Thankful for the added year

The past Saturday was kind of special day for me. I was reminded I'm another year older. The many years that has been added to my life is obviously showing. Sometimes, I'm bothered by the lines that keep on showing upon my face.  Well.. not too bothered anyway!  I've accepted the fact that that’s how life goes.. grow old or you take the alternative, die young.  Who won't be very grateful reaching this far?!

Hence, the celebration!  We trouped to Subic at almost noontime on the day of my birthday with my own family, my sis', my MIL and SIL.  As usual, I was armed again with another freebie from Metrodeal. Lol!  This time I used Metrodeal's free credits to purchase the Overnight Stay for 8 promo deal offered by Forest View Leisure Residences, located in El Kabayo Rd., Subic Free Port Zone.  I think the place, (like a small community) are remnants of the old US Navy housing but has been renovated and well maintained.  I am impressed with the place.  The unit we stayed has 3 big rooms and 2 TB. Every room has its own aircon unit including the living room and dining room. It is complete with furniture and appliances, even with cooking and imported dining utensils. The cool place is comfy and relaxing as it is surrounded by forests.  We were even entertained watching sneaky little friends (known as monkeys) from the forest at the back yard.  They keep climbing up our terrace awaiting for some food and other stuff they can grab from our terrace. 

We were supposed to have coffee on that table but these forest creatures drove us back inside the house.

Come dinner time, it was Aristocrat Subic for the Birthday dinner.  Just happy to have visited Aristocrat again.  Oh wait, forgot to mention that sis' crabs and prawns are the usual hit.  It was almost consumed to the last bit way before dinner time.   And for our Sunday breakfast, I fried some marinated pork belly (for their consumption) and chicken. Then for lunch, we headed to Subic's Meat Shop but unfortunately, we arrived late coz the place was already jam packed with people.  Sis led us to Marquee in Clark instead, and had lunch in Army Navy.  Then that's where we split up from my sis' and her family and we turned back home.

picture..picture.. before leaving the place.

It was such a great birthday celebration.  I'm very grateful that I was blessed with all these wonderful loving people around me and the chance to celebrate another birthday again in an exciting way!  Truly privileged to have reached this far! Thank you, dear Lord!

Acknowledgement:   Thanks to Metrodeal for the free credits to purchase the promo deal offered by Forest View Residences in Subic Freeport Zone.  And many thanks too to Forest View Leisure Residences for the wonderful accommodation we had.  We  love the place!  Looking forward to going back to that relaxing place amidst lush forest.! 

On Baby's First Birthday Party

The many firsts in baby’s progress as he grows up is usually never missed. Every move is captured by the camera and details are in no way ignored and captured by videography gadgets.   And for baby’s 1st birthday, you definitely would want a celebration full of fun and excitement that will be remembered by guests, family and friends.

Although first birthday parties are not actually remembered by little celebrants, it is hardly ever taken for granted by parents as it is their way of showing gratitude for the little one's milestone celebration.   Nonetheless, all the joys and merriment of the 1st birthday party would undoubtedly be appreciated, later in years as the baby grows and as he reviews the photos and videos of his wonderful first birthday celebration .

Hence,  for those of you  who have tots turning one and planning to have a party, plan ahead. Make the milestone celebration a treasure to behold.

Sharing here some tips for an exciting kiddie party.

• Prepare party games.

• Get the kids wear costume or simple birthday caps to enhance their presence in photo shoots.

• Consider baby’s favorite character in choosing the theme.  It could be a movie character or a cartoon character.   Or better yet, visit PartyPail.com for baby’s first birthday theme.  Most likely, you’ll find what you need to make your little one’s milestone celebration a total hit!  

So there! May your little darling's milestone birthday be a real success!

Family Birthday Dinner at Don Cuisine

Janina, our most beautiful daughter, (she’s one and only, that’s why. Lol! ) celebrated her birthday last Wednesday, Feb. 6.   It was just a simple family affair of dining out together.  We chose to try the newly opened fine looking restaurant near our place so we wouldn’t need to travel far from home.  I guess, we will never get tired of having Chinese cuisine over and over again!  Don Cuisine it is, this time around, a relatively newly opened (as earlier mentioned) Chinese Restaurant along the end stretch of Commonwealth Ave, in Fairview, Quezon City.

We had ignored and passed by this resto many times before. Little did we know that it is also as excellent as the other fine Chinese Restaurants we’ve been to.  I sincerely love everything they have in their menu (except pork).  I thought nothing can compare to Peking Garden Restaurant, but here it is, Don Cuisine boasting  their Peking Duck that is truly perfect!  With just the first bite, I can’t stop uttering words of approval and awe!  And mind you, it’s not only me who loves it here.  This family of insatiable eaters couldn’t say more.  The food and the place is simply great, to say the least!  Though their price isn’t far from those first rate restaurants, it is competitive enough.  Or could it be that their slightly lower prices is only to attract new customers?  I hope not!  One thing is sure though.  We found the better place that’s so near to us. 

Btw, let it be known this is not a paid review.  Nevertheless, I’m calling the attention of the people of Don Cuisine. How about giving us discount next time we visit huh?! Lol!

With the family and the good food, simple as it maybe, another birthday was celebrated our old traditional way!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, our Bunso!!! 

Thank you for taking time to read this post.  May your day be as bright and gay!  Hope to see you here again!

No Frills, No Fuss Milestone Birthday

This is a delayed post of the milestone birthday I had last Friday.  Nothing much special happened. Just like the usual thing when having birthdays around here.  No frills, no fuss. Not even a cake for me coz the number of candles would  probably cost more than the cake itself. Lol!  Had dinner with in-laws at Mann Hann Trinoma on the day itself. Been missing my brother's family but they were not available when I invited them to have lunch the following day. I'll make sure that we'll get to have time to go out for dinner one of these days. Been quite a while without seeing them. Anyways,  couldn't be happier when my sis and her family came by. Got lucky that my U.S.navyman nephew and his family's scheduled visit coincided with my birthday. Hence, a merrier day for me!

mann hann foods

w/ family and in-laws

w/ my daughter, sis, granddaughter, DIL, niece

                                                                       nephew and wife
                                                                             

gift from DH

dooney and bourke bag, cologne and big botts. of vits fr. nephew nd wife.

My milestone birthday  is over.  I may not have celebrated it the way I wanted ( I actually want to experience Sky Diving as my extreme birthday celebration)  nevertheless, there’s overflowing happiness in my heart.   My life may not be a perfect one (whose life is, anyway?!) but blessings  keep pouring in.   Blessings to have conquered the many challenges brought forth my way,  Indeed, God is soooo good! And I just I couldn’t thank HIM enough!

Mothers' Day 2012

Belated Happy Mother's Day to all Moms!  I hope, all of you Mommies out there were able to enjoy this special day dedicated just for us, mothers.  As a mom myself, I am happy that at least I had the chance again to celebrate the day with my family and two other moms, my MIL and SIL.  We picked them up early Sunday morning and headed to Liliw Resort.  Although we have just been there few weeks back, we thought of bringing them there for the balikbayan’s  (mil) sake.  She’s here again for another 6 months vacay.

The trip to Laguna was only a whole day affair. We trekked the Manila East Road and entered Laguna via Mabitac.  We stopped-by at a restaurant named Toks in the same town for our breakfast at around 8am.  I must mention that the place looks good from the outside which misled us to think that their food is worth stopping-by.  Anyway, at least we came to know we should find a better place than Toks next time around!

We passed-by a signage of Panguil Eco-Park.  Made an attempt to see the place but when we were about to get our entrance tickets, it rained.  Expecting that it was a long walk from the main entrance to the stream/picnic place, we aborted the plan. We just went on with our original destination. 

It didn’t take us long to reach Liliw Resort. We only took a picnic hut and hubby and son tied hammocks on trees in case MIL or anyone would want to rest comfortably.  We have tried the resort's food back on our first visit that’s why I preferred ordering from them again instead of going through the laborious preparations I usually do when on outings like this.  Everyone seemed to have good comments on the food delivered in our picnic hut. Hence, my guilt for not preparing picnic food was relieved!

We left Liliw at 3pm and reached Quezon City in time for dinner.  We parked at Eton Centris  in Quezon Ave./EDSA with the plan of dining at Yang Chow Restaurant but we were disappointed  to see the place (and mostly all the other eating places in the area) fully packed. It was Mother’s Day so it’s already expected.  We ended up in Larry and Mau. Another nice place but not nice food.  Will talk about it in another post. :)  For now, I’m happy to have enjoyed our day, the Mother’s Day!

 

Btw, I sincerely appreciate this Photo Greeting Card of cutie Akesh, the darling daughter of Dhemz Dias which arrived through postal service.  The Dias princess is truly adorable! Thank you Dhemz for the special greeting and Happy Mom's Day to you too!

                                           (no scanner. reproduced by reshooting.)

It's another wonderful day today!  Blessings to everyone!

Jollibee Birthday Party for Cloud

It was an enjoyable night at a Kiddie party! Our Grandnephew celebrated his first birthday. But ain’t kiddie parties supposed to be held in the earlier hour of the day? Yes, I think so! But this one is like Kiddies night out! Lol! Actually, our niece ( the Mom) turned short of time to look for a Jollibee Kiddie party sked in an afternoon slot. She had no choice but to take the available early evening sked. Everything turned out fine anyway. Kids were all vibrant in their parlor games. But the mommies and daddies, energetic as they are were unstoppable in bagging the cutie giveaways in the oldie version of kiddie games no matter what the cost!  Whether they drop their butt hard on the floor or sway their hips like little tykes do. Everyone seemed to have their share of a good laugh! Am pleased that I attended this kiddie party given for our "Apo"!  Watching them all is so much fun!  Minus one boring day.. err..night for me. Happy1st Birthday Cloud!

Birthday Bash in Bataan White Corals Beach Resort

Starry moonlit night, cool garden air, great food, wine and videoke, all these we had on Friday night at sis’ place. These things may already complete a birthday celebration but clearly, they weren’t so! They were only  “appetizers” of the real birthday bash. The following morning we all headed to the lovely White Corals Beach Resort in Morong, Bataan. As I’ve mentioned in my previous post, it is an awesome place with ample amenities. I love the simple but attractive architecture designs of the cottages and the well manicured lawns and gardens. Adding as well the good services of the polite staff,  We arrived at the resort just in time for lunch. The boys unloaded our food from the car and we lunched in one of the open cottages by the pool just a few steps away from the beach itself. Our food?  As expected, no oysters and mussels but there was still the fave shrimps. Lol! I truly love all that was there!  Alluring pool, crystal clear water of the beach, fine sand and serene surroundings, great food by sis..ahh,  extreme happiness for me! 

The Resorts Facade

The Fresh water pool area across apartments.

The beckoning blue water of the beach.

Our Apartment: 1st and 2nd door to the left ground.

A place to rest after a good breakfast.

The celebrator alone but not lonely.

The Fresh water pool. Some of the villas for lease at the background.

Next was an afternoon of videoke-ing. Then a boat trip to Philippine Marine Turtles Sanctuary and to the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. We only caught a glimpse of the completed but never fueled nuclear plant ‘cause  getting near it is prohibited.  I feel sorry for the Filipino people as I stare at the $2.3B "white elephant". Well,  I'll find time for that more serious subject. Meantime, back to where we are... the big kiddos went snorkeling in the deep water while we're engrossed on that dormant power plant. The sun had set when we headed back to the resort just in time to prepare dinner.

Disembarking the boat for the Turtles Sanctuary.

The view from the boat.

Nephew and kid: holding a live turtle for the first time.

The turtle egg's hatchery.

Newly hatched turtles.

The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.

 

Daughter with her prized catch: Blue Starfish

The TH Photographer.


That's all for now buddies!  ... But there's more coming up.  Thanks! Hope to see you again!

Noel and Iya Tying the Knot

Congratulations and Best Wishes to Noel and Iya!

My nephew Noel and his sweetheart Iya (a.k.a Grace) has finally tied the knot last Sunday, August 8, in Seattle, Washington. I wish them endless love and happiness.

The couple has been through a lot but blessed as they are, they have passed all the obstacles and everything turned out well. So happy for you, guys! I love you both!
God bless!

Birthday in Family Karaoke Bar

Our family is a typical Filipino family who loves videoke. Anytime we get the chance to grab a microphone, we sing. Not that we are good singers but because we just love to . It gives joy and gladness, and amusement!. Last week, we celebrated son’s birthday in a Family Karaoke Bar, with my deceased brother’s family. We had much fun singing, eating and drinking. We started in the afternoon and wrapped up in the early evening. We left the place still feeling exhilarated from heartfelt singing like no problem exists in this world.

But there was trouble when we arrived at our place. We couldn’t enter our house immediately coz I couldn’t find the key. I searched my handbag looking for it and 'twas only found inside the car after a long while of searching. I remember the keyless lock of my friend’s home. They only have their fingers to unlock the house. So hi-tech and advantageous.Hubby was mocking me coz he was suggesting keyless lock to me before. I didn't know the advantages of such keyless lock only till now. How I wish I listened to hubby!

Anyway, the temporary trouble didn't take away the previous enjoyment we had though. It still remained a day of fun!

The series of celebrations

I had a series of celebrations on the week of my birthday. Although my actual birthday was on a Monday, I advanced the good time on the Saturday prior to my day. We had a family lunch out in Oki, Oki, a Japanese Restaurant then we met with my nephew and his family in the evening and had dinner at Giligan’s, a gimik place in Trinoma Mall. My nephew is very private and doesn’t want to show his and his wife’s photo. Below is his daughter, Lianne Victoria. I insisted on this one. Ain't she cute?

Below is the celebration with my family together with my
in-laws in Superbowl of China, still in Trinoma on the
actual day of my birthday, Monday.


Thursday was the day with my close buddies.


Just feeling happy...

And Saturday was a whole day of fun with my own Kuya’s (big brother) family.

We went swimming in Sun City Resort in Calamba, Laguna.

Still in Sun City...


The grillers


Nephew and his son, when we stopped over at Shell SLEX.
Modelling for the store's hats.


I enjoyed swimming a lot that I forgot to take photos of the food we had.
We only had some seafoods like shrimps and fish. Also chicken barbecues
plus Niece-in-law's especialty of Carbonara.








It was quite a busy week and one birthday week I'll never forget.