Weekend Down South Photo Dump

It’s been years since we’d been to Badian, my hometown. I grew up in the land of waterfalls, and beautiful beaches; I wished it remained that way but…

Anyhow, my uncle has a new “farm house” now, and it’s time to visit Badian again. 🔅

Mini Round North Trip Photo Dump

From Consolacion, we drove through Pulangbato / Sirao to Transcentral Highway, down to Balamban, then went up north to Asturias, Tuburan, Tabuelan, cross to Sogod then back to Consolacion.

We had quick lunch at KM21. Originally, its concept was a coffee place. But overtime, it becomes more than that. They roast their own coffee beans.

Then, our next stopover was Tuburan Cafe. Tuburan has a coffee farm, mainly Robusta beans. So I guess that’s what make the cafe unique. Honestly, coffee was so-so but the pour-over barista did a great job out of the not-so-good beans for pour over. But their cheese cake is yumm.

Day 2: “Exclusive”

I need to make a few emotional blackmails for this “hiking” to happen. 🥴 It’s our last day, and everyone wanted to start going home as early as possible as they all have game updates waiting for them.

Also, I realized that our family photos mostly happens when we’d go on a”guided hike” because theirs a trekking guide who would take photos for us. This was a very short hike but resort management requires us to take a guide.

I was itching to take a walk outside the perimeters of the resort but Mark caught up on me before I was able to leave our place early in the morning. So I just have to take photos of the “outside” from the “inside” because Mark is such a bore. 😑 I guess this is one of the reasons why I/we kind of “shy” away from staying in resorts, the exclusive resorts. It just feels awkward when there’s that obvious divide from the manicured resort and the real-life community outside.

I guess previous summer trips were usually long road trips, then we’d pick a town/place where there are a lot of things / places to explore outside the resort. But that’s hard to do this time especially when we have kids with us; we need to limit interaction with other people, for the safety of both parties.

But bloggerpose is still required. Saying “bloggerpose” is making me feel old.

I took a sample photo on how I wanted him to take mine. No. He did not do a good job w/ mine.
my most achievement during this lockdown, having a bun
dragontail in situ

Day 1: Beach Blonde

Youngest child is 13 years old. They have now their own interest: internet and games. Gone are the days that they’d go crazy when they’d see a beach. Anyhow, they tried hard to be make it worth while for the parents. 🥴

Food is surprisingly good in Golden Sands Resort. 🙂 It passed #kid3’s “discerning” food taste.

Day O: The Power of Moments

7/18/2021

I’m trying to get back to reading. I picked up “The Power of Moments” just in time for our 1st outinf since pandemic started in 2020. I’m still on my 20% but basically it’s about how an entire experience is rated based on one outstanding moment, not the average of all the emotions experienced throughout the entire journey. So there can be many instances of bad moments, but there’s one outstanding good moment that rule them all. I think best example is giving birth.

The entire day 1 went perfectly fine. I guess when you’ve been hibernating for awhile, any outing will be good.

But the one thing that stood out for me today is this tuna salad.

Other random photos today:

The line of “bingkahan” stalls in Catmon is now longerrr. It’s probably a good sign economy is not bad?

My kids are really now no longer babies. I feel like taking photos of them falling asleep is like invasion of their privacy. Also, they no longer look cute asleep. 😑

The new economic driver, the motorcycle gangs. I mean they were there back then, but this time, there are more of them.

Borussia

Cafe Librew in Bogo

Golden Sands Resort, the place we’re staying.

The Legit Fluffy Couch

After 16 years of being married, we finally got our very first fluffy couch. The kids had been demanding it for a long time. They always complain why our “couch” is not comfy fluffy like that of our neighbors’ / their friends’.

So if we had been to your before, and my kids were like all over your couch, it’s because they’re so deprived of a good fluffy couch.

The very 1st couch we had was that “lantay,” that made from bamboo slats. I remember we got it from a “mobile vendor,” that person who goes around house to house peddling carrying the item they’re selling. So someone passed by the house we rented before, and there, instant delivery.

I so love the lantay. It’s so practical with kids who were still not toilet-trained. My babies would take their daytime naps/sleeps on the lantay w/ cloth diapers or sometimes no panty/briefs, and we would just put a basin under the lantay to “catch” the pee.

So having toddlers for like 5-7 years, we just kept that lantay. It was just so practical w/ all the pee, puke, messy mishap incidents; it was just so easy to clean up.

The only photo I could find from my phone ♥️

Then then kids get bigger, toilet-trained, then started to socialize w/ other people, and see others’ homes, and they would come home asking why we did not have that fluffy couch. 

But we got into running, like crazy into running, and one of things I/we picked up from that habit is that training your self to survive on lesser stuff, because lesser stuff, easier to move. So the “couch” goals just did not become a priority. Plus, I thought that the more uncomfortable our couch, the more we would want to move. It was like couch is the symbol of laziness?

Also not to mention how tiny the spaces of the newer houses, a couch could eat too much space.

Then pandemic happens… Having a couch is no longer a question!

Thank you, SM 😅

Getting that Covid Shots

I feel writing down about our Covid 19 vaccination experience because it feels historical. So we had our 1st dose of Sinovac vaccine last Thursday; thanks to our neighbor who was so diligent in listing down our names when she had her vaxx weeks ago in Cebu City.

Honestly, we were not that crazy in a hurry to get the covid 19 shots as we’re “privileged” enough to be able to afford to just stay at home as I’m unemployed and Mark’s work mostly revolves around the internet. So we’re just slacking it off as to give way to those who more need them, to those whose work require them to be always out and about interacting with other people.

But I received texts regarding our vaxx schedule last Wednesday, less than 24 hours of the upcoming appointment. I was on the fence to go because I felt it was too short of a notice for something that was going to be such a total new thing like Covid 19 vaccine. But then I’m concerned about vaccines getting wasted because of people not showing on their appointments. I/we do not want to waste away vaccines especially that we have no valid reason so we better show up.

I have healthcare worker friends who are working tirelessly just to get the Covid vaccine rolling out, the least we can do for their selfless service is to show up on our vaccine scheduled appointment!

There’s also the concern about the brand of the vaccines. Though, we’re not that crazy about the brand but still it would be nice to get what the first world countries are getting just because so, right? But then, I guess, at this point, we’re all guinea pigs for whichever brand. And, as a parent to 3 kids, I definitely have to do it in the thought that I could give more data to the pharmas making the vaccines so that the newer batches may be more effective, which my kids will be receiving soon.

So my main point is that let’s get vaccinated so we can get a better version of the vaccines for our kids please.

And, I’m hopeful that Covid vaccines is like the surgical masks and alocohol which was super scarce in the start of pandemic but then now they’re easily available. I guess later on Covid vaccines will be very available, in whichever brand, but for now we need to keep it rolling by just getting shot.

(We used the business permit addressed in Cebu City to get the shots in UC Banilad. You may have your self listed in the city / town where your business or work is based.)

Romnick Sarmenta

I’m now 40 years old. I turned 40 last May. I dreaded it. I do not have problem being old (no offense). I dreaded that I’m 40, and I have no achievements unlocked. No need to uplift me or send out encouragement words to me; I can perfectly do it to my self. =)

So I tried to look back to my very first dream when I was a kid. And, it’s Romnick Sarmenta that would pop up in my mind. I probably had a crush on him, watching him on That’s Entertainment, Young Love Sweet Love, and TV show guestings. I was a Romnick-Jennifer Sevilla shipper.

So my first conscious dream was to be an artista, and be Romnick Sarmenta’s love-team. Our ship name would be RoRo. There’s probably a reason that this dream did not come true.

But then what if I did become artista? I guess that’s why I’m slight the attention hoe.

The next childhood dream that pops up in my mind is… ABANGAN. Because this is the part that I get lazy.

SG 2019 Day 1: KIDS

10/27/2019

The very first trip for the kids that required passport. 🙂

The first lesson that I learned is that we have soooo many kids. It’s quite a handful, but thankful.

As expected, things can go wrong. There’s the arguing over food, etc. We lost an MRT card even before we got out of the airport.

It rained. And, we got “locked” from the place we’re airbnb-ing. It was raining, and we could not get inside. 😭

Thankfully, Grace, the house staff replied and came home from her outing.

And thanks to the bus stop for accommodating us for awhile. 🙂