It's not my birthday but this post has been way too long overdue.  I haven't really been blogging for the longest time due to work and mommy duties but for some reason I want to write about this special birthday present I received last year.  Indeed it's very special for me, my bestfriend sent this on my special day!  She's there in the Philippines and I'm here in US, still she managed to do something very special for me.  

I am not going into details anymore how she sent me this yummy red velvet with cream cheese frosting cake, all I want to express here is how I felt that time when I saw a huge box right infront my door.  I felt so loved and missed when I saw that present just when we came from our regular day out routine.  Hurriedly brought it in and opened with eagerness, not knowing who gave it.  Finally the surprised was unveiled, I got a cake full of love from my best-EST dear friend.  Of course it would have been nicer if it was her standing there waiting for me but that's too much to ask.  

Was it the cake or the present which made me feel so happy?  Well of course that made me happy but most importantly, the thought that came with it.  Across the miles my dear Che has pulled a big surprise for me.  I miss you bes...

 ...pierogi garlic and herbs in mushroom & asparagus sauce...

Aside from designing, my other passion is cooking.  I have been cooking since I was a kid and thanks to my mom and grandma who taught me what is cooking all about.  Though I don't have as much time as before to prepare meals, I try to reinvent recipes and make an easier and quicker preparation.  I am not the type to follow recipe books in the first place, I always just browse and see a certain recipe that I don't know about and then do it how I want it.

Over the years I have designed several establishments like resorts, hotels and bar & restaurant.  Of course not the big ones but still my gear is towards that path aside from residential planning.  My college thesis is actually a combination of all having it as a SPA hotel and resort.  It would be nice if me and bes can really put this thesis into reality, it's like one of our ultimate dream.

If only putting up such business is as easy as baking a cake, then we'll have no problems at all.  Seriously it is not as easy as it seems, such establishment would require generous amount of time, effort, money and work.  This doesn't discourage us at all, we are still positive about fulfilling our dream in the future.  Who knows if one day we'll be in need of hotel supplies & restaurant supply for our dream spa resort.  

Given that planning and design will be very much handled easily, all we need is to find resort supplies & catering supplies for the operations.  Me and bes will be checking out PeachSuite hospitality supply to get all the necessary equipment we'll need.  I know you're reading this bes, it's sure nice to dream huh?  I Know we'll make something happen in the future, big or small it doesn't really matter as long as we'll do it together!

One very important trip we made sure has to happen was our Boracay Island escapade. Me and hubs love that island and we wanted baby to enjoy it too. Mom worked on the bookings to make sure we'll have the best deals and guarantee our plane reservations done. Since Elisse still has school and mom has classes too we decided to split in two groups, me with hubs, baby, bes and dad left on Thursday so we could enjoy longer days in the island. Mom, Elisse, big bro, little sis, nanay and Chie all went together the next day. Dad is also a bit superstitious with flights, as much as possible he doesn't want all of us complete in one plane trip that's why it worked best for all of us.

It has been a tiring week since baby celebrated his birthday and we had to work on other things too. Our flight was scheduled in the afternoon so we had a bit of time to pack and take baby to the doctor for a quick check-up. I got quite worried when baby got a bit feverish that Thursday morning so mom and I rushed him to our family doctor. Good thing it's nothing bad and we were just given an antibiotic and paracetamol to suppress the fever. Baby was also teething that time and whenever that happens he always get fever. I knew baby's fever wasn't bad but since we're scheduled for a trip it's better to have him checked right away to make sure we have the necessary medicines needed also to know if it will be safe for him to go. Making sure all essentials for your baby is very important when you go off for a trip and I'm happy that mom was there to help me.

Nobody would think our little boy wasn't too well earlier that day because he's very lively and active when we reached the airport. We had some time to buy so baby enjoyed walking around the waiting area while waiting for the boarding. It was just a 30min flight going to Kalibo and a 2hr road travel to Caticlan going to the pier where we took our ferry ride to Boracay Island. Baby slept through most of the travel clutching his trendy baby blanket and I made sure he's tucked really hood inside his ring sling baby carrier when we boarded the ferry. There's no way I'd let him loose during our evening boat ride! We safely arrived in the island after a very humid travel and settled in a local hotel before heading out to dinner.

Pools are sure fun for kids and adults but proper precaution must be observed to prevent any harm and serious dangers to children. It is ideal to have pool covers whenever there are children around who can easily fall over and drown. After seeing how my little boy goes crazy to jump in the pool I better keep him off the edge then =)

You must be tired of reading my posts about the tiring work days we had since we arrived in Manila. All those days we had to move here and there, do this and that. Now enough of that and it's time to reveal one of the reason for our trip in the Philippines. Any vague idea? Oh well, our little boy has finally turned one and my family made a big celebration for him there.

Since baby's born we had things planned ahead how are we celebrating certain occasions here and there. We did his baptismal here, baby celebrated Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas and New Year here for his first 11mos so we decided it would be just fair to have his first birthday celebrated in Manila. Technically that's the idea though we still kind of made a pre-birthday celebration here days before we left for Philippines. Truly his first is something memorable because officially baby turned one during our flight back home. We left US on Jan 31st at night and arrived in the Philippines on Feb 2 already. So over the Pacific while everybody's (most people) sleeping in the plane we patiently waited for 6:47am US time to greet our boy.

Baby's birthday was celebrated in SHAKEY'S with a few of our close friends and relatives and a lot of the neighbors. Mom practically invited the whole neighborhood saying that it's hard if they will miss some people who might feel bad not being part of it. That celebration also served as a reunion or get together with our friends because we knew our vacation time is limited and we won't get the chance to see them all again after that. It was a big party and so many kids. I admit it ended up to be pretty tiring since I had to carry baby almost the whole event! I was already getting cranky at some point when baby's already getting hungry and so as mommy and daddy! *lol*

The venue reservation and the whole party were my mom and dad's gift, the grand cake from my sisterand additional loot bags and giveaways from my brother. I just hired a photo-video service to cover the birthday so we don't need to worry about the cameras and all. Mom opted for the clowns rather than getting mascot appearance which is usually just few minutes after the candle blowing. The clown kept the crowd entertained the whole event with the games and the magic tricks. My sister also pre-designed the tarpaulin which I finished and redefined and dad had it printed.

Baby loved it when the kids circled around him and started singing happy birthday. He was walking around looking at everybody while giggling and smiling. He also loved it when he was about to blow the candle (though mommy did it) because he got to be near his very nice cake and again surrounded by kids singing happy birthday. He became familiar with the song because days before his birthday I started singing it to him, he was even singing it during our flight. Don't think everything was happy for mommy, I scolded the clown for breaking the candle. Yes, he broke the candle in half!

The party was great and thanks to my family, relatives, friends and other guests who came. You all made it memorable for our little boy. Baby received many gifts mostly clothes, some toys and cash. He has a good new set of clothes even good for his later years.

If you read my previous entry you can tell how tired all of us were on our first day there in Manila. It was a heck of a day but we're happy that we managed to do that much too. Having all those preliminary things done we were able to chill out and relax on our second day at home. I was able to enjoy eating good without me having to cook and prepare the foods, of course mommy still had to feed baby and serve daddy but that's nothing compared to all the things that I do here every single day.

Oh no, I'm not a dating guru but I think I can give you some dating advice if ever! =) My parents were way too strict to allow me to go out on dates but if it's with my bestfriend then definitely no problem at all. Me and bes used to go out and catch up with each other since we started working. It's just so hard to get our schedules straightened out but we managed to pull out some good times together. Only several occasions we went to watch movies but most of our "dates" were going to the spa, bowling, shopping, salon and eating out. Sometimes we'll just end up chilling out either in my place or hers.

Not all the time it's just me and bes, sometimes we'll meet up with the rest of the girls and just hang around starbucks or somewhere else. It's fun being with the girls, no need for such pick up artist to impress you or needless to hear any pick up lines. Just plain bonding time chatting and relaxing. I honestly miss those times, I bet they too. The girls I used to hang out with also went to other places, 2 in Singapore, 1 here in US but nowhere near me, and the rest in the Philippines. I think that's one consequence of growing up, people go on their ways to find their success in life. I am just happy to have some captured moments with them during our date times.

I'd like to thank everybody who greeted me on my day most especially Monica who had a special dedication on her MM post. It's my first time celebrating my special day without my family but all your warm greetings made it extra special. Some friends greeted me thru overseas call, emails and friendster. Speaking of which, I'd like to share my bestfriend's blog greeting for me. We managed to chat for a while in YM, thanks to modern tech now I can easily be in touch with them.

Do you believe in opposites attract? I guess that applies to me and my bestfriend. We're quite opposite with many things so we end up always joking that we'll never fight over a guy because we're opposites. We've been together for many years, I think 15. Can you tell how much we matured all those years? Forget about the weight gain, I think it comes with age! =P