The doctor won’t say it’s 100% sure, but she thinks we’re having a girl.  I once dreamt about this too. 

Like I said, I change my mind on the baby names almost every month.  Much as I love the meaning behind the two names Naima Isabel, something tells me it sounds just a bit too exotic.

For this month (haha), I’m seriously considering taking on the girl name that I had my mind set on from the very beginning. — Tatyana.  It still sounds good with Isabel, right? 

Tatyana Isabel.

Hmmmm.

Around this time last year, my dad and Alfred had THE talk.  I still get teary eyed when I remember it. 

Daddy:    Alfred, I just have one request.  Actually hindi sya request.  It’s more of an instruction.  Kung ayaw mo na kay Tracy, pwede mo syang isoli anytime, no questions asked.  Wag mo lang syang sasaktan.
Alfred: Promise Tito, hindi ko isosoli si Tracy.

Now that I am over my first trimester,  I am happy to announce that I am pregnant.    I am going to be a mom.   Let me just say that again, I am going to be a mom!!

My first trimester was pretty tough.  It was like I had a terrible hangover every single day.  The morning sickness would only progress throughout the day, peaking  towards the evening when I would need to puke at least three times.   On my worst days, I couldn’t even down the water that I drank.  I was actually puking out cold water.

Thankfully, the all-day sickness is starting to subside.  I am now moving on into the more exciting part of pregnancy…the decorating/planning for the baby’s room, window shopping for baby gadgets and picking out baby names. 

For this month (I change my mind almost every month), we are set on Naima Isabel if it’s a girl.   Naima is Arabic in origin and means delight, contentedness.  Isabel, on the other hand, means God’s promise. 

If it’s a boy, his name will most likely be Juan Enrique. and we’d call him Uno.  Never mind that our last name sounds very Chinese.  We will go with a Spanish sounding name.  Both our lolos’ names are Juan, and Enrique comes from Enriquez.  If you’ve known me long enough, you will understand why this is symbolic, funny and just perfect all at the same time.

Last year, I wrote my goals on paper and I swear I got them all. Let’s see if writing my goals on a blog will work just the same.

• Baby! — And we are pregnant!!!
• House — Getting there.  Construction has officially started. 
• New Hobby
• New Sport — more like, have one naman.
• How-come-I-never-thought-of-that business idea
• At least one domestic trip
• At least one international trip
• Firmer budgeting skills
• Decent savings
• Acts of charity. Thanks for the inspiration, Katrina!

Is it just me or is the holiday traffic this year much more pleasant that the previous years? The street children singing carols by the car window seem MIA, too.

But ATMs still run out of money, my Christmas list has again grown longer than last year’s and just like before, I can already feel all the party food in my thighs.

However the holiday season makes you feel, however different or refreshingly familiar Christmas 2007 is for you, may it be just as blessed and meaningful as you want it to be.

One of our engineers at the office approached me and asked for ideas for her girlfriend’s birthday. He’s fresh out of college, and seems to think of me as an ate. I’m a sucker for cheesy, romantic surprises so I was more than happy to help.

I told him that the key is for her plan to be a complete surprise. It may not be a grand production. No matter how small, surprises are always appreciated. At least that’s why I think.

We just finished brainstorming and came up with the following. Note that he only has a day.

1. Helicopter Ride – We called Peninsula Manila and asked for their accredited providers. Prices start at at 57,000/per hour, excluding fees for the use of their helipad. This would have been incredibly romantic but extremely impractical, too.

Omni Aviation Corp in Clark, Pampanga offers fun flights over Pinatubo, but my co-worker had already been discouraged.

2. Spa in Tagaytay

A bit overused but hey, it will still work for me!

3. Day Trip at San Juan, Batangas or if budget permits, at Dive Solana. I haven’t been there myself but my friend tells me that it’s exactly like Plantation Bay.

4. Home-cooked meal. Again, it does not have to be a grand meal. The mere attempt to make an edible meal is thoughful enough.

That’s all that we have so far. Any other ideas?

Like it?

I’ll be able to show more than a perspective next year.  Come December, construction will start (This is me claiming that all will go well). 

We meant for it to look like just one house from outside, but that’s actually a duplex that we’ll share with Alfred’s brother and his family.  It’s going to be right on the same steet where we both grew up. 

The basic idea is, modern but cozy.   We’re lucky that our contractor’s wife is also an architect and an interior designer.  They waived the architectural and interior design fees as well.  I can’t imagine having to talk to three different people and getting them to be in sync with each other’s ideas. 

I looove our contractor, but they say it might be soon to tell.  I’ve been warned that it’s very likely that we’ll end up as enemies.  I say, as long as they keep doing what they’re doing now — provide options, answer my calls and inquiries on time, deliver when they say they’ll deliver, we’ll be just fine.  If you need their contact details, I’ll be happy to give them

Let me just post a copy of the email we sent out to friends…  Go, go, order na!

Hi Friends,

It’s official.  Our site, http://www.dreams.appee.com/ is launched.

To get good deals on products that are not yet available in the
Philippines, check out the site.

Shipping fee within Metro Manila is waived for the first 20 shoppers.

Hint:  If you are eyeing skin care products, clothes, shoes, perfume,
bags, books, CDs, or  mineral make up in the US and Hong Kong, but the shipping costs
and  waiting time are holding you back, then you will love our site.

I am still hung over from one of the most fun and guiltless vacations ever.  I don’t mean to brag but for the mere purpose of proving my point, here are some of the things I enjoyed during our short trip.  (Vacations are always short.)

• Free really really good food.  I was bent on trying authentic Shanghainese Peking Duck and I got to try it twice.  It was the Mandarin Fish, however, that made me almost cry…literally.  Nakakahiya.
• Free accommodations at Shangri-la Pudong.  And at the Horizon Floor too, mind you.  That means all-day access to dimsum, sweets and wine.
• Free Grandstand tickets at China’s F1 Grand Prix.  It was an amazing experience, even for someone like me who roots for a particular team based on the following criteria:  1.  sex appeal of the driver and 2. design of the team’s merchandise. 

Cebu Pacific has a piso promo now.  I’d grab the chance to visit Shanghai if I were you.

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.  They are at http://www.tracybautista.multiply.com.  When I get the chance, I’ll upload some here too. 

P.S.

Thanks to my Mommy Lulu and Daddy Freddie for making this trip happen.

There are two ways to go about getting me to do something that I’m hesitant about.   One, feed me good food or two, go through Alfred.  Spousal pressure? 

That just about sums up why we’ve now decided to finally push through with our Shanghai trip.  My MIL had a good point, too.  When we have kids, which God-willing, we plan to “work on” next year, going on trips will be more difficult.    Justified?  Yes.

Girls, I am no longer the girl that cried Shanghai.  After multiple attempts, it’s going to happen.  I have the ticket in my hand already. 

Hi Ate Joy and Kuya Martin!