Andrea has been immersing herself on a project. She decided to make Mateo’s first year album lay-out. She’s been cramming it since the little boy is past his first year already. Lately, I’d often find her engrossed on her laptop and would sometimes call my attention to ask my opinion on what she’s done so far. She’s hoping to finish the 40-page lay-out before April and then she’ll continue on our long overdue wedding album lay-out. I guess she can’t be disturbed for the next few weeks.

For several weekends already, Andrea and I decided not to travel far to visit our parents. We have several reasons for doing so. One, our gasoline expense is one of the things that we’ve identified to be negotiable. Since the summer is approaching, which means less pay for teachers, we know that we’re going to have to make adjustments with our budget if we’d like to survive the next two months. We could cut down big time if we don’t visit our parents. Two, we would cut down on our beloved red car’s wear-and-tear if we avoid using it for long drives. Not to mention that we would avoid any possible accidents on the road. Three, we wanted to enjoy our weekends at home. We love spending quality time at home especially now that Mateo is very active already.

That’s why it’s no surprise that Andrea’s parents decided to visit us this long weekend. Not seeing and spending time with their grandson for more than two weeks is a definite no for them so they will be the ones doing the long travel this time. It’s great that they will be bringing food with them too. I guess we will be freeloaders in our own house too!

In order not to be late for the prom, andrea and I left home at around 6:30. I figured it would take us around 30 minutes to get to the place and I was right. We were there by 7. Unfortunately, I forgot that this was the type of event that usually starts late.In fact, it was almost 8 when the students started filling in the vacant seats and tables. But this post is not about what happened after the prom started. It is about what happened before.

You see, I didn’t even get to witness the start of the prom. Because when it started I was somewhere outside the venue. I was near the gate of the subdivision where the prom was being held helping out a colleague in trouble.

Anyway,  this was how it started.

A few minutes after we arrived at the venue, Sir Leo, a co-teacher of ours in hedcen, came. He and andrea started taking pictures of the place, the food, and some of the students who came early. Then, after some time, he came back asking if we know any convenient stores nearby - where he could buy batteries from. Andrea said she saw a small store just near the entrance to the subdivision. So Leo took off to buy some batteries.

Nearly half an hour later, a call from Leo came in. He asked if we brought a cable that he could use to jump start the car. Apparently, his engine died near the gate and he couldn’t get back. So I searched for cables from the car and from the drivers of the other cars in the area but no one had any cables. That’s when I decided to just go to him and check out what else we could do. When I got there, I saw the car. Leo and I tried everything we could but there was nothing we could do. So we just agreed to push the car and park it somewhere for the meantime. We’d just ask for help later. So after checking that the car was secured, we headed back to the party.

When we got back, it was then that i realized andrea and i didn’t come too early for the prom. We just came on time…

This valentine’s day I didn’t plan anything for andrea and me. The reason why is because my hands were kind of tied down because of two important factors - work and money. I know it sounds too common to be true, but it is. I’ve seen and heard the same thing in so many movies before, and like the many (valentine) movies where the same lines were said, I too want a romantic ending for this day.

So instead of figuring out where to eat out, or what gift to buy her, I am posting this as my valentine gift for her. So even at the risk of sounding corny, cheesy, and a trying hard poet, I’m posting this collage of pictures of her for her.

We started out as friends. We were in the same buddy circle (barkada). She used to be no more than a buddy. Used to be…

I developed feelings for her. We grew close, dated and become more than friends. What we had, we cherished and allowed to blossom into something beautiful.

Despite what we had, we worked in different worlds. She chose the corporate industry. I stayed behind and taught.

Eventually, I asked her to share a life together. She said yes. And then there she was… the most beautiful bride I ever saw.

Our love blossomed even more. What once was two now became three.

And through it all, you were always there. And when the time comes when mateo leaves us, I hope you will still be there with me… my love… my life… my one and only valentine.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I am amazed with the vast amount of resources available online for those maintaining their own site. Nowadays, you don’t have to be an internet whiz to be your own webmaster. There are a lot of tools out there in the web, from counters to site stats to opinion polls. Most of the time, all you have to do is add a little code to your side and everything else is handled by the tool provider. Easy-Poll, a site that offers free questionnaires and polls for example, handles and calculates everything on their own servers. Hmmm, you just might see one here on my blog next time.

I was planning on staying in the whole weekend and lounging around with my wife and little boy. This plan will now only apply on Sunday. Hehe! Andrea’s family will be having a lunch gathering tomorrow in her grandpa’s place. We were begging off but her cousins and aunts wanted to see how big Mateo is. It has been months since they last saw Mateo and they weren’t able to go on his birthday. I just hope our little rascal will be real trooper tomorrow.

Although Andrea and I do not religiously celebrate Valentine’s day, we still try to give each other a little something every year. Most of the time, it would be a card and/or chocolates. Since we both love chocolates, this is usually a safe choice. For this year, maybe I can give her an organic valentine chocolate heart. The chocolate heart is hollow but inside is an assortment of luscious chocolate truffles, Andrea’s favorite. I’m sure we’ll both enjoy devouring this wonderful treat. The chocolate is available in milk chocolate or dark vegan chocolate so even those vegan chocoholics will love it!

Mateo received a small wading pool from some of our co-workers on his birthday. Andrea decided to let him try it earlier today. Unfortunately, I was in school to watch him enjoy the water. According to Andrea, although he preferred to stand while inside the pool he enjoyed splashing around. I hope he grows up to be a water-lover. Andrea and I are not good swimmers and one of our plans for Mateo is to enroll him in swimming lessons in the future so that he grows up to be a better swimmer than us

Andrea has been shooting so much lately. Every little chance would have her pressing the trigger. I’m talking about our point-and-shoot camera. She’s been using it like crazy ever since she started her photoblog. She’s now mentioning thoughts of getting a DSLR. Since we don’t have money for it, she’s trying to cook up some other way to get it like selling some stuff or stay up every night for several months doing paid posts. She’s telling me to use the camera more often too. If I know her any better, she just wants me to want that DSLR as much as her. Hehe!

I’d seldom get the chance to wash our old car. Most of the time, we’ll just hose it down with water or if it rains hard then that’s it. Today though, the dust on our red Mitsubishi Lancer got too much even for us. Right after getting home, I decided to clean it really well. Andrea and Mateo kept me company outside. I guess it can be therapeutic too!

!