Black and White

My friends and I trooped to Scarborough to check on my surprise Christmas gift for Jobert. I've been scouring the internet for weeks for this surprise and finally, just few weeks before Christmas, I've found the perfect present :)
Meet our new border collie pup....a pedigree...

He won't be ready until the 20th when he will be 7-week old but already, I'm one excited mum!
Isn't he a cutie?

She Said The Darndest Thing

Post-Party conversation with Angeline, the cheeky six-year old:

Ange: "Tito Jobert, why aren't you and Tita Cherry married?"

Jobert: "We are married! Your Tita Cherry is my wife."

Ange: "You're only married if you have a baby. But you have no baby so you're not married."

Me: "We're not ready to have a baby yet that's why."

Jobert: "Don't worry Ange, your tita Cherry and I will make a baby tonight, ok?"

Ange: "How will you make one?"

Angie's mom: "Angeline, stop asking those questions, please."

Jobert: Hmmm...

Angie's mom: "Tito Jobert, ssh!"

Jobert: "When you're a bit older I'll tell you everything, ok?"

Ange: "When I'm twenty?"

Me and Ange's mom chorused: "Yes!"

Jobert: "No!"

Ange's mom: "kaw tito Jobert, bad influence ka talaga."

We all burst out laughing.

Angeline looks confused. Poor sweetie :)

Subtle Serendipity (Jobert & Chez's Story)---a repost :)

His name lit up on my computer screen.

"Hi! I like your nick...sounds so sweet. How are you Windswept?"

"Is that why you click on my name because it sounds so "sweet"?" I retorted.

"No, of course not. I found your nick intriguing. Maybe, so do you. Where are you from?"

"I won't tell you." I tapped the keys stubbornly. Questions like this scares me.

"Do you have a....c e l l p h o n e?" I typed quite hesitantly. Don't know what came over me to ask this to be honest.

"Course. If you want try sending me a message." He replied.

"Okay." Hmmm. I seemed a bit uneasy about this. Sending a text message to some stranger? That's just not me. But I did it in the end.

"So you're in Singapore?" He typed back.

How did he knew where I am from? The country code perhaps? I quipped.

"Can we be FRIENDS?" he typed the word friends in capital letters.

"As long as you won't express your feelings for me then why not?" I anxiously replied.

"Don't worry I won't express any feelings whatsoever or be too personal to you for that matter. I just want us to be friends."

"So I'm safe with you then?" I replied jokingly.

This time I felt so relieved. Expressing your feelings to a stranger over the internet on a large computer screen was just ridiculous. And we've only just been exchanging few words of nonsense for chrissakes! And besides, I'm not that kind of person who's easily persuaded by some sweet words from an internet-savvy stranger.

"Can we chat again Windswept?" He asked.

"Sure." I typed the word with a little smiley at the end.

"Don't worry you're safe with me." He also typed back with a little smiley at the end.

"So, tomorrow?" I tapped the keypads with excitement I felt a certain pulse skip.

"Yes. Tomorrow it is then". He typed back.

It was a fleeting moment. So fleeting that I still can't remember how our chat started and ended.
I went back into my apartment with a little anticipation.
Tomorrow...Tonight's certainly not the last.
I remembered that night after I said my evening prayer I slept with a smile on my face.

If my foot could speak...

While he's talking to a friend on the phone...



So does my foot!

"£$%^^&*()!

Until when do I have to take the backseat?

'Til I'm old and gray?.....

Puppy Love

Meet the cute-as-a-button Sam, the cocker spaniel...


Okay Sam, lift your chin up and give me a serious face


Jobert's father instinct is etched all over :p

He's making pa-cute to him this time

Steady now, you're tickling me :p


Good dog ;p

Eureka!

We treated our li'l goddaughter to a wee bit of exploring literacy, I mean, for us adults too! Her mom, Jobert and I trooped to Halifax for a 15min train journey to explore Eureka!. The sun was grinning widely so we're off to a good start :)


Her fave spot :)
Listening to Jobert's voice on the other line
We're inside a puzzle
Cool ride!

With her mom :)
Doin' her shopping at M&S

The goodies looked so real that she had to bit a piece of chicken off!
It's got milk too!
The book tower
Both being educated :)
Bookworm :)


Archimedes. He shouted Eureka! and takes a bath every hour proving that when immersed in water, a body does indeed displace an amount of water equal to it's mass. He looks good on his front view though :)

Face smothered with ice-cream :)


Ninong's girl. Train back home

Can't you tell? I'm broody ++++! :)

Me & Ayah

I want to show y'all how cute our li'l-miss-independent goddaughter is!
At one-and-a-half year old, she now eats on her own, holds the spoon with dexterity sans food droppings, unlike me!
Clumsy ninang, dear oh dear! :)

One Fine Night

Star Trek was the prelude to our anniversary celebration. Jobert had made a reservation for a dinner date at Chaophraya at 9pm.
After the movie, both of us went home to change to a more formal attire suited for fine dining.


As expected, the Thai restaurant was packed. We were ushered to the centre near the waterfall wall. The trickles of the water made the ambience more soothing.


The food was excellent and cheap. Jobert denied me the pleasure of taking pictures of the food we ordered for decorum purposes. So I concurred.
The rosé wine was the only thing pricey but was well worth it. I think I'm starting to have rose wine fetish from now on.

Coincidentally, our thai friend was working at the bar that same night so we head to the other part of the restaurant and spent the rest of the evening chatting away. I wasn't brave enough to pour another drink because the wine alone made me light-headed.

It was nearly midnight when we call it a night. It was a simple yet romantic dine out because for the first time in seven years where we used to spend our anniversary with friends, this time, it's just the two of us.
As usual, Jobert was gorgeous and a perfect gentleman that night. (don't mean to embarrass u baby ;p)
I'm proud to say that even if we lasted this long, we are still peppered with a blissful couplehood which proves that even for aeon years, our romance will still be alive.

7ven Years

Seven years ago, two strangers from different timeline met, got married and fell in love...
Yes, practically in that order and they never stopped loving each other ever since ;)

Seven years of married bliss have made me opened my eyes to only one very important aspect of love---that it is in fact a choice.
A choice to stay, despite.
Know that the good parts aren't worth leaving the bad for---if they really aren't.

Seven years saw us braving the undeniable phases: the disputes and the boring bits.

We've come this far mainly because we have no expectations and we haven't given in to temptations.

To say that our love is worth more lifetimes together is an understatement.

It's built to last :)

Teaser :)

God save our gracious Queen
Long live our noble Queen
God save the Queen!

Saint Lazeeee

Did you miss me guys? ;p

I had been so lethargic lately that even getting a glass of water from our fridge's water dispenser seems to be a huge effort. For sure, I'll be incredibly fat from sloth!
To compensate for my lethargy, I stopped drinking pop. For an individual who self-diagnosed everything, aka, hypochondriac, I blamed my sluggishness to too much sugar from drinking too muuch pop. Saying that, we just had our monthly groceries to which half of it consist of chocs, ice cream and lollies and softdrinks! I wonder how on earth can I resist this sweet temptations?
Like a baby learning its first step, I'll try to diminish one sugary treat at a time hoping that my EQ would be strong enough to deliver myself from evil :)

Bottomline of all this though is that I am pathetically lazy and all those sugary crap stuffs are just my excuses.

Last April 30, Jobert and I had a date at Nando's to celebrate St. Cherry's Day. To those of you who doesn't know who St. Cherry is, she's a special child of God with a huge heart. She is the Patron Saint of all shopaholics. She is generously extravagant sometimes. She's not yet in heaven though, in fact, she's still enjoying her life roaming the earth and exploring it's amazing wonders. St. Cherry is suffering from an avarice flu at the moment so stop praying for her because any of your requests won't be granted until she recovers.

Seriously.

My ultra-soft pillows are calling me now. You just don't know it but everytime I lay my head on them, I'll get an uninterrupted sleep and soon I'll be dead for the world.

zzzzzzzzzzzz..................

To The One That Got Away

You may be successful in nicking the one thing that's valuable to me but I'll make sure that the next time you use that sticky fingers of yours, it'll be your last.
Thanks for taking my three-week old baby away from me.
Bad karma will be yours forever.

Enjoy my Nokia E71. I think you badly needed it.

Modern Lent

If you're given the chance to be Jesus for a day, month, or year even, and was asked to do a miracle what would you choose?

a.) walk on water?

b.) or turn water into wine?

Since I don't know how to swim, I would rather tread on water, that way, at least, I won't drown. Wine? I can live without.
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I'm going to church tomorrow and Good Friday---first time in a long while. Does that make me a bad person?
*Jobert's an atheist and he's not been to church in years but he's not a bad person* :)

Oh, well. I'm not an atheist though.

Which means I'm bad??

I'll promise that while I'm inside the church, I'll make an act of contrition like I did years ago. I'm sure God remembers all of it :)

But then, I pray anywhere like in lifts, before going to bed or before starting work...

Does that count?

As a product of a private Catholic school I never missed any sunday masses. With heavily-lidded eyes I sat there as if attentively only because the next day, the sunday's homily will be part of our Religion test. I was there mainly for one purpose, to pass the exam.

I wish you won't criticize me when I tell you that not going to church isn't wrong, after all, to each his own. But I'm one of those people whose once-a-week religious activity has waned and to be honest, I feel absolute freedom after I stopped getting forced to go.

I have great faith in God and all the things He can do that's the reason why I pray everyday and everywhere because God knows what I want and what I need at this moment in time.

Faith doesn't have to be represented always by going to church. It's the deed that counts and not the attendance.

Gifty Day For Me!

It's the time of year again when only the best person was born!

I'd like to thank all my gorgeous friends who remembered my big day. Hugs and kisses to you all!

...to my goddaughter who gave me a bouquet of flowers delivered to me as a surprise although Jobert was the one who received the delivery coz I only had a towel on ready for my shower :)

...to Mariel, the cake-maker, for my yummy-chocolatey-fudgy cake and Chanel :)

...to Rose for my cutie purse :)

...to Rachel and Vivian for the identical beauty bags. They were adamant that I'll open their gifts first for fear that the bags might have the same contents which luckily, they haven't much to their relief :)

...to ate Winnie for my jersey topshop dress complete with receipt and all in case the dress won't fit me :)

...to Razdy for my cutie-pinkie giraffe family with their mono-eared mom, he,he,he...

...to Anne for the wish and the U.S. invite ;)

...and to my Philanthropist (who doesn't want to be named for fear of being stalked by LV lovers) for this:


Although there was a Great Divide during the party with kids all engrossed with the PS3 upstairs and the adults downstairs sharing all the gossips, it was indeed a fun-filled birthday overflowing with sumptuous food to which the guests took-away after! I bet some of you who didn't come are now regretting it, he,he,he

Anyway, it's great feelin' the looooovveee!!!!

It was a good 25th (walang kokontra, ok?) birthday and I was happy, happy, happy!

Sweet Treat 101

I never thought Rice Krispies can be this yummy until I tried making a sweet treat out of this lovely bubblies a fortnight ago.
The first time I tried this was when a colleague brought this to work with the rice krispies flattened so inconspicuously in a pan. It's sweet aroma was so enticing that our breaktime was held an hour earlier. Get it out of the pan already! And so she did.
The crunchy and sweet taste easily reminded me of the sweet delicacy back home called "ampao".
( the original ampao from Cebu. Image from pinaypie.wordpress.com)

A trip down memory lane saw me enjoying my daily dose of ampao after school with friends. We were so young then.
Several years on and with so many miles apart, I came face to face again with my fave delicacy but this time, right in the comforts of my own kitchen. I never realized how easy this sweetie is to make. No sweat!


I bought a box of Rice krispies, marshmallows and toffee sauce.

Mix all the ingredients together and viola! a homemade ampao UK-style for you.

A definite quick-fix for hypoglycaemics :)

No scent of apples for me anymore!

The Road To Revolutionary Citizenship

I was in deep slumber when Jobert woke me up and showed me something. I was still in a trance-like state that reading the mail and understanding all of it was next to imppossible. Wait, let me get my bearing...
"I am pleased to tell you that your application for British Citizenship has been approved" the letter says.

Too ecstatic was I that I was wide awake in an instant(never mind if I came from nights the day before).
Finally, we are officially adopted citizens in this country! Yay!
DDay May 7 will be the Citizenship Ceremony. By then, I am expected to be familiar with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Queen which is actually too short to memorize.
Now though, I'm in a dilemma of whether to relinquish my Filipino citizenship or be a dual citizen.
I still have a month to think about it though but for now my mind is clear about one thing: I get to travel wherever now without the hassle of getting a visa.
Life's great if you're British, I may say.
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P.S.
Our application took only two-and-a-half weeks to process. Yes, too fast that I didn't see it coming :)

No, Thanks!

To you-know-who-you-are,

My Facebook account is exclusive for my FRIENDS only. If you're a stranger and not someone special, then stop inviting me...

You will just be ignored.

Comfort Zones

Before my latest arm candy came along, I have enjoyed several others (both cheap and the not-so-cheap ones) in the past. From my array of collections, I have shortlisted three. These triumvi-bags are all special because each has its own story to tell.
Yes, my new LV is so dear to me because it's Jobert's most expensive gift ever, yet, I definitely prefer sentimentality over value and LV still has to prove its worth. Here are the fab three that I'll take out of the box come spring cleaning time.

My DIY bag.

I bought a plain bag from warehouse and decorated it with my PIN collections both vintage and new from the countries I've visited. What I loved about this bag is the stares I get from kids. Seeing their envious look from their faces makes my heart melt. One kid even wanted the butt-showing Bart. Oh, kid if only we can share Bart's butt, gladly I would. Drool kid, drool! :)

My Boblbee Scarabee.

I've searched high and low to find Jobert's female version of his Boblbee People's Delite. It was difficult to find this then, and it still hard to find this now. We ended up in a train to London to search for one and bought it immediately as soon as we found it regardless of its price. The petite-size is so me :) Whether you're a fashionista, sporty or maybe just a plain jane, this bag is your ultimate accessory. It's rarity makes me clamor for more of this brand. I wish somebody who's at the the third floor right now would read this and buy me the pinky one :) My Bayongs.

These reminded me of home. It's funny how we appreciate things that we have taken for granted in the past. I was so much influenced by imported products while I was in my own country that I have totally ignored the beauty of straw bags.
These couple were purchased in a boutique called "East" and if you see the insides of these pair, you will find the label "made from original straw in the Philippines." I am still amazed whenever I find beautiful things being displayed in posh boutiques that came from my country. Why can't I find these beautiful creations in Pinas by the way? or was I just turning a blind eye?

Rant and Rage

"There's something different in you today, chez"

"Must be my hair. I've got it coloured last week and well, "trim", I suppose."

"It looks beautiful. It suits you really well."

"But I absolutely hate it!"

"Why?"

"Well because I've spent nearly a year trying to grow my hair back but that s****d hairdresser have cut it really short without my consent." "I wish she could've listened to me."

"But it's beautiful. I like how the waves framed your face."

"Thanks but I'm still so upset about it."

It's been over three weeks now since my last hair disaster and I'm still fuming!
I made her forty-five pound richer and left me with my self-esteem down the drain.
Lesson learned: Word of mouth is bollocks!
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"Hello, this is Julie, how can I help?"

"Hi, we've ordered a fridge-freezer via online yesterday and I want to change the delivery for that if it's possible."

"Okay. But you have to add an extra amount if you want to have it delivered within 2-3 working days, I'm afraid."

"No problem."

"So when do you want the item to be delivered?"

"Tomorrow. Friday."

"I'm sorry but I don't think it's possible."

"Why not? I'm looking at your website right now and it says that 13th friday is available."

"Sorry but it can't be delivered tomorrow."

"Look, our fridge have been broken since yesterday which means it's just a matter of time until all our food will be spoiled. Can't you understand?"

"I'm sorry but because the additional charge won't come out from your account till tomorrow, then we can't deliver it."

"Goodness gracious! It only took 15 minutes for the three-hundred odd pounds to get through to you yet it would take a day for the mere twenty-four pounds delivery charge to go through. I just don't get it."

"I'm sorry but I can't do anything about it."

"So when is the nearest possible day then?"

"Saturday."

Our fridge was broken in such an opportune time when there was a big freeze. So we took the chance and stored all the frozen food outside---in the snow.
Lesson learned: Comet? Never again! Your customer service sucks, big time!
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Hey, you! woman on a wheelchair.
Just because you are a patient doesn't mean you have the liberty to smoke inside the hospital's premises. Can't you read the "No Smoking" sign in front of you? Are you blind? or just plain stupid?
Why can't you just wheel your chair out from this hospital lobby and spread your toxic smoke somewhere and stop inflicting other vulnerable individuals.We surely don't want to have whatever chest problems you may already have, thank you very much.

214

To My Poodledoodledoo,

I can only afford a homemade card for you this love day. If not for our gigantic new fridge purchase, I could've bought you one straight from shop.

As you can see, this card of mine has my own concept and design you wouldn't find in any other love cards in the planet and it's smothered with my own choice of colors too. It's raw and unrehearsed. It's my work of art that even you, a painter and an artist, would be very proud.

The message that goes with it is short, brief, concise yet encompasses all the extra-ordinary qualities I love and hate (yet love them just the same) in you.

I hope you'll like it :)


kisses (and lots of 'em!),

cherryberrystickerellyfiferry

Serpentine

I have always been fascinated by snakes in different colors and sizes. If a close friend of mine loves sharks and their scarily wide mouth and sharp teeth, I love snakes and their wonderfully coloured scales and equally coloured lifestyles.

But just because I love them doesn't mean I'm fearless when I see one. Truly not! I only love watching them in documentaries BUT not in their slimy glory.

Once I saw a TV documentary entitled: In search of the Giant Anaconda. I was glued to my seat, feet up on the sofa (in case something horrid and cold passes my feet), and was enjoying the takes on other snakes species while also too excited to know whether the snakemaster can really find a giant Anaconda. However, as the tension mounts up so too was the documentary as it was slowly turning to some sort of a horror movie where the presenter was walking barefoot underwater while a black and large-bodied anaconda was swirling around him, their bodies entwined as he struggles to fight against the snake too careful not to drown himself. The slow-motion and time-slicing effects were exciting yet scary at the same time that I ended up watching like this:



It was my first time to watch a documentary with my eyes and me covered with a blanket where I'm sure the only purpose of the film was just pure entertainment and not horrify the viewers.

I do apologize if you can't visualize my drawings its because I drew this on Photoshop and being a neophyte, the result understandly lacks perception or to put it bluntly, crude.

Not to mention was my screamfest while watching the docu. I don't know how to draw a "scream" you see so I just settled with this. I know my drawing of a snake looks like a sperm but I made his head a bit bigger to defy the obvious :)

I'm now beginning to be a bit wary in watching snakes docu that's why I made sure my blanket comes in handy just in case:)

Sweets From My Sweet

Jobert came home yesterday armed with familiar packs of tiny red-ribboned boxes with white balls inside. This is his so-called "peace offering" for me after getting bonkers last night. His inability to sleep made him like a madman that I felt like I am sleeping beside an enemy, literally.
He knew that I've been searching high and low for this specific flavor so it was definitely all-smiles from me when I saw these beauties.
Raffaello is the best sweetie in the planet amongst all the other chocolates I've ever tasted. I'm a sucker for coconut which made this sweetie more closer to my heart. As they are individually wrapped, getting them out of the package can be a bit messy for you will be showered with bits of coconut that at the end of each bite, you'll have a coco overload. I still have to figure out the best way of biting each snowballs without looking like you own a whole coconut plantation! But don't get disheartened by it because biting into its wafer filled with cream with a chunky almond at the center is a sure pleasure. The reason why Jobert bought loads is because you can hardly find this being sold in any other large supermarkets. These are only available at dear old Morrisons but not often too. So if you're nearest Morrisons branch have these, can you please give me a buzz coz I'm good at hunting down a rare yet fabulous find :)