CHRISTMAS 2013

It was white Christmas for 2013...White was the theme color for this years Christmas party in Katarungan..

Terrified to spend Christmas alone in Lagro, I decided to  celebrate it in Katarungan with my sisters family whom I consider as my 2nd family too. I had to comply though to this years theme and that is, we should be in white top and jeans. No sweat..

We started out with the children's christmas party in the afternoon. The kids from the neighborhood were invited. So they came bringing presents for their exchange gifts.  I got busy helping out preparing food for them. Kiddie stuffs..cupcakes, candies, pansit, spring rolls and more..the trick was, we adorned the cupcakes with superheroes to make it more enticing for the kids. Childrens party is no fun without games..Divine took in charge of this.  The moms brought gifts and some cash too for the prices. After the tiring games, we served them with their food, the adults joined too in savoring the kiddie meals.  Afterwards, they continued with the party with dancing and other kids sang too.  The kids went home happy, bringing gifts they got from their monitos and monitas.

By 9pm we all dressed up for the mass. After church was the noche buena.  Aaron led the prayer thanking the Lord for the food and the blessings.

food...

It was minimal but sumptuous dinner prepared by Byne and Don.  Pastas were spaghetti with the filipino sweet style sauce and baked mac loaded with cheese.  Main menu was baby back ribs, then for dessert there were the mango flavored cake and choco merangue cake.  As a pasta fanatic, I was heavily into the baked mac. Yummy treat....

 

The Opening of gifts..

After dinner, the rest of the night was spent on gift giving. Took us hours because of so many gifts to give and to open. Everyone was upbeat to give and to receive but nothing compares to Aarons joy when it was his name being called.  Christmas is indeed for kids, and true enough that gifts will bring joy to them.  Aaron been hinting that he wants a ninja turtle prior to Christmas.  So from his lolo Pamboy and lola Thelma, he got Michaelangelo ninja turtle and he got a 3d ninja turtle book from me.  My nephew was so thrilled accepting the gifts.  The more he was getting, the happier he was.  His lola Inda bought him bike, his papa and mama bought all sort of action figures, heroes and villains.  His daddy Don bought ninja turtle sword and mask as present, and he got boxing gloves from his amune.The most awaited part of the gift giving was to whom the grand present will go. Grand because it was in cash form.  Brett sponsored it.  So our names were put in a bowl, and whoever Brett picked from the bowl will get the money. This year Divine got the prize.  It was almost 3am...so we ended our party..everyone was contented, I myself had a blast.  Merry Christmas!

NADINEs 2013 BIRTHDAY

 Nadines 39th birthday lunch at Sugi Resto in Greenbelt 2..

I went ahead to Greenbelt to have lunch with Nadine and the rest of the family. It was not an ordinary lunch cos that day was my sisters birthday.  This family loves surprises. So this one was another surprise for the celebrant. I was advised to go and meet them in the mall.  From the mall, we proceeded to Sugi.

What made this ordinary lunch extraordinary was that Brett reserved a private tatami room for us. We were able to experience an authentic traditional japanese restaurant were in we had to take off our shoes, sat on the floor and felt Japanese ambiance around us.  The room was all to us, there is a button to press if we need assistance. Waiters in their kimonos were there to take orders and assist the customers to their needs.

 







 I had assorted tempura, it was 3 piece consisting of shrimp, fish and eggplant.  I had assorted sushi.  There was a bowl of beans sprout for side dish and our favorite appetizer was the pickle salad.  There were bite size of fruits too. It was served ala carte and presented in trays.  One full tray and huge portion of servings.  We stayed for a while and took pleasure on our food.


 The Origins of Sugi.
 Owned and managed by Sugi Management. Corporation, Sugi was established in Greenbelt Arcade. back in February 2, 1983. Sugi was conceptualized and tested on a modest scale by Toshikazu Yoshida in M.H del Pilar prior to Makati operation.
The name sugi is japanese for pine tree from where this fragrant wood is taken from; a tree which can only grow higher and higher.

After lunch we strolled the mall then dropby in a pastry bar where we had the cake for the celebrant.  Aaron sang for her mama and said his wishes for her.  It was a yummy cheesecake for everyone.

the birthday cake-cheesecake for all of us

ARRONs CHRISTMAS PLAY

 December 18 2013: I was invited to watch the ISYC Christmas play. It was presented with a family wherein the kids started to ask their parents how people celebrate Christmas around the globe ...and about that time the cute performers started to sing Tagalog Christmas songs..The Filipino Christmas celebration..that was they portrayed.

 On the later part of the play, they presented the Nativity of Jesus.  The scene after when Jesus was born, the section Camel where my nephew Arron was a part of, started to sing Silent Night. And again when it is the kids performing, its always mind blowing..somehow touches the heart maybe because of their genuine singing and performances.

They ended the play by showing the ISYCs effort to help the Yolanda victims..They showed photos of how every kid and their families and the teachers took part in their donation drive for the victims.  I know Aaron broke his piggy bank to shell out his savings to buy some stuff for the victims.  Hopefully these kids will continue and take with them what they have learned.

The after celebration of Aarons performance was in Bistro Mateo in Tiendesitas Pasig.  We had lunch and surprised Aaron with presents for a great performance. 

PAPAs 75th BIRTHDAY

Our manila celebration of your birthday papa..wish u were here..we love u so soooo much..happy birthday!!

 

 October 8 2013..Our dearest papa turned 75. He is staying in California  but still we make it a point to celebrate his birthday here in manila. Today in his birthday we are again thanking the Lord for all the blessings and for the 75 worth living years of our papa..
We thank you Papa for your kind heart, for being the best example of living a good life, for showing us humility, positivity, prioritizing the family and faith in God.  We are grateful to have you as our papa. Love you!

Venue: The Buffet along Commonwealth QC 
The group of people forms a veritable conga line of sorts which makes the buffet more of a conjoined celebration of happy people.The Buffet serves only the most thoughtfully-prepared healthy dishes using the finest ingredients with flavors that play in your mind long after the last bite. Their guests are all assured of prompt and courteous service, and your senses will revel in the hotel ambiance of the place. Indeed, it’s a gustatory smorgasbord with fine dining incorporated into it. There your taste buds will get to experience authentic and original varieties, from appetizers to soups, from main dishes to desserts. They also have an innovative show kitchen where they prepare the best delicacies across different regions. They also have an innovative show kitchen and savour the best delicacies across different regions.

SULAT AND CAN-AVID FIESTA 2013

The word lechón originated from the Spanish term lechón; that refers to a suckling pig that is roasted.The dish features a whole roasted pig cooked over charcoal. Additionally, it is a national dish of the Philippines. lechón is prepared throughout the year for any special occasion, during festivals, and the holidays. After seasoning, the pig is cooked by skewering the entire animal, entrails removed, on a large stick and cooking it in a pit filled with charcoal. The pig is placed over the charcoal, and the stick or rod it is attached to is turned in a rotisserie action. The pig is roasted on all sides for several hours until done. The process of cooking and basting usually results in making the pork skin crisp and is a distinctive feature of the dish.

Huge amount of rice cooked outside for fiesta

marlons place

 My grade school friends make it a point to get together during fiesta in our town. This year is no exception.  Nerissa planned the itinerary so for our first stop we went to Marlon s place. We stayed for hours there because Marlon mixed drinks for us. Later part Naveda joined us...

navedas place

and brought us to  our next stop which is her  place(Naveda), we continued with our chitchats and drinking at Navedas place.  It was late when  we drop by at my cousins Roselle baldados place. We cannot say no to her invitations cos a group of friends were there also.  Last stop at Rovina Palines place in tabi.  We stayed til morning. Food was plenty while we talked abt anything and everything.  Vesper day we were in Joel and Nancy s house.  We been doing this for years ..our way of catching up and enjoying each others company.

edwins place

 August 1 we were invited by Edwin another classmate from another town(Can-avid) for their fiesta. Again we been doing this, that after Sulat fiesta the batch 90 is expected at Edwins place in Can-avid the next day.

  Filipinos love fiestas. The word "fiesta" will bring a smile to the face of almost any Filipino. After all, a fiesta is a special time with friends, a time for fellowship, food, and lots of activities. Each year brings numerous fiestas. Sometimes people are busy for weeks preparing for them. It is surprising, how even those facing many problems in their day-to-day life set them aside and participate in the festivities.

The fiesta is of Spanish origin (the reason for the Spanish term). Spain, being a Roman Catholic country, set aside certain days to remember particular saints with processions and celebrations. When Spanish missionaries entered the Philippines during the mid-1500s, they found that the fiesta was a convenient tool to help teach Filipinos the Roman Catholic faith.

SERILAND

Established on November 20, 2010, Seri Fantasy World was developed out of curiosity on the science of 3D technology and the ambition to bring to the Philippines the attractions of SEOGWIPO SERI WORLD theme park in Jeju Island, South Korea. Seri Fantasy World is committed to provide unique and challenging attractions and promote fun-learning experience through the educational and entertainment value of its attractions. It offers never-before-seen attractions in the country that are equipped with different angles of 3Dimensional technology for visitors of all ages.

"The land of happy thoughts" - this is the slogan of SERILAND manila..A theme park for kids and kids at heart...SERILAND has four main attractions, the mirror maze, the trick art museum, 3D cinema plus and kids paradise...







We decided to go for the trick art museum..Basically the place is filled with paintings wherein u can take pictures and interact with the paintings..

The challenge was how to interact with the paintings and coming up with original interactions and not just following the samples there..Another challenge for us was with ET, cos he has the shadow of his hand reaching out..we tried his hand shadow and mine to connect too..not successful in my picture but i tried it with my friend and achieved it..

I would say SERILAND is not just for kids..grown ups will enjoy the place too..Its a place where they can make fun of themselves too while posing with the art works..

STRAWBERRY PICKING IN LA TRINIDAD

Our strawberry picking in La Trinidad, Benguet was his papas treat to Arron.  He wants Arron to see the strawberry farm and experience harvesting the fruits.
Before leaving Baguio, we squeezed few hours to go to La Trinidad for the strawberry picking.

We were early at the farm, while waiting we checked out the stores in the area. Goodies were products that can be identified to Baguio. Strawberry and ube jams, Baguio shirts and so on. Of course there were fresh strawberries and lettuce being sold here too. In my observation, the lettuce in the area was more crisp than those sold in the market. Regrettably I already bought the previous day in the market. You can try Strawberry taho and strawberry ice creams in the area. The taste is basically the same except of the strawberry flavor on it.

In the farm you have your choice of just buying ready picked strawberries or you pick your strawberries and have it weigh later for pricing.  We'd rather pick our strawberries, that was why we were there..to experience it.  First thing, since the farm is partitioned, we find a portion wherein  we saw bigger strawberries on it. The ibaloi farmer said that we can get inside the perimeter and she handed us scissors and taught us how and which to harvest. Easy thing..
What makes the activity fun is when u get to find the big strawberries. Also I couldn't help but get to taste my freshly picked strawberries. I was not sure if it is allowed, but did it anyway.  It was scorching under the sun, and we have a long trip back to manila, we left the farm with our fresh strawberries.