just resting...

wow!

everything else went so fast these past few weeks. the busiest weeks and it's not even christmas related! shopping computers for the in-laws' computer shop to making invitations and souvenirs to tying the knot and opening the shop. all went in a blur i don't really remember everything. a lot of sleepless nights and my body finally gave up. as unfortunate as it may seem, i got sick on my 35th week and having cough and colds while heavy with baby una is not pleasant at all. there's the scare that this sickness might affect my baby. but my OB assured me that the medicines that i'm taking are safe for baby and not that strong. but i still feel worried because salbutamol is giving me this weird feeling (or is it the bromhexine that's giving me that light-headed feeling), like i'm high or something. plus i have to take antibiotics for my UTI which is much worse than other pregnant women. they found a lot of pus cells and protein in my urine so that's another medication to take. i just hope that everything will go well after all this medication and i refuse to take more than i'm taking now.

enough of those rants. i just want to say that we're almost complete with baby una's stuff, mostly given to us by those who attended our wedding. we still have a couple of things to buy and those are to be completed by una's soon-to-be godmother. we'll have to go a shopping spree once i'm well and good.

unfortunately, i totally lost all the time in crocheting and practicing my knitting. so i still have a lot of wip but i'll get on to that as soon as i have fully recovered from this darn cough.

how was your week?

what keeps me busy

...these past few weeks.

DISCLAIMER: Clip doesn't belong to me. Stumbled upon it on the web but forgot to save the credit. If you're the creator of the clip, please let me know so I can give you proper credit.

no-bake fudge

been looking for a recipe of a brownie/fudge that doesn't involve baking. as much as i want to get my hands working with an oven, i can't. but you can't believe k-kun's shock when i suddenly screamed from the bedroom so he immediately rushed in. no, i'm not having a pre-term labor but was extremely glad of finally learning how to make fudge with no oven heat involved. just watch at how easy it is to make!



thanks to toni of wifelysteps for the video. you can watch the other vids in her blog.

Baby Ichi is a she!

Yup, yup, yup! We'll be having a baby girl!

basic slippers

long overdue post. but better late than never.

don't you just love to cuddle up and think of nothingness on a cold rainy night? that's my favorite past time on rainy days, bum around. i love the cold but my feet doesn't share the same opinion about my infatuation with the rain. well, it gets cold a lot, even if the weather is not that wet. and i really don't like wearing socks all the time. mimi's version of crocheted slippers are just right, my feet can get all the warmth it needs and enough ventilation for my sanity. and i love it! too bad i don't do yoga or pilates so i can show it off mid-air, haha!

some details of my work in ravelry.

11.01

all saint's day. i'm having mixed emotions. just came from a meeting with a friend whom i saw last on my birthday seven months ago. happy but tired. tired of all the walking. and frustrated. the primary reason that i went out was closed for holiday. i need those darn yarns.

ripped

just when you are joining the edges together and you realized that you're missing one stitch and that stitch has been missing since half of that part of the project.

great, just great.

blooming

one reason to be thankful for a wonderful day...

have a great one everyone!

knitted washcloths wip

i can't believe that i am really knitting now. even if it's just a washcloth, it is still knitted and loving any minute of it! the tips of my fingers are no longer sore. also learned that i'm knitting the american/english way. i tried knitting the continental way but can't do it any longer, i'm already used to holding the yarn on my right hand with knitting. wonder how it would turn out if i pick up the hook again?

anyway, here's the very first knitting project that's keeping me busy now.

after this, i'll be holding the hook again, you know, just in case i forget how to crochet, haha, as if! plus i have a lot of crocheted wips and still not forgetting it. whenever i look at my projects page in ravelry, i always remind myself to work fast on the washcloth so i can move on with the shrug and the moon pillow. then knit another washcloth then crochet a blanket. whoa, it sounds a lot, well it is a lot but what else can a pregnant lady do but keep her hands busy. at least i'm not moping or anything, haha!

7DSB projects + Knitting lessons

I made another set of my pattern, this time in variegated orange color.

And here is Mimi's red version. (Thanks for the correction in the pattern!)


knitting.

I never thought that it would be sooner for me to learn how to knit. Thanks to Mona (a knitter buddy I met in Ravelry) for sharing some YouTube links about some great tutorials. I am happy to announce that I'm a self-taught knitter, LOL! Luckily I already bought a pair of knitting needles last year in Craft World. The bad thing is I don't know the size of the needles and it's only 7 inches long. I can only make washcloths with these needles but I don't mind at all, I think it's a great project for newbie knitters such as myself. I'm not sure if it's normal for newbies but I swear the tips of my index fingers are sore now because of the needles. Is it always so?

Week 28: Tummy Shots

I was in the mood for pictures because it rained a while ago. But it stopped suddenly and the afternoon heat is back spoiling my mood.

Anyway, here's my tummy/Baby Ichi's recent photo at 28 weeks. Still need to gain more weight, I'm only 113 lbs based on my first bi-monthly checkup last week.

And here's my view. This shot made me adjust a little so I could capture some of my toes. I can't see anything else down there. My nephew once told me that he can only see my eyes from down there, haha!

random 005

buttered toasts and sunny side up eggs are the best for...


midnight snacks!


what's in your plate today?

Free Pattern: 7-Days Summer Bracelet

Living in the Philippines is like living in summer your whole life. Except of course for the occasional rainy months when we’re bombarded with typhoons left and right. Other than that, and if we are lucky, we have a month of two of cold weather, thank the monsoon wind traveling from the Antarctic to Southeast Asia.

You probably all know what goes well with summer, less is more. So I made this accessory for your daily wear. All day, all night, in the whole of seven days, all year round! Do not fret, this is so easy to make, you can make dozens in a matter of time you can’t possibly think of. You can easily wash it if it gets dirty then you can wear it over and over again. You can make this in different colors to match every outfit you have in your wardrobe. Or you can wear two different colored bracelets at the same time for that extra spunk!

7-Days Summer Bracelet
Design by: Gennie Pascual - Corbito

Level: Beginner

Size: 2cm x 15 cm

Materials:
cotton crochet thread size 8
2.50 mm crochet hook
button
blunt eye needle
stitch marker

Abbreviations:
ch = chain; sc = single crochet; sk = skip

Directions:
R1: ch 51 (mark the 5^th ch); leave about 25 cm. tail to be used for attaching the button later; turn.

R2: sc on the 2^nd ch from hook and in each of the next 4 ch; ch 40; sk 40 ch; sc on the 5^th ch of R1 and in each of the next 4 ch; (10 sc 40 ch)

R3: ch1, turn; sc on the 1^st sc and in each of the next 4 sc; ch 40; sk 40 ch; sc on the 5^th sc of the previous row and in each of the next 4 sc. (10 sc 40 ch)

R4-R7: repeat R3

Button hole: working on side of the rows, ch 1; sc on the end of R7; ch 5 (make adjustments according to the size of your button); sc on the end of R1; fasten off.

Attach the button using the 25 cm tail threaded into the blunt eye needle. Make sure that the button is placed in R4.

Adjustments and Fitting:
Ideally, the fitting should be the size of your wrist around plus enough space for a finger. To make adjustments, you may increase or decrease the number of chains in the middle of the bracelet.

You may follow this simple equation for adjustments:

5 chains + 40 chains (may be adjusted) + (5+1) chains

Designer Notes:
This is a free pattern by Gennie Pascual, also known as Gene of gene + experiments blog (http://gene-experiments.blogspot.com.) I reserve the copyrights to this pattern and/or instructions which mean you cannot reprint or distribute this elsewhere without my written consent. You can make lots of this bracelet and give as gifts but you cannot sell it. In short, the written instructions, photograph, design and pattern are intended for personal, non-commercial use only.

If you have questions regarding this pattern or violent reactions maybe, feel free to contact me here. If you love my work, please let me know, I would love to see it!

Have fun!

More details in Ravelry.

Julie Cuff + Shrug WIP

After a 10 minute bi-monthly checkup with my OB, I met up with my sister Gena and his son Kurt in Gateway, Cubao. My sister and the discriminating nephew had lunch in World Chicken while I went ahead and ordered some nachos and cheesy potatoes in Taco Bell. Nope, those ain't my lunch, they are my first batch of snacks. Then we headed to Dairy Queen for a dose of DQ Sandwich, which reminded us of Funwich minus the chocolate coating in our younger years. I think Kurt got so bored with the adult talk, he busied himself looking at the construction site going on outside of the mall so I decided to give him a ride and redeem a prize for him in Timezone. And yep, I got him a construction truck set which he really adored because he started talking to me after giving him the toy! Oh, kids!

I feel so inspired after going out with them, I immediately worked into a small project by Robyn Chachula, Julie Cuff as soon as I got home.

I'm out of buttons so I made a crocheted tie to use as an enclosure.

my version in Ravelry.

I just love making small projects and was so inspired by my little discriminating nephew (because I'm pregnant) who only calls me by my first name, I finally made a decent pattern of my own! But you dear ones have to be patient with me, as I've said I'm out of buttons and this particular pattern of mine will be needing at least one as a closure.

Enough of the small projects, the biggest item in my WIP box is this lovely shrug by Mimi Alelis. I love the lace work of the pattern and it's really not that hard. This is what keeps me busy most of the time.

seriously...

how do you cut
your toe nails
while heavy with your child?

Shell Bag

Something I made over the weekend...

This is by far the most difficult project I've ever done. But that won't stop me in finishing it. Spent my weekend nights finishing this little cutie and it's all worth the exhaustion over the edging. This is a pattern by Mutsuko Kishi from Keito Dama Spring 2008. I think this will be my favorite bag from now on. It's spacious enough for my Moleskine pocket planner, pre-natal record book, bulky wallet, cellphone, keys and pens. My only regret is not lining it. The lining should be made before doing the edging but working mostly at night doesn't give me enough daylight time to go to the store and buy some fabric but I love the bag, lining or no lining.

When I showed this baby to my brother's girlfriend, she wanted it herself! There's no way she's gonna make me give this to her, haha! She always wanted my bags anyway, like my tote bag from TeamManila so I offered if she really want it, she'll have to buy the yarns. She said yes, so I think I'll be needing another visit to the craft store to buy some yarns/threads in her choice of color.

If you're in Ravelry, please visit my page for more info regarding this Shell Bag.

Up Dharma Down - Bipolar Launch

The much awaited second album of one of my favorite local bands will be launched on October 24, 8PM at the Hexagon Lounge, RCBC Plaza, Makati. Brought to you again by Terno Recordings.

For more details, visit www.updharmadown.com or their MySpace.

Here's their latest video from their first album Fragmented.

6th Australian Film Festival

11 – 15 October Gateway Cineplex 10, Araneta Center (P80 admission fee)
16 – 18 October Ayala Onstage, Ayala Center Cebu (free admission)

Visit the Australian Embassy website for the screening schedule.

Official Twilight Trailer

waking up early on a cold rainy morning could never been better than today.

baby ichi's mittens

a preview...

random 004

ugh, back pains!

Lost in the Woods by Bettyninja

I've been a photography enthusiast myself and been neglecting that part of me now since I became heavy with our first child. So I'm stuck here with a laptop and have endless amount of time reading one blog post to another, that is if I'm not busy re-reading the Twilight series.

To the Top by Bettyninja
(one of my favorites in her collection)

One blog led to another. Finding myself amazed at these vintage looking photographs. I know I wouldn't be able to just shut up and keep this as a secret. vintage + photographs = pure bliss.

Lost Gnome by Bettyninja
(this reminded me of my favorite French film Amelie)

She's using a viewfinder, a treasure I want to keep one myself if only I have a chance. And what more luck can I ask for, Bettyninja recently opened her shop named Lost in the Woods showcasing her wonderful photographs. That's not all, she also gave us a chance to get a hold of her prints through a giveaway! Yay! I'm crossing my fingers now.

Sunflower by Bettyninja
(Reminds me of a place I missed so much, something to make one smile)

Twilight Soundtrack

New release date of the Twilight Soundtrack: November 4, 2008

Listen to Paramore's Decode, official single from the soundtrack in Stephenie Meyer's site.

Gah! They sure know how to make a fan go crazy over and over again.

Baby Mittens

While Baby Ichi is busy kicking mommy's ribs painfully, I finally decided to let go of re-reading (for the nth time) The Twilight Series and pick-up that dusty hook and new ball of white cotton thread to make something for the little kicker.

These mittens are based on Mimi's free pattern and the same goes for the star appliques. I chose red, a unisex color, as a contrasting color because we still don't know the gender of the nudger.

The pattern is so easy you can whip up this pair in a short span of time and actually make lots of it. I think I'll be needing more practice again with the hook, my stitches are a bit too tight for me. If you have Ravelry account, do check out my page for more details about this project.

It's about time...

...to pick-up that dusty hook!

Eagle Eye

New addition to my tickets collection!

K-kun and I watched Eagle Eye yesterday in TriNoMa and it was worth all that travel! The ride in the MRT was pleasant and has some special exception because I'm pregnant. No need to go into the long lines of the South-bound station and no need to go through all the flights of stairs just to get over to the other side of the station. Whoo!

Anyway, the film is not your usual action-packed film. It's very entertaining and the stars (Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan) were able to shine on their own. I must admit that LaBeouf is not just a pretty face but a very good actor as well. He was able to convey different emotions without overdoing it. I won't talk about the movie, afraid that I might spill some spoilers. There is a minor disappointment, but don't mind me, I tend to focus on the smallest unimportant details so it might be nothing to the effect of the film. K actually enjoyed the whole film.

See for yourself, I bet it's worth your time and money.

little nudger

24 weeks.

baby ichi (as i call him/her now) is quite a nudger. must be enjoying his/her little space, swimming around mommy's tummy. i love looking at the sudden movement of my tummy. lucky daddy was home when baby ichi started moving again. daddy placed his cheeks on the tummy when the bulge almost hit him.

5 more days before my monthly check-up. 4 more weeks before the 3d/4d ultrasound. 3 more months before christmas. a hundred and some more days before little one's arrival.

just can't help but start counting down the days. oh yes, we are that excited!

Printable tags and list pads

Lovely prints for free from the lovely lady of A Print a Day.


Download these cute kokeshi tags and list pad in her site. Don't forget to say thanks for her generosity!

Books to Film

I thought I'm excited for the Twilight screening on November but I just seen ET and saw their behind the scenes footage of Angels & Demons! Wow! One of my favorite books on film. Yes, Tom Hanks is still Robert Langdon. I just hope that the film won't be that much of a disappointment compared to The Da Vinci Code. Nevertheless, I'm still excited for the 2009 screening! Yay!

Here's the official trailer found in YouTube (they started filming June 2008)

And here is an impressive fan made trailer. Makes me more excited!

flick, flick, flickr

Got this from Wifely Steps.

1. Goodnight Gennie, 2. Sbarro Chicago Supreme, 3. CIMG1894, 4. Forest Green, 5. JOHNNY DEPP, 6. coffee art, 7. Camiguin sunset, 8. coffee ice cream, 9. Lonely Planet Travel Journal, 10. Husband & Daughter, 11. Lost, 12. Cafe Pascual's

The concept:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste the html into your blog or Flickr stream. Or use the Mosaic Maker at fd’s Flickr Toys.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Looked up your flickr name and see what pops up

tap, tap, tap

it's raining, it's pouring...

i love it!

do you love the rain?

random 003

started and finished reading the twilight series this week. finished reading midnight sun. preferred edward's side of the story. now i'm re-reading the whole series again. i'm guilty though. can't find all four books in the bookstore near our place so i have to give in into, ehem, other resources.

i love the books' playlist. my kind of music. wonder what will be included in the movie soundtrack?

two more months till the movie screening. can't wait!

Week 22: Belly Shot

Miquella's Christening
September 07, 2008
Dasmariñas, Cavite

K-kun and I played photographer into Miquella's Christening last Sunday. It's really nice to attend events like this so that I could get a grip on what should be done in just two months time after giving birth. As early as now, I've started planning on what invitation to be made, on what paper it should be printed, where to have it laminated, the packaging and the souvenirs. Seriously, the design process of an invitation is really difficult especially when I will be having less time thinking about it and focusing on taking care of our little one. There are a lot of great inspirations out there which makes it even more difficult to decide. It's a good thing that we could make a test run by sending baby announcements first.

random 002

me: *laughing at a particular forum post*
k: gene (in a reprimanding tone)
me: why? (still laughing at the post)
k: mag-earphones ka nga.
me: bakit? hindi mo ba maririnig yung tawa ko kapag nag-earphones ako?
k: *snoring*

LOL! i so love k-kun!

Onli in da Pilipins

Filipinos are known for being innovative and it's really interesting. This time, I am so proud to say that you can find this particular project Onli in da Pilipins.

Found in front of a junk shop in Dasmariñas, Cavite. Yup, that's the body of an old refrigerator used as a sidecar for the bike/pedicab. Still a work in progress, I believe. :D

random 001

Warning: You can skip this if you're not really as bored as I am.

There's an ongoing discussion in my head. I got bored making Lucky Stars so I decided to do something new.

• went to SSS to pay my monthly contribution. it's scorching hot when we left home, rained midway then scorching hot when we reached SSS. weird.

• SSS Marikina = great air-conditioned office. wanted to make a bed beside the teller and sleep the whole day through.

• received discount coupons from McDonald's. really useful for k-kun.

• SM Marikina opening day. fans + Sarah Geronimo = madness. new mall = great air-conditioning + discounts + a lot of crowd + great view outside.

• got curious with twitter and plurk so i checked out those sites and realized that i'm handling so many online accounts already so decided against it.

• acquired some e-books online. but i want a real book. argh!

• see the new label below (small talk)? my version of micro-blogging. hah!

Week 21: Baby Cartoons

Seriously, this is what I am feeling right now.

Went to my OB today for my monthly checkup. Finally, a weight gain, from 104 lbs last month to 109 lbs this month, woohoo! We also heard our baby's heartbeat through the Fetal Doppler. At first, the doctor was having a hard time locating my baby's heartbeat, turned out that my heartbeat is overlapping with baby's heartbeat. And I'm really glad we were able to determine which one is which. As long as I can feel my baby move inside my womb, I'm confident that the little one is safe. Thank God, my pregnancy seems to be as normal as the book, I hope. No additional tests yet and the additional vitamins will be given to me next month. I asked a lot of questions today. Purely essential stuff, like how much for normal and CS delivery, what kind of anesthesia will be used and if the baby will be in the nursery for the first hour and also mentioned that I prefer to breastfeed my baby.

No shopping for baby stuff yet. Guess, we'll have to do that after my ultrasound on my 7th month. For now, what I want are all white clothes for my baby. I'm planning to embroider them layettes to specially personalize for the little one. I remember seeing our layettes with red (unisex color) G. Pascual embroidery on them. Yup, you got it right, my siblings and I have names starting with letter G. I don't really know why but one reason my mother told me: so that they no longer need to buy new layettes for each one of us, which makes sense. And I don't want to restrict colors to my baby, like pink for girls and blue for boys. I want to introduce colors to him/her as early as possible at the same time making the baby clothes unisex.

I'm halfway there. A couple of months to go and we will be able to see our mini-mommy (or mini-daddy.)

Week 20: Belly Shot + Filipino Music

I think my skin is already stretched to its limit. It has become so big and so heavy that I get tired so easily in our weekly mall walk. But I like it, though some people still haven't noticed that I'm quite big in the tummy part. Or my face still doesn't show any signs of being pregnant unlike other soon-to-be moms.

Everybody has been asking me if it's a girl or a boy. I am just as excited as every mom in the world but we still have to wait for a couple of weeks so that we can see clearly in 3d/4d ultrasound our baby's gender and at the same time get a good shot of his/her face.

I just talked to my SIL and brother in YM a few hours, as promised they showed me their gift to our baby.

A whole set of Avent bottles in different sizes! Wow, that's a lot! Thank you so much Kuya Jop and Ate Darlene!

+ + +

One of the best Filipino rock band of all time is Eraserheads. They're like The Beatles of Pinoy music. I grew up listening to their music but was too young to get a copy of their records. You can always listen to their music through the radio and watch their videos in MTV and TV shows. I was lucky enough that our eldest sister and her husband brought us in one of their gigs. But K-kun is more into them than I am. I think E-heads is one of the bands that influenced him and his then classmates to form a band while they were still in high school. He's really good for a self-taught musician. He even won the Best Guitarist award in the Battle of the Bands held in our University.

Anyway, their lead vocalist Ely Buendia left the band in 2002 and the band later on disbanded. Six years after the controversial issue about the band's breakup, their having a one in a lifetime reunion concert! Rumors started late July with lots of pointless drama from the DOH and now it's real! Tickets started selling Wednesday evening despite fact that the new promoters announced that they will be sold on Thursday (today.) It's so hard to get into the online ticketing so we have to wait for today to get ours in one of the authorized outlets that handles the ticketing of the concert. It's so crazy! Every fan is in panic mode, as in long lines as soon as the store opened and each fan would buy 10-20 tickets at a time! Expected attendees: 35,0000! That's a lot! And the news mentioned that the stage set-up is like the one that Michael Jackson had when he held his concert here. Whoa! That's a first for a Filipino rock band.

To know more about the rave, visit Philmusic.com. And to the fans who haven't bought their tickets yet, there are only 7,000 slots available for Patron and 22,000 for General Admission so grab those Patron tickets now. And to the fans who we're able to get through Marcus' VIP list, you're so lucky and be thankful that he gave us the chance to be nearer to the band! Too bad, we are not one of you.

Week 20: Baby Cartoon

This is so funny!

I woke up early this morning feeling hungry. So I woke K-kun because I'm craving for some pandesal. And not only that, we also had some cheddar cheese and fried eggs, so good! No coffee for me so I forced myself to finish 500mL of water in one sitting. After filling ourselves with the breakfast, K-kun and I lied down in the bed for a while. It's really seldom for us to wake up early for breakfast so I'm on lazy mode as usual so we just had some bonding moments with my baby/tummy.

K-kun felt our baby move! It's always like that, we're talking when we would feel baby move. It seems like he/she would like to join the conversation. My baby is already so active! We fell back into sleep while feeling our baby move, haha!

Support Reproductive Health Bill into Law

The Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN) recently launched a signature campaign to gather support for the immediate passage of the Reproductive Health Bill into law. As a person who grew up with four siblings and with only a father to support our finances, I know very well the importance of this bill. I used to think what would it be like if there's just four (I am the fourth child by the way) of us, I think life would be a bit easier. But there's this other side of me telling me that it's pure selfishness on my part because I am no longer the youngest, that I was being immature. Apparently not. I think I made a bit of a sense.

It's not a crime to plan your family future. Everybody has the right to be informed of what would be best to her and her family's health. To have better alternatives and have an informed decision.

Please sign the petition: Declaration of Support for the Immediate Passage of the Reproductive Bill into Law

To: Philippine Congress

We are seriously disturbed that more than 10 Filipino women die every day due to pregnancy and childbirth-related complications. The big majority of those who die are poor women at the prime of their lives.

We are alarmed that 29 out of 1,000 infants die due to various sickness and illnesses that are preventable and curable.

We are troubled that 4.9 million Filipino youth, aged 15-27 are sexually active but programs that would ensure their safety and help them become more responsible in dealing with their sexuality and relationships are severely lacking. Especially worrisome is the fact that 1 out of 5 female teenagers get pregnant before they reach their 20th birthday.

These are just a few of the problems in the midst of the ongoing economic crisis, escalating poverty, and the ever-increasing prices of basic commodities and services. Moreover, the Philippine population grows unabated with almost 2 million individuals added every year. Researches consistently show that poverty is more prevalent among big families compared to smaller ones.

The acute lack of services and information regarding reproductive health:

* results in the untimely death of women and children;
* is the reason why our youth are largely unprepared to deal with matters pertaining to their sexuality and relationships; and
* exacerbates the effects of economic crisis and poverty on millions of ordinary Filipinos, especially those with big families.

We believe that Filipinos, particularly the poor, urgently need access to information and services that will address their reproductive health needs.

We believe that a rights-based, comprehensive, and responsive reproductive health law will help empower Filipinos to achieve a better quality of life.

We firmly believe that the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill into law will help actualize people’s, especially women’s rights to make informed decisions.

Therefore, we call on our legislators to pass the Reproductive Health Bill into law now.

Baby Wishlist (Updated 8/23/2008)

Shiloh's Blanket - Not really named after Angelina Jolie's first born but it became famous when Shiloh was seen with a crocheted blanket while strolling with her mom and dad. It is said to improve the baby's visual stimulation, obviously because of the alternating colors. But I don't need to shed $85 just for this blanket, I can actually make one for my baby, but that's after I give birth to him/her. If only I could find affordable organic cotton yarns here (it's been my frustration since I started crocheting.)

Also check the first batch of my Baby Wishlist.

Walk in the park

On a bright Tuesday morning, K-kun and I attended the New Family Planning seminar in our municipality. For those who live here in the Philippines, you probably have the idea why a couple would attend this kind of seminar. *wink* The seminar ended early than scheduled so we decided to just go home and rest. As usual, we would always pass by Marikina Riverbanks so we decided to take a short stroll and loved the flowers that welcomed us on our way down to the riverbank.

It's been raining for the past days so the river looks muddy. But the weather today is just perfect. And we even spotted an insect playing amongst the flowers. Or is that a bee? Anyway, these shots were taken using K-kun's Sony Ericsson cellphone because I'm too lazy to bring our DSLR.

On a side note, I'm back to using R2D2 now because Joanne is running on Windows Vista and the freaking OS hanged on me for a couple of times now so I'll have to ask K-kun to change the stupid OS to Windows XP.

New Member of the Family

We've got a new laptop!


I've been using Joanne (the laptop's name) for the past days and I'm getting so addicted to it. I still love R2D2 (K-kun's PC) though. But just so you know, we're not rich to be able to buy an extra computer in our household and yet haven't yet bought all the baby stuff. Actually there's a long story behind Joanne's arrival in this house. But I'll try to keep it short...

K-kun's father will be retiring this month and as part of his retirement plans, he would like to start a computer renting shop since K-kun is one of the best computer troubleshooters I've ever met (I'm not being biased here, K-kun learned the ins and outs of computer hardware on his own and he graduated with a major in Business Management while my brother is the best computer guy that I know and he graduated Computer Engineering without even owning a personal computer, beat that!) that would be the most practical idea. Plus his first brother have a Diploma in Computer Technology. Anyway, his kick-ass PC for a couple of years now is actually perfect for a server so his parents decided that they will just get his PC in exchange buying us a new laptop. Of course, K-kun made sure that it could be an alternative for our current system. Well, you know laptops are still very limited so I will sure miss R2D2, his wide screen LCD and the cable TV, yup, we can actually watch cable TV on his PC. I asked him if we can still do that with the laptop, he said we can't. :(

But at least, I can surf the net while in bed or even in the backyard. And I can still abuse R2D2 until they finalize the shop. Go Wi-Fi!

Crochet Bolero Sighting

It's payday today so naturally there's a long line in every ATMs out there. K-kun and I were one of those peeps waiting for our chance to withdraw his (K-kun's) hard earned salary. And I immediately noticed the woman standing before us. She's wearing an ecru crocheted bolero! I pointed it out to K-kun but the woman noticed that I was looking at her back and you know what she did? She got hold of her bag and put it in front of her! She must have thought that we're trying to rob her.

Geez! How could I, for the life of me, a pregnant woman who stands 5'0" and very much in my right mind rob her inside a mall, with security guards everywhere, and surrounded with tens of people waiting for their chance to withdraw their money from the ATMs!

We may look like one of those poor college students who wear band shirts, jeans and Vans slip-ons but we're definitely not running out of money. It's just amazing how someone can assume of what a person is by the way he/she looks.

I can forget those petty assumptions but I still can't and won't forget her bolero. I can definitely make one, I hope. Hahaha!

Blog Action Day 2008




Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.


Baby Wishlist

Argh!

K-kun and I went to the mall today for my weekly walking exercise and of course the first place that we always visit first is the Infant Section. I love those cute baby clothes! They're so tiny and the colors are really lovely. I can imagine my baby wearing those outfits. Since it's still too early to determine the gender of our child, buying baby items this early would be such a waste. Plus there are still discount sales to be expected in very the near future. Believe me, people here in the Philippines would start buying Christmas gifts as soon as the start of -ber months. And I will be one of those starting this year, hahah!

For now, I'll start a list of the things that I want to have for my baby and hopefully be able to cross-out these items in the near future. Yoohoo, Fairy God Mothers!

Diaper Bag - A must have for every mommy. This fashionable bag is made by Baby Couture. It's made of polyester and comes with a changing mat and removable dry bag. Of course the inside lining is water resistant and filled with pockets to organize your baby stuff inside. Most of all it doesn't look like a diaper bag at all so I can still use as a regular bag.


Baby Slings - For someone who doesn't have a personal car (we have a family van though,) bringing baby strollers can be really difficult. And I found this great alternative to carry my baby with less bulk. It's like a baby carrier but my baby will be closer to me. I can also breastfeed with the baby sling or do things with my both hands free (surfing the net,crocheting, reading.) It's also a bonding moment with me and the baby. This one is locally made, woohoo!

Boppy Pillow - Something to help me while breastfeeding or daddy while bottle feeding our little one. I just learned that these pillows are super expensive but luckily I saw a local brand that gives the same features for only 20% of the amount of the Boppy Pillow. :D
Cloth Diapers - I already saw one locally made. But we're still looking for an alternative, if there's any. It's cheaper because it's washable and reusable plus environment friendly. Also a great way to prevent baby from having diaper rash.

BPA Free and Anti-Colic Feeding Bottles - Just in case I can't produce enough milk for my baby, these will be the preferred bottles for baby. BFree bottles are proven safe for babies (Click here for the research report: Toxic Baby Bottles) and I've heard a lot of good reviews from mommies regarding Avent Anti-Colic feeding bottles and also heard about Dr. Brown's Natural Flow that also help reduce colic. But I won't be buying these bottles till next year because my sister-in-law already promised the feeding bottles for my baby, to be sent to us from Singapore. Yay!

Baby Wishlist (Updated 8/23/2008)

There are still a lot of items that I would like put here but I'm still researching which are the best options for us. I'll update this as soon as I find the right product for us. Also feel free to make suggestions. The more mommies suggesting a great product, the more I'd like to try that for my baby. Pardon the ignorance of the first time mom. ;P

Food, pregnancy and pregorexia

I have nothing against people who are trying to get thin or stay in shape, especially if they are doing it the healthy way. Eating salads over red meat is not a big deal at all. In fact, I envy those who find satisfaction in eating healthy greens, but that's just not me. Just for the record, I grew up eating processed meat, pork chops and fried chicken. The only vegetables that are registered in my food vocabulary are very limited, my favorites are kangkong (swamp cabbage,) carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and some squash, cabbage and lettuces. Despite being a meat eater, I didn't gain that much weight at all. I remember weighing 30-40 kg. when I was in high school till early college. And I was actually one of those who are being envied for being thin while I envy others for having their clothes fit them perfectly. Till college days, the clothes that can only fit me are those tees sold in pre-teens section.

The only time that I gained enough weight to fit into those office shirts and slacks was when I started working and never thought that eating a lot of food can actually relieve stress, which was really, really bad for ones health. So I have a friend who introduced me to eating healthy, she eats red meat occasionally, but most of her diet consists of salads, cooked veggies, white meat and wheat bread! As shameful as it may seem, I actually learned about wheat bread when I was 22 years old! Seriously! And it's my choice of bread ever since. It's very filling, very healthy and most of all taste good even on its own. I learned to skip on those fatty strip in pork chops then later on learned to buy leaner meat. Plus my father is not allowed to eat any fatty food because of his high blood pressure so we started to get really, really conscious of the food that we're eating. I realized later on that the last time I had my dose of potato chips were years ago.

Now that I'm pregnant, I became very, very choosy with the food that I like to eat. I love anything with lettuce, salads, tacos and burgers are my best friends for the past months. I don't like to eat rice and terribly miss my father's dishes. I visit his home once a month and always demanded to cook my favorite meat dishes, mostly tomato based sauces. Being on my second trimester, the feeling of being hungry every few hours is just normal. I would grab two packs of biscuit or a cup of cold cocoa drink would be enough to satisfy my growing tummy. Hopefully this time, I have gained enough weight for me and for my baby.

I just can't wait for my tummy to grow bigger. It actually gives me satisfaction just by looking at my tummy after each meal. And I love wearing shirts that can show off my tummy. Yup, I am one proud soon-to-be mom!

Speaking of pregnancy and eating, I was channel surfing a couple of days ago and was shocked to learn that there is such a thing as Pregorexia. Basically, this applies to pregnant women who stays thin during pregnancy and doesn't appear to be pregnant at all. This is the said show that I've seen.

And for the article: Plague of the Pregorexics

18 weeks - Bad Belly Shots

Finally, some belly shots, not good but the point is I just want to show my new tummy size. Sorry for the blurred image, it's in Auto mode and on self-timer.

My not so big tummy with my 18 week old baby inside. <3

Busy Stork

Did you notice?

It seems that most of my friends are jumping into the motherhood bandwagon. I have an officemate who gave birth last month, a college friend due this month, I'm on my 17th week and recently learned that two of my other officemates are also pregnant. I'm so excited to think that after giving birth, we could have a reunion with our babies!

That's not all. Did you notice the recent Blogger Buzz? Well, if you didn't, here's a screen shot for you.

There are babies everywhere. So cute and so lovely!