Balikbayan Take-Home: Xtreme MagicSing

When you live abroad, it's a must na may sarili kang karaoke mic sa bahay lol. Aside from personal enjoyment, importante yan kapag may bisita ka sa bahay, pang-entertain kumbaga. Kaya naman ang isa sa agenda ko sa pag-uwi dito sa Pinas this year ay ang makabili ng Magic Sing hehe.

Most of our friends in Edmonton have this already, kaya siyempre nakikigaya kami. Ford and I are not bibo when it comes to karaoke singing, shy kami sa mga tao. Pero kapag kaming dalawa lang, kanta kami ng kanta haha!

Noon pa namin gustong bumili nito kaso nag-apartment lang kami the past 2 years. Sabi namin kapag nagkabahay na lang uli. At eto na nga, nakalipat na kami last November! =)

I knew that there are so many karaoke microphones now but I only wanted to buy in SM. Wala na akong energy na maghanap-hanap pa, saka mas credible for me ang nabibili sa mall kesa Lazada o Shopee.

While waiting for TanTan to finish his train ride in SM Marilao last May 1, ayun nakita ko ito. Yung presyo na lang talaga ang tiningnan ko haha. Less than Php15,000 so pwede na. Wala akong balak bumili ng mahal kasi nga hindi naman nga kami "pro" ng asawa ko sa kantahan.

When I asked the saleslady, parehas lang naman daw halos ang dalawang units na ito, wireless microphone lang yung mahal.  Lalo akong na-convince bilhin yung cheaper syempre. I asked the saleslady about their ongoing promo, less Php1,000 daw plus Php6,000-worth of hotel voucher (sa Ilocos at Baguio nga lang haha!). Then she suggested na sa May 23 daw, may 10% promo ang SM kaya malaking tipid din. Ayos, sabi ko babalik ako.

At syempre kelangan ko munang hingan ng pera ang asawa ko. My mother was volunteering to buy it for us kaso nahihiya na ako. Super dami na niyang gastos sa amin ni TanTan dito eh. Ford initially wanted me to get the cordless one, but I disagreed. Sobrang mahal na kako yun, doble ang halaga tapos "cord" lang ang difference. Ok na kako muna yung mura, we can always buy again next time kung magugustuhan namin.

A few days ago, a saleslady of another brand was convincing me to buy their product. Grand ang tatak (dating Wow daw). Their cheapest unit is more expensive than Magic Sing's so medyo turn-off ako (lol again). Pero medyo ginoogle ko pa rin kung ano ang mas ok. I also even asked a friend in Edmonton kung ano sa tingin niya ang ok based on their experience.

To cut the story short, Magic Sing won. So bumili na nga ako kahapon.

The salespersons were very happy with their sale hehe. Medyo madami nga raw bumibili nung Php14,900 unit lately, dinadala sa abroad. I think most nga ng bumibili ng karaoke microphones ay taga-abroad. Dito kasi Php500 lang ang rental ng videoke machine kapag may handaan so no need to buy your own.

This is the unit that I bought. Less Php500 lang pala ang summer promo nila. Yung Php1,000 discount is for the cordless one.

I only paid a total of Php12, 960. Not bad na rin. Sulit ang paga-antay ko ng May 23 kasi Php1,440 rin ang natipid ko.

And they were not kidding about the hotel vouchers! Meron talaga! The vouchers are valid for a year kaso kung kanino lang nakapangalan. I had the option to have it under a different name kaso sino naman. Kaloka, gusto ko tuloy mag-Baguio haha! Pero I wonder rin kung makakapag-book nga ba ako using these haha. Let's see.

Ayan, one item off my shopping list! Excited na akong gamitin ito kahit na na-info overload ako sa mga instructions na pinagsasabi nung saleslady. Oh well, bahala na ang asawa ko na magset-up nito. We don't have many friends yet in BC at hindi ko alam kung kelan kami magkakabisita sa bahay pero for sure masusulit pa rin ito. =)

Hello Kitty at 88-Peso Stores

I went to Trinoma last May 5, 2019 to meet with my girl friends. I intentionally came early for two reasons: (1) I commuted lang so kailangan umalis ako ng maaga pa para hindi pa masyadong mainit, and (2) I wanted window shop and visit my favorite stores na wala sa SM Marilao (lol). First time ko kasing lumuwas noon sa Manila simula nang dumating ako noong April 9, would you believe?

On top of my list ng stores na gusto kong puntahan ay ang dalawang 88-peso stores syempre:

Japan Home. Oh how I wish mayroong Japan Home sa Canada!

Their branch in Trinoma is not that big. I wonder kung saan kaya yung talagang malaki at nang madayo ko.

I was surprised na ang dami-dami na nilang hello kitty items! Sobra-sobrang pagpipigil ang ginawa ko kasi nga maliit lang naman ang bahay namin at wala akong paglalagyan sa kanila. Sinabi ko talaga sa sarili ko na ang mga bibilhin ko lang sa Pinas ay yung talagang magagamit ko.

Saka syempre, budget na rin. Pahamak kasi ang mga stores na ganito. Akala mo mura lang pero kapag medyo napadami ka ng dampot eh wasak din ang wallet mo. Php88 x 5 items = Php440 na rin!

Pero pag-iisipan ko pa rin kung bibili ako ng ilang kitchen items para maaliw naman ako sa pagluluto lol.

Daiso. Ahhhh, Daiso! You never fail to thrill me! Medyo pangit lang ang location mo sa Trinoma (nasa loob ng True Value) kaya hindi ka masyadong napapasok ng tao.

I was shocked na may isa na rin silang wall dedicated to Hello Kitty. I mean, may mga kitty na dati sa Daiso pero hindi ganito kadami. Sana may ganito rin sa Daiso Canada waaaah!

Ito yung cosmetics line nila na nakikita ko dati pa sa mga vlogs.

Hmm, pagi-isipan ko kung bibili ako later on ng kahit isang piraso lang. Try ko rin pumunta sa mas malaking branch ng Daiso.

I was such a good girl. Isa lang ang nabili ko. I am very happy kasi magagamit ko talaga ito! I got this for Php188.

I love love love Hello Kitty! I am almost 40 pero talagang gusto ko pa rin siya hehe. I'll do a haul later of all the Hello Kitty stuff na mabibili ko this Pinas vacation ko. =)

Cherry Blossoms in Trinoma

I wasn't able to take selfies with cherry blossoms in Vancouver this spring. Pauwi na kasi kami sa Pinas noon and we were so busy shopping, packing, and all. Last year naman, nasa Pilipinas din kami ng March to April kung kelan peak ng cherry blossoms.

Kaya sobrang saya ko nang makakita ako ng maraming cherry blossom trees sa Trinoma, malapit sa Landmark Supermarket Extension. Syempre fake lang pero na-happy na rin ako haha!

O di ba, pwede na? Mukhang totoo na rin lol.

Bihira na akong mag-selfie pero hindi ko talaga na-resist magpeechur-peechur. Wala na akong kebs kahit pagtinginan pa ako ng mga tao haha!

Next year, I promise to go to the best cherry blossom sites in Vancouver. Goal ko talaga yun this year kaso hindi talaga kinaya ng schedule eh. Sana lang talaga pumayat na ako uli para maganda sa picture hehe. #asapa

Philippine Election 2019

May 13, 2019. Nathan and I accompanied Lola to the nearby elementary school to vote. Ako lang sana ang sasama pero nagising ng maaga ang bagets kaya nagdrama na ayaw daw niyang maiwan sa bahay.

We started walking (toward school) past 7am. Ang init na grabe. Mamoosh said na kung medyo tinanghali pa akong nakaligo eh hindi na siya boboto kasi sobrang init na nga. Pero syempre kahit na hindi ko talaga forte ang gumising ng maaga eh nag-insist ako na samahan siya, para nga maengganyo siya lalong bumoto at makapag-observe observe na rin ako. Matagal-tagal na rin kasi akong hindi nakakaboto. Last year nagkaroon ng barangay election (I was also here in Pinas) at pwedeng-pwede pa sana akong bumoto kaso hindi na lang. Wala rin naman kasi akong/kaming kilala ni isa sa mga kandidato so useless lang kasi talagang manghuhula lang ako/kami.

Hindi pa gaanong maraming tao nang dumating kami at around 7:30am. Kaso hindi pa ready yung table kung saan mo puwedeng itanong kung saan ang presinto mo so I did a room-to-room check. May mga nakapost naman na list sa may pinto ng classrooms.

And as expected, nasa listahan pa ako. Gosh, I was so tempted to vote! I felt that my country needs my vote now more than ever. Pero siyempre hindi ko ginawa kasi nga Canadian citizen na ako. I just hoped na wala sanang ibang gumamit ng balotang para sa akin.

Walang masyadong tao sa labas, yun pala nasa loob na ng classrooms at naga-antay na makaboto. As in punung-puno na ang mga presinto. I felt bad for those people kasi nga sobrang init na at siguradong tatanghaliin na sila doon. We were lucky because Mamoosh is a senior citizen. May priority line for the oldies kaya medyo napabilis. Medyo nag-antay pa rin siya ng 25 minutes bago nakaboto.

It was Nathan's first time to step in a Philippine school, aliw na aliw siya. Ibang-iba nga kasi ang schools dito kumpara sa Canada.

Mamoosh was done voting at around 8:10am. I was happy na nandito kami ngayon sa Pinas kasi nga nasamahan namin siya. I will feel bad kung mag-isa lang siyang boboto o hindi siya boboto.

Post-Election Thoughts

Three hours pa lang after matapos ang botohan eh alam ko na na wala sa mga binoto ni Mamoosh ang papasok sa Magic 12. I actually gave her a list of who to vote kasi hiningan niya ako. I was so disheartened. Middle-class sentiment, I know. I felt bad for our country, feared for the future of our younger generations. I've never been this so disappointed in politics sa totoo lang.

Admittedly, ang unang pumasok sa utak ko nang una kong makita ang partial result for senators ay: "Syet, buti na lang Canadian na kami!" There was a part of me na relieved kasi kung tutuusin, hindi na kami makakasama sa sinking ship that is the Philippines. Pero syempre hindi naman ako talaga selfish. Kung maayos man ang kinalalagyan ko ngayong bansa, gusto ko rin na maayos ang bansang pinagmulan ko at kinalalagyan ng pamilya at mga kaibigan ko. Kaya nga sobra-sobrang ang pagkadismaya ko sa resulta ng eleksyong ito eh.

Eighty percent of Filipinos belong to the lower class. Nakakalungkot kasi hanggang may mga Pilipinong kapos sa pinag-aralan, may boboto at boboto sa kandidatong gwapo lang (kahit na magnanakaw). Hanggang may Pilipinong kumakalam ang sikmura, may boboto sa kandidatong namimili ng boto sa halagang limang daan. Iyan nga siguro ang "resbak" ng mahihirap sa minorya ng Pilipinong medyo nakaangat sa buhay at antas ng edukasyon.

Sa totoo lang, hindi ko na alam ang gagawin sa Pinas. Nawawalan na ako ng pag-asa. SINKING SHIP -- yan na talaga ang tingin ko. Sana lang talaga mali ako.

Balikbayan Program: One Year Free Stay in Pinas

For those former Filipino citizens like me who would like to return/travel/stay in the Philippines, the government has this Balikbayan Program that allows us a one year "free" stay. Upon arrival, the Immigration officer will stamp (or write) a one year permitted duration of stay in the Philippines.

My son Nathan, who's a Canadian citizen at birth, was also given a free one year stay because he's traveling with a "Balikbayan" parent (this also applies to the spouse). If he's traveling to  the Philippines alone, he will only be given 30 days.
=(
The one year free stay can be extended daw for another 1, 2 or 6 months but the Balikbayan and/or immediate family of a Balikbayan would have to go to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to apply for such extension.

According to BI's website, a balikbayan may be required to provide proof/s that he/she was born in the Philippines (like birth certificate, old Philippines passport). But in our case, hindi na hinanap kasi nakalagay na Canadian passport ang "place of birth." Hindi ko lang alam sa ibang foreign passports.

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Side Thought -- Ang lungkot din pala na may "limit" lang ang (free) stay mo sa bayang sinilangan mo. Basta, iba sa pakiramdam. #SentiCessie

China Airlines' In-Flight Food

Between China Airlines and EVA Air, I prefer the food that the former serves during flight. Mas kahawig kasi ng food ng Philippine Airlines ang pagkain nila (or akala ko lang yun?) kaya mas nakakain ko. I am a very picky eater, madami akong hindi kinakain like salad and fruits.

To give you an idea pala, the flight from Vancouver to Taipei is about 12 hours while Taipei to Manila is around 2 hours.

Vancouver to Manila Flight.

For a 12-hour flight, they serve two meals.

Una kang makakakain just one hour after take-off. Once na mag-stabilize na ang plane sa taas, the flight attendants will begin preparing and serving meals. Kaya hindi na talaga ako kumakain sa airport while waiting kahit nagugutom na ako kasi nga kakain din naman kaagad sa airplane.

Ito yung unang sinerve nila. Dalawa ang choices as usual and I said "both" to the flight attendant para matikman ko parehas (at mapicturan) kaso namali yata siya ng rinig. Hindi nga kasi ganun kagaling mag-English and mga Chekwa, di ba? So ayun, dalawang "pork" ang binigay sa akin.

I noticed na parang mas kumonti ang serving nila ng rice compared to two years ago. I am lucky because I had two sets of this meal kasi nga hindi naman kumakain niyan ang anak ko (at tulog na rin siya because it was past 3am na in Vancouver time). At dahil hindi ako kumakain ng fruits at salad, yang rice meal lang ang kinain ko plus bread (carbs, I know!). I had to be busog kasi I won't be eating anything else during our trip kundi itong airline flood.

The second meal was served naman mga 3 hours before landing. May pagka-breakfast feel na, may omelete na choice pero ayaw ko nun. Again, times two ang pagkain ko. My son ate the apple slices na lang (ayaw nya rin ng orange and strawberry, manang-mana sa ina).

Taipei to Manila Flight. 

Dahil mahigit-higit 2 hours lang ang flight to Manila, mabilisan din ang pag-serve nila ng food. Wala na ring choice, isang klase lang ang pagkain. Unless siguro may "vegetarian" request ang passenger.

I was glad that they didn't serve rice this time. Umay na ako sa rice lol.

I was generally happy with these three meals. Nabusog ako (kasi ng times two palagi ang pagkain ko) at nasarapan. Mas nasatisfy ang tummy ko kesa noong nag-fly kami sa EVA Air.

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For those who are flying, make sure na nakapagrequest kayo ng specific meal (ex. vegetarian) if you have special dietary requirements. Sakto lang kasi ang pagkain sa airplane, you can't demand for a special food the last minute.

Minsan malas din kapag nasa likod ka, baka maubusan ka ng gusto mong food. It happened to my husband once, shrimp na lang ang natira tapos di siya kumakain nun. He didn't assert himself kaya gutom ang inabot niya. Nangyari din yan samin last year ni Nathan, naubusan kami ng chicken meal. I was pissed kasi nga pareho kong gusto yung food lol (again, times two ang meal ko haha). Ang sabi ko sa flight attendant, hindi kumakain nung isang dish (fish) ang anak ko. Ayun, nataranta siya, hindi niya kasi kami inunang bigyan (we were seated at the very last row). Hahanap daw siya tapos pagkabalik may chicken teriyaki na (na hindi nila sine-serve sa economy passengers). Ayos! Nakakadiskarte rin pala sila ng ibang food. Sabagay, andami nilang options for business class passengers eh.

Cheap Airfare to the Philippines

Jetsetter daw kami sabi nung isang kapitbahay namin nang makita kami last Holy Week. Sabagay, ten months ago lang nang huli kaming nandito ni TanTan sa Pilipinas. Tapos last March, nakita niya rin siguro sa Facebook na nagpunta kami sa Caifornia for a few days.

Pero syempre kapag sinabing "jetsetter," may connotation yan na sosyal. At ang layo namin sa pagiging sosyal noh! Haler, super mura lang kaya ng plane tickets na binibili namin palagi!

Here's how much we paid for our roundtrip Vancouver-Manila plane tickets this year:

That's just around Php53,000-56,000 for two pax, depende sa conversion.

Hindi na masama kasi naalala ko dati, sobrang mahal ng pamasahe sa America. Ang dami kong kamag-anak na taga-doon at talagang bihira silang makauwi ng Pinas noon dahil mabigat nga ang pamasahe. Ngayon dahil sa competition at proliferation ng budget airlines, affordable na ang airfare kahit paano.

This is actually our (Nathan and I) fourth time to go home in Pinas. Noong una (2015), Nathan was only 7 months old so we flew via Philippine Airlines (PAL) para direct flight na from Vancouver to Manila. We were still living in Edmonton then kaya we needed to fly pa to Vancouver. We paid a total of $2068.81 (around Php83,0000) for those flights. Take note, wala pang bayad si Nathan noon kasi baby pa siya. $319.50 lang ang charge sa kanya for taxes and other fees.

In short, ang mahal ng PAL! Kaya I told myself na di na ako uulit sa PAL kahit na mahirapan ako. Sayang kasi ang perang matitipid, panggastos na rin yun sa Pinas.

We were already living in Metro Vancouver sa pangalawang pagbabakasyon namin sa Pilipinas (2016). While looking for cheap flights, my husband learned na mas mura pala kung magdi-direct booking sa airline company mismo. Nasa Vancouver na kami kaya posible yun, hindi na kailangan ng "agency" na katulad ng CheapOAir. So yun, he booked us a flight on China Airlines for $1379.74 for two pax na.

For our third vacation (2018), sa EVA Air naman siya nakatagpo ng cheap flight. He paid $1445.40 para samin ni Nathan.

So yun, ang two cheapest airlines so far na nakita niya ay China Airlines at EVA Air. Both have layovers at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Halos pareho rin ang time ng flights nila.

For our latest flight, hubby asked me kung ano ang preferred airline ko sa dalawa. Sabi ko kahit ano, parehas lang naman kako, basta kung ano yung mas mura na lang.

China Airlines won this time. Cheapest na talaga sa ilang araw na pagbabantay ni Ford ng rates online. Nagfa-fluctuate ang  fare prices so medyo kailangan ng tiyaga sa pagbabantay at pagko-compare. Contrary to popular belief na kailangang matagal pa dapat ang flight sa pagbu-book para makamura, hindi naman talaga. Chambahan lang din kasi talaga ang pagbu-book. In our case, Ford bought our tickets less than two months lang before our trip.

That's our plane!

Ang drawback lang talaga ng cheap airlines ay ang layover. Pero two hours lang naman usually going to Manila (4 hours going to Vancouver) kaya hindi naman masyadong matagal ang ipag-aantay. So may additional 4 to 6 hours ka lang sa buong trip mo. Not bad given na sobrang laki ng matitipid mo.

Nathan in Taiwan

Recently, may promo daw ang PAL na $800+ lang for Vancouver-Manila roundtrip flights. We checked it out kung totoo. Olats, parang joke lang. the cheapest we found was $1200+ (we tried all the dates). At yan din ang complaint ng ibang Pinoys who were trying to book, nanloloko lang daw. Hay naku, never na nga akong aasa sa PAL tutal may China Airlines at EVA Air naman.

Overall, I was satisfied naman with our recent flight. The plane was new (Airbus A350-900) and the food was good. Naprioritize kami sa pagpasok sa loob (Vancouver to Taipei) dahil sa bata (but not in Taipei to Manila kasi less than 2 years old lang daw ang may priority). Hindi rin naman sila ganun kahigpit sa carry on bags (or else yari kasi andami naming dala at mabibigat pa). I was happy, too, kasi malapit na yung gate for our connecting flight, unlike dati na kailangan pang mag-train at maglakad ng malayo kasi nasa dulong-dulo ang gate.

Heavy Travelers!

We've had a very smooth flight and I have to give credit din to my well-behaved son. Imagine, 25 hours ang total trip namin (from our home in BC to our home in Marilao) pero hindi siya tinopak man lamang. Such a trooper, my boy! =)

Guarding our bags dutifully. He was such a great help to Mommy!

It's hard to travel with a small kid pero "pro" na nga yata kami in flying. Kaya I don't mind kahit hindi kami direct flight. =)

Pinas Vacay 2019

Hello, hello! As I have mentioned in my last posts (matagal-tagal na rin yung huli), Nathan and I are going home in Pinas again at eto na nga -- nandito na kami!

We arrived on April 9, 2019 (Tuesday). It was a tiring 25-hour trip all in all but it was so worth it. Ang sayang makita ng bahay namin!

My cousin Sandoc/Mylyn volunteered to pick us up at the airport

Anyway, we've been here for sixteen days already and there are times na nagsisisi ako kung bakit nga ba umuwi kami ng summer haha! Dagdagan pa ng El nino! Nakakaloka ang init grabe. Oh well, wala ng magagawa. Wala rin naman akong choice. Nathan will start school na this September 3 so if I want to stay here in Pinas nang matagal-tagal, kailangang agahan namin ang uwi. We are flying back to Canada on August 15.

But I am really bored. Literally, ang ginagawa ko lang dito ngayon ay kumain at magpalamig sa aircon. Sobrang init kasi kaya wala akong magawa. Ni hindi ko na nga maasikaso ang anak ko (lol), buti na lang Mamoosh and Ate Charry (our house angel) are here.

Oh I can't wait na matapos na ang summer para may magawa naman ako. I want to enjoy my last long vacation here in Pinas. 

Please stay tuned. I will be blogging a lot in the coming days. Kasi nga bored ako hehe.

Meatless Friday Dinner @ Scotts Landing Fish and Chips (Surrey)

As I have mentioned on this post, I am abstaining from eating meat on all Fridays of lent.

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March 8, 2019. After Nathan's vaccination, we went to Central City in Surrey to just wait for Daddy Ford there. Past 3pm pa lang kasi at dahil ilang araw kaming hindi lumabas ni Nathan, syempre kailangang gumala muna. Dad fetched us after his work and we did some errands. Pagdating ng dinner time, nag-aya na ako sa Scotts Landing Fish and Chips kasi nga ayaw kong kumain ng karne at wala naman akong maisip na ibang kainin. Sa totoo lang, ayaw kong kumain ng fries kaso nga ano ba ang pwedeng makain na labas na walang meat?

I've always wanted to eat sa Scotts. We used to live in Guildford at palagi namin yang nadadaanan. Katabi rin yan ng Church's Chicken kaya palagi kong natatanaw. I yelp'ed it at maganda naman ang review kaya sabi ko kay Ford subukan namin.

Sa totoo lang, ayaw ni hubby ng fish and chips that time. Ako na lang daw at doon siya kakain sa malapit na Filipino restaurant that sells Ilocano food. Pero closed na yung restaurant na yun so naki-join na lang din siya sa akin.

Expectedly, the place was small pero maganda at malinis naman sa loob. I wasn't able to many pictures of the interior kasi nahiya ako sa owner/cook.

May isang group of diners lang inside when we came at 6:50pm.

Here's their menu:

Picture grabbed from Scott Landing's website

We ordered the cheapest fish pollock hahaha! It's an ordinary day at parang di na kami sanay kumain sa labas ng mahal kapag walang okasyon. The past months, puro fastfood lang kami kasi yun ang mura (kaya naman kami nag-gain ng weight waaah!). Kailangan din kasing magtipid kasi ang daming gastos tapos syempre mahal ang mortgage (plus strata fees at real property tax) ng bahay.

Medyo matagal kaming nag-antay ng order namin kasi pagkabayad ko saka pa lang niluto yung fish. Medyo nakakainip na nga pero ayos lang din kasi masarap ang bagong-luto syempre.

And finally! Two orders of 2-pc pollock with homecut fries and homemade tartar sauce for $24.99 (or Php1,000.00). Wala pang drinks yan ha. Hindi na ako nagbigay ng tip kasi wala namang 'service' eh. Kinuha ko lang sa counter yung food nang maluto na. Saka yung owner na rin mismo ang nagluto.

Our Verdict --- MASARAP nga! At malaki rin ang fish. Naisip nga namin na sana nag-share na lang kami o kaya sana bumili kami ng 2-pc tapos nagdagdag na lang kami ng fish tutal eh konti lang naman ang kakainin kong fries. Oh well, we know na next time.

Mas mahal ang cod at halibut kaya mas masarap for sure. Pero naisip ko, will I shell out $9.40 (tax included) or roughly Php375.00 for one piece of fish? Hindi siguro. Haha, ang kuripot ko na talaga. Ang mahal kasi talagang kumain sa labas dito kaya nagkaka-guilt feelings ako. Tapos as a nanay, panay din ang kuwenta at convert ko.

Useless party give-aways

Ang tagal tagal ko ng gustong mag-rant about this haha! Pero siyempre hindi ko naman magawa talaga in person kasi nakakahiya. But since no one I know reads this blog (I hide this away from family and friends lol), dito ko na lang gagawin.

You see, we attended a party last month. We enjoyed the food and the hosts were very nice. Before we went home, the mom of the kids-celebrants handed us these fridge magnets.

One confused Caucasian guest asked her: "What's this?" The mom replied: "It's a ref magnet." At napa-"Ohh" na lang yung guest.

Napailing din talaga ako the moment na inabot sa akin ang mga ito. Sa basurahan kasi talaga ang bagsak ng mga ito. Oo na, mean na kung mean.

Eh kasi naman, why would I put pictures of other kids on our fridge? Pwede pa siguro kung pamangking-buo ko sila. Thrice ko pa nga lang nakikita ang mga batang iyan eh, at hindi rin kami ganun ka-close ng parents. These type of souvenirs should be given to immediate family lang, yung tipong grandparents at uncles and aunts lang.

By the way, these souvenirs were made in Pinas pala. Wala naman nga kasing gumagawa ng ganyan dito. Seriously, party hosts should stop giving out this nonsense. Pwede namang chocolates and candies na lang ang ipamigay in lootbags. Basta wala yung nagsusumigaw na picture o name ng anak ninyo (this applies to other souvenir items like pillows, mugs, frames, etc.).

We attended a wedding nga rin pala last August and these were the give-aways.

Ok yung nasa left (pastries ang laman) pero napailing talaga ako sa nasa kanan. My first reaction when it was given to me: "Seriously? May nagbibigay pa pala ng ganito ngayon kaloka!" At syempre galing din sa Pinas yan.

I hope those who throw parties are mindful enough think of souvenirs na hindi jologs. Hindi yung may maibigay lang, kasi sayang din ang pera at effort nila if these things end up in trash.

Booster Shots

We moved here in British Columbia when Nathan was almost two so all his infant vaccines were done in Edmonton. We were told then that the next vaccination is when Nathan turns four.

We had to google kung paano nga ba ang immunization system dito sa BC. That's the thing about living here in Canada, iba-iba ang health system ng bawat province. Medyo mangangapa ka talaga kapag lumipat ka.

There is a central number per area here in BC that you can call to book an appointment. Sobrang tagal nga lang mag-antay ng sasagot so better choose their "call back" option. After a few hours, tatawag din sila.

I first called in January and asked for an appointment kaso they don't have a record yet of Nathan's immunization history in their system so I have to email it first and wait for two weeks. I emailed it and after a few weeks (I sort of delayed the call because it was super cold in February, ang hirap mag-bus going to the clinic), I called the hotline again and got an appointment for March 8, 2019. I chose their Langley clinic kasi one-ride away lang from our house.

Days before the appointment day, I was explaining to Nathan what will happen. Sabi ko sasaksakan siya and it will hurt a bit. He loves to play doctor-doctoran so he know what "shots" are. Very calm lang siya, parang wala lang. Mas kinakabahan pa nga ako, parang ako ang iva-vaccinate. I was actually very anxious because when he was still a baby, palaging kasama si Ford kapag binabakunahan siya. Si Ford ang tagahawak dahil nga nagpa-panic ako. Naisip ko, hala paano kapag nagwala si Nathan sa clinic?

We arrived 45 minutes before the appointment time. May mga narinig kaming batang nagsisigawan at nag-iiyakan kaya na-praning na naman ako. Pero eto siya, haping-happy pa. Relaxed na relaxed at panay pa-picture pa.

Na-accommodate din kami agad kahit maaga pa. The nurse was very nice as usual, pero si Nathan talagang very brave. Though shy, he was listening to her. Sinabi rin niya na" "I am not scared."

True enough, ang galing niya. I held him bago siya tusukan and instructed him to look away and close his eyes. Pero ang bagets talagang tiningnan pa ang pagtusok sa kanya. Wala akong nakitang fear sa kanya. Ako pa nga ang medyo kinabahan. Two shots and it was done. The nurse was so impressed, siya daw ang "best kid" niya that day.

The nurse made him choose a sticker. Eto ang pinili niya.

As a reward, binilhan ko siya ng paborito niyang mocha frappucino. And he asked me to tell his dad how good he was in the clinic.

By the way, the nurse asked me for Nathan's immunization record book para masulatan niya. Since Nathan was born in Alberta, iba ito sa "Child Health Passport" ng BC na mas maganda haha.

I am happy because we're done with Nathan's booster shots. These shots nga pala are for kids 4 to 6 years of age. Katulad sa Pinas, may measles outbreak din kasi dito sa BC, may confirmed 18 cases na raw as of today. Yep, outbreak na yan dito (unlike sa Pinas na libo-libo) at nagpa-panic na ang mga tao. May case/s yata na galing Vietnam yung nagkasakit kaya natatakot ako sa airport sa totoo lang. Magfa-fly pa naman kami twice soon. At least ngayon medyo kampante na ang loob ko.

Three diamond paintings finished

I spent the last week of February finishing these three diamond paintings (hence the lack of blog posts lol).

I remember getting very bored last August 2018 so I searched for some kits in Amazon.ca. Tapos I asked the hubby to buy them for me haha, tutal kako malapit na ang birthday ko. We paid $42.95 (or around Php1,700) these three. Medyo mahal kaso wala namang ibang mabilhan dito eh. Saka gusto ko talagang gumawa para maipa-frame at maisabit sa bagong bahay.

Very limited ang choices sa Amazon. Kaunting-kaunti lang ang ang mga fully beaded na designs kaya ito lang ang napili ko. At halos pare-parehas sila ng color scheme - pink, purple, light blue.

I started doing this kit in September 11, 2018. I normally finish a design this small (12x16in) in 2-3 days pero this February ko nga lang natapos. Tinamad kasi ako (plus andami naming pinagdaanang problema ng last quarter of 2018) kasi hindi ako nagandahan. Malabo kasi siya sa actual, hindi ganun ka-detalyado (malinaw lang tingnan sa picture). Nanghinayang lang ako kaya ko tinapos. I'll just give it to my mother haha.

Right after finishing the first one, tinapos ko na rin agad itong dalawa. Talagang kinarir ko, to the point na wala na akong ginawa sa bahay haha. Buti di ako napagalitan ng asawa ko.

Nice sila, in fairness.

Sayang hindi ma-capture ng picture ang kinang nila. 

I'll be bring these home para ipa-frame. Ang mahal kasing magpa-frame dito. Sa Pinas around Php400 (or $10) lang aabutin ang isa.

I am planning to finish a lot of diamond paintings in the Philippines. Yung malalaki sana kasi trip na trip yang gastusan ng nanay ko (iiwan ko rin naman sa kanya), kaso naman wala pa akong mahanap na ok na supplier. Actually, the best bumili sa Heavenly Stitchin' Moment sa SM North (yung original na bilihan ng crossstitch supplies) kasi sobrang gaganda at sososyal ng designs nila pero naman, sobrang pricey din. Nasa Php2,000-4,000 ang designs na gusto ko, hindi pa ganun kalalaki yun ha. Di kaya ng budget ko waaah. Sana talaga dumami pa ang suppliers para bumaba rin ang presyo.

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PS. Syempre dahil nakita ng little boy ko na gumagawa (uli) ako, he insisted to try. And I was impressed, ang dali niyang natuto. Great job, anak!

Nathan @ 4 years old