Happily Ever After... And Then Some.

Our Storybook, one page at a time.

Monday, December 26, 2005

our first married christmas

aldo + christmas + vancouver = christmas surprises.

he sent Santa a card thru Canada Post's address - saying that he wrote because he has a son or daughter on the way, and he'd like to make sure he or she will be in Santa's list next year. two days before christmas, Santa wrote back!





aldo's gift this christmas has, so far, been the sweetest and most thought-of. after a week of declaring that he was going to wrap chocolate bars as a gift for me, he pulled out a gift - which promptly ended all whining about him not giving christmas gifts much thought. LOL.



he got me opera glasses from zhumell, engraved with "il gelo che da foco, il mio fuoco ti sgela Pia"... which, of course, are from Puccini's Turandot... translated as "ice which gives you fire, my fire will thaw you Pia." i can't wait for the next opera we're watching in March... i can finally see the people on stage!

hope you had a wonderful christmas as well.



as of now, it's officially moving time for this family as we pack our things into boxes... we're moving to a new apartment before new year!

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

too short

i've always been a shortie... always on the front row during grade school and high school class pictures, and have always had to have my jeans cut at least 5 inches (there goes the flare at the bottom!). and moving here has just made that fact much more clearer. i drown in a sea of relatively tall (and big) women in a crowd, and jeans are even harder to buy unless they come in petite sizes.

worst of all, aldo and i were looking at cribs last weekend and we realized we need one important crib feature: a drop-down railing because if not, i am apparently too short for the standard crib... i had to tiptoe to reach into the crib!

LOL.

Monday, December 19, 2005

my denim puzzle


maternity jeans puzzle me. when is the right time to buy a roll panel kind or be content with just a size bigger?

in the past 3 months, i have had to get myself pairs 2 sizes bigger than my old ones in the hope that i can use those longer than just a month. but up til now, i haven't quite filled out the butt part, but the waist part is comfy and snug enough. i've been looking at maternity jeans from Old Navy, Gap, and quite recently, Thyme. they've all got maternity jeans with stretchy garter-like waists (not quite like the kind you wear when you're a kid though), ones with straight belly bands, and ones with roll panels. who would have thought maternity jeans would be this diverse!

although it's tempting to buy one of each kind every time i go up a size, it's costly so to hopefully simplify matters, i hope that i can just get one to last me thru the whole stretch. pwede kaya? i hope so!

Monday, December 12, 2005

vancouver lessons

25 things i have learned in the past 3 months:

1. just because it's raining, snowing, or 0 degrees outside, it doesn't mean you have to stay indoors.

2. knee-high boots are winter must-haves, not because they look pretty or cool.

3. vancouver fashion is pregnancy-figure-friendly because you are either in a thick jacket or wearing 2 sweaters all the time -- conveniently hiding the fact that you are gaining weight.

4. during winter, days go by pretty fast because the sun is out for an average of 8 hours only.

5. out here there is dust, only it's not grey but white and fibrous.

6. in thailand, shawls and scarves are worn as accents. in canada, you NEED them.

7. there is no such thing as a masungit canadian. all of them are friendly and jolly most of the time - which has it's irritating limits of course. when they seem nice and friendly, take what they say with a grain of salt.

8. there is nothing like soy sauce and vinegar from the philippines when cooking adobo.

9. that pink liquid substance essential to a manicure/pedicure costs lower than P30 in manila, but is absurdly sold in filipino stores here at $2.50 (approx. P90).

10. the best thai restaurant so far is Baan Wassana in 41st St. Boulevard.

11. sinigang is better in Galing-Galing Restaurant than in Goldilocks (both in Granville St.).

12. Winners is a good place for bargain hunters. leave men at home when shopping here.

13. there is nothing like Jesuit music sung in church.

14. some degree of assertiveness must be practiced at all times.

15. when you're pregnant, you don't see an OB-GYNE, but a GP with an obstetrics background. only women with sensitive reproductive systems see the specialists. (quite a bummer if you ask me, but then again, this just might need a bit of getting used to.)

16. stretching a painting into a new frame can be quite a learning experience for you and your new husband.

17. Sears is perpetually on sale.

18. for some reason, vegetables and fruits stay fresh longer here.

19. meat is boring as the cuts are always lean. i definitely miss the sinful, juicy fat part of pork adobo and inihaw na liempo!

20. the waffles in Denny's are better than the ones in White Spot.

21. people drink more beer than water on a friday night.

22. long lines outside restaurants or bars do not ensure the said establishment's quality.

23. there is no all-purpose cream in the grocery. i wonder if whipped cream will work just fine in fruit salad.

24. Swiffers are not handled like brooms.

and last but definitely not least...

25. having a husband around is oftentimes funny, challenging, full of adjustments, and more fun than all your boyfriend-girlfriend years put together.

Sunday, December 04, 2005

that was quick



time flies. it's been a year since we got civilly married, a year since marvin and jopay got married, and a year since we went to sonya's bed & breakfast for an overnight trip.



the day we went up to tagaytay was, like any other trip we've had to take, rainy and windy. we had an early appointment at nurture spa - only to notice that employees were being sent home due to the storm. nevertheless, we still had our treatments together with the pitter-patter of rain on the windows. the road to sonya's garden was a more difficult one, as fog was thick and i couldn't see the street signs while i was driving. we eventually got there in one piece... and since all the other guests had cancelled their reservations, we were given a great big room that would have accomodated at least 10 people (now how's that for customer service!). the bathroom was lovely, except that taking a shower with screen-fitted windows wasn't exactly ideal on a stormy night... but it was picturesque nonetheless. LOL.



it's been a year already since we started the madness we call immigration, plus a wedding to boot. and what do you know... we're together already, with a coming little aldo or pia as a bonus.

God is good.