the day after

the wedding's finally over. some liked the food, most enjoyed the lechon (including me), others felt the ceremony was heartwarming, a few declared we were just playing, one ninang whispered what a happy couple we were...but for me, everything was just right. Sure there were instances that could have broken the moment like me shouting at some relatives during my make-up session, the sound system not being able to read the CD we brought, invited guests didn't show up, heavy traffic on the way to the church, guests leaving the place after eating...but the entire event was really enjoyable. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the ceremony and the program and most importantly there was no floating feeling. I recalled every moment of my own wedding day and my groom declared that he has tasted everything served to us, now that's something new. Sometimes i can't help but miss the preps and the stress that goes with it.

My husband and I fell in love with Palawan. Coron, the small town we've been to the day after the wedding is worth a second trip. Club Paradise is out of the question. Yeah, it was heaven...and so was the price. It sure is nice to go back had our finances' not an issue. So Coron will be a good stop. We promise to go back there. Life is cheap in Coron...the rooms and the food are budget-friendly one could never go wrong.

Here are some sights to find in Palawan http://www.jaime.elizaga-photography.ph/Palawan/

P.S. wedding pics to follow

konting yabang lang...

After hearing so much pain last weekend, it feels so good to hear such good news.

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/dailydose200610100201.htm


*yabang!* :D

17 days

i'm counting off the number of days to go before the big day. Suddenly something caught my attention which make the wedding day a little less exciting...PALAWAN! woohoo! i'm so excited to have our honeymoon, finally we have something really concrete. Jaims' buying a GC to Palawan, sana lang makuha namin. It's a 3D/2N accommodation but if things go well we might spend a week or so in this island. I already filed my wedding leave until the 25th but Jaims wants me to extend hihihi!!!

PALAWAN! PALAWAN! PALAWAN!

Shower party

Last Friday, the girls prepared a shower party for me. It was really nice of them to acually take time out from their busy sked and create something to make my last "virgin days" memorable heheh.. There is nothing really censored about the party, it was just the typical overnight parties that we have. It was just highlighted by the naughty games that we have, naughty gifts from the girls and our little spa party. I won't post pictures of the games, since I don't have good pictures of the activity. I have a video, though. Hahaha!

Anyways, Shy, Madel, Analyn and Irene were there. We stayed at Analyn's bachelorette pad. For the first activity, we ate, not really an ideal way to start a program, but what the heck! We had chips, softdrinks, and Tequila.

Tapos we had our games. First, the hotdog eating contest where Analyn won. Only because Madel can't make the hotdog straight HA HA HA! Then we have, dress the banana game. This one's funnier! Okay, Okay! Analyn won again. Competitive masyado tong babaeng ito. He he he!

So after the games, we ate again and had our little spa party. The facial we prepared was made of

• 1 egg yolk (sana lang alam ko difference ng yolk sa white heheh!)
• 2 teaspoon of lemon juice (yung iba pang tequila!)
• 2 teaspoon of olive oil

It was refreshing, feeling ko na-peel ang dirty skin cells ko heheh! After washing our faces, we got drunk with Tequila. Actually, two shots pa lang, bagsak na kami, but we forced ourselves not to because there is something really important to talk about hehehe! We sang the entire night while exchanging intriguing kwentos.

Madel, careerin ba?
Masarap pala ang Bibbo hotdog! Madel brought 10 for the games. We used two for the games and ate the remaining during our drinking session. Sarap!

Asan ang Bibbo ko?

We slept at around 3am. Only because the canteen downstairs lit their lights already. Woke at 9am, and had our breakfast. I dunno with us girls, everytime we get together, breakfast has been a good time to discuss mutual funds, stocks and businesses. We went up at 12noon to pack our things but the rain poured heavily. So we stayed for another round of kwento.

The Making of the invitation

After a long time of planning and imagining, prolonged by the waiting for the ninongs-ninangs to be completed, changing of the entourage members,,,the invitation is now ready for delivery.

Angels in disguise

kung bibilangin ko ang lahat ng dapat pa naming gawin, siguro mababaliw lang ako. Kaya nga di na ako masyadong nag-iisip eh, ine-enjoy ko na lang. Buti na lang maraming anghel sa mundo, tumutulong sa iba't ibang paraan...Angels in disguise kung tawagin sila. Teka, bat ba ako nagtatagalog. ( Siguro kse naubusan ako ng Ingles kanina sa mga lintik na batang yan )

The angels in our life:
1. Ate Joji - ang foreigner ate ni jaims (hehe..) Nagbigay sya ng pambayad sa reception..woohoo! di ko sasabihin kung magkano :D pero sobrang nakakabunot ng tinik. Pero sana makapunta pa rin sya, mas importante pa rin kse ang presence nya *sipsip!*

2. Mama - ang ultimate kulit kung nanay. Anak ng ewan sa dami ng requirements, daig pa ang simabahan. Anyways, nag-offer naman syang bumili ng souvenir tsaka ng flowers. Pero walang tatalo sa tigas ng ulo nitong nanay ko.

3. Shy and Analyn - they helped me assemble the invitation. Kahit na uber deny sila na sila ang gumawa pag pangit ang finish product. They also organized a shower party for me...woohoo!

4. CC - my proxy maid of honor, my sister, my room mate. She helped us assemble the second set of the invitation.

5. Edgar Allan - Tito Allan gave us a big discount for my bridal gown. Kahit na way out of budget pa rin. When I saw the lining, grabe! Lining pa lang, mukhang gown na heheh!

6. Ate Jing - Jaims' ever reliable ate. Makulit din to, parang si mama hahaha! She gave us her earrrings para ipa-convert sa rings. Maasahan din sa mga PR. She helped us talk to Tito Allan, too. Konti na lang, mabubwisit na si Jaims'forcing him to clean his room.

7. Ghe - My officemate. Sobrang bait, she lent me her hair piece, whatever, for my wedding. It costs P1000 sa Wedding library but she's lending it to me, for free. She also offered to help us during the wedding, parang OTD. Sabagay, authority naman sya. She has been coordinating eversince she got wed to the super kulit Demzz.

8. Joan - My officemate. She makes good cakes. We're still on the process of making kulit her to make ours. Sana makagawa sya.

9. Ms. Ruth - Si bossing. She talked to Father Guy to celebrate my wedding. Woohoo! Bait-bait!

Dami pa, dapat sa entry na to may part two pa. Gawa ule ako sa susunod, kse dami ko pa gagawin eh

dami na naming nagawa

Been very busy lately, both with work and the preps, but what’s a blog without an update.

Jaims got his barong and slacks already. He’s cute. When I went to his place to get the entourage’s gowns, I forced him to fit his barong and slacks. He looked good. It was a Chinese-collared barong made of piña. Although Kuya Joel said Chinese collar will make his neck disappear, for me he’s still the most handsome guy in the world (awww, sweet!) Jackie delivered Analyn and Jo-anne’s gowns too, along with CCs and the flower girl’s gown. Honestly, I didn’t like the shade of the gown. It was too shiny and she didn’t actually followed what we asked her to do. The brown lace of the gown was supposed to be half an inch thick but she made it really thin. I understand, the picture in the catalog has thin lace but wouldn’t it be nice if you listen to your client. With the flower girl’s gown, I have no idea where she got that style. It was clear from the start that I didn’t want spaghetti strapped gowns nor x-backed gowns. I stressed at the very start that the flower girls’ gowns should be sando strapped and zipper backed but she didn’t follow my instructions not even the picture I gave her. I just so hate her. A typical Divisoria gown is just like that. Maybe she thought she could get away with it. Maybe she thought that since we look nice, it would be easy for us to let go of that but NOOOOOOOOO!!! *utot nya* I insisted Jaims to call her and demand the changes. I texted her about it but she didn’t reply. Jaims tried calling her but she didn’t answer the phone but texted at once asking why he called. Unfortunately Pao didn’t like the gown she did for her so Mama called her also. I just hope she would work on the gowns we asked her to do. Wawa naman!!!!

As for CCs gown, I sent it back since we couldn’t afford to have it changed. Since Shy will be sent to the States again around September, we decided to get CC as Maid of Honor and have Kyomi as one of the secondary sponsors. Ate Jing suggested that her gown will just have to be beaded to make it look different. Migo’s barong and pants were already done, while Mama’s gown is still for beading.

Now as for my gown, Tito Edgar asked me to fit the lining this afternoon. Honestly, I was all smiles while trying on my gown. Lining pa lang ang ganda ko na, pa’no pa kaya kung gown na hahahha!!!! Unfortunately, Tito Edgar didn’t let Jaims see the fitting. He was telling Jaims para naman daw magkaroon ng element of surprise hihihi! I like my gown…I like my gown…I like my gown * alright, quit it!* 

Quite a long day today and I felt like I’ve done a lot. Started this morning with a McDo kiddie party. Jo-anne invited me to her niece’s first bday and I volunteered Jaims to take pictures. It’s so nice to have a photographer boyfriend. Anyways, since there were few kids, that perky host called adults to play the game. *kainis!* But I had fun. Nicole was so cute. I was able to bring Jo-anne’s gown already and just this afternoon she texted me that the fit was ok but her boobs were too big that’s why it was a little tight hahhaah! …bachoy! But at least the fit’s okay kaya GO! GO! GO!

Jaims is scheduled for pre-nup today so after the lining fitting, we took the train to go to Quiapo. The purpose of the trip was to get the printouts for the invitation and buy abaca for the cover but when we got there we didn’t get the printouts. There was a line in the middle of the picture file so the lab assistants didn’t print them. Though we were able to buy 12 yards of abaca fiber.

We found a chocolate brown abaca but they didn’t have enough stock so we were only able to buy 7 yards of brown abaca and another 5 yards of the neutral color. It costs us P300.00 for the 12 yards and another P220.00 for 30 meters of pink lace. Oh, I almost forgot we also bought linen papers and adhesive paint for the invitation. But since we weren’t able to get the printouts, no invitations will be done tonight.

Right now, I’m enjoying a movie marathon at HBO so until my next update. Ta-ta!

what could possibly go wrong

what could possibly go wrong on a special day like this? well, i took the bus to work this morning and it broke down at the greenhills shopping center. I walked 3 blocks to work,that made me sweaty and all. When I got to my desk, there was a note from my boss reminding me of some stuffs to do. She mentioned that one staff was sick so one of us should assist. what could possibly go wrong? Before the first bell rang, the phone did. Brian got a call from another one of our staff that he won't be reporting to work. Deja vu...

Anyways, there isn't much of a choice, I'm spending my birthday alone here in the library -- without my boss, Brian or even ate Noe -- just for the meantime, since she reports to work at 8:30 on Thursdays except of course if she's still not feeling better.

Eight hours to go...what could possibly go wrong?!

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Happy Birthday to myself!

No Post

forgive me for not posting anything in the past few days. am really busy preparing for a major exam this weekend. will update blog after this LET brouhaha...whatever! am freezing the preps kwento at the moment.

wedding nightmares

Sabi nila, whenever one's wedding is nearing, you have your share of wedding nightmares. I'm not sure if what I had the other night was one of those, but it sure bothered me.

In my dream, I didn't attend my wedding. I had a PROXY. Simply put, I couldn't afford to go on leave, so I hired a proxy to the bride. After the wedding I asked the guests what happened and they were telling me that the food was bad and the venue was not nice. But the weird thing was no one really complained why I hired a proxy. In my dream, it seemed like it was a normal thing to do. I remember asking Jaims if that was it. If we are married already. I asked him who signed the contract and he said the proxy forged my signature.

I felt like Adam Sandler in the movie "Click". Everything suddenly went fastforward and I was left clueless of what had happened. :(

tsk...tsk...
must not think of work on my wedding day...
must not think of work on my wedding day...
must not think of work on my wedding day...

save the date v.01

made this save the date card with Photoshop CS2. Since the invitation is still in the process of being finalized, I decided to make one. Be sending them to friends with email for the meantime.

entourage gowns

Last Sunday, Jackie of 3 Kings Bridal went here to have my entourage's measurement. I've met Jackie months ago when Jaims and I had our first adventure at Divisoria. Her store wasn't the first one we visisted, but she was the only one who was that accommodating. Since her area has lesser chance of being visited by passers-by, Jackie tries to be very accommodating. On my part, aside from the cheaper quote she gave...it was the lack of time which brought us back to her.

Her price increased as compared from her original quote but it's stil within the range. Jaims' barong and slacks cost us 4k. Originally, Jackie quoted her 5k but since papa knew everything about fabrics and he has dealers from all over the place, papa was able to make tawad...hehehe!!! No seamstress can ever outtalk my dad about fabrics.

Jaims, shy, sean, analyn, angie and his family dropped by that day for their measurements. Here are some of the pics taken using cc's S700i phone. Someone forgot his camera again.

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We're supposed to visit her today because we still have 2 members of the entourage who were not able to make it last Sunday but I'm really tired. Maybe next week.

toothpaste dilemma

What's with guys and toothpaste...ayaw ko pa naman na yung toothpaste pinipindot sa gitna tas flat na sya sa middle and bulgy on both ends. Maybe I'm OC but I guess it's such a guy thing to press them at the center. Si Jaims kaya ganun? Just this morning my officemate asked for toothpaste, nag-thank you naman. I'm just bothered why he didn't at least push the content of the toothpaste at the ends para mukhang even or something.

During the pre-cana, one of the issues discussed was toiletries. It crossed my mind actually, but I never get to ask Jaims if he has the tendency to press at the middle of a semi-full toothpaste tube. Tanong ko nga...

may gown na ako...

In all honesty, the gown has been a source of my stress for the past few weeks. While most brides are already having their first fitting, I was still on the stage of finding who would do the gown for me and my entourage. It shouldn't cause any problem except for the fact that couturier costs a lot, and some gown shops are trying to fit themselves in that line. For real gown designers, gowns would range from 50k to 100k. OA gowns woyuld cost higher. The filthy rich can afford them, the trying hards want to try but for poor brides like me these gowns are just a dream. I would cry at the thought of a 10k gown. Our original budget reads 15k and that is for my gown, the entire entourage and my mom.

Since Jaims didn't like the idea of having my gown made by the stores in Divisoria, he insisted that we increase our budget for my gown alone to 10k. It was hard on my part because I'm the type of person who would always compute how much money is left at the bank. An added cost meant a lot to me. But I finally decided to have it done by the shops in Kamuning, so I went to Jaims last Saturday.

Side kuwento lang, Jaims processed his confirmation certificate in San Miguel Church that morning that's why we started late with our adventure. When I got to his place Ate jingy-Jing was unpacking a balikbayan box...weeee! Syempre, since I was there she gave me some chocolates and a lotion :)

Before we left his place, Jaims insisted that Ate Jing call Edgar Allan. For the rich beings, Edgar Allan is EDGAR ALLAN. He's been in the business for 25 years. For the regular tao, he's the name we usually see atop a shop in Glorietta. When you peak inside it looks like a factory of all those glorious gowns. Those type you see in your dream :) What are we thinking calling Edgar Allan when we couln't even afford a gown in Kamuning hehe...Anyway, we got a great deal with him. Although a little pricey, Jaims nudged me to agree already. Edgar Allan designed an off-shoulder gown for me. I wish we have a duplicate of the design so I could post it here but he didn't give it to us. Maybe next time.

He was a very nice person not just because of the discount he gave but more on the way he talk. With just one meeting, I can feel how much he takes care of his client. He actually drew two gowns for me. I like the first one but he insisted on the other. Ate Jing liked the second gown too. She said it matches my personality more. I just hope I would look good. :)

Pre-cana seminar

Our pre-cana seminar is scheduled on Aug 26 and 27 but since my LET falls on the 27th, Ms. Precious from MTQ move the date to July 30 and Aug 26.

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It was a rainy Sunday morning. Jaims and I went home late last Saturday because we had another adventure which I'll blog on later. Anyways, we were both puffy eyed when we met each other in the morning. For both of us(especially for him), Sundays meant late wakeup calls and we were literally dragging ourselves up to attend a seminar. I must admit, i'm a li'l excited. I woke up at 2am, slept again, then woke up at 5 and slept again. While dressing up, I was imagining the wedding. I was imagining myself walking on the aisle, everyone smiling, music playing...then suddenly a case of bad stomach cut the mood... *hears the flushing of the toilet*

It was a two part seminar that I couldn't exactly figure how they vary. If not for the fact that there are different speakers and that there was a lunch break, I wouldn't know. The first speaker was Tim Bautista. He talked about setting objectives before the wedding using the SMART method which stands for SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ATTAINABLE, RESULTS-ORIENTED and TIME BOUND. He also asked us to discuss a topic with our future partners and to present them with the big-group. Ours was the miscellaneous topic.

Questions:
1. We will settle in the Philippines and not work abroad.
2. I expect to be taken to and fetched from work.
3. How will we celebrate birthdays and other celebrations?
4. Children must be given physical punishments.
5. What are the hobbies and sports that we must do together? not together?

There were more, but can't remember all the questions. Being shy, I asked Jaims to do the presenting. Tim wanted us to introduce ourselves first, to tell the others how we met, how long have we been together and when our wedding will be. His remarks were really funny. Since Jaims mentioned that he met me at the chatroom, Tim said he knew all along that I was Jaims' victim. He also asked questions what if Jaims has to shoot for FHM and the likes...kulit The funny thing about this seminar, was that Tim was with his wife. Everytime he says something...he looks at his wife...wife reacts...Tim takes back what he said.

Other couples had to answer topics like:
1. Should I convince my partner to go to Church twice a week?
2. I am willing to help my partner's family financially.
3. After the wedding, we plan to have a baby right away.
4. We will stay at my partner's place before we are financially ready.
5. Foreplay is important.
6. Can I say "no" to my partner if he wants to.

It's quite hard to think of answers to these questions especially if you're asked on the spot. That is why, Tim was telling us to set aside a day before our weddings to discuss all those stuff. When you see the questions, some of them are really funny but when you try to take them seriously it will hit you: "Are we really ready?" "Are we sure that we know what we're getting at?"

In the end, each of us will realize that we shouldn't make a lot of fuss with the wedding day since it is just a day, instead one must focus on the marriage itself because marriage is a lifetime commitment.

O/T: Small world

They said that each of us is connected to another through 7 degrees. That the driver who drove me to school must be a friend of someone I knew, that the student who smiled at me this morning must be the nephew of someone I knew. As the song goes, it really is a small world after all.

POINT #1:
Last night, I went out with some college classmates whom I haven't seen for quite some time. We saw Kei while waiting for Mark at the Shang. Told her that I'm working at XS already, and she asked me if I knew Rina. Rina, one of the school secretaries, was her church mate.

POINT #2:
On our way home, Paul and Mark were nice enough to drop me near my place. We talked about XS again, then he asked if I knew Christian. Now Christian is an English teacher who "bullies" me everyday (hehe...). Apparently, Mark went to the same grade school with him. He also became Paul and Jinky's classmate in PI 100.

Ghia is connected to Summer who is connected to Jaims who is connected to me
James who is connected to Xavier who is connected to me is connected to Mike who is connected to Shy who is connected to me

...point stated, nuff said.

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Hi Barry! thanks for reading...o trabaho ka na!!!

Check list

I wonder why I ever placed that daisypath ticker in our blog. Everytime I checked it I always feel suffocated by the time (or the lack of it). I feel that planning a wedding or something long-term isn't my cup of tea. With 2 months, 3 weeks and 4 days left, the bride and the groom, the beauty and the beast, still have to accomplish the folowing task:

• Find someone to do the gowns and barong
• Finalize invitation
• Find principal sponsors (groom’s side)
• Fix the groom’s baptismal and confirmation certificates
• Undergo church seminar
• Submit church seminar certificate to City Hall
• Finalize venue, menu
• Find extra souvenirs
• Get wedding rings
• Flowers
• Cake
• Hotel (for the preps)
• Passport (?)

parang dumadami... :(

Marriage License Application

Despite the raging weather, Jaims and I managed to go to City Hall today to process our marriage license.

I attempted to do this 2 or 3 weeks ago but since they have a new requirement, which is the CENOMAR, it had to wait. Yesterday should have been good. It was announced early Sunday evening that classes were cancelled and so we planned. The following day Gloria declared no work for government employees. Papa said it wasn’t about the weather, it was probably about her SONA. peste!

Luckily DepEd declared no classes again (or was it PAG-ASA) so we were able to do go there. We got to City Hall freezing, partially drenched and with squishy feet. The lady was nice enough. She just asked if we have Cenomar already and then she gave us the forms already. We filled up two copies and presented her the requirements. The requirements are:

• NSO birth certificate
• Barangay Clearance (if your from Pasig City)
• Cenomar (Certificate of No Marriage – from NSO)
• Family Planning Seminar/ Church Seminar

My forms had erasures because I wasn’t looking at the sample copies, and since I was the one who filled everything up by the time I got to the second copy my hand was shaky already. In fairness to Jaims, he volunteered to do the second copy. I refused, baka paulit kse pangit sulat nya heheheh!!! When we submitted everything, she checked them, stapled together and asked us to go to Window 6. When we are about to go to the Window, I remembered that Jaims haven’t withdraw money yet and that I’m not sure if I have money in my wallet since I remember buying Claricort and C2 and having our forms photocopied before we went there. Buti na lang I still have P300.00 in my wallet. So we paid already and went back to her. She said we could pick the marriage license by August 4 but since we haven’t submitted the church seminar certificate yet, it has to wait. We thought everything was okay already but she asked us to give another P50.00 for the notary. That time, I wasn’t sure if I still have P50.00. Sure I can remember I saw a P20 bill inside my wallet but not P40 or P50. If it’s P40.00 then we’re saved since I have lots of coins with me. Buti na lang it was P40.00, and then we just fished out some coins from our respective pockets. So that was our City Hall adventure. Travel time and business time lasted for about an hour. That’s one thing I liked about Pasig City Hall. Whenever I go there, I’m sure I can do something worthwhile. Their service is really efficient. Something QC City Hall isn’t.

****************

Jaims went straight to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Quezon City. He has to re-processed his Basptismal Certificate since his birthday there is April 4 and not April 24.

we're rolling...

With exactly 3 months and 2 weeks left, we have accomplished the following:

1. booked catering
2. pencil booked Angelo King MPC
3. Pencil booked Mary The Queen (must submit baptismal and confirmation certificates within a week for reservation to hold)
4. Pamamanhikan
5. Asked Tita Vangie to be our ninang
6. Asked Auntie Linda to be our ninang
7. Asked Uncle Cesar to be our ninong
8. Requested for employment certificate for visa

To do list:
1. Finalize ninong & ninang list
2. Find gown maker
3. Get marriage license
4. Get documents for church requirement
5. Finish invitation
6. Get passport

...konti na lang di ba? ang sarap ng may nanay :)

Nang mamanhikan si Jaime

PAMAMANHIKAN noun
1. a Filipino tradition where the man and his family visit the woman's family and ask for her parents blessings to marry their daughter. It is also an occasion for the parents of the woman to get to know the parents of the man.

2. derived from the verb panik meaning to go up the stairs of the house.

Two months ago I asked Jaims when they would do their pamamanhikan, he said June.
Another month had passed I asked him again when, he said next week.
That week I was supposed to tell papa, I got scared I didn't.
Friday that week, I was inside the jeepney on the way home planning really hard what to tell mama, when I saw her I had an attack of selective amnesia.
Saturday passed. Sunday did. Monday too.

Tuesday, bahala na. When I got home she was gardening. Nervous, I passed by her, pretended to check what's for merienda. I went out. I told her. Tapos. That made my day.

Fast forward to July 2, Sunday (our 77th monthsary). They got here at 5. He was with Ate Jing, Auntie Alice, Ate Minnie and Joe. He looked good in his red sports shirt. It turned out beyond my expectation. Again, papa invited Uncle Cef to come here. I felt bad because it meant someone taking the lime light away from my parents. I wanted his family to talk to mine and not other people. For both of my kuyas' wedding, he was always the middle person which I don't agree of since it looks like our side doesn't want to them personally. But as I've said, they exceeded my expectation. Mama and Papa were very talkative, and my uncle is amazingly quiet this time. It started really awkward, no one knows who should start. I was quiet, actually more of scared. Since our family isn't the type who enjoys confrontation, being in the hotseat doesn't help. Jaims was laughing at me because while they were talking, I was at one corner folding plastics HA HA HA!!!

In front of the dining table, I really loved mama. She was so accommodating. Papa's a little reserved but when Ate Minnie and Auntie Alice started praising their cooking skills, Papa suddenly became the "bida" of the house. Buti na lang magaling mambola in-laws ko heheh! Jaims brought Birthday Canton, 3 Country Chickens, Sapin-sapin and cake. Poor guy, he spent a lot. Papa served his special gambas, fried chicken and adobo. Mama made buko pandan. I wished papa cooked more of his special menu. But it only dawned into me now that they don't have money left anymore after paying the 18k electric bill.

After dinner they moved to the sala and talked more. Ate Minnie even mentioned the London honeymoon thingy. Kaya when tehy left, everyone was really excited. Even papa wanted to get a visa heheh!

All in all, I felt really good after the pamamanhikan. First because mama and papa finally did their job in giving away their children unlike before in kuya's case. Second, that everything turned out fine, that mama clicked with their family. Third, because the feeling that my family is already interested. And last, because i feel that in more ways than one mama loved me more because I saved for my own wedding and I did not burden them with its expenses.

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And since they knew already, mama started with her usual attitude..oy si ganito na lang kunin mong ninong,,,eto na lang ninang mo,,,wag na lang sya di naman yan pupunta...'nuff said.

Chuch and venue pa rin...

The never-ending search for a perfect venue for our wedding has never stopped. Since Corinthian isn't workable, Jaims decided to look for another venue. West Greenhills' Clubhouse is okay with me but Jaims is still looking for another place. He's not comfortable with the rectangular-shaped venue. When I brought up the topic of possibly renting MPC he was interested. We surfed together XS's website but I couldn't find a picture which showcased the beauty of MPC. I never realized that with the so many pictures in our school's site, there isn't a single picture which highlights the beauty of MPC. Anyways, I promised him to show MPC once he fetches me. When he did, Ate Noe and I brought him there, and all of us were amazed how amazing the place was. The loft was changed into glass, the aircons were placed under the loft, the staged was fixed, the entrance door were replaced with a glass door but a wooden divider was placed inside so those outside wouldn't see what's inside. There were a lot of changes, and I could see how Jaims liked the place. Originally, renting the venue for private function costs P11,000 but since it is newly renovated i was told that the price will increased. I sent a mail to our school treasurer...sana lang pumayag sila. Here's my piece:

Dear Sir,
Good day! I'm Sarah Mendoza, librarian from HS-LRC. I am currently preparing for my wedding this coming October and one of the things that we haven’t booked yet is the reception venue. I was informed that the Angelo-King Multi-Purpose Center may be availed for private functions. May I ask if I could have it reserved on 21 October 2006, Saturday at 6PM? I have called the facility reservations office to inquire about the pricing but since MPC is newly renovated they could not give me the new rate.
Sir, I’m really interested in booking MPC on the said date. May I request if I could have the venue reserved as early as now and hopefully, the old rates would still apply? I will get in touch with the facility reservations office regarding all policies in assurance that all rules and regulations will be strictly adhered to. I am hoping for your kind consideration. Thank you very much.

Sincerely yours,
Sarah Nerissa B. Mendoza

D'yos ko po! sana lang talaga ma-approve. Another bad news: SSJ is increasing their price to P18k. Grabe ah, ang mahal na ah. I mean for P10K ok lang since the church is good but when you compare it with the other churches you feel like, it's a waste of money. You can get a complete package with other churches with your P10k just like in St. Francis Church in Shaw Blvd. I called up and inquired with them. I was told that Oct 21 is still vacant. I wanted to reserve it already but Jaims said he has to confirmed with Ate Minnie first. Sayang naman, if we let go of this package.

Ongpin: 14k, 18k, budol-budol???

Originally, the plan for Saturday was to start early -- go to Ongpin around 10am, have lunch at Steak MD in Timog and then trace Kamuning in the hope of finding a good gown maker (read: cheap yet elegant). Well, the plan didn't push through, not entirely. I woke up late since I went to bed at 3am, obviously no one in her right mind will be able to make it that early. I called Jaims to move the "date" after lunch since it was already 11 when I got up. But after taking lunch it rained hard, I couldn't leave our place. I was able to leave only at 2PM.

So I fetched Jaims then off we went to Ongpin. More than going there, we were more enthusiastic to go to Kamuning. We really want to go there for many weeks now but since I could only leave school at 4PM, we felt that we won't make it before closing time. Pero syempre we still pushed with Ongpin but we didn't intend to stay that long kse nga we wanted to go to Kamuning.

When we got off the jeepney, we started checking each store there for styles, for the price. We got to one store and the Chinese owner was so makulit, she was telling us to buy the rings now since they are on sale. She showed us a yellow 14K gold ring, with 2 white gold on the sides and a small diamond at the center. When I tried the ring, they look really good with my engagement ring. She said she could give it for P15,500. Mahal no! I liked the style but since we're just canvassing and we have only checked two stores, we find it a little pricey. We wanted to leave but she told us that they're just checking for the availability of the sizes. Whem the attendant came back, they went through the pangungulit process again. The owner was insisting that we buy it now. They were asking us how much our budget is but we would only smile and not give them any figures. The price went down to P10,500 but we still don't want to give in. It reached to a point wherein they were asking Jaims already how much money he has in the bank. I was scared. I was looking at him and I felt like any moment this guy will finally take the bait. The attendant was already asking him what his bank is and that she'd accompany him in withdrawing. When we were about to leave the store, the owner was willing to give it for P6, 500 already. Really scary. After that incident I was tired already and didn’t want to look for rings anymore but Jaims insisted. We went around Ongpin, got tired, the next thing we knew it was getting dark already. Pare-pareho lang. You go to one store and another, they carry the same rings. We got to this one store, and Jaims saw a ring. It was an 18K yellow gold wedding band with a small diamond at the center. Simple yet elegant, P7, 500 ata, but Jaims thinks it could still go lower.

Ayun, so napagod kami and since it was dark already, we felt like going to Kamuning would be useless since the stores might be close already. So we decided to have a taste of Ongpin. The nearest was Kim Hiong.

And we ordered the following:

We weren’t supposed to order Yang Chow fried rice but when we saw the next table with the yellow rice, we ordered a plateful, too. Sarap.

After 20 minutes, eto na nangyari:

Siba namin no???

Since sayang naman ang oras, we still went around but promised not to stay long in one store. Mas okay pag ganun. No forcing! We passed by SM Carriedo since we planned to buy Ata a new bag but we couldn't find something that works with his budget. I was thrilled with the luggages. Imagine big luggages cost P600.00. We wanted to buy but we just don't know what to do with it. Pero good buy yun if ever. It was really a long day, we started at La Loma and ended in Quiapo. It was tiring but the adventure was fun.

Usapang pera

Jaims and I were talking last night about the number of guests we will be considering for the catering services. Originally, we decided to get Eloquente's 150 package because of the extras (tiffany chairs for the sponsor + cake or sound system with bubble machine). But then I realized that what if not all in the list were able to come, sayang naman P290 per head na binayad namin. Besides Jaims had talked to his tita and she said that caterers usually include a buffer just in case the no. of guests exceeds the original count.

If we would only account for 120 guests, our package would fall under the P300/head. So total costing would be:

P30,000 (for 100 guests) + P300 (per head) * 20 = P36000
P36,000 * 1.17 (12%evat + 5%service charge) = P42,120
P42,120 + P2,500 = P44,620 (P2,500 is for the sound system which is supposedly free if we avail the 150package)

The original 150 package would cost us P51,000. We will be saving around P6,000 which we could use for bridal car or emcee or OTD coordinator, whatever Jaims and I have decided.

CG problem-o

went to CG this afternoon to reserve the date but when I got there Miriam from Admin informed me that there are parts of the subdivision who are not considered homeowners -- this includes our sponsor's area. I need to call back to check if her boss's agreed. when i left their office, her boss was still on the phone. i can sense how much she wanted to drive me away because it was past 5 already.


sad mode...

Things to do...

With barely 4 months left, here are the things we need to do to catch up with the preps...

1. finalize church and wedding venue
2. gather all required documents for marriage license
3. apply for marriage license
4. buy rings
5. finalize sponsors
6. create invites
7. mamanhikan (baka di kse nila naalala na nagsabi na si jaims eh!)
8. have the gowns and jaims' barong made, schedule for measuring
9. bridal registry! (woohoo!)
10.flowers, cakes, souvenirs...small but must-have stuffs...

Corinthian Gardens Clubhouse

Ang gulo...ang gulo-gulo! if I was ranting last wednesday about the clubhouse being booked already, now this is not the case. Ate Jing called Corinthian again to ask about the East Hall, and they said that it's still available on the 21st. How did Jaims came up with the "big idea"? He actually asked his cousin to help us find a sponsor since we couldn't rent the venue without a homeowner. His cousin agreed but last Wednesday she called or texted that the sponsor said it was booked already. Our theory was that the sponsor didn't agree but so as not to put her name in shame she probably decided to make up stories...para rin siguro wag na kami umasa. But she could have told the truth, hindi naman kse issue sa akin. I just don't like people making stories just for you to stop. Tell me the fact, I'll give you my opinion...end of story.

Anyways, Jaims' found another sponsor. Kuya Joel has a homeowner-friend so he promised to help us. Salamat po.

Lintek na venue, mas mahirap hanapin kaysa TRUE LOVE

That's it! That's the final straw...Jaims have just texted that someone booked the Corinthian East Hall already . Is this a sign or what??? I just don't know what to do now. I'm thinking of moving the date. Maybe Oct 22, at least very few people will have their wedding on a Sunday. I hope. But this means calling all club houses again or worst aying them a visit.

Anyone knows which clubhouse is free on Oct 22? Let me know.

Updates...

Last Saturday, we started panicking about the venue since we learned that Acropolis is already booked on October 21. I called VV6, Greenmeadows, GH North and yun nga reserved na rin lahat so everything started to become blurry. We're still deciding if we'd move the date to November since everything doesn't seem to fall in place but if we cand find a venue for the date then why not. A few days back we went to GH West and found that the venue is still ok. Major setback is the price, since it would cost us 13500 for the venue itself, and 10000 for the cash bond. The place is nice --- white walls, high ceiling, greeneries on the sides. Jaims just dont like the small rooms on the sides since there were names above each door, and from the main hall itself, papers stuck on the door of each room are visible. I was thinking that maybe we could ask the admin to bring them down on the day itself just as not to interfere with pictures. Last week, Jaims sent me a picture of VV1.

I didn't like it. Low ceiling, posts and beams were a sight for sore eyes and it looks old and unmaintained already. From the outside, it looks like a shopping center. Not really ideal for big functions, birthdays would do I guess. Price is okay, 6000 or lower.

We visited Corinthian Gardens nung Thursday, and I love the venue. Glass walls, non-rectangular in shape, greeneries are in construction outside, aircons are not that visible and the venue is big enough to hold 200 guests. Price is 10000 which is within the budget. Syempre, if you're inside Corinthians we can go around for pictorials. Problem is the clubhouse is divided into several function rooms. If ever we get to reserve Corinthians, we would be assigned to East Hall since the other venues are already booked on Oct 21. Miriam, the girl from Admin, didn't mention what kind of functions were reservd on the other halls. If it's a wedding too, it would be confusing for the guests. And since these are glass-walled halls, privacy is not possible pero I think with proper instructions and signs everything would be okay naman. I think they are a little strict with guests nga lang since this sis a private subdivision. Bahala na!

Ayun...anyway Last saturday, Jaims and I already reserved Eloquente. We gave 5,000 for reservation fee.

This is it. At least, we're sure that we're pushing with the wedding no matter what heheh...

Ang Pinaka: Celebrity weddings...

Just watched "Ang Pinaka..." from QTV 11 this afternoon. Topic was about Top 14 Celebrity Weddings and you would really see how much money couples had to shed just to make a talk-about wedding. It's inspiring yet when you think about it, shows like this make people aspire for something better. I must admit I'm an inggitera hehehe... syempre I dream of having a grand wedding like any other brides but of course even before Jaims and I started planning I am already aware of the limitations regarding budget and resources kaya I don't expect much. The fact that we're gonna spend our hard-earned money is already a sign that we're putting our heart into this. It's one thing I'm really proud about this wedding. At this point I could only wish for one thing --- that my parents be able to accept the fact that the wedding will push through...no matter what.

FOOD TASTING with ELOQUENTE

Been a long time since I last blogged...apparently something happened with our planning that's why I'm back again. Though we don't admit, I think both of us are already panicking. The event will take place in less than 5 months and nothing's tangible yet. We haven't reserved a place, we're still unsure of the date, finance's problematic and everyhing's not falling into place...
Anyways, Jaims and I visited Eloquente yesterday to inquire about their packages. When I talked to Ms. Grace over the phone she said that food tasting is not possible but we could still drop by if we want to discuss their packages. Before going there, Jaims and I called Acropolis to inquire if the venue is still available on the date but they said someone has booked with them already. We were so sad, and sudenly we felt like panicking badly. Acropolis has been our top choice since it was the cheapest among the clubhouse, add to the fact that Ate Minnie (Jaims' cousin-in-law) has a homeowner relative who could lower the price. Our bad -- we were too relaxed. ahhh...no use crying over spilled milk.

Back to my Eloquente story, we got lost because I forgot the house number. I thought it was #7 Yale st. but Jaims kept on insisting that he recalled seeing #70 on our email. When it wasn't #7 I knew Jaims got irritated so we had to go back to #70 without the cab. Beng-Beng entertained us and discussed with us their packages and the good news about this is that they prepared food for our food tasting. WOOHOO!!! But since we weren't expecting to have food tasting, Jaims didn't bring his camera. Sayang noh?!

Kakainis! I don't know how to bargain, Jaims was already pinching me under the desk because I couldn't get a hint...sorry sosyal eh! Our package will cost us 51k. That's for 150 guests with free sound system. Our menu would be:

Soup: Oriental Nido Soup
Appetizer: Assorted Cocktail French Bread Canape(Crab Sticks, Tuna and Egg
Salad Bar: Garden Fresh Salad with Thousand Island Dressing

Main Course: Blue Marlin Steak (Grilled on Spot), Braised Beef with Red Wine, Porkloin with Baby Corn and Mushroom, Tuna and Beef Carbonara, Chicken
Garlic Salpicao

Dessert: Tropical Fruit Salad

Drinks: Bottomless Lemon Iced Tea, Coffee and Tea Bar

When the food was served, I realized buti na lang we didn't bring the camera since the presentation wasn't as presentable as that of Auffrance. It's like buying food at the canteen since it was just served in small plate. We were served with Blue Marlin Steak, Braised Beef with Red Wine, Porkloin with Baby Corn and Mushroom, Pork Mandarin vegetable, Chicken Ala King, and Porkloin with Baby Corn and Mushroom. The food was fine but it wasn't the type that I'd really craved for. The Blue marlin was a little thin and dry but Beng said it comes with lemon butter sauce on the day itself. I hope. I prefer Porkloin with Baby Corn and Mushroom than the Pork Mandarin vegetable. Jaims said he preferred the latter. I didn't like how the mandarin veggie looked, it was so dark and it's a little salty. Jaims said it's typical of a mushroom viand to taste a little salty but Jaims was nice enough to accommodate my request *grin* Braised beef's taste is okay but the beef slices were a little big. Magagalit guests baka matinga sila! Beng said on the day itself ok naman sya, rushed lang kse...oki... We also had a hard time choosing between carbonara and fetuccine, Ham and Cheese sounded plain to us but we wanted fetuccini sana on our menu. Ako naman I was skeptic on the taste of tuna and beef combined, parang di bagay. They didn't have a sample kse.

Happy naman ako sa coffee and tea bar. At least, it's something that Jaims really wanted to have for the guests since his family are caffeine-addict heheh...

Another booboo...I kept on telling Jaims sa bahay pa lang na pa-reserve na kami but when we got there wala kaming pera hahaha!!! Sabi ko balik na lang kami :( huhuhu!!! Pero blessing in disguise rin siguro, just this afternoon Jaims told me he inquired with Alison last night regarding his mom's catering service, and mukhang pasok naman sila sa budget. He also mentioned another caterer (Lola Mameng or something...forgot na!) which is within budget. we'll still see... Basta sana we get to reserve within the week a venue para ok na...haaayy!!! kaka-panic tong prep s na 'to.

We stayed until 6Pm with eloquente, Jaims was still bargaining himself as a photographer to them..Sabi ko nga ex-deal na lang, pero I think I they were discussing referrals na lang...heheh!!! Marketing talaga tong mahal ko :D

Divisoria: we've got it all for you!

Divisoria - ( n.) 1. shopping haven 2. place where you can find everything
and anything 3. lugar para sa kuripot, at walang pera

Yesterday, Jaims and I braved the scorching heat of summer looking for gowns around Quiapo and Divisoria. When you look at these stores, all of them carry the same type of gowns, mostly made of piña jusi or shiny-shimmery satins. It's a very tiring yet an adventure-filled afternoon. At first, I was too shy to asked, good thing Jaims is quite a front-liner, when I've already warmed up to the set-up, Jaims and I inquired alternately. We were able to find Maning's Lace (carrying the William So gown) which was included in my list of places to visit but with the package that they set I think we could find something better. Their basic package costs 20k includes 1 bride, 1 groom, 1 MOH, 2 BM, 3 sponsors, 2 FG, 2 bearers, when I asked what if I wouldn't avail of the 2 bearers and 1 BM, the lady there said they would improve the bridal gown but wouldn't lower the cost...nyek! We found one store called the Liwanag Enterprise. We talked to Winnie Tiu, the owner/couturier and he seemed to know what he's talking about. They can copy anything from the catalog, and for P4,850 he can give us a gown that is made of duchesse (so that's how it is called --- the less-shiny material I preferred), entourage gowns will cost 800 each. Maybe he's package would cost me around 15-18k.

Jaims passed by Hidalgo to have a DVD copied then we took a jeep to Divisoria. We decided to go straight to the cluster since Tutuban gowns might cost more than the average. But around the cluster I find the prices a little off, their ready made gowns costs 3k, but if I wanted to have mine made according to my size, it will cost me around 5k...if I want another design from the catalog that would cost me 9k...really now...so Jaims and I decided to move to Ilaya st. -- the farther you get, the cheaper they cost. They cary the same gowns just like those in Cluster but I found one store who's willing to make a gown from the catalog for 5k. The store's name is 3 Kings Bridal and for 1 bridal gown, 1 piña barong and slacks for the Groom, 5 gowns (for 1 MOH, 1 BM, 3 sponsors), 1 MOB and 2 FG, she quoted us 12,650. Best of all, the girl's willing to do home service. I just hope she gave the right prices because I think she made a mistake with the FG and entourage gowns...we'll see, Jaims and I will still decide. But since all gowns look alike, it all boils down to trusting your instinct...bahala na!

eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow...

sometimes there is a thin line between getting high with alcohol spirits and getting intoxicated with love. jaims and i have just been to a drinking spree, well technically it isn't since we only had one round of beer but nevertheless we got drunk (with the beer or our love it doesn't matter). it has been a while since the last time we had fun. maybe because we didn't have to worry about our time. we were able to talk about our plans and reminisce some things about our relationship. Most importantly, we were able to laugh without thinking about what other people may think.

i really had a great time today, and its the same reason why i'm blogging now and not yet asleep. really it's been a while. these are some of the things i'm missing out, and for sure these are the kind of things that jaims wanted to happen in our relationship...some quiet nights together...some beer, more talks... but somehow some things are not possible. i must admit i'm too nice of a daughter to go home as late as this everyday...but i just looooove this kind of gimmicks...

**************

rib-ticklers
kanina natatawa ako kse nagpunta kami sa mcdo para magcoffee jelly. may group of oldies around 40s naka business suit may two boys and two girls parang nag-uusap tungkol sa isang business or something. tas dumating si isko moreno eh di tinuro ko kay jaims. tas bigla may tumayong babae dun sa group sabay hawak sa kamay ni isko at sinabing hi anton! eh di si isko gulat trying to recall who the girl is, kahit kami gulat. tas nagpakilala pa sya... "tita fe remember?" tas sabi na lang ni isko, "oh hi, i'm sorry but im isko moreno" hahahah kakahiya!

venues...

Jaims and I rarely have chances of talking about our future plans. Most of the time one of us is in the mood for discussion and the other is just too caught up with the daily task. Last night he was in the mood, thanks to the Raymart-Claudine wedding (which I hated so much, BTW!) So we talked until 1 am, it wasn't too serious but at least we were able to squeeze in a few things.

Somehow we're decided that we would have our reception at the Prestige Towers in Emerald Ave. It's not a big place, and not at all that grand. The place is small, low-ceiling not the usual place one would celebrate weddings. But their package sounds reasonable, and I like the fact that there is a mini landscape area on the sides where we could have pictures taken with the Ortigas area as backdraft. Garden weddings are nice, but I just don't like the idea of exposing our visitors to heat and mosquitoes. I wanted a fully air-conditioned functioned area with a little touch of nature. This is just the place. Besides I wouldn't want to spend a lot. I'd rather save for the future than shell out all our hard-earned money on a one-time basis. grabbed a few pics of PRESTIGE on the net. Thanks to whoever owns this.

This is how Prestige looks like from outside, pic on the right is the lobby area.

And this is the roof deck where the couple could post for pictures. It's just a small area but the view is great.

We're still scouting for the church venue. I know Sanctuario de San Jose is okay but if we'll have to take Perstige, the church just doesn't match the venue. medyo sosyal ang simbahan I still like Guadalupe, mainit lang but I still prefer the place. I don't like St. Francis that much, the place is wide rather than long. It is not well-lit. It doesn't have the place (dunno how it's called) at the top of the front door where the photographer could take a panoramic shot of the church from inside. Most of all it's too huge, don't like my wedding to look empty. Jaims fell in love with CTK again last Thursday when he had a shoot there. think he likes it there, and I don't have any problem with that...but can we afford it?

As to where we will live afterwards, I'm still talking Jaims into renting a small place at once. He wants to stay at his place for a few months but I prefer otherwise. I just feel that we need to live alone so we could save for our future. This is issue is still lingering, although we haven't really talked about this that much. I know we should.

I hope we could plan more. I told Jaims we should tell Papa this time. I just hated how things are going right now, when we've told mama already. Why is she pretending we never told her anything? I wanted to plan everything now, but some things are not working the way we wanted them to be...

mga kapalmuks...

As Jaims put it, with the current competition, they need us more than we need them. So we're grabbing opportunities that feed hungry mouths and are wallet-friendly hehe...

I'm talking about our first-ever food tasting with Auffrance. Jaims received a number of text messages from them inviting us to visit them for a free food-tasting. I was hesitant at first because I was too shy to eat for free, when I know we're not sure if we really wanted someone to cater for us. But we still did.

When we got there, we were served with water and iced tea. We were busy looking at the slideshow of venues when Jes gave us the pictures of venue and package sheets.

The first entree was the Eggplant Tempura. It's the typical tempura with a dip. I'm not sure if it was sour cream and some seasoning but it tasted like one. It served its purpose of being the appetizer because I was craving for more after a few bites. Not bad for an eggplant. The next entree was the Corn Chowder soup. I only had a couple of sips because I didn't like how it tasted. First, I'm not a fan of corn soup and second, the combination of the ingredients just didn't match my taste buds. I think the experience was the same with Jaims. For a corn-lover, he should have liked it but as I said, he didn't. We just checked the packages again while waiting for the next course.

After the appetizers, we were served the main course. Along with the rice, we had Fish Fillet with Corn Salsa, Greenbeans with Almondine and Beef Stew with Red Wine. I have to say, the fish fillet was great. It was so good I finished it that Jaims called me patay-gutom hahaha! The Corn Salsa complements the fillet. I don’t really like fish fillet because they tastes bland even with the tartar sauce but with corn salsa – it was great! Here’s a picture of the Fish fillet.

If you’re wondering how the eggplant tempura and the soup look like, I’m sorry I can’t post pictures. Maybe you could check their site. We were so PG we only remembered to take pictures while digging through our main course heheh…

The Greenbeans Almondine was also good -- a perfect alternate for the usual buttered vegetables along with the main course. bitin lang because we were only served with around 6 strings each but it was great. God, I can’t be a food reviewer. I’m running out of perfect adjectives. The Beef Stew with Red Wine was too plain. It would pass as a usual canteen viand. I only had a single bite, and then I didn’t touch it anymore.

The Porkloin with Mustard Cream which was served on a different plate is good enough but it was so hard I didn’t enjoy it. The mustard cream was tasty though. This came with the Lemon-Peppered chicken. It was grilled. The taste was too ordinary for me. Jaims loved it. Maybe my expectation was too high. I was looking for the sweet yet lemony taste but that’s not what I get. I was even thinking of the usual household lemon-pepper taste but I wasn’t able to find it. Besides, the breast isn’t exactly my most favorite chicken cut.

For dessert, we were served with buko lychee. Upon hearing the waiter mentioned lychee, I commented how I don’t enjoy the taste of lychees but I stand corrected because I was able to finish a goblet-full of this dessert. Yummy!

Their package was too expensive though. They have a budget wedding package for 330 per head but when we discussed with Jes, he mentioned that that was the one without the arrangements and other inclusions. Bahala na, as for now, Jaims and I are looking forward for our next patay-gutom adventures.

...eto na....eto na...

After 18 days of secrecy, we were (or let's just say Jaims was) finally able to tell them about our plans but there's nothing to be happy about. Last night, I insisted Jaims that we tell mama already since she was alone in the dining table. But when Jaims went to the restroom papa came so of course, we had to tell them. Mama was already done with her dinner but was waiting for papa before she goes up. Jaims and I were still trying to find the right moment when papa stood up, so I blurted, "mama, may sasabihin daw si Jaims". It was too late though because Papa had to go out to get water at the other house. So we were left with mama, she even kidded Jaims if he's going to ask for the payment for Kuya's album. But I told Jaims to tell mama already. While I was washing their plates (which was more of an escape rather than an obligation), Jaims told mama about it.

I know mama was surprised with what Jaims said. But being a great pretender that she is, mama kept quiet for a while, pretended to do something else and then told Jaims to tell papa about our plans. I remember hearing her said, "ok na ba kayo?" I mean how could she ask that question, six years is not a joke. Well, she left us in the kitchen hanging. Papa came back but we never opened it to him. I know she'll do it, chismosa yun eh.

I am sad. Last night I was scared but today I am sad. This morning papa didn't talk to me before I left. I talked to mama, though it was only to ask her to break my 100 bill to smaller denomintaions. This afternoon when I came home from work I talked to her about merienda, she looks okay. She's weird (like me). I wish I could decipher her actions.

God, I wish you could make my life normal....

momma dilemma

The trouble with getting all too excited about something is that it has to be relayed to everyone else so someone shares your happiness. But then there are things that cannot be rushed…like breaking the news to my mom and dad. Okay, okay, don’t get too excited. Yes I am engaged, and it happened during our anniversary. I must admit that while I was expecting it to happen that night, I still can’t stop myself from crying. This is real.




It took me two weeks before I could blog it. I was busy and I don’t have a proof yet. So I waited until I had my pictorial and here’s the pic.

Back to my dilemma, I haven’t mustered enough courage to tell them about the engagement. I promised Jaims I’ll them the week after the engagement but days passed and I still couldn’t do it. SO I begged him to help me. We were decided that we would tell them over dinner on Valentine’s Day. But even Jaims chickened out. What’s even funnier was Jaims was telling me he was ready that morning, but over dinner we were both quiet. I got so depressed that night. I felt like my heart was breaking from this secret. I envy Jaims because he need not worry about anyone’s reaction. Everyone in his family are thrilled while I am here wallowing in fear hu.hu.hu.

I could use some words of wisdom now…

six years...and still counting!!!

Tomorrow, Jaims and I are celebrating our sixth year of being together (yey!) I still remember a few days after we became an item I was still counting our first week together, our first month…who would have thought we’ll be able to reach our sixth year.

We don’t have concrete plans for tomorrow. I have work and he has backlogs for editing but we promised to celebrate it nevertheless. Maybe we would pass by the Church, have dinner and hopefully be able to discuss our wedding plans. A few days ago, we were talking about THE plans over the phone, and I suddenly become all so jittery. Just thinking about breaking the news to mama and papa makes me feel so stressed out.

But really, I’m excited about tomorrow for two reasons. First, six years is SIX YEARS. Not all couples are lucky enough to last that long, and I’m really proud that Jaims and I have managed to reach this point. We do have our shares of conflicts --- with me as the main reason why these conflicts arise in the first place --- but we still manage to get pass them (because of Jaims’ extra long patience). The second reason why I’m excited tomorrow is because I’m thinking that Jaims is cooking something up for tomorrow. I know I shouldn’t expect. It would be terribly disappointing not to find something surprising tomorrow…but that’s okay.

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Happy 6th Anniversary, sweetie!
I love you very very very very very very very much!

A roadtrip on my own.. but with a few company

I got an impromptu visit from one of my cousin, asking my help to download some images from his phone and burn it on a cd and at the same time, ripped out some song from cds.

The topic of conversation soon became our wedding preparation and the recent "tour of luzon" that wit-wit and I had. I told him that we loved the Church of the Twin Hearts and upon hearing this, he gave me an unapproving grin and remarked, "Are you sure you want to get married in Twin Hearts?". I gave him a blank stare but it occured to me that he was married in the Church of the Twin Hearts and now they are living separate lives. HOLY MOLY! He added that he knew a couple of others who was solemnized at the same church and is now not so happily married. I'm a skeptic when it comes to pamanhiin and stuffs but his statement gave me a soft hit on the face.. hehehe.. And when I broke the news to Sarah, she was quite.. no not quite.. but really disappointed. I knew that she fell in love with the church and it was seen on her face hours after we left the church... haaay..

When I was about to finish transferring and ripping, my cuz offered to show me around a few venues around QC. My sister and I hopped in and we started our roadtrip.

While on the road, he mentioned that we don't need to spend so much for the venue and decide for us if we want to invest on the "memories" or invest on our lives together. It was a question that made me think for a while. He re-iterated numerous times that the Twin Hearts, along with other churches seem to have bad omen when it comes to weddings and stuffs. We were better off getting married in Our Lady of Lourdes Church, my own parish church. My good for nothing sister (hehehe joke) asserted this as well.. well she is a firm believer of those superstitions.

I have no major qualms about Lourdes Church though, being the photographer that I am, I find the church is well lit and very spacious; the center aisle is wide enough to accomodate 3 people walking in a row without the ones on each side having to turn sideways on a few occasions to avoid the decorations, the alter is nice and roomy and photographers aren't that restricted. Ironicaly, Sarah is not too fond of big churches. My only concern is that the facade of the church is not so photo-op friendly.

Going back... I remarked that I am a real skeptic with those pamahiin... My cousin said that if we are really decided on Twin Hearts, our best bet would be The Shangrila Restaurant, down Times Street near West Ave. The packages there are quite reasonable and offer a very tasty cantonese menu and the place itself is not so bad. One of these days, I'll bring my wit-wit over there to check it out. hehhe..

Back to our roadtrip, our first stop was Paco's along Sgt. Esguerra. It is a medium sized resto with filipino, grilled and sizzling plate menus. The food looks good but I'm not to impressed with the place. It looks more like a bar than a resto.. hehehe.

Next stop was "Blue Bacon", a private fine dining restaurant in the outskirts of Cubao, along Lantana St. The place is small but gorgeous. They have indoor plants, dioramas of fountains and a St. Francis of Assisi Statue (my patron saint), a place that an artist will sure to appreciate. But looking at the packages they offer, the price is too steep, P500 and P800 for just an entree.

On the way back to Timog, we passed by "The Stone House" along E. Rodriguez Avenue, but since it was already late in the evening, 10:00pm, no one seems to be there to assist us. On the outside, it looks like.. well.. an apartell but the interior looks decent enough and looking up, I can see a landscaped roofdeck. hmmm.. I'd definitely check it out with my wit-wit..

Upon arriving at Timog, we stopped at "A Taste of L.A." It was also a nice place but too bar-ish and the place has 2 levels.. not too good for a wedding venue in my opinion. Also, they serve entrees (again!) only.. haay.. this is really tiring.. hehehe..

Our last stop was Dulcinea, I hessistated at first since I very well know that it will be out of reach. But surprizingly, itis quite affordable.. from P370-P470 for a 100-person buffet. Not bad.. not bad at all. The function room was big enough and well decorated. What I didn't like about Dulcinea was the low ceiling and it was full of beams.

We were quite hungry so we proceeded to "The Original Pares and Mami House" along Retiro (some say it's a spin-off from the famous JONAS Mami house). The place was jamm packed and there were people lining up we decided to eat at the shop in front of it, "Sizzing ang Lugawan sa Matnog". I don't really know why it is called matnog, but it was really cheap! P138.00 for us three, we ordered a sizzling plate each, softdrinks and one extra rice for me.. mura no?!

Wit.. punta tayo sa Stone House this week ha.. and ipakita ko rin sa iyo yung Dulcinea... :)

Tour of Luzon

Yesterday was quite a fruitful day for both of us. We had our Tour-of-Luzon -- commuting from Quezon City to Ortigas. It would have been an ordinary experience except that we walked from Roces to Timog, took a tricycle going to South Triangle, then walked again looking for possible venues. It was tiring I must say, but the fact that we are actually scouting for a perfect place for our wedding makes it fun.

Our first stop is Max's Restaurant in Roces. Coming from La Loma (his place) we took a cab straight to Maxx. It was the biggest Max's I've ever seen -- there are probably four or five function rooms aside from the main restaurant itself and there is a mini garden at the middle. Actually, the place is ok sana but I didnt like the idea that the palce is not as private as it should be. Even if there are functions on going everyone could still go around to use the garden and to look through the function rooms glass windows. I know Jaims felt bad that I didnt like the place (even if he denies it), I know he wanted it because you dont get to spend that much. Their package I think would be around 21k for 100 persons. I'm ok with spending less but I think a bride deserves a better wedding. I mean, one wouldn't work this hard just to spend little for herself.

I really enjoyed eating at Max's because they serve a variety of food. Jaims and I ordered the basic plate: chicken, rice, caramel bar (my fave), iced tea, tokwa't kininchay, lumpiang ubod oriental (or something) and the cheese & onion soup (which turned out to be really good -- tastes like pizza). Anyways after we've filled our bellies and emptied our pockets, we walked towards Timog. He insisted that we pass by Anabel's even if we both knew that their package was expensive. The place was nice, and so was the price. I told Jaims, he shouldn't have brought me there since we both knew that we can't afford it. We bought one lotto ticket, which might change our luck but I just checked today and we didn't win.

We started walking again and were able to find Jade Valley. It was a huge place, from outside it looks like a Chinese temple with dragons but when you get in, the ceiling is high, with some hotel like lobby. We inquired and the price was dead reasonable. They have a package for as low as 21k and they have a lot of venues. Although I'm not much of a Chinese food lover, I think it would suffice. Jaims said the food there is great. We went around the place, 5th floor was spooky but the rest of the function rooms are pwede na. The place seems old and some rooms are obviously unmaintained. I noticed that the seats didn't have cover even if they said a wedding has just finished. I bugged Jaims to ask the inquiry lady about it, and she said that they do offer seat covers for P20 each. The seats don't look good and some are different from the others. Ok lang, but I wanted to look for other place. This afternoon Ate Jing said that the food didn'ttaste good as it was bfore in Jade Valley. Maybe we should think about that.

We next went to Windmills & Rainforest. Again, I felt so cheerful. I like the place, it was small but it doesn't look pilit. There's an air conditioned area, and garden for pictorials. Although Anabel's was better. This one's good enough. When we inquired, there is a 396 per head package. But it dawned in to us later in the afternoon, that drinks, arrangements, cakes, table settings are not yet included. We were happy to hear that they didn't require payment for the venue but what we didn't know (as seen in their brochure) is that there are hidden charges.

Getting tired from the walk, we took a tricycle going to Sacred Heart. The church was big and I like the idea of open sides, so the guests and us wouldn't sweat during the ceremony. when we inquired, the lady incharged was super suplada for a church person. The fee is 15k and there is so much restrictions with the photographers. Jaims then brought me to Twin Hearts. he said he knew I'll like the place. When we got there, I fell in love with the church (for the second time after Guadalupe). The church was not too big and too small as Guadalupe. The sides are open and the facade although not as grand as Guadalupe will pass as an old church. It was so nice I wanted to reserve it yesterday. You can check the picture at this url: http://www.weddingsatwork.com/axs/ax.pl?http://www.storybook.ph/images/c22b.jpg The fee is 10.5k and that includes one soloist. God! I love the church.

We stopped by McDo to do some brainstorming. That's when we realized that Windmills has a lot of hidden charges. Jaims promised to contact them if we could bargain on their package. hehe...pulubi!

We were suppose to go to Boardwalk but Jaims was tired already and so was I. We thought of going to Megamall to watch a movie to pamper ourselves but then he had the urge to visit Prestige just in case we would pursue Guadalupe. The roofdeck has a mini garden for photo-op, but they weren't able to quote us just yet. We were informed to go back on a weekday so they could show us around. The sky was orange-y yesterday, really good for photo-op.

I gotta go, I'm quite stinky from boxing...heheh...