Celine's Life Adventure

This post is first of my PH vacation series: Day 0 of PH Vacation . Valentine's Day at Vancouver International Airport Day 1 of PH Vacation . Time with Family Day 2 of PH Vacation . Confirmation and Time with Friends Day 3 of PH Vacation . Errands Day 4 of PH Vacation . Interview and Ocular Day 5 of PH Vacation . High School Friends Day 6 and 7 of PH Vacation . Jomar's Hometown Day 8 of PH Vacation . Food and Pre-Cana Seminar Day 9 of PH Vacation . Last Day This post is about our 5th day in Manila. Morning at Linden Suite I woke up at 6 in the morning and took a quick shower for another busy day. View from Linden Jomar and I had breakfast at the buffet (I didn't enjoy it but the service was excellent - super friendly staff) while waiting for Mary, my high school best friend. Not good breakfast buffet at Linden Mary arrived at around 8 am and I joined her for breakfast and we were chatting for 2-3 hours about life. I pray that everyone will ha

Jomar and I will have our Philippine Catholic wedding in July. To enlighten those who want to have their Sacrament of Holy Matrimony in the beautiful and historic Manila Cathedral, I will share with you how much it cost. Why did we pick Manila Cathedral? I want to say that because it's historic and beautiful. But honestly, it's because Manila Cathedral has relevant information on their website for a couple like us living and already legally married abroad. Ms. Donna also responds to our emails and calls promptly. The bonus is it's historic and beautiful. According to one of my Ninang, " ang haba ng walk down the aisle mo ." I didn't think of that. I'm not sure if I like it. LOL. They also have a dashboard where you complete the forms, and it lists what you need to submit and when. It's pretty impressive. Wedding Preparation Step 1. Reserve a wedding date The first thing you do is go to their

This post is first of my PH vacation series: Day 0 of PH Vacation . Valentine's Day at Vancouver International Airport Day 1 of PH Vacation . Time with Family Day 2 of PH Vacation . Confirmation and Time with Friends Day 3 of PH Vacation . Errands Day 4 of PH Vacation . Interview and Ocular Day 5 of PH Vacation . High School Friends Day 6 and 7 of PH Vacation . Jomar's Hometown Day 8 of PH Vacation . Food and Pre-Cana Seminar Day 9 of PH Vacation . Last Day It's our 4th day in Manila and this is my 5th blog post about our vacation. The agenda for today are the following: Interview with the priest at Manila Cathedral. Ocular and food tasting at Bayleaf Intramuros Potluck dinner with friends in Linden Suites Morning at Intramuros We're awake by 4:00 am again. Jet lag is real and we're off to Intramuros by 6:00 am. Breakfast at Jollibee Our first goal is to have breakfast at Jollibee. This is our 1800-calorie breakfast. We didn't eat the

This post is first of my PH vacation series: Day 0 of PH Vacation . Valentine's Day at Vancouver International Airport Day 1 of PH Vacation . Time with Family Day 2 of PH Vacation . Confirmation and Time with Friends Day 3 of PH Vacation . Errands Day 4 of PH Vacation . Interview and Ocular Day 5 of PH Vacation . High School Friends Day 6 and 7 of PH Vacation . Jomar's Hometown Day 8 of PH Vacation . Food and Pre-Cana Seminar Day 9 of PH Vacation . Last Day This is the 4th blog post of my Philippine vacation last February and it's describing our 3rd day back in Manila. It's Monday, February 18. Because jet lag is real, we were already awake at 5:00 in the morning. The agenda for the day is quite boring. Go to Tita Mimi (our seamstress and designer) in Muntinlupa Go to Pioneer to get the property title of the condominium. Go to Ortigas to withdraw money from our stocks account. Good morning! Tita Mimi is referred to us by Ms. Myna and she lived a

Jomar and I have not yet received the Sacrament of Confirmation which is a requirement to receive the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. At the recommendation of Manila Cathedral, we looked at both Quiapo Church and National Shrine of Saint Michael and the Archangels (NSSMA). We decided to go to NSSMA for confirmation the day after we arrived from Canada. What to prepare? Bring the original and a photocopy of your Baptismal Certificate Wear a white shirt with a collar Be ready to donate Php 650.00 Talk to friends to be your Ninong and Ninang (Godparents) and yes, you need a pair. What to expect? We arrived there at 7:30 am because jetlag is real and we were awake by 4:00 am. There were around 13 people waiting. At 7:45 am, the security guard started giving out forms which we had to complete. Then, at around 8:00 am, he started giving out numbers. Later on, they started giving both the form and number at the same time. The office opened shortly after 8:00 am. Confirmati

This post is the first of my PH vacation series: Day 0 of PH Vacation . Valentine's Day at Vancouver International Airport Day 1 of PH Vacation . Time with Family Day 2 of PH Vacation . Confirmation and Time with Friends Day 3 of PH Vacation . Errands Day 4 of PH Vacation . Interview and Ocular Day 5 of PH Vacation . High School Friends Day 6 and 7 of PH Vacation . Jomar's Hometown Day 8 of PH Vacation . Food and Pre-Cana Seminar Day 9 of PH Vacation . Last Day It's our second day in Manila. We arrived at our hotel at around 10:00 PM. We checked in to freshen up, unpacked, and we were in bed by 11:00 PM. I woke up at 1:00 AM then at 4:00 AM. Breakfast I sent father an SMS at 4:00 AM to let him know that we were awake and could pick us up. So we went downstairs and planned to call father, and he just arrived. Perfect timing. We had breakfast at a nearby McDonald's. Unfortunately, the hot chocolate is not as good as the one from Canada. Confirmati

This post is first of my PH vacation series: Day 0 of PH Vacation . Valentine's Day at Vancouver International Airport Day 1 of PH Vacation . Time with Family Day 2 of PH Vacation . Confirmation and Time with Friends Day 3 of PH Vacation . Errands Day 4 of PH Vacation . Interview and Ocular Day 5 of PH Vacation . High School Friends Day 6 and 7 of PH Vacation . Jomar's Hometown Day 8 of PH Vacation . Food and Pre-Cana Seminar Day 9 of PH Vacation . Last Day I hate flying transpacific. Seriously! 12 hours inside a plane from Vancouver to Taipei is too long for me. Sigh. Layover in Taiwan Our 1 hour or so layover was uneventful. Except for the fact that I checked my work email and worked. I don't think I even took any photos except for this selfie with Jomar. Look how tired we looked compared to my previous post. Hello Manila! I wanna say I was excited and joyful when we arrived but mostly I am exhausted to even appreciate the bright "Magandang U

Jomar and I will be back in Manila a week from now! Yes, we will be flying back home to complete our wedding requirements and be in the Philippines for a week. I am sure it will be a crazy busy week but I am so excited to see Jomar's family, my dad, our friends, and to eat all the Filipino food I've been craving for. I decided to make a list of restaurant that I want to visit in a week. Jomar and I have been focusing on losing weight (which is one of our goals this year) and in preparation for the food trip we plan to do back home. Shakey's Pizza - can't wait to eat their Chicken and Mojos. Giligan's Restaurant - excited to try their Kare-Kareng Gulay, Pork Sisig, and Fried Garlic Chicken. Jollibee - I want to eat everything! Priority will be Chicken Joy, Jolly Spaghetti, and Peach Mango Pie KFC - Gravy!!! The Old Spaghetti House - Golden Crusted Chicken, Ham and Cheese Crepe with Angel Hair Pomodoro Pancake House - Taco (essentially, House Special Se

I have been living in Canada for almost three years now. Life is good here but I always think of ways to help the Philippines. I have been helping Filipino entrepreneurs in Vancouver, BC go online . I also sponsored two Filipino child, Paul Syrus (through Compassion Canada) and Princess Mae (through World Vision Canada). I have been exchanging letters with them and am getting to know their families and communities. Lastly, Jomar and I have been doing our best to look for imported products from the Philippines. Our soy sauce and vinegar is Datu Puti. We almost always have Lucky Me Pancit Canton in stock just in case. We recently purchased Sunflower Crackers because I missed it. We also have Ligo sardines or sometimes Mega depending on where we did our grocery shopping. Lastly, just yesterday we found Boneless Bangus on sale! It's only $5.00 CAD and that's cheap! One bangus is usually $8.00. I should have purchased more but we have a small fridge. Oh and one time at the

I write this in the comforts of my home back in Canada. My mom and siblings are all home and busy eating the Goldilocks goodies I got for myself. It's great to be back in Canada! Manila I woke up at 2:00 AM (Manila time) on Sunday and I didn't want to get up. I don't want to leave. It's more than leaving Philippines. It's leaving Jomar and my life here. Alas, I had to face the reality that I have decided to immigrate two years ago to be with my family. with Jomar As we head to the airport, I was quiet. We hugged just outside Terminal 1. The guard told us that there's a section in the departure area where family members and friends can stay and wait. I asked Jomar to stay there while I check in. There was a long line and after checking in I was informed by the lady at the counter that I had to go to the travel tax counter. I walked there and they photocopied my Canadian PR card and gave me a receipt. I didn't had to pay anything. Pinoy Breakf

It's my last full day in Philippines and I am heartbroken that I will be far from Jomar again. Today, we had breakfast in KFC. KFC back here is so much better than the one in Canada. Sorry KFC Canada. I also missed their gravy. KFC After having breakfast, we went to Salon de Matt. Haircut is so much cheaper here. For $10 CAD, I could get a great haircut plus tip. In Canada a haircut would cost $30. Moreover, the haircut in Manila includes shampoo. New Haircut Picture After getting a haircut, we went to SM Megamall. My mom asked us to buy contact lenses for her. I also end up buying her preferred coffee from the Philippines. Lastly, for myself I purchased Goldilocks baked goodies. Coffee mother wants. We were supposed to go straight to Glorietta for lunch with Ms. Aileen. Unfortunately, we forgot our gifts for her back in the condo. From SM Megamall, we had to stop by the condo then go to Glorietta. Meeting with Ms. Aileen and Jay My vacation is now com

Ever since moving to Canada, I have not experienced dipping my toes in salty water. I also know Philippines has the best beaches in the world so I really wanted to experience the beach before going back to Canada. We decided to go to Anilao, Batangas. Ms. Myna and Mitch arranged the place and itinerary. Mama Chelle prepared a feast because she's celebrating her birthday as well. It's truly a trip celebrating life with friends. The day started with Ms. Myna picking us up from the condo with Kuya Michael (the fastest driver ever!). We met with Mama Chelle and their van on the other side of EDSA. We quickly stopped by Shell Magallanes to buy Mama Chelle's cake while their van went ahead. We met again in Jollibee along SLEX for breakfast. It's so great to see everybody! Mama Chelle, Mitch, the kids (Josh, Jarred, and Kaylee), Mama Nancy, Ms. May, and Ate Jonah. Jomar and I ordered the same food as yesterday. After breakfast, I purchased butter mamon from Red