviel’s bigger family after the wedding. After much research and consultation, we decided to book a small house in La Virginia Hotel and Resort in Batangas. Getting in touch with La Virginia is quite difficult; because of low network coverage of their area, our conversation always gets cut off. They don’t have a landline number so I don’t have any choice but to keep on trying their cellphone number. After confirming our reservation and having deposited the reservation fee through bank transfer, we headed off to Batangas on the morning of September 10, 2012. Laviel and I came from Antipolo with my parents and Tito Boyet, while the dela Cruz’s came from Cavite and Muntinlupa. We met at a gasoline station for a pit stop (can’t exactly remember whether it was at Shell or Petron station). Finding La Virginia wasn’t hard. Coming from Star toll gate, it’s quite close after entering Lipa. The resort is located on the mountain side and practically occupies the side of the mountain; it was huge! We paid respective entrance fees and checked in.

We had booked a small house called Bebeng which can accommodate 10-15 persons. It had 2 bedrooms with 2 queen sized bed each and 5 double decks. Laviel and I booked a separate hotel room a little bit close to the house so we can have our privacy. The rooms and guest houses are simple, nothing fancy with the interiors and the furnitures. After settling down, we decided to have our late lunch. After lunch, we started to take a walk around the vicinity to see the beauty of the resort. It was quite a challenge because the roads gets too steep and we really had to do a lot of walking. We then decided to take a dip in the pool before it gets dark. The water is cold but the pool is really nice. At night, we decided to rent the videoke so they set it up in the Bebeng guest house. We sang the night away until 12:00AM, which was the curfew for making noise. The following morning, we decided to ride the zip line. Everybody, even my Mom and Dad experienced the zip line!

Lunch at Bebeng guest house

Fun under the sun!

We’re sexy and we know it!

Babies swim too!

Zipline family

Overall, the La Virginia experience was pretty awesome. All of us are amazed on how big it is and they were even expanding down the mountain side. The resort had a peaceful environment; a resort that is far from being crowded. Although the rooms are a bit expensive, the view of the area are worth seeing.

But what I most enjoyed during this out of town trip was the bonding of our families. Coming from a small family is not as bad as it would seem but being part of a bigger one is even better. I’ve lived my life in such a small family that I always like to have more company. I like gatherings and having lots of friends because I get to have more people around me and generally, in my life. I know my parents enjoyed themselves as well and the quality time spent together is priceless. We look forward to spending more time together in the coming future and I hope Laviel and I can have our own big family in the future.

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Tags: after wedding, family, life, only child, out of town

“Tick-Tock” Says The Clock

Published on February 17, 2013, by v7a6uv in dailyprompt.

I woke up one day feeling happy and excited. I had a visitor coming over and we get to spend some time at home. I shook off the feeling of sleepiness and headed for the shower. I took a good cool bath and dressed up in my usual home clothes. I had breakfast and went on with my day as usual. I was expecting he’d arrive by lunch time, but he woke up quite late. He sent me a message past around 1 in the afternoon saying he’s on his way to our house. I waited while doing minor chores around the house. I prepped my self, wanting to look good for him. Mom and Dad was out when I woke up so I was at home only with my grand mother and our house maids. He arrived at around 3:00PM. We stayed at the living room for a few minutes and then headed upstairs to my room. He’s been in my room before, this wasn’t something new. But it’s not something normal for any girl’s parents to see a boy in their daughter’s room. Things were getting a little bit too intimate when I heard the car door slam, and immediately looked a the clock. They’re home! We scrambled out of my room and got back to the living room in time to greet my parents. We pretend like nothing happened.

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Tags: Blogging Challenge, dailyprompt, post ideas, postaday, writing prompts

Fancy Date at Café Verbena

Published on February 5, 2013, by v7a6uv in Leisure, Personal.

Last January 8, Laviel and I had our first ever fancy date. It wasn’t all that extravagant; we simply dressed up beyond how we usually look and had dinner at a fine dining restaurant at Tagaytay. Laviel actually wanted to dine at Antonio’s Garden after having researched that it is the best fine dining in the area but unfortunately, Antonio’s had a wedding reception on the same day. I stumbled upon Café Verbena and by seeing a few photos, I thought it looked attractive. I had asked Laviel to make reservations before I arrived in the Philippines. So on the night of January 8th, we took a trip from Nurture Spa where we were checked in, to have dinner at Café Verbena.

It was slightly raining when we started our short trip and it wasn’t really that hard to spot the restaurant. The restaurant is under the management of Discovery Country Suites Tagaytay and is located along Calamba road. When we came in the restaurant, we were surprised to find out that there weren’t any customers other than us! So much for making reservations. Hehehe. We were seated at a corner table in what we thought was a smoking area but is actually not. Good. It looked like it’s supposed to be a balcony overlooking a view, probably visible in daytime, but it had glass windows to make it an indoor setting. I liked how their interior looked like as well as the furnitures. It was suitable for the ambiance of Tagaytay. Very country-like and elegant.

Here’s what we had for dinner that night:

Warm scallops salad with organic arugula (Photo source: Trip Advisor)

Mushroom soup

Prime American beef

We didn’t get to order dessert because we were already stuffed with the main course. And I was also wondering why they didn’t offer us any other drinks and instead just served us with water. I didn’t mind asking because I was satisfied with the food, so never mind the drinks. Hehe.

Overall, the experience was simple but I like the privacy we got during the 2 hour stay at the restaurant. And we definitely enjoyed our fancy little date. Hihi.

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Tags: cafe verbena, date night, discovery country suites, fancy date, fine dining, tagaytay

Untitled

Published on February 3, 2013, by v7a6uv in Life in General, Personal.

“Yes, it’s difficult to talk to your heart, and perhaps it isn’t even necessary. We simply have to trust and follow the signs and live our Personal Legend; sooner or later, we will realize that we are all part of something, even if we can’t understand rationally what that something is.” – Aleph, Paulo Coehlo

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Tags: Paulo Coehlo, quotes, TFTD

In the Beginning..

Published on January 29, 2013, by v7a6uv in Life in General, Personal.

January 2013 has got me busy that I barely get to open my laptop and write. I am way behind in my posts and in my readings. What’s up?

Back in December of 2012, I decided to cancel my plans of flying home for the New Year. As much as it sucks not having to spend Christmas and my husband’s birthday with him, I also had to sacrifice spending the New Year with him because airfare was way too expensive. By the last week of the same month, I thought of trying to check for ticket prices for early January. Amazingly, it was half the price in December! I immediately decided to take 10 days of leave starting from 4th of January til 19th. After stating and defending my reason for my sudden vacation with my parents (because they reacted almost violently. Hahaha!), I took my supervisor’s permission 1 week prior to my vacation. Being the kind and supportive supervisor he is, he approved my request and I flew home early morning on January 4th, Doha time.

I arrived in Manila evening of the same day but got out of the airport around half past 12 in the morning of January 5. Laviel was there to pick me up. We were both happy and excited because starting from that moment, we knew we’ll be together every waking day of our lives. Unlike before that we get to be with each other only for 10 days or so, and then we go back to living our separate lives once vacation is over. This time, it’s different. We drove home and stopped by Mc Donald’s for a midnight snack since both of us were feeling quite hungry. I haven’t told anyone at home that I’d be arriving that night so Laviel and I had a conspiracy. When we called home to tell Ate Ana to open the gate, Laviel pretended that he was there to get the highlander, which he left a couple weeks before, and he’ll be heading back home to Cavite. They were happily surprised when saw I was with him. Even my Mama, who I just woke up, was happy to see me.

The following day, we had set an appointment with his college buddies and my college buddies both in Alabang Town Center. We got there around 7PM and met with Kach+Sonny and Jae+Roan. We had dinner at Kenji Tei (to be confirmed). We then decided to have coffee and tea at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. There, we had a deeper, more serious conversation. Even the guys got to discuss wedding stuff while we girls tackled a very complicated matter. Before parting ways, I gave Kach and Jayvin my small gift intended for Christmas.

Jae+Roan

Kach+Sonny

After meeting with my college buddies, we then proceeded to T.G.I.F to meet with Laviel’s friends. They were already having their drinks when we got there. The resto had already announced their last call for orders but luckily, Ivy is a regular at the place so she was able to talk to the guys to extend their service hours for us. Hahaha! We had fun listening to their stories and recalling memories from their college years. We also met Ram’s new girl friend. We then headed home around 2 in the morning.

On January 6th, Laviel and I attended Iris and Martin’s wedding at Fernbrook. I am honestly so happy to have attended a friend’s wedding with Lav; also to finally visit Fernbrook! It was a wonderful wedding all in all. Iris looked so pretty and Martin was very happy. I was so happy to Laviel in suit again as he was part of the entourage as a veil sponsor; he looked so dashing! Hihihi. Martin and Iris got BlacktieProject as their photo and videographer so we saw familiar faces in the person of Apa, Marco and Lek. We also took this opportunity to have our photos taken with the guys together with the newly weds.

With my dashing husband

Veil ceremony

Friends group photo (shot by Apa)

The newly weds

With the pretty bride

Apa-Marco-Lav+Riv-Marts+Iris-Sidney-Jannsen

On 7th, we took time to meet our former officemates from Makati. Ankur, Laviel’s colleague from Singapore, was in town and wanted to meet up so we did. We had a few drinks and decided to sing along at a nearby KTV bar. We had fun though there were only of us.

On January 8, we had booked an overnight stay at Nurture Spa in Tagaytay. This is a gift to us from my cousins during our wedding. From Cavite, we ventured on our journey to Tagaytay after having brunch. We took a short stop at the municipal hall to pay for property taxes and continued to check in at the Spa. After checking in, we went out again to have a snack at the Mushroom Burger and on our way back, we had to stop at Robinson’s supermarket to get some items. This is the second time we’ve been at the Nurture Spa; first time was after Laviel proposed to me back in July 2011.

The view from our room at Nurture Spa

Our bed at Nurture Spa

Dinner wasn’t included in our overnight package and we wanted to go out on a “formal date” so we decided to make reservations at a dainty restaurant somewhere in Tagaytay. Even before travelling, Laviel had secured a reservation at the Discovery Country Suites’ Verbana Cafe. He initially wanted for us to dine at Antonio’s but unfortunately, they were booked for a wedding reception that night. We got ready after our body massage from the Spa. I wore a simple polka dot light pink dress I got from Oasis and Laviel wore a white long sleeves, jeans and his Rockport loafers. We arrived at the restaurant a little past 8:30PM. The place was empty and we were the only customers. We ordered mushroom soup, quail eggs and scallops for appetizers, and US Angus Ribeye steak. Their food is a bit pricey but it is wonderfully delicious. We enjoyed our meal.

The Cafe Verbena interiors

After having breakfast the following day at the Spa, we had our scheduled facial. We then started packing up to check out at noon and took a couple of pictures similar to what we did more than a year ago.

A year after..

We then started our way back to Antipolo. It was mom’s birthday so I wanted to spend the day at home. I had asked ate ana a couple of days before to prepare some pork barbecue and pancit so when we got home, they had already started cooking. On 10th January, we took the time to go to Quiapo to get the things Mom wanted me to get for her. We decided to take the LRT to avoid the difficulty of finding parking in the area. And besides, it was also coding day for Lance.

On January 11, we paid a visit to Kredz at their shop. I gave her our small Christmas gift for her, Feliz and the 2 kids. We traveled back to Cavite on the same night and had a few drinks with Lui and friends.

Happy to see her again!

On the 12th, we had dinner at The Crab Daddy with Laviel’s family and said our early farewell to Lervin and his family. We went back to Cavite to drop off Mama, Luby and Yuki, and started our journey back to Antipolo with all of Laviel’s baggage. We had planned to come from Antipolo before our flight because I wanted to Grandmama before we leave.

January 13th, our journey together towards Qatar started. Both of us are excited as we travel together to our new life as husband and wife in the country I grew up in. And I must say, this is one flight that I truly didn’t feel bored because I’ve got Laviel by my side.

Onboard Emirates flight to Doha

Waiting to board at Dubai Int’l. Airport

Our arrival at Doha and my remaining 1 week off (including Laviel’s experience of the cold weather) is a whole other story. For now, I am very pleased to tell you that we very much enjoy being together. Nothing beats the feeling of holding the love of your life before you sleep and waking up in his arms. ♥

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Tags: doha, husband and wife, January 2013, married life