Update #6 March 7, 2006: Boring Bedrest

Hi,

Well, as you may know, due to spotting and a low lying placenta I have been put on bed rest and limited activity. While I always thought I would love just being able to relax in my bed, it gets pretty boring fast. So, I don't have much to write in my blog this time. To compensate for my lack of wordiness, I have included some pictures. The pictures will also be posted on our Photo Web site.

Dave has been like a pitbull protecting me and the baby and monitoring our activity level and protein intake. He keeps shoving meat down my throat as he says I'm not eating enough. I was actually quite surprised to find out that he is right, I haven't been eating enough protein but I would like to blame it on the lack of being able to find meat that comes nice and neatly packaged - like you find at M&Ms. To compensate, the weekends are our protein bingeing sessions. We started with the breakfast buffet at the Shangri La. I had an omelet with cheese, mushrooms, green peppers and onions. I also got to have hashbrowns - something I've been craving but haven't been able to find anywhere. Then I had some ham, roast beef, fruit, and some sorry excuse for a donut. Then I had coffee, fresh mango juice and fresh orange juice. Dave basically just kept filling up his plate with an assortment of sushi, meat and fruit. Yummy!!!! I could barely get out of my chair when we were done. We ate enough that we didn't eat again until late that evening.

Then on Sunday night we went for dinner at the Outback Steakhouse. I was so excited to have beef that actually tastes like beef! For some reason the beef in the Philippines is very salty. Even too salty for Dave - who loves salt. I had beef tenderloin, veggies, mashed garlic potatoes and a salad.

For those of you that plan on visiting us - and we hope a lot of you do - we did find a well-respected Manila area tour guide who offers a number of tours. You might want to review his blog to see if one of his tours interest you. His Web site is listed in the links as Celdran Tours. His blog also includes some commentary on current affairs and issues in the Philippines and provides some interesting reading.

Since I am pretty much limited in what I can do, Dave's tried to make it more comfortable for me here by picking up a DVD player and a Web cam. Now I can watch movies, listen to CDs and talk to people via Instant Messenger. The DVDs and VCDs are really cheap here. I was able to get imported DVDs of pretty recent movies on sale for about 350 pesos, or $7.00. The VCDs are a lot cheaper, they range in price from 150 - 350 pesos or from $3.00 to $7.00. I have no idea what the difference is from a VCD and DVD - besides the packaging - but I guess I'll soon find out. I bought them from a music store in the mall so I am hoping they are not pirated versions. I can also get the whole season of Sopranos, Sex in the City, etc for really cheap. I think 1 year is about 1000 pesos, or $20.00

If you have a Web cam, we can see each other and talk just like we would on the phone. If you have just a microphone you can see me and hear me, but I won't get to see you. To do this, download the latest version of MSN Messenger (version 7.5) from the Internet (it's free). Then add me (Debbiedesa@hotmail.com) as one of your contacts. That way I can see when you are online and we can chat over the Internet. I've already been able to see and chat with Bonnie and Alex and Meagan and Dave got to chat with Terry and Laura so it works pretty well.

And now, for the pictures. These pictures were taken before I was on bedrest and are from my trip to the Greenbelt Mall in Ayala Center.


This is a picture of a Jeepney. They are privately-owned but serve as public transportation. This one is actually quite boring when compared to how decorated some of the jeepneys are.



This is the Stock Exchange Building. In the middle of the big archway, there is a large fountain that goes off periodically. It is in no way the Bellagio, but it's pretty neat. Past the archway is one of the entrances to Ayala Triangle. It is a nice park but is only open during weekdays and during working hours.


This is the fountain display of the Peninsula Hotel. This is my favourite hotel and the place where Dave and I had our early Valentine's dinner. Right above the fountain area is the pool and it is unbelievable. We're going to try to go there for a BBQ dinner beside the pool one night, maybe for our anniversary. Everything about this hotel is stunning! Also, you'll see a CRV in the foreground, this is definitely one of the more popular cars in the Makati.

Because the streets are so dangerous for pedestrians, in the Philippines there are a number of ways to try to limit pedestrians crossing the street. They have gates blocking your ability to cross the street, underground passageways (that look similar to a subway entrance) and above-ground passageways like the one you see in the above picture. Besides all the stairs you have to climb, the other annoying part is that they shut them down at night, so you either have to hop the gates (which I am unable to do) or cab it eveywhere.

In Greenbelt Mall, there is a section that I think is called restaurant row. The restaurants are on one side, and on the other is park-like landscaping. This is one shot of it with the nice fountain, water and lush greenery.


And another shot of the landscaping. Sure beats the snow eh?


This is an outdoor church where they have regular services. It is very pretty but I didn't want to take any more pictures of it as a service was going on at the time.

That's it for now, hopefully I'll have more interesting stuff to share and some more pictures for you in my next update.

Love Deb and Dave