it's unbelievable

I lost track.. or should i say i can't keep up! there's so much on my plate at the moment, Full time work, full time seminary teacher, full time wife lol:) anyway i just couldn't keep up with the demands of my daily lifestyle i guess:) well time for an update! - Chad's back to university, still have a couple of semesters to do but i'm happy that he's getting close to finishing; I have been working as a personal assistant/ admin/ office manager in a consulting firm, lots of paper work - I just can't believe how many documents lawyers have to copy and file, it's unbelievable!! aside from the paper galore, everything is good, i like being in the city, i love to window shop on my lunch breaks but there's a negative side to that, see.. i'm kinda compulsive buyer/shopper sometimes, so normally i ended up buying a couple of stuff which i don't necessarily need:(, to solve the problem, i decided to leave my money/cards at home and just bring enough to buy lunch and stuff, although i'm getting better at it i must say, but the shop-a-holic side of me was pretty disappointed most times:) Last Sunday after church, Chad and I went with some friends to an International Day (adoption thingy) whose going through a process of adoption just like us. It's fun seeing different kids whose been adopted to Australia from all over the world dress up with their native dress/clothing and performed their native dance or sang their native song, lots of beautiful kids, it's comforting to know that we're not alone, and it's amazing how many couple's going through the same thing we are..Pity i forgot my camera that day so i wasn't able to take any photos at all! But it was indeed a great fun day! I think i'll have to stop here now, i hope to blog more soon.. i gotta go and finish my lesson for tomorrow!! Scripture Mastery Faire is coming, so i'll be better prepared! Au Revoir!

Long Week end Labour day getaway- North Stradbroke Island

Pictures were taken on our Sunset walk and the Gorge walk in the morning, we enjoyed swimming everyday on the beach eventhough it was a little cold when you first got in to the water but it felt fresh after a little while, we enjoyed staying there, it surely is like a paradise.. we love it!!!

The Phantom of the Opera

Chad and I went to see the Phantom of the Opera production before they leave Brisbane, many have seen it before us and we were told that its fantastic, so we decided to see it ourselves - and they were spot on!! it's worth all the penny:)
We had dinner first at the Satay Hut (Malaysian Restaurant) the chicken Satay sticks - appetizer was excellent yummy.. Chad had Malaysian beef curry and i had Mee Goreng, all the dishes was beautiful but we only ate a little portion of it as we're a bit filled with our entre, what a waste!! anyway, after the lovely dinner we had to make our way to the theater.. We were both blown away about th production, everything was excellently done, the actors were fabulous and the singing, acting, dancing, orchestra etc., I cant say anything else but BEAUTIFUL!! everything was just perfect, we loved every single minute of it, I wouldn't mind going and seeing it again if i can..The Phantom was just so delightful(Anthony Warlow) to watch..It was a great Experience indeed.. and we had fun..

Fun time

Its been awhile since my last blog i know..i'm finding it hard to keep up these days.. what's up with us you may ask?? well here's a short recap - still mourning over the death of our fishy’s – they died one by one, they had parasites – I think we killed them when we went crazy cleaning the tank and put some new gravels in it, the next day they had a tiny white spots all over their bodies and we didnt what it is ( we didnt know that it's parasites), how they got it? absolutely not sure but we suspected that it could be from the new gravel that we've put in there, Chad went to the pet shops and asked for an advice, but he was told basically that we cant do anything about it.. thus they died one by one, it was really sad, they are cute fishes, they all had their own characters, so now we only have the one cleaning shrimp left and 2 snails, we cant buy new fishes for at least a month, we have to clean the tank first and let it recover. Anyway enough with that - on the Week ends we had our friends kids with us for the night and one day, they are gorgeous kids, we didnt realize that kids gets up early in the morning hahaha lol:) it was a good experience and good practice for us lol:) here are some of the pictures we took of them and us -

We also welcome the newest addition to the family, Ava Marie Hurt on the 19th of April, she weighs a whopping 10.2 lbs but she's gorgeous..we went to visit her on sunday after church and we got to hold her for the first time:)

Ahead - i cant wait for Friday, Chad and i are going to see the Phantom of the Opera before they leave Brisbane, i've seen the movie but never saw the actual play.. many that have seen it said it's brilliant, i am so excited.. so hopefully i wont be too lazy to give you an update soon..

Back in Brissy safe and sound

My Plane landed at 6.30pm on the 17th of January in the Manila International airport and got all my bags and stuff by 7pm, the weather is not too bad, the humidity was slightly higher than Brisbane but it wasnt bad at all, it didnt feel like you were in the oven :) Mys sister Linda came to picked me up. I forgot how crazy the traffic was, we didnt get to my sister's place until 9pm!! YES you read it right 9PM, 2 hours drive for what you normally drive for just 10-15 minutes if you are in Brissy. Anyway, first day back in the Philippines - my other siblings, my mum along with my other 3 half brothers, and some cousins came to see me, We had a big feast and all, lots of laughs, singing karaoke, etc, Good times:) And that was my routine while Chad is still in Australia, but on the 2nd of Feb Chad came to join me and it was even better because i feel complete (haha!! sooooo corny - Jerry Macguire:) we then traveled to see my Dad in Isabela which is 10-12 hours bus ride north of Manila, (Chad loves the bus rides - kidding haha, i'm being sarcastic - he hates it with a passion:) We stayed there for a few days, we had fun, enjoyed the river and the enjoyed the Rice paddies and never ending corn fields and then when we had enough of it, we went back to Manila, and in between those travelings we had to meet some friends from Hong Kong and stuff, then more bus rides for Chad yahoo!! (poor thing) went to my visit my mum in Laguna (3-4hrs bus ride south of Manila depending on the traffic).. man Chad must be loving this, but hey its all worth it in the end because he adores Laguna, he loves it because its really Green, lots of Coconut trees and bananas, the Weather is beautiful - nice and cool, very different to Manila type of weather, Chad and i also just had our 5th year wedding anniversary on the 7th of February and this is one of the reason why we had to go back to Laguna because we wanted to take a picture at the same place spot we took our picture 5yrs ago - Charming!! haha just kidding:) the place still looks very pretty as it was, but Chad and I gained a few extra baggage since then (what a shame!!). Overall our trip back to the Philippines was very pleasant, we enjoyed catching up with family and friends, enjoyed the foods, the shopping (this was only applicable for me - because Chad hates shopping:) pampering and everything..aside from the incident at the airport when we're leaving and you dont even want to know about it, trust me..its totally different story, Got to see and meet my 2 nephews and niece for the first time, 40 days over was well spent and worth it!! I'm feeling a bit homesick right now, but I am also very happy to be back at my homes comfort:) Below is the before and after picture i'm talking about..


taken 5yrs ago before we got married in 2003


just taken recently Feb 2008

My plane landed at 6.30pm on the 17^th of January in the Manila International airport and got all my bags and stuff around 7pm, the weather is not too bad, the humidity was slightly higher than Brisbane but it wasn’t bad at all, My sister and her husband along with their eldest daughter (2&8mths old) picked me up at the airport. I forgot how crazy the traffic was, we didn’t get to my sister’s place till 9pm!! Yes 9pm – the driving distance would normally take about 15 minutes if you are in BrisbaneL. First day back in the Philippines- my siblings, mom and my other 3 half brothers and some other cousins came to see me, we had a big feast and all!! Lots of laughs, singing Karaoke, etc. Good timesJJJ!! That was my routine while Chad is still in Brisbane, on the 2^nd of Feb Chad came to join me and it was even better, we travelled to see my Dad in Isabela which is 10-12 hours bus ride north of Manila, Chad hates those bus rideL we stayed there for 4 days and we went back to Manila, after 2 days we travelled to my mums place (in Laguna) which is 3-4hrs bus ride south of Manila (poor Chad – more bus rides!) but Chad loves Laguna because it’s very Green and the weather is really nice and cool, very different to Manila, Chad and I also just had our 5^th yr wedding anniversary on the 7^th of Feb and the photo below was taken at mum place in Laguna (which we used as our wedding invite photo then) and we took another picture 5yrs after on the very same spot – charming (kidding), the place still looks pretty as it was but Chad and I gained a few extra kilos since then as you can see. Overall our trip back to the Philippines was very pleasant, I really enjoyed catching up with my family and friends, enjoyed the foods, shopping, pampering and everythingJJ I got to meet and see my nephews(2) and my niece for the first time. 40 days was well spent and worth it!! I am still feeling a bit homesick right now but I’m also happy to be back J.

Quite Liberating!

Since i had my drivers licence, i havent really driven on my own, Chad is always with me, but last night, there's nothing good on TV so i thought i should go to the Video store to check out what they have, anyway i know Chad hates going out after a long day at work so i said to him will you let me drive to the video store on my own?? he didnt answer me but just stared at me instead ( i know he's thinking so hard to whether he's going with me or not) so when he didnt respond, i grab the keys and my purse and asked him if he wants something from the video store.. he said yes pineapple crunch please.. so there's my YES IRENE you can go driving on your own:) so away i went, i thought it will be scary for me but i quite like it!! i didnt really get scared or got nervous.. i was fine and quite liberating really!! love it, im just glad i got my licence before im heavily pregnant:) otherwise i will be stuck at home!!

Got my P2!

Today was an exciting and nerve racking at the same time.. Why?? i have my legitimate reasons:) I went for my driving test today, i was kind of calm not really nervous (or maybe i was just in denial) i had over an hour lesson with a professional driving instructor before hand to refresh my driving skills, then away i go.. i am confident with my driving skills but as soon as the examiner got in the car i started feeling really nervous and kinda shaky, i did all of the manuevers i was asked to do perfectly, no crosses or anything like that, but i got like 3 marks on my road positioning ( this was an unmarked road ok??) and 1 mark from hesitating on the roundabouts but the examiner said its no biggy, i will get better and better at it once i've been driving for a period of time.. i didnt do anything illegal, infact i was super duper careful. I was allowed 8 marks and i didnt get them all and that's why i've passed, what a Day!!

happy Halloween

Scary me and my niece Georgia

Travis and Paige

Brian and Carolyn Adams plus Rob and Lindi Orth

This is our friend Jared and Tanha - she made their costumes Clever isnt she??

The Hart's:

Paige,Chad, Eden, Renae, Cody, Jade and Hope, Heath is missing in this picture. He's working as a flight attendant.. so i think he was in Japan at the time..

Eden(my sis in law) & (her bestfriend) Tegan

Costume parties are not really my favourite as im pretty pathetic when it comes to dressing up hmm both of us really, and as you can see on the right i didnt do a very good job on my face.. luckily its halloween so the uglier it looks the better:) Chad cant come up with a better idea than to dress up as cricketer monster and is trying to choke me! whateva!! But hey we had fun so that's all that matters right?? anyway here's some of our friends picture, look at the their costume, i thought they did a great job on theirs...

Low key but a Nice Day

After driving around.. watch a bit of cricket match, sat down and chatted with friends, Chad and I decided to go to Southbank to see if there's some good movies we could go and see, we decided that we wanted to see "THE GAMEPLAN", we're a little late when we get in but didnt missed too much just the very start, unfortunately we also have to seat separately same reason, we came in late! but that didnt affect our day:).. we both really enjoyed the movie.. "the Rock ROCKS!!" and the girl was so cute and smart.. anyway i would recommend this to everyone.. its a family movie and im pretty sure everyone will enjoy, i even cried at the end.. but over all its 2 thumbs up for me i love happy ending movies....Chad let me drove almost all day today, i think i scared him a little bit on some turns and at some stops but other than that i think i did alright as we both got home alive hoorah lol!!!:) Maybe we can go to the beach next saturday as its getting hotter and hotter every single day.. that would be nice hey?? We were going to the Movie world with the Chad's Relies today - from Adelaide South Australia (who are up here for Brad's wedding (chad's cuz) but we thought well pass and just hang out together and have a low key day.. which is nice because most Saturdays Chad's got a cricket match and we rarely hang out!! he's got 2 Saturdays off yeppee.. so i have to take the opportunity to hang out with him while i can (chad and Irene time=).. anyway that's all from me for now.. until next time..