i had an easy and relaxed day. i attended the planetree retreat. i was away from work and home, into this beautiful ford's colony place in williamsburg. oh how i wish i live around this place.
here's some of the house's i passed by...













clubhouse patio and golf course...






the snacks were served non-stop all day and the lunch was superb. a smorgasbord of delectable cuisine. i wish i had taken a shot.
i learned interesting points about planetree. their mission makes so much sense to me now.
the facilitator of the retreat shared us this story... it's amazing!

The Goose Story

********************************

Next Fall, when you see geese heading south for the winter,
flying along in V
formation, you might consider what
science has discovered as to why they fly
that way:


As each bird flaps its wings, it
creates an uplift for the bird immediately following it. By flying in the
V formation, the whole flock adds as least 71% greater flying range than if each
bird flew on its own.

People who share a common
direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and
easily because they are traveling on the thrusts of one
another.


When a goose falls out of formation,
it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly
gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in
front of it

If we have as much
sense as a goose we will stay in formation with those who are headed the same
way we are.


When the head goose gets tired,
it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies
point.

It is sensible to take turns doing
demanding jobs--with people as well as with geese flying
south.


Geese honk from behind to encourage
those up front to keep up their speed.

What do we
say when we "honk from behind"?


Finally, and
this is important, when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshots and falls
out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to
lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able
to fly or until it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own or with
another formation to try to catch up with their group.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each
other like that.

black saturday

our black saturday is all white...

cold

weather here is weird. cold and gloomy, rainy and icy. makes me feel tired and depress. although the house starting to feel like home, feels warmer but we are still waiting for blinds and drapes to be installed. i was able to open up few more boxes from the garage and put up the x-mas decors from what i had from texas. arend loves to look at the lights from my fake tree (i thought about getting a real one) and the x-mas village that her lola gave him before. it's nice, inspite of the weather, makes me feel a bit cheery.














outside view from the front porch

foggy view of outside a bit later this morning

family room

dinning room

a month has passed we are alive and kicking here in the state for lovers. survived the trip (twice...that is!) updates and more pics to follow.

anyways, here's a last look of our house...













and a first look of our future(?)house...*cross my fingers

i pooted

it's so funny coz for the last 2 days, we have been cooking outside. since we don't want potential buyers to come and view the house and smell unpleasant smelling pinoy foods. so we grilled (outside) marinated beef ribs with toyomansi yesterday and today is liempo marinated with garlic and salt. um,um,um! forget about dieting now.
i have to cook food at night so to get rid of the smell by daytime. i made leche flan and chicken adobo for tomorrow. the smell of soy sauce and vinegar is just repulsive. yuk! more like frying or maybe worst. it reeks and sticks to the your clothes. thank goodness we don't have curtains and heavy upholsteries. another thing is that i have to make bed every morning, not that i don't make bed but i have to hide extra pillows we use and my favorite palengke blanket (100 pesos each and i have all colors, hehe) out of sight and then place the bed cover. the tubs, shower and toilet bowl and sink has to be sparkling. no dirty dishes, we have been actually using disposable plates and utensils. less work for me.
we already have a date for the packing and shipping of all out stuff. it's gonna be chaos!


here is arend after shower liking lolo's gift...his own robe
it took him awhile before deciding to put on his pajamas



















today was nordstrom's first day of thier anniversary sale
too bad i did'nt get anything from there. well...a snapshot!













tourneau...where i'm gonna get my dream watch
(dreaming*)














arend enjoyin' the view and his animal crackers from the ralph lauren's associate
i got him 4 cute shirts and a sweater for only 150 bucks! lots of good stuff on sale.














on the background is lacoste and burberry. i bought a trench coat from burberry, my pre-winter gift for myself. cost as much as LV alma but it's so beautiful and worth-it. i'm gonna take pics when i get it on thursday, they have to make adjustments with the sleeves. it's perfect for my first winter in virginia. i'm thrilled.













cartoon network's ad...i pooted.
anyone knows what it means? ask your kids...
it's so cute. check it out...



















and again, more pics of my bahay
view from the front door...













and the back of the house and patio














sorry, i can't show the closets and third bedroom. i don't wanna scare ya'all!

my bahay for sale

it's finally on the market right now. it's sad but we did'nt ask for much. we just wanna get it out of our hair. i'm posting shots from my cam. welcome to my home. yup! my home but not for long... hopefully, not too long.
i have uploaded too much pictures and if the page looks all crooked and funny and out of line. please refresh your page for better viewing.
pasok po!


hall way getting in the house













dining room to the right













upstairs living room














slash office room














two views of the second bedroom


































second bathroom




















backyard

looking up with my model lala



















view from second floor




















three views of our love nest







































masters bath

family room













view from the breakfast room




















powder room



















kitchen with fridge included with the price














and smooth top oven and dishwasher all included
(can you imagine taking that out?)














breakfast room with french door opening to backyard patio

being housewife is not fun!

i usually start my day at 11 am. this is a new routine that i developed since i quit my job. instead of sleeping all day and working all night. brunch is usually fruits and pancakes, cereal and milk. then play with arend while watching kids show. lessons in between depending on his mood. exercise and playing outside is not an option with a midday temperature that's usually 3 digits, no way! (i already spent sometime at the beach and pool and too much sun is not good for me. i'm gonna make it up to him when we move.) so we snack and prepare or cook food instead. just today i realize that i have gained weight, again!!! i did not intend to weigh but i saw the scale looking so lonely and needing attention. ugh! being at home and jobless is not good. oh my!
and oh yea! we're still here in texas. taking longer than we thought. i can't wait to get out of here.














[arend's crib]

later today we're signing papers with the realtor and will place the house on the market. i feel sad. i'll be missing this house. i should'nt since i knew from the start that this will not be our permanent place to live in but so many memories with my mom and arend's first year. start of new life in a different place is always scary but i am excited to be close with family. maybe with the new job, i don't know. i loved my last job. i wish it'll be the same.

going back to my weight. it's hard to loose and even harder when you're not trying. i need a regimen. i have gained four pounds every year since we got married. we are married for a decade. f*ck! (that was for the weight not the marriage) i hate taking pics of my self. i can see all those love handles and double chin. i hate looking at my self in the mirror. i need lipo. a tummy tuck or maybe a gastric bypass.

i need to get going. get out of here and settle down and get a job. i have so many things i need to do. i wanna spend all my time with my mom and she can spend time with arend as well. seems thou that she is ok despite of the pain and sometimes nausea and vomiting. she is actually in atlantic city doing slots in one of the casinos right at this time. go mama! go mama! win some big bucks!

my sweet boys are sleeping soundly. i better join them now. sweet dreams. i'mma deal with my weight tomorrow. goodluck! to me that is.