Goodbye, Old Casa Blanco.

Now that we're moving to a new home, my husband told me: "O ayan makaka-move on ka na sa dati nating bahay." 

Admittedly, whenever I feel depressed kasi with our current living situation, palaging yung dati naming townhouse ang bukang-bibig ko. Hindi nga talaga ako maka-move on. Half of my heart wanted to go back to Edmonton, where we can afford an even bigger dwelling (yung hindi lang townhouse). Hanggang wala kaming bagong bahay sa BC, feeling ko hindi pa kami talaga taga-doon.

Ngayon I can finally say goodbye to our old house. Our first home in Canada.

Ang since it's throwback Thursday, allow me to post pictures of our Edmonton townhome. Para na rin may reference kami someday. Saka para makita ni Nathan later on (since this blog is my personal diary/journal na rin).

These were the official photos used by our Realtor in selling the house. He commissioned a professional photographer to take the shots. We decluttered the house syempre before the photoshoot kaya ganyan.

FRONT EXTERIOR. Ours was an end unit.

FRONT DOOR. Bad daw sa Feng Shui ang stairs facing the door, kaso naisip ko hindi naman kami Intsik haha. 

LIVING ROOM. We had a very spacious living room. It's good though that I wasn't able to put up yet the photo frames that I was collating for that huge blank wall.

Yes, I love white. Our new place will be white again.

DINING AREA. That bench will always be memorable to us haha. It cost us $900, would you believe?

KITCHEN. It might be 'small' but I learned to cook from there.

POWDER ROOM. I loved this room. It was so big.

MASTER BEDROOM.  Our first room as a family.

The door on the right side was for the closet. 

MASTER BATHROOM. It wasn't that big but the size was just perfect for me.

GUEST ROOM. Several visitors have stayed in this room in less than three years that we lived in that house.

MY "ME" ROOM. My favorite place in that house. I was thankful to the husband for giving this to me.

That white couch is a bed, too.

MAIN BATHROOM. This was Nathan's.

BALCONY. This big balcony compensated for our lack of backyard.

I will always remember lots of barbecue sessions that took place here.

GARAGE. It was deep and spacious.

BACK EXTERIOR. Simple but functional.

Now it's really time to move forward. Wag nga raw dapat magpaka-attached sa bahay sa North America kasi hindi naman yan forever sa iyo o sa pamilya mo. Pero sadyang senti lang talaga akong tao siguro.

In the coming months, about New Casa Blanco na ang ipo-post ko. Excited na ako.

A new home for us

Hi, guys! I just want to share with you a very happy news -- we already bought a townhouse! Oh, I am so excited! After being "houseless" for one and a half year, we are finally moving to our new home this September 2018.

March 4, 2018

Ibang-iba ang pakiramdam na sa wakas, magkakabahay na uli kami. Mas masaya kaysa noong una kaming bumili sa Edmonton. Dati kasi bumili lang kami ng wala kaisyu-isyu. When I already decided to follow my husband in Edmonton, ayun naghanap na siya ng townhouse na mabibili para pagdating ko may matitirahan na kami (he was just renting a studio-type apartment then). Walang problema sa budget, the real estate situation was normal. Ibang-iba sa situation ngayon na talagang nakaka-stress bumili ng bahay kasi nga napakataas ng presyo. Lakasan na lang talaga ng loob at sobrang pagtitipid ang kailangan.

Iba rin ang pakiramdam ngayon kasi nga na-experience namin tumira sa apartment namin ngayon. It is old and truly uncomfortable. Napaka-humbling tumira doon kasi nga galing kami sa isang bago at mabangong bahay haha. Even my son hated living there. Ayaw na nga niyang bumalik sa Canada eh.

Kaya talagang looking forward kaming lumipat na. Yun nga lang in half a year pa kasi ginagawa pa (yes, it's brand new!). Pero di bale na, iba yung may tinatanaw na, hindi ba?

Ooops by the way, we'll be extending our vacation here in Pinas. Instead of returning in Canada on April 13, sa June 8 na. Thankfully walang rebooking fees/charges sa EVA Air. Since wala rin naman kaming gagawin pa sa Canada (no more house-hunting kasi nga nakabili na), we might as well maximize na lang our stay here. Para less time na lang ang ipag-aantay namin for September. Saka to be honest, malaki ang natitipid ng asawa ko sa pagbabakasyon namin sa Pinas haha! Sponsored kasi kami ni Nathan dito ng ermats ko kaya wala syang gastos lol. Eh syempre ang dami-daming magagastos sa paglipat namin (lawyer's fee, moving expenses, new things for the house like washer-dryer, etc.) kaya dapat magtipid lol. My mother doesn't mind, syempre mas gusto niyang nandito kami kahit nagagastusan siya. Kung gusto nga raw namin eh wag na kaming umalis.

I'll share more details of our new townhome soon! =)

Addicted to diamond painting

Hello! I apologize for 'abandoning' this blog for the past three weeks. I became so busy kasi with diamond painting haha!

You see, I got so stressed out with the idea of house-hunting in BC so I deliberately searched for a new hobby to keep my mind off it. At para na rin malibang ako dito sa Pinas kasi sa totoo lang, bored na ako. Sakto naman na nakita ko ito sa posts ng isang IG mom that I stalk. Yep, whenever I am left with free time, I stalk people in IG. Mga random, ordinary people lang, because I am curious on how they conduct their daily lives. Siguro I will always be a Sociologist kahit hindi na ako practicing.

Anyway, I originally wanted to go back to cross stitching so I can produce some works that I could hang in our future house. Kaso wala ng nagtitinda ng cross stitch materials dito. Hindi na yata uso? I actually have a lot of unfinished projects pero nasa Canada naman, pinadala ko when I was pregnant kaso hindi ko naman nahipo. Pero yun nga, I learned na itong diamond painting (or rhinestone art) na pala ang "in" ngayon.

I had no idea where to buy a kit so I googled. Ayun, sa Lazada pala may mga nagbebenta. Naka-experience na akong bumili sa Lazada last year so alam ko na how to order. Cash on delivery naman. For my first diamong painting project, I chose a small but colorful design. Baka kasi hindi ko magustuhan kaya subok lang muna.

My package had arrived in less than 2 days. I was so excited that I started doing it right after I opened it. Finigure out ko pa nga how. It was only after finishing it that I realized na hindi ito ang design na inorder ko. It's a "spring" tree and I ordered a "summer" tree.

Tsk, nainis talaga ako. Kasi there are sellers na nagbebenta nito ng Php399, sa ibang seller ako bumili kahit mas mahal ng Php10 kasi nga may summer tree siya (na wala sa ibang sellers) tapos iba naman pala ang ipapadala. Out of stock na malamang kasi siya na lang ang nagpo-post ng summer tree eh. So there, lesson learned pag nag-order online -- icheck talaga ang item kung tama ba.

Anyway, I finished my first ever diamond painting in less than 3 days (pasingit-singit lang yun ha). They say I was fast, pero siguro sanay lang talaga ako magcross stitch kaya madali na para sa akin. Diamond painting is definitely so much easier, super addicting din. Talagang naaliw ako.

I immediately placed another order for a bigger design. Sobrang big nga, in fact, 4 feet by 2 feet siya. Namurahan kasi ako, Php1,169 lang (free shipping pa) eh ang mahal nyan sa iba.

I was so happy when I received it kasi nasa magandang box talaga at kumpleto sa gamit. My mother was so skeptic na matatapos ko. Ang dami ko raw kasing sinimulan na cross stitch na malalaki na hindi ko tinapos. I assured her na kaya ko, pero malamang na sa Canada na. Tamang-tama kako para sa bago naming bahay.

But because I knew na mahilig din si Mamoosh sa mga ganyan, I told her igagawa ko siya ng mas maliit (at realistic tapusin agad) ng konti. Ayaw daw niya kasi nung pink tree ko (the first that I made) kasi hindi niya maintindihan. So I showed her several designs so she could choose. Inorder ko uli sa Lazada (Php598, including shipping fee).

Kaso ang palpak naman. Hindi pala siya fully beaded. Yung four flowers lang ang lalagyan ng beads. Waaah asar-talo kami ni Mamoosh, sayang ang pera! Dapat ipapa-frame ko na rin ito tulad nung pink tree kaso I couldn't force myself to pay for another Php500+ para sa pangit na diamond painting na ito.

Another lesson learned -- make sure to know all the details of what you're ordering. Hindi ko kasi inalam kung fully beaded nga ba ito o hindi. Walang nakalagay sa site so I should have messaged the seller, tsk. Saka sana inalam ko kung pwede pa bang isoli. Ginawa ko kasi agad hoping na maganda pag natapos.

To make it up to Mamoosh, I told her I'll finish this na lang tapos iiwan ko na dito sa bahay. Kaya kinarir ko na talaga. Sabi ko alagaan nila si Nathan para matapos ko haha!

And here it is, done in two weeks (from February 24 to March 12, may days na hindi ko nagalaw). I am so happy because it turned out really nice. Mas maganda at makinang talaga siya sa actual. I can't wait to see it framed and hanged on the wall. We'll bring it to the framer later today.

Kaya yan po ang dahilhan ng kabusy-han ko the past days lol. The thing is, nagwi-withdrawal syndrome ako ngayon. I am itching to start another project again but I want to rest my eyes muna. Saka hindi ko pa alam kung anong design ang gusto kong gawin next. Sadly, walang masyadong choices sa Lazada. Maraming maganda pero hindi nga fully pasted. I researched and may mga sellers naman sa Facebook kaso out of stock din ang mga gusto kong designs tapos super pricey pa. Oh well, bahala na nga. Relatively new pa lang kasi ang diamond painting kaya  konti pa ang suppliers and designs.

O siya, I have so many kwentos na naipon. Stay tuned ha!