// morsels of life //

preggy book


it's my 6th week of being pregnant already and i really have to watch what i eat. last thursday, i tried to look for something to at least guide me with my diet and meal planning as well. and good thing i found a perfect book to "educate" me, hehe... i grabbed a copy from borders bookstore but sadly it's not discounted. anyway, i find it so useful and worth enough for 40 bucks.



morning sickness and appetite

since sunday this week, i have been experiencing nausea every morning and sometimes it lasts all day. i also have bitter taste buds which makes my appetite so, so bad. my cravings is very unpredictable. i really crave for sour food (especially sinigang!) and sweets but good thing my appetite for fruits & veggies is not so affected. actually, i did not totally avoid fish, i still eat fish which has low level of mercury. i also noticed that my metabolism is so unusual 'cause i easily get bloated then after few minutes i get so hungry again as if i did not eat for days! whew, so weird! but i always tell myself to take everything easy so that i will not become so moody.

music

i also started listening to classical songs (i.e. mozart, beethoven, yanni) which studies say is good for the baby for emotional & psychological reasons. actually, i am not really a fan of that type of music, but i appreciate instrumental sounds. and i hope it would somehow have a good effect to the "life" inside my tummy.

maternal check-up

as early as now, we really want to know the condition of my pregnancy and if necessary, undergo some essential tests for the first trimester. so we just decided to make an appointment with a private OB here in carlton. luckily, we were able to get a schedule -- tomorrow afternoon. i have already listed all the questions i have to ask about my pregnancy and i hope that the doctor will give me all the information we need.

Labels: pregnancy

early last week, tonton & I and of course with the family (vincent, joni & anya) decided to plan a beach trip for the long weekend ahead. we initially planned to go to st. kilda beach. but one of vincent's colleagues told him that brighton beach is also a nice place for a summer escapade. so we tried to look for a hotel where we can stay overnight. luckily, we were able to make reservations in brighton savoy hotel which is just across the beach site.

Labels: summer

i am 5 weeks pregnant! :)

i can't explain the feeling the first time i saw the two pink lines in the home pregnancy strip. and i almost burst into tears earlier when the staff in Royal Women's Hospital (RWH) affirmed to me the i am most likely conceiving already 'cause they simply trust the result of the pregnancy test i did. Marie (RWH staff) gave me some reading materials to help me get started with the maternity care. she also assisted to have me scheduled for my first check-up session. but since RWH is a public hospital, they only got April 17 session as the earliest one :( Marie gave me a list of obstetricians and advised me that i still have the option to go to a private clinic and be scheduled earlier.

anyway, my husband was so pleased to hear the good news and he even danced for so much happiness :) and we don't care whether it's a boy or a girl, just as long as it's healthy and kicking :) can't wait to broadcast the "breaking news" to our loveones in manila & US.

Labels: pregnancy

yes, my husband and i are starting to plan our church wedding on 2008. :)

the wedding blogsite is now up: memoirs of a wedding

Labels: kasalan

day 6, dec 28: another zoo adventure. we visited taronga zoo (located on the shores of sydney harbour) and just 12-minute away from the circular quay wharf via ferry. we really enjoyed the ferry ride going there 'cause we were able to take pictures of the city scene from the other side of the harbour.

city view from the ferry boat

then before we left taronga, we availed the sky safari ride (which is a bonus from the zoopass we bought). sadly, we were just able to take the one-way trip 'cause it's near closing time already and they were not allowing return trip.

in sky safari car

then before we went home, of course we dropped by opera house and royal botanic gardens. then, stopped by baskin robbins to grab some refreshments.

nice view from royal botanic gardens

day 7, dec 29: this is one of my favorite among our trips. we went to featherdale wildlife park which is just 10-minute drive from woodcroft. the zoo has a limited variation of animals due the place's size. however, some of the harmless, cuddly animals are not confined and can interact with the visitors. 'twas our first time to lay hands on and pat wallabies, koala, kangaroo and emu :) and we were allowed to feed them too!

sleepy koala

walla-bebi!

toookkka!

soo cute!

we had so much fun, noh! :) not to mention, the ticket is much cheaper ($19) than the other zoos we have been to.

then in the afternoon, we watched night at the museum in westfield mall in parramatta. cool movie :) ben stiller and robin william were so funny.

day 8, dec 30: together with ate lilibeth (my cousin) and her family, we went to one of the scenic places in new south wales, the blue mountains and it's famous rock formation, the three sisters.
the name "blue mountains" derives from the bluish tinge the range takes on when viewed at a distance, which is caused by the release of volatile oils from gum forests.
while "three sisters" were formed by erosion. although, the legend says that three sisters fell in love with three men from a neighbouring tribe, but marriage was forbidden by tribal law.
--wikipedia

anyway, the site's ambiance is so beautiful and relaxing. you could really feel that you're so close to nature. luckily, the weather was so fine :) (contradict to what was forecasted, hehe)

pretty scene!

nature lovers

well, the real action came when we decided to go down the giant stairway going to the three sisters spot (which is more than 900 meters above sea level). the path is so, so, so, steep! my acrophobia striked again during that time! :( i was so careful with every pace because the steps' shape are so irregular.

when we finally reached the area where you could do absailing (it's like cliff hanging), the view there is spectacular (though, i still realize how high it could be).

scary but lovely!

we learned that the area for absailing is not the end of the trek. the trail extends all the way down the area for bushwalking and ends on the other side of the mountain (called echo point). it's almost a one-hour walk inside the rainforest. but due to time constraints, we were not able to do it. perhaps, we'll do it next time we visit :)

well, going down the trail of course was not so exhausting at all. but going up back to where we came from was a pain in the legs! (literally). you'll find out why later.

then we spent the rest of the afternoon boardwalking, posing with the statues and enjoying the place by riding their famous scenic railway, cableway and skyway.

in the cable car

with the "sister" & the kids

we really had a great time! :) thanks ate bibeth, kuya butch and kids (asiong & aira mae) for accompaying us :)

day 9, dec 31: our last hurrah in the city. we just used it to explore more around the city. and since it was the last day of the year and there was an upcoming fireworks event in sydney harbour, we were expecting a busy crowd in the place. when we arrived in the circular quay around 10am, there were some group of people who already setup a sort of campsite on the quay facing the harbour bridge. we noticed that some of them are sunbathing and sleeping while waiting. i guess, everyone there would like to have a better spot to see the fireworks in the evening.

"camp sites" around the circular quay

before we left the quay, we were thinking to also stay there until midnight to watch the live event but we just decided not to pursue the idea. *sigh* besides, it was not really the part of the plan and we could do it next year (hopefully!) and at least be prepared and "equipped" to camp, hehe.

the lovers and the house

so moving on, i found out that strolling around a big city is quite tiring. particularly, for someone like me who at that time has an aching pair of legs (blue mountain climbing, remember?). thank God, tonton was so patient to slowly walk with me. plus the good thing about our trip was we're not pressured by any travel guide. we solely planned our itinerary and fortunately, we accomplished it. smart noh? :)

anyway, while we were in the city, we grabbed an inca tripod at one of the electronics stores. then we were able to use it when we dropped by the hyde park and saint mary's cathedral.

we took pictures of us together without being too dependent on the kindness of some strangers, hehe...

in the evening, we just stayed in woodcroft and watched the fireworks event on tv. and we did not stay up so late because we have to prepare for our flight the next day.

day 10, jan 1 2007: new year's day, last day in sydney. our flight going back to melbourne was 2:30pm. we got up around 7am to pack up our stuffs and left woodcroft at 9am (thanks to tita cely who drove us to blacktown train station). we arrived in sydney airport around noon. and we waited for almost 3 hours (there was a 15-minute delay) before we boarded the plane.

'twas the first time for us to travel in qantas aircraft. our travel was quite smooth during the first hour but when we're nearly landing in the tullamarine airport (melbourne), our inner ears suddenly hurt probably due to too much pressure in the air. thank God, it just lasted for few minutes and we landed safely.

we reached our apartment around 5pm and we had delicious dinner with Vincent (and family) who prepared pancit, barbeque and leche flan :) thanks, thanks!

well, our sydney trip is one of the most unforgettable escapades we had so far. we'll keep coming back to that place and hopefully stay there for good someday :)

Labels: sydney

just had the best (so far) stress-free vacation! :) just got back here in melbourne from a 10-day break in one of the nicest places i've seen, sydney.

day 1, dec 23: our first day in sydney. we arrived at the airport around 9am. our flight was quite safe as we expected. even our train trip wasn't so complicated because the city has a very good transport system. we easily learned the train route on how to go to tita cely's place (woodcroft near blacktown suburb) which is 1 hour away from the city. tonton and i just spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with tita cely and then taking a nap to save more energy for the days ahead.

off to sydney

day 2, dec 24: first day to explore the city. we strolled around the darling harbour and bought combined tickets to sydney aquarium, wildlife world and sydney tower. but since we ran out of time that day 'cause we almost spent an hour in the long queue, we just decided to use the ticket for the aquarium. we enjoyed the sydney aquarium as how we enjoyed the one in melbourne. tonton liked watching the seal feeding show and i enjoyed observing the sharks and stingrays swim above us while we were walking in the life-sized aquarium hallway.

look at that!!!

enjoying the view along pyrmont bridge

then in the evening, we received some christmas presents from tita cely and cousins (eunice & edy). they gave us a pair of bath towels. tonton also got his favorite dilbert book and i got a silver necklace with blue butterfly pendant.

christmas in woodcroft

after that, we got the chance to video chat with some of our relatives and friends in manila and melbourne. we even wore christmas "props" just for fun.

drunk santa? and his cute reindeer, hehe...

day 3, dec 25: we just spent christmas day at tita cely's place in woodcroft. we attended the morning mass then around noon tita cely's filipino nun friends arrived and sang some christmas songs with us. tita told us that this has been their tradition since they moved to the place few years ago.

then afternoon, we had video chat again with my in-laws.

day 4, dec 26: tita cely and cousins accompanied us to westfield mall at parramatta town where we watched the movie flushed away and had italian lunch afterwards. we're supposed to do some shopping that day but sadly boxing day (shopping time after christmas day) is only being done in the major cities in australia not in suburbans like parramatta and blacktown. the stores in the mall are closed and moviehouse is the only places you could go to. oh well, spend less, more savings... :-)

inamorata in parramatta

then before sunset, tonton and i walked around in the lake in woodcroft. it's a nice place for jogging, biking, picnic or simply be one with the nature. we wanna build our own house in sydney someday and hopefully near a lake like that.

sunset in woodcroft lake

day 5, dec 27: again, we explored the city. we dropped by sydney wildlife world which is located right next to the aquarium. 'twas the first time we had a bit close encounter with koalas. the keeper only allowed us to take pictures of the animals. then after we had lunch in harbourside mall, we headed to sydney tower. we arrived at 1pm and sadly the queue was very long already. plus, it was so unfortunate to see that only one lift/elevator was working during those moments then when we're almost near the lift, it suddenly malfunctioned! grrr talaga! we waited for almost 2 hours (whew!) to finally join the batch to go up. and we just spent less than an hour at the observation deck and 30 minutes in the OZ trek (virtual adventure across australia’s cultural history and geography) so i think, it was not really worth enough to go there during those peak times. you'll just be spending hours waiting and can't do nothing about it.

sydney at daytime (view from the tower)

that same afternoon, 'twas the first time we saw the sydney opera house from afar (we were at the other side of circular quay). it's really a scenic spot! i think i fell in love with the place :)

nice view of the house

Labels: sydney