family matters – Page 16

Relaxing at Puerto del Sol

We left our place at 7am in the morning. After several stop overs for some lunch at Jollibee, halo-halo by the hi-way, and asking for directions, we made it to Puerto del Sol a little before 2pm.

The whole resort is huge and very well maintained, the crews are all knowledgeable and smiling. I can already conclude that they are very used to customers.

At the information center, we were all given a lace necklace. Then we were asked to give a Php2000 deposit for incidentals, refundable upon check-out. After that, we we’re assisted to our Casitas.

This is the first time that I didn’t take a picture of our room so let me just describe it to you. It is a detached unit with two rooms and a small living area inside. Outside is a huge dining table which I assume is made of Narra wood. It has glass windows and sliding door giving the occupants a very nice view of the beach. Apart from being at the beach front, our unit is conveniently situated at the back of the swimming pools.

As soon as we have put our stuff inside, we head out to the beach.

The very clear shallow water.

The access to the beach

View from the small island between water.

Sister-in-law, Ayex and me playing under the heat of the sun.

A decent summer family picture.

My princess bakasyonista enjoying the water and not minding the sun’s heat.

After our quick view of the beach, we went back to the room to change for our swimming attire. You guess it right. It’s the little girl who is very excited to try the water/ We didn’t swim at the beach though due to low tide. Instead, we lounge by the pool. And since it’s a Friday, there were a few guests only. We were able to enjoy the pool by ourselves to the max!

The kiddie pool soloist.

The empty adult pool waiting for us.

Enjoying the pool as I watch over Ayex

We stopped swimming at around 4pm to eat some snacks then back again. We left the pool again and had dinner at the resort’s restaurant. The food is tasty and the serving is appropriate. As it is with resorts, the food is a bit pricey though. After dinner, Ate and I tried the Jacuzzi. By this time, Ayex is already with her Lolo and Lola back in our room, sleeping.

Owning the outdoor jacuzzi to ourselves.

The jacuzzi if pretty relaxing, specially for tired muscles because of the pressure it gives. However, we didn’t enjoy it that much because the water smells like old salt water. After the jacuzzi, we took another dip at the pool before cleaning up and calling it a day.

How did we end up at Puerto del Sol?

After almost a month, here I am now, finding the time to blog about our instant trip to Pangasinan where we explored Bolinao and Alaminos.

So how did it all happen?

It was the morning of Ayex’s pre-nursery graduation. My sister-in-law who will be going back to the US in two weeks time still haven’t had a decent relaxation after two weeks of being here in Manila. I am affected for her and I want her to have a vacation because that’s why she came home after almost 3 years of being away.

Rewind. Sunday of that week, we saw CWC and Caramoan Islands featured in Rated K. Sister-in-law said she want to go there. The next Monday morning, I was inquiring about packages with travel dates on March 19-21. With less than a week of planning, our chances was very little. Wednesday, I got an email saying the Caramoan package is already full.

A few months back, hubby showed me Puerto del Sol. My initial reaction was it’s a bit pricey. Since we cannot go to Caramoan anymore, we are in a lookout for possible summer destination once again. I think hubby really likes this resort as by Wednesday evening hubby told Ate about it. It was late night and we just came home from work via commute. We didn’t find time to show her the web site any more.

Thursday morning, we showed Ate the web site and finally a decision was made. We are going to Puerto del Sol in Bolinao, Pangasinan. We booked for our accommodations through phone. Ms. Evelyn of Puerto del Sol is very accommodating. By 11am, we left the house. We went to BDO where we deposited the full payment of our 3 days and 2 nights stay at the resort. My poor memory forgot to take note of the total amount we should pay for so to avoid discussions with hubby (because I know I’m at fault), we just deposited PhP20000. Thanks to Ms. Lovely of BDO, West Avenue for helping us fax our deposit slip to Puerto del Sol’s office in Mandaluyong. After the bank errand, we’re off to Ayex’s graduation.

During the graduation rites, we’re still not done with booking because we have not confirmed if Ms. Evelyn already received our deposit slip. Around 4pm, we have confirmed our reservation. The graduation lasted until 7pm in the evening. By the time we came home, we are already full since the rites offered early dinner for the guests. At home, we announced that we are going to the Pangasinan the next day. The next thing we know, everyone’s busy preparing stuff for the trip. Hubby, Ayex and I still went to the nearby Hypermarket to buy some grocery. My little one is very excited as she saw me prepare her swimming stuff. By 11pm, we’re all prepared for bed.

I could not sleep very well, probably because I am excited as well and I am very pleased that we were able to pull off a vacation in an instant. My father-in-law is a bit anxious about my condition since I’m already at my 7th month of pregnancy. I’m pretty confident though that I will be fine.

My Seven Heaven On Earth

Thanks to Ms. Earth of http://www.earthlingorgeous.com/ for this invitation to write about My Seven Heaven on Earth. SHOEs are 7 things, places, events, items, or people in your life that you appreciate. They can be huge or little things as long as it made you happy, proud, thankful and in a positive mood. This reminds me to think of things that really matters to me, stuff that really makes me happy and contented as a person.

This is my first time to about my SHOES so bear with my list. It comes in no particular order.

Ayex, my little girl is graduating from her Pre-nursery class. The graduation is on Thursday, Match 18, 2010. Who would have thought that kids graduate at pre-nursery? Our only objective why we enrolled her to that class is for her to develop her social skills. Now, she even know what Go, Grow and Glow foods are. She’s only 3-years-old and yet, she was able to pick-up a lot from her daily class at school. She had made friends and tells us stories of how her day went by when we come home at night. I’m such a proud mom and I’m sure hubby is one proud daddy too!
Hubby is moving to a new company. While is took a lot of waiting and praying, we are very thankful for this answered prayer. Sure we will need to sacrifice a little more; I would have to commute going home despite being pregnant and he has to take a mid-shift. At the end of the day, we see this as a great opportunity. Hubby will have career growth and we will have more money for our dream house.
For the first time, I won in an online contest! I love contests, who doesn’t? The thing is, I don’t get lucky like the others. I know several Mommies who won fabulous prizes when they join these contests and I must admit, I envy them at times. I’m super thankful to Maybelline Philippines for choosing me as one of their winners of How I Met Maybelline.
There are several reasons why I love social networking sites, the most obvious is that they keep me connected to people dear to me but are far or very far from me. Accept it, in this time, you hardly see people close to you like your friends that often. Schedules just won’t meet, right? Thanks to Facebook or Multiply, you get updated on their whereabouts. Blog and Chat are other channels that keep me connected to them and I’m so thankful good Internet now exists. Imagine what will happen if we try to use these sites via dial-up connection. Ay!
Summer is here! Hopefully, we’ll be able to hit the beach or the pool with our loved ones at least twice this summer. My little girl is all ready! Have you read my blog about her summer gears?
My pregnancy is doing great. I’m now on my 27th week. I can feel my baby play inside my tummy almost all them time. I think I’m being a good mom because I don’t have swollen legs yet even if I’m almost entering my third trimester. In a few weeks time, we will see our new bundle of joy! We hope and pray that we’ll have a healthy baby.
My sisters are finally having a life of their own. It’s time to treat them as big girls. Gabby, our youngest, started with her job in an international company yesterday, Tuesday. Toni, my other younger sister is probably having fun already. Today is her first plane ride with boyfriend, Rico. They are bound to Bohol-Cebu for one romantic getaway! While I envy Toni, I just can’t travel now due to my baby bump.