nakakahilo

nakakahilo pala maghanap ng bahay! i look for houses online na pwede namin mabili and then we go to the houses with our agent, the smart and beautiful, ate thez.

we saw three houses yesterday. the last one we saw was a real winner! it's also at the very top of our budget. =( we're going to put an offer na mababang mababa hehehe i don't want to set my heart on this house kahit na sobrang ganda nya talaga. ibibigay ng Lord yun kung para sa amin talaga. it's a 3 bedroom house in south city with everything we could ever need.

pero now i think i want a 4 bedroom house para yung isang kwarto, pwedeng maging office/guest room. sana may makita kagad kami and tanggapin ang offer namin. =)

S-U-S-H-I

Dinner Date

sake flight

Sekiwake Roll

Hamachi Sashimi

Ozumo Roll

Spicy Scallop Roll

Tempura Ebi

Tempura Ebi

feeling pretty woman

on the eve of my birthday, we had a client event at the beverly hilton hotel kung san ginagawa ang golden globe awards. nakakatuwa maexperience ang mga ganitong bagay dahil i am a probinsyana at heart! sabi nga nila, you can take the girl out of the province, but you can't take the province out of the girl!

nagstay kami sa beverly wilshire hotel, kung san shinoot ang isa sa aking pinaka paboritong romantic comedies, ang pretty woman. chel and i stayed in one room, so when we were checking in, i asked for a room with 2 beds...so naghanap ng room ang front desk agent, and then she said, "i found a room for you and i upgraded you to a junior suite." sweet! ang laki ng kwarto namin! we had 2 bathrooms, too. what stood out for me at this hotel was the impeccable service. everyone greeted you and they were not snooty at all. yung ibang mga guest mukhang snooty. heheh i thanked the front desk agent and said it was a wonderful brithday present because i was there to celebrate my birthday. =)

so nagpunta nga kami dun sa client event at the hilton. ok lang naman yung event. na excite lang ako kasi nandun ako sa room where all the famous movie stars would sit and dine. after the event we went drinking with co-workers and clients. puro inuman! i haven't had that much alcohol in a while. buti di ako nalasing.

unfortunately wala akong famous celebrity na nakita. kahit na lahat e tiningnan ko talaga. there was this one guy that looked famous na nakasabay namin sa elevator, unfortunately di namin sya kilala.

because of this experience, sabi ko kay paul balik kami dun next time. the corporate rate is really good kaya di ganon kasakit sa bulsa, tsaka paminsan minsan lang naman e.

on the day of my birthday, i walked around rodeo drive but i dared not walk into all the expensive stores. alam ko naman na di ako bibili ng kahit ano e. so sa lacoste lang ako pumasok kasi don, alam ko na kaya ko pa ma afford ang mga tinda...pero nandun lang naman ako sa sale section! hehehe =D

anyway, here are some photos....

Chel, Me, and Jin

at the Beverly Hilton (ganda ng flowers no?)

hindi po ako ganyan kataba, shift dress suot ko so medyo boxy =) (palusot)

my birthday lunch

lobster salad

birthday cake courtesy of the wilshire

birthday surprise

i didn't have a celebration planned for my actual birthday. there's about 15 people close to me (friends and family) that celebrate our birthdays between april 30 and may 21. parang every other day may handaan! daig pa ang christmas season! pag pasok ng may, throw your diet plans aside and get ready to gain weight dahil food will be everywhere in sight.

i also don't like surprises that much either. ayoko yung nagugulat ako at kumakabog ang dibdib.

pero this birthday is different.

i was PLEASANTLY SURPRISED and TOUCHED by the gesture of my friends from the philippines. for this, my 28th birthday, they threw a circus themed children's party at jollibee. seriously! a children's party! at jollibee! they had cake, balloons, games, the works! my brothers, sisters in law and nieces and nephews were there too. i was so touched kasi for me, birthdays are not solely about the celebrant, but also of the lives of the people she loves. i was so happy to see them all having a good time and laughing, all in celebration of my birthday. ang totoo nyan, my life is a celebration of them---silang mga mahal ko sa buhay. they helped mold me into the person i am now. God has blessed me with such an amazing family and wonderful set of friends...tipong kahit milya milya ang layo namin, i feel how much they love me and i hope they feel how much i love them, too.

aside from the party, they also made a video of their messages for me. friends from all over the world left me video and email messages. may mga galing dito sa states, sa pilipinas, korea, at kung saan saan pa! katuwa! napaka creative ng mga taong ito...and they were all able to keep it a secret from me!!!

naiyak iyak ako ng konti kagabi while watching the video. i miss all of my friends and family! sabi ko nga kay chel, life's greatest treasures are not material things, but the relationships we build. my relationship with my family and my friends ang kayamanan ko sa mundo, it is them that i am most grateful for.

Lord, maraming salamat dahil you have blessed me so much and i know that your plans for me in the future hold so much more. i am deeply humbled by your goodness sa kabila ng napakarami kong pagkukulang. sabi nga sa bibliya, who is man that you are mindful of him? at sino ako that you have blessed me with so much? the joy in my heart is too much to contain. the love you send my way is overflowing. maraming salamat Lord. para sa panibagong taon na ito na dinagdag mo sa buhay ko Panginoon, baguhin mo ang puso ko, make me more mindful of You. change me into the person you want me to be. I love you, Lord, and i really miss spending more time with you. help me Lord, in all things, in big and small things. stay in control of my life, i lift everything up to You. Jesus, You are Lord and Savior of my life, thank you for everything!

happy birthday to me???!!!???!!!

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!!!

tarrytown griffen
Nestled in New York's Hudson River Valley, Tarrytown's quaint downtown is a modest advertisement for the town's history as a destination for many of the nation's wealthiest and stylish turn-of-the century families. The historic area still lures visitors and equestrians with its natural beauty, grand manor homes, and abundant trails.

· boarskin leather
· short shoulder tote for daytime, work and weekends
· open top
· interior zip pocket
· 14-karat gold plated hardware
· custom printed stripe on 100% cotton twill lining
· kate spade leather license plate signature
· imported
· 4.7" drop length
· 14.4"h x 13.1"w x 3.5"d

incomplete

despite the lovely flowers he sent me for mother's day, i can't help but miss my husband. =(

parang di tuloy kumpleto mother's day ko.

huhuhu

roses, roses, roses

i love them! thank you beb!

mommies' funnies

i saw an article on msnbc about this website. check it out it's pretty funny.

http://www.postcardsfromyomomma.com/

and they say kids say the darnest things. moms are not to be outdone!

to all the moms

happy mother's day to all of you!

God bless!

Proverbs 31:10-12 and 25-31

A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.

She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.

She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:

"Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all."

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

feeling hollywood!

our office donated $##,### to an charitable organization in los angeles for it's annual gala dinner. with our donation, we get 10 seats to the gala which last year was hosted by ashlee simpson. this year, sino kaya ang host?

i asked my boss if i could go and he said i could.

yey! pupunta akong beverly hills! dun kasi gagawin yung gala. sa hilton beverly hills kung saan ginagawa ang golden globe awards every year. excited ako kasi never pa ako nakapasok sa hilton na yun. sa regent beverly wilshire (of pretty woman fame) naka punta na ako kasi dun yung reception ng kasal ng pinsan ko...tapos in 2003, claire and i went to rodeo drive where we saw matt damon and greg kinnear(spelling?) shoot their [not so funny] movie where they play siamese twins. pero ngayon lang ako makaka experience mag punta sa isang gala event at may stay sa isa sa pinaka posh na hotel sa mundo. grabe na ito! baka di makaya ng powers ko!

syempre sagot lahat ng kumpanya yun no! pupunta ba ako kung ang magbabayad? wala sa budget ko yan no! hehe hindi pa sure kung sa hilton nga ako mag stay or dun sa regent. they're not too far from each other naman. it doesn't matter where i stay, basta ma experience ko ito. once in a lifetime lang to no? tsaka kasi, i've always been sorta anti-social. well, i have been like this since i moved to the states. tahimik lang ako lagi tapos i don't mingle when i'm at parties. lagi lang ako nakaupo and kinakausap lang yung mga ka-close ko. parang di ako intresado sa ibang tao. with my new role, i have to really talk to people and get to know them. ayoko naman isipin nila na suplada ako. so practice din to sa art of mingling and conversation.

jologs kaya kung magdadala ako ng camera para magpicture picture ng celebrities at manghunting ng celebrities sa rodeo drive? who knows, baka ako ang maging bagong BFF ni paris hilton! hehehe

blind item!

napansin ko lang kanina sa friendster...merong isa sa hundreds of friendster friends ko ang malaki ang pinag iba. noong nasa pilipinas pa ako, napakatahimik nitong tao na to. parang di makabasag pinggan. may hitsura sya noon pa pero di sya masyado pansinin dahil nga tahimik at simpleng tao lang.

pero ngayon...nakaw! super nayayabangan ako sa mga sinasabi nya sa friendster! kakaiba talaga! iniisip ko kung bakit naging ganon ang transformation nya. hindi mo iisipin na magiging ganon. ewan ko ba, in some way nakaka bother yung changes sa kanya. parang oa naman ang pag ka confident sa sarili ngayon. wala ng bakas ng tahimik at mahiyaing si...

in some way parang naaawa ako sa kanya. nalulungkot para sa kanya na naging ganon sya. inisip kaya nya na mas mabuti yung personality nya ngayon kesa dati? well, sana mali ako. since it's been years, maybe decades since i last saw this person, i don't really know him anymore. maaring mabait parin sya deep down, at facade lamang ang over confident exterior na ito. none the less, ipadadasal ko sya. yun lang ang kaya kong gawin para sa kanya. may the good Lord bless this person!

the name shall be kept a secret! sa mga friends ko from pi, mahulaan nyo kaya kung sino ito? pareho kaya tayo ng iniisip?!!??! email nyo ako sa friendster! heheh

back from vaca

We got back from our vacation on Friday and I am just writing about it now. Truth is, this is my nth attempt to write about the trip. But even when I already have hundreds of words typed up, I always go back and delete what I wrote.

maybe it’s because I still have not recovered from the vacation, or the fact that I have gained 5 pounds in 1 week or maybe the proof that vacations are not 100% relaxing...

The one day I was looking forward to just lounging by the Caribbean’s clear blue water was cancelled due to big waves. From the cruise ship, we had to go on small boats called tenders to get to Royal Caribbean's private island, Coco Cay. The waters were so rough that we risk hitting the rocks as we approach the beach. thus, we had to spend an extra day at sea.

To jolt me out of my sour mood, we went rock wall climbing on board the ship. Rock wall climbing is something I’ve always wanted to do but never got to it until this vacation. Since I am afraid of heights, I don’t really climb anything. I remember when I was a kid, we rented a house just across the street from where our house in Cavite now stands. Behind that old house was an aratiles tree that had never seemed to run out of fruits (or berries? they kinda looked like berries). Since I could not climb, I would ask my mom to climb it for me and collect the fruits that I could not reach. Now that I am an adult, even step stools and bunk beds make me nervous.

So when it was my turn to climb the wall, (of course I picked the easiest climb), my heart was beating a mile a minute. There I stood, hands cold and clammy, daring to take this huge step towards conquering my fear. The first couple of grips were easy. In my head I though, ‘ha! I could get used to this thing!’ half way through I glanced up and realized I still had a long way to go and started to get nervous again. ¾ of the way up, I pulled my left shoulder muscle and decided to give up. ‘No! reach out with your left hand! You can do it!’ shouted the man tied to the other end of the rope that secured me. “I can’t!’ I yelled back. ‘You can do it!’ I heard the crowd below me cheer me on. i felt a rush of adrenaline through my body and so i pulled my self up with my left hand, followed by the left foot. Lo and behold, the bell was within my reach. I grabbed it and started swinging. Yey! I conquered my first wall!!! The applause was thundering in my ears! Yahoo! I was so proud of myself. The elation was enough to get me through the rest of the day. But from the ships deck I still stood, pining for that white sand beach...at least i have an excuse to go on another beach vacation!

it was also during this trip that I felt my first serious case of sea sickness. it was windy and rough on our way to snorkel the United States' only living coral reef which is located in Key West, Florida. Getting to the reef, which was about 7 miles from Key West was too rough a ride for me. I can handle swaying from side to side, but the bobbing up and down was too much for me to take. It took every effort to calm my stomach and keep myself from throwing up. While paul, caloy, and anna where chatting and laughing as we approached the reef, I sat in one corner, hiding from the sun, praying I wont make a mess and ruin the trip for all 100 other snorklers on the catamaran.

When I had the chance to brave the rough seas with my snorkel gear, I told myself, ‘This reef better be worth it!’ it was not!!! Or maybe we were swimming on the wrong part of Key West. All I saw were to large rocks, a school of 1 kind of fish and 2 of another kind of fish. I only spent about 30 minutes in the water. It was too rough. There were too many people around me not just from our catamaran but the two others anchored nearby. It was a mess of heads bobbing in open water. Back on the boat on the way back to the cruise ship, all I could do to keep from throwing up was to lie down. When I got up to leave the boat, I felt my stomach turning again and immediately munched on ice chips to keep my stomach down. I was feeling nauseous until just before dinner, our last on the cruise ship.

Despite my earlier complaints, it was still a good trip. Any place where I do not need to wear a sweater is a little piece of heaven for me—a good break from the cold, San Francisco weather. on my next post, i will write about the highlights instead of the lowlights of the trip. every dark cloud has a silver lining.