Merry Christmas

Just wanna ask you ... what will you do if your husband forgot to buy you your first Christmas Card as a wife? Wag nyo na ako tanungin coz I've been too grumpy the whole day pero he's so malambingthat I gave in na din ... aw sige na nga ... pero para quits... di ko na ibibigay card mo Labs ... hahaha! He promised to buy tomorrow... yun eh kung may mabibili pa siya hehehe! But still love you pa din mwah!

Back to blogging...

I was a terrible blogger this past few weeks. Sorry about that :) But I never forget to bloghop hihihi! Eto lang naman updates sa mga buhay-buhay namin. I'm still working on our supplier ratings. Bad ako, nauna pa mag-supplier ratings mga November at December brides sa akin hahaha!

GAWAD KALINGA

Last Dec. 16, I went with Jason for UAP Capitol Chapter's yearly Gawad Kalinga Outreach Program. Yup they are all architects. At sabit lang ako dito hihihi ... Ninong Fordie is the President of this years Capitol Chapter. Nung nandun na kami, super daming bata ranges from 3 to 8 I guess. And they have special numbers for their guest. And since sabit na ako, ako na naging photographer. Yung kasi isa nilang member na photo freak eh absent ... hindi nakapunta. Buti nalang nandun ako. Marami sila donations for the people there. After we distributed their treats, we went to the houses that needs repainting. Since wala pa sila new house na nagawa para pinturahan namin eh, yung mga houses nalang na nandun ang ni-repaint namin. :) Everybody I guess enjoyed what they're doing. Saka nakakataba naman talaga sa puso ang makatulong sa mga nangangailangan.

SHOP FOR GIFTS

Ok, we are bad gift giver this Christmas. I'm unemployed and have a few money left. While Jason is a freelance architect that all projects he's handling now are all in pending status because of the holiday season. Pero what I like about Jason is that, yung thought niya sa mga inaanak niya di pa rin nawawala. Kaya nag-shop kami sa mga inaanak niya. Sorry sa mga inaanak ko ngayon. pass muna si Ninang ha, next year nalang ulit. Babawi ako promise. While buying some kid stuff, napadaan kami sa infant section. We saw this 3-in-1 playpen ... mura lang 17K hahaha! Susme 17K? eh yung bed nga namin ni Jason only cost 15k ... nagmamahal na talaga ang mga bilihin. Pero siyempre, di lang naman yung ist baby mo makakagamit nun...even yung mga susunod na babies mo magagamit yun. Pwede siyang cradle, pwede siyang play pen, at pwede din siya kids bed ... oh di ba?

The Rustan's GC's are now in use dahil pwede na daw sa Rustan's supermarket near our place. Mind you, ang mahal talaga sa supermarket nila ... yung nagrocery lang namin is for noche buena and for Jason's barkada Christmas party tomorrow eh umabot na ng 4k. Wala pa meat products dun ha. Eh ano naman magagawa namin. Mas magagamit naman kasi namin yung GC's for groceries than buy ourselves stuffs na super mahal din tapos mga 2 items lang mabibili namin. At least eto food it, kailangan ng tao ang pagkain. Thank you lord hihihi.

When we got home binalot na namin ang mga gifts nila. Nilagyan na din namin ng tags. Wala kami gift sa families namin ... wahahaha! We're so bad talaga. Kiss nalang pwede? Pero we already bought Christmas card. Sa napag-usapan namin, cake nalang ibibigay namin sa Mom niya. May hobbit kasi ang mom niya, na pag nakatanggap ng gift, talagang itatago at hindi gagamitin. Kumbaga for display purposes only. At least daw yung cake mapipilitan siyang kainin yun. We also bought gifts para sa exchange gifts tomorrow sa Christmas party ng barkada ni Jason ... we bought stuffs a unizex and usable for only 200 pesos. Hehehe exciting. Pag mga ganyan lang ang budget umiikot yung imagination mo sa pagpili ng gifts eh.

4 DAYS BEFORE XMAS

Our house is already filled with gifts from Dad's constant gift givers. Di namin alam kung kani-kanino galing. But some have names like Rep. blah blah ... Cong. chu chu ... and so on. Wines, rice, noche buena baskets, tela for barongs, brownies, cakes, crabs, lapu-lapu, sugpo, hay dami ... and so on ... grabe. Nagrereklamo na nga yung angel ng tahanan namin na di na daw kasya sa freezer yung mga isda hahaha!

Since first Christmas namin ito as husbands and wife, gusto namin na medyo extra special ang pasko na ito. Kaya bongga na ang noche buena namin hehehe! I'm sure may picture taking pa to hahaha! Our menu for Noche Buena is my special spaghetti (hindi ko alam bat gustong-gusto nila spaghetti ko), Buffalo Wings (recipe I got from www. allrecipes.com), Chicken Pastel and some inihaw na isda and other seafood. Sa Dec. 24 din kasi birthday ng Kuya ko kaya extended ang handa niya till 12 midnight hehehe.

NEW MEMBER OF THE FAMILY

Gorky

Duday

Meet Duday and Gorky, the new member of our family, Mini Pinchers. They just came 2 weeks ago. Full breed sila pareho, sad nga lang di sila masyado naalagaan ng may-ari sa sobrang dami nilang dogs. So inampon na namin. Nung una akala namin di papayag si Dad. Pero nung nakita niya and they're so malambing. Ayun pumayag na din. At isa pa, pair yun, male and female. Eh pag nagkaroon ng puppies yun, medyo malaking money din yun di ba? Saka nakakainis nga lang, wala sila papers. Bababa tuloy yung price ng puppies nila. Naku, they're all seloso at selosa, including Popoy, Iwa and Kimchee. pag di mo nahawakan sila nagtatampo. Imagine ang hirap nila amuhin hahaha! Pero ngayon hindi na masyado. Super kulit and playful nila. Nakakaalis ng pagod.

OUR DREAM HOUSE

Perspective done by: Arch Arnold Ferrera
Designed by: Arch. Jason Jamias

Finally, the much awaited perspective of our house. Ang hirap kasi explain kina dad yung itsura ng house namin. We don't want the traditional house kasi. We wanted our house to look different from the other houses here sa village. Kaya ayan ang resulta. Can't wait na ma-construct na to as early as January. So what do you think of our house? Ganda ba? Galing ng asawa ko, so proud of him. He's asking for my suggestions din, so pareho na din kami nag-design niyan ... more on him nga lang. Hay o hay .... ipagawa na yan now na hahaha!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Eto yung birthday ni Dad na super duper akong tamad kumuha ng picture. Eh natapat kasi na may bagyo ... super lakas ng ulan. The party was held sa backyard ... super maputik yung ibang part ng garden namin sa sobrang basa na talaga umaangat na yung lupa. Hindi nag-invite si Dad pero naman mga 30 ata yung pumunta ... and as early as 5:30am may kumakatok na sa bahay namin para mag-greet. Actually sila yung nagluto ng papaitan na kambing kaya maaga sila.

Nakalimutan ko mag-shot ng handa ni Dad pero it comprises of a lot of talaba, sugpo, alimasag, lechon (3 lechon I think), igado, papaitan, sisig, pork barbeque and pancit ... dami no? hihihihi! As always... lahat yun gift for dad, hihihi! Somebody did gave 2 sacks of rice ... sabi ni dad yung mga yun ipapa-raffle niya daw sa Xmas Party nila, since we still have our rice. Bait ng dad ko no? Swerte makakakuha nun I'm sure.

Lapit na Pasko, sana magkatrabaho na ako next year ... gusto ko kasi maging productive eh. Gusto ko tulungan si Jason sa mga expenses namin dalawa. :)

We love Baguio

Our honeymoon was cancelled last Nov. 4. and we are having a hard time booking a hotel or flight bound to Bohol dahil peak season na. Lahat ng dates na pwede kami pumunta dun eh booked na. Since we're going to Cebu next month for mom and Dad's wedding anniversary, we decided mag-sidetrip nalang kami sa Bohol pag nasa Cebu kami.

And since we need a time of together alone, we went to Baguio last Dec. 3 for our honeymoon. Corny pero we love Baguio talaga. Ninong Fourdie suggest we stay at Ridgewood Residence. 15 mins. away from the city. Wala siya aircon pero super freezer cold ang lamig niya. Sarado na nga windows namin ni Jason dun pero di namin alam san nanggagaling yung lamig. It's practically walking distance from The Mansion. Ok yung place, as seen on photos. Super nag-enjoy kami ni Jason kahit di kami masyado naglibot doon. Nagbabad lang kami sa room namin just watching movies and ... you know ... wink wink ... They have rooms good for 6 person, kaya we booked them right away for our yearly Panagbenga Festival. We booked their Apartelle C ... may sariling fireplace yung Apartelle C kasi. May own kitchen and sala kaya parang nasa bahay ka din. Their food is so good and the service is excellent. Nung nag make-up room sila sa room namin may rose pa na nilagay yung room boy sa bed namin. Tapos amoy flowers yung room namin... forgot what scent he used ... so romantic.

On our 2nd day, we went to the marketplace to buy some veggies. Wag daw namin kalimutan bumili ng brocolli sabi ni mommy hahaha! 100 pesos for 6 kinds of veggies. Pre-packed na siya, di ko lang alam kung half a kilo or 1 kilo yun. Basta naka-packed na siya. We bought 3 bags of veggies ... yung dalawa para sa bahay and the other para sa mom niya. I also bought knitted poncho ... super cute, pwede pang-gimik ... I bought two, one for me and one for mom. I saw this cutie knitted hairbands .. 3 for 100 hehehe wala ng tawad. Ang daya... At mabigat ang dala namin ha hihihi. We ate at Yellow Cab for lunch ... sabi ko nga kay Jason, di natin pinapansin yung Yellow Cab sa Manila, dito pa tayo kumain.

Ewan ko ba kung bakit super tamad kami ni Jason maglibot ... gusto nga namin pumunta ng SM Baguio, eh kaso naman umulan bigla... as in malakas ... kaya super ginaw to death. Hay grabe, I can't wait to go back again next year ... I'm sure sila Mom matutuwa sa place ...

I'm done choosing our photos for our wedding album...pero ido-double check pa ni Jason pag may time siya. In the meantime, gagawa muna ako ng photoslide para malagay sa Youtube para makita ng friends and family namin yung photos.

2006 W@Wie Supplier of the Year

Yes, I'm so happy that 3 of our suppliers made it on the Top 5 list ... and Paul Vincent got it this year. Congratulations to you and Ivy, you really deserve it. Funny thing is, I was reading W@Wie mails reading supplier rating on Paul Vincent when Eranie texted me that Paul got the award. Congratulations also to Dan Pamintuan and Emily Uy for being on the Top 5 ... read more about them here.

Speaking of Paul, I already got our "not yet" enhanced photo CD. Mega pinapipili na ako ng nanay ko ng mga photos to be sent abroad. wag daw i-CD, ipaprint na daw agad ... ok fine! hahaha! napakademanding naman ... imagine sa 3 folders ng photo eh 700 shots ata ang laman huhuhuhu! ano ba yun ... kaloka ... mahirap pumili ng photos ... thanks talaga Paul... no trace of baby fats promise hihihi! Good job to both of you.

On Dec. 3, we're going to Baguio. Since all hotels are booked on the weekends... we decided to go to Baguio by Sunday... Freelancer naman kami, no boss hehehe kaya hawak namin ang oras namin. We'll be staying at Ridgewood Residence. We heard na maganda daw dun. Yun din recommend sa amin ng isa namin Ninong eh. Not that expensive, not that cheap ... tama lang. And ang maganda pa nun, medyo malayo siya sa city so feel na feel mo talaga you're in Baguio. Saka we're not planning on shopping for jams, peanut brittle etc. kasi may supplier ata daddy ko nun, every month meron dinadala dito sa bahay kaya wag na hihihi. Pero I was thinking of buying a igorot style sweater (para siyang poncho) in Baguio. Ang problem is where to buy one. Research nalang siguro kami hihihi.

Now I can work on my supplier ratings with photo hihihi...

Yahoo... lapit na pasko!

Since mom made lambing to Dad about having a Christmas tree ... well her wish came true last Sunday. We bought this 8 ft. Fiber Optic Pink Christmas Tree. Weirdo ba namin? Oo pink siya hihihi! may libre ng decor yung tree naka-scatter na sa tree mismo ... in gold. Dinagdagan alang namin ng fuschia na Xmas balls 2 years back na natago pa pala ng nanay ko. Super duper cute niya. Tapos yung nag-iisang parol namin that Dad bought 6 years ago eh sinamahan na namin ng Xmas lights. Kaya ayan ... hindi na siya lonely, may kasama na siya.

Jason and I also bought this ... ewan ko kung ano nga ba tawag dito ... pero organizer siya which we hanged on both sides of his computer table. One for him and one for me. All kinds of stuffs like pens, cutter, scale, ruler, everything he needs sa work nakalagay diyan. While naman sa akin usually nakalagay medicines, hair clips, my eyeglass pouch, scissor...lahat ng kakikayan nanjan ... kaya di na masyado mess up ang things namin because of this. Ang cute niya and very affordable. Pwede siya pangregalo. May idea na tuloy kami ni Jason sa Christmas Party ng barkada niya.

Last Sunday din, we bought silver rings at Ibay's ... something we can use everyday para di masyado maluma or magasgas yung rings namin. Katulad ni Jason, he usually goes to construction site to check on his projects and goes to his weekly badminton games. Better he'll wear something na kahit mawaglit niya eh ok lang. Pero if we're going to mass and special ocassions, we'll gonna wear our gold rings. Super simple lang. Dapat di na kami bibili since we already have our commitment ring nung bf and gf pa kami. Kaso yun nga, he lost his ring after he took a shower after a badminton game. Sabi niya mapapalitan na daw yun when we get married. Pero ngayon natatakot naman siya suotin pag naglalaro siya kasi nga baka mawala nanaman. Kaya kami nag-decide na bumili nito. Sumasama kasi loob ko whenever he goes out and never wear our rings. Ewan ko kung ako lang yung ganun ... hihihi!

Ang daya ng bagong blogger ngayon. Parang dreamweaver type na siya. drag and drop nalang ... if I were a dummy on HTML super duper user friendly to. Well, the reason why I discovered the newly improved blogger is because Jason asked me to make a blog of his sample of works. Problem kasi hindi naka-embed yung name niya sa mga photos. Worried lang ako someone might claim na he's the one who designed it blah blah blah ... eh sabi naman niya "Si Lord na bahala sa mga taong ganun" See how super bait ng asawa ko :D. So guys if you have time to browse his works, click here.

Mom asked me last night kung may period na daw ako, sabi ko wala pa. Kasi she suspected daw na baka I'm already pregnant. Kasi ilang araw na ako nagrereklamo na parang nangangasim ang stomach ko kashit busog ako. Saka every morning nagchi-chill ako pero pag nagkumot naman ako naiinitan ako bigla. Sabi niya kasi when she was pregnant, she had the same symptoms like mine nung mga weeks palang siguro. Na-bother din siya of me taking my allergy tabs. Kaya I texted Dra. Sandejas agad if antihistamines are safe for pregnant women. She told me na kung may hunch na daw ako na I'm pregnant better stay away daw muna sa mga food or anything that will trigger my allergies. First 3 months no meds for allergies muna or anything ... after nun pwede na. My cousin is already insisting I buy an EPT kit na para malaman na daw. Sabi ko ayoko muna kasi baka maudlot. Siguro iwas allergies muan ako ...except the hamog na lagi ako pinipeste sa umaga. Himala kasi pag wala akong sipon sa umaga.

Right now, Jason and I are arguing on what to do about this 10k worth of Rustan's GCs. Sabi ko sa kanya shopping galore kami sa Rustan's Gateway para masaya ... he did agree pero siguraduhin muna namin na hindi na talaga tinatanggap yung GCs sa supermarket ng Rustan's ... mas ok kasi yung 10K worth na yun ipambili nalang ng groceries. 2-3 months supply din yun di ba? hihihi! Well, my hubby does have a point. I'm a shopping bug while he's not ... opposites do really attract.

Gifts! Gifts! I love Gifts ...

Finally, I get the chance to download all my cam pics in my PalmOne. Since my camphones memory card broke down last March at di ko na plano bumili dahil by December eh may new phone nanaman ako from Globe (hopefully ... pero new contract naman hahaha) I've been transfering my cam pics sa palm handheld ko. Ei bakit nga pala unfair ang Globe minsan ... super duper loyal ako sa kanila pero never pa ako nagkaroon ng free cellphone gift, aside from the cellphone they give for free for a new contract. Oh well, that's life. My camera didn't function well on our wedding day itself ... reason ... my batteries discharged ... reason again ... hindi lagi china-charge .. nadiskarga ayun ... ayaw na magcharge. Buti nalang some of our friends and relatives got their cameras. Send dito, send doon nalang ang ginawa nila. Anyway, I'm blogging about our wedding gifts. We never expected this MUCH since for us, more important that you come, yun na ang best gift ever sa amin. Pero wag ka ... ganito lang naman ang scene sa bahay namin. Buong hallway, dining area at living area nandun lahat ng regalo. Kaya sinabi agad ni dad na buksan na namin yung gifts namin para mailigpit na ng maayos yung mga gamit.

This is how our guest showered us with gifts. Mga 3 hours kami nagbukas ng gifts ni Jason niyan. Super overwhelming ang mga gifts. Lahat magagamit ... yun nga lang ... what will we do to 7 Rice cookers, 8 whistling kettles, 3 blenders and 4 oven toasters? Hahaha nakakatuwa di ba? Sabi ko nga kay Jason we'll use the 7 rice cooker everyday, this is for monday, tuesday, wednesday blah blah blah ... Ang dami din namin pillows. Buti naka vaccum sealed, easy storaged siya :) One of our Ninangs provided I think 3 or 4 gifts. And every gift has a quotation ... example: If you have problems, don't forget to iron things out together ... the word "iron" is underlined ... when we opened it, its a Black and Decker Steamed Iron ... hihihi nakakatuwa siya. Super naaliw kami.

At eto yung isang gift na di natiis ni Dad buksan kasi pagdating namin, na-ripped out na yung part ng gift wrapper (shown sa photo) ... its a Sony Wega TV. Tinawagan pa nga kami ni Dad sa hotel niyan nung dumating sa bahay yan early in the morning. We also got super lots of pretty picture frames ... Kaso si Paul di pa nabibigay yung enhanced photos namin. As much as we wanted to use it eh di pa pwede kasi wala pa kami ipiprint na photos on it. Some gave starter sets (kilala nila taste ko ha) and some cooking ware which my mom drools over when she saw it and asking na sa kanya nalang hahaha! Napagalitan ni Dad tuloy hahaha! Sabi ko sa kanya share kami, pero pag may bahay na kami, dun ka na magluluto sa kitchen namin hahaha!

Hmmm ... ano pa ba? Ah oo dami namin comforter, bed linens and pillow cases ... sabihin na natin, yung isang set eh pwede mo gamitin for 3 weeks ... cguro mga 2 years supply meron kami. Bale yung unang nagamit namin na bed linens magagamit na namin after 2 years. Oh di ba, tipid sa gamit. Nakatago yung 3 comforters na gifts namin. Magagamit lang naman namin yun pag winter, este pag Pasko na pag malamig. (winter ka diyan, asa ka!)

There were those who gave symbols like parang bagwa ang itsura pero puro coins siya. For prosperity daw. And another friend gave us a dragon thing yung nakikita mo sa mga chinese stores na pangpa-swerte ... naku si Dad nilagay agad sa may pintuan para daw pumasok ang swerte palagi hahaha! A friend of ours gave us a frame of Jesus while Jamie my SIL gave us a crucifix na nakalilok. Ang ganda niya pero tinabi muna namin kasi baka matabig namin siya. We kept it in a safe place muna.

Not to mention, the overwhelming cash gifts, cash cards, and Gift Certificate. My cousin even gave us a complimentary overnight stay sa Richmonde Hotel which until now di pa namin nagagamit hahaha! Saka na pag ok na ang scheds. Sa ngayon kasi busy pa si Jason eh ... ako buy-busyhan lang hehehe.

To all who came to our wedding, thanks so much! And thank you for all this gifts. Gusto namin ipaalam sa inyo na hindi ang mga ito ang mas magandang regalo na na-receive namin. Just by being there to witness our union ... the time you gave for us kahit busy kasyo sa mga work ... super duper thank you sa inyo. You made our day memorable big time!

Samu't Saring Kwento...

EYEING FOR A CAMERA

Why does everyone seems hooked on Canon EOS 400D? Can somebody tell me how much this cost? Nainggit na din ako gusto ko na bumili eh waaaaaaaaaa! Tagal ko na din gumagamit ng point and shoot cam ... this time dapat i-enhance ko naman ang aking hobby. Dati I'm eyeing on Canon 40D ... pero mukhang papatusin ko na tong 400D ... kaso ang pinakamalaking tanong sa lahat??? May budget ba ako? Hahaha! Lakas ng loob kong mangarap, trabaho nga wala ako hehehe! Is it our in the market already? Parang nakikita ko lang lagi yung EOS 350D. Share naman diyan ng info po oh ... We kept on bugging dad about this (parang wala pa akong asawa ... asal bata) to buy us a cam eh hihihi.

3 WEEKS OF BEING MARRIED AND MORE...
It's a great feeling waking up seeing Jason first thing in the morning. We'll greet each other with a kiss and a "Good Morning" and a hug. Parang ayaw mo na tumayo sa kama. Kaso di naman pwede yun, kailagan naman niya magtrabaho para sa amin. While me, still struggling to have a good job for both of us. A lot of people already give my referrals to their boss baka sakali ma-in di ba? So I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. God has plans ... and I'm willing to wait for the right time. I love taking care of Jason. Lalo na pag meal time. Ako lagi nagpeprepare ng food niya. Somebody from our guest gave us a sandwhich maker and it has been my best friend eversince. I love preparing sandwhiches because of it. Super love ko siya. Ang dami na nga namin naimbento na combo dun like Cheese and Strawberry Jam, Strawberry Jam and Butter etc. One time, I made instant pancit canton and grilled cheese sandwhich for meryenda... Jason love it. Basta daw luto ko kahit instant pa daw yun masarap daw... awww... i love you Labs. mwah!

TAGAYTAY AGAIN...
We went to Tagaytay again last Nov. 12 to visit Tito Junior's house. So far 40% ok na siya ... hmmm... buti nilinaw nila yung contract. Kasi ang sabi dun 90 days ang construction. Binilang kasi namin yung time na nagbayad sila Tito until now. Eh sobra na sa 90 days kaya... yun pala at the start of construction yung 90 days ... so mga January hoping kami tapos na to. Since nagpa-barbecue party yung mga ahente ng house and lot eh mega kain naman kami. Nag-coffee sa Starbucks (sa walang kamatayang Starbucks). And good to know that Peppermint Mocha is back. Yehey! Kaya super nafi-feel ko na talaga ang pasko pag may peppermint mocha na ang Starbucks. As we're on our home, nakita namin yung Market! Market! Hindi pa talaga kami nakakapunta dun ever. Kaya nag-U-turn agad si Dad at nagpunta kami. Ok mamili dun ha, sosy na tiangge. Kaso hindi masyado na-appreciate nila dad dami kasi tao. Pero We got a chance to buy a jewelry box for me and Jason at Accessorize it ba yun? Nakalimutan ko hahaha! There's a variety of boxes, ribbons, etc. And pwede mo tawaran. Mukhang babalik ako dun ... wag lang mainit ulo ni Jason hahaha.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LABS!
Last Nov. 15 ... It's Jason's 32nd birthday :) I just cooked bake macaroni (yun ang request niya) and fried chicken. Sobrang simple no? He never celebrates his birthday. Nung naging kami, saka lang daw niya na-aappreciate ang birthday. Awww ... When we did groceries for our supplies sa bahay ... I got the chance to get my new eyeglasses. Pano kasi Jason accidentally stepped on my glasses. Di naman nabasag pero na-deform na siya ... tabingi na yung sa left eye hahaha! Eh nakita ko yung eyeglasses ni EJ nung wedding ko ... kaya bumili din ako ng Loft ... pero semi reamless yung sa akin ... and guess what? ang color niya is Teal and Yellow hahaha! Motiff! As usual, napagalitan nanaman ako ni Jason for being gastadora. Sabi ko di naman ako bibili kung di niya natapakan yung eyeglass ko hahaha! Super natutuwa ako sa supermarket ng SM ngayon. Mas organized na saka may area na sila for pizza freak people. Nasa isang kiosk yung ingredients you need in making pizza.

A TEXT MESSAGE...
Last Friday, Paul Vincent texted me that he'll give our photo CD (yung hindi pa enhanced version) kasi sa sobrang dami ng coverage nila (sunod-sunod) eh baka matagalan pa sila magbigay ng enhanced photos namin dalawa. So ibibigay niya na muna yun, para ma-choose na din namin yung ilalagay namin sa coffee table album namin. Saka ibibigay din naman niya yung enhanced version pag natapos na nila. Fine with me ... matigil lang nanay ko kakakulit sa akin kung nasaan na yung mag photos hahaha!

FRUSTRATION
Since we called off our honeymoon trip last Nov. 4 to give way to our post party wedding celebration in Laoag, it seems that all the dates we have in mind are already booked. Hay naku ... even January of 2007 booked na sa Panglao ... kakainis. Since peak season na eh medyo nahihirapan natalaga kami kumanap ng honeymoon destination ngayon. Pag hindi man kasmi nakahanap this year ... baka early January nalang. Sobrang late na honeymoon namin ah ... minsan nakaka-frustrate. While others are raving about their honeymoon trip ... kami ni Jason wala maikwento kung san kami nag-honeymoon. When everybody asked us where ... we just tell them "Sa kwarto namin" wahahaha! ang corny di ba? Hmmm... why not go to Tagaytay or Baguio... what yah think labs?

ANOTHER WEDDING...
Yesterday was my cousin Elixir & Ivy's Civil Wedding that took place at Max's Caloocan City. Again, ninong and ninang nanaman sila Mom at Dad. At ako sinama kasi videographer at photographer nila. Feeling naman ako ... eh point and shoot lang naman mga camera namin wahahaha! Lahat ng shots ko sa wedding nila experimental hihihi. Ewan ko kung ma-aappreciate nila yun. Anyway importante may photos nila nung wedding nila. And medyo may business venture kami ng pinsan ko ngayon. Mga ilang beses na kasi yun gumagawa ng kung ano-anong kakikayan sa mundo eh hindi pa kasi gawin business talaga. Kaya mega picture ako ng mga gawa niya. You can view her works at Ana cre. Congratulations and best wishes to you Elixir and Ivy. Welcome to the circus hahaha!

Today, Jason woke up very early. Because he's going to watch Pacquiao-Morales Match at SM Fairview with my brother and Dad. Pero susunod kami ni Mom sa SM kasi naglambing si Mommy na its been 5 years na wala kami Christmas Tree, eh it's about time to buy na daw kasi para daw ma-feel ni Jason ang pasko. Pumayag naman si Dad ... ayan shopping galore nanaman kami ni Mom ... yehey! Who do you think might win?

Wedding Announcement

Hehehe I know it's too late to brag about this one. Our wedding was announced twice in two different newspaper. Last October 22, 2006 in Manila Bulletin's All About Weddings (Thanks to Ms. Benz and Mr. John mwah!) and the other one was in Phil. Star October 29, 2006 issue (Thanks to Mr. Jun Ricaforte hihihi one of his freebies of you get his services). Mr. Jun texted me so early in the morning, he told me na nasa newspaper na yung annoucnement namin. Nakakatuwa nga kasi di ako ang bumili ng mga newspaper na yan. Yung mga clippings na yan naiuwi na ng tita ko sa Hawaii at ipapakita daw niya sa mga Tito at Tita ko dun na nasa newspaper ang kanilang ever beauty na pamangkin ... hehehe joke lang yun.

I'm still working on our supplier ratings .. bakit ang hirap gawin nun? waaaaaa!

This one was posted in Phil. Star October 29, 2006

This was posted in Manila Bulletin's All About Weddings last Oct. 22, 2006

along with fellow October 2006 couples Darlene & Alex, Sheryllyne & Macho, Girlly & Andy, Bernadette & John, Virgie and Ryan, Anne & Diobert and... Jenm & Deniel

Jason and Ann's Wedding Kwento...

There really is no perfect wedding. I'm one of those people who believe in that. As a matter of fact, ours wasn't that perfect. The imperfections was really quite visible. But still everybody enjoyed that 3 hour event that took place in their lives. Hindi ko na elaborate lahat-lahat. Bigay ko lang sa inyo ung mga kaunting details na naalala ko sa wedding namin. Thanks to our W@W community ... I pulled off our wedding without a coordinator. This group is a big help talaga. Kaya we're thanking God for helping us on our wedding day.

October 27, 2006 around 1 p.m., We went to Jun Ricaforte's shop to pick up all our gowns. Wala pa yung shoes and bag ko (imagine wala pa!!!) but Mr. Jun assured me that he'll drop by sa hotel to fix my gown sa mannequin form. He'll bring the shoes and bag nalang kasi naiwan niya sa bahay. Ok quite a relief for me.

2:00p.m. We had our bookings reserved at The Great Eastern Hotel. Yung pinareserve ko na Presidential suite nila eh may client na kumuha nun 4 days ago pa. Na-delayed ang flight kaya na-extend ang stay ... (another stressful thing that took place that day). Sabi ko, I don't need to wait for them to check-out kaya hinanapan nila kami ng new rooms. Blessing in disguise, Ms. Jacq of Great Eastern hotel showed us sa West Wing ng hotel nila. The newly built part ng hotel. Ang ganda ng lobby and the rooms are more malamig and spacious. We took 4 rooms for us, sa family ni Jason, sa mga tita ko, and some of our female entourage. Ok ang lobby ng west wing, I texted Paul right away ... told him makakagawa na siya ng dramatic effect sa lobby ng Great Eastern Hotel. hihihi!

We had our family dinner sa Gulliver's ... medyo 10 years nga lang ang services pero masarap ang pagkain nila promise. The night before our wedding day, may ginagawa pa kami ng mga pinsan ko na gagamitin kinabukasan. Eye patches for the blindfold jack en poy garter game, pouches for the loose petals and the baskets for the fruit offertory. By 12am natulog na ako ... dun lang ako inabutan ng antok.

October 28, 4:00am I got a text message from Ms. EJ Litiatco telling us they're on their way to our hotel. Siyempre ako nagulantang hahaha! Ang aga kaya! hihihi! Si mom ang mas tensed hindi ako. Nauna make up yung 2 abay ko kasi nagbreakfast ako baka kasi sikmurain ako. Saka I'll be wearing a corset kaya I need to eat baka kasi di ako makakain sa reception.

6:00 a.m. dumating na flowers namin. Medyo nanghinayang ako sa bouquet ko kasi risky daw talaga ang yellow roses. Pag medyo nagwilt siya, nangingitim yung dulo. Mr. Rex cut those parts na lanta na kaya ok na siya nung tapos na. Maganda lahat ng ginawa niya for us. Thanks to him. After 15 mins dumating na si Paul and Ivy. Nagtatawanan sila pag-open ko ng door. Kasi ang text ko daw sa kanilang room no. is 1106 (Blooper no. 1) ... eh nasa 1101 kami. Kinatok nila yung yung sa room 1106 ... "Si Ann Recta po?" .. umiling lang yung person tapos sinara pinto. Kaya tinawagan na ako ni Paul ... asan daw ba ako ... hahaha! Pagbukas ko ng pinto nagtatawanan na kami lahat.

They started doing their thing (photo shoot) ... nakakatuwa sila panoorin ... lalo na si Ivy, kala mo kung ano ginagawa sa sulok ... yun pala nagshoshoot ng mga wedding symbols ko dun. The whole time I was teasing Paul about the nomination for the Top Ten W@wies Supplier of the Year. And nalaman ko nga din thru Paul na Mr. Buddy G. will get footages of them on the go sa wedding ko. Excited hahaha! 7:00am dumating si Shierdan ... I was the teaser again na kaya siya na-late kasi nagprepare siya sa shoot ni Mr. Buddy G. for the Top Ten W@wies Supplier of the Year. Kaya tawanan nanaman kaming lahat. I'm so thankful for this people kasi hindi ko talaga naramdaman masyado yung kaba sa wedding. Before I forgot ... 6:30 am dumating yung couturier ko, si Mr. Jun Ricaforte to help me out sa gown ko. yey! I thought kasi hindi siya ang pupunta sa akin sa wedding ko. and he is so prompt. sinabi niya na 6:30 siya dadating, 6:30 nga siya dumating. hahaha!

Ms. EJ is so good ... hindi ako nagkaroon ng allergies sa make up ... my lip color is nice ... my hair is nicely done, thanks to Taday ... and my hairpiece is so pretty ... thanks to All About Beads c/o Mr. Jun Ricaforte.

They started my shoot around 8:30 ... yun ang assume ko kasi di ako nagsuot ng watch para di ako ma-tense (and it really works) ... as usual kung ano2x na pinapagawa ni Paul sa akin hahaha! Since D-day na ... ok na ang posing ko ngayon ... mas game ako kaysa nung prenup. Hihihi! Kaya siguro tuwa din si Paul na mag-shoot.

Pagbaba namin sa hotel may isang bride na naghihintay din ng bridal car niya. So ako, nandun lang muna sa loob. Marami kasal nangyari ng Oct. 28, sa w@wie list palang i think we're more than 10. And AdeB upgraded our Mercedes Benz E32o sa limosine. Wahahaha! Nagulat nga kami ni Jason. We thought din na may additional sa bayad. Wala pala. Ok din si Manong (I didn't get his name) super bait pa. Ayaw nga nya natataranta ako. Saka wag daw ako mag-alala help nya daw ako pagbaba ng car.

As they closed the door of Twin Hearts, pinababa na ako ni Ms. EJ, she's such a darling... inayos niya ang veil ko plus train ... hindi niya talaga ako iniiwan. Kaya love na love ko siya. As they opened the door, I was so overwhelmed with the crowd ... grabe napuno ang Twin Hearts ng bisita namin. As I was walking down the aisle while Velvet Mood is playing Ikaw Lamang by: Zsazsa Padilla pinigilan ko ang mata ko sa pagtulo ng luha. And everyone is clicking their cameras talaga. And I saw Jason all smile. Dad's officemates and staff was already teasing him to cry na. Kaya nagpigil talaga ang tatay ko. wahahaha!

By the time Dad is already giving me out to Jason, it's the first time I saw him super gorgeous in his Barong. Ang gwapo gwapo niya. Ang sarap niyang titigan. Our mass is so solemn ... and maganda din ang homily ni Fr. Bendita. Everybody love it. During the marriage rites ... May part that we suppose to recite both ... iba yung tinuturo ni Fr. Ernie sa babasahin namin (Blooper no. 2). Kaya nalito kami ... pero ok naman since ako ang gumawa nung misalette na yun nahanap ko naman. Nung blessing ng bible tinawag na yung bible bearer namin ... instead na binigay niya sa pari yung bible (Blooper no. 3) eh binigay niya kay Jason ... tinitigan namin yung pinsan namin ... sabi namin "Ano gagawin namin dito? bakit sa amin mo binigay?" hahaha! Kaya natawa ulit kami ni Jason at binigay ng pinsan ko yun kay Fr. Ben. Ok ang flow ng Marriage rites ... bungisngis daw kami ... lagi daw kami tawa ng tawa saka ngiti ng ngiti. Fr. Ernie also told us that he's so happy that we are so prompt. The mass started on time and we are not late. Unlike the other couples. To tell you frankly, feeling namin ni Jason parang ordinaryong araw lang yun. We are so relaxed ... not until came this very irritating incident ...

After the recessional, siyempre paglabas amin ng church nag-shower na sila ng party popper and loose petals. Ewan ko kung maganda sa picture ha ... kasi parang ang bilis ng flow ng event. After nun dinala ulit kami ni paul papasok ng Twin Hearts para kuhanan kami ng mga portrait shots sa loob ng church. Kaso yung mga pagpapabinyag nagtakbuhan na agad sa altra para magpicture taking na sila ... at eto pa ... yung church coordinator nila hinarang kami kasi sinabihan daw niya mga abay namin na bawal ang pagsaboy ng party popper at loose petals sa loob ng church. Eh malay ba namin ... first time lang namin ikasal ... saka wala naman sa contrata yun (we read the paper we signed sa Twin Hearts, wala naman restriction.) So pinabayaan na namin... ano gusto nya gawin namin ... pulutin namin ni Jason yun isa-isa?

While my Maid of Honor and brother took care of our wedding pharapernalia (candles, pillows, veil etc.) mega pinagalitan ng church coordinator ng Twin Hearts yung Maid of Honor namin na bakit daw kami nagkalat sa church na sinabihan naman daw niya na bawal yun ... at according sa mga abay ko, ni isa daw wala sa kanila sinabihan na bawal daw yung party popper sa loob. Wag daw sila aalis hangga't hindi nalilinis yung aisle. Sa sobrnag kabaitan ng mga pinsan ko at ng kapatid ko, kumuha sila ng dustpan at walis para walisin yung kalat ... eh siyempre ako nagalit na ako ... kasi sabi ko pabayaan na nila na tumalak yung lalaki na yun at security guard about the petals at party popper kasi wala na naman sila magagawa ... eh pinagwalis talaga nila yung mga abay ko ... pinigilan ako nila EJ at Paul ...sususgudin ko na talaga yung coordinator dahil nabubwisit na ako sa kanya.

Sabi ni Paul umalis na daw kami para umalis na din mga pinsan ko at kapatid ko ... wala kami shots sa Twin hearts because of the incident. Kasi nakita na nila Paul na anytime susugudin ko na yung coordinator … at nangingiyak na ako … pinipigilan ko lang. Kaya umalis na kami lahat, iniwan na namin yung kalat … my kuya hired two tanod to clean it all up … Sabi nga ni Dan gaganti nalang daw kami ... yung natirang party popper papuputukin daw namin ulit ng sunday sa loob ng church para magalit daw ulit yung church coordinator.

SIDE KWENTO: At dahil sa incident na yun … lahat ng wedding paraphernalia ko (2 boxes) naiwan sa Twin Hearts which hanggang ngayon we have no idea kung nakuha nila or not. Sa sobrang taranta ng mga abay ko (which act as receptionist, usherettes and ushers din sa reception) pumunta ng Windmills… nakalimutan or walang nakaalala bitbitin yung mga box na nilapag nila sa last seats near the door sa Twin Hearts. Since Tuesday pa ang bukas ng church office nila, eh Tuesday ko pa malalaman kung nandun nga or not. Sana nga nandun dahil nanghihinayang ako ... the rosary a gift for mom which came from Rome pa was there, my Precious Moments Bible ... the pillows and Unity Candle I bought from Ms. Gerri is all there ... hay ... sayang... sana hindi na makatulog yung nakakuha nun at ibalik sa Twin Hearts lahat ng kinuha niya. (kung may outsider na nakakuha ha)

ANOTHER SIDE KWENTO: I called up Ms. Dodo of Twin Hearts and told her about what happened that day ... she appologized naman sa naging attitude ng staff niya. Gusto ko kasi ma-justify yung ginawa nung coor niya sa amin, lalo na sa mga abay ko ... naka gown sila at naka-barong ... immediate family ko sila pinagwalis niya sa aisle ng Twin Hearts ... hindi talaga namin nagustuhan. Sayang nga di nakunan ni Dan on tape. Kasi kahit sino talagang naasar sa ginawa nila. Kaya naghintay ng matagal guest namin dahil dun ... hindi kasi nila nalaman yung nangyari ... until natapos yung wedding. Sabi nga ni Ms. Dodo dapat di ko na daw sinira yung day ko dahil dun ... sabi ko po, hindi ko din naiwasan mainis dahil pinagwalis po ng staff niya yung mga abay ko na dapat nasa reception na dahil mag-aasikaso ng guest namin.

At the reception, medyo nagulo daw ng konti yung seating arrangement since nasa Twin Hearts pa nga kami dahil sa incident. Eh wala kasama sa pag-assist si Ms. Emily of Windmills sa mga guest. Pero buti nalang naplantsa naman ng maayos. Kaya sinimulan na yung program. As our emcee and good friends, Allan and Lilibeth started introducing our entourage, nakita ko yung chocolate fountain. Si EJ naman naawa sa akin at binigyan ako ng marshmallow. Natuluan tuloy yung gown ko ng chocolate waaaaaaaahhhhh! Pero here comes Ms. EJ to the rescue. Di niya tinantanan yung chocolate drip sa gown ko. Tinanggal niya. hihihi!

Smooth naman yung flow ng program. I must say I'll give credit to our emcee. Talagang nadala niya ang crowd. I can see everybody is laughing when he cracks joke. Kahit kami tawa ng tawa nyek! Nung cake ceremony, nahirapan kami i-cut yung cake namin (Blooper no. 4) waaahhh kaya nga ayoko minsan ng fondant. Sa na-slice namin na cake ... ang nakuha namin karampot kasi nawasak bigla kaya natawa nanaman kami ni Jason. I super love our cake. Thanks to Ms. Emily of Sugarbox (I really love Sugarbox!!!) though hindi nga lang nasuond yung pagka-pink nung color (I'm expecting it to be in fuschia pink) pero ok lang masarap yung cake as in ... lahat ng guest namin nasarapan sa cake namin.

Yung garter toss naman nakakatuwa yung outcome ... blindfold jack en poy yung game. Nakablindfold yung guys while playing jack en poy. Nanalo yung pinsan ko ... ang matindi yung bouquet toss ... (Blooper no. 5) Supposedly isa lang dapat ang maiiwan na ribbon na naka-tie sa throw away bouquet. The other loose yun ... parang nakaipit lang sa ribbon ng throw away bouquet. Ang kaso sa sobrang higpit ng pagkakagawa ng Maid of Honor ko, pagkahila ng mga single ladies ... walang natanggal ni isa hahaha! Kaya pumili nalang kami ng isa sa kanila, si Rich yun, a good friend of mine who got the blue ribbon, the other's are yellow. Kaloka!

Pero siyempre di mawawala yung mga iyakan blues. Pinipigilan kong wag umiyak pero by the time dad had his speech, talagang di ko napigilan. And when Jason's dad did his, lalo ... hehehe! Iyakin talaga kami. We had the father and daughter dance ... and the couple's first dandce. Magaling ang Velvet Mood. Lahat ng songs na ni-request namin natugtog nila... meron mga iba hindi natugtog pero ok lang... maganda naman ang performance nila. Wala ako masabi.

Yung dove release na di nagawa sa church kasi nakalimutan i-pick up ng mga tita ko sa reception eh ginawa nalang sa reception. Pero after na ng program dahil wala sa program sa reception yung dove release. So for photo and video purposes, ginawa namin dalawa yung dove release ... (Blooper No. 5) Nung hinatak namin yung string from the bell ... hindi siya bumuka...kailangan daw maglambitin kami ala Tarzan and Jane sabi ni Paul ... wahahaha! Nung nabuksan naman namin, yung isang dove nag-asal duck ... wahahaha! Nagswimming sa fish pond ng Windmills kaya tawa ulit kami.

Eto pa pala ang isa ... nung champagne toast with the bestman ... (Blooper no. 6) Nauna pa ang best man namin uminom ng wine kaysa sa amin. Hehehe! Saka nung toasting, nahuli yung mga waiter na lagyan ng wine mga baso ng guest namin kaya lahat walang laman yung wine glass nila nung toasting ... another first hihihi!

We end up our day with super duper lots of photo shoots. Game na game na kami sa mga pinapagawa ni Paul at Ivy eh kaya kahit buong araw ok lang sa amin. Sa 300 pax na binayaran namin, 40 persons ang hindi nagpunta. Nag-confirm naman sila pero mas minuna nila yung presonal nilang buhay. Sana di nalang sila nag-confirm para di kami nagbayad ng ganun kamahal tapos wala naman kakain. Madami hindi nakapansin sa chocolate fountain. Samantalang ako yun agad napansin ko pagpasok namin ng Windmills.

When we are in the hotel ... as we go to sleep ... di pa din kami makapaniwala na tapos na. It's all worth it, kahit visible ang mga glitches. We just let it go ... I kept on asking Jason what happened that day ... he just answered, "hindi ko alam, basta ang alam ko akin ka na!"

Supplier ratings soon!

(Photos by: Paul Vincent Photography)