Saturday, July 25, 2009

A step closer to our dream wedding!

We finally mailed our papers to the Philippine Consulate in Chicago this morning. I've been working on it for over a month and we just couldn't find the time to send it. What it contains were application to amend my last name on my Philippine passport (from being a Hisoler to Lord), Report of Marriage form and Jeff's application for a single entry Philippine visa valid for 3 months. All of these are part of our plans to get married in a church in the Philippines in January. It may not be necessary for me to amend my passport since I could still enter the country even if it still has my maiden name on it but I just wanted to make it easier for us to get married in a Catholic church. They won't require us to attend Pre-Cana seminars and all that stuff since we are already married here in the U.S. and the best way to prove that is to have my passport amended and have our marriage recorded in the Philippines through the Philippine Consulate in Chicago. Now as for Jeff's Philippine visa, this part surprised me at first. I thought there's no need for him to secure a visa since he's married to a Filipina but I was wrong. A foreigner can enter the Philippines without a visa required, if he intends to stay there for only 21 days or less, the nature of the trip is for tourism only, and he is a holder of round-trip airline tickets. He does not meet the first requirement, since he'll be staying there for 31 days. If we choose to go without securing a visa first, it'll still be okay, he'd still be allowed to get into the country but he has to process a visa application while he is there in the Philippines before his 21 days expire which I think is such a hassle that's why we prefer to do it this way. However, no visa is required for former Filipinos who are naturalized citizens of the U.S. and this applies to spouses and children below 21 years old of former Filipinos who are U.S. passport holders as well, but they have to present a copy of their marriage certificate (for spouses) and birth certificates (for children) upon arrival in the Philippines. I thought I'd mention that because my sister may read this blog and I didn't want her to freak out since she and her family will also be going back home to attend my wedding. She's a naturalized U.S. citizen already so she need not worry about getting a visa for her American husband and son. Whew! It's really not easy being married to a foreigner, what with all the never-ending Immigration processing of papers and all that, not to mention the never-ending cultural adjustments that both party has to make. It's really a decision but we still think it's worth it! We would not have it any other way!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

A weekend with Harry

Have you watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince yet? Well, me and hubby watched it last weekend. We both have read the HP book series and we were excited how was it transformed into a movie. I still think the books are wayyy better than the movies but actually, this latest installment is the best of all HP movies in our opinion. I enjoyed the special effects and the main characters have grown to be really good-looking teenagers. I don't hate Snape in this movie as much as I used to, despite the fact that he did the "Avada Kedavra" curse on Dumbledore, probably because I've known that he's not really on the dark side. I know how the series would end and that must have influenced my thoughts on Snape. Anyway, I was entertained by the movie, I love the Harry Potter series and this installment hasn't changed that a bit.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Missing my hubby!

Last night was the first time in two years of being married that we didn't go to bed together. Hubby had to work on a night shift this week and the set up felt weird. Thank God it's not permanent. I don't think I would ever get used to him working at night. I've worked in a graveyard shift for 2 years back in the Philippines and I couldn't get used to it. No matter how many hours of sleep I get during the day, I'd still feel weak and didn't have the energy to do anything fun at all. It was hard back then when I was still single, I'm sure it's tougher now that I'm married. Anyway, I just wanted to share some mushy notes from hubby. I was browsing through a stack of bills that we received yesterday when I found a green envelope with a message that says "Mahal Ko" on it. Of course, I was surprised, I never thought he'll have the time to get a card, let alone sit down and think of something sweet to write in a middle of a weird work schedule. But he did it anyway and it made me cry when I was reading it. He said it's supposed to make me smile, but for some reason, it struck me that I'm actually alone in the house and that I'm going to go to bed alone as well. Haay! It's okay, we're going to make it through. He called me 30 minutes before my usual bedtime and he tucked me in bed on the phone, lol! Charing jud kaau ni si bana oi! But I love it anyway! Atsus!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Happy Birthday Nikola Tesla!

This is Google's logo for the day. In remembrance of Nikola Tesla, an Austrian-American inventor, mechanic and electrical engineer. Last February, I got the privilege to see one of his famous inventions, the Tesla Coil when we visited Mid-America Museum in Hot Springs. It's a 1.5-million-volt conical Tesla Coil which is also known as "Caged Lightning". Amazing, isn't it?

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Regine Velasquez tested positive for influenza A(H1N1) virus

Waaahhh! The songbird was infected with H1N1 virus. She's supposed to be the special guest of Charice Pempengco's first major concert in the Philippines but she was hospitalized and couldn't make it to the said show. I just found out tonight on T.V. Patrol that she indeed got the virus but thankfully she recovered. She's not certain where she got it but her immune system must have been pretty low considering that she was overworked from a series of concerts here in the U.S. then she went straight to work right away when she got back to the Philippines. I'm glad that she's looking healthy and pretty again. It just shows that anybody could get the virus so we really have to be extra careful. Tsk. tsk. tsk.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

King of Pop is on my IPod!

I'm not a Michael Jackson fan but I must admit that I like most of his songs. However, I didn't own any of his album but I grew up liking Heal The World, Billy Jean, We Are The World, Bad, Beat It, Thriller, She's Out of My Life, I Just Can't Stop Loving You and so much more. Now that he passed away, I have this sudden need to at least have these timeless songs on my IPod, so I downloaded them from ITunes and I listened to it while I walked on the treadmill today. Too bad he passed away at a young age. While I was watching the memorial service, I'm thinking it seems like he's much appreciated now that he's dead than when he's alive especially after a quite scandalous phase of the pop icon's life. Anyhow, I'm saying my goodbyes to the King of Pop! May his soul rest in peace.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

The Many Faces of Regine

Obviously, she is my most photographed Diva. I didn't want to miss anything while she's on stage, whether she's singing or just talking to the crowd at the concert. Every time I hit zoom on my camera, it's because I wanted to focus on her. Gosh, do I sound like an obsessed fan now, lol! Nope, not quite! I'm just fascinated with the way she dresses, her complexion, her tiny face (yep, I think she has a very cute and small face in person) and of course her undeniable singing prowess. For me, she's incomparable and she deserves to be called the Asia's Songbird.










Friday, July 3, 2009

Addicted!

It started when I downloaded a demo Game Apps for my IPod Touch that had me literally going gaga over with. If you’ve heard about Sally’s Spa and actually played it, you would know what I mean. It’s one of those Time Management games that you could find all over the internet. Unfortunately, I only got the limited free version on my ITouch, but I was seriously considering buying the full version of the game. However, when I tried to download a free trial and played it on my laptop, I realized that I’d like to play it better on the computer because it has a wider screen and better resolution. It’s quite addicting I tell you. I couldn’t get myself to stop playing and before I know it, I find myself searching for all kinds of Time Management games online. Oh, boy, I got hooked! I’ve played Cooking Dash, Wedding Dash 2, Jo Jo’s Fashion Dash, Miriel the Magical Merchant to name a few of my favorites, and of course Sally’s Spa. The 1-hour trial version is definitely not enough so I’m going to buy the unlimited full version of Sally’s Spa and Cooking Dash tonight.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Sonata serenades us on The Big Day

I am a self-confessed hopeless romantic. It has always been a dream of mine to get a balladeer to sing for me and my guests on my dream wedding. Someone who can sing the songs of Gary Valenciano and Martin Nievera from the heart. I was lucky that my good friend Joanne actually know of somebody who can do it for me. The group had sung for her wedding and she highly recommended them. I’ve checked their website and listened to a sample of his songs and right then and there, I knew I'd have to have them on my wedding. I didn’t wait long enough to contact the group and finally last weekend, we’ve made it official! I booked Sonata Singers for my upcoming wedding in the Philippines. Woohooo!