White Lilies for All Saint's Day

White Lilies, originally uploaded by HunnieBunch.

Very early tomorrow, We'll be going to the Cemetery to visit our dearly departed loved ones. My Gramps, Granny, Dada & Aunts are at Eternal Gardens. I bet they're exited to see us too. Better make this clear, it's okay if they see us, but not, us see them. LOL!

We always bring food, flowers, candles & prayers for them.

After a nap this afternoon, i readied stuff to bring, paper plates, utensils, soda, water. Most of the food will be cooked early tomorrow.

One of the food is an Ilonggo dish called "Tino-um" & the pork spareribs for the yugglies. Of course it's potluck so i don't what everybody else is bringing.

Alright, gotta log off and sleep early for a whole day activity tomorrow.

Remember, Honor & Praying for their souls...

XOXO,

Lele



p.s.
*will blog about our Halloween Party later...

Ressurection

Mr. iPhone is aliiiiiive!!!

He's back from the stuck up mode/comatose phase he was in for almost a week.

It made me crazy the past couple of days, it was like back in the dark ages, no way of communicating, no updates from Facebook & Twitter, LOL. and most of all, my apps! I missed my apps!

Sunday is Family Day

Every Sunday, after our 9-10 am Mass, me & my family, aunts, cousins, nieces & nephews, we meet up & have Brunch somewhere in Quezon City. Maybe Northridge Plaza, Quezon Memorial Circle, SM North Edsa, Trinoma.

So after the Brunch which the Aunts/Olds take care of the bill, we head off to our different activities. Some went to Timezone, the Olds walked around, got tired & settled for coffee at the top of the mall. Me & my 3 cousins(sisters) went to the bookstore. I mean, where do bookworms go?? HAHAHA!
Me, i got me some new Moleskine Daily Planner for 2010, Nicholas Sparks The Choice & Prevention Magazine. Karla picked a Planner & mini notepad. Angel picked a book by Meg Cabot & Manga Magazine. Little Reign chose a 3D storybook of Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs.

Here's our Long Table at Super Bowl of China, we're 20 persons including the kids we're missing about 6 persons, who have previous appointments.

Our Brunch Budget comes from the weekend Mahjong Nights of my Aunts & Cousins.

A Mini Reunion for everyone. Catching Up.

Chance to make "Bilmoko" to the Moms & Dads.

Slow Internet Connection + I slipped...

Darn. This is hell of of a techie week for me.

Maybe I really need to upgrade my gadgets.

First, my iPhone crashes.

Second, my Vaio laptop is nearing it's end...i hope not...

Third, I don't know if it's slow internet connection or my HP netbook is getting slower too..

Ayayayayay!!

I was hoping my birthday money would go to my bills so i could be debt free by the end of the year, but no, the saying, habang may buhay may utang, is ringing true.

Anyways, i have paid 3/4 of all my bills, i hate to pay it all up, since that would mean my savings is running low, but i wanted that bill to come to me with zerrroooo balance.

So i have to evaluate what to get...

Getting an iMac or MacbookPro...

I'm leaning towards the iMac..

About the cellphone thing, I'll miss my iPhone, but I think I'll just settle with an iTouch. It's almost the same as an iPhone but without the phone function itself.

I think i'll just use my old phones and use iTouch and just imagine it as my iPhone...hehehe

Anyways, all i do in my iPhone is surf, check email, update facebook & twitter, which i can do with an iTouch anyways!

So next week, i'm gonna canvass some apple gadgets.

Time to switch!!

*On a funny but hurtful note, i slipped & fell on my butt this morning at our Lanai. I was busy watching the dogs have their baths I didn't notice the wet surface. I really hate my Uncle for choosing that kind of tiles for the Lanai. It's slippery for hell's sake. Not a good idea.

Good thing i have a backside that cushioned my fall, but my left arm hurt when i used it to stop my fall. My whole body got shaken up from that fall. I was so shocked i didn't break a part of my body. I was so scared of slipping. It's one of my pet peeves. I hate being in cast or just broken.

I gotta thank God for saving my a**, literally.

Mr. iPhone, crashes & burned...

Some of my friends told me that iPhone's lifespan is only 1 year, maxed out at 2.

Mr. iPhone, yes i named my phone, is dead, he's like, in a vegetable state right now. A comatose phase. I couldn't do a damn thing about it.

I have already tried everything the Support & iPhone help suggested. But to no avail.

Earlier this evening, I got a little happy when the Apple Software Support icon popped out, i immediately installed all of it. I don't update Safari & Mobile Me because i don't need them. My cousin told me maybe that's why it doesn't sync because it isn't updated.



After almost an hour, software download complete, rebooted to make sure everything works, then started iTunes up again. I kept my hopes up that the restore function would pull through, but then i heard the *ping* sound yet again. I hate that sound. darn!



So know what would i do?

Even my 4 year old laptop, is nearing it's end, i hope not.

I couldn't afford a gadget buy because I'm saving up for a trip, but money's gotta come out of the pocket no matter what you do.

I don't want to buy a 45 thousand iphone. Maybe i'll buy an itouch and re-acquaint myself to keypad texting once again.

I am not touching my phone right now. I read messages every 2 hours. I don't forward messages or answer calls if i don't know them.

OH EM GEE!! my contacts, photos & my apps....

Good thing before it crashed, i synced & backed up my data, EDIT( i didn't, lost all my contacts) problem is the restore itself is the problem. agggghhh.

I am sooooo frustrated...

I'm keeping it off my mind so i could relax, my muscles are so stressed out..

Rolex Greenbelt 5 Smash & Grab

I can't believe the robbers today. They've gotten more reckless. And choosy.

They attack a high end mall and goes to one of the most expensive watch boutiques, smash their escaparates or vitrines and just grabbed the watches.

Most daring smash & grab robbery i knew. In Manila, anyways.

The thing is, Mall owners & Police are shutting up, i heard this news from Twitter. Can you believe that?! (Dapat may pulis na nagmomonitor ng twitter para malaman ang latest na kaguluhan, hehehe)

For once they said, that the Police got there before the Media did, so they were able to cordon off the mall. One of the robbers was killed, wonder what happened to the rest??

Why the news blackout? or we just have to wait for it in the evening news tomorrow??

Oh, and the robbers were wearing PNP SWAT uniforms, apparently they said they were responding & checking up on a reported bomb threat in the mall.

A lot of conspiracy theory is brewing on my mind, and on Twitter too...LOL

Scallops

Scallops, originally uploaded by HunnieBunch.

Just experimented with Scallops. Steamed it alongside Brocolli then sauteed it alongside mushrooms and added ginger, celery & oyster sauce.

This is a trial post from my Flickr account

My Mom & Mikey

Wednesday Morning, while at the church for our weekly Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, my mom complained of chest pains, pinilit ko to go to the ER. The Novena just finished and the mass hasn't started yet.

So off we go. I was calm on the outside but inside i was a wreck & in panic mode.

We got to the ER, had ECG and hour of BP monitoring, in the middle of this, a patient died next bed to us, so it added to our edginess.

Turns out, it is just gas reflux from drinking beer. I guess my mom just got nervous & panicked when she felt chest pains. But I would not hear any of it, we go to ER!!! She's hypertensive & diabetic so i'm taking no chances. After a couple of hours we're good to go, prescription meds for reflux in hand, and we're having breakfast at Jollibee later.

Around Lunchtime, when we got home from the office, our cook/manang told me Mikey went up to her room and just stayed there, also he's been throwing up. I immediately went up & checked him out, he looks a little dehydrated (as if i'm a vet! haha) his nose is dry, and he kinda just lay down on his side not moving but he is watching me, manang & ricky (our driver) fuss over him.

Then I told manang what happened to mom earlier that morning, i think Mikey must have saved my Mom. Do you believe that? that when a member of the family is in sudden life or death situations, a pet suddenly gets sick too, and most of the time is "sinasalo" nila whatever the family member is feeling.

Since my Mom is such a huge part of my life, it's weird that my favorite, oldest, alpha male dog is the one who gets sick.

I took the day off, and we went to the Vet, he throwed up in the van again, but i think his spirits is up, he loves riding around in the L300 van.

The Vet gave me liver tabs for whatever bad he ate, meds she injected which i didn't know and some hydrating powder for his drinking water.

I forced feed/drink the Mondex powder (diluted in water)to Mikey with a syringe. Thankfully he drank it, but after a few tries, he shut his nozzle up. hahaha

My mom is feeling good again but i have to monitor her BP morning & evening.

Mikey is great too, since he's been barking his head off at strangers, but i continue to give him is meds too.

I think i need to study Nursing for real. LOL

Human & Pets.

Thank You God!

Davao Trip w/ BFF's Day 1 - Airport

Sorry for the interruptions. Back to our tour-ture trip.

Soooo, we decided to meet up at the airport. Since i've been flying once a year, and we get tons of visitors who we bring to the airport every single time, i know the drill of being there early. Better late than never they say. Add to the fact that we live up north and the airport is somewhere south east/west of manila. I was up at the crack of dawn, driver was early, said goodbye to mom, brought my breakfast and off we go at 4:45am. I didn't texted my friends, i figured they might be busy preparing to go out of the house too. Yeah right, they were still sleeping!

It's my first time to fly Cebu Pacific so i was triple nervous & edgy. I arrived at Terminal 3 at around 5:50am, i decided to call them when nobody replied to my texts. They said they're leaving now. WHAT?? relax, they say, no traffic & it's early. I didn't want to go in because the terminal is so darn cold, but i eventually went in because i had to pee!

I decided to wait in line & just let people pass me until the girls arrive. I was feeling antsy already because the sun is out & in full force, and they're nowhere to be found!! tic toc! tic toc! aggh i'm going crazy!!

6:30 am i see their faces! goodness gracious! and we have to fall in line in the slowest counter! agh!! i was feeling nervous & hyper because the clock is ticking, and of course they were all relaxed, chatting it up yappity yap yup.

7:00 we got our tickets, and i rushed in to the gates! besides i have to pee again! i had a cup of noodles for breakfast, i asked the girls if they had any, they said no, so why don't you buy something to eat, but make it fast, i said in the back of my mind, i deeply regret not saying that aloud.

7:15 Grace was in line for a Hot Coco, Zenna & I was waiting for cinnabon sticks, Rose sat down in a table after getting her coffee. I was like?? what are we doing?? our flight's leaving and we're still here?? Somebody said..no no no no..our boarding time is 7:45, we have time to spare, i was like, what?? 7:45 the plane LEAVES with or without us.

Just then a Ground Crew carrying a sign & shouting for Davao Passengers, Rose turned to the guy, and said somewhat stupidly, that's us. "Mam. the gate closes in 5 minutes." whhhhhaaattt?!?!? we ran for dear life, i never ran like that! i run like there's a 400 pound bear chasing us to death. In all my life as a traveler i have never ever done a thing like that. I am never late. I don't want the plane to leave without me so i was always early at the airport. But this is a first. Thanks to my beautiful friends.

We got to the gate, huffing & puffing our lungs out, the crew looked at us with a smirk. I thought the running was done, but nooooo, the tube connecting to the plane was like an endless tunnel!! so we ran. again.

The door to the plane came into view, i sighted 2 ladies ahead of us, they were running too. We stepped inside and everyone was seated already, the plane was ready to go and the four of us were the last!!! I think they were waiting for us for the loooongest time already.

As we sat down and buckled our seat belts, i vaguely heard the stewardess announce something about cabin doors closing. Yup, we were the last.

OMG. please. make. me. invisible. now.

Bad Dog Company

Yesterday, My Mom informed me that i have to walk & feed my dogs, because our help Jeff is off to a delivery. The other guy i rely on, also has lots of stuff to do, so i have no choice.

Actually i used to do this, until my Mom decided to intervene. Kidnapping Scares & Threats. Paranoia. In fairness, i still walk my dogs every night.

So this morning, after taking care of poo business, i cleaned their cages, fill up their bowls with water & kibble, some playtime with the other doggies, i ushered them back to their "houses".

Toto/Scooby immediately wolfed half of his food. Shaggy watched my steps underneath his long bangs and didn't touch his food. And Sparky ate just a few kibbles. After minutes of coaxing him to eat, making him jealous so he would eat, he lied down and just stared at me. oohhhh...it got me so mad!!!

I got his bowl out, called Mickey & Ashton, gave them the unfinished dog food.

Harummphh...

Then i had breakfast at the Lanai. He was barking his head off. deadmabelles.

Got ready for office, i passed by his cage, petted him, and you know what i noticed? He was licking his chops like he was hungry. Oh poor baby. right then & there i wanted to feed him. but i knew what he would do. So i hold on tight to my feelings.

Around 330pm i couldn't take it anymore, i felt so guilty, i went home early from the office, took them for a walk, then fed him his kibbles, he still started up slow, but he finished them anyways.

Am i a bad human? Did Sparky deserved to be punished? or i was too impatient in waiting for him to finish up his food? or my temper is really on short fuse these days???

At the end of the day, he still gave me a smile & a wagging tail. i guess he forgave me already. i just want the guilt feeling to go away...

Unconditional Love = Pets

I love you, Mickey, Sparky, Ashton, Scooby & Shaggy....

Empire Records

It's in iTunes. Can't believe it. I have store credits but don't want to buy that, i'll just download it in my torrents. So many new Old movies. Gotta catch up!

Will go to Gateway tomorrow, buy something from Chanel, so i could get the free tickets for the Coco Avant Chanel movie. A great excuse to cave in for that eyeshadow.

Lotsa errands to do again, so i better get my butt sleeping already if i want to have energy by tomorrow.

Long day today, you wouldn't believe the paperworks, haven't had the chance to help my cousin because my table is swamped too!

Alright, folks, Sweet Dreams!


XOXO,

Lele

Getting Ready for Davao

Last July, My BFF's and I went to Davao.
Our first trip as a group.
Chaos & Riot!

Around end of May 2009, my friend Grace, who works at Singapore, just casually said that she wants to go to Vigan/Ilocos when she comes home for a vacay. I have been to Ilocos around the 90's, i want to go back because i want to see some "tourist" improvements. Time has caught up and changes have been made eversince. My other friend Zenna, is not quite open to going back there so soon, i think just a couple years ago. We exchange emails & IM's and decided we'll go to Davao. Everybody agreed. Next step is asking who would come, of course Grace's twin sister Rose is coming, our problem is asking Jenny, our friend who has a family already. But she dropped them like a hot potato when she found out! She's coming too! LOL

It all fell into place just like that! *snaps fingers*

Next step is finding cheap tickets, this went to our resident wow philippines model/traveler/tourist guide/travel agent, Zenna. Found cheap ones and in Promo from Cebu Pacific Airlines. She emailed us and delegated tasks to be done for the trip. I thought i was free! But nooo, she gave us things to be done, like a commander on a pirate ship. hehehe. The Twins took Azienda Meo, Jen got Pearl Farm & I got Hof Gorei.

I asked my Mom permission to go. It's not what you think. I just want her to know that I'm going somewhere. With my friends. They basically think i can't get anywhere, what am i? a 5 year old??

Countdown till the trip itself began, i was so excited, emails & IM exchanged every night, i could feel the excitement between my friends too.

For me, packing is a nightmare, i always overpack, i tend to bring so much stuff that i thought i need and ended up not using them anyways, so for this i edited almost every night before going to sleep. Since I'm a plus size girl, my clothes are big & bulky too, so i chose lightweight stuff and set my mind on not bringing extra clothes. My toiletries kit is another post, but i think i didn't edit it that much and it was the heaviest kit on my bag.

After choosing my clothes & whatnots, i have come to the hardest part, what kind of bag will i bring? do i bring a wheelie? a backpack? or a huge duffel bag?

Zenna, has perfected the world of packing light, suggested using a backpack, since we're all ladies and no boylets to carry our luggage around. But nooo, i had to use the wheelie because my stuff can't fit in the darn backpack. what am i? a mutant turtle?? When we met at the airport that morning, I had my wheelie, the twins had a small wheelie & a duffel, Zenna has this uber teeny tiny backpack at her back, i was like?? what do you got in there?? i don't believe it!

So on my next post, i'll tell the story of Day 1 in Davao.


XOXO,

Lele

Undecided

I still can't decide what to get for my Birthday. A gift to thyself.

Choices are the ff:

1.) Cartier Ballon de Bleu Watch.
Ultimate gift. I want my mommy to buy this for me (Because i can't afford it) Perfect if we have matching set. hihihi...

2.) MacBookPro.
Do i need another Laptop? I have my 4 y/o Vaio and Vivienne Tam HP netbook.

3.) Louis Vuitton or Balenciaga or Hermes
Nothing tickles my fantasy at LV. yet. (except for the Damier Neverfull, i have 2 other NF's) Balenciaga Motorcycle Bag. It bag of the century but doesn't appeal to me yet. OR should i wait for the coming of Hermes at Greenbelt?? Couldn't afford the Birkin or Kelly so goodluck, but i'm liking the Evelyne & Victoria, but still way out of my budget.

4.) Nikon D90
I have a short attention span when it comes to cameras, i just want to point & shoot the darn thing. HAHAHA... so this is highly unlikely :(

5.) Pay Bills.

HAHAHA! Best Option is number 5, it's a vicious cycle, i hope to stop it completely one day. It starts with maxing up your credit cards, shopping to the max, then spend the next 2 years paying it off. aggghhh! now that i have extra money to pay for it, i now have a clean slate. I hope i don't fall into that abyss known as credit card hell. ROFL

back to normal

Ok back to regular programming people! back to school, back to work, back breaking work for the ondoy victims. sigh*

anyways, started out the day with mom's injection of insulin. i peeked a the clouds and noticed that it's still grey & cloudy. i cancelled my trip to NKTI for my lab tests.

Breakfast and off i go,

1st stop: Rockwell Power Plant. Checked out Accesory Lab, Sapato Manila & Evita Peroni. Planned on eating at Pepper Lunch, but still early so i browsed around and when i got back the line was long already! sigh. Decided to try Elbert's Cheesesteak Sammys. The Beef is good.

2nd stop: Tresorie at Jupiter St., My LV speedy got sold! yehey! more money for the bills! woohoo!!

3rd stop: Gateway Cubao. Got some information about Toywatch repair/service centers. Two of my watches are broken. Also renewed FSP card. Annnd!! 2 new nailpolishes from Chanel!! US stores doesn't have it till November! woohoo! first dibs!

4th stop: Trinoma, QC. Checked out NBS for Everyday Food Magazine, Checked out Omega Seamaster's Price, Too shy too enter at Tag Heuer. Meet up with cousin Karla, then had a late merienda, early dinner at Pho Hoa.

can i say pagod??

Divisoria

Shopping in Divi is so much fun, everything is here, it's a giant, no huge, no humongous wasteland. Of course it's cheap & you can haggle/bargain.

Went here about 2 weeks ago per my cousins request, i have a few cash on my wallet, and i haven't planned what to buy yet. so i just basically just chaperoned them.

i bought a lot. hahaha

1.) kitchen towels - found 2 huge garbage bags full of crochet yarns at the bodega, i decided to make this a project. instead i'm making a vest or a bedspread. lol

2.) Pajamas - i saw a pair that could work as a pambahay. i thought the top wouldn't fit me, i figured i'll just gave it to my mom, but the shorts are mine. got 3 pairs.

3.) fruits - bought lanzones & santol

4.) beads, pearls & butingtings - i decided to bring back my bracelet making days. in the week that i was sick, i uncovered a huge plastic chest full of crap, i mean stuff. on top of that i found another chest full of sCRAPbooking materials.

5.) kids clothes - i bought my cousin 2 leggings 50 pesos each, 100 for the top.

low on cash and we decided to go back here if i have some enough, no swipe swipe here.

Sick Again

A day before Typhoon Ondoy struck the unprepared Metro Manila with it's torrential downpour, i celebrated my last birthday on a numbered calendar. (Huling taon ko na sa kalendaryo, yak!)

The days before my upcoming day i was so sick, i'm too dizzy to stand up. I have fever for 3 days, can't breathe from the colds, sneezing every 5 minutes. i got scared that it might be AH1N1. freeaking out!!! On the morning itself i was coughing my lungs out already. I got up to and made a mess in the kitchen, pesking everybody. hehehe.

I didn't want to drink antibiotics, wanted my immune sytem to work this out, but noooo, a week already and still groggy. My cocktail for 2 days were biogesic, neozep, dolfenal & claritin. I think neozep failed on me this time, so i stopped taking it. biogesic was good only if i take it every 4 hours. I would sweat the fever out, feel great and resume busybody, then i get weak & fever rises again. aggghhhh. the sneezing stopped when i take claritin, but since i'm weaning myself from it, i stopped too. what i did was eat even if the food taste like cardboard & drink freshly squeezed orange juice from s&r, and sleep/rest.

It got me thinking, i only get sick twice a year, when the weather changes, hot to cols & vice versa, so why am i sick now? something's wrong with my immune system!!! and this happened when i was taking those 1 a day multivitamins too! i'm scared! i don't wanna get sick. or is the earth suffers from global warming that it affects people already?!?! paranoid!!!

A few days after, i feel somewhat alright & spirits up a bit, but the coughing just started. It's so scratchy & dry, i just want to stop breathing! yikes!! I've gone back to the office but after doing some paperwork, i was tired and decided to rest and take the day off.

When everything goes back to normalcy, life resumes after the flooding, i have decided to follow up and take some lab tests. Let's hope for normal results!

Global Warming

I have been saying this for the long time. the world is changing, i mean, the Earth!

Ever since Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana, shows like Blue Planet, Storm Stories, Six Degrees could change the World, have fascinated me. i've also rewatched Twister and The Day after Tomorrow.

It started in High School, interested in Science but doesn't like the computation/math/physics aspect. agh. hate math. :(

After what happened a day after my Birthday, i've been on panic mode eversince. Being stuck in traffic, can't get home for hours, tends to do that.

Actually it's been raining since a day before my birthday, so it's really a bad idea to get out that saturday, but being sick the whole week, and getting a shocking gift from my Mom, i figured i deserve to go to the Mall. It's my Birthday yesterday for crying out loud! Even for just an hour! I left the house and it's raining cats & dogs already, i figured it'll stop later, as i got near the mall, i got this sinking (pun intended) feeling that something's wrong. I should've listened to my guts and turned the effing car around!

After an hour inside the mall, i was ready to go home, traffic was already building, and not moving. I got an oppurtunity to back up at EDSA and then i was back at Trinoma. Waited it out for 5 hours, doing nothing, watching the traffic at the intersection near Veteran's, the same bus on standstill for 3 hours, getting a manicure, browsed all the books at 3 bookstores, too stressed out to watch a movie.

Finally around 5 i decided to brave it out, all was good, getting around my shortcuts, no floods, puddles of water, i was smiling already. Then BAM! 20 minutes on a standstill, then i saw the road going back home, smile got turned down. I have nowhere to go. I have decided to just park my car in a safe place, prayed the rosary, tried to sleep, and just wait it out. After an hour, some movements at the traffic, i decided to battle it out again. Then more rain came. Aghhh. Another 3 hours crawling like the slowest turtle in the whole wide world. I forgot how many mysteries of holy rosary i prayed already. I already prepared my bag, stuffed my essentials in a plastic before getting it inside the bag, looking for a place to park, but i think my prayers are working, the cars have been crawling/moving slowly but surely.

Finally, i got through, after hair raising moments with SUV's & trucks alike, i called home and said that i was safe, waters have receded already. But noooo, another bridge is still chest deep in waters, and it's impassable. Decided to wait it out, but the area is too dark and i was like, the only sedan waiting it out. Agh. I made the inevitable u turn and went to my Aunt's place in project 8, which was my earlier plan, one hour earlier. darnit.

Getting to their house, i could see the plastics & debris from the flood, my cousin said it was knee deep earlier, fortunately no water in their house, in fact they turned into an evac center for a few hours. After turning on the TV i saw the disaster, devastation it caused for a few hours of rain. Listening to the AM radio while in traffic got me some bad news already, but seeing it on tv, just shows how massive it is.

Around midnight, i decided to try going home, my cousin said some of the roads have cleared, my body wants to sleep, i have a mild fever, but my mind is still on overdrive, migraine anyone?? i kept thinking on who will inject my mom's insulin early tomorrow. so i drove home, praying for no more floods, rain to stop, and no more traffic.

I got home safe & dry. Thank You Lord & Mama Mary.