We have a cat!!

and announcing it I believe is worth a blog post :) It was just an ordinary stray cat, husband heard it crying on the street near our house, since we discussed about having a pet last week, he picked it up and brought it home. He is so tiny and I think is still a baby. Poor one, left alone in the street.

In our excitement to treat him last night, we forgot to take pictures of his first night in our house. Sad.

Now, we're pet parents :) hehe! We named him Potchie (pot-pot for short). What a funny name for a cat pet right?

Our responsibilities started last night and my husband takes it seriously, he said we should buy cat food and not feed him of human food (as it is the usual practice here especially for stray cats). And I know training him to poo/pee on the right place will not be that easy.

But it's gonna be okay,  coming home to a cute pet every night after a long day at office is somewhat stress relieving. We will enjoy him for sure.

So any tips for a new pet parents?

F-r-i-e-n-d-s

Because it was the first Sunday of the month last Sunday and we had joint worship service, friends decided to come to our small house after church, we watched movies, we shared stories, we laugh, we cooked and we made memories :)

Five couples minus one husband who is currently abroad plus four kids and what do you expect? It was chaotic but it was full of laughter and fun. To say that we had great time is an understatement.

So blessed to have such good and crazy friends :)

We mourn for the Fallen 44

 

We salute you!

May your families find comfort in the hands of our creator
May your sacrifices for the peace of this country not be wasted.
We are thankful and we honor you this day.

*~*

For local news about this incident :

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/420448/news/nation/national-day-of-mourning-phl-pays-respect-to-44-fallen-pnp-saf-men

Villa Noe Beach Resort @ Cagbalete Island

I don't know why I decided to book here and did not bother to check with other resorts anymore last December, probably because it was the first resort in Cagbalete that I came up to when I did my research (a.k.a google), and according to reviews, it was quite new and that the staff are nice. 

Or maybe because of this signage

Anyways, I did not have any regrets booking here, it was an easy transaction. I message them in facebook, they quickly replied to my queries. I deposited the 50% reservation and send them copy of the deposit slip. They actually extended a promo for us that was about to end December 31 but since we will still be there until the 2nd, they still gave us the one night accommodation for free. So nice di ba?

They only have huts, which are nice specially if you're going summer time. The one we rented cost 1,500.00 (good for 2-4 person) We have a small porch area where you get to eat al fresco :)

Other huts available :)

They have lots of these in front of the beach, but I guess not a lot when  it is crowded during peak season

The caretaker's family is so nice to us, they have few guests that time. They'll cook food for you if you ask them. very welcoming and accommodating.

Visit their facebook page for the rates and contact number :) https://www.facebook.com/VillaNoeBeach

I wish to go back come summer time!

More long weekends please

Because the Pope visited the Philippines, we had no work from Jan 15-19. They closed some major roads specially those roads where the Pope will pass by thus the need for work cancellation.

I am not practicing Catholic but I very much welcomed the extra holidays. *Insert wide grin here*

So what to do with 5 days? A lot actually. We did not go to vacation but we did ministry work.  I scheduled a meeting and planning  cum rest and recreation with our youth leaders in my friend's house in Cavite last January 15-16.

It was such a relax meeting that lasted till nearly midnight :) The next morning we went for a dip in the pool at their clubhouse.

 My husband was also very busy as he was involved in this worship event.

Sunday afternoon, I had another meeting with another set of youth leaders from different churches in San Pablo, Laguna for our upcoming youth camp.

It felt good to be able to do so many things specially those meetings that has long been overdue. The sad part though is that, those meetings and planning gave me more tasks to do. :( And now I need more "no office days" again to finish them all. hahaha!

Hoping for more long weekends :)

Year End/New Year at Cagbalete Island

This is where we spent our year end  holidays. It was windy and it rained mostly on afternoons due to typhoon in Visayas but nonetheless, we enjoyed our stay. After all, we were there to rest and rest we did! :)

excuse my "restless now rested" feet

We came from a year end planning and retreat in Tiaong, quezon so that made the trip shorter. We took a bus going to Lucena, which supposedly is only an hour away (but traffic is bad in Sariaya that time). From Lucena Grand Terminal, it's another one hour and half trip in a non aircon bus going to Mauban. From Mauban, one hour boat ride to Cagbalete Island.

BUT since we arrived late in the afternoon in Mauban and the weather is not that good, there were no more boats going to the island, we were told to just spend the night in the town and head to island early morning the next day. We checked in a small hotel (Queen Margaret) and paid 700.00  good  for 12 hours stay-because we only need a place to sleep. So here's a tip - Be in Mauban as early as possible because the public boats' trip schedule is as unpredictable as the storm.

The next morning, we went early at the port, registered  and paid 100.00 for environmental fee, the public boat fare is only 40.00 but we were told that it is not coming.ugh. so we took a private boat and paid 200.00 each. We were with other 4 tourists and 3 boat crew. And yes, there are life jackets.

Thankful that this was not our boat. It's overloaded :(

After an hour or so of crashing waves and lots of screaming from me and the other girl passenger, at last we arrived. We trekked for at least 10-15 minutes more before finally reaching our resort.

They say it's an easy trek during summer and boats can go directly at the resort but not during this time of year

Our resort-will make a separate post about it soon

To have this view in the morning, so peaceful. It is priceless

And I love that there were only 7 guests in the resort. That's is why I love to go to beach during December. It's like you own the whole island :)

Our only food :) plus some eggs and chips.

hindi naman kami mukang nagutom di ba?

spending the rest of my life (anywhere in the world)  with this man  is one of God's best gift ever!

Sometimes I asked my self if it's worth all the effort and the travel time and the money we spent, I say it would have been better if the weather cooperated BUT still worth it. As I have said, I went there to rest, to refresh my mind from last year's clutter and most importantly to have quality time with my husband and undoubtedly, I had all that so in the end it still worth it. The experience and the memories we made here will be forever written in our book.

Two blogs terminated

Big sigh. My two other blogs  (rocksdaily.com and theabadianos.com) were terminated by 1&1 due to non payment. I am trying to dispute this as the rocksdaily.com is due for renewal only this month and there is still no invoice from them, while the other one, admittedly, I missed the notice which was due last July. That,  I only learned today upon receiving their reply to my inquiry as to why my 2 blogs are inaccessible since last week.

They say I can transfer them to another host but for sure that would amount to enormous hassle. The technicalities of setting it up again and you know all the codes and all that comes with it. I don't know if I can still do that.

Now, I am considering of just returning it to blogspot extension which is a lot easier. Though that would mean losing some earning rights from few advertisers. Or maybe, it's time for me to just keep and maintain one blog. What you think?

But still, I'm hoping that 1&1 will reconsider (I think I deserve it because I have been a client since 2008) :) hehe.

Whatever happens, one thing is for sure-I will keep on blogging. 

Happy Monday everyone!

 

78th Birthday

Happy happy birthday Tatay!

We will be celebrating again (our second) without you, but I take comfort that you are also having a grand celebration up there in heaven with all the angels :) and that you are truly happy.

I love you and remembering a lot about you today is not easy, it is still painful. I miss you so much.

Happy New Year!!

Well, sorry for my late greeting, it's because I stayed off the internet till yesterday so it is only now that I am able to visit blogs, facebook and other social medias :)

How did you spent your holidays? My Christmas was spent with the whole family and as usual it was chaotic with all the kids around but it's super happy :)

And our new year? it was a peaceful, relaxing and quiet :) It's as if we own the whole beach resort..hehe! We were in an island somewhere in Quezon province :)

 The weather is not that good though, it was windy and it's so cold. Mr. Sunshine is such a shy those days :(

Happy new year everyone! Praying it will be a better year for all of us!

Merry Christmas!

Oh December :(

I know December is a happy month but why the sad face on my title, well, it is because there has been three hospital trips for us for this month alone!!! and that is definitely not good.

First one, my Father in law who lives with us was rushed to ER due to high blood pressure. 240/160. That was not a joke, so he is on maintenance medicine and is doing fine now.

Second, my husband's niece who happens to be visiting with her mom first week of December got very sick. Health center worker suspected it was Dengue so we have her checked and stayed overnight at the hospital, It was blood infection and not Dengue, she was given antibiotics for 7 days. Good thing they are not with us anymore, they went back to Cavite after few days.

Third, just last Sunday, my brother rushed Nanay to the hospital due to very high blood sugar, she passed and for a few moments they can't revive her, I immediately hurried to hospital and saw her restless. I was worried and I myself nearly passed out because I realized I have not eaten anything for nearly 8 hours that day due to many things that we are doing. Haay talaga :(

Anyways, mom is okay now, she's back home at my sister's house, we will go back to her doctor on Friday for a follow up check up.

With all that stress and not to mention the unexpected expenses..I think I need a longer vacation and  REST. I can't wait for the holiday. Come December 23 and we're off from work and will resume on January 05. The longest Christmas vacation I will have so far.

I am still thankful though despite  of these unhappy incidents, I know we are still blessed and that we wll celebrate Christmas with thankful and happy hearts.

Christmas dinner set up

image source: http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/school/conference-venue-hire/christmas-said-2014

I want to do this kind of table set-up this Christmas, with table napkins and dinner plates and trimmings  but the thing is, we spend Christmas eve at my sister's house in Bulacan and I know their dining table will only seat 6. but who knows, maybe we can find a way :)

This one is simple but nice. Red table napkins and mats :)

image source: http://inspiredbylilfeet.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-eve-lil-feet-style.html

Or maybe, we can do red disposable plates instead, perfect for the kids and for us who do not want to do dishes afterwards :) We just have to find a long table so we can all seat together :)

image source :http://cloudfront.bernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2011-xmas-lunch-1.jpg

This excites me!! Can't wait for Christmas with the whole fam! :)  23 more days to go!