Weekend Journal

This weekend was wonderful--we got both sunshine and rain!

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I started my weekend on Friday. Charles and I both took the day off and we, together with my parents who stayed with us for the week, headed off to my sister's in the afternoon. It was exciting to see my little nephew again!

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I got a call from a nurse practitioner working for my OB. My glucose test results came back and I tested NEGATIVE of Gestational Diabetes! Yipppeeee!!! Thank God! There were four tests made within the 3-hour period. Yes, they did draw blood from me four painful times! I have to test positive on two out of four tests to be diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. I tested positive on only one--the rest were negative, which means I don't have it. The nurse however said that some doctors are so strict and would have the patient retake the test if at least one of the tests turn out positive. I hope my doctor won't have me do it again.

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My sister and her family lives in a very well-kept community in Salinas Valley. Living there is like living in a park.  I took advantage of the nice, sunny day by taking a walk outside and shooting the flowers that abound the park-like neighborhood.

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My always gracious and generous sister and her husband treated us to a nice day-out at Monterey Bay. She paid for our admission at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, one of the biggest in California. I've been there before, but it was the first for her and my parents. Everything in there were beautiful! I feel awful for the creatures for not being out there at sea, but at the same time they serve a great purpose of raising awareness among people, especially children, that they do exist somewhere--in a world that is just as beautiful as the land we live in. And we need to care for that world! It was reassuring to know [from my hubby] that most of the workers at the Aquarium are volunteers and their focus has remained the same over the years, and that is to raise awareness and help save the Ocean for future generations.

A Purple-striped Jelly (though it didn't look purple to me)

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Our day in Monterey ended with a nice dinner, again courtesy of my sister at The Fish Hopper, a seafood and steak restaurant along Cannery Row.

A view of the Monterey Bay shoreline

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Back in San Rafael on Sunday, a rainy day. I craved for something sweet, warm and Filipino. But it was too rainy to go out and drive to a Filipino restaurant--the closest is about 30 minutes away. So I decided to make 'Binignit' (sweet porridge) with sweet rice, mungo bean, yellow yam, tapioca and coconut milk. I wish we had banana plantain, but it turned out OK without it.

This satisfied my craving for a sweet, warm snack on a cold rainy day.