My Secret to Having a Young-Looking Skin

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I posted this mini vlog on my social media accounts last Monday and I wanted to share it here too. As I’ve said before, I’m such an introverted person that I really seldom talk to people, but when I do, we get deep into conversations and I notice that most, if not all all of the people I speak with, get surprised when they find out my real age. I’m 45 years old but they all say I look so much younger for my age. Thank you! Sometimes that’s a good thing; sometimes, not so much. I say not so much coz like when I was 25 years old and was earning like P250k/month, no one believed me. Everyone thought I was using my ex’s money when it was the other way around. Lol! Actually, even with Mahal in my late 30’s, I had a feeling his family didn’t believe I am financially independent and can take care of myself. I even supported Mahal during our first few years together. I didn’t mind. We are life partners and I love him! He took care of me and Tuz while I was busy working and that, to me, was priceless. Even now that he’s taking care of us financially, he never stopped taking care of us emotionally and in all the important ways. He’s our hero! Anyway, back to my “baby face”, because I don’t look like my age, I have this feeling that people think and feel that I’m not financially responsible enough. Well, sorry to burst their bubble, but this girl boss here, right now, is set for life… a simple life that is. 😉 Anyhoo, I don’t have any special skincare regimen (although I did experiment on A LOT OF EXPENSIVE SKINCARE PRODUCTS IN THE PAST BUT THE GOOD EFFECTS DIDN’T LAST LONG) but I may have a secret that could be contributing to my seemingly younger-looking skin… younger than 45 at least, from what they say. And if you want to know what this secret is, watch my mini vlog to learn more about it. Let me know if it somehow makes sense. Here it is… 🙂

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Our Virtual World & ZubuChon Experience at SM Seaside, Cebu City

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Do you own a VR headset at home? Well, we don’t. Teehee. But we did want to try what it feels like to watch something using a VR headset so the next best thing is to try Virtual World at SM Seaside in Cebu City! I video recorded our first-time experience including our dinner break at Zubuchon which was our first time as well. 

The thing is, I got so dizzy from playing one game that I needed to head out of the establishment to cool down my head from getting too nauseous. So, we had dinner after a few games, then  walked around SM Seaside before we came back to Virtual World to finally do something I’m too scared to do but I did it anyway. It’s towards the end of the video and it was soooo hilarious, you gotta watch it! Lol!

Do watch our vlog about it! Here it is: 

How to Plan for a Beach Wedding (Our Dream Beach Wedding)

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It’s been two months since we did our dream beach wedding! It happened on May 5, 2023 at 5PM, dusk, my fave time of day. Happy 2nd Beach Wedding Monthsary to us! My blog is on US Time Zone but it’s July 5 now in the Philippines. I’m starting a beach wedding series and this would be my first blog post about it. If this is your first time to get to know me, you can go back to my previous post about our pre-wedding film which would also connect you to a series of my wedding engagement posts. I’m sort of an OC kind of person and I just want the documentation of my memories organized. This is in case I get Alzheimer’s in the future (I hope not!) and honestly, just doing it this way makes me so happy. It’s like I get to relive each moment as words pour out of me… Teehee. So, let’s start…

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Happy Father’s Day to All Amazing Dads Out There!

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HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL DADS! ❤ ❤ ❤

…especially to my Mahal, Bebeko, Bebe, Tuz’s Dada… we wish you the happiest Father’s Day! You are the greatest support to our little family and Tuz is truly blessed for having the coolest, kindest, funniest, loving, and most doting father! You are our safe place, our haven, the source of our strength. Thank you for being our protector. I am so blissful and joyous that I got married to you, God’s miracle, and together, made a fantastic little family. We love you so, so much Dada… Now and forever… ❤ ❤ ❤

Have a fantastic Father’s Day Weekend, everyone! This is just a short post since we’re off to another adventure! Ciao!

Til my next post!

#Fathersday2023

How to Teach a Kid About Real Estate, Coding, Circuitry and Robotics (A Little Peek at Our Homeschool Life with Tuz)

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We’ve been nothing but super busy since we got back from our beach wedding. We actually got a bit sick for 2 weeks after all the wedding tours that ended on May 8, and we had to recuperate up until Mother’s Day last month. It’s going to be Father’s Day soon and we’re still trying to get back to our regular routine here at our mini resort, Oslob New Village, our home in Oslob, by having our morning or evening walks again,  hikes up the mountain, going to the beach, paddle boarding, biking, and playing badminton (for better physical health); planting bonsais, herbs and trees; doing chores at home, taking care of Tuz, spending time as husband and wife (a.k.a. mini dates with Mahal), taking care of my online work, and homeschooling. 

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Hanz & Jen Pre-Wedding Film Shot in Southern Cebu (Oslob Cuartel, Boljoon, Alcoy, Tumalog Falls)

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April and May up to a week after our dream beach wedding celebrations and tours have been such an exciting roller coaster ride! I wanted to share so much about our wedding — the pre, during and post events but I am still a little bit overwhelmed until now with everything that has happened that I think I need to organize them all here on my blog to satisfy my OC tendencies. Teehee. (^_^)

You can also go back to my engagement posts for more background about us in case this is your first time to visit my blog and you’re curious about us:

A DIFFERENT KIND OF ENGAGEMENT

OUR BESPOKE ENGAGEMENT RINGS

ROMANTIC ENGAGEMENT AND FINE-DINING BY THE SEA AT SHANGRI-LA MACTAN

OF WEDDINGS AND BREAKUPS [A RAW CONVERSATION WITH A 6 YEAR OLD]

HOW TO COMMUNICATE BETTER WITH YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER? [REAL TALK WITH MY THEN LIVE-IN PARTNER]

OUR ENGAGEMENT TEASER VIDEO

BEHIND THE SCENES – THE MAKING OF OUR ENGAGEMENT PHOTOSHOOT AND TEASER VIDEO

SHANGRI-LA MACTAN 5-STAR VACATION

And of course, we already got legalized last Nov. 21, 2022 through a “secret” civil wedding: SECRET CIVIL WEDDING: BECOMING MRS. VILLANUEVA PART 1

And this wouldn’t be possible of course if I had not gotten annulled from my previous marriage. So you can understand how everything feels so miraculous for me. Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I’ll be so much blessed with Mahal and the life we live now. Thank you, God, for all your graces and blessings!

Both our engagement, the civil wedding, and everything in between are all  parts of the journey leading to the realization of my ultimate dream beach wedding with Mahal. 

But before we head there, let me share with you first our prenup / pre-wedding photo and video shoot done by Lumad Creatives. The succeeding photos are by Marion Dhen of D’PIX Photography.

Here’s the video:

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Shangri-La Mactan 5-Star Vacation

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It was a dream of mine 20 years ago to stay in Shangri-la Mactan. Back in 2005, I experienced having dinner there and it was not just relatively expensive for me since I’ve been so used to just doing budget trips (from what I remember, it cost P15,000 for a group of people at that time) but it was all worth it because the food was really scrumptious!!! I’ve been wanting to go back, maybe have lunch or breakfast. We attempted to try the breakfast day tour at Shangri-la Boracay instead before the pandemic  during our Boracay summer vacation in 2019 but the cost of P3,000 per person was still too expensive for us at that time considering that we were on a one week or so budget Boracay vacation. Then the pandemic hit so all travel plans stopped. 

Recently, we were in Boracay for 15 days and we did want to try the breakfast day tour again in Shangri-la Boracay but they weren’t offering it anymore. Our budget for hotel stay was only about P40,000, perfect for our 2-week stay in Paradise Garden and Resort Hotel, a nice enough 5-star-looking resort on the famous island. I’ll be blogging and vlogging about PARADISE GARDEN too. At least we were able to do Crimson Boracay during my birthday! Plus, splurge at OM BAR! Maybe, on our next Boracay trip, we will be able to check-in at Shangri-la. Still, I’m grateful we were able to stay at Shangri-la Mactan! 

Come to think of it, I noticed that ever since I’ve been with Mahal, a lot of my wishes have started coming true — having a baby, having a family to call my own, having my very first Apple Macbook (it was Mahal’s first grand gift to me back in 2016!), my beautiful cloffice (which I still need to blog/vlog about), my dream beach wedding proposal, my upcoming dream beach wedding, having our own mini resort and restobar, being together 24/7, traveling to exotic places, checking in at 5-star resorts… And my Shangri-la wish did finally happen! So I want to share a vlog I made about our 5-star Shangri-la Mactan vacation including the prices and what-not. Check it out below. Enjoy!

Til my next post!

Our OM BAR Experience in Boracay

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Whenever we’d go to Boracay, we always pass by this fun and happening place called OM Bar. A few years ago, before the pandemic, when we toured Visayas with Mahal’s elder sister from Belgium, we were able to experience it. Mahal’s sister took care of the expenses so we were lucky. We went in and just had a cocktail.

Then just recently, as we were doing our 2-week Boracay vacation (where we celebrated Valentine’s Day, my 45th Birthday, and parts of our honeymoon), we noticed that OM Bar looks bigger now and more exciting. So we decided to experience it once again, but this time, we’ll order a lot of food, try some of their cocktails, and shisha too! They usually require an entrance fee of about P500 or so I think from 7 pm onwards so we decided to come in early just before sunset so we can parteyyyyy to the maxxx!!!!

Here’s the vlog I made about our OM Bar Boracay experience. Enjoy!

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Dumaguete Day Trip

Dumaguete Day Trip

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Dumaguete is just a 25-minute boat ride from Liloan Port in Santander which is about 30 minutes away from Oslob by car. So it’s faster to get here than to go all the way to Cebu City (which is 3-4 hours away from Oslob depending on traffic) for a little errand run and shopping. I just want to share here what usually happens whenever we go to Dumaguete from Oslob for a little day trip. Here’s my vlog:

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Crimson Resort and Spa Boracay – My 45th Birthday

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It’s been a whirlwind of a ride since we got married in a civil ceremony… one celebration after another and constant traveling. We’re actually in the middle of our month-long (or so…) honeymoon trip in the Visayas, part of which is my 45th birthday celebration in Crimson Resort and Spa here in Boracay. I just want to share the vlog I managed to create while vacationing. I’ll try to come up with more posts once this busyness is over. But I think with our beach wedding looming in the horizon, it will really be a challenge to keep you updated here as much as I want to. Anyway, you can always check my Facebook and Instagram for more current updates. For now, here’s my birthday vlog I wanted to share here:

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Why Do We Need To Adopt Our Own Biological Child and How? An Ongoing Story of a Not-So-Common Adoption Case in the Philippines

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Why do we need to adopt our own biological child?

That was actually our question when it was first brought to our attention that fateful day in February 2016 when I first met up with my then annulment lawyer to file for the nullity of my first marriage. He’s a bright, hardworking, albeit 90-year old family lawyer at that time who mentioned it in passing as he was selling us his services because at that time, if I get annulled, and if we want to legitimize Tuz’s succession, we need to undergo the process of our own child’s adoption. So right then and there, adoption has already been on our mind.

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