Missing Casa Blanco

It's exactly two weeks now since we bid goodbye to our very first home. I started crying the moment we left and closed the garage door for the last time.

I wasn't that sad when I left our house in Pinas, kasi alam ko bahay ko pa rin naman iyon. Makakabalik pa ako anytime. Sa Unit 99, hindi na.

September 30, 2016

We  only lived in that house for 2 years and 8 months but we've built quite a lot of good memories there. I was still in the Philippines when Ford "bought" it. Pre-construction. Lumipat kami two months after I immigrated here in Canada. I felt so lucky and blessed. Imagine pagdating ko may bahay na agad ako.

Ford gave me the full privilege of decorating it, of turning it how I wanted it to be. Noon ko unang na-experience maging "wife" talaga.

It was truly a lucky home for us. Imagine, in less than three weeks of living there, nag-conceive na ako. That house witnessed how we became a 'family.'

Oh, and we've had quite a lot of house guests in less than three years that we stayed there. Lalong sumaya ang bahay namin.

 

Pero sabi nga nila, walang forever. Lalo na sa bahay dito sa Canada. Don't get too attached daw, kasi unlike sa Pinas, normal ang pagpalit-palit ng bahay dito o pag-move. 

When we had Nathan, we planned on getting a 'bigger' house din naman eventually. A 'small' laned home with a basement would be perfect, we thought. We will need kasi a bigger space for Nathan's stuff. Tapos November pa ang birthday niya, indoor parties lang ang puwede kasi nga 'winter' na.

But things happen and we had to leave Casa Blanco sooner than we expected. Kelangan na kasi naming lumipat ng lugar. Hay, if only we could bring our house with us! =(

huling sulyap

And so here I am, watching the heavy rains outside -- badly missing Unit 99. It might take time bago ako makamove-on. Siguro kapag may bagong Casa Blanco na uli. Right now, we are renting a one-bedroom apartment and most of our stuff are in the storage. Pag nakapag-settle na kami talaga dito sa BC, sana makabili na uli. Sobrang mahal nga lang ng mga bahay dito so we might end up in a condo. I don't care, I just want to have my own house again.

We love you, Casa Blanco. You'll always have a special place in our hearts.

A little update

It's almost 5am and I am still awake. I am feeling a little low. It's pouring outside and they say it'll rain straight till next week. Hell yah, welcome to Raincouver!

Just a little update after half a year of not blogging -- we are now living in Surrey, British Columbia! A lot of things have happened the past several months and I couldn't wait to write about it.

But first things first. I need to change my blog's description (or even title?). I'll do that soon.

Ahh, I miss blogging!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

To be honest, I've only learned about this special cultural celebration of the feast of St. Patrick when I moved here in Canada. Heck, I am a Roman Catholic but I don't even know who St. Patrick is! O siya, I googled and learned that he's the patron saint pala of Ireland (he introduced Christianity in that country). At dahil land of immigrants ang Canada, sine-celebrate din dito ang St. Patrick's Day because of Irish diaspora.

Anyway, I know no Irish so my idea of how this day is/should be celebrated is very limited. Basta ang alam ko lang, a lot of St. Patrick's Day items are being sold bago mag-March 17. Dollarama (my favorite store here in Canada) has an area designated solely for green St. Paddy stuff. Basta, nakaka-engganyo haha!

I have a kid now and this gives me an excuse to be more playful in life. Oh how I wish Nathan cooperates, kaso ayaw pa niyang mag-outfit outfit! Hopefully in the coming years ma-appreciate na niya ang mga eklat ko sa buhay hehe.

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Oops, here's Nathan's Then-Now photo pala. I guess he'll be wearing green every March 17th of his life lol!

We will get through this

I am so sorry for the lack of posts. I feel bad, really bad.

But you see, our family is facing through a tough time right now. Our life has changed in just a blink of an eye. =( If only I can blog about it, hay!

Picture taken from Instagram @snoopygrams

Anyway, I know that we'll be ok. Soon, hopefully. This is only a challenge, a test of our family's strength.

Why I hate Sundays

Sunday is over. Here are three reasons why I now hate Sundays:

No Pinoy telerserye to watch. I've become addicted to teleseryes the moment I became an immigrant here in Canada. I am no longer shy to admit that when I wake up in the morning, excited na agad ako sa new episodes ng mga teleseryeng sinusubaybayan ko.

Kaya parang kulang ang Sunday ko kasi nga wala akong mapanood. Boo!
 

My intellectual friends will surely laugh at me when I learn this. But I don't care. When you're living abroad, isa ang TFC sa koneksyon mo sa Pinas eh. I only watch teleseryes and news/current affairs though.


Malls and Stores close early. Hanggang ngayon, di ko pa rin matanggap na ang aga agang magsara ng mga malls dito kapag linggo. Hanggang 6pm lang ang West Edmonton Mall, yung smaller malls hanggang 5pm lang. Late din sila mag-open kaya maikli lang talaga ang mall hours. Ang sabi nila, the Canadian government put so much premium on family kaya ini-encourage nila ang mga tao na sa bahay mag-stay kapag linggo.

Picture taken from the internet (credits to the owner)

Hay, eh kaso Pinoy ako! Sundays = malling, yan ang idea ko haha!

We normally do not go to the mall anymore on Sundays. Nakakabitin lang kasi. We usually wake up at 11am-12noon, then we'll have lunch, tapos ligo at bihis, prepare pa ng gamit ni Nathan, kaya past 2pm na kami nakakaalis ng bahay. Parang naghahabol lang kami ng oras kapag nasa mall kami.

Other stores close early as well. Not that I always shop, ayaw ko lang talaga ng idea na maaga silang magsara. Feeling ko napaka-restricting. Buti na lang bukas ang Walmart at ibang supermarkets.


Ford has work the following day. Just the thought that Ford has to work the next day is enough to spoil my Sunday. Bilang na kasi ang oras ng "pahinga" ko. One week na naman akong mag-aantay para hindi lang kami ni Nathan ang magkasama the whole day. =(

Nathan kissing Dad to wake him up

Whew, Monday na naman! Ambilis ng araw.

Nathan is walking!

Nathan started to take a few steps around second week of January 2016.

And look at him now. It was his first time to explore the world (outside home) with his two feet! And Mommy couldn't be happier!

I honestly thought that he would walk earlier. He crawled and stood up early kasi. Kaya I was a bit disappointed that he wasn't walking yet on his first birthday. Was it because I made him use a walker in the Philippines? Was it because of his 'heavy' weight? Or was it because he was tiptoeing when we were teaching/guiding him to walk (just like me, lagi daw nakatingkayad)?

Oh well, that's irrelevant now. My son already walk and I am now at peace. Good job, Nathan! We love you!

* The videos were taken last January 21 at Lucky Supermarket.

Random Chika # 5

1.  Falling Prices of Oil. This pretty much illustrates Alberta's economy.

Picture taken from the net (credits to the owner)

It's so ironic. When I was in the Philippines, I kept on praying for the price of oil to drop. Our family operates a transportation business so the price of fuel impacts our operation the most. Now that I am living in Alberta, syempre gusto ko mataas ang presyo ng langis para "mayaman" ang lugar namin.

Oh well, again we are having a scary economy here. When will this end?

2.  New Buddy -- Handheld Vacuum.  At long last, may sariling vacuum na ako! Pod has a lot of "big" vacuums (addict siya dun) at ang tagal ko ng sinasabing bilhan niya ako nito. It took a while kasi wala siyang bilib sa akin. Dati kasi nagpabili ako ng walis tambo sa isang Pinoy store dito, hindi ko ginamit. Nakakatamad kasi. Ayun winarningan ako na kapag hindi ko raw ginamit ito eh never na raw niya akong papakinggan sa mga pinabibili ko.

But I've proven him wrong. Sulit na sulit ito sa akin. Nathan loves eating biscuits kaya yung mga kalat niya ang palagi kong vina-vacuum haha! I love it talaga! This is very cheap though. Less than $30 lang yata. When it breaks down, saka na daw ako bibilhan ni Pod ng mamahalin.

3.  Plastic Cover for Dining Table. Haha, this looks so cheap I know! Pero bakit ba kasi hindi uso ang glass na pang-protect sa table? People here use table cloths all the time. Kaso nadudumihan at namamantsahan naman. Even if you use placemats, di pa rin maiwasan na hindi matuluan o malaglagan ng ulam.

The only solution is to put a plastic cover. I bought one at Dollarama, saktong sakto ang size sa dining table namin.

Ford and I have not been using our dining table for a while. Sa counter lang kami kumakain para madaling linisin. But we have house guests now, at may parating pa next week, kaya mapapasabak ang table namin sa napakaraming kainan.

4.  Nando's to Open Soon. We were driving in the south area last Sunday when Ford made a wrong turn. And I couldn't believe what I saw, Nando's! I asked my driver to stop a bit so that I can see for sure. Pucha, Nando's nga! The restaurant is still under construction but by the looks of it, I knew that it is opening soon.

I love Nando's. I would always eat there whenever I visit my BFF Raxie in Kuala Lumpur. Mahilig ako sa grilled chicken eh.

Pero hindi lang dahil sa peri-peri chicken kaya ako happy. Again, whenever a new familiar franchise restaurant opens here in Edmonton, nadadagdagan ang hope ko na mas dadami pa ang makakainan namin in the future. Mas maraming options, mas masaya. Sana someday hindi ko na tawaging "Deadmonton" ang Edmonton hahaha!


5.  Dairy Queen's $7 Meal.  It was my first time to eat  DQ's "fan food." Puro vanilla ice cream cone lang kasi palagi ang binibili ko. But since McDonald's WEM Foodcourt is closed for renovation and I was craving for fries, sa DQ ako bumagsak.

Hmm, for $7, sulit na rin. The sundae in the picture is medium-sized. Dapat small lang talaga pero dahil kilala ko yung server, inupgrade nya haha.


Kaso gusto ko pa rin ng french fries ng McDo.