We're in the Philippines (again)!

Hello, hello! Did you miss me? Oh I can't believe that we've been in Pinas for more than 9 days already! Ambilis ng araw, before I knew it, pabalik na naman kami ng Canada kaloka!

Anyway, saka ko na iisipin yun. One-tenth of our vacation pa lang naman ang nako-consume namin ni Nathan so enjoy enjoy muna.

I have so many kwentos that I don't know where to start. Pero in the almost 10 days na nandito kami, wala naman talagang major ganap. We stayed mostly at home tapos the usual short trips to SM Marilao lang.

Picture taken last January 11, 2018

My major problem though in this vacation is that Nathan had stopped drinking milk. I never thought that I'd have problem with milk since he loved Anchor Fresh Milk when we were here just nine months ago. Ngayon ayaw na. We made him try other brands, kahit yung Holly Fresh Milk from Laguna (na pinakamalapit na ang lasa daw sa fresh milk sa Canada), pero di niya talaga gusto. Good thing that he's eating solids naman, unlike in Canada na 80% yata ng daily food diet niya ay milk, kaso pumayat na rin siya talaga.

He understands na walang milk dito na kagaya ng sa Canada (kasi nga walang Walmart o Superstore dito) so he stopped asking for milk na on our 3rd (or 4th?) day. Zest-O tuloy ang ginagawa niyang "dede," which is not good kasi nga matamis yun. Pero di bale na nga muna, tutal three months lang kami dito. Kesa naman hindi kumain (he always eats snacks with Zest-O).

Speaking of solid foods, he's only eating rice kapag Jollibee Chickenjoy. Kaya everyday, at least once, bumibili ako sa Jollibee para may maipakain sa kanya. Ang gastos, two-piece chicken pa dapat kasi nga ayaw nyang kumain ng balat (or any part na may matigas). Nakakasira rin talaga ng ulo. But my mother, the kunsintidor lola, tells me na pagbigyan na. Bilhan na ng Jollibee araw-araw kahit magastos, basta makakain lang. Hay ang hirap if you have a picky-eater child. Pero sabagay kanino pa ba magmamana ito eh di sa amin din ng tatay niya.

O siya, it's past 11pm na and I am sleepy. I promise to blog again tomorrow. Ciao!

PS. Masarap pa rin talaga sa Pinas. I am so happy to be home! =)

We're flying tomorrow

Hello! Sorry if I've been MIA since Friday. Super busy lang because we're flying na tomorrow, January 9 at 12:50am (Vancouver time).

Nag-online check in na kami kaso ang malas, sa dulong-dulo ba naman ang upuan namin! Ang tagtag kaya dun kakaloka! Pero dahil wala ng magagawa, sige isipan na lang ng positive. At least malapit sa washroom. At least wala kaming katabi ni Nathan kasi dalawahan lang. At least mauuna kaming magboard kasi dulo (ang dami naming handcarry!).

It's almost 2am na at ang dami ko pang nililigpit. As usual, excess baggage na naman ako kaya kailangan magbawas. I told myself na konti lang ihahand-carry ko pero eto, sandamakmak na naman. Tsk, wala talaga akong kadala-dala. Goodluck talaga samin ng anak ko bukas.

O siya, I'll try to be back as soon as I can. Tomorrow will be a very long day, me doctor's check-up pa ako sa tanghali.

See you soon, Pinas! Sana maging smooth ang biyahe namin.

Noche buena food fail

We ate at Grandt Kitchen, a Filipino restaurant here in Surrey, last December 16 and I've decided to just order our noche buena food from them. Wala na rin kasing choice, di ko na alam kung saan pa bibili (unlike sa Edmonton na maraming pwedeng orderan ng kung anu-ano). Nasarapan naman ako sa kinain naming kare-kare noon (pero hindi sa crispy pata) kaya nag-risk na rin ako. Ang sabi ko sa asawa ko, let's get surprised lol.

The owners of Grandt Kitchen were very nice and accommodating. I was thankful that they accepted "small" orders for Christmas eve, sa iba kasi puro tray-size lang. Tapos hindi na rin sila nanghingi ng deposit. We agreed to a 6:45pm pick-up on December 24 (they will close daw by 7pm).

We ordered pancit canton, beef caldereta, pork sisig, and pork barbeque nga pala.

Sobrang ginusto kong maging masarap ang pagkain namin kasi puwera sa pasko, I wanted to have another Filipino restaurant here in Surrey na masarap kainan. Kaso fail talaga. The beef caldereta was too cheesy na hindi lasang caldereta, hindi ko talaga malunok (favorite ko pa naman yun), the pancit canton had too many red and green pepper, the pork barbeque was mediocre (ni hindi naubos ng asawa ko ang isang stick), and the sisig was dry (medyo gusto ko naman ang lasa pero hindi type ni Ford). Overall, sayang ang $43.79 na binayad namin.

I made a mental note, next time hindi na nga ako magririsk. Sa Max's na lang ako magtetake-out kung hindi pa ako sure sa dishes ng mga Pinoy restos dito.

I threw the caldereta and pancit later. Hindi na talaga nakain.

At dahil konti lang ang nakain namin for dinner, naglook forward na lang kami ni hubby sa chocolate cake na matagal naming inasam-asam. Natikman namin ang cake na ito last Thanksgiving at nagustuhan talaga namin.

I ordered it from a Filipina home-based baker last November pa. Mabilis kasing maubos ang slots niya kapag may occasions kaya maaga talaga akong nagpareserve. Ang sabi ko nga, this will be the star of our noche buena and our ultimate cheat food. Kakalimutan ko munang magbilang ng carbs.

Toppers were not included in the cake.

Kaso fail din waaah! Matigas yung cake, masyadong dry yung loob. Na-overcook, obviously. Sobrang disappointed talaga kami. And to think hindi siya mura ha, kasi $40 siya.

I somehow felt guilty kasi as the wife and mother of the house, obligasyon kong mapakain nang masarap ang pamilya ko lalo na kapag ganitong Christmas season noh (sexist stance, I know). Kaso bigo. Kaya sabi ko sa sarili ko na babawi na lang ako talaga next year. Hindi na mauulit ang ganito.

So there, I am putting it in writing to put pressure on myself. I WILL PREPARE A GOOD NOCHE BUENA FOOD next year. Promise talaga yan.

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The following day, sinubukan kong kainin uli yung cake kasi sayang naman. Kaso I felt that it's not worth cheating for. Susme, halos diko na nga malunok tapos tataas pa ang sugar ko? Uneasy na talaga ang pakiramdam ko so I messaged the cake-maker nang madaling araw na (December 26).

She's actually very nice naman kaya ang sabi ko magfi-feedback lang ako. I wasn't demanding for anything. I just felt the need to release haha. Ang sabi ko nga medyo matigas yung cake, unlike doon  sa previous order namin.

When I woke up, may reply na siya. She was apologetic, siguro raw sa dami ng cakes na binake nila kaya nagkaganun. She offered to replace the cake which I gladly accepted. Medyo nakahinga na ako kasi nahihiya rin ako sa asawa ko kasi nga $40 ang matatapon kung hindi mapapalitan.

So on December 30, may new cake na kami (hindi pwedeng December 31 kasi fully booked na sila).

And it tasted so good! Moist na hehe.

Minessage ko agad yung cake-maker to tell her na perfect na yung cake this time. She was very happy, binantayan daw nila talaga yun sa oven to make sure na maayos na. Ayos, both parties were happy!

Note: Dapat kainin ang cake in 2 days kasi titigas na rin after. 

Christmas Eve 2017

My aunt invited us to spend the Christmas eve with them but I graciously declined. I told her Nathan won't make it till 12 midnight because he's been sleeping quite early lately. While it is half true, the real reason is that I really just wanted to stay at home for noche buena. We may not have the best Christmas decors nor the most delicious food this year but I want to be comfortable with my two boys. Ok na yun.

December 24, 2017. After having lunch with friends, we spent the rest of the afternoon at Metrotown Mall killing time. We shopped a bit and left at around 3:30pm to pick up the cake that I ordered at 4pm. We went home after that and tried to make Nathan nap so he will be awake later that night. But he couldn't sleep. Ford got a call from Grandt Kitchen (a Filipino restaurant here in Surrey) and was requested to pick up the food that we ordered earlier than 6:45pm, so he did.

At around 6:15pm, he's back and complained that he's hungry. So instead of waiting for 10pm or 12mn (my original eating time plan), we had early dinner na. Mabuti na rin para bumaba na ang sugar level namin later that night at nang makakain uli.

Ang hirap mag-isip nang ihahanda for a party of three, lalo na kapag hindi pa kumakain yung isa at diabetic yung dalawa. We just ordered food sa Pinoy resto because it's practical and economical.

Our handa -- pancit canton, beef caldereta, pork sisig, and pork barbeque.

We ate in front of the TV watching news. Our plan was to watch all night.

As expected, the little boy only ate apples. I was hoping that he'll eat pancit kaso ni ayaw tikman. I'll do a review of our food on my next post.

Then at around 8pm I brought out our ultimate holiday cheat foods na. Big time cheating talaga ang plan lol.

We ordered this cake from a Filipina home-based baker. Si Jesus pa ba ang mawawalan ng birthday cake?

Nathan joyfully delivered a birthday song for Jesus.

Family groufie after.

And the little boy couldn't wait to open his gifts! Ang alam nya kasi pagkatapos magblow ng candle ng cake ay gift-opening na haha!

I am thankful that we bought several gifts for him. Enjoy na enjoy siyang magbukas.

Here are his three major gift requests -- "animals,"hugas-hugas," and "toilet." Paniwalang-paniwala talaga siya kay Santa (I don't remember believing in Santa when I was growing up. Siguro kasi poor lang kami noon haha!).

Ford and I also opened our gifts from Juris and Tess. Haha, we didn't have gifts for each other kasi nga wala naman kaming separate money/bank account. Basta I buy whatever I want and tell him gift na niya yun sakin lol.

A little past 9pm, we started watching Seven Sundays na. We rented the movie @TFC.TV for $7.99. Medyo pricey pero ayos na rin kasi I've always wanted to watch this film.

Carbs overload!

Pero mukhang mas nag-enjoy ang asawa ko sa palabas haha. Plus he kept on saying "Ang gwapo talaga ni Dingdong" kaloka!

I think we'll do this na every Christmas eve, watch Filipino-themed movies. Sana lang palaging meron.

Halfway through the movie, nakatulog na ang bagets (not that he was watching lol). Sabi na nga ba eh, hindi nga kasi nag-nap nung hapon.

Pack-up na kami around 11:30pm. I had my red day din that night kaya I wasn't feeling well. It was the husband who washed the dishes, salamat naman.

My major wish that night was for us to have our own place na (be it a condo or a townhouse) by next Christmas para mas bongga naman ang celebration. Pero kahit simple lang ang naging noche buena namin, I was happy and contented kasi kasama ko ang asawa at anak ko. Iyon naman ang pinakaimportante.

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By the way, I am glad that that morning, I was able to talk to my Mamoosh and Tita Oya via Facetime. How I wish na magkakasama kami on Christmas kaso hindi naman palaging posible. Buti na lang talaga may internet. =)

Reduced MSP Premiums

As I have mentioned in this post, we British Columbia residents pay monthly MSP (Medical Services Plan) rates "which help meet a portion of the costs of  BC's health care system." We were being charged $150 per month (for two adults). I actually dislike the idea of paying these premiums kasi wala namang ganito sa ibang provinces, dito lang yata meron.

Buti na lang that starting January 2018, they reduced it na by 50%, kaya $75 na lang ang charge samin kada buwan. Thanks to the Liberals, lol.

Whew, we will save a total of $900 in a year. Sobra sobra na yan pambayad sa kuryente. Malaking bagay talaga. I hope magtuloy-tuloy na kasi they have plans of totally eliminating MSP premiums later on.

Sana marami pang good news ang dumating this 2018!

New Year's Resolutions 2018

Parang di pa rin nagsi-sink in sa akin na 2018 na. Ambilis talaga ng araw!

Anyway, I made a list of my new year's resolutions. I actually stopped making resolutions a long time ago, ngayon na lang uli. Wala lang, para may pang-reckon hehe.

1. Continue with weight loss. I lost 18lbs since August 16, 2017. Medyo napako na nga ang weight ko recently (lalo na this holiday season) kaya kailangang maging conscious uli sa pagkain at paggalaw-galaw. I am still overweight and I need to lose more pounds.

2. Take better care of self (especially skin). I am now on my late 30s (huhu) and sadly, my physical appearance has deteriorated na rin talaga. Obvious na obvious na na #TitaOfVancouver na ang peg hay. Hindi rin kasi ako maalaga, lalo na nung nagka-anak ako at naburo sa bahay. I used to have great skin pero dahil iba nga rin ang weather at water dito, grabe na sa pagka-dry (and I became dark huhu). I am hoping na mahabol ko pa na madelay ang inevitable aging ko.

3. Dress well again. I was never a fashionista but I can objectively say that I dressed well during my dalaga days. Gusto kong bumalik sa dati. I want my husband and son to be proud of me. I sort of lost my interest in dressing up din kasi when I gained a lot of weight, syempre wala nang bagay na damit. Pero ngayon nakakatuwa kasi nagkakasya na uli sa akin yung mga ibang damit na nakaliitan ko na.

4. Be more mindful in spending. I am naturally magastos. Sobrang hilig kong magshopping at bumili ng kung anu-ano. But this year, I'll try to be more careful sa paggasta, lalo na since we are planning to purchase a place already. Iwas muna sa unnecessary spending.

5. Start purging. Since I shop a lot, I naturally have a lot of things. Ang problema is that I never let go of them. Would you believe na yung mga damit ko noong 20s ako ay nasa closet ko pa sa Marilao? Kung hindi kami na-Ondoy last 2009, kahit mga gamit ko mula pagkabata ay tiyak nandun pa. Dito sa Canada, ang dami-dami naming gamit sa storage na hindi na naman namin kailangan yet hindi ko malet-go. My husband is telling me na dahil sa mga "kalat" ko, nagbabayad kami ng mahal sa storage. I really need to do something about it. I'll dispose all those things na. For sure, we will be moving to a smaller place later on (smaller than our previous home) so wala na talagang space for them. I will declutter and purge.

6. Be a better wife and mother. With all honesty, I will admit that I wasn't able to give my best to my mag-ama the past year. Siguro dahil na rin nagkasakit ako at mas napagtuunan ko ang mga sarili kong concerns. Saka naging too complacent din ako because I know that they love still me even if I am not lovable at times. Ahh basta, babawi ako sa kanila.

7. Document more. I love documenting, orientation ko rin kasi yan as a Sociology graduate. This year, I'll try to "save more memories." I'll produce photo books and get back at journaling. I'll take more photos and videos (especially of my son who's growing up too fast) and share them with my family and friends in social media (what's the use of having all those kung hindi ishe-share lol).

8. Blog as often as possible. I love blogging because this is one form of documentation. Online diary ko ito eh. So I will try to blog as often as I can. Hahanapan ko talaga ng time at energy. I also promise (to myself) na hahabulin ko pati backlogs ko kasi andami-dami kong hindi pa napopost dito. Kumbaga, kulang-kulang ang istorya ng buhay ko kaya dapat buuin.

9. Be grateful always. Bukambibig ko ang salitang grateful pero kadalasan hindi ko rin naiinternalize talaga. More often than not, I dwell on the negative, nakakalimutan kong magpasalamat sa kung ano ang meron ako. I will aspire to develop a grateful heart from now on, yung mas nakakaappreciate ng kahit maliliit na bagay o pangyayari. For sure magiging mas masaya ako.

So there! I will look back at this list a year from now and see what happened.

Kayo, anong new year's resolution ninyo? =)

Hello, 2018!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

May we all have a prosperous and blessed 2018!

More blog posts to follow, I promise!