Little Miss Wanderlust

Sicko

2012-01-17T12:00:00.000+08:00

photo is from here. thanks!

I have been sick for the past days. I'm glad I still was able to enjoy the weekend but being such a weakling is getting to be annoying already. I should start eating healthy na kasi. Tsktsk. Note to self : Alagaan kasi ang sarili!!!!

I'm out.

Rhino

2012-01-16T15:41:00.001+08:00

Finally I was able to have Rhino, my beloved DSLR, checked and cleaned. He no longer has that annoying dot in the middle of every shot I take. Lately I have been wondering why most of my friends and family end up having fake moles on their faces when I take pics. Hehehe.

The cleaning cost me P2000. Worth it na rin rather than me having to buy a new DSLR. I was already contemplating buying a smaller digicam but leaning more on Nikon still. Any suggestions? Just let me know.

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out. :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Starting the year with lights without a bang

2012-01-14T14:46:00.002+08:00

To follow the campaign to avoid using any form of firecracker and the like in welcoming the New Year.. we opted for floating lanterns instead. So here are the pics. :)

We failed to make it "float" though. But we still had fun taking pictures with it.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Gifts

2012-01-13T12:34:00.001+08:00

The card that came with the gift said "I'm having the TIME of my life with you. I hope you like your gift".

So I got this »

The little silver watch

And just a month before Christmas I got this from him too »

The big white watch

So... Hopefully I won't be required to wear both at the same time naman ha. :P

Thanks for the watches my dear. I'm having the TIME of my life with you too. ;)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out. ;)

posted from Bloggeroid

Blue Christmas

2012-01-13T12:22:00.001+08:00

It was literally a blue Christmas for me last 2011. It wasn't necessarily a sad one. I just had blue things with me. Lol.

Here »»»

Blue nails.. Blue towel

Blue blouse.. Blue shoes

Lol!

2011 was a good good year. Had lots of travels and lots of blessings. That's why I'm pretty excited for 2012 :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out :)

posted from Bloggeroid

I wanna be a Chicago-an

2011-12-29T21:13:00.001+08:00

I fell in love with Chicago.. as a tourist.
It has a mix of old and new structures and the weather was nice and cool (at least it was when we were there). I heard it gets really really cold during the winter. Oprah is from Chicago... and Michael Jordan too!!! :P Plus... I really like museums. And Chicago has a lot of them!!!

Most of our time in Chicago was spent walking along Downtown and eating out... the food is good! It still does not compare with what NYC can offer but there are definitely good places to dine. I will blog about our foodtrips too. :)

For now, here's some of our pics here and there. I can say that we'll definitely back. :)

The Bean

The Field Museum

Downtown Chicago

O for Oprah

Thank you Chicago! :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out. :)

Mascots

2011-12-09T13:22:00.000+08:00

I used to be really afraid of mascots when I was younger. Mama told me they'd have a hard time trying to get me from under the tables (that's where I hide) whenever I see one. But look at me now...

Look Ma, no tears! :D

Pic was taken at M&M World, New York.

Weeeee! Happy weekend peeps.
CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Travel Buddies

2011-12-01T19:14:00.001+08:00

We have been all over the US and bits of Canada from late October to mid November. It was a blast! I believe you learn more about your partner in times like this. Like how he interacts with strangers, how he enjoys new things and how he is amazed when it's his first time in certain places. My guy is loads of fun to be with. He's my ultimate travel buddy. :) I'm lucky to have someone who's not afraid to get lost with me in strange places and who's always game to get crazy and have fun.

Here's a picture of us having the waiting area all to ourselves because we're too early for our connecting flight. :))

More travel stories to follow ;)
CARPE DIEM!
I'm out. :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Jamba Wamba

2011-11-30T23:15:00.001+08:00

So it's really here huh? We went to see the place over the weekend. The place was packed and because we were full from dinner too, we just checked it out, took pics then left. We'll be going back next time to try the goods. :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Annyong haseyo

2011-11-21T15:21:00.000+08:00

This is us... (in Liberty Island) trying to look like a Koreanovela photo-op :P

I wanna go back! :D Thanks for the ideas and pics Cindz :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Updates!

2011-11-21T14:54:00.001+08:00

I have not been blogging for the longest time.

Updates updates!

I just got back from our 3-week US/Canada adventure :) It was OZM! I will try to post as much pics and remember the stories that go with it.
Two of my closest friends just got married. So love love love is in the air! Side note: I'm starting to have a collection of bridesmaid dresses. I now have 4 and counting.. ;D
I'm contemplating whether to have my hair cut or have it curled.
Work has been better. I'm starting to appreciate the perks of working for this company.

Keep you posted on other kwentos.
CARPE DIEM! I'm out. :)

Amen!

2011-10-10T20:25:00.001+08:00

Thanks for your patience Papa God! :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Alba - Spanish Restaurant

2011-09-27T17:15:00.000+08:00

We celebrated my parent's Anniversary last weekend and we opted to try something different this time. We always end up at Japanese, Chinese or Italian restaurants when we eat out. So I told them that maybe they want to try a Spanish restaurant this time, they said "yes!".

We went all the way to Tomas Morato to have dinner at Alba. I didn't know they have buffet during weekends pala. So here's the buffet spread...

Ma, Pa and my brother Ivan ended up enjoying the buffet selection while Arvic and Me opted to order our own Paella (Pesto Paella) and steak (with mashed potato and tomato sauce).

Alba had a good selection of wine, chorizos and dessert too.

Yumyumyum! 3 buffet + a few extra orders amounted to P3K++. Not bad, not bad at all. :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

A lifetime of love

2011-09-27T11:09:00.000+08:00

Happy 31st Anniversary to my dearest Ma and Pa!

The kind of love you have for each other is awesome! :D I wish you more years of togetherness to share. :)

Photobooth Shots

2011-09-24T14:10:00.000+08:00

I just noticed that nowadays it looks like photobooths are a must in all kinds of occasion. May it be a wedding, a birthday party (kiddie or adult), debuts, and yes, even on baptism. I've been to 2 weddings, 1 kiddie party and 1 baptism in the past 3 weeks. And voila... here are our photobooth pics :P

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

French Toast-er

2011-09-20T12:58:00.001+08:00

Two slices of French Toast at Starbucks costs P85. Whoa, I can buy a whole loaf of bread na with that amount. So one sunday night, that's what we did. :)

Ingredients:
Wheat Bread
Egg
Evaporated Milk
Butter

First try...

Finish product...

Weeeeee! Success!

Carpe Diem!
I'm out. :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Gong Cha

2011-09-19T22:33:00.001+08:00

Lots of milk tea stores popping out here and there in Manila. But so far, I really liked Gong Cha more than the others. It maybe because I got to try it out when I was really getting tired of walking around MOA (sidenote: I really don't enjoy going to MOA that much), in other words sakto ang timing. :)

Let the milk tea war continue ;P

Carpe Diem!
I'm out. :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Fifi is sick

2011-09-12T02:57:00.001+08:00

I have 4 dogs at home. 1 askal, 1 rescued dog (looks like a wolf), and 2 maltese puppies. Our house in the province has more than 15 dogs, big and small. Yeah, we're dog-lovers. So you can just imagine my panic when I thought one of my doggies is about to go blind.

Fifi, one of the maltese puppies, had a swollen right eye. We all thought it was soreeyes at first, then wednesday came and it looked like she couldn't open her right eye already. Finally, we had her checked-up by the vet over the weekend. The verdict: Her eye was scratched pretty bad (probably during playtime with her sister Didi) and now it's swollen and infected. :( She got several injections for the swelling and the pain.

Brave little fifi. She's under observation and medication until next week. I hope she gets well already. :) She misses Didi. They had to be seperated to avoid rough playtime until she gets better :)

I'm out.

posted from Bloggeroid

Old Pics

2011-09-04T18:17:00.000+08:00

One weekend my brother went home to our family house in Nueva Ecija and because he had nothing better to do with his free time... he scanned our old pics and posted it all on Facebook!!!! Of course there were violent reactions (most came from our older sister!). Most of the awkward stage pics were hers anyway. =)) We laughed about it. And here's mine >>>

Me and my super cool shades.. yeba!

Ate, Ivan, Me

Let's La-Bamba! :D

Syempre kailangan din magfolkdance :P

I love looking at old pics. Lots of memories and laughter just go with it.

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Little Quiapo

2011-08-06T12:42:00.001+08:00

It has been weeks since tha last time we had a foodtrip. So when Arvic went all the way to Commonwealth just to have dinner with me when I get off work, I wanted to try one place I was really curious about, Little Quiapo!

We heard that the pansit and kare-kare was their specialty. But it was rainy that day plus, we both wanted some hot soup. That's why we ended up ordering Sinigang.

It was delicious. Just the right 'asim' we both wanted to taste.

For appetizer, we had mushrooms.

We were surprised that this was really good. Arvic loves dishes with mushroom so he really enjoyed this one.

Here's the rest of the pics.

I still have more pics ib my camera. I'll add them later. The branch we visited was at East Ave. area and we will definitely back to try the kare-kare :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Genuine

2011-07-23T00:57:00.001+08:00

I have a busy and fun weekend ahead. The whole family is ofg to Baguio in a few hours. And here I am trying to post a blog entry. :P Well, I just really had to post this because it's just sooooo cute. Before sleeping, my nephew has this habit of wanting to be tickled. He LOVES being tickled. So here he is laughing his little heart away..

Hala, i will surely miss this little boy when he goes back to the US. :'( We must make the most out of the remaining days of his vacation. :)

Happy weekend! Enjoy!

Carpe Diem!
I'm out. :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Donut

2011-07-12T21:50:00.001+08:00

Iba pa rin talaga ang pasalubong ng bayan. ;-) Especially now that they're offering the 'Big Dunk'.

Sarap! Sugar rush :-D Thank you for bringing back the 'old' donut Dunkin' Donut.

Carpe Diem!
I'm out.

posted from Bloggeroid

Varekai Day

2011-07-08T11:15:00.004+08:00

So after a number of times of talking about it and weighing if we really want to see the show or not... Arvic and I decided last minute (like just the week before the show started) to buy tickets.

Then we started counting the days... we were that excited. And then our Varekai day came...

It was rainy that day. We took pics as we approached the big tent.

Of course we wanted proof that we were there... so here's our pics with the tent. Haha!

There were several booths just as you get in the front area of the tent. They were selling popcorn, softdrinks and hotdogs. Made us feel we were really at a circus. Kulang na lang cotton candy!

Here's a very happy boy with his popcorn and drink. Super excited sya!

Here's the inside of the tent... well more of another reception area in one of the "wing" of the tent.

There was a photobooth as well set-up by Sunlife (one of the sponsors), all you have to do is "like" their FB page then your photo is free. Here's ours:

We were told that we can go inside the big tent already.. so this is the only shot I got from the inside before they announced that all phones and cameras should be turned off and kept.

The show was ama----zing. I loved it!!! Most of the stunts were unbelievable and the costumes were really a feast for the eyes. Well worth the ticket. The venue was really intimate for a 'circus' event. I bet you'll enjoy the show even if you get the cheapest tickets. ;) Go go go!

You can inquire and get tickets HERE. Tip: Tickets are cheaper during weekdays ;D

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Feeling old(er)

2011-07-06T07:41:00.001+08:00

Coffee + newspaper combo.

Definitely made me feel old. But made me feel good too. Times are definitely a-changing. Frankly, I wanna freeze time... Parang ambilis ng year na to donchathink?

Speaking of time being real fast, I just been regularized (as an employee). This means I've been with this company for close to half a year. Wow. Well, here's proof »

Haha!

Carpe diem!
I'm out. ;-)

posted from Bloggeroid

2011-07-03T02:23:00.001+08:00

posted from Bloggeroid

Feeling nasa Abroad :P

2011-06-27T11:32:00.000+08:00

Guess where we are???

Well.. that circular tree thing is a giveaway... :P That's in the middle of Burgos Circle area. :) Isn't it nice? A patch of green in the middle of tall buildings/condos. A lot of people walk their dogs in that area too during the afternoon.

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Thank you

2011-06-18T08:50:00.000+08:00

It still amazes me how patient he can be with me. Thank you Papa God for blessing me with a really patient guy. He just gets my quirks and my mood swings. And he puts me in place. Keeps me sane too.

Home is just another word for you.

Little gestures. Big effect. Love it.

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

100 Green Years.. and a lot more ahead :)

2011-06-16T21:18:00.000+08:00

My Alma Mater just turned 100 years today. What a milestone. :)

I still remember the day we paid for the reservation fee for DLSU. I wasn't really that decided to go to DLSU just yet but it was a good option to have. I wanted to go to UST, primarily because Mama, Papa and my sister were alumni of UST. We all grew up thinking we'll graduate from the same university our parents came from right? Plus I wanted to be a doctor when I was younger, so UST was the obvious choice. ADMU was also on my list, it was close to home plus I'm pretty sure I'll have friends there and most of them will be from the 'north', really convenient. In the end I chose DLSU.. took up Computer Studies/Science, majored in Computer Engineering and met the greatest group of people ever and created unforgettable memories. :)

So if you ask me now if I think I made the right choice? I won't deny that sometimes I still have certain what-ifs I'd like answered, but most definitely I love being a La Sallian and I thank DLSU for all the lessons learned, friendships discovered, and for seriously teaching me about dealing with life in general. Everything happens for a reason, and ending up spending my college years in DLSU was worth risking all those what-ifs. :)

I bleed green. :) ANIMO LA SALLE! Hail hail hail! :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Green!

2011-06-15T09:26:00.000+08:00

This is what I see every morning when I get to the office early. Greeeeeens! Ang sarap sa mata. :) I'm really starting to like this office site. :)

CARPE DIEM!

I'm out.

Reunited

2011-06-10T14:10:00.000+08:00

The waiting is over. No more countdowns for us. He's home!!! :)

My nephew Andy is back in Manila for 2 months!!!! We are soooo happy to see him again after close to a year of him staying in the US. See our smiles ;D

Me, Andy, Ivan

Papa, Andy, Mamu

Of course ang pinakahappy sa lahat are the grandparents... :) Miss na miss talaga nila sya. :)

And what does he want for his first lunch here....

Jollibee 2-pc Burgersteak

Ang lakas talaga ni Jollibee sa Pinoy kids... :) Andy actually consumed 2 2-pc burgersteaks in less than 15 mins. Gano nya kamiss. :)

My June and July will mostly be spent with the family. More memories and fun times ahead. :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Cubao's Getting Prettier

2011-06-08T11:09:00.000+08:00

Last Monday, I met up with Arvic and had early dinner at Gateway Mall. We weren't really craving for anything in particular but we both decided we wanted Ramen, so we ended up at Teriyaki Boy.

We were seated the the couch area and got a really nice view of one part of Araneta Center.

I live near Cubao and I'm happy that the Araneta Center is getting cleaner and little by little being developed. I hear a lot of friends are afraid to frequent the area due to 'takot' of being held-up and the like. I've been living in Cubao for more than 20 years and I never (and hopefully will never ever) experienced being held-up. I'm even more scared of Taft, Manila, Divisoria.. Hehe. Biased ba? :P

Anyway, I noticed also that now there are more trees in the area. Lookie!

Good job! More treeeeees please. :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Shoes :)

2011-06-03T13:13:00.000+08:00

Yes I am a shoe-lover. I'm a girl.. so shoot me. =P Here's my two latest purchase -->

From Muji. I needed black shoes for work. Oh yes, may justification pa talaga. :P

From Naturalizer.I needed shoes with heels to practice on. Naturalizer was the best option because their shoes are comfy. Even the ones with really high heels.

O-ha.. parang pareho lang ng pose. :))

More shoe posts coming soon! :P

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Wrestle Me! :P

2011-05-25T14:20:00.001+08:00

I'm a girl but I love watching Wrestling! Yes, that's true. I remember watching the Royal Rumble when they went here years ago. I watched with Mama and my brother and cousins if I remember it correctly. I know it's fake.. I know it's scripted.. but it's entertaining. I also get sad whenever I hear a number of them are dead already. Just recently it was Macho Man Randy Savage.

He was a good-bad guy. You can't really decide which side he was on. I loved his friendship-rivalry with Hulk Hogan. Rest In Peace Macho Man.

I also read this article saying that most of previous wrestlers are dead already... around 25% of them. You can read about it here. A lot of deaths were caused by either a drug overdose or a heart attack. I was really surprised to know that Elizabeth (Macho Man's Elizabeth) died of a drug overdose. =\

So here's me playing with a friend's son's toys... Naaliw lang ako talaga na meron pa palang may gusto sa kanila. :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

♪ ♫ Like a Pyramid ♪ ♫

2011-05-23T19:42:00.000+08:00

Why the title? Well, I have this pic that for some reason reminded people of Charice. Charice?!? OMG. Lol! I don't love her, I don't hate her either. Sakto lang naman.. :P I'm proud she's putting our country's name on the map at least. So, you decide. Totoo? Mukha ngang Sunshine Corazon?

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Diet (na naman!)

2011-05-23T19:27:00.000+08:00

I love weddings! I love the feel of it, the planning, the anticipation and everything else connected to it. If there's one thing I kinda dread about it... it's the taking of measurements for the gowns. Haha! Yes, I am a bridesmaid again. This time around it's for one of my closest friends, Aimee! She went home last week and we were scheduled to have our measurements taken. Oh.The.Horror!!!

We met up with the designer, Miss Gretchen Pichay. Here's a pic with her...

We were asked about what designs we wanted. We were negotiating sleeves for our gowns... hehe. She told us it would look really nice if we all didn't have sleeves. Pero pero pero pano ang arms na malalaki?!?! Yes, that was our dilemma. Haha! So when all was said and drawings were done, we all agreed that since this was our first meeting and initial measurements were made, we'll see as we progress with the fitting if we do lose enough weight to be confident with going sleeveless. And thus, the dieting and exercising begins again. :) My action plan? Less eating, more exercising. I already bought the 50% coupon for Bikram Yoga so go go go me! :D Let's do this! :D

The rest of the pics:

Haaaaaay.. here's to hoping we get to reach our goals. :D

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Partners

2011-05-18T10:58:00.000+08:00

Partners in crime. That's what we call "us". I'm happy I have someone to do crazy random things with. The adventure just never stops. :) This thought just made me happy today. And so I live you with this quote:

I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition. - Martha Washington

Stay positive. Stay hopeful. Love and be loved. :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Memphis Memories (Part VI) - Elvis is Alive!

2011-05-16T12:44:00.001+08:00

...continuation

Next stop is the memorabilia room. Here, you'll see his awards, his clothes, pictures, and lots of posters and newspaper clippings too.

My reaction was: WOW. How can one person win soooooo much. The whole gallery is filled with memories and even tv interviews and performances were showed. He is such a charming guy. :)

The last stop is the family mausoleum. Just one tiny trivia: I was surprised to know that Elvis had a twin brother, his name is Jesse Garon. He died at birth. Initially the family was not all laid to rest here, but due to security (there were several tomb-thieves incidents reported before) reasons, their family decided to get the remains from different locations and have them all placed in Graceland.

It's nice to see that a lot of people still leave presents and pay their respects. There's this one stuffed toy that really looked soooo cute, I wanted to take it home kaso baka multuhin ako ni Elvis. =/

Rest in peace King of Rock. Thank you for sharing your talent and music. :)

This ends our Elvis-series of posts. :) Hope you enjoyed it.

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Memphis Memories (Part V) - Elvis is Alive!

2011-05-11T14:06:00.001+08:00

...continuation

Next stop is the Jungle Room. Look closely and you'll realize why it was called that. It even has it's own wall 'waterfall'.

Next stop.. was the outside area and the other room extensions of the mansion.

The playground:

The ranch:

The smokehouse aka the firing range:

The pool area:

Elvis' dad's office: This was where most of the negotiations about his career, album covers, album music were discussed and decided. :)

Most of the paintings or artwork you see were sent in by fans.

To be continued...

CARPE DIEM!

I'm out.

Memphis Memories (Part IV) - Elvis is Alive!

2011-05-11T13:49:00.000+08:00

...continuation

So here is Elvis' living room. It's the first thing you'll notice when you get inside the mansion. Why? Most probably because of the colorful glass designs.

To learn about the history of the room... we had to click #31

It was said that the family spent most of their mornings here, waiting for their mom to ready up their breakfast. Speaking of breakfast, off we go to the kitchen and dining area.

If you look closer, you'll see that most of the appliances and utensils are old ones. Most of them were actually used by the family. Here's the dining area.

Priscilla and Lisa Marie

Off we go to the second floor and the first thing you'll see is the bedroom of the parents of Elvis.

Those clothes/dresses belong to Elvis' mother. :)

Next stop.. is the bar/entertainment room. Of course every rock n' roll superstar should have one. It's sooo yellow!

Mama and Papa listening

What I love about this room is that the ceiling is made of mirrors!

We were told to transfer rooms again.. it was just across the bar/entertainment room. We ended up in the pool-table room. And what amazed me about this room is that the whole room was draped with cloth. Ceilings and walls included.

Grabe.. draped everything! Who else can pull that off????

To be continued...

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Memphis Memories (Part III) - Elvis is Alive!

2011-05-04T14:04:00.000+08:00

During our family US trip last year, we were fortunate enough that we were invited by family friends to visit Memphis. This also gave us the chance to see where the King of Rock and Roll lived. :)

Ladies and gents.... Welcome to GRACELAND!

It was amazing that even after n-number of years, a lot of people still want to see this place. It was a nice surprise to see lots of people lining up at the lobby area. Whenever we go on tours I like being in a 'group' of people, parang dagdag sa tourist-y feel yung madaming tao. :)

Here's the lobby area. It had a number of souvenir shops.

The whole place was subdivided into different tour destinations. There's the mansion, the car museuem, sincerely elvis (consists of memorabilia: records, pics, awards, clothes) and his airplanes.

First stop is... The Mansion! We went by shuttle bus to the site. During the ride, we were given earphones and remote controls.. you can choose the number based on what the tour guide instructs or what's written on signs in different parts of the mansion. Once you click on that number, a voice over will tell you a story about that particular area.

Here... we were being told how to use it. :)

Then... we see the Mansion :)

To be continued :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Dinner at Lusso

2011-05-04T10:04:00.003+08:00

Any instant get-together require an accessible dinner place to go to. And because most of us are from or near Makati (excluding me boohoo), we always end up somewhere in Greenbelt. For this dinner get-together, the initial plan was to have dinner somewhere else but then people started complaining about the price of that particular restaurant so we opted to find another place. Yakimix was the next option, but then we were 24th on waiting list. So we ended up at Lusso.

Yes the interior looked good. Too bad we weren't able to get a table inside. Haha! We ended up in the tables outside in a warm warm night. Was not much of a good idea in my opinion but still, we had fun and enjoyed the food.

Forgot the name of this one :P

Spinach Taglierini - P350 (this was really good!)

Roast Lamb Sandwich- P350 (just okay)

Pics of friends..

Huling huli na nakikikuha ng food :P lol!

Will we go back? Yes, for the pasta. And next time we'll make sure to reserve a table inside. :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Lusso, Greenbelt 5

G/F Greenbelt 5, Legaspi St., Legaspi Village

Makati City, Metro Manila

Philippines

(02) 756-5893

My Mini-Mes

2011-05-03T10:24:00.000+08:00

I think I'll have cute kids someday. Lookie! A sneak preview of what my kids might look like (minus Arvic's genes pa muna because this is My side of the (future)family). Haha!

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Skewers Overload

2011-05-03T10:18:00.000+08:00

My friends and I agreed to have a send-off dinner because one of us was about to leave for Belfast. He'll be deployed there for a month or two. We asked him to decide where he wanted to have dinner and he wanted Jap food. We ended up at Nanbantei of Tokyo at Greenbelt3.

So it was my first time to eat at Nanbantei of Tokyo so I wasn't sure what to order. I was told that I should definitely try their skewers... So we ordered 2 sets of their Best Seller >>

It has the following >> 21 sticks in total: Aspara Maki, Tebasaki, Pork Garlic Yaki, Shiso Maki, Negima, Corn, and Poteto Maki.

This is how they cook the skewers.. so I think it can be considered 'healthy'

I like it! I think it's a good choice for people who really aren't that hungry and just want to chat over light dinner.

Friends pics:

Our side of the table --

Their side of the table --

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out. :)

The Hapa Exhibit

2011-04-10T10:02:00.000+08:00

I recovered these photos from our Chicago Trip last year. I remember being really amazed while reading short lines from these special people. It's a Hapa Exhibit in the field museum. What's Hapa you may ask?

Interesting? :) Here are pics of proud Hapa people.

I saw a number of Filipinos (most are from Hawaii and Japan) featured in the exhibit too.

CARPE DIEM!

I'm out.

Climate Change

2011-03-31T16:45:00.002+08:00

The weather is starting to get unpredictable already. With all the earthquake, tsunami and earth shifts. Here in Manila, during the mornings it's a bit cold and breezy then when afternoon comes it gets really hot (summer heat). Which made me remember an exhibit at the Field Museum we visited in Chicago. It was all about Climate Change.

My Ate with the globe

Coral Crisis

There was an interactive wall you can leave notes on. It poses the question --->

And here are some answers:

Pretty neat! :) We really should start taking care of our world. Mother Earth is literally crying out for help already.

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Mumblings

2011-03-28T12:56:00.000+08:00

I turned 27 a couple of weeks ago and I have mixed feelings about it. I'm thankful for 27 wonderful years of life of course, but then the thought of me getting closer to the big 3-0 is something I'm not that excited about. But then again, I'm still younger than most of my friends. So yay to me! :P Anyway... celebrated with the family at Saisaki/Dad's/Kamayan.. Had birthday salubong with highschool friends at The Reserve, then movie/dinnner date with Arvic. That's about it! :)

Thank you Papa God for all the blessings and for another wonderful year ahead. :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Work Woes

2011-03-08T13:14:00.000+08:00

I've been wanting to ask this so badly... WHO INVENTED WORK?!?!??? and money and 5-day workweeks?!?? =P

I know.. I know... I just got back to working a couple of months ago so technically I have no right to rant (yet). So let's get to the details. I've been working for close to 2 months now, been with this particular client for a month already. I won't say where... but it's generally counted as a "local company" and may I just say that based from experience, local company culture is really not for me.

For my past 2 jobs, it's mostly multinational clients that I worked with so I'm comparing this particular experience with those engagements. So here are the things that I just find weird:

People "expect" you to call them sir, ma'am, miss etc. Especially if they're from "higher" positions. So when I send out emails, I have to double check and see if I put the correct citations just so noone would be "offended".

People loooove escalating other people. I personally see this as a "powertrip" move. There's nothing wrong with escalating concerns, but the reason behind the escalation should count, plus.. escalate the work or the deliverable, not the person. Work is work.. professionalism should always be a priority.

They have this thinking that the more hours you're in the office, the more productive you are. This is not true! Productivity should be measured through output and actual deliverables, not the number of hours in the office. Malay ba naten kung tumatambay lang?

Just my two cents. :)

Now back to work I go. Busy bee mode. Buzz buzz buzz.
CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

On being a sicko

2011-03-04T13:41:00.000+08:00

I have spent this week being sick. And it's definitely not a good way to start my birthday month. :( But me being a positive-thinker and a believer that everything happens for a reason, I just dealt with it and realized a lot of good things.

First, iba talaga ang alaga ng Mom. I love it that my mom is just a text or call away (kasi she's in the province). When she went to Manila, automatic I had sets of meds right away, comfort food and she checked on me (for free! no doctor's fee =P)

Second, ang sarap din ng maalaga ang bf. Sa sobrang pag-aalaga nya, nahawa na rin sya tuloy. :P So we both were on SL last monday. Haha!

The simple joys and blessings of life. =) Thank you Papa God! It's friday! and I'm still sick but I feel a whole lot better already coz it's the weekend again. :)

Enjoy your weekends!

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Gulay Haven

2011-02-25T11:30:00.000+08:00

More than a couple of weeks ago, we were able to go to the Legazpi Weekend Market.. Initially we were there for the food. But we ended up buying more organic veggies...

The palengkeros.. :P Ariel and Arvic.

There were fruits too!

After "marketing".. we were off to the food selections.

There were lots of seafood:

Pastries!!!

Handicraft goodies...

And lots of cooked food.. but no pics. Hehe. So I'll just show you a pic of us with our happy tummies :D

We will definitely be back.. :D

CARPE DIEM!

I'm out.

My Delivery Boy

2011-02-16T13:28:00.000+08:00

How can you not fall in love and be touched with this....

Ang cute ng delivery boy ko! :P

Thank you for the flowers my dear :)

Spread the love!

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out. :)

Uuuuy... Date

2011-02-16T08:57:00.000+08:00

Yes... they also had a date!!!

Hope you had a great Vday celebration too. :) If not, Love month pa rin naman... habol pa!

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Lunch at Corky's

2011-01-31T08:29:00.000+08:00

One of the places we went to during our US family trip last year was Memphis. :D And as I mentioned in my previous posts related to the place HERE and HERE, I did enjoy the place soooo much because of the culture, the music and of course, the food!

One of the places Tito Ed brought us to have lunch at was at the famous ribs place... Corky's!

Upon entering you're greeted by a wall full of signatures and pictures of celebrities (athletes, politicians, actors etc).

We wanted to post our pics and sign it... but no one asked us to!!! What were they thinking?!? They were missing a chance of a lifetime. Haha!

The place was cozy, warm and inviting with all those brick walls and lights. :D

Off to the famous ribs. You'll be given the option to try it dry or with sauce. Our waiter insisted that the dry version was a crowd favorite but of course we just needed to try both of them :D

Ribs smothered with sauce

The Dry ribs

They also had their special sauce selection (you can see it on the 2nd to the last pic beside the smothered with sauce ribs). Just like Racks, it had a spicy version and an original one. :)

Given the chance that we'll visit Memphis again we will definitely be back at Corky's :D

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Ripley's Believe It or Not

2011-01-27T23:00:00.000+08:00

During our US trip as well, we went to the Ripley's Museum at Branson, Missouri. We wanted to go in but then decided that taking pics outside the place would be enough because the entrance fee was pricey (I don't remember the price though). Or maybe we were all really hungry and grumpy already that all we wanted to do was eat. :P

Hope you still like the pics.. :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Color Coordinated

2011-01-26T20:00:00.000+08:00

I still have nothing to do on my new work. So lots of free time to blog and browse through old pics. I was looking at our US trip pics and saw this. I remember why I took pics of this... we wanted to cheer up my younger brother, who was the only one who wasn't with our family on this trip.

Mama and her favorite color: Purple

Me and my self-proclaimed color of 2010: Orange
The reason behind it: I wanted my 2010 to be really vibrant and fierce

Andy and his favorite color: Red

And this spot is supposedly for Ivan (my brother): Greeeeen

All pics were taken at Crown Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Specifically in the Crayola store. :D

I wanna go back to the US. :D

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

KKK: Food Revolution

2011-01-26T13:11:00.002+08:00

It's been some kind of 'tradition' or nakasanayan na to hear mass with the family on Sundays then eat out. It may be dinner or lunch. Depends if Mama and Papa will go home to the province on Sunday evening or not. But lately, since everyone seems to be busy with something, may be work(Me), school(the brother) or reunions(the parents), we end up hearing (anticipated) mass on Saturdays then unplanned lunch or dinners on Sundays.

So one fine Sunday, we found ourselves having lunch in a new place (new to us) at the side of SM Cubao. It was 'KKK'.

Browsing through their menu we found lots of food selections. Most of course are Filipino dishes. The interior and most of the decorations had a native touch to it.

I especially liked this piece made of recycled wine bottles

And this picture or wallpaper that showed some of our national heroes. I think that's Jose Rizal on the left side.

Off to the food.

Lumpiang Shanghai - This was really good. Especially the sauce.

Sisig with Egg

Binagoongang Lechon Kawali - Crispy pork binagoongan... :D

The food was okay. Comparable to that of Mesa (in Greenbelt 5) but Mesa has more food selection, portion and is less expensive.

Will we go back? Maybe. :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Shoot that Target

2011-01-22T14:12:00.000+08:00

With all the recent carnapping and non-stop news reports about different types of crimes happening left and right, it's really starting to get scary to live here. But don't get me wrong, I still love Pinas. But we all really should start doing something about this. Be vigilant people. Be alert. Keep safe.

With that thought (being alert etc etc) I remember a recent bonding activity I had with my brother and Papa over the holidays. I have a feeling what we did is a pretty unique activity to do on Christmas morning. Guess what we did???

Target shooting!

My Papa is a gun-club member for the last 2-3 years, I even had been attending several gunshows for the past years with him. He's an officer of the gunclub of our town in N. Ecija. He's in the process of putting up his own target-shooting range at the back of our house. And that's where we were this past Christmas morning.

On our way to the back part of the house.

Unfinished target-shooting spot...

The bullets...

The guns...

Gearing up...

The targets...

Us in action...

I have to admit that the first time I tried it.. it was pretty scary. The sound, the recoil, the pressure. So this time around, to make it more fun, we decided to make it a contest. And the end result was.... it was a tie! :D 6 all. :)

I still am not a super fan of guns. I firmly believe that a psych exam should be an added requirement before people get their permits for it. So people with guns, please be responsible. :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

This really caught my eye ha!

2011-01-20T21:41:00.000+08:00

We were at the Mercato Centrale FoodFest/Bazaar last weekend. My head was spinning because there was just too many food stalls to choose from. But this sign just really stood up.

Really attention-grabbing! Better than BonChon?
So we really just had to try it out. The chicken had 3 flavors, original, mildly spicy, spicy.

The verdict?

In fairness... it really was crispy and spicy. :) I liked it! Congrats Manang! :P

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Little Tokyo

2011-01-15T19:45:00.000+08:00

After a number of failed attempts to have dinner at Little Tokyo, finally we were successful this time around. Hello Little Tokyo!

Eventhough it was the middle of the week, I was surprised to see that the place was still close to being full.

It was nice that we were with a friend who knew about the place already. So he suggested that we get a table in the middle and not inside the restaurants so we can look around and order the specialties from different stalls. I guess we can do this as long as we order something from the place we were seated at. We got a table at Riozen.

So here's the food!

My favorite food that night... Takoyaki!

I think this one's called Karakuchi (?). It's Hot and Spicy Ramen with pork, beef, chicken.

My Katsudon

Maki and lots of Sashimi

Yumyumyum! I was so focused on the eating part that I forgot to take note of the prices. Oh well.. I shall take note next time because we will definitely be back. :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Another New Thing This Year

2011-01-14T11:02:00.003+08:00

So according to an article in Yahoo, there are NEW Zodiac signs in place due to a shift on the Earth's Axis. If you want the thorough explanation it's here >> CLICK HERE

There's a new zodiac sign called OPHIUCHUS (parang ang cool naman maging zodiac sign to!). But it's said that it only affects people born 2009 onwards. :)

Anyway, here's the new list:

Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16
Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11
Pisces: March 11-April 18
Aries: April 18-May 13
Taurus: May 13-June 21
Gemini: June 21-July 20
Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10
Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16
Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30
Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23
Scorpio: Nov. 23-Nov. 29
Ophiuchus: Nov. 29-Dec. 17
Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20

I'm sooooo glad na Pisces pa rin ako. :P Did your sign change?

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Pasalubong ng Bayan

2011-01-12T15:31:00.001+08:00

I was at the Piazza at McKinley Hill yesterday, waiting for Arvic to get off work. So I scouted for a good place to hangout and ended up at the very cozy Dunkin' Donut Cafe.

It was nice that in this branch, they showcase their coffee more. They had cold coffee drinks, different flavored lattes, and even flavored brewed coffee. I still believe that Dunkin' Donut still has one of the best coffee there is. Amazingly, they even had set meals. *look at the board*

Lots of coffee shops nowadays, nice to know that Dunkin' Donut is now finding new ways to be in the game again. :)

As I enjoyed my caramel latte which was really gooood. Mr. Sun and I bonded a little bit more...

CARPE DIEM!

I'm out.

The simple joys of life

2011-01-12T00:25:00.000+08:00

Start of the year and one of the first things I got for myself... is a Sun (Wireless) Broadband. We had the wired Smart Broadband at home for more than 3 years already and it's the first time I switched.

The plan I got was this one :

So far... so good! There are 'down time' too just like other providers.. and ironically, it's during the wee hours of the night when there's no 'sun'. Go figure. :P It's cheaper from our previous Smart plan by P200. Plus, it's really pretty neat that I'm able to go online anywhere as long as I have Jacob (my laptop) with me and Mr. Sun (yes, it has a name too). :P Thank you technology! Makes me wanna get an Ipad or Samsung Galaxy Tab.

CARPE DIEM!

I'm out.

Define 'Maturity'

2011-01-10T02:01:00.000+08:00

Good read. Good points.

"The things you learn in maturity aren't simple things such as
acquiring information and skills. You learn not to engage in
self-destructive behavior. You learn not to burn up energy in anxiety.
You discover how to manage your tensions. You learn that self-pity and
resentment are among the most toxic of drugs. You find that the world
loves talent but pays off on character."

"You come to understand that most people are neither for you nor
against you; they are thinking about themselves. You learn that no matter
how hard you try to please, some people in this world are not going to love
you, a lesson that is at first troubling and then really quite relaxing."
- Maria Ressa, Head of News and Current Affairs, ABS-CBN

Good lessons to learn. Let's all grow this 2011. ;)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Ti Amo

2011-01-07T16:26:00.000+08:00

First foodtrip of the year included a stop at Caffe Ti Amo at Greenbelt 5. From what I read from different sites, Caffe Ti-Amo is a South Korean franchise brought to the Philippines by Jollibee Food Corp. Naman Jollibee ha.... ang yaman mo talaga! :P

We just needed to try out their Gelato. We ordered the medium sized cup which gave you the option to choose 3 flavors. We had chocolate, caffe, and dulce de leche. :) Yum! Perfect combination :D

Plus, the place really looked cozy.

Next time we plan to try this out...

Or their other bestseller called Affogato, it's hot espresso topped with vanilla or tiramisu gelato. The gelato is first topped with cashew nuts with the espresso poured slowly over the mixture. Sounds delicious!

The verdict: Yes, we will definitely go back. :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

It's Here!

2011-01-01T15:14:00.000+08:00

2011 is here. And I'm so excited about it!!! I welcomed 2011 with my family in N. Ecija. We missed my sister, nephew and brother-in-law who are all in the US, but it's all good because this is all part of a bigger blessing or plan. :)

So... 2011, what's the plan? I have 3 things in mind that I will focus on this year.

First is.. TO SAVE!
Being out of the workforce for almost half the year made me want to save up more for future "breaks" I might be taking again. Haha! But kidding aside, it's a really a good idea to start saving up seriously. I know I should have started seriously saving 5 years ago (when I just started working), but it's never too late to start right? Plus, to justify my 'expenses', I can proudly say that the money was well-spent and truly enjoyed. =P

Second... GET FIT!
Seriously get fit! I've been finding excuse after excuse to not workout and this has to change. Maybe I need to find something I'll enjoy doing and hopefully this activity is cheap. I'm planning on taking tennis lessons with Kai during the weekends. For the weekdays, hopefully I'll start liking the idea of jogging. It's effective for Arvic and he seems to enjoy it. So I'm giving it a shot again. Plus... new running shoes should be enough motivation to jog. :) Oh.. and diet diet diet! Love your body dapat! :)

Third... STAY POSITIVE!
A healthy body is not just enough.. a healthy attitude should be added too. I plan to get rid of all the negative vibes. No to bitterness.. no to fear of the unknown.. no to doubt. This year should all be about being happy and feeling the love. :)

So gear up for me 2011. Let's get started! :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Thank you 2010!

2010-12-31T23:43:00.000+08:00

2010... I am about to bid goodbye to you in a few minutes. And I would like to tell you something before you actually bid goodbye to all of us.

Thank you 2010. You have been an amazing year. A year of travels with family, friends and with Arvic. I appreciate that a lot. I love sharing travel memories with people I love. They will forever remain priceless to me. The US was great by the way, I shall go back there and see more of it. I promise! :)

Thank you 2010. You taught me to be patient. I was not working for almost the whole half end-part of the year. Sure, I became a little bit uneasy already and impatient but the 'time-off' gave me my much-needed break to reflect back on what I really want in life and where I want to go. I wanted to leave the Philippines for greener pastures elsewhere but then realized that maybe I'm still not meant to be away from family and friends. I guess, there's still a lot to be done here. And a whole lot more to enjoy. ;)

Thank you 2010. I learned more about being in a relationship. Sure this year was a little bit bumpy compared to previous years but the lessons I learn in each bumpy ride you let me in are precious. I learned more about Arvic and most especially about me. I know we still have a long way to go but I sure am glad I have him in my life. This partnership will go places.. I just know it! ;)

Thank you 2010. Friendships grew even stronger during this year. I appreciate my true friends more and more each year. A lot of milestones were met this year like the 10-year mark with my college friends.. and even more years with my highschool friends. You also made me realize that indeed true friendships can stem from being workmates. I am really lucky to have these people in my life.

Thank you 2010, you leave me with a more hopeful heart. I know that 2011 will be great but I shall always remember you as the year that I learned a lot from.

CHEERS!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!

Another One Just Got Hitched

2010-12-31T17:04:00.000+08:00

Right after Christmas, I was really busy. Why? Because one of my bestfriend got married! :)

What I love about weddings of really close friends... it instantly becomes a reunion!

It was super fun to see people dress-up and suit-up for a change :) I missed these wacky guys.

Plus... kinilig ako kasi ang gwapo ng boyfriend ko... *kilig*

Congratulations to my dear dear bestfriend... Jing and BJ! Love love love!

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T21:37:00.000+08:00

It's Christmas eve tomorrow already. And when I reflect back to the year that was (and still is), I am overwhelmed with all the blessings I received. So what I want to give back to the universe is the same love it has showered me not just this Christmas season but all throughout the whole year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

from Me and Arvic,

from Me and my family,

Feel the love.. Spread the love! :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Another First

2010-12-16T23:19:00.000+08:00

This last Boracay trip was an adventure for me. I did another 'first'. And I'm glad I had the courage to do this. Usually kasi I excuse myself from extreme activities. But this one was just to good to say no to.

We did this! Helmet Diiiiiiive!

First there was an orientation. We were told about the sign language we're required to use once we're underwater. The signs would inform our instructor if we're "okay", "not good", "wants to go up already", "needs to pinch nose for equalizing" *I wish I could post pics of the me doing the signs.* Haha!

Them doing the "okay" sign...

Next, we needed to sign-up...

Then gear up!

Then off to the bottom of the ocean we go. Well more of 10-15 ft lang naman.. not really that deep. :P

My turn!

Underwater shots:

Saya! Sarap ulitin. :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Weddings

2010-12-14T16:34:00.000+08:00

It has been a crazy and hectic December. First, there was the Boracay trip with Arvic's family. Then his brother's wedding. Then my bestfriend's wedding. Add all of that to the Holiday craze as well. But who am I to complain? It's all about love love love and fun fun fun! I'll start posting pics in my FB account. For now, this is what I got for you.

Keep you guys posted :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Blessings

2010-11-30T08:57:00.000+08:00

Papa God loves us. Look at the beauty He wants us to see and appreciate...

I'm spending the week in Boracay with Arvic's family. God is great. Life is beautiful. Have a blessed week peeps! :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

IKEA!

2010-11-23T20:12:00.000+08:00

During one of my trips to Singapore. We decided to meet up with a friend and have dinner at Ikea. :)

I was honestly surprised to see lots of people having dinner there. Once we lined up for food.. it was evident why.

We had coupons care of our friend who was a member of Ikea. :) We had free chicken wings!!! One of their best sellers.. Yum!

Kainan naaaaaa...

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out. :)

More than 10 years

2010-11-23T18:46:00.000+08:00

I had my share of friendships gone wrong. Fate gave me the chance to experience meeting bad people along the way. Such experience taught me to surround myself with people I really connect with and that trust earned is much more promising than trust freely given.

I have been friends with my highschool barkada for more than 10 years already. We lost a few 'members' along the way for different reasons. I'm glad to say that those who stayed are the best bunch there is. :)

A number tried their luck in other countries. While some are busy with their families and babies. We all have our own lives to live but once given the chance to reunite, we do take the time to catch up and laugh. :)

The most beautiful discovery true friends can make is that they can grow separately without growing apart

Merry Christmas from us! :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

See youuuuuuu!

2010-11-22T23:37:00.000+08:00

Our Boracary trip for this year will be next week naaaaaaaa!!! This time I'll be with Arvic and his family. :)

See you soon Bora... :)

CARPE DIEM!

I'm out. :)

Puppies

2010-11-22T17:23:00.002+08:00

5 new addition to the family. :) They were born 11/19/2010, 7:30am. Welcome to the family babies! :)

New life... Papa God is amazing! :)

CARPE DIEM!

I'm out. :)

Undas 2010

2010-11-05T15:19:00.000+08:00

This year's Undas was different from the number of Undas we experienced in the past. There were less people in the cemetery, less traffic on our way home to the province, and less children making candle balls. Oh how we've grown and changed.

We went there pretty early to avoid the afternoon heat. Placed the flowers we brought, lit candles and prayed.

We went back in the late afternoon and waited for the bishop to bless our departed loved ones.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

I'm out.

Halloween

2010-11-03T20:44:00.000+08:00

So who were you this Halloween? My nephew sent over his pic (with his dad) to show us his first ever Halloween costume. Look!

Super Mario and Luigi!!!! :D It was entirely his idea. Good thing his Dad was game too. :)

I miss Andy more each day. :(

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Friendster

2010-11-02T23:19:00.002+08:00

I was planning on deleting my friendster account already. For old times sake, I revisited the testimonials page.. and voila. I saw this... A testimonial from him.

Cza... My Darling, My Angel, My Dear, My Lady, My Sweetheart, My Bestfriend, My First Thought when I wake up, My Dreamgirl, My Last Thought before I sleep, My partner in adventures, My Addiction, My Fellow Freak, My Sweetness, My Weakness, My Inspiration, My Hugs, My Kisses, My Love... Girl whose captured my heart...

You bring out the Best, the Mushiness and the Cheesyness in me. You constantly Surprise me, Amaze me and put a Smile in my face. You make me want to sweep you off your feet every single time. And your the only one who I'll write something these cheesy for and post it for the whole world to read... :)

Awwww.. <3. Wala pa ata kaming 1 month nyan. Hahaha!

So I visited his page and saw my testimonial for him.

He's my happy thought, my answered prayer, my head cheerleader, my addiction, my good karma, my fellow freak, my breakfastmate, my moviebuddy, my fellow mass-goer, my warm hug, my sweet kiss, my fellow-adventurer, my favorite person, my dear.

Hmmmm.. parang nagkopyahan lang o! Hahaha! Alam ko ako yung nauna nagsulat e. But because what he wrote is longer, parang ako tuloy yung gaya gaya. Hmph! :P

Bottomline, I can't delete my Friendster account yet. I still want to reminisce.

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out. :)

Flowers for You

2010-10-28T15:22:00.001+08:00

"Flowers for you, on this lovely evening
Though they have no words they share my feelings
As we walk along the avenue
Pardon me, I just can't help staring at you..."
-Each Day With You

There are girls that are really fond of flowers. There are girls that aren't. I believe I was the latter. I'd choose chocolates over flowers any given day. But spending a lot of time with Mama made me realize why some girls do love them. We went to the famous 'Dangwa' street to buy fresh flowers to bring home to Nueva Ecija and I must say seeing all those beautiful and colorful flowers definitely made me smile.

Close-up pics...

Thank you Mama for making me appreciate flowers more. :P

And now, she wants me to go to flower arrangement class with her. Let's see what happens.. ;)

CARPE DIEM!

I'm out.

Close kami Ninoy

2010-10-15T19:54:00.000+08:00

Yes. Believe it or not, close kami ni Ninoy. Proof? Here you go.

Minsan nagkakatampuhan din kami...

Pero sila ni Arvic.. hmmm.. medyo may kompetisyon ng onti. Hahaha!

Parang walang sense yung post. =P

CARPE DIEM!

I'm out. :D

Memphis Memories (Part II)

2010-10-06T19:32:00.003+08:00

Another thing I love about Memphis beside its musical history is the food!

We were treated to breakfast by our family friends in this really cute, small yet cozy cafe near a park. The name of the place is "Blue Plate Cafe"

You can see the park in the glass reflection in the first pic.

When we got in, it was pretty obvious that the place was a popular one because there are a number of people waiting to be seated in the entrance area. Reminds me of Pancake house here in Manila.

The couches looked soft and comfy

The walls were filled with paintings and mirrors. Yes, I took advantage of the mirrors and took pictures of myself. Haha!

Off to the menu. The menu was really interesting. It had a newspaper design. So it gave you a feeling that you were just home reading the paper while waiting for your pancakes to be served. Really a nice touch. :)

Wide selection of omelette, pancakes and waffles. Lots of toppings to choose from also. So here's the food.

Everything was good!!! :D Even the sweetened Iced Tea and the refillable brewed coffee. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take a pic of the rest of the waffles. I loved the generous amount of fresh fruit toppings. :)

If I've be given the chance to be back in Memphis. I'll most definitely dine here again.

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Just another wine night

2010-10-03T23:08:00.000+08:00

Cougar Town is to blame for our sudden craving for wine that day. And of course where else would we end up but in Barcino. :)

The food...
Our favorites of course!

Chorizo Platter

Paella Negra

The star of the night: Red Wine

For dessert:

Mouth-watering Sinful Chocolate Cake

And Arvic's favorite Creme Brulee :) I really need to learn how to prepare this already.

It was a night of catching up with my girls and of course good conversation. :)

CARPE DIEM!

I'm out.

Memphis Memories (Part I)

2010-09-30T23:10:00.000+08:00

Yesiree...I surprisingly fell in love with Memphis. :)

The place just overflows with history and most of it is connected to music, particularly the "Blues". Plus, it's also the home of the famous Fedex Forum Stadium. Home of the Grizzlies. :D

I loved the different ball designs outside the stadium.

More Memphis adventures to follow..

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out. ;)

Balls balls balls

2010-09-29T22:26:00.001+08:00

Guess where I am?

This is one of the state in the US we went to that I surprisingly loved.
The rest of the pics in the next post. ;D

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Anniversary at Isdaan

2010-09-27T20:33:00.000+08:00

We went to Isdaan at Tarlac to have a festive dinner to celebrate Mama and Papa's anniversary. I still need to get use to the idea of just us 3 going out. Dati parang ang dami dami namen lagi pag nagddineout. I miss those days. :( Nonetheless, it was still fun. Quality time with the parentals. :)

The food.. we have lots. But due to hunger (hehehe), I only got to take pics of a few.

Kare kare lang, solve na ako! :D Yuuuuum!

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

3 Glorious Years

2010-09-27T20:12:00.000+08:00

We just turned 3 last month. I know the relationship's still very young but I just know it in my heart that we have enough love to last us a lifetime. :)

Thanks for 3 wonderful years of togetherness my Dear.. more more more! :D

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Today I realized...

2010-09-22T21:02:00.002+08:00

Today I realized how lucky I am to be with someone who sees good in everything. I think papa God really blessed me with someone this positive because He knows I'll need this kind of support and love to guide me to the right positive path. Hehe.

Today I realized how attached I am to family. The mere idea of leaving them behind to try life elsewhere is still foreign to me. When will I be ready? I still don't know, but for now I just feel lucky to be with the people I love the most.

Today I realized that I'm lucky to have real friends. The kind that won't tire of telling me when I'm starting to be silly and unreasonable. The kind who'll celebrate my successes and tell me to stop crying everytime I fail.

Today I realized that life is good and that I'm one lucky girl ;) Thank you papa God for all the blessings. :D

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

I was on-screen! :D

2010-09-22T16:45:00.005+08:00

For a moment.. we felt like big hollywood stars. Why? Because we were in the Forever21 giant screen. :D

I think we can have the same big screen here too. We have gigantic billboards along Edsa anyways. But I guess it'll just add up to the traffic.

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Old Love

2010-09-20T22:36:00.005+08:00

I love "Old Love". The kind of love that old couples share. It's unpretentious, good silly and it warms my heart. I love seeing old couples walking in the mall with holding hands like there's noone else around. The simple acts of love they share like holding the newspaper while the other reads, or handing over tissue or handkerchiefs to one another while they eat. <3

I wish and hope I grow old and experience the same kind of love with Arvic of course! :)

Today is my parents' Wedding Anniversary. My papa calls it "Mama's victory day". It's because she won him daw. Haha! :) Happy Anniversary super couple! :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

NYSE

2010-09-19T20:48:00.005+08:00

While walking along Wall Street, we ended up passing by NYSE. And because a close friend of mine works in NYSE - New York Stock Exchange (Manila IT office), I just had to take pics for him. :)

As expected it was heavily guarded.

Us in NYSE ;)

Andy's poses.. hilarious! I have no idea why he's doing it.

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Hello Miss Liberty

2010-09-15T12:30:00.007+08:00

To be able to go to the Statue of Liberty, one needs to go through 'inspection'. There was a tent set-up before the ship boarding area. One needs to go here and have everything checked ala-airport style. :) Safety first!

Boat pics ahead! :D

Here we gooooo :)

Andy with Mamu (nice smile wani!)

Andy with Mamu and Papa

Andy saying: Small o! :)

And now finally.. we see her upclose...

We come in peace Miss Liberty :)

Lookie here, a color-coordinated cute family. I bet noone's getting lost. :P

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out. ;D

While on our way to see Miss Liberty

2010-09-13T23:23:00.008+08:00

This was the highlight of my trip to NYC! :D I was soooo excited to see the Statue of Liberty. I was extra happy to see interesting things along the way. :)

While walking towards the checking dock area we saw little liberties...

We also saw the "American Merchant Marines Memorial" statues.

I saw seagulls too of course! :D

And a really gorgeous and big horse!

Then there we were... just a few miles away from Miss Liberty.

More pics to follow... ;D

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out. :D

Ground Zero

2010-09-13T22:58:00.004+08:00

To remember 9/11 , let me post the pics we took when we got the chance to go to Ground Zero.

It was an eerie experience. You'll still feel the sadness surrounding that place.
9/11 victims, may your souls rest in peace.

I'm out.

Grand Central Terminal

2010-09-06T19:52:00.009+08:00

I was so happy I got the chance to go to the Grand Central Terminal. Before, I only see this place in movies!!! :D

I have always been a fan of nice ceilings. There were lots of figures in the ceiling, I think they're zodiac-sign inspired.

Of course we took family pics :)

Hay New York... I miss you already...

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out. ;D

Fisherman's Wharf (Part 1)

2010-09-02T16:52:00.006+08:00

Who goes to beautiful San Francisco and doesn't eat at Fisherman's Wharf???
The answer: NO ONE! :P

It's definitely a tourist spot! And we are one of the many people there who were enjoying the view and the food.

The fresh seafood!

I love San Francisco! :D It so sunny yet still cold. Plus, people seem to be happy at all times. Or maybe because most of them are tourists. Plus, lots and lots of Pinoy! Kababayans here and there. :)

The food and a whole lot more in the next post. :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Farmville - The real one :P

2010-09-02T10:02:00.005+08:00

When we were in San Jose, I noticed that there were lots of houses in the area we were staying in and each of them have their own lawn but with just 1-2 trees then a grass lawn. So imagine my surprise when my Ninong told me that he owned a small farm just a few miles away from his house. He says the lot is government owned and they just pay a small annual fee.

Ladies and gentlemen... a real-life Farmville experience :)

Fresh veggies, fresh berries, and a hobby. Pretty neat! :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

I'm baaack!

2010-08-29T20:24:00.001+08:00

Yes, I am! :D So bear with me as I try to update you with super late posts (e.g. 4th of July celebrations etc etc). I shall gather my pics and post away in the next few days. :)

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out. ;D

Bookworm Heaven

2010-07-10T22:32:00.006+08:00

It's been a million years ago since I last set food on a library. So when Ate suggested that we visit the public library in Sedalia she frequents I wasn't really super excited about it. But when we got there.... Wow. It rekindled my long-lost love affair with books.

It had an old building facade... had 3 floors (a separate section for kiddie books), and a free internet area. :)

Mama looking for the books she wants to read. She's in the Mystery books section.

Me, trying to look for something to borrow.

Ate, stuck in her section as well.

MY zone!!! (bawal umangal :P)

CARPE DIEM!

I'm out.

Why Hello Branson

2010-07-06T01:47:00.007+08:00

So we were off to another of our family roadtrips and as planned we spent 2 days at Branson. Branson is tagged as the "Las Vegas" of Missouri. It's known as the "Live Music Show Capital of the World" as well because it has more than 50 live performances from different establishments readily available for tourists. :)

As we were looking for our hotel at Branson, we drove by many amazing attraction structures, it was indeed a feast for the eyes ---

Hello KingKong! Thanks for the welcome :P

Yay Hollywood?! :P

Okay.. who's fault is this?

American Eagle?

Looooong slide... I think I'll die not because of the slide but because of the long staircase going up. Haha!

My nephew Andy claims that this is his place.... Silly boy!

"Come back... come back..." Yes, I was looking for Jack.

Weeee! GLEE!!!

Rhino (my camera) happily clicked away. :D

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

Dizzy Dizzy

2010-07-04T10:40:00.003+08:00

Ladies and gentlemen... The Crookedest Road in the world. ;)

One landmark down... :D It's located in Lombard St. in San Francisco. Read more about it HERE. More pics...

We even saw a bunch of (big) bikers going down the steep road.

Vroooooom vroooom! The girls (sitted on the back) were screaming on the way down. Haha! Coolness.

CARPE DIEM!
I'm out.

I'm back?

2010-06-24T21:03:00.005+08:00

I miss blogging.... there, I said it. I have tons of photo backlogs from my recent Singapore trip with friends, got home a few days ago then voila, yesterday we were in San Francisco and now I'm blogging away at 6am in the morning here at San Jose. Whattaweek it was!

I was checking on my friends' blog posts and decided that I won't be blogging until the whole vacation engrande is over then I saw that my boyfriend has more blogposts than me for the past 3 weeks so I felt guilty. I'll try to blog more often (keyword: TRY) as soon as I get the time and the free net connection. =)

Anyway I hope everybody's doing fine. Here's a sneak peek of us warm-blooded folks trying to smile in cold and breezy Golden Gate Bridge view deck.

Us with the 'Lone Sailor', he sure looks sad.

Keep you posted! :)

CARPE DIEM!

I'm out.