Showered with Lurve

I intended to do all these detailed posts about all the other wonderful baby showers that my loved ones organized for me, but motherhood came a few days early, and well, my schedule was turned upside down. I still want to write about them though (or show a few photos), even if it is just a quickie post (about all I have time for these days).

First, my family threw together a shower for me, and my cousin used her son's old Ninja Turtles as decor.

For giveaways, I experimented with sugar cookie stamping, and used the design of a "Monster Man" shirt a friend/pseudo-sister gave for the stamp. At the back, there's a sticker that says, "That means 'thank you!' -Little Monster"

My husband's friends also organized a shower for me at Eleven Tables, a fondue place.

My teammates threw me one (complete with my Officers' Club favorite buttered chicken)...

 

...and we played a round of disc golf aterwards. I was around 35 weeks pregnant so my sense of balance while throwing the disc was a little off!

 

Finally, my former co-workers decorated an area of Borough for me--diaper tower atop a disc, balloons, cupcakes, and all!

This was one of the best things about being pregnant--just feeling so much love from everyone! A big thank you to all those who took the time and effort to welcome our little monster!

Scenes from the French Countryside

How I wish I could tell you that I really was in Provence, but since I am grounded for a while, my friends just decided to bring the French countryside to me! BFF Mads, her (and my) sister Prits, and our good friend Mutya organized an absolutely lovely French-country-themed baby shower for me and le petit monstre. My amazing BFF pulled this off despite being yaya-less and nursing a newborn! I am incredibly lucky to have her in my life!

(Top) With Mads, who doesn't look like she just gave birth less than two months ago! (Above) With BFF Ching, who provided the prizes for the games, and party decorator/official photographer Mutya. What pretty friends I have, n'est-ce pas? (Incidentally, Mads speaks fluent French.)

Mutya decorated the tables with dainty glass vases filled with purple and blue flowers, and glass bowls with mini-chocolate bars. These were placed on top of white and silver doilies.

I think I overindulged. I absolutely cannot resist Crunch and Reese's!

It was a carb-filled afternoon, with yummy sandwiches, croissants, and quiche...

...a selection of delicious cheeses (my fave? The truffled cheese!)...

...and a crepe cake (so French!) with Nutella cream. (The eclairs were divine! The fudgy chocolate cake was from one of the guests.)

There were fun games, including a "compose a lullaby" one, which pitted my highly competitive high school friends against my equally competitive college friends. The winning lullaby (sung adagio to the tune of Justin Bieber's "Baby"):

...which led to me doing a lot of this...

Photo from Mutya

To go with the theme, I dressed in a doily-like lace dress, gold sandals, a turquoise-and-gold necklace, and a gold bangle. Mutya gave me a beautiful bouquet. I love getting flowers!  

There were gifts, of course (thanks, everyone!), and great advice from mommy friends, including Mads. (Her words of wisdom: "Sleep while you can!") To thank them all for their generosity, time, and love, I gave them the smell of the French countryside: lavender. I had lavender soap made, wrapped it in some tulle I had lying around, and included a little thank-you note from little monster. 

After most people left, some of us chilled with Mads's family, eating cheese and salami, and drinking wine (water for me). Ahh, to have had a glass of champagne would have made it perfect! Just a couple of weeks to go!

Say Hello to My Little Friend

The highlight of my day: I made a new friend.

This was taken at a friend's kid's birthday party. I think the magician used the snake as part of his act. I was the first to volunteer to hold the little fella, mostly because I wanted to have my Britney Spears moment. Funny how I have no fear when it comes to snakes, but I'm deathly afraid of cockroaches!

Surprise!

I thought my first official baby shower was going to be yesterday, but my wonderful co-workers surprised me with one last Friday! And because I wasn't prepared (i.e., I wasn't able to charge my camera), this one Instagram photo will have to do for now...

Photo by Cosmo's EIC/Instagrammer Extraordinaire Myrza Sison

Details (clockwise from top left):

1. As I was walking down a corridor, I saw one of the girls clutching Japanese paper. I just figured she was working on a racket without telling me. Haha. They decorated the pantry with these hanging pouffs. On the table: a delicious spread from Conti's, including my absolute favorite baked salmon!
2. Super cute colorful plastic spoons and forks. We all wanted a mismatched pair when it came time to eat! And the polka-dot table cloth is courtesy of...the prop room. Haha. It reminded me of an adorable office baby shower that I saw in the now-defunct Blueprint (I loooved this magazine!).
3. A giddy me! I was super touched that they went through all that trouble. The entire GH staff was there, plus friends from other magazines. On that day, I was wearing my trusty black maxi dress and a chambray shirt knotted above my bump. Not seen: my zebra-print flats.
4. A fantastic white chocolate cheesecake with macadamia nut brittle from Kitchen's Best! Ermegerd. If I didn't have a weigh-in to worry about, I would've finished the damn thing. IT WAS SO FRICKIN' GOOD.

And as if all these weren't enough, they gave me my coveted Flexibath! I had been wanting this collapsible, space-saving tub ever since Frances recommended it. And now it's mine! (Er, the monster's!)

I can't thank my team enough. Not only are they so talented, hardworking, and such a joy to work with, but they're also so incredibly thoughtful. I joked that the last thing one should do is spring a surprise on a heavily pregnant woman, but I do love surprises, and I am very very grateful! A little thank you *kick* from monster as well!

Well, Hello There, Mr. President

You might have seen this plug on cable TV...

Inside Malcanang was produced and directed by Filipina Marnie Manicad for the National Geographic channel. Marnie is a good friend of mine, my ka-barkada since grade school. We're so thrilled that she was able to pull this off--while being a hands-on mom to two darling girls, to boot!

We were invited to the premiere a couple of weeks ago, so we literally got to be inside Malacanang.

Cameras were not allowed within the palace, so we took quick photos with our phones outside...before a guard promptly told us that photos weren't allowed on the street either.

With L, who holds a Ph.D. in botany, and C, who is a mom of one but is so much skinnier than me! Flowers were for the gal of the hour, Marns

At the gate, stickers were placed on our camera phones so that we wouldn't be able to take pictures inside. The only people allowed to take photos were official photographers. And so, I present my barkada's official photo with the President. How cool is that?

Marnie (in yellow) with the rest of our barkada minus four (one was busy with work and taking care of three kids; the rest are abroad), plus Marnie's sister and Mr. President, who joked that we were all schoolmates (he supposedly went to Poveda for kindergarten)

It kinda felt like prom, except we all went stag. (Marnie, of course was supported by her husband, reporter Jiggy Manicad.) It was so surreal seeing Marnie sitting on stage beside the President and giving a speech in front of cabinet members and press. We're all so proud of her.

Do catch Inside Malacanang, tomorrow night (March 18), 9 pm on National Geographic. No air dates yet for other countries, but keep an eye out for it!

Scenes from December

Because I barely got to blog in December, a few snapshots.

Brunch at a fairly new all-day breakfast place, Milky & Sunny...

Cheery, isn't it?

Dinner at my favorite, Ninyo, to celebrate 11 years with shekh ma shieraki anni (GoT fans would know what that means!)...

Oysters, three ways

D's "21st" birthday. Another "intimate" celebration that wasn't quite so...

The sweaty me can attest that I had fun dancing all night!

Two weddings in one day (one in Daang Reyna, one in Tagaytay!)...

Outfit details here

Our group winning first place at the Summit Christmas party...

Cheerleader na cheerleader! Photo by Red Redrico

The Warriors Christmas party, with our new recruits (woohoo!)...

Ang sosyal ng venue!

Noche buena al fresco with the family...

One brother, back from NY. Not shown: Our adopted British brother (long story)

A very quiet birthday...

At Silya't Sili for dinner

A quickie trip to Baguio for a wedding, my first time back after about 15 years. We took the deluxe bus, complete with fully reclining chairs, a lavatory, wi-fi, and even a "stewardess"!

At Camp John Hay. Sunnies can't conceal my eye luggage from the red-eye road trip.

On the road for about 10 hours. From Baguio, straight to Casa San Pablo to spend New Year's Eve with my family...

Dad stepped out for a bit.

Family, friends, food, and an extra five pounds--that's what December's all about!

Weekend Warrior

In my past life (meaning, pre-GH), I spent a lot of my weekends working on rakets. At Summit, we have what we call the Golden Rocket Awards, given to the top-performing magazines each year. Some people used to joke that I could win the Golden Raket Award. I would contrib to Candy, Seventeen, Yummy, Men's Health, Marie Claire, Cosmo, Total Girl, Martha Stewart Weddings, even GH. It was tiring, but I enjoyed it--boredom is not a great color on me. Plus, all the extra moolah paid for my trips (both in and out of the country) and my wedding. This, of course, was before I had to pay for things like rent, utilities, and my own toilet paper.

I don't raket as much as I used to (truth be told, I miss it), but after a looong while, I felt what it was like to have a packed weekend again! It started with Saturday. My first stop was a baptism, where I served as ninang to this little bundle of joy...

My goddaughter with her proud parents

After a quick lunch (I couldn't possibly say no to the Officers' Club fried chicken, so I really stayed to eat!), I had to rush to Timezone for another godkid's birthday. Here I am with my kumare, her second son, and my TF (true friend) Mona.

Former SGV co-workers, friends for life

And then, I had to make my way to Megamall for a GH event where I had to give the opening remarks. Horrors! You can make me dance in front of a crowd or teach a class, but I hate hate hate giving speeches.

With my no. 1 fan (it's a tossup between her and Hamil)

Afterwards, Mumsy was nice enough to give me a ride to disc training. And after that, my teammates and I hung out at a friend's new condo, where we loaded up on carbs.

I finished a 22-oz Big Gulp Gatorade from 7-Eleven before chowing down!

Not shown: The macadamia nut sansrival which was delish! But after two slices, my teeth started to hurt!

The following day was the start of the Malakas at Maganda league, which is the all-male/all-female league. Imagine the fun I had considering we only had a total of nine players, while our three opponents each had two lines. I didn't sub for back-to-back games.

Which brings us to Monday, when I could barely walk! Oh, to have more weekends like this. But with more QT with the hubby!

Five Years

To see just how much my team has grown through the years, one need only look at this...

Warriors in 2007, at our very first tournament

...and this...

Warriors at WTF 2011

We've come a looong way. Retired players are surprised when they see this latest photo because the team really has grown since we started competing in 07 (the core was formed in 05).

A bit of a backgrounder on that second photo: That, folks, was taken at the recently concluded WTF, or Warriors Tourney and Farty. It started in 2007 as the Urda Open, named after the park where we used to train. We weren't quite ready to compete at a league yet, but we wanted to have a friendly tournament and were able to invite enough players to make it happen.

My Urda Open team: Parokya ni Vino. That's me on bent knee, in all my gusgusin glory.

At the party after the tournament, with my fellow Mythical 6 awardees (the Shadow was missing). Damn, I can't fit into those jeans anymore!

The champions for this year were the Ultimate Warriors, and that's where we got our name. If we had had another champion, our team name today could very well be Parokya ni Vino, the League of Shadows, or DKNY (Disc Ko Na 'Yan)!

The following year, we moved from Urda to Camp Aguinaldo, which merited a name change. It was right about the time acronyms were all the rage (all the "OMG"s, etc.) so the team decided on WTF. It originally meant Warriors Tourney Festival, which, to me, didn't make sense. So Farty it was, since we really intended to party afterwards!

With the Dragon Warriors. Can you tell Kung Fu Panda had just come out?

The champions: Green-ada A-discs. This particular year was notable because it marked the first time that nearly an entire team succumbed to cramps!

This is kind of a bad history lesson because I can't tell you anything about 2009. I don't even know where it was. Haha. The reason? The week of the tournament, I booked a ticket to Dumaguete! It was an unlikely place for a bachelorette party, but, lemme tell ya, it was the best possible way to say goodbye to singlehood!

In 2010, WTF got fancier, as each player was given an "Adidas" jersey in his or her team color, with the Warriors logo printed on it!

I can't remember who won but Dino and Czar were definitely on that team!

This year, I was thrilled to be on the same team as Dino, who had been on the winning team all four years prior to this year's WTF. Alas, he was not meant for a five-peat. The PULAr Bears, made up of players coming out of hibernation, were the champs. No matter--I was happy enough just being able to play with Dondi again, one half of our special guests from Australia.

And I won a pair of limited-edition shorts! And a new jersey!

Mythical 6: breakthrough beginner Jane, Macky Puentevella Lifetime Achievement Awardee Macky, Lem, JM (and baby!), Mundz, and me holding our special white jerseys

So it's been five years and I still haven't won a championship. But I'm pretty okay with that. I guess in WTF, winning really isn't the point.

Warriors = love!

Like Fashion?

Then you'll lurve this girl. Nikki is OK! Magazine's former fashion editor, and she's finally blogging about her tres chic outfits! While I probably can't afford half the stuff she wears, it's still fun taking a look-see at such fabulousness. And before you start hating on how gorgeous she is, I gotta tell ya that she's very nice. Happy blog-stalking!

My Longest Relationship

Well, this is it. Goodbye to 12 (or is it 13?) years.

I started reading Harry when I was a college freshman or sophomore. It was still pretty much unheard of here. I had read about it in Newsweek, I think, and asked my ninang send me the first book from the US. I remember staying up late ("Just one more chapter..."); reserving succeeding books before they came out; spending entire Saturdays just reading, reading, reading; laughing, crying, being depressed and puffy-eyed for days after Dumbledore died. I've read each book at least twice--the first time, always in a frenzy, just to find out what would happen; the second, at a more leisurely pace, to savor the story and catch little things that I missed the first time around. I'm pretty sure I've read some more than twice, just because I missed the characters. So I looked at the impending official end of the series with both excitement and dread.

For Frances and me, it ended last night. Her husband isn't a fan, mine is just too busy, so what were two Potterheads to do but watch together? I gotta tell you, it wasn't pretty. We both cried. And cried. And cried! (SPOILER ALERT) That Snape flashback was just heartbreaking.

Sigh. There's a little bit less magic in my life without Harry.

Our Royal Wedding Viewing Party

Yes, I'm one of those people! And I actually planned a tea party to watch the most anticipated wedding in recent history. And who would be free to attend a tea party on a weekday? Who else but my freelancer friends! The attendees:

1. M (hiding behind his iPhone) - The only guy. He rolled his eyes every time we squealed. He made inappropriate (but funny!) comments throughout the ceremony. He commented on the women and the cars, just to guy it up a bit. BUT he was the only one tweeting about the wedding all throughout! Ha!

2. BFF Ching (not shown. The only night shifter was still busy getting her Happy Lemon fix) - The girl who said Princess Catherine's brother James Middleton was "pwede na."

3. Coni (henceforth to be known as "Koni," inspired by Catherine's Kate) - Our commentator. She knew pretty much every guest that arrived at Westminster Abbey--except for the guy in the barong! Of course she knew everybody; she had hoped to become part of the royal family, after all. She didn't intend to watch this wedding because it was just too painful to see the love of her life exchange vows with another. But we convinced her, yay! (Kons, there's still plan B! Go get that see-through dress!)

4. Issa - She brought yummy egg-and-mayo and tuna sandwiches as well as Mint and Orange Kitkats. Woohoo!

5. Chinggay - Our hostess. (Thank you for your air-conditioned den!) The girl who said that she was in love with this couple. Sigh. Since it was too hot for tea, she provided a steady supply of iced tea and a bucket of ice.

6. Me - The girl who had a couple of free hours on a weekday after working on a Black Saturday. (Boo!) I was exhausted after a looong shoot and was having a bad day. And when I got to Chinggay's, the power went out! "Guys, sorry this is my fault. I'm the one who's malas today." Thankfully, the power came back on after a couple of minutes.

I had wanted us to dress up for this, but they all vehemently objected given the heat. And I didn't have time to buy fascinators. Shucks. Still, I'm sooo happy we did this. It was great to be squealing and jumping around together (well, except for Miguel, who just kept shaking his head)--when we saw William and Harry in the car on their way to the abbey, when Kate came out of the hotel, when the couple's hands were joined together, when they rode the carriage to Buckingham Palace, and when they kissed! Sigh. I am really rooting for this couple. I really hope that they'll live happily ever after!

Dinner for Five

I tend to post what I cook on Facebook, which led to my friends inviting themselves over for dinner. I didn't mind at all--I love cooking for guests; it's the dishwashing that gets to me. So I came up with a rule of using breakables for dinner parties of six people or less, and disposables for parties of more than six. (Please forgive me, Mother Earth. I rarely entertain big numbers anyway...)

On the night of the scheduled dinner, my husband's car was "coding," as we call it here in Manila. To the uninitiated, coding is some sort of traffic management scheme--cars with license plates ending in certain numbers aren't allowed on the street on particular days (e.g., 1 and 2 for Monday, 3 and 4 for Tuesday...). This is lifted after 7:00 pm. (Are there other countries that do this?) By the time he picked me up from work and I got my last-minute shopping done, it was 8:30 pm. So I didn't have time to prepare anything fancy...

We started off with bacon-wrapped asparagus (not shown; recipe in the Jan-Feb issue of Good Housekeeping), then had pan-fried rosemary pork steak (a house favorite; lotsa meat for the boys, but not as pricey as beef), and lemon-cream pasta with asparagus (recipe in the April issue of Good Housekeeping!). Yeah, I had a lot of asparagus in the fridge! And Jerry, a true-blue carnivore who's been my friend since high school, noticed how I was sneakily trying to feed him veggies.

I'm hoping next time we host dinner, it'll be on a weekend, so I'll have time to make something more elaborate, plus whip up dessert from scratch. (Jerry brought blueberry cheesecake. I've been dreaming of making red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.) Who wants to come over?:D

Tishie vs. K-Pop

One of my BFFs posted a link to this video on my wall...

We were both dancers in our past lives, which is part of the reason she shared this vid with me. But here's the thing about my BFF: She is absolutely K-Pop-obsessed. Not entirely something she's proud of, and not something I could understand. Which is one reason I'm reading this book...

I had to read this because, aside from the fact that it's written by a friend of mine, I figured it'd also give me some insight into the dizzying world of K-Pop and why it's got my best friend so hooked. I gotta admit, for a time I felt like I was losing my BFF to all things Korean. I just couldn't...relate. I even confessed to my husband that I felt like BFF and I were drifting apart. But reading this book, I'm realizing that a K-Pop obsession is much more than just singing along to songs you don't understand, watching Koreanovelas with plotlines that have been rehashed over and over again (and yet still remain kilig), and eating Korean takeout while watching a concert DVD. It's about being in the company of like-minded friends, having a judgement-free zone (the way all true friendships are supposed to have), and having a solid support group that shares all your joys and sorrows. If that's what K-Pop is giving my BFF, then I'm all for it.