Friends

We had a surprise birthday celebration for a friend's 50th birthday. It was a heartwarming get together with friends I grew up with.

I always look forward to our get togethers. Even though it doesn't happen often, we usually just pick up where we left off. That's what decades of friendship entails.

During his thank you speech, my friend said he suspected something was going to happen. He was told to wear running clothes because that's where the family was doing this afternoon. He thought there might be a get together with us since we're all in the same area. He was surprised to see relatives from far away and his colleagues. It was a big happy surprise. 

Happy birthday, Denz! We hope you enjoy our gift!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Throwback Thursday: June Double Birthdays

I never expected that Sweetie and Miggy's birthday would happen back to back. We've been celebrating it as a family for almost two decades now. We do it usually with family, but it's just us the past ten years and sometimes with friends. 

The boys don't like huge parties, so the smaller the celebration the better. This year we went on a day trip. It's been 3 years since we went on any kind of trip. We just couldn't leave anytime because of our fur babies. 

June 2010

Whatever way we celebrate, it's been an annual tradition to eat noodles and give toys as gifts. That started 16 years ago and the boys enjoy opening their gifts. Sometimes it deviates when they want something useful, but toys usually work :)

If it's just the three of us celebrating, we dine out. We tried traveling after the pandemic, but that's how we all got COVID-19 for the first time. We were stuck with someone very sick in-flight. A week after we were all very sick. And that's another reason why we haven't been traveling. 

What's most important for us is to be together on this special day :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Road Trip!

I've wanted to go on a roadtrip for awhile now. There's been no good time for it since we're busy with other things. Last Saturday, I asked the boys if they wanted to go out of town. We were undecided since Typhoon Francisco was set to arrive.

We made the decision to proceed on Monday night since the weather forecast showed a low chance of rain. We left around 9 in the morning on Tuesday and took the short trip to Tagaytay. We headed first to eat brunch at Bag of Beans. The usual branch from Twin Lakes we used to visit moved to their own place. It's now called Charito and Antonio Bag of Beans which overlooks the Splendido area. 

After brunch, we headed to Sonya's Garden to buy some bread. We also love eating there, but since it's been 3 years since we last visited Tagaytay we split our time across what we wanted to see. Well, we spent more at Sonya's than for brunch since we got some pasalubong for our friends (haha). We agreed we won't wait long to go back, haha. 

And then we went to our other favorite place, Mahogany Market, to buy fruits, veggies and some plants. We got dragon fruit, banana, avocado and dalandan. I was happy to buy some dalandan so I can make my annual Spanish adobo. Sweetie got some veggies since my kitchen is open again (it's not so hot anymore to cook!). 

I managed to control myself and just got "a few" plants, haha. Just some marigold and Gumamela (hehe). I'll try to re-pot them in the next few days. We're starting to look like a jungle now. Mom would be pleased. 

Going on a road trip felt like a reset. We all needed it since we've been busy with home and health stuff. It's a never ending cycle, so it was a good break. We couldn't do overnight trips anymore since we have 8 fur kids who will get mad at us. A whole day trip to Tagaytay is a good idea. Maybe next month we could go to Binan again to buy some Chef RV goodies! 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Assembling a Quilted Bag

I'm still working on my yellow bag. It's as big as this quilted tote bag I made back in 2021. I just want something that will bring sunshine when I move around. 

Read to quilt and assemble!

I've been amiss with editing my sewing vids. I've just gotten so lazy with editing and taking videos. One day I'll get to it. In the meantime, we'll celebrate my Dad's birthday today. He would have been 93 years old. 

Happy birthday Dad! We love and miss you!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Throwback Thursday: Mom's Last Birthday with Dad

We celebrated Mom's birthday the other day. We did her favorite things to do: go to the bank, eat comfort food and did groceries. I took a look back at how she celebrated it 15 years ago. I realized it was the last time she celebrated when Dad was still around. Little did we know, we'd lose him a month after. 

Mom always loved having friends around. She had a gazillion friends from our neighborhood. I was looking at our photos and realized we also lost some of her friends the past few years. It's sad to also lose the extended titos and titas you grew up with. 

It was also the last Christmas we were complete. Both Ate and Kuya came home to celebrate Christmas together. We were never complete after that and had fragmented Christmas celebrations. Kuya and I would even have Mom celebrate Christmas with me in Singapore and she'd do New Year in Jakarta. Mom always complained she didn't want to leave her plants alone, haha. 

Mom wouldn't want us to mope around especially for celebrations, so we made it a point to celebrate. Aside from eating a good meal, we also did her favorite things. We went to the bank and did groceries. Mom took care of the plants for the day and it rained enough to hydrate the plants properly. Ahh, she would have been pleased. 

Happy birthday Mom! We miss you! Today we'll also celebrate Sweetie's Mom's birthday! We have another excuse to celebrate!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Birthdays Through the Years

I just celebrated a milestone birthday. We just stayed home and ordered some food. Friends sent my favorite Makati Supermart spaghetti, barbecue, and cake all the way from Calea! Woohoo! I felt the love 😘 

I prefer to celebrate at home since that's what I'm used to since I was a child. I found photos from my first birthday on my archive. I couldn't help but giggle because I was seated in top of the dining table. If I did that today it would probably break, haha.

My second birthday was the same.

Eventually, my siblings took charge of my birthday parties. My 13th birthday was hosted by Kuya and Ate Joy.

My 18th birthday was one of my happiest. God gave me the best gift of all, my Miggy.

I don't remember much about my birthdays for the next decade and only found these -

29th

30th, Mom and Dad ordered the cake reminiscent of my first birthday. It was coincidentally my first day at Google.

33rd

My 35th birthday was the last birthday my Dad was still around. I had several get-togethers that year. One, in my childhood home and two separate get togethers for two sets of friends.

I never had a party in McDonald's or Jollibee, but Sweetie' surprised me with one for my 39th birthday.

Things were going well back then and I'm glad I got to celebrate my 40th with a lot of loved ones.

43, in the office.

And a surprise party for my 44th hosted by friends.

*dunno why it's upside down haha

Then the pandemic came. 2020 at home with the Besties (very limited headcount allowed).

I was quite sick in 2021, so it was just me and Sweetie.

Was sick in 2022, so I had a special celebration with a few friends at Chef Tatung's private dining place in 2023.

And back home in 2024 -

And for my 50th (I'm still not very mobile) -

If celebrating was just left up to me, Is probably just order some spaghetti and be done with it. It's my boys and my friends who make my birthdays special. I had different plans for my milestone birthday, but it got derailed. Maybe I can still catch up next month :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! A Birth!

19 Days to 50

We felt Little Grey was due anytime. We put boxes around the house for her to comfortably give birth in. She chose the same spot Brimsley delivered Mando and Grogu.

Miggy discovered Little Grey and kitten while he was watering the plants. She probably gave birth between 5:30-6:00 pm. We immediately checked on Little Grey. She was grooming the kitten. The kitten gave a loud meow while we were checking if they were okay.

As of writing, there's only one kitten for now. We'll leave food and water for Little Grey and hope she moves to a safer space. We'll make some broth for her too so she can hydrated with nutrients.

Should we name the kitten Marvin Augusten?

#BeKind #StaySafe

Countdown 30D to 50: Phail

I was thinking about my upcoming birthday. It's now a month away and I thought I'd do something special everyday.

Well, my body had other plans...

Hello E.R.

Rest muna.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Full Time Pawrents: Mando Laura and Grogu's 2nd Birthday

Two years ago today, Brimsley made us full time Parents. Grey brought her to our home a few weeks before we went on a trip to celebrate the birthdays of Sweetie and Miggy.

We named her Brimsley based on a character from Bridgerton because she was quite irritable. Well, we thought she was male! So it was a huge surprise when she went missing and we found her with a newborn kitten. The day after she had another one.

We named the kittens Mando and Grogu because we were watching Mandalorian when they were born. As usual, we made a mistake with Mando's gender, so we added Laura to her name. 

Here's Mando Laura and Grogu's first month:

We haven't been able to go on vacation since Mando Laura and Grogu were born and since then Eevee, Pikachu, Meredith, Bailey and Anakin came. We became full time Parents. We love them dearly and can't leave them alone and it would be too expensive to book them at a hotel. I guess it's God's way of telling us to just stay home for now.

They are now 2 years old

After we missed the opportunity to get Brimsley spayed, we made sure to get her spayed after she gave birth to Eevee and Pikachu. Everyone else have been spayed and neutered too to keep them healthy and avoid adding more to the brood.

It hasn't been easy and we've just been closing our eyes whenever we bring them to the vet, but they bring us so much love and they are our little angels. We pray everyday to be blessed so we can continue to take care of them.

Happy birthday Mando Laura and Grogu. Thank you Brimsley for making us into parents.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Happy, happy birthday Sweetie!

May the Lord bless you and grant all your prayers. Let's stay healthy 😺 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Happy Birthday Miggy!

Another 365 days around the sun for my son, Miggy! 

Happy, happy birthday my love 💕 😘 💕 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Daddy's 92nd Birthday

Dad would have celebrated his 92nd birthday today. I wanted to order some pancit and hardinera from Buddy's, but their Paranaque kitchen is gone. We'll just try to get some tomorrow maybe. 

It's been 15 years since we got to celebrate Dad's birthday with him. He looked very healthy then and just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. We didn't have a big celebration and just had lunch at North Park. We never expected he'd be gone in less than a year. 

Life changed a lot when we lost Dad. I know that he's always been there guiding us. If he was still around we'll probably have some noodles and his favorite beef dishes and probably some nilaga within the week. He loved to eat and cook! You should try his famous beef mustasa wrap. It's so yummy!

He was not fond of material things and it's no surprise that I didn't really find any of his belongings anymore. Mom probably donated all his clothes way back and just kept the essentials (IDs and docs). What Dad had a lot of were his writings and letters (plus letters to the editor!). Going through his things has been therapeutic for me.

I miss Dad everyday. I know he's having a blast up there with Mom and my titos and titas. They're partying like they used to while keeping tabs with us down here. 

Happy birthday Dad. Love you very much!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Bailey Boo's Birthday

Bailey Boo's mother, Mama Kaley Boo used to visit our home everyday. She did this for two years. We already knew her cycle. She was pregnant every few months and we had an inkling when she'd give birth. We didn't know though where she'd give birth and we never saw her kittens, until she gave birth to Bailey's litter. 

I marked it on the calendar when she disappeared to give birth. She would usually be gone for a day and then come back the next day. It was March 4 when she gave birth to a new litter. We were surprised though when she brought all 4 kittens to our home after about 2 weeks. Bailey was actually the runt and he was the one who never interacted with us. 

Unfortunately, a few weeks later Kaley Boo moved them somewhere else. A new house was being constructed beside us and it got noisy. Kaley was also probably annoyed that we would play with the kittens when she was away. She never got mad at us, but probably thought it would be safer to bring the kittens somewhere else. 

More than a month later, Kaley started bringing one kitten to our home. It was a small scraggly thing and I recognized it to be the runt of the litter. Since we didn't know the gender of the kitten, we named it Bailey. After eating, Kaley would usually bite its neck and bring it back to their other home. We started feeding Bailey too and he eventually became too heavy for Kaley to carry. He would also hide from Kaley when it was time to leave. Bailey decided to live with us. 

Two weeks later, a scraggly black kitten appeared in our garage. We think Grey brought him in while we were asleep. It was a cute little kitten and because of it's color we named it Anakin. Turned out it was a boy and became Bailey's best friend. They played to no end and grew up together and did all the vet stuff together too. Since Kaley only visited twice a day to eat, Meredith took over mothering both kittens. 

Bailey was very shy when he was little. He eventually became more engaging and accepted scratches. I used to be able to carry him, but he's much heavier now and doesn't like being carried. His exercise includes wrestling with Anakin everyday and he lines up for scratches when Anakin's done rubbing our legs (haha). Bailey is our gentle, sweet boy and I cannot imagine life without him.

Happy, happy birthday my love! 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Celebrated a Rainy Birthday

I'm grateful to everyone who sent their birthday greetings and well wishes. I'm going through each of the messages and will hopefully send my thanks to everyone (gimme a few days!).

Good thing we didn't plan to head out for my birthday. It rained the whole day! Classes and government work were suspended in most parts of Metro Manila. We planned to stay home since I have tonsilitis (ugh). I won't be able to eat my favorite food, plus the doctor told me to rest. 

Even though we were just home, I must say it's one of my best birthdays. I had my boys with me and we spent the day together. We spent some time with our cats. We kept checking on them since it's raining. They've been quite clingy too the past few days, so we gave each one of them extra scratches (well, those who allow us to). It also looks like Meredith is back and she's getting over what's been bothering her. Brimsley went through the same phase a few months ago and she's back to her usual, swiping self. 

We watched Andor while eating lunch. After that I did some sewing since I had been busy with other stuff the past few days. I finished a fourth of my project and I'm working on convincing myself that I could finish it. Joining 400 squares is both a physical and mental challenge, LOL. Just had a light dinner, watched our telenovelas and here I am now writing this blog post. 

I'm just really grateful for everyone who remembered this day. It's the first birthday I'm celebrating with nothing heavy in my heart. The past few years have been a huge struggle with health issues and losing my Mom. I was stable on my birthday (tonsils getting better), I was with my boys and I felt all the love from all over the world. There's also a belief that when it rains on your birthday, you will be blessed. 

I am blessed. I am grateful. I am loved. 

Thank you Papa God for everything. 

#BeKind #StaySafe 

Dad's 91st

Dad has been visiting me in my dreams the past week. Last night he was with me in a new house in New York. It was a strange dream since the house was between sky scrapers. Haha. Dad though was telling me to always be careful about contracts. Something I've been fussing over the past few weeks. 

Dad would have been 91 years old today. We were trying to get some Buddy's for lunch, but they're not available in our area anymore. We'll just do a belated celebration maybe when I go for my check-up. Resting for now and remembering Dad on his special day.

#BeKind #StaySafe

What I Did on My Mom's Birthday

Yesterday would have been my Mom's 88th birthday. We would have had a feast a home with her favourite food. Of course, there would be cake and her favourite drink, Coca Cola. Original variant, non of those nonsense Zero she'd say. 

I wanted to have a feast. Originally planned to have an online party with my siblings, but I wasn't feeling well. We ended up just celebrating on our own minus the cake and drink since my doctor hasn't lifted my sweet food ban yet.

Photo by Kuya June

For a few weeks before I got sick, I got help from a decluttering coach. They helped me sort the stuff in my childhood home. I brought home a few boxes and had a box of Mom's sewing stuff just a few feet away from my sewing table. I brought it home in late October, but I couldn't sort it because Mom's stuff is sacred. She told me when I was growing up that it's a no-no to go through things that are not yours. 

I looked at the box every single day it's been sitting a few feet away from me. I told myself when I was in the hospital I need to get going with it because there's a gazillion more boxes I need to go through. 

And that's what I finally did yesterday. I went through the first box. It contained mostly office supplies and Mom's collection of scissors. I told the team I wanted to know how many scissors Mom owned. So they collated it for me.

Twenty six pairs of scissors. Plus six if you include my art scissors set. I think there's more in her sewing boxes since I didn't see those I bought for her for cutting fabric. I counted to prove that I collect scissors because Mom told me that you can never have enough pairs of scissors, haha. 

She also had a gazillion rulers, but I didn't count that anymore. I also have a lot of rulers already, so I'll donate some since I only really use a few for my crafts. 

Mom would be happy I finally got around to sorting the first box. It took me the whole day because I cleaned each item. At the rate I'm going it'll take me two years to finish all the boxes, haha.

Happy birthday in heaven Mom. Miss you.

#BeKind #StaySafe