Summer of 2013

SABIK SA SUBIC

Every year, we make it a point to have a trip to the beach. Last year, we had a vacation in Bicol and sadly, we were not able to go to Subic -- our staple summer vacay location. We tried looking for a beach in Legaspi, Albay, to no avail. So, this year, we went to Subic... again.

My mom just called me one summer day and told me that we're going to Subic, leaving me with the burden of finding a place for us to stay overnight. It was not an easy task, given that it was already summer and most of the hotels and other accomodations are fully booked.

 

Then, I found Subic Homes. The rent price was a bit steep at Php 8,000 per day, but we had no choice. When we checked in and saw the place, I honestly thought that it was worth every cent. The 2-storey house had 3 big bedrooms, with an extra room for a driver, in case you have one. The living and dining rooms are big as well as the kitchen. The entire house was clean and the furniture were fairly new.

 

 

As I mentioned before, Subic was our staple "beach getaway" and for the past 3 times that we've gone, we always go to All Hands Beach. What surprised us this year is the cost of swimming in that beach. In the past years, we would just pay the entrance fee of Php 150 per person and rent a "kubo" which costs about 800-1,500 depending on the size. This year, there were no entrance fees but we had to rent out a beach hut costing 3,500 pesos! We were surprised (and quite disappointed) with this change, but we were already there and we didn't want to disappoint the girls. The reason for this new rate is that All Hands Beach is now a private beach and the new owners implemented these new rules.

 

 

 

With the new fees at All Hands, we decided to forego our visit on the second day. I'm not sure if we're going again next year. After this, I became more determined to look at the beaches in the south for our next beach outings.

 



 

OH, PICO!

 

A few weeks later, we found ourselves in yet another beach, this time in the South. I wanted to explore the beaches in the South and Pico de Loro was a very good choice. At first, I was hesitant when I found out the cost of staying there overnight. In the end, it was all worth it. The beach was very nice and the pools were simply beautiful. More importantly, Dana and Darla really enjoyed our trip. That, for me, is priceless.



When going to Pico De Loro, you have 2 choices of accomodations. You may stay in Pico Sands Hotel or rent out a unit in one of their condominum buildings. If you choose the first one, you no longer have to pay for registration fee of Php 1,000 per adult and Php 300 per child. This registration fee allows you the use of the beach and the pools and other amenities. Once fees are paid, they will make you wear a water-proof bracelet which will be your "ticket" to their amenities.

Since we chose to stay in a condo, we were endorsed by the owner/member but we still had to pay the registration fee. You can find a lot of Pico De loro condos for rent on sulit.com. We stayed on a 2-bedroom condo which costs 10k per day. But it was big enough for 7 adults and 3 kids. Studio units costs 6-7k. What we like about staying in the condo is having a kitchen and being able to save money for food.

 

What made this beach getaway even more special is that my bestfriend and Dana's godmother, Cathy came home from the US for a vacation, with her son Kobe. Actually, it was really her idea to go to Pico de Loro. She already visited the place and fell in love with it instantly so she wanted to go back. After seeing and experiencing Pico de Loro, I understood why she wanted to go back. An overnight stay in this quiet paradise is not enough. We will be back, definitely. 

Darla Turns Three!

Last year, Darla's birthday fell on a Maundy Thursday and she didn't have any party. This year, we made up for that and threw her a Jollibee party last April 7 at the Antipolo Capitol branch. Like probably every kid I know, Darla loves Jollibee, so we knew that this is one party she'll truly enjoy.

 

 

I woud have settled for the Jollitown theme they offered, but if you know me, you would have guessed that I didn't stop at that. I had to have my own theme. Since Darla is fond of crayons and identifying the colors, we decided to have a crayon-themed party. The theme was incorporated in the cake, the party giveaways, game prizes, table centerpieces and the candy buffet. Click here for more details on the Crayon Party.

 

I wanted a special highlight for the party so I thought of having a candy buffet. Initially, I thought of getting a supplier for this one but I ended up with a DIY candy buffet. Luckily, one of Darla's godmother let me borrow her candy jars, so the cost for the entire set-up was minimized.

 

We had a small party with around 60 guests, composed of close family and friends as well as Dana and Darla's friends from school. At the end of the day, no matter how big or small a party is, the important thing is that everybody enjoyed. As always, I am thankful for everyone who attended the party. Having people dedicate their time to go to our parties makes all the effort really worth it.

 

The Dana and Darla Show episode 1

Eksena kaninang umaga sa kwarto nina Dana at Darla...

 Darla was getting dressed for school while Dana was reading one of her storybooks.

Dana: Snow White... and the... Seven Dwarfs! Mommy, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs!
Darla: No, ate!!! No Snow! No Snow!
Dana: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs! That's what it says!
Darla: No! No Snow! No Snow! Mommy... si Ate!
Me: I think Darla doesn't want you to read.
Dana: Maybe, I should just go outside to read.
(So, she stepped out of the room and, in a very loud voice, she reads....)
Dana: SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS!!!
Darla: NO!!! Mommy, SI ATE!!!

 Tsk! Isang malakas mang-asar at isang madaling maasar.

The One

Too often people think of me as a "difficult" person. I think the words people usually use to describe me are suplada, masungit, mataray and matapang. My mom often scolded me and would always say, "hindi ka maliligawan niyan". On the other hand, I thought, if a man would try to win my heart and see beyond that tough facade, then he would be "the one".

A few weeks before our college graduation, I found that man... the brave one, the one destined to be my partner for life.

Fourteen years ago, I found him and five years later, we got married. It has been both blissful and challenging 9 years. But I am thankful for every day that he is beside me.

So, to my husband, the father of my children, my partner, my best friend... thank you. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for making me a wife and a mother. Thank you for your patience and thank you for supporting my dreams. I may not always show it but I love you so much. You have given me more happiness than I could imagine. I know it's not always easy to love me, but somehow, you always manage to. I will be forever thankful for having you as my partner in life.

Late Post 1: United Nations Day

A few days after the Linggo ng Wika, Dana and Darla's school celebrated another event, the United Nations Day. The kids were required to wear the national costumes of the countries they represent and they have to bring the countries' flags as well.

Darla was too small for the ready-to-wear costumes at the mall. Luckily, my cousin gave us a Chinese costume that her daughter wore when she was still a toddler. It fits Darla perfectly, so, even though she doesn't look like a Chinese girl, she dressed up as one.

From her costume, you would probably assume that Dana is representing Hawaii. Wrong! She is Ms. French Polynesia! Why French Polynesia? Well, because their flag is easier to make. The national costume for French Polynesia is very similar to Hawaii though.

Aside from the parade, each of the classes had dance numbers. It was fun seeing my girls perform on stage, most especially Darla, as her confidence grows with every school activity that comes.

Back from Hiatus / Multiply No More

I haven't been blogging for months. So many things happened at work that prevented me from writing. Anyway, I am back and I will be blogging as often as I could.

We finished another schoolyear and Dana and Darla is about to start a new one in a few weeks. Until then, I shall write about their various school activities that I was not able to write about for more than 6 months.

I used to write my blogs through Multiply. When I discovered Multiply, I decided it was a better networking site than Friendster. So, I transferred all my stuff there. The interface was much easier, photo sharing is a breeze and what I love about it the most is that your site is more customizable than other blogging and networking sites.

Last December, Multiply announced that its networking function will cease operations and will function as a marketplace instead. It advised all personal users to transfer their entries to blogger.com and other blogging sites. The move was quite disappointing for someone like me who's an active member. Imagine, it's where I share my daughters' monthly developmental milestones. Sadly, we had no choice.

Then, just last week, Multiply made another announcement, that it will close altogether, including the marketplace function on May 6, 2013. It was not able to sustain its current format mainly because the buyers at the marketplace used to be all Multiply account owners. Since they closed the personal multiply sites, people stopped shopping from Multiply sellers. One by one, the sellers transferred to Facebook because the buyers are there.

Anyway, like Friendster, Multiply will now soon be a thing of the past. Now I can't help but wonder whether blogsites like this one would suffer the same fate. I hope not.