We Are Expecting!!!!!! For the Last Time!!!!

I have not had an entry in a while....many events, many revelations, some are sad, but mostly happy. Summer was fun, we went to the beach a lot...had our day @ Soak City and definitely soaked our selves for the whole day. We drove to L.A. a lot to attend reunions and see friends...went to 3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica Pier (Chum Chum rode the carousel!!!), Rodeo Drive, walked along Hollywood Blvd, City Walk @Universal Studios, DisneyTown...,etc. It was a very hot, yet enjoyable summer!!!! I thought I was just overwhelmed with everything or just fatigued with work, feeling very haggard and tired all the time....so, I have gone to the MD to see what's going on with my aging body...actually, I had an idea so I asked my diabetes MD to do some labs for me and I had done them a few days before I went to my primary MD...ok, muscle aches...tiredness...flu-like symptoms are not due to any illness....my primary MD tells me that "I am pregnant!!!" My hubby was in the room with me and we both laughed...yuppp, astonished of the news but happy. We thought Chummy would be the "Last of the Mohicans"...the last heir to the Saavedra throne, but little Pachongchong (our new baby's nick name) has arrived and is growing in my big stomach...Before finding out that I am pregnant, I did not even show...my stomach was flat, no sign of pregnancy...and then after the announcement, my stomach just sprouted and has been expanding on a daily basis. Chummy and all the kids are excited, even Ysa Baduda...I have told the Familia as well and they're happy...actually, my sis in law, Mandy, is preggy as well...she might be having twins, too. My brother needs to have many kids to keep our family name growing...more boys!!! My pregnancy this time is different from when I was pregnant with chummy...the pains are different and I actually have morning sickness, nausea, and headaches this time around...no particular food cravings, I'm actually not eating that much...my appetite is very little for now, but I've gained about 7 lbs now...Lil' Pachongchong moves a lot and his heartbeat is like Iron Man's..glows whenever we do an ultrasound. Knowing that he/she has a heartbeat is a relief for Hubby and me. It's reassurance that lil' Pachongchong is fine...for now, I just have to take my meds...follow the MD's instructions, and try not to get sick (flu season is coming near!!!). My Chummy is happy to be a big sis to a baby brother or baby sister...6 moths to go...we can't wait!!! More news to come on my next blog.

tHERE iS nOTHING wRONG wITH dREAMING tHE iMPOSSIBLE aND wANTING tHE bEST....oNE dAY, tHE gOD'S jUST mUST bE cRAZY aND gRANT mE mY wISH...

This BLOG is going to be very brief and short....I just want to figure out how I'm going to find the sources and means to finally buy a home in La Jolla or Del Mar, CA...OK, we found a nice townhome that's beyond our means and we really love the location....soooooo close to the beach and soooooo close to my work. I can picture the kids boogie boarding and surfing in the waters of Torrey Pines State Beach and waking up to the smell of fresh air and seeing the sun set and sun rise in your very own backyard....HaaaaaaaaaaaaH, I can only dream of this for now, but I will keep on dreaming...hoping that I will scratch the lucky scratch ticket or buy the winning lotto ticket...I have not given up, I know I will become a millionaire some day soon!!!! Hold on, my lovely home in Del Mar!!!! Wait for me!!!
I couldn't get this song off my head: BILLIONAIRE by Travie McCoy

"I wanna be a billionaire so fricking bad
buy all of the things I never had
I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine
smiling next to Oprah and the Queen
[Chorus]Oh every time I close my eyes
I see my name in shining lights
A different city every night
ohI swear the world better prepare
for when I’m a billionaire"....watch out world...here I come!

"I GIRASOLI"...SUNFLOWER

Sunflower or "I Girasoli" is a movie made in 1970 featuring Ms. Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroiani...I had the priviledge of watching the movie last night at the comfort of my Home...we ordered the DVD, since it is one of my Hubby's favorite movies. He saw this movie when he was 6 years old and it is also a favorite of his mother's. I was not even born yet in 1970, but I recall hearing the theme to this movie before, a Henry Mancini creation...you'll cry when you hear it and actually I felt like sobbing the very moment that I heard it at the opening of the movie...Hubby have boasted about this movie to me, he says it is the saddest movie he's ever seen but does not recall the ending of the movie (now he knows from our viewing last night!)...I honestly thought it's "old-school", but I like nostalgia and I appreciate old movies like that...the simplicity, the humor, the time-period, the emotion, the actors...Sophia Loren is still beautiful up till now, she sure was a knock-out during those days and she even resembles Hubby's Mommeeee Victoria when she was younger...now you know where Hubby got his good looks hehehe!!! The kiddos actually got Hubby the movie for his birthday...we were trying to think of a gift for him and I thought about this movie since he always tells me to try to find it...you can say that he got very nostalgic and felt like he's 6 years old again...OK, this is the first movie I've seen of Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroiani. The movie is in Italian, French, and Russian with English subtitles, I thought it was cool having to read subtitles and it just felt authentic that they spoke in their languange, Italian. They played the theme in the beginning of the movie and I mentioned earlier that it almost made me sob...sooo sad. I found the young Giovanna (Loren) and Antonio (Mastroiani) very silly and funny, their transition and process of aging was remarkable as well throughout the movie...you will see in the movie what the war has done to them over the years, how much they have aged, and how their love just could not be...how Giovanna's strength and determinationn just all faded the moment that she found out that Antonio has remarried and is alive...everyone has given up and thought Antonio died...I can see the pain in Giovanna's face and feel her anger and helplessness through her tears...it was just so sad. A lot of the scenes were done in a train station, it gave me the idea that Antonio will be leaving never to return. I liked that they featured old Russia...Kremlin, I think they even showed the old nuclear power plants, the cemetery of Italian soldiers by the sunflower fields...The story is very simple, realistic, tragic, and genuine...I love this movie, now included on my list of faves...The Love Story, Breakfast @ Tiffany's, 16 Candles, Gladiator, Somewhere In Time, Meet Joe Black, The Notebook, Thomas Crown Affair, The Da Vinci Code, Braveheart...etc We decided last night that we should have an "Old Movies" night...next choice I think is "Casablanca" or "The Love Story"...until my next movie review...I guarantee you'll like this movie, "I Girasoli"...thanks to Hubby!

HOW SWEET IT IS TO BE SPOLED BY YOU...OOOHHHH BABYYYYY CAKESSSS!

OK....I have been a diabetic for about 10 years now. I often deprieve myself of the many sweets that I can(not) eat. We are spoiled at work and frequently get many treats...from Uncle Biff's cookies (white chocolate macadamia), Champagne bakery treats (that Apple-stroudel with almonds on top yummmeeezzzz!!!), Extra-ordinary desserts (chocolate-chocolate cake), Haute Pink cupcakes (strawberry flavor w/ cherry on top) and my favourite...Baby Cakes Cupcakes (the red velvet cupcake super yummmeeezzzzz!!!!), but I just look and sometimes get tempted to take a pinch. I discovered Baby Cakes via our two reps-Michelle (the lady with vicious shoes) and Carrie (cute lil' very very nice Chinese girl). They handed me the red velvet cupcake one day...I saved it for my Hubby to have when he picks me up from work. I handed him over the cupcake and did not see a spec of it anymore...he devoured the poor cupcake, every moursel of it. He thought of that cupcake for days after I handed him his first addicting red velvet cupcake...I had to do my research to stop my Hubby's craving and searched for Baby Cakes in Hillcrest...we rushed to the cup cake shop...and was astonished that there were more heavenly cupcakes...Hubby almost fainted out of delight...we had 5 different cupcakes...the PB&J, Red Velvet (of course!), Blueberry, Mocha, and Black Forrest. I was surprised at the price ( $3.25 ea cup cake, I think???), but the size and taste of the cupcakes compensate for the price...Haute Pink Cupcakes charge about the same, but I think Baby Cakes' cupcakes are a lil' bigger...hubby says Haute Pink's was smaller but more filling...both cupcakes are good-a heavenly delight, but my favourite is Baby Cakes...I like it being in Hillcrest, we can go to Buffalo Exchange and have cupcakes with coffee afterwards...the people at the counter are also very accomodating and nice...I can say that if you want to spoil someone, give them a dozen cupcakes from Baby Cakes and I'm sure they'll love you for life. OK, the diabetic will stop talking about sweets now, I think my blood sugar elevated just by talking about cupcakes...till my next indulgence!!!! hahahahaha!

THE WEEKEND THAT JUST PASSED, I....

WOKE UP EARLY SATURDAY AM AS IF I WAS GOING TO WORK, BUT NOPE...I WASN'T GOING TO WORK, BUT OFF TO GET OUR HONDA CIVIC REPAIRED. WE PURCHASED A USED '98 HONDA CIVIC EX ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO. IT STILL HAS GREAT FORM AND BODY, INTERIOR IS FINE...BUT THE ENGINE WAS A MESS. LIKE PANDORA'S BOX, ONCE THE ENGINE WAS PICKED ON AND LOOKED AT, TONS OF WORMS AND PROBLEMS STARTED COMING UP...WELL, THE CAR WOULD OVERHEAT HALF WAY TO MY WORK IN LA JOLLA EACH DAY THAT I DROVE IT (TALK ABOUT STRESS BEFORE ACTUALLY BEING AT WORK)...IT WAS VERY FRUSTRATING AND ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS WHY WE ENDED UP BUYING A NEW HONDA CIVIC...LESS STRESS, IT'S NEW, NO REPAIRS NEEDED, IT COSTS A LIL' MOOLAH, BUT IT'S ALL WORTH IT!!! OK, THE '98 CIVIC SAT IN OUR PARKING LOT FOR ABOUT 1 YEAR TILL HUBBY GOT THE FUNNY MONEY TO BUY IT AN ENGINE AND THE MANY PARTS THAT IT NEEDED...BUT (YUPPPP, A DEFINITE BUT....) DESPITE ALL THE UPGRADES, THE CAR WON'T PASS THE SMOG...WE REPLACED THE FUSE BOX, WE DID THIS AND THAT...THEN, LAST SATURDAY MORNING, AFTER GOING FROM ONE SMOG PLACE TO ANOTHER AND GETTING SEVERAL OPINIONS, WE FINALLY WENT TO THIS ONE SMOG PLACE ON 8TH ST IN NATIONAL CITY, CA AND FOUND TWO HONEST MECHANICS WHO TOLD US EXACTLY WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO TO PASS THE SMOG AND THEY DID NOT CHARGE US VERY MUCH...UNFORTUNATELY, THEY COULDN'T SMOG THE CAR, BECAUSE IT REQUIRED TO GO TO A "TEST ONLY" STATION...AYYYYEEE!!! GOOD THING OUR GOOD FRIEND "DONG" WHO IS REFERRED BY OUR OTHER FRIEND "KHONG" HAS A "TEST ONLY" STATION AND THE CAR PASSED THE SMOG........FINALLY!!!! GETING THAT CAR TO PASS IS QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR HUBBY...THE SACRIFICES OF FALLING IN LINE @ THE DMV TO GET EXTENSIONS ON THE CAR'S REGISTRATION, TO FIND THE PARTS AT THE JUNK YARD AND GOING HOME ALL GREASED-UP....GOOD JOB, HUBBY BEAR!!!! YOU DID IT, YIPPEYYYY!!! OK, ENOUGH ABOUT THE CAR....

THE REASON WHY I HAVE "CLASH OF THE TITANS" ON THIS BLOG IS THAT WE SAW THE MOVIE LAST SATURDAY...ACTUALLY, FIRST ATTEMPT TO WATCH THE MOVIE WAS FRIDAY NIGHT WITH THE KIDS (YUPPPP, EVEN THE LIL' CHUMMY!!!)...DO YOU BELIEVE THAT SHE IS 2 AND WE HAD TO PAY FOR HER TO GET IN THE MOVIES $7.95 FOR THE LIL' ONE...AND THAT'S NOT ALL, SHE WAS FINE DURING THE PREVIEWS...WE SAT BEHIND THE KIDS SO THAT THE LIL' ONE WILL NOT TALK OR MOVE SOOOO MUCH...LO' AND BEHOLD, THE LIL' ONE SAW US AND STARTED CALLING OUR NAMES IN THE THEATER JUST AS THE MOVIE WAS STARTING...WE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO ESCAPE THE THEATER AND GET A PASS TO COME BACK ANOTHER DAY....THAT WAS DISAPPOINTING AND FRUSTRATING AT THE SAME TIME...WE JUST CANNOT TAKE HER YET, MAYBE WHEN SHE'S 4 OR 5 YRS OLD. WELL, WE FINALLY SAW THE MOVIE SATURDAY NIGHT...WE ALMOST WATCHED "SHUTTER ISLAND " INSTEAD, BUT THE SHOW TIMES WERE TOO LATE FOR OL' FOLKS LIKE HUBBY AND ME...SO WE STARTED WATCHING THE MOVIE...I SAW THE 80'S VERSION WITH HARRY HAMLIN AND URSULA ANDRES. NOW, THAT MOVIE WAS LONG AND DIFFERENT FROM THE 2010 VERSION...I LIKE THEM BOTH....OF COURSE THE 2010 VERSION HAS BETTER ANIMATION, BUT THE 80'S VERSION DEFINITELY HAS THE "ORIGINAL" FEEL TO IT, VERY NOSTALGIC...OVERALL, I ENJOYED THE MOVIE...IT WAS OK. I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE IRONMAN 2 THOUGH...THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD MOVIES COMING OUT THIS SUMMER....YUPPPP, IT'S ALMOST SUMMER!!!! WELL, SUNDAY WAS A BORE...WENT TO CHURCH TO THANK "HIM" UP THERE FOR ALL OUR BLESSINGS AND TO ASK "HIM" TO ALWAYS GUIDE US TO THE RIGHT DIRECTION. YOU SHOULD NEVER DOUBT "HIM"..."HE ALWAYS WATCHES AND LOOKS AFTER "HIS" CHILDREN...AFTER CHURCH WE DID SOME GROCERY SHOPPING...HUBBY AND BRUHAY (PRONOUNCED BROOOHEYYY), MY (STEP) OLDEST DAUGHTER, HAD A MISUNDERSTANDING DURING CHURCH AND HUBBY'S MOOD FOR THE DAY WAS JUST RUINED, SO WE DECIDED TO GO HOME...COOK FRIED PORK (WE CALL LIEMPO) AND CHINESE BROCCOLI IN OYSTER SAUCE...I LOVE TO COOK, THE KITCHEN IS MY SANCTUARY WHEN I'M DOWN AND LOW, BUT I'M BETTER WHEN I'M IN THAT CHEF LEGASSI MOOD...I TRY TO COOK EVERYDAY FOR THE "FAM". WE ARE A "HOME COOKED MEAL" FAMILY, TAKE-OUTS ARE VERY RARE...ONLY WHEN I'M VERY TIRED FROM WORK AND CANNOT MOVE A MUSCLE TO COOK...TONIGHT I WILL FRY CHICKEN, MARINATED IT SINCE LAST NIGHT TO BE CRISPY AND YUMMY LIKE "MAX'S CHICKEN"....OH YEAH, DID LAUNDRY TOO YESTERDAY...WEEKENDS BASICALLY ARE FOR RELAXING, BUT LATELY WE'VE BEEN BUSY...AT LEAST WE HAD ACCOMPLISHED PLENTY OF THINGS THIS WEEKEND...NO MORE STRESS WITH THE CAR AND WE GOT TO WATCH A COOL MOVIE...TILL MY NEXT BLOG...

THE BOBOINCH THAT BE...YSA BADUDA IS GROWN

Jesseca Marysa Chin Aquino aka Ysa Baduda Boboinch My Gurl Genius...my Anak is grown, graduating from Junior High this June and about to enter High School life. I cannot believe that she is grown...finally fulfilling her love to play the guitar, growing her hair-out, being a young lady. What happened to my lil' Boboinch who used to tell me the planets in our solar system by memory at the age of 2...who started preschool and reading at 2...who memorized the song from "Titanic" at the age of 2...who brought "dilis" fish to preschool and told everyone that it's french fries...who wore hairbands with bunny ears and tiaras everyday for about two weeks (she said it was just a phase)...she is the most loving, understanding, patient, intelligent, hard-working, sweetest (and many more) daughter ever...like MaVi, I love my Ysa Boboinch soooo much. I miss her (in San Francisco, going to school there)...but we will see each other come summer...for now, I have these new pictures to look at...she's so cute and silly...a goofball like her mommeee!!! My tribute to my Gurl Genius!!! Congratulations on the First Honors @ School of the Epiphany Class of 2010...Good Job and have fun in high school, don't grow up too quick!!! Love U:D

10 PLACES I WOULD LIKE TO SEE-GO TO IN MY LIFETIME

(1)THE LOUVE (SOOOO DA VICI CODE) ,(2) AURORA BOREALIS (CAPTIVATING LIGHTS), (3) STONEHEDGE (MYSTICAL),(4) MACHU PICHU,(5) THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA (YUPPPP, I'M CHINESE TOO) ,(6) THE GRAND CANYON, (7) THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZA,(8) EIFFEL TOWER, (9)TURIN CATHEDRAL, & (10) THE BAMYAN BUDDHAS.....MY LIST OF 10 PLACES TO GO TO-SEE IN MY LIFETIME.

I envy (actually a better word than envy is admire...) my hubby....you know why??? He has been to most of the places I've listed on today's blog. He was/is a flight attendant and travelled all over the world...Europe one day and Asia the other. I would've been an adventurer if I was in his shoes then. He promised the kids and myself that when we get our passes from the airlines where he used to work at, we will travel the world to our heart's content (given that we have the means to do so, right?)...

(1) The Louve...this all started with "The Da Vinci Code". I read the book, is very fascinated by the whole concept of codes, messages, Leonardo Da Vinci and his art work, and the Holy Grail search. While reading the book, I felt like as if I was there actually witnessing the events of the book. I imagined myself looking at the Mona Lisa portrait and standing by the great glass pyramid. I'm astonished by how the two points of the pyramid meet and the thought of the Holy Grail possibly hidden beneath this pyramid...fictional??? or could this be true??? Hmmmmm...I've been to several museums in the U.S., but The Louve will definitely make my wish list. My brother Ernesto and his wife Amanda, went to The Louve on their European trip about 2 years ago and I was shrieking out of jealousy when I saw their pictures...they just warned me that one day is not enough to see everything and I want to see everything!!! I better plan now and plan strategically how the "fam" will handle The Louve.

(2) Aurora Borealis...I do not know much about Aurora Borealis, but began my fascination when I started searching for crop circles and alien sightings on the internet (ok, I know you're probably thinking now that I'm some weirdo, but I'm just fascinated and eager to discover new things)...I saw the pictures in the internet and I was blown and mesmerized... I do not know where exactly to go to see Aurora Borealis, but I think you'd have to go to certain elevation to have a good glimpse of the light show...I'm just captivated, you just don't know how much.

(3) StoneHedge...I've heard of it and seen pictures before and thought that Stonehedge is just a bunch of rocks (I had no idea what it was)...til I watched the History Channel one day and it featured StoneHedge. I wonder how mystical it'll feel to go there and see the formation of rocks. I heard that there is somekind of energy that envelopes you when you are within the StoneHedge formation...I'm soooo curious now and can't wait to finally experience it for myself.

(4) Machu Pichu...the name itself is very intriguing and when I saw the pictures I just wanted to jump into the first plane going to Urubamba Valley in Peru...I wonder how their people and civilization perished, they said smallpox or some epidemic caused the perish of the people of Machu Pichu...I can't wait to take pictures of this place, one day soon...very soon!!!

(5) The Great Wall of China...I am part-Chinese, my Grandpa Yim Boo (Lolo, Love You...rest in peace) is full Chinese. I spoke Chinese till I was about 9 years old when we moved from the Chinese School we were attending to an English-based school in the Philippines. I regret forgetting how to speak Chinese, I wish I still can especially now that I can use Chinese at work and out and about out there. I will go to school and learn the languange again, promise. My Grandpa Yim Boo almost sent my bro Ernesto and me to HongKong one summer, but finances were funny then and we never got to convince him to send us. We still have relatives there, from my Grandpa Yim's Chinese family, that we haven't seen. That would've been a perfect opportunity to keep in touch with my heritage and family and also a perfect time to visit The Great Wall of China...it is a very long structure, imagine it being visible from a view in space. I'm sure I cannot walk the whole wall, but it sure is a satisfying feeling to be there and walk it's paved walkway. You know, I might as well visit the Chinese Terra Cota Guards when I go there....I collect figurines of them, I imagine that they all come to life on a full moon...my imaginative mind. Oh yeah, how can we not eat authentic Chinese cooking when we go there...the dumplings, pork buns, bean cakes, and tofuuuuu yummeeezzz!!! Again, I can't wait!!!

(6) The Grand Canyon ....ok, this destination will not be that difficult to reach and given the funny finances and available vacation time, I think the "fam" can go see the Grand Canyon. I was surprised that archeologists found fossils of dinosaurs, whales (yupppp, pre-historic old school whales that are huge), plants...I also want to go to Sedona, AZ. Tell they me that there is like a magnetic field of some sort when you go by the red hills in Sedona and that you should take a train ride around the canyons...yippey yah yey!!! This is possible to happen anytime soon...this summer??? will keep you updated with pictures.

(7) The Pyramids of Giza...ok, I seriously think that I lived in this time period (Egyptians building the pyramids). I'm soooo fascinated by how these pyramids are made, was it by man or by hmmmm..aliens??? I enjoy watching movies like "The Mummy ", because it was about this time period. The artifacts and the megalithic structures...my parents just visited Egypt and my stepdad fell off his camel (an experience he does not want to happen again, he said it hurted!!!)...I wonder if the pyramids are as wonderous if seen personally??? I guess we'll just have to find out.

(8) The Eiffel Tower... Paris, France...what more can you ask for??? OK, Hubby said that it's nice to be in Paris...lots of cafes, people are definitely different from here in the U.S., beautiful views...he said that you have to be there to explain the feeling of being in Paris. Eiffel is one of the limelights of being in Paris...who wouldn't want a picture by The Eiffel...and oh, my kitchen is decorated in the theme of The Eiffel Tower...yupppp, I have an Eiffel Tower clock, a glass Eiffel Tower virgin oil container, wall decors with my wine plaques and of course mi Papapiccolino's...

(9) The Turin Cathedral...Lent just passed and stories about Jesus was all over The History Channel and one feature was about the Shroud of Turin. They were trying to do a 3D image of Jesus Christ from the Shroud...amazing!!! The hair on my arms rose when the image of Jesus Christ showed up on 3D...I was dumb-founded at the same time was lost for words...I want to go to Duomo Di Torino (The Turin Cathedral) to see the Shroud...it is kept there. I really hope that I can see it...of course, we'd have to go to Italy...oh my. The Shroud of Turin will be the limelight of this trip to Italy, but there is sooooo much to see in Italy...sooo much!!! Hubby said that he has a very good friend in Rome who'll accomodate us...again, I can't wait to go....I can't wait to explore Italia.

ok...one more to go.

(10) The Bamyan Buddha's... out of the 10 I've selected, this destination is the most difficult to see right now and for many years now...I have been fascinated with Buddha's since childhood...I collect them too. I saw this segment on The History Channel (again!!! Isn't it obvious that I watch History Channel a lot) about the Bamyan Buddha's. These Buddha's were the most beautiful sculptures in Afghanistan up until they were destroyed via blasting when the revolt and war started in Afghanistan. The picture above is from when it was already blasted, how pathetic and shameful to destroy such work...I cannot go see these Buddha's, because they are in Afghanistan (war zone). I will though, given the chance, see the Buddha's in China...Singapore...Vietnam...Bangkok...India...everywhere!!! I hope that these Buddha's can be restored and that war in this country will end...stop the insanity now.

Now that's my list...share with me where you would like to travel to. I would like to find out about other places...Until my next blog...