Finally, I'm here in Boracay for my much-awaited and shall I say well-deserved 7-day vacation, this is the first time that I'm travelling with my little girl and I'm so happy.
Day 1
We left the house at 10AM to catch our 1:15 PM flight, dear brother drove us to the airport while the rest of the family was driven by Erick's cousin. We landed at Kalibo airport a little earlier than our estimated arrival time, then we were hailed by our bus for a one and half land travel to Caticlan port, then a 5-minute boat ride and 3 minutes land travel took us finally to our hotel - La Carmela de Boracay.
La Carmela de Boracay recently opened their Executive Wing, the newest addition to this over P70 million worth of property, we booked 1 Panorama Jr. Suite (P6K per night, good for 6 occupants) and 1 Executive De Luxe (P4K per night, good for 4 occupants), the rooms are nice and clean, the services is great and best of all, the staff are super friendly - my only complain is the elevator in our wing is not working forcing me to climb up and down the stairs daily.
We arrived around past 5PM, after unpacking our stuff, we had an early dinner and started walking from one station to another, stopping by every food stalls we find appealing, and it was a number of stop-over, tell you and we were full before we finally reaching D' Mall. There were a lot of party going on, considering it was a Saturday night and there was a Dragon Boat Competition. I capped the night by playing an episode of The Tudors , thank you so much to my hubby for bringing it for me.
Day 2
We woke up early with plan of walking Hermione to the beach, we sat down in front of Boracay Regency Hotel since the sand is much cleaner there, saturday partying definitely ruined the beach front. Unfortunately my dear child developed a sudden fear for sand, she thinks its yucky or some sort - she would yell and cry on the attempt of putting her down. So we ended up carrying her instead. We headed back to the hotel for our breakfast while we had our lunch at the newly opened Astoria Hotel in Station 1, it was a lovely place and I'm thinking of staying there for our next Bora trip. For dessert, we had fruit shakes at Jony's Restaurant before realizing that it was different from famous Jonah's Fruit Shakes but no worries we can always go back and try the latter, then we headed to the church for the sunday mass.
For dinner, we went to D' Talipapa where we bought fresh seafoods and had it cooked Dampa-style in one of the nearby restos. We had Garlic Shrimp, Chili Crab, Sinigang na Tuna, Lechon Manok and Inihaw na Liempo. I had a grand time eating with my bare hands. Lastly, we summoned a masseuse for a room-service massage to finally make my night relaxing.
Day 3
Still Hermione is afraid of the sand and the ocean so we ended up sitting with her just watching the waves, but we had her swim in the pool where she just shouted, I can't tell if she's enjoying it or not so I took her to the tub instead hehe. Upon going back to the hotel, I had room-serviced manicure.We went to Station 1 again to take some pictures at the Grotto where we enjoyed street foods and tried Jonah's Fruit Shakes. Well its nothing but a so-so fruit shake, very ordinary. I'm not sure why people are so crazed about it, and the service sucks. I don't think I'm going back there, Jony's Fruit Shakes is still definitely the best fruit shakes in the island, I loved their Buco Shake. And the best thing about this trip to Station 1 is Hermione finally walked on the sand and tirelessly ran around the seashore.
We tried the buffet offering of La Carmela de Boracay for dinner complete with mongolian treat, it was a wonderful night being serenaded while having dinner. But my evening was spoiled upon realizing that I lost my Phiten bracelet, its freakin' new!
Day 4 Again, we started the day walking in the beach with my little girl, had lunch at Andok's in D' Mall and had the most delicious dessert at Red Bean - Hallowich, its similar to Halo-Halo but more on the fruitie side, super yummy! We immediately headed back to the hotel since I thought I was getting a heat stroke. Its so hot! Summer is eating me up.
We spent the rest of the day in the hotel, I also bought my mother-in-law, my mom and myself a very nice set of fresh water jewelries for quite a steal at Station 1 where Hermione finally appreciated the sea, she realized that its water afterall and she can swim on it hehe.
Day 5
We were very excited to bring Hermione out for a swim, she is wearing her two-piece speedo swim suit, I can't help but smile realizing how sexy she is. For lunch, we ordered Chicken and Pizza at Shakeys. Then my SIL and I went to D' Talipapa to buy some shirts and keychains as pasalubong and ordered burgers from Hungry Monkey for dinner. I was so exhausted having to walk several times to-and-from my hotel to D' Mall, that I just slept and didn't bother to try the night life in the island.
Day 6
Again as our morning ritual, we went out for a swim with the little girl and I'm extremely happy that she is enjoying Boracay. We ordered again from Andok's for lunch and slept the whole afternoon, the husband would usually go out in the evening with his brother for a drink or two before joining us while I kept myself busy with The Tudors before snoozing. We were planning to go out for some drinks and to watch the fire dancers but I slept instead, I dunno but I'm so lazy, I guess this is my idea of being on vacation. I should have gone to Bohol instead. Anyway, we're planning to go there next summer after our HK Disney trip.
Day 7
Last day in Boracay. We let Hermione swam for the last time before having our lunch at the hotel. Hubby went out with the kids for Helmet Diving, I was supposed to go with them but I changed my mind since the heat is really killing me, I packed our things instead. We flew back to Manila at 6PM, the rainy weather trapped most of the cabs so we had to wait for the airport taxis for an hour or so, good thing my father was able to pick us up in the airport, we had dinner at our paternal house in Marikina before heading to Cainta.
It was a very relaxing vacation although I was mostly in the hotel because of the heat and my laziness hehe. I enjoyed being in Boracay - and I'm happy that Hermione is not a nervous flyer, she loves being on the plane. What's more enjoyable about the whole vacation is - our family is with us.
Last Monday, my Bare Essentuals loots finally came, thank you to my friend Joan, for making this happen. Thanks also to Gela for bringing it for me all the way from California.
Also, I'm equally happy that my Dr. Mom has arrived and it came with a bag, in yellow - my official favorite color. I super loved it!
You might be wondering why I'm missing in action, first, poor Hermione was confined at St.Luke's Hospital since Monday evening due to asthma. We were only discharged yesterday afternoon, and since the baby is sickie she requires me and her daddy to be there 24/7, she totally snobs her yaya, making us super tired.
While last weekend we were off to Club Balai Isabel in Batangas where we had our company outing, I had a grand time. On our way back we stopped by Rowena's for the pasalubongs and I was also able to shop for a cutie two-piece from my first speedos selection for my little dalaga. All in all, she has 8 swimsuits, but I doubt that she can wear all of it, since most are too big for her.
After putting Hermione to sleep yesterday, we went out for some more last-minute shopping - floaters, aqua shoes, new sets of brushes and food supplies for the baby while I came home with new tops, dresses and travel organizers. Boy, this trip is really expensive. But we're ready to go, just need to pack the stuff we will be bringing, I need more bags though hehe. I'm glad that Hermione's pedia gave us the green light to go despite her recent asthma attack, we just need to bring her meds. And besides, fresh air will do her good.
I'm into peep toe-shoes...I saw this the other day, I wanted the Beige Reptile Print (because the gray one is too dark for me) and its not available in The Block, I'll try my luck in other stores. Patience, patience, patience...
I got Hermione an iPLAY Swim Diaper distributed locally by Eco Baby Boutique for our Bora Trip. I had it delivered in my office, its my first time to order online , and I'm glad that the transaction went smoothly.
I'm thinking of getting a Dr. Mom Health Journal for Hermione. As I was waiting for the little girl's turn for her MMR shot, I was flipping on the pages of her baby book, which was a cheap give-away from two milk formulas being held together by stample wires, what a crap?!?! I remembered that I wanted to get Dr. Mom when it was initially launched last September, 2009 but felt it was too pricey for a baby book, but thinking about it now, having a central record of your child's medical and hospitalization record, including clinic visits, growth charts, baby monitoring sheets, contact details and it even has special pages for mommy notes, momentos and your child's drawing - is really a must. And I should look past its price but the value it brings, or do cost-benefit analysis. Now, I'm talking gibberish, yay!
Going back to the DM, aside from the memory it goes with, its very useful specially during emergency that you only have to browse into one book and it says everything about your child's health history. My only problem (which was another reason why I immediately dismissed the idea of getting it last year) is how to migrate the information from the previous baby books into it, well, I will surely find a way, for now, I have to visit Power Books and check it out.
My GM Diet is finally over, today I get to eat the regular way. I didn't mind the diet since its quite easy, maybe because I timed it during the holy week, so the no-meat, all-veggies and fruitie diet was really the way to go then. I can't really say how much I've lost since the scale we were using brokedown, registering fluctuating rates everytime I step on it, it was only last Saturday that I get to purchase its replacement. But I felt good, I saw the difference in my face (it became thinner) and my collar bone became prominent, although my tummy looks almost the same, yaiks! Maybe I should consider smartlipo or tummy tuck at this rate, but nah, I will not resort to that.
Today, I've been a very very bad girl, munching Patchi Chocolates left and right, thanks to Ate Lani for bringing us loads of it. Patchi is a chocolate brand from Saudi Arabia, has more than 116 outlets in 29 countries. They are closer to Swiss or Belgium style chocolate. I just have one word for it - Happiness.
As I was browsing on our family's financial, I would like to congratulate us for finally completing our Emergency Fund. According to the book I've read last December (which triggered me to do it), every family has to save up for Emergency Fund (entirely apart from the regular savings) because in life, you should expect the unexpected.
Family emergencies can come in the form of significant med expenses, job loss, auto or home repairs and other unforseen events. A family should be setting around 3 to 6 months worth of living expenses as their Emergency Fund.
When we got married, the hubby delegated financial management to me but we jointly plan for our financial goals. And every year we make it a point to try different strategies to reach our goals. As a young couple, we encountered several bumps during our journey, being agressive and impatient, always trying to short-cut our ways to financial freedom, but everybody makes mistakes, right? And I think, for as long as you know how to bounce back and learn from your mistakes, its okay.
Last year, we managed to put up a Trust Fund for the little girl, and started recovering sort of interest premiums from our RetirementFund which was forcely established way back 2008. The next on our list is the Housing Fund, which most people would be targetting first, we pushed it at the end of our list because we - shall we say is the "caretaker" of a newly-built 4-bedroom house of my SIL and we can live there for as long as we want since they're only here for about a month or so each year. So there's no hurry to own a house.
Hermione's Trust Fund was our first priority since life is very unsure, and we don't want to leave our little princess pennyless, although, our parents and siblings will surely provide for her but we don't want to take chances or put the burden on them, its like James and Lily Potter putting up gazillion gold coins at the Gringotts Wizarding Bank for Harry.
Saving is not easy specially if you want to live a life, I mean shopping and vacations should not be crossed out from your calendar just because you're in the saving mode. I suggest rewarding yourself with something nice-to-have everytime you've accomplished a goal is the best way to keep motivated. Remember, all work and no play, is a simply a no-no in my world.
For Day 4, I had about 8 bananas and a carton of fresh milk plus the wonder soup, I really loved it! While for today, I had burgers - 1 Bronco Wham Burger and Big City's Flame-Broiled Burger, 2 hard boiled eggs and cheated by helping myself to a half-cup of yogurt ice cream with peaches and mucho balls from Red Mango (but its still healthy, right?)...okay...okay, this is me stopping.
I had another movie date with dear hubby, and this time - The Clash of the Titans, again super thanks to Citibank for co-sponsoring. Sorry, I know its Black Saturday, but I need to rant about this, Robinson's Movie World Theatre sucks!
I've been meaning to try if this will make wonders on me, good thing hubby bought me a Phiten Titanium Bracelet. I binged it and here's the literature from their official webby.
WHAT IS PHITEN?
Phiten products are worn by elite athletes all over the world. For the past several years the number of world class athletes seen with Phiten gear has steadily increased. We are proud to introduce new products in our lineup to continue the Phiten philosophy of health, energy, and well-being. Anyone can benefit from wearing our products to help aid in counteracting the stress and fatigue of everyday life.
Each of our Pro-Staff athletes has seen the benefits of our technology and wear our products every time they go to work. Phiten products work with your body’s energy system, helping to regulate and balance the flow of energy throughout your body. Proper energy balance helps to alleviate discomfort, speed recovery, and counteract fatigue. Athletes find that they tire less easily and recover faster from intense physical activity. Further benefits of Phiten’s exclusive technology are more relaxed muscles leading to less stress and a greater range of motion that can be of great benefit to an athlete or anyone in any walk of life. At Phiten we are proud of our products and proud to increase the health and well being of the people that believe in our products.
EXPERIENCE THE ENERGY OF PHITEN AND FEEL BETTER EVERYDAY
OUR EXCLUSIVE TECHNOLOGY
Phiten Technology is based around the different applications of our high-intensity Phild Process. Titanium has been found by our scientists to be particularly responsive to the Phild Process; meaning, it is consistently effective in emitting, or "passing on" the stabilizing effect of the Phild Process.
Hermione was all over me today, its not everyday that mommy is at home, you see...so I think she's making the most of it, and I am too. She's such a cutie little darling. And the best thing about her is, she knows how to make mommy really happy like she would eat (just to show off), hug and kiss me. Oh I love this day!
Its such a pity that daddy missed being with her, he has to go to work, being in I.T. is more like being a doctor, you're always "on-call" and when everybody is so excited about the upcoming holidays, you're secretly wishing that there would be no maintenance activity to keep you chain in the office. Unfortunately, holidays are the best time to schedule such since there is nobody using the system. So don't even bother scheduling an out-of-town trip or you're in for a deal-breaker.
Anyway, I have been switching from bloghopping and watching Julie and Julia while munching my way to 2 ripe mangoes. I'm in Day 3 of the GM Diet Program.
Today is the official start of holy week (atleast for me) since I had to go to the office until yesterday but I was out a little early to catch Green Zone with dear hubby, and because I'm still in GM Diet, no popcorn and soda for me this time, instead I had Takuyaki Balls and Plato Wrap's All Veggies. After the movie, feeling hungry I diverted to shopping for make-up, I dropped by Body Shop and grabbed myself these fabulous loot: All-in-One Face Base, Flawless Skin Protecting Foundation SPF 25, Hi-Shine Lip Treatment, Wild Cherry Lip Butter, Divide and Multiply Mascara and Strawberry Bath Gel.
But then the hunger pang strikes again so I had to cut the retail therapy short and go home to cook the suprisingly delicious wonder soup. I should have done this earlier.
Name: JV Home: Manila, Philippines About Me: 30-something. A wife to a wonderful husband. A mother to my little chinita. Career Woman by Choice. A Coffee Drinker.Shopaholic.Book Lover.Blogger.Movie Addict. Know me more
