Ber months updates

It's been a while since anybody posted anything here (calling Binkee, calling Binkee); so I thought I'd go do a little something.

For the past months everyone's been busy: Papa's been busy cleaning up the toy cabinet and organizing our Matchbox collection. I was particularly drawn to a metal set, a car carrier-cement mixer pair. Turns out it was mine, given to me by my Ninong Jojo (who suddenly disappeared, but I did remember he gave some pretty cool toys). Perhaps he forgot I was a girl. Or perhaps he was fascinated by it and wanted to give it to me, or maybe someone gave it to him and he didn't know what else to do with it. Anyway. The toy car collection is great. Classic. Papa also displayed Lolo's Underwood typewriter and pipe set in the living room. Looks great. Next project? Hmm I hope we do something about the record player.

Mama's been busy promoting her IMCI book (yey! go Ma!) all over the country. Haha. Thanks to those who bought. You'd find us kids somewhere in there. On weekends she "relaxes" by giving the dogs a bath.

Chappy's been busy with school. Her Tourism team recently won a comp of the UP Junior Marketing Association. I don't really know much about this, but I do know there's a big-ass check displayed in the house worth twenty thousand bucks! Congratulations!

Binkee's also been busy with school. Eep. College application and entrance exams, the school paper, the yearbook, the everything else that comes with being a high school senior.

Kuya Jon, Mina, and Miel are all busy establishing their family. Miel in particular has been busy being cute and cuddly and modeling. Her Multiply site already has so many photos of her but you still won't get enough of that baby. She has just turned nine months old! Yey!

As for me, I'm busy with work (but not too much) and my hobby--art--in particular photography-lomography. There will be an exhibit in November I am part of, and until now I am still racking my brain for a concept. I have ten days at most to finish it, so wish me luck. :) What relaxes me? A visit to my rats' cage and some cuddling with Prettycat. Nothing like a good feline hug to make the worries go away.

Gypsy says hi from her condo.

Caleruega 2008

too many details, too many photos, better to just check out Miel's Multiply site (http://babymielyv.multiply.com/) for all the photos and travel logs. here, a few family pics, just to get this blog updated. i'd been too lazy!

all bundled up

Caleruega (last time I was here was 2003ish?)

the birthday boy & Caleruega first timer

kalogs

LONG OVERDUE POST: hello mielyboo!!!

The newest member of the Villarama family, Julienne Mischa "Miel" Yaco Villarama was born in the wee hours of the morning of January 6, 2008. 1-6-8, and so we all joked that her name should have been something like Maria Divisoria. Just a few photos here. Pfftt, it's about time this blog gets updated anyway!

Holy Week in Lucban

1st Picture (L-R): (below) Binkee, (above) Kuya Jon, (below) Ate Laurie, Mama Weng, Papa Benjo, Ditse Chappy

2nd Picture (L-R): Binkee, Kuya Jon, Ditse Chappy, Kuya Von, Ate Laurie

3rd and 4th Pictures: At the Kamay ni Hesus Stations of the Cross and Mysteries of the Rosary. Ditse Chappy is in the 4th picture (See how big the statue is!).

Holy Monday and Holy Tuesday were spent by the family in Lucban, Quezon. All six of us and Kuya Von (Ate Laurie's boyfriend) rode to Batis Aramin Resort on the morning of April the 2nd.

We did a lot of swimming, wading and even some boating during the overnight stay. The resort had three pools. The wading pool (where the water reached only our knees) was right in front of our cottage. We'd lie down and float around for a while, waiting for the other pools to empty out. There was also a 'lake' and some boats where we paddled around. We ate dinner at Palaisdaan, where the huts you'd in are built on bamboo rafts that float on water.

On Tuesday morning, April the 3rd, we went across the street to the Kamay ni Hesus life-sized stations of the cross. It was like a hill, and the stations were placed along the edge (see 3rd picture). There was a gigantic statue of Jesus at the very top. Across it was a similar hill, only smaller and this time, with the Mysteries of the Rosary placed around it and a big statue of the Virgin Mary at the top. From a distance, you'd be able to tell that the two giant statues faced each other.

We made the journey back home at noon and spent the rest of Holy Week in Quezon City.

Kuya's Graduation

L-R: Binkee, Papa Benjo, Kuya Jon, Mama Weng, Ditse Chappy

Our eldest sibling received his diploma last March 30. Congratulations, Kuya Jon (even though it's been two months since)!!! He finished with BS International Business and Entrepreneurial Management with Academic Distinction and would have achieved cum laude (no use in being modest here. I'm not him, anyway :>), but Kuya only started studying at San Beda when he was in second year, and apparently transferees can't be awarded with those distinctions. We're proud of our genius brother nontheless.

Papa, Mama, Ate Mina, and Ditse picked me up at SHS (it was our last day of school) before we headed to San Beda. The ceremony was held under the scorching afternoon sun in the courtyard, and extended until evening. Thankfully, there were cool gusts of wind when it ended. After a brief picture-taking session (the key event), we rode back. We had a small celebration dinner at home. We invited the Nituras over and Mommy Ely was there as well. Again,

CONGRATULATIONS, KUYA!!!

Ate's Haduan Birthday

*These pictures were taken on the way back to the van from Haduan*

Last March the 4th, we (Papa, Mama, Ate, Ditse, and myself) trekked up to Haduan, one of the communities in Tarlac handled by UST's Community Development Program. Since Ate works in the Office for Community Development (OCD), they often go on excursions and immersions there. There, she's known as "Ma'am Orya." The community is familiar to Ate and she, familiar to the community.

We brought food and juice, and some snacks for the kids. Mama even packed some party poppers (which scared some of the kids) to put everyone in the mood for celebration. It was, after all, Ate's 23rd birthday, and a very special one at that. Ate chose to spend it with the natives of Haduan instead of once again inviting *relatives* to dine at our house. It was a breath of fresh air, literally and figuratively.

At the end of the day, our feet were tired and screaming for washing and mercy. Mine even got stuck in the lahar on the way back. But the whole trip was definitely worth it.

The Villaramas online!

[written by *laurie*]

Okay. First of all, this blog is not my idea. Mama thought I had made a website (I actually just tried out a family tree generator around two years ago), and wanted me to update 'it' once we had the broadband connection going. So I looked the site up again and tried to add a few stuff to our family tree but the site itself was pretty messed up, and I gave up altogether.

However Mama still wanted to have a 'website' for us and for her IMCI concerns, so I suggested we make blogs instead of websites (easier to maintain, less of a hassle to find secure domains, etc.). So there.

I used to maintain blogs (I have/had?) four, I think--LiveJournal, Eponym, Blogger and Blogger--but I haven't updated any of them. Literally left them to rot. Which is fine since I don't think anybody would notice anyway (not being bitter here; it's just that I've never publicized my blogs enough to make people see them, much less link them up in their blogs).

So, here we are. News, activities, special and not-so-special occasions in our family, whatever+whatnot, it's all here. And the now-defunct Family Tree? I think it's easier to draw it up 'the old way'. It would be amazing to see how our tree would look like, with the many branches being grafted to other trees, and returning to the original, 'big momma' tree (notice I used the feminine term--"Down With Patriarchy!"--[sorry, sorry]). You know what they say in the barrios? "Lahat magkakamag-anak dito." Yep, everyone's familial-ly related to each other in some way or another, and even if you're really, really, really not related, you'll still be treated 'like family'.

Speaking of family relations, a 'thing' we occasionally do in our family is to perplex ourselves with trying to understand our genealogy. How Papa and Mama were related (they met at a common relative's wake), how Papa's Villarama branch was different from Mama's Villarama clan, simply how everyone was connected to one another. (Background song: "I'm My Own Grandpa") For Papa and Mama, it was a challenge to their memory (hehehe), trying to remember which aunt or uncle was which, their names and their children's names, and which of their friends and relatives owe us kids Christmas money. For us kids, trying to remember cousins' names was like a game, a practice run for Christmas when we try not to leave anyone out of Santa's list. Whew.

O-kay. Oops, I should be working. Gotta save up for next Christmas, got four godchildren already. [I wonder where my other ninongs and ninangs are? Is it too late to make singil for all those birthdays? Hehe. Coño.]