Bee is for BLESSED ...: Girl's weekend!

This weekend was me and Zoe's first "girl's weekend". Mike went with Jay to a 3-day bachelor party cruise to Ensenada for Tee. I had no qualms with him going -- especially with the stressful plate he's been balancing for the past few weeks.

Friday, me and Zoe got a lot done together. We went to Pasadena to return some gifts she received for her birthday (yes, it's just now that I've found time to do this). It was nice driving around Eagle Rock, Glendale and Pasadena with Zoe. I really miss living down here ... Oxnard is just different and doesn't feel like home (yet). I liked going to my familiar places with Zoe. Once Jeric got home and I put Zoe down for a nap, I snuck out to get a much needed pedicure from my favorite nail salon in Highland Park. I even got my eyebrows waxed (gooooo me!!). Once mom and Tita Bot got home, me and Jeric went to the galleria to return a couple more things and also to get our friend Nelson a birthday present. It was nice just hanging out with Jeric ... it has been way too long. When we got home, I put Zoe to sleep and watched an Aga Mulach movie with mom and Tita Bot -- just like old times!! The movie was decent, but what I really enjoyed was getting to watch a Filipino drama movie with them ... it's the little things that I miss most ...

The next day, I decided to dedicate the morning/early afternoon to ME. I have been needing to update my wardrobe for a long time now and haven't been able to shop while toting around Zo-Zo (and I just don't do well with online shopping). I left around 9:30 am ready to spend mucho $$$ on some new clothes. Fast forward almost 5 hours later and I come home with just one bag ... with only three puny items to show for it. I went started in Glendale ... made my way to Pasadena ... then to La Cresenta ... then to Eagle Rock and still no luck. I hate it when you try to shop for stuff you never find anything you really like ... but when you don't plan to buy anything, all of a sudden there's so much stuff you NEED to buy! Grrrr.... I was soooo ready to come home with bags and bags of amazing clothes and came up pretty empty-handed. I'm not sure if it's just the current fashion that I'm not feeling or if I'm getting too old for my "usual" stores ... or if I'm seeing clothes now in a whole new light ... i.e. Will this get dirty if Zoe's shoes get on them? Do I have to iron this? Is is machine washable?? Oh motherhood -- you strike again!! Lol! Better luck next time, I guess!

Later in the evening, me and Zoe went to the Yumul's home to celebrate Danrochelle's 32nd birthday. It's her first birthday with a baby so they kept it pretty low-key. I was excited to see the college fam ... it feels like it's been a while since we've all been in the same place. It was the first time I ever went to a get together with just Zoe and no Mike. It kind of felt a little weird but I was proud of myself for doing my thing without him. Yes, of course I missed him and would much rather have him around, but every now and then ... it's good to know I'm still the strong, independent woman I used to be. Sometimes, when you're married and you have a baby, you get so used to just "going with the flow" and letting your husband lead the way that you forget that you still have the same skills you had when you were single =). Zoe had a good time hanging out with Jax, Lia, Phoebe and Gerard ... when we got back to Sunbeam, she was treated to a bonus "bubble session" out on the deck.

The next day, Zoe, mom, Jeric went to mass at the Cathedral followed by another birthday lunch celebration for mom at CPK. This time, it was Jeric's treat =) ... Zoe enjoyed the restaurant (as usual) and kept flirting with the hostess (I think she was secretly trying to get us a free meal). It was nice to go out with just mom and Jeric. I can't even remember the last time it was "just us". The only person missing was Jay and we would have been "complete" again ... later that day, Zoe and I went to Nelson's 35th birthday party. Again, it was slightly weird going to a social function without the hubby (especially since a lot of our CCC friends were there) but it was still fun. Zoe LOVED playing with Samson the dog and Grayson. The only downer was that I didn't get to enjoy the delicious food as much as I would have liked to ... when Mike's around, we can at least take turns eating. Even though I always end up eating less that I'd like, tonight, I ate even less than that! I was too busy chasing Zoe around (who was busy chasing the dog around).

All in all, it was a great girl's weekend!! I missed Mike a lot but was happy that both of us got our much needed unwinding in our own ways. I felt so blessed to be able to spend extra quality time with my mom, Tita Bot and Jeric. I have to admit I took a lot of those times for granted and now that those moments come far and few between, I really do cherish them!! I also feel blessed to be able to hang out with my friends and with my daughter. I kind of felt like a "single mom" this weekend but instead of feeling sad about it, I felt empowered by it. I was talking to my mom about it and she agreed that weekends like this -- where I can be a great mom and be independent and "on my own" actually makes you feel stronger. This weekend reminded me that I can do this on my own should I ever have to (God forbid something happened to Mike). I was affirmed that I could survive and be happy if I ever had to do it all by myself (not that I'd want to, but you know what I mean ... ). Nonetheless, I can't wait to see Mike tomorrow! I'm sure we had completely different weekends but I know that it was exactly what we needed. Thank you God for bringing me back to my old self and also bring me to the present/future self that I sometimes forget about =) ...