Jason and Ann's 10.28.2006 Wedding Supplier Ratings

Again, I would like to thank the entire W@W community (esp. to Ms. Benz and Sir John), without you ... I won't be able to organize my own wedding. You're a big help talaga ... if included kayo sa rating ... I'll give an 11. (1-10, 10 is the highest). I present to you my long overdue supplier rating of our wedding last October 28, 2006.

Here's the list of my suppliers ... all comments are based on our personal experience and opinions of guest, friends and family ... I would like to thank them from the bottom of our heart.

Hotel Preparation: THE GREAT EASTERN HOTEL
Website: www.greateasternhotel.com
Rating: 8

Positive Notes:

• better spacious and airconditioned room than the old building.
• excellent services

• lobby at the West Wing is very spacious, good for pre-wedding photos.
• has big ballrooms (advertisement lang just in case you need big spaces for any occassions)

• accessible to Crossings Dept. Store for last minute stuffs to buy.
• Complimentary breakfast good for two
• near Twin Hearts and Windmills and Rainforest (that's why we had our preps here)

Negative Notes:

• Parking is ok pero masyado matarik ... sumasayad yung bumper ng car kung mabilis ka bababa ng carpark nila.
• Nasira sila sa akin when I booked the Presidential Suite for my wedding preps (the biggest room there in the hotel) kaso yung guest ng owner ng Great Eastern checked-in 4 days before my Oct. 27 booking ... na-delay ang flight nila kaya na-extend yung stay nila sa hotel ... ayaw lumipat nung guest sa ibang rooms kaya para di nalang ako ma-stress hinayaan ko na sa kanila yun at hinanapan nila ako ng new room to have my preps. Blessing in disguise, dinala nila kami sa West Wing sa newly renovated part ng Great Eastern kaya tuwa naman kami.
• If you're planning to eat sa Gullivers ... make sure you have the patience to wait for your order...ten years ata kami naghintay ng order namin. Mas mabilis sila pag room service.

Church: TWIN HEARTS PARISH OF THE HEARTS OF JESUS AND MARY
Rating: 8

Positive Note:

• They are very prompt to inform us the schedule of Pre-Cana, Canonical Interview, Last day of submission of documents etc.
• They grant all your request ... not all pero lahat naman ng sinabi ko sa kanila nangyari :)
• The church itself is not too spacious and not too small for all our guest. Pero nung wedding namin napuno ng tao yung Twin Hearts.

Negative Note:

• Hindi masyado well-informed or well-trained ang staff nila for church coordination. Yun nalang pagwalisin niya ang mga abay ko mula sa pinto ng church up to sa dulo ng altar ... gawain ba yun ng matinong tao? If I were kasi in his shoes, I know magagalit ako pero I would just let it go. wala na magagawa eh ... saka wala naman atang kasal na walang shower of petals ... bumaba tuloy rating nila sa akin ... it should've been 9.5 pero 8 na ngayon.
• Yung mga paparazzi na photographers na I don't know kung may cut sila or what ... pinipilit nila na pabilhin sa guest namin yung mga shots nila eh hindi naman siya ang official photographer. Ms. Dodo told us na wala daw ganun sa Twin Hearts ... dinidiscourage nila yung mga outsider na photographer ... pero on our wedding day itself, ayun may isa na umiikot dun na di naman namin official photographer na shoot ng shoot tapos pipilitin nya mabenta sa mga guest namin yung pictures na tinake nya susme!
• Pag may naiwan kayo gamit from your wedding, don't worry they will keep it pero they won't inform you that they have it ... 5 days na nasa kanila yung mga wedding paraphernalia ko di manlang kami tinawagan na nasa kanila pala ... heller???
• We have no problems in getting our marriage certificate... pero naman hindi ka lang naman nila iinform na tapos na yung certificate hehehe ... you need to call them.

Reception Venue: WINDMILLS AND RAINFOREST
Rating: 8

Positive Notes:

• Ms. Nora is very professional, she works on your budget, explains the inclusions on your package etc.

• Her staff is so easy to deal with. Kaya wala kami masyado nagkaroon ng problema sa kanila when it comes to services.
• Inclusions are interior decoration, flowers, wines for toasting, doves for dove release and sound system.
• The place itself is so nice ... parang mini Fernwood. Garden set up pero covered and airconditioned ang venue.
• The food is good ... food tasting palang I know our guest would love it.
• Bottomless ang drinks (except for wines). Sa iba ata hindi bottomless ang drinks.

Negative Notes:

• Dati sabi sa amin ni Ms. Nora, parking wouldn't be a problem, pero yun ang naging problema ng iba namin guest kaya na-late sila ng pagdating sa reception.
• If you're planning to have 200 guest or more ... I won't recommend this venue. Kasi based on our experience, yung ibang guest namin nasa likod na and medyo pababa pa yun level sa may likod. So di nila masyado makita yung program. Yung iba tuloy umuwi nalang di na nagtagal. Di na nga namin napansin na nag-uwian na dun sa lugar na yun dahil even us di namin sila makita.
• Medyo na-late yung serving ng food sa Presidential table as well as the VIP table sa tabi. Mas nauna pa nakakain yung mga nag-buffet.
• Maraming corkage fee ... so if you're an OC person and you have a lot of suppliers in mind na di pasok sa package niya, better get another venue. Mas mapapagastos ka sa mga pinapasok mong suppliers (example: cake, wine, lechon etc.) kasi may fee bawat isa.
• Di masyado na-appreciate ng mga guest namin yung choco fountain kasi hindi pa tapos yung wedding program namin eh pinatay na nila yung choco fountain. So akala nila di na pwede kumuha ulit. Eh kami astig kami, pinabuksan namin ulit ni Jason ... eh di pa namin natitikman yun eh.
• Medyo delayed ang refill ng pagkain ... as told by some guest ...

Bride’s Attire and Entourage’s Gown: I DO BRIDAL COLLECTIONS BY: JUN RICAFORTE
Rating: 9

Positive Notes:

• Package includes arrhae, cord, veil, symbol holders, hairpiece, bag and shoes for the bride
• If you get the whole entourage package, he’ll give you a great deal.
• Works on your budget and open to your ideas.
• He can adjust his design to your needs ... I have 3 revisions for my gown, wala ng design revision fee.
• Accessible ang shop niya sa house namin.
• Malinis sila gumawa, pag may problema inaayos nila agad.
• Free wedding announcement in Philippine Star.
• Siya ang pumupunta sa wedding mo to assist you sa gown mo.
• Everybody loves my gown so I think I’ll give him 9 for the rating hihihi...
• Pinasadya niya yung hairpiece ko kasi I wanted a hairvine, kaya pinasadya niya yun sa All About beads.

Negative Notes:

• Make sure yung design na gusto mo eh yun na yun before the production. Kasi pag nagpa-add ka sa design ng gown mo, may additional na agad. After you change your mind hindi na niya ibabalik sa dating rate yung gown mo.
• Madali siya mag-change ng day for your fitting ... Jason talked to him about this because yung ibang abay namin nagli-leave pa para lang mag-fit ng gowns nila tapos bigla niya iniiba yung sched ng fitting. Kaya if you’ll gonna sched for your gown fitting kulitin nyo siya palagi and confirm kung libre siya that day or not.
• Medyo mataray si Mr. Jun pero you can work on him well... business is business ... yun lang. hehehe!
• Pumalpak sila sa corset ko ... yung sa ibaba hindi ma-hook papunta sa harap kasi super taas nung pagkakabitan. Buti nalang nagawan ng paraan before my wedding kundi bababa talaga rating nila. In fairness, hindi kasi sila Mr. Jun ang may gawa nun, may supplier siya na gumagawa ... kaso ang nagkamali yung isang staff nya nagbigay ng maling measurement ata. Kaya ayun ang nangyari ... sa may boob area medyo maluwang pa nga... imbis na mapush up ang boobs ko, lalo dumapa. Buti nalang di ko na pinatanggal yung foam sa may gown ko kaya di nahalata.
• Magaling si Mr. Jun mang-stress ng bride ... pero it’s all worth it hahaha! Lagi ako nawiwindang sa kanya (and he knows it) pero ok naman outcome.

Mother of the Bride and Mother of the Groom (bags of MOG is included in the package)

Maid of Honor

Bridesmaids (yellow pouch bags are also included)

Secondary Sponsors (yellow pouch bags are also included)

Groom’s Attire and Bride’s Male Family Attire: TESORO
Rating: 9

Positive Notes:

Since Dad has been their loyal customer, nakakuha kami ng great deal. Instead of having Jason’s barong for 8k, naging 4k plus nalang. Half the price di ba? So as my dad and brother’s barong din. They love they’re barong. Malinis ang gawa ... after 2 weeks nakuha na nila yung barong and pants nila.

Negative Notes:

Yun nga lang, Jason wanted sana a Mao collar (chinese collar) even kina kuya at bunso yun din gusto. Noted pa yun ha. Nung nakuha na nila yung barong, hindi naman Mao collar ang ginawa kundi yung simple collar lang. Pero ok pa din...bumagay naman sa kanila yung barong nila.

Male Family Member of the Bride

Photographer: PAUL VINCENT PHOTOGRAPHY
Website:www.paulvincentphoto.com; http://paulvincentphoto.blogspot.com
Rating: 10
(Note: Wala pa yung photo album namin but we give him a rating of 10 for professionalism and good work I’ll work on a new rating if we already have our coffee table album)

Positive Notes:

• Magaling sa motivation ... making his clients at ease sa camera niya.
• Good quality ang photos niya.
• He knows his craft and very artistic ng shots niya. We love our photos. Sabi ng mga friends and family namin para daw kaming artista wahahaha! (friends talaga namin kayo!)
• Very professional, always on time... reminds you of what you need and what you look good on ... mga ganun ...
• W@Wie Supplier of the Year 2006 (whoopeee)
• Paul and Ivy became one of our kakulitan buddies sa text ... they are very prompt on answering your inquiries.

Negative Notes:

• So far wala... but we expected to have 3000+ photos that day dahil 3 photographers sila, pero yung Main Photographer (which is Paul) lang pala ang pinakamaraming shots talaga. Still waiting for the outcome. Di pa nga kami tapos mamili wahahaha!
• Since sila lang ni Ivy gumagawa sa production nun... medyo matagalang production. Sabi ni Paul 5 months prior to submission of selected photos. Kung ipapasa namin yun this January eh July pa namin makukuha. As long as maganda ang outcome walang problema sa akin ... pero wag nyo naman paabutin sa wedding anniversary namin hahaha!

Videographer: SHIERDAN PAMINTUAN
Website: www.shierdan.com
Rating: 10
(Note: Just like Paul, wala pa yung video namin since we haven’t pass him our requirements for the video (quotes, baby pics etc.) and I think 5 months in a process yun. Pero we are giving him a rating of 10 na din. Will give separate rating pag nakuha na namin yung video.)

Positive Notes:

• I saw his works sa website niya, and hindi naman nalalayo ang works niya sa iba.
• Nominated as W@wie Supplier of the Year for 2006
• Sabi nila very serious daw si Dan sa trabaho...eh bakit nung wedding namin ang ingay niya hahaha! Ok nga tong si Dan super kalog... saka pag bad trip ka he’ll do something to make you feel better.
• All request can be granted kung may time siya... if you see his bookings ... super duper wala na ata siyang pahinga.

Negative Notes:

• Since mag-isa lang siya (and kasama niya pala si Jen) medyo yung production takes long ... ok lang as long as maganda pagkakagawa niya. Wahahaha!

HMUA: EJ Litiatco
Website: http://ejblitiatco.blogspot.com/
Rating: 10
(Note: Just like other W@Wies who got her ... she’s your instant bestfriend)

All Positive Notes:

• TMU palang 10 na rating ko sa kanya.
• The price is just right. She’s also very professional. When I advised her to be at the hotel at 6:00a.m nandun na siya ng 5:00am. Kakatuwa no?
• 3 weeks before our wedding she’s been constantly texting me to remind me to moisturize my skin, sleep early, eat right para daw no breakouts sa skin on the wedding day itself. Well, it shows sa pics and it works on me ...

• I love how I look that day ...everybody tells me that I’m so pretty. (*blush*)
• She uses high end make-ups ... she uses hypo-allergenic brushes and sponge. Her things are always clean that’s why you’ll be allergy-free when you’re done with your make-up.
• She took care of me until the end of the ceremony. Super duper naging instant Maid of Honor ko siya dahil and Maid of Honor ko super duper busy.

• Words I can associate with EJ is pamper, caring, friend.
• Mara and Taday did a good job as well. Taday is very good... I just picked the photo of the hairstyle I wanted. Pag-upo ko ginawa na niya agad, super bilis hahaha! Paul took a photo of it and ayun... ang ganda.

EJ Litiatco

her sister and assistant, Mara

Taday (in gray shirt), hairstylist

Cake Supplier: SUGARBOX
Website: http://ilovesugarbox.com
Rating: 10
(Note: I Love Sugarbox!)

Positive Notes:

• Nominated as W@Wie Supplier of the Year
• Ms. Emily is very professional ... easy to talk to. Lalo na when I text her, it was like texting lang a barkada of yours. Ganun siya ka-kwela.
• Her price was just right. We love our minicake tree as in. Kahit nagbayad kami ng corkage fee sa Windmills, its all worth it.
• Her cakes are super sarap. Fondant cakes are dry cakes pero sa kanya hindi ganun ka-dry. Di rin ganun ka-moist kasi baka bumagsak yung cake mo pag moist ang cake.

• The cake topper was so cute at hindi namin yun nakuha... may kumuhang iba. Huhuhu!

Negative Notes:

• I expected the color of pink in our cake would be in fuschia, pero ang ginamit ni Ms. Emily is baby pink. Pero ok lang hihihi.

Invitation: VPROJEKT DESIGN AND CONCEPTS
Website: http://vprojekt.multiply.com
Rating: 10

All Positive Notes:

• Ms. Trina is so easy to deal with. Very professional. Very prompt in answering your email and text messages.
• Her creations are so amazing. You won’t go wrong with her. (Note: But we’ve chosen a simple invitation. Hindi kasi namin priority ang invitation)
• She does not only do invitations, but also gift tags, place cards, missalettes and scrapbooks.
• The price is so reasonable. Saka pag nagkulang yung invites namin, isang tawag lang sa kanya she’ll print it right away kahit walang downpayment. Gagawin na niya ready for pick up.
• Her place is so accessible...

Wedding Paraphernalia: HOME AND BRIDE ESSENTIALS
Website: http://www.hb-essentials.com
Rating: 10
Inclusions: Symbol holders (ring, arrhae and bible holders) & Unity Candles Set

All Positive Notes:

• Very professional and I love her craft. Super machika and talagang bow ka sa works niya. When we saw her folio, super na-confuse kami on what to get.
• Hindi siya hihingi ng downpayment sa iyo not until she bought the materials. Pag na-compute na niya ang cost saka niya itetext or itatawag sa iyo kung magkano lahat-lahat ng babayaran mo sa kanya. Gagawin niya yung order mo as soon as you pay your downpayment.
• Wala naman kami problema sa pick up kasi siya ang mag-aadjust para sa client niya. That time, Jason is near ABS CBN, nagkita sila sa Starbucks sa ABS-CBN mismo. Oh di ba ang galing?
• Prices of her creations varies with the client. Just like ours, we just wanted a very simple but pretty items with a tough or our motiff ... It only cost us less than 3,000 for everything. Akala ko nga aabot ng 5,000, di pala hehehe.

our ring holder

our bible holder

our coin holder

Wedding Rings: SUAREZ WEDDING RINGS
Website: http://suarezweddingrings.com
Rating: 10

All Positive Notes:

It fits our budget, nice design of rings, fast service kasi in less than a month gawa na agad yung rings namin. Suarez is locate din gateway, malapit lang sa place namin ni Jason.

Flowers: FLORA@ELEVEN01
Rating: 10
Inclusions: Bride's Bouquet, all female entourage's Bouquet, All male entourage Bottonaire

Positive Notes:

• Very Professional si Mr. Rex Rosario, he’ll give suggestions pa with the flowers he’ll gonna use sa wedding mo.
• Hindi niya na-anticipate na tataas ang prices ng flowers ng October 28 dahil malapit na ang All Soul’s Day nun. Nalugi siya sa akin pero hindi na niya ako sinigil ng additional. Super duper bait niya.

• When he arrived at the hotel yung dulo ng yellow roses ko sa bouquet medyo nag-wilt na and nangitim. Ginawan niya ng paraan na mawala yun. In other words, di niya pinabayaan na ganun nalang ang itsura. That’s a plus for me di ba?
• Everybody loved their (entourage) bouquet, kahit mga Ninang namin, they’re raving about it.

Entertainment: The Velvet Mood by: Gary Silang Cruz
Rating: 10
(Note: I’ve never met Ms. April (wife of Mr. Gary Silang Cruz) in person. All our transactions are thru email and text only. Payments done thru bank. Pero super duper galing nila)

Positive Notes:

• They play good ... almost all the songs I’ve chosen to be played on our wedding and reception were played. And ganda ng renditions nila grabe.
• When my father in law sang a song for us, they played it well kahit impromtu yun. Kaya tumaas nanaman ang rating nila.

• When I’ve heard them playing my bridal march super kinilig ako. Kasi super duper ganda ng boses and ewan ko lang ... but when I hear violin playing super parang nasa cloud nine ako ...

• Even our emcess doing speeches, nagpiplay pa din sila sa background ng instrumentals ... homey and cozy ang feeling ng mga guest namin.
• Sobrang professional sila as in ... they’re on time talaga. Never silang na-late.

Bridal Car: AdeB
Rating: 10
All Positive Notes:

• We hired their E320 Mercedes Benz ... but on our wedding day, we got a Limo hihihi. Pinagawa daw kasi yung E320 kaya yung Limo ang pinagamit sa amin. How sweet.
• Ms. Lester (yes, she’s a she) very professional kausap sa phone. Since malapit sa house nila Jason ang AdeB, all transaction was made in their office.
• Super malinis ang car nila ... their driver’s are so courteous. He even helped me get out of the car and helped Ms. EJ to fixed my veil nung magmamarch na ako.
• Super safe mag-drive si Manong.

Souvenirs: UNIQUE NOVELTY AND TOY CORP.
Website: http://untc.multiply.com
Rating: 8

Positive Notes:

• Nalaman ko ang UNTC thru a W@Wie also. When we got there they have this huge showroom. A lot of stuffs to choose from.
• Very accomodating si Ms. Shiela Hwan, siya pa nag-assist sa amin ng Mom ko in choosing my souvenirs.
• Meron na rin siya ribbons and tulle for packaging kaya no problem about that already.

Negative Notes:

• I think fault na namin to... I ordered 150 picture frames from UNTC pero some are not in good condition. Yung iba medyo corroded na yung handle ng frames ... yung iba hindi balance yung tayo ng frames.

Wedding Cord, Kissing Bells, Missalettes, Pens for Guest Book: ANA CRE
Website: http://ana-cre-by-arc.blogspot.com
Rating: 10+++++++++++++ (love your own hehehe)

Positive Notes:

Ana Ruby is my very creative cousin, also my Maid of Honor who did all my kissing bells, Wedding Ceremonial Cord, Pens and Missalettes. She’s been doing this since we were still teenagers. Siya lagi yung gumagawa ng mga trinkets, souvenirs sa mga birthdays and debut. First time niya nag-handle ng wedding nung wedding ko. And ganda-ganda ng cords ko and kissing bells (siyempre love your own hihihi). She also does bracelets, earrings, necklace ... she once did ceramic painting (like what they have sa malls right now)

kissing bells

Ceremonial Cord

Misalletes

All in all ... I'm 95% satisfied with my suppliers. So I hope my supplier ratings helped you decide on which supplier to get for your wedding day. Happy Preps!

(all photos by: Paul Vincent Photography)

Christmas, Birthday and New Year Celebration

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! Sana this year would be good for all of us especially those who just got married. As usual installment nanaman ang mga kwento ko dito sa blog. Don't worry, may visuals naman eh hahaha!

Dec. 22, 2006
Tropang Trumpo's Christmas Party

Jason's barkada yearly Christmas Party was held here at home. It's a potluck party kaya no worries sa ibang lulutuin. Ang contribution namin is grilled hotdogs, crabs, and fettuccini carbonara. Others brought pork barbecue, beer and pancit. Some brought their kids along. Kaya super duper saya ng party. Sa exchange gift, I got a beermug from Wowie and Jason got 4 face towels, I think from Chacha hihihi! Medyo konti sila ngayon unlike last year daw. Madami kasi nag-last minute (hay ang pinoy nga naman) na di makakapunta.

Dec. 24-25, 2006
First Christmas as a married couple

Medyo hindi kami masyado nagtipid sa handa this Christmas. I wanted it as memorable for Jason. Well ginawa nga niya memorable ang Christmas namin kasi he forgot to buy me my fist Christmas card as his wife. Grrrr.... pero he bought one naman a day after ... kaya ok na din hihihi. Kanya-kanyang luto kami. I cooked spaghetti, chicken pastel and buffalo wings. Mom prepared fruit salad, pinakbet and crabs while dad made calderetang kambing. Ahihihi dami no? Saka Dec. 24 is Kuya Stan's birthday. Kaya 24 palang ng tanghali naluto na namin lahat ...hanggang Noche Buena na yun ha. Hahaha! Kuya Onet and Ate Ethel came to celebrate. Kasi 25 wala sila, they're going to Davao daw. Around 10pm me and Jason hear mass. Nilakad lang namin since it's inside the village naman. Ang dami nagsimba, once again, I saw the beautiful people of our Village which I seldom see everyday. Promise! Bihira lumabas ang mga tao dito sa village namin (including me hehehe!) If anybody who's looking for a talent, dito kayo maghanap ... mga artistahin mga teenagers dito as well as the yuppies. Ako lang hindi hehehe!

Dec 25, we went to Mommy Perlie's house to greet her. Mama (Jason's lola) is also there. A couple of minutes, Jamie and Ronnie went to Mommy's house also. We ate lunch there. Pina-renovate nila house nila, so medyo mas lumaki at spacious na house nila unlike before. Saka medyo naging maaliwalas because of the wider windows.

Pagdating namin dito sa bahay, Tito Rene (mom's older brother) and Tita Baby came along with Rina and Roselle (my cousins) and 4 of my pamangkins na super kukulit at super cute. Hihihihi! Dinner time dumating naman si Tita Joy (my mom's sister) along with her balae, Ivy, Lic, and Bing. Mega kain nanaman as usual ... susme grabe gain ng weight ko ngayon as in. Ag taba ko sa photos. As usual si Daddy, parang si Santa, namigay ng aguinaldo sa lahat hehehe!

IT'S NEGATIVE

Dec. 26 marks my 1st week delayed of my period. Jason and I bought 2 EPT kit to check if I'm pregnant or not. 1st weewee in the morning I checked my urine... and it's negative... both waaaah! My nurse cousin told me that maybe my HCG is not that high kaya di pa na-detect ng kit. Try ko daw ulit next week. Pero nung Dec. 31 ng umaga ... I had my period ... I just proved that EPT kits are very accurate hahaha! Sayang ... nadismaya lahat. Everybody seems to be so excited pero wala pa pala huhuhu!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

It seems that only a few remembered my birthday. Nakakasama ng loob pero ganun talaga. Kaya I know who my real friends are ... hindi talaga sila nakakalimot. Just like my bestfriends Mary Anne and Vena. They went to visit me along with Relly (hubby ni Me-anne) Guess what this two gave me as a wedding gift ...

FYI: Relly and Me-anne works now in India ... kaya no questions asked kung san nila nabili yan hahaha! Naglipana daw yan sa India. Nabibili sa tiangge ... Ang weirdo nga ng libro na ito ... hahaha! Natatawa kami ni Jason nung tinitignan namin yung illustrations. Hindi pa namin binabasa, tinignan lang namin yung illustrations. Wag daw namin ipakita kina Mommy baka magalit daw sa kanila (Ninang nila si Mommy sa kasal). Ayun mega kwentuhan ng buhay-buhay pati buhay-buhay ng mga barkada namin. Nakakatuwa ... yung iba kasi nag-asawa na rin, at yung iba nag-abroad. Konti nalang kami natitira at nagtitiis sa Pinas. Well... di ko din kasi kaya magtrabaho abroad. Kaya kahit maliit sweldo pinapatos ko dito sa Pinas. Mas ok ako magkakasama kami dito ng pamilya ko. Saka with regards to my health problems (being allegic to everything ata) eh mahirap ako magtrabaho sa abroad ng walang kasama. Baka kasi dun ako mamatay hahaha!

DEC. 31 - Jan. 1, 2007
GREETING THE NEW YEAR WITH A BANG

After hearing Sunday Mass, me, Jason, Kuya Stan, Lloyd and Coolet went to SM Fairview to buy last minute stuffs for the New Year celebration. Jason met up with Gerard to get the fireworks from Dragon Fireworks while us headed to the groceries immediately. As usual everybody did their last minute shopping na halos ubos na ang cart ng SM sa dami ng tang namimili. Buti isang basket lang ang binili namin at nakapila na kami sa express counter.

Mom cooked arrozcaldo while me and Jason prepared hotdogs (again!) and tempura. Mom also prepared hot choco for the cold night. Nag-videoke kami until 12midnight para di kami antukin at ma-bore. Tapos kain ng kain hahahaha! Walang kamatayang kain hihihi! Ayun nag-start na magfireworks ang mga kapitbahay namin. Weeeee ... para kaming nasa Enchanted Kingdom hehehe. Our dog Popoy enjoy seeing fireworks. Kaya kung san may kumikislap na fireworks nandun siya. Super tuwa ang lolo hehehe! Nag-start na din magpaputok sila Jason... ang kuya ko naman mega video ng buong pangyayari. Si mom kasi ayaw nung mga usok kaya asa loob lang siya ng house. Sa video niya lang napanood. I'm such a lousy capturing fireworks. Hirap talaga if you're only focusing on one fireworks display. Dapat talaga yung marami para kahit papaano may makukuha ka na magandang shot Hehehe!

After that everybody seemed very exhausted that we all sleep so peacefully...kahit mga dogs namin super tulog. I asked Jason kung ano pinakamaganda na nangyari sa kanya nung 2006. Sabi niya "nung araw na naging akin ka na" so kilig!

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!