Wrap Up

Been writing a lot of stuff here lately so I hope you guys scroll down to get the earlier posts and if needed click the “older post” link.

Aside from all the excitement of trying to meet on a regular basis I am also trying to quickly scan all the pictures that I have from high school (and some from college and beyond) that was buried and forgotten in my closet. I didn’t want to post any picture here sana without prior consent because you know naman how sensitive girls can get about pictures but I don’t think it’s possible to get EVERYONE’s permission so I will be as sensitive as possible in choosing the pics to post (Michaela: hint hint ) Anyway, I am not even half-way done so if anyone has any objections please do so now.

Cookie, I am so touched that you commented on the post about our late pet here and in my food blog. I really appreciate it. It’s hard for non-pet lovers to understand the loss and sadness at their passing and I am glad that you share my grief.

On to brighter and happier thoughts… looking forward to monday. Please get ready for Monday. EVERYONE is invited. Will try to text everyone from my phone book when we’ve finalized the location. Somewhere neutral (for those who are outside Q.C.). Suggested venues so far is: Greenhills (from Joy), Annabel Lee (Cassie’s preference), Teryaki Boy T. Morato (Michaela loves Japanese food, hence the choice).

Well, this is it for now. Everyone enjoy the rest of the week and God Bless Us All!

MENTAL FENG SHUI

I just received this email from an aunt who lives in Kathmandu. It’s supposed to be a chain email but I don’t really believe in that sort of thing. Her message was just really great fun to read..and no I didn’t send it out to 5 friends.

This is without a doubt one of the nicest good luck forwards I have received. Hope it works for you — and me!

Lotus Touts: You have 6 minutes

There’s some mighty fine advice in these words, even if you’re not superstitious. This Lotus Touts has been sent To you for good luck from the Anthony Robbins organization. It has been sent around the world ten times so Far.


Do not keep this message.

The Lotus Touts must leave your hands in 6 MINUTES. Otherwise you will get a very unpleasant surprise. This is true, even if you are not superstitious, agnostic, or otherwise faith impaired.

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, “I love you,” mean it.

FIVE. When you say, “I’m sorry,” look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone’s dreams. People who don’t have dreams don’t have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life completely.

TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don’t judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, “Why do you want to know?”

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say “bless you” when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R’s: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.

Now, here’s the FUN part! Send this to at least 5 people and your life will improve.

1-4 people: Your life will improve slightly.
5-9 people: Your life will improve to your liking.
9-14 people: You will have at least 5 surpris es in the next 3 weeks
15 and above: Your life will improve drastically and everything you ever dreamed of will begin to take shape.

A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart. Do not keep this message

Lightning, camera, action!!

Two nights ago we had what was probably the first and worst lightning and thunderstorm this year. The rain was pretty bad too. Some of my sisters were stuck in traffic so bad that they decided to wait it out at the nearest mall. Our yaya had to run to rescue her apos because their house was submerged in neck-deep floodwater. It’s a good thing that my husband decided to leave the office early and got home just as the first raindrops started to fall.

While we were having dinner, the lightning and thunder were going at it like there was no tomorrow. My kids, who are scared but not terrified of thunder, were not concentrating on their food too much because of this. It took my eldest to break the ice. She, in her typical preschool way, asked “Papa, what is thunder?” So with such a mind-boggling question before him, my husband had to reach into his vault of knowledge to provide her with a suitable answer. He said “Thunder is the sound of bowling pins being knocked down. Jesus and the angels are playing bowling in Heaven. Just like you when you go to Timezone.” I could have applauded at his ingenuity but there was a follow up….”Eh, what is lightning?” With this he pondered a bit longer. He asked me if he could say “Electricity.” but I mentioned that the concept was still vague for a 4 year old. Suddenly another lightning bolt lit the sky and with that came the most brilliant answer ever conceived by a 40-year old lawyer, “Lightning is the flash of the camera of God. He’s taking pictures up in Heaven.” I pretty much knew what was coming next but I kept a lid on it just to see if it would happen.

A few seconds passed when another wave of lightning ripped through the sky. I casually glanced at my daughter, who by now had left the table and was sitting in the living room, to see what she would do next. True enough, she ran to the sliding door leading to the garden and struck the most glamourous pose that would put Melanie Marquez to shame. And then she uttered, “When will I see my picture?” My husband pointed to me and said “Ask Mama.”

I still haven’t figured that one out.

5 Questions (An Interview)

This is to answer the interview conducted by Toni.

If you want to be interviewed too, write down “Interview me” in your comment-post and I’ll send you 5 questions too. Just make sure to follow the rules below.

So here goes…..

1. How do you spend time on a rainy day?

I’d probably check out the contents of my fridge and pantry and cook up something yummy to chase the rainy day blues away. Maybe Sinigang na Baboy or Bulalo.

2. When was the last time you prayed?

Just before lunch.

3. Have you ever used the line “It’s not you, it’s me”?

Once. And I don’t regret it.

4. If you were to rename yourself, what name would you choose?

Obi Wan Kenobi

5. How do you wear your hair?

With pride (habang walang pang puti)

Interview rules:
1. Leave me a comment saying “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Food, Friendship and Fellowship

This is not another Let’s Eat Story… but it is about food, friendship and bonding in between bites. Our buffet dinner was finally realized last friday (or was it 2 weeks ago? Cassie pls correct me if I’m wrong). We had not seen each other since our Metro Walk adventure so I was excited to see everyone. I was feeling pretty bad because we could not schedule an out-of-town adventure because of conflicting schedules but at least one of our “planned” get- togethers was realized. It was a sort-of spur of the moment gathering so I apologize that I was not able to invite everyone. Next time, I will make sure to plan ahead so I can invite more people.

I had fun going through the food with Cassie, Anna and Susan Joy. Joel was nice enough to drop by and have dinner with us even though he was feeling really tired from work. Although we were incomplete that evening (Michaela and Ane could not make it) we did have a great time. Gino, the darling son of Joy was so precocious and it was great to probe such an active and imaginative boy. He brought a magic eight-ball that magically answers your questions and we had fun asking it silly questions.

We were stuffed, but we proceeded to Kopi Tiam without Joel and Joy (Joel had an early meeting the next day and Joy had to bring Gino home) for coffee and more intimate conversation with Anna and Cassie.

By the way, Anna and I met up at Tri-Noma just last monday at Gilligans. Thank you Anna, I had a really wonderful time and not once did the conversation flag in uhmm, 5 hours? We will do that again for sure.

Please, please someone think of a sport or exercise that we can all do together. I am even open to bowling once a week.

Among Friends

Alright, since I’am amongst friends here (hence will not be accused of being matakaw hehehe) I would like to share a pizza restaurant that I (and Deng – my *ahem*) discovered afternoon of the elections. I had invited the usual set (namely Michaela, Anna, Cassie, Ane and Maya) to go out that evening but unfortunately not everyone was available so I decided to just postpone it for a better day. Anyway, our destination was UN avenue to a quaint Italian restaurant that Deng & I liked. Although It’s been a while since we last visited I was still surprised to see the empty and apparently abandoned building. Feeling dejected we decided to go for mid eastern food in Salas street in Mabini.

We were along Padre Faura when we decided to just go slowly to reminisce about one of our earliest dates at Alda’s (now closed) along M. Adriatico and how we both loved their duck pizza. In it’s place is a newly opened pizza place named Mama Marias and it was a pizza joint. Feeling curious we decided to try it and until now I cannot forget their pizza! Their puttanesca is also excellent (albeit abit too much sauce-y) but the taste perfectly balanced. The pizza was the thin crust variety and because we both wanted to eat healthily (hmmph) we skipped the cheese. My gosh, the pizza sauce was to die for and we gobbled everything, no leftovers. By the way, we had ordered the good for 4-6 person size and 2 (two!) pastas. We spent about 4 hours in that place just to finish everything, but finish it we did.

Now you guys are probobly wondering why on earth I am posting this? to encourage you guys to pick up your phone to call me and say: NINI ! Let’s Eat There!

Top Model (Redux)…

She did it!! Gaby’s banner is now proudly displayed at the gate of the village. My husband and I were like happy, clucking chickens as we fawned over the banner. The security guards were just watching us with a “What the hell are they so happy about”-look on their faces. I, very proudly, announced that the little girl standing before them was the same exact girl printed on the very huge banner. Boy were they shocked. They forgot all about their duties as they watched us take photos. When we were done one of them shouted, “Bata, bata, fans mo ako ha!” to which my daughter answered “Huh?”. Aah, the trappings of celebrity…

By the way, the name of the dog in the poster is Jim..Jim with black spots. The name of the school is Goodstart and Adi will be starting there this school year.

Hello..

Hi people. What’s been happening to everyone? I’ve been coming back several times but nobody has been posting.

Anyway, just wanted to recommend to all of you who have kids..see Shrek3. We took the kids over the weekend. It was a good movie. There was less of the sarcasm from the first 2 films but generally still funny. If you’re lucky, there might be a “Kingdom of Far, far Away” play area by the cinema.

Cheers!

A Day at the Movies

Last Friday we took the kids to the movies. My husband took the day off from work to be with us. This was the first time for the kids to watch a movie in a movie house so it was a milestone for all of us. I was ready to document the whole thing on video but my husband felt that I was taking things a bit too far. Can’t blame me for being “oa”…I’m a Mom.

Initially we were planning to take just Gaby but eventually decided to bring Adi as well. We were worried that Adi wouldn’t enjoy. But anyway… We took off early to catch the first screening of Shrek3 at The Block. We had planned to see it at Trinoma but since the place is still on a test run we changed our minds. It’s a good thing we did because there was a “Far-far-Away Kingdom” setup at the lobby of The Block. We could all get in for free provided you had tickets to the movie. Yahoo!! And Shrek was going to make a special appearance later in the day. Yahoo again!!

And the movie..went pretty well for a first time. After getting through the “Why is the tv so big?” and “Why do they have to turn off the light?” we sailed along smoothly for the entire movie. Being newbies at “movie” watching, my kids had yet to get used to the proper decorum at movie houses. There was still the bobbing up and down on the seats and walking up and down the aisles by following the lights on the floor. It’s a good thing that we practically had the place all to ourselves or we would have been shusshed.

RIP Phoebe May 27, 2007

I woke up to the sound of my Mom’s angry voice sunday morning. I thought it was going to be one of those beautiful Sunday mornings when you manage to wake up right on time, eager to worship but instead I found my heart beating fast and felt that impending doom was waiting for me downstairs.

They had found my nephew’s pet outside our gate, still warm but very much dead.

Phoebe (I’m sorry Anna, her name was also Phoebe) was half-wild and was never a fully tamed house dog. She was an excellent ratter, could run very fast and do tricks like a circus dog. She had a softer, sweet side to her personality that she only showed to me. It’s painful to recall the way she bowed her proud head on my thigh for a caress that she only asked from me. It’s painful but once your pet is gone that is all you are left with. It was because of her ferocious nature that my nephew had abandoned her to me after her mother refused to allow Tobi (my nephew) to touch or play with Phoebe.

She was exposed to the elements the whole night. I remember she was already shivering from the cold saturday evening and that was probobly the last straw. I couldn’t bear to look at her lifeless body and wanted to remember her during her happiest moments… just ripping through our garden chasing birds and insects.

She was my stinky ugly dog and I will miss her. It comforts me to know that she’s in a better place because God loves all the creatures he created, great and small. He knows them all intimately and grieves with us when we finally need to part with them. Yes, she is in much better hands now. Sleep in peace Phoebe.