54 Days to Bootcamp

I just thought about doing things for fun, and documenting every moment of it in an album called 54 Days to Bootcamp.

We never really had a real traveling the world adventure since we got married, but I t guess this time we have to do something that we could bring to cherish while we are in and not talking and seeing each other in 3 months. We have been in a 3-year long distance relationship, and we are 100% sure we could pass the 3 months away from each other, or something like that since we will be in the same facility anyway.

The album I am referring to will be in Facebook, of course, where else? I am cooking one southern food tonight and that will be my very first photo in the countdown. We will eat dinner tonight on our bed, at 11:30, while watching Saturday Night Live. Hey, that is something, right?

That's What You Call "GENES"

My husband is not the type who would speak his mind, as with the majority of the male populace I guess. Never, ever, in all the years that we have been together have I heard him comment anything about me, at least physically.

Until one day, he said...

"Baby, you walk just like your mom, do you know that?" - yup, blew it in my face just like that.

Hey! That wasn't fair! I hate the way my mom walks! Simply put, I couldn't take my husband's comment! IT HURTS! It HURTS REAL BAD!

Tutorials by JFotography

Tutorials by JFotography

I just found another source of inspiration for my photography ambitions! In fact, I am trying her tutorials right now. Tomorrow, if it will not interfere with my daily exercise schedule, I will pose as my own model. I need to learn playing with lights first. See ya!

Please visit JFotography and see for yourself!

Again

... I'm afraid this is going to be on a day to day basis now. I'm good with my milk and fruits, plus I take my multivitamins, I have no idea why my ankles are so sensitive. I'm pretty sure it's not my shoes too because I got a good running shoe... Must be my age.. Tsk!

Injured Everyday

Aha, that is exactly what I get for not letting my feet recover. I am getting used to running though, and if you have a husband who takes care of your injury, you would rather be stubborn right? More running! Two months to go!

On Joining The US Navy

At first thought, I know you would be shocked.

Patriotism is a call to everybody, but it is not everybody's calling to serve his country by joining its Armed Forces.

So... Honey is a US Citizen and he decided to serve this awesome country, and I have nothing against that. At first I said okay, you join in and then I'll follow you wherever you will be stationed, I'll just keep my job or maybe look for other jobs. After a lot of thinking though, I decided to serve together with my husband and get a career while in service. Now, we are in the Delayed Entry Program to the US Navy and we are both shipping out on November 14.

I am a Permanent Resident Alien in this country. So much for the spouse support I'm giving, I want to give back by joining the service because I felt I was given equal opportunity here as with its citizens. I was able to advance myself and was able to help my family overseas. Serving and at the same time getting a career inside is actually a fabulous idea.

We have less than three months before we leave. We have informed our present jobs that we are joining the service. Right now we are thoroughly preparing physically and mentally for the basic training which will be in Chicago for about three months. I am working twice as hard so I can do a 1.5 mile run in 16 minutes, do 13 push-ups, and do 43 sit-ups. The only thing that I am not confident about doing yet is the swimming, I thought I need to enroll in order to learn the very basic and be comfortable in the water at least.

The hardest part for us couple might be just the bootcamp. We will see each other inside but we will not be allowed to talk. We signed up for a 4-year contract and we will be working as dental assistants in a hospital. There is a possibility too that one of us will be deployed at sea, but the Navy said as long as we will be good sailors, they will try to keep us within 50 miles from each other.

I am actually excited and couldn't wait to be done with boot camp and a school! Will give bits and pieces from time to time.

New Space Preview

I have been slacking, I know... I have to many things going on as of the moment, but as promised, I will give you a sneak preview of our own little space...

When we moved, pretty much we brought a lot of stuff with us. Bed and appliances, and then we bought new stuff too. Below are some of the accents that are recently acquired:

...that really chic rocking chair...

...that Standing Oval Mirror that I requested since day 1...

...and a study table and chair replacement...
Moving is fun, I tell you it was a walk in the park for me and I could do it again. We have moved like 10 miles from where we have lived last so the move wasn't that bad. Plus, I was really so prepared that I boxed a lot of our stuff weeks ago, that on the date of move in, we just loaded and unloaded our stuff. That's how I do it, I was a trained girl scout after all.

These three accents make up everything that's in here. I would love to take a photo of our TV stand only that I have no enough lighting anymore at this time. I really love to keep our space here, and I don't want to accumulate things ever again. It helps to just keep the stuff that you really need and break free from the sentimental bondage and throw away the useless things.

I will talk more about this apartment community some time soon. We have been here for a month, and so far, it has been awesome!

Successfully Moved-In

We officially started our lease on our new apartment yesterday. We have found this new place a month ago and we both fell in love with its homey atmosphere. Compared to the other apartment communities that we scouted, this one has a serene atmosphere, it is clean, it is quiet, and you would never see personal stuff hanging outside the balconies. Pool is quite inviting too.

We are in the second day of unpacking and arranging our stuff, Honey is still sleeping but I am already up and running excited to get us all set here. I love the independence. I love the fact that I at last own the kitchen and I can live in a clean well-maintained pad. I love the walk-in closet, I love the bathroom, I love everything about this place! There are trees and flowers outside too and the parking is generous! How did we get so lucky?

I will be taking photos of this place to send it to my mom in the Philippines, and if I remember I'm gonna post some here to share with you guys.

I just sneaked out, I'll update soon!

We Have Been Eating Math

I am still in awe why in every test that we have to take we always have to deal with loud mathematics. If not all, at least the basics. My brain is getting old and lazy and its not fun to do some long mathematics refresher in preparation for that one test you've been dreaming to score the highest. Duh...

In between Honey and me, he is the most susceptible to mathematics learning. I know that I need not stereotype or give in to the stereotyping, but I admit, in our case, the guy is always good at numbers. I just hate numbers forever! That doesn't mean though that I could not deal with them. I have been trying.

The test that we are about to take on the second week of July will have Arithmetic Reasoning and Mathematics Knowledge. I have been doing well with the previous and I am battling with a lot of formulas in the latter. We did a short test together last night and it seems that I have so far retained and absorbed all that I have reviewed so far, and it feels great! Really.

Two weeks to go before the big day. This test will determine if we will qualify in the Military. This is part of the steps we are taking to join the United States Navy.

Looking For A New Nest

It has been really busy. Honey's 29th birthday even went unnoticed. We had a dinner for five at a local fancy buffet and that's about it. The TV killed all the excitement, which is pretty cool as far as I am concerned, that way, we both got what we wanted with lesser hassle. Parties are not for us anymore.

So I took a two-day time off from work, plus a day off which is my regular day off so that makes it four days in a row without work! Exciting isn't it? Or at least the thought of it. We thought we would be going away for Honey's birthday but he got a note from his doctor to rest for five days because his shouldered was injured, and I really hope it gets better. He moves a lot and plays a lot of active sports and I couldn't afford the thought of him being badly hurt. Anyway, so since we were looking for a new place, I spent the most of my time off scouting for apartments near Interstate 880 and 101 so that we could move closer to where Honey works his second job.

The three days have been productive. We found two places in different locations that we are comfortable living. One is a one-bed one bath apartment for $1250 a month at a cozy place in Willow Glen. We fell in love with the place instantly and thought of just moving there, but then last night we both feel that the place is just too big for the two of us, and it is not even likely that we could utilize the living room, so we switched to another option. This morning we went to a studio apartment in a quiet neighborhood and found the place really okay at $1050 a month. The place is still huge, only that the kitchen doesn't have a divider and I worry about the smell that would stick into our bed after cooking. Right now I am in the middle of scouting for dividers of folding screens that we could use as partitions at my favorite Bed Bad and Beyond! I am scouting for a little bit of home remedies too to make our space really livable and clean. I don't want to go out of the house smelling like bacon!

We just faxed our application two hours ago and I am pretty sure that we would be approved for the unit. I like everything about that studio except for the outdated kitchen appliances, which is pretty much the least of my concerns. The neighborhood is superb, parking shouldn't be a problem, plus the bathroom is really pretty and it has a lot of storage space.

I can't wait to move!

The TV is Here...

We went early after noon to Sears to get the much awaited Samsung Smart TV. We got a good deal today because there was an ongoing sales event because of the upcoming memorial day tomorrow. The supposed to be $1000+ inclusive of taxes was paid at $917, a very good deal for a 2012 Samsung Smart TV. The feeling right now is unbeatable. Huge slim flat screen in front of our bed, high definition and all, it is awesome!

The downside of the story though came when we switched our Netflix subscription to streaming from dvd. Originally, we just thought about buying a bigger TV, but lately the thought of streaming Netflix unlimited excited us. Until we logged on to Netflix on our new TV and found out that the content is only limited. I called them to explain to me the difference of the contents in between the streaming and the dvd, and they said the streaming only has 14,000 movies and shows and that they are kind of outdated. I was surprised too when I browsed the streaming and did not find the classic movie Forest Gump.

Oh well, a little bit frustrated with Netflix here, but what can I do. We are in the middle of deciding of whether to keep the dvd or the streaming subscription. I for one still want the streaming, but since we are in the middle of a test preparation, I figured the streaming could really be a huge distraction at this point, especially for Honey! Need I say more? I though I was pretty clear about this in my previous post! :-)

We have another milestone we are about to take together as a couple. We are enlisting in the US Navy! More about it and the preparations we are taking in my upcoming posts. Right now I swear I could use another math refresher!

Oh My...

That was Honey this morning, curled up after a pee. Saturday. I had to work, but took a second to capture his winning sleep moment! Today he went out with football buddies for their memorial weekend barbeque football and volleyball. He would never miss it.

I had to share that he spends time watching TV before going to sleep, he usually passes out in between 2 to 3 in the morning, that is when he has to come from work at 11 in the evening. No matter how tired he is, he wouldn't miss his TV. First thing in the morning before completely waking up from bed, he would turn on his TV again and watch his sports channel. He would always spend some time with his TV before anything else in the world! That is why we are getting him his new TV tomorrow, and I am so excited! I could only imagine unlimited Netflix streaming, and I like that I would benefit from his gift too.

Back to his sleeping position, I swear this was the most endearing sight. I don't usually witness this all because normally I do fall asleep way before he does, and first thing in the morning I will work myself in the shower, dry my hair, and do my make-up as quick as a lightning. What a good catch this morning huh? I wish I used my DSLR, this photo is priceless...

Honey's Future Birthday Present

We are getting a Samsung 40 inches class LED 120Hz Smart HDTv!!! This is his 29th year so he deserves to get an expensive toy, not quite as expensive as my DSLR but still, it is something fancy! We are excited to stream Netflix unlimited!!! Another 15 days... I will keep you posted!

Honey on Maxi Dresses

While picking up our Mother's Day cake at Goldilocks this morning, honey noticed three ladies wearing maxi dresses. He asked me wondering, and said, Baby, are these dresses supposed to make you feel comfortable on this weather?! It was hot this morning, hot not warm, and the guy was really having a dilemma looking at those ladies strutting their long gowns!

Well, what could I say? I guess this guy is lucky that I don't like dressing up that much, or I could be wearing those dresses too!

The Savings Project

Our savings plan is working. Our tiny fortune has been left untouched and it is growing little by little every payday. As I was working on Mint minutes ago, I noticed that our net worth is already positive, that is to say, that we have more cash saved up compared to our regular expenses. We have not been struggling financially really, but we only have been negligent on what we spent on. Little pleasures like movies, eating out, and buying stuff like clothes, shoes, makeup and whatever clutter that would go unused most of the time anyway had to to go away.

Honey will be turning 29 next month, and me 4 months later, and the more that we have been thinking about improving our net worth. We have about $25,000 in loans as of the moment, most were from Honey's student loan which was $22,000, and the rest for his pickup truck. Like I told you, I am the most lucky wife to have a husband who is financially smart, he was able to take advantage of a Citibank credit card with 0% interest for six months and paid off the loan with the most interest. Unfortunately, aside from the awesome taxes and bills here in America, there is also this staggering rates of interests from left to the right that we have to deal with.

As of the moment, we are 51% away from joint savings goal for the year, thanks to the tax refund from the federal government. Our joint savings will serve as our emergency fund. Since we are building our personal savings at the same time, I thought about putting what's saved up by year end to the joint savings to add more to it and then we could start building our personal savings again. On the other hand, we are at 1% in our mortgage savings goal which is by the way so unimpressive, but that is because we set to save about $60,000 for down-payment of a future condo or a house if we could afford it in two to three years. This savings project is really becoming exciting to me.

We have another monthly add-on expense starting this month for our life insurance. Me and Honey bought a term life insurance for $30 monthly in order to protect each other if in case something unpredictable happens in the future. We are also looking at a retirement plan that would work for both of us, hopefully one that is non-taxable, if only it is possible!

The Much Awaited Avengers

We planned to be here in the morning to avoid the rush but unfortunately did not make it until 12:30, thus, we waited in line for two freaking hours! The guys that work here at the mall theatres must really hate this job in times like this...

Honey has been waiting for this movie, and me too I guess, so this will all be worth it at the end. This is our first of two movies for the month too.

As Long As I Have You...

Kilig moment!

Honey and I were talking about something silly earlier... Told him to work hard so he could buy me a Prada from his own pocket, it was half-meant but... Haha! He said --> "... that would be too materialistic, I don't care... As long as I have you, my football and my surfing I am good! I can live with that! <-- Okay??? It's alright, I'll just wait until we won the lottery before I'll ask for a Prada again...

Hearing that somewhat far out statement as a valid excuse for not buying me a Prada is priceless!

On Cash Management

With all the bills, taxes, utilities, and a savings account to build up, effective cash management is really a must. Honey signed us up at mint.com so could have a visual map on our budget and our cash flow. We actually started last month but the results were not appealing, we figured we should wait until this month when we would already have dis-positioned our budget and expenses altogether. Good news is, April is almost over and we are still within our budget and that is really a job well done. Before mint, we would just go watch a movie every weekend that would cost us about $100 a month, buy fastfood if we feel it and end up spending $150 or so. Little things that are actually very affordable usually get us into spending more, and so we figured it was time we set a budget for certain spending categories because little expenses just add up. What's good with mint is you would know instantly where you are at with your budget and how you are doing wit it because it gives you a graphical data, and you would really want to see color green to yellow on that graph and avoid becoming red, and we really feel excited about it.

With a mortgage savings, an emergency savings fund, and our personal savings to build up, Mint isn't a bad idea at all. Not to mention student loans, car loans, and small credit card bills. Ohhhhh America!

Chiffon Cake

Baking this chiffon cake is getting into my routine. This is one of his orders that I have to comply in order to make his morning coffee complete.

I think I am becoming a pro at this. I need to buy more cake moulds to save time and energy!

The Mechanic

Yesterday we went to buy Honey his tools in compliance with the requirement of his new job. He's got it all set in one average-sized toolbox and now I can say that he looks legit for the job.

This picture was a caught-in-the-act thing while he was testing his head lamp. He also did a dress rehearsal last night trying to see if he looks good on his uniforms. He didn't like the pants they provided him because it was too baggy, so he bought himself new working pants. He is missing a safety shoes though, but he said his day-to-day shoes would do already.

I will post a whole body photo of him in his complete uniform soon...

Cosmopolitan Magazine

That's Fergie, to fast forward your mind from thinking...

I found this mag on the study table when I got home today. I love cosmo, I never missed an issue when I was younger, but I got nothing to do with this one on the table, and it could only be my husband.

I thought it was a new issue, so I texted him why we have this... He said its from the bathroom :) Okay... He folded a page for my reading that's why its here right in front of me now.

Got to enhance the reading skills back. Haha!

His Dream Photo

He didn't look too happy, did he? Let's make your dream come true honey by taking this first step, one, two, three... Strike a pose!!! Haha! My husband is just head over heels with Chloe Grace Moretz eversince she was only Hit-Girl in Kick Ass.... Ohhhhhh....

Are We Safe?

I came home today and noticed that the door towards the backyard was open, I went thru that door and found that the door to the garage was open too, which leads to the door to the kitchen and to the whole house! Fabulous! What a chain of uneventful events. Even though we are living in this very safe neighborhood as my housemates would say, certainly we are not bulletproof.It has been a long time since Sierra Lamar was reported missing, and I am one of the many who's wishing that she is some place safe. I have seen a lot of young girls, both single and married, who were gone and been reported missing in this TV show called Mysterious Disappearances, and not any one of them were found alive. Creepy. Seems to me that nowadays nobody is safe even at the confines of their own homes.I have seen advertisements on TV about home security systems and I am seriously thinking of getting one right now. I don't want to feel paranoid, especially at times when I am left here all by myself. It is just isn't normal.

There are six of us at home, but oftentimes I find myself being left alone. That is when I double check all the doors make sure they are secured and just be in my room, blinds closed, doors locked and triple locked. I don't believe in a "safe neighborhood" anymore, especially not these days. I don't know why my housemates are comfortable leaving the doors open and it is freaking me out. I don't have the voice at this house so I couldn't lecture them about securing the locks so I might as well just make a move and get the security alarm product from http://besthomesecurity.com. If we have it in the house, everybody will benefit from it, and that would really help me bring back my peace of mind. There is nothing wrong about precautionary measures, I am surely freaking out but if this means safety, I would spend on it.

We Will Win This!!!

The mega lotto is up to $640 million!!! I wish one of the 4 number combinations will make it!!! Its crazy!!!

Update: His First Day at Work

Honey was in training yesterday from 7 am to 2 pm, at 3 pm he went straight to his first job and was home by 8 pm. Yes, that was a very long day. I myself am complaining for the 9 hours spent at work, and though I really have a very okay unstressful job, I can't explain why I end up exhausted at the end of every workday, how much more with what Honey is doing right now? Unimaginable. At one point I also had to juggle with two jobs, but those werent swing shifts, though I ended up not having any day off at all. No good, therefore I quit the other job.

Honey provided me with an update about his day yesterday, particularly how surprised he was for the monthly health insurance contribution of $240! What?!!! Here comes the computation of course, $240 a month is like 9 times more than what he is paying right now at his old job, being $24 a month. Ridiculous isn't it? We pay our health insurance separately as it is cheaper that way, I pay about $80 for health, and $20 for the dental. Honey has got a good insurance rate at his first job actually, so now there is a reason for him to work enough hours at his first job so he could keep that affordable health insurance plan, aside from keeping the work history clean and consistent.

Honey said that he might be working 6 days a week now, and probably that would be a total 55 hours more or less, and he would keep a day to himself. I wonder what would happen to the surfing and the football, but I'm pretty sure he will manage to keep up! What about me???!!! Ohhhhh emmmn geeee!

First Day at Work

... I meant his first day at his second job. He was up today at 5:30 am to avoid the early morning rush to be at work at 7:00 am sharp. I guess he did it on time. I was surprised to see him put his uniform on, I was like, oh so you have your uniform already?! I sounded stupid. Of course!

This husband of mine won't share bits and pieces of the story, and his excuse, is because I didn't ask. I don't know if you'd call that attitude cool for a man though. I was surprised last night to know that he would start at his other job today. That's tough to figure out. I guess I'll practice more on throwing questions at him, I might be getting more from this guy.

Now I feel a little bit lonely. Honey is doing two jobs because we have a serious goal to accomplish. Two job means he'd be worked out, and less quality time together. I told him not to stress out, but he said he's got it. He will work 15 hours at his caregiving job, and hopefully do 40 hours at his new job, of course the latter pays better and we owe a lot to the government for his student loan to complete his education and get a license for this one.

We are seriously weighing our priorities now and we identified our income against expenses. I hope we could stick to our monthly budget on the following;

$30 for movies and dvd rental
$100 restaurant dining
$100 fastfood

The shopping will be eliminated in the regular course and we will just do one time shopping every end of season to save more. I don't think we have enough space for things too. This will put my room project in a delay, but its okay, we have to build our joint savings, our mortgage savings, and our personal savings altogether and we just have to do a little bit of sacrifice on our spendings.

Hopefully this new job that Honey is in right now will bring us to greener pastures. Well, lets see, as he said this is his stepping stone to a better career and a high paying job.

The Pepper Spray

I would take heed, and think twice, before any of you oldies come try hitting on me again. My husband bought me my self defense tool last week, and I am letting everybody know. Haha!

I wish I could really use this before it expires (not quite sure of its shelf life), because that could really be awesome! Before Honey gave me this, he explained that I could only use this after I give my first warning, if the first warning doesn't work, press the red button and spray! How exciting is that?

Pre-Natal Vitamins

The moment after I had my PAP test, I had to send the doctor's assistant to get Honey from the lobby so we could start with the pre-natal consultation. I was in contraceptive pills for a year and I figured planning the first pregnancy is vital. Honey and I are living a healthy lifestyle anyway but we just thought of properly taking the steps towards this baby thingy.

The doctor gave me 2 vitamins to start with. I read it somewhere to at least take these vitamins three months before conceiving. I started taking last week because I had a long way to go, oh my! Aside from the OB-Gyn visit, I have to complete my tooth work, one root canal session, one filling, and wisdom tooth extraction. America could really be tough on this one, I had to be on the waiting list to have somebody perform all of these procedures, its unimaginable. I easily get paranoid that I would have unbearable toothache or what not in the future because of the fact that I don't have good teeth, and I don't think I can handle that one so better prepare now and take a lot of food that are calcium enriched. My best friend for one, suffered unbearable toothache for her whole pregnancy, poor her, so I am on my toes here ready to be geared up! Hoping that all the preparation would work.

I got the PAP-test result today and I am negative of cervical cancer fortunately, but I am somewhat negative with the pox virus and thus I had to get that shot too before we move on to trying to conceive.

Doctor gave me a chart to track my cycle, and she said to try to conceive on the 14th day after the 1st day of my period. Well, good to know. This is hella exciting!

First Time PAP Test

On to the next level! As planned...

On Monday, I went to have my first ever PAP test, needless to say and of course wasn't surprising that I freaked out big time! I was supposed to have my husband in the room but decided at the last second that I got it on my own, thus, doctor doctor has to deal with me right there for a little longer.

Let me introduce you to the speculum... This was exactly the tool the doctor used to do it, you know, she said for first timers, this tool is highly recommended so I went for it!

So for all of you ladies who don't have any idea how it is like, I got to say that it was nothing to go crazy about, it was done in a snap, just like that. It didn't really hurt as I imagined, but it was just uncomfortable spreading your legs and exposing yourself in the most funny position ever! Maybe the use of the speculum really helped. My gynecologist is an Indian woman and she understood my concern having this test for the first time at the age of 28, duh??? It was not implied necessary in the Philippines, as well as in India. I was glad she was careful enough and she really handled me well. My schedule shows I will have to do a PAP test every three years, so well, until the next time!

Thinking of Cherry Blossoms

Preparing for my next photoshoot project. My goal is to find a substantial cherry blossoms spot in San Jose. Spring is about to start and I have enough time to conceptualize about an outfit. I could only spend a lot of time for the sake of wonderful photos which only makes sense to me, because like I said to my complaining Honey, lets not wait until we are all wrinkled because we have all the years frozen in front of our awesome camera, right here, right now, so better do it while we could still look good!

I asked a co-worker for a spot and she mentioned Seattle, yeah right, perhaps Japan?!!! I am desperate. I need to have a photo with the cherry blossoms!

The Barber Cut Experience After 48 Years!

Honey took advantage of our Philippines stay the last time and he didn't miss going to a barber shop.

At ONIK Barber Shop in Panabo City, Davao del NortePhp30.00 for a really quality barber's cut like no other!!!

I am currently maintaining Honey's mo-hawk, I know it couldn't get any better than a wife's cut! Haha! Good thing the clipper is helpful you know... I think he might owe me some extra fees for this one...

Conceptualizing for Invitations

Three more years and we are having our second wedding! I know I make it sound like it is going to be next month already right? I have been to Michael’s last week, and there is this lovely aisle for brides and all the stuff wedding-related, and guess what, I was stuck in there for a while! It was love at first sight.

I may be too late to proclaim this sentiment but, isn’t it exciting to plan for your own wedding? I mean, I may have not given it a thought while I was growing up but now I can barely wait to have my personal touch on that wonderful event! Like I said, our second wedding will be held in a lovely paradise in the Philippines, but that doesn’t stop me from setting it up from here. I will be in touch with my friend who will be my events coordinator making sure that majority of the idea will come from me, and she will have to manage the legwork overseas. This time, I would take the extra effort to plan ahead and really get involved because I want to feel the moment on that day and make it memorable especially so because important people in our life who missed our first wedding will share it with us at last.

I saw a kit for invitations in the bridal aisle and it made me so excited that I thought maybe now while I have all the time in the world, I should start making samples. I have no idea yet as to what particular color I would pick but I have a thing for red, purple, and yellow.

One more thing, aside from the wedding invitations, I am also thinking about a night of fun with my girlfriends!So therefore I proclaim that there will be bridal shower invitations that will go out and I will send them ahead of time, so naughty friends could brainstorm and better prepare!

Room Project 1 - Done!

On Tuesday, I managed to do the first step to remaking our room - my way. I went to Walgreens to have our photo enlarged to 24 x 30 for $20. Somehow the choice of not having it reproduced in the Philippines was a smart choice! Otherwise that would be almost $100 for a 24 x 30 photo print, as compared to the almost same substance, only that it is termed as "poster" by Walgreens. I also went to Michael's to buy a black wooden acrylic frame to complete the work.

The raw project which was completed by our housemate Bahram, I couldn't have completed this all by myself, the frame was dang heavy!

I have been itching to put down that corny wall painting for a year now, and at long last! Forgive the mess, but I promise I'll give a neat one after job completion...

Walgreens printed 2 photos for me because the first one they said had a slight glitch, so I took home an extra photo which ended unfortunately in the trash this morning.

The finished project! I had positioned our photo at the center above our bed as opposed to having it at the center of the wall.

Right now I am about to take a shower and get ready to shop for white fabrics for the curtains and sheets. It is by the way 5 o'clock in the afternoon! I am just so happy to have done something productive on my day off!

Honey's Fingerprinting

Good morning world!

Today is my day off and I am currently waiting for Honey so I can do my stuff for the day. He was early this morning to comply to his fingerprinting appointment at the airport for his new job. Did I tell you that Honey is a licensed aircraft mechanic? He finished this 14-month course about 2 to 3 years ago, got his license, and after which the economy went down and there was no hiring, non whatsoever in the aircraft maintenance industry. Recently, they (together with my brother in law) got lucky.

This is the first step of the saving up portion of our goals for this year and the years to come. Honey his keeping is other job at the care home for a little extra, that works for him because this care home facility is just 3 minutes away from where we live. It got me into thinking, that maybe I should go find another part time job again. I was able to do it before, and I'm sure I would be able to do it now. I wonder how to find a non-retail part time job! I have been into Indeed in the hope of finding one, but yeah, jobs nowadays, especially the good ones, don't come easy at your fingertips, like you have to wait forever for a feedback.

Today, I am going to send stuff to Roseville, open an account at the Credit Union, buy a picture frame, and hopefully buy the white curtains for the room. I have to be productive today, I'd rather waste money on these than waste my time on facebook! Seriously now...

Second Wedding Venue

Venue: Dahican, Mati, Davao Oriental, PhilippinesTentative Date: January 4, 2015

It is going to be a beach wedding and its gonna be here! We are so glad we were taken to this place by our good friend Atty. Sweet, somehow we just kind of mutually made up our minds that we are gonna do it at this beautiful paradise. We will definitely set money aside for this event, and will start on the concept little by little so that I could add my personal touch on my own wedding --- though I have to pass on the rest of the work to Mye Mye my friend eventually, her expertise would really save us.

Just thinking about it now is so exciting! Another wedding shared with the most important people in our life will definitely make the moment beyond memorable. We are going to make our second wedding terrific! I swear!

Plans... At least we have something to look forward to...

A Time to Brag!

Before we left the Philippines, our friend Mye gave us something priceless! It was a mug with our photos on it!

She is a professional events planner who's taking every event in the world in her hands, all by herself! She named her business venture Mye Events, and she is open for reservations! So you better hurry up you guys!

Here's a memorable photo of the turnover ceremony which took place at our favorite Aling Foping's in Matina Town Square:

You bet it was the coolest we got from that trip back home. It was awesome how she thought of conceptualizing a gift for us amidst her busy schedule. Mye Mye my friend, I hope you know how grateful we are for the thoughtfulness! This was not the first time, and I bet you'd be surprised to know that I have a place for your thingy in our room! Remember this one?

Legit-LookingWedding Rings

At long last! We managed to get new set of wedding rings in our latest trip to the Philippines, it is one of my "only in the Philippines" story where you could buy cheap jewelry!

Getting these legit-looking wedding rings was really an achievement on my part, everybody's noticing it, or at least someone would already care to ask nowadays, you're not married are you? Happy!!!

ALL STARS

*Guest post written by our friend Sergio Chaney

I can't wait to watch another episode of "Project Runway All Stars" Worcester directv. It is by far my favorite show. I usually am not a fan of reality or competition tv, but I am a fashionphile and "Project Runway" is right up my alley. The cool thing about the "All Stars" this season is that all of the people on the show have been in other seasons of "Project Runway" before. They are really the most qualified and some of the most memorable people that got kicked off the show before. They are all really talented and know what they are doing, so it makes this season even better than some seasons before. Some of the clothes that they have come out were absolutely amazing. I wish that you could buy some of them! I can't wait to see who wins this season. I feel like everyone is qualified and would be a fabulous designer. I have my personal favorites, but usually my personal favorites are not the ones who end up winning. I'm trying to stay quiet about them so that I do not jinx them!

Deciding On the Bedroom Wall Photo

We have a lot of good photos in my opinion, and I am having a hard time which one to put in the bedroom. Before DC Fotografia's pro bono photoshoot, Honey and I already went to the photo studio in Davao to strike the best couple pose. We didn't have good wedding photos as our wedding was unplanned and a big joke, therefore I came up with a plan and set aside a neat budget for a studio shoot when we went to the Philippines last month. You might be wondering why we didn't do it here, and it is because I don't think we could afford even the simplest studio shoot in San Jose! Dang! So the trip to the Philippines was all worth it in terms of taking good photos, thinking that we already compensated for the engagement photos that we missed and the best part was that we got almost all of the good edited and raw photos for free! Only in the Philippines!

I got five soft copies of the studio shoot, and I picked the one where we put on our original first wedding suits...

Of course deciding on the best photo is a conjugal thing, but then I know that Honey would just pick whatever photo he thinks is the best without factoring in some sorting and sleepless nights, that is why he is a man in the first place. I want a photo of us both facing in the camera and as much as possible with both our wedding bands visible, but then as of this very moment, I couldn't find any except for this...

I will definitely convert the photo that I will pick to black and white in order to fit into my chic bedroom idea. Right now I think it would take me another week to decide on which photo to blow up... My mind is also multitasking, it is telling me to go to Michael's to check out wall frames! Oh my!!!

Bedroom Makeover - The Plan

Looking for the best small bedroom ideas...

This year would mark the beginning to initiate this plan. I have always wanted to have a chic all white room with a hint of powder blue, pink, and yellow. I am conceptualizing how to do these without being too tempted by Ikea's wonderful bedroom ideas! The most important thing is to do the makeover without replacing a lot. I want to achieve my desired concept by keeping majority as is, to save cost of course, because I don't also want to be impractical. We have a small box of room, but this is one of the biggest among all four rooms in this house. It is painted with powder blue, half is covered with soft floral wallpaper with a hint of soft pink, lavender, and blue. Our queen-sized bed is almost black, our study table dark mahogany, our TV stand brown (which I really dislike), our dresser is white, our laundry basket is cream, our carpet is beige, our door is ugly brown. Majority of those I mentioned will stay the same except for the laundry basket and the TV stand, which I will replace hopefully on payday! The major makeover will take place in the form of curtains and bed sheets, plus a huge black and white couple photo somewhere around these walls. I also want to buy a standing oval mirror!

Right now a lot of wants are flowing inside my mind but I have to keep the spending in the low low, a $1000 maybe? How I wish! Budget time...

Photo-shoot for Free!

Now I could say, that despite this stressful Philippine travel, I did not regret coming home! There is no way I would regret this, I have accomplished important things for my family and spent time with them which is the most important part, plus, we got a complimentary photo-shoot from the best guys ever! An old friend, and previous Pastor named Benjie Lloyd Dela Cruz started photography as a hobby, together with his cousin Kuya Aying and they invited us to have a couple shoot for FREE! We were like, for real?!!! For real indeed, and there is going to be a take two before we go back to the United States next week! We are now thinking of renting an outfit for the next photo-shoot, white long gown and white suit for Honey as a matter of fact, crossing our fingers that we could actually find this in Davao City!

Pastor Lloyd or "Kayode" as we call him, named their rising business venture DC Fotografia. They cater different types of photo-shoots as per client requirement. Here is a snapshot of their photo-shoot package/s:

I will post more updates as I go on, including the photos taken by DC Fotografia... Right now its time for lunch!

First Wedding Anniversary

January 4, 2012 - so I figured this post is a month late! Haha! First wedding anniversary, same as the wedding itself, nothing fancy. We just ate at a Korean Buffet in Sunnyvale and took one photo as a souvenir...

Khloe and Lamar

Guest post from: Kent Lara

In case you haven't heard the Kardashians are taking over the world. I have recently started watching the Keeping Up With the Kardashians spin off Khloe and Lamar and I really am getting into it. It has all of the Kardashian family with only about half of the drama. You get to see more of Rob on this show than any of the others since he lives with Khloe and Lamar. You also get to know Lamar a little better when he is on that show and not training or away playing in a basketball game. Khloe and Lamar's relationship is an interesting one. They were only dating for about a month or so when they decided to get engaged. The whole Kardashian family was all up in arms when they made the announcement of the wedding because they didn't even hardly know Lamar at the time since he had only recently stepped into the picture. Check out GiveADish.com to find out if you can get Khloe and Lamar on your local stations to catch up on all the action.

LOTTO Numbers at Last!

This is another something new that I accomplished at the start of the year!!! At last last night we were able to decide on the numbers after we got the love thing fortune cookie...

My budget would be $2 a week, $8 a month... Oh my gosh it would be hard to spend all of the money if I won! We will just forget about this numbers and wait for luck to pass by us lovebirds who needs the money... haha, who knows?

He Gave Me Flower... No, A Rose!

Around 6:30 this evening I pulled up in front of the garage and called my mom, I had to share some interesting news that's why I stayed in the car because I could only be too loud inside the house. It wasn't until five minutes later that I noticed Honey's car pulled up beside me and I wondered why he was home? He works 3pm to 11pm so there must be something he needs to do. I didn't see that long stemmed rose coming, I swear! Wala ko gikilig Basiga!!! Haha!

I thought my husband should know me better by now, I am not the type of girl you would give flowers to. I grew up in a garden and maybe that is why I don't appreciate flowers as much because of too much familiarity. This is the third time I got flowers from this guy, once during my birthday and the other was during valentines day, all thru the help of LBC. He told me he has to give me a rose, at least a stem of rose, because it is our wedding anniversary already... I'm like, okay??? I should be appreciating this gesture huh? Instead of asking him to convert it to cash that I badly need?

We went to the chinese buffet last night by the way, Honey made me cry yesterday because he pissed me off and I had my period! I wasn't in the mood at all and wasn't talking to him until almost fortune cookie time... and this is what we got...

Well... We certainly hope so too! I have to cut off my horns, seriously...

2012: First Strike

I thought of joining Honey's surfing craze. I recently saw Attorney Sweet's surfing endeavor in Mati and I thought to myself, why not?

I was already searching for a wetsuit this morning and I was too eager to tell Honey last night to go Santa Cruz today to start surfing! First of all, I don't think I really meant that statement, water right now is freezing and I think I could die out there. Honey just showed me in random how a surfer is supposed to ride his board:


Honey is so good at this surfing stuff now I think, he could move his way to the waves better, I think he is getter better compared to my brother in law, but that is just me, in favor of my husband somehow haha!

I will post some updates about my upcoming surfing endeavor here soon... This will be one of my something new for this year. Goodluck!

*** We went out last night to meet the new year, we were originally planning to join Honey's cousins at the bar... Unfortunately while in the area, I just gave up because I didn't know that people here would wait in line so ID's could be checked before being allowed inside! I was like OMG this is just too much and I knew right then and there that I couldn't do it. So we ended up eating in that Korean place in El Camino again, and by the way, I will just refer to it as "Korean Restaurant" as I couldn't find an English name anywhere in that place... We went home right after and witnessed a little bit of fireworks from the hood. This is my New Year's Eve Update.. ***