God is good!

The Lord never fails! Praise God!!! =)

undecided

libre naman ang mangarap di ba? hehehe

we are claiming one of these three cars will be ours within the next 6 months, in Jesus' name!!!

Land Rover LR3

Acura MDX

Volvo XC90

with the new baby, we need a bigger car to carry all of her stuff around. we have a 5-seater sedan right now and when we put michelle's stroller in the trunk, there's hardly any room for anything else. solution: bigger car. i don't want to buy a minivan because it's so 'soccer mom'. hehehe i think i'm too young for a minivan (kaartehan!) so i'm breaking my college idealism of 'SUVs ruin the world' sorta thing hehehe so the next car will hopefully be one of these three. prices are all within three thousand dollars of each other with all the features we want but we want to get the most bang for our buck.

all cars are safe...a high priority for me because of my baby. but should we sacrifice the features for more leg/shoulder room or vice versa???

please vote for your personal favorite. =)

great phrases...

"we may be full of material things, but unless we are filled by Christ Jesus, there is no fulfillment."

"we should read the Bible with the mindset to obey..."

new 7 wonders of the world

i've always been fascinated by travel, architecture and art (i almost minored in art history back in college). so when i read on cnn.com that people like you and me can vote our new 7 wonders of the world, i immediately googled the website and found out what it's all about.

The SEVEN WONDERS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD (from left to right, top to bottom):

Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Temple of Artemis, Statue of Zeus at Olympia

Mausoleum of Maussollos, Colossus of Rhodes

Lighthouse of Alexandria

of the 7 ancient wonders of the world, only one remain today, that is the the pyramids of giza in egypt.

so here's our chance to vote for the new 7 wonders of the ancient world. 21 sites are in the running (from left to right, top to bottom):

The Acropolis (Greece), Alhambra (Spain), Angkor (Cambodia), The Pyramid at Chichen Itza (Mexico), Christ Redeemer (Brazil), The Roman Colosseum (Italy), Statues of Easter Island(Chile)

Eiffel Tower (France), The Great Wall (China), Hagia Sophia (Turkey), Kiyomizu Temple (Japan), The Kremlin and Red Square (Russia), Machu Picchu (Peru), Neuschwanstein Castle (Germany)

Petra (Jordan), The Pyramids of Giza (Egypt), The Statue of Liberty (United States), Stonehenge (England), Sydney Opera House (Australia), Taj Mahal (India), Timbuktu (Mali)

of course, the nerdy me registered and voted for the following sites: the Acropolis, Angkor, Pyramid at Chichen Itza, the Colosseum, the Great Wall, Machu Picchu, and the Pyrimids at Giza.

the New 7 Wonders of the World will be announced during the Official Declaration ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday, July 7, 2007 - 07.07.07.

restaurant review - thristy bear

last night, my friends and i went to thirsty bear to celebrate theresa's birthday. i've been to thirsty bear before with my co-workers during happy hour so i knew that food was good and that's why i suggested we celebrate there.





what we had:

Costillas
Baby back ribs glazed with smoky mustard bbq glaze & white bean-chantrelle ragout

Carne a la Parilla
Grilled hanger steak with mojo piquante, grilled green onions & oven dried tomatoes

Albondigas Spanish meatballs with wild mushrooms & chickpeas

Paella Valenciana
Saffron rice, chicken, chorizo, clams, mussels & shrimp with roasted peppers & peas

we also had grilled pork loin and fish, but they aren't on the website so no detail description on those =)

anyway, the food was good. servings (except for the paella), despite being filed under the heading "heartier plates" were smaller compaired to other restaurants but they were filling nonetheless. hindi yung 'american serving' na good for 3 people! the servings were a good size, enough to fill up a person with a not-so-big appetite.

the paella serving was large enough for two people to share. our only complaint regarding the paella was that the shrimp was not peeled. hehe maarte no? but it was good...if i were not on my south beach diet, i would have ordered the paella myself.

we had dessert, too. the Boca Negra (chocolate torte with whipped cream, ruby port syrup & chocolate sauce), Flan de Queso (cheesecake flan), and apple pie (i think). we were all ice cream junkies so all the desserts were ordered, ala mode. they were all good. i particularly liked the flan de queso, a good twist to the traditional flan. the cream cheese cuts the sweetness of the flan.

some had spanish wine, some had beer, some had sangrias and cocktails. the cocktails were potent, the wine could have been better (california wines are better, but maybe i'm just biased), i don't like cinnamon in my sangria, the beer was good (it's a brewery after all!). the drink menu was so extensive, there's bound to be something that will please every person's thirst.

the downside:

parking is a hassle, just like anywhere else in downtown san francisco. difficult to find street parking and expensive parking garages.

maybe a little too loud to carry a good conversation, not a very good place to go on a first date hehehe. but still 'quieter' than your average bar.



overall, thirsty bear is a good place to hang out, eat, and drink. prices are not too steep...although we racked up a bill that's over $300! but there was 13 of us and gratuity was included...everyone enjoyed their meal and had fun so it was all worth it.

little by little...

i gained a staggering 47 lbs during the 9 months that i was pregnant with my daughter, michelle. early in the pregnancy, i told myself i would only allow myself to gain a maximum of 35 lbs but obviously, that didn't happen. =) but now, i am proud to say that i have lost 27 lbs since giving birth and on the path to losing the 20 additional pounds that i have gained. i am confident i will lose the weight by january, thanks to the south beach diet and exercise. =)

love immeasurable

The thought of my suffering and homelessness
is bitter beyond words.
I will never forget this awful time,
as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”

The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
to those who search for him.
So it is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the Lord.
And it is good for people to submit at an early age
to the yoke of his discipline:

Let them sit alone in silence
beneath the Lord’s demands.
Let them lie face down in the dust,
for there may be hope at last.
Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them
and accept the insults of their enemies.

For no one is abandoned
by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion
because of the greatness of his unfailing love.
For he does not enjoy hurting people
or causing them sorrow.

Lamentations 3:19-33

tidbits...

it's been a long time since i actually wrote something in my blog. motherhood has been keeping me busy. but here's an update on what i've been up to.

michelle got her first set of shots yesterday. my baby girl was so brave, sandali lang sya umiyak after 3 needles pricked her skin. =( she's running a slight fever right now and cries more than usual because her skin is sore around the area where she was vaccinated. she's still eating fine and we're giving her baby tylenol.

paul went to his 2nd interview at cypress yesterday also. i was waiting for him for 3 hours...namuti na ung mata ko kakahintay!!! i was just listening to christian talk radio the whole time and praying to the Lord...thanking Him for all that He has given us and i apologized sincerely for not being able to spend more time in praise and prayer. we are so lucky that we have a Savior who doesn't change, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. i'm blessed to have developed this personal relationship with Him...He is truly my source of strength. to everyone out there reading my blog (to the 3 people who actually read my blog hehe), i encourage you to read the bible and get to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. better is one day with the Lord, than thousands elsewhere.

job prospects...i'm asking for prayers from my prayerful friends to pray for me and paul sa aming job prospects. the Lord said in His word that He will make us the head and not the tail...i hold Him true to His word. ngayon palang, we already thank the Lord for whatever lies in store for us in our careers. we are confident that whatever happens, it is the Lord's will for our lives.

weightloss...should we even talk about this?!?!?!? hehehe i have successfully lost 5 lbs! (booooo!) yeah super baba! but i'm working hard to lose as much as i can. i tried on my wedding gown the other night and it doesn't fit!!! i'm at least 1 dress size bigger so i have to work really hard and fit into it by second or third week of december. if not, it's either i get the gown fixed (maggie sottero style) or buy a new dress. (gastos nanaman!!!)

wedding...well, i have a florist now and i'm waiting for them to send me the quote for the wedding ceremony. i'm working on the wedding invitations and will try to get them all done by saturday to be sent out on monday. i'm looking for a hairstylist and make up artist to help me look like a blushing bride on that day. madge lejano's booked for my wedding so i can't hire her. does anyone know any magicians...i mean, beauticians that can help me look beautiful on that day? suggestions please!!!

grandma...i just received a text message from my brother that my mom's mom is in the hospital. doctor's will give an update on her health tomorrow. please help me pray for her. she's one kind of a woman, my grandmother. kakaiba!!! but we love her...without her, my wonderful mom wouldn't be here!

so far yan lang muna. i'm going to work out right now...here is what i do when i work out...i do 30-mins of pilates, 30 mins of aerobic workout, 30 minutes jogging, 20 minutes light weights, and 10 minutes abdominal work. kaya nyo yon!?!?!?! i so hate working out...really, i hate it! i don't use the word hate because it's such a strong word, but i do hate it! but i have to. really have to!

oh, to all you ladies who also want to lose weight...oprah claims her doctor has a new 'diet' that can help people lose at least 1 dress size in 10 days. watch oprah today 11/02 at 4 pm on ABC. i know i'm watching!!! =)