Ayie
Marathon? Nope we didn't run there literally but we did so much on our first day there in Manila it was like we're in a marathon. In my post "Back In Manila" it ended with Elisse asking me to bring her to school and pick her up too. I thought I can make use of a little nap before doing things around but there was no time at all to rest. Baby was overjoyed and overwhelmed with everything that he didn't want to take his nap. We were able to do the school stuffs for Elisse but we had to drop her off at home because we'll have to meet with somebody. That meeting was double purpose, to deliver the package, give our gift (we received some gifts too!) and get the house keys for hubs' parent's place.


I had to drive all the way to SM San Lazaro and meet in Starbucks @ 1pm. It wasn't hard going there so we came on time. Package delivery - check! Getting the keys - check! Stayed there for about 2hrs and after securing she had her taxi ride back home off we go to hubs' place. It was quite a drive and my sleepiness was starting to kick in. I'm just so thankful that baby's been a very good boy while mommy's driving. When we got there in Baesa @ 4pm we decided to deliver some pasalubong for hubs auntie and the caretaker of the apartments there. A little chit chat here and there and the we went upstairs to check the things to do there. Hubs only had to document and take photos that time so we were able to finish fast enough though the sun has already set and I'm really getting sleepy already. On our way home we were even able to pass by my client just to say hi and to let them know we're back for a quick vacay.


I think that concludes our first day. Arriving around 3:40am and settling back at home by 8:30pm. Everybody's finally home and baby get to see all of them. We all ate dinner together and sleep real good! A good chunk of work was taken out of our list, the day was very tiring but it's all worth the effort.


Ayie

This winter as really brought along a lot of snow with it this year. While it's been a little bit of a burden for my husband Mark and I, its brought a lot of joy to my son MattÉ I am sure glad he can get so much happiness out of it, at least! The snow has allowed Matt and his little friends to spend a lot of time together outside. They stay out there in the cold for hours enjoying themselves. I'm really glad Matt has the social time. Just the other day Mark brought him and two of his friends sledding at big hill at a local park I don't think they could have had more of a blast if they tried!

All the recent weathering hasn't helped our roofing situation. When things clear, I think we are going to go back to homeproimprovement.com and find some local help for the roof. It's funny that I'm not at the stage of life where snow becomes a lot of work. However, I'm so glad that Matt gets to enjoy it while he's at this age. I know he'll look back fondly on these times!

Guest post written by Wanda Nelson


Ayie
Our stay in Manila helped us relax and unwind it's like a total body and mind rejuvenation for us. Not only that, it also helped us make up our mind with our car decision. Since we were told here that SUV is a gas guzzler we kind of inclined to buying a caravan instead. We're also after the 3rd row seat a caravan offers but after driving around and seeing the Toyota Fortuner mom and dad bought we're more positive getting SUV.


Too bad that US don't have the same Toyota model but as I searched for it's counterpart here I'm definite that hubs would love that car too. Don't think it's the looks alone that made us want that car, hubs and I actually had the chance to drive around Manila with it. The bulk looks intimidating at first but cruising around feels like you're just driving a regular sized car. It's very light and easy the maneuver.


At least we narrowed down our choices and hopefully we can get ours next month. We just need to do more research for other similar type and definitely we'll steer away from those luxury models like VW Golf, Lexus IS-C, Lamborghini, VW New Beetle Convertible, etc. Those models aren't really our cup of tea anyway.

We'll keep our fingers crossed and hope that we'll have things as planned. We originally intended to buy a car once we come back from our Philippines trip. We're kind of excited with the car purchase because after that we'll focus on getting our house next. Looks like this will be a very busy year for us =)
Ayie
We're finally back here in US and as usual work's waiting for us already. I wanted to blog even before leaving Philippines but we didn't have enough time to do so and as soon as we came here too much unpacking and other things to do. Our trip was intended for a good vacation break but there were some things that we had to handle which required work. Since I already gave you a glimpse of us leaving San Francisco I'll start with our first day in the Philippines.


We arrived around 3:40am about 2hrs earlier than expected arrival time. I had to stay up the whole flight to really watch over baby and make sure he's comfortable. He was such a good boy and we're very lucky that he didn't really fuss much during the flight. Thanks also to the lady seated next to us who's very nice, she gave me a good space to move baby around and made my nursing very much comfortable and easier. 12hrs+ straight flight was a bit of a challenge for us and good thing there's a good selection of movies to see on board. I watched SALT and DESPICABLE ME while hubs enjoyed INCEPTION and other movies. At some point we both watched over his screen JUST FOR LAUGHS before landing to our destination.


Mom and dad were already there in the airport waiting for us. Instinctively as we were going down the escalator I looked at the glass wall across and instantly saw my dad waving at us. Mom and dad were waiting patiently as we exited the airport doors and that's the first time they ever held baby J. Dad took him from my arms without baby J pushing, fussing and hesitation. Mom didn't have any trouble holding baby as well, he's very much behaved. Baby was supposed to sleep on our way home but he was so amazed with the lights around the Manila bay area so he ended up making a lot of cute noises in the car. Just before heading home we had a quick stop to eat breakfast in a Pares place. Hubs was so happy to eat his favorite beef pares with rice and savory soup.


Finally we reached home and baby met the rest of the family. He had the chance to play a little with tita Jeng (my sister) before going to work. We didn't get to really rest on our first day there because baby was so hyped and Elisse also was overwhelmed that she requested I bring her to school and pick her up. I think I'll cut our first day here for now and continue on the next post. It's such a very long day for us and this post might bore you to death after reading paragraphs after paragraphs.


**I had to improvise with the photos by taking snap shots of the videos we took. All of the first set of photos we took were transferred to the PC there and we didn't get to copy the files anymore. Still waiting for mom to go online to ask her for the photos =)**


Ayie
While we're on vacation hubs left some work for his papa to do. Our trusty old car had to undergo repairs and maintenance and the best time to do such work is when we're out and not really needing to use it. Since there's no time restrictions that car had a good overall check. Necessary parts were replaced and all other things like transmission, head gasket, fan, alignment & etc. we thoroughly inspected. Hubs used the car today going back to work and he said it runs smooth like a new Honda Civic! He's very thankful to papa and the mechanic who's been fixing our car ever since.

It was the perfect timing to do the repairs for the car. Just like any other cars a routine maintenance and repair must be done. It doesn't matter whether you have to do it somewhere else like San Jose, San Francisco or as far as Los Angeles auto repair. As soon as the car requires such immediate attention better bring it over to the mechanic. Your safety also depends on your car condition.
Ayie

Remember Elisse? Isn't she adorable? She's very happy to see us again and to finally meet her baby cousin. Baby J goes crazy whenever he sees Ate Elisse, hugging, kissing and holding her so tight sometimes she even gets hurt. She's also doing a good job taking care of baby J.
Ayie
....we're loving the beach!...


To all our blogger friends, visitors and readers....

Happy Valentine's Day!!!


***excuse my absence, will visit you all after our trip's over***
Ayie

You might be wondering why I'm missing in action again and haven't been blogging for the past weeks. Packing and preparing for our Manila flight really took my time plus all of baby J's pre-birthday celebration definitely kept my hands tight. Just for a quick update from yours truly, we already bid adieu to San Francisco last January 31st, 9:15pm.


Mom and dad picked us up in the airport and finally baby J met the other grandparents. It was surprising to see how he comfortably went to dad and mom without fussing. Right now we're about 1 1/2 wk away from our trip back to US. Time sure flies by and as if our vacation never happened. Anyway time for mommy to sleep, we'll have a very busy day tomorrow.

Ayie
Yoga is the traditional physical and mental disciplines practiced in India for the longest time. Nowadays there are yoga classes and special places to do yoga. They say that through yoga one can improve his or her health and way of living. The disciplines in yoga will promote body and mind relaxation which can result to better thinking and judgment with things and decisions. Though modern time adapted yoga with certain tweaks depending on their system like the Dahn Yoga which incorporates blend of tai chi, martial arts and yoga itself.

Better lives with greater balance for the mind and body is among the Dahn Yoga benefits. It aims to help people of any age and sex to develop a better state of mind and body with simple and easy to learn movements. The body can improve in many aspects including cardio and circulatory health. Not only that, it can even learn how to manage pain in the body. Promoting better sense of positivity and concentration can boost the mind which can result to better spirituality as well. These are the wonders yoga can do for the body, mind and soul.

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