Richard's Wedding Proposal

Three years ago on this very day, Richard proposed to me over dinner at the Philippine Plaza (now Hotel Sofitel) poolside.
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This is the only photo that I have to remind me of that night.
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I still get kilig everytime I think about it :)
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Read all about the proposal kwento here.

Valentine's Day

This is how we did it:
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Richard and I exchanged gifts the night before...
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Red roses for me (he was afraid that the buds might be fully opened by morning so he gave them to me early)...
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a...and our "functional" gift for the man of the house: electric shaver, which will come in handy during his business trips.
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Aly noticed that she was the only one without a gift but her daddy and I told her that hers will be delivered tomorrow morning.

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On Valentine's day morning, we exchanged greeting cards. Again, Aly asked where her gift was and again, daddy said that "cupid" was probably on his way to deliver it.
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I was busy preparing our breakfast when the doorbell rang.
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Aly was completely oblivious to what was happening. Heehee!
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aSpecial delivery for Ms. Aly Valdez!
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aAly and her "bouquet".
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aHappy girl gets a kiss from daddy.
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aWith our bouquets :)
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aGifts for Aly from mommy and daddy.
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aAly's bouquet: Valentine's-y stuff that bought for our girl -- heart-shaped pens, pencils with bear toppers, lollipops and furry hearts.
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Side kwento about Aly's bouquet: My original plan was to get her a balloon arrangement, but I ditched the idea after seeing online how much those things cost (Thb800-2,000). Hooboy! Way out of my budget! So, my plan B was to get her those plush flowers -- you know, those cute flowers made from the same material that stuffed toys are made of with the happy face in the middle? Well, I couldn't find them at Central Rama3 so I ended up with plan C. I had them arranged into a bouquet at a gift wrapping shop (I think it was the first time she did something like this, because she kept showing the bouquet to friends who passed by. Heehee!). Then, I left them at the front desk with instructions to deliver them to our apartment at 8:00am on Valentine's Day.
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So there. Now where was I?
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aAfter breakfast, we went to hear mass...

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Waiting for our car at the lobby.
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aChinese New Year giveaway from the church: oranges and ang pao.

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...then we went back home to have lunch. Nothing special, we just ate leftovers. Heehee! We had this, though...
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Our VDay cakes in white and milk chocolate.
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After lunch and a brief siesta, we went to Paragon for our movie date with Richard.
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We saw "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" in 3D! Cool movie, by the way. Wa all loved it! It was soo worth the money :)
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After the movie, we did a little food shopping at the ground floor.
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Ferrero tower, can I take you home with me?
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aDamn you, Valentine's Day!! Just when I wanted to cut back on chocolates, they filled the Gourmet Market with chocolate shops. As in, chocolates everywhere you look! It was hard not to buy. Heehee!
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aWaiting for the driver.
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aOur Valentine goodies.
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aYummy chocolates to end our day.
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It was a lovely day :)

Aly-isms: New Uses for an Old Box

Please allow the proud mommy to brag share my daughter's creativity.
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Use # 1:
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In one of his past business trips, R gave me a box of Ferrero chocolates for pasalubong.
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Ferrero Garden. My favorites are pistachio and almond. I ate them last. Heehee!
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These chocolates were absolutely delish! And mind you, it wasn't easy to stop myself from eating this entire box in one sitting (I can easily do that, you know). It took me monumental effort to eat just one or two pieces in a day. Heehee!
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I didn't want to throw away the box, but I didn't know what to do with it either. Then one day, I saw this:
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Aly's "laptop".
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aMay mouse pa!
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aThis is how the "laptop" looks like when it's opened.
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aCheck out her keyboard.
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aSide by side: Aly's "laptop" and daddy's netbook.
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aTobisha. Heehee! Parang yung fake Rolex na ang pangalan Lorex, or yung gumaya sa Fender guitar na ang pangalan Tender (I only learned about this thru Aris. I thought he was just joking, but he said he really saw one. Can't stop laughing about it since then.)
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Use #2:
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After our Christmas vacation, Aly went home with this:
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A balikbayan box full of gifts and toys.
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It's funny how she became more interested in the box itself than what's inside the box.
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She turned it into a "store".
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aHer she is, taking daddy's order.
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Don't you just love the way kids see things? Their imagination is simply awesome!

Love

Valentine's Day is only a couple of days away...while Richard and I don't really celebrate Vday, we sorta have to because our six-year old is very much into it. She loves the gastos whole idea of pink and red hearts, flowers, cards, teddy bears...the whole shebang. Last week, I bought her small cards that she can give to her BFF's (that's what she calls her friends Lisa and Isya). I'm still looking for a place that makes those balloon arrangements so Richard and I can surprise her with a balloon bouquet. I'm sure she will love it :)
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Moving on...I got this book from the Haiti Fundraiser rummage sale (ukay-ukay) in Aly's school:
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For only Thb10.
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In the spirit of Valentine's day, allow me to share some quotes from the book -- chosen at random (by random, I mean flipping the book open and if I find it ok, then I will type it).
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"Do not worry about finding love. Love will find you when the time is right."
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"Those lovers who form the best partnerships bring out the best in each other."
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"Love, friendship and happiness are inseparable.
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"Perfect love cannot be described in words -- only actions."
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"Remember: all you need is love."
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Speaking of love, I have kwento that I want to share with you. The hubby went on a business trip to Manila just recently. While he was there, I sent him a text message telling him that Aly loved the Ovalteenies that my inlaws brought during their visit last year. Last night, R brought these back home with him:
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Two boxes of Ovalteenies for his princess Aly.
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I didn't know what to say...but if that's not love, then I don't know what it is.

Aly-isms: Trust

I was wearing the hubby's Rolling Stones tshirt this morning, when Aly asked me:
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Aly: What's Rolling Stones, mommy?
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Me: They're a rock band, sweetie. Did you know that lola Aple named tito Mick after their lead singer, Mick Jagger?
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Aly: Mick Jagger and tito Mick? That's funny, mommy! *giggles*
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Me: Yeah! Ask tito Mick about it.
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Aly: I won't ask him, mommy.
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Me: Why, sweetie?
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Aly: Because you told me already.
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Sigh...I really love this girl!

Aly's MJ Fever

Today, I surprised Aly with this:
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A DVD copy of This Is It...
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a...which she will add to her growing collection of MJ DVD's.
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I wonder if she also had MJ in mind when she bought this book:
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Heehee!

Maxi Dresses

Summer is here. I can feel it. Notice the lack of exclamation point in my first sentence? That's because I'm not too thrilled about the heat. I was expecting to feel the nippy Bangkok weather that we had in November to January last year, but there was none. Now it's stifling hot with no wind and I'm bummed because it takes too long for my laundry to dry. I'm just glad I didn't buy a lot of cold weather clothes! Or else I'd be kicking myself in the head for spending money on stuff that I won't be using anyway. Heehee!
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I am happy, though, that I had the foresight to buy a few maxi dresses that I can definitely wear this summer. I love how you don't really need to iron them. That's why I like to bring them when we travel.
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My first maxi dress, which I wore during our first wedding anniversary weekend in Chiang Mai.
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aA year later in Hua Hin for our 2nd wedding anniversary.
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aI didn't bring any pants at all! Just dresses :)
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aTrip to La Union on December 2009.
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Oh, how I love these dresses! I like to wear them on lazy days and I always wear a maxi dress when I go to the spa. Other people say I look bigger or pregnant in them -- I don't care! They are super comfy and breezy!
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Speaking of comfy, I'd really like to have one of these:
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Cotton caftan. Super soft, it's probably a 300-thread count cotton. The resort that we stayed in at Hua Hin had these in lieu of robes for women (men had ordinary robes, but in the same material and print). I wanted to buy one from their boutique, but I was shocked when I saw the price (Thb1,800). Wala pa kong nahahanap na ganyan with the exact same material.
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Oh, I'm also loving these tunics:
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Which I can wear for going out...

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...or as a swimsuit cover-up.

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By the way, my bestfriend Pat is selling summer clothes -- maxi dresses, swimsuits and cover-ups. If you're interested, let me know so I can hook you up :)