you are my favorite

I don't blog much these days but my friend Macy tagged me on this and I thought, what the heck.

So here are my answers to her questions:

01 What was the best thing about today?

Waking up to a smiling baby boy. Max just started smiling this week and his Dad and I have been getting a kick out of that little boy's toothless grin. 

02 What's your ultimate favorite food to pig out on?

This is a tough one. My insatiable appetite these days make me pig out on everything. But if you twist my arm, I'd say Chimichangga-style burritos. I remember Dieter and I would kill ourselves by ordering deep fried burritos from Sunrise Tacos. So bad, it's so good.

03 Name a song that you will never ever get tired of.

Mariah Carey's Underneath the Stars. Don't judge.

04 What's the best book you've read this month?
David Sedaris' Naked. LOL, guaranteed.

05 What are the first three websites you visit once you open your browser?

A Cup of Jo. The Rockstar Diaries. Hither & Thither. 

06 Tell me about your current favorite TV show.

Law and Order? A classic! After going through Law and Order: SVU, I'm now making my way through Law and Order. I found out this morning though that I finished all episodes of Law and Order available on Netflix. This makes me sad. Very, very sad. I'm backtracking now and selecting the episodes that I watched but didn't really pay attention to. Yes, I'm obsessed.

07 What's one thing you'll never travel without?

A purse I got from Team Manila with the print: Anti Pick Pocket Purse

08 Who's your style inspiration?

I am obsessed with Alessandra Colombo's androgynous style. And who doesn't adore Jenna Lyons? I mean c'mon. Seriously.

09 Top 3 items in your closet?
A basic white tee 

In my search for the perfect white tee over the years, I have amassed quite a collection. And needless to say, my search ain't over yet. 

Loose fit tunic dresses

When I was pregnant and couldn't fit into my regular clothes, I bought a number of loose fit tunic dresses from Mango. I love how I can use it with or without a baby bump.

I also went crazy on Uniqlo's striped tunic dresses. Loved it so much I bought all colors. 

Trusty pair of Toms

They're so comfy I wear them everywhere. My current pair, red canvas women's classics, are getting the beating. I plan to give them a rest and got my sights on these babies:

10 What's your all-time favorite movie?
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

11 What's one place you think people should visit at least once in their life?

The place I've called home for 6 years now: Bangkok, Thailand. 

So that's that. This was fun. Thanks for the tag, Mace!

dear max

I started another blog. But this one is for my son, Max. Someday, I hope he gets to read it and realize that his mother is probably the last candidate for Best Mom award but she damn well tried. 

max is here

On September 27, we welcomed this little man.

Hello world, meet Andreas Maximilian. You can call him Max for short. 

keeping it real

This last stretch in my pregnancy has been rough. Gone are the days of relishing in that pregnancy glow that everyone seems to be talking about. These days, I often find myself complaining about the 101 aches and pains that I feel all throughout my now unrecognizable body. Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and don't recognize the person I see. Not to sound so much of a girl but this is the biggest and heaviest I've ever been in my entire life. And for a girl who managed to stay within the realms of 100 lbs for most of her life, I find it hard to look at 150 lbs register on the weighing scale (especially when you weigh in for your regular check up and the nurse's reaction to your weight is a resounding and unmistakable "WHOA!". Ah yes, please feel free to keep your opinions to yourself, thankyouverymuch).

I know this may sound selfish. After all, all this is for my baby. But sometimes, you got to keep it real. And I feel terrible to have to admit that there were days I caught myself saying I just want to get this over with.

But my husband, who is made of pure awesome, has a way of taking away all those nasty feelings. His encouraging words like "I'm so proud of you" or "Thank you for carrying my seed" (yes, it makes me laugh every time he says that), remind me to look at the bigger picture.

And this morning, he gave me another bit of sage advice. After telling him how boring it is to stay at home (did I mention that I am now in full time hatching mode?), he said that every day that passes is one day closer to meeting our little one.

And that thought changes everything.

the salad days

Lately, most of our days are spent like this. Relishing the quiet stillness of our apartment, indulging on spur-of-the-moment dates and late night dinners, unabashedly sleeping in til noon, and taking long guiltless afternoon naps after meals.

As much as we will miss the quiet, the freedom, the spontaneity of being just the two of us, I can't begin to describe how excited we are to welcome the new addition to our family. 60 more days til the little one arrives. D and I can't hardly wait.     

berlin on my mind

Wishing I was in Berlin right now.

baby shower rave

For the record, majority of my friends are single and have never been to a baby shower in their life. So when my dear friend Alex organized a baby shower for me, we were faced with the question: so what do people do in these shower things?

We ate, we drank (well, they did), and saved a stuffed animal called Mr Fluffy from flying away, Up style (as in the movie Up...long story).

Ah well, we had a blast. Thanks again, Ninang Alex!

baby boy kicks

The little one was kicking like mad all weekend. And made momma giggle every single time.

But just the other day, I didn't feel a kick all day and started getting worried. When I got home from work, I asked the little one to kick for momma, and he did! Thought maybe I was just lucky. Tried it again when D got home and asked the little one to kick for poppa. And whaddyaknow, he did! The little boy can hear us now. It's an amazing feeling of connection.

I still find it hard to wrap my head around the fact that a little person is growing inside me. It's surreal.

October can't come sooner.

to my father-to-be

Today is Father's Day, and although you are not officially a father yet I want to honor you today. Why? Because I know in my heart you will be the best father any child could ask for.

We love you poppa!

i keep comin' back to manila

Thanks to a speaking engagement at a conference in May, I had the chance to fly back home to Manila for free. The conference was held in Subic, and just my luck, my parents were going to the beach house that same weekend I was in town.

Being the awesome parents that they are, my parents made sure they were in Subic just in time for my turn to speak on stage. They watched and cheered on as I got on stage and nervously delivered my presentation to 100 or so people.

After the conference, we then made our way to the beach and spent a lovely weekend at El Paradiso with family friends that I haven't seen in ages.

baby bumpin'

Time flies! We're half way there.

This pregnancy has taken me by surprise. I never expected that I would enjoy being pregnant. Sure, it has its ups and downs (the first nauseating three months, the ache-y back, the leg cramps, the mood swings, the irresistible urge to cry at the silliest things, yada, yada, yada). But the mere thought that there is life growing inside me fills me with overwhelming joy. And although I get scared from time to time of what it'll be like on The Day (aka the excruciating and cringe-worthy tale of childbirth), I am excited. I can't wait to see our little one and welcome him (oh yeah it's a BOY!) to this world.

Four more months to go!

epic march

It sure was. Who would've thought a month can turn your life around. It certainly was the case for March. Why?

Epic Germany: Frankfurt - Berlin - Trier - Bacharach - Frankfurt
It was truly a trip made of pure awesomeness. First long haul flight. First time out of Asia. First trip to Europe. First Doner Kebab. First currywurst... You get the idea. The whole time I was there, I had this goofy smile on my face and kept telling D to pinch me cos I can't believe I'm in Europe. It has always been a dream of mine to go, and when I turned 29 last year I told myself I'll make it happen before I turn 30.

 It's ok. I still love Berlin

 A walk along the Berlin Wall

 Soaking up the sun at Sanssouci Palace

 Climbing the walls of Porta Nigra

 Gorgeous Trier

Quaint little town of Bacharach 

And as if the trip in itself wasn't awesome enough, D and I received the most awesome (and I know I've been overusing the word awesome here but what the hell) news three days before leaving for Germany. Can you guess what it is? Here's a clue.

Baby Burckhardt coming out October 2012

D and I are over the moon. We said we were going to try this year but didn't think it would happen this soon. But we are overjoyed, just the same.

Funny story on how we found out: My mom was visiting and on her last day, she saw me making love to my toilet bowl so early in the morning. Upon sight of this, she immediately clapped her hands and jumped for joy. Perplexed by this behavior, I told her I must've eaten bad shrimp or something. She insisted I take a pregnancy test and wouldn't lay off it the whole day. I gave in and got a pregnancy test. We went home after a day of last-minute shopping and I took the test. And whaddayaknow, two lines! I was so excited and shocked and I-dunno-what, I broke the news to D on Whatsapp.

I know what you're thinking. Who does this? Ah well. It was joyous day nonethess.

A truly blessed month. I am overwhelmed with gratitude. The next few months will be interesting, to say the least. I'll keep you posted!

up in the clouds

There are days I just can't be bothered to write about airlines signing codeshare agreements with other airlines or hotel groups launching new properties in the newest booming province in China. No matter how hard I try, there are days that I just can't.

This is one of those days.

Today, my mind is perfectly content to be up in the clouds. And I think it'll be a while til it plops back down into the ground.

Sky over Krabi, Thailand

May 2011

beachin' good time

Weekend getaway at Koh Samet, Thailand

January 2012

happy heart's day

Didn't I just say that one of the things I want to do this year is to blog more? 45 days in to 2012 and here I am struggling to keep up with my resolutions.

I know, I know. Allow me to make up for my slacking. I promise I. Will. Make. Time. To. Blog.

But for now, I leave you with snippets of my Valentine's Day.

Two for my second Valentine's as a Mrs

 Chicken Parmigiana made with love, by D

Something sweet for the sweet occassion

Happy Heart's Day, kids. May you always stay in love. 

more for 2012

It's 6:46 am of the last day of 2011. I've been up for almost an hour, thinking. Reflecting on the year that was. As is customary during swift transitions like this. Another year ends and a new one to ring in.

I'm thinking of a word that would aptly sum up 2011. But the word eludes me. How do you sum up everything that happened in a year in a word? I guess you can't. At least not this year.

2011 has been a life changer. Not just because I went ahead and took the plunge into a life of marital bliss, but also because my life, D and I's, had taken a complete 180 from what it was in 2010. We lost our jobs last year. With not a cent to our name, planned a destination wedding we both knew we couldn't afford, we were scared shitless. But in a fortunate twist of fate, it all worked out in the end. And by the end, I mean the year 2011.

New jobs. New careers. New life as husband and wife. It was like a new beginning. A clean slate. Another chance to do it right.

And I think we did good.

From pinching pennies and eating street food to wining and dining almost every night. From starting each sentence with "when we get our money right" to just making it happen. From anxiously waiting for that next big window of opportunity to open to finally living the dream.

Yeah. 2011 was a good year.

And all I really want for 2012 is to keep with the pace. Keep moving forward. Except for certain life adjustments that will all be neatly filed under New Year's resolutions, I want to keep doing what I'm doing. Only better. More.

Save more.
Read more.
Blog more.
Take more pictures. With an actual camera. Using film.
Exercise more.
Travel more.
More time for creative pursuits.
Eat more vegetables.
Cook more.
Give more.
Pray more often.

If 2011 was good year, I know in my heart 2012 will be great. 

all set

Let's do this, 2012!

boxing day

We woke up on Boxing Day with a hankering for roasted duck. So we dragged ourselves all the way to Chinatown for the best roasted duck in town.

And because the weather has been lovely these past few days, we decided to take a leisurely stroll.

Always a good place to explore. Chinatown never fails to amaze me.

how was your christmas?

Mine had...

Good food. 

Great friends.

Lots of fun. 

And for all this, I am grateful.

Hope yours was awesome too.

a new toy

I've been holding out since October. Always going to the Apple Store to check it out and always coming out empty handed. But not today. Because today, I finally gave in and got an iPad.

I always thought my netbook was enough. What will I do with an iPad? was the question I always asked myself when I held one while in the Apple Store. But after just six hours of owning one now I'm thinking, gawdamn what took me so long?!

I'm excited (and anxious) how this nifty gadget will take much of my time (as if the iPhone hasn't taken enough of it already).

So many apps, so little time! But first things first, Bjork's Biophilia.