Pregnancy Woes

I've been sufficiently warned about the perils of pregnancy by many, especially my mom. They say you can base your pregnancy on how your own mother carried her pregnancy at her time. I was thinking, if that's the case, I'm in big trouble. (Think HUGE hips/ass, morning/all day sickness all the way up to 9 months, stretch marks, fat feet, fat hands, heck... fat everything!)

However, my sister in law has already been pregnant twice and she's always carried her pregnancy so gracefully. If it wasn't for the bulging belly, you wouldn't even think she was pregnant. It was that easy for her. So when I got pregnant, I thought, I will be that kind of pregnant woman! Glowing, easy, relaxed. No pregnancy symptoms whatsoever. HOOOOOOBOY... was I wrong. 

All those symptoms I've been dreading? Well I got them all. I've got the morning sickness which has continued into my 2nd trimester (I'm at 6 months now), the sudden breakout of acne (I feel like I'm 13 again), the dreaded CANKLES (ankles as big as your calves) - which by the way is totally painful on the feet. I can hardly walk now and I'm not even that huge yet. My ass is about the size of my belly, probably just as heavy too. And, even if I eat moderately, I seem to be getting fatter and fatter (which totally pisses me off cuz my sister in law doesn't even look like she's gained a pound except for that belly of hers). But, amidst all these aches and pains, I have so far (fingers crossed) managed to avoid one thing so far... stretch marks. Surprisingly, I still don't have any stretch marks on my belly and I am hoping this continues till my last few months. I've been massaging all sorts of oils, creams, what have yous on my belly just to make sure that when I finally get back to normal, I still have the option of possibly wearing a bikini (I dare hope). 

Here's some of what I've used thus far. I keep on changing so I can't really tell which is effective but it might be of help to others.

This is what I first started using the moment I got pregnant. One bottle lasted me about 2 months so, not bad.

I switched to olive oil as soon as someone told me it is very effective in preventing stretch marks. So far I've used up 2 bottles and no stretch marks yet!

This is the next one I'll be trying out. It was given to me by a friend from Australia and they swear by it so let's see.  Fingers crossed!

Hopefully this works for me and it works for whoever else is out there that's just as vain as me!

Watch out!

Can't tell you more just yet. But soon.

Pinoy Quirks

A Singaporean friend of ours is currently in Manila for a quick trip before he goes to Cebu to finish his dive masters course (something or whatever). It's his first time here in Manila and since he and his friends are so good to us whenever we come to Singapore, we wanted to return the favor. I've only been to Singapore twice and both occasions remain hazy in my memory cuz most of the time they were shoving alcohol down our throats. Seriously, my first time in Singapore, the most I saw was Orchard Road since I was drunk half the time I was there. But I am not complaining. And now that he's here visiting us, I realized that this is as good a time as any to get some payback (insert evil laugh here).

Now this really isn't about him or how drunk he was (and will be) while in Manila. This is more about my epiphany about Filipino traditions. You see, this friend of ours isn't much of a drinker. It was very hard for me to convince him to drink any alcohol. But I soon found the perfect line to use. I told him that in Pinoy culture, it is very rude for guests to refuse drinks that are offered to them. Thus, the ceaseless flow of alcohol thereafter. I had found the secret! Use Pinoy culture and tradition and all excuses go out the door. Which got me thinking... this little ploy we used could be part of an ever growing list of quirks that are distinctly Filipino. I mean every Filipino loves to entertain right? It's in our blood. Now we can use this to force our guests to do what we want. Eat this, drink this, do this... why? Because it's rude not to! Genius I tell you.

Now, to get him to drink again till he actually passes out on the floor....

Veluz

To those of you who don't know, August was a big month for the soapbox team because A) R and F found out that they were having a baby, and B) N proposed to me and C) C finished working on a really huge movie! So from August until today, all of us have been busy planning our future steps.

Yesterday, I officially chose my designer. Not that I explored many options. At first I wanted to design my own dress, hire a really good and inexpensive seamstress, and march wearing my dream gown. What was I thinking?

I guess you can say I'm a gown person. I'm pretty simple when it comes to other things, but gowns are an exception. I grew up wearing them and wearing them often. In fact, I've never worn the same dress twice. Some parents would buy useless things like Christmas decors or big vases and still tell you that they are worth buying. For my dad, it was the gowns, the suits, and the religious figurines. He taught me how to be very picky when it comes to gowns. And yes, he taught me how to criticize the ugly ones, fashematics style.

I thought I was all set, but just like any bride, I wanted things to be perfect. I had this gut feeling that finding a really good seamstress would be harder than finding a really good designer. I had my sketch ready, I just needed someone who shared the same vision. Once upon a time I wanted Pitoy Moreno, then SLIM, but somehow after N proposed her name just appeared in my head. I wanted nobody else but Veluz.

Yes, I've read the reviews. Some would praise her to death, some would say she only sticks to her signature style, but no one has ever dared to say she was not good. After reading the reviews, her blog and viewing her portfolio a million times, trying to find flaws, I knew she was the one.

I immediately emailed her and sent her my sketch and budget. She replied instantly telling me that my budget would not do. Still very persistent, I told her that I was willing to tweak the design, until it fit my budget. She said okay and so we set a meeting. I must admit that I was a bit sad at the thought of ugly-fying my dream dress. Maybe she wasn't so worth it anymore?

And so the meeting came and I met her and loved her even more. So warm and friendly but very honest, telling what what suited me and what didn't. I told myself not to get too attached as there was big chance my gown may still be over budget. My sister, cousin and wedding coordinator had accompanied me. All of us were excited but none of us forgot our main goal: TO GET A HUGE DISCOUNT. My eyes were glued to the paper the whole time she was sketching. I was mentally computing how much each swirl and cruve would cost. Then I began to feel really nervous because it was turning out to be beautiful. Too beautiful. The type of nice that looks more expensive than my original sketch. But the good thing about it was that she gave me exactly what I wanted and MORE. She just tweaked the cut a bit to suit my body type and embellished it. Then it was done. She quickly handed it to me and excused herself while she computed for the cost. I looked at it and held back the tears! I was in love! My sister tried to hold back the tears but couldn't. My cousin sighed and and my wedding coordinator said aww. It was me... But with beads (apparently beads are needed to reflect the light or something). Even the beads looked so nice on paper I couldn't open my mouth to protest. Holy shit this dress is going to break the bank.

That's her. Sketching my dress while I anxiously wait.

She came back with the quotation and the four of us started begging, flattering her and pouting. She was very firm with the price though. Hehe. But it was my sister who said it was worth it. And in fairness to Veluz, the design was more elaborate and the price was much, much cheaper than the first quotation she gave me. She said she kept my budget in mind. We all just had to agree. I called N but N wasn't picking up. I started to panic and Veluz opened her window and told me I could smoke in her office while thinking about it first. "Yosi ka muna." How can you not love her??? Finally N called me back and I told him about it almost stuttering. What did he say? Well he said: "Not bad. Puwede na." I love my groom!!! N, I promise to always do the dishes and cook when you are lazy to cook since you are the better cook!

So I ended the call and announced: "He said OKAY!!!" and everyone started clapping and shouting yay! The rest was blurry after that. I was just floating in excitement. I am going to have my dream dress. The perfect dress to wear when one marries the perfect guy (major sipsip but true!).

It sucks that I can't post the sketch yet. That will have to wait. Measurements will start in June. Time to gym.

*Some photos taken from Veluz' blog.

My 2 cents on Lady Gaga

I personally think Lady Gaga is pretty fascinating. She makes good pop music. I mean it's music that'll stick to your head. The type you'll sing to without even realizing you're doing so. She's pretty talented. Her demeanor and outfits in public, yeah they're a little weird, a little overboard sometimes (like her controversial meat dress at the VMA's) but I always thought it was her way of getting attention. I just think, yeah, she's "OA" a lot of times but I guess that's how she wants to stay relevant. 

This photo of her however, posted by Perez Hilton on his website is pretty darn offensive.

 photo from www.perezhilton.com

I am Catholic yes but I am not a devout Catholic. I don't normally get offended when there are stuff in the internet poking fun at the religion or Jesus or whatever. But I think this picture is taking things a bit too far. I've tried to think of a reason why she'd pose this way. If there was some relevant message she would like to say to people. And I just can't think of a damn good reason for her to do something like this. Freedom of expression is great but it comes with a degree of responsibility. I doubt she would ever pose in anything poking fun of the Islamic faith. How come this is ok then? A little respect for other people's beliefs shouldn't be too hard to do. There are a million other ways of catching people's attention. I just think this is taking things way too far. It's just disgusting and very pathetic on Lady Gaga's part.

There. I've said my piece. That's all I have to say about that. 

Sid Lucero for Rosario... AND SOAPBOX

All I can say is... THANK YOU, C!THANK YOU! THANK YOU! You did well on your promise. I am ultra jealous of your glamourous job and celebrity friends.

Readers, please do not forget to support ROSARIO and C himself on Christmas day. For movie enthusiasts, watch it for the awesome cinematography (brought to you by C), for non movie enthusiasts, watch it for the costumes! I am personally watching it for Sid Lucero (who looks like C. Swear). Hahah!

Folks, Mr. Sid Lucero for Rosario and Soapbox...



He meant http://soapboxstate.blogspot.com/ by the way! Shet kilig!
ROSARIO coming this Christmas 2010.
A film by Alberto P. Martinez
Story by Manny V. Pangilinan
Starring Jennylyn Mercado, Yul Servo, Dennis Trillo, Isabel Oli and Sid Lucero with Philip Salvador, Eula Valdez and Dolphy

Morning Sickness

Yes that's right... morning sickness. I'm pregnant. (YEY!!!) 7 weeks today to be exact. And though I couldn't be happier with the news since we have wanted to get pregnant for so long, there is one thing I'm not so happy about. The morning sickness. Which for me isn't even morning sickness. It's ALL DAY sickness. I feel sick every single moment of every day. The only time I don't feel sick is right after I vomit and then I have about 30 minutes of peace until the feeling comes back again. I'm a little bit concerned since my mom when she was pregnant with me had vomiting fits throughout her whole pregnancy and could hardly keep anything down. Thank God that's not the case for me (not yet at least!) but it seems as though everyday that goes by, the feeling gets worse and worse.

Since there's basically nothing I can do about this, I did a little research on how to at least make it a little easier for me until I get through the first trimester (which they say is usually the time when morning sickness happens, after which it eventually goes away... FINGERS CROSSED!!!). I hope this helps other pregnant women too...

• Steer clear of certain odors that may trigger your nausea.
• Keep crackers or dry toast by your bed to nibble on before getting up.
• Eat frequent small meals to keep your stomach from becoming empty.
• Drink frequent small amounts of fluids throughout the day so you don't become dehydrated.
• Avoid eating foods that are fatty, greasy, spicy, or acidic if you find that they bother you.
• Eat whatever foods you can tolerate while your stomach's upset. When you feel better later, concentrate on making your meals more well-rounded.
• If your prenatal vitamin seems to worsen your nausea, take it with food instead of on an empty stomach. Or try taking it right before bed. If this does not help, talk to your health care provider about the possibility of switching to a different vitamin

 Oh and another thing... having a husband hands on enough to help you out when you're too sick to cook or too tired to even move from bed :) 

Rosario

The past few months have flown so quickly. I don’t even remember what my last entry was. It’s just that I’ve been really busy. I left for LA on April 28, 2010 to attend a film festival. I was supposed to just stay there for only 2 weeks but LA just had so much to offer that time. And I just couldn’t resist.

I came back 1st week of June. After changing my return flight 3 times, I finally decided that it was indeed time to come home. It was a dramatic moment in downtown LA, in front of the Wells Fargo building, I decided to come home for a project.

The project is a movie entitled ROSARIO, an official entry to the 2010 Metro Manila Film Festival with Albert Martinez as my director. It has been 2 years since we started on pre-production on this project. After offering it to different film outfits and to different actresses, ROSARIO is finally ready to be born.

We are on our 23rd shooting day. It has been quite a journey for us. From August 2008 when I first met with Direk Albert in Figaro Esguerra St. to August 2010 when we are nearly about to wrap. Shooting almost every other day since July, I barely had time to spend time with family and friends. But it has been a great experience for me. I’ve lost weight, I have gotten sick and almost had pneumonia. I barely sleep or get to exercise. But I am not complaining. I’m happy with my work.

The set is my playground.

ROSARIO coming this Christmas 2010.
A film by Alberto P. Martinez
Story by Manny V. Pangilinan
Starring Jennylyn Mercado, Yul Servo, Dennis Trillo, Isabel Oli and Sid Lucero with Philip Salvador, Eula Valdez and Dolphy

My name is C. Catch me if you can.

Pretty Woman

For days now I’ve been obsessing about “Pretty Woman.” I knew that it was a good movie, but seeing it again after stumbling upon the DVD made me realize that it was a GREAT movie. The last time I saw it was back in high school, and so I couldn’t really relate since I didn’t know anything about love and relationships. I also didn’t understand some of the dialogues. Dialogues like: “I don’t kiss on the mouth.” It just made me ask “Huh? Why?” back then. I just knew that it was a feel-good movie with a Cinderella story.

Seeing it again, now with a much broader understanding, made me fall in love the movie. How could I have watched it before without crying??? I now watch the movie everyday, and I cry every time! The plot is a no-brainer, I’m not a hooker, nor is my boyfriend like Richard Gere (though he claims that he will be someday), but this movie has got me crying buckets.

Here are some reasons why I am currently addicted to it:
1) I’m a sucker for “Langit ka, Lupa ako” and Pygmalion-themed movies.

2) Richard Gere circa 1990. Not too young, not too old. Just plain sexy.

3) The shopping. The part where the Beverly Hills salesladies ask her to leave makes me cry.

4) The actors. Julia Roberts and Richard Gere were the perfect choice! The chemistry! Makes me wish that they ended up together in real life. Haha.

5) THE SONG. “He Sleeps / Love Theme” by John Newton Howard. Damn that song. I think this is the main reason why I keep on watching the movie. I’ve searched everywhere for the piano version of the musical score that played throughout the movie, but all I end up with is the jazzy version. Apparently, the song was never publicly released. I took a clip from the movie (the part where they kiss for the first time), where the whole song was playing and converted it into an MP3 file, but I can hear the kissing sounds. It’s annoying. Anyone reading this, I AM DESPERATE.

Anyway, to all the fans out there, here are some trivias about the film.

Ate well at Eat Well

I'm normally not a big fan of Chinese cuisine. I think maybe it's because that's all my husband wants to eat... ALL the time, so, I'm pretty much sick of it. But ever since we had the best xiao long pao I have ever tasted in my life back in Hong Kong (mind you this was just at the airport. Imagine the gloriousness of one in an authentic chinese restaurant), I have been searching for the perfect one here in Manila. I have tried everywhere and I am always left disappointed, and in some cases, left with more than just a sense of dissatisfaction. Let's just say Binondo restaurants and my tummy don't go well together. Uggh.

Pleeeaaase let this happen!!!

Lee Pace might be in Breaking Dawn! Sheeeet! He's going to make Robert Pattinson look like such a dweeb! Haaaay. I miss Pushing Daisies.

Read all about it here: http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/07/28/pushing-daisies-star-lee-pace-in-negotiations-for-breaking-dawn/

Reader of the month

Meet V: 20 something years young, loves taking long walks by the beach, having coffee and hanging out with friends, writing poetry and endless conversations about life and love and anything under the sun. 

He's single and very ready to mingle...

Camping Attempt #1 : Calaguas Series

I've always told people I am not a camper. When I go on vacation, I want to be pampered. I want to feel the luxury of soft linen with thread counts of over 500, a huge bathroom with bathtubs and just the general feeling of being spoiled. But, after "i" found Calaguas on the internet, I decided that I might as well give it a go. The beach looked too beautiful in the photos to pass up. So, I was going to go camping, whether I liked it or not. Eep.

Since I was going camping anyway, I thought, might as well have the full experience. So, instead of going by plane, we decided to hire a bus. Yes a whole bus, for 23 people since that's how many we were! (although, part of it was that we didn't want to spend a whole lot of money). We found a tour guide who prepared an itinerary for us for 3 days 2 nights with the total cost of... (drum roll please) Php4,600 ALL in. This included all our meals, the bus, the resort in Bagasbas for when we surf and the bangka rides. Not bad right?

Going there was pretty smooth sailing. It took us about 8 hours but we left at night so we were asleep for the most part and didn't really feel the long ride. We headed off to Bagasbas first since it was raining when we arrived and Tj our tour guide didn't want to risk riding the bangka in that weather. It was only about 7am when we got settled in but since the waves were looking incredible, we decided to forego sleep and go straight to surfing. We hired a few instructors before we set out for the waves since for most of us, it would be our first go at it. I absolutely loved it. It's definitely a sport I can see myself doing over and over again. "i" definitely seemed to enjoy herself since she stayed to surf even when everyone was too tired to even move!

bagasbas beach (look how far the waves are!) black sand but really soft!

Day 2: Off to Calaguas! It took us about an hour to get to the port from Surfers Dine Inn (where we stayed in Bagasbas), then another hour and a half to get to Calaguas. I can't really say how beautiful the beach was. It is by far, the nicest beach I've been to.

the sand is really soft, your feet sink into it

Now the camping part... Unfortunately, I was pretty miserable. Haha. I'm not really sure if it was because it was raining (August definitely not the time to go to Camarines Norte) and it was cold and wet; or because there was no real bathroom and "bloody mary" was around which made things extra uncomfortable for me; or because sand mites seem to love the scent of my blood and basically just camped on my legs; or because I had a bad night's sleep cuz we only brought a banig to sleep in. But yeah, I was a walking disaster. Thank God the beach was soooo worth it. Otherwise I would've been bitching the whole time. Some people just aren't meant for the outdoors. 

 the "embassy" tent. it took about 6 people and 2 hours to set this one up.

So, Calaguas was great. The camping part? Not so much. At least not for me. But, I heard from "i" that there's another great beach we can go to. Camping's involved again but if it's as beautiful as Calaguas, I'd be more than willing to make that sacrifice again...

Till the next ander water adbenchur!

Back to Sewing: Skirt to Sling

My sewing was put on hold when my serger broke down. Again. After that unfortunate incident, everything pretty much went downhill. I stopped buying fabrics, stopped downloading patterns, and just stopped looking for new projects. I just became really lazy. Until now...

Princess Glutton invited me, R and N to join her garage sale and upon remembering that I had just recently cleaned out my closet and donated/sold my old clothes, I was left rummaging a half empty closet. I only found one piece that I was sure I wasn't going to wear anymore. But even that was too precious to give away.

So this is what I did with it...

This skirt was just too big for me but I found it so pretty and so I ate like a whole cow to hold it up. Never again.

Since I needed an everyday bag I decided to make a, well, everyday bag using the skirt. My teacher always stressed out the importance of basting. But screw that. I was in a hurry to eat dinner.

I sewed the bottom of the skirt together. Yes, I sew at night. Sometimes in the dark.

Not that you'll learn anything from this entry, but here is a close up shot anyway.

I got rid of the buttons too.

Oh look. A canvas laundry bag that I got from Shangri-la. Kids, stealing is bad. I'm pretty sure it was free though. If not, I'm sorry. Anyway, I took out the strings.

Made a casing for the strings...

Stuffed the strings in there...

Now, I wanna talk to you about fake designer bags. Two words: NOT COOL. I will give this talk to my daughter first before discussing the birds and the bees with her. NEVER buy fake bags. Mag Secosana ka nalang.

Should you receive a fake LV for Christmas from a thoughtful relative (like in my case), you are free to do this to the impostor. Rip it all you want. You know a bag is fake when you get high just ripping out the seams. I don't think Louis Vuitton uses rugby.

If "LV" uses rugby, then I use Bulldog.

I put the buckles in place using the glue before sewing. Obviously, these will hold the strap.

Hand-stitch would be the best method for sewing on a buckle like this, but I was just too lazy.

Voila! Another sling to lug around and torture everyday at the MRT.

Big enough to hold my daily essentials. Of course I forgot my wallet.

I just had to use it this morning! I love it!

Hopefully I get to do more projects and post them soon. I'm just really happy to be sewing again.