At Home With MrsC

Raising a family, making a home.

MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan

Project 30

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Today marks my 6th month as a WAHM. Also, it begins my 3-month countdown to my 30th birthday.

I am turning 30 in a few months. Now let’s take a moment to let that information sink in…

Ok.

I am turning 30 in a few months, and for me that means that I’m moving up one big step in life.  I believe that there is a vast difference between being in your 20’s and being in your 30’s. So I feel that it’s time for me to change some things in my life, for the better.

As a 20-something, I went through a lot of significant life changes, from having a child to getting married, doing a lot of dumb things, getting hurt, hurting others, having my dreams turned to dust and my world flipped upside down, choosing the wrong things, choosing the right things, quitting smoking, and the list goes on. There were a lot of little things too in between, and all of these put together are what molded my 29-year old outlook as to what life should be once I cross over to the 30-something club.

Milestones. 6 months as a WAHM, 3 months to go til I’m 30. This is a good day for me to start on Project 30, my self-improvement project for my 30-something years. Yes, I do have a plan for the next decade of my life. Let me just pause while I pat myself on the back.

Image used under Creative Commons: Birthday Cake by Will Clayton

I want to commit to 30 changes over the next ten years, important goals that I feel will make my life better. Some are big and some are small. Some are things I want to accomplish within the months prior to my turning 30, and some that will be fulfilled sometime within the next ten years. Ten years is a long time, and maybe along the way, some of these goals may change. I don’t have my full 30 yet, but for now, I want to share with you my partial Project 30 list.

Before I turn 30

  1. Exercise. Daily. For the next 100 days. Yes, I really had to put it that way just to emphasize how much I really want to do this. I admit, exercise is not my friend. I am lazy. I have wasted many, many gym memberships over the years. And I want to do better. So there. Tomorrow is day 1 of 100.
  2. Quit soda.
  3. Reserve eating fast food for special occasions.
  4. Pay off my credit card.
  5. Finish cleaning our room.
  6. Cleanse, Tone and Moisturize religiously.
  7. Remember to take my vitamins everyday.

Within the Next 10 Years

  1. Move into our own house.
  2. Be able to sustain a stable monthly income as a WAHM.
  3. Fit back into my pre-pregnancy clothes. Seriously. I gave birth when I was 23. It’s about time.
  4. Have another baby. Yay!
  5. Set aside enough money for the future.
  6. Write a book. Or at least a set of short stories.
  7. Go back to school. Or at least attend classes, workshops and seminars.
  8. Buy my first LV. Yes, that is a goal!
  9. Get the little guy started on his extracurricular activities, sports and music classes, and summer activities.
  10. Become an excellent home cook.
  11. Learn to budget.
  12. Try to be more hands-on and more of a DIY person.
  13. Maintain my blog and increase readership.
  14. Live a healthier lifestyle.
  15. Put up my own business.

What should I expect in my 30’s? Do you have any suggestions on what else I should add to this list? I’m only halfway through!

Much love and happiness,

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I Thought Today Was Sunday

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In case you were wondering, my blog post title is “I Thought Today Was Sunday” because I started writing a post entitled “Sunday “, then I realized after a few minutes that it’s Saturday. Anyway…

It’s been quiet on the blog all week because I’ve been so busy being mommy. It’s Vision-Mission Day at my kiddo’s school, and since I’m a new Parents Association member, I decided to volunteer to help out during the school fair! Oh what a fun week it’s been. I’ll blog about that soon.

I noticed I say “I’ll blog about that soon” a lot, and that most of the things I say I will blog about never get written. I really should start organizing my posting schedule so that there’s a good flow of topics here. This whole thing about me wanting to organize my posts was actually brought about by two entries on my fellow World Moms Blog and Manila WAHM Mom (yes, I am plugging here), Martine on Dainty Mom.

The first is a post she wrote on the different kinds of mom blogs. Here I discovered/realized that I am more of a mom journal kind of writer, which Martine defines as…

They’re the bloggers who can pretty much write about anything and people seem to catch on. They chronicle the lives of their kids, or their latest salon trip, or whatever. 

I’ve yet to really build a bigger audience for my random daily musings, which is why I think i need to figure out a good flow for my posts. It’s funny how I start thinking OC but when it’s time to get things going, the fact that I’m not at all OC kicks in, and things just don’t get done. Ugh. I know I have the tendency to fall into this trap, which is why I find the Blog Editorial and Marketing Planner by The Mom Writes that Martine shares on her Dainty Dozens this week just perfect. PERFECT, I tell you!

I’ve been staring at the template all afternoon, trying to figure out what I basically want to write about for the remainder of November and for December. It’s nice because I can sort of see if things will mesh well together, and if there are posts that don’t fit. So yeah, I really hope I can keep this up and not let laziness or my cluttered way of thinking get in the way. You can really tell how disorganized I can be just by looking back at my post title, and the first paragraph of this entry. Haha!

Hope you’re all having a stellar Saturday!

Oh how I wish I was posting from here!
Entalula Island, El Nido, Palawan

Much love and happiness,

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Homework Chronicles

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One thing I am glad I can be hands-on with now as a WAHM is schoolwork. I’ll tell you a secret. There’s always been a little dork hidden inside of me. When I was little, my mom used to make reviewers for us when it was exam time. As we got older, she stopped doing this since we were already capable of studying on our own. When that happened, I started making my own reviewers. Now, as a mom, I’m really very diligent in making reviewers for my little boy’s midterm exams and final exams. I also make sure to do homework with him every afternoon after class. Then we practice reading, spelling and writing. I really want him to enjoy reviewing, and so I try my best to make the process fun for him. Luckily, he is receptive to my efforts, and he picks up fast.

I recently discovered that many parents choose to have a tutor rather than do homework and study with their kids themselves. I know one mom who says she just absolutely does not have the patience for it. I thought the same of myself too when I was working, and it’s been a pleasant surprise discovering that I can actually do it. I’m thinking about maybe sharing some of our reviewers on my blog. I wonder if that will actually be of help to anyone. There’s no harm in trying though, and I really do enjoy making them. I’m no homeschooling mom, and some of the reviewers are really simple, but still, they might be of help. So maybe I should. What do you guys think?

Homework time!

Much love and happiness,

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An Afternoon at UCC

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One of my favorite places to hang out when I want quiet time is UCC in Westgate Alabang. The coffee’s good, the cakes and pastries are good, the food is good, and it’s pricey enough so that I don’t need to worry about the usual noisy Starbucks inhabitants disturbing the peace. The catch is I only get to go there when I have extra money to spend.

UCC also serves one my my favorites among all of the Red Velvet cakes I’ve ever tried. So Red Velvet is usually what I order when I’m there, along with a nice cappuccino. That’s exactly what I had one afternoon when some friends from Festival Mall and I visited Westgate to check out an event setup.

Life in Style at Westgate. Sorry for the ugly photos. It’s my Blackberry’s fault.

This visit was in February, I think. You can see in the photo that the Hub was still boarded up. Now it’s all done and operational. Happy to see that Westgate is growing! It really is one of my favorite places to visit in Alabang.

Coffee menu. The usual suspects.
Cappuccino for me.
Plain Japanese Cheesecake
Red Velvet

I just realized that it’s been a while since I last visited UCC. Lately, I’ve been spending my money at Starbucks because of their Christmas drinks. I think maybe I’ll ask the boys if they want to have a meal at UCC soon. 🙂

UCC COFFEE CAFE
Unit C 801-802 Westgate Center,
Filinvest City, Alabang, Muntinlupa
Phone (+632) 771 1550

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Lunch Feast at Don Henrico’s

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So, my sister-in-law is getting married next year, which means our family is getting bigger again. Yay! We got to spend time with her future in-laws while they were in Manila, and they are just the sweetest people ever. They are a group that likes to eat and hang out too, so the two families really just mesh well together. Plus, they’ve got a little boy on their side, so my little kiddo gets to be kuya (big brother) whenever we’re together. Fun!

We got together for lunch one quiet Sunday afternoon on their side of the city. We only get to go to the Cainta/Marikina area when we visit Mr C’s sister, so going there is always a welcome change of scenery for us despite the traffic. That day, we ended up at Don Henrico’s in the the Brick Road complex of Sta Lucia East Grand Mall.

Presenting our super extended family!

Don Henrico’s is an Italian restaurant that originated in Baguio City. If I’m not mistaken, my first Don Hen experience was actually in the Baguio branch, along Session Road. Then a few years ago, they opened up a restaurant in Festival Supermall, so it became really accessible to us Alabang people. The thing about Don Hen, everything is super tasty and servings are really huge. That’s why it’s a great place to come together to celebrate. The restaurant at Brick Road is really big, ideal for parties but too noisy for meetings.

I love how the food at Don Henrico’s is so colorful and attractive. Everything smells great too! Just try and imagine how each dish smells while you look at the photos.

Summer Salad (Share: Php245.00, Family:Php470.00)
Combination of three types of crisp lettuce with mango slices, grapes, kiwi, mandarin oranges and walnuts, served with a strawberry vinaigrette

Calamari Fritti (Php180.00)
Battered and fried calamari served with a marinara sauce

Crab Fettuccini (Share: Php290.00, Family: Php540.00)
Flaked crab meat in crab fat sauce over fettuccini noodles, topped with crabstick and basil

Chili Garlic Shrimp in Olive Oil (Share: Php270.00, Family: Php490.00)
Spicy spaghetti with shrimps and tomatoes cooked in chili-garlic olive oil sauce and topped with parmesan cheese
We got this for free because we paid using a Citibank credit card

Don Henrico’s Buffalo Wings (3pcs: Php380.00, 5pcs: Php570.00, 7pcs: Php730.00)
New York style chicken wings coated with a tangy BBQ sauce and served with a creamy ranch dipping sauce
They were all out of wings when we ate there, so they served us thighs instead. Huge!

Chicken Al Pesto (Share: Php260.00, Family: Php480.00)
Penne pasta with button mushrooms, tomatoes and garlic tossed in a creamy pesto sauce and topped with deep-fried chicken breast

Four Cheese Pizza (10″: Php270.00, 14″: Php510.00, 18″: Php750.00)
Mozzarella, gorgonzola, cheddar and parmesan cheese over bechamel sauce

Little curly-haired CJ was really impressed by the size of the pizza. It was great seeing him enjoying himself while eating and playing with our little guy.

Our groom Cy practice-parenting with his two nephews

Bride-to-be Ate B and Lola Yaya
Shameless plug: My brother, the future dentist Boyong, made Lola Yaya’s teeth. Need a dentist? Message me!

Happy Boy CJ!

Mr & Mrs C

After lunch, we stopped for coffee in Figaro, then went to Ate B’s house and made like kids playing X-Box. Weekends with family are always the best!

What do you guys like to do on weekends as a family?

DON HENRICO’S
The Brick Road, Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall
Cainta, Rizal
PHONE +632 6815242 / +632 6827095
www.donhenricos.net
#/DonHenricos

Much love and happiness,

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