A Fun Family Day at Ruby Spa

Whenever my husband is home (for those new here, he's in the military) and there are no scheduled activities for our family to do, we while away our weekend evening with going to our favorite spa. Sometimes, we leave the girl to his mom so we can have each other to ourselves. Or when we have extra budget, we bring the girl with us that pampering and relaxation become a family affair. We're very clingy like that.

We are loyal to one spa for more than two years now but we also try the new ones when we feel adventurous. Or when we haven't booked early, hehe. So we feel happy we were given a chance to try the services at Ruby Spa. I also invited my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, her husband and her kids. Well, it wasn't relaxing to have three kids with us but we had fun albeit their kakulitan, haha!

Nicandro

Living near the foodie capital of this city surely has perks. It was one tiring day after our weekend errand for Bebeng's Kitchen when we had dinner at Nicandro Lutong Bahay in Lilac Street. There are many restaurants in the area that we still have to try but it was one of those days that we were craving for, well, lutong bahay.

Then I remembered that I saw my cousin's post on Facebook that they ate there. I asked him if food's good and he said the kare-kare is a must-try.

Mad Mustard

It was my girl's exact 7th birthday when we chose Mad Mustard to be her simple birthday dinner venue. She had a McDonald's party with our family and some friends the weekend before so we opted for something more casual; not that McDonald's is grand. Well, hotdog's one of the birthday girl's favorites, too so we're glad we found a cool hotdog joint nearby!

Summer Swimming Class

I totally intended to write about this in super late fashion. Surely, there are parents who are now looking for swimming class for their kids this summer. So, here it is!

I enrolled Sophia in Marooners Swimming Program last year. My husband, R and I have long thought about it. We don't want her cooped up here at home doing nothing but watching movies. You know, kids must sweat out their energy so they'd be more behaved when they're out. Seriously, our girl is a water baby. I think her real parents are merpeople! We could have made her take swimming lessons early on but we knew her window of readiness wasn't open yet so we waited for the right age. 6 years old - basically young to have a clean slate of mind for new learning but big enough to follow instructions. Marooners Swimming Program has graduates of Bachelor in Physical Education and Sports from Polytechnic University of the Philippines as instructors and they do their lessons every summer in few cities in Metro Manila. They hold two here in Marikina - one in Palmera Centro and the other in Marquinton Residences. We're lucky that the clubhouse in Palmera is just a few blocks away from home. 

Pink in Marikina

Ilana, the genius behind Mommy Shorts' Instagram account @pinkinnyc (and @insta2yearold) has recently invited her followers to do their own versions of playing "I spy pink" in their own cities. I got inspired to do the same here in our little clean and green valley and thus, using the hashtag #pinkinmarikina. So Pia and I went out last Saturday (going out is a big deal for us because of this unbelievable heat) to bike and to also get the contact number of the swimming school she'll be enrolling at real soon.

Postcards from Marikina

I love the internet (despite this country's intermittent signal); especially the invention of Yahoo, Google, Facebook and Instagram. My marriage with the Army guy is thriving lovingly because of unlimited texts and calls. The little girl knew a lot of her now favorite things because of the awesome technology that's already existing when she was born. She first saw My Little Pony on YouTube. She knows my online friends adore her antics that I post on social media.

But I have an argument to raise... indulge me. If you have a hundred friends on Facebook and it's your birthday tomorrow, most likely half of them will greet you. And half of the greeters do not even talk to you in person, haha. Thanks to notifications! You will instantly know if a person doesn't like you if she just "seenzones" you after greeting her a lengthy, heartfelt message on Facebook Messenger or Viber even if she's online 24/7. That's the digital world, you all! It has its ups and downs, we all know that. Let's admit it - it lost the simplicity and excitement of someone greeting you on your special day because of how it works. 

A Super Relaxing Pampering Day at Banahaw Heals Spa Marikina

We rarely go out on dates, my husband and I. It's usually sad for other married couples but it's an inevitable fact that we have learned to accept. If you are new here, it's because I'm married to a military officer, who was called for duty out of town and is currently assigned somewhere 7 hours travel-by-land away from us. So whenever he's home (and that is, luckily, one to two days per month), we make sure we're physically ready. Yes, we need strength to do a lot of catching up! *wink, wink* However, there are times that I've been drowned with house chores that upon his arrival, I can't even lift a finger. How more my hips! LOL. 

Seriously, it is when we have spa dates that we feel we're one. You see, we find more love, more bliss when we're silently enjoying being pampered. We always get the room designated for couples but we actually do not even utter a word once the session starts. We just do a lot of after-activity review (AAR in the military); something like a blogger like me does after a service. No, we're not hard to please. We just want to get what we primarily looked for in a spa ― a relaxing massage. 

I'm very happy I found out about Banahaw Heals Spa!

We love David's Salon in Marikina!

When Pia had her first haircut done in a salon, I was so disappointed! The salon's airconditioner wasn't working well, the staff weren't accommodating and my girl's haircut looked awful. So when my husband and I tried out David's Salon and realized how good they were, we went back and this time, as a family.

Moving-Up Dinner at Casa Feliz

For my little lady's Moving-Up dinner last Saturday, we went to Casa Feliz, which was right beside SKOW. I have this sort of pledge or pact or whatever self-promise that R and I will do our best to dine or visit all the neighboring restaurants in Marikina. Ironically, we got lost again. Thank God for Google maps!

Dinner at Some Kind Of Wonderful (SKOW)

R came home last Tuesday for their promotion thingamajigs. Yup, my young dashing lieutenant will soon be a mighty captain, by God's grace. I know he can pass their physical fitness test required for getting promoted. Only, with lots of sweat! Hehe. See, he's not the sporty type. And getting fit is such a big deal already. He lost a lot of weight since I last saw him. He told me he's on a strict diet - a diet he made for himself: no breakfast, heavy lunch, no merienda and light dinner. Well, he knows his body well so I guess it's working for him. He avoids pork and greasy dishes, too. It's sort of a tough task for me as I love meat and anything fried. Last Thursday night, I was not feeling that great and LB has colds. He decided to dine out. We both agreed to look for somewhere within Marikina. We already tried Cafe Lidia for my birthday dinner last year; so we chose the next resto I know - Some Kind Of Wonderful or better known as SKOW.

My soldier sure knows how to read maps and can actually spend more than a month in the mountain; but we surprisingly got lost looking for this place. Like what he said, "wala naman kasing sinasabing one-way sa mapa". Haha! That is, Google Maps. For me, we had a hard time looking for SKOW because 1) madilim na 2) one-way ang daan papunta dun so we have to make ikot pa, nakakalito swear 3) wala ng MAPA --- mapagtatanungan. I guess it has been a lot easier if we commuted. 'Cause according to our fellow netizens: sakay jeep to SSS Village then ask manong driver na ibaba ka near St. Paul Parish Church, which is katapat lang ng SKOW. But if you're on a private vehicle like us, make sure na if you'll be looking for it eh hindi kayo ganun kagutom. 

What I Think About Primemont Science School

My husband and I decided to transfer our daughter to another school. So everything I wrote here before does not matter (at least to us) anymore. Please CLICK HERE and HERE if you want to know the reasons why. Thank you.

Bebeng Goes to Market

Armed with my 3-year-old bayong & a purse from Davao

When I was a kid, my mom used to tag me along with her during her weekly wet market trip. We went to Nepa Q-Mart in Quezon City. I remember one time that she didn't, because she said I have the tendency to be "bilmoko" (short for BILI MO KO), a Pinoy pun for one who wants anything seen bought for her. I cried with my monologue "Mama, sama mo 'ko!" And when I realized she's not at home and left already, I just cut my bangs really short. Rebellious act, indeed. She didn't scold me though when she got home but after that incident, I can't find the scissors when I was doing a project for school! Well, this isn't about how I was as a kid, but how I started my love for shopping, wet market included.