Sean Patrick's 7th Birthday (July 2)

On his special day, we wanted to give him a treat.

At SM Storyland, Sean, and my two other nieces, had a wonderful time with the fun rides. The smile on their faces and their soft giggles were signs of pure joy. Watching them and how they seemed so carefree, not being troubled by any problem in this world gave me a twinge of pain. How I wish I could be a kid once more?

After having a few rides, we had dinner at where else but Jollibee. They always want to eat the same stuff every time we dine in or even get take aways. In fairness, Jollibee has never failed to satisfy hunger for their best-tasting Chicken joy that everybody has loved for years. Glad they've now got coke float and flavored fries, for a change.

We were supposed to go home after dinner, but he reminded me that I was still missing something. When I asked what was it? He said that birthdays always come with a cake and a gift. All right, all right... And so Auntie bought a cake roll from Goldilocks and a Transformers toy from Toy Kingdom. 

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Tagaytay City (July 1)

Tagaytay has been like a dream destination I want to go to a lot more often, if given a chance. And since we're staying in Lipa, it's not too far away for a drive.

It was actually a crazy idea of mine. Going to Tagaytay at 3PM, how was that? Everybody got changed promptly and in less than an hour we were heading north-bound. We paid no attention to the heavy rain that started to pour in Lipa because a clearer view of the sky could be seen over Tagaytay area. True enough, it wasn't raining and it never did the whole time we were there.

On our way up, we stopped at selected fruit stands to buy pineapples, bananas and my favorite ripe langka. It was starting to get dark when we reached city proper. We did have a few photos at the top overlooking the majestic view of the Taal volcano, but that was all, then the blue sky swiftly turned purple then black.

We found our way to Bulalo Point to have dinner. I didn't expect the food would be so good, especially the kalderetang kambing, sisig and kare-kare and of course their specialty bulalo. Looking around, I liked the bamboo cottages, but there was nothing else to delight my sight since the pitch dark sky has covered the view. Around the corner, a group of guys where rehearsing some songs, that I presumed they'd sing to their customers. And I was right, we were in the middle of eating when they started playing Bruno Mars' "Just the way you are" and another song which I cannot remember the title because it was an old song.

No doubt we enjoyed all the food, plus the live entertainment that we only get to see often. We could have seen other nice places in Tagaytay if only we had planned it better or left home a bit earlier. 

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Monday Afternoon in the Park (June 27)

A leisurely stroll around the park is a great way to spend an afternoon. Tired of sitting all day in front of my laptop - facebook, photoshop, skype and a little bit of texting, I wanted to breathe some fresh air and see some greens.

Granja Park was the first that came in my mind. I've only been there once, last year, together with Inay and the rest of the Santos family.

This time for my second visit, I brought the camera along and was more than glad to see how the photos came out. 

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Quick Trip to Nuvali and Dinner at Big 30 (June 26)

Coming home from the house blessing, we still wanted more action. Then the idea just popped out of nowhere. Next thing I knew, we were driving to Sta. Rosa.

I've heard so many beautiful things about this place that made me want to see for it myself. Surprisingly, the place has a lot more to offer than what I have in mind. More than the captivating view it boasts of, we had a truly wonderful time strolling around.

For dinner, we tried Big 30 at Paseo. I loved the superb tastiness of the largest pizza I've ever seen in my entire life. 

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Hernandez's House Blessing (June 26)

Our mates Bunso and Winnie had their new house (in Monte Claro) blessed by a priest; and we were invited to be a part of the celebration. We don't live that far away from their place but yet again, we came in late.

There was a certain feeling of joy and fulfillment on the couples' faces. I know how much they've worked hard for it and they deserve to reap the fruits of their labor.

Congratulations on your new home, Bunso and Winnie and Ashlyn ;-) !

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25th Family Day (June 18)

This was the second time we held a non-Sunday gathering of our usual Family Day. Why? Because we had to leave Albany that Sunday for our flight to Manila at midnight. Sad to think of, but this could mean we have to skip the next five weekends while we are away.

Right after attending the anticipated mass, which was officiated by Father Bong, we went straight to our venue. There we all shared a yummy feast of totally filling food warmers perfect for the cold winter weather. The evening was even more fun with karaoke on the side. Nothing could be more worthwhile when spent with people who we consider our families away from home.

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24th Family Day (June 12)

*Sigh* That would be the most fitting description of how exhausting my day had been at work last Sunday. Precisely because the bargain bonanza was on again and we got really busy. I did expect that we could get hammered but didn't expect that I'd be working twice as much. Apparently, two girls (staff) didn't turn up so we had quite a lot of work to compensate for.

When I got home, I just pulled my legs up for 15 minutes to relax a bit, then I started cooking my ravioli. I didn't have any idea how to cook it since it was my first time to try. Thanks to Google it went out just how it should be.

In a few days we'll be coming home once again to the place where our hearts and families are. I get a little bit excited counting the days down to the last hour, to the last minute. I'm looking forward to spend more quality time with my love ones this time around. But part of me will surely miss my "second" family here in Albany.

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Dinner with Lulette (June 11)

It's been over a month since she moved up to Perth.

Last weekend she came down, together with her kids, who earlier that day participated in a school-related sports in Albany. As they had planned beforehand, they were going to spend the night at Kumareng Geraldine's place. And to make their stay worthwhile even for a night, we went over to share a tasty dinner with them. 

 

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23rd Family Day (June 5)

Finished work at three after a rather busy shift, our usual gathering later on that day was all I looked forward to. My left leg was still sore, actually getting worse. It gives me that feeling of discomfort which makes me worry that it might be something serious. But I try my very best to get my mind free of that thought. Otherwise, it will just make me feel sick even more.

Little did I know that another person was likewise having a bad day. Normally, Kumare sends me message to ask what time we're coming in, but last Sunday was unusual. We tried calling her but she wasn't picking up. So, we sensed there was something wrong. Her daughter, Nica, rang up to let us know that Kumare was having a terrible migraine and that they might not be able to join us.

We still pushed through though together with Father Bong who was there to celebrate with us. After a while, we got a call from Kumare saying she was feeling better and was actually coming over. And so it was another memorable Family Day. 

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Eyre Garden (May 31)

When boredom strikes the first thing that crosses my mind is either to take photos or to pose for the camera. It sounds a bit odd for someone my age but nowadays everybody from all ages just seems to be very interested with the art of photography.

Yesterday afternoon, we drove off to Middleton to check out Eyre Garden. The other ladies weren't able to join us so camera was all mine *wink*. 

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