Ooh! I Got An Award!

Got this award from Mommy Angel Mec! Just when I was feeling down in the dumps, she popped this one on me out of the blue! She's got a second sense about people, this Mom!

Rules of this award are :
1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

I am awarding this to:

Jonas-For a brave, BRAVE man who, I dare say, is an honorary lady in my book. Your integrity in the face of adversity is incredible (although it's more than I can handle to try and keep up with your horse, Mr. White Knight!).
Johnny-For being one of the rare people I know who stand truest to themselves. You have such a beautiful soul and a generous heart!
Rei-There are few words to describe the kind of person who would stand by you through clear, present and mortal danger...in a red bikini and live to tell the tale of your friendship. You are my ageless soul-sister. I will be so put out if we don't meet up in our next lifetime.
Carver-Because I *heart* you! Your work makes me crack up when I need a laugh awful badly. Your talent inspires me no end. Plus, I AM A SHAMELESS FAN GIRL. Is there a fan's club I can join?

There are others who I wan to give this award to but these are the few I have who I know blog on a regular basis. You guys know who you are. I *HEART* you no less!

PARTY PREPS: THE LAST DETAILS

I spent the last few days mucking about in maintenance and other practical life matters, that I realized that I was backed up a few entries. So, to make up, here's the last of the Party Preps!

***

Since we couldn't splurge so much, if at all, I went gaga over Oona's invites.


TADAAAAAH! Likey? We too!

We sent one to the oddparents and re-sent a reminder to everyone a week ago.

We also posted the event on Facebook.

But people who are sometimes tamad as they are to RSVP or even go through email and mark their calendars, still managed to lose the details or forget until they're pestered about it.

Ang ku-cute ng gawa ko tapos 'di man lang binabasa! (But people still came so all's well!)

We still love them though and put it down to the comedy of errors with which most of our family events are usually marked (i.e. our wedding and Oona's birth).

THE OUTFIT

Of course she has an outfit! Quite a few to be exact.

I loved being a little girl with all the girly trappings of ribbons and flounces. I want to make darn sure my little girl has her girlhood. There's going to be time enough for jeans and shirts anyway. And RF, more the fashionista these days than I am definitely agrees.

So, RF and I went on a serious hunt with Oonapotpot in tow, combing the malls in Makati.


Over at Greenbelt there was not much by way of boutiques that would fit our budget. Most are in the upper tier of income-spending. Still, it is always nice to walk through the park even during the rainy season.

At Glorietta, the dresses in the baby shops and children's section were adorable but were way over the budget and too gownish.



It was a pity there were only casual clothes at Gingersnaps. They don't have much by way of party frocks. Frou-frou was the order of day but we wanted Oona to be able to wear the dress for other formal occasions or just when she (rather, we!) feel the need for frills.


We went over to Landmark but the choices were limited to the long baptismal gowns in organza and tulle with matching bonnets Oona would hate. She just hates things on her head. We didn't want her dress to be impractical or itchy either. Girly was good and a bit of formality with personality, but nothing uncomfortable. I'd hate for her to develop a bad rash because of cloth. She would be wearing the dress all day and sweaty babies make for a grand tantrum for babies and everybody else.

Finally at SM Makati, we landed this pretty number! We were looking for Little Bitty but couldn't find it. Nevertheless, this seemed just right.

It's simple, we know, but you should see it on Oona! Shows off her chinita-ness, her skin and doesn't overwhelm anyone from the ultimate focus of attention: Oona.

Oh to have a daughter to dress up!

We had a bit of a problem with the shoes, as this is the best we could find. At least it's off-white too. Besides, nowadays she's in her sandals or barefoot, so buying a pretty pair she would be only be wearing once and would quickly grow out of, wouldn't be practical.

We also managed to snatch a dress that she could wear after for the party at Max's with a pair of tights and her squeaky sandals. It's the exact miniaturized version of Tita Diday's 70's retro mini dress. (We're daring her to wear it for the party. We'll see if she takes us up on that!)


OTHER DETAILS

We're going to buy a few extra candles and maybe, a few more giveaways if we can afford it. Pictures and coverage would probably be done the old-fashioned way. . . whoever has a camera, bring it and click away! As it happened at our wedding.

RF and I are still thinking of what to wear, but at least the more important bits are taken care of. We don't know what's going to happen on Sunday. We're nervous and excited, of course. I'm just hoping Oona enjoys the day as much as a one-year old can!

I'M GETTING "PUBLISHED"!

Well, interviewed actually. Online. But it's basically the same banana.

Hehe. Watch and be mesmerised! Dance, banana, dance!

Anyhoo, back to earth, Kate Hughes of Databazaar came by Scraps Away! and liked what she saw. So much so that she's asked me to participate in their site's blog feature articles called PrinTales.

*smugnessss* Let's take a moment to worship me . . . . . . . . . Alright, moment done.

Basically, Databazaar is a website for and about mostly printers. Desktop printers, large-scale printers, you name it, they know about it. They have information about faxes, paper, ink cartridges and different brands. Their articles in PrinTales are stories of people who do creative stuff with their printers.

And I'm being intervyoooowd! La-la-la-la-laaaa!

Of course, I have to come up with a project "with a special twist" to showcase on their site. The twist is to personalize it somehow for Databazaar and the project is whatever I can think of.

At first I thought it would be easy-peasy. But scrapbooking, per se's been done; cards and giveaways are out; framed stuff, someone's wrote in about that too. I wanted to be spectacular! Well, I could settle for original. Or at least, hasn't been featured yet.

So, my deadline being on September 2 and having no other time to do it, I did it during the weekend. I went back to basics, to way back when I literally threw scraps together and came up with something (Recycling is good!) like gift wrappers, notebook covers, etc. It was easier this time because I can jam things together using digital materials and I don't have to worry about the mess.

After it's approved, I shall post it and sleep! It's simple enough but I hope it shall be liked.

Again, the dancing banana! Yay! Shake it, baby! Shaaaake eet!

THANKFULLY BLESSED LIST: MY HUBBY

2. My husband, my true love.

RF and I never meant to become a couple. It's still a source of wonder, joy and amazement for me that we've lasted this long. I'm not bored nor tired of being with him. If anything, I need and want more of him to myself as a wife, his partner and best friend. I need and want more of him for our family as a Father and haligi ng tahanan as the saying goes, because he's doing it so well. If I am the Mother, the light of the home, he is our foundation, strong, firm, and holding us together, as lovingly as only he can.

We miss that he works nights and for extended shifts. But through it, he does more than enough to make sure that we are a family. It's a side of him that began to emerge from our early days as a newly-wedded couple; emerged in full at Oona's birth and continues to amaze me as we continue growing through experiences and situations as a family.

Sometimes, I wonder, in a fit of nostalgic disbelief, how and why I find myself married, with a child and all but domesticated. I had no plans for this, nor did I dream of it.

Then, when I look at the two of my most beloved sleeping amidst a sea of toys, baby bottles and blankets in a glorious mess, I am thankful and relieved for this undreamed of present-future.

WELCOME TO MY BRAND NEW LAYOUT!

So will someone pop the cork from a good bottle of wine?

Hooray! Hooray!

I am SO proud! This entire blog layout was the fruit of my labors. I managed to wade through indecipherable xml and long-forgotten html for the sake of tweaking the basic Stretch Minima Template to this little baby!

I am SO good. *smugness*

Fine, for all you geeks out there, this may be nothing. But demmit, I DID IT! I shake my fist at the coding gods! I had help, of course, but in defiance of dem coding gods, I tweaked and tweaked!

WHOOOOP-DEE-DOOOOO!!!

Of course, I still have to fix the header image, but that can wait 'til I get to the other things I put off for today to finish this coding.

I am SO gooooood! Anybody want me to do their blogs now? Heehee.

BLOG MAINTENANCE GOING ON!

Sorry for the inconvenience! I'm currently wrestling with html and xml code as of the moment.

I should be done in a few hours...as soon as I finish HTML for Dummies.

Bleh.

THANKFULLY BLESSED LIST: OONA

As promised.

There, but for the grace of God, go I; as the adage goes.

I was feeling terribly down yesterday and because I refuse to totally succumb to a black mood, it got me to counting my blessings. I'll be posting this as a series as it's too long to post in one go!

1. My child.

Oona was an unexpected Christmas present.

Every time I see her antics and her four-toothed smile, I can't help but feel wonderfully, totally blessed. While maybe it's true that a child at her age can't help but love the people she's with (if they are capable of categorizing things like this at this age), babies and children in general, seem to have that infinite capacity to love.

They're so intense.

A smile, brilliant as the sun, as good as yells, I LOVE YOU! All caps, bold and underlined. With little flashing lights and a big red arrow. It's as intense when they cry, of course. But it's amazing how, when you're the focus of that smile, your whole world stops, flowers bloom and sappy as it's getting, but you can swear that angels laugh along with her.

ON A DOWN-SWING

It's been three months since I quit work. And while I refuse to give satisfaction to people who would love for me to make a mess they would glory in, I am just plain exhausted.

Exhausted, that most of the hard work we put into ventures and people gave us poor returns and betrayals. Exhausted, that there doesn't seem to be a pay-off in sight. Exhausted, that our budget needs augmenting but there's nothing from my end coming in yet and the bills folder on my desk is beginning to burn. Exhausted, that there's nothing I can do about it for the most part.

I know. This too shall pass.

I'm trying my darnest best to stay positive and keep the faith. But sometimes, I am so near to losing it. People aren't always as nice and generous of heart as we'd love to think. This is not an ideal world where neighbors greet each other by name because they really like each other. Kids can't play on the streets without fear of getting run over or swiped to white slavery by strangers for whom the death penalty is too kind for what they do. And money doesn't rain from the sky or grow from trees.

Such a morbid train of thought I have today. It's all I can do not to just bury my head in the sand, waiting for the world to show me a brighter day.

If only wishes could come true at a time like this. I suppose though, there would be a price to pay for it, just so the universe would be in balance.

Hay, susme. Why do we always wax philosophical when we're in the pits?

Anyhoo, there are a lot of things I truly am grateful and thankful for. Indeedy. But today, I'll indulge my melancholy for a bit.

Tomorrow is soon enough to list all the nice things I'm blessed with.

Tomorrow.

PARTY PREPS: THE CHURCH THING

Picking out the church was easy.

St. John Bosco Parish was a stone's throw away from our house. We liked its simple, peaceful ambiance. There was none of the garish, overwhelming religiosity we aren't too fond of.

On the practical side, there was a parking lot near the entrance and no steep stairs. The church wasn't so big either so it wasn't going to be a long walk to the front pews or anywhere we needed to be. It was perfect for our older, arthritic relatives who we knew would want to be there when Oona was baptized at the church font. After all, they've been waiting for this for a long time now. Tradition, tradition.

Waking up early for us non-morning people wouldn't be a problem either as it took all of ten minutes to walk from the house to the church. Squeezing in an extra few minutes of precious sleep on a weekend would be great! It reminded me of childhood grousing when Sunday church was mandatory. Hehe. Tradition, tradition!

Officially on paper, we were only able to have two principal sponsors, one living just around the corner and another who could arrive early for the required seminar on Sunday before the mass. We weren't sure if proxies are allowed.

As per requirements, we had to book two weeks before the Sunday date we wanted (the only day baptisms are done). As luck would have it, the schedule fell on a long weekend (when everyone's supposed to be out of town) so we weren't even sure if all the godparents could come.

I was too chicken to ask if we could add more names to the church list of godparents later on. I'm sorry to say that the lady in the church office was so forbidding and dismissive that I just wanted to pay the fees and get out as fast as I could.

At home, que horror! I found that Church Lady botched the schedule on the receipt by TWO DAYS. I was afraid we'd get kicked out of the church if we showed up and we weren't on the registry. We had to go back to have it fixed, and I had RF talk to her instead. Her kung-fu was no match for my Mr. F!

We didn't add more names to the church list anymore. We agreed that paper is just paper anyway and the more important stuff regarding Oona's platoon of fairy oddparents were already taken care of. They all know what it's about and that was that.

Yes, we'd rather Oona grow up to think and decide for herself what spiritual path she is called to follow.

For now, however, living in a predominantly Catholic society has its downside. Without the required certificates from the required ceremonies to give you an identity, you're prone to run into a lot of legal hassles. Rather than let Oona experience that, RF and I go through the SOP's.

Make no mistake however, our spirituality is just fine.

We believe that all blessings essentially come from a good place. The ceremony in church is given its meaning and its power from the people surrounding us, regardless of creed, predilection or physical proximity, to mark our child with blessings from their hearts.

And thus, may I not be struck by lightning with this posting.

Party Preps: THE GODPARENTS . . . er, ODD-PARENTS

Most of our friends are oddballs.

Nevertheless, we love the few that have lasted this long with us and whose level of intimacy with our lives are on the blackmail-able level. Hence, the term.

Zoning out on cartoons every so often didn't hurt either.

As inspired by Nicktoons, "The Fairly Oddparents". I think Ninang Rei would be the one with pink hair, being the pink-haired lez type. Heh!

We take the duties and responsibilities of being second parents quite seriously. For us, it means that if the entire genetic family was wiped out, leaving the kid as the only survivor, we'd be comfortable in the afterlife knowing people who are virtually family will be raising her. Pretty heavy, huh? We believe in the traditional Filipino values that dictate the role of the godparent: ensuring that the child grows up into the best person he/she can be, in mind, body and spirit.

Anyhoo, we sent the godparents' invite months ago. Of course, everyone said yes. We know not everyone was going to make it to the day itself, schedule and geographical impossibilities being the reason, but knowing Oona will be occupying a special place in their hearts and minds was enough.

Party Preps: Have Event...Will Party!

A SIMPLE CELEBRATION

RF and I wanted a simple celebration for Oona. Yes, we would've wanted games, coverage, an AVP presentation, a performer, a tarpaulin banner, fireworks...heck, the whole deal! But apart from not being in a financial standing to splurge, we know the celebrant would not even be able to remember the fun that's supposedly to be in her honor. That party would have to be when she's old enough...say, three years old.

It would also give us enough time to save up for the arm and a leg it's going to cost. Hehehe!

Call it envy of my other mommy friends. Going all out would be great but again, reality demands practicality.

So, we agreed that we'll just hold lunch for everybody at a restaurant with good food. Everyone we know enjoys satisfying meals over bongga-ciousness anyway. The bottom-line: GOOD FOOD, GOOD COMPANY, GOOD TIMES.

Then the hunt began.

We tried a couple of restaurants, thinking of a buffet lunch our guest list would enjoy. At first,
there was Jaymie's Grill along Arnaiz Rd. (which would have been convenient because it was near Don Bosco Church and our house. But the time slot we needed was unavailable.

Then we considered the Triple V Buffet Triumvirate of Kamayan, Dad's and Saisaki. No go as the nearest branch was too small to house our projected guest list (100pax). They have very good packages though. My nephew celebrated his first birthday there and the food was to die for. However, you just can't go wandering over to the other buffets that aren't included in your package. You're going to have to pay extra for hapless guests.


TGIF and Hard Rock Cafe? A real rock n' roll shebang would be SO cool! Rockin' at One Year Old! The stuff of legend...but really too steep. Ambisyosang Nanay!

It really is sad that Jo-ni's is gone. It would have been perfect to hold Oona's first party with a family tradition like Joni's. At their main branch in Makati, I remember they had a big reception area on the second floor. I wax nostalgic everytime I pass by the place. Their food was filling and delicious and their cake remains the indulgence of my childhood. To date, the building houses Citibank, an Art Gallery, a dental office, Philosophy Salon and Spa and The Cafe.

Eventually, we wound up with the tried and tested food at Max's Restaurant. Years Of Sarap To The Bones. TheTradition. Sixty House That Fried Chicken Built.

I love their house chicken and the crispy bites satisfy RF's cravings for cholesterol.

We reserved the Baptismal Party Package for lunch over the Kiddie Birthday Package.

We liked the simple elegance over the more garish theme that passes for what kids are supposedly interested in these days.

(Not to make okray but no mascots and too-bright colors for this family if I can help it.)

With a menu that would satisfy picky eaters (Soup, Kare-kare, Veggie bites, Crispy Pata, Chicken, Pancit, Rice and Leche Flan served with Softdrinks and Ice Tea), it fit our budget for a projected 100 guests with a cake, give-aways and balloons.

We knew we wouldn't be having a program as we only had three hours for the venue (they threw in an extra two hours free anyway) and everyone would be more interested in eating and catching up on each other.

So with the venue and menu picked out a few months in advance, I was sure we wouldn't be too stressed about the event itself.

Boy, was I ever so wrong.

Party Preps: Oona turns One!

So it's been a year since I went to the hospital, getting pissed at the driver and cracking up the nurses' station with my drug-induced stand-up comedy routine. God, I should be stoned more often. I was never wittier, funnier and never had a much more appreciative audience than when I was in labor.

Now, a different birthing is going on as I attempt to put together Oona's First Birthday Party and Baptismal at the same time and at the last minute.

And nope, we are not chinese.


THE BIRTH/CHRISTENING DAY

If I had a dollar (wag naman dime lang, para sosyal!) for every time I had to explain the practicality of holding the joint celebration, I'd probably have enough to cash in for the restaurant downpayment. It's been explained to me that it's mostly the Chinese who usually does this. Tradition and practicality reasons.

We just figured it was more convenient. Otherwise, we'd have just celebrated the birthday and waited until she's old enough to choose her own spiritual path. Really. However, family tradition will not be denied. Hence, a Baptism along with the birthday.

It doesn't leave a dent on our liberated views on spirituality after all. It wouldn't hurt to "officially" invoke divine blessings for the child. Besides, RF and I came from Catholicism and we've so far survived.

We also think of it as thanksgiving for Oona's first year of life on this Earth. She has given us so much joy and touched so many other people's lives.

TAG TIDBITS WITH PHOTOS

this is a tag from pheng.

participants: 1. tere-blessings in life 2. yen-me and mine 3. jody-in this game of life 4. pheng - life. love. family. work. travel. 5. laya-mommyluscious 6. your name and site here.

1. what do you want for your birthday?
nothing material although a family vacation would be nice. i would really like to be with family and friends on a beach somewhere.

2. who will be your next kiss?
oona! or daddy...sometimes they ambush me together.

3. when was the last time you went to the mall?
yesterday. met up with rizal for badminton (naubusan kami ng slot sa court) and walking (na inulan kami). ended up at starbucks, waltermart and had dinner with mommy s and jonas.

4. are you wearing socks right now?
am barefoot, barelegged and happy about it. although i AM in my pajama shorts.

5. how did you spend your summer?
i spent the summer transitioning from one workplace to another (LONG STORY), helping my former boss launch a little studio of our own and plan for the future. we went to the beach with oona for the first time (she began to enjoy the beach when she discovered water was splashy).

6. have you been to the cinema in the last 5 days?
nope. would've wanted to watch dark knight but am just leery of the hype. i don't want to be disappointed. i watched a dozen DVDs over the weekend though! oona is a really cool couch potato buddy.

7. what was the last thing you had to drink?
kalamansi juice.

8. what are you wearing right now?
shorts, white linen billowy shirt, messy hair and a determined look on my face (to finish updating everything and work on oona's birthday plans).

9. what was your last purchase?
books! at booksale, my latest addiction.

10. what was the last food you ate?
tilapia, last night's left-over fruity salad from pancake house and half a cup of rice (naks!).

11. who would be the person you would call if you were up in the middle of the night and couldn’t sleep?
RF the hubby, but there would be other auto-defaults since work could slam him with meetings for hours on end.

12. have you bought any clothing items in the last week?
seriously, i haven't bought anything in the past three months or so that could be construed as real clothing...serviceable items, most like but real clothing...none yet.

13. do you have a pet?
nope. although oona does a wonderful impersonation of a puppy, a kitten and a vocalizing bird alternatively. she does water sprite and monkey every now and then too.

14. what made you laugh in the last 5 days?
last sunday, when RF surprised oona. she was quietly rummaging happily through my bag when RF came into the room suddenly. she was so surprised she cried and clambered to RF asking to be picked up. she then proceeded to vent her fright and angst on the defenseless tissue paper she was holding on to,shredding the tissue and babbling her gulat, gigil and nerbyos! na-stress! tissue confetti snowed on the floor and i was laughing so hard, i had a stitch on my side. my poor little baby!

15. if you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?
beach. retired. and filthy rich. having family around is a given.

16. what is the last thing you purchased online?
my breast pump from pheng.

17. one thing you hate about yourself?
i wish i could shed pounds faster and my posture! kuba na ako. peste.

18. do you miss anyone?
some of my friends in other countries.

19. what are your plans for the day?
read.

20. last person you msg’d?
mae hao, saowee and rei. yep all at the same time. if jonas was online, he would be the last i messaged, hands down!

21. ever went to a camp?
nope. i went up to famy with my high school class and banahaw with my rizal class in college. does that count? oh and we had a bivouac for PE in college. it was rainy, muddy and very uncomfortable. labbet.

22. are you a good student in school?
i studied. define good.

23. what do you know about the (your) future?
i know it's exciting and largely unknown.

24. are you wearing any perfume or cologne?
eau de tilapia.

25. where is/are your best friend/s right now?
singapore and manila, they are in.


now i’m tagging yas, jonas, johnny and mec.