I've been coveting Layla Hologram polish for awhile. I finally ordered some on Ebay. And then I liked it so much I went and order another bottle. You can find them at Ebay, Ulta Beauty or Zappos.com. They range from $14-16, but they are so worth it.

The formula dries super quick. I tried a topcoat, but it dulls the hologram effect. It does chip on your fingertips a bit. I noticed if I do 1 layer of hologram, then a clear coat, then 1-2 more coats of hologram on top it lasts much much longer. It looks frosty going on, but once it dries then the hologram effect shows! You can still see the hologram effect in low light and they sparkle in sunlight! Love them!

Color: Mermaid Spell

Color: Flash Black

My cousins & I also saw the Katy Perry: Part of Me movie in 3D last Friday. I loved it! I like that it's more of a documentary then just a concert movie. It shows a lot of behind the scenes stuff. Plus I like that she writes her own music, plays guitar and doesn't lip sync at her live shows. If anything I thought she sounded even better at her live shows. Her Grandma cracked us up in the movie, she reminded us of our Nana. It's definitely worth going to see!

I really want to see it again, so I think I might be dragging hubby along this time! That's okay though, we're definitely seeing The Dark Knight Rises this month too. ;-)

You can view a lot of clips from the movie here.

This should have been included in my last blog, but I also ordered the book 'Anna Karenina' on Ebay. My blogging friend Shannon from Misguided Mommy was reading it and recommended it. :)










I also went to see the movie Black Swan after my car inspection yesterday morning. I went to the 9:40am show and there were only 12 other people in the theater, gotta love early movies! (And yes I sometimes go to see movies by myself!) It's a very pretty movie in spots. I like those emotional dysfunctional type movies. (The Virgin Suicides, White Oleander, Girl Interrupted, The Lovely Bones, etc.)

But... if you go see the movie, the one thing you need to keep in mind the whole time, is the girl in it is freakin' insane- literally, lol. (Insane as in she sees some crazy sh#t!) She's also obsessed with perfection & pushes herself to the edge. Her mother is insane & overprotective too. It's a really dark drama and it's got some horror type scenes in it. Though the ending I thought was going to happen- I wish did- instead of the one that actually happens.

This past Saturday we went to Mall of Asia for the afternoon. We saw the movie Planet 51. Which is a CG film. It was a twist on alien invasion- because the human lands on the alien planet and thinks he is the alien. It was pretty cute.

F.B. wanted to get me new Havaianas sandals but the store at Mall of Asia had a really long line just waiting to get into the store. We checked after the movie to see if it would be shorter and it was actually longer! I got a cute purple t-shirt at SM Department store and some new pearl bracelets at Kultura.

We also had Starbucks again… of course, lol! Though I’m trying to behave before the wedding, so whenever we go I order a tall nonfat coffee. I discovered you can also get light blended frappucinos for 100-200 calories instead of 400-500 calories. I had a tall Mocha light blended frapp the other day without whipped cream and it’s just as good as a regular frapp. I decided to try non fat iced Peppermint Mocha when we were at Mall of Asia… (Can’t wait until after the wedding to try it as a frappucino!)

Since Mall of Asia was really crowded on Saturday we went to Robinson’s Galleria for dinner. We tried The Old Spaghetti House. I got a dish with salmon and rice, but it wasn’t the best meal I’ve ever had. Kinda bland and the cut of salmon wasn't very good. I think I ate more of our appetizer, calamari.

They had a sign on the table with ads of their newest dishes and I thought this was kind of odd... I like peanut butter and banana sandwiches… but peanut butter, banana and BACON?!?! I dunno!

We saw this funny sign down in the parking garage. From our angle it looked like it said; “leave valuables inside your vehicle.” The “please do not” was covered. Hehe!

Sunday morning we were surprised to find F.B.’s Christmas gift had been delivered. We had it scheduled to be delivered Monday, but it came early. I got him a new cell phone. It was a belated Birthday/Christmas gift. (I had ordered him a phone for his birthday but with the flood, I had to cancel the order during the clean up.) Here’s his new shiny Nokia 2630, I ordered from Filgifts.com. It even came with headphones and has a radio built into it!

We went to Ayala for the day to Glorietta Mall. We got to check out Glorietta 5 one of the new areas. Just went to National Bookstore while in there to get a magazine and playing cards. I taught F.B. to play the game ‘war’. Hehe.

We went to ‘All Flip Flops’ to get my new Havaianas sandals. I really like them; they are super shiny, haha! They were my Christmas gift from F.B.

Starbucks at Glorietta Mall and me with my light blended mocha frapp! (No whip!) F.B. got a Coffee Jelly frappucino but it wasn't so good.

We headed back to Robinson’s Mall near F.B.’s house so we could stop at the grocery. Then we went to Sta. Lucia mall for dinner. We went to Yoshinoya which is like a Tokyo Tokyo. I had a rice bowl with chicken teriyaki and vegetables. F.B. had a beef and rice bowl. We also had these dumplings with crab called, Kani Shu-mai.

After dinner we were heading back downstairs when the Guess store distracted me. I saw this really cute pink t-shirt with butterflies that wasn’t even in the window so we went to check it out… P990 though! (Almost $20). I think that’s the most I’ve paid for a t-shirt, lol. I usually get mine on clearance in the USA. But it was too cute to pass up.

F.B. and I browsed the “Louis Vuitton” bags after the Guess store. He haggled the bag I wanted down to P900, which is a bit more than we paid for my last bag but they originally wanted P1200. ($24). I love it, it’s really big inside. I told F.B. he will have to take me to all the “rich” places now with my “Louis Vuitton” bag, my Guess t-shirt and Havaianas sandals, hehehe!

The weather hasn’t been too bad here. It hasn’t rained yet and it’s been very cold at night to me. F.B. laughs at me because he lives here year round and I’m the one cold at night in the Philippines. I’m also the one the heat doesn’t bother so much.

Next Monday we get to pick up our marriage license at the Cainta municipal hall and we may be going to the Manila Hotel this coming Saturday to confirm our reservations for the wedding dinner on 12/19!

NOTE: If you are getting married in the Philippines and you are a US citizen these requirements from the US Embassy in Manila Philippines, will be helpful: Getting Married in The Philippines.

Wednesday was our appointment to apply for our marriage license. It was the longest day ever! We got up around 7am in the morning and we left for the Cainta municipal hall around 8am. First we just had to sign in. Around 9am we had to go to two seminars. Only they were in Tagalog and I didn’t understand them. The first seminar was 2 hour long. The 2nd seminar was a “health” seminar… AKA sexual education class in Tagalog! F.B. said they don’t have sex ed classes in school. It was about an hour long… though I could figure out that one from the nurse’s props; (condoms, birth control pills, etc). We were given certificates for attending the classes. (Though I don’t know how I counted- considering I didn’t understand anything! Hehe!)

After all the classes were finished it was lunch break for the employees so we couldn’t fill out our application for our marriage license. We went back to F’s house to relax until we could go back to the municipal hall. It only took about an hour to submit our paperwork and fill out our application. F.B.’s mother brought her friend along who is secretary to the mayor to see if we could expedite things. After we paid our fee for our marriage license they gave us a receipt saying we can pick up the license on December 14th.

F.B.’s mom wanted to see if the mayor of Cainta could do our wedding ceremony so we went to wait until we could see him. It ended up being about 2 and half hours and I am very impatient with waiting, lol. It wouldn’t have been so bad, except we were just sitting around for all of that time and I was tired already and had a headache and hadn’t had lunch yet. Around 4pm we got to see the mayor. Since he had a lot of appointments that day we agreed to do the wedding ceremony at 10am at the Cainta municipal hall. Then later in the evening around 6pm we will have our wedding dinner at the Manila Hotel.

Our wedding invitations arrived and F.B. showed me one. I took a picture of it to share with everyone.

Sunday we were going to see the movie 2012 at Robinson’s Galleria but it was standing room only! So we went to SM Marikina instead to buy tickets. (The movie was okay- it was kinda predictable to me.) We had dinner at Tokyo Tokyo. They have teriyaki salmon now! F.B. got that but he didn’t like it very much. I think I will try it next time. I got the teriyaki chicken. We also had California maki, yummy!

I found a neat little pink roll away suitcase at SM Marikina for about $20 USD! (50% off sale!)It’s a bit smaller and nicer than the carry on I brought with me. It also has a longer handle. (The carry on I brought with me has a crack in it, that F.B. helped me repair last year, but it's cracked in the same spot again.) It was just by chance we found the suitcase sale!

At Robinson’s Galleria we found an 85 Peso store. (Almost $2 USD) I got this neat light up keychain that turns different colors and this cute keychain mouse. I want to hang the mouse on my rearview mirror in my car when I get home.

When we were walking to the supermarket at SM Marikina we saw a pizza in a cone stand!!! Lol! It reminds me of the movie ‘The Jerk’ with the pizza in a cup stuff. F.B. & I want to try it some time just because pizza in a cone sounds weird!

I also got a Ratatouille Pez dispenser at the supermarket, hehe!

Oh and F.B. got his picture next to his “favorite” person, Hannah Montana!

We keep seeing this ‘Swish’ guy EVERYWHERE! It’s an advertisement for mouthwash! He was on the front of Mega Mall too!!!

And I thought this was funny, the mini tissues I got at Watson’s drugstore were called mini hankies, hehehe!

F.B. ruining my picture, lol!


NOTE: If you are getting married in the Philippines and you are a US citizen these requirements from the US Embassy in Manila Philippines, will be helpful: Getting Married in The Philippines.

 

Saturday night I was finally able to relax; take a break and hang out with my cousins. We had Chinese food for dinner (General Tso's chicken, yum.), watched a movie (Coming to America- Eddie Murphy.) & had some drinks. (Stoli Blueberry Vodka & Sprite and Rum & Coke.)

Around 12 midnight F.B. texted me & said he was at Mall of Asia at an Internet cafe and if I wanted we could meet on messenger. Yay! So I finally got to talk to my boy for over an hour on Yahoo Messenger and then he even sent me email too. I'm going to share the email because it has details about the flooding in it:

Hi baby. I miss you. It was nice being able to chat with you. As you know, I'm in MOA right now. Mom and aunts met up someplace and I just didn't tag along with 'em anymore. Had lunch at the food court here at MOA. Had some grilled squid. I'm really getting addicted to squid. haha. Wish we could hang out. I miss your company.

Anyway, I'll just tell you about the recent flood. That was Saturday morning and we chatted the night before. I remember telling you about the rain and hoping that it wouldn't flood. Though flooding was almost expected, we really weren't prepared for the amount that came on that day. There was water in front of the house already when I got the cars out. I brought 'em to one of mom's friends in the village. The water was rising really fast though and when I was heading back home. I almost had to swim through the flood. It was really tiring wading through that flood.

So when I got back home most of our stuff was kinda soaked already, but I still tried to save some stuff while I still could and put stuff on my upper shelves like the computer, laptop, our albums, etc. Mom, Ate, and Lady have been raising up stuff too while I wasn't around. But everything just happened so fast. So you can't help but panic sometimes, and you just kinda lose some common sense and don't know what to do.

We realized that we had to abandon the house since the rain just wouldn't let up. When we did go to the house next door, the flood was about chest high in the garage alone. It's good that our neighbors took us in. We're very grateful for that. The flood came down around Monday morning so we were able to go back to our house to see what happened. Everything was a mess. Furniture was everywhere, the fridge was laying on the floor face down, the cabinet in the dining room where the TV was fell over too and of course the TV on it. The dining table was still standing though it was in a different position. I guess it might've floated. Anyway, you get the idea. So it took a while to clear a path around the house taking out the furniture and stuff.

I had a tough time entering my room too cuz my bed was blocking the door and it was tough to push the bed through the little opening. and there was other stuff too since we did try to put stuff to save on the bed too. I eventually managed to squeeze in the little opening in my door though. Everything was just muddy and that mud really stinks too. Anyway, throwing out lotsa stuff like vcds. Was glad I saved your letters and albums baby. and the laptop and comp. seems ok, though haven't really tried em yet.

Got back to the house around Thursday night and we're just sleeping in one room. That room where Ate Malou sleeps. We just use comforters on the floor. My bed is the only thing left in my room. It still seems ok. Just needs a new mattress. We all need new mattresses. The flood did get about chest high in my room. You can see through the marks of the water and mud on the walls and stuff. My cabinets had to go already since they were pretty much destroyed.

Ya know, we're still kinda lucky though since other places got their houses flooded in fully and some of our neighbors on our street weren't able to get their cars out of the flood. The first time we went out of the village to buy some food and other supplies, it was really crazy. Everything was muddy and dirty, and the traffic was even worst than usual. Plus there was alot of cars lined up on the streets that got flooded in. Really crazy stuff. But like I said we're still lucky. We still have our lives, our home, and even our cars, plus some material stuff were saved too even if it's not too many.

Thanks for calling and texting btw. It's nice to hear from you especially at a time like this. Just been busy lately and it's nice to have some sorta break even for a while. I'll be getting offline soon. Been here at the net cafe for almost 3 hours now. Maybe I'll still have some time just to walk around and stuff at the mall. Take care. I love you Sarah. *mwah*

Your F.B.

They are still putting the house in order. He said alot of the furniture was in the garage & in the covered garden outside right now while they are cleaning up. He also said he thinks his PC will work because it didn't get wet or get mud on it. Good news. I'm just so thankful that F.B. & his family are okay & now they can begin to move forward.

P.S. A cute blog entry by my future sister in law.

Christmas Eve was a good night. Exchanged some gifts with the family and watched Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase.

I got to talk to F.B. on the phone for about an hour. I'm really missing him, after being together for 2 months 24/7.

And I even got some pictures of the ratties in the Christmas Tree!

















Spice was doing much better. She was running along the back of the sofa last night, climbing & getting into trouble. Today she was not as good. When I woke up Spice seemed okay but around 2pm when I got offline with F.B. I noticed Spice was sitting slumped to the left downstairs in the cage. Just sitting there, not moving. I took her out of the cage and she was having trouble walking she seemed paralyzed almost. She also kept falling over.

I posted over at Ratchatter where I am a moderator. We think she may have had a stroke and she most likely has a pituitary tumor. I took some videos, in case I need to show the vet. And I also posted them at the forum. You can see she has been getting worse as the day goes on:

This Afternoon: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v60/slcreedgirl/?action=view¤t=spice.flv

This Evening: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v60/slcreedgirl/?action=view¤t=MOV03179.flv

Currently: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v60/slcreedgirl/?action=view¤t=MOV03185.flv

Now she can't pick herself up when she falls over. She is laying wrapped up in a baby blanket on me not moving. Her eyes and nose are running alot of porphyrin & I keep wiping it off with a damp washcloth. I'm going to keep her with me tonight, she is not looking good. I've been giving her pedilyte & ensure in an oral syringe because she's stopped eating and drinking. I have to call the vet in the morning and take her over to see what we can do. Spice is around 14-15 months old.

This hasn't been a very good Christmas for me. I've been upset all day and wasn't even able to eat Christmas dinner with the family. I have a horrible headache & stomach ache so I came upstairs to lay down for now.

For my “Thanksgiving” in the Philippines, F.B. & I went out to our favorite restaurant, Gerry’s Grill. We had our favorites, veggie rice, grilled squid & lumpia (spring rolls.) I also ordered a margarita, but it tasted more like tequila than lime, haha. We shared a brownie with ice cream for dessert. We also saw the Disney movie ‘Bolt’ earlier in the day.






















Later that evening at home we had a snack of KFC mashed potatoes and the Martinelli’s sparkling apple cider we got at the grocery. My family always has Martinelli’s on holidays, so I was really happy to find it in the supermarket here in the Philippines! I also got to call home around 1am. It was 12pm on Thanksgiving in the USA! The 13 hour time difference is so crazy! (Because of Daylight Saving time, spring forward is a 12 hour difference and fall back is a 13 hour difference between Philadelphia & the Philippines.)

Saturday we headed to Greenbelt in Makati City to see a play. We saw ‘A Christmas Carol’. It was the musical version of the play though; we both thought it was just okay.

Sunday there was a family reunion get together for F.B.’s father’s birthday. (A belated birthday party.) We had a buffet style lunch here at the house. (The liempo was our favorite!) F.B. & I aren’t really “party” people, so after we made an appearance we hung out in his room the rest of the afternoon. I also packed a lot of my stuff on Sunday, so Wednesday night I just have to put in last minute stuff.

Today (Monday) we headed out to SM Marikina Mall. Stopped at Watson’s drugstore to pick up some stuff I wanted to take home. Then we went to Starbucks where I picked up a gift for F.B.’s sister. (I got her a Starbucks mug, Starbucks gift certificates & a makeup bag with Clinique makeup as a thank you gift.)

After that we headed to Robinson’s Mall to stop and get some VCD’s for F.B. (Shallow Hal, A night at the museum & Kung Fu Panda.) We also stopped at the grocery to get some peanut brittle to take home for my dad and some snacks for us. We had Chow King for dinner. (Love their corn & crab soup!) After dinner we stopped at Red Ribbon bakery to pick up a blueberry cheesecake for F.B.’s parents as a thank you gift.

Tomorrow we are just staying home to relax. And Wednesday is my last full day in the Philippines. We’ll be heading to Mall of Asia for my last day. We’re going to spend the whole day there. We want to see another 3D IMAX movie and maybe a regular movie.

My flight is at 6:30am on Thursday. I think F.B. & I are just going to do an all nighter on Wednesday. We did that in January and I was able to sleep better on my 15 hour flight from Hong Kong to Chicago. All together my flight home will be 24+ hours! Not looking forward to it.

I’ve been here in the Philippines 2 months now. It’s been really nice spending so much time with F. I’m really sad to leave him… even though it will be nice to be home again too. Just wish we could be in the same place! It will be a whole year before I’ll be heading back here again.

F.B. & I will be getting married next December here in the Philippines. I’ll probably be arriving around the end of November. Once I arrive, I’ll have to get a special affidavit from the US Embassy in Manila that says I am allowed to marry. Then we will file for our marriage license and make an appointment for our civil ceremony. We really haven’t decided where we will have our honeymoon yet since our wedding isn’t even a planned date! We’ll figure everything out once I arrive next year. After we are married we'll begin the immigration paperwork with our lawyer so F.B. can come to the USA.

Here are some silly pictures from the other day. F.B. went out back to get our towels off the clothes line and his bedroom window is right there.

F’s a “Peeping Tom!” Haha!

I’ve been in the Philippines about a month now. November 1st was ‘All Saint’s Day’, a big holiday in the Philippines. Relatives go to the cemetery to visit their relatives that have passed. And put flowers on the graves and light candles. It’s a big celebration though. Relatives will get up at dawn and spend the entire day at the cemetery. They set up tents or umbrellas around their loved ones graves and spend the day with family.

F.B. & I woke up around 5:30am and left around 7am to go meet up with his family who was already at the cemetery. It was a pretty cloudy and rainy day though. Lot’s of traffic and detours on the roads. Tons of people were at the cemetery, almost like a festival, they were selling stuff, there were food stands. F.B. & I met up with his family and made an appearance. It was still raining so we hung out in the car for most of the time. Then I had to use the restroom, which was flooded. Ewww.

Around 10:30am F.B. & I headed off to the mall. First we stopped at Starbucks since we were both sleepy. Then we went to Sta. Lucia mall so F.B. could look for a game. Then we headed to Market Market so I could get a pink Coca Cola t-shirt I saw there last time. I got another Pepsi t-shirt too in black. The last one I got was red. I already have 2 soda t-shirts from the USA. A Dr Pepper one and another Pepsi one, so I added to my collection.

We had lunch at Tokyo Tokyo, (the place we had our first date.) They have Japanese fast food. We both had chicken teriyaki and we ordered California Maki sushi. In the USA they put avocado in California Roll, in the Philippines they put mango and it tastes 10x’s better. Philippines Mango’s are amazing! We headed to Mega Mall for church around 5pm. They have a chapel right in the mall. It’s a big church too. Then we headed home around 7pm because we were exhausted from the long day.

Friday we went out to see 'City of Ember' at SM Marikina Mall. The girl that plays Briony in 'Atonement' is also in this movie. It was okay. I had a cold though and my throat was pretty swollen so when we ate out at KFC I just had mushroom soup and mashed potatoes, hehe.

Here are some silly photos we took the other day. F.B. & I posing with my pretty umbrella I got at Watson’s drugstore in Mall of Asia. (I know… its bad luck to open an umbrella indoors! Haha!)
















And here is F.B. in the parking garage at Market Market. We parked next to pole F3, but F.B. covered the 3 to look like a B. It’s his own personalized pole. Heehee!













And some of us being silly with Miss Daga (rat) the stuffed animal F.B. gave me.

















































This weekend we are heading to Tagaytay for the day. We’ll take pictures of Taal Volcano and later in the day go to the amusement park ‘Enchanted Kingdom’. Should be fun! I think later this month we are also taking a day trip with F.B.’s parents to Baguio for F.B.’s father’s birthday.