Celebrating Our 14th Anniversary

Put away our aprons today, closed the kitchen from any cooking to celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary. That meant dressing up since we were going to dine out. We used the opportunity to take our Christmas family photo. Ended up a bit haphazard since we were rushing to leave for our lunch reservation. We'll just do it again for New Year, haha. 

Since on my birthday we tried Chef Tatung's Private Dining, I discovered he had a resto at BGC, Lore Manila. It's nearer and you can order from the menu (you can also opt for the course meal, but it's good if you're a bigger group). Traffic was light, so we arrived in just 20 minutes. Parking was very easy too and we found a PWD spot. Soon enough we were ushered to our reserved table. 

I was excited to try Lore Manila since they have Davao Kinilaw. I was hoping it would be the same as the one they served in Antipolo. We chose several dishes. Each dish is good to share 2 to 3 people. To break our fast we had Molo soup first. It was Miggy's first time to try it. I told him we used to have it often at home waaaay back. He liked it and I told him we should try to cook it next year. 

We also ordered Humba Cebuana, Five Spice Fried Chicken with Haw flakes sauce, and Grilled Bangus with Salsa. The boys loved the fried chicken. I liked it with the haw flakes sauce since it reminded me of my childhood. Mom always bought haw flakes for me since she worked in Binondo (the original PNB HQ). I also liked the humba since it wasn't too sweet and the meat was very tasty. Of course, we had Tatung's Fried Rice to match all the dishes.

One thing very interesting were the mocktails we ordered. I had ube macapuno, Sweetie got the ginger tea and Miggy had the strawberry-pineapple drink. They were very tasty and I think I got full quickly because the ube drink was quite heavy. It's delicious though, like drinking ice cream, haha. 

Well, we ended up skipping dessert since we were very full already. We enjoyed our meal at Lore Manila. The restaurant was a nice place. You can expect to eat good food with more than enough servings. We'll come back for another occasion (well we rarely go out anyway, haha). If you want to experience a higher level of Chef Tatung's fantastic dishes, try the private dining option (I have a vlog here). 

After our gastronomic dining experience, we walked around the mall and had coffee. Met up briefly with a friend and then did some errands (got water filter + a few missing groceries + gas). We don't like going out a lot, so we pack things in whenever we step out. Good thing traffic was light and we were home by sundown. 

We skipped gifts this year (also for Christmas). Well, we didn't have time and we were too frazzled because of November's misadventure, hahaha. We're also in the middle of decluttering so it didn't make sense to add more stuff. We'll just do it randomly in the next few weeks maybe. We're just happy to be together and enjoy it by eating good food. 

Happy Anniversary Sweetie and Miggy. Love you both forever!

#BeKind #StaySafe

13 Years!

Happy anniversary to the sweetest, most loving and patient husband in the whole wide universe!

 

The only plan we did to celebrate today was to decide whether to eat the leftovers for lunch or dinner, haha. We're still busy organizing our home. I've been focusing on the kitchen and Sweetie spent time in the service kitchen and laundry. Miggy is still under the weather and semi-isolating*. 

We had a good day and will probably find something special to do in the next few days. Our priority though is to hopefully clear out the boxes in time for new year. Progress in the kitchen has been very slow because I've been trying to wash everything (alikabok all over!). Stove is also not working, but at least my 10-year old Philips induction stove still works! Oven isn't safe to use for now. We'll get there in time :)

Oh, so I did some research. Traditionally, 13th anniversary gift is lace. For modern times it's fur or textiles. Me likey! Haha. 

*He's past the "contagious" period for flu, so he's been eating with us.

12 Years of Sweeties

Sweetie had a surprise when I woke up this morning. It was a huge box that bore a bouquet of white roses. He was so excited when he gave it, just like the first time he gave me white roses in 2007 (the one when I promptly burned the spaghetti I was cooking hehe). 

Today we're celebrating our 12th wedding anniversary. Yes, on boxing day! We had our wedding on the 26th of December because we had family fly in from other countries. We planned to postpone it because we were severely affected by Typhoon Ondoy, but our parents insisted we proceed. It was a good idea because the wedding helped all of us focus on our future more than the disaster we went through. We learned to be extra resilient. 

My doctors always commended Sweetie's resilience. One doctor told him in person how she appreciated the support he gave me. She said she rarely saw that kind of support. Sweetie is my powerhouse and his love is steadfast. I pulled through because he's my rock. 

The past 12 years have been crazy for us. The hardest time was doing LDR for a few years and the health challenges we've gone through. We always faced it head on with lots of prayer and love. We decided to settle back in Manila to be together and closer to our parents, extended family and friends. We also wanted more permanency that's why we finally moved to our dream house. 

We're transitioning to a new phase in our lives and we look forward to living our lives until we grow old. 

Love you forever Sweetie. Happy anniversary <3

#Home53 #NewG193 #StayHome #BeKind  

Our 11th Anniversary Date

Our date yesterday did not push through for several reasons: (1) Our cleaner finished late, then (2) it started raining hard, and (3) I had another giddiness spell after completing an email. We decided to postpone our date to today. We instead ordered some yummy food via Grab and just ate at home last night. 

The day started beautifully, no rain in sight! Once we got on our ride it started pouring haha. We just wanted a simple merienda date so we went to the newly opened Hundred Acre Creamery at Clementi. The cafe just opened a week ago and is inspired by Winnie the Pooh's home. 

We had to wait awhile since the cafe had limited seats. The staff were very friendly and kept checking on us while we waited. We didn't mind waiting since there were several Pokestops and Gyms in the area that kept us busy. We eventually got in and got gelato, coffee and tea. Just chilled for a bit and then checked out a local bakery and fish shop before going home. 

We just had a short date since I'm still in recovery mode and I'm still building up my stamina. Last year's celebration was more planned out since we went to Bohol together with Miggy. We love doing family trips and things are just not the same since Miggy's back home. We originally planned to go on another staycation, but we just had an unexpected one at the hospital (lol). We also think it'll be better to hold off doing staycations for now. If we really want to we can always sleep in the second room in our apartment. Hahaha. 

So that's how our 11th anniversary date went. My friend, Boss said, "Just like steel, the 11th year anniversary symbol, may your marriage continue to shine & be strong for all the years to come." I haven't gotten Sweetie any anniversary gift yet, so maybe I should find something made of steel heehee. 

CB//262 #StuckAtHomeDay/292 #StayHome #BeKind

10 Years and Forever

Last December, Sweetie and I celebrated our 4,450th "click" or 4,450 days of being together. On our wedding day we wanted to integrate our being "techie" in our theme. Our wedding day was our 800th "click". I remember making a full write-up about our love story, but for the life of me I don't remember where I posted it (probably in our dead couple website haha).

Like everybody the last ten years have not been easy for us. Barely two years together I was moved to Singapore and we had to manage our LDR for 5 long years. A guardian angel eventually urged us to be physically together so the boys both migrated to Singapore. In between being in a long distance relationship we also had to contend with my crazy health. Our love has kept our family strong and happy the past ten years.

Recently we have also become empty nesters since Miguel has finished his studies. He decided to move back to Manila and we're giving him the time and space to figure out what he wants to do with his life. It's been hard for both of us to adjust to not having him around all the time. I'm still figuring out my new purpose now that Miguel doesn't need full-time "mothering".

I am grateful that God wrote my love story in the most beautiful way. It started unfolding without me knowing that it was already being written. Fast forward to ten years after we exchanged "I do's" we continue to celebrate our love every single day in many different ways.

I love you Sweetie, to forever and beyond =)

1,460 Clicks: Married Again

Sweetie and I celebrated our 4th year wedding anniversary in the most unexpected way. We just planned to have a date, either lunch or dinner, depending on what time our family reunion was going to be. Our plans fell through though because my Mom said that my brother and sister-in-law were renewing their vows to celebrate their silver anniversary early morning (so a breakfast date was out). And then there was going to be a simple family lunch hosted by my nephews and nieces (so scratch the lunch date). Dinner wasn't possible as well since Mom had scheduled our family reunion for dinner.

The day though was the most awesome unplanned wedding anniversary we've had.


It started early in the morning where we had to rush out to catch the 6:30a.m. mass. We were late, but were surprised that my family was nowhere in sight. As the mass ended we hung around and just took family photos and then I called up my Mom to check where they were. Since they were still at home we decided to head there to check what the plans were. My brother's family was still getting dressed so we just had some light breakfast while waiting. We finally went back to church at around 8 in the morning.

Family self-we.

Things happened quite fast at church. Sweetie and I were hankering down the front pew so we can take good shots of the ceremony. I was chatting with my Kuya about how Mom had parked the car (one wheel on the gutter, haha), when Fr. Rene said that we should join the renewal of vows and have a double ceremony! Before we knew it Sweetie and I were lined up at the altar together with my Kuya and Ate Joy.

I was thrilled, but it also felt a bit surreal to be renewing our wedding vows just after 4 years. The thought never crossed my mind. I just thought that maybe it happened because I have a brand new heart and renewing our commitment was appropriate. It was really a happy occasion and being with my family made me feel alive.

The stars of the day were supposed to be my brother and sister-in-law who were celebrating their silver wedding anniversary. We didn't count on sharing the spotlight with them. I guess that day was fate's way of reminding me and Sweetie that we are indeed married. This is because we only finally got our marriage certificate a week before our 4th anniversary. We've been too busy to get our papers in San Juan (traffic is notorious in that area). We've been telling each other that maybe the papers didn't get sent to city hall and that maybe we've been living in sin (haha, we're just being funny). In fact our real estate agent didn't declare that we were married when we bought our unit coz it was too complicated on the documents since I'm still using my maiden last night.

And so the planned "date" ended up as a breakfast date at McDonald's together with Miguel.

And that's the story of how we ended up getting married again.