Why I'm happy

There are so many things that make me happy - having Friday night dates with my hubby, being with my family, goofing around with my kids, spending "me" time, talking with friends, good news, seeing my kids happy, reading, writing, desserts, etc. etc. There are just so many to mention. Being a shallow person, simple things make me happy and gay. Last Friday, I received an email from Annalyn of Ajay's Writings on the Wall congratulating me for winning an Ayala electronic gift check (EGC) worth P3,000. I won that from joining her contest, "Share Your Bonifacio Global City story." Oh yes, that notification made me so happy!

After just a couple of days, the EGC was delivered to my office. That was fast. And that, again, made me happy...and I am thankful.

Introducing....My Super One!

Two nights ago, I posted something on my facebook wall. This was the post - "Ronald Aguilar is my Super One because he's not only my hubby, but my one and only. Truly!" I was referring to my husband in that post. Although that post was made in response to Globe's facebook contest, it was, nevertheless, sincere and true.

Just what makes him my Super One?

I believe in my heart that God chose him to be my partner in life. We are meant for each other. My hubby knows what counts most in life - his family. He knows that his real source of power is our family. He's a tough guy outside, but he has his share of soft spots, too. He's dedicated and committed to his craft and is a loving and responsible father to our three "preciousness", our daughters.

But what makes him truly my Super One is the fact that he considers me as his "greatest adventure". I know he loves me and enjoys being with me. We are each other's BFF and that makes our relationship, our marriage, for that matter, works.

This poem dedicated to my hubby sums up why he's my Super One...

I still remember how you came to be

the right person for me.

You are an answered prayer.

God meant us to be together.

Eleven years have passed,

since the day we said, "At last!"

Before, we were just strangers,

now, we're blessed with 3 precious angels.

There were times that I wondered if I made a mistake,

afraid that my vow for you and Him, I would break.

Did I hear God say, "Yes, this man, you would marry,"

or was it, "Wait, don't be in hurry."

Oh yes, just like all marriages,

ours is not a bed of roses.

We went so much together,

braving the stormy weather.

We may be different in a lot of ways,

we have few things in common, I'm just as amazed.

But no matter how poles apart we are,

I'm convinced we are each other's star.

Dismissing any doubts that crossed my mind,

I know for certain I cannot find

someone like you,

my Babes, it's true.

And after all is said and done,

I know you are my Super One,

who I would choose as my partner

again and again 'til this life thereafter.

Well, I guess, my hubby will be thrilled when he reads about this. He better make me a poem, too. Haha! How about you, who's your Super One? Care to share? or better yet why not visit this link... and Super One page.

What BGC means to my family

Bonding to the max!

It was love at first sight the moment my family and I first set foot on Bonifacio Global City, more particularly Bonifacio High Street. This was in October 2007. Since then, this has become our favorite weekend-bonding place. I especially love the fact that it's not like any other place or any other mall in the metro where you are confined inside a building. Here, you get to breathe some fresh air while doing some shopping on the side.

Whenever we bring our kids along, we never fail to drop by Fully Booked. My daughters are so comfortable and at home here. The kids' section is where my eldest daughter and I get to bond over some "I Spy" books. My tot, on the other hand, would always be busy browsing over her fave Barbie books.


Gustatory delights
We also enjoy dining in their very kid-friendly restos like, TGIFriday's for their mouth-watering burgers, Texas Road House Grill for their melt-in-your mouth Santa Fe Nachos. In Serendra, we used to frequent Portico before it closed down. It was always a treat having breakfast or brunch there of Beef Sirloin Tapa and their Four-cheese Pizza. The kids also love the Carabao Milkshake in Cuillere. It's simply yummy!

Chill-out place

There are plenty of nice spots here where you can have a most-deserved chillax time with your husband while snacking on a slice of cake partnered with your fave coffee concoction. One of our fave coffee-shops here is Seattle's Best. And even if your kids have no thing for coffee, no worries... you can let your kids run around in the wide open area in the middle while you are seated outside Seattle's. Yes, it is a wonderful playground for the young and the young-at-heart.

BGC is definitely our go-to place whenever we want to relax, just chill out and spend some nice weekend afternoon enjoying each others' company.

Weekends at the Linden Suites

My family and I were happy to spend 2 separate weekends at the Linden Suites in Ortigas. We took advantage of their promo tie up with Smart that offered its members a whopping 70% off on Linden Suites' 3-bedroom suite/condotel. At Php 6,000, it was so worth it!

Even before we availed of their promo rate last June 12, I was already looking forward to go swimming and dipping in their indoor pool and jacuzzi. I was even more excited for my kids. The last time we booked a room here was when we celebrated Noelle's 2nd birthday in June 2008 and stayed in their standard room. That was the first time we experienced their pool and jacuzzi. In my opinion then, they have the best indoor pool and jacuzzi among the hotels in Ortigas we've checked into and that opinion of mine hasn't changed at all.

So yes, after 2 years, we were back in Linden Suites, this time we were with my brother's family. As soon as the card keys were handed to me, we were instructed to proceed to the other building where the 3-bedroom condotel was located. That meant, we had to pass through the annex. I didn't know that they already have an annex. It was a bit confusing at first because we had to take 2 elevators.

Upon opening the door to our condotel, we were surprised to see how spacious it was. Each of the three bedrooms were equipped with split-type airconditioner. The biggest bedroom had an LCD TV, queen-size bed, study desk and a bathroom with a bath tub. One of the two smaller rooms had a single type bed. I wasn't so sure if that was a queen-size or a double-size bed in the other room. After I requested for additional towels, blankets and pillows which they provided but only 1 piece of each, we spent our whole afternoon enjoying the pool and the jacuzzi.

Because of our enjoyable stay here and the reasonable rates, we recommended the place to my hubby's family. And so after just a month, I found myself emailing the Manager, Mr. Mark Guevarra. He took the liberty to book a 3-bedroom suite for us for an overnight stay. That was a sweet gesture and totally unexpected! I was delighted, to say the least.

July 17 - we arrived at the Linden Suites a few minutes before 1:00PM. We knew the check in time was at 3:00 PM but we wanted to check personally if we could check in early. And check in early, we did! Everybody at the lobby were friendly and very accommodating, from the lobby guards to the front desk staff.

It was the same room we checked into before. After a few minutes, the door bell rang and inside came a bell boy with extra towels, blankets and pillows on hand. All free of charge. Wow! I knew right then and there that we were in (again) for an enjoyable weekend. And oh, by the way, they also granted our request for a late check out - at 2:00 PM. Sweet!

dining room

sala & dining room

the sala - equipped with an LCD TV, DVD player and CD player










kitchen

bedroom #1

bedroom #2

master's bedroom








master's bathroom

extra towels, blankets and pillows

Visit the site here: The Linden Suites

Celebrating my princesses birthdays

It was just a few months before our two daughters' joint birthday celebration (Nala's 1st and Noelle's 4th) when I started to prepare for it. Unlike during our eldest's 1st and 7th birthday, the preparation time took me at least a year. That was then, this is now. I was glad everything went perfect even though my preparation time shrunk big time. I didn't want any stress. You see, I am getting older, too, and getting older means I'm becoming more and more "pressure-averse". I just want to also enjoy and watch my two princesses celebrate this milestone in their life. The party theme was Princess Glam. I chose this theme because of Noelle who is very much into "princesses" and anything associated with princess and girly stuff like fashion, accessories. I was thinking that Noelle was the one who could appreciate the party more than Nala.

God, thank You for this day
Prayer before the party started - recited by Nisi

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for this day. Thank You for gathering us all here at Burgoo to celebrate the birthdays of my two little sisters, Noelle and Nala. We thank You for bringing Noelle and Nala into our lives. They have given my pop and mom so much joy. Well, sometimes me, too. They have been blessings to us.

Thank You for our family, relatives and friends who are all here.

We acknowledge that our resources and everything that we have in order to make this all possible are from You. We ask for Your guidance and presence as we celebrate and have fun this afternoon.

This we ask in Your name.

Date: June 26, 2010 Place: Burgoo, Podium

Time: 2:00 PM-4:00 PM

Menu: Boneless Buffalo Chicken, Spaghetti Bolognese, Margherita Pizza, Shrimps & Ribs Platter, Rice Pillaf & Potato Wedges; Oreo Cheesecake; Bottomless Soda

Cake: 2 cakes from Red Ribbon

Host: Angie of Clowning Around (our hosts for the past birthdays of Nisi (7th) & Noelle (1st)

Glitter Tattoo: Joyce

Party Giveaways: TK Express stuff toy-cow & Disney tote bag from Toys R Us (for girls); baon bag from Toys R Us with Stick-O, candies & Milkita lollipops (for boys)

Mr. President, inspire us...please

I had no doubt that Noynoy would win. But, I didn't vote for him.

I didn't vote for him even though all our neighbors and most of our relatives were for him. I didn't vote for him even though in my place of work, he had a lot of solid supporters. There was even a cubicle a few steps away from mine that could very well pass as a mini Noy headquarters.

He was my second choice, though. Far second. I want a leader who could make hard decisions, is headstrong, has will-power, is results-oriented, a doer -- all of which I was afraid Noy is not. The only reason why he was my second choice was that I was certain that he wouldn't be corrupt. He said it matter of factly in his campaign ads, "Hinding hindi ako magnanakaw". Many I know, believed in that but still, the question remains --What are his next steps after proclaiming and promising that he won't steal. I wonder, if Cory had not died, would these people vote for him, still? I am not against his winning in the presidential bid. No, not at all. In fact, I am really okay with him being our president than Erap and Jamby. All I am asking is for him to make the country progress and rid any trace of corruption and greed from our government...impunto! Those are not too much to ask for, right? We deserve a clean government. We deserve a leader who will inspire us to be the best that we can be as Filipinos.

Today is the proclamation of Noynoy as the country's 15th President. I have this crazy idea that I verbalized to my husband some few days back-- that if I were to be President, my first move towards achieving unity is to sit down with all those who ran for the same position and appoint or include them in my cabinet. It sounds so ideal and simple but my husband told me that it's not that simple. Haaaayyy, why make things complicated? Why not just work hand-in-hand? If I am Noynoy today, I will make Erap my representative for any Mindanao affairs, Villar as the Speaker of the House, Gibo as my Economic Adviser, Gordon as Tourism Secretary, and Villanueva as DepEd Secretary. If any of them refuse to work with me then it means that that person is just after the power that comes with the position and his heart is not really set on serving the Filipino people and wanting to make the country move forward. That's how I see it.

Today, I read from one of the broadsheets that majority of the Filipinos now see a bright future ahead. That's a good sign. At least, Filipinos, including myself, can see a glimmer of hope, once again.

As a concerned Pinoy, I urge everyone of us to also do our part and not just depend on the new government to solve all our problems.

And to our new President, my message is simply this -- Please, Mr. President, inspire us and make us proud to be Filipinos.

Liking "Fifteen" at 41... Duh?

I'm like, addicted to the songs of Taylor Swift. I know, I know, it may sound and seem off for someone who is into her 40's to dig Love Story, Untouchable, White Horse, Forever and Always, You Belong With Me and Fifteen. But, when I got to bring to the office my 10-year old daughter's IPOD (that used to be mine) and listened to the downloaded songs in it, Taylor Swift's songs have become instant hits to my ears.

Listening to Fifteen even made me teary-eyed. I was contemplating on its lyrics when it hit me. Our 10-year old daughter will be fifteen soon. By that age, she will experience having her first crush, her first puppy love (hopefully, not yet), and her first heartache. Oh, if only I could shield her from those "pains".

Fifteen Lyrics
You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors
It's the morning of your very first day
You say "Hi" to your friends you ain't seen in a while
Try and stay out of everybody's way
It's your freshman year and you're gonna be here
For the next four years in this town
Hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say
"You know I haven't seen you around, before"

'cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen
Feeling like there nothing to figure out
Well count to ten, take it in
This is life before you know who you're gonna be
Fifteen

You sit in class next to a redhead named Abigail
And soon enough you're best friends
Laughing at the other girls who think they're so cool
We'll be out of here as soon as we can
And then you're on your very first date and he's got a car
And you're feeling like flying
And you're mommas waiting up and you think he's the one
And you're dancing round your room when the night ends
When the night ends

'cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
When you're fifteen and your first kiss
Makes your head spin round but
In your life you'll do things greater than dating the boy of the football team
But I didn't know it at fifteen

When all you wanted was to be wanted
Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now
Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday
But I realized some bigger dreams of mine

And Abigail gave everything she had to a boy
Who changed his mind and we both cried

'cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen, don't forget to look before you fall
I've found that time can heal most anything
And you just might find who you're supposed to be
I didn't know who I was supposed to be at fifteen

La la la la la .. la la la la la .. La la la la la

Your very first day
Take a deep breath girl
Take a deep breath as you walk through those doors.

How time flies, indeed. She used to be our little girl, all clingy and ever so dependent on me. Long before she even turned ten, I was already preparing and anticipating those times that she would have her own group of friends, attend sleep-over parties and be interested in some other things other than be with and cling to mommy. Those anticipations are now happening. Our little baby has her own world right now. It makes me sad, yet it makes me smile, too.

I was fifteen when I had my first puppy love, my first boyfriend. He courted me over the phone and I answered him over the phone. Our so-called relationship lasted for 8 months and the funny thing about our relationship was that he never got to hold my hand because we never went dating. I had never gone out with him. When we broke up, I felt sad and I think it was painful, too. I loved him the way I thought and knew how.



















While I was drafting this piece, I got a phone call from my 10-year old daughter. She requested that I go home that moment. I asked her why, she said it was raining hard and she could hear loud thunders. She was afraid and just wanted me to be at her side. It made me smile. Maybe, that was God telling me and reassuring me that our big girl is still a little girl who needs her mommy, after all.