Actually, I had it more as an appetizer than a main course (I still have my reliable "baon" to complement it, hahaha).

The verdict: It's ok but I think it's a little small for my usual serving size...and it looks so much better in the picture. :-)

During my latest trip to the salon last Sunday, the lady who did my pedicure asked me if I wanted to wax the hair in my lower legs. So making sure that it's alright to have this procedure done even if I'm pregnant, we went to this enclosed room and she waxed my lower leg. After a few minutes, viola! My legs were hair-free and what a confident-booster it was for me!

Actually, unlike me, my friends often undergo body hair treatments. They have been urging me even before to join them and have laser hair removal in chicago. They tell me that if you go to a certified dermatologist, they can perform modern laser procedure to properly remove all your unsightly body hairs in the legs, underarms, arms, etc.. And what's great about laser procedures is that hair doesn't come back for a longer period of time compared to other procedures such as shaving and waxing. For example, Lakeview Dermatology offers modern skin treatment procedures which will surely make you feel beautiful, without the pain.

Now I think I'll have that laser treatment right after I give birth. :-)

My cousin Nina sent this picture of Zoe last week ~~~ and I'm loving it to bits (hmm...except for the fact that my growing nose is also peeping here... shucks).

This was taken in Tagaytay during our family reunion. So pa-cute no? Anyway, I hope she'll stay as cute and charming as she is now.

For some time now, I really have been aching to go to Greenhills again.

Blame in on the past days of rain. Why? It's because I have vivid memories as a teenager of spending cold rainy days in Greenhills. I would go with some friends and we would eat at the McDonald's there, enjoying a hot pack of french fries and a hot fudge sundae to go with it. We would stroll in Virra Mall and try out several funky outfits. We would also go to the Gift Gate shop and buy some Hello Kitty stationery and stickers to add to our collection. Then would cap the day with a game or two at the bowling center. After that, it was going home time once again. Oh, that was the LIFE!

Greenhills now (unfortunately or fortunately) isn't the same Greenhills I used to know. It's now, well, different. Of course, there are more choices now when it comes to clothes and shoes. Now, there are lots and lots of restaurants and fast food chains there too. There are even good cellphone and computer shops at the second floor. There are also rows and rows of shops selling great accesories, jewelries and other items that are associated with Feng shui for wealth and prosperity. (I heard that my friend now often goes there to buy several feng shui items to invite good "vibes" when it comes to health, wealth and money.)

Anyway, change is good. But whether Greenhill's charm is still there for me or not, that's another issue. But at least I'm glad that it's still standing.

I have always be struck by the prayer for priests that is regularly recited at the EDSA Shrine. It speaks about how we should pray for those priests who have touched our lives in some way: the priest who baptized us, who heard our confession, gave us communion, etc. It also says that we need to pray for those priests who are young, who are old, who are dying.

Whenever I hear this prayer, one of the priests that always come to my mind is this kind and very wise priest whom I really look up to. I was only fifteenish when my sister "dragged" me (hahaha) to the center in Examiner for me to talk to this certain priest. My sister only had high praises for him so I gamely went inside the confession booth to talk to him. I still remember being very engrossed in my conversation with the priest that my sister literally had to knock on the confession door to tell me to come out already. I didn't notice that an hour had passed already! Hahaha. It was a very memorable first time for me. Normally, knowing myself, I wouldn't last 5 minutes in the confession. In this case, it was an utterly good first time that I kept coming back to the sacrament of reconciliation and spiritual direction ever since.

I am forever thankful to God for leading me to this holy priest. His advices to me really contributed a lot in helping me find and realize my vocation - a gift that I may never ever have discovered if I had not let my sister "drag" me to that place on that fateful day. :-)

So to you Father Guzman, thank you and see you in Heaven. I'm pretty sure you are there.

For the past few days, I have been extra careful on how we spend our valuable money. It is because the reality is, if you have limited resources, then you have a limited capacity to spend. The money you earn has a limit, thus you also have to spend within that limit. Going over that limit is equal to incurring debt. So really, the best way to stop more debts is either to stop spending over what you can afford in cash or earn more money.

Unfortunately for some people and companies, they do not control their budget spending and many times this translates to the non-payment of loans and other related financial problems. But fortunately for those in need of loan restructuring, you can actually get better terms by getting Loan Modification Leads for yourself through a good consulting firm.

I'm so looking forward to next week's post-summer outing with my college friends.

Our last outing was still last December in Baguio:

This time, we will be heading to Tanay where one of our friend's family has a resort. So it'll be from cold (Baguio) to hot (Tanay). It may be rainy too, depending on the weather. Yay! Nevertheless, I'm excited.

We had a very busy schedule last weekend. First, my hubby and I took our leaves on Friday in order to have ample time to wait and fall in line at the OB doctor's clinic in Cardinal Santos. Normally, our check-ups would be at M-Tech in Makati but M-Tech is temporarily closed until further notice. Thus, we needed to drag ourselves to Cardinal to have our monthly check-up. After our check-up (and after being given a "lonely" dessert and softdrink ban by the doctor), we headed to meet my Dad at the mall for lunch. It was a fun time for the Lolo and the little girl. My Dad gave Zoe a cutesy pig stuff toy which she has been hugging every single night since then.

We got to go around for a while at the Shangri-La mall after that. We scouted for some laptops and I think I'll be getting my own soon! Woo-hoo! We also checked out a voice over ip for a friend who has been looking for one. I heard that getting one is going to give you a lot of savings compared to making international calls via your normal landline telephone.

Anyway, we also had time to go to the mall-wide sale at Trinoma that evening. I got my husband a new pair of eyeglasses as my birthday present to him (*wink*). Actually, I should be a little ashamed because for his birthday present to me, he got me a new cellular phone! Hahaha. Thanks Hunny!

On Saturday, we were off to Kindermusik again for Zoe's 4th summer session. We then proceded to Araneta Center's Hap Chan for lunch. In the afternoon, we found ourselves in a McDo party for my friend Ruth's son who celebrated his 1st birthday. Zoe definitely had a lot of fun!

On Sunday, it was the usual mass in the morning. In the afternoon, Zoe tagged along as we ran some errands and I had some beauty parlor stuff done. Actually, I had let the hairdresser cut my hair short, as in very short. Honestly, I like my new cut even if I look like a "siopao" now. At least I have an excuse for cutting my hair and for looking (a little) fat. I AM PREGNANT after all, right?

During my OB check-up last Friday, the doctor gave me a definitive ban on the following:

Ugh!!! The culprit seems to be her clinic's weighing scale that didn't seem to cooperate with me that day. Hahaha.

I really hope to be a good girl na and really eat what is only the best for the baby. Wish me the best of luck!

My Dad and Ninang celebrated their first wedding anniversary yesterday and I texted them around noontime to greet them both. Ninang replied almost immediately and told me that they are at the Ocean Park at the very moment, enjoying themselves with looking at the different water species that can be found there. They are even scheduled to go experience those "doctor fishes" at the fish spa. Sounds like fun, right?

Anyway, I wish we can go there too sometime. The last time we attempted to go inside (I think it was Mother's Day last year), there were like hundreds in line before us so we decided to postpone it. Would anybody know here if there is an octopus in that Ocean Park? I haven't seen one up close and personal up to now, you see. I want to see one soon because I've been reading the website Octopus.com and I find it very, very interesting. Please leave me comment if you know where I can see one. Thanks a lot!

I only discovered Etsy recently and I am super glad that I did. Actually, personality-wise, I think my friend Lala is the more "etsy" one but just looking at their goods makes me drool!!!

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Doesn't Zoe act like a pro?

My Tita Josie, Tito Jun and cousin Nina are all here in Manila from the States for a short vacation. Because of this, we decided to have a quick out of town getaway as a family.

First, here's our picture during the quick stopover at the Caltex Station in SLEX.

When we got there, syempre photo ops muna.

Zoe loved the cool breeze from the Taal Lake.

Incidentally, there is already a zipline and cable car which you can enjoy in Picnic Grove. Nobody dared to try it out though.

At around 4 p.m., we packed our stuff and went to pick up my sister who was staying in Mendez, Cavite. She joined us for a quick snack at Pancake House.