365 days!

... and a few pounds ago. :P

In a few minutes, D and I will be celebrating our first wedding anniversary!

No words can describe how I feel right now. I'm happy (that's for sure!). Everything's going according to plan. We have our shares of ups and downs but we're still as strong as ever. With that, I am extremely grateful to the Big Man up there for these blessings.

So what's next? I'm really not sure yet. We will just let God drive this roadtrip for us. Basta ang alam ko, gabing-gabi na at maaga pa kami bukas. Hahaha! We're off to celebrate down south. Will keep you posted for more! :)

The very happy wife,

Yosh

Suzie Logus

Catchy name right? Oh well I still prefer Choco Banana but I can't be choosy now. Since the accident, my love for Choco Banana lessen. D's right, we need more power and Choco Banana, being old and everything, cannot give us the power we need.

Oh I might be confusing you. I'm talking about D's motorcycles. He decided to sell his CB110 (we named him Choco Banana) and get a new SZ (named Suzie).

I love Suzie's color though. But comfortability-wise, I still want Choco Banana. First thing I noticed was the backride seat. For some reasons, I feel more comfortable with the CB's seat. Then the horrible heat in my feet! More noticeably in my right foot. Maybe the heat is from the tambutso or makina? Whatever I want that to go! Argh

But still Suzie's such a beauty -

Before anything else, let's make Suzie fear God.

Ohh such exciting times. Next weekend, we'll break you in. Wait for it.

Suzie's mama,
Yosh

Our baby boy

Happy Monday loves! Oh yes I decided to start the week with joy in my heart! Haha!

First off, I finally found time to take proper pictures of Pepper, Roji's son. Our first baby boy in the family for more or less a decade now. We are all excited! Even until now that Pepper is on his 2nd week.

So picture galore!

How's that for a Monday? Ok, I will let Pepper convince you to smile. :)

Happy on a Monday,

Yosh

Bangon Pilipinas

My birthday last weekend was made more memorable by the recent typhoon that hit the Philippines. When I say hit, it did hit hard. They said it's the strongest typhoon that ever hit the earth. Too bad for my home land. These past few days, we're seeing devastating pictures of the calamity, specially from the province of Leyte. I was really worried because I know 2 of my friends lived there (or at least their families are there at the time of the typhoon). For 3 days we were in the darkness because they weren't able to contact their families. Communication means were down. Yesterday, news started coming in after a satellite was set in the area. The pictures were really heartbreaking. 

But on the brigther note, my friends' families in Tacloban were found. Thank you Lord! This is a great reason to celebrate and sing - A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn! ♪♩♬ 

There are still others (more!) who need help. But material things are not enough. Sana kahit papaano nashare ko ang positivity ng aming tahanan sa ibang mas nangangailangan ng pag-asa. Bangon Pilipinas!

Sending my hope and prayers, 
Yosh

My 29th at a glance

As much as I hate to admit it, I'm now officially enjoying the last year of being 20ish. Argh! But instead of sulking on it, might as well just enjoy.

So here's what happened to my birthday weekend:

Since D have work on Saturdays and he cannot skip work just because it's my birthday (insert bitterness here), I woke up early to prepare my birthday cake. I was too tamad to bake a full cake so I made a mug cake instead.

My first mug cake - Chocolate Peanut Butter

Unfortunately, it didn't pass D's standards, even mine. I might try it again but using different recipe.

I went home to Taytay by lunchtime as I promised my family that I will celebrate my birthday with them. I was expecting the gifts from the kids (because my tita told me the night before to make sure I'll go home). But what surprised me was the party they planned for me! Yes complete with birthday cake and party poppers! Yay! I'm super touched. Thank you Turnene Family.

I left at around 4 in the afternoon. I dropped by the salon for a pedi and haircut then went home to wait for D. I set my mind to not expect anything from him. You see my husband is not a big fan of gifts or surprises. As expected his plan was just for us to have dinner somewhere then have a massage. Ok better than nothing diba? We had my birthday dinner at Binalot! Kaloka! But I just let it be because he's not feeling well and can only take that salty food. But surprise surprise! He has a gift for me! It's on my wishlist (which I told him I want to receive on my birthday hehe) so I'm super happy.

He was very much willing to give me a new watch as I am now using his watches after mine broke. Hehe

That ended my natal day but the celebration still continues the day after.

Before lunch, D and I, together with our friend Leo went to the Auto Show at MOA. It's a nice experience since we are planning to get a new car (maybe!). My eyes were fixed on the Lancer EX. No other cars can match it for me. Hehe

We were supposed to have lunch at Vikings but Leo suggested we try the Ramen House that was so popular in Instagram. Well the food was nice. Nothing extra special.

By 5pm, we were already at Royden's place to watch the Finals of Motogp. Marc Marquez won! Yey! As if I care. haha! We ended the day by 2 boxes of pizza (again!) and ice cream.

What a nice birthday weekend. My excitement for birthday is back! Weee

Happy na birthday pa,

Yosh

9th of November

Look at me, I am old. But I'm happy. 

Yes I'm a year older today. But heck! Age is just a number. So I guess I'll rephrase it na lang- I'm a year wiser today. 

Happy Birthday to me! :)

Enjoying my day,

Yosh

Roji's Joaquin

Hello! Long time no post. Haha! Anyway, it's November already. It's my birth month. Yay! But before that, I will talk about Roji's pregnancy. Any minute now my cousin will give birth to the baby boy we've all been waiting for. For more or less a decade now, our family was deprived of a prince. Palagi na lang prinsesa! Ayun sunod-sunod na girlies. We call them Kwatro Marias.

Let's first talk about our prince's name -

Joaquin is the name given by his Tita Jayna. Yun kasi ang name ng crush ni bagets sa school. Ang landeee! Our bottleneck was with the second name. I suggested having it start with A para matuwa si Turing, our lolo Arturo. But Roji made it even better, she decided it will be the english version of Arturo, Arthur! Nice!

Photos galore on your next scroll :)

A letter to my future child

Dear Anak,

Your dad and I has been married for 10 months now and people are getting more persistent to ask when will they see you. Nakakaasar na anak pero dinededma na lang ni mommy. We have our reasons. And that I want you to understand also. 

They said, it's better daw to have you when I'm still young para malakas pa ako to watch you grow. I totally understand that idea. Pero anak I don't want to push that when I know your daddy and I are not yet ready. I want you to have everything, including your parents' emotional stability. Here let me detail it out for you - 

1. Mom and Dad want to enjoy each others company first. We know for a fact that once you come all our attention will be yours alone. So even if we want to travel, we can't because we cannot take you with us or we cannot leave you alone at home. We will be needing at least 2 years so we can take you with us. So we want sana to enjoy each others' company muna before having you. Hindi naman matagal yun anak, mga 1 to 2 years lang. 

2. We are not yet financially ready. Mahirap kumita ng pera lately. Alam mo ba anak hirap nga si mommy and si daddy na bumili ng bahay natin. Right now kasi sa apartment lang tayo nakatira. Of course we can save by living with your lolas, pero we want to be independent so nagsosolo kami. And hindi cheap ang rent and ang utilities. In short, all our savings go straight to the house sana or car. If we decide to have you na, we will save up for a lot of things pa - hospital bills, your baby stuff, milk, diapers, then eventually your education. Ayaw naman namin anak ng basta-basta lang. We want the best for you. 

3. Our emotions are not yet set to have you. Please understand that babies are naturally needy. If both me and your dad can say wholeheartedly that we are ready to sacrifice our sleeps then I can say Go to having you. But you see anak mommy cannot say it's fine na e. Mommy is adjusting pa nga to waking up early on Saturdays eh. May work kasi si daddy pag Saturday so I need to attend to his needs. Then I will wash pa our clothes, iron it after then clean the whole house. Alam mo anak when mommy was single, si lola Evelyn gumagawa lahat nyan. Mommy sleeps until lunch on Saturdays. So anak imagine mommy's sacrifice just to be a good wife to daddy. Pero don't get me wrong anak ha? I love your daddy very much and I'm happy doing things for him. It's just that I need time to adjust. That's why I love Sundays. I consider that as my rest day. Parang inday lang. So if we have you na, I will have to give up my rest day also to attend to you. I'm not ready for that now anak. Konting adjust pa muna si mommy ha?

That 3 reasons pa lang mabigat na diba? When you grow up and you'll be given responsibilities na, you will understand. For now, standby ka lang muna ha? Oh well we are not totally avoiding you naman. Not that I am on pills (baba na ang kilay RH Bill loyalists!). If you come now, we will open-arms accept you. Choice lang namin yung wag muna. Basta I do pray that when the time comes na we want you already, please don't let us beg for you ha? Bulungan mo na si Papa Jesus na ibigay ka na nya sa amin ni daddy. I trust Him and I know He will give you to us in His most perfect time.

www.quotesvalley.com

Love,

Mommy

My most unforgettable ride ever!

This is another long-overdue post. I'm so sareeeee! Sometimes, I think I'm losing the desire to write. But most of the times, I'm just too pre-occupied with work. Anyhoo, here it is - Choco Banana's recent long ride. You might ask me what's with the title. It's a long storyyyy. So let's start now?

DAY 1

Ok. So remember that long weekend last August? That National Heroes Day which  fell on a Monday? We decided to make the most out of that long weekend by putting Choco Banana to a walk (err I mean ride). As usual, D took a vacation that Saturday (may work kasi sya pag Saturdays, loser! :P). By 1 am of August 24, we were already at some Caltex station in Greenhills (sorry forgot the street) to meet Royden and Tina. Yup, we rode as foursome - 2 motorcycles, 2 riders and 2 backriders. Nice eh?

This was what I wore. Super protected huh? Actually I have a sturdier riding jacket but it's super bulky so I prefer riding in elbow guards.

Here's us before take-off -

So ok, ride ride ride. Our first stop was this Gapan City arc. Can't remember what time but obviously it's still dark.

Our next stop was in some eatery in Ifugao. But bilang I'm super gutom, we forgot to take pictures. What I have was for this next stop -

Ride again! By around lunchtime, we reached the very iconic Banaue Rice Terraces. We stopped for some photo-ops only because we decided to take our lunch in Sagada which, according to the riders, are JUST 63kms away.

It could have been more beautiful if not for the houses that blocked the view. Anyhoo, we found a more beautiful spot here -

Mega traffic Tuesday

Our Tuesday started not as good as we wanted it. Yesterday, it rained like it's not planning to stop so today we decided to use the car. We rode Choco Banana yesterday, by the way. We heard the accident in C5 already in the news but we thought it won't be that bad. But hell we were wrong! The traffic started at the gate of our village, all throughout Kalayaan elevated U-turn. 

Yup, for some reasons, inararo ng isang truck ang elevated U-turn! Bakit kaya? Drunk? Sleepy? May gumitgit? Kahit ano pa yan! It's super created a mess. That truck happened to be carrying buhangin pa. So all the contents of the truck scattered on the road. Very dangerous for the motorists! Ang ending 1 lane lang ang usable for those going South Bound. Traffic to the highest level! 

Imagine, the drive from our home to my office is usually max 30 minutes only. This morning, it took us 1 1/2 hour! Grabe lang! Buti na lang, The Morning Rush kept us company. Stress reliever talaga yung tatlong yun. 

Anyhoo, after the U-turn maluwag na. Look here - 

I hope you kept your cool also,
Yosh

My best friend's bump

Ohhh-k! Now we have Lloyd's approval to post Lorie's maternity shoot pictures. Yay! Just a little background - Lorie (or Pac, as I fondly call her) is one of my first ever best friends. We were friends since grade school days. We lost touch during college but we managed to keep up with each other just a few years back. I was her Maid of Honor and she was my bridesmaid. Lloyd, meanwhile, is another grade school classmate. It was a little surprising for me to find him as my friend now since I knew him to be the bully back in grade school. But hey people change. Hehe

I will bore you with pictures on the next slide down so brace yourself! :)

Oo na, hindi nga ako kagalingan magpicture! At lalong hindi rin ako magaling mag-edit. Pero in fairness ha, I was way above my personal expectations in this shoot. It's really hard to erase skin imperfections, lalo na if your subject is a pregnant woman. 

Anyway, it's my first so it's good enough for me. More practice pa for my cousin's shoot naman. 

Happy bump day! (Happy Wednesday I mean :D),

Yosh

What's your birth number?

I'm super late na with this I know. Hehe! I just find this cute.

Apparently, my birthday says I'm a ROMANTIC. I knew it! I totally agree!  Haha!

I'm not sure if it's 100% true but I think D's birth number is not that accurate. He's CONSERVATIVE alright but he doesn't like nature! Haha!

Anyway, check it for yourself then let me know. Visit this site:
http://mybirthdaysays.com/Birth-Number-Story.php

Hopelessly Romantic,
Yosh

Hello September!

PASKO NA!! :)

Kidding. But for us Filipinos, September is the start of the BER months which also means we are nearing the Christmas season. Yey! I think we can postpone buying aircon til next year. Or maybe not. 

Anyway, since Christmas came to my mind, I can't help but think that I still have not started my Christmas funds! All I saved as of this moment are what inside of these - 

Mine's the orange one. D's is of course the yellow pig. Haha! I hope I can make 5,000 this year. I was able to save 4,000+ last year. It covered all my gifts! That's what we are planning to do this year also.

Also, this started our September -

I did my bestfriends' maternity shoot yesterday. I'm still editing the whole bunch of pictures. I just made this one a teaser. I'm so excited for both of them! I'm going to be a ninang again soon! That means additional gift for Christmas! Haha! I really need to save now.

Happy September!

Yosh

Be Gentle

This morning, I saw that familiar sign again. It is my everyday reminder to be gentle.

I see this everyday at the office when I'm sitting at the throne.

Yeah I need it. And I need it bad.

If you know me personally, you'll attest that I really have a bad mouth. My mind and my mouth works very good together. My mouth says what my mind thinks. Most of the times it's helpful. But sometimes I hurt people with my words. I'm not very proud of it. That I tell you. But there are some tactfulness acts that I do NOT regret doing. I always live up to my mantra that I do not want to regret things, so if I feel the need to do or say something, expect that I will. But there are some instances that I say things without even thinking about it. It might be - spur of the moment, I'm in a really angry mood, loud thinking, or just my pathetic desire to crack a joke. I don't know. I'm not even trying to explain myself here. But one thing's for sure, I only do this to the people I'm comfortable with. Is that a compliment? Nah! But believe me, I'm always quiet around people I don't know well or those I don't like.

Just recently, I had my biggest blow. I hurt someone super important to me. I posted this instantly -

Sorry for the F word. I was just totally disappointed with myself. I should have used something nicer like this cartoon from one cute person I follow on IG - 

Sometimes, in my desire to defend myself, I think that this is the real me eversince. I am like this since time immemorial. I am not getting any harsh-er. Sometimes I think it's the people I know who's getting sensitive. I surely can get away easier before. I was again reminded of my favorite line - PEOPLE CHANGE.

But then again, just thinking that I've lost a friend and that now I am staying away from a few, I have to accept that no one is at fault but ME. I'm not even sure why am I avoiding these people. At the back of my mind, I thought of it as my defense mechanism so I won't hurt them again. Or I'm just too shy to face them again.

If you have an advise for me, can you write it down? I really need it.


Praying for good vibes,
Yosh

Jayna Sophia @ 7

It's my first niece's 7th birthday yesterday, August 12. Yup, she has the same birthday as Marian Rivera which makes her very giddy everytime. Oohh the typical kiddo who idolizes Dyesebel and Marimar. :)

But since her actual birthday was a Monday, her mother, my cousin, Jonna, decided to do the party last Sunday, August 11. It was a simple McDonalds party. It was made funnier by the gay host and by Grimace! Very cute.

Anyhoo, be ready for the picture flood guys :)

Ang atis 

Ang gown sa gubat

Di halatang mura