The hubby started the day off in a rush. A lovely tour around the Lopez museum, a heart thumping basketball game of two teams of the Marist Alumni (the hubby’s team being the winning one) and a get together with some old friends from high school.

Catching up when more than a decade has passed for some can be a challenge. Aside from the fact that we all agree that we can all make use of new diet pills, because all of us surely gained considerable weight since we left middle school. But weight aside, it was all fun, fun, fun! A few people did not show up. But the agenda was to organize a grander reunion, which we hope dear Beth will come up with soon.

Being with you guys is too much fun and it will be way too bad if we can’t do this on a regular basis from now on.

Tomorrow, August 23, 2009, SBC-Makati is celebrating Friend Day! We are inviting you to come and celebrate with us. We are located on the 3/F 9642 Kalayaan Talipapa Building, Kalayaan Avenue, Guadalupe Nuevo, Makati City 1212

Erwin and Jeff are aboard the zipline of People’s Park in Tagaytay City. I was not feeling very adventurous during that time, like there is a time I was ever! Haha! It was a good day to enjoy the cool breeze of the city. Our friend Ana who just came home from Singapore a week ago, is soon to leave again on Thursday and we wanted to spend time with her while she’s here.

The original plan was to drive up to Baguio first thing Monday morning and go back home by Wednesday. But because there were unexpected things that happened, like the hubby getting sick, there was no way we were going to do a Suburban extended stay hotel, even if we wanted to. Tagaytay is one place we will always choose to go to whenever we would love to get away from the heat of the Metro. More photos in the upcoming posts.

‘In marriage, there comes a time that a couple’s schedule often is too predictable that you almost can tell what time of the day you will get to bond with your partner. Predictability is not bad. In fact a lot of people I know are wired towards it. But every normal human being, regardless of his type of personality, can make use of spontaneity one time or another.

If as a couple you have your “couch time” at a certain time of the day, maybe you adjust it to another time. If  you do certain chores around the home, why not shake it up a little. This reminds me to throw the garbage sometime, one of these coming nights. Change is nice. It even leads you to appreciate your spouse more. Go plan a nile cruise, if you can. It can shake the boring spell of what routine sometimes give. If you can at all afford it, then go out on one of those cruise holidays.

Being married to this big hearted man of a husband that I have for almost eight years, taught me a whole lot of beautiful things. He sure is a man who so loves routine that I need not ask him what he’s having when we step into any particular food place we’ve been to before, because he will order the same thing over again. While I am the exact opposite and he admits to it, that if it wasn’t for my trying out new things, he wouldn’t have known there are better things out there. We balance each other out, to say the least.

As much as I love spontaneity, I have to admit that I also love routine. It is in fact a big word to us. Because of routine, we were able to plunge into parenthood without tears. Read: Our son began sleeping through the night at two months old, et.al. The routine that we have in our marriage is a part of my everyday joy.

We may try to spice things up with spontaneity all we want but without our focus on the one thing that matters, that is your spouse, no amount of shaking up will do. Not even if you plan the grandest of river cruises. You really have got to put your heart into your marriage, speak with your partner with all honesty and love. As imperfect individuals, there will always be a tendency to disappoint each other one way or another. But nothing is sweeter than living life in sync with the one that God has made for you to love.

It has been a stressful time for the hubs. Coming home from camp with an oozing 40 degree Celsius temp until the following day is not really the coolest. He thinks he needs to unwind and get some rest. Our dear friend Ana wants a quick Baguio getaway but talked her  out to switch it to a closer but as breezy destination, Tagaytay. There are plenty of things lined up for us to do this week and a day trip is what we can afford for now.

The first day of the week will then be our Cyber Monday and we will be off to Tagaytay early in the morning on Tuesday. We are hoping for a fun and relaxing time with our family and our dear friend Ana who will be flying back to Singapore on Thursday.

 Beth and Me

Last weekend was made more special when a couple of my very close friends in middle school came over to our place – with their respective families in tow. It was actually a follow up on the recent get together we had last December in Eastwood. Lorna’s birthday this month was a neat excuse for us to yet again meet.  We really made sure we took advantage of the long holidays.

My ever loving friend Beth of Bethchai.blogspot.com, indulged my request to bring in a few of her merchandise. The wise lady that she is retails lovely clothes that she distributes to some offices. From sexy corsets to elegant but hip dresses. And if bringing her stuff wasn’t enough, she gave me a hefty discount for my loot. I got a couple of pretty dresses and a couple of blouses! How is that for shopping right from your home and being able to fit a whole collection? Time does not permit me to do a lot of shopping for myself. If at all, I almost only leave home to take care of some household concern/errand or to replenish our cupboard and fridge.

I am just so happy to have gotten together with the both of them and their families! Now that they know where our home is, they can freely come over whenever they’re free.

It has been a while since I last did some photo hunting. When I checked back with Tnchick.com and saw the most recent theme, I knew I cannot pass this one up and there is no better shot for me to post than this. Taken last Saturday after the spa treat our friend Ana gave us. It was a dinner of bonding, courtesy of Frances, who just celebrated her birthday the day before. We all headed to Starbucks after. A celebration of friendship!

We hope to be complete the next time we get together. That would take a while, I know. One of our dear friends flew to Dubai and we are all praying that his family will be able to join him very soon.

Tomorrow is one of our dear friend’s birthday. I am going to load up tonight and give her a call. She left for SG almost a year ago.  The last time she was here was last May and won’t be back until October of this year. The little time that we spent with her in a condo hotel when she was here was just not enough. Happy birthday Ana! We love you and our prayers are with you despite our distance. You always bloom wherever the Lord plants you and we have always been proud of you. God bless you more!

It was late last week when I received an SMS from a friend who attends our mother church.  Her news got me stunned and I literally had to stop awhile before everything settled in.  She was asking for prayers even as the result of the needle biopsy done on her came back positive.

She’s only but 44 years old, a single mother and working every chance she gets to survive life as it is.  Then came this.  I am equally amazed as to how well she is coping.  Her faith is doing her wonders, even the doctors are fascinated by how well she is taking everything in.  She came by our place yesterday to ask for help to compose a letter that she will send to her friends and relatives.  Please go visit the blog I got set up for her at Debbie’s Battle with Cancer and read her story. I just got one post up. The diagnosis reports: ultrasound, MRI and biopsy are still to be scanned. I’m also going to have it go live for proof. The hubby and I are making ourselves available in whatever possible way we can to help this dear friend who we have known since forever in church.  May the Lord richly provide for everything that she would need from now that she’s doing laboratory tests to next week that she’s going to undergo surgery, then chemotherapy or radiation to recuperation.

We are asking for your support, prayers and otherwise for Debbie Marie Agbulos-Lopez, who is currently diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer.  Send your emails via dmagbulos@gmail.com.  There is no way she will be able to afford all the treatment she needs.The doctor prohibited her from continuing with her job and she has to prepare for intensive medical procedures.

As usual, this is going to be an almost wordless one.  Our dinner was a treat from “the man” himself, Neil of Neilmaranan.com.Thanks, Neil!  This guy is ultra generous with more than just sharing what he knows about internet marketing. Even while we were still classmates back in CPE, he threw such a grand bash when he turned 21 Which reminds me, Neil, you’re soon to turn another year older in less than a couple of months.  San tayo?! Beside Neil is Nonette and the ever famous Mhel of Marikenya.com right there in the middle and beside me is Rizza of Experiencenexpress.blogspot.com.

The hubby and our little guy joined us after dinner at Starbucks.  I only got to snap just a single group shot.  The guys got a little too busy discussing business,  I tend to move away when things get technical. lol!  I leave it to the hubby to take care of those stuff.  I’m fine with just blogging, thank you. Thanks so much guys for being such great friends!  Hope there will be a repeat, besides we weren’t really able to discuss much about the Salamyaan stuff, right?

This is our son’s latest preoccupation. The starter kit was a gift from his Tita Ninang Rose for his birthday. From his love for all sorts of cars, he now have his eye for trains. His first train ride fascinated him and would point to it and refer to it as “a real train,” every time we would ride past them whenever we go places.

I remember when we were once in a mall in Cubao, he saw the road leading to the train station, he practically dragged the hubby and me towards the station and wanted to go for a ride! Back home he could spend hours on end rearranging his train tracks and watch Thomas and his friend, Percy with the chocolate factory go around. Throwing in his collection of farm animals and cattle supplies toys to the set and have it match with the windmill, might just be a great idea. It’s fun seeing him get creative as he incorporates his makeshift buildings from his toy blocks. There is like a city area and a farm side to his train set. His imagination is getting creative through these toys.

He shifts from this toy to reading his Time Life books. And as for me, I have to be ever present despite my own preoccupation to the internet. I am learning to device a system that will work for us and I would like to believe we’re getting better at it.

It was great to reconnect with an old friend again. Yesterday, one of my best buddies from middle school text messaged me to ask about some former job I had. She said she hopes to land another job this coming week. I am also glad to hear that her mom did not suffer from Lasik complications from her recent eye surgery and she is now in fact cruising along with her latest craze, her very own sari-sari store. I’m so glad her mom does not have to work abroad to earn a living anymore. She owes it to herself to retire and settle in her own home. This dear friend and I proceeded to talk about some silly things from our past, it made me smile despite the physical pain I feel here and there.

My wife, Jennie, has been in the hospital since Friday. This was a decision made because of her fever that wouldn’t go away for days. Giving her paracetamol couldn’t stop the fever so it was hard to manage. So we decided, with the doctor’s advice to get her to the hospital. I hope that today would be our last day here at Medical City. I’ll update readers out there later on about her condition. So for the entrecard droppers, my wife asked me to write this post to apologize for not being able to drop back for now. We thank you for understanding.

This is our son Jed riding on a twist car with his playmate Charmaigne Regina. Cham Cham is the daughter of my wife’s best friend based in UK. This video was taken a few days before Cham Cham and her grandmother left for the United Kingdom. I’m sure my son will be missing his friend and playmate and I’m sure he’s going to be missed by her, too.

Yesterday, hubby and I went straight to an old friend who just came back from the States from my review classes. It sure was great to see her once again after almost a decade. I cannot believe it has been that long! We sure had lots of fun reconnecting and just being silly.

The girls would talk about weight and what-have-yous and two of them cajoled each other for being the heaviest in the group. I am thankful that I never had the need to take diet pills ever, but I sure would love to gain a few more pounds especially now that dear mother has been pressuring me to work on it. I would have loved to share a shot or two from the get together, but we failed to bring our camera with us yesterday. We will probably include one in this entry when I get our copy from the email that one of them will send us.

Friends are just treasures to behold. This balikbayan friend of ours was the one who always knew I had a thing for hubby back when we were small. Read our love story entry for details. She was the one who encouraged me to pray for that special someone that God has for me. We are so glad to have her around and spend time with her.

I so miss my friends from Teletech. If I should say the least, we sure have bonded from the short time we have spent together. From the grueling trainings we’ve been through: ACE, the Dean Vaughn Series and those thousands of medical terminologies we memorized. I had to tender my resignation abruptly, as I was advised by my Obstetrician to. I was in danger of miscarrying my two month old baby. But then, I lost him anyway. At least I have given him my all when I was able. Going back to our training days, I would vividly recall how different personalities just about jive and have settled to accept our differences, even the not so loveable bunch have found their ways to each hearts.

Close to a year since I left the company and we are still in touch one way or another. I could only wish we could go back to comparing notes. Those experiences we have talking to some random health provider over the phone. Discussing some palliative care reviews like the medical health professional coordinators we were trained to be. There are but handful of things I sure hope to share with them once again. From the most trivial things, the early morning breakfast, just because, to the more serious issues. I just so miss them and I hope to catch up with them soon.

These are photos taken from yesterday. A photo from the conference and the rest from there after. The conference was such an event. The lady speakers did great! The choir was awesome, given the time they did for practice. I would say I regret I did not give in to my sister’s pull of joining in. I was really busy those past weeks, doing business.

After the conference, we all went to Ted and Rose’s place and then off to the Fort to get Tiff to check out the area. Went around Metro Market for a while, then off to Serendra, settled in Seattle’s Best for coffee. Our dear friend is flying back to America tomorrow and we are looking forward to seeing her again soon.

The day that was sure was a tiring but refreshing time for me. I spent majority of the day as a part of National Women’s Conference held in Teatro Marikina. I was there from seven in the morning till after five in the afternoon. I am especially grateful for hubby doing me some favors that I needed to do in the net, but I couldn’t because I was offline.

After the conference, we spent the rest of the day with Tiffany, dear sister, hubby and son. We just hang out around Fort area. Tiff will be going back to the states in a couple of days. We sure appreciated the time she spared for us. We have missed her so much and are so glad to see the woman she has become. I hope to post some photos from the conference and our time with Tiff in the coming entries.