buhay-buhay

IOS 5 finally installed

2012-01-31T16:56:00.001+01:00

Happy to finally be able to use the apps that comes with ios5. Am checking things out and will try facetime and imessenger with hubby when he gets home

La Trobada Resto- Tagaytay city

2012-01-18T02:58:00.004+01:00

There's this restaurant here in Tagaytay that we try to visit when we can. It's called La Trobada, and it's one of those little jewel of a place hidden around in Tagaytay area.

The Paella is what we always order here as it's so delish, and of course, the signature dish of the city which is Bulalo (can you imagine not having hot steaming bulalo when it's so cold? haha).

This place is worth visiting... for the good food, nice atmosphere, and especially if you want a place that is not so crowded like the more well known restaurants are in Tagaytay.

Nasugbu Beach, Batangas

2012-01-16T02:10:00.007+01:00

Hubby-Ed decided to go on a road trip to Batangas with us, so we all piled in the car and headed off to the great unknown. After asking hundreds of people for direction, lol, we finally arrived at a camping ground.

I highly recommend this place, called Munting Buhangin. So clean, no hawkers. Courteous staff. You can bring your own food or order from their restaurant.

The only thing I hated was the fact that the parking area/street level was so high from the beach. So we had to go up and down like 1m steps on the stair case :P well it felt like that much for my burning muscles and tendons.

Jan-10-12 (Makati)- Despedida dinner for Isai y Concha

2012-01-15T23:42:00.006+01:00

On the last night of the brother and sis-in-law of Hubby-Ed, we decided to check in a hotel and Sucat to be nearer the airport and malls (for last minute shopping lol).

And so we went to Makati Glorietta, did some shopping and went to Hard Rock Cafe for some beer and a few games of billiard. Ninang Jane followed after work so meron me ka chikahan :D

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And for dinner a.k.a. the last supper haha, we had the mother of all buffets in Dad/Kamayan/Saisaki. It was soooo delish!!! I didn't know where to start..... (oh I know, with the lengua estofada! hahaha) and wished I could've piled everything on my plate! But alas, my stomach can only hold so much. I was so sleepy after eating, I wanted to nod off right there and there.

Nov 30, 2011- 115th Anniv of Rizal's Death (trip to Calamba)

2012-01-15T22:43:00.007+01:00

2011 marked the 115th year anniversary of the death of our hero Jose P. Rizal. So the brood and I all packed our stuff, got in the car and went to Calamba Rizal, which was the birthplace of Rizal. Unfortunately we got there quite late, so the house of Rizal was already closed. We had to content ourselves with taking pictures of the house exterior and garden instead.

I love the bahay kubo!

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Afterwhich, Hubby-Ed decided that we should spend the night there in Laguna instead of going back home to tagaytay/alfonso. So we found this cute place where we spent the night at.

JOVITA LOURDES Private pool & Vacation house. Villa Consuelo Compound, Bucal Calamba (049-5312137/ 049-5312506/ 0917-7912164/02-5462212)

we were 5 adults and 2 kids, got the place for P4,500 (for 12 hours) which was a pretty good deal since we got the whole pool to ourselves, 2 airconditioned rooms, karaoke/cable tv plus the big clean place :D

My works of art kuno

2011-12-31T03:58:00.002+01:00

Freezing in the Phil

2011-12-27T13:57:00.001+01:00

So darn cold here in tagaytay! Like I am back in bogota :D

Home sweet home

2011-12-11T13:14:00.004+01:00

Finally, after almost 22hours of travelling (which I would rather try to forget hehe) we are in the Philippines (kisses the ground).

So happy to finally see my dad, we kidnapped him so he can sleep with us tonight, and tomorrow we travel to Alfonso to see the Bahay Kubo. Stomach is full of butterflies from the anticipation!!!

Murphy's Law continued

2011-12-05T06:25:00.002+01:00

I think I suddenly I developed a balat in the pwet....

Our Nepa load run out at 1am in the morning, as I felt everything shudder to a halt. And die. So it was really hot with no wind at all coming from the outside, and we didn't sleep well anymore after the electricty run out.

On the bright side (which is really hard to see since it's very dark here)... ups still has a few minutes left for me to post this. Kids are enjoying the moment, armed with torches and broomsticks to vanquish monsters living under their bed. And it's only a temporary thing, since we'll request to have someone in the office pay this morning. While there are other people with no water, no electricty, no house and no food- suffering out there under the hot sun. So yeah, life is short, let's enjoy every moment, whether it be good or not :P

Facebook disabled my account for no valid reason!!!

2011-12-04T15:43:00.001+01:00

Edit: I take back everything I said about facebook :)) I received an email from their office saying that they have made a mistake and was re-activating my account. I didn't think that they would actually reply and look into my case, but they did! I'm over the moon. Happy that they took time to help people who has account with them (even if we are non paying costumers). More kudos to their company!

Murphy's law is hard at work, and I dont think it's done with me yet...

I was trying to log in my account and was surprised when I couldn't get in my fb page. I tried and tried and finally read this pink box I saw in the bottom which said that my account was "Disabled by Facebook" for NO VALID REASON!

They said that I supplied false name and birthday (err is there a way there can even check and confirm everyone's info?) which was not true at all. Would they like me to send them a copy of my passport?!

Or that I might have been using my fb to contact strangers for business or dating purpose (not even close to 300 friends, and I see some with 1k+ friends). Goodness, all I did was share pics of videos of the hubby and kids with my friends! So I'm really pissed off with FB right now. It's just unfair and unreasonable what they have done to my account. All picture lost, and all contacts of high school, college friends, old workmates, gone in the blink of an eye. Facebook, I hope you get to read this, what you have done was unfair! And not just to me but to the other victims of this random deletion of accounts as well.

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Our driver is MIA (missing in action) since wednesday night last week! The wife called me thursday morning and asked if her husband has gone to work that day and I even got a bit snappish and said "My children were not able to go to school because he did not come to work today". I immediately felt ashamed when she started sobbing and said that her husband has not gone home the night before.

So he's been missing for 4 days now, and everyone here is worried, since he's never been absent from work since he started around 6 months ago. Hubby and I keep wondering what might have happened to him. We found his motorbike parked in the office, and his salary is still with us. SO yeah, we fear the worst, but hoping that nothing really bad happened to him.

It just made me feel depressed knowing that this can happen to us, or to anyone here. And once you have gone missing, God only knows how they will be able to find you. Or if they will ever find you.

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Just other minor stuff going on right now, like the Bahay kubo paint job, payments, etc. What to buy for the kid's teachers/nannies in school. The house of my dad getting more run down every day. The company big boss saying that they are removing salaries for stewards, so if we want to hire then we would have to pay with our own allowance (which really isn't even enough for us). I told hubby, I am ok with that but that I refuse to iron clothes and mop floors :P

The only thing keeping me going right now is the thought that we're going home soon for vacation and I can forget all the problems here even temporarily.

Pix along Naija road- Part2

2011-11-22T16:13:00.005+01:00

people along the road

this giant of a house in lekki which we pass by everyday. it's huge!!!

the Oriental hotel and Black Diamond hotel side by side along Ozumba Mbadiwe St.

smile! or not

2011-11-22T16:04:00.002+01:00

The two toyos on the way back home from school. A bit testy and cranky already lol! Doesn't want to smile for the camera anymore :P

Pix along Naija road- Part 1

2011-11-21T18:57:00.003+01:00

Just some random pics taken while sitting at the back seat of the car

Bday Bash- Mr.Wilson

2011-11-20T18:19:00.001+01:00

The baby lechon :D with yummy crispy skin. Wish I had a bottle of Mang Tomas sarsa with me :))

Yummilicious food starting to get set up :D I love the food that always come from this table

Mr.Wilson ready to blow the candle, or should I call it flare? Lol!

Everybody singing Happy Birthday in different languages :))

We were invited yesterday to our Oga's birthday and house warming party :D as usual, the food was top notch! There's never been a time when I didn't go away busog and happy from that house :)) am so takaw I know, but I love to eat delish food.And we had a grand time just talking and talking and talking and talking non-stop, even while eating hahahha. From the time we arrived at 7pm 'till we left at 12am, we didn't stop talking :))

There are only a few times that you get together with a group of people and really enjoy yourself because of the intellectual exchange going on around you. And this was definitely one of those times :)

Happy Birthday Oga! May God give you even more blessings in life.

Mermaids

2011-11-20T18:04:00.001+01:00

Went swimming this afternoon with the brood. And I must say, Luis is like a mermaid! The security guard yelled at Luis not to dive from the deep end (6 Ft.)- and he just had his mouth open in amazement after he saw Luis dive AND swim almost to the other end of the pool :D he just keeps getting better and better at it. I wish there was a Philippine swimming team here :))

Oh and Fabio the Siopao loved being in the water as well :D he was at home in the baby pool

2011-11-11T07:50:00.001+01:00

Let me take this time to tell you again that i love you-I LOVE YOU-i love you!!!

We may be a year older, but it also means that I had another year to spend with the man I love so much.

I want to thank you for everything that you have given me and the kids, and everything that you do for us everyday. Sometimes I know I am toya, but it doesn't mean I love you less. My love grows for you everyday, and sometimes it just makes me crazy :P the same with you.

I will be here through thick or thin, through sickness or in health. I will be here beside you everyday until we are lolo and lola.

I love you bebe. Te amo mucho......

Iberia Airlines, you suck big time

2011-10-27T20:09:00.002+01:00

It was a travel never to be forgotten for Hubby-Ed when he went to Colombia a few weeks ago. Being reunited with his sick mother and his siblings/family brought him so much joy, but getting there and coming back here was pure hell!

Since we have travelled before via Iberia, we decided to have him booked again on this airline. We weren't that satisfied with the airline then, but nothing really bad happened during that time, so we assumed that things would go smoothly again this time around, but I guess fate was just against it :P

Murphy's law- If anything can go wrong, it probably will. And it did for Hubby!

Friday a few weeks ago, Hubby spoke with his boss that he had to travel for emergency, and a miracle that Iberia had a flight that day so they were able to book him that afternoon. So we rushed with his packing, and after a few hours he left home for his flight. I was surprise when he called me to tell the driver to come pick him up from the airport. Apparently the Iberia airplane was not arriving, and since Iberia only flew to Nigeria 2x a week, he has to wait 4 days before he can fly again. Fortunately for him, he was able to talk to some people there and they were able to bump him on an Luftansa airplane going to Germany. Then from Germany to Bogota.

Then after 2 weeks, when he tried to rebook his flight, Iberia couldn't find his "ticket" since he flew with Luftansa. So we asked the travel agent here to help us, and he spent the whole day trying to fix everything between the two airlines. Finally he was booked for another date and we thought everything will be ok then. ($215 for rebooking fee! OMG!)

On the day he was to fly, the Iberia airplane (from Bogota-Spain) was delayed for 2+ hours and by the time he arrived in Madrid, they told him the plane going to Lagos has left already. They gave him 3 choices. Either he can fly back to Bogota. Wait 3 days in Madrid terminal for the next flight to Lagos. Or fly with Iberia going to South Africa, then from SA to Lagos. Holy cow! This was just terrible. Fortunately we were able to communicate via chat (no free internet in Spain though, he had to pay for using it) so I sent the driver back home (he was already waiting in the airport saturday night).

Come Sunday, Hubby flew to SA, waited a few hours then was winging his way back home to us. At 9pm, the driver called me to say that his Oga hasn't come out from the airport yet. I immediately called Hubby and was told that his luggage hasn't come out yet. He was already waiting for the last bags from the carousel, but his never came out :((( so unlucky really.

We had to wait tuesday night before he can go back to the airport to collect his lost luggage (flew in with the Iberia airline), only to discover that the luggage sticker they put in the back of the boarding pass has been removed by some people from the immigrations, and he had no document to prove that he owned the lost baggage. So he again talked with someone, showed his recibo for the items inside the luggage, his keys for the padlock, and paid N2000 and finally FINALLY got his bag with all our pasalubong inside :))

Moral of the story is that we will never EVER book a flight with this effing airline again.

R.I.P. Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T08:11:00.000+01:00

even the i-phones are shedding tears for their creator :(

1955-2011

May you rest in peace mr.i-Apple/Pixar. Thank you for sharing your gifted mind with the world

Irog takes a trip home

2011-10-03T00:31:00.002+01:00

Irog (hubby-Ed) and his Mama who unfortunately is not well

my handsome father-in-law :D

Irog and his bro Isay at the back waving at me

Irog had to leave Nigeria suddenly as his siblings were telling him that Mama was struck by some virus and was not responding well to medicines and was getting worse as the days went by. So Irog decided he had to fly back home to see his mom 4 days ago. And this is the 1st time we've been able to talk and chat since he got there. I'm missing him terribly- but duty to his parents must come first. They are getting old and frail and we don't know how long we have left on earth to spend with them. So every moment must count. I should know, my mum died while I was here, and it still pains me now that I wasn't able to really able to spend so much time with her (nor say my final good bye to her either).

Anyways, they said that more tests are to be done as Mama-L might have water in her brain (hydrocephalus), so nakakatakut if they don't treat it immediately. I hope she feels better soon :(

Missing Hubby-Ed sooo much. I love you bebekoy!

And yes, that's me in the small screen with my page boy haircut. Papa-I and Mama-L asked who was the "boy" Irog was chatting with hehe. I have daw cara de niño (face of a young boy).

Sleeping beauty (me)

2011-09-20T22:52:00.000+01:00

I tried to put the little boy to sleep and OMG!!!

As usual we spent more than half an hour in the dark- while I hoped and prayed that ~~I wouldn't fall asleep before he does~~ Siopao will sleep soon.

I can't help comparing him to the brother who can drop off to sleep (like me) within a few minutes. Turn off the light and zzzzzzzzzzzz...

Now with Fabio... >.< lots of body movements, kicking, placing the feet on my neck/face. Banging of legs on the bed, etc :))

Many times, I'd sneak a peak at his face and still see the eyes wide open and staring outside the window. And many times, I do fall asleep before he does, hahaha. Hubby said he saw Fabio go down several times alone, after I brought him up. Hubby went up and found me sleeping. Lolz!

A date withe the brood

2011-09-16T19:52:00.001+01:00

Fetched Hubby-Ed early from work today so we can go attend a parent-teacher conference (wink wink) :)) so it was Hubby's first time to visit the school and he was very exited to see Fabio and Lucho's reaction to seeing him there :D

After that, we all headed to KFC! Woot! Unfortunately =/ the taste of the chickens are diff from the ones back home plus they have no GRAVY and mashed potato :O how can KFC have no gravy? It's like an sacrilege to the resto :P And they have no utensils except for plastics spoons!!! No knife or fork. Gah! I feel like I'm in the bush area with no option but to eat with my hands, lol. I just wish they'd give people a choice whether to eat with hands or utensils.

At least I know in Kamayan restaurant, I am expected to eat with my hands, but they still do offer you utensils if you didn't want to :))

Anyways, am just glad to be able to spend some time outside with the family :)

1st day of school picture

2011-09-13T19:23:00.001+01:00

It was 1st day of school for the 2 boys yesterday. And 1st time for Fabio to go to school! Yey!

It was an emotional rollercoaster ride for me, as I felt both anxiety and happiness seeing them both off to school. I cried a bit as I saw the little one off to his class where he settled down quite comfortably.

This morning I told Fabio that we had to dress up to go to school. He looked at me and vehemently shook his had while saying NO!

But as soon as we arrived in school, he run from the car to the school without even looking back at me to say goodbye. Left his bag and his lunch box with me :P the teacher took the things from me and said he will be the one to take everything inside.

In the afternoon, I got the same response as yesterday: with a big shout of Mommy!!! Let's go (home)! with a big embrace. Love <3

Hospital suite

2011-09-01T12:55:00.002+01:00

My baby, after 3 days, still confined here in St.Francis :( fever still spiking to 39c till now. It's been 5 days already, sigh.

Buttocks riddles with needle punctures :P btu hopefully, the malaria and typhoid will go away soon.

The hospital has improved a lot since we last came here years ago. And they even have internet, a selection of dvd's to watch and menu for food. Hubby is teasing the doctors, saying that it's like being in a hotel suite :)) except for the nurses :P something to be definitely improved.

37th year of life- and Love

2011-08-29T19:26:00.003+01:00

This birthday time has been like a roller coaster ride.

From extreme high (had a small party last saturday for bday celebration and housewarming-it was great! and receiving greetings from friends old and new)...

to the lowest of lows (Hubby-Ed had me so worried because he had high fever that wouldn't go down since saturday- he was diagnosed today with both Malaria and Typhoid. Urine still for culture).

I guess my old birthday wish for now is for Hubby to get well soon. I hate seeing him so sick like this :( I would rather be the one not feeling well than him or the kids.

Fabio pics

2011-08-28T06:28:00.003+01:00

Just trying out editing on the picture of Fabio that his Ninang Kelets took while we were in Tagaytay :D Kids are the best photo subject!

Wahala Nigerian Police - criminal in black uniform

2011-07-24T14:48:00.005+01:00

We came from Hubby-Ed's boss and from the market and was on our way home when the police on the road tried to stop us. It's sunday, and we have done no infraction. But because we were expats, they stood in the middle of the road and flagged the car.

I immediately took out my camera, took a picture of the police and that is when the trouble began.

I am within my rights to take a picture of the policeman who was causing us trouble, and in a public place as well. They had no right to randomly stop cars as they were violating our freedom of movement. And yes, we had our two children in the car.

He went to my side of the car and tried to grab the camera from me and I batted his hand away and told him not to dare touch me (while his other companion tried to tell him to stop).

So after much yelling, hitting our car twice with his fist, calling me stupid, the companions finally asked me to just delete the picture and video. I told the companion to ask the officer to stay away from my husband before I did anything. Oh yes, they were even being very insulting, but I didn't care anymore because I knew they only wanted to stop us to ask for money. And if it was trouble they wanted, it was trouble they will get.

Eventually they let us go after half an hour of yelling, because they knew they were in the wrong. These police are just plain hoodlums. Criminals in uniforms.

Bahaykubo pics- 17July2011

2011-07-17T22:17:00.006+01:00

Wow our Architect has been flooding is with pictures this month :D

So here are the most recent pics of our bahaykubo. Can't wait to get home and finally see and meet our lovenest.

Thinking of how to design the front of the house. I've got black thumbs (as opposed to having gren ones) and just thinking of flowers to plant makes me want to faint :P Maybe I'll make a rock garden instead. Those I don't need to water and trim, right?

Rainy flooded sunday

2011-07-10T18:38:00.002+01:00

It's been raining non-stop since 6am, and it's already flooded outside. We went to Cactus resto (the building across ours) and I had to step into a pool of water to be able to get in and out of the car. I feel sorry for the commuters, especially if this continues until tomorrow. It's like being back in Pinas in a typhoon. Yeah, it sure brings back the old memories of walking under the lrt in the floods :P

Bahaykubo pics (july2011)

2011-07-09T19:05:00.001+01:00

The newest pics of the house from the architect. We can't wait to see how the house will look like when it's done :D

Daddy and Baby

2011-07-06T06:52:00.001+01:00

The two boys today

2011-07-05T23:04:00.002+01:00

Our new indoor BBQ grill

2011-06-21T10:50:00.004+01:00

After weeks of eyeing this cooking gadget.... we finally decided to buy it yesterday from Game in Palm Mall :D costs around N3,000.

We've always tried to cook BBQ during weekends, and now that we've moved here to the new flat, I thought why not buy an indoor grill as we don't have a chance to cook outside anymore?

And no more bothering with charcoal, this takes 5-10minutes to heat and you are ready! Looking forward to creating more family meals at home with this nifty gadget :D

Gone is the hair

2011-06-20T19:59:00.003+01:00

Before and after. With and w/o the curls.

Aww... the little siopao had his 1st haircut today (after 2 1/2 years) and he looks so much like Lucho! :D

I miss the curls though... he looked like a cherubin with the curly top, and we really didn't want to bring him to the barber :)) unfortunately it kept going to his face and his eyes, so we finally decided to take pity and cut it all off. I still have to get used to his new looks, lol!

I thought he would cry when we brought him to the barber, but he was very calm and didn't fidget too much on the chair (only he kept rubbing his nose because of the small hair falling on the face). It was a very quiet moment for us (thank God haha). I had an image of me trying to pacify and restrain a crying and very active little boy before we went there :P

2011 Father's Day

2011-06-18T09:54:00.001+01:00

To my Dad...

And to the father of my kids, Hubby-Ed....

I love the two of you so much. Thank you for being such great dads!

O.C. steward

2011-06-18T08:08:00.003+01:00

Hubby-Ed and I were having a laugh over the new steward we hired a few days ago. I can't believe we'd find someone as O.C. as Hubby! And she has initiative too. We don't have to tell her to clean this or that, to do this or that. She's simple but has sense, which is what's important.

The ashtray- I was used to seeing the ashtray ready for my use all the time. Dry as well. But now, after I put the cigarette out, she immediately washes it, and when I go back to the kitchen it's gone from the counter and in the dish rack already :)) yesterday Hubby was drinking and finished his whiskey shot, decided to go upstairs to change clothes, and when he came back down, the glass was washed, the ice thrown away. So he had to pour himself whisky in a new glass hahaha.

I'm afraid she would also take my plate away to wash even when I had not yet finished eating :)) I have this bad habit of eating a few spoons of rice and leaving my plate unfinished on the table, ready for me when I finish whatever it was the I did.

Am glad we found her. And I hope she stays as O.C. as this while she works for us. I hate changing stewards or drivers, or whoever works for us. As much as possible, I want them to stay long. But not when they are lazy already and don't care for the work that they are being paid salary for.

Making History: TIME Sits with a Woman Behind the Wheel in Saudi Arabia

2011-06-17T21:17:00.002+01:00

Making History: TIME Sits with a Woman Behind the Wheel in Saudi Arabia

There are so many simple things that we take for granted, like having the right to be able to driver our own car without fear of being jailed because I am a woman.

It takes lots of courage for these arab women to sit behind the steering wheel of their car and drive. They are to be admired for fighting for their basic human rights. It's not even against any government law, just religious ones. What does religion have to do with a car? Or driving for that matter?

I'm so lucky to be born in the Philippines, even if it's dubbed as a Third-World country. I still enjoy rights that these women have to fight to experience.

Kudos to you, and keep on driving!!!

La Pizza again

2011-06-16T22:06:00.002+01:00

Look at the pasalubong of Hubby-Ed this afternoon :D thank you bebe!

One of our fave Pizza joints before :D haven't eaten their pizza in years! Ok that was just an exagerration hehe. Had it 2x or 3x since we moved to Ikeja 3 years ago.

But yeah, it's delish!!

We're a new Swift Net costumer, and we're loving it!

2011-06-15T20:11:00.005+01:00

Swift Network site and my new internet speed test result.

After years of trying to put up with Direct on PC (DOPC) and my horrible experience with them when they started migrating to 4G (sometimes 24 hours or more without internet!), Hubby-Ed and I finally decided to change ISP and got Swift which some friends have said is very fast and had good costumer support.

I didn't plan on getting one today, and was even planning to get a router for our DOPC modem, when I saw on the net that Swift was accepting modem swap to attract costumers. Lucky for us! We didn't have to pay N9k to buy the modem which was also a router in itself :D saved lots of money today. Just had to pay for the load of the internet line.

And oh boy, is it fast! Now I'm enjoying browsing and updating my blog from the comfort of the... kitchen :)) where I'm drinking with Hubby-Ed. No need to stay in 1 place anymore. Was always on the table, with the computer connected by cable to the DOPC modem :P

Finally I can enjoy playing RS together with Lucho at the same time hahaha

Chairs are finally here

2011-06-15T19:52:00.003+01:00

We finally got all our appliances transferred to our new apartment :D looks really great now and not empty. We don't have to sit down on the floor anymore!!! hahaha.

A smaller but cute and cleaner version of our old place.

My mermaids, or merboys?

2011-06-12T23:10:00.002+01:00

The three handsome boys enjoying a dip in the pool this morning.

I finally decided to join in after :P but didn't stay that long the water was sooo cold because it has been raining here since yesterday. Glad to finally have a pool available to us the whole year round.

Bankok Resto - V.I. Lagos

2011-06-12T22:53:00.005+01:00

We ordered out food today from Bankok Restaurant here in V.I. :D as I keep telling Hubby-Ed, this resto is THE best Thai place in town. The food serves authentic Thai food that is just soooo delish. I drool just thinking about ordering from them again :))

So here is our Sweet and Sour Pork, Chicken Salad (very spicy!) and Chicken with Green Curry (the Red is the best, but also spicy hihihi). But you can ask them to make it mild if heat is not your thing.

I'm such an idiot for not removing the cover before I took the pic :P but you might be tempted to steal our food coz it just looks absolutely yummylicious!

Oh, and I wish I knew how to make that yummy peanut sauce for the chicken satay. It's a must to try their food.

NaijaPinoy celebrates 113th Philippine Independence Day

2011-06-12T08:16:00.007+01:00

Our current Philippines Ambassador for Nigeria and other Western African Countries giving his speech and PNoy's greetings. I do hope that he will be able to help in lifting the working ban for Nigeria.

Just some of the NaijaPinoys who attended the gathering in Rock Port Hotel, Apapa.

I wouldn't be attending this party without my partner-in-crime, of course. Here is my uber handsome Hubby-Ed posing with an old friend, Kuya Noel :)

2011-06-10T21:00:00.001+01:00

aha! now i know who's been eating all those lollipops!!! we made sure to hide it well, but this little siopao is just too smart for us >.< what gave him up was the sound of the chair being dragged into the kitchen.......

Windows galore

2011-06-10T20:14:00.004+01:00

Windows windows windows everywhere :D so bright inside the house! but it can get hot too in the afternoon under the african sun :P i hope we can get the curtains by next week at most. been getting quotations from different people the past few days, trying to get the best deal we can get.

Cooking pot

2011-06-10T19:44:00.002+01:00

Our 1st cooked meal in the new flat. Was ordering out the past 2 days as I was just too exhausted to rustle anything for the brood.

Great new electrical cooker by the way :D comes with the flat. lol! No gas range allowed, so yeah.

Salto de Tequendama- then and now

2011-06-05T18:10:00.004+01:00

The 1st pic was of me with Tio Victor taken 3 years ago, and you can see from the background, there was no water at all coming from the falls! And the 2nd pic is with the sis of Hubby-Ed with her hubby. And with all the rainfall (and flooding) in Colombia, this is what the fall looks like now :D galeng!!! Wish I were there now! Have to wait a year more before we can visit again.

Pix of our new home

2011-06-03T21:02:00.003+01:00

This is where we will be moving to soon (car not included lol). Can't wait, especially since the kids will be able to go swimming again!

Back to civilization! It's quite a change from our place here in G.R.A. since this is a house and with so much privacy (bush area, hehe). And the door of the flats are just side by side, like a condo which we are not used to. From a hermit to suddenly being pushed to mingle with people again. Like this morning, people we met the last time just enters the flat to have a look around and to greet us :P talk about privacy hehehe.

But no complains, the place looks clean and nice :) looking forward to life in our new home

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We're all a bit exhausted today. Spent the day cleaning the house -
Sweep sweep sweep.
Mop mop mop.
Wipe wipe wipe.
Plus we had to wait for the people to finish fixing our locks.
My legs and arms are just so tired. I fell asleep in the car already, as it took 2 hours to travel from Ikeja to V.I, and again another 2 hours to travel back here. So tiring to travel in this place >.< sorry for Hubby-Ed who didn't have a driver today.

Bahay Kubo construction May2011

2011-06-03T20:51:00.001+01:00

Recent picture of our Bahay Kubo sent by the architect 2 weeks ago :D Can't wait for the house to get finished (and furnished hahaha).

Money money money!!!

2011-05-31T07:29:00.004+01:00

What people come up with nowadays :P If you got money to throw around, why not try this $40k+ kitchen knife with 8 diamonds. it also comes with this matching diamond ring to show off while cutting ur meat :D hahaha! They even come in the same design.

Or if you really feel like indulging yourself, why not try this 24-karat gold plated barbeque grill that costs $164k? :)) can you bear seeing black soot on it though? Hubby-Ed and I probably have to sell the house and the car and everything we own before we can afford this. And we have to sleep beside it as well, as we don't want it to get stolen now, do we?

Laptop-New tech

2011-05-31T07:04:00.003+01:00

hahaha no need for i-pad. just invert and pretend it's an ipad.
that comes with a keypad :D

no need to prop up the laptop with a book, hihihi. just like i am doing now. i think i got the green mile book underneath mine.

so these are some of the new laptop designs coming out soon.

Fabio and Helen

2011-05-27T21:36:00.006+01:00

Siopao and his Nigerian mother

Helen hired a photographer for a "photoshoot" and had some shots taken with her baby Fabio. She's been with us even before I got pregnant with him :) and he regards her as the other mother.

But with us changing city again, I don't know if she would be able to follow us there. So hard in this place, that you can't even rent a room monthly, much less a house. Everything has to be paid up-front for 2 years usually. So unless she has some friend who is looking to share rooms, then she has no choice but to travel to and fro Ikeja to V.I. daily (which she says is too expensive) or resign and look for another house work that includes accomodation for her.

Sleeping like a baby

2011-05-18T07:26:00.002+01:00

Luis has always been easy to put to sleep. Just turn off the lights, turn on the fan or a/c and after a few mins of silence, he'll be in dream land already :D it's been like this since he was a wee babe.

But Fabio! Oh my! I spent 30mins last night, lying down beside him before he nodded off. He was turning from side to side, banging his legs on the mattress from time to time. Then he'd turn to me and look if my eyes were open or closed. Most of the time, I'm the first one who falls asleep before he does! :))

Fabio vs. Mango

2011-05-17T20:47:00.004+01:00

What's bigger? Fabio's face or the mango he wanted to eat? :))

Moving on... once again

2011-05-13T19:31:00.001+01:00

So... we're finally being moved by the company to a new home, after 3 years.

I'm not at all unhappy to be rid of the thieves here around us. I'm getting rather tired of the people here, of our neighbors who do nothing but take advantage of kindness... Of people who can't stop trying to steal the diesel... Of the landlord who doesn't seem interested in the tenants and who doesn't seem to want to spend even a single kobo for this place... Of the bulbs always burning out all over the house... Of the water pump always having problems... Of generator problems... Of the house falling apart right before our very eyes.

BUT I AM rather sad to say good bye to the big house... To the huge garden and space right in front of our door step (and surrounding the house)... To the silence of this place (when generators are off:P)... The sound of the birds in the morning and at dusk... To be able to sit down in the garden, drinking and talking with Hubby and some friends... To feel the wind around us... To see the trees all over the compound swaying to the breeze...

I still remember 3 years ago when I first saw this place... and I fell in-love with it immediately and told Hubby that this is where I want to live (yeah, who cares about the dirty old house :)), it's the open space I like).

They say nothing is constant in life, except for change. So I guess it's time to let go and move on again. Woe for me who likes permanency for certain things :P

Huli kaaaaaaa

2011-05-07T07:41:00.002+01:00

You just can't trust anyone in this effing country.

Went out with Hubby-Ed last night and got home a bit late. I fell asleep downstairs and woke up 2:00am and decided to go upstairs (because the mosquitoes was having a feast with my feet). When I passed the window overlooking the generators and diesel tank, I looked out... and did a double take. I thought I saw a head near the diesel tank! Bobbing up and down. I looked closer outside the window and saw a man half running and half walking away from the tank. I didn't know what to do! I thought the man had seen me because I left light downstairs. I creeped back down and turned off the light and stood by the window again. This time I saw a hose from the diesel tank and the man was back, maybe trying to fill another jelly can. Grrrrr.... I finally woke up Hubby and said in a whisper "someone is trying to steal diesel again from the tank". He woke up immediately and went to the window to watch. Aghast! There was no hose anymore... and I was thinking.. did I imagine things? Did the man see me? Then we saw a head and hand rise from the back of the tank to close and put the padlock back on. Hubby run to the front door and shouted "Musa! Are you finished sucking my diesel?!" I heard the man say No Oga, I just turned the lamp on (yeah he turned it off while he was stealing from us). And I jumped out from the shadow, still dressed with pants and louse shouting... Ï was watching you for more than 10minutes!" He just rubbed his head and walked away.

Now what to do? I doubt the landlord would sack him because he lives here not just as security but as someone he could trust (We thought we could trust him too!). For 3 years this man has been the one who Eduardo always entrusted the generators to. He's the one we run to when we have problems with the house as he talks to the Landlord directly for us. OMG! I just can't believe he will steal from us >.<

Maybe he's the one Hubby saw last Dec as well. Hay naku... I hate this place.

sparks! sparks!

2011-05-03T22:16:00.002+01:00

oh yeah. the electrical line leading to the house exploded >.< so we are running on gen till NEPA comes tomorrow to inspect it. hubby saw sparks from the wire earlier because it was raining, and i guess a cable was open and exposed. i was thinking i will not be going to sleep in case of fire. but i guess i don't need to worry about that anymore because our line gave aloud noise and went dead as soon as NEPA came back. why are we having so much problems in this house. malas na bahay na :)) so ganda pa naman.

Nothing's up

2011-05-02T18:07:00.001+01:00

The two boys doing what they do best... nothing. lol!

Lucho's Art- house

2011-05-02T18:05:00.001+01:00

Labour Day lunch date

2011-05-01T20:23:00.008+01:00

The FC Family having lunch in a lebanese restaurant for Labour Day
(Double 4 restaurant)

One of the things that amazes me here in Nigeria is the little restaurants hidden in the nooks and corners of Victoria Island. And it's nice to stumble across them once in a while :) the food was very good and the conversation around the table was as usual, exellent. I was able to try a lot of food appetizers that I never tasted before. And had Chicken with creamy mushroom sauce for my main dish. Thumbs up! Thanks for the great meal MD.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Travelled to Park Lane in Apapa after, as Hubby-Ed was supposed to meet a Fil friend. Unfortunately the friend did not arrive :p and they were having a basketball game which really didn't interest me. So we just stayed for a few beers, talked with some friends and left soon after. At least I was able to buy bagoong hahaha. And tuyo! Yum! Will have it for breakfast tomorrow, hihihi.

Blessed Pope John Paul II (Beatification)

2011-05-01T20:08:00.003+01:00

Today, millions of Catholics watched as the Late Pope John Paul II was beatified in Rome. I am not surprised. Just seeing him hold mass on the telly before brought tears to your eyes. He just exuded Holiness and saintliness and goodness and... was just so pure. As his long time companion said on tv, the Blessed Paul John II seems like he was conversing with God all the time. I can't explain how much impact he had on everyone while he was alive.

Casa de museo :))

2011-04-30T17:55:00.004+01:00

One of our good friends here, Martha lives in one of the loveliest houses I have ever seen. Similar to Meseo de Oro, I just love the way she has designed her house with all the african art objects they have bought in the long time they have stayed here (almost 30 years). Now and then we are lucky enough to be invited over for a few bottles of beer and pika-pika.

Partners in crime (in eating)

2011-04-30T17:25:00.002+01:00

I often catch the two of them together, usually eating :)) the little one can match his father's appetite, especially when it comes to eating fruits.

Bahaykubo- painting the exterior

2011-04-29T17:16:00.001+01:00

They are painting the house now :D it looks so pretty and colorful. Can't wait for the stone deco to get added to the exterior.

Lucho the Pizza man

2011-04-22T10:10:00.002+01:00

Oooh yum-yum! Luis and I made pizza a few weeks ago. Using pre-made pizza base this time :P and it looked and tasted great :D He helped me put in the toppings for the pizza and we really enjoyed eating it after. Between the 2 of us, we finished 4 pizzas hahaha

Lucho- a year ago and today

2011-04-17T19:22:00.002+01:00

It seems that my little boy is slowly losing his baby features and is now starting to look more mature. He looked handsome before, but more so now :D

My Three Boys

2011-04-17T19:18:00.001+01:00

Godzilla monitor

2011-04-14T09:32:00.004+01:00

Hubby-Ed felt sorry for me because my baby lappy's screen is too small for my online playing, so he wanted to surprise me with a bigger monitor i can connect to it :D

And Smart made several trips to Computer Village here in Ikaja to look for a 2nd hand one. So I got to use one yesterday, perfect in its size inspite of small blemishes! Unfortunately it only lasted for half an hour huhuhu. I hope they find a nice one again today.

The Ghost and The Green Mile

2011-04-11T14:11:00.003+01:00

Gift from Hubby last yesterday when he went to the shop :D love em! Went to sleep at 12am already because I just couldn't put the book down. They're quite addicting, once you start to turn the page, there's no stopping :))

We've watched the Green Mile several times, but this is the 1st time that I've read the book, and I'm glad to see that the movie wasn't that much changed from the story line of the book.

Luis' green thumb

2011-04-04T18:04:00.003+01:00

This started out as a school project for Luis. They were supposed to plant beans on "sand". It was even discussed between Hubby-Ed's officemates whether it was sand or soil Luis was supposed to use. Hehe!

The first seeds we used were the ones that were inside the red beans bag, used for cooking. Hahaha! And Luis came home with his pot all sad because his classmates all had plants growing from theirs and nothing in Luis'.

So our steward went to the market and bought the "growing" seeds and we planted this after. After a couple of days, we already had a small bud growing :D and a few weeks after....

Oh, and the flowers are fake, hehe. Luis removed them from another plant and placed them on his pot. hahaha! He said we have to make it beautiful for the picture.

March31- Gala to the max with Cel

2011-04-01T18:35:00.005+01:00

After almost a year, Maricel and I had a date yesterday and we were like tourists who was sight seeing, and hopping from one place to another. We must have looked like tourists, because we kept taking pictures of everything!!! hahaha! I've been a tourist in Nigeria for 7 years now, and 13 for her :))

We had our brunch- buffet breakfast in some hotel in Ikeja (the food was great! so many selections). And ate our dinner in Bungalow, ordered the Japanese food which the Filipino cook prepared.

We visited the newly opened Spars (also owned by Park n' Shop) in Lekki phase 2 area, and did some shopping for the house.

Met 3 Filipinas working for a Chinese hotel in V.I., although I forgot the name of the hotel. Oriental something :P it was nice to meet these 3 marias who were good friends from Davao, worked together in Mongolia and now 5 months here in Naija, but still together :) makes me miss my good friends in Pinas too.

After which, I met Hubby-Ed in the Thai resto, who was kind enough to wait for me while I galavanted the whole day haha :D

Boy meets stamp pad

2011-04-01T17:08:00.001+01:00

I think the title explains it all, hehehe

Random pic of Naija

2011-04-01T17:04:00.002+01:00

Just some random shot taken while in the Ikeja Computer Village.

Was having my cellphone repaired, another one dipped in a glass of water by the Siopao last year.

2011-04-01T16:58:00.004+01:00

The little man pretending to be a Japanese with small eyes :))
He loves the chopsticks he got from the Filipinos from Bungalow resto

2011-03-30T17:13:00.003+01:00

Yum! We're into cooking Colombian food now, and Hubby-Ed made his Arroz con Pollo a few days ago.

And yes, the food tester (with his foot up on the table) approves of the meal :D

Arroz con Leche

2011-03-19T13:37:00.005+01:00

Our first try at Arroz con Leche. Yum! And oh so sweet xD

Hubby got some recipes over the internet, and so we tried to make our own here at home. 1 liter of milk, 1 cup of rice, water enough to boil it at the beginning, condense milk, 1 cup sugar, cinnamon powder and a few raisins. I told Irog it reminded me of mum's oatmeal haha. But when you eat this one, nothing bland about it at all. It's super uber duber SWEET! Sugar overloadddddd (starts getting hyper now).

Next week we might be trying Arroz con Pollo. Haha... wish us luck ;)

an 8.9 earthquake hits Japan today

2011-03-12T01:18:00.003+01:00

Around 18 hours has passed since Japan was hit by a devastating 8.9 earthquake. And minutes after, there was a big tsunami, around 10meters high that slammed into their coastal area.

It was horrifying to see on the news- cars, boats, houses and buildings swept along by this huge body of water full of debris. It's just indescribable. I don't know which was worse, the minute long strong earthquake or the tsunami? Now the city is on fire, and nuclear plants are in jeopardy. I hope it doesn't melt down or anything :(

Several countries were then put on Tsunami alert, including the Philippines where 19 coastal provinces were put on #2 alert and people were evacuated. Fortunately the waves were only measured 2-3 feet high in the northern area.

I just pray that my children never experience anything terrifying like this.

Pizza man

2011-03-11T23:26:00.001+01:00

The little man trying to make his own pizza dough, using just plain flour and nothing else :P

The 2 guapitos

2011-03-04T05:24:00.000+01:00

Pizza-long!

2011-02-27T12:44:00.003+01:00

Introducing our original Pizza-long (our 2-feet long pizza)! Done by chefs Hubby-Ed, Sheila, Lucho and Fabio (who helped throw in pieces of mushroom toppings).

This is the very 1st time we have attempted to make pizza at home, and it came out soooo delish! And since it's 2feet long, and 1 feet across, I think we will be eating this 'till tomorrow :))

We just need to perfect the pizza dough, but it doesn't realy matter coz the toppings justs melts in your mouth.

Mama Mia! My baked mac

2011-02-24T21:06:00.004+01:00

My first time to cook baked macaroni. I miss the philippine ufc ketchup which would be great for that sweet taste. But just the same, this one got a seal of approval from both Hubby-Ed and little Siopao :D I'm glad they loved it!

Happy baby

2011-02-22T12:13:00.003+01:00

Fabio just can't play hide-and-seek. The moment you call out his name, you hear his squeal of excitement from the hiding place. Which irritates the kuya to no end because we always manage to find the two of them hehehe.

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I was just thinking, with what's happening in the world today (NZ, Libya, Bahrain), we have to be thankful for blessings that come in our way. I'm so blessed to have Irog Edung and these two boys with me.

Me and my sweety

2011-02-22T05:38:00.002+01:00

Posing with my little man, who unfortunately, is having another asthma attack after he came down with colds the other day (which he passed on to me and Fabio). That's the problem now that he has started going to school and exposed to all the other kids who might be sick :(

But anyways, it's all part of life I guess. I'm just glad they have shots for chickenpox now :P

Kookiness

2011-02-16T19:16:00.002+01:00

Posing... posing... posing... I love my man and 2 boys!

*I learned a new word from Picnik today.. how kookie can you picture get :D

Valentine pic

2011-02-16T11:18:00.000+01:00

Photobooth like pictures

2011-02-16T06:48:00.003+01:00

Love these poses of Siopao with both his Dad and his Kuya. Siempre this boy has to have his arm around the neck of the other person when posing :)) he's so kulet

*A mix of sephia with 60's tint. Loving the Picnik photo editing tools

Luis' Valentine card

2011-02-15T11:53:00.002+01:00

We got a lovely surprise from Luis when he got home from school :D
he made for me and his dad a Valentine card full of hearts and roses.

Our little boy is not so little anymore. He's growing up too fast!

Valentines 2011

2011-02-11T23:32:00.003+01:00

Our new baby HP :D she's so cute and small that I just can't stop staring at her. hihihi!

Hubby-Ed arrived from work and said to me, look inside the car, I've got something for you. And I did... and almost fainted :))

So here is our little one along with a small bottle of Baileys.

Thank you baby :* it's the best valentines gift ever.

A historic day for Egypt!

2011-02-11T21:04:00.004+01:00

Today marks a historic day for the country of Egypt and it's people. After 30 years under the Mubarak regime, and in the 18th day of people power revolution with millions of people marching in the streets- the long running president has finally bowed to the pressure and resigned.

I, along with Hubby and millions of other people from around the world celebrates with the Egyptians in their victory against opression.

Not only were they fighting for their rights, but I think it was for every human being in this world.

Lucho's play tent

2011-01-25T12:48:00.000+01:00

Look at what the little boy Luis tried to think of doing today... he put up his tent!
(with a lot help of course, haha) :D

And here he is with his baby bro siopao, enjoying their stay inside the marvelous tent.

Crazy for salmon

2011-01-23T22:05:00.003+01:00

I've never eaten salmon until I got here to Nigeria (thanks to our Phil friends working in a Jap restaurant). And yum yum yum!!! I can't seem to get enough of it. Look at that gorgeous color. If it weren't so expensive here, I'd have it ever day :D Hubby-Ed's got his peperoni /salami and I've got my delish salmon fish. I like to eat the smoked one with bread, or as is. Nibbling on it every few minutes. Hihihi!

harmattan in Lagos

2011-01-21T13:21:00.003+01:00

Harmattan was just terrible today! Hubby-Ed said they couldn't see more than a few feet ahead of them in the road. So scary to be out on the road in the night or early morning if it's like this.

Our little siopao is growing up too fast

2011-01-21T11:56:00.003+01:00

Yeah, our little baby is sooooo adult like sometimes :P he's trying to copy everything his kuya Luis is doing, including some dangerous stunts. And he wants to try to write as well, he goes into a tantrum if we don't give him a pen, but he ends up writing on the wall too, so we seldom do. Especially since the walls in the house are painted white :P

The hamburger that almost wasn't

2011-01-12T07:01:00.006+01:00

I almost went crazy yesterday trying to locate the plastic bag of burger bun I just bought the other day. I swore it was on top of the small table, but I couldn't find it anymore.

I called the steward and asked if she threw it away. I called the hubby-Ed to ask if maybe he brought it to work with him to eat. I asked Luis if he ate all the bread already! Hubby was laughing and laughing, saying that he might have an idea who could've taken the bread and to call him back when I do find it. Good luck to me.

I looked and looked everywhere, in all the cupboards in the kitchen, in the fridge. Behind the fridge! Inside the oven. Inside the crib where we threw our pillows and bags.

It left us with one culprit, our little mouse in the house that walked on two feet and who was called Fafito. So the obvious thing to do was look in not so obvious places where he could have dumped it.

So yeah, I found it in a box inside the storage room where we kept our empty boxes, medicines, tools. Thank you little mouse Fabio for always trying to hide our things.

Losing my marbles (Reward system for ADHD)

2011-01-10T10:56:00.003+01:00

I just read an article on the forums for ADHD parents regarding some motivations we can use on our kids.

Focus on the good behavior instead of the bad! And they say it works wonders.

So today I started the Marble Reward System. We give him marbles (instead of just saying points, or using the sticker/smiley system) for every good behavior he does. A total of 100 marbles (or less, depending on your current goal) will earn him, let's say, N4000.00. One thousand goes to his savings, while the remaining 3-thousand he can use to buy what ever it is he wants. I've also added an additional bonus for him. every 10 marbles earned in 1 day gives him 1 hour to play on the computer :D

But doing bad behavior also means he has to remove marbles from his container. But we will try to give more positive feedback than negative. Which is true, really. We only correct him for misbehaving, but never give any praise for the good behaviors he has shown.

Example of good behaviors than earns marbles/points:
washing hands before eating +1
taking plate to kitchen after eating +1
finishing everything on plate +3 (since it's hard to feed him)
showering without complaining +2
placing dirty clothes in the basket +1
brushing teeth morning and evening time +2
keeping quiet when we are on the phone +1
keeping quiet when we have visitors +2

Negative behavior that can take away points:
fighting with Fabio -3
calling people names -3
getting rough with fabio -2
lying -4
tantrums and bad temper -3
throwing things -1
stomping feet -2
slamming door -1

So cross you fingers and hope that this works. The important thing is to keep it consistent!

Hubby-Ed my bebekoy, maybe you can think up of more things to add to the positive list.

Someone wrote that this is a wrong system, since it's teaching the child to only do good behavior because we are bribing or paying him off. But in reality, good behavior does pay off. In adult terms, this can mean bonus in salary, etc.

Internet gaming

2011-01-03T17:36:00.003+01:00

Even these two boys have not escaped the Plants vs. Zombies craze :))

Nothing much to do around here, especially during long holidays except to watch dstv, movies or go on the internet. It's boring, but what else is there to do.

Which reminds me, the dstv subscription run out January 01, 2011. We didn't have electricity, and was running on generator for 6 straight days. And the water pump broke down as well. Plus the lights in the house, that we had an electrician from outside rewire the electrical box. Plus the aircon. OMG, the list just goes on and on. I don't know what the hell is wrong with this stupid house. I miss Pinas.

Screenshot of smilebox

2011-01-02T06:08:00.002+01:00

Yeah, better to do it this way - by taking a screenshot :P
Wish I had Picnik memship

Test Smilebox Software

2011-01-02T06:01:00.001+01:00

A free picture collage by Smilebox

Oh, I thought it was going to post by frame :( not like this

2011 - Happy New Year!!!

2010-12-31T23:09:00.003+01:00

Happy New Year world!!

Am downstairs with Hubby-Ed waiting for midnight to come, sharing a couple of drinks while watching some documentaries on the telly. Just 45minutes to go!

It's very quiet here... just a few fireworks in our area. So it's quite boring, after growing up in the Philippines where our chinese neighbors buy big boxes of fireworks to greet the coming new year. Ear damage, I tell ya! :))

peas from the same pod

2010-12-30T15:00:00.002+01:00

There seem to be little similarity between the two, except for the curly hair hehe.

2 years after....

2010-12-30T08:42:00.001+01:00

...the love story continues