Disclaimer: I absolutely adore Sound of Music and I love watching plays so I might be biased.

When I learned that there would be a Sound of Music production here, I was ecstatic. I really, really wanted to see it. But I got sick and I could not bring myself to ask J to buy tickets since we were spending so much on medical bills and between fixing the house and going to the doctors, I had no time. The production, however, which  was supposed to run until December was extended to Feb (now extended to May). Since I don’t go to the doctor as often, I now have time. More importantly, I knew J would not object if I ask him. Hehe!

We watched last night. It was in Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World. The good thing about this theater was its size – it’s so small that even if you buy the least expensive ticket, you’re still near enough the stage (unlike the Nicanor Abelardo in CCP where the balcony is really way up there!).

Since J had a presentation at 5pm, Jia and I (with Joya and the yayas) had to go to Resorts World by ourselves. We had dinner at Johnny Chow mainly because the maitre d’ told us that serving time is 10 to 15 mins. That was not true; our order was served 30 minutes after. By then Jia and I only 15 minutes to eat. Good thing their food was really yummy or I would have been annoyed.

J was running a bit late and he got there with literally two minutes to spare. Two of the three doors were already closed when we entered the theater.

We were seated in the  seventh row from the stage, in the right section (Deluxe Right). J commented that we got good seats (yey for me who went to the mall to buy the tickets and choose seats).

I loved the show! From the moment the curtains rose to the curtain call, I was mesmerized. The LED background was superb for me. Plus, well, pangarap ko talaga makapunta ng Vienna so I loved the mountain scenes.:)

Joanna Ampil as Maria rocked! I was super hoping that we catch a show with her in it and not her alternate Cris Villongco (no offense to Ms. Villongco). Joanna’s voice was simply divine. I felt privileged to have heard her sing live. She was a good actress. Her face lit up with loving surprise in the scene when she first heard the Captain sing. Her gaze at the Captain’s eyes during the dance revealed her love for him. Her smiling face belied the anxiety she was feeling during the concert scene. I can go on and on.

Captain Von Trapp was played by Audie Gemora whose voice was undeniably beautiful. I, however, was not so impressed with his acting. I may be wrong  though since I’m not really a theater person. But I was studying his face and I couldn’t see different emotions. I didn’t feel his conviction when he was singing “No Way To Stop It” or his gratefulness and love for his children when he learned that Maria taught them to sing.

Pinky Marquez as the Mother Abbess (Mother Superior) was really good. Her voice! Grabe! Ang galing!

The other cast members were also very good. Worthy of special mention are Marvin Ong as Rolf, Rebecca Coates as Louisa, and Tanya Manalang as Liesl.

One of my favorite parts was the Alleluia chorus of the nuns! Goosebumps I tell you!

Obviously, I really liked the show. Although if you’re expecting the same as the movie, you will be disappointed as this is the play. The movie is a little different in terms of sequencing and some songs. That was alright with me but because of the different sequencing, Jia was asking me questions during the show like “Mommy, why are they singing that [Do-Re-Mi] now? They should be outside when they sing it!” Hahaha!

Oh, one thing I did not like was the clothes (costume design they call it, I think)! Ill-fitting gowns and dresses, really! Frau Schraeder’s evening gown at the party scene was hideous. Ang cheap-cheap!

But what really, really made my heart swell was seeing Jia seated on her Daddy’s lap, intently watching the show, and singing along!! Ay, if only picture taking was allowed, I would have taken a picture of the two of them. I’m so happy that Jia enjoyed the show. She was even asking me questions about the dialogues and what was happening. She was engrossed! My little theater girl! Cultured na cultured! LOL!

We went home with Jia singing her favorite Do-Re-Mi and me humming “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…”

The other day, after a visit to the hospital, we went to the mall. “We” meaning the whole barkada – me, Jia, Joya, and the yaya. After running a couple of errands, Jia was getting impatient because she was not able to nap properly. She was calling shouting for me while I was in line for Happy Lemon. I was really desperate for milk tea so I did something that I have never done before – I told her that I will buy her candies if only she would quietly wait for me. It worked! Haha!

After Happy Lemon, we went to Nuts about Candy and she chose which one she wanted. So okay na. Then we went to Healthy Options. I was looking for a zinc supplement for Joya because the one widely available has sodium benzoate in it which I don’t want. They did not have what I was looking for. Then while talking to the saleslady of Healthy Options, she gave me a kids supplement which, que horror, also had sodium benzoate! As we were discussing the dangers of sodium benzoate, I probably seemed like a very learned and proactive mommy. You know the type. I even had Joya in a sling so babywearing mom pa ako plus we were discussing about organic stuff and benzene and stuff. In fairness to me, I was not doing it for show. I’m really normally into healthy stuff. And then my adorable daughter politely interrupted us.

“Excuse me, Mommy!’

I turned my attention to her. “Yes, Ate Jia?”

“Hmmm… Mommy… Candy is bad for my body, right? So why did you buy me candy?”

Hahaha! Napahiya si mommy! I was nonplussed! Why oh why did I give in to temptation?!? Haha! Temptation being Happy Lemon and giving her candy! LOL! So I told her that yes, candy is bad and that I forgot and she can only eat a couple more and then we will keep it already. Jia just said “Okay, Mommy!”

I should really watch everything I do. Hahaha!

fru·gal adj \ˈfrü-gəl\- economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful

As a stay at home mom, one of my goals is to learn how to live frugally. And because I just love my readers, I will post my frugal ways so others who are interested can also do it.

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People who know me know that I am not a fan of ukay ukay. I think my dislike for it stemmed from my three-day job stint in Canada when I went there (super long story!). Anyway, because of this, I do not go to any second hand store. But when I shared with my N@W sisters my post about the book Love You Forever, I realized that many of them go to Booksale, a popular second hand bookstore! I bought Love You Forever from Fully Booked. Costed me P500+ but a N@Wie sis said she got her for P100+ in Booksale. Huwat!  My interest was piqued and because I told myself I’d try to live more frugally (hahaha! kahit ako natatawa!), I checked out Booksale.

Ay! Booksale is a haven for book lovers. Admittedly you have to spend time digging up for the books that you want but the amount you save is super worth it!

This morning, while fixing Jia’s shelf, I realized that I’ve bought so many books from Booksale! I even took a picture of some of the books we got from there.

At hindi ito mga basta basta libro ha. I’ve gotten lots of Dr. Seuss books (for P120 each vs P300+ each in the bookstore), an Eric Carle book (P60 vs P295), books with songs, Joanna Cole books which REALLY helped me (I’m a Big Sister and the one on potty training, at P35 each), Angelina Ballerina (Jia adores Angelina Ballerina), and lots more.

At one time, I was so into Booksale that I went there every week. It has become so bad that J has told me to stop buying anything for Jia. Hindi na kasya sa bahay namin eh! Hahaha!

So there! Booksale has enabled me to provide Jia with lots and lots of books (real books, not the digital kind) at a fraction of the cost it would take me if I were to buy in a mall bookstore. Booksale love!

… you’re visiting now, please know that I am beta testing a new theme. Hopefully, I finish this before the sun rises. But chances are, I won’t since it’s already 4:34 am. So if you’re seeing this message, it means I’m not done yet. To top it all, Joya’s moving in his sleep now which is a sure indication that he’ll ask for milk soon (I love using Skype as a baby monitor!).

But even with the theme quirks, please explore and enjoy reading!

A few weeks ago, a N@Wie sister shared about a resort in Bataan called Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. She described it as a hidden gem of a place. I read her post (wasn’t able to go to her blog to see the pics) and immediately Googled it. According to its website, it’s a community typical of the 18^th to early 20^th century Philippines. Authentic 18th century Principalia Mansions, Bahay na Bato, and Indio (this term offends me!) Stilt Houses nobly stand around cobblestoned plaza and streets.  There was no question about it. I had to go there!

Fast forward to last week… J and I learned that Monday (Jan 23) was declared a holiday because of Chinese New Year and because we’re so eager for a vacation, however short, J asked me to look for a place where we can spend a night, preferably somewhere we haven’t been to before. So of course, I immediately called up the Las Casas to reserve and last Saturday, off we went, with my brother Daniel, my sister Maye and her son, the uber cute Uno.

Las Casas is around three hours drive from our place via SCTEX. It’s nestled in a 400 hectare land in Bagac, Bataan, with one side  facing the South China Sea (since I’m a certified beach addict, this was important to me!). I knew what to expect (after all, I endlessly reviewed the pictures on their site and in Trip Advisor) but actually standing in the middle of the Plaza Belmonte was just simply breathtaking! The place was utterly beautiful! It was resplendent and just glorious and is a definitive tribute to how creative Filipinos are.

When we got there, I went to the front office (which was housed in Casa Mexico) to check in. We reserved Casa Cagayan – an “Indio” Stilt House. Hahaha! All the hotel rooms in Paseo de Escolta were taken and I really wanted a whole house to ourselves so Casa Cagayan was our best bet.

The Reservations staff, Ms. Cecille, I talked to on the phone warned me repeatedly that Casa Cagayan was not spacious. She was wrong. It was spacious. It had a queen-size bed and even with the three extra mattresses we had laid on the floor, the kids still had ample space to run around. We really liked our room although it was the poor man’s house during the Spanish era. We got so busy taking pictures of ourselves that we forgot to take pictures of the room. LOL!

After a brief rest (during which we placed our order for dinner – crispy pata, laing, kaldereta, and escabecheng maya maya), we joined the Heritage Walking Tour. A tour guide dressed in a terno guided our group and gave us the histories of the houses. Asa a side note, I like that their female staff are all morena and true Filipina beauties.

I’m not a history buff but I certainly enjoyed the tour. These houses were meticulously taken down from different parts of the country and rebuilt, “brick by brick” and “plank by plank”. It helped that I read the writeup of a few of the houses before the tour (specifically that of Casa Lubao) which made me remember that the houses are not just mere houses but were once homes of families where memories were made.

The Casa Vyzantina is the most expensive casa at Php150,000.00/night.

The streets are made of cobblestones. Metal sculptures were abundant in the resort. The sculptures showed either classic Filipino childhood games like sipa, tumbang preso, luksong kalabaw, palo sebo, etc. or vestiges of the Filipino life back then like pagtatahip ng bigas, etc. Chickens also roam the streets since chickens really did roam the streets in colonial Philippines.

J playing sipa with a boy.

The resort really does give that old feel. Merely looking out the window will make you feel transported back in time.

I also love their details, the old stuff that’s just there. It completes the ambiance.

I love the colors of the Paseo de Escolta doors…

… and I just luuuuuvvv the windows of the Heritage houses!!!

Although we were very tired at the end of the tour (we actually did not finish the last two buildings as we were distracted by taking pictures of ourselves! hahaha!), we were all exclaiming with wonder and telling each other how nice the place was. Nakakatawa kasi kami kami rin lang naman yung nag-uusap and puro lang “Ang ganda dito!”, “Ang galing!”, “Nakakatuwa!” ang sinasabi naman namin. Hahaha!

Of course, my baby also got tired and he had to get his afternoon snacks.

After the tour, we went to dinner which was served al fresco in the plaza. A show featuring the different Filipino dances entertained the guests while eating. The food was good. It was not spectacular but it was not bad either. Each serving was good for 2 to 3 persons, with most dishes in the P400 to P600 range.

Oh yeah, Las Casas was simply spectacular at night!

The next day, we woke up early (well, early is relative, you know! LOL!). We had breakfast at Casa Unisan (where the wooden planks in the 2nd floor were more than a foot wide each since the original owner was a lumberyard owner in Pampanga) and then proceeded to the beach.

The beach was nice enough. The sand is gray but fine. The beach itself was very wide. Most of our time in the beach was spent getting that perfect jump shot! Hahaha!

We went to swim in the pool after that. And then just like that, it was time to pack our bags. After checking out, we had lunch and then walked around the place again to take pictures.

We really enjoyed our stay. Service was good — all the staff were accommodating and nice. The place was very beautiful but since it’s still an ongoing project, there are still details which need to be looked at (like putting a towel counter by the beach). I would love to go back just to take pictures and have my pictures taken. Picture addict much?! They actually have a photo package where you will be dressed in Colonial  Philippines clothes. We wanted to avail of it but they didn’t have clothes for kids. J refused to do it if it’s just the two of us. Masyado namang prenup yun! Hahaha!

And just like the time when I first saw their website, there’s no question about it, I will go back there.

The other day, just to see Jia’s reaction, J asked Jia if it’s okay with her if he worked overseas. We explained to Jia that it meant that Daddy would not be home for a long time because he will work in a faraway place. She replied that she did not like that. Her words were pretty specific. “Daddy, I don’t like that. I want you to work in Ortigas and then go home and then work in Ortigas and then go home and then work in Ortigas and then go home and then work in Ortigas and then go home…” We actually had to stop her. LOL! J assured that he will not work overseas.

This morning, while Jia was playing cooking, I was talking to my mom. When I put the phone down, she asked me what I did when I was a little girl at Mama’s house. I told her that when I was a little girl, Mama worked far away and she did not live at home. Jia’s expectant and smiling face slowly turned gloomy and her normally sparkling eyes started to water. She asked if I cried and I admitted that I cried every night. She started crying and then she hugged me. She told me “I am really, really worried about you being alone at Mama’s house when you were a little girl.” And then she asked me (or ordered me, to be more honest) to tell her another story, a story of the time that Mama was at home. So I told her what I did as a girl. I assured her that I was happy, that I had toys to play with and books to read. Papa and Mama took really good care of me. Her Tita Maye and Tito Dindon were with me. I had a Lolo and Lola who were always there. I had Tita Baby and Tito Mars who tutored me and read stories to me. I even grew up with my cousins like her Tito BJ and Tita Karen.

She was smiling after that. I guess she realized that I indeed had a happy childhood. But she still told me that she doesn’t want me to leave her, that she “really, really” wants to be with me always. I hugged her and assured her that I would be. And, by golly, how can I not keep that promise?

I’ve been planning to make a checklist for Jia for the longest time. I got the idea from Rowie (of PinoyBaby) in N@W. I tried it once (with a handwritten checklist) and Jia loved it! So it’s been on my to-do list for the longest time. Last week, during our interview (yes, J and I were the ones who were interviewed) by the teacher in Jia’s school, she  gave me a list of things I should ask Jia to do around the house. It fit perfectly with my plan of asking her to CONSISTENTLY help around the house so I prioritized making the checklist.

She was with me while I was doing the layout and she was really excited. She was the one who chose the clip arts! I asked her if she wanted check marks for the check boxes or smiley faces and she opted for a girl smiley face. Hahaha! Ang arte ng anak ko!

I posted the list on the ref door and this morning, Jia had so much fun ticking off her tasks. It worked so well! In fact, she wanted to complete the list so much that she refused to eat lunch because she said it was not in the list yet. LOL! She said she had to help Ate May first with a household chore before she can eat. So while her yaya was eating lunch, she was waiting for her to finish eating so they can start on a household chore. Alila ang peg ng anak ko! Hahaha!

And yes, I know “wiwi” is not an english word. LOL!

So tomorrow, I will be making another list for her and I will make sure “Eat lunch” is there! LOL!

I’m an advocate of TV-free homes. Since Jia got delayed in her speech development, I researched and learned a lot about the ill effects of TV watching. Even J believes that TV has a very bad effect on Jia. If you noticed, howeverm in my letter to Jia last November, she was allowed to watch TV again. I was just so over my head with stress and worry that I just allowed her to watch so I can just research and research and research on my condition… and wallow forever (yes, I know, irresponsible mommy no?).

Since the past few months I have neglected Jia, I told myself that I should make it up to her and REALLY spend time with her. So, first step was to turn off the TV again. Then, I spent time with her. As in kasama ko siya FOREVER uli! We didn’t necessarily do our “activities” (kasi hindi pa ako prepared eh) but we read and read and read stories and we played and played and played. We also cooked and did chores together.

We also went out and I was able to fulfill my promise to go to libraries and museums and playgrounds… well, hindi pa pala plural… to go to a library, a museum, and a playground. Hahaha!

We went to a community library near our home. It was Jia’s first time to go to a library. Super simpleng library ha (you know how community libraries are) but, of course, Jia being a kid, that didn’t mean anything to her. As long as she had books to read, she was happy!

And since I’m on a self-imposed tipid mode (Jia’s going to school next June), I have learned to make baon. Before, when Jia and I would go out, we would, without fail, eat out. Like the time we went to the library, I brought water (buti na lang Jia loves water and does not like drinking anything else…. hehehe!) and cupcakes and crackers and banana cakes. Hahaha! Parang magugutom kami sobra! There was a bahay kubo there and that was where we ate our baon.

We went to Museo Pambata. Jia super enjoyed herself. Kahit hindi niya pa naiintindihan masyado, the mere exposure, I think, did her good.

Hindi naman sobrang turista ang dating niya no? LOL!

And to give Jia a normal childhood, we went to a playground!

A trip to Ayala Triangle gave her her first makahiya experience.

And a trip to Quezon City circle gave her her first “real” playground experience.

Yes, we turned off the TV and hopefully, will never turn it back on again.

Happy new year! Yeah, I know it’s mid-January already. Sorry!

Before Christmas, a very good friend emailed me and ask how I was doing. Her email made me think how am I doing now and since writing makes me think clearer, I decided to blog about it (part of the journaling thing you, sana lang mapanindigan ko ang pag print ng blog ko! LOL!). Also the blog post is for my legions of readers (HAHAHAHA!!! Feelingera!)

So, how am I now?

I had my shockwave procedure on Dec 14. It wasn’t as smooth sailing as I hoped it would be. The procedure itself was okay but the anesthesia’s effect on me was just horrible. I was terribly nauseous the whole day! But more than that, the two weeks that I was not allowed to breastfeed because of the meds was hell! To top it all, Joya got sick after twelve days with UTI AND roseola so I called my doctor and asked that I be allowed to stop the med which was not allowed for bfeeding so I can feed Joya again.

Latest x-ray scan revealed that the gigantic stone on my ureter is gone. Thank God! I’m still under observation for that though. I am under meds still and am FORCED to drink one gallon of water everyday. The two stones in my kidneys… I still have no idea what the doctor’s going to do with them but as they do not pose any immediate threat, deadma lang muna.

Emotionally, I have a super duper improved disposition. Unlike before the procedure, around November, when I was really so down. Ngayon, normal na ako. I’m back to my optimistic self. Two of my three doctors believe that my hematuria (blood in the urine) was caused by the stones. The third doctor , who, unfortunately, is the best among the three (hahaha!), believes otherwise. She said that she suspects that I have a kidney leak but she assured me that there are now meds which can cure that.

Pero kung ano pa man, basta I am more at peace. I have also started going to mass again and things (even other things that have been bugging me) have started to fall into place.

Happy new year for me!