A Cool Saturday Getaway

Its been a week now that I have been up until the wee hours. And last Friday, after a full day schedule and late night out, I finally decided to take 1/2 tablet of the "sleeping vitamins" that my aunt takes. 

The funny thing though, I was caught off guard at how fast the pill took effect on me. I ended up crawling to my bed after a good 10 minutes when it hit me.  I was laughing myself into dreamland. I woke up refresh and rested.  The only hitch, was not being able to wake up early the following morning to bring my boss to the airport.  Good thing, I have angels who I call friends to save me.

We have planned a Saturday "bonding time" up the mountain where my friend's vacation house was located .  It was a block away from a notable tourist spot in Negros Occidental,  Buenos Aires Mountain Resort .  Going there from Bacolod City would usually take about 45 minutes to an hour.  As we passed by the Resort we saw that it just opened to the public after it was closed for a month or two for renovation, repairs and maintenance.   It is maintained by the Bago City local government and supported by the Department of Tourism. The resort offers varied accommodation and facilities for day-trippers and visitors planning to stay overnight or for few days. 

For day-trippers, the resort offers open cottages while those planning to stay longer have a choice to stay at the hillside hotel located further up. Or they can opt to stay at some closed cottages along the slopes with pathways leading up to the hotel. Those who prefer not to hike up can stay in one of the family suites in a rowhouse beside the Administration Office building.

But our group had a better place.  It was spacious , cozy place with great view overlooking from the verandah.  The rain and cool air  makes you feel like you are in Baguio minus the pollution.  Lunch was  simple (green salad, pasta and chicken adobo) but we all ate with gusto.  After lunch, sleeping time was the next big thing.  We each found our own nook to doze off on a cool rainy afternoon.  We finish off the afternoon over a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee, a simple snack of bread with cheese and chips.

At that moment I felt lucky and blessed to have wholesome friends whom I can just relax with,  no demands, no pressure, no pretense.  When it was time to go, I let out a contented sigh, .... after all it was a fun weekend getaway for us up in the mountains. 

Let's Get Moving

I feel warm and inspired to continue this "blogging" thing.  Last Sunday dinner with my in-laws was fun, filled with love and encouragement as we discussed my brave venture into the internet world of Blog.  All agreed that this will be my sort of "catharsis" (to borrow my niece, Mox term).

Towards the end of the evening, I got an instant hands-on tutorial from my sister-in-law Karina on how to manage and improve my blog.  Our family is blessed with internet gurus and Karina, "Ying" as we fondly call her is one of them.  She toured me thru the basics and taught me some techniques that I did not know existed.  It was exciting and an overwhelming experience . Yet it also gave me courage to believe in myself again (and pick up the pieces of what ever self esteem I might have lost over the years). I could do this. Knowing now that I have a choice to set aside my insecurities and let this oozing confidence take the better part of me........I can see my husband 's smile as I type this words......So all I can say now is......"Bring it on and Let's get moving!!!!"

A Moving Experience (Should have been my 1st Blog)

It’s a bright early morning here down south. I now live in my in-laws (on the top room of the house) and on weekends in my parent’s house up north in Silay City. This is where I’m seeking refuge for a couple of months (or for another year or even two) before I will finally move to General Santos and join my husband, Jimmy.  I can’t believe I actually managed to leave our home considering I have been so attached to it and the neighborhood.  This was our 1st real and permanent home after years of moving.  We have lived here for 14 years now.

Since all the kids are now in Manila and Jimmy in General Santos City, I’m left to myself in the company of our two dogs, Aldo and Jack… and of course my ever loyal Yaya Russel.  We have considered and thought about renting out our home and two months ago, we finally decided to do it.  Our new tenants moved in yesterday.

Before all that, we went through a process.  Jimmy took a one week leave from work to do the packing of our stuffs,  since it was difficult for me to take a leave from work at that time. I never imagined that packing our stuffs and putting them away in the attic (until the next time we will be able to retrieve them again) was going to be an emotionally difficult task (especially on the children’s stuffs…baby albums/pictures). I allowed myself to spend as much time savoring each nook and cranny of our home.  I also allowed myself to express my deepest emotions to Jimmy about leaving and we respected each other’s  grief, giving ourselves space for tears to flow as we faced the reality of leaving precious memories behind. 

We prepared ourselves for the move and vowed to gradually inch ourselves out of our home to avoid abruptly causing so much emotional pain. We encouraged one another for the adventure that lies ahead and the mystery of what the future holds.

Saying Goodbye to the times we’ve had is saying hello to the time to come.  I can’t thank enough my husband, my sisters and friends in the community for challenging me to take the plunge and encouraged me to consider this leap of faith.  Still, I can’t help but get sentimental as I was in fact actually leaving.

My First Blog

I'm setting up this new blog to share not much of my actual travels but more so of my travels in the world of life. And of course,  of future plans to travel the many beautiful places of this world called "earth".   I'm hoping that before the end of the year I will be able to travel with my family, my friends and who ever. This will be my belated "project".....so many plans, all in the paper, all in the calendar.... but no actual happening..... So here we go....Let's travel.....