'TWAS the Season to be Busy... (part 2)

warning: long read + pictures overload

December 24.
My mother in law put me in charge of the noche buena at home and since i was so preoccupied with a lot of things lately, i figured that the simple the menu, the better. I soon figured out that however simple the menu was, all the preparation still left me exhausted! But hey, don't think i'm complaining... i think of it as a practice for the coming years... ;)

The menu consisted of baked ham, spaghetti, caldereta, barbecue, fruit salad... I'm not going to take all the credit coz Jon helped a great deal. It was a nice experience, and i couldn't help but imagine the time when we already have a family and a house of our own. =)

We attended the 9pm mass and afterwards, had a light dinner at home and went to my old place. It was a tradition that we always have our noche buena there because right after, we all sit around the living room, and we distribute our gifts for everyone. It was particularly special this year because we had a guest, Ray (mommy's Aussie friend). =)

My Christmas loot at home consisted of a Guess bag (from Jon), Celine blouse, Body Shop body butter, shower gel, loofah, and body scrub gloves(?), and a big grocery basket. Jon was also surprised when I handed him his Armani black code perfume. He also got Arrow socks, Ralph Lauren hankies, and a Lacoste polo shirt from my family.

Speaking of gifts, there were lots and lots of them this year and i love every single one of them... hihi! I guess I've been nicer than naughty this year... ;-)

December 25.
Christmas morning was spent in bed trying to restore energy lost the previous day. Lunch time, a friend with her two children (godchildren of ours) visited us and we gave them their gifts. After that, more time for r&r. My MIL recently bought the latest Magic Sing with 2000+ songs and in his excitement, Jon bought a Tagalog Chip with more songs days after... Jon and I spent the entire afternoon trying out the songs in our room... yup, we're certified videoke addicts!!!

And... it doesn't stop there! When relatives arrived that night, Jon set up the videoke at the living room and we all had a grand time at our very own videoke bar... complete with beer (vodka for me), chips, chocolates, and other pica-pica. :D

December 26.
My mom's birthday. Jon and I first went to Hidalgo St., at Quiapo, where we looked for a standard lens for Jon's spanking DSLR, the Nikon D70s (which he got from Singapore). We found a good deal there and my hubby was a very happy man as he took shot after shot on his camera on our way to Makati.

Shopped for a few hours at Glorietta (got back my capital from the tiangge + additional 70% earnings! wahooooo!) then made our way to the first World Pyro Olympics at the Esplanade Bay just beside the SM Mall of Asia. The fireworks display from China and Australia was just spectacular!

Pyro day1 pics here.

December 29.

Asheley and Bang's Wedding. I was up at 5am and met a friend at the salon at 6. By 830 am, we were on our way to Tagaytay. In a way, it was my first wedding coordination assignment and Jon's first wedding to shoot... hihihi... cge na nga, practice pa lang... ;)

view entire album here.

Right after the wedding, Aion, Jon and I went home, changed clothes and waited for Yna to pick us up and we went to the 4th day of the World Pyro Olympics which showcased the pyrotechniques of U.S.A. and South Africa. If Jon and I had good seats the first day, we had an even better place this time around. We were by the edge of the Manila Bay where we ate our Jollibee take-out food on top of the rocks. Saya! =)

Pyro day 4 here.

December 30

Reunion and 10th year anniv party with 4Agirls (high school classmates). Being one of the organizers, I was one of the few earlybirds that evening and helped in the food preps (cocktails only) and decors (tables/chairs and balloons courtesy of JS2K -> my family's biz -nag-plug pa! hehe). It was a fun-filled night as we reminisced on the good ol' high school days.

Hat party pics here.

December 31

We went grocery shopping first thing in the am. As usual, the place was packed with people. The same goes at the fruit stand where we bought Jon's usual gift at my old home, the seedless jumbo watermelon. =) We dropped this off before going home.

Every year, egg rolls (recipe at my food blog) were always incuded in the menu and this year was no different... (bilog-bilog = pera! :D ). It was kind of a reunion at home because Jon's cousins (7 of them) and other relatives are celebrating the New year with us so the food preparation this time around was a breeze coz we had lots of helpers around.

Around 9pm, everything was ready... and everyone was just counting the hours til midnight. Earlier, i learned that ate's family are celebrating the new year at my old home (first time with the kids), and i got kinda sad coz Jon and I wouldn't be able to join them in the celebration... But that was to change coz when we visited them before the putukan, I couldn't bear to leave especially since both my niece and nephew were really excited bout the fireworks display they would see that night and... when my younger sister's boyfriend PROPOSED to her that night... we had our crying moments, of course. =)

So, as a result, Jon and I both celebrated the New Year at my old place and had a grand time as usual. =)

January 1

Spent the first day of the year sleeping, tending to visitors, and having a concert at home. By nighttime though, we were off to the first party of the year at Charrie's condo. It was a blast meeting new friends and reconnecting with old ones. =)

New Year party pics here.