Of Shopping, Birthdays & Realizations

Shopped Until We Dropped!

When everybody was off to some weekend getaway last Friday, I was waiting for Peter to finish his shift so we can start enjoying our weekend as well. We didn’t have anything planned except to do our errands and attend a birthday party. Actually, I forgot there was  even a long weekend.  I was totally out of the loop. I only realized it when everyone was talking about it on Plurk. Anyway, last Friday, I mentioned on Plurk that I was craving for toast. I was just thinking of buying a loaf of wheat bread at Pan De Manila located near Toyota here in Alabang. But I guess, we must have been hibernating for so long coz we didn’t know that Pan de Manila is no longer there. It was replaced by some weird barbeque  shop that we don’t even know. Sigh. We checked West Gate to see which restos were already open as early as 9am. UCC was open but I didn’t like their menu that much. Beside it was Cafe Breton. Their crepes are always fun to eat so that’s where we had breakfast instead.

I think I must have been cloistered in the house for so long that I just felt like being out for a while, soaking in the sun and looking at the view around me. It was delightful. Even if I was ready to hit the sack, I managed to stay awake. But our little rendezvous didn’t stop there. As soon as Festival Mall opened at 10am, we went in, just to see what’s on sale. I really had no plans of splurging or anything. After all, I am just always at home these days. Why would I buy clothes or new shoes, right? I am actually giving away / selling some of my stuff that I don’t use/never got to use. Good thing that there was nothing worth buying, no matter how affordable they were. Until… we went inside this boutique shop that I like, 248. I have always loved their apparel coz it’s so me. So guess what I did when I found out that they were selling everything at a 20% discount? I bought 12 new dresses from that shop alone!  They are mostly just casual & beach dresses that I can turn into a hip party attire.

And from there, my resolve not to shop went downhill. I got two more dresses from  The Flower Collection (they’re 70% off!), 2 pairs of  funky leggings and a glitzy cap from YRYS and 3 pairs of shoes from People are People (I got the ones not on sale coz they’re prettier than those on sale).  Peter also got some stuff for himself and for Sam. Don’t ask me anymore how much  we spent. I guess this weekend alone, we must have shelled out ten effing k. Ugh. I hate sales! (yeah, right!)

So that’s that. We went home around 4pm last Friday, watched a bit of Supernatural then went to sleep.

Happy Birthday, Ces!

Ces, Me & Peter

Come Saturday, I had so many errands planned for that day. I was supposed to wake up at 11am  so I can go visit my ortho and get my retainers, go to my folks’ place then party come evening with my girlfriends. But I must have been so tired from all the shopping that I woke up at 3:30 pm!  Therefore, no more time for errands.  Tsk, tsk.  I had my new friend, Pie, come over our house instead so we can do a little catching up before Peter and I leave for the night. It was so fun! She was telling me  all sorts of stories while I ironed my hair and did my make up. It felt like a  little scene back in high school.  You know, when I used to have my gfs come over inside my bedroom and we’ll just be chatting about boys and stuff that teenage girls chat about. Hehehe. Thanks for coming over, Pie! I had a great time talking with you. Next time, I’ll have Peter prepare some coffee for you. He makes the most delicious coffee concoctions.

L: Ninette & Irene; R: Dette & Ces

Ces, Ninette & Me

At 6:30 pm, Peter and I headed to Eastwood. We picked up Ninette from her house along the way and had Peter buy a Belle de Jour Power Planner as a birthday gift for Ces. I was so looking forward to a nice, fun evening with the girls. Ces celebrated her 33rd birthday and in attendance were her  closest of friends — Me, Peter, Irene & Vicente (who came with their baby Tiger), Dette (who came with her bf Dexter) and Ninette. We first went to BED for appetizers then transfered to PASTO for the main course. We also went window shopping afterwards as there were so many tiangges in the area.

L-R: Dexter, Dette, Ces, Ninette, Me, Peter & Irene lounging at BED 

 L-R: Dette, Irene, Ces, Ninette & Me before we left PASTO

We saw VJ Iya doing a shoot while Angel Aquino  manned her own tiangge. It was really nice to be out and window shopping. I just wished I didn’t wear my killer shoes that night.  I wasn’t expecting to do some walking. But as the saying goes,”no pain, no gain”. That’s the stuff you pay for following those stupid trends. My shoes were just so pretty, what can a kikay girl do? Argh.

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Siquijor - Cambugahay Falls - St. Isidore Church & Convent - Balete Tree

For those who wish to see the start of my Siquijor travelogue, do check these posts first:

Getting There

Guiwanon Spring Park Resort

~~~oOo~~~

After our side trip to Guiwanon Park, Kuya Romeo brought us to the resort. We checked-in at Agripino Hotel, went up to our room, freshened up a bit and in less than 30 minutes, we were back downstairs to continue with our tour. Below are four more of the tourist spots we visted on our first day in Siquijor:

St. Isidore Labradore Parish Church

St. Isidore Labradore Convent

This convent is said to be Philippine’s largest convent. It was built by the Spaniards in 1884. It is believed to have been the vacation house for the priests of the Diocese in those times. 

Today, nobody seems to live there anymore or at least it looked that way when we visited the place. According to Kuya Romeo, our tricycle driver/tour guide, seldom do priests go there anymore. It looked kind of eerie from where we stood. I wonder if the ghosts of dead priests haunt the place at night?

 Cambugahay Falls

The location of the falls is quite secluded and relatively unexplored, just approximately 2 km. outside the town of Lazi. After parking the tricycle, we paid Php10.00 for the parking fee. There were also some vendors selling gatorade (Php45.00), bottled iced tea and softdrinks (Php35.00) and bottled water (Php30.00). I suggest you buy some coz the trek  back  up will leave you breathless. We crossed the street and went down several steps (135 steps to be exact) before we finally saw this very beautiful work of nature.

Even halfway down, you can already take a peek at the turquoise waters and hear the rushing sound of the falls below. It was quite a sight and the water was very inviting. Both Peter and I took a dip. They said the water was refreshing. It being cold was indeed delightful but it also smelled a little off. I wished I brought my aqua shoes with me. The feeling of mud, rocks and moss on my feet was quite icky. 

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Not My Ordinary Weekend

Below is the account of my weekend. It took a while for me to post it coz since Monday, I’ve been “busy” with other more important things… things that I did not conisder important before  like plain everyday habits that control my life – that of taking care of my thoughts (mind), my feelings (heart), my integrity (myself.) I’ve also been busy writing and reading about things that can empower and bring joy to people like me. And with Peter’s guidance and wisdom, I have been constantly invigorated and inspired. Anyway, my weekend was kind of unusual for me. But it did bring me great joy. And for me, that’s what’s important.

Braces are Off

Yep. Last Saturday, Peter and I went to St. Luke’s to go see my orthodontist. I had my braces taken off at last! It has long been overdue and I can no longer bear the pain (plus the fact that I didn’t get the final casting role for a TV commercial because of it). The most important thing is that my bite has been corrected (thank God!)  and there’s no danger of locking my jaw anymore. Yay! So, to celebrate, we pigged out at Teriyaki Boy afterwards. We were both craving for Japanese food. It always makes us feel happy. It’s also been so long since we last visited their branch along Tomas Morato.

On the way there, we saw Xaymaca celebrating their anniversary. Too bad we were not in the mood to go reggae partying. Tsk, tsk. It will be their last anniversary party coz I’ve heard that the place is gonna be closing down soon.  I hope it’s not true. If it is, I wonder where will Brownman Revival now play every Friday? Anyway, before we headed home, we dropped by Metrowalk again and bought DVDs then stopped at the nearest gas station from our place to buy ice cream. Hehehe. Movie nights, here we come!

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Another Lesson in Gratitude

The following story entitled Make Thankfulness Happen was forwarded to me via email by one of my bestfriends, Irene. The whole time I was reading it, I was thinking of my husband, Peter. Naturally, I emailed it to him. Between the two of us, he is the more grateful one, especially these days when I sometimes feel so lost and confused. Peter is my pillar, my strength, my joy and my hope. I dedicate this story to him. And to Irene, thank you for sending me this email. It has put my current woes to rest and it has made my heart thankful to God for everything that he has given us. We’ve come a long, long way. And I am made aware once again that God will never forsake us. After all, we are created in His image and likeness and we deserve the best things that life has to offer.

 P.S. When I checked my email after a couple of minutes, I found this reply from Peter which totally turned me to mush. He is really the sweetest…

  I love you Jen. For whatever mistakes and faults I know I have and even those I am yet unaware of, I am still wondering to this day how lucky I am to have you in my life.That in itself gives me loads to be thankful for.It’s been a great 9 years and it only takes a few minutes of looking back to see that. From the dark and dinky room in Pasay I had to put you in for a few months, to finding some bliss in Bliss, to our tiny little condo on the wrong side of the tracks in Makati all the way to those trying times in the house in Bulacan, to our first real home together in QC, and now here…There have been no steps back. We’ve grown and improved our life and  no matter how difficult things may get, my gratitude for all that’s past keeps me hopeful for things that are to come. I am of course most hopeful that all through the next decades of our life together, you’ll always be there to hold my hand. And while I cannot promise to be a perfect husband, as no man could, I do swear that I will always hold yours. I love you Jen, for reasons I cannot imagine to know. I’m just glad that I do, with all my heart, beyond my mind and greater than my soul.”

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Siquijor - Guiwanon Spring Park Resort

Thank God we arrived in this mystical island in one piece! The journey going here has been laden with so much anxiety! But at this point, Peter and I were ready to start enjoying ourselves. Like I said in my previous post, we were supposed to check-in at Coral Cay Resort. However, the kind tricycle driver, Kuya Romeo, suggested that if we are after a nice beach where we can sunbathe, Hotel Agripino at Salagdoong Beach is the best place to be!  It was a bit farther than Coral Cay though. So instead of a 20-minute tricycle ride from the port, it took us almost an hour to get to Hotel Agripino and the whole ride cost us Php500.00 instead of only Php300.00. Normally, if you rent a tricycle from the tourism office, it will cost you Php600. But since Kuya Romeo is nice, he gave us a discount. To make it even better, he offered to give us a package tour instead. Inclusive of our trip from the port,  the tour  for the  rest of the day cost us only Php1000.00. I think that is already cheap enough considering that Siquijor is quite a huge island as compared to Camiguin which you can literally tour in just an hour (which reminds me I still have yet to share with you our trip to Camiguin…). 

Siquijor Provincial Tourism Office

Telephone #: (035) 344-2088, 480-9173

Hotel Agripino: (+63) 09102002552

Cottages: (+63) 09187714714

Email: tourismsiquijor@yahoo.com

 

Moving on, our first stop was at  Guiwanon Spring Park located in Luyang, Siquijor. It was on the way to our hotel so it was practical to explore the area right then instead of going back there at a much later time.  Kuya Romeo parked his tricycle at the side of the road. I was hesitant to leave the tricycle AND our baggage at first, for fear that he might just run off with them. Yes, I am paranoid that way. But according to Peter and his horde, he was a good person so we trusted him. We crossed the street and stepped down on its wooden ladder leading to the wooden bridge. It was around 12:00 noon of November 1. Kuya Romeo said that the entrance fee is only Php10.00. However, nobodywas there to take our payment. Everyone must be either at the cemetery or at home praying for their beloved  departed while here we were doing this trip. Hehehe. It was a bit  eerie at first. But after passing by the first main hut, I was already enjoying myself. 

As we traversed the sturdy wooden bridge, we saw several huts  nestled on trees and pitched on stilts standing on sand and seawater.

Mangroves were all around us.  It was so peaceful and beautiful. Even if it was the middle of the day,  I couldn’t help but still wear my jacket for the air was so fresh and the  breeze was so cool.

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