19 weeks butete

19 weeks and two days. i look like a tadpole now, when my back's turned to people, i don't look pregnant. i'm constantly getting some curious looks...people can't figure out whether i'm just fat, suffer from malnutrition, or that i'm actually pregnant. hahahah! being short and young looking doesn't help any! next week i'll be in my 5th month of pregnancy, my level 2 ultrasound is scheduled on April 10th and we'll find out if it's a boy or a girl! so excited (and secretly terrified) about that. i'm on my way to get a pregnancy massage at belle visage spa. my whole body's aching especially my left side...they say it's my sciatic nerve and that the baby is probably resting more towards the left side of my tummy so the weight's not spread that evenly. sigh! i'm in a pampering mood today. didn't have a really good week this week -- work's super stressful and there's lots of things going on with the saga called life. well, i took some pics of my pregnant self -- i probably might not do this again anytime soon so i'm keeping souvenirs =) tc everybody and keep in touch.

=(

Where is the moment when we need it the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue sky's faded to grey
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carrying on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee to go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces every time
And I don't need no carrying on

Well you need a blue sky holiday
The point is they laugh at what you say
And I don't need no carrying on

Sometimes the system goes on the blink
and the whole thing turns out wrong
You might not make it back and you know
That you could be well oh that strong
And I'm not wrong


Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day

So where is the passion when you need it the most
You and I kick up the leaves and the magic is lost

You had a bad day
You've seen what you like
And how does it feel for one more time
You had a bad day

things to ponder

You are driving down the road in your car on a wild, stormy night, when you pass by a bus stop and you see three people waiting for the bus:

1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
2. An old friend who once saved your life.
3. The perfect partner you have been dreaming about.

Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car?

Think before you continue reading. This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application.

You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first.Or you could take the old friend because he once saved our life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect mate again.

The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer. He simply answered: "I would give the car keys to my old friend and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with thepartner of my dreams."

Sometimes, we gain more if we are able to give up our stubborn thought limitations. Never forget to "Think Outside of the Box."

However, the correct answer is: to run the old lady over and put her out ofher misery, have sex with the perfect partner on the hood of the car, then drive off with the old friend for some beers.

I just love happy endings.


hahahahahah, got this from Tiff. =)

nice day for a white wedding

Raj and Jackie's wedding was one of the most interesting weddings I've been to (interesting being a relative term). Mark, Gary, Jong, Brian, and I headed to San Francisco at 1 pm last Friday to get an early headstart on LA traffic. We thought roads were gonna be closed down because of the horrible weather we've been having…but fortunately for us, there was only minimal rain on the way. We stayed at the Sheraton on Fisherman's wharf -- sardined in a double occupancy room with a rollaway bed in the middle. It was really nice but I was too beat to even enjoy the fact that we were staying right across Pier 39. sigh! Oh well, it's not like I've never been to SF but it would've been nice to have gone to the alcatraz or at least walk around the pier. We were travelling on a budget and our schedule was full -- before we checked in, we went to this fancy thai restaurant where the wedding rehearsal dinner was being held. Food was decent and service was great -- they closed off a whole section for us but man that place was crowded! There were so many people in the restaurant I was literally screaming during a conversation with marisue (raj's sister). That same night the boys decided to have a stag party for raj -- and let's just say, things didn't turn out as planned but it will be THE bachelor's party that everybody will talk about for years to come. No no, don't ask me for details because I was tucked safely under my S-embroidered sheraton pillow with the airconditioning humming gently in our room (ask mark if you're so inclined to know hahaha!)

Saturday was the wedding day and it took me about 3 full hours just to get ready. I didn't do any prep work before then (i.e. manicure,pedicure, kulot) so I had to do everything myself. Add to that nagging 4 boys to get ready, and that's where all my time went…j/k. we drove to hayward to drop off paul and jake and also a box gary brought for his friends from the philippines, ate a filipino joint (tapsilog anyone?) and hung out with everybody. The wedding wasn't till 5 pm so when we went back to SF, I just took a nap and chilled in the hotel room. I guess at this point I should've gone to the pier and walked around but everybody was hung over from the night before and I was soooo tired from listening to the grumblings of the now infamous stag party (they bitched and whined till 4 am). So wedding time came around, as usual my ass is late. Mark was already downstairs since he's part of the bridal party so that left me and jong (my assigned chaperone for the night) to fight for curling iron rights -- hehehe joke lang jong! The boys were really pleased with themselves and how good they looked in tuxedos/suits. I just rolled my eyes and nodded my head in agreement -- then a little later they were all complaining to me that their necks were starting to itch from the damn things…tsk tsk tsk. "you're no james bond" I say.

The wedding was in a ballroom at the sheraton. It was really elaborate: rose petals, center pieces, fillet mignon entrée, a pyramid chocolate mousse dessert, the works! We were all starving after the wedding so gary took the liberty of destroying the center piece sitting on our table by taking the strawberries and apple and slicing it up for me to eat (when we figured out that it was real, we showed no mercy and devoured the fruit in the thing). Hahahaha! I think that was the funniest thing that happened that night. Us scavenging the centerpiece for food! Thank you my chaperones for not letting me go hungry. We almost broke our glassware from beating our silverware to it because raj said he would pay us everytime we make ringing/clanging sounds (not sure if this is the tradition for everyone reading this blog, but here in the states, you take your silverware and tap it against the wineglasses and the bride and groom are suppposed to kiss every time guests do this). needless to say our table was the loudest in the room -- much to the annoyance of certain people. but we didn't give a shit, we were there to have fun and it's a wedding! sheesh, some people need to take the wedge that's stuck up their a@#@! and loosen up for a change! lol, sa maigo lang!

overall the wedding was tons of fun. we laughed, we cried, we got drunk, we shook our booties, and we ate like there's no tomorrow. oh and we only made three pit stops each way, how's that for being preggers?

trip photos
wedding photos from Marisue's kodak gallery

busy bee

i am majorly distracted right now. my relatives are coming in from new york tonight so last night i was in a cleaning frenzy. not that our apartment is super messy, it's just that i haven't had out of town guests for a while so i had to prep their sleeping area, blankets, pillows, towels, etc. hay! being a host is not easy but it's a lot of fun. i love living in california and i like showing it off to people =) i'm sure my californian friends can relate! oh yeah, i ended up just buying flip flops as a welcome gift to my aunt and uncle -- at least those things you can have 2-3 pairs and still end up using them often.

in the next few weeks we also find out the gender of our baby. i'm at 17 weeks right now and the doctor said we'll go for an ultrasound in 20 weeks to determine the health of the baby and also to figure out if mark needs to start panicking (girl) or start working out (boy) -- hahahaha! he's so scared to have a girl because of boyfriends, first dates, etc. i also want a boy but hey, whatever will be given to us is fine as long as the baby is healthy. so i have another project to take on in the month of april: the baby's room! so excited to do this and i'm gonna drag mark to the stores where we're going to register at. i have to set up a budget for myself so i don't go overboard with it. my sister Isa is giving me a crib and my other sister Suzette's giving me some of her other stuff. ahhh the advantages of being the last girl to have kids in a family with four girls (does this sentence even make sense?). anyway, will write some more soon. busy busy.

wala lang

Just got a call from one of my dearest highschool buddies from London! It really made my day since I've been super stressed about my damn car insurance! I hate car insurance! But it's a necessary evil in california and comes in really handy when you get into an accident =(
Things are ok. Week 15 is uneventful which is always a good thing. My friend Rebecca gave me two prenatal exercise videos and I have sworn to religiously exercise every other day. Experts say that exercise helps prep your body for delivery and it will also help you shave off postnatal pounds and hey I'm all for that! I started this morning and it wasn't too bad. Mark was watching me and he kept criticizing my yoga positions -- damn men! They should try getting pregnant also! =P
I have visiting relatives from New York next week so this weekend's gonna be spent cleaning up the other bedroom in the apartment and make it look decent for guests. I haven't started decorating the baby's room since I don't know the gender yet so it's gonna be a guestroom for now. It's their first time in california so we're gonna try and make their stay as fun as possible. Since it's their first time, I was thinking about giving them a california survival kit which will consist of: surf shirts, hats, sunglasses, and flip flops -- cmon, you don't get any california than that! =) Then I'm taking them to disneyland next Friday (the perks of working for mickey mouse) and they're off to vegas next weekend. Next weekend mark and my pregnant self will be driving to SF for jackie and raj's wedding. I'll keep a tally of how many pit stops we make for my leaking bladder! Hahaha!

14 weeks and counting

went to the doctor today. didn't get an ultrasound but we listened to the baby's heartbeat.

everything is normal (137 beats per minute). it was so surreal laying there listening to someone else's heartbeat in my tummy! i felt like i was in an Alien movie...weirdness! btw, i won't find out the gender until my 20th week so i still have 6 more weeks to go. i'll definitely write about it when it happens. anyway, i have a packed weekend ahead of me. a bunch of friends are coming over saturday night and tonight i'm going to see my dear friend rebecca who's due this month and too pregnant to drive =) we're gonna cook pansit and hang out. sunday i'm spending time with the fam in buena park and handing my adorable niece her presents...mark and i picked them out and of course the rocker aunt and uncle that we are, we picked the Bratz rocker doll and i think a bratz karaoeke (sp?) thing she can sing to. hay! kids these days...i don't even know what they want. i hope she likes it =)