Cohen Journey: 3-Month Mark!

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Hmmmm, I’ve been counting the days actually and as of writing, I’ve been on Cohen for 89 days, weee!!! And I’m even happier to report that I didn’t deviate at all in any of those days. (tap on the back for me :D, LOL!).

It really helps that I like what I eat and that I enjoy seeing my progress as I go through this Journey.  I do have some tricks that I believe helped me even more to stick to Cohen.

1)      Batch weighing – I buy stuff during weekends and I weigh all of them so that its easy for me to just pull one bag and prepare it to my liking.

2)      Batch cooking – I know a lot of Cohenites  don’t favour batch cooking as they believe its not as accurate as cooking meals separately but I must say, I wouldn’t have been this successful if not for batch cooking.  You see I’m a busy working mom and anything that will make my journey easier, I’m all for it.  The trick is to be as scientific about it as possible.  Like for example, I always batch cook Nilagang Baka. 

-          How do I do it, I weigh my beef for 5 days (so for example my allowance is 100g per day then I would weigh 500 grams).  After that put all of it in a boiling pan, sprinkle enough salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and ginger powder.  After that, I put ample water and boil meat till tender.

-          After the Beef Nilaga is cooked, I let it cool a bit then I separate the meat from the broth then I weigh the meat.  I divide whatever the cooked weight is to the number of portions I cooked (e.g. I cooked 500grams of beef and the cooked weight is for example 400grams then I divide that by 5 giving me 80 grams so I pack 5 portions of 80 grams each, the same thing that I do with my broth, I weigh the broth and divide it by the portions and pour it on the meat portions seal and put on the freezer.

-          So every time I only need to get one portion of this batch cooked beef nilaga heat it and add the veggie allowance.  Easy peasy.

3)      I always treat myself with fruits (my favourite of which is mango), this curves my cravings for sweets

4)      I have recipes for tamad days and recipes for when I feel a bit more into cooking that way I have a food handy for every mood.

5)      I just let it be, if I loose 5lbs in 1 week, fine, if I loose 2lbs, fine.  So long as I know that I’m sticking to my program, I let the weighing scale be.

I wouldn’t have succeeded thus far if not for these points above.  I’m really excited to embed this lifestyle into my own and I’m getting there.

So how did I do so far, I’ll give the latest update (Day 89 – that is a bit more over than 3 months).

Start Weight                 - 236.4 Lbs ( I know, I was huge!)

Current Weight             - 181.6 lbs (YEY!!!!)

Total Weigh Loss         - 54.8 lbs (YEEEEYYY!!!!)

Next biggest challenge…. Our trip to Manila…..  

Cohen Journey: Two months in!

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Time flies when your having fun :D.  I have completed 2 months on my Cohen Journey.  Actually I’m on my 9^th week, I just didn’t manage to post a second month mark last week.  

I’m happy to report that I have no deviations for the past 2 months (and almost another week).  Yey!  I really enjoy the food that I eat and I’m not desperate to eat things that I used to eat before.  

During my second month, I met one challenge that really defined my commitment to this lifestyle.  This month, we went to Brussels for a long weekend so I really had to psyche myself.  I had to prepare beforehand and make sure that I have all the meals that I would be eating before we left.  I had to carefully plan my meals and snacks and buy all that I require.  I’m really glad it all worked out.  I almost had a glitch though, we were supposed to be home by dinner of Sunday but we were invited to have dinner.  So I had to tell the host that I’m not eating coz I’m on a special diet and she understood and didn’t force me to eat.  I had to wait till much later that evening for my dinner but it was all good in the end, still no deviations!

There are instances when were in social functions and people would be eating around me and sometimes it entices me to have a taste but in the end I don’t give is so all is good.  I believe this is good practice for when we go for our holidays in the Philippines.

I still get some urges to eat chocolates and sweet treats when people around me are having them but my will overpowers my sweet tooth (or sweet jaw) :D.

This month I lost 16.0 lbs and in total I have already lost 39.8lbs.  Yey! Hurrah for Cohen. 

I just wanted to share, my most favourite food is shrimp salad.  Thank God for shrimps, just mix them with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper and they are heavenly.  

I’m so excited to finally achieve my goal!!!

Cohen Journey: 5 weeks on the road

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I have completed my 5^th week on Cohen with no deviations yey! So far everything has been great.  I don’t feel deprived and no cravings, well except for those times when we went to dinner parties and I just drink cola and everyone is feasting on a sumptuous dinner :D.  However, the sacrifices far outweigh the benefits and rewards of sticking to my eating plan.

In the past months, I have bought dresses that are a dress size (or two) smaller thinking that I will wear them when I’m thinner.  It has been months though (or for some a year or a bit more) and they still hang in my closet with their tags on looking lonely and craving to be taken out of the dark corner of the abyss that is my cabinet.  

However, this all changed on my fifth week on Cohen! It was in the morning, it was still a bit early and I was thinking of what to wear when all of a sudden, an idea clicked inside my head, seriously, I could almost see the light bulb pop on top of my head (teehee).  I thought, why not try how much further am I from actually wearing this dress that I have bought months (I’m not even sure if it was a year ago) from mango.  I was so excited while I was slipping the dress through and lo and behold, it fits!  I was so excited that I didn’t change clothes anymore.  The dress that I have so longed to wear for the past months finally fit! Ecstatic!

I was so excited that I just went on about preparing to go to work and went off my merry way strutting my way about showing off this blue dress that finally saw daylight.  When I got home that evening and while I was changing my clothes, I laughed so loud when I realized that due to my excitement, I completely forgot to take the tag off!  Good thing it stayed inside the dress and didn’t show :D.  In my defence, I didn’t plan to wear it, I was just trying it on to see how much more I had to lose to fit into it (LOL!).

I clearly remember the day that I bought that dress, there was a sale on Mango and I bought 3 dresses and out of the three I have only worn 1 dress in the past, the two are a dress size (or two) smaller.  So encouraged by my success the previous day, the following day, I tried on the other dress and my oh my, it fits!  Happy, happy me!

I have rummaged through my closet and started sorting out the clothes that fits me again…. I’m slowly conquering an entire closet of my clothes from previous years that all fit again!

I’m so encouraged and psyched to keep on going, this really is an amazing journey

So far I have lost 29lbs!

Cohen Journey: Off to Brussels

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After 5 weeks of being on Cohen, I have gotten used to everything, I have created my own patters, have gotten the jive and is now able to go about my way normally.  I have built my comfort zone through the routines that I have established and familiarity of my environment.  However, going on a trip is completely off and out of my comfort zone…. Light years away.

This weekend will be another ultimate test to my discipline and dedication to the lifestyle that I have chosen.  We’re going off to Brussels for the weekend.  Going to Brussels, a land known for its luscious chocolate and indulgent pastries, and not giving in to temptation, specially for someone like me who’s Achilles’ Heel are the sweet palatable pleasures, would be an ordeal, to say the least.  However, from what I have learned in this past couple of weeks, the best defence is offense :D.  I have realized that the key to success is planning and being prepared.

So last night, I have prepared all my meals for the entire trip and snacks, drinks and all.  I have labelled all of them accordingly and have brought all the condiments that I will need.  This way, I wouldn’t be tempted to eat anything else coz I have everything ready and handy.

I’m positive that this weekend will be a fun and deviation free one for me.  I only need to plan on how to prepare my meals for the next week because I normally do that on Saturdays, perhaps this time I’ll do it on Sunday evening.

Here’s to sticking to Cohen!

Exploring the World: (Barcelona) Axel Hotel Barcelona

The main purpose for our visit to Barcelona was a retreat organized by Couples for Christ.  We decided to extend our stay a couple of days longer to revisit this gem of a city that is so dear to us. 

Having done all the touristy places on our first visit, we were not very keen to get aggressive on touring the sights anymore.  The game plan was to have a laid back walk on Las Ramblas and to wherever else our feet take us.  With this thought in mind, we wanted a hotel that is close to Las Ramblas, preferably walking distance so we can come and go as we please.  This is also very convenient since we are travelling with our little one. 

Browsing through the recommended hotels from booking.com, I picked this hotel for its location, the pool that I’m sure Bee would really enjoy, and the very hip and modern design.  After booking the hotel through booking.com, I discovered quite late, after browsing through the Hotel’s website that it’s like a “Gay hotel” or something.  Alarm bells started to ring through my head, “what have I gotten ourselves into?”  But it was too late to cancel for the rooms I booked are not cancellable and I cling on (for dear life) to the reviews of families with children who stayed in this Hotel and said a little prayer that everything will go well.

On the day of our check-in, I was so nervous thinking that this hotel might not be suitable for families, much less a child.  But when we got there, we were greeted by the very nice man in the concierge, he gave us our key and informed us of the amenities available.  Whew! So far so good. 

Now, onto the rooms, they are very well appointed, clean, decent amount of space and I love, love, love the style of the room.  There is one poster of a man half naked on one corner of the room but it was in good taste, not at all offensive or anything.  The bathroom was clean, well organized and well lighted.  The beds are so comfy and the pillows are so fluffy, just the way I like them.  Haaay… we are looking good!

The day we checked in, it was too cold to take a dip on an outside pool.  Good thing the hotel had a sauna and spa service that has an indoor heated pool (more like a big Jacuzzi).  However, when we got there, the receptionist from the Spa told us that the indoor pool is only for adults L.  We asked her very nicely, while showing off Bee (she normally has this charm of persuading somewhat into something that they don’t normally allow J).  In the end she agreed (yey!) with the disclosure that we will be responsible for Bee and that we shouldn’t stay very long because apparently some babies are sensitive to the warm water (what? That I didn’t get coz Bee always bathes in warm water – otherwise it’s too cold), we agreed. 

Good thing the lady allowed us to use the pool, Bee had so much fun and we were alone in there, well there were two other people in the spa but they were in the sauna so we had the pool all to ourselves.  It was really fun and the warm water was so soothing in that cold weather. 

All in all, I would definitely recommend this hotel, some people might get intimidated by the way it promotes itself as a “gay hotel” for families with children thinking that kids are not welcome but we didn’t get that feeling at all.  We only stayed in our rooms most of the times and we only used the spa once and all was well, we were well rested at night and we were close to everything that we want to visit.

This hotel delivered what I was hoping for during our last stay in Barcelona.  

Exploring the World: (Barcelona) Les Quinze Nits Revisited

I know, I know, the amount of neglect this blog endured is extremely inexcusable.  Documenting our travels has taken, not even the backseat, but rather the trunk is the more appropriate term to put it, as I try to juggle stuff at home at work and our CFC Work.

We’ve travelled quite a few times in the past couple of months and to ensure that I don’t miss any trips, I’ve decided to start with the very first trip we had this year, which was in Barcelona.

Barcelona holds a special place in my heart and so does this quaint restaurant.  The first time we’ve been in Barcelona was to celebrate our 1^st Wedding (6^th in total) Anniversary.  The very first night we spent there, we had our dinner at Les Quinze Nits and immediately, I fell in love with it (well not with the snooty Filipina waitress though – well that is a different story altogether). 

In my mind, I could still taste the creamy Paella Negra teeming with shrimps, mussels and other little sea treasures.  I could still recall the oh-so-tender pork dish that reminded me so much of home.  I could still remember how refreshing the pitcher of Sangria served to us.

With this charming memories, the moment we booked everything for our Barcelona trip, honey automatically set aside a dinner to be spent is this oasis of a restaurant. 

The evening started very well with this very pleasant Maitre de welcoming us (he was a Filipino – very nice man!).  He even gave us recommendations as to what we should order.  We decided to order the Paella Negra (again – we just enjoyed it so much the last time) and a pork dish.  We were so excited, our eyes were fixed on every menu being laid on our table and with such profound excitement, it felt like our knives and forks have lives of their own and made their way, without even being guided, to the dishes that were in front of us.  However, the boiling excitement turned very quickly into a fizzle the moment we placed the first mouthful of Paella Negra in our mouths.  Gone was the creamy and heavenly Paella, in its place was this salty plate of black rice.  Gone was the pot of divine treat teeming with little treasures from the sea, it its place was black rice interspersed with very little seafood.  The pork dish was forgetful, I don’t even remember how it tasted or what it looked like. 

I’m a bit saddened that this little gem of a place turned into a nondescript restaurant.  I give them plus points for the nicer staff, the maitre de even gave Baby Bee some chocolate truffles after we had our meal but the quality and taste of the food is not at par with what we had in the past.

I guess I will never be able to taste that heavenly treat that we had there 5 years ago, too bad.  

Cohen Journey: 20 Down!

I’ve completed the 19^th Day of my Cohen journey! Hurrah! 

Why 20 Down, you ask?  That is the number of lbs that I’ve dropped in that short span of time! Amazing isn’t it?!?!  What’s even more amazing is that I don’t even feel that I’m on diet and I’m loving all the food that I’ve been eating.  

For the second week, I’ve cooked a batch of Beef Nilaga (boiled) and divided it as per my dinner allowance and I love, love, love it!

I also managed to scale down the time I spent on preparing my food for this week, which was my biggest complain over the last weekend.  Whew, thank goodness for that.

And if I may say, I’m so proud of me this week coz I managed to prepare treats for Baby Bee and Honey, that I would so love to gobble down myself.  Over the weekend, I made them pancakes for breakfast. 

If that is not enough, I asked honey to buy me a new toy, a cupcake maker! Of course I couldn’t let that thing of beauty go to waste, I had to test it! Voila, I made chocolate cupcakes which Bee and Honey enjoyed with the rest of our church mates over the after service snacks.  

And, since honey has been requesting for his favourite mocha cake, I’ve made him mocha cupcakes instead! I brought some of these to office for the boys to enjoy :D

Anyhoo, I digress, although, I think these are all good practice for me.  My restraint strengthens as I expose myself to temptations.  I can only hope that it will be easier for me to resist these heavenly treats.

Back to my Cohen journey…. I just want to say that I love this diet and its very effective for me.  It’s Godsend really, looking forward to ticking off my goals one by one!

Second week on Cohen

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Another cliché coming… time flies! Hey, I warned you it was going to be a cliché.  But indeed time flies coz I’ve now completed my second week on my Cohen journey.  Yey!

So how has it been so far?!?

I can say that I’m really getting the hang of it and to be honest, there were a couple of instances that I told myself, “am I really on diet?”  That is how amazing it is, or is it just because I managed to scour the internet and got fab recipes from very supportive Cohen dieters as well, I could never tell.  

In a country where the typical lunch is two pieces of bread and cheese, my meatball lunch looked and tasted much more appetizing and luxurious than my colleagues meals. 

Currently my favourites are chicken paprika with creamy mushroom sauce, meatballs in sauce and beef tapa and cauli rice.  My favourite snacks are apple chips and apple tartlets.  I haven’t tried the cheesecake yet so I’m looking forward to making and having that soon.

Now for the best stuff: I have already lost 13lbs in a span of two weeks!  YEY!

On top of that, I don’t envy people eating cake in front of me and I don’t mind if we are in a restaurant and honey and Charlie are eating so I’m very encouraged.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that my progress continues.  No Deviations!  

Cohen Journey

I have taken the plunge and dove head first on this diet.  For the past couple of years, specially after my pregnancy, healthy living and eating has taken the back seat.  This has caused the pounds to pile up and made it more difficult to loose them.  

After reading a lot of great feedback from FN (a website that I frequent) and after mulling over it for months, I have finally decided to go ahead and do the Cohen Diet.  

What is Cohen Diet?

Dr. Cohen’s program is a rapid fat and weight loss diet that works in a fast yet healthy way. The program is based on a balanced eating plan. It does not require specially ordered foods or pills but instead, allows the customer to use the foods that are already available to him or her. Such foods include red/white meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, and dairy products.

How It Works

• By looking at blood test results, Dr. Cohen will assess and monitor with each client’s eating plan personally.
• Once clients receive their eating plans, they will begin to rapidly lose fat and weight in a healthy way.
• The balanced eating plan will also assist in firming muscles and toning the body.
• Clients will be continuously monitored throughout the diet.

This with a handful of testimony made me decide to just go for it.  So far, I’ve been in the program for 5 days now and all is well

Here’s to a Healthy lifestyle!

Rome Trip Teaser....

Guess who we saw in our most recent trip to Rome......

It was an out of this world experience.... I'll go into more details soon :D

Charlie's Antics

We went to Bratislava, Slovakia last Friday for a short trip and to attend the CFC European Conference. After the conference, we visited some malls (of course that will never be out of any trip we have) and I was so giddy to find an early learning centre store there within a mothercare outlet.   I have always liked their products so I grabbed a couple of toys that I felt little Charlie would enjoy. One of the things I got for her was a set of math cards with animals on them. Different kinds of animals were used to illustrate math equations. It was a bit advanced for her age (she's only 2) so I just opted to ask her how many animals were in each of the cards. Our play time turned out to be one of my little one's funniest comeback hahahaha....

Here is how it went:
Mommy (showing Charlie a board with 2 dogs): how many dogs are there?

Charlie: twee (two)

Mommy (showing a card with one cat): how many cats are there?

Charlie: een (one)

Mommy (showing a card with 10 cows): how many cows are there?

Charlie: DAMI! (Many!)

Toink she is right that is indeed a lot of cows hahaha, my little one is so funny!

Hunger Games

One of the luxuries I get to enjoy when I’m on a long holiday in the Philippines is that I get to binge on books. The bookworm in me was such a happy camper during our 5-week long holiday. I managed to dive through 7 novels in the span of our holiday…. Oh what a treat.

One of the books (or series of books) that I have read was the Hunger games. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, although the concept of the plot was quite disturbing, the delicate way the author handled the storytelling was very effective and didn’t make the story too gory or morbid. In the beginning, the idea of a love story developing within a plot where everyone has to kill each other didn’t seem to make sense to me but I must admit, after reading the book, I bought it.

This is the reason why I was really excited to see the film when it was screened. When I saw the trailer, I wasn’t convinced that Jennifer Lawrence would make a good Katniss but after seeing the film, she more than gave justice to the role. While reading the book, I was also for team Peeta but when I saw the trailer, I was so tempted to shift to team Gale – he was such a hunk!

What I liked about the film:
 - I really loved how they portrayed the Capitol and the people, the capitol was more extravagant than what I imagined it would be but the people were as eccentric as I thought.

- The fire retardant costumes were amazing. I was having a hard time picturing this while reading the books and the film translated this really well. It was subtle yet spectacular.

- Katniss somehow managed to look very strong and yet vulnerable, she conveyed emotions very well and I really liked how her character was translated in film. I think Jennifer Lawrence did a great job.

- The hi-tech control centre of the arena. I wouldn’t have imagined this, it was so cool. - I liked how the movie didn’t have to be so gory and gruesome yet managed stay true to the essence of the book.

- Cinna was an amazing character in the movie. I didn’t pay much attention to him in the books but I really liked him in the movie.

What I didn’t like

- I felt that Katniss and Peeta didn’t have much chemistry. Even when they were kissing I didn’t feel anything between them.

- The way the Katniss and Peeta’s past was conveyed. I understood it because I read the books but I guess for someone who didn’t read the book, the wasn’t clear that Peeta threw the bread to the pigs to try and help Katniss, but then again that’s just me.

- The chirp of the mockingjay, I just imagined it differently perhaps.

Hunger games is very entertaining, I’m so looking forward to the next movie!

I’m Falling….

You read it on magazines, you hear from friends stories, you even watch it on movies and TV series, yep, from all sorts of media, you learn of love stories gone boring, bearable, tedious, and dull. Some couples slip through to a stage where they find there relationship flat-lining into a monotonous routine that they settle for being comfortable and completely forget the sparkle that they used to have. They have long lost the butterflies fluttering in their stomachs each time they are in each other’s company.

After 5 years of wedded bliss and 10 years of being together, I’m so grateful that I can say that after all this years, my honey never fails to make me fall head-over-heels in love with him every single day. I believe that is the secret of our relationship and how we break tedium. It doesn’t happen without effort but we just love doing stuff for each other that’s why it doesn’t seem like any effort at all.

I’m also blessed with a husband who is such a hopeless romantic, but also as important as the grand gestures, he is also the type of guy whose small actions tend to make you feel really loved and cared for and pleasantly surprised.

I never really paid attention to it but this morning, I can’t help but smile as I open my bag and found my wallet inside. You see, last night, I took my wallet out of my bag and took it upstairs to the office desk and completely forgot it there. This morning, while on my way to work, I remembered and I panicked that I forgot my wallet. But, as I open my bag, my wallet magically appeared inside. That is just how my honey is, he always takes care of me and makes sure that I’m ok.

The other day, while I was on my way home, he called me up and said, “hey honey, do you want to go to the city centre?” so I asked, “why do you want to go there together with Bee to meet up?” to which he replied “no, I was thinking you can have a ‘me’ time and I’ll take care of Bee.” Isn’t he just the sweetest thing????

I cannot be grateful enough to have a hubby such as my honey. He never fails to surprise me, to support me and to make me feel secure. More than that, through the big and small actions, he never fails to make me feel loved! Thank God for him.

Through thick & thick(er)

I have never really stopped to think of how blessed I am when it comes to friends. Today was like a bolt of lightning, hitting me smack in the face making me realize how truly rich I am with wonderful, gracious, loving and most of all funny friends. No, there was no big or life changing event that happened, it was as simple as reading an FB post from one of the closest friends I have ever had (who I now realize I truly and utterly miss!) about something as trifling as a song and a cassette tape (OMG, we’re still talking about cassette tapes, how ancient are we?!?), which by the way is still missing after 10 years! Reading that post made me realize how wonderful those times were and how I’m going to cherish those memories forever (elk! another cliché – but its really true!).

I, for one, am not the type of person who collects friends by the dozen, I’m the sort who doesn’t have a lot but the ones that I keep are treasures, gems whose worth can never be equalled. And maybe because of the same FB post that I’ve read which triggered this realization, I am currently missing a particular group of friends. My college kadas, The Goddesses and Fidel. Oh, we were such a wacky bunch!

I vaguely recall how we bumped into each other, some of them I’ve met on my first year in the University, still neneng and totoy looking. But our friendship and group solidified on our sophomore year. We laughed and cried together, we failed and triumphed together. I know we will all smile each time we think about that afternoon in the manggahan when one of them took my ID as they always do and ran with it and collided with a coconut tree smack in the face! (haaay Ms. Hum!) What about those nights (and overnights) we spent while we were finishing our thesis. And who could forget Ms. Jollibee and her smile (I wonder how she is by the way). Oh, and what about those nights when we stood vigil in front of the VPs office to fight and claim the cum (and magna for Ms. Hum) laude medals that we almost lost due to technicality.

We may have chosen our own paths in life now, we may have different priorities as before. Months or even years may fly without us seeing each other, we may have gained (I doubt if anyone lost) a couple of pounds or so and we may now have our own families or about to go there, but I know in my heart we know that the bond of friendship remains. And no matter how much more time passed by, we’ll always be the Goddesses and Fidel.

Goddesses and Fidel, reunion in Paris na!!!!

Thoughts on turning a year over 30

I know it’s a couple of days late and the ship has sailed but hey I’m 31 for the rest of the year aren’t I, so might as well. When I was a kid I used to think of 30 as old! I couldn’t even begin thinking how ancient 31 would be. Back then, in my young mind, the thought of turning 31 is synonymous to the Mayan Prophecy, the end of life as I know it :D. How melodramatic right!

As melodramatic as I was as a child, looking back, I think my young self was absolutely right. As I look at my life, I think the moment I turned 30 and now 31, my life has changed so drastically and life as I have known it completely changed. The good thing though is that when I was I child, the fear of the unknown scared me that is why I thought, when I turned 31, the changes would be scary, horrific even! But now that I’m actually here, I realized that the metamorphosis that my life underwent is indeed hair-raising kind of scary but these changes are also profoundly amazing!

Don’t get me wrong, my teen years were good, my twenties, even better! Through these years, I have learned a lot, experienced life, learned how to love and be loved, made tough decisions that shaped my life as it is now, earned friends whom I will keep to my death bed, married my prince and has been bestowed with a baby who is part angel and part princess. During the past three decades, I have travelled, I have explored, I have lived my life. So indeed the past three decades have been a blast. But as great as the past years were and as blessed as I have become, I know my God is not yet done with me and he has so much more in store. Now, as I turn a year over 30, I know that much more exciting things are waiting for me, more wonderful places be explored, more brilliant decisions to be made, and more astonishing blessings to be received. As I start another chapter in life, I know and I am looking forward to living my life, this time not only for myself but also for the family that my honey and I are building. I am so eager to reap the rewards of the past and invest for our future.

There is only one word I could think of as I turn another leaf in my life… Thrilled! I’m so thrilled to journey 31.

The Boutique Bed & Breakfast

A secluded escape that promises luxury intertwined with comfort sprinkled with liberal dashes of romance in a city not to far from the Metro, it was a promise too tempting to resist.

I’ve read mixed reviews about this quaint bed and breakfast and I’ve been curious for ages that is why, since we are in the Philippines for our 123rd monthsary, I’ve decided to surprise honey with a little trip to Tagaytay. I’ve booked the I Lust room by calling them, it was quite easy, just gave them my credit card number and voila! I’ve secured a night’s stay at their best room. I’ve also availed of their birthday package, this package includes a cake, candles, wine, balloons and rose petals to be scattered in your room. Very nice touch!

The B&B was quite easy to find, we arrived just before dinner. We went to the small room just at the back of the reception to choose the scents that we want for the room and for our toiletries. After sniffing fragrances and making our choices, we were taken to our designated room, the I Lust room. The first thought that went to my head was, “This is it?” Don’t get me wrong, it’s a really pretty room with an inviting king-sized bed at the centre topped with a gazillion pillows. It’s just that the expectation for this room has been so hyped up that I was looking forward to something more.

After dropping off our bags, we went downstairs to have dinner in the Hawaiian Barbeque and that was a big hit, hubby loved the fall-off the bone ribs, it’s a definite must try when you’re in the area. We forgot something in the room (I forgot what it was now) and hubby was about to get up to go back in the room to get it. Good thing I remembered that some hotel staff would be there arranging our room so I convinced honey to forget it, whew!

I pulled off the surprise, honey had no idea about it, he was very surprised when we entered our room and there candles every where and petals were scattered on the floor. The birthday package was really worth the penny.

The room in my opinion is a totally different matter all together. For starters it was a bit small, and I thought that the tub would be in a bathroom with a window that overlooks Taal, instead it was in one corner of the room opposite the bathroom. I’m not sure but there something about it that I find off. Maybe it was the fact that when later during that night after I got up from enjoying a hot bath, the cold air from the aircon (which was directly opposite the tub) gave me shivers, LOL! I also found the balcony too small; so small that during breakfast the following morning, the service trays were inside the room coz the balcony can barely accommodate the table and two chairs were we had our breakfast. Apart from being small, I felt that the concept of the room wasn’t translated enough. I kept on thinking, what made this room the I Lust room, there was no defining aspect, there was nothing in the room that suggests lust or passion (well apart from the book that was under the shelf which was about love and sex).

As part of the room rate, the B&B also offers welcome drinks and a forgettable plate of espasol, some goodies were also found in the room (I wasn’t too thrilled about these either, it was a very small bottle of shing-a-ling and another very small bottle of hard yema). The room rate also include a mid night snack of hot choco and churros.

The following morning, we were served a Filipino breakfast, I ordered Tapa and honey ordered tocino, it was nothing special really, but the nice view made the breakfast more special.

I have mixed feelings over the Boutique. I really admire the plan, the idea is really promising and I believe that the potential could be great. I believe the exact words I told honey is that The Boutique’s concept is superb down to the room ideas to the service included in the rates of the rooms but the execution falls short.

So will I go back? Honey liked it enough to think of going back, but I told him, I didn’t feel that it was good value for money and I’d be able to get the same or even more for less.

Final Destination 5

Out of the blue, honey just emailed me yesterday saying, “let’s go on a date tonight” and honestly, I was thinking the very same thing. I love it how he can read my thoughts even when we are in our own offices nonetheless.

So we started planning and we wanted to watch a movie. Since we were disappointed with the last movie we saw, we are hoping that this time around it would be better. We decided that if we make it to the cinema by 18:50 we’ll watch Harry Potter again, but if not we’ll go for Final Destination 5.

Honey was stuck in a meeting in the afternoon so Final Destination 5 it was. The plot was more or less the same as the first 4 movies. Someone would have a vision that they will all die and he would freak out and save some of the people from the disaster that was about to happen that would have killed all/most of them. Although the plot was the same old one the movie was surprisingly entertaining. Think violent, gruesome, gory and gross. But because the scenes were so horrific and bloodthirsty, it was a little bit funny. I’m still impressed by the writer though, because although the plot is still the same, the details on each scene on how they would take each character out was really well thought off. Being the 5th instalment, I would have thought that by now the writers would have exhausted all possible means to create a ghastly way of killing off each character but they still managed to surprise me.

This movie is definitely not for kids, and needless to say this is not a movie that vies for awards or anything like that, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

Cowboys and Aliens Review

This week’s date night, honey and I were trying to decide which movie to watch. As I browse through the schedule of movies, I was toying with three possible options. I was deciding whether we should see Final Destination 5, Harry Potter (I really want to watch it again!) and Cowboys and Aliens. A spark of memory flashed through my head as I recall the preview of Cowboys and Aliens when we were last in the cinema. I got excited coz the preview hinted of a very promising movie. You have James Bond and Indiana Jones in one film, what more can you ask for in a flick?

The film starts with a man waking up in the middle of a desert not knowing who he was, how he got there and where he was going. He had to defend himself against several cowboys, go to a village, again crush his fists on some more cowboy faces then Aliens appear in the skies and take some of the village people.

Now this is where we started to get disappointed with the movie. The movie started to move at such as pace that even a turtle carrying a backpack on top of its hard-humped back would still outrun it. At some point honey looked at me and said… “I’m bored.” LOL! Seriously, could the movie progress any slower?

After about an hour into the film, it did start to pick up the pace, but the lull that you have to endure before you get to the good stuff is a little bit too much.

Then I realized, this is the second Harrison Ford movie that we’ve seen that bored us to the point of slumber. The last movie of his that we’ve seen was the last Indiana Jones film. I kid you not I was asleep almost two thirds of the entire movie. This time it was honey’s turn to be rocked to sleep.

I think, next time Harrison Ford has a movie, we’ll really think twice, even thrice if we’re going to see it.

You’ve got Talent

(via)

Our company has a campaign about talents and stuff, I’m not really sure about the mechanics but from what my officemate told me you have to register your talent and share it with the rest of your colleagues. Initially, I thought it was all about singing and dancing or maybe even taking photos. But from what I’ve learned over lunch today, the scope of the talent search they were referring to goes far beyond that. Apparently, one of the talents registered is shopping around Amsterdam :D. Those people who want to subscribe to witness that talent first hand will be scheduled to go to Amsterdam sometime this week. I can’t discredit that, I do believe that is a talent. LOL!

After my colleague mentioned that, another of my lunch buddies faced me and this is how our discussion went.

Lunch buddy: Hey Christian, you should also register your talent!

Me: What talent is that talent that you’re suggesting I register?

Lunch buddy: Online shopping using the credit card of your Husband!

Toink! I couldn’t agree more, online shopping is a talent that needs to be honed constantly (to the utter delight of my honey, LOL), but I’m not ready to share that talent to everyone just yet. :D

The Rise of the Planet of the Apes

My honey is such a sweetheart, he told me that no matter how busy we both get, we should always make time for each other and he suggested we fix a day of the week for our date night. He thought Thursday would be the best day so for a couple of months now we’ve been having our date nights no matter what.

Yesterday was Thursday again so it was date night for us. We planned to go to a movie, initially we were planning to see Green Lantern, but hubby arrived later than expected and we wanted to have dinner with Bee first so we ended up in settling for the Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

I’m glad we ended up watching this movie coz it was really entertaining. The plot was developed quite well. The story revolves around a scientist (James Franco) who is trying to develop a cure for alzheimers to help his father who is suffering from the ailment. He was testing the drug he was trying to develop on apes. The drug improved the intelligence of the ape massively, the ape had faculties almost that of a human. Little did the scientist know that the ape he was treating with the cure was pregnant and she passed on the effects of the cure to her baby.

The movie had all the ingredients of a good flick. It combines emotions, titillating scientific ideas, great special effects, a dash of action scenes and cute and adorable monkeys, what more can you ask for?

Honey and I really enjoyed the movie.