Car Payment Done!

This might sound shallow but this is a biggie for me because I don't like loans.

When I moved here in the U.S. I didn't decide to get a car right away. My first job was in center city Philadelphia. I used to live in Plainsboro, NJ but the commute is just too exhausting. 2 hours one way. So I decided to find an apartment in PA. Problem is, the cost of apartments in the city are up the roof so I went to look for apartments out in the suburbs instead but strategically chose an apartment that is close to a bus station or train station so it would make my public commute easier. I also made sure that my apartment is walking distance to a supermarket. I ended up getting an apartment in Northeast Philadelphia (Korman Communities). I have to take a bus and a train (blue line) to get to work but I'm fine with that. I'm just glad that I am walking distance to the bus stop, a shopping mall, a supermarket, a taco bell and a burger king, hah! So yeah, I don't see a need for a car.

Then I found a new job. A permanent, full time job outside the "city" (where I met the hubby). I tried to do public transportation for a few weeks but it took me almost 2 hours to get to work. If I have a car, it will just take me 30 minutes. Still, I didn't buy a car. I'm just too cheap and scared to drive (people here drive fast! <- my lame excuse). What I did instead is to move to a new apartment that will make my travel time shorter and found this cute apartment at Towers of Wyncote, located at, guess where, in the city of  Wyncote (still suburbs though).

my current ride since 2010
RAV 4 2005

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2nd trimester

yeah. i'm pregnant. found out about it since i was in singapore (feb 16). we were keeping it quiet and was just telling it to a few friends and on as needed basis (ie: bosses, pilates teacher, etc) because i'm high risk and wasn't sure how long i will be pregnant. but since i'm in my 2nd trimester now, maybe i can start talking about it?

at ku-de-ta resto at marina bay sands singapore
- the day we found out i'm pregnant
2.16.2015)

anyway.

i decided to officially mark my week every friday (based on baby size) instead of wednesday (based on LMP-last menstrual period).

so every friday, since my doctor's appointment is very far apart (every 4 weeks), i treat myself with listening to the baby's heartbeat. like i did this morning. 

i sometimes have the urge to listen everyday but i feel like i'm annoying the baby with the sound from the doppler or with the doppler poking him so i figured once a week should be enough. it's enough for me to know that he's still alive and kicking (literally! he kicks the doppler sometimes).

as usual, he's such a wiggly worm. he moves around a lot. i can only hear his heartbeat for a few seconds then it disappears only to find him in a different spot. can you tell it's a boy? lol

 while using a home fetal doppler

update: i stopped using my home doppler since i started feeling the kicks.

on another news, i'm feeling normal and it scares me sometimes. being the paranoid FTM (first time mom) that i am, i'm always perpetually scared of missed miscarriage where you don't have cramps and bleeding but the baby's heart just stops beating and you won't know about it until your next doctor's appointment. but! they did say 2nd trimester is the honeymoon of pregnancy so i should enjoy this while it lasts because come 3rd trimester, i know would be miserable again.

the other nice thing about 2nd trimester is i have my energy back and my OCD side is back in full gear cleaning and organizing the house most of the time, if i'm not busy eating, lol. 

oh and yes! my appetite is back. i still can't stand looking at huge slab of beef but with a whole piece of chicken i'm fine. i've been having some hankering on cheetos and would indulge but i try not to overeat because i'm watching my weight. according to americanpregnancy.org, i should gain 1lb per week and that's what i've been obsessively watching. oh, and i've been eating a lot of watermelons too.

what i'm looking forward to is to feel the baby move. i think about it so much that  i've been dreaming about it lately. i am feeling some movements but i wasn't sure if it's just gas or muscle spasm, but they did say that you might start feeling the baby move on the 16th week so i'll keep an eye (err, hand?)  on that.

2 more weeks and i can see the baby again! i'm actually internally debating if i should move my ultrasound to my 20th, the magic number when every pregnant women does their anatomy scan but my OB says 18th week is fine. my OB also said i still have the option to move it on my 20th week if i want to know the gender but i already know the gender (since week 12). so i might just keep my 18-week ultrasound schedule and just book a 3d/4d ultrasound at week 24 at this place i discovered. i do want to see that tiny thing in the middle of his legs that makes him a boy (i just thought it would be cute to see), so hopefully at my 18th week i get to see that still.

schedule is : 5/21

now for some 2nd trimester preggy pic.

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Applying for "The Wave"

Does that photo looks familiar?

Yep, that's one of Windows Desktop backgrounds (under Landscapes category) and it's taken at a place called Coyote Buttes North, also known as "The Wave", in Arizona.

I discovered The Wave not because of Microsoft's Windows but while I was at some gift shop in Page, Arizona looking at calendars, souvenirs and post cards. It was right after I saw the Lower Antelope for the first time,  around Thanksgiving of 2010. I was with my friends from Chicago and Canada, that time. 

That time I didn't know it as The Wave yet, I only knew it as Vermilion Cliffs. So armed with this new information, I set out a goal to know more about it. Where it is, what it is, how to get there, etc. That's how I learned that one doesn't just go there, there are procedures and not an easy one at that.

Fast forward, two dear friends of mine have moved to Arizona year 2013 and we planned to travel together to see the Antelope Canyons. I wanted to go back at the Lower Antelope because I was too mesmerized by that place and I want to show it to my husband. I started planning that trip but I have some other agenda in mind, I really wanted to see The Wave. So I went to apply for the Wave permit, online. This was 3 months before our scheduled Arizona trip. If you want to know how that works click me.

Coyote Buttes North, aka, The Wave is an internationally renowned hiking destination. In order to make it fair for everyone who wishes to visit, a lottery system has been put in place. Easy enough? 

Nope.

To preserve the place, they only give 20 available slots per day (atleast, at the time we were applying for permit). 10 they give online and another 10 for walk-ins. I applied for a permit online twice, and didn't get lucky. That didn't discourage me though. I had a plan B. 

My friends in Arizona, the hubby and I still pushed through with our Arizona trip. The plan was go see Antelope Canyons (lower and upper, I haven't been to the upper one yet). Go see the Horseshoe Bend (haven't been there) and then go to Utah. 

The plan B was we will attempt to apply for lottery personally. Yes, walk-in, but we want to have a back-up of the back-up plan (did that makes sense? 😆).

The Wave walk-in permit lottery drawing

When you apply for the walk-in permit, it is only valid for the next day, not on the day you applied. So if for example you applied today, Monday, and you won, the permit is valid for Tuesday. With this, I had to make an itinerary around that situation. Below is how it looked like (for the complete itinerary and logistics click me):

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2014 - Love it or Hate it?

I haven't done my 2014 recap yet so this is an attempt to do just that.

I hear a lot of people complaining they didn't have a good 2014 and they'll be fine not having it but in my case it wasn't so bad. I'll start with the good part first. The not-so-good part will come later in this post. Now, before I start, this is not to brag. I am just counting my blessings and you should too.

We did a lot of travelling in 2014 but mostly just in the U.S. The only international trip we had was when we celebrated our 2nd year wedding anniversary in Paris and a side trip to London to try the Eurostar and to watch Miss Saigon.

(Note photo starting the one below would all be vanity shots. To skip, scroll all the way to the middle for the photography shots without my face, lol)

aboard the eurostar from london and back to paris

after watching Miss Saigon in London

berthillon of paris

trash-the-wedding-dress photoshoot in Paris

Another highlight of our 2014 is doing a lot of hiking with our favorite travel buddies Rex and Chona. I am tired most of the time after the hike but it was worth every molecule of sweat because we visited a lot of cool places.

bryce canyon in Utah

the internationally renowned hiking destination...
the  wave (coyote buttes north)

discovered another quaint city called Newport in Rhode Island

went to chicago to take my friends' prenuptial photos

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Hello 2015!

2015 is just around the corner. Give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done for 2014. For enduring all the hurdles of 2014 and for sharing happiness to other people.

This 2015 we are all another year wiser and it's time to let go of people who know nothing but give us stress and bad vibes. It's not worth keeping them around. It's time to stand up for yourself and say, enough is enough!

You deserve better friends. You deserve to be surrounded with better people. I know it's easier just to be nice and to try to get along with the sandpapers of your life but life is too short and precious to spend it around people who are pain in the butt. You deserve to be treated right, you deserve to be stress-free. LET THEM GO!

For those who had a bad 2014, it gets better, it really does. So throw away those negative thoughts and let's face the new year with optimism. After all, mind over matter is true. It's a matter of perspective. Only the happy people win so let's all strive to be one.

For those who had a very good 2014 there are more good things to come!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

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