to not go

in conclusion to my post previously, the answer is... to not go :( yes, financial coonstraint is the main reason. next are: the current chaos in russia right now due to the newly held elections; strict travel rules; we were uncertain when [nor IF] we will have a new helper on time; summer classes for the kids, etc. etc.

i kept on reminding my self to stick to our goals. 

and so is hubby. so he won't be making any side trip anymore like he used to. he will instead spend a few days with us and won't go back to work immediately after he returns from moscow. we are planning to go to a beach which the kids love. can't wait. i am glad that both me and hubby are making an effort for us to reach our goals.

so that guilty pleasure of ours might have to put on hold for a while. who knows, God might just surprise us sooner than we thought.

a visit to the province

about a week ago, me and raya went to the province. we've been meaning to visit sorsogon, bicol for the longest time already to visit my lola. i can't remember the last time i was there. i was really young then. it's the hometown of my mom. it's how as i remembered it, just a few changes especially since they are trying to renovate their ancestral house.

even the chairs and tables are still there!
i even have a pic of me here while i was a kid!

it was just me and raya since hubby have an event from work. i didn't bring rob with us since i cannot handle the two kids alone. bringing yaya is not an option :) besides, i don't know what to expect once we get there, and rob still so young, and there is still a land travel of 1.5 hours from legaspi to sorsogon, and then lola is sick, everyone busy, etc. i know there will be a next time.

anyway, its a different trip this time. a different experience especially for raya. it was her first to go to a province. first time to sleep in a different house. first time to see a sick person ...

it must have been the tube and lola being bed ridden that scared raya

first time to meet a special child, in this case, my mom's brother, tito bong (or lolo bong for raya).

we visited a barangay and gave clothes, shoes and candies. it was also a first for raya and so she just stood in a corner and observed.

its true what they say that time is slow in the province. my daughter noticed that and keeps on saying "im bored". good thing i brought her activity book and puzzles to keep her occupied. thanks too that tito rodel is there to play with her while i sleep and sleep and eat and eat. and thank God for grammy's new iphone 4s for her to tinker with.

the bed and the framed Mama Mary are older than my mom

it wasn't that bad. as i've said, naninibago lang. we were there to visit my sick lola and to celebrate her 92nd birthday. raya helped fix flowers and entertain guests.

we also visited some beaches. we didn't swim. just took pics and breathe lots of fresh air.

rizal beach

bulusan lake

some of these might be new to raya. she observes and try the new things. while i on the other hand, relinquished the past, look at old photos, hear stories, met with relatives and enjoyed the food.



fresh fish. laing

puto. suman

pidot, the adoptive son of lola, cooks well



mom's family



till the next adventure. and hopefully we'll be able to go around more and see places such as the magnificent mayon volcano. and next time, i'll bring my hole family.

to go or not to go

once  again, hubby and his team are granted an incentive trip for having reached their target for the year 2011. destination: moscow, russia. and once again, we are thinking if i should go with him or not.

travelling is our guilty pleasure. it is what we love to do. we also consider it as our time alone together. sure we have our weekly dates and coffee/beer/mojito nights, but it is different when we are together in a different place. together we discover the place, culture and people. we also discover (or re-discover) each other. we learn from the experience. we learn from each other. it's a different kind of connection and of feeling and we both love it.

so why think twice and not just go, right? well, of course, going to moscow is not that cheap. well, travelling isn't cheap. guilty pleasure nga e! being the housewife and mom that i am, i am worried about the finances. on the other hand, this is an opportunity that not might come again. meaning, there might not be incentive trips anymore; or that sending 2 kids to school will totally hinder this guilty pleasure for a looooong time; or that moscow isn't just a place that would come to mind when you think of a destination for travel. besides, if i go, we'll just have to come up with my own travel finances since the company will be paying for hubby's fare with a little pocket money. so it's like 50% off on a travel to moscow!! pretty tempting, huh? haaay, if only i won the lotto.

it really might be so nice to visit this rich country

ivan the great. [photo borrowed from lonelyplanet.com]

st. basil's cathedral [photo borrowed from lonelyplanet.com]

if not now, i hope someday. if not here, then perhaps somewhere better.