i went to rustan's with my 2 friends from the office para makapili na kami and ma-list ko na yung mga serial number ng mga items na gusto ko for our bridal registry before our appointment with them on the 17th of dec. 1 hr lang daw kse ang naka-allot for each client kaya they suggested that we should visit rustan's before our appointment para may idea na kami what we want para ma maximize namin yung 1 hr na appointment namin with them.howell was not able to go with us coz he has to finish something sa office and mag gym pa daw sya. (besides, ako din naman ang papipiliin non kung ano gusto ko kaya sabi ko mag gym na lang sya and ako na lang bahala mamili for our registry :-)).

before going to rustan's i reviewed the bridal magazine that i have na may article about bridal registry...may list kse sa article ng mga essential items na dapat isama sa registry....i took note of that para yun yung mga items na hahanapin ko sa rustan's

grabe, ang laki pala ng bridal registry area sa rustan's...ang daming choices na pagpipilian....we arrived there around 5:00 pm and nag start kami sa kitchen appliances....naaliw ako kakalista ng mga items na gusto and di ko na realize na i have to take note of the prices also...di ko na kse tinignan yung prices and basta nagustuhan ko how it looks, sulat lang ako ng sulat....hindi ko ngayon alam baka sobrang mahal nung mga napili ko....:-)

natapos kami mga 7:00 pm and we we're really tired kakaikot sa rustan's...

pagdating ko sa bahay, i checked my list with the list na nasa article sa magazine and i covered more than half of it....i plan to go back sa rustan's on wednesday para mahanap ko pa yung mga ibang items na hindi ko pa nalist yung serial numbers....

Last week Howell mentioned that they are organizing a gift giving in one of the orphanage in Mandaluyong. Sabi ko gusto ko sumama. Last time kse na nagpunta ako sa orphanage was 4 years ago pa ata noong 18th birthday celebration ng cousin ko.

We left the house around 11 am kse sabi ko kay Howell mga toys na lang ang i-contribute namin. So before heading to our meeting place, we went first to Tutuban to buy some toys for the kids. Hindi na nag park si Howell kse ang daming tao sa Tutuban that time, so kami na lang ng cousin ko ang pumunta sa Andings (yung toy store sa tutuban). We went around and we we're able to buy toys for 60 kids.

We arrived at Nayon ng Kabataan around 2 pm, and pagdating namin nag start na sila agad sa program. They started with a doxology, then short message from the administrator ng nayon ng kabataan thanking us for visiting them then a short message from our group's representatives. After ng mga message namin, nag salita yung emcee and i was really touched and moved by her message that it made me cry. this is what she said (as far as I can remember):

"Napakaganda ng araw na ito kse hindi ito kagaya ng mga ibang araw natin. Ngayon, napaka swerte natin at kahit nag hihirap na ang bansa natin, may mga tao pa ding nakakaalala sa atin. Kaya nagpapasalamat po kami ng marami sa inyong lahat"

Then all the kinds started shouting thank you. It was just a short message but it really moved me coz the kids are really very happy. You can really see the joy in their faces.

After that may mga nag perform na mga kids then after their performance, we served the food. Unfortunately, before we can serve the food it started to rain. Sa open field lang kse kami nag party kaya noong umulan, nagsiksikan na yung mga bata sa maliit na tent. But they are still excited kse nga se-serve na namin yung food. Kaya kahit siksikan sila sa maliit na tent, they waited patiently for their food to be served.

After nilang kumain, pinamigay na din namin yung mga toys and slippers na na gather nila Howell plus yung dala namin na toys. And they are really really happy and excited sa mga toys na nakuha nila.

Noong pauwi na kami, lahat sila habol ng habol sa amin. Thank you sila ng thank you and nag sorry pa nga sa akin yung 2 bata kse daw makulit sila noong namimigay kami ng food. We also brougth our digital camera and lahat talaga sila pose ng pose sa camera. Sabi ko kay Howell padevelop na lang namin tapos dalhin na lang namin ulit don yung copies nila. Below are some of our pictures.

Nga pala, may isang bata don and sabi nila kamukha daw ni Howell. She's a cute little girl and her name is Mariane. below is our picture with her:

Noong pauwi na kami, sabi namin ni Howell we will try to do this every year. Hopefully, magawa naman namin yun. Coz ang sarap talaga ng feeling na kahit in our own little way we were able to make these kids's xmas a little special.

We we're supposed to meet Hans of Dragon Fireworks in the morning sa Pasig before proceeding to Tet Hagape's shop pero may OT pala si Howell from 8-12. Good thing sa Westin Philppines Plaza lang yung wedding na sine-setupan nila Hans kaya I told him na don na lang namin sya i-meet para mas malapit. Since we don't need to go to Tet's shop kse nalalayuan din yung tita ko kung sa Pasig pa daw sila papatahi ng gown.

Around 10 am, Howell called me from his cellphone and requested that I cook something for him. Hindi kse ako marunong magluto and I promised him every weekend, papaturo ako magluto sa lola ko. So kahit inaantok pa ako and tinatamad, I got up na para makapag paturo ako sa lola ko magluto. Kaya lang, madami palang natirang adobo noong Friday nigth kse all of us are out kaya walang gaanong kumain ng dinner sa bahay. So sabi ng lola ko initin ko na lang daw yung adoba and i-prito ko na lang yung tapa. This is my second time to cook tapa kse last last week, I asked my lola to teach me how to cook tapa kse yun yung gusto kainin ni Howell. So i was able to cook something for him again that weekend, kahit tapa lang ulit ang naluto ko. :-) And he was happy naman kahit mukhang nag sasawa na sya sa tapa. :-)

After lunch, we left to meet with Hans sa Westin. Ok naman yung meeting namin coz he is still giving us the 10% discount na inoffer nya sa mga w@wies noong Nov. My coordinator suggested that we also order the magic wand kse gagamitin daw namin sa entrance namin sa reception. And sabi ni Hans, he will also give us 10% discount sa mga iba pa naming o-orderin. Next week, we will drop by his shop sa QC, to get sample videos ng mga fireworks display nila so we will get an idea what effects are included sa kukunin naming package. Hindi pa din sya nanghingi ng DP. 3 weeks before the wedding na lang daw kami magbigay ng 30% DP.

Since nasa Westin na din kami, nag inquire na din kami sa rate ng rooms nila and if we can have an ocular ng bridal suite nila.Na i-book na kami ng coordinator namin ng room sa Westin pero mas mahal na room yung pinabook nya and when we checked with the staff na kausap namin, wala pa daw sa system nila yung reservations namin kse wala pa nga daw sila rate for January. They have an on going promo for their 1 BR suite for $150 but they are still not sure if this rate will still be the same for January of next year. So they just asked me to call their reservations office on Monday na lang. We we're also not able to have an ocular inspection of the rooms kse fully booked sila that day. They suggest if we really want to check the rooms, we have to go there ng weekdays kse fully booked sila lagi pag weekend.

On our way pala sa westin, i received a text message from Gay, our caterer. They have a wedding daw sa Baluarte and they're inviting us to check their setup. So tamang tama coz we will also be going there to update the lay out ng baluarte. So naging double purpose pa ang pagpunta namin don coz we had a little chat with Mang Jun (the owner of Batis Asul) on how our table layout would be. He gave us suggestions on how we will do our table lay out. Also, we were able to witness how they work on the actual wedding day. And we're happy coz we are satisfied with how they work and we are confident that they can deliver well on our wedding.

After going to Baluarte, we decided to go home na. And since malapit lang sa amin nakatira yung pagpapagawaan namin ng ring, we decided to check if their shop is still open.

(A little background: I think it was 2 weeks ago when we went to Ongpin to look for our wedding ring and nalibot na namin lahat ng shop pero wala talaga kaming nagustuhan ni Howell. So my mom suggested that we go check out her friend's jewelry shop. So after showing her the design that we want, she gave us a quote on how much our ring would be. I asked around sa w@w if the price that she gave us is reasonable and marami nagsabi na the price that she gave us is a steal. So Howell & I decided na don na kami papagawa ng wedding ring namin.)

We arrived at their shop around 7 pm and good thing they are still open. So we showed her the new design that we want. It looks something like this:

Although, ours is a little different. Shiny yung white gold in the middle then may yellow gold yung both sides. Noon una, we just want one round 10 pts na diamond in the middle. Pero ayaw talaga ni Howell ng may diamond yung sa kanya. Noong una nga ayoko na magkaiba kami ng ring pero sabi naman ng iba kong nakausap and payo din sa akin ni Emin ni Gelo (Hi Emin), ok lang naman daw kung walang diamond yung kay Howell, kaya pumayag na ako sa gusto nya. And since Howell knows na I really wanted the princess cut diamond, he suggested that I change the round diamond to princess cut. Kaya I was really happy coz we both got what we wanted. :-)

Christmas party nila Howell last friday and i was really excited coz he asked me to come with him. Last year kse i was not able to go coz it's the same date as our company's xmas party.

When we arrived, may registration booth sila and they asked us to fold our own raffle coupon (which are just cut papers with our names printed on it). I know most of Howell's officemates but they only know me by name and they don't know my surname. So ang nilagay nila na name sa raffle stub ko is Joy Laguerta. Natawa nga ako pero na realize ko na ang sarap para ng feeling na in less than 2 months I will offcially be Mrs. Laguerta.

I met Howell's bosses and some of his officemates na hindi ko pa na-meet. I was really all smiles coz Howell's introducing me as his wife although most of them know na next year pa ang wedding namin. We were even asked to join the game for couples. Kaya lang medyo mahiyain ako and bigla ako nawala noong alam kong tatawagin na yung name ko...heheheh...

exactly 59 days to go before our big day....

so we have to catch up this weekend with our wedding preps

saturday, dec 4

AM - meet with Hans of Dragon Fireworks to inquire about their wedding package. after the meeting with Hans, we will go to Tet Hagape's shop para magpasukat yung 2 aunt ko na Principal Sponsors and yung sister and sister in-law in Howell (this is still tentative coz we have not yet decided if kay tet kami papatahi ng gown nila or not)

PM - Go to Baluarte de San Diego to update the Blue Print

sunday, dec 5

AM - meet with Pido to give 50% DP and blue print of baluarte de san diego

PM - US Embassy Gift Giving Project. After the gift giving, we will go to San Carlos Seminary for Padi's birthday