Mom's check up and some musings

This morning I drove Mama to Cardinal Santos in Greenhills because she was scheduled for this test called a Bone Densitometry, defined as an enhanced form of x-ray technology that is used to measure bone loss. I had never heard of it before and Mama seemed anxious about getting it done. But our OB-Gyne (yes, we share just one) recommended this exam to check if the pain in Mama's back could mean the onset of Osteoporosis plus the fact that my Grandma herself has it. At first she told me that it was okay to just leave her there and come back in an hour, but I insisted on waiting.

The procedure was done in this new wing behind the hospital's main building, called the Cancer Wing. I only sat in their spacious and comfortable airconditioned lobby for less than an hour but I don't know how many people I saw coming in and out of the Chemotherapy area. Most wore bandanas on their head, others wore baseball caps. Obviously, they were cancer patients who had lost their hair as a result of chemo. I've never been in the presence of anyone who's gravely ill and battling cancer. My Mom's younger sister who was my favorite, favorite Aunt, lost her battle to Non Hodgekins Lymphoma a few years ago but she passed away in the States. My Mom was by her bedside when she drew her last breath. Neal personally took care of his Dad when the latter had Liver Cancer, until he succumbed to it many years ago. But I remain clueless about what it's really like to take care of a loved one who's that sick. I believe God had a purpose for making me want to sit there and wait for Mama while she was being examined.

I hope I'm getting His message right and I'm praying my Mom's okay. I'm holding my breath til Tuesday when the results are released.

Restaurant Review : Shanghai Bistro

Been to this place a few times already with my family but this is my first review. My family (particularly DF) loves Chinese food and this is one of the places we usually end up in when we're too lazy to think of where to eat. I've had better Chinese food and I can think of a few other places I would prefer over this but Shanghai Bistro in Eastwood isn't all that bad. For one, we've never had any service-related problems in this place, no matter how crowded it is sometimes.

For starters...we had house tea and this Spicy Seaweed appetizer which I had too much of because it was really so good!


Platter of Cold Cuts


Hotpot : Chicken and Okra - a bit oily but yummy nevertheless


Yangchow Fried Rice


Broccoli and Mushroom in Oyster Sauce


Sizzling Seafood with Kailan


Steamed Kailan with Garlic

Shanghai Bistro is located at Eastwood's Citywalk 2

In the words of Victor Hugo...

Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause...

I just have to react to all this talk about Pops Fernandez dishing out the truth on her and Martin Nievera's failed marriage.  They parted ways, uhhh, a decade ago?  First of all, it's an old, old story.  Secondly, the WHOLE WORLD knows about Martin's indiscretion.  Why talk about it now?  A decade is a long time to bottle things up.  Does everyone want to hear how it all happened?

I don't think anyone can justify a 3rd party in a marriage.  Regardless of how lousy your marriage (or spouse) is, infidelity is never the way out of a relationship.  It's WRONG and that's that.

So why is Ms. Fernandez on the warpath after all these years of staying quiet?  Her decision to break her silence, to me, means only one thing : she has not moved on.  I saw Martin on TV yesterday and he was visibly irked at Pops' move to air everything out in the open. I don't blame him one bit.  Sure, he's no saint.  But it really is irritating on his part to have to deal with his ex-wife's bitterness just when things are falling into place for him and Katrina O.

Pops was also interviewed yesterday about the issue.  When asked whether she'll invite Martin to her forthcoming major concert, she replied that she's just trying to find the right time to ask him to be part of it.  Saying that she owes it to their fans because there can never be a Pops Fernandez without a Martin Nievera.  HELLOOOOOOOO!!! Matagal ng wala!  Wake up and smell the coffee kaya?!  Ay, nasunog na pala yung coffee sa tagal duh.

I don't feel sorry for Martin.  After all, he DID cheat on her.  But I can understand why he's upset.  Who do I really feel sorry for?  Jomari Yllana, whoelse?  It's never any fun being in a relationship with someone who has been carrying all that excess baggage.

A smart woman would know that the best form of revenge is to get up from a fall and get on with her life gracefully.  MOVE ON PLEAAAAASE?  Asus!!!

Some much-needed girl bonding

Eversince I became a stay-at-home Mom, I have spent about 70% of my time at home. That's a HUGE change from my old lifestyle. When I was working, it was the other way around. But I've learned to look forward to waking up each day and not worrying about what to wear or getting to the office on time. Being a SAHM has its share of perks which I've learned to appreciate.

Every so often though, I also like the idea of spending time outside of the home, especially if it means meeting up with good friends for a few hours of shopping, eating or just having coffee. That's exactly what I did last night when I drove to Serendra to mee up with the Havies and the Baghags =)

That's me with Pia and Smile

The Baghags and Paowie checking out Beauty Corner's
NEW ARRIVALS


Next stop: Figaro for coffee, tea, dessert and more bonding!


Our signature group photo before heading home

Let's get together again soon please! =)

Food Review : Puff Mommy

My friends have been talking about Puff Mommy's Cream Puffs for quite a while now. But I didn't get to try them out until the other day because that was the first time I chanced upon a delivery scheduled in my area.

I was supposed to meet up with Puff Mommy's (better known as Levon, that's her real name) driver somewhere along Boni Avenue but I was scared to drive out because it was raining so hard and well...Boni Avenue is notorious for flash floods, yikes! Guess what? She was kind enough to tell me that she'll just have my order delivered right to my doorstep. Now THAT'S customer service for you *wink*!

I found myself popping two of these in my mouth at midnight last night --- OMG!!! That's how good they are! Just please pardon the crappy photos. My digicam's battery is currently charging so I had to use my cellphone to take them. I am definitely going to order these again =)

To order from Levon, just visit Puff Mommy's website. You won't regret it =)

NeW ArRiVaLs @ BeAuTy CoRnEr!

Please allow me to (again) shamelessly plug my accessory business =) Here are a few of our new arrivals. Everything is worth less than 1K each. You can message me to inquire about the prices or reserve anything you might be interested in.

Allen necklace in brown zebra stripes


Allen necklace in black zebra stripes


Saab necklace (black and gold combination)


Jean necklace (all gold)

Brianna necklace (brown turquoise and gold combination)

All of these come in directly from a supplier who's HK-based. We keep them in very limited quantities (at most 2-3 pcs per design or style) so you can be sure you won't see them everywhere. All transactions are done online as we do not have a store. To see more, you can visit our main album.

Hope to hear from you!

Restaurant Review : Mezzaluna

I can't believe I forgot to blog about this here! We had dinner again in Serendra a couple of weekends ago and this time we tried Mezzaluna, located right before you cross over to Bonifacio High Street and beside Sonja's Cupcakes.

I'd have to say, this was the best meal I've had so far in Serendra! I've never given a restaurant five stars before but this place definitely deserves the perfect rating =)

The complimentary bread basket --- I can still remember how good this smelled. I think I stuffed myself with all the bread, plus my favorite olive oil/balsamic vinegar/parmesan cheese combination dip.


Handmade Saffron Linguini - the sauce was served on the side and was so good to eat on its own!


Beef Tenderloin and Pork Belly which DH and I shared. There are no words to describe them!


Chilean Sea Bass


The perfect ending : Flourless Chocolate Cake and Praline Ice Cream

I CAN'T WAIT TO EAT HERE AGAIN!

TWICE TO BEAT --- How sweet it is!

We lost to Ateneo in the first round, 77-80

In the second round, they beat us again, 89-87

We lost to the UE Warriors, Ateneo lost to the NU Bulldogs

This win was nothing more than NU's swan song this season. It was a great way to exit. But it was enough to change things drastically for Ateneo (and make me wonder --- WTF?? You lost to NU??? )

Yesterday's game between the De La Salle Green Archers and the Ateneo Blue Eagles was bigger than big. You can literally smell the excitement in the air. We were in Araneta Coliseum as early as lunchtime. I was starving so I asked Neal if we could please please eat in Gloria Maris. Ordered my favorite Roasted Duck Rice and downed all of it but it didn't fill me up the way it normally does. I was nervous! After our lunch, we decided to go inside to check out our seats. There were tons of people in their work clothes --- obviously either playing "hooky" or filed a half-day leave just to see this game. Lots of familiar faces in the crowd, too. Our seats were fine, although Neal and I had to sit apart (he behind me). But I wasn't complaining because we were extremely fortunate to have easy access to tickets when a lot of other people had to shell out P1,500 each for an Upper A ticket!

It's been hours since we got home but Neal and I are still feeling high over this all-important win for our beloved De La Salle Green Archers. We won by just ONE point. I don't remember sitting down for more than 5 minutes during the game. It was THAT stressful!

A good friend of mine, Anna R., (who, mind you, is a die-hard Atenista) sent me a text message earlier : The game that mattered the most. Good job! She couldn't have said it better. Sure, it broke our hearts to lose to our arch rivals TWICE.

But in the words of Malcolm S. Forbes

Victory is sweetest when you've known defeat

GO GREEN ARCHERS
WE'RE PROUD OF YOU!
YOU REDEEMED YOURSELVES AND SHOWED THEM THE STUFF THAT YOU'RE REALLY MADE OF!
TO JV, TY AND RICO --- GOOD JOB, GUYS!!!

LeT's MoVe On To ThE FiNaLs!!!

Sunday Seafood Fest 16 Sept 2007

As promised, here are photos from last Sunday's family dinner at home. DF brought Sea Bass, Crab Claws and Prawns so needless to say, we had a grand time pigging out hee hee! =)

OMG these were so juicy!


Crab Claws from Dampa Eastwood

Sea Bass which we made into Sinigang =)


UBER YUMMY Butter Loaf from Vargas Kitchen (which now has a stall somwhere in Glorietta). We topped this off with ARCE Mantecado-flavored ice cream =)

AND YES MY NEW COUCHES ARRIVED THAT SAME NIGHT!!!

Seafood night and my new couches =)

We can't go out to have our usual Sunday family dinner because Sabine just recovered from a bout with some kind of virus (a nasty one). So everyone's gathering in my house tonight for another seafood feast --- my entire family can live on seafood everyday

DD is probably in Dampa right now buying crab claws and giant prawns and will probably have those cooked there as well. I can feel my taste buds coming to life just thinking of all that food we're having later.

And a bonus! Our Home called two days ago to say that our new living room set is coming this afternoon. That's just a week after we put in an order for it. They said it would take about 2-3 weeks to finish but it's good to know that they're serious about satisfying their customers and delivering their goods earlier than the committed date.

Watch out for photos later

Bazaar Day - gossip and shopping!

After being stressed-out and sleepless for a few days while taking care of my sick little one, I took half the day "off" yesterday to go to the Sweet Sexy Thang Bazaar @ the Intercon Hotel. It was also my chance to see good friends, Pao and Smile whom I hadn't seen in a while.

The bazaar wasn't as big as the usual ones, but there were lots of interesting things to see and buy. Needless to say, everyone's favorite Baubles Bangles 'n Beads was there. So were regular bazaristas ---Silly Me Clothing, Angeli's Beads, Dean & Trent, Cole Vintage, Flatterbuy, BE (my favorite store in Greenhills Theater Mall), Pink Belter and a few more that I failed to take note of.
I will not share the gossip part of course hee hee! But here's yesterday's loot:

2 pairs of shoes from Ichigo : Nina Sandals and Izumi Pointed Flats
(oops...the sandals I got from Charm's stall pala in GH yesterday)

Can a trip to the bazaar be complete without scoring these beauties?
Hand-painted bangles from Baubles Bangles 'n Beads
The one on top is Anissa's

And at the very last minute...scored this pretty eyelet trapeze dress from BE
My friend Pao did an excellent job convincing me to get it in this color (I'm not a fan of the color navy). I wanted the white one but it was the last piece they had and I found a few snags on the fabric here and there

I would've wanted to stay longer but DH was waiting for me so we could have dinner together (he didn't know at this point about the dent I put on his atm account hahaha!). So ladies...'til our next chismax session? I can hardly wait!!!

What a day!

It's only 9pm. My mind is normally still so alive at this time but not tonight. I woke up an hour ago from a 2-hour nap with Sabine but I feel like I didn't nap at all. That's because I had only 2 hours of sleep last night.

Sabine burned up again at around 2:30am. After her sponge bath and a dose of Tempra, she went almost right back to sleep but I kept myself awake until her temperature stabilized (thanks to my CSI Miami episodes). Fell asleep without meaning to at around 5am and then Sabine woke me up a couple of hours later. She still had a temperature!

Following doctor's orders, Neal and I decided to bring her to Cardinal Santos for a CBC. Got there at 10am, ran to the pedia's clinic to get my request form then proceeded to the laboratory, where a long queue waited for me. ONLY IN THE PHILIPPINES! Finally after about 20 mins of standing in line and just as those varicose veins were about to pop, my number was called. But of course I had to run back to the lobby where the cashier counters were to pay first. Good thing there were 4 counters open so I spent less than 2 minutes waiting for my turn to settle the bill.

Back at the lab, I prepared myself for the struggle. I took Sabine from yaya and put her on my lap. When the guy took her middle finger, she immediately knew that something "bad" was gonna happen and began to squirm her way out of my grip. Yaya was holding both her legs and I had one hand holding both her hands, the other trying to keep her head in place (she was shaking it vigorously and I didn't want the technician or whatever you call him to repeat the procedure because Sabine was moving a lot). When it was all over, they actually had to re-dress her finger 3 times because she managed to take the gauze and tape off. This little girl was so angry! Oh did I forget to mention where Neal was? He was OUTSIDE the lab. Couldn't bear to see his baby girl in pain. Awww...

We waited a whole hour to get the results and I seriously felt like I held my breath that entire time. Finally at around a little after 12 noon, the pedia texted me: Hi! CBC is consistent with mild infection. Platelet count still high. If she still has fever tom am bring her back 2 c me. Continue with Klaricid for now.

ALLELUIA IT'S NOT DENGUE!!! Thank you, thank you Papa Jess for taking care of Sabine! We are not completely out of the woods yet because tomorrow is crucial but I am so relieved to know that we can absolutely rule out Dengue. That matters a lot to us!

I'm hoping I can get a decent amount of sleep tonight, not just because I want it so badly but because that would primarily mean that Sabine is okay.

Note: This was supposed to be posted yesterday.

What's in a name?

I looked up the meanings of our names and here's what I found:

NEAL, "Champion"
Very intelligent, broadminded and a good listener. You are an ideas person, with a wonderful creative imagination who is always seeking practical applications to apply this to. Your intelligence means that you have great potential for business success if you can apply some discipline and caution. You enjoy sensual pleasures and with a natural restless nature and liking for adventure life is rarely dull with you around.

PATRICE, "Noble one"
You are responsible, determined and tenacious with sound judgement and the ability to inspire others making you ideal for positions of leadership. Having broad vision you are happy to accept the challenge of handling large projects which others may find too demanding. With your keen intuition and inventive mind you are always seeking answers. Fair and just you have a warm and compassionate nature which attracts many friends.

ANISSA, "Grace"
Sensitive and emotional you are highly intuitive and have a wonderful imagination. The instinctive impressions which you receive about people and situations are usually accurate and mean that you can rarely be misled. You have healing and counselling abilities which can help to alleviate the suffering of others. Your loyalty, integrity and belief in life means that you are much admired and assured of many friends.

SABINE, "A Sabine woman" (?)
Extremely intelligent in thought and deed you are gifted at communication and finding practical applications for your ideas. You are strong willed and ambitious and need to have passion, freedom and adventure in your life. Always willing to help others your warm, honest and loyal nature ensures that you are loved by all. It is likely that you will achieve a great deal of success and recognition in life.

My meantime boy : Jonathan Togo

In a previous entry, I wrote about all the TV series I'm watching being on hiatus so I've been killing my time watching old episodes of CSI.

No, I'm not replacing my original Patrick Dempsey. He'll always be number one on my list. I do find Wentworth Miller of Prison Break cute, too so he's number 2. And now I've found a 3rd! I call him my meantime boy because of the absence of the first two boys I mentioned.
Jonathan Togo didn't strike me as cute the first time he appeared on CSI Miami. His character replaced a fallen CSI whose character I had grown fond of. I was taking his death a bit too seriously so when new CSI Ryan Wolfe (Togo) joined the team, I was like, okay fine. But I grew to love him as I watched episode after episode. They also managed to improve his looks a lot from this...

Notice the Farrah Fawcett flipped hair? Eeewww! Hahaha!

TO THIS...

OMG!!! Huge huge improvement right???

All this shameless drooling from a 38-year old mother of 2 hahaha but I don't care because he is just soooooo cute! I love his character to death and he is the main reason I can't stop watching CSI Miami. I've become a bit more forgiving of David Caruso's obnoxious character because I always look forward to seeing this guy on screen.

Drooling all over myself as I type