Singapore GP

So yeah, we did go to the condo to watch the Singapore GP. Good thing we did because Vettel was finally back in the podium, although he didn’t win the first place, 2nd place wasn’t that bad. The important thing at this stage in the season is to be consistenly place in the podium and earn big points. Unlike Hamilton, who was classified DNF and took home no points. I thought it was a bit uhmmm..what better word to use…since Vettel was always ramming into other drivers but the stewards didn’t investigate those incidents. I guess when the team asks the stewards to investigate, this will initiate the investigation. Hamilton was the loser and Webber was the one who gained the advantage. He took home 3rd place, that 15 effing points, so he’s still the leader in the driver’s championship. Truth is I don’t really want him to win haha. If Vettel won’t win then I’d like to see Hamilton or even Alonso take home the championship.

Preggy Me @ 19 Weeks

I've been feeling Bambini now everyday. Sometimes he/she wakes me up with all that moving inside my tummy. The husband felt Bambini for the first time on Saturday. I told him the baby was moving a lot and he didn't want to believe me. When I asked him to place his hand on my tummy, he was a bit impatient waiting for the movement. And then we tried again. I told him he wouldn't feel a "kick" instead it will feel like someone touched your palm very softly. Good thing when we tried again, Bambini let out a big nudge. Joema exclaimed "Ayun!" with his eyes bigger with excitement. We've also been talking to Bambini as often as possible but mostly when we wake up and then before going to bed. I was joking Joema that Bambini will only recognize his voice because when he greets the baby in the morning with "Good morning", it's usually his bedroom voice just when he woke up.

My colleagues have been extremely wonderful. They have offered to bring documents to other departments that I have to bring so that I can minimize my walking. Even my expat boss went to my cubicle and asked me how I was doing. I was so touched!
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For the past week, it seemed like my tummy suddenly grew big. I now definitely look pregnant. The guards at our building no longer remind me to go throughthe x-ray machine (or was that supposed to be the metal detector - I'm not sure what it's called...basta that thing you go through to check if you have metals just like the ones in the airport).

I'm 19 weeks and 5 days along in my pregnancy when the photo above was taken. I hate it that the photo doesn't show how big I am now. I have another photo with my big belly but I look crappy so I changed my mind on posting it here (I actually edited this post to delete that photo heehee). Don't worry I'll try to make up for it in the coming weeks. I'm actually waiting for a friend to upload some photos in FB so that I can show you a more pregnant me.

Happy Birthday Dear Mother!

It’s the birthday today of my dear mother. It’s true what they say that you’ll understand your parents more once you become a parent. I’m technically not yet a mom but I feel I know my mother now more than ever.

One of the things I love with our current living arrangements - living with my parents - is how I came back to being a daughter at home – taken cared of by my parents hehehe. My mother is always on my beck and call. Before I even know what I want, Mama’s there to give it to me. She makes sure I have pineapple or any fruits everyday. She makes sure I drink my prune juice every night (I’m constipated – TMI! – so I need prunes and pineapples). She makes sure I’m careful whenever I move around the house.

When my baby arrives, I hope I can be as good a mother as she is to me. I’ll teach Bambini how to pray like how she taught me. I’ll teach Bambini how to use the less than (<) and greater than (>) sign like how Ma taught me (she taught me a trick!). I’ll teach Bambini on being considerate to other people and being sensitive to their needs.

Happy birthday, Ma! Thanks for everything!





Me and Mama in Gyeongbok Palace, Seoul last year.

Cable Woes

A setback for us staying at my parents' is that they don’t have cable TV. We don’t know how we’ll survive the coming months without cable. I don't know how much more ABS CBN shows I can take. Although I’m now quite familiar with Showtime. FYI, my father's an ABS fan plus the reception in their TV for the other channels are not that good. It's like were living under a rock. If we had mantle clocks, I would have kept on looking at them for the time - watching TV has never been this torture hahaha. Of course, I exaggerate. But I miss cable channels!

This coming Saturday is the Singapore GP. Ach! Joema and I have conjured a plan of asking my brother to bring us to the condo on the night of the race, and then just tell my parents that we need to pick up some things that we need from there ahahaha - just to watch the race! Although of course, I think I will just tell them that we’re going to watch something on cable at the same time pick up the things we need.

In the last race, the Italian GP, Vettel didn’t get a podium finish but I was happy to see him finish fourth. He started 6th on the grid so finishing 4th wasn’t bad at all. I hope he gets to win the next few races. It’s still anyone’s game to win the driver’s championship. But I think I’m prepared to not see him win anymore. He should have a lot of learnings during this season. So if he’s not fortunate enough this year, then next year there’s no excuse for him not to bag the championship.

Oh and I hope next year, I’ll see Kimi back in a Formula1 car!

Preggy Me @ 18 weeks

The first few days after our last OB visit were a bit tense. I don’t know if it were psychological or I just really felt contractions during those days. Every day I had to take Duvadilan to keep the contractions in check. My father drove me to the office and then picked us up after work. Joema rides the shuttle in the morning since his clock in time at the office is one hour earlier than mine. Although on the days they (my parents and brother) weren’t at home, I rode the shuttle with Joema. Even though it made me come to work too early, I didn’t really want to commute by myself. By the way, my family still pushed through with the trip to Ho Chi Minh even without us - I should have asked them to bring back personal contact cards of the shops they went to.

Oh and last Sunday during mass, I almost collapsed. I think it was during the part where we need to stand for the longest time during the mass. While singing “Ama Namin” I started seeing block spots and then after a while everything went black. Although I was still able to sit down and didn’t collapse, it was still a horrible experience. I sat for a few minutes and thank God, everything went back to normal. I was able to line up for communion afterwards.

I’m 18 weeks and 6 days along my pregnancy when this was taken. This is a maternity top I’m wearing. I also wore maternity leggings.





Can you spot Queenie in the background?

Preggy Me @ 17 Weeks

I'm now blogging from my parents' home..we're temporarily staying here. Haaay.. I don't know how to begin this post. But everything starts from the beginning right? So let me start this with the photo of what I wore yesterday to my OB visit.







We went to the OB thinking we're just there to get our regular check-up and to get the certification that I can travel with my family this weekend. I was even thinking about dedicated hosting for this blog. Dra. Alfiler first proceeded in hearing the baby's heartbeat, I remember thinking to myself I should ask if I can record the heartbeat. It was our first time to hear it. Then she proceeded with the ultrasound, she showed us how big the baby is now, which is a week smaller based on the EDD (expected delivery date). Per my OB's record I'm 17 weeks and 6 days along during my last visit, while the size of the baby shows 16 weeks and 6 days. I don't want to be confused anymore so I'll just follow my OB's record with these blog entries. Anyhow, we saw the baby's hands, the circumference of his/her tummy, and that the baby is in breech..then we saw something else - a contraction in my uterus (upon further reasearch it's called hourglass contraction which is a constriction in my uterus). We basically saw a bump inside my uterus, a bump which seems a little big. And then I was told the position of the baby is quite low and that I should limit my physical activities and avoid malling.

Our Bambini - that's what we call him/her

Then I had to ask if we can no longer travel...my OB was like a mommy giving a lecture to our kid. She told me I should do everything to save the baby, and that even if my mother or aunts or any relatives hadn't had any miscarriages it could happen to me and we don't want it to happen. She told me if I won't be careful, she might advise me for a complete bedrest on our next visit. We don't want to risk premature labor, she said, and that our aim to get to atleast week 37. I was just so frightened - I think the hubby was too. The OB didn't really tell me as if she was blaming me but I felt blaming myself for this. I kept thinking it was my fault because she mentioned the cause might be because of tight clothes I wear, which I really am guilty of. I haven't worn maternity pants just yet. I'm still wearing my old pants with the belly band we bought. Anyways, I was advised to avoid walking around the mall (I could still watch the movies, and I can go to the mall then if it's the only thing on the agenda). If we have to do our groceries, she said, maybe Joema can do it and I can sit out and wait for him outside. I should avoid going up and down the stairs, which is a major problem because our condo is loft type with our room on top and the bathroom on the first floor plus I still ride the MRT where I also use the stairs to go up and down (no escalators in the stations that I get on and off) - another reason I feel guilty. I already felt like crying inside the doctor's clinic but I was able to maintain my composure. I felt like crying while paying for our bill but I was still able to hold the tears. But once we're out of there, I was crying non-stop. I was feeling guilty on what I've done wrong and worrying about the baby. My hubby couldn't do anything but hug me. When the OB talked to us it felt like she was readying us for the worse to come. Instead of eating lunch before going home, I asked Joema if we can go straight home and we did. I also asked my supervisor if I could take the whole afternoon off, which thankfully she agreed. I was crying from the clinic to our house. Before we went home, I immediately texted my mom to tell her the OB didn't give me clearance to fly off with them. I was thinking of all sorts of things during the ride home, that maybe we can temporarily live with my parents because they have no stairs at home. And that maybe it was about time we should buy our own car, just scrimp on anything else and maybe we can afford to buy one. Although when we live with my parents my father can drive me to work everyday.

When we got home, I was still crying and my husband was hugging me. He's so brave during these times. He told me that we should prepare ourselves, that when the OB talked to us she was readying us already on what might happen (we thought the same thing). Most importantly, he told me not to blame myself for what happened and that it wasn't my fault. I love my husband so much. He's my rock. When I read his phone messages this morning (yes, I'm that kind of wife - I nag and look into his personal stuff), a friend texted him to be always positive and to not show me any sadness because this might worry me further. Thank God, my husband has friends whom he can tell his problems too.

Anyways yesterday, Joema and I talked about it and decided to stay here at my parents' home. Of course, my parents were more than willing to welcome us here. Last night, they fetched us and we were able to bring a few of our clothes here. All of our things are still at the condo, our home for the past 21 months.

This morning, Joema and I with my father who drove us (thank God for parents!) went to the department store to buy some maternity pants and clothes. No, I didn't walk around so much. We went straight from the parking to the area for maternity wear. Will try to take a photo of my new maternity clothes soon when I wear them.

I'm actually feeling a lot better now especially because of family and friends who are there supporting us. They've offered prayers and told me not to worry. For the handful of my readers, kindly say a short prayer for me and the baby. I hope and pray this won't be my last 'preggy me' post. I can't still help but worry when I think about it.

White Collar

While I was on sick leave, I whiled away the time by watching TV. And one of the TV shows that caught my attention was White Collar. The story revolves around Neal Caffrey who was a former thief (he steals expensive items like arts or antiques) and was taken into custody by FBI and is now using him as a consultant to help them solve their cases. His handler’s name is Peter Burke who is like a father figure to him. What probably caught my eye the first time was the actor who played Neal, Matt Bomer.

His eyes are so mesmerizing. Turned out the series is really interesting. It was funny at the right times, and the crimes are mysterious and exciting at the same time, with the personal story of Neil and Peter intertwined with each episode. By the way, the series is titled White Collar because the FBI unit they’re working for is the white collar unit, responsible for catching white collar criminals like Neal.

Even after my leave, we continued watching it every night on Fox. But now the season has ended and no more Neil Caffrey to follow. Apparently, the season shown on Fox was only season 1 and season 2 is now being shown in the US. Now, I want to get a copy of the complete season 1 because we weren’t able to start the whole season.

The Lost Symbol

I can’t remember when I finished reading this book, maybe around mid-August. This was lent by a friend, and I immediately wanted to borrow it from her when she posted something about it on FB. I don’t remember now what she said but it certainly got me curious. I’ve read both Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code of Dan Brown. And if you’ve read them, you’ll have a better idea of Dan Brown’s writing style. This book again revolved around the symbologist Robert Langdon and this time his adventure is in the United States. I don’t know why but I had a hard time picturing in my mind the US capitol that Dan Brown is describing in the book. I haven’t been to Paris or Rome (the setting of the first two books), but there I can picture myself running alongside Robert Langdon. In this book, I was lost in America, so to speak haha. But as with the other two books, from the start I was hooked reading this and I wasn’t disappointed with the ending. Although, a full chapter at the end was used to explain some of the ideologies on the book which to my dismay kept me from loving the book. I just thought the last chapter took away the excitement of the book (from start to finish). But my friend reminded me that the first two books were also like that – the last chapter was devoted to explaining some of the things that were vague in the book. But I don’t remember feeling this way about those two books, I remember feeling satisfied with how they ended. I guess what I’m trying to say is, when you’re done with the story just end it there – let the readers think on their own. Or was this because there’s another book after this? (Just like the previous book I’ve read – the … Remember I didn’t really like the ending too because I thought they dragged on about the male lead when it was supposed to be a continued to the next book.

Anyways, I really actually like this book (after all that blabbering). But of all the three books, I think I like Angels and Demons the best. I initially thought I like The Da Vinci Code better (between the first two) because of the mathematics used in the story (such a geek I am!) but if I based it on the thrill the books gave I would say Angels and Demons is the best.

Photo from: amazon.com

Relaxing Weekend

We went to Pansol over the weekend for a much needed break - just pure relaxation. At first we begged off since I wanted to rest (was sick the start of the week), but our friends egged us to come since the objective is really to relax over the weekend. And relaxed we did. We just chatted the night away, while some of us swam. I didn't bring a swimsuit because I might get cough and colds again. But thankfully, the air wasn't that chilly (like the previous time we went there) so we were able to stay outside in the cabana. The next day almost all of them swam except for me and Heyl. We talked about grown up things haha!

Here are some photos.

Our dalaginding...Kyla

My lovable godson...Miguel

Can you see my tummy peeking?

Kulit pic!


Joema playing football with his godson, Luigi


Thanks again, H and T for inviting us!

Bloomberg

Went to the Bloomberg office in Makati this morning for training. The training was basic training on how to use the Bloomberg terminal, the functions used, the different screens, the special keys in the keyboard - that sort of thing. how to But the training wasn't the highlight of our visit to their office. I was so delighted with their office - free food in the pantry hahaha! They had brewed coffee, chocolates, chips, cookies, biscuits, fruits and a ref full of beverages! If I work there I don't think I'll be able to work, I might end up eating all the time haha! But sseriously, I really wished I was working there. Aside from the pantry, I was also fascinated that all of the staff there had multiple screens (3 or 4!).

Photo from here.

Preggy Me @ 14-15 Weeks

Sorry I haven’t blogged in such a long time. But don’t worry I have updates. I just hope I can keep them coming.

Wasn’t able to blog on my 14th week but here are two photos during my 15th week.

@ 15 weeks and 1 day




@ 15 weeks and 2 days


Got sick during the last week of August. Was so scared because I kept thinking on what might happen to the baby. Night of the 30th, I wasn’t able to sleep properly due to my clogged nose. When I woke up, I wasn’t’ 100% okay so I decided not to go to work. Which was probably a good thing coz around 10am I was already feeling really sick, I was cold even if the fan was turned off. I was begging the husband to come home already. Sent a text message to my OB to ask what I can do, she advised me what not to eat – spicy foods, shrimp, crabs, dried fish, bagoong, eggs, chicken, mango, pineapple, citrus fruits and all sweets – and to drink only water (plenty of it) and milk. I was told only to drink Biogesic when my temperature reaches 38. I wasn’t able to eat lunch, although I did eat a heavy breakfast (rice and veggies). My husband was able to come home after lunch – yey! After taking my afternoon nap, my temperature shoot up to 38.5 so that’s when I had Biogesic. By night time, I was feeling so awful I asked Joema to take me to the hospital. Although I was thinking twice about it because there I heard from a colleague that a lot of people are getting sick nowadays. I might get another illness when I go to the ER with other sick people. So we scrapped the idea and just rested at home. By morning of Tuesday, I was feeling a lot better. And then I stayed home again on Wednesday to rest fully. That was an awful, awful experience especially because of the baby. I was so worried about what might happen. I don’t know if I should cover myself with blankets because I was so cold or not because I kept thinking on what my OB said (during our first meeting) that hot temperature is to be avoided. I was getting paranoid thinking what if my baby gets cooked inside my tummy because it was so hot in there.

Since that week, I’ve been drinking milk. I tried Anmum but I really don’t like the taste of it even if we add choco powder. So we switched to Cowhead – the Lite variant with the light blue label. Surprisingly I liked the taste of it (this is with choco powder of course). But when we ran out, we had to buy the original variant of Cowhead with the blue label (SM doesn’t have the Lite milk). And I hate the taste again. But I think I have to drink milk na so Joema and I bargained, I’ll drink milk as long as the glass is not full (only half-full or half-empty hehe) and it’s always with choco powder.

Oh I also started feeling the baby although I haven’t really thought about it that way. My friend only asked me if I am starting to feel it and she told me I’ll be feeling something wiggling. When she told me this, I instantly knew it must have been the baby I was feeling. I thought I just ate something bad (air in my tummy) or that I was pressing too much on my tummy (I think I first felt it when I was lying face down on our bed – don’t worry I don’t really sleep like that, I think I just happen to do that position when I was finding a position I can sleep in, must be having trouble sleeping that night). But after my friend and I had that conversation, I haven’t felt the baby again. Hmm…