Scary Moment Update

March 13, 1:30AM.  Another spotting incident.  We immediately went to the hospital and I was hooked up to the fetal and contraction monitoring machine.  Thank God everything’s ok. We were told we can go home and continue the observation at home plus get plenty of rest and continue with the meds.  There were a few spots appearing in the next few days but not as "fresh and red" as the March 13 incident.  My doc said to continue resting… 

Kitchen Trip: French Toast with Caramelized Banana

Bibi and I love to eat.  Our food trip blog is a testament to that.  But given my current condition, we do not get to eat out much or for me to try out new recipes (wawa naman kuting’s kitchen trip..).  So to spice up my daily routine of sleeping, eating 6x a day, tinkering with laptop, watching telenovelas (Biritera and My Beloved) and my every 2 days surfing/blogging, I requested our Yaya Emily to prepare food based on the cookbook collection that I have.  I told her that I will take pictures of the food that she will prepare and I will post it in the internet.  She is very much game in trying out new recipes because it challenges her.  Bibi and I are the very fortunate taste testers.  This new activity makes every meal exciting and beats eating out because of the savings.  Our menu challenge for today:

French Toast with Caramelized Banana  

(for the recipe, go to food trip blog)

   Verdict:   Yum, Yum!

DIY Trip: Recycled Planners and Frames

Love ko talaga yung mga free planners na may paintings as dividers.  Siyempre, dapat free para mas masaya.  I only had two of these - the 2002 Petron Planner which I got while I was an employee there and the 2011 BPI Investment Planner.  Yung BPI planner, kakapalan ko lang kaya ako nakakuha.  VP-Finance lang namin at isang fellow senior manager handling the trust fund ang meron.  Nung nakita ko yung planner, ay di ako nakatulog. Gusto ko ngang hingin sa kanila kaso nahiya ako.  Pero sa BPI,hindi. Hehe.  Buti na lang at may konti kaming correspondences nung BPI contact namin.  I took advantage of it at nag-send ako ng e-mail asking for a planner kasi sabi ko fan ako ni Amorsolo (ahihi).  Sagot naman agad si contact at magpapadala raw siya! Ang saya-saya!

As much as possible, minimum costs talaga ang ma-incur ko sa mga home decors ko.  Buti na lang, may mga certificate of participation akong na-receive na naka-frame pa (yung isa galing BIR at yung isa, galing sa isang leadership summit ng former company ko).  Pwedeng-pwede i-reuse ang frames.   

At ang end products – tadaah!  

Amorsolo painting (yung background, extra dividers yun nung Petron Planner)

Selected Art Petron Paintings 

Behind the Tables' Names

Sa aking pagcle-clean up ng mga external storage devices namin pati laptop, nakita ko itong script na binasa ng emcee namin habang tinatawag ang bawat table for the picture taking nung trip down the aisle namin.  Aside from the table numbers, may pangalan ang mga tables, named after trivia items about us.  Nakakaaliw sariwain ang nakaraan…

English vs Filipino

Kung babasahin ang mga sinaunang posts ko, in Filipino ang mga ito.  Pero nung ni-revive ko siya, naging English ang mga posts.  Bakit? Napagmunimunihan ko ito dahil wala naman akong ginagawa.  Ayun… kasi wala nga akong ginagawa dahil out-of-work ako.  Strict bedrest since October 2011.  

Digress muna...

Travelogue

The blog says “mga trips” (travels) but the truth is, bibi and I don’t travel together that much. Well, bibi is more of a homebody.  But me? I could say I was quite a tripper - I did not pass any opportunity to go to new places especially when I was still single (Boracay, Coron, Subic, Pampanga, Baguio, Ilocos, Pangasinan, Cebu, Bataan to name a few).  When I got married, I was lucky to go on business trips to Singapore and Hongkong but sadly, without bibi.  This made the few trips I have with bibi very special and memorable.   But I know, someday, my homebody bibi will be more than happy to tour anywhere once our little Buting is old enough to travel.

• Bohol (Panglao Island Nature Resort) – Dec 2005:  This is where we went for our honeymoon.

Our first airplane ride together!

Legal Friendships

This is a belated post.  My former officemates from the Legal Department were very thoughtful and sent me a biiig bouquet of flowers post Valentine! The note said “We hope this will brighten up your day!”  And it did!  

Flowers? For me!

New Year Tradition

When I was growing up, New Year’s Eve is just a normal night with lots of noise and smoke.  We do not have a grand meal with the family unlike others who have medya noche with lots of relatives present.  It is not surprising since we rarely eat together as a family on regular days.  Well, that was just our family thing.  In addition, my mother has a bakery business, thus, during the December holidays, the bakery is very, very busy.  I was not unhappy since this means the business is doing good.  It is just by the time it’s New Year’s eve, everybody is really tired especially that we do not close the store until we feel there will be no more customers.  So, no medya noche.

Sweet Recollection

My drawing of kuting and bibi used as part of the ticker tape doing the countdown for our wedding appearing in my "Trip Down the Aisle" blog

DIY Trip: Wall Decors

I have always wanted to display my collection of key chains and ref magnets which I have bought in my travels or gifts from friends.  My aha moment for the ref magnets was when I was browsing in a Papemelrotti store in Glorietta.  I saw a metal sheet with a frame with magnets.   But it took me a while to start with this project because of the following: (1) where to buy the metal sheet? (2) do I make the frame or buy a ready-made one? (3) how do I cut the metal sheet?  Eventually, I resolved my dilemma by going to a friendly neighborhood hardware (after scouring Ace Hardware and a Cavite hardware), buy the frames from SM (the ones from stores that specializes in frames are so expensive!) and borrow a metal cutter from our community’s maintenance people (no cost!). As for the key chain, the same idea applies.  I just bought the “cork” from National Bookstore.  Below are the end products!  I used the third frame for photos since I do not have enough magnets to fill-up the whole frame.  No rush since bibi and I will still be taking trips in the future especially when our little Buting is old enough to travel.  So excited to fill our walls with souvenirs from our “family trips” :)

DIY Trip: Colored Canvass

I wanted some nice paintings to liven up our living room. Inspiration struck me while dining in Gloria Maris-Greenbelt.With red and gold acrylic paint, I made 2 paintings which are now on display in our living room. I am no Amorsolo but hey, there's no harm in trying! 

ang aking obra maestra

@ gloria maris gb3

DIY trip: storage for cds/dvds

We have lots cds/dvds accumulated over the years. To save on space, l bought cd sleeves from CD-R King and used pretty ribbons recycled from gifts. The result? From 3 stackable drawers, they now fit in a portable plastic box! I have categorized the cds/dvds into pc/laptop apps, movies, videoke, music, and kid-friendly shows for easy browsing.

Dear Little Buting: @ 6 months!

Dear little Buting,

These photos were taken on my 35th birthday.  That explains the presence of a beautiful bouquet of a dozen tulips, the same flowers I had as my wedding bouquet.  Of course, it was given to me by your sweet and loving tataybibi.  Your tatay was not a flower person during the ten years we were boyfriend-girlfriend.  That is why every time he gives me flowers, it is really special and makes me really happy :)  But the greatest birthday gift I received? You, my dear little buting…

me, my bday flowers and the greatest gift of all :)

Dear Little Buting: Are You a Mini-Kuting or a Mini-Bibi?

Dear little Buting,

On February 4, we were scheduled for an ultrasound with congenital anomaly scan.  Your tataybibi and I were very excited because aside from a thorough check-up of all your vital organs, we will be able to know if you are a boy or a girl! We have no preference really, anak, but our fervent wish is that you are developing into a very healthy baby.

And the result?  You are healthy and big! So big that your length and weight is in the 97th percentile! But what a shy baby you are! On the first try, you keep turning your back to us that the sonologist cannot have a good view of you.  During the second try after 15 minutes, you were more cooperative but eventually you turned your back again and did not give the sonologist the time to thoroughly examine your heart.  Oh well, at least the sound of your thumping heart assured us that everything is fine.  Buting, hopefully next time, you will not be shy anymore J  As for the gender, the sonologist said that there is still a 20% margin of error but based on the ultrasound, you’re a GIRL!  By the time you read this, you know if the sonologist was right or wrong  :)

Scary Moments

With all the discussions with my doctor given our circumstance, I am aware of the possibility that my pregnancy may not be a walk in the park.  That is why, as soon I learned that I was pregnant, I observed strict house arrest which is also based on doctor’s orders.  I still tried to do some easy household chores as long as I do not tire myself. 

Dear Little Buting: I Feel You!

Dear little Buting,

Pagmulat ng mata, bandang ala-singko ng umaga

Nang may maramdaman sa tiyan na kakaiba

"Hangin ba ito?" una kong naisip

Pero dahil paulit-ulit, aking napagtanto...

Mga unang sikad mo pala ang aking nararamdaman

Di magkamayaw ang aking kagalakan

Ang tulog mong tatay ay nagising din

Dahil sa malakas kong pagbahing

At sa kanyang kamay iyong ibinigay

Isang sipang malakas, puno ng buhay.

---Munimuni ng isang baguhang ina (Enero 19, 2012)

Dear Little Buting: @ 3months!

here you are at 3 months!

Dear Little Buting: Heart to Heart

Dear little Buting,

October 29, 2011 was a much awaited date for nanaykuting and tataybibi.  We still did not know how you were doing in nanay’s tummy and this was your first tv appearance (ultrasound).  To tell you the truth, tears of joy came to my eyes when I first saw you in the screen.  You were still very small then, only being 7 weeks old.  But you have a strong heart and you were proud enough to make everybody hear your heartbeats!  We almost forgot to take home your pictures.  Good thing, your Tita Jen, from Dr. Mae’s office, called the ultrasound lab to request copies of the pictures and your tatay went back to get it so you will be able to see these:

tiny dot

strong heart, happy heart

Love,


nanaykuting and tataybibi

Dear Little Buting: Happy News!

Dear little Buting,

It was October 7, 2011, morning. The nurse handed to us this white little plastic with two violet lines and told us we are going to have you!  Nanaykuting and tataybibi were so happy to see those two lines!

two is better than one :)

Love,

nanaykuting and tataybibi

Dear Little Buting: Trip to Nanay's Tummy

Dear little Buting,

You were not alone when you made that trip to nanay's tummy.  This is what you looked like, as well as your two other siblings.  However, God has a special plan and decided that you will be the first one to become a baby for nanaykuting and tataybibi.  Although we cannot anymore see your two other siblings, I believe they are somewhere there with you, giving you their support so you can be as healthy as you can be.

Love, 


nanaykuting and tataybibi

The Start of a Different Kind of Trip

After almost 6 years from our trip down the aisle, we are now preparing for a different kind of trip.

It may have been a long trip for us but it was worth it. With God's guidance, we have reached our destination.  Now, we embark on a new journey, this time, we are accompanied by our unborn bundle of joy, our little buting.  Kuting and bibi are now nanay and tatay and we are very excited to see and hold in our arms our little buting... 

Is this for real?

Kawawa naman ang blog na ito.  I tried so many times to revive this blog but no success so far.  Ngayon kaya, kaya ko na kaya i-sustain ang blogging?  Tignan natin :)