CieLJ Weekend: My Kind of Birthday

The last few weeks have been difficult, with the new role, transitions, migrations at work, health concerns (still finding the strength to blog about it) and some repairs due at the condo, there's just zero time for me to plan or even imagine what I want for my birthday week. I waited too long, and as expected, all the good deals are gone. LJ insisted that we should still try to get a good vacation, so I went back to Google and searched for possible options. With just one week to go, I entertained the idea of us just driving someplace na pwede kami tumunganga, both of us just really want to rest and eat good food... at tumunganga :) 

So here's what we came up with... semi-road trip to the South :) 

I said 'semi' because it was basically a free and easy drive, if we want to stop we will stop, if we want to keep on driving we can. Absolutely no pressure to stop at the regular touristy pitstops. 

Woke up early (well at least, by our standards) on the day of my birthday, took care of the laundry and packed our bags. We were out the door at around 1030-ish. 

12pm we visited Greenfield, Sta Rosa to check out the progress at Solen. You can read back about Solen here. We are very excited with the idea that we will eventually be moving to a house. So many design ideas are crossing our head, but we still have time to figure that out, so those scrap images are reserved for Pinterest for now. 

CieLJ Weekend: Theme Park Edition

LJ recently celebrated his 30th, and instead of having a party we packed our bags and decided to head back to Singapore and tour some parks! We are getting old, so we didn't fill our schedule to the brim like the last time, but I'll be posting suggested side trips as well just in case you guys are interested. 

Day 1: Chill, Zoo, Chill 

Well that was the plan, but then it became... got lost... Singapore Zoo.. aaand we got lost again, LOL! 

We left Manila at around 5am. Fearing that he won't get to drop-by Duty Free when we get back, he went ahead and started his shopping even before we got on-board. 

I came home late from the office the night before and had to finish packing so I got zero sleep. I spent the 4 hour flight snoozing while LJ tries to keep me from rolling to the floor. 

We checked in at Value Hotel Thomson near the corner of Thomson Rd and Ballister. It's quite a long walk from the MRT and I wouldn't recommend this for tourists, especially if you have kids, unless you plan to take the taxi everywhere or you know how to take the bus since the bus stops are nearer. You can read my full review and the room photos here.

Tip: If you are planning to explore the city on your own, you could get the tourist pass card or a regular ez-link card. It's easier than having the need to prepare change. We have ours from two years ago, and just added credits once we got to Changi.  

On our first day, we got acquainted with the bus system and we failed miserably. After a couple of attempts we got to the Singapore Zoo, finally! 

Make-up Pick-me-up!

Etude is currently on sale, so I decided to swing by Megamall while LJ was spending a couple of hours at the gym. He allowed me to go alone with the condition that 1. I get back in time so we can still got to the Themes and Motifs’ Bridal fair and 2. I’ll get him some Spam Jam Musubi, deal!

The goal is to just go to Megamall, hoard Etude products and then get back home to finish some wedding planning… well I got a bit side tracked… hehe!

Wedding Duties: 3 month Stretch

It's three months to go until the 3am call time. Our major suppliers are booked, but now comes the hard part -- details. 

tybinc.com

Kitty vs Zombie

I didn't want to force LJ to come with me to the Gift Gate Sale knowing that they will most likely have girly stuff so I dragged Gina instead. LJ decided that he's ok with tagging along, but if he gets bored, he'll just wait for us somewhere once we were done. Deal!

Long Weekend Kikay Stops

Since we are saving up, and we also missed the fact that it’s a super long weekend, we didn’t have anything special planned. We just went to the mall like it's any other weekend, except this time I was on a mission to get some beauty loot to update my stash. 

First stop, dropped by the Etude House. I figured you can't go wrong with a store over-flowing with pink. 

Happy Bundle, Happy CieLJ!

We know this treat is good for 4 people, but we EAT like 4 people, so just the same, we welcome McDonalds Happy Bundle!

There are 2 Happy Bundles available

Happy Bundle A (Php495)

Life as a Comedy

We’ve dedicated a couple of weeks to complete the church requirements. Who knew that such paperwork could cause this much anxiety? I was prepared to go through constant worry because of LJ’s documents, but I felt blind sided by the troubles caused by mine. 

Thank God for friends who helped us get through the strain! 

We also celebrated LJ’s birthday week as he inches his way towards the big 3-0, I can’t wait!   

One

Get Cie’s Confirmation Certificate – check! 

Mother of Good Counsel Parish

Rainy morning in Pacita

Altar of the MGC
Daddy's trademark ceiling design =D

Proud daughter of one of the architects =D

Two

Attempt to get a copy of Cie’s Baptismal Certificate – Fail! 

Parish of Our Lady of the Abandoned/ Nuestra Señora delos Desamparados

OLA's Facade

Altar of OLA

Things didn't work out, so we decided to eat our sorrows away. 

Braved through the rains and went to YellowCab Eastwood

We got some good news that evening,

though not related to our papers, but it was something

that was truly an unexpected blessing

Three

Canonical Interview – check!

Mary the Queen Parish

paperwork! paperwork!

despite being nervous, we honestly enjoyed this

Four

Tummy Break - yahoo! 

Krispy Kreme

we felt we deserved a sweet treat... 

LJ partnered it with Pepsi Max for less sugar, LOL

Burgoo’s

we both loved our dinner that evening,

LJ had some pork chops,

I decided to go with the Cream Dory Milanese

it's true that during difficult times, 

the universe will always send something your way that will make you smile, 

make you appreciate the little things that you would otherwise ignore

there was this kid asking for money while we were riding the bus home

instead of the usual brown envelopes, 

she handed this...

we told the kid that it was a nice drawing, 

she offered to leave an envelope with us,

even picked out the nicest one

this is now in our vision board,
a reminder of simple kindness and generosity ",)

Five

Wedding Planning Mode – sows! 

Krispy Kreme

messy table, hard at work?

we stayed so long, we got the free donuts!

Six

Express Dinner – sa wakas! 

Goldilocks

just to make you understand the excitement,

LJ NEVER, EVER wants to eat here.

While I'm the ultimate fan of their dinuguan, 

so there, happiness! ",)

Seven

Movie Date – luv! 

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Best seen with our fave movie snacks, 

Tater's popcorn and Slammer Burgers!

We enjoyed watching this movie, 

even though I've never read the book, 

I'm no history geek, and 

vampire movies scares the heck out of me.

Eight

LJ’s Kumpil Express – check!

thank you to the Ninong and Ninang. ",)

LJ’s Confirmation Certificate for Marriage purposes – Fail! 

Shrine of St Michael and the Archangels

we need to go back to add the annotation, 

we just need LJ's updated baptismal cert... 

haaay... church requirements...

to read more about getting your confirmation 

done in the Shrine of St Michael, click here

my cousin also got confirmed that day, 

they will get married this November, yey!

Nine

LJ’s Birthday Celeb – busog! 

Yakimix 

Ten

LJ’s Birthday Gift(s) – check! Dapat lang! 

with our bears as gift 'bearers' =p

ayaw daw nya laman nito, weh?! =D

guard asked if para sa bata,
tagal ko nakasagot ng...
'umm, pwe...de?'
pinoy henyo lang! =D

Eleven

Subic Bound – byahe tayo!

Olongapo/Subic Freeport

to read about our Byaheng Norte, click here

rest stops always excites me. Food!

Twelve

LJ’s Birthday Dinner – yum!

Fridays, Harbor Point

This almost didn't happen because of the bad weather that evening.

We were soaked to the bone, and the rain just didn't want to give any sign of giving up.

Buti na lang nagsawa, we were able to walk to Harbor Point before it closed.

The mall closes at 9pm, but some of the restaurants are open till 11pm. 

We had some Quesedilla, and Adobo.

Thirteen

Great Hotel Find – super check!

Mango Valley, Subic Freeport

You can read more about the rooms here, and in Trip Advisor

We passed by San Roque chapel inside Freeport.

It will be great for intimate destination weddings.

Fourteen 

Burger Craving – juicy!

Meat Plus Café, Subic Freeport

Meat Plus Burgers
two thick US Beef patties, with fries on the side

mashed potatoes
ordered additional carbs for the long day ahead

Fifteen

PX Goods Window shopping – isa syang grocery, LOL!

Freeport Exchange Duty Free Shop

sugar free juice mix for LJ to try

LJ wanted me to try Icee
hopefully they taste as good as he remembers them. 

Sixteen

LJ’s baptismal certificate – semi-fail!  

St Anthony de Padua

Nanay Lita was very nice and offered to send the docs via courier.

Seventeen

Homeboud – pagod! 

It was a weekend of pure chaos. We laughed, felt sad and cried 

(Well I did, LJ sort of umm, stared? LOL!)

but we eventually felt happy that it happened. 

This experience made us learn to draw strength from each other,

handle difficult situations with patience,

and most importantly, appreciate the simplest gesture of kindness.

It's a small reality check that you may not be the center of the universe for everyone, 

but at least you are the most important person to one. 

An affirmation that for every disappointment that happens, 

there will always be a blessing that follows...

something that can even be better. 

"Things happen for a reason," was our mantra for the week. 

With the help of friends, we think we can handle a tad more of this insanity. 

",)