Syento!

Yebaaah! It's finally over! I passed the citizenship exam yesterday and I got a perfect score! Wooohooo!

As usual, I was super early. I arrived at Surrey IRRC bago pa man mag-12 noon. Ako ang unang-una na naman haha. I was thankful kasi malamig kahapon (unlike the previous days na sobrang init) kaso ang hirap din palang mag-antay sa labas nang malakas ang hangin haha. Wala pa naman akong jacket. Buti 3/4-sleeved-blouse ang suot ko.

We were allowed to get in at around 12:25pm.

I will no longer discuss the details of the test because the IRCC staff instructed us not to disclose any information about the test and the process. To protect the integrity of the program daw and to be just to all exam-takers. Tama nga naman.

Pero basta yun, I learned during the interview that I got a perfect score. I was so happy! At least my efforts to study have paid off. Kahit na it doesn't matter kung ano man ang score mo (for as long as you pass syempre), syempre natutuwa pa rin ako because I earned extra bragging rights to my husband haha. He also got a perfect score when he took the exam more than two years ago pero mas mabilis akong nakatapos sa kanya kaya mas magaling ako lol.

Now I will just be waiting for the notice of my oath-taking schedule. In 2-3 months daw. It's time to look for a perfect dress.

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NOTE: "Syento" is 100 in Filipino.

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! =)

Lucky Supermarket in Surrey

I am so happy and couldn't contain my excitement. I literally screamed on top of my lungs after reading this ad that Ford showed me just a while ago (my son even said: "Mommy, are you ok?!).

Finally, we'll have LUCKY SUPERMARKET here in Surrey!

Lucky was my favorite Asian supermarket in Edmonton. It's actually the very first Asian grocery store that I have been to here in Canada and I became a suki throughout my 3-year stay in Edmonton.

I preferred Lucky over T&T (another giant Asian Supermarket that's originally from BC) because the former has more Filipino goods than the latter. They have better meat and fish section, too. And their prices I found relatively cheaper. Kaya doon kami talaga "namamalengke" noon eh.

When we moved here in Surrey last year, nahirapan talaga ako kung saan kami mamimili ng ulam. I was clueless because clearly, I am not a fan of T&T (nakokontian kasi ako sa Pinoy items nila). Sure, there is Henlong Market, but I find it too small and walang binatbat sa Lucky (hindi ako talaga makamove-on sa Lukcy haha). Until now, sabog-sabog pa rin ako mamili ng pang-ulam. Unlike sa Edmonton na talagang sa Lucky lang.

Kaya ngayon para akong nabigyan ng maagang pamasko talaga. At parang ayaw na rin kaming pabalikin talaga sa Edmonton ha (I listed Lucky as one of the reasons why I wanted to go back to Edmonton). I just wish na yung Lucky dito ay yung parang sa Edmonton din because I am sure Filipinos here will be thrilled. Sayang nga lang because Lucky will (probably) open when we're in Pinas na. Di bale, at least mae-excite ako pagbalik namin ng April. =)

Thankful for the friendship

I miss my girls and I am so excited to be reunited with them again next month. You see, we've been friends since college and up until now, we consider our group as our "primary barkada." If I am to describe us, we are like the SATC (Sex and the City) girls - always talking/discussing, always eating lol!

It was so hard leaving them. I was already 34 when I immigrated here in Canada. I was skeptic kung makakahanap pa ako ng magiging malalapit na kaibigan. I prepared myself for a 'friendless existence.' I have to content myself with Ford, I convinced myself.

And then these ladies came into my life.

Joy, Mylene, and Cecil

I've actually known Cecil since college, She's my bestfriend Raxie's best cousin. Raxie lived with them (Cecil's family) for so many years so we would occasionally see each other. I was really happy na dito rin siya sa Edmonton napadpad dahil din sa asawa niya.

Through Cecil, I met Mylene. Cecil and Mylene's family temporarily share an apartment (Mylene and Cecil's husband Bal are relatives) so I would always see her whenever we would drop by their house. Mylene is super nice, pero syempre nagkakahiyaan pa.

And then one time, Mylene and her husband invited us to their baby's 7th month birthday. That's when I met Joy. She and Mylene are mag-kumares. All their husbands work in the same company in Fort McMurray nga pala.

Of course, closeness is a process. It took several get-togethers before we became really comfortable with each other.

But for me, the start of my meaningful friendship with them started when they visited us at the hospital a day after I gave birth to Nathan. Noon ko talaga sila na-appreciate. Noon ko na-realize na hindi na ako "mag-isa" sa Edmonton, na may karamay na ako. Cecil was already 8 months pregnant that time and Mylene just got back from Pinas. Joy took time to bake a banana cake for me (because she promised to do so after I commented on her FB that I'd love to taste that cake kaso may gestational diabetes ako). It was cold and snowing, yet they visited us.

I was really thankful. When you are in an alienating hospital at kayong dalawa lang ng asawa mo ang nandoon (and tired and exhausted because of the new baby), mata-touch ka talaga kapag may dumalaw sa inyo. I don't easily forget other people's kindness to me. Maaalala ko siguro iyon habambuhay.

Hay, enough of the drama! My point for this blog is: MAMI-MISS KO ANG TATLONG ITO!

I know na medyo sad din sila because I'll be away for four and a half months. Ngayon kasi mas masayang magkainan, magpicnic at gumala-gala kasi summer. Pagbalik namin, "winter" na. Medyo ma-stuck na naman kami sa bahay because of snow.

Di bale na, marami pa namang summer na susunod. Plus we'd probably be stuck with each other for as long as we're here in Edmonton hahaha!

I don't think these three girls will ever read this post (my family and friends are oblivious of this blog haha!) but someday if they do, I want them to know that I will treasure our friendship. Salamat talaga kasi pinasaya nila ang stay ko dito sa Canada. =)

One month to go!

At around this time next month, nasa Pinas (hopefully) na kami ni Nathan!

Photo taken from the net (credits to the owner)

To be honest, I am having mixed feelings. Of course, what prevails is happiness and excitement. Yet there's a part of me that's sad. Nathan and I will be in the Philippines for 4 1/2 months so maiiwan si Daddy Pod nang matagal-tagal. He will just be following us on November 13 (for Nathan's binyag and first birthday) and then sabay na kaming babalik dito sa Canada.

Ford and I have been literally inseparable since November 2013 at parang di ko na yata alam ang buhay without him haha! So ironic actually because we've been in LDR for eleven years before we lived in together.

Also, I am specifically worried about Nathan. He's so attached to his dad, parang kawawa siya kung hindi niya makikita ang daddy niya for four months. Ford will also miss a lot of his milestones. Hay!

Oh well, I don't want to dwell on the negative anymore. I'd like to be fully happy kasi after 1 year at 8 months, makakasama ko na uli ang nanay ko. I miss her so much! Looking back, parang hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala na nabuhay ako nang wala siya sa tabi ko. I am so excited din na makita at mayakap niya si Nathan.

Ahh! One more month!

Makikita ko na uli ang pamilya at mga kaibigan ko.
Matitikman ko na uli ang luto ng nanay ko.
Makakakain na ako nang hindi nagluluto at naghuhugas ng pinggan.
Makakatulog na uli ako sa kuwarto ko (miss na miss ko na ang walk-in closet ko!).
Makakapag-drive na uli ako.
Makakapag-motor na uli ako.
Makakatambay na uli ako sa SM Marilao.
Makakakain na uli ako ng Jollibee at sa iba pang favorite fast food restos ko.
Makakapagshopping na uli ako on my own.

But unlike before, may limitations na ako because of Nathan. When I left the Philippines last November 2013, I was literally a 'free gal.' Kaso ngayong may baby na, mahirap ng lumabas. Nathan is afraid of people eh, talagang kami lang ni Ford ang kilala niya. I can't just leave him to any one, iiyak talaga.

Hay, saka ko na nga iisipin. Basta ang importante, makakauwi na ako. I badly need to recharge na talaga eh.

See you next month, Pilipinas kong mahal!

A simple 3rd anniversary celebration

I love it that we got married on the first month of the year. The coming of January signifies the end of holidays so at least there's another occasion that we'll look forward to.

Our anniversary this year -- January 12 -- fell on a Monday so we only had dinner time to celebrate. At first we thought of just celebrating on the 13th para sabay na sa monthly 'birthday' ni Nathan but I realized that we ought to have two different celebrations for two different occasions.

We didn't really plan anything grand but it was indeed the most special of all our anniversaries in the past (2 wedding and 11 bf-gf anniversaries) because we now have Nathan James Levin as the fruit of our union.

Here's my chubby cheeks who is daddy's mini-me!

When you have a baby with you, a fine dining restaurant is not an option. Hence I just asked Pod for a simple buffet meal at Buffet Royale Carvery. Nathan was just two months then so I was worried na baka umiyak siya nang umiyak kapag matagal na naka-steady sa car seat / basket niya. Kapag buffet, kakain na agad. No need to wait. And also, I was still pregnant the last time we ate there so my food intake was so restrained. Gusto ko namang subukang kumain doon nang walang worry about gestational diabetes haha!

And because it was a Monday, halos solo namin ang area. Walang masyadong tao.

Here's some of my plates haha!

We looked so haggard haha! Obviously the result of sleepless nights for the past two months. But then again, that was the happiest two months of our life!

Thankfully, our baby was so cooperative that night. Mom and Dad were able to eat a lot. He looked bored though haha!

Anak, you are God's perfect gift to us! We love you and we will take good care of you forever. We'll make sure that you will grow up with loving parents.

Ahh, three years na kami! I want to thank my husband for bearing with me. I am not a perfect wife. In fact, sobrang layo ko sa pagiging ideal wife. But I love Ford and Nathan more than myself. 

Thank you for everything, Dear! Cheers to our three years! =)

Meet My Baby Chicklet!

Finally, he's here!

With hearts full of love and joy, we welcome Nathan James Levin Reyes Blanco, born on November 13, 2014 (11:41pm) at Misericordia Community Hospital (Edmonton, Alberta).

Thank you everyone for your prayers and warm wishes! =)

Hope in a cup cake

When Ford went back to the Philippines last May to attend his grandmother's burial, one of the requests I made to my Mamoosh to send me back here was pack of Lemon Square cheese cup cake. I am a sucker for cup cakes but unfortunately, wala dito nitong gusto ko. Yung Regent brand lang ang meron, yung custard cake with different flavors (na hindi ko naman type).

And then two weeks ago, I spotted these familiar yellow-packaged goodies at T&T Supermarket WEM. I was so thrilled that I couldn't help but utter: "Wow, may Lemon Square na sila dito! Yes! I'm so happy!" As usual, the hubby was dedma. He's not as passionate as me when it comes to Filipino products. He's been living in North America since 2001 and he has no attachment on these things. He will never understand my excitement.

It's actually not the cup cake per se that I am excited about. You see, every time a new Filipino product comes here, I am becoming more hopeful. Hopeful that in the next few years, all those items/foods that I love in Pinas will soon be readily available here. Iwas-homesick kasi yun. When you're living abroad, kung pwede lang that you bring every piece of "home"with you, right?

We are lucky because in this day and age of globalization, hindi na rin masyadong deprived ng familiar foods ang mga immigrants. But still, I would want to see Jollibee and Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs here in Edmonton. When that happens, I'd be at peace na haha!

I've been on a zero-sweet diet since August because of my gestational diabetes but I couldn't refuse this one. Grabe, ang sarap! After I give birth, kakain ako nito araw-araw! 

I wish many Filipinos here patronize these products so they can continue importing. =)

Happiness = Chicklet

I have a new definition of happiness. It now means seeing my son's face and watching him peacefully asleep inside my tummy.

September 12, 2014 / Chicklet @ 31 weeks and 1 day

I love you, my Baby Chicklet! Your Dad and I couldn't wait to touch and hug and kiss you! See you again (in ultrasound) next week! =)

Back to regular programming

Yebaaah, may internet na uli kami sa bahay sa wakas!

Messy wiring in the laundry room. Ford has to do something about it!

It's been exactly a month now since we moved here in our townhome and after the long wait, finally we saw some light! Isang buwan kaming deprived sa internet, nakakaloka!

I am an internet person. I don't have any social life here in Canada and it's the net that kept me sane all this time. So imagine my horror when I learned a day before we moved that we won't be having house wifi for the next two weeks. And the two weeks became a whole month!

It's good though that Pod has data plan on his mobile. But since it wasn't 'sufficient', I asked him to get me a data plan too, just for February. But because we are "heavy" internet users, we've already maximized our plan by the second week of the month. Then I suggested that we buy a Wind broadband stick. It was fast the first few days but after we consumed the 10GB, it became so darn slow! Grabe, we've spent so much for internet the past weeks and still we were disappointed!

So how has my life suffered with a limited internet access?

• I haven't seen my mother in a month. We couldn't do Facetime so we just talked via Magic Jack.
• I wasn't able to blog. Grrr. 
• I wasn't able to read lots of blog entries from my favorite bloggers.
• I wasn't able to socialize well in Facebook and Girl Talk.
• I wasn't able to watch Netflix.
• I wasn't able to watch Pinoy tv shows other than the three teleseryes I am following.
• I wasn't able to post many pictures in Instagram (because I use my Iphone in taking photos)
• My in-laws could have enjoyed their visit here if they were able to watch movies during those dull times.

Oh well, it's all in the bag now. I am just so happy that that ugly phase is over and that we can now enjoy our virtual world again limitless. Back to regular programming!

And ooops, I am glad din pala na may cable TV na kami. Sa wakas, the husband can enjoy his own TV! 

We're home!

At long last, after more than a year of waiting... we're finally home!

Happy for the freebie!

I received an email alert from Grocery Alerts (one of the couponing sites I subscribed to)  this afternoon. The site sent me quite a number of coupons, including this:

Binasa ko ng paulit-ulit. Hmm, free lotion daw. Hindi discounted, hindi conditional - basta FREE lang. I got excited and saved it on my phone.

Sakto that Ford and I went to West Edmonton Mall after his work. I told him about the free lotion and asked him to read my online coupon. Haha, I needed to be sure. Ayaw kong mapahiya sa Bath and Body noh!

So upon my husband's go signal, I went inside the store and nervously asked a cashier about this free thing. She instantly said "yes" and I got to choose my free lotion! I was so happy!

$13-worth of lotion

Honestly, I missed getting freebies like this! Sa Pinas, lahat na ng freebies nakukuha ko (mostly from my credit card transactions) - from clothes, grocery items, toiletries, food, books, medicines, toys, etc. I am excited with the thought na ang freebies naman dito sa Edmonton ang ima-master ko haha!

See, absolutely free goody from Bath and Body! I wonder what`s the rationale behind their giving it out for free. Oh well, bahala na sila. Basta ako super saya! #mababawnakaligayahanmode

$0.00!

Thank you Bath and Body Works and Grocery Alerts! You made my day very happy! More freebies please! =)

A little celebration @ Tony Roma's

Ford comes home every lunch time to eat with me. Yesterday, he told me he needs to get back to the office early because their HR Officer has scheduled a talk with him.

At 2pm, he texted me and told me he got promoted! With a salary increase, of course! We were very happy and grateful!

Picture courtesy of Bitstrips

And so we had to celebrate! This would be the first time that we'll be celebrating 'real time' a milestone in his career. I was so excited! Nagsink in na rin sa akin, hindi na kami LDR! Yebaaah!

He picked me up at around 6pm and we went straight to West Edmonton Mall. I realized that we are typically very Pinoy. The first thing that came to our mind with the word celebrate is "mall." Lol!

West Edmonton Mall (WEM) is around 20 minutes drive from the downtown area (where we live). It's the biggest mall in North America actually. Pero di ako masyadong impressed. Mas bongga pa ang mga malls sa Pilipinas noh. Meron lang siyang indoor swimming pool, casino, at hotel kaya siya malaki.

selfie selfie

The thing with just being the two of us, walang tagakuha ng picture. Kaya ayan, pagsamahin na lang. :)

I love love love the giant poinsettia tree behind me. 

I was so happy with the Christmas decors. At least nafeel ko na magpapasko na. 

Anyway, unlike sa malls sa atin sa Pinas na sangkaterba at nagkalat ang mga kainan, WEM only has three areas for eating. Two food courts and one for a bit high-end dining.

We ended up at Tony Roma's because we were both starving and wanted to eat something familiar.

Niloloko ko siya na magpa-burger naman siya so he really ordered burgers for us. Funny, because when we got home, he asked me why burger. Bakit daw hindi steak. Kaloka, I then realized na hindi nga pala niya alam yung commercial na "pa-cheeseburger ka naman" ng McDonald's. He's been living in North America (California then Alberta) for the past twelve years kaya hindi siya aware. Haha, sineryoso niya talaga ang burger!

Aside from burgers, we also ordered a rib sampler. But when these three plates were served on our table, napalunok kami. Shaiks, we were hungry but there was no way we could eat everything! Ang laki ng serving! We should have ordered only one burger.

Roma Burger, Bacon Swiss Burger, and Star Studded Rib Sampler

The busog-lusog couple...

We loved the food and we enjoyed our little celebration. I was so glad that for the first time, I got to be with my husband in an important event in his life.

To my dear Pod, congratulations! You make me proud as always! I love you! =)

Joel Ford G. Blanco, PEng

PS. At exactly my second week here in Edmonton, the Husband got promoted. Hmm, ako nga yata talaga ang lucky charm niya hehe!