lunch out

had lunch at UNO and we had these:

it was all good! i wasn't able to take pics of the rest :) too busy eating. hehe. its my first time to eat here and i like its cozy ambiance. i had nice company. they are my girl friends from our growth group. funny, we've known each other for more than five years and yet, rarely do we go out and have lunch together. maybe because we are busy with our own family which takes so much of our time. i do hope we could do this more often. i like them because they are nice people and most of all, they have a deep relationship with God and those kind of friends is what i need especially these days. it is different if you constantly talk to friends who have family as well. i need that kind of support group. helps me understand more about raising kids, marriage and how it is to have a family. i thank God for friends like them, for great food, for this kind of friends and for this kind of dessert

amen!

girl-boy friendship

someone recently confided in me that there's a buzz going on around their office about her and her married boss. she said that there is really nothing going on between the two of them but just plain friendship. i trust her of course, but the guy, well i can't judge him since i do not know him.

so, that girl-boy friendship thing, is it for real?

my husband is a non-believer. well for girl-boy bestfriends, that is. hehe. he said that there is no such thing. if there is, it's bound to end in a relationship, a.k.a bf-gf relationship.

i myself used to have some close boy friends. now some of them are just a contact in facebook, some are hi-hello friends and some are just like strangers to me. it's as if we didn't know each other. i thought that i just lost contact or they ended up with a girl who doesn't like me so they cut ties. hehe.  but come to think of it, i also chose it to be that way and distance myself from them, as a sign of respect for my husband and for their partners as well. hey, i'm not against this girl-boy friendship. me and my husband started with this and we ended up perfect for each other :)  all i am saying is, there should be a line, a boundary. you could share the whole of you to your partner but not to a friend. you could tell your partner everything, but you keep some from your friends. your concerns are your partner's concerns as well. a friend sympathize with you. it's not really limiting the friendship but leaving no space for doubt for your partner and for your friend's partner too.

i think a relationship starts with a good and honest intent from both sides. if it's for friendships sake, then it is for friendships sake. as simple as that. if a single boy wants to pursue a single girl, and the girl likes the boy, then it will lead to a deeper relationship. if just one intended for friendship, and the other wants a different thing, then it wont go anywhere.  

 

drowning

i'm sad, scared and frustrated. these past days, our countless debts are beginning to take its toll on me. now i don't know when we'll be able to finish paying it all off :'( it's not really that we spend a lot on unneccessary (spell check) stuff. can i just say that it just did pile up? i am not into designer bags, clothes or shoes. i am not even into shopping. it did accumulate i guess because of our trip past 2 years and of course, the interest on the cards just keeps on adding up. only husband has a regular monthly income. true, i have 2 businesses. but it is not enough especially now that we have two kids. one is in pre-school and the other one, has a monthly shot which costs an average of Php4,000 per month :(

waaaah! i am drowning honestly. i am sad because i desperately want and need to have another regular source of income to help husband. i am scared because we might not have enough savings for real emergencies. and i am frustrated because i keep on trying and very little outcome :( the newly opened food cart business isnt really taking off as expected and selling online isnt much of a success either.

hay... sometimes i wonder what's the concern of the rich ;)

anyway, the good thing is i still believe that we will be able to rise from these dilemma and we will be able to pay all our debts. most importantly, God has never left us and has always provided. i am holding on to His promise that He won't  forsake us. as my friend, @investorjuan said, pera lang yan. besides, others have more serious problem than we do. what makes me go on too is that i know that me and my husband are together in this

amen!

frachise issues update

just an update, we had a meeting yesterday with our franchisor. it went ok, not the best though. i choose to remain hopeful. hopeful that from now on, their service especially in the line of communication will be better and that their succeeding delivery of their products will be of high quality. they mention that they will have a price increase. well, they still have to prove that they have the right for that price increase. we still have a loooong way to go with that franchisor. we have a contract of three years and we just started a month ago. maybe we just had a bad start. they may have valid reasons for the bad service that we received for the past month, but we will be watching them. according to my very disappointed sister, "markado na sila!". but i want to give them a chance. we will remain watchful and surely, they'll hear from us if things go the wrong way. i have to be honest, i would NOT recommend that franchise though. kainis tlga! even if we just had little time to research on that company, we constantly got in touch with them. it wasn't enough pala. it's also not enough that they responded constantly or if they have an office. it wasn't also enough that they are nine years in the business already. and it also may not be true that they were recently awarded best franchisor for the year ***  (something like that) as they claim, cos i heard, certain awards could be bought. hope it's not that way. but i just wonder, if they are nine years in the business as they claim, how come only a few franchisees got them here in MM? how come there's no feedback page or testimonial page in their website? hmmm, let's just see what happens for the remainder of the 3-year contract. let's be hopeful!

honestly, some things are really worth investing on. now we know, we will save enough, or perhaps get a loan, so that we will get a franchise with a big name because for sure, it will have the best service and quality. jollibee? mcdo? max's? haha! aim high! dream big! who knows? :)

* if you want to know who that franchise is, send me a private message. ha!

some kinda advice while pregnant

i had a fun time with my good friends @cimeon and jessa (not her real name ;p) last saturday night. i am truly grateful for the friendship that started at the workplace about 10 years ago. i am blessed becuase they say that it's hard to establish friendship at work. just like in showbiz. lol!

anyway, we talked about a lot of stuff especially about pregnancy and wedding. two of us have been through it and the other one is on its way there. i'm sure she'll hear plenty of advice from different people and i'm no expert, but i've shared some of my experieces and lessons about it.

during pregnancy:

* think happy thoughts

* eat healthy

* eat in moderation

* don't allow oneself to be big

* if you eat something that's prohibited like shrimp, soda, and salty food, yes you may eat, but very very little

* try to control laziness!

* make an effort to look good to feel good

* don't eat eggplant and shrimps

* walk, work around the house

* if you can and if permissible, do what you can (in moderation & extra care) and don't think that you can't just because you are pregnant

* watch light stuff; don't watch stuff that will scare or disappoint you like the news :)

* snack on veggies and fruits

i'll leave the rest for herself to discover :)

my struggles

i love my kids! i think i love them too much to spend all, if not, most of my time with them. they are my priority that at times, i tend to sacrifice my own needs and wants just for them. and i think its taking its toll on me. as they say, too much of anything is bad.

its deafening to hear them cry all day! even if rob is not hungry nor sleepy, there are times that she would just cry. raya on the other hand, cries for no reason at all. i think she craves for attention. she cries when she doesn't get what she wants and cries too when i get mad at her.

its also those menial tasks that makes my everyday life crazy! such as picking up towels and dirty clothes scattered all over, picking up and putting toys, pillows and books in order, thinking of what to have for lunch, dinner and even for baon, feeding time and sleep time.  add to it the discplining, the budgeting and worrying how to survive for the next payday!

it all seems like a struggle every single day. 

i now have a yaya/helper who helps around the house. i delegate tasks to her. she also helps out taking care of the kids. i don't think we need another helper. we can't afford it too. is this a case of time management? i don't think so since we already have a schedule of our daily routine. so is it now becoming routinary? i try to have a ME time once a week. i nap at times in the afternoon even if it's just 15 minutes. perhaps its not enough. but what can i do?

so, is it me? do i expect too much from my kids? from myself?

the last thing i would want to be is be a monster mom.

i also don't want to lose myself...

one morning

its drizzling outside and me and the girls are enjoying the cool weather. we're in the bedroom. rob taking her morning nap, gab doing her new puzzles and coloring book while i tinker with my laptop. nice!

it's been almost a week now and my first daughter Raya is still sick

:( fever is on and off. she still have colds. she had our cbc & urinalysis yesterday. and i'd like to mention that she did not cry during the blood extradction. we're proud! :) and since it's our pedia's birthday was yesterday, she can't be reached for the results. even if we do get the results from the laboratory, we wouldn't be able to interpret it, right? here we are so worried because we don't know why Raya is sick and our pedia is unavailable!! anyway, we got the results and ask our doctor friends. thank God for them!! base on the numbers, it seems that it's just a viral thing. thank God!! her ninang also recommended to take paracetamol instead of ibuprofen. since late last night up to now, Raya is ok. hopefully, she will recover completely. and hopefully, our pedia is available tomorrow for another consultation. hay! and hopefully too, none of us will get the virus especially rob since we sleep in just one room. i trust that the breastmilk she got from me for the past 6 months will protect her.