My Home Away from Home

When DogVacay asked me to write a post about a topic, which is this post's title, I automatically thought of my husband and the military camp where he is assigned. As an Army wife, I am fortunate to have him home on a monthly basis. Other families only get to see their soldier dads once or twice a year. When we were not married yet, I have learned to accept that fact that being with me is just his second priority. However, now that we have a child to raise and we know she needs us to be present in her life, I often see my husband's house slippers worn. I know it's cliché to say but really, "home is where my husband is". So our home away from home isn't the camp but the car! Since I don't drive, you know he's home when the car's here. And the best parts? Sunset + music + him driving = bliss. ♡

How about you, what's your home away from home?

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Ranger Cabunzky, According to Rhambo

I think most of you know that I'm a proud Army wife. Oh well, look to the right and just below my gray selfie photo is a little description about moi. Though I rarely talk about my husband here and how we live the distance-challenged marriage, I honestly feel that you already know who he is, what he likes and how he is as a husband. When I think about it, it kinda irks me that I am sharing too much of him with all of you; as in, like, you can be his wife already. Hahaha!

Seriously, it's okay. La jowabelle is really a cool "diesel" dude: Snob at first, fun eventually. However, his job as a military officer makes him stern and strict ― something like a "call of duty", you know. Don't get me wrong: He's not like that ALL the time. Believe me, I heard him talk to his men and heard them laughing about what he said. That is why I shamelessly asked one of my "military idols" (though I don't have a lot hihi) to greet my OAO (one and only) on his Facebook fan page.  It was also my way of showing to non-military families that military guys are the coolest. You, as a military royalty, are living under a rock if you don't know who we, my husband and I, will be talking about. 

That Big Kilig Feeling: Plants Edition

My husband isn't a big romantic guy with big romantic gestures. OK, wait. He did ask some of his then-cadet friends to paint my name on a white blanket and hang it for everyone to see that a certain Denise is loved by somebody from the academy. He also left a big, big stuffed toy in my apartment in 2007 as his Valentine's gift. Remember, Bobbie? I like that he bought a mouse to remind me of his big ears. Haha! He organized our civil wedding in 2010. As in, I just bought our clothes and went to the Mayor's office to marry him and be Mrs. Rayala. That day made me feel like a real queen, despite the simplicity of everything. Also, he bought me a pink Samsung point-and-shoot camera for my birthday two years ago. He bought that when we were having a fight. Imagine that! 

*flips hair*

The Captain Has Been Promoted to Domestic King

Few weeks earlier, I had the light that Sophia accidentally blew up in the bathroom upstairs repaired by a neighbor, who used to work as an electrician. Originally, I wanted to wait for my husband to come home and tell ask him to do the much-needed repair. I thought that it might not happen anyway. Ugh *rolls eyes*. He is not a handy daddy, unfortunately. It's a very sad fact for a damsel who's always in distress, like me. Well, to be fair, he painted our old home in 2009. Bad news though: he has problems with colors. Our house looked so Avril Lavigne kind of purple. So emo, so rockstar. It was supposed to be a little of lilac-ish but he was the one who bought the customized paint, as I was taking care of an infant then. So there. I just made do with what we already had - paired it with black, glass and stainless stuff to give the old apartment a modern vibe. 

That's one skill that any woman married to a man working away from home must acquire: Learning the art of make-shift.

I remember when we rented a shoebox of a house in Pasig and that I needed to put up curtains and that he was not around. I was silently cursing him in every pound of the hammer in my finger the nail. LOL.

My husband is the only boy and youngest in the brood of four. According to MIL, my late FIL never wanted him to touch any womanly domestic duties at home. He was designated as their errand boy. In fact, when the rebellious teenager R disappointed his folks, as a punishment, he was tasked to do the laundry. Well, FIL should have taught him to do more "dirty" work! Hehe. Seriously, I can't question him for not doing what most by-the-book dads do. His being a military officer doesn't really require him to do such things. So yes, I understand him.

 I'm a kikay handy mommy.

But hey! I love him to bits despite that and I will not end this post with wifely complaints. The previous paragraphs were just the prologue to what I wanted to tell you. I am actually a very lucky wife. My king came home for 4 days and though I was physically, emotionally and sexually (of course) prepared, the house wasn't. A pile of freshly-laundered clothes welcomed him at the couch. Dirty plates and glasses were smiling at him when he entered our kitchen.

Guess what?

I woke up one morning with folded clothes. Though not neatly done, it was still frikkin' folded!!! Wait, there's more. I turned on the light in my cute kitchen and saw newly-washed almost dripping plates! Hallelujah!!! He was lying at the couch like a boss in front of the TV when I saw all of those. I felt as if he was a lifeguard in Baywatch, looking so gorgeous and all. LOL. I gently hugged him, smelled him like a lola and showered him with kisses. Woohoo! My captain, oh captain is now a domestic king. Insert flowers, hearts, birds sweetly chirping, angels singing bonggelz-ly and sexbomb dancers doing some Jean Claude Van Damme epic splits here.

And so when we passed by Sesou's kiosk in Trinoma, I bought a bottle of Droplets of Nature dishwashing liquid. It's his current favorite sink buddy! My R, a stern and strict military officer, is a homebody domestic king. He really kept his promise that he told me 5 years  ago ― he will be a blessing. Oh yes, he is! Naks.

What about your husband, my fellow dear queen? Can he make Martha Stewart look lazy?

Rayala Dialogues: The Girl's Hair

As a wife to a husband who's not always at home, one of my biggest obligations is to update the father of my child on what our daughter's up to lately. It's not a tough job at all. I'm a blogger and a social media fan so I just do the update through FB, IG or here. So earlier, I did a "general sweeping" all over the house; as in every nook and cranny. If you're following me on Instagram (which I encourage you to do if you haven't yet #shamelessplugging), you already know what LB just did. This ---

Grrr-worthy, right? I inspected her hair when I found the bunch under the couch. Good thing the crime was not obvious at all. It did get mixed reactions from my friends on FB, but what stood out was from my solja boy via text. 

Anong bang head?! Stand in the corner!!!

Hahaha! So weird that when I found the poor strands of hair, his common sense got lost somewhere. Can't wait to be with him again, I'm pretty sure there'll be more #kamotulo moments like this. ♥ 

How 'bout your husband, mare? May ganito din ba kayong eksena? ;)

The Man in Combat Boots

I suddenly miss my husband. Not because it's rainy outside and the weather's perfect to snuggle, cuddle and more, I just miss him. I wanna see him tonight, stare at his face until he sleeps on me. Yes, even without making love; but if he's up for it, why not. Haha!

Seriously, after we talked on the phone tonight, I realized how much time we've lost because of the distance. When we were still living with MIL, she always used to insinuate why I'm always on my phone. She's a military wife, too but no cellphones yet during her time so I guess it's useless to explain. I know my fellow modern military wives will understand how we always expect for a text message or when we're lucky, a call from our solja boys.

Rhamboisms

I pretty much introduced to you who my husband is since I started this blog, right. I guess if you are a loyal reader, which means you follow me on all of my social media accounts, you most probably have an idea of how he is a person. Yes, he is a military officer. He can be stern and serious and a hell snob of a guy but he really is fun to be with. *it sounded like a sales pitch lol*. Well, I wouldn't marry a nerd rock, just so to convince you. Hehehe. OK, to "support" that statement, I have gathered some of his virtual/visual thoughts --- his isms on his own cyberlandia.

He is a 9Gag fanatic. One day he was home, LB and I started singing Rihanna's Diamonds, so he sung it with us, in this lyrics --- in repetition.

Annoying! Perfectly annoying. But when I saw that he posted this on Facebook, it got me laughing real hard. Bentang-benta. Here's another one. I think it finally dawned on him that his wife will never be as brave as those ladies he met in the Academy, that a single crawling creature can make my world go upside down.

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I scream to my diaphragm's delight whenever there's a flying roach. Enough said. Well, he's not all kalokohan all the time. There are times he can be senti or he makes fatherhood seems easy; because we both know he will have a hard time when LB starts entertaining suitors. 

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Is that too much? Sorry LB, we don't care if you will hate us but we have an additional rule: no movie dates until you finish college! Unless you will tag us along. Hehe. *high five, Tatay!* And because he's doing a good job despite being away most of the time, this was my Father's Day gift.

I don't know if he finished this already. I hope I can get to read it before the movie adaptation's premiere on cinemas. Hellooooo, isang jebs ko lang sa CR, tapos ko yan. Hehe. I also gave him this, because I know that he truly, madly, deeply likes this design when I told him about Threadless a year ago. 

Uhuh, Tito Rhambo in his late 20s is now wearing glasses with a double chin. Hahaha! 

There, that's Ser Chip, er --- Rhambo and his isms in photos. Next time, if there's really one topic that I'd like to share with you that involves something he's good at, I will make him write it. Naku, matindi kapalit nun. So I have to prepare. Hihi. I love you, my Army kind of guy. Come home and magpagulong-gulong tayo sa gabundok kong labahin. :*

Men, According to My Man

Sorry mommas if I have been accidentally on blogging hiatus. Blame it to my husband. Hehe. Well, the previous post was already mostly much about him (and the dining table), so I thought of writing a highlight article about what and how R is (and there you go saying, "again?!" Lol). I'm striking whilst the iron is hot, ya know. My marriage with my Army kind of guy is going through such a good time so let me share with you some realizations/facts/tips about men and how I fared with my own.

But wait, I will do you a favor. This will not solely revolve around my confession of love for him (did I hear you say yay?!) but something like making men happy. If I have a reader who's NBSB, this could be like an insider of sorts. I think I have told you, ladies before that I had a few guys in my life prior to my soldier so I kinda know a bit about these male homo sapiens. I am not making it sound like I'm an expert here, but I will base my write-up on how my man showed his entirety to me. No pun intended. 

My Dining Table

Remember the unvarnished dining table that I told you about here? The one with kuya in booty tooch? If you forgot na, here are the photos.

I kinda felt sad that R came home last Saturday without them; that we ate again buffet style. Then we went to Bataan for the annual summer outing of his family, my in-laws. I will tell you all the juiciest details on a separate post, soon. Kapag medyo kalmado na ako, na-stress ang reyna doon, muthers. Hint: Fajardo's Beach Resort in Bagac, Bataan. Epic fail. So when we were there, he was in contact na pala with the furniture -maker and some of his men to help him deliver it to our place. 

Rayala Dialogues Special: My husband can sometimes be a jerk but he's a great father!

Well, we're still here at the camp and so far, nothing so spectacular happened yet; just a few extraordinary moments. The officer's been talking to his men like they're honeymooners. Well, he's doing his job. I love that he's so into it. Guess I'm lucky to have him, right? At least he's not a bum or something like that. Anywayyyy, he has already planned about our Hundred Islands trip. One of the staff has his family here, too, so we might invite them to come along with us. LB and the 6-year-old boy have begun to be playmates; this can be a great chance for the two to play more. I just hope that my girl's cough will soon be gone. I gave her her well-deserved massage while she was watching Little Pony vids on my phone before bedtime, plus some Vitamin C tomorrow; that might do it.

Speaking of my girl, she just gave me a dilem-mom I will never forget.

THE RUNAWAY PRINCESS. We bought her a swimming vest then I looked for my swimsuit. While I was scouring the skimpy bikinis and mustering enough courage to buy one, LB ran away and Rhambo couldn't find her. I threw the black maillot swimsuit I was eyeing and helped him look for our runaway princess. It was the most terrifying 5 minutes of my life (next is a flying cockroach). I was panicking, my heart was beating so fast and I feel cold. Most of what I thought of were bad things I've seen in news. Media, you are killing me. Thank Jesus my husband saw her at the counter! She was paying for the big shovel and rake she picked for her sand castle session she's planning to do at the beach --- only she got no money. Hahaha! It was the cutest sight ever but I was in no cooing state. I immediately carried her and gave her a hug. I wept. I almost died but the girl was not worried at all. The thoughts of going to the beach was all over her, her door was closed for any negativity. The innocence of a child is breath-taking but nerve-wracking. Btw, I didn't buy myself a swimsuit. The husband said something like "pambata ba yan?" I was totally discouraged. And to be honest, my body was not beach-ready so forget about it. Sigh. He's really, really something else of a lover, noh? But you know what? He's a great dad.

FATHERHOOD BECOMES HIM. We were on our way back to the camp when LB asked where we're headed. So when I told her "camp, baby", she gave us an unforgiving crazy wail, nonstop. Rhambo, who was suffering from a real bad toothache, turned to be the most handsome father ever. He asked her princess if she wanted to drive with him. Of course, my adventurous tyke didn't say a word. She just sat on her pop's lap and held the steering wheel like a pro. I'm sure she will never forget that, too, like I can never forget the moment I lost her for 5 hell minutes. Rhambo may not bathe or feed LB now like he used to, but he's doing special things our daughter will surely remember. I'm loving him more because of that. But what can you say about the next paragraph? ;)

MY INNER (AND OUTER) BEAUTY. I was watching Dove's experimental video last Tuesday when I thought of what Martine of Dainty Mom has posted months ago, something like "dressing up for your husband". It said something like showcasing the body parts that your husband likes most; that left us with this conversation:

Bebeng: Beb, anong favorite part mo sa body ko? (while flirting with him)
Rhambo: Eto.. (sabay hawak)
B: Bilbil?
R: Hindi, eto. (tinaas ng konti)
B: Ano ka, masahista?
R: Ano ba, katawan ba?
B: Ay ganun, inner beauty lang ba meron ako?!

We were on laugh trip for the next 10 minutes of our bickering/cajoling then he said "hindi ko nga gusto inner mo eh". I was super shocked. He said he was just trying to see what my reaction would be. Well, I was saying the whole time "a-hole ka talaga". And we just laughed again and again. Natural high, it is! 6 years of togetherness made me realize he likes my curves and behind. It's not as wholesome as eyes or shoulders, but at least there's something in my body that he likes. It's not just an inner beauty. Oh, I don't think I have that anyway, haha!

Gotta Love the Army, Gotta Love my Hubby

R and I had a short talk about this couple who are very close to us when he was home last Sunday. This couple has a tampuhan/fight/issue. We don't know the real score but they're obviously not okay. Then earlier while doing the laundry, I realized that I'm blessed to have my husband.

Clockwise from left: Cadet no more, first time to hold his baby, one random day in the bunks and Sophia's 1st Simpsons-themed party.

Don't get me wrong, we're not a perfect couple. He's not a perfect husband. He is actually somewhat an a-hole.

Love Doesn't Cost a Thing

I'm not going to shake my booty and make birit a la J.Lo here; though I would love to 'cause I can. Charot. And by the way, I changed it to DOESN'T, because this isn't a song but a blog post.

Okay, I'm here to tell you what I really want. 

I've read a few FB statuses, tweets and blog posts about Valentine's; so I actually thought about it, too. Rhambo and I don't usually celebrate it. Perhaps, because there's more celebration-worthy than the 14th --- MIL's birthday, togetherness anniversary and his birthday --- all fell on February. The last time we actually acknowledged the day was in 2007. I was at work in the TV Network when my mom texted me that I have a huge gift from Rhambo resting at home. So when I got there, it was a Blue Magic stuffed toy --- a giant mouse! 'Cause you know, Rhambo has a very unique (better term for a flaw, hihi) pair of ears that resemble the mouse's. So I guess that's why it's what he gave me. 

When Rhambo Met Bebeng Part 3: Eyeball

I never had the guts chance to update about this. Bakit nga ba? Lazy ni Bruno Mars ang peg ko ngayon sa pagkukuwento eh. Kaya inabot na ng 2013 hindi pa din kasalukuyan ang eksena ng series na ito. Actually, dapat agad-agad na part 3 kasi kumukuda ang mamang sundalo. May mali daw sa part 2! Kulang na lang  nga sabihan ko siyang mag-blog na din eh. Ngengeelam kasi masyado. :p

Well, ano daw ba yung mali? So, may boylet akong nabanggit dun sa part 2 di ba? Na ang version ko eh magkatext muna kami ng kawal before si seaman. Ang version ni kawal: nauna talagang dumating si seaman bago siya at hindi pa daw kami sweet-sweetang puso before kay seaman. Ang masasabi ko lang, sinoplak nga niya ako na let's cross the bridge when we get there; so malamang ako lang yung nagpapa-sweet. At siya hindi pa. So tama pa din ang version ko. Haller vhakler. Bakit ba ako nageexplain sa sarili ko? *hingal*

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Heniweys, natapos ang 2006 ng matiwasay. Payatot ako. Payatot siya. At mukhang mahal na nga namin ang isa't-isa. Chaaaaar. So siyempre, hindi ako magtitiis na hindi ko man lang masilayan ang kulay kamagong na fez niya (aylabyuakingirog!) at magtiyaga sa text at tawag. Buti pa mga manok at bibe sa kampo nila, nakikita siya, ako hindi. How papetik naman. So sabi ko, "come home to Mandaue Foam!" Ayun at nagpa-book ng flight to Manila. Walang sabi-sabi.

Wanted: Furniture and Appliances

I now have guests here in the house. Remember my fellow army wife kumare that I featured here and here? Her, baby Y and kumpare are now blissfully sleeping inside our room. Yup, LB and I are co-sleeping with them. As much as I want to give them privacy and VIP treatment, we only have one mattress (no bed frame!) and one electric fan. I know it sounded kawawa but hey, we're bonding as a family! Haha! Well, despite the love-hate relationship of my 4-year-old jealousy-stricken preschooler and kumare's 15-month-old innocent toddler, you can never question the friendship.  

So after dinner, since kumpare was really sleepy and tired from the long travel, he was sitting in our plastic chair, trying to relax when... BAM! He fell off as one of its feet broke.  Now I realized that we really have lots of things to buy for the house (note that these are not just luho, we really need them to make this home a "normal" place to live in):

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Bebeng's Twelve Isms for 2012

I have asked my followers of my Facebook fan page about their favorite blog post I have written and I will include it on my list of 2012's Bet na Blog Posts ni Bebeng. But only a few responded. So instead of best blog posts, I have listed down the 12 best things/thoughts/what-nots that I have learned in 2012 as a blogger, woman, wife and mother. 

Design by Mye de Leon

R and the Assaulters

I’m one of the fortunate army wives who could spend Christmas with her soldier. I will always be thankful for that. Not all military families are given that chance. And once you are given that rare chance, you have to take advantage of it. Well, we do have lazy days where LB & I didn’t do anything much but sleep, eat, play and be merry; but prior to Rhambo’s command post’s Christmas party --- everyone was busy. Yes my dear mudrabelles, it included me. It was Rhambo’s idea to hold a contest a la Mr. Pogi during the party. It served as the spotlight of the program, which usually has frolics, exchanging of gifts and a lot of inuman. The prizes at stake are worth the kahihiyan (if that’s how the soldiers have put it). The top three winners had cash incentives and a few extra days for their holiday break. I also gave three shirts courtesy of Dennis Dolor of ekoy.was.here.shirts. At first, according to Rhambo, there weren’t any brave soldier who had courage to join a male pageantry. But when they knew about the extended holiday break, there were 10 men who took risk, all for the love of spending more time with their family.

Few hours before the party, Rhambo distributed this cap to his troops. Super happy ako that it turned out really good. And it’s really just affordable. It’s only Php90 per cap. If you want to have caps or any embroidered souvenir done, you may contact Diongco General Merchandise at diongco_gen_mdse@yahoo.com or 0933-1608445.

I’m not really a morning person so I usually wake up at around 9-10 in the morning. The earliest could be 8am, if I need to. So while my lazy ass was still snoring, the Assaulters were already busying themselves with carrots, potatoes, torching the goat and what, designing the stage! Good thing that some of the soldiers have gay friends who helped them coordinate the event. Yezzzz muthers, these soldiers have gay friends. 

See how everything was so pageant-ish? Because these gay friends are so sanay in doing this. Just excuse the banig and plastic flowers, alam niyo na, barriotic. But admit it, it looks bonggelz. I can’t imagine the kaba of the contestants while the stage was being prepped up. Kumpleto pa yan with smoke machine and strobe lights ha. The head of the gay friends even asked me if it looks okay, while I was taking pictures of it. I said yes, of course. I didn’t want to hurt the heart of our kafatid by saying that the banig and straw hats were so bakya. Native chenelin siguro talaga ang peg.

A day before the party, I bought Rhambo a collared shirt from Bench. We first planned to be in matching shirts but since I can't find any pretty top in the mall nearby that matches his, I went back to wearing my little black dress I bought last year in F&H. After all, mauupo lang naman ako bilang judge. Korek, head of the board of judges ang mudra niyo! Kasama ko was Cpt K, Attorney F and 2Lt E sa judges' table. Seryoso kami sa pag-judge ha, kahit aware naman ang lahat na hindi ito papogian kundi palakasan ng loob. Aliw factor was very very important. And when the Magic 5 was called, intelligence was 100% needed. We threw them with serious questions. Unlike during the preliminary Q&A portion, all the questions were casual, somewhat crazy but everything was real. Some of the questions were:

• Babaero daw ang mga sundalo. Anong masasabi mo?
• Meron kang matalik na kaibigan simula pa noong CS (Candidate Soldier) kayo, biglang nagtapat sa'yo ng nilalaman ng kanyang puso, at ikaw iyon, ano ang gagawin mo?
• Ginagawa mo naman ang best mo, pero madalas ka pa ding malasin sa CO (Commanding Officer) mo. Kanino mo ito isisisi, sa kanya ba o sa iyo? At bakit?
• Sa tingin mo ba, normal lang na maging mabaho ang isang sundalo? Ipaliwanag.

R and I were vying for crazy answers as well when we did these questions, but it seemed that they were too nervous to be funny; hence, got very malalayo and irrelevant answers. 

The program was opened in its usual invocation-followed-by-a-welcome-message flow. Aba, maya-maya bumanat na ang music, smoke machine at strobe lights! Tapos naglabasan ang mga malalangis na sundalo with super kapal na foundation; rumampa, pumosing at nagpakilala. Tawanan, hagalpakan at hiyawan. All the way para sa extended holiday break. Atteeeehn-shoon!

I'm sure this is a first para sa mga mamang kawal na ito kaya ang dami-daming dead air. For a MassComm graduate like me, kapintas-pintas ang dead air. Good thing the band was there to kill those dead air moments. Oh yezzz, hindi ko pinalagpas ang pagkakataon na hindi makakanta with the band. Bumanat ako ng Adele! Someone Like You, mga teh. Eh medyo embarassing kasi mali-mali ang tono ng banda. Haha, sila talaga ang may kasalanan. So I redeemed myself. Bumirit ako to the tune of Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive. Ano pa ba?! So ayun, dahil hindi pa sila mga lasing, naka-smile lang sila sa'kin habang ligayang-ligaya ako sa pagkanta. But I did all the pagwawala sa mic after the judging kiyeme ko. Shempre dapat kagalang-galang. Choz.

And after two hours, the winners were announced. Jay Manalo, Coco Martin and Robin Padilla won. Oo, yun daw mga kamukha nila. Sabi nila.

Like what I said, they also received a shirt from me, courtesy of ekoy.was.here.shirts. A'Coy wears Ekoy! Bagay nga sa title-holder yung Bing, Bob, Bill & Baldo shirt niya eh. Di ba no, he kinda resembles Baldo? Hihi.

The party didn't end there. R gave a pamatay Christmas message to his men. He said, "yang inom-inom na yan, saka na yan. Pumunta lang tayo sa kitchen, pwede na tayo mag-inom eh. Pero ang makasama ang pamilya natin tuwing makakauwi tayo, minsan lang yun." Naks naman my kawal noh. Family guy! Ear to ear ang smile ko niyan, infer. And then they had exchanging of gifts, worth Php200. Pasa-pasa lang sila to the right, to the left. Ganun lang. Ang ending, nakakuha si R ng dalawang face towels from Bench, kapalit ng plastic storage box na may lamang soap, pancit canton, cotton buds at red wine. Soshal, may red wine. Hehe, hello recycling!

The party was well-attended. There were matured (oo, mga thunder cats) guests invited by the matured soldiers. And there were kids of the soldiers, too. Maraming civilian attendees, but most of them are dependents of the men of Alpha Company. Kung meron mang kabit na dumalo eh hindi ko na po inalam.

When my judging job was over, I had the chance to sit with my little behaved princess to have a photo op. Medyo busy ang fadir kaya hindi na namin inistorbo. Buti nga naki-cooperate si Sophia. Pero ang eksena, habang nasa judges' table ako eh nagpapakain ako sa bagets - ng kanin at ulam. Saya noh! Motherhood nga kasi - multitasking. Buti hindi nakiinom sa Tanduay Ice ko. 

R also had to entertain din kasi his fellow officers who attended the Christmas party. They are graduates of the Academy, too. The table had a representative each from classes 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012, respectively. I think hindi masyado uminom si R that night. Practicing what he preached, perhaps? 

A little like 30 minutes after the party, dance, party, booze, eat, party started, Sophia and I went inside the bunks. I felt like it's not for us. It's for the boys. Plus, the boys get a tad wild when they get drunk, right? I don't want my little girl to see that side of the world, yet. Sabi ko nga, there were booze and strobe lights. So talagang party mode sila. Plus the band and mobile sounds pa. Grabe, 4 in the morning na ata nanahimik ang mundo ko at tuluyang nakatulog ng payapa. Really, I have learned to sleep with that noise ever since sumasama kami sa kampo. Well, I'd rather hear them singing their hearts out than listening to gun shots. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our brave and mababangong (sige na, hindi na kayo ganun kababaho) soldiers. Cheers! ♥

Bagong Balur & The Power of Pink Roses

Hello mudrabelles! I can now make kwento how things went on with me & my family since my open letter to my hot army officer. Well, with so many ganaps happening around, I didn't have time to REALLY blog. I think you noticed that. I miss this. So much! Kaya I promised myself tonight na babawi ako sa kwento. Let me start with this photo. Yes yes yes. A bouquet of pink (or peach?) semi-bukadkad roses from the lover boy. He went home on the day of our 2nd wedding anniversary. ♥

When I heard the engine of a car parking in front of the gate, kinabahan ako. As in same kaba that I felt five years ago when he came home from Mindanao, for me. Ang powerful cheek bones ko, unti-unting umaangat to a smile. Aba, pagsilip ko, ang mamang sundalo, may hawak na bulaklak! Hahaha! Napakaripas ako papasok ulit ng bahay. Kalooooooooka. Ngayon niya lang ako ulit binigyan ng bulaklak kaya ganun na lang ang kilig ko. Hindi siya tulad ng kilig na nararamdaman ko everytime I make weewee. Ibang-iba talaga. Shet. Is this love? (Ah eh Denise, asawa mo na siya.)

Is Cookie-Stealing a Ground for Annulment?

'Di ba I said in my Facebook fan page that this whole blogging thing will be on hiatus for a short while, since Sophia's still in the hospital and that we'll be spending the holidays in the camp in a few days? No. Hindi pwedeng paghintayin 'tong post na 'to. You all deserve to know about this. 

Dahil nga the bagets is in the hospital, she has daily rasyon of food three times a day. Hindi niya bet that rasyon of food. Kaya kami ng pudra niya ang kumakain nito - along with some food bought outside by no less than the person I want to be annulled to. Bakit nga ba? Kasi ganito yun.

A Mrs. of Two Years: An Open Letter to the Mr.

Dear Rhambo,

Today's our 2nd wedding anniversary. Ta-daah.

Two years ago, I was a mommy with no nanny and we got married in the office of the Mayor of Palauig while my two hot and single girlfriends were chasing our terrific two-year-old. She didn't like us to kiss. She said I was only hers. And that's what I thought of, too --- I.am.only.yours. 

When Rhambo Met Bebeng Part 2: RhamBeng

I know some (or a lot) of you have been waiting for this --- the second installment of how I met LB's father. In the first part of When Rhambo Met Bebeng, I highlighted about our HS puppy love shenanigans, including that of a story about Bagfull's owner. But this time, it's all going to be about him & me. Naaaaks. So where was I nga? Okay, let me start this with thanking the people behind Friendster then, who helped built our relationship. As what I have mentioned in my previous post, I GAVE HIM MY MOBILE NUMBER. Ha! I know some ladies here will find that a bit of ka-cheapan. Haydowntkurr. Eh wala naman akong constant textmate nun, sayang ang load allowance from the office. Char. Actually, there really is something about men in uniform. Watchatink?

Or maybe, it was a naudlot love team kaya I grabbed the chance of pursuing it na? Hay naku, whatever it is, I'm happy I did it. So yun, hindi pa naman siya kaagad nagtext. So nawala din sa isip ko na may pinagbigyan ako ng number. Akala ko nun hindi ako type ni Tinyente! So sabi ko na lang sa sarili ko, kiber. Aba after a few days (or weeks ata --- momnesia, sorry naman), may tumatawag! Suplada ko eh, hindi ko sinagot. Pag hindi naka-register ang phone number at walang text prior the call, sorry talaga. Choz. Pero hindi ko nga talaga sinagot. So, nagtext siya: "akala ko ba..." Naku, nakalimutan ko na exact words. Ayun, takang-taka ko who that was. Mga 3-4 messages, nahulaan ko na siya nga yun. Kasi naalala ko na siya lang naman pinagbigyan ko ng number ko lately.