A birthday gift... doubled!

after hubby paid for my expensive progressive lenses (I've been wanting to get one this year but I always find it too expensive- P10,000+ a pair!) I never really thought that he would still give me another gift on my birthday - a Nokia N95 phone!

Might take me time to learn its features. Just so happy to learn that I can check my emails with it. Cool!

THANK YOU!

Ever heard about the Heart attack Grill?

Its a restaurant somewhere in Arizona, USA where you will see their waitresses dressed as nurses. And the cholesterol-laden picture below is a menu taken from the website of the said restaurant.



Check out the heart attack burger here and enjoy the music too!

As for the waitresses who dress as nurses, oh well, we all know they're not real nurses but look at the attention they've drawn from everywhere.

Win a handbag!

This is cool!
Its so easy to join - just key in your name and email address to enter the contest, choose the bag you like and voila, you are registered to win the bag of your choice. No frills, no credit card requirements and free handling & shipping! Goodluck guyz!

http://www.handbagplanet.com/




Oh, yeah, thanks Rhea for the shoutout!

Holiday lunch in the balcony

Eid Ul-Fitr! For the devout Muslims around the world, today marks the end of their month-long fasting. The celebration will run for several days.

1 October 2008 is also a holiday for the rest of us so hubby & I decided to celebrate it (kinda) by having LUNCH IN OUR BALCONY - a first for us, actually. Lunch was grilled tuna panga, stir-fry pechay, onion, jalapeno & tomato salad and of course, lotsa rice!


Tuna panga that we got from S&R last weekend. Thawed then marinated with just calamansi and kikkoman light soy sauce.




Hubby getting the grill ready...


Ihaw-ihaw...




I made some stir-fry veggies to go with the inihaw


Food is ready!




Kainan na!




Sarap!


Ang dessert? Ben & Jerry's Creme brulee Ice Cream!
Grabe, ang sarap nito. Its sweet custard ice cream with smooth caramelized sugar.

Ben & Jerry's is available in S&R, Alabang.

Amboy sings ala Ely...

in fairness, entertaining din naman...



Ay, sino ga ang batang ire? Katuwa-tuwa naman...

Sadya kaya 'yun?

Guys, watch this CNN video.
While the reporter was talking about the filing of bankcruptcy of the Lehman brothers, merong dalawang KSP sa likod nya... nakakatawa pero mas nakakatawa yun kung pagkatapos magreport nung guy, tinadyakan nya yung dalawang pranksters.

Charice! Charice! Charice!

... and now, my most-awaited duet of Charice and the Celine Dion!

Watch it here.

One lucky girl. Really.

Charice Dream Come True

Awesome.

Laftrip

Ten Conyomandments

by Gerry Avelino and Arik Abu
(taken from The La Sallian-Menagerie)

Conyo here, conyo there, conyo everywhere! Here at La Salle, conyospeak has become an unofficial language as a good chunk of the student body knows, or maybe even mastered the socialite tongue. However, one must never forget the basics of the conyo and we thusly bring you: The Ten Conyomandments.

1. Thou shall make gamit "make+pandiwa".
ex.
"Let's make pasok na to our class!"
"Wait lang! I'm making kain pa!"
"Come on na, we can't make hintay anymore! It's in Andrew pa, you know?"

2. Thou shall make kalat "noh", "diba" and "eh" in your pangungusap.
ex.
"I don't like to make lakad in the baha nga, no? Eh diba it's like, so eew, diba?"
"What ba: stop nga being maarte noh?"
"Eh as if you want naman also, diba?"

3. When making describe a whatever, always say "It's SO" pang-uri!
ex.
"It's so malaki, you know, and so mainit!"
"I know right? So sarap nga, eh!"
"You're making me inggit naman.. I'll make bili nga my own burger."

4. When you are lalaki, make parang punctuation "dude", 'tsong" or "pare"
ex.
"Dude, ENGANAL is so hirap, pare."
"I know, tsong, I got bagsak nga in quiz one, eh"

5. Thou shall know you know? I know right!
ex.
"My bag is so bigat today, you know"
"I know, right! We have to make dala pa kasi the jumbo Physics book eh!"

6. Make gawa the plural of pangngalans like in English or Spanish.
ex.
"I have so many tigyawats, oh!"

7. Like, when you can make kaya, always use like. Like, I know right?
ex.
"Like, it's so init naman!"
"Yah! The aircon, it's, like sira!"

8. Make yourself feel so galing by translating the last word of your sentence, you know, your pangungusap?
ex.
"Kakainis naman in the LRT! How plenty tao, you know, people?"
"It's so tight nga there, eh, you know, masikip?"

9. Make gamit of plenty abbreviations, you know, daglat?"
ex.
"Like, OMG! It's like traffic sa LRT"
"I know right? It's so kaka!"
"Kaka?"
"Kakaasar!"

10. Make gamit the pinakamaarte voice and pronunciation you have para full effect!
ex.
"I'm, like, making aral at the Arrhneo!"
"Me naman, I'm from Lazzahl!"

What my driving says about me...

Got this Blogthings from my email and tried it...

What Your Driving Says About You

You are a creative, resourceful person. You can easily entertain yourself, and you make the best of any situation. You are a fairly aware person, but you can't help but make judgment errors from time to time. You'd like to think you're a fair person, but you occasionally think you deserve a special kind of justice. You can be a rather tense, grouchy person - but you try to maintain your dignity. You have mixed feelings about authority figures. You understand their place, but you believe their power needs to be in check. You are focused and alert. You make sure that you are doing the right thing at all times. You are a very responsible and conscientious person. You often consider the feelings and needs of others. Your ego is a healthy size. You don't think you're more important than anyone else.

What Does Your Driving Say About You?

Wanna ride with me?

anak ng teteng...

sabi ng phone ko, august 9 ngayon. oo nga. kakapanood ko lang ng replay ng opening ng beijing olympics eh. pero sabi ng calendar sa kitchen, august 8 ngayon...?


kaya pala... grrrr!

KITA MO NA BA KUNG VAKKEEEETTT???

Sino nga ba nagbigay sa akin ng calendar na ito? Hmmmnn... gusto ko syang isoli.

888

Today is August 8, 2008.
Most believe that today is a special day and that it should be celebrated because it only comes every hundred years.

Marami nagsasabi its the number of infinity and for most people, especially in China, the number 8 is a lucky number.

Kaya naman today, maraming magiging kasalan, opening ng businesses, start ng construction ng mga houses and buildings. Even the Beijing olympics is opening today. Am pretty and sure sold out na this morning ang number na 888 sa three-digit ng lotto. Sige nga, it would be interesting to see if these numbers will come out in tonight's draw. Maswerte daw ang mga babies na isisilang today. Pati yung hindi pa dapat isilang, lalabas na din today sukdulang ma-CS ang mga mommies masabi lang na special ang birthday ng anak nila. Huwag lang sana special child ang anak nila. Sometimes man proposes but God disposes.

Everyone is excited about today. Except the cynics, who believes that "superstition is the religion of feeble minds". Whatever.

But of course for me, at the end of the day when it all boils down, its not really how one celebrated today. What is important is how you start and end the day. Try prayer, friends. No one will ever go wrong with that.

God is good, all the time.

Love knows no boundary

This must have been an old clip but its the first time I saw it and geez... it made me cry.

Its the uplifting story about Christian, a LION and his two keepers, whom after a year of not seeing Christian, bravely went back to africa to visit him. It was one of the most beautiful reunion I have ever seen.



Now, if anyone out there plans to go on safari, never, never expose yourself this way to any lion (or a tiger). Ikaw din...

Starwars... as explained by a 3-year old.

This is so cute... check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBM854BTGL0

Thanks Leslie for the link!

Gone firing

Hubby & I joined the boys on the range today.











The boys' pics next!

Farewell to you, my friend...

Si ate Yollie. She is a classic.
Cheerful, always smiling, you see her waving to people whenever distance doesn't permit her to chat with them.
She is talkative, a people person.
That is why she is well-known in the workplace.

She's also a cry-baby.
Share with her a sad story and you'll find her already wiping her uncontrollable tears as you go down your details. Very sympathetic.

In the bus, yesterday, on our way to church for her requiem mass Mamu suddenly asked one of the "Ladies" if she can already join their group. Tita Leni jokingly said that it will be hard for Mamu if she is aiming to replace ate Yollie. For one, whenever they have no food, ate Yollie would normally just order food from outside just so there'll be food on the table for everyone.
"Kaya mo ba yun?", she asked Mamu. (laughter in the bus)
"Saka kapag birthday nya, me dala na sya, pagdating ng hapon me dala pa rin si Tony at imbitado pa ang halos everybody. Kaya mo ba yun?" (laughter again)
"Saka si Tony palaging nariyan para sa kanya. Me partner ka ba?" (more laughter...)

Naisip ko, totoo lahat yun. She loved her friends so much she won't mind spending for them. And because her husband loved her so much, he shared her passion.

There were lots of people on her funeral. Some even came all the way from USA. Emails from our common friends abroad rained down on me sending nice words, reminiscing the years they have shared with her. I printed out all those emails and gave it to Tintin, ate Yollie's daughter. Even former colleagues who we never saw for so many years appeared on her funeral. A concrete evidence that she is well-loved.

Ate Yollie had follicular lymphoma, a cancer affecting the immune system, and she just had her 5th (of six) chemo cycle last July 10 at Asian Hospital. BUT, that wasn't the cause of her early death. She had a brain attack instead. Aneurysm. Pumasok pa sya last Monday, 14 July. Then she complained of headache in the afternoon until Tuesday morning. Her oncologist advised that she be given pain reliever. 15 minutes later she started vomiting so the doctor asked them to take her to hospital. In the hospital they found that her heartrate was way too fast so they contacted her cardiologist while they took ECG. She fell asleep and never woke up.

Nakakalungkot nabawasan ako ng kaibigang mabait, malambing, sincere, palabiro, maingay, iyakin, makwento, mahilig kumain, maporma, mapagbigay at masayahin. Wala na akong masasabi pa. Tumutulo na naman ang luha ko.

Farewell to you ate Yollie. You will never be forgotten.
I love you.

I got a new camera!

Its the Olympus 850SW!



SHOCKPROOF (5FT).
Accidents happen. A rugged metal body and revolutionary shock-absorbing construction are designed to withstand a 5-foot fall, drop or other mishaps.

WATERPROOF (10FT).
Innovative waterproof seals and gaskets allow you to take underwater movies and amazing pictures in a pool, lake or ocean.

FREEZEPROOF (14°F).
Perfect for skiing, snowboarding, sledding and other winter fun, this camera is winterized to perform at below-freezing temperatures.

FACE DETECTION.
Tracks faces and automatically focuses and optimizes exposure for sharp, brilliant portrait pictures.

DIGITAL IMAGE STABILIZATION.
With high ISO sensitivity and faster shutter speeds you can freeze the action to capture sharp, blur-free images even if you or your subject is moving.

microSD ADAPTER (MASD-1) INCLUDED.
This model camera is compatible with xD-Picture cards (not included). It also accepts microSD cards (not included) which are compatible with various consumer electronics products when using the included microSD adapter (MASD-1).

Am happy. :-)

and while I'm on it....

Thanks loads Nette for all the sumptuous pasalubongs and gifts!

The Kobe wine (we haven't touched it yet! :-) waiting for a nice occasion...)






















The Japanese chocolates...




















The beautiful teapot with matching pack of green tea!

















and best of all... my little cooking sake (rice wine)







Cheers!

Nenette's Birthday Surprise

A dear friend who is now based in Kobe, Japan wrote me several months ago. She wanted to surprise her mother on her 80th birthday. The plan was, she will arrive the day before her mother's birthday. I will pick her up from the airport, stay in my house for the night and deliver her to her mother the next day, 28 June 2008.



Fabulous.



"It's the best birthday gift", says her mother.

Happy 80th birthday Nanay!

Manila... Queen City of the Pacific

Ahh... Magnificent Manila!
Once upon a time...

My Lakbayan grade is C-!

My Lakbayan grade is C-!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

Elena Gracia, 18

My eldest niece turned 18 today.



Unlike other debutantes, Neng didn't want any big celebration. Her reason? She would rather use the money for her and her sister's enrollment. Besides, her mom already gave her ten thousand pesos and she used it to buy herself a brand new N70. I admire her sense of practicality.

From a problem brat to a very responsible child and sister.

Happy 18th birthday my dear Neng. I love you!

Happy birthday Meg!

She's vibrant; she's bubbly;

She's elegant; she's crazy;

She's Maria Guadalupe;

Meg to us all; Boopi to me (silently).

She's good; she's a dear friend.

She just turned 33.



The cutest invitation that we ever received...


Thanks Meg, for inviting Glenn and me. Your birthday breakfast party was our first, ever.

Congratulations Colleen & Kenneth!

My niece and nephew recently graduated from High School. Colleen Abigail had her graduation last 26 March, kasabay pa ng birthday ng lola nila and Kenneth's was on the the next day, 27th March. Syempre, I had to attend to both graduations para walang magtatampo. We had our celebration at Pizza Hut for both graduates right after Kenneth's graduation. The other two kids with me are Colleen's siblings, Aaron (in white shirt) and Elena (in yellow).



Sa inyong dalawa: Wish ko sana maipagpatuloy ninyo ang pag-aaral nyo sa college. At sana makatapos kayo ng kolehiyo ng walang aberya.




God bless to you both.

Happy birthday Inay!

This morning I notice I had a missed call from my Inay. I thought maybe she already received the package I sent her. If that is true, then it arrived just in time for her birthday. I was about to dial her number when I suddenly realized that we are 8 hours apart. She must still be sleeping at the time.

So I decided to call her at around 2:30pm, 6:30 am London time.

1:30pm my phone rang. It was Inay and I answered quickly by blurting, "Happy birthday po Inay!". True enough the package arrived and she was very happy. She kept saying thank you. I asked her why she was up so early. She said she is preparing some pancit for their group's morning coffee. The residents of Pickering House always gather every Wednesday morning for coffee/tea. Its one of their social activities and since she said they know that today is her birthday, she decided to prepare something more than coffee and sandwiches.

My Inay is now 68.
Happy birthday Inay!
I wish you a longer life, many more birthdays to come.
I love you.

Spending MT & GF at K in Dolores, Quezon

An innocent-looking facade, no signs at all; a tall, antique door; small round tables; a billiard table; native wall and corner decors; a sungkaan; tall windows; a kinda long-neglected bar; Teepee huts for two; a rustic hut for 8; long dinner table set in the middle of the garden; a sampaloc tree with two houses on it; an old wooden bench; exotic plants everywhere; Ralph & OJ - Jay's wonderful left and right hands; Onion & Praning (the pigs), Chongki and Moning (the dogs) - Jay's lovely pets. One will see all these and more plus of course, meet the Jay - the star partner/co-owner of Kinabuhayan, a bed and breakfast in Dolores, Quezon.

Hubby and I spent our Maundy Thursday (MT) and Good Friday (GF) here. Food was great. Jay makes the best risotto, ever!

O, diba? Sa Kinabuhayan pa dumayo ng sungkaan...

More images...

Meet Onion, one of Jay's beloved.

Happy and contented

Sumptuous dinner!


Good Friday breakfast - a buffet of Adobo rice, eggs, longganisang lucban, daing na bangus and a huge bowl of diced fruits.

After breakfast, Ralph took us to Kubli Springs, an Art and Nature Camp (they say) in Brgy. Dagatan. The river is cool. Lots of people, though, when we arrived. A table was already reserved for us. And so while waiting for our lunch, hubby decided to take the plunge.









Ralph and assistant, manning the inihaw na tanigue and pork ribs! (on a Good Friday!)

Hubby, falling asleep while waiting for lunch

with Jay Herrera, our bubbly host! Thanks Jay! and oh, yes, we loooove your risotto!