Mayon Resthouse or Mayon Skyline

The sun came out today… but only sparingly. It was after lunch when I finally was able to convince hubby to get up the bed and do some driving. We went to Mayon Resthouse. We took the route from Tabaco City and then making a right to Sabluyon Road. This is the road that connects Tabaco to Ligao. It’s like climbing half of the Mayon Volcano. Our hearts sank when there were rains on the way to the place. We thought, it if was still raining we won’t push through. The winding road climb may be dangerous. But it stopped raining when we reached the road that led up to the volcano. There were a lot of kids waving on the road. I guess it wasn’t often that they see cars coming up. My mom said they were begging. We thought it was dangerous to stop and give them money what with us facing a climb. The road was a bit rough and there were a lot of vegetation. I guess it’ll be real scary if you find yourself there at night time. It was a surprise when we got there. There were already a lot of cars parked there. I guess the tourists had the same thought as we had – to grab the opportunity and take our chances. It was windy up there. I felt my ears up on the way up. The air was cold. My daughter caught a cold there. The view was fantastic. We saw Mt. Malinao, another active volcano in the area and saw the whole city of Tabaco. When we looked up we actually saw that we were so near the top of the volcano. At long last I saw it free of clouds. The tip was black as if burned by the many times it erupted. There was a planetarium and a café there but they were all closed. Next time we go there I do hope they’re open. The first time we went there was when hubby took his family here for the pamanhikan. We went there but there was a storm. We couldn’t see a thing. The building was really dilapidated but today, 4 years later and with a toddler in tow, there is a planetarium there already. We took photos which I will post soon. I found myself staring at the tip of Mt. Mayon and thought about the lives it has taken because of its numerous eruptions but I still can’t help but wonder how it can stay so serene… so peaceful. After an hour, we went down the slope. My companions were getting cold. I was so glad we took the chance and went there even if it was raining when we left.

Oh by the way, there were kids selling camote there and also bonsai plants. My mom didn't want to buy what they were selling and I made a comment that this was a way to help the kids. We ended up giving each of them peso coins. Apparently, word gets around past. Before we knew it there were a lot of kids lining up for their 5 peso coins.

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

This vacation has been feeding my lazy bones… making it stronger. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to go back to my own busy self. Majority of my day is spent sleeping and when I’m not sleeping, I’m eating. When I’m in my full conscious self, I am most likely watching TV. The days here in Bicol are rainy and the nights are cold. The weather is a bit like in Tagaytay. But the sun came out today. We’re planning to go to Mayon Resthouse after lunch. First day I ever saw the sun come out. The days here have been like in the Twilight book… always raining… always gloomy. Great place for vampires. I think I really need to go out. I am starting to think vampires are real. I’m almost done with the fourth book, Breaking dawn, by Stephenie Mayer.

My friend stopped by to give me her wedding invite. I am so happy for her. She’s one of my bestfriends. We have the same birthday. Zoie will be one of her flower girls at the wedding.

We have two pups here. Yesterday, one of them fell asleep in my arms… like a baby.

It’s Monday. I now have no concept of time.

Merry Christmas!

It’s been a while since I was able to post in this blog. The past weeks have been chaotic. Our trips to the hospital because Zoie was sick and I almost lost my mind because she had on and off high fever. Then there’s my infamous booty shaking at our Christmas party. Thank goodness, hubby wasn’t there or else… Our party was okay only that the boys messed up their presentation and our officemate dislocated a knee bone practicing a dance step. Before that happened I never knew anyone could dislocate a bone doing a fairly simple step. Oh oh one wrong step and ooopps… better be careful. There are also things that I can’t blog about or I’ll be cold turkey or lechon for that matter. Bwahahahha. And now… oh it feels sooo good to be home. The last time I was in Bicol was when I had a shoot last July and wasn’t even able to sleep or get a glimpse of our house. I only saw my parents at the airport. Here we are… at home. Although I didn’t drive the car, I had the gall to sleep and rest the day out. Hahaha! Happiness! I saw my pets plus two new puppies. I ate jackfruit. Every ulam is sooo tasty. Even my daughter had this glow on my face. Although I do have this annoying thought in my head that pops up every now and then, I’m sure this will disappear soon enough. Tomorrow is another day and I wonder what we’ll do. There’s cable here and even our Smartbro broadband is fast because of 3g. I know it’s weird. We don’t have cable in Manila because we’re parents. We’d like to filter what our daughter’s watching. There’s no 3g at our area. Our TV zonked out before we left. It doesn’t have sound. Our microwave just gave up so we’re looking at buying a new one soon. Hubby got new mags for his car though and that made him very happy. I only gave him skull candy earphones. I got this notebook, don’t forget. So far, Christmas had been great.

lookie here! unlimited kisses!

Gumbo

Wow, again I found myself eating at Gumbo, the restaurant that serves "African American" food. This was where my friends and I wore those goofy hats. Here's the food that i ate and didn't eat.

The big brown one is fish. I liked the ribs. The rice had parsley on top so it was "delish" also. The honey chicken was okay. Roasted zucchini i didn't like. Lasang lupa. It's not as if I eat soil ha. The roasted mushroom looked scary but I ate it anyway. There were shrimps on skewers also in this platter but there's no way anyone can make me taste it. I heard it was superb though.

Stuffed crab. This one i didn't touch. I don't want a slow and painful death. But they said it was delicious.

We also had fish and chips... on the house! The chips were actually tasty french fries and the fish was enormous. It looks the same as the one on the picture - that big brown thing at the center of the platter. We had soup or they had soup. It was served inside a bread just like at French Baker. Good thing it didn't appeal to me. It was crab chowder!

High Heels... High Hopes

Last night I bought the tallest platform heels that I could find. This is for our Christmas party. When I wore it, I became almost 4 inches taller. Whoa! People here at the office were laughing as I walked around wearing those heels.

I am excited about our Christmas party. We have another major production. Our theme is "Bling"! Let's hope that I have enough guts to execute everything that I've been planning.

Tomorrow, I am going to take Zoie to CCP to watch Ballet Philippines perform. She is very excited. I am also excited that she'll get to watch real ballet dancers onstage.

The Guilt Trip Was Not Worth It

What a world we have here! a few months back (or was it a month ago?), i encountered this lola who cried her eyes out to me saying that she was left there (near Ayala) by some relative and that she needed to go home to Nueva Ecija. I felt so guilty then because I just gave her some money and I left. I was pretty scared of the empty parking lot and office space behind her. Well, I saw her again... walking along Ayala with a cigarette in her hand... not a care in the world. To think that I was deeply bothered by the past experience because I am normally a very helpful individual. I am so repulsed. So, all the drama was just some sort of scheme? Haay. I should've taken her picture!

Weird things you see in the morning... I saw a woman climb up a bus and noticed that, yes, she was wearing a Roxy jacket, but please, can't she handle a needle and thread? A little yank would've removed the sleeves right off her jacket.

I was so in need to go to a bathroom so I stopped by RCBC plaza and on my way down after my cr break, i forgot where the G button at the elevator was. This very "helpful" manong pressed something for me and I found myself at the parking basement. Oh well. Thanks, anyway.

I stopped by Delifrance and got my secret santa treat! Yahoo! It was an almond biscotti something i think.

Oh, did I mention that I fell down the stairs on the way to our car this morning?

The Loft at Manansala

This is the magnificent view from The Loft at Manansala. We were on the 38th floor I think during the Olay Regenerist Launch. The pics are a bit crappy but then the weather was also gloomy. How I wish I have an SLR. Can't push my luck though after the laptop, hubby's face darkens at the thought of me buying a new celphone. Har! Har!

Bench Warehouse Sale

it was my first time to go to a warehouse sale. i've been on a lot of sale events when i was still single but i never went to a warehouse just to buy stuff. bench was one of my favorite brands in the past especially when i was still in highschool up until college but was replaced by guess. when i got married and had a child and grew this big i felt that the sizes sold at bench don't really fit me well. so i gave up on the brand and settled on international brands whose shirt sizes were friendlier. anyways, weeks ago i went inside super bench at market! market! and saw that they have bigger sizes. i immediately went underwear shopping and bought myself a shirt. i like the items sold at bench. my eyes popped out when a sis in my e-group, newlyweds@work, shared that bench was having a warehouse sale at tanyag, taguig. i haven't been to inner taguig. i do live in taguig but got as fas as c5 and the fort, that's my idea of taguig. we were supposed to go to baguio but i told hubby that if we don't push through, i will definitely go to the bench warehouse sale. so i did.

yesterday, i rode a jeep to fti. i asked the driver how to get to tanyag. he said he'll drop me off at the jeep terminal going to tanyag. when i rode the jeep to tanyag, the driver said he'll drop me off at the street going to the warehouse. i was kind of getting nervous because the jeep was nearing alabang already and the driver suddenly had this epiphany and realized that he should have dropped me off at tanyag. tsk! he gave a barker some money to take me to another jeep going back. this was actually fortunate because a lady in the jeep was also going to the sale. so i walked with her. she saw someone and i had to ge to the warehouse on my own.

the warehouse was enormous. i just went in half expecting the guards to catch me for trespassing. i was a bit dismayed because i thought the empty tent there was the sale already but i saw an entrance and found myself inside what may be described as a shopaholic heaven. the enormous space was divided into underwear, accessories, clothes, furniture and cosmetics section. you really have to be very careful because a lot of the stuff for sale are damaged already. i should've made hubby take me there so i could buy the computer table which was sold for 500 pesos only. the items were very, very cheap. a bench personnel told me that the ladies undies were gone by 6am that morning. oh my gulay! i should've been there earlier. anyway, my 2k got me a lot and i mean, a looot of stuff. i've a few not so great buys. the jeans i bought for myself was a hipster pala. grrr. it only covered half my butt. that's the disadvantage of not being able to fit anything. but i got pretty nice shirts and bingo! the slippers i got for hubby were the correct size. hahaha! i am so glad that i haven't gone a few inches higher in cup size so the 36C bra was still a great buy. i am so going back there. they have another sale on the 13th and i heard that there were new items that they'll be putting out. i saw that there were a lot of C cups that weren't selling but i got tired of going through the undies. i got belts, caps, shorts and a whole lot of stuff. too bad i didn't find anything for my little girl. i am so going back there on saturday.

Tagaytay, we missed you

I've always thought of this view as a big bowl of Bulalo.


First stop. Breakfast at Pancake House.
The Peach waffle was good. Eating at Tagaytay makes it a whole lot better. See the forks? Zoie and Adrian wanted my waffle.
Quick Starbucks fix.
Mass at Lourdes Church - where my wishes come true.
Bubbles outside the church.
Of course, we all know our lunch at Diner's. See photos on the entry before this.

A quick stop for jackfruit and buko pie. Zoie was fast asleep so we weren't able to go to Palace in the Sky, Mushroom Burger and have ice cream at FIC.

Diner's Restaurant - Best Bulalo in Tagaytay

This is our favorite in Tagaytay. This is also the reason why every time we go to Tagaytay, I have second thoughts in trying other restaurants. Their bulalo is super. This is actually my father-in-law's favorite restaurant. They offer seafood also - large shrimps that can kill me in an instant. Hahaha! But my number 1 choice here aside from the sumptuous looking inihaw na tilapia is the bulalo. We ate there last Sunday. I must have eaten a meal good for 2 people with large appetites. Sad that the marrow has fallen from the bone and it cannot be found even in the soup. But it was very delicious. The meat was tender. Bulalo pa lang, sulit na!
Hope we'll get lucky next time.

We had hilaw na mangga. Super sarap ng bagoong. I never itched.

The name of the restaurant actually strikes me funny. Diner na nga, restaurant pa. It's kinda like my favorite in Subic, The Coffeeshop Restaurant. Giant tacos, remember? Anyways, Diner's is located at Mendez Crossing, Tagaytay. Medyo dulo na siya and bayan area na.

full-time mom and housewife

today, i made macaroni salad for merienda and oh wait, wait, lechon kawali and stir-fried broccoli/ cauliflower and some bell pepper for lunch. hubby's teasing me. i mean, i do know that making lechon kawali is a tedious process. i had to boil that slab of meat in water with salt and garlic then put it in the freezer before frying it. oh and don't forget the macaroni salad. it's not that simple either. except for the fact that i forgot to out chicken so had to settle for spam - hickory smoked flavor at that!. hubs has this conclusion as to why i was doing this. he said that i was preparing myself for the weeklong break where i was to play the role of housewife and full time mom and he can't wait to see me in that situation. we will be home after xmas pa. oh well, maybe that's the time i'll get to see some friends.

tagaytay with my family

hubby woke me up at 6 yesterday. in my semi-conscious state, he said that we should go to tagaytay. we've been going to tagaytay on a whim before gas prices went over the roof and now that gas price is already reasonable, it's time again for out of town trips. yahoo! calet couldn't join us because she has other plans. so, the three of us went to tagaytay. we had breakfast at pancake house overlooking taal volcano. we had pancakes and waffles - obviously! hubby had 3 pancakes - most ordinary and i had peach waffle. well, a quarter of it since zoie ate most of mine. their house blend iced tea was okay. what i didn't like about that place was they never seem to hurry to bill out despite the fact that the place was brimming with tourists. hubby and zoie were already exploring the area and i was left at the table waiting for my bill and i've asked it from 3 waiters already and i think there were only 4 of them. when i was finally able to pay for our food, we transferred to starbucks and had hot choco with a shot of mint and mocha frappe for hubs. i remembered the first time we took zoie to starbucks. she was all bundled up in pink and so much a baby. yesterday, i had to hold her dress so she won't fall over. yes, you read it right. she was wearing a dress and won't leave the house if she wasn't wearing a dress. i used to condemn parents who go out with kids who aren't color-coordinated. although zoie is color-coordinated most of the time. man, she's got taste. but she's a fashion faux pas sometimes. hey, don't blame me. she chooses her own clothes. i'll buy her more dresses. after that we went to church. the Lourdes church is special to me. that is where i wished for zoie, wished for her illness to go away and wished for two friends to hook up. i kind of wished something again there but it's very private so i won't tell. zoie was wearing diapers but in the middle of the mass, she wanted to go to the CR! before the mass she was blowing bubbles outside the church. she blew her whistle inside the church and i was red with embarrassment. after that we had lunch at Diner's Restaurant, our favorite. we had bulalo and i ate a meal good for two people. i really should research about tagaytay. we've been going to the same places every time. on the way home (we had to coz zoie's already asleep) we bought buko pie and my favorite fruit, langka or jackfruit. we didn't go home directly, by the way, we went straight to the mall. pics to follow!

c'est la vie

isn't it bad trip when you just bought something that you really want and you go to the mall and see the same item on sale? you do a quick math and find out that you could have saved a few thousands if you waited for just a week or two. well, that's exactly how hubby felt a while ago when we went to Megamall to buy me a SmartBro prepaid kit. We passed by PC Corner and he saw that my laptop was on SUPER SALE! he could have gotten a 6 cell battery for the same price. it sucks big time. well, that's life. but that doesn't erase the surprise and happiness I felt when he got me this umpc. i was succumbed in a work-related toxic state when he revived me with that surprise. why, i was so toxic, earlier today, he called me an OFW. i argued my case as to why i should get a smartbro prepaid kit and that is - to be able to blog at home. hahaha!

i don't want to stress hubby too much. the other night i was walking at Ayala Avenue at 3am looking for an ATM so we can pay Makati Med ER. i took hubby there after he got majorly dizzy and started vomiting after basketball. I still need to take him to a cardiologist but right now, he has refused to drive to the hospital. they found abnormal results in his ECG parameters. I'm so worried. The experience actually taught me a few lessons. First, I really need to learn how to drive. Second, cash is good but during emergencies, credit card is better. so, i'm going to apply for a new card, for emergency purposes only. i had to cut 2 cards because i didn't want the temptation. i don't want to talk about what happened at ER only that I wish it won't happen again. i used to spend a lot of time at the hospital because Zoie had UTI.

grr... nobody seems to be online on ym. i guess a lot of my friends have internet access at the office only like i was or they're asleep. zzzzzz....

my MSI Wind

I am now typing this blog entry on my new MSI Wind. Turns out this was hubby’s surprise for me. Remember I was quite pissed when I learned that I will only know about the surprise that my hubby was telling me about in December? Well, all of those were just plain talk! He was already canvassing for the best umpc for me. He was hiding all of the flyers that he got from pc stores at his office and yesterday, when I did not ride with him to the office, he went out to buy this. Imagine my surprise when he reached out the back of the car at 6:00 am and handed over a box to me. I thought he got me makeup and perfume from their sale yesterday. These things were already ordinary to us. It didn’t count as major gifts anymore. Through my half-closed almost-24 hours awake tired eyes, I took a peek at what was inside the box. I was jolted off from my state of semi-consciousness when I saw the words on the box MSI Wind! I quickly opened the box and saw that it was black. I asked hubby why he didn’t consider getting me the white or better yet, the pink one. The love edition I decided to let go because its hdd was only 80GB while this has 160GB of hard disk space… way, way bigger than in my office computer. He said the pink one was more expensive and the white one, he didn’t need to explain, it turns yellow with age. So here I am typing on my sleek, black MSI Wind which I am willing to share with hubby… but only sparingly. Hahaha! I woke up 3 hours later. Normally I would’ve slept the whole day but because I’m excited… Zoie got her hands on this computer already. I can’t believe something this small actually functions as a normal computer and has more space than my office pc. Oh, oh… and did I mention that the memory of this has been upgraded to 2GB already? (smug). Hahahaha! Now hubby and I were discussing what bag we should put my pc in. of course, I’ll choose a kikay bag. Maybe hubby should buy his own bag if he wants to borrow this.

looking at life in another angle

my friend shared this to me. she got it from the internet. i think this is to help me understand a friend's behavior or maybe just look at life in another angle. i think the best for me is number 5! lol!

Number 7

life is sexually transmitted

Number 6

Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die

Number 5

Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich

Number 4

Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to use the internet and they won't bother you for weeks

Number 3

Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing

Number 2

All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism

Number 1

In the '60s, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal

i won't be home for Christmas daw

the husband just gave me a bad news. it is THE bad news. we can't go home for Christmas. he has to work and he doesn't want to drive to the province on Christmas eve because of the fireworks and people especially drunk ones tend to gravitate towards the highway. so Christmas it is in Manila. tsk! looong break pang nalalaman. he gave me the option to go to Bicol with Zoie and that he'll just follow. no way! plus side, i'll get to see my friends. downside, i've been looking forward to spending a little time with my dad who doesn't seem to want to visit us here in Manila.

i got a little revenge from the surprise that he doesn't want to tell me. he asked what i'm going to prepare for noche buena and i said, SECRET! but i'll write it down here. lucky for him if he reads my blog.

CHEESECAKE (blueberry) cross fingers. i hope i still remember how to make one.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF PASTA AND SAUCES - olive oil-based, tomato-based and cream-based
FRIED CHICKEN
HAM (ready-made)
ICED COFFEE AND VODKA - i'll buy a bottle of Mudshakers
CHOCOLATE CAKE (Mrs. Polly's)

hmm... i'll still think about other stuff to prepare.

oh well, knowing hubby, he might decide to still go for it and we might end up spending Christmas in Bicol.

i hate surprises

darn! i hate surprises talaga. hubby told me earlier that he has a surprise for me and i was really looking forward to it tonight only to find out that he will tell me about it next month. i asked if it was a thing - something tangible... something i could own. he said yes but got irritated when i tried to find out what the surprise was. in the middle of this project, i get distracted. my luck talaga sobra! well, i did ask if it has something to do with my future notebook. he said no. now i'm confused whether i like surprises or not. i usually want things to be laid out to me but sometimes i find it boring... less spontaneous. still, i crave for surprises even if i hate it.

hubby has a way with surprising me and usually this happens during ordinary days. when we were bf/gf, he gave me a swatch irony watch out of the blue. it still works by the way and it's still in my closet. he gave me long-stemmed roses when he came to pick me up from work and it wasn't even my birthday or our anniversary. hay, he has a way talaga...

to appease me, he said they have a sale on some fragrances and cosmetics tomorrow and will forward to me a list so i can choose what i want. so i said, just get me some nail polish because i still have a boxful of makeup, fragrances and what-not from his last surprise and a bag that i haven't used yet. but he refused! he said i'll get my Shiseido nail polish this Christmas.

About Christmas

torn

oh my gosh... oh my gosh... oh my gosh...

hubby just told me that we're going to look at laptops/ notebooks this weekend... IF i can get out of the office for a few hours. ano ba to? a major launch is coming up and ako naman all i think about is the umpc that i'd like to have this Christmas. i'm torn between the Lenovo IdeaPad and the msi wind. hubby says, pwede don't dwell on appearances! first the love edition whose specs are more obscure than plainer MSI Wind. The one in the picture is the Lenovo umpc.

selfish

in this selfish world, only the selfish survives... - Barbie

I got this from a Barbie Christmas movie. The movie actually teaches the audience (which are supposed to be kids so why am I watching) to share but I don't know why this stuck to my mind. Hahaha!

want... want... want... that's pretty much the word of the year. i want this... i want that... selfish but let's not be hypocrites here.

Christmas is coming so i want this and i want that? to keep up with the holiday spirit.

I met someone and i want him or i want her? is that statement even okay?

I really don't know what I'm getting at here just the fact that maybe I am looking for the words selflessness and sacrifice.

my future umpc

i want this for Christmas. okay, deep in my heart i wanted the love edition but hubby raised an eyebrow when i said i wanted it for its looks compared to this which has higher hdd capacity. clearly his wife is just into appearances. pretty vain, don't you think?

Okay Yung Birthday Ko

My birthday turned out to be a decent one. It was more than I expected actually. There was no urge to look for a vampire to bite me and make me an immortal 30 year old vampire. It was painless. Except for the fact that my good old period that always comes at a right timing (days when I have shoots, a lot of outdoor activities etc.) said hello to me the night before my birthday. Hubby thought I was over-reacting over this becoming old stuff when he can't even find fine lines or wrinkles on my face. You're too blind to see, I grumbled.

I left the office early (is 730pm early?) because hubby wanted to take me out on a birthday dinner date. We settled on going to Pepper Lunch but at the last minute I got lazy and said that I really wanted to try Joey Pepperoni. Pareho naman may Pepper. Hehehe. I've been casting longing looks whenever I pass by the pizza place. Their restaurants are not located in malls so it was hard for me to convince hubby to eat there on a whim. Before I left the office I searched the net for the nearest Joey Pepperoni restaurant in Makati.

I found hubby dying of hunger inside Powerbooks at Greenbelt. We scoured the mall for Joey Pepperoni before I gave him the neon pink post it where I wrote the address of the restaurant in Perea. Like boyfriend and girlfriend (uuuyy) we walked to the sidestreets of Makati in search of the restaurant. I didn't want to eat at any other restaurant. I don't know but lately I'm not okay with the Friday gimik crowd. Must be old age. We went to the car park first to look at the city map.
Hello, Joey! Finally, we've met.

We ordered half of Joey Pepperoni and half of The Works 12 inch pizza. I guess I can say that there's really nothing very special about Joey Pepperoni but if you eat there, you won't go home regretting the fact that you've eaten there. The pizza does taste awfully good but I've tasted better pizzas and I thought the crust was a little bit too white. I'm looking for that little toasted edge to the crust to make it crispy. But maybe it's just the Perea branch that does theirs like that. I'd better try the other Joeys. I was a little bit creeped out by the large picture of Italian children on the wall. They looked like they were glaring at me while I munched on the pizza.
The Pasta Salsiccia that we ordered was very delicious. It's actually different kinds of sausages sauteed on olive oil and bellpeppers tossed on spaghetti noodles. It was so tasty I only remembered to take a picture of it when I asked hubby to finish the pasta for me.

The day of my birthday, I was very grumpy. I didn't want to wake up early and I've been hearing people greeting the half-conscious me and I thought I was dreaming when I heard Zoie's sweet voice saying happy birthday, mama and handing me a bunch of gerbera daisies (my favorite!).
I said to myself, I'm really getting old. My mom is giving me flowers for my birthday. I woke up to an empty house. Hubby went to the gym and Mama and Zoie went to attend Zoie's makeup class. I found Calet doing some chores.

I made two kinds of pasta: olive-oil based and cream based. Tinamad na but I was going to make a tomato-based pasta or the traditional spaghetti and also bring out the pesto sauce that I got from the grocery. I settled for a penne rigate pasta for both my tomato cream sauce and aglio e olio. I cooked spaghetti noodles for the left over sauces. Hubby was raving about my pasta recipes that he made me bring some to my MIL and SIL.
The tomato cream sauce that my family love so much.
Aglio e olio. Don't judge the book by its cover. Or if it looks too bland, try some bacon on top.
In the afternoon, we went to watch Madagascar 2 at the Mall of Asia. I bought tickets for the six of us and MIL treated us to a round of halo-halo while waiting for the movie. Razon's is the best in Manila but wait till you try DJC in Bicol.
My mom enjoying her halo-halo.
Again, don't judge anything by its appearance alone.

After Razon's, Zoie and Calet went off to ride the "balloon" ferris wheel.
Zoie was waving at us from the ferris wheel.

After entering the cinema, I went off to buy buckets of popcorn for all of us. I don't like the popcorn at Perfect Pop so I went running down the escalator looking for Popperoo. Ayun, I missed the trailer of Twilight. Groowwwlll!!!
You got to move it, move it! Zoie was singing "you got to moo it moo it" all the way to the parking area. When I asked which animal she liked best, she said, "I like the mermaid..." I'm really not sure but I think she meant Melman, the giraffe (?).

For dinner, we went to Seaside in Macapagal. A gay waitress or waiter or what is he? was able to convince me to try Sharmila Paluto. She said it's sikat in Dampa Parañaque. Well, I thought it was time for something new. For years, we've been eating at Sis Dang. I wasn't disappointed. I liked the restaurant at Sis Dang because it's a little bit more sosyal but Sharmila provided a very "paluto" atmosphere. Whatever that is...
The sinigang sa miso ulo ng fish (si Mama lang may alam what type of fish) was very delicious. Hindi masyadong maasim.
Zoie loved the Calamares!

Me love Baked Tahong!
Buttered Shrimps. We were going to get Tempura but the man there said that it may be special but it's just like Calamares. Prito lang. I'm glad I believed him. I couldn't resist but taste these and I ended up with Angelina Jolie lips and a few pantals on the skin after eating two pieces minus the head. Quite a sacrifice. But I didn't buy crabs. I might not live to see the dawn of my 32nd birthday.

After, we lingered around the area to buy DVDs and Zoie made her lola buy her a butterfly toy.
Zoie was fast asleep when we arrived home. Mama and I stayed up late to talk. I missed her. She's been at the house for a week and I've been at the office before she wakes up and I get to come home and she's already asleep... kinda like Zoie.

I was also happy because a lot of people remembered my birthday. I received text messages from friends from here, the province and abroad. It was all unexpected for this chuva because I really thought I'd spend the day doing nothing or reading Twilight and hating the lousy Bella character.

I like to move it! Move it! I like to... MOVE IT!

goodbye 30

birthday tomorrow... huunnnggghhhh.... can't breathe...

you're animals!

Venti

Aaaarrrggghhhh! My project is giving me wrinkles and to think it's an anti-aging product that we're launching. Or maybe I'm just this edgy because a few days from now a whole number will soon be added to the 3 decades of my life. Do I have to mention this in every post before my birthday?

I've read that when you've reached 30, you're supposed to have achieved something. Well, I really don't know about that but I think the achievement in my life that surpasses all other achievements if I've had any is having Zoie. I guess being a parent actually changes a person. Work is just work. And people who make life harder for me are just people who are not really important. Family became a priority.

When I turned 30, I promised myself that I won't let anyone bug me. I should be stress-free always and should laugh at whatever mishap that come my way. I did manage to do that but still I'm human so from time to time, my feelings get hurt and I hurt other people too. I'm just not sure which happens more often. Hahaha!

Now that I'll be a year older and Zoie is already 3 years old, I find myself making deals with my husband. I don't want to get pregnant when I'm already 36 unless I'm pregnant with a third child. I guess my ultimate birthday wish is for Zoie to have a baby brother by the time I'm 33.

I also won't try to lose weight coz it doesn't work anymore. Hehe. I'm succumbing to old age. No offense to those who are older than me. I'm speaking for myself.

Oh well, better get back to work. I will not let anyone bug me. I will not let anyone bug me. I will not let anyone bug me. I will not let anyone bug me. I will not let anyone bug me. I will not let anyone bug me. I will not let anyone bug me. I will not let anyone bug me. I will not let anyone bug me. I will not let anyone bug me. I will not let anyone bug me. I will not let anyone bug me. I will not let anyone bug me. I will not let anyone bug me.

Cooking Dash

Oh my gosh, Irene, you are soooo right. I'm supposed to be working right now but I'm so addicted to this! I downloaded the cracked installer thru Bitlord. Naughty... naughty...

Havs Fever Finally Over

I've finally gotten over my Havaianas fever. I used to have four pairs, gave one away and am down to three very sturdy pairs. When I went to Royal last weekend , I was excited to see that Havs is on sale. But as I tried on a few pairs, I didn't feel that sense of exhilaration that I felt before... the feeling that made me pick up three pairs and take them straight to the cashier. Maybe it's because I've seen a lot of fakes out there. That a lot of people wearing Havs from Thailand?! But hey, I still couldn't forget the Havaianas Joy that I tried on. If not fever, may Havs Sinat ako. Gosh!

Zambales Weekend

People, I have had a great weekend. Even though it was but an ordinary weekend - no holiday, work-free day or whatever - considering it being November 1 and all (tsk!), I felt that the day has to be spent differently. Off we went to San Felipe, Zambales, my father-in-law's hometown where hubby's grandma is buried at the local cemetery. I would have wanted to go home to Bicol for the traditional undas but this year's Nov 1 sucks. It didn't even fall on a work day. I took a half day off from work because Zoie's ate (aunt really) went home to visit her mother's grave. So, I was a full time mom for 2 and a half days. Let me tell you, I've never realized until now what a little chatterbox my baby has become. She only stopped talking when she fell asleep!

What's different and great about this year's undas is that this is the first time that I didn't get scared at all. Normally around Oct 31, every year actually, I'll start becoming anxious and would often feel paranoid that a spirit or spirits of relatives will come to our house and haunt me. And there's the traditional halloween brownout from Meralco (which didn't happen at our place. Thank God!) not to mention my acute awareness that it is the day of the dead. Okay, I shouldn't be mentioning this but even if I've lived the 3 decades of my life already, I am still afraid of ghosts. I don't watch local programs whose themes are all centered to the ultimately scary. And before my grandma died I asked not to please visit me and she promised she wouldn't. That's kinda weird but she has kept her promise except for the occasional whiff of her smell which is really seldom but never fails to give me goosebumps. She may doubt it but I do miss her and I don't want to think about her because it makes me cry. Maybe if she's surfing the net from her place there in heaven, she'd be able to read this blog and I won't wait till I'm dead to explain her that. And I'm still having doubts if I could tell her because I don't know where I'd end up. Hehe.
Anyway, back to the story. At 4 in the morning, we were already on the road. I love NLEX and SCTEX. Adrian kept the speed to a hundred. It's illegal to go any faster and we have a little girl on board. We stopped at a gas station for gas and coffee. Why did I ever buy that large cup of cold coffee?! I forgot that in college that's the only beverage that keeps me awake all night. So, I ended up talking all the way to Zambales (guess saan nagmana si Zoie?).
Too bad, they had to blow up a few hills for this (SCTEX).

We stopped at a grocery store in Subic, Zambales. Yes, folks, the Subic that we know is different from this Subic. The Subic that we know is actually in Olongapo and there is a town after Olongapo called Subic. So if ever someone tells you that he or she's going to Subic and your mind has already been opened up to this truth, you'll end up asking that person, "in Olongapo?" And then you'll get that "of course, weirdo!" look from that person. Har har! I bought milk for Zoie at the grocery store and used up all my cash. The only ATM there was Metrobank. I really hate BDO during pay day. All their ATMs are either not working or a line a mile long is attached to that ATM and with your luck (mine pala) I'd end up with an empty ATM. So, the whole undas I was cashless and at the mercy of my mother-in-law. I could not buy anything and couldn't wait till the next day so I can withdraw cash again. I don't know why but I feel really weak without the cha-ching! cha-ching!

The weather was great that day. It wasn't sunny but it wasn't raining just an occasional drizzle. The house was big and lonely without Lola. Whenever we're in the province, we live at the second floor. The first floor is occupied by the caretakers. There is the tumba-tumba or rocking chair which I noticed was wedged on the windowsill. Malay mo nga naman baka gumalaw and wala naman nakaupo. I saw our wedding pictures in a frame. Yuck, payat pa ako dati! The kitchen was unusually spacious before I noticed that the old ref was missing. Dinala na daw ni uncle sa farm niya. I stayed mainly inside Lola's room na may aircon (figures! hehe) and read the third book of the Twilight series. Hubby is scared to stay at the second floor alone but I wasn't. Ang nakakatakot lang sa house was that the stairs leading to the second floor is very much alike to the stairs where Lotlot saw her dead body being dragged by Lotus Feet in Feng Shui! That's why I'd rather stay inside Lola's room. I didn't shoot a picture of that, I might find Lola standing there.

Zoie played with her dollhouse and all the Hello Kitty and toy trains there while I waited for them to call us to eat. The food that I look forward to whenever we're in the province is the chicharon or sitsaron which is really deep-fried pork. But there's a secret to how it's cooked that's why it costs 500 pesos a kilo. Raw pork is only 150 but people seem to really go for the chicharon because as soon as it's laid down at the market, people are in a hurry to buy them even if they end up paying thousands for a few kilos. It's great sahog to Pinakbet and Munggo. Next time I'll post a picture of the chicharon. Sarap kasi you'll forget to take a picture. Excuses! Excuses!

The next best thing that I've eaten was the boneless flying fish daing. Super sarap. Super garlicky. Although I ended up feeling a little itchy after eating the fish (don't blame the fish. I get like this everytime I eat seafood), no regrets.

Can't fly no more.

The third was the kamias fruit straight from the tree. There were a few hopeful looks that went my way as I munched on the sour fruit dipped in salt. Sorry, di po ako naglilihi. The sourness actually left my mouth numb for a few hours.

We went to the cemetery for just a few minutes. It was so different. In Bicol, I stay till almost midnight at the cemetery but it only took us 10 minutes to visit Lola's grave in Zambales. Well, different family, different tradition. The sad thing this year was that I wasn't able to offer anything to the church for the undas. Nada!

We left early the following day. We stopped by the "bukid" first. It's a piece of land owned by Adrian's family. There are mango trees planted there. Some older than me. Sad to note that they've already sold their cow so I didn't see her there. Poor cow.

There used to be a bahay kubo here. sigh***

Adrian stopped somewhere in Castillejos, Zambales so I can take pictures of President Ramon Magsaysay's house. The trike drivers watched me take pictures. A man was walking towards me before I got in the car. Sabi ni nanay baka raw bawal to take pics. Eh di takpan nila ang bahay. It's on the side of the national highway kaya. I liked the old church beside the president's house. It has more character.


Okay, my camera didn't do justice to this scene. But if you're passing through, it feels like you're in another country.

We went to SBMA. The Subic that we know. I didn't feel like eating giant tacos so we didn't stop by at the Coffeeshop Restaurant (read about this in a previous entry). I was surprised to see that there were other restaurants that offer jumbo tacos. You'll know if you're in Subic already when you see the name Gordon all over the place.

Tsk! Still no BDO ATM so hubby had to withdraw from his account because I was growing weaker by the minute. No cash... empty wallet... can't breathe...

The Royal Subic supermarket is my favorite tourist spot in Subic. Tourist spot daw! Hahaha! For a grocery shopaholic like me. This is the highlight of my day. I can just picture the giant cans of Piknik shoestring potatoes in my arms. That's bigger than those in the local supermarkets here in Manila ha.

For lunch, we ate at Dear.Soup which is obviously Korean-owned since sandwiches there are described as "portable." If I may correct, THEY ate their lunch there. I waited for my lunch until I found out a staff went out to buy bread for my clubhouse sandwich! My mother-in-law's loud "oh my God!" was enough to make them cancel my order.

Dear Soup, if you don't have bread in your supply, do tell me, because I just bought some and they're in the car.

Hubby went with me to Royal and I bought myself chicken shawarma. The first shawarma stand has no change for a thousand pesos. I mean, who the hell doesn't have change for that money. It almost has no value anymore! It's for the better really because I just had the most satisfying chicken shawarma from San's (Korean-owned, I presume) and it's only 55 pesos compared to my clubhouse which would've cost me more than a hundred bucks.

After my satisfying shawarma lunch, we went to the Bat Kingdom in Cubi. Or rather, what used to be the Bat Kingdom.

Where are the bats? Hey, Halloween is over!
The tree branches used to bow down with the bats' weight.

I don't think Zoie respects this rule. Hehe!

I actually told Zoie that there are no more bats because they served it up all here. I wonder if it'll affect her the same as when a child grows up and finds out that there really is no Santa Claus.

There were no monkeys either... just a few crows. Where are all the monkeys? Are they still at the monkey cemetery?

And what is this creepy golf bag doing there in the middle of nowhere? Makes me think of a scene from a horror flick.

If it weren't for the heat, I would have stayed and looked at the peaceful scene... not to mention the pink ship. So kikay!

Haay, Subic looked so desolate. After driving through Subic and constantly bugging hubby to put on his seatbelt and some drama from Zoie because she wanted to stay where I was (my throne. front of the car.), I tranferred to the back and ended up with a darker complexion because of the heat. The drive back to reality was peaceful.