Mommy Fleur

Olats Night

April 20, 2018 by Mommy Fleur

Top: BOUGHT IN JAPAN; Pants: AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS; Sneakers: CONVERSE; Cap: FOREVER 21; Sunglasses: RAYBAN

Nagtatampo ako kay Alvin today.

He just came home from a biglaang 4 days and 3 nights business trip yesterday. Olats nga because I’m fertile the whole week this week. We even had this conversation last Sunday night.

ME: Babe, may hihingin sana akong favor.

ALVIN: Ano yun?

ME: Fertile kasi ako the whole week starting Monday to Thursday. Pwede ba araw arawin natin nitong linggo baka sakaling mabuntis ako?

ALVIN: Osige. Isang libo.

I swatted him. Leche.

ALVIN: Umaasa ka pa din ba?

ME: Oo naman. I decided that this is the last year na gusto ko magtry ng baby. After this year, ayoko na talaga.

ALVIN: Hindi pwede yun.

I dunno with my husband. Balak niya ata akong ilaban sa oldest woman to give birth sa Guinness Book of Records.

Anyway, so he went home na nga yesterday afternoon. We spent the evening watching two movies on Netflix and then nagyaya na si Anika matulog.

ANIKA: Nanay, I will sleep in my room tonight.

Yeah baby!

I went with her to her room to tuck her to bed. I stayed for a bit until makatulog siya kasi we have our kwentuhan time pa before sleeping. Eh naka-idlip ako. I woke up around 1130 pm. I got up and went to the living room. Wala ang Alvin. I went to our room and lo and behold, tulog na tulog na lolo niyo. Okay sana if yung naka-pwesto siya like yung sa sobrang pagod, nakatulog lang. Alam niyo yun? Hindi eh. Ang sarap ng pwesto niya. Para talagang pinagisipang matulog and nagpa-comfortable pa bago matulog.

Nainis nga ako. I slept in Anika’s room. However, I couldn’t sleep because it was like I did a power nap. Nakatulog na kasi ako ng mga 30 minutes while I was waiting for Anika to sleep. So I was up all night listening sa mga tilaok ng manok. Lekat na mga manok talaga yan. Hating gabi na, tumitilaok pa!

This morning, he woke up while I was getting ready for work. He asked why I didn’t sleep beside him. Sabi ko nagtatampo ako because he didn’t wake me up to transfer to our room to sleep beside him. Sinuyo naman ako kaso yung suyo na hindi naman tumatayo sa kama. Hindi ko nga pansinin.

Actually, it’s not naman about making the baby. Yung feeling ba na ang tagal niyang nawala tapos gusto ko naman to sleep together in our room. Wife echos lang siguro itey and it will pass. For the meantime, bahala siya sa buhay niya. Nagtatampo talaga ako.

Why are husbands so dense, ano?

Sombrero Renovations: The Bathrooms

April 17, 2018 by Mommy Fleur

The Sombrero Sitcom installment is literally an installment talaga eh, no? Ang tagal ng pagitan =) Hihi.

Anyway, today, I will show you what we did with our bathrooms.

This is the common toilet and bath.

common old 1

Kita niyo naman the floor tiles, jurassic na talaga sa luma the design. Those were the uso tiles back in the early 80s because we never changed them. Sorry for the clothes included in the photo. Sa mga workers yan, tinambak nila there.

Anyway, that bathroom is really small. When I checked the As Built plans, the size is 2.8 meters by 1 meter. So I computed the number of tiles that we needed. We bought the water closet (inidoro). When they installed it, bwiset, 0.8 meters lang pala yung width ng bathroom in actual! The original floor tile design that I wanted was 2-40x40cm tiles with design beside each other and then bordered by white tiles sa buong perimeter ng banyo.

Waley. Olats. Hindi pwede. We had to alter the design of the floor. Ang corny. Madaming nasayang na tiles with design.

Also the water closet that we bought was too big. As in when you try to sit on it to make poopoo, nakadikit na yung fez mo dun sa wall in front of you. Alvin demonstrated it and he looked so funny. Kung hindi lang talaga nakakatawa, maiinis ako ng sobra. Kaso nandyan na yan. I had to look for a really small water closet. I couldn’t find any in the big stores because hindi siya standard size. We needed the Royal Flush toilet bowl na maliit. Alam niyo yun? Yung dating design pa. Buti na lang, I saw a small one in a construction supply store on my way to the office. Binili ko na agad agad.

This is how it looks like na.

common 1

The master’s bedroom toilet and bath naman is small too but more on squarish yung area niya.

masters old 1

Alvin and I were surprised to see that you can buy pala a less than Php 5,000 bathtub! Inavail na namin agad agad mga besh para feeling soshal.

masters new 2

And if ever you happen to pass by one of the Wilcon stores in Makati, you will find out where I copied our bathroom accent wall.

masters new 1

I thought before that when we finally have a bathtub, magaagawan kaming tatlo diyan using it. As of press time (3 months after we have moved in), Anika has used it three times pa lang. I’ve used it twice while Alvin has used it once. Hahahahaha! Hindi din pala cool magbathtub often! Ang gastos sa tubig! Lelz.

So there you go. I like how our bathrooms turned out. Gusto ko yung minimalist and neat siya tingnan.

Osha mga muthers, standby for the other spaces ha? Patience is a virtue! Happy midweek!

Glamping At BLOC Camp Site

April 16, 2018 by Mommy Fleur

Tara, I’ll blog about our recent glamping trip before summer ends.

Lol.

My brother-in-law, Paul and his wife, Tin treated us to an overnight glamping to celebrate Gabo’s 8th birthday.

When I first heard of it, okay naman ako. We already went glamping at Nurture Spa Wellness Village last 2015. Alam naman nating lahat na, though girl scout ako from Grade 1 to 4th Year High School, isa akong maarteng nilalang. Ang selan ko sa banyo and mareklamo ako. However, in fairness to me, when the going gets tough, kaya kong sumabay. That’s why I don’t know why Alvin wouldn’t believe me when I tell him I can survive a hard core camping trip in the mountains. Wala daw portalet dun. Eh ano. I can do it naman, wala lang gustong maniwala. Never mind that I feel like peeing every 10 minutes. Keri ko ang pagakyat sa bundok and camping.

Alvin and Anika were so excited for the trip. Nahawa ako. They bought camping stuff. They made checklists after checklists of the things that they needed to bring. The night before we left, akala mo may zombie apocalypse sa dami ng gamit na dadalhin ng mag-ama ko. Hardcore mountain climber ang Alvin before, if you remember. So siya si Scout Master namin and Anika followed him like a super dedicated cub scout. Meanwhile, I was packing all the outfits that I can wear for the OOTD photos. Di baleng walang snacks, basta maganda ang damit sa camping.

A few days before our glamping trip, Paul briefed us where we were going. The name of the glamping site is BLOC CAMP SITE.

I checked out the place. It was so pretty. The campsite was beside a lake. So cool.

And so we went.

I was so amazed when we arrived. The place was indeed beautiful. For our group, they set up 3 tents near the lake. For me, yung pwesto namin yung pinaka-maganda. It had privacy and parang we had all the space all to ourselves.

There was a tent for honeymooners. The tent was a lot bigger that the ones they gave us. Pwede ka magtumbling sa loob. They had their own porch with hammock and griller.

Our tents had two double airbeds. Four people can sleep in a tent.

Before we were allowed to go to our tents, we were briefed about the house rules of the campsite. Briefing talaga. You are required to sit there and listen. Tama nga naman because of safety. They told us what we can and we cannot do. They asked us if we had questions. When everything was clear na, they helped us bring our things to the tent.

It was very relaxing there. As in chill in the highest level.

So chill both literally and figuratively. Ang lamig!

Pero tiis ganda para lang maganda ang OOTD there.

Mangatog-ngatog ako sa lamig

I’m not kidding guys. It was so cold there! We weren’t expecting it. I wasn’t expecting it. Kita niyo nga pekpek shorts ang suot ko. I thought it would be super hot so I brought all short shorts with me. Good thing Alvin always nags us to bring jackets wherever we go so kaming 3, we had jackets. The rest of us, waley. Puros summer attire!

Fail ang aking OOTD attempts sana. I thought it would be as hot as it was in a beach. Hindi. I felt we were in Canada in Autumn.

I think it was cold because of the Caliraya Lake. The BLOC Camp Site is located in Cavinti, Laguna. Medyo malayo and mukhang mataas yung place. Man-made lang ang lake.

Alvin and Anika immediately prepared their fishing gadgets.

They weren’t able to catch any fish though. Malamang nilamig din ang mga isda kaya nagsi-alisan.

She dips her legs AFTER I tell her that the water is too cold.

Ellie wanted to have fun too!

When you go glamping at BLOC Camp Site, you can order food from them.

Or you can prepare and cook your own food. Clean as you go nga lang kasi nakakahiya naman magkalat ka there. So be sure to bring garbage bags. They have naman concrete sinks by the toilets where you can wash your pots and pans. Pero wag ka na magluto ng dinuguan dun. Simple campsite food lang, keribelles.

There was a lot of space where the kids can run around. It was a great opportunity for them to put down their iPads and gadgets and just be like, normal kids.

Gabo’s cake is from Cake Lane.

So nice, huh? It’s not expensive ha? That’s the reason why I got them to make Anika’s birthday cake too. Galing.

If it was cold in the afternoon, imagine how cold it was at night. Good thing there was a bonfire. God, we loved the bonfire! Ang sarap yung super lamig na lamig ka then tatambay ka in front of the fire. It was soooo relaxing. We also roasted marshmallows and made smores. Smores are so addicting! Ang sakit lang sa lalamunan ‘coz super tamis, but I love it!

The BLOC Camp Site staff were very helpful. They helped us with all our stuff, bringing them all to our campsite. They also were the ones who made the bonfire. May fee nga lang for additional wood. Naka-2 times replenish siguro kami.

Here’s what the tent looks like inside.

It was comfortable inside the tent. It wasn’t that cold inside so we slept comfortably.

The next day, we chilled some more. There was really nothing else to do kasi the water was too cold to go swimming. The kids just kept running and running around.

After breakfast, we had our morning nap and then we left na for Manila, recharged.

Overall, the experience was great. It was a different vacation and we all had fun. Magbobonding talaga kayo dun. No TV. May phone signal naman. You will really feel one with nature.

The only thing that I didn’t like was the toilets. Mukha talaga siyang public toilets. Tipong yung inidoro na walang water tank? Ganun. The toilet was like a 1m by 2m space na nandun na yung toilet seat and when you look up, nandun na yung rainshower. No hot water.

Ang hirap for me.

I had to wake up Alvin at around 2am so that he can go with me pee. Malayo din kasi ang lalakarin to the toilets from our tent.

Alvin said I really cannot go with him mamundok. Sa bundok daw, sa hukay ka lang jejebs. Emergerd. What if something bites your pwet while doing it? Mukha nga I will not survive sa hard core camping.

For lunch we went to Aling Taleng’s Halo Halo (since 1933). Food was good and we were able to buy a lot of pasalubongs including kesong puti.

Their halo-halo is masarap nga. There’s something there that I cannot place that makes it different from the halo halo of Chowking and Razon’s. If you happen to pass by Pagsanjan and eat there, let me know ano difference ha? Hindi ako mapakali lelz. Over-all, the restaurant is worth visiting when you’re there. Food’s good =)

That’s it! Please inquire na lang at BLOC Campsite for their rates. I don’t know how much because it was a treat from Paul and Tin =)

Have a lovely summer, beautiful people!

Sino Ang Busy?

April 14, 2018 by Mommy Fleur

Top: WOWA’S SECRET STORE (Php 150 only); Pants: LEVI’S; Shoes: ALDO

Hellooooo girls!

Pasensya na ngayon lang ako nagparamdam. Gosh, I don’t know how to begin to describe ang pagka-busy ko this week. I have to let it out so bear with me, ha?

Anika’s birthday was last Monday. I will blog about that. I crammed preparing for it because well, sabi nila wag daw magstress sa mga bagay bagay so I took it to a whole new level. Nagrelax ako until the last minute. Hahaha! Mukha naman okay kinalabas. Na-iraos ng matiwasay.

And then, we are almost done with the mini MBA that I am taking c/o our company. At dahil diyan, we are required to pass one 6-page case study (done ko na), four 2-page module analysis, one 600-word reflection paper and one individual business case analysis. All are due next Monday. My nose is bleeding from all the English terms that I need to use. How I wish I can write all those papers and reports in my usual bakla way. Chicken sana.

And then there’s the visa requirements that I need to complete and pass by next week. I am smacking my head now why my passport is still in my maiden name. Ang daming extra steps and extra analysis tuloy.

And because when it rains, it storms like signal number three, walastik ang dami ng ginagawa at work. I know I can delegate some of them to my staff, I already did. Pero marami pa din ang natitirang task na ako ang kailangang gumawa. Sabay sabay talaga.

Hindi ako masyadong busy ano? Tragis yan. Nakakataranta.

There is a to-do list inside my to-do list!

And of all days, ngayon ako tinamaan ng pagka-lethargic. Instead of doing everything, nandun ako sa couch, watching movies after movies after movies in Netflix. I’m supposed to be concentrating na pero there are four Amazon windows open in my laptop now. I’m shopping for Jojo Siwa stuff for Anika while Pineda is in the States. Para kako madala niya pauwi. It doesn’t help that it’s sooooo hot! Summer has definitely arrived!

Ang dami kong utang na kwento. I shall do that soon. Oh by the way, did I mention I’m going to Baguio next week to check one of our projects there? #PaanoNaLahatNgGagawinKo

I need a miracle.

Let’s do this! Kaya ko ito! I just wish maraming calories ang nabuburn ng pagiisip. Sexy na sexy na ako niyan talaga for summer.

Gotta go mga baks. I’ll see you back here in a bit, okies? Have a nice weekend.

Sunday Well Spent

April 8, 2018 by Mommy Fleur

It’s 10pm and I’m munching on Doritos while eating a tiny slice of the Salted Caramel cheesecake.

I’m supposed to be starting my first day of intermittent fasting tonight. However, it’s a night in the middle of a long weekend and I’m alone. Nakakasad. I don’t want to be sad (and I want to forget about my low EQ regarding the fasting) so let’s make kwentuhan na lang.

Today was a busy day. Here’s what I wore:

Top and Pants: UNIQLO; Sunglasses: FROM JAPAN

We bought prizes for Anika’s birthday party tomorrow at Market! Market!. I wanted to go to Divisoria pero nalalayuan si Alvin. After all the gastos for her birthday last year, small time lang the party tomorrow so everything is last minute. Thank God for Bing, may magba-balloon decor yung Shakey’s restaurant bukas. Kanina ko lang siya inask and I am so happy she found a balloon decorator to do it the last minute.

Anika doesn’t have anything to wear yet so we went to three malls to look for her birthday outfit. It wasn’t easy.

Later in the afternoon, we met up with my family to celebrate Russ’s birthday.

I remembered I haven’t bought Wowa her birthday gift so I got her a pair of cute sandals from Melissa.

Wowa got naman Anika a pair of super duper adorable Melissa shoes too! Ang ganda talaga nung shoes ni Anika. If they had it lang in adult size, I’d get myself one too!

Yeah, those are Anika’s legs and feet. Ang dalaga na tingnan di ba? Huhuhuhu! Ang kunswelo ko na lang from all these fast forwarding time is that Anika’s growing up to be a beautiful, kind and smart girl. I am praying really hard lumaking mabait na bata si Anika. Healthy, happy and mabait. Yun lang.

Like I said earlier, we had dinner at Manam to celebrate Russ’s birthday.

Isabel’s soooooooo cute talaga!

Anyway, I was supposed to look for something to wear for tomorrow’s party kaso I couldn’t concentrate on shopping because Alvin and Anika were waiting for me. Ayoko nagshashop ng may nagbabantay. Bahala na bukas.

I also ran out of my meds and they were out of stock everywhere!!! Imagine Mercury Drug telling me that all Mercury Drugstores in Makati, wala din daw stock. Alvin and I spent about 20 minutes calling different Mercury Drugstore branches to ask if may stock sila ng meds ko. Kahit hanggang Eastwood, wala. We found a small Mercury Drugstore in Baclaran. Meron daw sila. Dinayo namin. I cannot believe super out of stock ang meds ko. Ganun ka dami ang merong anxiety sa Metro Manila? Kaloka. At least we found a branch that has stock. I can hear Janis’s voice, “Dapat hindi mo inaantay maubos ang gamot mo saka ka bibili! Anong klaseng manager ka if hindi mo mamanage ang stock ng gamot mo.”. Yes. May point. Bwahahahaha! I told you we need friends like Janis.

It was a pretty good day albeit finding myself alone now. Anika’s asleep and Alvin’s out. Buti na lang may Netflix.

Let’s talk about our favorite Netflix shows next time ha? I’ll share mine soon!

Osha, I’m excited for Anika’s birthday tomorrow. For sure 4am pa lang, gising na siguro yun. Lelz.

Enjoy the rest of the long weekend, guys!

Dugay Na

April 8, 2018 by Mommy Fleur

Top: KAMISETA; Pants: UNIQLO; Shoes: KEDS

When we were having dinner yesterday (we eat with our kasambahays),

ALVIN (referring to our kasambahays): Aalis na yan.

I panicked. Akala ko yung all around namin yung aalis. I will die if she leaves. She’s the most efficient person in the house and I have trained her well. Buti na lang, yung “yaya” ni Anika daw yung aalis again. Yeah. She left na last year but went back kasi she got bored in the province. Ngayon, aalis na naman daw. Secretly, I am wishing that if she’ll leave, for good na. We actually only maintain her para lang may kalaro si Anika. Mabait sana kaso patola din kay Anika eh. They fight all the time. Also, hindi siya masyado nasusulit sa house because our all around is the one who does almost all of the house work. We can make do without the “yaya”. Anika definitely doesn’t need a yaya anymore. Para din matuto si Anika to look after and fix her things. Ang donya ng batang yan eh. Hindi marunong magpack and mag-attend to her stuff.

Anyway, after Alvin and Anika left the table, nagkwentuhan kaming 3. Lyn, our all around wonder woman, made kwento.

LYN: Ate, si Anika may Oppa na.

ME: Anong Oppa?!

LYN: Narinig ko nagkukwentuhan sila ni ____ (name of her girl playmate). Sabi ni girl, crush daw si Anika nung batang lalaki sa tapat ng bahay.

ME: Anong sabi ni Anika?

LYN: Hindi ko lang narinig. Pinaguusapan din nila yung isang bata dun sa kabilang bahay. Crush din daw si Anika.

ME: As in sila lang naguusap?

LYN: Oo Ate. Sinita ko nga eh. Sabi ko hoy anong crush crush yan? Sabi ni Anika, gumawa ng imaginary line sa gitna namin. Hanggang dun lang daw yung usapan sa kanila. Hindi daw ako kasali.

ME: Ano sabi mo?

LYN: Sabi ko ganun ba? Eh di gumawa din ako ng imaginary line sa pagitan namin dalawa. Sabi ko yun lang ang kasali sa usapan mamya sa kainan pagkasama na Tatay niya.

ME: Ano sabi ni Anika?

LYN: Wala po. Lumapit sa akin tapos niyakap ako. Wag daw.

Emergerd. It’s too early for this!

That night, while Anika and I were watching TV, I saw it as an opportunity to open this up with her. I started with asking how was her day. Tapos hindi ko na matiis.

ME: Anika, may Oppa ka na daw?

ANIKA: No.

ME: Do you have anything to make kwento to me about it.

ANIKA: NO!!!

ME: Ate Lyn said something about that boy from the house in front of us.

ANIKA: It’s nothing.

ME: We promised that we will not have secrets from each other di ba?

Anika started crying.

ME: O, bakit ka umiiyak?

ANIKA: I don’t want to talk about it.

ME: Why don’t you want to talk about it with me pero you talk about it with your girl friends?

ANIKA: You will get mad.

ME: No, I won’t get mad. I will get more mad if I hear it from somebody else.

Emergerd. I sounded like Wowa.

ANIKA: They said that that boy has a crush on me. But I don’t even like him.

ME: That’s okay Anika. You can tell me things like that. I will not get mad. Are you doing something wrong?

ANIKA: No.

ME: See? Why should I get mad? And di ba I told you we can talk about everything?

ANIKA: Yes.

Tapos ayun na nagkwento na siya. Nakinig ako. Nakitawa ako.

ME: O see? Masaya if we can talk about it di ba? Don’t keep things from me just because you will think I will get mad ha? Wag ganun. Maganda if we can talk about anything. I’m also your friend, right?

Nag-yes naman siya.

I know umpisa pa lang ito. Dugay pa, as they say in Bicol. Maaga pa. But I really, really want Anika to feel that she can tell me about these things. Lalo na about boys.

Eto na. Naguumpisa na tayo. Napapa-aga yata.

Sombrero Sitcom: Do You Have To Let It Linger?

April 6, 2018 by Mommy Fleur

Top: MYKA LIMCHOC; Pants: UNIQLO; Shoes: TORY BURCH

Alvin has this Youtube channel where he uploads their “gigs”. Itong mga “gigs” na ito are his and our friends’ acoustic sessions at home. Magaling kasi si Alvin mag-gitara so our other friends volunteer to be the singers. When they come over and have those sessions, they record it and post them online. Alvin collected them kaya siya gumawa ng Youtube channel. Saka ko na ipagkakalat yung Youtube channel niya pagnag-upload na siya ng video naming dalawa dun hahaha!

Anyway, last Sunday morning we were bored at home. Anika wasn’t feeling well so hindi pa kami nagsimba ng umaga. We were waiting for lunch time so we can go to Alvin’s house for their family’s Easter get-together. At dahil bored kami, we decided to do an acoustic version of Linger with Alvin in the guitars and me on the microphone. We video’ed ourselves and I posted it in the Mommy Fleur FB page.

Kapal nga ng fez ko kasi walang practice practice yun eh! Hahahaha!

At first kasi, Alvin was just playing his guitar and I was just singing along. Tapos nilabas na ni Alvin yung amplifier niya and the microphone. I pulled our bar stools dun sa living room namin so we can sit on it.

ALVIN: I-vivideo na ba?

ME: Hindi ha! Ngayon lang natin to gagawin. Wala tayong practice.

So I sang ng mga two rounds.

ME: Abby, paki video nga kami.

ALVIN: Akala ko ba hindi ivivideo?

ME: Video lang. Hindi ko iuupload. Gusto ko makita and marinig how we sing. Teka magba-bra lang ako.

Naka-pangtulog pa talaga kasi ako eh. I changed also my shorts. I passed by the mirror, ang pangit ko. Bagong gising. I put on kilay and konting lipstick. Para maganda naman sa video di ba?

Paglabas ko ng kwarto, aba, naka-pants na si Alvin! Naka-cap pa. And naka-shades pa!

Upon seeing me,

ALVIN: Hindi pala ipopost ha? Bakit ka naka-make up?!

ME: Ikaw nga naka-pantalon pa eh. Bakit ka naka-shades sa loob ng bahay?!

ALVIN: Gusto ko, bakit ba.

Hindi pala iuupload pero naka-kilay ako tapos naka-porma ang Alvin. Hahahahaha!

Wala. Dahil low EQ ako, I posted the video we recorded on our third try.

Here it is!

Medyo nagsisisi ako now I posted that. Hahahaha! Kelan nga ba naging nasa una ang pagsisisi di ba? My voice was flat. Boses lata nga daw eh. Sabi ko, ikabit niyo kasi sa magandang speaker yung phone niyo para maganda tunog ng boses ko! Hindi pa din daw. Bwiset! Hahahaha! I was nervous while singing noh. Nakaka-conscious pala.

Alvin and I were laughing about it because three times sumuka si Anika while I was singing. I told her, “Grabe anak, ganyan ba ka-lala yung boses ko? Nasuka ka!”. Yeah, she threw up kasi madami siyang phlegm =( At least nalalabas niya.

Anyway, an hour after I posted the video,

ALVIN: O, may nagcomment na ba sa video mo?

ME: Meron.

ALVIN: Anong sabi?

ME: Ang payat ko daw.

Tawa ng tawa ang Alvin, leche na yan.

After four hours…

ALVIN: O, may nagcomment na ba ulit?

ME: Meron.

ALVIN: Anong sabi?

ME: Happy Easter daw.

Grabe. Hagalpak sa tawa si Alvin!

Bahala kayo. I shall practice a lot. Magkakaron ako ng comeback video! Abangan niyo yan!

Or not.

Hahahahaha!

Have a great day!

To Go Or Not To Go

April 5, 2018 by Mommy Fleur

Inner top: FOREVER 21; Checkered polo: MANGO; Shorts: LEVI’S; Cap: FOREVER 21; Sunglasses: RAY BAN; Sandals: BIRKENSTOCK

Lolo Papa messaged me the other day. He was asking if I can go to Amsterdam this June because my female cousin from the States will be passing by Amsterdam on her way back home from Italy. Papa was asking if I can go and help him take my cousin around Holland and the same time it will be a good opportunity for me to have a short vacation. 10 days lang, okay na. Actually before this, nung kasagsagan ng condition ko, Papa told me to come to Amsterdam so I can recuperate. I had second thoughts kasi I felt that I can’t travel without Alvin and Anika.

I am having second thoughts pa din naman for June. I’m scared to travel alone. Baka magka-anxiety attack ako sa plane or when I’m in Amsterdam. If I were to go, I want at least man lang Alvin to go with me. However, hindi keri ng current budget kaming tatlo. Not sa airfare lang but also the pocket money. Ayokong magtravel with Anika na tipid. Siyempre when we’re there, mag Paris Disneyland na yan tska may Warner Brothers Studio sa Germany. Sayang the trip kasi if we all go there tapos we just stay in Amsterdam. Hindi sulit. Malaki laki ding budget ang kailangan if kaming tatlo ang lalarga. Whereas if si Alvin lang kasama ko, pwede kami chill lang in Amsterdam for 10 days. Kaso as if naman magpapaiwan yan si Anika dito sa Manila. Besides, nakaka-guilty for Alvin and I to both go without her.

Bakit kako tight ang budget ngayon? The additional money we shelled out for the renovation of our current house is medyo malaki. Simple lang naman talaga dapat kasi yung renovations, eh di ba nga sa ka-artehan ko, nagover kami sa budget. Hindi naman ako nagsisisi. Titigan ko lang yung bookshelves ko, nawawala ang panghihinayang sa gastos. Lelz. Also, we are having our old house renovated too kasi we are planning to sell it. Hindi naman kami zero pero alam niyo naman ang pagka-sigurista nitong ni Sombrero. Hindi yan nagbabakasyon ng marangya not unless super extra talaga ang gagamiting moolah for the trip expenses. Kailangan laging may naka-tabi lalo na bayaran na naman ng tuition, you guyssss! Wooohooo! Hahahaha!

Anyway, swerte din ako ganyan magisip asawa ko. Financially advantageous sa amin ang opposites attract. Kung ako lang kasi basta may pera, go! Life is too short not to be enjoyed. Kaso ma-la-life is too short naman daw si Alvin sa stress if gastos lang ng gastos without ipon.

May point.

When I told Alvin about Papa’s message, he encouraged me to go. Walang problema if ako lang daw muna ang pumunta kay Papa. I expressed my hesitations and fear. Natahimik lolo niyo. He’s seen me during the attacks. He told me to talk to my therapist about this trip. I didn’t tell Alvin but my therapist was actually telling me to have a vacation outside the country ng matagal. He told me this dati pa. Sinabi ko lang noon that I can’t take a leave off work ng months. So malamang, the therapist will tell me to go. Alvin’s still convincing me now. Sabi ko lang malay namin, mabenta yung bahay this month. If that happens, automatic kasama na sila ni Anika. But that is suntok pa sa buwan because hindi pa tapos yung improvements na ginagawa and gagawin pa dun sa lumang house. 90% chance na ako lang ang pupunta sa June and hindi kasama yung mag-ama ko. I’m scared of that thought because ang clingy ko sa kanila nowadays. Hindi ako sure if I want to go.

Hindi ako sure pero I googled na the weather in the dates that I’ll be in Amsterdam. Pa-summer na yun eh! Hindi ako sure na gusto ko umalis pero last night, I was scanning my closet already for the clothes that I will bring. May apprehensions ako with traveling alone pero I messaged na my amigas in Amsterdam na abangan na ako there! I told Papa hindi ko pa alam pero I messaged him if magpa-Paris ba kami. He replied with yes, we can go to Paris or Madrid or Rome or London. Emergerd. Nagpapalpitate na ako ngayon. I don’t know if dahil sa takot magtravel or dahil sobra akong excited!

Ang loka loka ko grabe.

Anyway, there’s the application of visa pa. There’s still a chance the embassy will not approve so I won’t get my hopes up masyado. Mahirap na madisappoint.

I need to push na talaga selling my preloved clothes. Gagamitin ko ang proceeds for my Amsterdam trip pocket money. Kasasabi lang na wag muna magexpect eh! Grrrrrr! Hahahaha! Di bale, at least pagnagbenta na ako, push or not ang Amsterdam, at least may extra money. I wasn’t able to take photos and post the clothes online kasi Anika got sick nung bakasyon.

So there. Yan ang chika for the day. I will be applying for a Shengen visa after this week. I’m currently cramming for Anika’s small birthday party. Wala pa siyang Jojo Siwa na damit! Anyway after her birthday, gorabelles na ako sa visa application. Albeit positive thinking tayo forever, I should practice the no expectations part. Iba din kasi ako pagnag-expect eh so relax relax lang.

Osha, my classes are going to start na in a while. Stay tuned!

Good morning everyone!

Some Things About Positivity This Easter

April 1, 2018 by Mommy Fleur

Happy Easter everyone!

For today, I want to write about positivity. One of my blog readers messaged me last Thursday. She saw me daw in Jollibee near Malate church while doing the Bisita Iglesia. She didn’t say hi in person kasi nahihiya daw siya so she just sent me a message that night. Sabi niya, mukha daw ako walang pinagdadaanan.

First, thank you and yes, I get that a lot.

For me kasi, andun na eh, I’m going through something difficult, why do I have to show it to the whole wide world pa? Ang lakas niya maka-nega. And we all know, we attract what we think. How will I get better if puno ako ng negativity? So I try to be positive all the time which is not easy. Alvin and my closest confidants have seen me at my “worstest” worst. Hindi mo aaklain na ako yun. It’s not always rainbows and butterflies, ika nga nila, when you have this condition. However, whether you have anxiety or none, you will go through experiences na hindi magaganda.

What will you do about it? That is the question.

My advice is try not to be a negative person.

Eto, gawin niyo tong checklist. See if you are a negative fellow. I found this online: 15 Signs of Negative People. I won’t enumerate the list here anymore pero here are some the most common traits I notice with the negative people around me:

They worry a lot.
They try to tell you what to do.
They live in a default position. This means they are in constant look out for fear and danger.
They are pessimist.
They complain a lot.
They become energy vampires. Do know people na if you’re with them parang nade-drain ka? Sila yun.

So are you a negative person? It takes a lot para aminin ito ha? But you need to accept it so you can change yourself. I realized that dati I was a negative person pala. Though, I encourage positivity and I make people laugh, there is a side of me na nega. Gusto kong alisin yun. Life is too short to be negative. You don’t know until when ka lang mabubuhay. Yes I understand may pinagdadaanan ka but,

a.) I am sure there is always somebody else out there who are in worse situations.
b.) I am sure things will get better someday. You just have to ride it out.
c.) God is there. You just have to trust him.

I am sure Pineda will not mind so I will make her as an example. Pineda told me dati that she was a negative person. Puno siya ng worry sa katawan. JR, her husband, was her opposite. Itong si JR naman is napaka-positive. There was a time Pineda was so down because of her problems. Naiinis na sa kanya si JR kasi wala daw magagawa yung pagka-negative niya sa mga problems niya. Over time, with the help of JR’s nagging and yung mga talks dun sa Victory fellowship that they attended, she was able to change her attitude. Because of that and because of her trust in God, Pineda now is thriving. She was able to find ways how to solve her problem. Instead of dwelling in them, she is now in the middle of doing something she likes and the same time, nakakatulong masolve yung problema niya.

See what positivity can do? =) Kaya feed your positivity. I do this by praying, reading the bible verses Lolo Papa gave me and doing the things I am grateful for list.

May money problems ka? Isipin mo yan ang pinaka-madaling problema sa lahat. I heard that from Vivian in 2015 nung down na down kami ni Alvin dahil dun sa halos makukulong na siya dahil sa pera na hindi naman niya kasalanan. Vivian said, be thankful walang may sakit sa amin na malubha. That is a bigger problem.

Feeling mo mataba ka? You worry about your weight? Nalalakihan ka sa thighs mo? Think about all those people in the hospital now. Don’t you feel lucky na at least ikaw, mataba ka nga, pero wala ka naman sakit? You go through life living without pain.

Help other people. Ang sarap ng feeling. It can add to your positivity. Hindi mo kailangan gumawa ng outreach program mala-Angel Locsin to help. Even with just listening to a friend na may problem and helping her solve it, okay na yun. Or donate stuff to the Marawi victims.

Lessen the stress in your life. I realized that recently lang, thanks to my anxiety condition. Piliin mo lang yung ikaka-stress mo sa buhay. Yung magulong bahay, hayaan mo na yun. Nakaka-inis yung katulong niyo? Either accept mo na lang siya or lay her off. Do not do a lot of things at the same time. I stopped doing that. Nobody is expecting me to be like that. It was something I imposed myself and para lang akong loka-loka.

Madami pa diyang steps how to be positive. Ito basahin niyo din tong article na ito I found online: How To Stay Positive.

Lastly, always think about what you are grateful for.

When I do that, Alvin and Anika are always in my top list. God, I am really grateful for these two. They love me and they said hindi daw nila ako iiwan.

I am grateful Alvin was able to be more open about anxiety depression. Hindi yan naniniwala dati sa sakit ko. Hindi ko naman din sure if he believes na fully now because he said dati he will never have this kasi happy person siya. He looks for things to do para mawala anxiety niya. Well, if an anxiety disorder attacks you, no matter how happy and strong you are, wala ka. Magkakaron ka nito. Parang trangkaso nga. Walang pinipili. Nevertheless, I am grateful for Alvin kasi whether he believes in this or not, naka-support siya. Hinabaan pa niya pasensya na and he let me do things I like while covering for me sa house. He made me feel that he is a permanent fixture in my life who I can depend on and that makes me feel a lot, lot less anxious about things.

I am grateful for my family. My dad, like how he was in 2004 when I had anxiety depression, is in full support pa din despite being thousands of miles away. He prays for me all the time. He has a gift of healing and I can feel it all the way here. Wowa, LT, Toots, Faye with their significant others are there when I ask them. Hindi sila yung mga nagyayaya lumabas or get together (that is my role dito sa family ko na ito) pero when I ask for them, they go.

I am extremely grateful for my in-laws. I am one of the few na swerte sa mga biyenan, bayaw and bilas. I know madami sa inyo gusto akong sabunutan sa inggit, pero yes, swerte talaga ako sa kanila. They are mababait to me and my family.

I am also grateful for my friends. Feel ko kasi na nandiyan talaga sila despite us not seeing each other often.

Well, except for Janis and Alfred na halos araw araw talaga nasa bahay nung kasagsagan ng ganito ko, I message and viber a lot with them kahit na hindi kami masyadong nagkikita kita. Peachy even gave me that Mary Undoer of Knots statue so I can pray for her. Vivian shared the novena to the Sacred Heart with I prayed twice a day dati.

I also have friends and confidants who are faceless. Hindi sila nakikita dito sa blog ko pero they are also my source of positivity. Pwede kong sabihin na hindi ko siguro kinaya if wala din sila.

And of course, diyosme naluluha na ako, I am forever grateful for my blog readers. Grabe ang support niyo guys. Yan ang difference ng 2004 disorder ko compared sa ngayon. Mas madali magcope ngayon dahil feel na feel ko ang support and pag-alala niyo. Para kayong mga cheerleaders ng buhay ko and with that, I am forever grateful talaga. Swerte ako sa inyo.

Alam niyo ba minsan napapa-isip ako. Sabi ko parang naiinggit ako dun sa ibang bloggers na libo libo talaga ang followers sa Instagram and Facebook. Naiinggit ako kasi may mga awards sila. Sabi ko kako, bakit ako wala na compared during the first five years of my blogging career. Well, apart from the fact na hindi ko naman kasi talaga kinakareer na ang pagba-blog ngayon like they do, wapakels ako kasi I know hindi man tens of thousands ang nagfa-follow sa akin, sure ako na halos kumare ko na kayong lahat. I mean, hindi ko lang kayo blog readers only, friendships na tayo.

I can feel your empathy sa akin and sa family ko. Literally bumuhos talaga ang messages and get well soon for me nung nagkasakit ako ng ganito. And I will never want to exchange you guys sa tens or hundreds of thousands of followers na nanonood lang and wapakels naman sa finafollow nila. Okay, naiiyak na talaga ako. Maraming salamat, mga bakla. Hindi niyo lang alam talaga how grateful I am for each one of you.

Ayown. Whew. Thank you.

For this Easter, let’s start being grateful guys. Be grateful over the smallest things. Lumabas ka and breathe the fresh morning air. Be thankful buhay ka. Be thankful kumpleto ang body parts mo. Be thankful may work ka kahit halos isumpa mo na mga workmates mo. Be thankful you have the ability to be able to inspire and help others.

I leave you with this quote I got from Wordables in Instagram. Mother of all quotes for today.

“At the end of life, what really matters is not what we bought but what we built, not what we got but what we shared, not our competence but our character, and not our success but our significance. Live a life that matters. Live a life of love.”

Happy Easter everyone!

Happy 1st Birthday, Aki!

March 31, 2018 by Mommy Fleur

A few weekends ago, we attended the first birthday party of Vivian’s bunso, Aki.

The theme was dinosaurs.

This kiddie party is one of my favorites. Not only because it was Bing Wijangco (my friends since 2nd year High School) of Party God Mother Manila who coordinated it but because it was one of the most fun and entertaining children’s party ever.

Galing.

Let’s photoblog, shall we? Thanks Vivian for allowing me to grab photos from her FB album =)

The centerpieces were cute. The kids were also able to make those stuffed DIY dinosaurs during the party. Yung kay Anika, inuwi na lang namin and sa house ginawa. Ang cute. Ask Bing about it.

Of course, there were touches of Vivian’s humor everywhere. Gusto ko isa isahin yung tables just to read the DID YOU KNOW cards.

There were hotdogs, fries and cotton candy.

I love the photo booth backdrop.

The host was great. Kitang kita naman sa fez ng anak ko. The host was so entertaining and I asked about his professional fee, grabe ang sulit. Again, ask Bing about him.

Friends since grade school =) Ang gaganda ng mga kumare ko.

Eto mga bakla ang pinaka-sulit sa lahat. I forgot the name of this group but they dance, make balloon figures and drove the kids (and adults) wild! Kakaiba! It was the first time I was able to watch this kind of balloon show. Again, when I asked Bing about how much they were, napaka-sulit for a 15 minute show. Ask Bing about them. Gorabelles!

The styling of the place was so nice too. It was done by Shaz Santos-Gonzales daw, Vivian said.

Congratulations to Vivian and Omar for throwing a successful party. And congratulations Bing for the great suppliers recommendations! Yey!

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