you will always remember your first...

a few of my firsts....

first time ko sumakay sa eroplano noong mag migrate kami sa states, october 1997. nakaka excite pero kinakabahan ako kasi we packed our lives in suit cases and moved to a land far far away.

first time ko magbyahe papuntang manila ng ako lang mag isa, summer before 2nd year highschool...that was in 1994. 4 times akong nagpunta ng harrison plaza mag isa kasi i was taking guitar lessons then. e masyadong delicate ang aking fingers, hindi ko kinaya na pisilin ang mga strings na yan. so i gave up after 4 sessions. hanggang ngayon, i can only play 6 chords sa guitara... minsan nakakalimutan ng asawa ko na 'medyo' marunong nga pala ako kaya nagugulat sya kapag nakakatugtog ako. hehehe

first time ko magmove away from my parents, september 1999... i moved to davis to study there. actually nagmove away talaga ako 1997 pa, when i went to diliman...pero sa sobrang lungkot ko, araw araw umuuwi ako ng cavite kahit na may dorm ako. kahit na 4 hours ang byahe ko dahil sa sobrang traffic sa edsa, wa ako care! uuwi ako at kakain ng luto ng nanay ko!!!

first time ko magpunta ng disneyland...ang saya. naiyak ako sa tuwa. 1998 yun.

first time ko mag cruise with my dear husband and michelle, we went to mexico. it is still my most relaxing vacation ever! kahit na 4 days lang yon...it felt like i rested for a week. this was september 2004.

first time ko manood ng 3D na movie na wala ako sa loob ng disneyland.....AVATAR! medyo kakaiba ang hype sa movie na ito no, so i went into the theater na mataas ang expectations. naranasan nyo na ba yung hindi kayo gumagalaw at nakaupo lang for 2 1/2 hours???? first time ko maranasan yon when we watched avatar noong sunday. the movie had me captivated. masakit sa tuhod pagkatapos. para akong lola na aampang-ampang pababa ng hagdan sa sinehan. i was amazed at james cameron's vision. ang galing ng imagination nya to have created what he created! the story is somewhat different...syempre meron paring boy meets girl and they fall in love chuvaness, pero it's different. i highly recommend it kasi many future films will look to avatar for concepts and technology. nabilib ako kasi motion capture yung ginamit for the omaticayas, tapos pag magkasama yung mga tao at yung aliens, parang seamless, you don't know where the real ends and the cgi begins. galing!

this film is VISUALLY STUNNING! i'm sure that like me, first time rin bumilib ang viewers sa kakaibang ganda ng movie na ito. the story, i wasn't overly impressed with it. it's not a spectacular story. pero yung kabuuan ng pelikula...maganda. if you haven't seen it yet, you should. you won't forget this movie. gusto ko na nga bumili ng dvd at ng mapanood naman to sa bluray e!

sf ballet's the nutcracker

it was beautiful! the set was beautiful, the costumes were beautiful, the falling snow was beautiful...naluluha luha ako sa ganda kanina. i don't know much about ballet but i know the performance was not perfect, but wonderful nonetheless. it totally set the mood for christmas.

michelle really enjoyed the show, too. during the intermission while we were on our way to the ladies room, she kept dancing and twirling. natutuwa tuloy yung mga taong nakakakita sa kanya. it's like she had her own little world. but after the intermission and we went back to our seats, she began to lose interest. but she kept clapping when the crowd clapped sabay sabing, 'bravo!'. the music was really familiar to her too kasi she hears it a lot from episodes of little einsteins. after the show was over, she asked her dad, 'daddy, what was your favorite part of the show?' nang-interview pa.

here are some of our photos. we used our small, obsolete point and shoot kaya hindi masyado maganda ang pics.

papasko sa parents ko

my parents received what they have been fervently praying for.

my eldest brother FINALLY got his immigrant visa and he could be here before the end of the month.

totoo na ito!!!!

there was a delay of about 4 weeks before he finally received his visa. medyo nadiscourage din ang parents ko...my dad couldn't sleep. natatakot kasi sya na baka mapunta sa wala yung taon na hinintay namin bago sya makarating rito.

so now, after 12 years of waiting, darating na ang kuya ko! i am very happy na magkakasama sama kami. kulang parin pero i know that in God's perfect time, yung isang kuya ko naman ang makakarating dito. =D

pawis

parang galit sa pawis tong si michelle. tuwing papawisan sya, she would pause, pupunasan ang noo or leeg nya, lalapit sa akin sabay sabing...

'mommy, i'm getting pawis!'

:-(

was walking around macy's after work today when i saw an image of myself as i walked past a full length mirror.

what i saw was not just depressing...it was heart breaking.

you know that moment when something just clicks? well, that was it for me. everything clicked and i hope to never see myself like that again.

a new batch of michelle-isms

since my daughter doesn't baby talk anymore, i will introduce a new batch of michelle-isms....her tag-lish sentences na may pagka conyo-tic ang dating.

sample:

madaming kalat sa kama, 'letters' daw nya. sabi ko, itabi na matutulog na. sabi nya, "ok mommy. let's tago it!'

for the home

this would look nice in the dining room

keep dreaming!!!

ay amor!

ay amor! mas magaling kumembot ang lola!

pilapino

proud na proud sa pagka pilapino ang anak ko. obvious ba?

i'm not naughty...

after watching dora's christmas special on tv, michelle asked her lolo....

'lolo, are you on the naughty list?' (she asked because swiper was on santa's naughty list)

her lolo replied, 'no i'm not. are you on the naughty list?'

'no!' she answered back indignantly. 'i'm not naughty, i'm filipino!'

team pacquiao

paul is getting me this shirt (christmas gift ba ito???). panlalake, lang pero i really want a team pacquiao shirt. uniform namin to when we watch the pacman v. mayweather fight in march (dito lang kami sa bahay manonood).

kaya mo yan pacman!!!