Turning 37

Week before my birthday, my husband and I had a fight and was on cold war the entire week leading to my birthday. It was a petty thing but pride and unnecessary anger get in the way as always. I really didn't have any grand plans for my birthday except to escape the city for a bit while nursing a broken heart (*insert Whitney Houston song "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?") hehe. 

A day before my birthday, I raised the white flag and said sorry. I don't want to be brokenhearted forever, you know. Still, he failed to greet me on the morning of my birthday and even went out for a long ride with his bike. Again, my heart broke and proceed with the plan of escaping the city. 

With my daughters Alex and Zabbie, sisters Anne and Matet and nephew Leon in tow, we went for our greatest adventure and roadtrip so far. We took a v-hire from Mactan and another v-hire to our first stop. 

my adventure crew

First Stop: Simala

I've lived in Cebu for 20 years now and I haven't been to Simala ever. Entering Simala is like entering a different country or world. You'll be met with castle-like structure. Thousands of tourists and pilgrims flock to Simala to pay homage and offer petitions to the miraculous Virgin of Simala. It was a perfect opportunity for me to offer my gratitude to the Virgin Mary for another year in my life and for the blessings received all these years. I also raised my personal petition of letting me patch up differences with my husband.

Simala

Simala

Second Stop: Tingko Beach, Alcoy

Since we've been on an adventure mode, we decided to head further down south to Tingko Beach in Alcoy. Despite being very accessible and just along the highway, I haven't been to this beach as well. Tingko Beach boasts of powdery sand and crystal clear blue waters. The weather was cooperating as it was really bright and sunny. While there are a lot of locals and tourists hanging out by the beach, we still enjoyed the beach nonetheless. The kids had a blast playing in the sand and was even complaining why we have to leave early like two hours after. 

quick dip

having a blast

At around 4pm, we decided to end our adventure and waited for the next ride back home. If not for the almost 3-hour traffic in San Fernando on our way back, it would have been really an awesome roadtrip. We reached home past 10pm and celebrated what's left of my birthday with my parents. 

My husband? He had other plans on my birthday and celebrated on his own. Duh!

Happy 37th Self!!! Here's to more roadtrips and adventures!!!

My Online Shop

Not known to all, I also maintain an online shop in Facebook called UKAY CEBU which I started almost 2 years ago with my sisters. It's a shop for preloved and ukay items such as clothes, shoes, bags, belts etc. The idea was inspired by the The Fab Grab at Multiply who also sells second hand and ukay clothes. With a thousand pesos in our wallet, we bought several items in Carbon, took pictures with Magee as the model and upload them in Facebook. It was well accepted by some friends and our Batch 1 was SOLD OUT in less than a week. We'll, that's how we started and the rest they say is history. 

The shop is now on its Batch 66. I admit that there were times when I really get frustrated especially when the shop still has a lot of unsold items. It's really a risk but usually we would just give them away or keep them for ourselves. Most days, we get lucky to have sold the entire batch. We don't really care much about the profit -- we're not even keeping a record of our expenses versus income. The most important thing is that we're enjoying what we do despite the risks. It's also like a bonding session with my sisters. You just imagine our excitement while waiting for the bundle to be opened. And we have so much fun during styling and photoshoots. We share the load as well --- somebody will take care of the ironing the clothes, the photographer, post process the photos and uploading in Facebook. Somebody also takes care of the kitchen to make sure that we're not working on an empty stomach. It's what we call "division of labor". Afterall, we also share the benefits --- the model gets to have one free item of her choice, it's where we get my siblings' daily allowance and it takes care of my daily ride to and from the office. 

We also get to meet new friends. Everyday, we get several friend requests from people we don't even know.  We now have more than 700 friends in Facebook --- some we know and others are merely strangers. We try as much to get to know them especially during meet ups and some of them would really come back and purchase again. 

It's not really our bread and butter as we maintain full time jobs but this hobby turned business keeps our sanity in tacked and has served as a stress-reliever. Whenever we hear the word "ukay", everything seems to  brighten up and we always look forward to that weekend ukay adventure. 

Click the link below to visit our online shop:

McDonald's Kiddie Crew 2012

This is the first time that I let my eldest daughter Alex joined McDonald's Kiddie Crew Summer Program this year. She has been complaining about being bored this summer. I don't really enroll my kids to summer class/activity as I want them to rest and not be bothered with waking up early and attend summer school. Plus, it's also the time when my wallet takes a breather from spending.

McDonalds Kiddie Crews Lapulapu Branch

Anyway, after some begging I finally gave in and enrolled her to this 5-day program. She gets to experience being a McDonald's crew through the on-floor training and on top of that, they also have fun activities like arts and crafts. I think the best thing about this program is that they get to meet new friends. I had the biggest surprise coz I was able to meet my highschool batchmate after 16 years during the culminating activity. She also enrolled her kid and they were in the same batch. 

After 16 years, I met up with my highschool batchmate Jaqueline

Yesterday was their graduation at Ayala Center Cebu which was attended by more than a thousand kiddie crews. The event was hosted by Jackielou Blanco. There were also some entertainment courtesy of Cebu All Star Cheering Squad and of course the McDonalds Mascots. I had to skip attending our PAS board meeting to attend this event...mommy duties come first! I had to drag along the younger sibling as well for her to enjoy the event with her ate. I'm thinking of enrolling her in next year's workshop. 

I just had to react to a post in facebook about a parent who do not want to enroll her kids to this program because "she wants her kids to be thinkers and makers instead of workers". I don't think that's the main purpose of this program. Yes, they were being trained how to be a crew but that doesn't mean, they will be a crew in future. We cannot dictate nor predict what the future holds for our children. This "careless" FB shout-out is quite an insult to 1000++ parents who enrolled their kids to this program. Enough said!

DAY 16: WHAT DO PEOPLE NOTICE ABOUT YOU?

Those who I haven't seen in years would usually notice how much I've gained in terms of size. I think that's one of the reasons why I loathe reunions. Seeing old friends or classmates and they just look at you in shock and even blurt out loud how huge you are. Even in my FB photos, some are just plain rude leaving comments like "oi grabe naman ka kadako". Well, that's quite obvious and you don't have to tell it to my face. 

Aside from my weight, people also take notice of the new stuff I wear like a new dress or a new pair of shoes. Sometimes, I get lucky to receive some compliments from them. 

So, I guess that's what people usually notice about me...I am not really attention-seeker so most of the time, people just look past me. 

DAY 15: WHAT DO YOU DISLIKE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF?

Well, there’s a lot really. In fact, I’m not really a big fan of myself…

For starters, I admit that I am a pessimist. I sweat out the small stuff to the point of being nega all the time. Although, I don’t really blurt out the negativity into the open and sometimes I just keep all the nega vibes all to myself. 

I am pretentious in a sense that I hide what I feel to avoid hurting other people or stirring up a fight or destroying a relationship. I don’t like this about myself because it’s like there’s a huge ball that’s stuck inside my throat and it’s making me hard to breathe. 

I am a bitch. Yes, I could be a bitch for the right reasons but it’s something that I am not really comfortable with. I am known to being maldita in the office and I hate it that people distance themselves from me because of that. Being maldita is a wall that I build around myself so people will not hurt me or will keep it easy on me. 

I am very generous to the extent of leaving nothing for myself. Yeah, it's okay to be generous but sometimes I give out too much that I am placed in a situation where I am left with nothing. 

I think these are the things that I really hate about myself. I try as much to change these bad traits if you would call it but I'm taking it one step at a time. 

Thank You 2011

It's the time of the year once again when we bid goodbye to one good year and say hello to another year.

2011 was a mixed of happiness, pain, drama, stress, struggles, success, celebrations, hellos and goodbyes. I mentioned in my 2010 post that 2011 will be all about RUNNING. And yes, it was a wonderful running journey and despite the negative stuff, I still survived the year and have a lot of things to be grateful about.

Survived being PAS President and left a good mark to the association (I guess...)

Traveled to the beautiful Palawan and Bohol with my loved ones

Having healthy and beautiful children

Having a loving and supportive husband

Healed past wounds and nurtured friendships

Though the year sucks in many ways, I am still hopeful that everything will be great with God's constant guidance. I am still a work in progress and there's still so much room for improvement. 

...and now here's my wish for myself and everyone I love from the words of no less than, Neil Gaiman

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.

…I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you’ll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you’ll make something that didn’t exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind." -- New Year's Benediction by Neil GaimanCHEERS TO 2012!!!

Day 11: Who Can't You Live Without?

For now, I can't live without my husband, my children, my sisters and brother and my parents. But I know, someday they will leave me but my world doesn't end there. But for the purpose of this post, I cannot imagine what my daily routine would be without these two "kasambahay" - Anna and Tina.

Prodigal Blogging Daughter Is Back...With Rants & Raves!

I am back to writing again in this blog site and I’m taking a break from facebook for a while. I posted in my FB status “…will be on silent mode until further notice!” I feel that the more I linger in FB, the more I get lazy and leave things unfinished. So, I am reviving my love for writing and blogging. After all, blogging really helps me release whatever emotions I am feeling right now. Just allow me to release them here...

 

The past week has been toxic with my trip to Manila to attend the PAS National Convention, our Cebu Chapter AP Week Activities and some work-related issues. I was a walking zombie with dark circles under my eyes due to lack of sleep. My laptop and sun wireless broadband have been my best friends as I was answering emails nonstop and working on presentations like mad for our PAS activities. Then there were the speeches to prepare. I admit I am not good at impromptu speaking so I have to have something to read to guide me through. Then, there were coordination with committees, purchasing errands and some decisions to make. At work, our GM has questions that I cannot answer and it’s such a shame because I am supposed to know. We have issues with office maintenance, office expansion and government compliance. At the home front, I have some domestic duties left behind such as the enrollment of my daughter. SIGH! I tried as much to remain calm and composed amidst all these. I said to myself that I am made of strong stuff and that I will survive this.

 

But I guess I reached my rock bottom when I have to deal with people issues. I just lost it and broke down in tears in front of my husband while reading through an email sent to me by a fellow PASer. It was for me the last straw and I feel all my strength being sucked up. I told my husband that cannot do this anymore and that I cannot work effectively with people who hate me. But I got the shock of all shock because he was encouraging me to just let it pass. Until now, I still receive the cold treatment, the raised eyebrows and probably the talks behind my back but I will continue to endure. People you consider friends will hate you, will turn their backs on you, will ignore you but the world doesn’t’ end there. I still cry every now and then reading over that email and mourn over a lost friendship but I look forward to that day when I can no longer shed a single tear. 

Well, so much for these drama... uuhhmm yeah...the prodigal blogging daughter is back. I hope my reader of two (or three) will welcome me again into their browsers.

Oh Hello There!

Dear Reader of Two (or Three maybe),

All apologies for the extensive blog hiatus. Life happens and I was caught in between realities and responsibilities.  Although, I blame facebook and tumblr for taking over my blogging time. So many stories to tell, so many dramas to share and so many dreams to chase BUT allow me to compose them one by one… will be blogging soon! ... and hopefully this blog gets some pampering and a make-over. (crossing fingers)

Stay tuned will yah!?

xoxo,

momgoddess

An Open Letter to the Office Aircon/s

Dear A/C,

Why do you make my work such hellish?

One time, you release some foul smell and crazy sound to the disgust of our employees. On rainy days, you drip buckets of water like it’s also raining inside the office. Sometimes, you refuse to work like some lazy ass. What is wrong with you? Our life in the office depended much upon your performance and yet you don’t perform as expected. We expect you to be cool on a hot Cebu weather and yet you carry out the other way around. Are we negligent on our responsibility towards you? I don’t think so. Among other office equipment, you are one that’s pampered the most. You often get spa treatment from Alenaire on a regular basis.

I’m sick and tired of complaints filed against you. There were times when I want to squeeze the life out of you. Why don’t you just speak up and tell everyone including the bosses of what’s wrong. From now on, I refuse to fight your battles and I will no longer be at your defense.

If only we could live without you, I would have chosen a ceiling fan over you. You’re such a big disappointment to the aircon family. Now, why don’t you get your acts together before I’ll ask HR to issue your termination notice? And I think I’m going crazy ALL because of you.

Love and hate,

Your Facility Guy

FT... My Fun Escape

There came a point when I really loathed Facebook. It became the source of my frustrations and insecurities. At first, I got excited because it made me hooked up with old friends and classmates but I saw things in there that broke my heart. I don’t wanna go into details though. But lately, Facebook particularly Farmtown has become a wonderful escape from reality. If I really want to forget my worries for a while, I visit my farm and busy myself plowing, planting, harvesting and buying items at the market as if it’s for real. There are times when I wish I could just stay in my farm forever. Most Farmtown addicts would agree with me that you lost track of time whenever you’re in your farm. I also take some time to visit my neighbor’s farms and gaze in awe at how lovely their farms are. If only I have so much time in my hands, I could create a farm like theirs. But I’m getting there one day at a time.

Here’s a virtual photo of me in my farm. Cute noh?

Being Human

There are days when you just want to shout and release all pent-up emotions that have been in the pipeline ready to explode. I just did! It was tough and it was rough. Painful words just spew out of the mouth like tongues of fire burning whoever gets hit. I am not confrontational and I talk in between tears which made me lose the battle most of the time. But I could be honest and I couldn’t keep my feelings for long. I just detonate in no time. If I am misunderstood, well I’m sorry, I am only human. I bleed when I know, see and feel something’s not right. I am just thankful for the tons of work at hand which I considered a welcome distraction.

I know I’ve been surrounded by negative vibes lately and it’s doing me no good. Well, I guess everyone goes through some rough phase sometimes. I wish the coming days will bring me some droplets of positivity. I couldn’t stand being this way forever.

I'm Tired

This week has been a stressful one with Zabbie getting sick, some issues with the hubby and some inner struggle with self. I know I’ve been sweating the small stuff and I admit that I am to be blamed as well. I allowed myself to be stressed, to be hurt, to be fragile, and to be the sensitive one.

I just want to escape from all the negativity that’s sucking me whole. And I want to feel numb from all the pain. I wish I could do that without disappearing from the face of the earth.

Please say a prayer for me.