'Pinas Vacation Day 2 Part 1 aka Family Day-out

*I hope you don't mind if it took me a month and a half to post this ;P*

After a busy day 1, we started the second day of my quick vacation late. Instead of the planned early morning visit to Dad, we got there just an hour short of noon. Seeing his "new place" still makes me shake my head and think, "I'm sorry, Dad, I wasn't able to buy us our dream house yet. You so deserve better than this." Not a good way to start this post, eh? Fine, good vibes na :D

Here's a cute photo of Haley to cheer us up ;-)

I would've visited Dad every weekend if I were staying in the Philippines but I'm not so I made the most out of the hour or so that we were there. I talked to him like he was actually in front of me and I told him just how much I miss having him around. Looking at his picture brings me back to the day it was taken -- the first time I went home for a vacation last March. It's my sister's graduation and it's something that I wouldn't want to miss so I surprised my family by showing up at the exact moment she's delivering her Valedictory Speech. That day we're a complete, happy, proud family and I swear if I could stop time right at that moment, I would do it in a heartbeat. 

We all miss you, Daddy.

After visiting Dad, we all headed to our next stop: Seaside at Macapagal Blvd. I've always wanted to treat my family to a seafood feast so there's no better place than this. We bought the fresh seafood ourselves at the talipapa then had them cooked at Aling Tonya's Seafood Palutuan. I spent only about Php2000 for crabs, prawns, squid and salmon belly. Oh my, I am salivating again as I type! O_o

Butter Garlic Shrimp

Calamari

Halabos na Alimango

Sinigang na Salmon Belly

Tempura

Since we have kids with us, we also ordered Inihaw na Liempo but I didn't have time to take a photo of it  for it was swiped in an instant! Haha! All the dishes we ordered at Aling Tonya's were delectable that even my grandmother who's a picky-eater loved them. It's the tempura that I keep coming back here for but the salmon belly was the crowd favorite.

Here are a few snaps during lunch:

Mi familia.

Mi familia  in action. Haha!

Haley and her huge appetite never fails to amuse me. Yes, she can and she did eat on her own! :D

It is in moments like this that we miss Dad all the more.

One time while on Skype, Haley told me... "Ate nung andito pa si daddy, pumunta kaming MOA eh, nanood kami ng fireworks..." Hearing a little child reminisce of her father like that instantly made my eyes well up and I promised her right there that we'll all go to Mall of Asia when I go home. I'm not one to break promises so you know where we went next ;-)

The globe and the multi-cab shuttle service -- two things that scream MOA to me. LOL!

We only did a little shopping then off we headed home. Both the kids and the young-at-heart were tired but happy nonetheless. For me and Jhay though, there's no room to lounge around because we're running late for the day's last appointment -- Surprise Dinner with the School of Fish! That's up next ^^,

TGIF!

Very rarely do I get the chance to say this so indulge me...

I'm ecstatic because tomorrow is one of those few Saturdays that we are not reporting for work. The past 3 weeks have been really really stressful so I didn't have time to blog. I have a lot of stories piling up again! I've been aching to write so I swear this weekend I'm gonna make time for at least two posts :D

Another thing that made me happy today (or yesterday, technically) is that I've already booked my December flights! Yay! Airline tickets cost a fortune during holidays but what the heck, I am sooooo coming home for Christmas! As one station ID goes, Da Best ang Pasko ng Pilipino... di ba? :D Although truth be told I'm anxious cause it's the first Christmas that we don't have Dad with us anymore but I'll cross the bridge when I get there.

One more reason I am hyped is because J is visiting me again in 8 days! ^_^ He'll be staying here for a couple of weeks and we're spending 2 days in Malaysia. I've also booked our hotel an hour ago and by the looks of it, I might just lounge around all day and forget the rest of our activities (just like what happened when during our Indonesia trip). Haha! I'm crossing my fingers that we get to enjoy what KL has to offer. After all, it's a new country to explore, new memories to cherish and new adventure to share with all of you. Can hardly wait! ;-)

Okay, I know this post doesn't have even the tiniest sense of cohesion but maybe all I wanted to say is that I'm happy and thankful that it's Friday already. Whatever it is that you're doing this weekend, I hope you'll have an awesome time. And if not, I hope this can make you feel at least a wee bit better :D ---

My days get really rough  but one press on my phone does the trick. Every. Single. Time :-)

Have a rockin' weekend, y'all!

Day 51 - 55

Day 51 - A picture of you wearing sunglasses

Taken a few days ago at East Coast Park where I and my SG friends bonded over barbeque and bike rides.

Day 52 - A picture of you dressed up

At Century Park Hotel for my sister's awarding.

Funny because I took the effort to dress up for the event but it turned out that only the awardees are called up the stage and I will only be her photographer. Okay, that makes me the prettiest photog in there! LOL!

Day 53 - A picture of you in a car

I have a lot of in-a-car pictures more decent-looking than this but I cannot not share this with you.

Look at Haley in the background! Naughty little girl! :D

Day 54 - A picture of you on your last vacation

My last vacation, as I've told you, was last July when I went home for J's birthday. Another thing I was looking forward to on that vacation was getting to visit Dad.

Day 55 - A picture of you with a date

A quick lunch date at Bintan, Indonesia on the very day of our Seventh Anniversary.

How I miss going out on a date with J! September 22 come sooner! :D

*yes, he's going to SG again! ^^,*

I Just Realized...

Truly, a Dad's love is insurmountable but i'm lucky being with someone
who loves our little girl almost as much.


Happy Sunday, everyone! :)

P.S. That's Dad's motorcycle and I know he's smiling from up there because J's taking good care of it.

P.P.S. Haley doesn't back-ride alone -- Mom's there to hold her. Also, J is a responsible driver and their destination is only less than a kilometer :)

Father's Love

I saw this video from Ms. Patty of NON.STOP.BABBLE and from the first few notes of the song alone, I knew it will make me cry a river.

For this song, beautiful is an understatement. I love how Bob Carlisle articulates the feelings of a father (Butterfly Kisses, and then this one) and I love the raw emotions Gary V. put in his version. I've watched it for the nth time and tears would still fall. How I really truly badly miss my dad.

Thank you, dad. Twenty-three years may be too short but you were nothing short of a loving father.

'Pinas Vacation Day 1 aka J's 27th

Two Fridays ago was the 27th birthday of my J and I most definitely wouldn't miss that for the world! I left SG at 2AM of July 27 and made it to PH 4 hours later.

My ticket to 3 days of bliss :-)

I so love coming home. It's a feeling like no other. Finally spending time with the people you love after 2 or 3 months of physical absence -- it's just priceless. I can still remember J's hello kiss that morning! And Haley's welcome embrace! Oh there really is no place like home :-)

I promised her I'd buy her an iPad if she takes home 30 3-stars from school in 30 days. She did it with flying colors! And can you see how happy she was when she got hold of it? It got me thinking she actually fetched the iPad from the airport and not me. Hahaha.

Apart from J and my family, it's Pinoy food that I miss most. The crispylicious goodness of Chickenjoy is something that I really look forward to so we waited no longer and grabbed a bucket for breakfast. Then we headed home to greet the rest of my relatives, distribute the pasalubongs and take a quick rest before we venture into my jampacked vacay Day 1.

 [L] Haley with her all her pasalubong.

[R] Candid shot of the two loves of my life. Looking at them like that warms my heart.

Because I've been missing a lot of our princess' nursery adventures, I made it a point to include bringing her to school in my itinerary.

She really is a big girl now! That's her in school with me and her teachers :-)

Then we went straight to J's Marikina home to deliver the LED TV that he bought here. If you're asking why I was the one who brought it to PH, it's because tourists are charged taxes and levies in Philippine Customs while OFWs (that's me! :P) are entitled to bring in one appliance of every kind provided that it's used. And yes, it's duty-free! How cool is that? ^^,

Happy that it worked despite the buzz that TVs bought outside the country might not be programmed for the TV system in the Philippines. Oh btw, please excuse their old TV rack. Haha! They got rid of that and mounted it on the wall instead ;-)

And finally... the most important part of the day -- Hon's Birthday Celebration! :D

I bought the shirt that he's wearing here a few hours before my flight. Considering that it's a rush purchase, I think I did a pretty good job! Perfect fit! :)

Pinoy food is just love.

The three dishes (excluding the pork barbeque) were his mom's cooking - my favorite being the one in the biggest frame. I don't know what it's called, but it's chicken with hotdog and liver spread and tomato sauce and pickles. Yummy!

We also dropped by Tita Meg's house to say hi and much to my delight, there's  more scrumptious food. And another cake for the birthday boy :-)

Oh Mango Bravo, I miss you already!

In the pursuit of making the most of my day 1, we also got ourselves a foot spa and pedicure because our feet have not been pampered for ages!

[upper left] I bought us a matching watch in Bugis Street -- Singapore's bargain shopping haven. Would you believe a piece only costs 10 SGD (330php)?

[upper right] Picture-picture while our feet are treated with TLC

[lower right] how I love that shade of blue!

[lower left] But I love this man more ♥

We were both tired as hell after all our activities so we capped the day off with a quiet just-the-two-of-us evening. We talked and cuddled and made up for all the lovin' that we missed and really, I wouldn't want to end his birthday any other way.

Day 46 - 50

I'm half way through the challenge! After 10,000 years! ;-P

Day 46 - A picture that you edited

Photo editing is not one of my talents so please bear with this photo that i tweaked using Picasa.
Actually I was just looking for a way to tell you that I am already up to date with my One-Book-A-Month project! :) This was given by a dear friend last Monday as a belated birthday gift. I so love her! ^^,

Day 47 - A picture of your favorite animal

photo credit

The proximity of dogs and cats makes me shriek so the closest thing I got to having a favorite animal was when I was a little girl taking care of about 3 pet fish in a small aquarium. Pathetic.

Day 48 - A picture of you more than 10 years ago

Taken on one of the many Christmases when I was dressed like a doll ^^,

Day 49 - A picture of you and your best friend

Against the light but I still think we're pretty here ;-)

Day 50 - A picture of yourself

This photo was taken just 2 days ago and yeah I am showing off my new dress! I love it that our office here is more corporate in terms of attire so it gives me a chance to dress up :-)

Btw, I think this is the first time I have showed you our home -- or at least a corner of it! Haha! I'll post more pics soon, when it's much more cleaner and clutter-free.

Cheers,

Weekend Shopping

The obvious advantage of working in SG is that I earn more and for that I couldn't be more grateful especially since I am already my family's bread winner now. And because it's emotionally tough working overseas, I (and my friends and my officemates and probably every OFW the world over) find ways to make life a wee bit happier. And yes, shopping is one of them :) We need to reward ourselves every so often naman di ba? :-D

So friends, allow me to share with you my weekend buys:

Friday after work, I and a couple of friends headed to one of the shops in Orchard Road to get myself a new bag. I've been looking for the perfect black bag but I always end up getting a different color. With this pretty blue, I guess the perfect black would have to wait :D

They say a girl can't have too many shoes. I say... yeah! ;-P

I remember telling you that we live right across a mall and you know how dangerous that is for women, right? Double the hazard when there's a sale! Hahaha

I am in desperate need of open-toed footwear coz I miss showing off my nail polish! Haha!
Seriously though, my feet need to breathe especially on Casual Fridays :)

If I remember it right, I have read from another blog that Vincci is the Singapore/Malaysia counterpart of our VNC. The brand is more affordable here, but this one isn't exactly cheap, considering that there's a sale, but I swear it's the comfiest shoes in the world! Pikit-mata nalang at the cashier :P

When I was in the Philippines I am fond of wearing heels but when I got here, I got used to wearing flats because the convenience of MRT also meant a lot of walking everyday. I loved this pink and black pair the first time I saw it. It's simple but it fits my feet to a T.

Now let me end this post with something that I found outside a shoe store in ION Orchard mall. I think it's cute!

Are you, too? ;-)

Cheers to life's little pleasures!

Starting Half Way Through the Year

Do you still remember my too-early New Year's Resolution post? Finally, I am starting it! :D


Well technically, I've been doing the "reading" part since I started the highly-addictive Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy (I'm on the second book now! ^^,) but the "collecting of real books" part I have only started when my girlfriends gave me these for my birthday (thanks, girls!) ---

I've already read Tuesdays with Morrie but I plan on reading it again. The other three I have yet to indulge. Because I said "one book a month," this will suffice for January to April and I'm planning to get the FSG set on paperback within the week. That makes me up to date with my 2012 resolution! Yay!

This book collection thing is getting me really excited! I'm eyeing the Coelho 12-book set that I recently saw in a bookstore, more of Albom and Sparks and Brown and then some Sophie Kinsella chick lit and the Hunger Games trilogy! So many good books, so little time! ;-)

Any more suggestions on great reads? Let me know in the comments box! ^^,