New Home Experiences and Discoveries

Living in a condo is honestly much easier than living in a house. We did condo living for ten years and got used to the convenience of living in one. Whenever we felt like going on vacation we'd just up and leave. We never worried about security since that's provided by the building. Living in a house requires you to have someone around all the time. 

It's almost a month now since we moved to our new home and here are things I've learned:

1. When you live in a house there are things you need that you don't need in a condo, i.e. garden hose, shears to cut grass and shears to prune tree branches, a rake and a Nimbus 2000 (walis tingting).

2. Inverter appliances is the way to go. Our electricity bill was so far lower in the past month compared to our condo. Well, I will have confirm if this is still true in the next three months. I thought it was due to zone pricing, but upon checking the kwh was actually the same. It must've been because we switched to inverter appliances. 

3. Condo association dues are much, much more expensive compared to a landed house, like >3x.

4. You're going to need to have a directory of people/companies who can help you to fix things or help with home management. Good thing I have friends who have businesses I can count on, i.e. Squeaky.ph for home cleaning, a neighbor who does landscape lends her gardener when needed. There are apps too, but I get wary using it because they tend to overcharge (I was trying to get help to fix my Mom's roof, but they were obviously overcharging us. What they don't know is my Mom and I used to export furniture so we know how to price stuff). 

5. Sourcing for groceries has become a sport for me. I've had to be  smart about it because online groceries don't sell everything online. Oftentimes you have to find the store of the brand on Shopee or Lazada and you're forced to buy stuff in bulk. Having to purchase from different brands means you have to pay for shipping multiple times. I know it's probably more profitable for them, but it's not good for me as a consumer. Unfortunately, I have to be more cautious since I'm high risk (and the boys too), so I can't just go out and buy groceries. Well, at least it's disciplining me for overbuying. 

6. It's been a bit harder finding homemade food where we are now. Our condo community had a classifieds page where home cooks and bakers would post food for sale. It was oftentimes cheaper than resto meals and the servings was good. This also allowed us to get to know our neighbors. 

7. I also miss our neighbors who sold fresh fruits and vegetables. They normally source them direct from farms and were much better than those sold in supermarkets. I'd buy from the fruit/veggie stores, but usually they sell by the kilo which is oftentimes too much for us. I don't want food to go to waste. Maybe I can think about splitting fruits and veggies with my Mom. 

8. More floor space to clean. I think the best decision we made this month is finally buying a cordless vacuum cleaner! It has really helped us keep the dust away and it's much easier than using a walis tambo (even though it's Scotch Brite one lol). Mopping is a pain, but at least I just need to do it once a week. I'm still thinking about how to manage our wood floors. My Mom trained me how to use a bunot when I was growing up. I could probably still do that by parts, but the waxing part will be a huge pain. 

9. Basura day is twice a week. We used to clear our trash every night and just had to go down to the basement to throw it when we were still at the condo. Now we have to carefully wrap everything since the trash collector only comes twice a week. Sweetie decided to buy two large trash cans to use as storage. Our neighbor told us to leave the trash outside the night before because the collection doesn't have a set pick up time. 

10. Every new sound still startles us. When we hear a kalabog somewhere everyone comes out of their bedroom to check, haha. We're still getting to know our new home. We're also trying to understand how things work. We've so far had to run to our contractor especially for things that require electricity, i.e. half of the garden lights aren't working again. Good thing the contractor promised they'll fix anything within six months of move-in. Whew!

And the last thing we had to go through the past few weeks is battle ants and mosquitoes! The mosquito issue was easily fixed when I got a bunch of citronella plants. They were gone immediately! The ant war is still ongoing and we tried several solutions to reduce the infestation. I think we're winning now. Will update in a few weeks. 

I have been fully focused on organizing our home the past month. The only thing I've been able to create is a 3.5 yard curtain for our crazy huge window. I haven't touched my sewing machine since I made it more than two weeks ago. Aside from being together with my boys 24/7, what's also important for me is I'm able to breathe better. I've had less asthma attacks and I'm more active now. I still take naps when I feel unwell, but it's not as often compared to before. Yay!

I'm super looking forward to progressing with organizing our home. Maybe next month I can finally fix my closet noh? Haha.

#Home56 #NewG190 #StayHome #BeKind  

Joyride!

Sweetie made a proposal yesterday. He needed to warm up the car and asked if I wanted to go and chill with him. So down we went to the basement after hanging laundry. Got in the car and laughed at the absurdity of what we were doing. 

Then Sweetie decided to go around the property. He had to drive really slow. It was fun while it lasted and the cold car aircon was a welcome respite from the hot afternoon. At least we were able to go out and maybe that's what we can do sometime soon (i.e. go to Tagaytay and get drive-thru!). Still need to be cautious. 

We don't get bored just being home. There's a lot of things you can do at home. I've been a lot slower doing things, but at least I've been able to tick off important tasks like getting our real property tax paid (thank God for neighbors who do services for a small fee!). I've been wanting to sew, but home is a huge mess now. Maybe things will be better next week. 

Anyway, we got ourselves a "Welcome Home" cake from Red Ribbon. I've missed their mocha cake and will likely get it's equivalent from Goldilocks in a few weeks. Oh dear, my chubby cheeks are back. I really need to go back to home-cooked meals soon. I'll get Miggy to help make some adobo tomorrow.

Thirty days before Christmas! 

#Home22 #NewG224 #Xmas30 #StayHome #BeKind  

Sweetie's Home!

He's home! Sweetie's home! Yay! I'm so happy Sweetie was discharged today. I'm so thankful that it didn't escalate to anything serious. He's okay now and will just be taking some more rest. Thanks to everyone who prayed for us. <3

CB///Yr2/3  #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/30 #StayHome #BeKind 

Courage

I'm not used to being alone at home. I'm used to traveling and being away, but I'm never really left alone at home. Sweetie is still at the hospital. I hope they'll discharge him tomorrow. 

I couldn't help but be teary eyed when I left him at the hospital. He looked so forlorn because he's not used to being the patient. I'm usually the patient. He was so rattled yesterday I had to keep telling him that everything will be okay. I must admit I was a bit scared also, but I had to be courageous for both of us. 

I gave Sweetie tips on how to survive his stay at the ICU. Luckily the nurses taking care of him were the same nurses who took care of me -- mostly Filipino! I also told him that it's a good sign when the doctor does not see you right after a test is done. Usually if they do a test on you and it's followed by a visit from the doctor or instructions for more medication, it may mean you're not stable. 

So luckily Sweetie was moved to the ward today. We're just waiting for the doctor to explain why his BP shot up. Hopefully it will just require some meds and a lifestyle adjustment (okay, no more grilled liempo!). 

Can't wait for Sweetie to be back home! I shall use his pillows for now hrhrhr. 

CB///365  #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/28 #StayHome #BeKind 

I Made Friday Night Unforgettable

Last month.

We live for Friday nights! We always look forward to the end of the work week. I look forward to it since it means Sweetie will be with me for the weekend. It also means a change of dynamics for me since Sweetie's home. 

Since it's Lent we follow fasting and abstinence on Fridays. I don't fast since I have medication to drink, but I abstain from meat. We normally eat dinner very slowly on Fridays. Then we move to the couch to watch whatever we fancy. 

Last night Sweetie chanced upon a livestream of MYMP on YouTube. They're one of our favorite bands. It's been awhile since we got to watch one of their concerts. We settled on the couch to watch. It felt like we were watching a gig at a bar haha. 

The band was accepting donations. I thought I could make Sweetie kilig by having the band greet him haha. I quickly got my local phone, sent some money and requested the band to greet Sweetie. In just a minute the band was already greeting Sweetie. I should have taken a video of Sweetie's reaction. He was so surprised! Hahaha! 

Yup, kiligin goal reached! 

11 Years of Sweeties

A few weeks ago a friend's friend who we met for the first time thought that Sweetie and I were just a couple. We laughed out loud when he said he thought we were not married yet. We were both so kilig because that meant we looked young! Hahaha. 

Eleven years ago, Sweetie and I tied the knot on boxing day. It seems just like yesterday to me when I walked down the aisle to be wed to my one true love. As many married couples would share, it's a roller coaster ride as you journey through life together. 

In the last eleven years, it's only been this year that we've been together constantly. We were LDR for 5 years before Sweetie moved to Singapore too and in-between that I traveled a lot for work. This year has been exceptional since we had to be together 24 hours a day for many months. I must say, Sweetie has been the best person to be stuck with at home. He's been my rock.

To be honest we haven't really planned how we'd live our life. We had no idea that we'd eventually live in Singapore. What's been important for us is to keep the family together. It was really hard for both of us when Miggy moved back home because he's always been there. We haven't seen him for more than ten months now, but we constantly communicate everyday. 

I think the reason why my friend's friend thought we're still an unmarried couple is because we're still very sweet to each other. We've been like that since we got together. We still surprise each other, I troll him a lot, and we show our affection a lot to each other. We laugh a lot and just know when we need each other more. I guess it boils down to what my Mom advised when I was single, "Aside from love, marry someone who has the same values as you". 

Happy anniversary Sweetie. Cheers to more fun and loving years together! I love you <3

CB//261 #StuckAtHomeDay/291 #StayHome #BeKind

Hubby and My Cooking

Back in 2012 I got Sweetie a birthday card from Changi Airport while I was on my way to Morocco. I got the card because of the introductory line...

We've surely come a long way from the first time I attempted to cook. The first dish I cooked for Sweetie was pork adobo and it has become one of his all-time favorites (except now he doesn't eat rice with it!). I cannot say that I'm a real cook because I treat each dish I cook like a science experiment. I follow recipes like how I used to do my chemistry lab assignments back in high school. I hated the bunsen burner and I'm allergic to LPG, so the greatest invention for me is the electric stove (haha!).

It's been four years since Sweetie had to live on my cooking. I've managed to perfect a few dishes that he likes, but since he's trying to lose weight I'm now trying to learn to cook healthy dishes. Well, whatever happens to my new experiments, because he loves me (and is usually hungry), he'll probably eat it, haha.

Easy recipes and our married life adventure is over at Mabuhay ang Bagong Kasal. 

Achievement Unlocked: New Home!

Three years ago just before Sweetie I got married we tried to look for a place could afford to buy. We didn't so we ended up renting a place in the same village where I was born. It was really convenient since we were close to my parents. We attempted to buy a house a few months later but it was just not meant to be at that time. We then told ourselves that we'd take it slow but target to move to an owned-residence by our third year of marriage. We moved nearer to my old home a month after that fiasco so I could be nearer to my parents and because the house we were renting just had so many problems.

When I moved to Singapore last year my seatmate, Ishi, gave me some really good advise. He said I shouldn't rent a place just for myself in Singapore if my family wasn't moving with me. He said I should just stay with a friend and use the money to buy a condominium unit in Manila. Luckily my childhood friend who's  lived in Singapore for 3 years already was looking for a housemate for her new apartment. I grabbed the chance to get one of her rooms so I could save for our planned home.

It was just after New Year when I realized I should get things going to find and buy a home so we could reach our goal. I remembered a proposal I got back in November 2010 about a place that was being built near our village. I immediately brought up the idea again with Sweetie and after careful review of a number of places we decided to buy the unit near where my Mom lives. Things started rolling in late February and we scrimped and saved (would you believe my weekly allowance when I'm in Singapore is just SGD50 a week?) so we could end our lease by the time it expired.

We ended up extending our lease for another quarter though because the unit wasn't ready yet, but TODAY,  12/12/12 we finally got it!

Thank you Lord! =)

Happy 51st Wedding Anniversary to my Mom and Dad!

Time flies, it was just a year ago that we celebrated my Mom and Dad's golden wedding anniversary. It was a simple celebration. We married them off again and then had the reception at Mom's garden together with family and their close friends.

Fifty one years is looooong! And I can just dream about celebrating that number with Jay, fifty years from now. If we do reach that age Miguel will probably have to wheelchair me to the altar or I'll be walking with a cane by then (that is if my heart's still beating by then). Anyway, my parents have definitely played out beautifully throughout the years their wedding vow -

To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.

I never sensed any trouble or misunderstanding between my parents, although my Mom claims that they do fight. The one and only time I saw them give each other the silent treatment was a month before I got married. It lasted about three days and I had to do an SOS to my sister. She called and my parents talked and then said that they had forgotten what their tampuhan was about!

Here's my parents' formula to a successful marriage:

1. Put God at the center of your marriage. Pray always.
2. Love each other everyday. Do all things with love.
3. Be patient.
4. Always settle any trouble before sleeping.
5. Live simply.

Happy anniversary Mom and Dad!

My First 100 Days as a Wife (Part 2)

Part 1 of this post can be found at this link.

So off we went to our honeymoon. My colleagues said that we should not consider it as our honeymoon because I was in Singapore for work. Sweetie saw more sights in Singapore than I have in the past 9 years that I have been going back and forth there. The only decent photos we had in Singapore were taken in Sentosa (because Jajah showed us around) and at the office (because my colleagues insisted on taking our photo).

Nothing much to say about Singapore since we spent our first two days just sleeping (we were that tired!). (Most of my posts about Singapore are at Lakwatsera Ako.)

We were both very busy on our first monthsary. We were off early in the morning since I had a number of meetings in the Metro and Sweetie also had to go to Marikina. He surprised me though in the evening with some white roses.

I am terrible with keys so Sweetie left me this reminder on the door.

I actually did forget to put it in my bag. 

"Naparami ata kain ng Mister ko ah." I said to Sweetie earlier. He replied by saying, "Masarap luto ng misis ko eh!" We simultaneously cringed right after and burst out laughing. "Ang jologs!" I said. "Let's not do that again" Sweetie replied, still cringing. LOLz!

I realized after we finished giggling over our exchange that gears changed when we came home from Singapore. It was the time that we had to face our new found household chores full throttle.  It was a good thing that Samsung managed to repair our new washing machine, but we honestly started washing our clothes only after my Mom's helper laundered the 2 maletas worth of trip clothes (hehehe). I had to learn how to iron and poor Miguel's uniform became my practice ground. I can attribute my ironing skills to how-tos from Youtube (thanks Youtube!).

The leftovers were long gone and I had to learn how to cook. Good thing my high school, St. Scholastica's College, taught us how to cook and bake so I kinda knew stuff in theory. And thanks to Google and Youtube and Plurk/blogger friends (and my Ate!) I didn't have a hard time putting theory intro practice. I learned how to slice the hard way though and ended up having a couple of cuts on my fingers (OUCH!). Here are some of the dishes I've learned how to cook:

This was at the Dona Cuisinera Club cooking demo. We were

chosen to help out the chef because were were newlyweds. Our photo

has been featured in a couple of newspapers. (Thanks to Dona Elena

for the olive oil and other food stuff!!!)

My regular dishes include: adobo, cheese & ham stuffed pork roll,

fish fillet, beef bulgogi, beef/pork steak, afritada, spaghetti, arroz

ala cubana, sinangag, potato salad, coleslaw and the Dona Elena 

arugula salad. I'm still struggling with the Mee-goreng! 

I miss baking though and I hope I'd save enough money by month end so I can get myself a convection oven. One good advise we got before our wedding was from my high school friend, Ottie. She said that when she got married they didn't prepare their new home before they moved in. They got married on the 30th of December and went home on New Year's Day. They didn't have a refrigerator and it took 2 weeks for the appliance store to deliver because of the holidays. We heeded this advise and bought a refrigerator and washing machine a week before the wedding. It was really sound advise since we really needed the ref when we moved in. My Mom's long-time carpenters also helped us a lot in prepping up our new home.

Sweetie during our gardening session with my Mom.

When we got engaged we had to sacrifice the time we spent attending events. We didn't attend any for about 6 months since planning our wedding took up all of our free time. Eventually we realized that we had time to attend some events again and see our friends and do roadtrips on weekends.

Since Sweetie moved 25 kilometers from where he used to live (Marikina) and I just moved about 7 streets away, I had the pleasure of introducing Sweetie to Paranaque and my hommies (err my childhood friends) and my Parish. He probably didn't see it coming, but he is now part of our Parish choir (hahaha).

We had quite a number of challenges too in our first 100 days. We had to get rid of pests. Figure out how to keep the basura (trash) safe from being scavenged by cats/dogs/humans. Find ways how to fix up our tiny place and cope with stuff we didn't have yet. Prepare for parties (we've had two so far). Entertain unannounced visitors. Smokin'sinks. Septic tanks (euwwww). And there were bumps along the way that we faced together.

So it's been a 100 days and it's been an eye-opener about what marriage is all about. I honestly didn't realize though that chores are bottomless. I am thankful that Sweetie has been really supportive and patient the past few months that I've been learning how to cook, iron, do the laundry, clean the house etc. etc. (I'm an expert at washing dishes haha). I remember asking him one night a few weeks ago if he could still imagine himself sleeping alone in his old room (because I didn't). He said that he'd gotten so used to having me beside him (even though I sometimes accidentally kick him), he couldn't imagine himself being alone.

And that's what I learned the first 100 days as a wife. I am not alone anymore.

My First 100 Days as a Wife

There's a lot of countdowns happening lately (#elections, #countdowntostepdown) and I just noticed from a wedding countdown widget I placed in my Facebook account that 100 days have passed since Sweetie and I tied the knot.

100 Days!

Time flew by so fast and we haven't even been able to send out our Thank You cards yet and we haven't started work on our wedding album. Funny coz we haven't even printed any of our photos yet! I'll make it a point to finish this project this month of April.

The first problem we faced after the wedding was how to get to our hotel since the bridal car didn't show up. Our parents, relatives and friends either left already or wouldn't be able to fit us in their car. Luckily Juned brought his "schoolbus" (delivery van actually) and that's how we managed to get back to the hotel. The lobby area was pretty filled up and imagine the surprise of the people when we went down the van (check out the photo here). Haha! Inasmuch as we were both sleepy already (I was up by 2:30 a.m.) we decided to hang out with our blogger friends first at Podium.

We decided to check out of the hotel the day after the wedding since there was so much to do at our new home. My parents' golden wedding anniversary celebration was also just a few days away and I wanted to spend some time with my siblings who flew in from the US and Jakarta. We didn't realize that we brought so much stuff with us we felt that it would've been hard to take a cab home. Good thing Jay's parents offered to pick us up and bring us to our new home.

This video shows the first thing we did when we got home:

Our place was a huge mess since we just started hauling in stuff a week before the wedding. We didn't have a bed yet so we just borrowed a foldable mattress from my Mom (we slept on the floor for a few days until we decided to buy a mattress). 

When we got home we tried to fix some stuff and then realized that we needed to eat, so we decided to open some of the gifts and tried to figure out which one was a microwave, an airpot and rice cooker. It took a few days before we managed to open all the gifts. 

Our first breakfast was served on a paper plate and placed on top of a bag because we didn't have a dining table yet (we still don't have own one until now and the one we are using is my Mom's extra table).

Our first full meal at home was... Binalot! 

Our first dinner was canned tuna adobo with some maki from SM Hypermarket and sliced tomatoes. 

When we finally opened all the gifts we discovered that we were proud owners of FIVE irons! The only thing I knew how to iron (during that time) were hankies! 

Most of our meals for 2 weeks were leftovers from the family gatherings and parties that we went to. Our first cooking attempt was aborted because we didn't know that it's normal for electric stoves to emit white smoke the first time you turn it on. Eventually though Miguel moved in with us and I quickly had to learn how to cook.

The first thing I cooked was Maling!

Eventually moved on to omelets (this one looks like scrambled egg though).

Our first laundry day was a traumatic experience. It definitely alerted our neighbors that someone moved in at apartment A and the new tenants seemed to be doing their laundry (or playing drums?). After 2 attempts I asked my Mom if her maid can do laundry for us for our first month.

We had to quickly organize our new home for the installation of the Sacred Heart and house blessing. My Mom insisted that we had to do this immediately so that our home would be blessed. 

And then we left for a not-so-honeymoon trip to Singapore (I had work!). Sweetie ended up going around Singapore by himself. Boo!

To be continued...

Three Months

Our third month started without much fanfare. Things seemed to settle down nicely and my asthma attacks rapidly reduced when my parents cut their vacation short. The attacks were caused by stress of having to manage two households. We finally managed to get our groove back and started managing our home better. (The secret is Mom's cleaning lady who comes in half a day once a week).

No more mishaps! Or so we thought.

By mid-month we were faced with the most disgusting home problem, a septic tank that was probably ready to blow up. The drain at our first floor bathroom was bubbling up the grossest debris imaginable. Thanks to Maynilad and our land lady, the problem was fixed within a few days.

We enjoyed the rest of the month though. The boys ran their first marathon during the Unilab Wellness Run and the rest of the month was spent preparing version 2 of dishes, puttering around the garden with Mom, squeezed in some time to go to Tagaytay, and playing Plants vs. Zombies as a family! Whew! The septic tank problem was as nerve wracking as the washing machine and smokin' sink issues, but I'd say these are just tiny things that make married life more exciting.

Housewarming

I just realized it's been awhile since I made a post about hanging out with blogger-friends.

We recently had our first housewarming party and we did this with friends. We were quite nervous since we had help from both our parents during the house blessing and we didn't cook anything that time. For this party we prepared the following:

my spaghetti
Indonesia brew coffee
salad (strangely tasted like carbonara)
soda
rice
banana

Our friends brought a lot of food (Jayvee did most of the shopping):

pizza
chicharon and chicharon bulaklak
lechon kawali
mocha roll (my favorite!)
ice cream (3 flavors!)
white wine
and Juned's Pickfresh dalanghita drink (uber yum!)

We all first hung out at the sala. Markku fixed up the wifi connection so everyone can be online.

Markku, Andrew, Hana, Sha, Gail, Winston, Jay the Hubby,

Karla, Juned and Marc (not in photo are Jayvee, Fritz, Poyt)

And then had a poetry reading... err... blog reading. Andrew did the reading and he was quite out of breath. It was really hilarious (see Gail can't stop laughing!).

We moved to the garage for dinner. After eating Jayvee brought out his toy. I don't quite remember the name of the game, I just remember though that the word of the night was "Bang".

Dunno what Markku was doing here. Hrhrhr.

And the special surprise was... a box of Lachi's sansrival!

Thanks guys for warming up our home!

Two Months

The past two months have been a blur and have been filled with challenges. What is remarkable though is the fact that I have acquired new skills!

I learned how to cook on my own! (I was always assisted by a helper before).

My first cooking attempt literally went up in smoke. I was supposed to cook some sinangag but the electric stove blew out white smoke so we immediately unplugged it and put it outside. We didn't know that was normal so it took a week before we tried again. A week after I tried my hand on frying Maling. Easy huh? But it was a nerve wracking experience for me and I had Sweetie supervise me in case I panicked. This went on a couple of times until I was comfortable enough to cook on my own.

Eventually we leveled-up and joined the Cuisinera Club cooking class! Since the dishes that were being prepared were for Valentine's the chef chose us to help her out because we were newlyweds! I accidentally cut my finger the night before (second time that week), so Sweetie took over the slicing chores and I sauteed the salad dressing. It was fun and gave me the confidence to try out more dishes. (And special thanks to Dona Elena  for the olive oil, black and green olives and sardines care package!). We're also cooking everything using olive oil (more healthy yay!).

We've also conquered our washing machine after it was repaired by Samsung (thanks for being efficient!). Apparently the travel guard was supposed to be taken out by Abenson when it was delivered. The non-removal caused the loud vibrations and disco-grooving that our washing machine did when we used it. Took a few weeks though before we started using it since we were gone for almost 2 weeks. Doing the laundry now is a breeze! And Sweetie has color coordinated my sampayan!   

And another milestone I am happy to note is the fact that I have somehow learned how to iron! I've been doing it instinctively though, but I think I've improved a bit. I will likely try to hone my skills better by watching some Youtube videos. I just keep forgetting to do so.

Oh yes I am so far happy doing all these house chores. I hate cleaning up though because it usually triggers my asthma. Good thing Sweetie loves doing this so he does it most of the time.