Wednesday 29 April 2009

Updates from Humid Manila

I've been neglecting this space for quite a while now. I just can't seem to squeeze in an hour or two to blog about our adventures in the midst of our hectic schedule here in Manila. I've been out and about everyday since we arrived and I'm quite surprised with myself, instead of getting dismayed with the intermittent rains that pour here, I've been quite thankful for them. They have made the scorching heat a lot more bearable.

Honey and I have visited a lot of families and friends, the details (and pictures) of which will be following very soon. We've dined on some of our old favorites and we've tried some new restaurants as well. Most of all, i've also had an appointment with an OB here in Manila and I've had another ultrasound. We've heard our little baby Bee's heartbeat for the first time yesterday, I almost cried. It was the sweetest sound I've heard. Everyone in our family is so excited with the coming of our little angel very soon.

Of course, no vacation here in Manila is complete without shopping! I've bought baby Mozart (which i can't find in Amsterdam), a couple of baby books and other stuff.

Next week we'll be in Bohol and I'm so looking forward to it, although the OB said I shouldn't swim :-) Oh well, dipping my feet on the cold water is better than nothing.

Thursday 16 April 2009

Our Precious Gift

The past couple of weeks have been uncertain for honey and me, not the restless kind of uncertain but the type of uncertainty that nags here and there just because we didn’t know. I’ve missed my period, my last was end of January but I’ve tested a couple of weeks ago and it was negative. Honey and I were a bit disappointed but we thought, oh, well there is always the next time. I was a tad worried coz, I may have delays in my period before but not this long so I went to the doctor, I told him that I’ve missed my period for almost two months but tests turned negative and so he had some blood tests done on me. Before the weekend after consulting my doctor, I got a call from the him telling me that everything was fine with the blood test, all my hormones were ok. I was not so convinced about the results, I was thinking that it was so odd that they didn’t even recheck if I’m really pregnant or not so come Saturday (28th of March) morning, right out of bed, I decided to take another test, and what do you know?!!!




We were so thrilled that the other line finally turned blue, honey couldn’t wipe the smile off his face, and he immediately grabbed the phone and called Mama Lits. I still wasn’t convinced so I asked honey to buy me another pregnancy test and don’t tell anyone else yet until we have confirmed it. The second test turned positive again.

After having an ultrasound, we learned that we're six weeks pregnant! Oh, pure joy! I was filled with a mixture of so much excitement and happiness and a little bit of fear all at the same time. I've never felt like this before. I still can't believe it, we're finally having our little angel, our little baby Bee.

Tuesday 14 April 2009

Oasis of flowers


One of the most popular destinations here in Holland during spring is the Keukenhof. Honey and I have been planning to visit this well known garden for the longest time but somehow, the two months that this garden is open slips by so quickly that we never managed to squeeze in a chance to drop by.



L, a friend of mine since the good old auditing days, was here over the Easter holidays so honey and I grabbed the opportunity to finally see for ourselves what everyone was raving about. At first, honey was not sure how to get there but when we saw the cars starting to file up, we knew that we were in the right direction. After seeing all the cars headed towards Keukenhof, I thought it’s gonna be crazy and we’re not going to enjoy because of the huge crowd, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Even before we enter the garden, the field painted with various colours was already a site to behold. Keukenhof, which also means kitchen garden, is now on its 60th year and is situated at an area that used to be a hunting field where herbs are also planted for the kitchen of Jacoba van Beieren’s castle, thus the name. via.



I have never seen more flowers in my entire life. Tulips, lilies, daisies, amaryllis, roses, different types of orchids and so much more flowers whose names I’ve never seen before are all there in one garden. No wonder people are enamoured by this garden, it’s like a piece of paradise with its magical colours and cool breeze. I can imagine this place as an awesome venue for weddings, even prenuptial pictorials.



I am so looking forward to coming back next year, maybe even prepare a picnic basket so that we can stay longer in this oasis.

Monday 6 April 2009

100 Truths

via
It's been a down right busy day, with our monthend closing and all. At the last leg of my workday, i needed a pick-me upper so i am glad have another tag from Niko, to get my head away from work for a while. This are basic questions and i can't believe relaxing it is to just scribble down stuff.

001. Name → Christian
002. Nickname(s)→ Kreez.
004. Zodiac sign → Aquarius.
005. Male or female → Female.
006. Elementary → PES2
008. High School → Pasig Catholic College
009. College School → Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
010. Hair color → Dark Brown.
011. Long or short → Long.
012. Loud or Quiet → Depends, when I’m with friends I’m talkative but I don’t know you my lips are sealed
013. Jumpers or Jeans → Jeans.
014. Phone or Camera → Phone.
015. Health freak → No.
016. Drink or Smoke? → neither.
017. Do you have a crush on someone? → Yes. Keannu.
018. Eat or Drink → Eat.
019. Piercings → Ears.
020. Tattoos → Nope

FIRSTS:
023. First piercing → I have no idea!
024. First best friend → dulce – I was in kindergarten.
025. First award → 3rd honors - kindergarten.
026. First crush → Devon Sawa of Casper
027. First pet → a dog
028. First big vacation → Ilocos Summer 1995
030. First big birthday → Every year my mom makes a big deal of my birthday

CURRENTLY:
049. Eating → nothing
050. Drinking → Water.
052. I'm about to → call it a day
053. Listening to → the printer.
054. Plans for today → cook seafood pasta for dinner
055. Waiting for → honey to send an email

YOUR FUTURE:
058. Want kids? → definitely
059. Want to get married? → I did, and I want to do it again
060. Careers in mind → be an entrepreneur, build our own business

WHICH IS BETTER IN THE BOY/GIRL YOU LIKE?
068. Lips or eyes → eyes
070. Shorter or taller - Taller.
072. Romantic or spontaneous → Romantic.
073. Nice stomach or nice arms → Nice arms.
074. Sensitive or loud→ Sensitive.
075. Hook-up or relationship → Relationship.
076. Trouble maker or hesitant → Neither.

HAVE YOU EVER:
080. Lost glasses/contacts → I did, I had LASIK surgery so I don’t need it anymore
081. Ran away from home → Never did
082. Held a gun/knife for self defense → haha violence, but no.
083. Killed somebody → more violence! nope
084. Broke someone's heart → I’d like to think I haven’t
085. Been arrested → nope
087. Cried when someone died → Yes, of course

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
089. Yourself → Yes.
090. Miracles → A definite yes
091. Love at first sight → Not really
092. Heaven → Yes.
093. Santa Claus → No.
094. Tooth Fairy → No.
095. Kiss on the first date → No.

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
097. Is there one person you want to be with right now → Yes - My honey
098. Are you seriously happy with where you are in life → Yes.
099. Do you believe in God → Yes.
100. Post as 100 truths and tag 20 people→

It's real nice to share and fun to answer this stuff, although some items are a bit weird. If you're looking for something to pass time, i suggest you grab this tag and answer away. Don't forget to link back here.

Friday 3 April 2009

Reward for Passion

Whenever people ask me what I do for a living and I would tell them that I’m a CPA by profession, they would always say “oh, so you’re good in math?” to which my immediate response is “Oh no, no, no!” As far as I can remember, my passion has always been with writing and speaking. Even as a kid, I’ve always been highly opinionated and there is nothing more exhilarating than sharing my views or stories with other people. My passion for writing has even been more fueled when I became a part of, and eventually led the school news paper in both elementary and high school. Those were fun times, I get to have my opinions read by the entire campus. My school days (that is from elementary through my university days) have also given me a platform to develop another love affair, this time with public speaking. My best loved mode of public speaking would definitely have to be a debate. I just feel elated each time I step on that platform to deliver my views on a matter of discussion and the knowledge that somehow, I am able to influence the opinion of others as well is beyond words.

After college, when I started working, there are fewer avenues for me to extend my wings for writing and speaking. There was just no room for me to pursue my passion further. This was the case until I’ve discovered blogging. Since then, my fervor to express my opinion, to tell my stories and to just say something has been ignited once more. I now found a channel where I can keep a journal of all the pieces that I’ve ever written. It has become my stress-reliever and has allowed me to build a space for my thoughts, my very own views.

Apart from writing in my blog, I also enjoy discovering other entertaining, informative and funny blogs in the web. What’s even more exciting is when a co-blogger notices my space and rewards me for what I’ve created here. That is why I’d like to thank Pu Niao of Chopsticks for dropping by and showering me some love by gifting me with these fabulous awards

The Neno's Award and the Brigadeiro Award. These awards are gifted to bloggers who show intense love for blogging and encourages friendship through blogging.


Thanks again Pu Niao, more than the award, I appreciate that you’ve noticed my love for blogging.

Now the other good thing about blogging is that you find other bloggers with the same amount of zeal and reading there blogs will make you realize how enthused they are with it. I find the following blogs so candid and entertaining, truly worth the stop.

Niko’s blog – her maxim of “blogging like no one is reading” is truly admirable.
Confessions – this blog is truly informative and funny.
Witsandnuts – her antics, travel and experiences are inspiring and informative at the same time
Market Manila – if this is not a blog that showcases passion for food, then I don’t know what will.
Pulse - DrEm's blog is indeed a blog that inspires, her daily post is something that i look forward to, when it comes to movies, food and travel, i definitely consult her blog

These are just some of the blogs that I’ve been lucky enough to chance upon and it is evident in all of them how passionate they are with blogging and how enamored they are with sharing their views and stories.

Wednesday 1 April 2009

Eggplant heaven


(via)

I’m not sure what came over me yesterday but as early as lunch time, I made up my mind to pass by the vegetable market a block away from our place and buy several eggplants. I was really craving for Tortang Talong (eggplant frittata)!

So off I went to the vegetable market and I chose good eggplants. After that I have to head to the supermarket adjacent to our home to buy some tomatoes (you’d think that the vegetable market would sell them, but no they don’t). I was debating with myself weather I should peel and boil the eggplant of broil and peel. I decided to do the latter so on the stove top, I placed a wire rack and allowed the eggplants to broil just until they’re soft enough to be peeled by hand and squished. After I have broiled them, I allowed them to cool for a bit, and then I peeled them off by hand, it’s quite easy to peel them off coz the skin comes off easy if they have been broiled to the right softness.

After peeling, I squished them all flat and set them aside. I took some eggs, beat them well and season them with salt and pepper. I poured some olive oil over a hot skillet, I took the squished eggplants and dipped them well in the eggs and fried them on hot skillet. Depending on the size of the eggplants, but I used an egg for each eggplant. Other people I know add minced meat to this viand, others add onions and tomatoes but I prefer mine simple and satisfying. Oh, I almost forgot, the tomatoes serve as side dish, you have to chop ‘em up real nice and add a spoonful or so of fish sauce or fish paste. Presto, super yummy dinner.

I had to close my eyes each time a take a bite, I’ve missed this comfort food a lot!