Badminton Event

I had the privilege of being included in the roster of badminton players playing for the DFA in the Inter-department Sportsfest '05 sponsored by DOH in Tayuman, Manila which lasted for a week (24-28 Oct). We are 20 players in the group, two from FSI (my office - together with Ryan, my mixed doubles partner). This is the first time the DFA is joining and although we only placed 6th (or 7th? - we didn't attend the awarding ceremonies, u see) out of the 16 teams, we were quite happy with the results - especially since my partner and I won all but one of our games. =)

Looking forward to next year's tourney... in fact, we have started our weekly practices already... talk about being excited... :D

pics here.

I'm in Heaven!!!

...shopper's heaven, that is!!! :D

{22 oct, sat}
Wanting to go to Divi for the longest time, Yna, Aion, Jon and I finally found time to pay a visit to this shopping mecca. The last time Jon and I have been here was before our wedding when we had to buy tela for the entourage's gowns. So anyway, we met Yna at Shell Select, had breakfast there and proceeded to 168 Mall, the newest place-to-be in Divi. =D We got there just before noon and what a lucky day, coz we had the best parking slot available! Armed with a big bag and a bottle of water, the quest for great buys was on. =)

Us couples separated for a while and agreed to meet later to eat, but lunch was far out of our minds as we got so excited and busy looking around and making purchases that were really quite a steal! But since some of us needed lots of energy, we decided to have lunch at around 2o'clock already. Here's a tip for all of u who plan to go there: food court at the 3rd floor, look for Mitzi's Chinese Resto and order their Lechon Macau or any of their pansit, they're tops! Although u have to fall in line for about 20 minutes before getting your food, it's worth the wait, i promise. Our food consisted of yang chow fried rice, lechon macau, pansit canton-bihon, pechay with garlic, and fried dumplings, washed down with ice-cold C2 lemon light, all for the price of 500+ (u do the math...).

After eating and resting for a few, we separated again and continued shopping (after all, we had enough energy to last us with all the food we ate... hahaha!). Sigurista that i am, we started from the first to the last row of stalls, not wanting to miss any good find. Heheh. Finally, at half past 4, Jon n I were through going around 168. We dropped off our purchases in the car and waited for Yna and Aion to finish, but then, we found out that they were already at Tutuban mall, still not through with their shopping and asked us to come with them... u think i said no??? 'course not! :D Off we went again and explored tutuban and found many a great deal once again. =)

Finally finished, tired and hungry at past 7pm (we were there for EIGHT FULL HOURS, imagine!!!), we were ready to go, but not before we bought different fruits for pasalubong. I suddenly had a craving for bulalo and giant burgers and wanted to try Dayrit's resto at Magallanes but our car took us somewhere else (*wink*)... Market, Market!

Before dinner, we had some freshening up to do at the car (I even had to change my bag and slippers coz i feel so dugyot already). We chose Marina and had bulalo, crispy crablets and tuna belly for dinner. Sarap eh! :D And then we finally headed home...

For our purchases, I had:

• a silver metallic bag
• 1 dri-fit badminton shirt
• 2 sleeveless blouses
• 2 T-shirts
• 1 free-bra
• brown skirt
• 1 pambahay shorts
• brown (metallic) slippers
• brown sunglasses
• multiple strand necklace
• 3 earrings

while Jon had:

• Southpark toy (Butters)
• vintage shirt
• 1 bermuda shorts
• 2 dri-fit shorts
• beach shorts
• 3 DVD's
• 3 hankies

all that for... (drum roll, please) 4 thousand bucks (including food and the fruits for pasalubong) only!!! Woohoo!!!

our DIVI LOOT!

PLS CHECK BELOW FOR UPDATES

I know... I've been a bad blogger lately for having neglected my blog for a month! (tsk, tsk) :( I've been swamped these past few weeks that i just had to forget about blogging for a while... I do go online every other day (visiting some blogs, checking my mail, updating my friendster account) but composing an entry proved to be a tedious task for me.. poor, poor blog...

but hey, i'm back (i hope) and i'll be antedating my posts here so i can update u guys with what has been goin on with my life so puhleeez, do check out often for updates BELOW... ;)

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Twins' Biz Blessing

Early Tuesday morning (oct 18), Jon and I, together with my in-laws (with the balloons and tables and chairs from my family's biz in tow), drove off to Batangas for the blessing of the RFC building, the twins' biz (mini-grocery), and Alex's own biz (Blue Boz water station - congrats and good luck again, utol! =) ).

more pics here.

We arrived early for the affair to help with the food preps and the decors. At noon, the priest arrived and started the rites. Afterwards, my parents-in-law showered coins in every room (four residential rooms upstairs, the mini grocery, the computer shop and the water station below, plus the home of our tito at the back of the building) to the delight of the people there.

Lunch was served and the lechon from Blue Boz came not long after. While passing time and waiting for other guests, i watched the store and had fun selling stuff til the evening. Hmmm... a change of career for me, maybe? hahaha! :D

Office Oktoberfest

{13Oct}
Five (beautiful) Librans celebrated their birthday in the office by treating the FSI people to a merienda cena (on a date that is pretty much on the middle of our natal days).

I was tasked to organize the party and to order food (from none other than Amber's and cakes from Goldilocks) a week before i took my birthday leave and followed it up the day before the celeb. On the actual day, we, together with another Libran, Ma'am Glenna, posted an invite in our bulletin board (below the monthly celebrants), decorated the room, and prepared the paraphernalias for the event.

At the strike of 3pm, people were already at the designated place, singing the birthday song to the five celebrants, while we, in turn, blow the candles of our cakes which of course, marked the start of the small feast.

The food which comprised of pansit bihon, puto, bar-b-q, lumpiang shanghai, 2 kinds of cakes and softdrinks were gobbled up in less than an hour. :D Amid the eating, of course, were the picture taking and posing from every corner, which i discovered, was innate in every Libran (cam-whores! heheh! :D)...

more pics here.

First birthday with my hubby

{9Oct - 11pm}
After the birthday blowout with my family, Jon offered to give me a full body massage (this is becoming a habit! - bisyo na to!!! :D )... Barely an hour later, Jon excused himself and told me he was having an upset stomach and he needed to go to the comfort room. I asked him to turn off the lights while i dozed off... a few minutes after, i heard the door open, and when i turn to look, i was surprised to see Jon there, a cake (with a lit candle) and a bouquet of roses in hand while singing softly, "happy birthday to you..." It was 12 o'clock... and my heart just melted. =)

A week before, I have almost ruined this part of the surprise. On our way home from work, while looking through his cellphone, i saw a message to an unnamed number but was clearly meant that he was ordering cake from our wedding cake supplier, Mr. Alex Franco. I remembered that we were craving for it some weeks ago and i guess he remembered. =) fortunately, when i teased him non-stop about it, he was mum and tried his best to keep a straight face. So i kinda forgot about it...

So anyway, back to my story... turns out that he not only bought one, but THREE Alex Franco cakes! We quickly got a plate and fork and shared a slice. Dee-lish!!!

But i still didn't know what was in store for me on the actual day of my birthday. I was at a loss coz i knew we were not checking in a hotel or going to a day spa... been there done that (Linden, Bellevue)... and i also knew we were not going out-of-town or out-of the-country... so since it was officially my birthday already, i lovingly asked my husband what was it he was planning to do.

...I was to SHOP. TIL. I. DROP. How exciting is that!!!! Woooohooooo!!! i could not contain my excitement... I wished it was the morning already... =)

{10 Oct - 9:30am}

I was sooo ready to hit the shops. On our way to the shopping destination (glorietta), I was already thinking of what things to buy. And shop til i drop, i did. =)

My loot contained Ralph Lauren Cool set of 100ml perfume, shower gel, moisturizer and a round pink kikay bag, Nike rubber shoes, pink blazer, 2 office blouses, 4 T-shirts, 3 sleeveless shirts, white-rimmed shades, lots of accesories, and my fave, shoe organizer. Of course, jon didn't come home empty-handed... He had 2 t-shirts, 1 dri-fit shorts, and as freebies to my purchases, 2 baller bands and a 1.5ml Armani black perfume. And to think that i still had a few bills left in my wallet! It was such a blast!!! =)

Of course, the day will not be complete without going to church. Jon and i walked all the way to Greenbelt chapel and there, we prayed.

{10Oct-6:30p.m.)

After dropping off our purchases in the van, the next part of the surprise. Jon led the way to where we were having dinner. Circles at The Shang Makati... Jon had been here plenty of times before on business meetings and i could only imagine the place when he would make kwento... now, i was finally here.

Buffet food was definitely tops here. All my faves were there..., american, italian, chinese and japanese cuisines, seafood (those oysters are to-die-for!),salad and dessert stations. There was even a chocolate fountain which i just had to try! And i loved it! for my drink, i ordered a cosmopolitan to celebrate the occasion. Needless to say, we were stuffed yet again!

We walked to a star-filled night on the way to the parking area. Though tired, i wanted to skip all the way there. I was just so happy and i'm feeling very romantic that moment. It was a perfect ending to a special day.

pics here.

Btw, i'm 26 and this has been my best birthday ever... I was overwhelmed with text messages, phone calls from here and abroad, friendster messages and testimonials and even tags here in my blog. It was so heartwarming and i truly appreciate each and every one of them. Super thanks. =) More importantly, got to spend it with the people special to me... friends, family and most especially, my dear dear husband... my happiness would not be complete wihout u here (strikes my left breast)... ;) thanks for everything. i heart you so much! =)

...but wait, the party isn't over yet...! ;)

up next: office blowout

Birthday Celebs with my Two Families

{8 Oct}
I was excited this particular Saturday morning, not really just because my in-laws are treating me (us) to an overnight stay at Bellevue Hotel but because we had a viewing of our final wedding album layout at Chito Cleofas' ofc at Makati. =)

We met with Cris, Chito's wife, who, incidentally, is also the layout artist of the album (Chito had a wedding to shoot that day). Upon entering their office, Jon immediately saw our portrait standing on the middle of the room. I could only gape and stare at it. Wow! =)

We then viewed the digital layout of the album and after (very) few minor revisions, we were done. We loved loved it! We talked more about the album style, color cover, album finish and what-have-yous. The final album wil be done in a month's time!!! We can't wait!!!

We went back home to pack our things for the overnight affair... after having light lunch and a little rest, we drove to Alabang and checked-in our room at The Bellevue Hotel. We had room 1807 (one number short of the room number at Linden =) --- wala lang...).

My MIL ordered room service and had salad and sandwiches delivered. We all had a scheduled appointment at the spa (another treat) so we only had light snacks while watching tv.

We were already at the 3rd floor (the Bellevue Spa) when the clock struck 4pm. We were all ushered to our individual rooms for a one-hour swedish massage while I opted to shower first. The one hour massage was really a good one. Of all the massages I had, it was the best i've ever received (I also asked Jon afterwards if he liked it, but his fave is still Bioessence - maybe i was just lucky i had a good masseuse).

Back in our room, we relaxed some more. =)

Dinner at 20/20 was my treat. Earlier, Jon n I reserved seats by the window with a great view. It was an eat-all-u-can, drink-all-u-can German buffet. I was glad that we were joined by my brother-in-law that night. Moments later, the band started to play... they were really good but they failed to catch our interest when it was getting late (we got so sleepy already due to a late Friday night gimmick), so we went back to our room and left the oldies behind...

{9Oct}

The following morning, we had noodles and tea for breakfast (light ulit coz we were having buffet lunch ulit). After some freshening up, Jon and I decided to take a dip in the pool at the 3rd floor.

Cafe d' Asie (international buffet) at the 2nd floor is where we had lunch before going back home contented and with tummies bulging... =)

~~~

Jon and I rested for two hours and then, we were off again for another birthday treat - this time, with my family. We went to my old place and there, i received a bouquet of flowers (from my sis and sis bf) and another necklace and bracelet set (from my elder sis and kids)...

With my ate's car tailing us, we drove off to ATC. Days before, i received an email from Tony Roma's with a gift certificate (buy one take one ribs) as a birthday gift valid althroughout my birthday month so i decided to use it that night.

We had a feast of california honeys (2 whole slabs), santa fe salad, onion loaf, and chicken alfredo, with fries, corn on the cob and coleslaw for sidings. Yummy! For the kids, i bought them Jollibee meals. Heheh. Dinner was delightful, i enjoyed very minute of it... and i'm not just talkin bout the food. =)

We had Ice Monsters for dessert at the food court. Just before going home, my mommy gave me her gift (my request, of course), which Jon could not protest to... hahaha! She made Peng buy 100 pesos worth of chicharong bituka!!! uhmmmmm!!! :D

~~~

Bellevue pics here. Tony Roma's pics here.

up next: Birthday with my hunny

All's Well that Ends Well

bottled up hurts and feelings finally let out, swallowed prides, lots of revelations and realizations, broken relationships mended, LESSONS LEARNED...

a blessing in disguise..? maybe so. =)




but all would be really well if "all" could be ended well... ;)

Linden Birthday Bash

Yna celebrated her birthday last Sept 24 while I, on the 10th of Oct.

i've been pretty excited 'bout this birthday bash for a time and it didn't disappoint... it was one hell of a party for four!!! read on...

*Princesses for a day*

{September 30}
Yna, Aion, Jon and I left early and went straight to Linden Suites in Ortigas and checked-in our 2-bedroom suite... The room was big, beautiful and complete with nice amenities... there was only one glitch though... we had no oven. Sure there was a microwave, toaster, coffee maker, rice cooker and range top... but there was no oven.

Why the problem? You see, the boys promised to cook dinner for us that night and the recipe they were both thinking of required an oven... :( It was an even bigger problem for Jon, who, days before, was frantically looking for a recipe of baked spareribs (which i love) over the internet and had actually prepared some of the ingredients already. I'll let you in on a little secret... Jon had never cooked before... so this day was pretty special and when he learned that there was no oven, he was pretty much disappointed and a little heartbroken that my heart went out to him.. I knew how much he wanted to cook so i told him we would make do with what we have... (fortunately, Yna brought a recipe book) ;) The four of us quickly thought of our menu for the night and i told Jon i would just help him if needed... After making a list (and checking it twice), the boys were off to SM Megamall right across to do the grocery shopping while Yna and I explored Linden and went to the convenience store below the building to grab some snacks.

Our slaves arrived moments later, bringing with them lots of goodies *wink*... They wasted no time and busied themselves chopping, marinating and cooking dinner while I let Yna soak in the bathtub first to ready ourselves for our scheduled massage... In between some cooking instructions, i was able to relax for a while by lying down on the sofa, watching TV and reading some magazines..

I had just finished taking a bath when I heard the two masseuse arrive. Right on schedule!!! =) We had a one-hour swedish massage in our respective rooms and i almost slept! Whew. Sarap. =)

princesses ready for their massage

while the slaves cook in the kitchen =D

The combined aroma of the boys' cooking filled the air when i opened my room... I wanted to see what's going on in the kitchen but i was told that we were off limits there... hmmm... the excitement was definitely building up!!! ;)

Few moments later and the dinner was ready. Yay!!! Yna and I were asked to be seated at the dining table for a course-by-course food tasting before we all have our meal... But first, a surprise... we both had our birthday cake to blow!!! =) Apparently, while having our massage, Jon went out and bought cake for us. Such a sweetie, my husband. =) After we blew the candles, the cake was set aside for a while to give way to the feast awaiting us...

After pouring the wine, the boys took out our food one by one... the garden salad, crispy kangkong (by chef aion) for appetizer, carbonarra (by chef jon), spicy chicken (by chef aion) and steak with herbed gravy (by chef jon) for our main dish. It was all good!!! and i'm not saying that for show only... After Yna and I tasted everything on the menu, it was the only time that our slaves sat down with us and ate. It was a lovely and a very special dinner. We were both so touched and felt so loved. =)

our menu: crispy kangkong with dip, garden fresh salad, spicy chicken,

medium well steaks with herbed gravy and carbonarra

a toast to friendship

Tummies satisfied, the four of us headed downstairs to the indoor pool and jacuzzi of the hotel. Since it was almost 9pm, we had the whole place to ourselves. The jacuzzi was oh-so-relaxing and it even had a nice view of the Megamall area. Parties were at full blast that night (oktoberfest na!!!) but we had a much fun party of our own...

Back in our room, Yna and I had coffee and ate our desserts while our slaves attended to our every need ("water please, picture please..." haha!)... I showered first, then waited for the others to finish. While waiting, i got the Magic Mic out and started the videoke session inside our room while the boys had their much-needed rest and played PS2 in the living room. Woohoo!!

And then, it was time for our tequila-vodka-beer bonding session!!! My fave part! Nyahahaah!! We had onion rings (by Chefs Aion n Yna) and Monterey sisig with egg and chicharon as pulutan. We sang, we danced, we played around, and i can't remember what else... ;-) bwahahahah... We partied 'til 4 in the morning and I partied all by myself with only the cabinet, the kitchen floor, and the toilet sink to keep me company til 5:30 am... As for Jon??? Tired and sleeping like a log.... nyahahaha... oh well... =D

*The Morning After...*

{Oct 1}
We barely had 30 minutes left 'til the end of the hotel's breakfast buffet downstairs... i was amazed coz i didn't have a hangover but i was so sleepy and grumpy the whole morning... ;) After the hearty breakfast, we quickly changed to our swimsuits once again and took a dip in the pool and the jacuzzi til it was time to go home...

I got my first gift from Yna when we returned to the parking lot and loved the white clutch that she gave me... thanks gurlfriend! =) Sa susunod ulit... ano, discov naman??? :D

see all pics here.